Andrew Dwyer

These are the premiums for the new ( US$100k ) insurance for OA visa, actual coverage is 3.5 million baht inpatient and 60k baht outpatient from LMG, premiums from other companies may differ.

26,800 baht is the premium for 61-70 yr olds with a 1 million baht deductible.

Yes, my successful attempts at lifting the elephant were probably met with scorn and “ look at that smug heathen farang barsteward “ comments !!

Another good round up there Owl, particularly liked the school haircut story ! Agree with you totally on the “ still learning “ phrase, I had a lesson in Buddhism yesterday . Had seen the small gold elephant at many Wats and seen the faithful lifting it , or failing to lift it , with their little finger. Had even had a go a few times. So, yesterday, visiting a new , to us , Wat my gf spotted the elephant and encouraged me to have a go at lifting it 3 times with my little finger. Proud of myself after succeeding and nursing a sore finger my bonfire was promptly pi$$ed on by a lady monk (?) who dashed over to correct my gf, and myself, on the correct purpose of the heavy elephant. Apparently , the first attempt is for good luck( lottery, health etc ) and should be achieved easily. The second attempt you should wish the elephant to be very heavy and should be impossible to lift. The third attempt ……… I don’t remember what the third attempt signifies as I was still reeling from my gf’s face as she struggled, yet failed, to lift the elephant on the second attempt yet successful on the third attempt !! ( It’s a miracle I hear you cry !! ). I was prompted to try again but declined, not sure my acting skills were up to it …… or perhaps I was to succeed 3 times again showing the unholy farang for what i am !! A lovely Wat , with the miraculous elephant left of centre .

Sent at Manchester.

Is that similar to half mast ?

Traveled Sept 1st with Qatar from MAN , was also asked for vax info, my 2 x Pfizer over 12 months ago was sufficient . Appeared that several without documentation were sent for testing .

Arrived Friday from the U.K., Qatar airlines asked to see vaccination certificate at Manchester on departure, my 2 x Pfizer over a year ago seemed acceptable. Did see several being sent away at check in, possibly to get tested, not sure.

Nothing to do with airline clerks where you live. If you had onward flight that's all they could/should ask about. So, I should have told him to mind his own f&£@ing business ?

I returned from the U.K. last week on a visa exempt entry, I had an OnwardTicket.com booking for BKK to Phnom Penh , for Sept 28th , costing 500 baht made the day before and valid for 48 hours. I also had 20k baht in my hand baggage. Neither were requested but I felt the cost of 500 baht worth it for peace of mind. I was asked at MAN airport by Qatar staff if I lived “ here or there “ , “ both “ I replied which seemed acceptable to them. My vaccination docs were also asked for before leaving the U.K., my 2 x Pfizer jabs over a year old also seemed acceptable. No vax requests upon entering Thailand. On a separate note: My trip was partially to “ kill “ my OA extension, return visa exempt with a view to obtain an O visa in-house and subsequent retirement extensions. Thai immigration officers, exiting and entering, both made sure I was aware that a) my OA retirement extension would die and b) my entry stamp was 30 days only. Seemed like a new regime of informing the passenger exactly what is happening is in place ……. or is that just wishful thinking on my part ?

A Nissan EV for 500k baht ?? i very much doubt it, Nissan Leaf EV costs around 2 million baht and a proposed Nissan Ariya EV starts around 1.5 million baht. You will have to go Chinese if you want a cheaper EV . BYD is the latest brand to arrive from China and the ones to watch if you want a cheap EV. Detectorists is wonderful !! saw it all a couple of years ago . Spent some time with my daughter in the U.K. recently and tried to get her interested in Detectorists but she wasn’t up for it, i ended up bingeing all 3 seasons again. Top of my list for U.K. comedy/drama. As for drought, same up north with some reservoirs and natural water reserves at an all time low. The mandatory hose pipe ban came into effect while I was there .

OnwardTicket.com Costs around US$14 ( Thailand to Cambodia for example ) for proof of an onward flight out of the country.

Southern Hemisphere, what did you expect ?

Hyundai Thailand are pushing the Creta ( ICE ) here which I find strange when Hyundai have a history of EV and PHEV/HEV’s ( Ioniq 5, Kona , Santa Fe and Tucson ) seems like they are going against the grain or maybe just missed the memo ??

PHEV is Plug In Hybrid , you are confusing with HEV ( Hybrid ).

I’m hoping for a Jolion PHEV , the H6 just a bit too big for my liking. PHEV , imho, is the way to go, a Vauxhall Astra PHEV and a Mazda CX - 60 PHEV announced in the U.K..

So the OP didn’t know that GWM was a Chinese brand ? Great Wall Motors wasn’t a big enough clue ??

Pretty much identical story to mine, on OA retirement extensions since 2017 I left the country on August 11th with a view to returning visa exempt next month and obtaining an O visa in Thailand. Upon leaving Thailand the IO also pointed out that I had no re-entry permit, presumably giving me the chance to get one if I had forgotten, when i said it was okay she also gave me a knowing nod of the head.

There’s a lot of these streaming sites , some work great and some not so much, I suppose it depends what browser you use ? I have used tinyzonetv but dropped it in favour of fmovies, my current favourite is hdtoday but do revert back to the others if struggling to find something.

Get well soon Owl , we all hope you a speedy recovery ………. personally I thought you had eloped with the hat lady ????

I watched seasons 1 and 2 and thought it was okay , season 3 has just dropped so will give it a go.

Slightly off topic but still relevant to the OP: I noticed the op stated this: ” I'm arriving visa exempt with a return flight after 58 days. “ is this okay ?, would it not be safer to have the return flight for < 30 days and change the flight date just before the visa run ?

Better safe than sorry I say. I will be returning in Sept from the U.K. visa exempt, I will have 20k baht secured about my person and obtain an onward flight : shortly before leaving the U.K..

I would say that it is advisable to have an onward flight ( anywhere outside of Thailand will do ) within the 30 days of your exempt entry. As stated, the airline you board returning to Thailand could request it and refuse your travel if you don’t have it available. Sounds like the perfect situation for Onwardtickets.com, use the site within 48 hours of your departure back to Thailand. I will be travelling next week, to kill my OA retirement extension, and will return visa exempt in September, I will be using their services.