The Fugitive

Monks are allowed to smoke cigarettes but not to drink alcohol. We had a friend who was in the latter stages of stomach cancer. She remained cheerful until the end. Each day a young monk visted her home. I was impressed that a young guy would want to do such a thing. I have two uncles who became monks later in life, one being a grandfather at the time. Unless they are continuously neglecting their duties it doesn't seem right to disrobe a monk for drinking a few beers.

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That's the fact! Only when you awake are you then aware that you were dreaming. Or maybe we also have dreams of which we aren't always aware? But if you're dead neither scenario could ever apply. I reckon passing is just one big sleep. If you have an end of life experience (hallucinations if you like) they will, unfortunately, be lost forever.

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When you sleep you're definitely unware of what went on during that time. Unless you had a dream. But if you're dead then dreaming wouldn't be possible?

Thanks for that. I'm going to Manchester again next week. I just checked and cash is still accepted. Who knows for how much longer!

That's your choice of course. For many people the option to load all their cards into their mobile wallet so that they can then forget about carrying individual cards, reducing the risk of accidentally damaging them or having them skimmed or pickpocketed is attractive. Last time I was in UK travelling by bus, very few passengers paid cash to the driver. I can't actually recall anyone tapping with a card, invariably they used their mobile 'phones.

Gets confused with architecture.

I could happily live the rest of my life on food from 7/11. Never known a bad cheese and ham tostie. Carbonara if I'm feeling more sophisticated. Their cakes and biscuits are fabulous. Hot and cold coffee delicious.

I too have the NT Thunder (data only) SIM for 999 baht. Bought it as a back-up in case of fibre failure and for the occasional times we are away from our house or shop. Strong signal at shop but no signal at house which is only 1 km away. My fault for not testing beforehand.

Anybody mentioned the flooding? A bit much I think. Although the Royal Thai Army do deliver rice to vulnerable people in advance. Deliberately flooding communities is most definitely out of order in my book.

Irresponsible time waster. Agreed, he should be billed for the call out and prosecuted for wasting police time.

Excellent points. Plus, although there is now such a thing as contactless cash withdrawals using your mobile phone, some people will continue to use their cards perpetuating the risk of reading PIN's over their shoulder and card cloning.

I didn't either. Until my Mrs got some QR codes printed and laminated and stuck on the walls in her shop. Apparently customers were asking for an alternative to paying cash. It's a quick way for the customer to enter her bank account details into their mobile banking APP. Some insist that she takes a photo of the completed transaction off their mobile.

Substantial increase; 04/2566; 430 units = 2,248 baht 05/2566; 726 units = 3,927 baht

Thanks for your info. The scaremongers always try to worry you about this. There is such a concept as assisting your wife in her business. It is perfectly natural and reasonable.

Some time ago (in UK) a local guy proudly went around showing people his discharge letter from National Service. It said; 'We can find no purpose for this man'. He could read because he selected horses each day and wrote out a betting slip. That was the only thing he did during his life. He walked between his home and the local betting shop. Never had a job. I guess there are limits.

Wow! Location is everything.

It probably goes back to the days when the software you wanted cost more to buy than your machine. Many people, quite rightly believed 'that can't be right'. Things are more relaxed today. The software distributors have accepted they can't beat the pirates so offer basic versions of programs for free and only make us pay for the fully featured version. Even unactivated Microsoft Operating Systems will continue to work with very few restrictions.

Absolutely agree! Libre Office seems faster, lighter, more responsive etc. than Microsoft Office. However, as a basic computer/office user, I find that the suite of on-line Google 'Docs' are almost always sufficient for my purposes.

Reminds me of an old joke. 'Australia will be OK when they finish building it'. I'm sure people believed that life in Australia revolved around corrugated roofs, Castlemaine XXXX and fighting!

Did you ask why? I would've. Assuming you always carried your up-to-date certificate of course.

Thanks for that James. Thailand most definitely want to see proof of Yellow Fever jab if arriving from South America or Africa. Also, if you have transitted and remained in an endemic country for 12 hours or more whilst on your journey. You already know that Yellow Fever originally had a 10 year validity period that was abolished in 2016 (this applies retrospectively). I have my yellow book from 2009 and it's been accepted without question beyond 2019.

Thanks for the info! Agreed, things do drag on. I'm only 66 but, up to now, had doubted whether I'd ever see high speed trains in Thailand. Unfortunately, as you will know, it's no longer possible to fly direct from Khon Kaen airport to Utapao. It was most convenient for myself and family. If (and when) the high speed trains are introduced, wouldn't that make Utapao airport even more redundant?

What we have read has been confusing. At one time the intention was to retain the narrow gauge lines but use them for goods. Passengers would benefit by high speed standard gauge lines to be built alongside. So far, the improvements seem to have been, as you say, construction of enormous elevated stations. Future proofing to the extreme perhaps in anticipation of vastly increased passenger numbers. Another benefit has been improved safety, eliminating level crossings in town centres, resulting in uninterrupted road traffic flow.