The Fugitive

How would this affect you? Are you a UK citizen? Where are you presently living?

They do that to get priority boarding?

Bank passbook and letter from bank was previously accepted at my Immigration Office. One year they brought in the additional requirement of a 12 month bank statement. An IO was going to send me away but accepted 500 THB instead.

Absolutely correct! The prospect of getting together 20,000 THB cash to show for a border bounce was practically impossible for many doing repeated Visa Exempt entries. Shudder to think what they would have done in event of accident or serious illness.

Kaya was denied entry to the Kingdom under a long established and well publicised requirement. The fact that people claim to 'not have been informed' or have incorrect beliefs such as showing their online bank account or credit card instead is their problem. Pre-approval as already suggested would be a good move. Ideally, it should include criminal record information and travel insurance for length of stay which must include repatriation. How to validate travel insurance to guard against lying to insurers to obtain a policy which would never pay out is more difficult.

Wife has a friend with a mobile phone shop. She usually buys 5 year old used iPhones for both of us. As expected, our iPhone 8 plus's (256GB) bought for 8,000 baht apiece three years ago are now stuck at iOS 16.7.12. A few weeks ago her 'LINE' messenger reported it would no longer work on existing OS version. It must be regional because mine is OK (set to UK). She purchased a used iPhone 14 plus from her friend for 20,000 baht. A bit of an update being only three years old! Obviously, LINE problem solved, she now has 5G and eSIM capability and she likes the larger screen. I intend to keep my 8 until something crucial won't instal because it does everything I need very well. Does anyone who's gone beyond iPhone 14 find much noticeable difference in later models?

Very best use for a human body as I understand is to be rendered down into fertiliser pellets. We do it all the time with animals. Unfortunately, ethical reasons prevent same being done with humans.

If I die whilst in UK I've decided I'm not paying. Completed my cadaver bequethal form for University Medical School. If they don't get to me in time (or whatever), my local council can have my pleasure. More likely to die in Thailand. No choice for me here as my wife has taken out Life Insurance with ThaiLife.com

Difficult to believe they don't place the casket inside one of these when it's displayed in the home or at a temple prior to cremation.

No criminal record checks for Non-O Retirement in country application.

As long as you don't get too ill.

Just tried a quick Google. Searching Christian Churches and my province. Map appears with Protestant, Catholic etc. Phone numbers listed on most.

Thai friend suffered a stroke. Decision was made to pull the plug at Regional Hospital during morning doctors rounds. Mid afternoon at his family house his casket lay on the floor wrapped in polythene sheeting. Refrigeration unit arrived on the back of a pickup. I helped the guys load his casket into the unit. When the polythene wrapping came off I wished I was elsewhere. His sister stood there holding her nose. That's what a 60 km ride on the back of a pickup in 40C does to a corpse. He most certainly hadn't been embalmed.

Good information thanks! Always seemed to have some issues when booking and paying on airline websites myself. One of the reasons I prefer to book with the 'third party' online travel agents.

Assuming you only want to make an outgoing voice call only, LocalPhone is most economical.

That works for you. However some people (including the above poster) no longer have any living relatives or relatives resident in the United Kingdom.

What is your helpful information? Or, maybe just trolling?

Halifax customer service told me it's OK to have a Thai address although they won't send renewed/replacement cards to Thailand. I found that to be true for my debit cards as I've never received any. However, my Halifax Clarity Credit Card got through twice!

Thank you for your information. I used a different Visa Agent whilst living in Pattaya. Then moved away and done retirement extensions myself since. I want to employ an agent in future. Do you need to attend the immigration office for your desk cam photo? Or, can Manareet do a retirement extension totally remotely by post?

I read that there is too much solar power feeding into the grid in Australia. Apparently, it causes 'imbalance' as the flywheel effect of the power stations becomes overshadowed. The solution was to disconnect a certain number of domestic consumers/producers from feeding into the grid.

When I went with my Mrs for her breast cancer screening at Bangkok Hospital we bumped into our next door neighbour (Thai) who was there for a full body check. All others waiting in the various queues were Thais. The number and variety of screening packages offered by the various private hospitals indicates the gap in Thai National Health Service. To be screened for free my Mrs would have needed to convince a GP at our local community hospital that she needed it. They found invasive ductal carcinoma stage 2-3. Unfortunately, although routine screening under NHS is due to be introduced, my Mrs wouldn't have qualified because she needed to be aged over 40 AND with immediate family history of breast cancer. As you say, her treatment was under her 30 baht scheme. To her credit, the cancer doctor at Bangkok Hospital actually advised this.

If you were referring to a private hospital I would agree with you. However, as many of us haven't paid a bean into Thai National Health Service I consider myself most fortunate to be able to receive emergency treatment, prescriptions and medicine for a few hundred baht. I have had excellent service at A/E in both my local community and regional government hospitals. In UK, your wife would probably have been denied the same blood tests as yourself because she didn't need them. UK NHS doesn't provide unnecessary services upon demand even if you offer to pay for them. Your wife would have been advised to go the private clinic/hospital route.

It's a USA thing. Preventative medicine makes big bucks. People are astounded when I tell them I've yet to have an annual medical at age 69. In the UK we were brought up to only go to a doctor if you are really ill and not getting better.

Agree. Worked with a guy who died aged 34. He had previously suffered a massive heart attack which had reduced his heart function to below one third. We were receiving training in a classroom. He was on the back row and someone commented; 'Come on now, it's not that boring'. However, he hadn't fallen asleep. First aiders were unable to resuscitate him. There wasn't a sound from him, let alone a struggle for breath. He had literally fallen asleep and died.

Sorry for your disappointment. Have heard this previously. It depends upon the Red Cross officer on the day. I became a Thai blood donor at 63 on the strength of having donated previously anywhere in the world. I'm still going to our local mobile sessions at 69. Unfortunately, I will have to accept being sacked off at 70.