VBF

Ooh beam me up snotty!!! ???? You said "I reckon that 90+% of high street transactions are by card. " Well i reckon you're not very observant as 90+% of transactions might have been by card but clearly that was people's choice as everywhere in my area and that of several friends takes both forms of payment. Some might prefer e-payment but that's not the same as only taking it. As the customer, it's MY preference that's important. Happy now?

NOT true! I live in UK and of all the places I shop, eat, drink or otherwise spend money, NONE of them, big or small, has abandoned cash. A few have more e-payment places than cash tills but all will still happily relieve you of the folding stuff.

@Phantom57 Reading your post it looks as if you were in Thailand when you did all this (you said you went to your bank) - would you kindly confirm that please. I ask because both @Chivas and I tried very much the same steps from the UK (using roaming Thai SIMS) and it did not work. TIA

Japan's FamilyMart exits Thailand as 7-Eleven's dominance grows Japanese convenience store chain FamilyMart will withdraw from Thailand after its franchise agreement with local retailer Central Group ended in late May, opening the door for rival 7-Eleven to tighten its grip on the market.

I doubt it....MOST tourist are from countries where card / phone usage is common already. In my case I PREFER to use cash everywhere in Thailand because I don't really trust the Thai banking security.

How tickled I am ????????????

My dear old Dad taught me "Don't throw that away, son, it may come in handy one day" And, amongst so many other things, he was right...proof being that the day after you throw something out is the very day you find you need it! So i follow that stance up to a point - the point being that i live in a flat not a house so decluttering is required from time to time.

Disneyland, run by Goofy, supervised from afar by Mickey ???? Or...... Lovely place to visit but my sanity wouldn't let me live there ????

You beat me to that one - add to it the enormous choppy waves and grey skys should be a clue!! Charles Darwin - where are you when we need you?

These days, it's an e-Visa - start here Official Website of Thailand Electronic Visa (thaievisa.go.th) Quite few threads on AN with people's experiences from the UK

They always were Great group from a brilliant musical era

Bet you feel really pumped up after saying that!

I did my PADI course in that very area over 30 years ago. I did mine with a reputable dive school and the matter of personal health vs dangers vs depth was discussed. It's up to a responsible diver to inform the Dive Master of any health issues and act accordingly. Diving is an "extreme sport" and becomes more extreme the deeper you go and the more complex the dive. If i wanted to dive now, having a heart condition, i would consult an appropriate doctor before diving - I rather feel the advice would be "Don't"

I suggest that at least a third of people buying bars in Pattaya, Phuket etc do just that! Buy for "emotional" reasons, thinking "wouldn't owning a bar be fun", or "wouldn't it be easy money!" A lot of them have never run any business anywhere, let alone a bar, then wonder why so many problems arise running an unfamiliar business in a foreign land. To my knowledge, this has been happening for the last 30 years, probably longer.

Exactly. Every low season there are several bars closing: the ones that didn't do well in the previous high season. At least one of the bars pictured earlier in this topic was nearly always empty in February / March for whatever reason. Then, along comes high season and they either reopen or are converted to another bar, usually "same-same, but different". It's almost as predictable as the seasons!

That took me a good 20 seconds to work out....D'Oh!!

Very "tiring" too. (That works better with American spelling ????) Difference between 200 used tyres and 200 used condoms? One's a Goodyear, the other's a great year

Edam you Sir - you're a complete Curd

Oh go a-whey!!! ????

You'll need some!!!

Always remember the definition of "expert": Ex = "has-been" Spert (spurt) = "a drip under pressure" ????

Couldn't agree more! When I did mine in December 2022, after having asked for and received advice on here, I made myself a set of notes as I went through it, just so that next time, I might be able to do it a little more efficiently. That's despite the fact that i used to work in IT (including testing web sites) and should have found it "easy-peasy" No website designed for the general public should be so clumsy and confusing!

Now it's REALLY taking off! ????????

Is it driven by Miss Molly?

Tom - cat cruise?