CygnusX1

I’ve been travelling for a long while, stayed at dozens of hotels and Airbnbs, and at almost every one the unfortunate fridge has been wedged into some kind of decorative cabinet that leaves barely a centimetre clearance on each side for heat dissipation.

I’ve spent the last 3 months travelling in Italy, Croatia and am now in Turkey (sorry, Türkiye). Must have seen thousands of faces in crowded beach resorts and packed transport. Total of half a dozen masks in Italy. Absolutely zero in Croatia and zero so far in Türkiye. Thailand is really weird on this.

Thanks for that, hoping it was that easy. Good to hear from someone who’s done it once. Not looking forward to another ride in the Golden Cart though. As an Australian, one of the worst things you can be is ‘up yourself’, and as the beautiful lady driver furiously beeped the cart’s horn to scatter the common rabble walking to immigration, I felt so far up myself that I feared I’d never be seeing daylight again.

Do you know what happens if you’re not in Thailand when the first 5 years of a 20 year elite visa expires? I assume there’d be no problems getting the next 5 years on your next entry to Thailand via Suv airport, even though there’d be a period when you wouldn’t have a current 5 year visa. I realise that I’ll need to contact the elite visa people about this, but it would be good to have a bit of knowledge first, especially if their reply turned out to be confusing.

For Bangkok Location High rise with option to pay more to get high floor Pool long enough for a weak swimmer such as myself to do proper laps Top sheet instead of doona suitable for a Chicago winter Fridge that’s not a minibar crammed with stuff I’ll never buy Ideally, a kitchenette Aircon that can be controlled Sizeable room safe Under 5,000 baht per night, but I’d pay more for something that checks all the above boxes

I’m wondering if that’s the fault of Thai airlines, or another case of the Aust Govt disallowing more flights in order to protect the market share of Qantas. For instance, I know that Qatar Airways is very keen to introduce more flights to Australia, but approval is continually denied to protect Qantas.

Lithium, nickel and cobalt are not rare earths. Rare earths are not especially rare, but since they comprise 17 different elements with very similar chemical properties, they’re very difficult to refine, which makes them relatively expensive. Most are produced in communist China, which has a big advantage in having far laxer environmental controls than in Western countries.

22 year old 3.5 V6 Mitsubishi Magna auto when I’m in Australia. No way would I drive any kind of vehicle in Thailand, have huge admiration for those who do.

There were a couple of chooks walking along a footpath in the very centre of Vientiane when I visited, location equivalent to Pitt Street in Sydney. The new Brisbane river walk’s beautiful, interesting at least for a short visit.

It would affect my enjoyment of the wonderful atmosphere of la bella Italia, especially the faces of the lovely ladies, much as if someone had scrawled graffiti on one of Italy's beautiful buildings.

I've been travelling around Italy for a couple of weeks. Not a mask to be seen - well, maybe one in a thousand or less. Lots of trip in packed public transport. Even better than in Australia, where there's still maybe 1 in 20 on trains. Italians are not letting hysterical fears interfere with their enjoyment of life. Wonderful to take a stroll through the crowds down the 'lungomare' of a coastal town with not a mask in sight.