VBF

my guess is you aren't a smoker and you have no real time knowledge about what you are saying...please correct me if I am wrong Despite my post above, there is a BIG difference between being under the influence of Alcohol or Cannabis and DRIVING under said influence. In UK the latter is a very serious offence and WILL result in a hefty fine and loss of driving licence, sometimes even prison! IMO, again despite what I said above, that is right and proper

In case, like me, anyone is confused as to the difference between the two terms this is from an Australian perspective: https://adf.org.au/talking-about-drugs/law/decriminalisation/overview-decriminalisation-legalisation/ and I believe the British view is similar. Thailand, however may have it's own interpretation and I've not looked into any other countries. I'm sure in USA it varies by State. It does appear to me, (a non-recreational drug person out of choice) that one could be in trouble for possession of recreational cannabis whether to smoke or cooked in foodstuff Having said that, I like a drink or several and have absolutely no axes to grind if others like their form of relaxant. Enjoy.....but "let's be careful out there"

Maybe "their" girl is different! 🙄

I agree with what you say and initially disagreed with "The BBC cannot detect a VPN per se." I use iPlayer normally, then switch "My Norton" VPN on: Note the region is set to UK however BBC iPlayer now shows: I switch the VPN off and iPlayer works again (after a refresh) So yeah, doesn't actually SAY it's a VPN so your explanation makes sense - they must just see an all-too familiar IP address and of course, Norton 360 is used by many people worldwide.

May I say that is one of the fairest and most balanced views of religion I've seen for a while. I've lived in a Muslim society and predominantly Christian ones and grew up amongst a lot of Jewish people. I'm no religious bigot, in fact I'm a complete agnostic and have neither belief nor disbelief in any of them - my view is "if it works for you, great, but leave me out of that particular discussion, please don't proselytise and don't abuse it to create problems for others" All 3 religions that you mention theoretically believe in the same things - the Bible, Koran and Talmud are very similar - yes I have read parts of all (in English) BUT.... when politicians and extremists get hold of them, the true nature of them vanishes - which is a facet that, again, all 3 of those religions share.

Just re-reading this thread and I wouldn't be too sure of that. As an experiment, whilst sitting in my home in UK I switched my VPN on and tried to connect to the BBC iPlayer. It immediately blocked me citing the VPN. Switched VPN off, and BBC worked fine. My point is that the BBC have the technology to detect a VPN (which is well-known) then I rather think major banks may have too.

Similar to you in terms of multiple accounts - but one of my UK banks requires authentication for every login, either by a card reader or SMS - my choice each time Another states that a SMS containing a one time code will be sent at random logins and that seems to be the case (although doubtless there's an algorithm controlling the "randomness" somewhere) I've just tried both of those using Norton's free VPN and both work. Oh and yet another account will also send a SMS "randomly" Not doubting your word but I find it odd that you're using UK banks and never getting SMS's although I do not use any banking Apps on my phone - all mine is done on a PC. Obviously the phone is used to receive the SMS's!

Definition of going for a burn-up? 🤔

I realise you're discussing US banks, but in the UK, most banks will need to send an SMS to a UK number in order for you to log on. Some of them used to send an email but no more. When asked they usually mutter something about it being a Financial Conduct Authority rule but I'm not entirely sure they're correct.

The uncharitable might suggest that you look to see who really owns Mellow, and do they have a "tea pot"? 🙄

Having just got a SETV from London (I'm Brit, living in UK), I recall one of the questions asked was "What nationality are you?" - obviously my passport proved that. Another was asking for "Document indicating current location" and I showed the proof of my UK residence. (Council Tax bill) I was also asked for Travel booking confirmation – I used my return ticket UK-Thailand-UK. You say that he has a ticket "flight from US to Thailand" but can he show himself leaving Thailand or is that a single ticket? You did say that he's been asked to show "onward flights to another destination" That's usual for a tourist visa - they want to know you're going to leave after the permission to stay expires, I imagine. This is probably what has tripped the applicant up. If it was me, I would reply to the email explaining the situation - can he show a "Document indicating current location" do you know? US hotel bill perhaps. Another approach might be to waste the 30 UKP and apply again to the appropriate Thai Consulate in USA, who might of course deny it for similar reasons! His last resort, as others have said, is to enter without a visa, get 30 days and either extend it or do a border hop. I think to do that, he'll need to show the airline a booking leaving Thailand within 30 days. All a right PITA!

The law was changed after the coup. You could buy alcohol from super markets between the magic hours if it was more than a certain amount. The change caught me out. Very annoying... Thanks (and to @Bangkok Barry ) Still doesn't explain the anomalies... The situation as it is doesn't bother me especially as I can spend the time in a bar of my choice, just another example of "TIT" 🙄

Perhaps I misunderstand this but I've frequently gone into bars of varying sorts in Pattaya in the afternoons and never been refused service of a beer or liquor drink. There's no attempt to hide the service - some of the bars are open air or right on the beach road. Some of them also sell food so could be defined as restaurants. I've equally frequently seen the fridges in 7/11 etc locked closed in the afternoons. So is it just restaurants who are supposed not to sell alcohol between 2 and 5pm? Not all these places can be openly flouting the law even in Pattaya...can they? Also, the article says it's a 50-year old law, but I'm tolerably certain that I recall it being introduced in the eighties. Confused....me..... YES!

That's brilliant. Not sure if it belongs in a "best jokes" thread, but thanks for posting it here for want of a better location. 👍

is that Pattaya Beach Road then? 😎

Cool. This is one of the few online communities where many of us will get that reference, Hawkeye. All a bit of a MASH-up really Maybe he should have been looking for a BJ from someone called Hotlips - sadly not even on his Radar 🙄

Remember those days very fondly - my passport made an annual trip to East Yorkshire just before my "extended winter holiday" 🙄 and latterly it visited Wales - more than I've done 🤣

And stop standing so close to each other!

What a dummy 🤣

And thus the question "died with Covid" or "died of" Covid resurfaces again. A question that, IMO was never answered satisfactorily and I'm guessing never will be.

And yet, if you apply that logic to one of them.......

Cannot make any specific vendor recommendations but I'd head to Tukcom on Pattaya Tai. Good luck.

I think our posts just crossed as we're effectively agreeing with each other! 😎

Again, you're correct, except that this time last year (2023), all the documents needed for METV were also needed for SETV (I obtained one and kept my records) and, as I said, the London website implies that is still the case. And with respect, you referring to a SETV as a TV is slightly ambiguous too. TV could mean either. Yes, I know it's pedantic but that's how these misunderstandings occur, not helped by the Embassy website not being updated (as I also said)

That is correct - I think @Toby1947 got his wires crossed between SETV and METV. The other problem is that the Embassy website does not always reflect the reality when you come to actually apply as it's not updated as often as it might be. Example, the London Embassy website for an SETV https://london.thaiembassy.org/en/page/tourist-single-entry-visa which was last updated July 2023, still states that Financial Evidence, Travel Records, and photo showing you holding your passport are still required. I had them all ready, but, as my link shows, (and as you said) they were not needed. That's why I posted and linked to my detailed SETV application which is current this month - whatever the Embassy site says, that takes precedence.