Polar Bear

Shirilla? She was found guilty of deliberately crashing the car to kill her boyfriend, taking out his friend as well in the process. She's going to jail for murder, not speeding.

I wasn't very good at this one, and the DLT guy gave me hints, so I passed.

I think they gave up the FB page when they split the company. If anyone wants the Line info for Fatboy's On Nut, message me and I'll send it. I don't want to post it here because I think it's the owner's personal number rather than a general business account, but it's the number I use.

As I said previously, he had to take the full driving test because his UK licence had expired. You have to use their car, and the first time he failed because he checked the clutch bite when he started (as you usually do in a manual car you are unfamiliar with), and that's not permitted. You have to just get in and drive. The second time he failed because soon after he started, the examiner shouted something at him over the tannoy. With hindsight, they were probably just shouting instructions, but he braked, and that was another fail. He didn't know he'd failed, so he finished the rest of the course and passed the other skill tests. Fatboy's negotiated for him just to retake the first part (pulling away from the kerb up to a line) instead of having to do the whole course again. Maybe he would have passed 3rd time anyway, but we'll never know. And maybe you are right that an agent isn't needed to renew a 2 year licence early, but most people who've posted their experience of trying weren't able to do it. It definitely wasn't necessary when I renewed my 2 year that had just expired, but that's a standard process.

I agree when it's just a straightforward process (like a foreign licence to Thai or 2 year to 5 year), but for anything a bit more complicated, they can be really useful. We got our first Thai licences during the pandemic when offices were randomly reopening for a few hours and then closing again. Fatboy's were phoning round constantly and booking appointments as soon as one became available, and they obviously had insider knowledge on which center was going to popup next. There's no way I could have done it myself. Then with the practical test, my husband kept failing, not because he lacked the skill but because he didn't understand the test rules. Fatboy's talked him through it and negotiated for him to only retake the parts he had failed instead of having to redo the whole thing and risk failing something he'd passed once. And then they helped him renew his 2 year to 5 year almost a year early. Again, there was a lot of negotiation going on that we couldn't do. When I renewed my 2 to a 5, I just did it myself, and it was easy, but for the other ones, I think the money on an agent was well spent. But if you are fluent in Thai and understand how it all works, maybe it's never necessary.

Fatboy's has split into two companies, both still confusingly called Fatboy's. We've used Fatboy's On Nut for several driving licence related things and they were great, but do check if you can just renew your expired licence because that will be a lot easier for you. My husband wasn't able to get a Thai licence based on an expired UK licence, and he had to do the whole practical test thing, which was a hassle.

That's about photocards. We are talking about the old paper licence, and the DVLA says otherwise. https://insidedvla.blog.gov.uk/2015/03/24/advice-for-motorists-with-paper-driving-licences-how-theyll-be-affected-when-the-counterparts-abolished/ If you still have a paper licence that was issued before 2000, you have never had a photocard, and all the details are still correct, the old paper licence is still valid until you turn 70. (Unless they do abolish them in 2033.) Because they don't issue paper licences anymore, if you update it for any reason, you have to get the plastic photocard, and then that has to be renewed every 10 years. But if you still have a pre-2000 original, and you've never had a photocard, the paper licence is still valid.

Photocards have to be renewed every 10 years. Paper licences issued before 2000 are still valid and don't have to be renewed until they expire when you turn 70, but ONLY if all the information (including the address) is still valid. They are supposed to be getting rid of the old paper licences for good in 2033.

Same here. Mine has my house number, Sukhumvit, Bangkok and the postcode on it. But staff in UK car rental companies have absolutely no idea what a Thai address should look like. I told them it was the same as using the house number and postcode in the UK, and they accepted it. They also wanted two forms of ID from Thailand, so I used my Thai driving licence and Thai international driving permit, and they accepted that as well.

Reporting hasn't been exempt entirely, it's just changed to 12-monthly instead of 90 days. Having said that, I've never had to do a report because I leave the country several times a year. I have no idea why they don't have everyone (or at least the majority) on yearly reporting, but you are more easily trackable/contactable through your employer if you move house. I also suspect, but have no proof whatsoever, that the employer is expected to keep tabs on employees on SMART visas.

It's 200k/month, but there are exceptions.

I pay 10k/year, refunded by the employer. I've never been asked for more, and it's BOI staff that do all the document submission and so on, so I barely see the immigration staff. That's in Bangkok.

I have a SMART visa. We have to get extensions every year to prove that the work contract is still valid. There are advantages (no work permit, spouse can work, no 90 day reports, and BOI fast tracking the extension process), but overall I'd say it isn't worth the additional cost. Oh, I also get to use the priority lane at BKK on arrival, which helps to offset the time wasted because immigration staff never know how to process it. It always ends up with 3 of them crammed into the little cubicle trying to figure out what to put in the system.

Yorkshire Tea is correct. They won't sell you a ticket that doesn't meet the Minimum Connection Time for that route. (The MCT is typically 60-75 mins for international>international at Dubai.)

I usually fly that route with Qatar Airways but Emirates is OK as well. Dubai is an easy place to transit and your bags will be checked right through. I go for the shortest possible transit time, and it's never been a problem.

When was he neutered? It'll take a week or two before his prostate starts to reduce and 3 or 4 months for it to fully shrink.

It will depend which store you have selected on the website.

They usually have it at Villa in K-village, as well as Colman's, but as with all their imports, they don't always have it in stock. https://shop.villamarket.com/product/61068

In most cases, money markets hate instability, it's true. But it very much depends on what form of government is being destabilised. There are exceptions. I don't think I can go into it any further than that.

Because turmoil that has the potential to end in MF taking control is still a better option for the international markets than the current setup. If things do work out politically for MF, it will likely rise further. If they don't, it will probably fall. If nothing gets resolved and it remains unstable, there will probably be a slight drop. The UK situation was different because the international markets liked the status quo, so the changes were just disruptive.

I've used my Thai driving licence as proof of address for the UK. If you have the app you can download a clear screenshot of it. Most of my Thai address is missing from the English translation, but they have no idea what a Thai address is supposed to look like anyway. I told them it was the equivalent of writing the house number and postcode in the UK, and they accepted that explanation.

You choose UK from the dropdown list and Skype will add the 44 for you.

The HP Thailand staff are very helpful. They have an online chat as well as Whatsapp and Line, and they usually have someone online who can speak English. They've arranged expedited shipping for me a couple of times. In Bangkok, that meant a delivery within a couple of hours. I'd imagine it will take longer to Pattaya, but if you need it quickly, get onto the chat in the morning and see what they can do.

I'm sure there are cheaper options around, but I've used Mr Bag Fix for a couple of repairs, and they did a good job. I haven't specifically used them for wheels though.

I converted my UK licence originally, so I never had to do the questions. My husband had to do the whole thing, questions and driving test, and it was a bit of a nightmare. The questions weren't hard, they were just so badly translated they were incomprehensible.