richard_smith237

17 minutes ago, tomster said:

Something from Makro would be great, as long as they consistently have it in stock.

Just make sure its a light roast Arabica bean from a higher altitude area...    thats should be good enough for most people.

31 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Try a cardless withdrawal, see if it works

This...   

First thing to check to see if your account is open is to try a cardless withdrawal.

Then you can also try a conventional ATM withdrawal.

Also, as you suggested OP, give your Wireless Payment (Tap-n-go) at try - only you have the answer to that.

The message you received was that your 'mobile banking services have been temporarily blocked' - so that just means mobile banking service, you should still have functional Online Banking Services etc.

Wow...

....  Finally online outrage has been sparked against someone other than foreigners !!!

... Are we 100% sure they were Thai ?  

On 7/5/2025 at 2:53 PM, Burma Bill said:

 So what's wrong with that?

When I drove in Thailand, I regularly stopped to urinate alongside the road, with the hazard lights flashing on my Nissan Pick-up. When you suffer from an enlarged benign prostate gland, one has to quickly pee almost anywhere if one does not want to soak one's lower clothing! 

Lovin’ the way one refers to oneself while discussing pishing ‘almost anywhere’ !!! 😅

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

Are you able to select a date and time for the appointment? I'm trying to coincide it with a planned trip to Bangkok

yep…  email VFS & give them 3 date options. 

2 hours ago, garygooner said:

Any idea why? 

I’d used exactly the same photo for my other UK passport renewal earlier on in the year so HMPO knew it was older than 6 months… 

8 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

3 hours ago, Will B Good said:

 

I drive about 10 mins a day and have four near misses a week.

Take a driving course, then, appears that you need it.

No he doesn't....  It just appears that he drives on roads where there are plenty of other vehicles which are ridden or driven recklessly.

Every time I drive down my soi I can say I have a near-miss....  (narrow soi, one lane in each direction), cars are sometimes caught up in traffic... motorcycles trying to overtake....   When I'm heading out in the opposite direction the motorcycles will just drive straight towards me - almost as if they are playing chicken, forcing me to brake so the can slot back.... almost each time, if I haven't applied the brakes and come to a near stop to give them space, I would have clipped them with my front right side... (while they are on my side of the road).....  they really don't care - but I would call each one of those a near miss.

While riding on the sub-soi...  I ride down the middle of my lane...  so I have an option to move left or right, as needed, when there are drains etc... or protect myself if a vehicle appears as though it will pull out from the left... 

But...  Some fool will always pull out from a side street right next to me and nearly hit me, as they think two bikes riding next to each other per one lane is perfectly fine....  (its not when one needs to take evasive action).

Another, while I was turning right (from a T-junction) a kid on a bike tried to time it so he could pull out, turning right behind me (from the road I was turning into).

He timed it poorly and hit my numberplate.  He stopped, apologised, he was about 12 or 13...  no real damage to my my bike, just a bent number plate that he caught his foot on (I could bend the number plate back).

Very doubtful he would have learned a think from the minor incident. 

I learned that riders here will just pull out into you - but I knew that anyway !.

3 hours ago, watgate said:

My question is what experience or situation did anyone have which required drastic evasive measures or skill to avoid becoming another victim or statistic because of a blooming idiot who had no business being behind the  wheel of a vehicle?

I was minding my own business the other day driving about... and this crazy foreigner came speeding up the street and tried to drive into me... 

.... Then he followed for a bit while belting his horn...        utter loon !!! 

I've no idea what was wrong with him.....  

1 hour ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Thanks mate. 

 

I was joking, I have several down thumb emoji stalkers, you're obviously not one of them. 👊

 

There's handfull of the 'Thumbs-down' stalkers...   juvenile fools who'll post against the poster themself rather than the individual topic... 

Its also fairly obvious to see who they are...  even when they are stalking someone else.

6 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

How long does it take to get an appointment with VFS? I'm wondering how long in advance of the date i want to go to apply

I think allow 2 weeks to make a VFS appointment. 

Allow at least 3 months ahead of Passport Expiry...  renewal should take about a month, but they are notorious for delays due to payment or photo issues (mine took 2 Month Oct to Nov '24).

Here was my latest timeline:

02-Oct: Submitted application at VFS

18-Oct: Received HMPO e-mail - unable to process payment (given link to government portal for payment)

23-Oct: Received HMPO e-mail - Confirmed Payment 

24-Oct: Received HMPO e-mail - Request to Post new photos (current photos unacceptable)

02-Dec: Received HMPO e-mail - Collect Passport from VFS.

But also consider it you might have to travel to any country that insists on 6 months validity in the Passport while you have a renewal application underway.

6 minutes ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Keep up mate, I'm always doing outstanding stuff. 

 

BTW, I only have 2 thumbs down emoji's, one from you and a definite one from my thumbs down stalker guy... Ha ha, his name is oops not allowed to talk about other members.

Mt Fr_____:

Au contraire SF....    No thumbs down emojis from me...    

Most just scroll past your farang-bashing now and just ignore your comments...  I'm still amused by how desperate you are to use any opportunity to 'bash-a-foreigner'...  that'll wear off at some point.

40 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

On 7/3/2025 at 1:18 PM, richard_smith237 said:

Yet again, we witness another pedestrian failing to look, seemingly operating under the assumption that it’s safe to cross with disregard for their own wellbeing....

 

Before she got hit you can just barely make out she bowed her head a little suggesting she thought the bus saw her and would stop.

Yep... I saw that...  but it seems she just 'went through the motions' rather than actually looked properly and paid attention... 

5 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

You want a 22Kw 3 phase charger, that will charge single phase at 7Kw too.

 

Don't be tempted to buy an 11Kw 3 phase charger as it will only charge at 3.6Kw on single phase.

 

Is it going to be in a place where a neighbour might come and charge his car whilst you're away?  If so, get one with an RFID card to begin charging.

 

If you're getting an electrician to fit it and there's any chance you might want to move house and take it with you, then I would also install a red industrial 32 amp plug and socket where you're putting the charger and put the plug on the charger.

 

There are loads of 22Kw wall boxes on Lazada.

Ours is a 22kW Wall Box...     (Type 2 plug)

Which actually works on a 15/45 3x Phase...    (i.e. each phase provides 15amps) 

I believe this charges at 10.4kW 

Thus: Mathematically it would take approximately 8.4 hours to fully charge our 88 kWh battery (from zero to 100% - with 100% charging efficiency).

Real word charging efficiency is approx 90-95% - so we're looking at 9.5 hrs for a full charge.

Real Real world charging: we rarely get below 50% running around BKK... so the charge is only ever a few hours to top up... i.e. Plugged in every 3rd night or so....

Location of the wall box to where the car is parked is obviously a key point.

3 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

Is it going to be in a place where a neighbour might come and charge his car whilst you're away?  If so, get one with an RFID card to begin charging.

Our is routed from a mains-breaker in the house, it can be isolated (to off) if we wished to do so.

But really, is that something that happens ?.... Neighbours parking in your drive and using your 'charging station' ???

5 minutes ago, parallelman said:

1 hour ago, Bday Prang said:

does anybody actually do that ?

Easy enough on todays technology. My phone gives UV index, Humidity, Wind, Sunrise & Sunset in addition to the weather in general.

Easy enough - but the question was quite realistic...  "does anybody actually do that ?"   [check the UV index]

2 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

4 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Fair enough...    I'm sure your standards of poof reading are up there with the best...   

Yep, always read it through before hitting Sumbit Relpy.  555

oh.. no...  I did it again...    that should have read pRoof reading... honest mistake... 555

11 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

22 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

The famous saying on this forum, something I've been hearing since arriving here...

 

"Always look both ways when crossing a one day street"....

And the other is to proof read what you are sending. 555

Fair enough...    I'm sure your standards of poof reading are up there with the best...   

23 minutes ago, MalcolmB said:

The way you squeal and carry on I suspect you of having high estrogen levels.

And I am not the only one.

You are not the only one who has high estrogen levels...    Makes sense again... 

Male menopause, non-existent testosterone levels, baldness, onset of Alzheimers and high estrogen... your openness to identify your issues is a huge step in your journey towards self improvement.... 

Your emotional development is impressive Malcy......   well done... 

36 minutes ago, 2long said:

If anyone wants to see regular cases of buses deciding that waiting in traffic or driving on the correct side of the road are 'not their thing' then this stretch of road every late afternoon almost guarantees results. Northbound buses.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/r4ogDmX28ZAP2p7h6 

Several years ago, my wife was driving when a Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA) bus sped through a red traffic light, narrowly missing her.... (evidence on dash-cam).

She promptly contacted the widely advertised BMA complaint hotline to report the dangerous behaviour. Unsurprisingly, the response was dismissive: something along the lines of, “So what? You’re alive, aren’t you? The bus didn’t hit you.”

Nowadays, social media is the only truly effective tool for addressing such issues. It forces those in power to act - but only once a certain level of public attention has been achieved. The problem is, not every case attracts media coverage. Additionally, generating the necessary social media spotlight requires careful and strategic effort to avoid accusations of defamation.

17 minutes ago, jerrytr said:

Typical Thai drivers. Until the lawless county starts to enforce traffic laws for Thai also & not just farang it will continue to have the highest road deaths in the world. At first it was entertaining to watch the bedlam, but now it's got to be enforced.

"& not just Farang"...     Where in the nation are 'Farang' specifically singled out and targeted for law enforcement ?

(with the exception of the Patong and Pattaya shakedowns of non-licensed tourists).