London Lowf

The Big C in Kamala {Phuket) has a cannabis kiosk concession right opposite the checkouts - seems to do okay.

I accidentally overstayed by one day last December, forgetting that entry day is day #1, not day #0. When I arrived at the departure immigration desk they spotted it and sent me to the overstay desk so just go straight there and save yourself some queueing. No fine, but they stamped my passport which I posted on here at the time. I have subsequently visited again with no problems, although the IO did raise his eyebrows on arrival when he saw the stamp. I had no issues getting a 60-day visa for that latest visit.

I've showered in numerous properties in Thailand and never noticed this problem - maybe it's your feet that are slippery? Call me a troll!

I'm surprised that so few have mentioned this aspect - there are things that I will do with a Thai girl with no hesitation that would be disgusting with a Westerner. You can read into that as much or as little as you like!

Toilet paper (for drying) is ALWAYS spotless afterwards - you're doing it wrong!

I am a bumgun convert and thought about installing one at home in the UK, but the chill of the mains water supply put me off.

What - you've never tried it yourself? I did once, but never again - stuck on the throne for ten minutes waiting for it to drain!

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Dan O, if you are not prepared to answer Dr Jack54 then at least provide this useful information for the benefit of the rest of this forum. As of three months ago Krungsri Bank in Kamala (Phuket) require CoR, passport and driving licence - not sure whether the licence has to be Thai as I didn't proceed at the time, although I will at some point in the future.

Interesting spanner in the works for my theory!

To me it's riding a bike and driving a car and I also find that the expression "driving a bike" does grind my gears, albeit very mildly. Even riding at 20kph is a more active and dynamic action than driving a car, primarily because it includes the need to constanly adjust your balance. (This also applies to the village bike!)

Try doing the same from Devon!

I've done numerous 60+30 holidays in Thailand from London Heathrow and only once been picked up at check-in on the fact that my return ticket was outside the 60 days - I told the clerk that I would be getting an extension and she happily accepted that - I think that she was just checking! Apart from the check-in counter I've never had to show my ticket, only passport at immigration and boarding pass in addition at boarding. In fact, last week flying home from Phuket they didn't even want my ticket at check-in, just my passport.

Speedos are so twentieth century - I wear Aussiebum these days and don't give a hoot about what anyone thinks.

Two things I learnt during Covid - how to (badly) cut my own hair, and NEVER again to book flights through an agent - it took a crefit card charge-back to get the full refund to which I was legally entitled.

Have you ever lived in the UK? Taxis.... Property rentals.... Telephone line.... Consumer white goods.... Mobile phones.... Internet.... Sky TV.... Gasoline.... Local authority taxes.... Energy.... Etc....

I thought the context was "as mad as a box of frogs" which has always been one of my favourite expressions! Sorry if I'm nit-picking! Funny you should mention motorbike hire - I mentioned some time ago that my "agent" now makes more money from renting scooters than he does from his hotel and it seems that everyone is now jumping on that bandwagon and hence the market is now flooded. One of the biggest (if not THE biggest) bars in Kamala has also joined the club in the last few months and has a row of a dozen scooters sitting unused out front and they're going to gather dust over the next few months as Kamala is now well and truly in low season. Riding around Kamala virtually every business now seems to be renting scooters as a sideline and I'm sure it's the same in Patong. Actually, I'm now back home for a couple of months and am not happy about it - I went to my local pub last night and, even with a live band, it was rather boring - the UK is such a grey and dull place for nine months of the year and I was really enjoying my visits to Patong in the last few weeks as it was becoming less hectic - I prefer to sit on Bangla rather than the side-sois as I am very much a people-watcher and was finding it easier to get a ringside seat in all of my favourite bars. And, talking of getting pestered for drinks, this very rarely happens to me as all of the girls in the bars that I frequent know that they are wasting their time - I won't even play dice/connect 4/jackpot with them because I know where that leads..... The hustlers may not like me but I am still made very welcome by the permanent staff as I am a regular and I do always tip. Cheap Charlie? Maybe yes, but I visit a bar every single night and am no longer a bar-finer and feel no need to be made a fuss of.

Ah, the old comparison between the average income in my home country compared to Phuket. Millions of tourists visit Phuket every year and many realise that it is far more expensive than other parts of Thailand. Take it or leave it - i'll take it! What I can never understand is why so many come on to the Phuket section to put it down and try to dissuade people from visiting - I do not go on any other regional forums just to spout negativity.

Apart from transitting through the airport I have no interest whatsoever in Bangkok and couldn't give a hoot what the taxis cost.

We, the consumers, are "ripped off" by business to a greater or lesser extent every time we open our wallets - it's called capitalism and it's what makes the world go around. In a few hours I will be going to Phuket airport - an hour's drive in a taxi for B800. I have no complaints, but many would lose sleep over it.

Compared with my home country, Phuket is an absolute bargain - rent, electricity, gasoline, food, internet and phone, sports streaming (I legally watch the live Sky Formula 1 feeds for 10% the cost at home), and yes - even the taxis are cheaper. I gather that the rest of Thailand is cheaper than Phuket - so what? There are plenty of places cheaper than Thailand if saving a few bob is so important.

I stand corrected on the 2:30 closing - I was told 2am but went home at about 1:45 and the central area around Bar Funk ond down toward the beach was quiet compared to an hour or so earlier.. I was going to walk along Sea Dragon for a look as usual at about 00:30 but it was so uninspiring that I turned around and went back to Bangla. Even the eponymous bar was very sparsely populated (by paying customers as opposed to girls!) I've never been here quite this late in the season, but would imagine that this downturn is to be expected as we approach April? I go home next week but am back for June and July - I've never experienced low season before, and so will be interested to see how things are.

The "big bike" rental shop just around the corner from me has at least one, but not sure if it's running at the moment. He also has an engine/box in the corner of his shop.

Yes - simply called "Grey Bike" - see the sticker on my visor below. A brilliant genuine enthusiast's magazine. I had a box full, but may have got rid of them at my last house move. There was also an NC30 Club - I remember that they loaned me a set of race bodywork for my RVF when I did a track day at Brands Hatch. I later sorted out my own set, but not before I also did a day at Donington in the OEM set.

Back to 2am closing. Not that they need it now that we're moving away from the peak/high seaons! By 1am Bangla is pretty much winding down and the bar staff get bored and start snacking from the roving vendors. It's also noticable that there is a big increase in LB streetwalkers (and the more up-market freelancers hitting Bar Funk) that only arrive at about that time in the hope of picking up an easy job - all swishing their hair as they mince along the road.