London Lowf

The clue is "Multiple" - I originally planned to do an Oct-Dec trip, go home for a few weeks over Xmas, and then return for another three months without the hassle of applying for another visa. A lot has changed since I laid that plan and so I am now just doing (hopefully) one much longer trip.

I've never used them but they have a strong presence on the web and good feedback and so it would be the kind of company I would use, as per my previous advice.

I've never once seen an Xmax rider who even knows how to sit on a bike - usually they have feet as far forward as possible and arms locked out, invariably with no crash helmet and a backwards baseball cap. Is that you Ryan? Ever heard of a book called "A Twist of The Wrist"? It will even help you ride a Wave faster (and safer) than any poser on an Xmax!!

I wish I could have got a METV - London embassy took the £150 fee off my credit card but then said that they could only give me a 60-day SETV. No refund of the difference of course, a bit like dealing with Thai Airways!

Bangla is now midnight closing - I haven't seen that vital news announced anywhere else so is it up to me? I'd had my quota by the previous 11pm cut-off and noticed on the way home that the extended hours have not spread to Kamala - it was dead at 11:30. Thailand is as crazy as Formula 1, and I love them both!

There are places to rent scooters on every main street (like Pattaya, I guess) but I would tend to either get a recommendation from my hotel/landlord or find a place with a website - might be more expensive but I would hope more reputable? If you're coming soon I would recommend Patong as there is some life around the Beach Road/Bangla areas, although other parts are still reeling from the Covid impact. Kamala (my base) isn't bad, and some will say Rawai is quite lively. (Better advice on here than the nannies on that other site - which I no longer contribute to)

Careful that you don't run out of gas!

So, to be clear, your post was in addition to my list, not instead of?

I stand corrected!

I thought TM7 was for the standard 30-day extension and that you need the affidavit for the Covid extension? Doesn't my landlord file the TM30? The waters are muddying again!

Yes, this is my current plan. Just to check - I need:- - Completed Covid Affidavit - Passport - 1 passport photo signed on back - 1 copy of ID page from passport - 1 copy of visa page from passport plus TM6 departure card - B1,900 cash

I used Thai AXA as that seems to be one of the most acceptable to the Thai embassy. I have a long list of chronic pre-existing conditions but they are all under control and I do not declare them. I bought insurance purely to keep the authorities happy - if I thought I was going to get sick I wouldn't travel. Regarding accidents? I'll take my chances - the odds are in my favour. Buying insurance is gambling and, overall, the insurance companies always win.

Thanks guys - I think I'll go to immigration next week and, if they won't post-date it to start on 1st January, then I'll hope that I can get another extension in mid-February. Joe - I get stressed easily, and with all of those public holidays just as my present extension expires, I would worry that there would be long queues meandering outside in the full sun on the 4th. I'll try to remember to let you know how I get on.

As if applying for the Sandbox wasn't enough of a headache.......... I'm currently on a 30-day extension to my 60-day TR visa and this expires on 31st December. I would like to get the 60-day extension next week so that I can the book and pay for a house up to the end of February. However, I have read in a weekly emailed newsletter from one of the site sponsors on here that the Covid extension is for 60 days from the date of issue and is not tacked on to the existing visa like the standard 30-day extension. Is this correct? In which case will I need to go to immigration on 30th December (closed on 31st) and hope that I will get the extension - otherwise I am on overstay the next day! Hopefully this is a simple question - if there is such a thing when it comes to immigration matters! (I'm on Phuket if that makes any difference - maybe they take a kinder view of tourists?)

The Romanian hookers have come to Thailand? Never had a bait and switch or fake photos in Thailand, and pretty much learnt to spot them back in the UK. PS: Most of the Thai "escorts" in London are very heavily photoshopped, but I've never encountered that problem here.

As others have indicated, it's not so much the town as the property you find within it. My current squeeze has a tiny end of terrace "Thai house" at the very end of a little soi in Kathu surrounded by open land - perfect for the dog to go for a quick wander when the need arises.

You think the dogs were poisoned "due to religious beliefs"? My Kamala next door neighbour, an expat retiree, has a toy breed that is surviving perfectly well. As is the larger dog belonging to the Thai family opposite - although I do have to shoo it away when it tries to defecate on my front drive.

There's a local guy who walks a pack of five dogs of wildly varied breeds and sizes in the Layan National Park. They are all on leads, which takes a bit of management, but I note that he always picks up after them and has quite a full bag by the time I see him. Good on him for that!

The winds of change......... I've been on Phuket for just over two months and the weather has been predominantly rubbish and I have been caught out four times on Bangla and been forced into "distress purchases" of the nasty (but extremely effective) rain coats to make it home reasonably dry. However, at the end of last week the predominant wind seemed to shift from westerly to easterly and the last few days have been pretty good with plenty of sunshine and blue skies. The downside is that the sewers are starting to stagnate and, for the first time this visit, last night I got that nostalgic aroma on a couple of occasions as I was walking along Bangla! When I look around at the major road improvements made over the last 18 months (Beach Road, Rat-U-Tit, Third Road (in progress) and the Patong-Kamala road, how can the main night-time tourist hub on the entire island be left in this state?

I'm currently on a standard 30-day extension (to my 60-day TR visa) issued at Patong. The officer told me that if I wish to follow that up with a 60-day "Covid extension" then I will have to go to the main office in Phuket Town as they are unable to issue them in Patong. Yes, it's a PITA!

Correction - last night one got off his bike to take some photos of his colleagues!

Compared to when I arrived at the beginning of October, Bangla, Beach Road and Rat-U-Tit have really livened up - although Third Road is seriously lagging behind. There are now very few empty lots on the main drag of Bangla, and bars are very gradually being opened up further into the remaining Tiger complex but, as in the last couple of years, it will never attain anywhere near 100% capacity. Also, there is still no sign of any of the very skilled and athletic pole dancers (rather than pole posers) of yesteryear which makes me wonder - why is it that you can have live music but no girls "dancing" on the bar counters? It's all "entertainment", isn't it? Xylo mentions Sea Dragon Bar and this place seems to be hit with Covid closures more than any other venue - on my visits over the last couple of weeks it has been closed 50% of the time and on the last occasion it was the only bar to be hit. I did have a silly episode on Friday - I have been using the Blue Lotus bar quite regularly and usually buy a beer for a couple of the girls - in fact one is on to me the minute I sit down which I think is a bit cheeky. On Friday I saw an empty table at Heroes Bar opposite and so parked myself there - the girl from BL spotted me, gave me the evil eye and very animated throat-slashing gestures, and then pointed me out to her boss. Obviously, I will never set foot in that bar again so what was she hoping to achieve? Sometimes the Thais seem to have a very strange approach to running a business and encouraging custom. Back on topic - as Xylo states, it does seem that Bangla is getting reasonably busy. However, I think it appears that way because most of the action is compressed between 9pm and 11pm. I think that if the hours were relaxed then the bars would simply have to work longer hours for the same amount of income. From travelling around Patong during the daytime and lokking along the beach, there still are not nearly enough toursits around for the number of businesses that are now open but at least some of them are ticking over. One more observation - the traffic cop sweep of Bangla at 11pm. Most bars seem to <deleted> themselves at the first sign of flashing lights and everything moves behind the shutters, but quite a few don't seem to take a blind bit of notice - particularly the big music venues. Apart from stopping every now and then and peering into the bars (where you can clearly see punters still drinking) I've not once seen one of them get off his bike and actually do anything. Is it just a show of power for the tourists? In my "home" town of Kamala the same thing happens at exactly 11pm, and all without the need for a show from the BIB.

Isn't it common knowledge? I can certainly back it up from personal experience - "met" a girl online and subsequently discovered she was one of the regular stunning LBs from the middle of Bangla. Long story short - B2,000 down the pan, and I really should know better with my age and experience. Little brain took over!

To confirm the above, I walked along Sansabai two weeks ago from Rat-U-Tit to Banzaan market and, apart from a few places at the Bangla end, it is a very grim sight. The car park area with the Hippy Road Bar is not only flattened, but there are concrete blocks so that you can not even walk through as a shortcut. The big Chang pool bar is still there but all mothballed, as are the Tiger restaurants and the boxing stadium - in fact the whole of what I thought was called Third Road (but Mr Xylo calls Middle Road) is not showing any signs of life. However, that was two weeks ago and things are changing fast in Patong.....

I am pleased to be able to report that the authorities have quashed the recent outbreak of Covid in these bars - last night they were all open!