rak sa_ngop

You can buy laminating ID kits in stationary stores, just hot iron to seal the edges.

Next question.....where can you buy an iron?

I had an iHerb incorrect item delivered. I sent a few emails but no reply. I ended up talking to them and they explained that there is a link on the order page for reporting errors in shipments etc.  BUT the link only appears a (few) days after the 'estimated delivery date' has passed by.

So best wait and see if you get this reporting link. Take it from there.

Clinic Lifecare Laboratory Pattaya. I had a full blood test program, (inc urine) and stool occult blood for 700 baht total last week. Located in a soi off Third road just past the South Pattaya Road junction as you go south. Best google.

Maybe the internal memory has been corrupted, even though you think the timer is turned off.

Try resetting the timer by switching off the unit at the mains breaker box and restarting. If you just switch off at the unit, the memory might still be receiving power and will not reset.

Checkout :"Rejoice Charity". They do good work supporting and educating children and families in the hill-tribe areas of North Thailand especially those affected by HIV and Aids. They have a newsletter which details their current work. You can also sponsor children and follow their progress.

They are  a UK registered charity,  charity number:1106175

Google Rejoicecharity

37 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

I didn't know that, thanks.

Is there an additional charge by the Thai bank when transferring money from overseas using Transferwise?  This charge is normally about 500 baht when sending Sterling from abroad but as Transferwise money is sent internally as baht from a Thai bank to your receiving bank I assume such a charge does not apply and you receive the full quoted Thai amount?

In a group of people there will always be one person who is 'tastier' than the rest and attract most mozzies.

Just have to identify and hang round with such a person.

Maybe there is an app or a social network you can join to find such a person?

I still have my Natwest account from my student days in the 70's.  I changed my account address to a Thai address about 10 years ago. A few years ago they closed the campus branch down and transferred my account to a nearby street branch, but I kept the same account number and sort code.

About 8 months ago they requested certified copies of passport etc. plus a TIN tax number from my place of tax residence i.e. Thailand. I tried fobbing them off with a 'No taxable income in Thailand' excuse for not having a TIN number. About 4 months later I received another request for the TIN number so I relented,  popped down to my local tax office and within 15 mins had a TIN number.

So far so good, no further threats from Natwest but who knows!

Just to add that I still have a Natwest Visa Debit card and Mastercard credit card with them. The credit card was renewed last month but the replacement card was sent to a UK branch for my pick-up while I was visiting the UK

A good way to spend Skywards airmiles on Emirates is to upgrade from Economy to Business. Flying to the UK there are additional charges to pay, but flying to Australia recently there was no extra to pay.

Not sure if it has been mentioned in preceding posts but maybe this is just a simple case of too much sun? Especially at this time of the year with the part cloudy skies it is easy to go outdoors for a few hours with no head protection. It has happened to me several times this year already. Slight inability to balance (not quite dizziness) and slight nausea. Takes a few days to recover, but maybe even longer for extreme exposure.

OP, you mention initially you do a bit cycling. Maybe you have a touch of sun-stroke?

Things are looking up. The Paddy Field(s) opened next door to Foodland on Patpong 2 about 6 months ago and in the last few weeks Shennanigans has opened on Surawong Road at the far end of Patpong 1. And it looks like some other company is taking over the old Pintsman (based on a banner stretched across the entrance).

So life in Silom is getting back to normal!

I once nearly walked into an elephant in the dark on Silom road. Now you wouldn't get that happening in London. (Mind you I did have my beer goggles on at the time).

I went down to the Chaophraya river in Bangkok on Sunday and was surprised to see the water levels the lowest I had ever seen. I could see the footings on some pillars I had never noticed before.

Exceptionally low tide? Maybe. Just strange to see with all the rain reported up country.

One consideration is the amount of UK tax that will be deducted from your SIPP withdrawals. In my case the company/platform I used would let me withdraw tax free up to my personal allowance (11,500 GBP) and then withheld 40 pc as tax. I then had to claim the excessive tax of 20% back with my annual tax self assessment.

Maybe if you are making a regular drawdown you can get the correct tax code assigned at outset. In my case I made a one-off lump sum withdrawal.

But some UK tax you will have to pay!

I bought a Dubai-Mauritius return with Emirates airmiles and detoured to Mauritius on one of my return trips to the UK.

"Where in Mauritius ? I have seen direct flights with Air Austral to this island. "

I googled and there seem now to be 2 clinics offering hair transplants. Unfortunately I do not recognise either of them from 15 years ago. But the one I attended had a French surgeon and apparently was popular with European celebrities who could hide away in a beach resort for a week or so waiting for the first sprouts of new hair (took about 3 days in my case). They used a dedicated team of about 20 (and do NOT offer sex changes on the side).

I paid about 5,000 pounds for about 2000 follicles

Recommend you do your research as there are new techniques which are less invasive out there!

2 hours ago, malt25 said:

I'm not so worried about thieves taking stuff from my luggage. I'm more concerned what might be put in my luggage without my knowledge. Plastic wrap makes luggage that bit extra tamper proof.

Buy a roll of cling film and wrap the luggage yourself. You might get some stares when you do it at the airport but will save you a bunch of money!

If you have UK dividend income you can elect to forgo the tax allowance and pay full tax on your pensions (State pension excluded) and not pay any tax (currently 7.5 pc) on your dividend income. This is called 'disregarded income'. This obviously only works if your dividend income is large and your UK pension income is small.

Check the government websites or consult a UK tax expert.

Elderly, infirm and people with with walking aids were let in first at 8.30 am when I was there last month.

Maybe buy yourself a walking stick or some crutches and give it a go. Just don't give the game away by forgetting and leaving your props beside the official's table when you walk away!

On 7/8/2018 at 10:11 AM, my friend I said:

You can usually get a free SIM card at Cambodian airports and some land borders

Wow, I paid 2 usd at Siem Reap airport. I got ripped off!

Beat this!

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

Visas are not transferred. It requires using both passports until the visa expires to use it.

As said if you are on a extension of stay based upon retirement issued by immigration you have to have the stamps transferred.

Just to clarify, the stamps to be transferred into a new passport are the "Extension to Stay Permitted up to..." stamp and the "Re-Entry Permit stamp."

What about the Non-Immigrant Category O Visa granted in the UK in 2013 (for my situation)? Does this  have to be shown every year for retirement extension purposes from the old passport. You say it cannot be transferred so does it remain 'non-expired' until the visa extension chain is broken at some point in the future?

Do an A3 to A4 reduction (many photocopiers can do that) and than scan normally. Not sure about colour copies though.