PaoloR

I think what he is trying to say is: The booking agencies (Agoda, Booking .com, Expedia etc.) charge varying rates to hotels. For 4 and 5 star they generally charge around 5% but for smaller hotels they charge anything up to 25%. For this reason booking directly with 3 star and lower hotels will normally get you a useful discount. In addition in a smaller hotel will normally give you access to a manager who can authorise a discount, whereas the larger and more expensive hotels normally won't discount as you don't get access to a decision maker. Small and medium hotels are increasingly disillusioned with the way they are treated by the major hotel booking agencies and are using airbnb and other such agencies who charge significantly lower rates. Savvy travelers use the major sites for information and planning, then book direct through the hotel's website or contact the hotel by phone

Having returned to Thailand from overseas using a re-entry permit and a work visa, am I still required to report to immigration within 24 hrs.? I am getting conflicting information from all my usual sources. I use Krabi immigration office.

I agree with this post. I would also add that after the 7 mowers I have purchased in Thailand - this HRJ 216 is the only one I would recommend 1. It has a positive drive system - the belt systems on the cheaper mowers give up too easily. 2. All the cables, body and controls are well made and will last. The cheaper ones fall apart. 3. Blades that fit can be bought on Lazada at much less cost than Honda and seem to last well. I have 2.5 rai of lawns (many slopes) the cheaper ones last 2-3 years and don't cut as well, even with Honda engines. I just purchased my second HRJ216 after 6 years of use.

No it's not: read the constitution - nowhere does it say that!

Epipens are banned in parts of Thailand - they were being emptied and the epinephrine used to make Yaba (epinephrine can be a precursor for methamphetamine) Hospitals, doctors etc. will not provide one here (I live in the South). I have to carry one at all times following hornet stings here in Thailand. I now go into anaphylactic shock if stung by a number of different creatures. (Thank goodness not scorpions as we have lots here and I have been stung a number of times). I really should ignore the no shoes in the house rule when taking my nightly jimmy riddle! I have pens on prescription in the U.K. and brought out here when visitors come. The pens only have a short use by life - I was told by the doctor that the propellant used degenerates quite quickly, or it may just be the pharma companies trying for a higher turnover.

I changed colour on my vehicle 4 years ago. All that was required at the vehicle centre was for me to give them a copy of the invoice for the painting and a copy of my passport and they changed it for a 30 Baht fee. Prior to that they had noticed the colour change at the annual inspection and said they would not issue a tax disc for the vehicle when the log book was showing a different colour. This was at the Krabi department of transport.

This makes a nonsense of the air arrival procedures. By air you have to book and pay for a hotel (SHA+ for one night) and have to use hotel transport to get there, plus PCR test and ATK kit. Across the land border you take a PCR test and then move straight on. Are people coming by land less likely to bring infection? Why are they treated differently? Surely time to stop the ridiculous one night in a SHA+ hotel for arrivals by air.

Usually is at Krabi. I spend less than an hour every year in total on 90 day reports and retirement extension. You just have to be polite. I have seen seen them deliberately keep rude and impatient tourists waiting for long periods and I don't blame them.

35 bottles in 5 months! If you stop drinking it and splash it on your skin, it will last much longer.

Why not take your own cue if you wish to play pool at the MFA?

Make up your mind. You admit liability, then gradually change your story till it's either the maid, or not your fault at all. Pay up and stop fooling yourself.

As always, clear as mud!

No, I send the girlfriend over twice a week with the truck loaded with grass so she can enjoy time with her family. I take the bike over once a week to check everything out. Been over more times this week as we are buying more cows at great prices. The grass available roadside and other areas is fast running out (we grow our own) and farmers are selling off cows cheaply, rather then pay for feed all through the dry season.

Be aware that if you are allergic to bee stings, the venom of scolopendra is similar in composition but the quantity injected is larger and can cause a far stronger reaction. On this theme - On my last visit to the hospital suffering from an anaphylactic reaction to a bee sting (I am highly allergic) they refused to administer an adrenaline injection as I was over 65. After some persuasion they allowed me to administer the injection to myself as I pointed out it was that or a tracheotomy. The doctor advised me, as I was discharged, to avoid being bitten by a scolopendrium as I would not have long to get to a hospital!

You must be a very boring and, to judge from your posts, sad person. Only dull people live dull lives, wherever they are. Went for a run on the beach with my dog first thing this morning. Then took my motorbike 50 km through the gorgeous countryside from Krabi to Lam Thap to feed my cows and check on my farms. Late lunch by the river in Krabi town on the way home. Back home now with my beautiful girlfriend deciding where we would like to go this evening or just chill at home. I have lived and worked in Europe, America, Central America, China, Asia. Nowhere was dull. Dullness is a state of mind not always related to where you are, but who you are.

Simple - just get vaccinated.

Went out today to by a new plug. 2 local hardware shops -no 3 pin plugs. Drove half an hour to Home Pro - no 3 pin plugs. Ended up ordering from Lazada. This for me sums up the approach Thailand has to electrical safety.

Salt is sodium chloride whether it comes from the sea, underground, or the Himalayas. Using a high priced heavily marketed salt when it is still sodium chloride is a waste of money. They all taste the same, the tongue is fooled by the difference between coarse ground and fine ground salt. They are not allowed to sell salt with any significant level of impurity, so check the label - if it is sodium chloride with anything more than 95% NaCl it will taste like - you guessed it! - salt.

www.mamahd.com - keep deleting the adverts (3 or 4) until you can watch the GP ---free, no VPN needed.

Not false for me! I have tried every avenue. It appears that somewhere along the endless paperwork someone entered my details incorrectly. They cannot (or will not) issue me any proof of vaccination. They will not let me get vaccinated again as they have my records- they say. The logical suggestion; that if they have records to say I was vaccinated then they can issue me a certificate, is met with blank stares and "computer says no".

Explain why all over the Southern USA the numbers clearly show that over 95% of those catching this disease are unvaccinated. If you wish to die of this disease and are so misled that you call this life-saving vaccine a poison - please do us all a favour and stay away

In the Nakhon Si Thamerat area, banks have now stipulated that they will only lend against land with a full Chanote. There are many pieces of land for sale as the usual route of taking loans against land to supplement income or pay back truck loans is now closed off. Land in the countryside is rarely advertised and is sold through word of mouth or part-time agents. Prices (as always) are all over the shop. There is the sad sight of families cutting down their productive rubber trees in order to get a one-time payment for the wood, then planting palm. They will then need to survive 4 years with little income until the palms bear fruit.

Remember that the Thai Embassy is in Pretoria and it is unlikely, given the current state of lockdown in SA, that travel to Pretoria is possible from elsewhere in SA. Unless she is flying to Pretoria that will be difficult!

If you have a close relative in the UK, such as a son or daughter of a mature age, then you could open a joint account with an either/or signatory choice and keep the pin numbers to yourself. Of course you would have to have faith in your own progeny! My son told them he did not trust me with my own money because I am getting old and forgetful - something I will pay him back for later.