grain

I would prefer that too, but can't see how to do on the reservation page.

I need to book a hotel in BKK for a couple of nights in mid Oct. Usually I make reservations directly with hotels, but I see Agoda is very much cheaper, I've never used them before. On the Agoda site it gives 2 prices for the room I'm interested in. One price with no cancellation and for a couple hundred baht more can have cancellation and not get charged anything. So how reliable is Agoda? If I book the room now using my CC, nothing gets taken out until just before the date I have booked? And if I change my mind there are no catches? Also does anyone recommend another hotel booking service that's better/cheaper?

Sounds like an OK deal to me. A bit hefty for the first year but 14K per year after that, and they take care everything, including your 90-days reports, that seems pretty good.

Interesting topic and one I've been meaning to ask about myself. In my own case I live in Thailand in a de facto relationship. I'm registered with immigration at my Thai partner's address, she owns the land and house. And I made a will with Thai lawyers that covers my Thailand assets, and names my Thai partner as the sole beneficiary. Would she qualify as NOK in Thailand? And if not is there some way to legally make her my NOK (but not by marriage)? I do have some relatives in Australia but they couldn't give a rat's ass, so if/when I cash in my chips in Thailand having my Thai partner handle all the NOK duties is the best situation.

2) don't antagonize an alpha by looking directly into his eyes I do the exact opposite. I stand there staring right at the filthy things, point my finger at them and talk to them in an aggressive voice..."come on fcka, come and have a go you filthy b*st*d and I'll kick your fckn head in." ...and then watch the filthy things slink away. That's what you do, you out-alpha the alpha.

I've found Avira security the best of the free AV and firewall apps for Win (I'm still using 10)

I read about an incident in Phuket some years ago. A farang had some friends visit him and he drove his car to the airport to collect his friends, a week later he drove his friends back to the airport. A week or so later he had some other friends visit, so he again drove to the airport to collect his friends. But the taxi mafia had remembered him and this time he got a thumping.

Gave up smoking decades ago. Still drink beer, but very much under control, don't drink before sunset, and don't drink every night, usually drink alternate nights, and don't drink spirits. Cut out eating all meat long ago, eat mostly vegetarian food, but do eat fish, so I'm pescatarian. Go for long walks every morning (unless it's pouring down rain) average 6km a day walk.

RIP. I knew Olivia before she became famous. In 1966 we were both on the TSS Fairstar sailing from Australia to England. So I saw her often and we chatted together during the various functions and parties that took place on the month long cruise. Later I ran into her again at the OVC in Earls Court when she turned up one evening with Pat Carroll.

I remember seeing an interview with Rod Stewart years ago where he introduced the guys in his new band and gave a brief rundown on each musician's prior musical history. When he got to the drummer Rod said his drummer had once played with Engelbert Humperdinck, "and we told him if he ever does it again then that's it."

That's your best answer. Don't even bother. Every year my missus renews my car rego for me, she just takes the blue book and in she goes, it's in my name, but nobody ever asks anything, she renews it and pays the money, end of story. So in this case GF just keeps the car, it's not in her name but so what? She'll probably have a bit of trouble if she tried to sell it but as long as she just wants to use the car for her own purposes then no problems, just keep the car and run it into the ground. When it's knackered, flog it off for parts.

Been a few years since we last went to Koh Changy. We live in Koraty but for this past week we've been on a motoring trip, first to Khony Kaeny, then to Udony Thany, now we're in Nongy Khaiy. Been having a very nicey timey. ????

That's how I feel, does it have to be one or the other? It's like a choice between the frying fan or the fire.

Perhaps you can't name them but what color?

And I'm preparing for a Lotto Jackpot or Powerball win, during the fourth quarter of this year, after I arrive back in Australia and walk down to the local newsagent and pick my Lotto numbers.

I guess that's it. It actually doesn't effect me at all as I never buy any beer from these shops anyway, I drink Heiny and they never stock it, so I buy cartons from Lotus's in the next town. But I was just curious if the law was getting stricter.

Personally I wouldn't bother. You can get a monthly laundry deal where you drop your dirty clothes off at a nearby laundry and pick them up a couple days later, all washed and ironed and smelling lovely. I've had such deals for 500Bt a month. Of course jocks & socks you wash yourself. No big deal. As for a bit of cleaning, do it yourself. What's it take? 30 min a day to sweep and mop the floors. Cooking. It's Thailand, you eat out mostly. But surely you enjoy cooking some things yourself. But if you do want a maid. Find an old gal. DO NOT get a sexy gal or a massage gal and think you can bonk her too. That is heading for a heap of trouble.

I live in a tiny tucked away village out in the ricefields of rural Korat, we don't even have a 7-11, there are just 2 little M&P shops that sell beer/alcohol along with other things. This morning as I walked past one I saw there's now an official notice in Thai outside the shop, stating that alcohol can only be sold between blah blah hours. And there's a 40,000 Bt fine (I couldn't make out if the fine is for the seller or the buyer) Of course we've all seen these sort of signs before at the 7-11s and Lotus's and the big supermarkets. But this is the first I've seen of the law targeting little M&P shops. So have any other guys around the boonies seen anything like this? If so it looks like they're stepping up the law.

i was thinking of buying a condo, then I am thinking well what if i will not like it...what if some neighbour will annoy me....etc.... That's it. One day your life can be sweet, you're living the dream, next day you're in a nightmare. I think about some of the condos I lived in - fortunately never bought, just rented them - I've had neighbors with electric guitars and amps. Had a couple with drum kits. Had Thais using their condos for commercial purposes, like storerooms, dragging crates across the floor at all hours of day & night. Also I hear about people (foreigners) making profits on the investments, but I know more who were desperately trying to sell their properties and looking at serious losses.

Big bottle of Bell's Scotch Whisky from Lotus's.

Thailand could be a hub of astronomy.

Doesn't bother me at all, I'm just puzzled, when I first read it was confusing, I thought the guy had murdered his father. Then when I read more saw that wasn't the case. So just puzzled why they say he was a father. I'd be equally puzzled if they said "A Sydney man who wasn't a father was murdered." ????

Yes I get that but it just seems a strange choice of words. A Sydney man was murdered, I fail to see whether he was a father or not has anything to do with it.

Thanks for this info mate. I'll be in KK end of the month and looking for the 4th jab, I want Moderna and happy to pay 500Bt. I'll check out Ram as soon as I hit town.

A man has been extradited from Thailand back to Australia over the murder of a Sydney father eight years ago. Why is it necessary to describe the murdered man as a "Sydney father"?