VBF

This is NOT a dig at anyone partway through the application process merely my advice for others: I just looked at my most recent eVisa and it was valid for 3 months from date of grant. I actually applied a month before travel I strongly suggest everyone applies as early as possible for their visas - ie don't cause yourself a last minute panic! I'll post this on the linked topic as well.

Glad you finally got your visa @Chivas This is NOT a dig at you but my advice for others: I just looked at my most recent eVisa and it was valid for 3 months from date of grant. I actually applied a month before travel I strongly suggest everyone applies as early as possible for their visas - ie don't cause yourself a last minute panic! I'll post this on the linked topic as well. Didn't it used to be easy, before all the "improvements"?

Some music to listen to whilst dining (this is a genuine album cover, from 1968 by the way)

I can't spell persecuted either ????

Slight correction if i may: 6. Copy of a recent bank statement showing at least £500 in the account - think they want your name and address and OBFUSCTED bank sort code and account number on the statement. NO WAY am i leaving my Sort Code and Account Number visible!!!!! That worked in Jan 2023, by the way - if it hadn't i would have had to edit the statement. ????

Not doubting you as such, but I've always thought that meat is far more likely to be the culprit than veggies. Especially pork which, I believe, is where the Halal and Kosher laws emanated a couple of thousand years ago. Have you a link to this information?

You could buy one that allows you to pay on a monthly basis, then stop the payments - but do write to the company and tell them you're cancelling it.

For 8 I've used a Council Tax statement. Where appropriate, an obfuscated Bank Statement. And... I made a PDF file containing the phrase "Is this required for a Tourist Visa?" for those questions that are inapplicable to TV. As @Jaggg88 said, it's a poorly designed website that tries to cover all visa types at once.

Tripadvisor is one good way, but then you're being deliberately contentious.....

Well done - better than me for sure!

At least offer her Marmite not that poor colonial copy! ????????????

In that case - Respect I would, however suggest that you're in a minority.

Especially too much McD or KFC or Fish & Chips with all the fat content! (Just my and many medical experts' opinions, you understand ????)

Given the choice of (cooked!) Thai food over Western rubbish like McD or KFC, give me spicy Thai food any day! I cook lots of Thai food in UK, Larb, or curries mainly and tend to make it as spicy as anything in Thailand. But then I like spicy Indian food too..... IMO, McD or KFC, etc are far less healthy than a well-prepared Panang Gai.

Well how many people do you know who are capable of "communicating effortlessly" in that number and combination of languages? Are you? I know i'm not.

Slightly but in UK almost no restaurants will serve burgers RARE. Why? Because a government ministry has advised (not instructed) that minced meat may not be properly cooked on all sides unless it's well done. Restaurants are therefore scared of being sued if someone gets sick after eating a rare burger! If Thailand is the land of scams (if!) UK is the land of OTT Health & Safety - almost a polar opposite to Thailand, in fact.

On so many levels ????

No Jumbo you missed my point - the projected prices for Dec 23-Feb 24 are lower than a year before so if you book now it IS cheaper both in Economy and Business.

Did you get a trunk to carry them off in? ????

Just looked at Emirates - prices down slightly from a year ago, but as you say not much under £1K (actually between £850-£900 before all the extras get loaded on!)

Clearly one screw loose here!

I agree that the ladies in question are only "guilty" of naivety, probably brought about by lack of education and poverty. (I suppose greed must be considered too.) This sort of scam has operated in the Middle East as well for decades. I think (hope!) I managed to prevent one incidence of it back in the nineties: A working lady i knew in Phuket told me she was offered a "maid" job in Kuwait for big money. Knowing what i knew, I explained the implausibility of the offer and asked her some searching questions like: Do you know the person making the offer personally? and Do you know anyone else whose taken up such an offer? and Have you got a contract that can be checked? Having received the answer No to all the above, i told her my fears about the offer and suggested she re-thought it. I hope she did..... because like @Kerryd I don't know the outcome.

My take exactly.. Wherever I am, not just Thailand, when i get into a car, the belt goes on. (Here in UK, the police do enforce the law rigorously.) I REALLY don't like motorcycles and try to avoid them at all costs - my choice. And that's the crux of it... I CHOOSE to wear a belt in a car (front or back seat) and it's become second nature. BUT I really don't think it should be law to prevent me from harming myself, unlike the anti drink-driving laws which set out to prevent me from harming other people. However if I want to be so stupid, enter me in the Darwin awards!

Nobody else did, either ????

Quite frequently, when you use a VPN, Cloudflare can detect that you're using one and impose the checks. As you mentioned, that site wants to 'see' a UK server. It's normal procedure. As regards the local bus companies, just because they're both local does not mean they're using the same ISP.