The Fugitive

That's the reality for many I'm afraid. My Visa Agent told me that the majority of her clients are Brits receiving Government pension only. The increased (new) pension effective from 2016 is, today, a shade under 40,000 baht per calendar month. Don't even want to think about what will happen to these guys in the case of serious illness or accidents.

Absolute heaven. Egg and chips are too. However, nothing beats cheese and onion pie, apple pie (or maybe crumble) and custard for dessert.

Never seen jellied eel myself but I'm from Manchester. It's a London delicacy apparently.

I took the question to mean; 'Things you are familiar with hence wouldn't miss until they're gone'

Four for my breakfast today. Most definitely up to standard.

Piped water and electricity. If you've ever lived anywhere where you have to wait for the 'hours of availability' you'll appreciate how good these are in Thailand.

Found this; pagallim Rookie Member Advanced Member 3050 3128 posts Gender:Male Location:Phuket Posted June 15, 2017 I've been running Pulse TV since last August, and once I got my internet sorted out (changed from True to AIS Fibre) it has been pretty much flawless. Their servers are in BKK, so unlike other streaming services, no international bandwidth is required. Anyone experiencing buffering has an issue with their internet speed. I've also found that their online 'help' service is pretty efficient, and having it during what could be considered normal office opening hours is fine. They have an excellent library of movies and TV shows also, including very recent movies (I watched Trainspotting 2 the other day). In their 'International' channel selection, they have Thai channels for those interested. Their subscription allows for 4 device connections, so I have it on my TV (via a box), and direct to my PC and smartphone, and one spare connection when required.

That's what I see today. But it wasn't like that the other day when I had a look.

https://pulse-tv.net/

I did the same with Bangkok Bank. Original account in Pattaya, opened another in Khon Kaen. Only had passport as at that time. They took copies of my Mrs's blue house book and ID card.

We recently went to friends funeral at a brand new temple. The crematorium had not yet been completed. Wood was stacked up in the temple grounds and the casket placed on top. Would it be possible to do a similar (but, in this case, DIY) cremation either on your own land or somewhere else with the landowners permission?

True, especially if you've ever been pickpocketed in Barcelona!

Ever since I first saw the Kirk Douglas & Tony Curtis 1958 film 'The Vikings' I'll have to admit I haven't liked them one bit.

Good to know, thank you!

I returned to Thailand from U.K. mid September. My local vaccination chemist reopened for Covid jabs on 01 October. I am also entitled to free influenza vaccine. Most annoying to miss out on both for the sake of a fortnight.

I don't think there is any ideal solution to this. For example, motorists everywhere argue that they are 'self sufficient' as regards transport so do not believe they should be contributing to public transport. There is freedom of movement, people can choose to visit and live where they want. If this scheme boosts tourism there will, in theory, be more jobs for Thai citizens. Expanding affordable public transport has to be good for the environment and citizens in the long run.

Reminded me of a Brasilian friend telling me what Brasilian's say about those who concern themselves with the destruction of their rainforest; 'Those who complain should go and live in it'.

Valid point of course. When we go to Phuket my Mrs seeks out her friends from Khon Kaen area working there, hence people working in Phuket don't necessarily live there, at least not full time. Integrated public transport; airports, railway stations, bus stations, town centres, business and residential zones all linked by trams has to be the way to go.

As regards the performance of VPN's, I subscribed to 'ZenMate' but, despite complaining several times during the first 30 days it was unable to unblock BBCi Player. I cancelled and got my money back in full. Since then, I have subscribed to 'Surfshark' which has worked perfectly for me for the last three years.

No mention of the type of account you had to use. Only that it must be a debit card. Worth knowing I suppose in case you get caught out whilst in the UK needing cash. I found the information here; https://querysprout.com/does-tesco-do-cashback/

Apparently, 'cash back' service was suspended during Covid. Seems to have been restored now, limited to £50 per transaction. Nothing to stop anyone going through more than once per day/store, purchasing an item of any value.

Do Tesco still offer 'cash back' when you use a debit (not credit) card?

Thanks for that! Receiving SMS via Skype is limited to USA numbers and only when sent from either USA or Canadian numbers. For this reason I have subscribed to 'Vyke' for the last two years. Renting a U.K. (other Countries are available) virtual MOBILE number only costs £12 GBP per ANNUM. Free to receive both voice calls and SMS. Sending SMS and making voice calls is very cheap. Being a VOIP service it runs ontop of a WiFi or mobile data connection. Unfortunately, they don't provide virtual geographical 'landline' numbers. If anyone asks, I tell them, like many other people, I dispensed with my landline telephone several years ago.

I use 'Vyke'. For $16 USD per ANNUM you can rent a USA virtual mobile number. Costs zero to receive calls and SMS. Outgoing calls and SMS very low cost. Runs ontop of your WiFi or mobile data connection. Has worked perfectly for me for over two years.

Correct, Brits use IC codes. Or, at least UK police do.