soi3eddie

Today I have spent several hours booking a sha+ AQ hotel for 1 night. Bought the required covid insurance too. I already had the flight tickets (extended from 12 months ago to 3rd November) and non-o extension of stay (until May 2022). Even with the above and my tenacity in navigating beaurocracy and determination to return to my second home, I wonder is it worth the effort for 5 weeks stay! I'm not bothered about bars being officially closed (know plenty of places to have fun) but there is no way a 2 week "Tourist" would go through all of this. I submitted a COE application this afternoon in hope it may be accepted in advance of the Thai Pass being open for applications. Even then, I still have to get a PCR test before being allowed to board the plane in London. No tourist is going to go through all the hassle and cost. No wonder very few have booked and paid for flights yet. Easier places to travel to for winter sun closer to home for most.

Allegedly a senior figure of the Boys in Brown is a shareholder of the bar area in Sukhumvit Soi 7. When all else is closed it's a reliable place to find refreshment and entertainment. Ditto the beer garden. Was at both places a few times during the January 2021 lockdown and it was pretty much business as usual.

A good idea IMO but these clowns are so insulated from reality that the general populace can never get anywhere near them.

My guess is 15th November too for bar reopening. This would allow 2 weeks after the relaxed entry rules to see if infection rates increase with foreigners arriving.

All kinds of underhand arrangements go on that many are unaware of. You did well to remedy the situation.

How is the owner going to turf you out if he/she is in China? Stay put and enjoy the rest of your contract. The issue is between the owner and the agen and not you. IMO.

Before the pandemic, Bangkok held the title of the most visited city in the world and it was not just "tourists". Many came to and passed through to do trade and business benefitting the whole country. Creating jobs and employment but not just in the "entertainment areas" that so many here are fond of. Really it's about footfall. More people visiting or relocating in Thailand means more money in the economy. This money sustains employment which ultimately keeps people in jobs and that includes pupils and teachers in private schools educating the young generations in the way of the world. Private vs Government schools not the issue but it educates both types of students upwards. No private education or oversubscrition to government schools will not benefit anyone.

The conversation probably went as follows... ...thank goodness we filmed at an airport. At least we were able to depart swiftly on our private jets once filming finished...

I send from my UK account to Wise (2 seconds). Then Wise to my Thai account (a few more seconds and very good exchange rate). Take out cash at Thai Atm or in branch with minimal costs. Job done.

Interesting question for Thai forum which will likely elicit many, possibly humourous, responses relating to Thai females or LBs. Having not seen the job advert I would expect it to mean a job security testing penetration of computer servers, IT systems or websites to see how easy it is to gain unauthorised or malicious access.

Exactly. It was mainly for this reason that I got 1st class bike insurance. Too many precious car owners of their never to be paid for cars. The thought of scratching or denting a Beemer or Benz let alone an Isuzu gave me nightmares. MSIG cover through AAinsure.net was affordable and offered reasonable coverage (3rd party, medical, theft, own damage and compulsory too) for any rider of the bike. Class 2 covers all the above except damage to own bike.

These BMW smart cars are simply wonderful. Maybe the British border farce could secure a fleet of them as they are clearly so effective in locating illegals. Oh but wait a minute, how would they ever know if someone was on overstay as there are no exit immigration checks? And another thing, the softy home office rarely ever deport anyone either. At least Thailand makes it easy for most to stay legally and they do uphold the immigration laws.

Seems like Thai are doing 4 x weekly LHR/BKK/LHR from early November (I'm booked on 2nd Nov). I called them a few days ago to change a return date on my ticket purchased in January 2020 and there was no trouble using free Gold Award upgrades to business class both ways. I was on hold to their Bangkok number for about 30 minutes before a rep answered though. Their London office is still closed with staff working from home and no phone number to call. Hopefully this will see the full resumption of Thai's always excellent LHR/BKK/LHR services and it would be nice if they would bring back the A380 or use B787 or A350s instead of the 777 300ERs.

Unfortunately, if you think that things have been bad already then the real difficulty will be getting her out. Forget the financial side of it, just getting her to move could be a major issue and hassle. Be prepared to rent her a place elsewhere to start and definitely change all locks and remove her access to your condo once she has finally gone. Even when she has gone that may not be the end of any drama. Best of luck.

At a guess, a quick poll of the 60.1% of those Thai people surveyed who said "Thailand not ready to reopen" would show that 100% of them were not reliant on international tourism or foreign trade...

I twice used Chavalit Law Group at Chong Nonsi, A Bangkok. City Centre law firm. Perfect English and great communication from Khun Vira Kammee. Not cheap but then they were 100% professional and reliable even with a complicated condo sale/purchase. Now seems that they are Branded SCL Nishimura.

I advise you to get a good, reliable and trustworthy lawyer to assist and advise you. Property purchase for foreigners has many potential pitfalls in Thailand. I would not conduct a property transaction without professional help. I have completed two condo purchases and a land purchase for my then wife (since ex).

My flight arrives in Thailand on 3rd November and I have been holding off making COE application and hotel booking in anticipation of rule changes. Hopefully full details of the new "Thailand Pass" and requirements will be out soon. If not, I'll simply delay arrival.

Good luck with that. With European destinations in summer, Dubai and Carribean in winter then there are plenty of other family/luxury/value options closer to home. Thailand is an exotic place that had thrived for decades on the mix of hedonism, freedom and lax implementation of rules. Make it difficult, expensive and less fun then many will simply seek alternative destinations. Maybe he's only got the Chinese or Indians in mind so let's see how that goes.

Name changes are unlikely to work as they are almost certainly using facial recognition these days. A few years ago I arrived at BKK early morning and went direct to Immigration at CW to file TM30 and other stuff. My picture from from arrival in the airport was exceptionally clear on the immigration database. Very easy to digitise and use in facial recognition systems.

If you don't know what airlines serve the route you want then Google Flights is very good for finding a full list of options and fares. It then gives you a list of booking sites and normally shows the fare direct from the airline too. In these "uncertain" times of travel changes and cancellations it is advisable to book direct with the airline to get the best service in case of changes or cancellations. IMO: The only reliable flight tracker is www.flightradar24.com and we use it to track planes right to the arrival gate.

Fail to plan, plan to fail... Time and effort spent on advance research will save time, frustration and dissapointment. But then there would be nothing to complain about ????

I bought my Bangkok condo in 2009 for 6 Million THB. Paid a deposit of 5% by my UK credit card. I then transferred the full purchase price to my lawyer's Thai client account in GBP (with a little extra to cover costs and exchange rate fluctuation) from my UK bank. Very important is to get the "purpose of transfer" correctly noted. Normally "for purchase of... (add full unit info and address of the property you are buying)". You will need to show this document to Lane Department to transfer ownership to your name. Some say it is not necessary to show full address but for avoidance of issues with Land Department I put full property address and info. The extra money to cover deposit amount was used to pay lawyer's fees, taxes and to furnish my condo. I would try to get deposit amount reduced to 5% if I was you as there's few buyers in the market right now. As for your scenario B, then you would be OK if you simply put as reason of transfer "To purchase Condominium" and hope that Land Department will just accept that.

I was DTAC pre-paid for many years. In 2020 their data service was becoming <deleted> for me so decided to go to AIS (better IMO) and get postpaid. Went to DTAC in Central Festival, Pattaya to cancel and ensure my old number could be transferred. Crossed the hall to AIS and was set-up with a new postpaid sim within about 40 minutes. Next morning my old number started working on the new AIS sim. Bills by email and text each month. Even got international roaming activated. Very happy.

In my experience Thai Intruders normally <deleted> themselves and do an about turn if they encounter security dogs. Unfortunately poisonings are too common though.