Kalasin Jo

As I see the GBP, first came the financial crisis in 2009. The GBP did not recover to pre crisis value. Then the 2016 brexit vote knocked another large chunk off. Again it has not recovered it's pre 2016 value 7 years on from that.

@transam: once you have the visa do you do the 90 day border hop the same day? Does one need to enter and exit Laos for this or can you exit Thailand at the bridge and turn straight round? I've been advised it is necessary to enter Laos with bus ride over bridge and E visa Lao side to get entry and exit stamps there, some suggesting an overnight stay too before heading back to LOS. Your actual and recent experience would be most helpful. Cheers.

Is that right? I understood that with a non O multiple entry visa one can only get one 60 day extension on the end of one of the 90 day entries, not at the end of each 90 day period in Thailand.

I didn't know you can get an in country 60 day extension on the end of a 1 year retirement extension. What is needed to do this please? Might prove useful.

I used this visa route before Covid in 2019 getting a family member multiple entry visa. At that time 1. If you are not taking your wife with you and there is no need to then for both single and multiple entry visas the advice on AN was to take an '"invitation letter" from your wife addressed to the Ambassador/ Consul clearly written or typed in Thai language, naming you as on marriage certificate/ passport, that she invites you to stay, specifying the address where you will stay her during your 90 day visits, signed and dated by her. 2. a. Not that I am aware of. But I have seen that other Embassies have started asking for a recent Thai khor Ror 2 marriage registration document to confirm the marriage is still current. That is obtainable from your local Amphur if your marriage has been registered in Thailand. Of course you can't get a Khor Ror 2 with a non Thai marriage unless you have subsequently registered it in Thailand ( which I below you can do). b. We were married in Thailand so I don't know but I suspect you may need a MoFA legalised copy of an official Thai translation of a non Thai marriage certificate. I hope that others with recent experience at Savanakhet will chip in, add or correct me

Until the fat lady sings? Plenty of those in Thailand nowadays.

When one exits on this visa can one just turn around at a land border such as the one at the Savanakhet Friendship bridge and return, getting another 90 day stamp? . Or is it wise to actually enter Laos and stay a night or two? If one flies out to a nearby country can you fly straight back the same day and get another 90 day stamp? If either is possible, how many times before eyebrows are raised or a refusal without at least a few days outside Thailand?

You could try that. Take along your smartphone with Google translate or similar to help with your conversation. However for a marriage extension application your wife needs to be present to sign various documents.

I understand their frustration but not voting again only further empowers the established elite. I wonder whether they voted in the plebiscite on the constitution drafted by the junta, reserving to itself the appointment of senators and then this ridiculous leveraged vote margin over the elected House of Representatives. Although a slim margin of voters in that plebiscite were in favour the turn out was extremely low. The rules were approved and fixed at that time. So the Establishment almost guaranteed to get the PM they want who then appoints his/her Cabinet Ministers who produce policy. Those policies to the extent requiring parliamentary approval are put to the House of Representatives and if they vote them down, the Senate puts them back up. The Establishment wins. Rinse and repeat. Exactly the opposite to the UK where the appointed Upper House ( Lords) may reject all or parts of a policy bill but ultimately the Lower House and the party with a majority of elected MPs will succeed.

The draft of the current constitution was also put to a plebiscite. The vote, by a fairly narrow margin, was in favour, something which no doubt will be wheeled out by the dinosaurs and elite. But not only was that margin narrow but the voter turn out was very low. So indeed the Thai people failed to pay attention to this.

This is nonsense but I have encountered the same resistance at smaller Mall branches of BBL ( many of which have been closed by BBL now anyway). Best to go to a larger city centre branch although language barrier can still be an issue. Take your smartphone with Translate app. I've found this gets the message across and understandable replies. In my case taking 'er indoors ( literally these days) only confuses everybody. Note to self: must learn Thai!

A phone call to DWP, tedious and expensive though the wait may be, does the trick and restores payment including back payment. The phone call involves some not very tricky security questions to satisfy them it's you and then all seems to be fine again.

Steel. I bought a fairly cheap wooden handled flat bottomed steel wok in a market when I was cooking with gas. Changed to induction and it was still fine. Season a new one first and never use washing up liquid or scourer to clean, just hot water, leave to soak for a while if food does stick, and a washing up brush ( hard to find those in Thailand, why?) then wipe out with kitchen paper or a cloth. I also use a set of heavy bottomed steel Meyer brand pans ( bought in Europe, made in Thailand!).

This happened to us more recently. Some land in my wife's name was being sold. Arriving early all went well initially at front desk but when the papers were passed up to a more senior person a " problem" was inevitably found, that my wife looked darker skinned and with a different hair style to her ID card photo. This impasse took us to the lunch break. Now we must wait her Mum said, the lady will talk to her superior. After lunch her Mum had words with the staff member and the transaction was finalised. Curious, I asked what had changed: oh said Mum she and her superior wanted some tea money, this is normal, I paid her. I don't know how much she paid to get it done

Get a work permit. It only needs a jealousy, vindictive anonymous neighbour or dissatisfied customer to report you and the police and immigration police will be round At best that's not a good look for your wife's business.

Quite. In the UK the privatised Post Office successfully and with determination prosecuted a large number of subpostmasters/ mistresses for thefts based on a computer system called Horizon. Experts said the system could not be wrong. But it was and prosecutions continued even when the PO management knew but covered this up. Many lives ruined, some were imprisoned, reputations trashed, some suicides too. Eventually, in some cases years later, thanks to the hard work of defence lawyers against much resistance from the PO the computing error was revealed and convictions overturned. The scandal continues with a Public Inquiry. Latest is that PO executives awarded themselves bonuses for " complying" with that Inquiry whilst the compensation to the victims is very slow and riddled with attempts to minimise the amounts paid and attempts to stop the victims from talking about it.

How sad. So if this military dinosaur, the watch guy, wins whether by the constitutionally rigged vote or by default should Pita be " disqualified " life will go on as if there had been no election and no landslide victory for reform. The elites will rest easy in their beds, the corrupt will continue at every level. Or will it? How much more of this are the Thai people willing to accept. From those that I know I'd bet they will just accept but complain. Thais can be so passive aggressive. Hope I'm wrong.

But as the Thai middle class, middle income, grows more of those Thais are drinking wine, usually though it's the low priced imports. Perhaps because outside Bangkok and tourist / expat hotspots it's hard to find "middle" priced wines on shelves or in restaurants. You have to look online. For decent wine one pays alot more than in wine producing countries in Europe. In the UK there's a wide choice from all the wine producing areas of the world but prices are not so different to Thailand due to high duty levels.

Spot on advice. Unusual for Immigration to ask for a DLT request letter.

Meth & marijuana? Don't blame the weed, blame the meth. Why this lethal and illegal drug with who knows what it's cut with is so widely and cheaply available beats me. Oh wait I think I know. Somebody with an interest in banning the former again whilst tellingly ignoring the latter is banging this drum to death.

Yup. Me too. I have their banking app too. No problems so far. All works even outside Thailand ( UK).

So far I haven't been requested to go in to do this ( Bangkok Bank). It would be tricky as I am not in Thailand right now and have no definite date to return. Can you do this at any branch of BBL or must you go to the branch where the account is held?

Over indulgence in methamphetamine I'd suggest, not ganja. It is of course highly illegal but still readily available all over Thailand, the more so in the villages up in Isaan. And who knows what else goes in to these little red tabs.

Been going on for years both in Pattaya and Bangkok. Often carrying small, usually cute children. They try it with those who obviously have a lady with them. Obviously there is someone above them in the food chain, bringing them in, providing minimal crowded accomodation and food, providing the roses and ferrying them to and from the tourist spots and no doubt taking most of their take. Never found it a problem to say no thank you. They always move on. Is it any more annoying than the beach vendors patrolling the deck chairs there every 15 minutes or so....or has that been stopped? With fewer tourists in the low season they may be more aggressive due to "motivation" by their handlers.

I've met quite a few working stalls and bars who I thought Thai but turned out to be from Myanmar, Laos or Cambodia. I asked them how come? All said for better money to send home to family and claimed to have the necessary visas and work permits. And there is always someone further up the food chain taking a substantial % of what they make. Which is why this will continue.