Polar Bear

You set this in the same place on my phone. Open the mobile data settings. Then choose the option you want in SIM switching.

This is how I do it too. I just set mobile data to my other SIM, and then switch it back to AIS when I get back to Thailand.

You are overthinking this. If you renew from here, you need the letter, and you will automatically be given a copy. If you renew in the UK, and then come back into Thailand, you don't need the letter. If you have someone else apply for you in the UK and bring/send your passport back here, so it doesn't have a stamp in it, you need to request the letter. (Technically, you are not allowed to do this, but people do.) But if you got a new passport in the UK and you are going to keep worrying about it, just ask for a letter.

If you get the new passport when you are in the UK and show the current visa in the old passport at immigration when you come back in, they will stamp the new passport, and you don't need the letter when you transfer your visa over. (At least, that's how it worked for me a couple of months ago.) If you apply from here, you will get the letter automatically anyway.

There are many street cats (and dogs) around all over the city, but the cats are better at staying hidden. People often feed them, but it can cause conflict because when food is left lying around it attracts rats and so on. Aside from that, feeding stray animals for a short period can do more harm than good. It encourages animals to move to the area because there is suddenly food available. Then a few months later there's no food and lots of hungry animals all looking for a new food source at the same time. They end up fighting each other over food and no one is there to help with injuries. Your efforts would be better directed to one of the local groups already working in Thailand, such as those that run the trap, neuter, release programs. There is also a large stray cat colony at Lumphini Park that has a group of feeders who might appreciate some short term help.

At least my post has company in Milton Keynes then! EDIT: I just checked the tracking again, and it's been received at MK (again) 2 weeks after it was last received there. Hopefully this means they are doing something with the backlog they have there.

Gaining weight is a sign of heathy aging. Once you get past the age of 65/70 (depending on the study), moderate excess weight is protective. It's called the 'obesity paradox in aging' if you want to look into it yourself. The paradox is that the excess weight still increases the cardiovascular risk, but it decreases the risk of dying from it. (That's a gross simplification, but it's the gist.) Waist circumference and flexibility/mobility are far better guides to potential problems than weight or BMI at this age. (This doesn't apply if you are obese or have weight-affected comorbidities like diabetes.)

This has been going on for at least 20 years, probably longer, but I know of it happening in 2001. When they fit the prepay, as well as the higher rate, they can also set it to deduct a proportion to go towards the debt. So you put £20 on the key and it automatically took £5 towards the arrears. Even if you stop using the gas, the (higher rate) daily standing charge keeps getting added on, so the debt increases faster than you can ever pay it off. It's legal loan sharking.

Royal Mail was hit with a LockBit Ransomware attack on Jan 10th that crippled their international post. They supposedly have some workarounds now, so some stuff is trickling through, but not much. A small package that was sent to me tracked on Jan 11th (after the attack, but before they admitted it had happened), sat in the original post office until 24th Jan, when it made its way to Milton Keynes, and it's been there ever since. https://www.royalmail.com/international-incident-bulletin

I've used them for PCR testing and so on, and that was all fairly well organised, but only once for a general consultation. The whole thing was completely chaotic, and in the end, the advice was to go see a specialist at a hospital, though it was something a GP in the UK would have dealt with there and then. I don't think I'd bother again for a GP type appointment.

I did my Mum's application for her in January in the UK. I filled the forms in online, she posted off her passport, and she got the new one back 10 days later.

Medconsult does them for 1,000 THB, same day results. You can get the results faster if you pay an extra fee. https://www.medconsultasia.com/

I know very little about birds, but your picture looks like a myna bird. It might whistle, but it may be mimicking the bird you are trying to identify. There are a lot of them around my area. One mimics the tune my washing machine plays when it finishes, which catches me out every time. Another one (or maybe the same one, I don't know) mimics our neighbour shouting their dog's name. It drives the dog crazy.

lifted ... not listed, sorry!

There hasn't been any announcement about the restriction being listed. The whole island is national park, so the rule was always there, they just didn't use to enforce it.

Gated communities do seem to be a good option if you can find one that will allow you to have a dog and let you walk it within the community. In terms of street dogs, I've never had a problem with one round here when I was on my own. Most of the community dogs have calmed down over time and ignore him now, but not all of them. Several community dogs that I would normally consider to be friendly and docile will bark or be outright aggressive when I have my (13kg) dog with me. I don't walk him beyond a quick toilet break after dark. The true soi dogs, who don't live in our street but come round looking for food at night, are out after dark, and they are dangerous. The earlier post is correct about the number of parasites here. My dog had a close call with Ehrlichiosis from a tick not long after arriving. Having said all that, it's absolutely possible to have a dog here, there are just a lot of things you need to take into consideration when you move. (I was unaware of many of them when we first came, but we have still managed.)

Between the street dogs, the motorbikes, the lack of pavements/sidewalks, and dogs not being allowed in parks, I find walking my dog pretty stressful in the city. We've ended up leasing a car, just so we can get to places where he can walk (mainly Nong Bon). But for daily walks, we rented a place at the end of a long dead end street, which limits the traffic and somewhat limits the number of unknown street dogs. (The regulars are less of an issue.) I still have to carry a stick, but most people on our street know us now, or at least they know my dog, and when we've had serious problems with aggressive street dogs, neighbours have come out to help us chase them off. We brought ours over from a very cold climate, and the heat has been an issue, especially as his winter coat appears to be a genetic feature rather than a response to the actual weather. We avoid walking him in the day between about 10 am - 5 pm, unless it's somewhere like Nong Bon, where he can cool off in the water, walk on the grass and stay in the shade. We do have a yard, and he spends a lot of time lounging around out there. (It's paved, not grass, so less worries about snakes and centipedes, but we do get scorpions sometimes.) I think that's helped him adapt to the temperatures. The air temperature doesn't drop that much at night usually, my bigger concern is the temperature of the tarmac/asphalt. During the day, it gets so hot it would easily burn his paws. If I'm not sure, I go outside barefoot and check. If it's too hot for me to walk on, it's too hot for him.

AirAsia. Flights to Vietnam are cheaper than Laos.

I booked a cheap flexible flight to Laos, which I will use at some point anyway. No one asked for it on departure from the UK or on arrival in Bangkok.

It seems to vary depending on which version of the site you are looking at. They are listed here: https://www.thaiairways.com/en_HK/plan/travel_information/pet_travel.page They aren't on the UK or Thai local sites though. But whether that means they are allowed or whether they just don't keep the pages updated, I couldn't say. You would need to speak to the airline and double check.

Email the Animal Quarantine Station at BKK and ask them for the latest requirements qsap_bkk at dld.go.th (with @ instead of at obviously) They are very helpful and speak English. The requirements can vary slightly depending on where you are coming from, but they are typically: Microchip before vaccination Vaccinations (at least 21 days before): Rabies Leptospirosis Distemper Hepatitis Parvovirus Health certificate issued by UK You don't need the rabies titre test, but get it done anyway while you are still in the UK. It's valid for life as long as you always give the booster on time. You no longer have to apply for the import certificate in advance, you get it on arrival. If your dog is too big to travel in the cabin (they can go in the cabin FROM the UK but not TO, if the airline allows it), then it's very important that you check them onto the flight as excess baggage NOT cargo. (They will travel in their crate in the cargo hold either way, but how they are processed on arrival is very different.) Having said that, if your dog is too big to travel in the cabin, you will struggle to find an airline willing to take it in the hold because the breed is considered to be at higher risk of dying during the flight.

OBS Studio. It can be a bit fiddly to setup the first time, but once you have the settings saved, it's very easy to use. There are lots of tutorials on line.

I made a transfer from my Wise balance to SCB a couple of weeks ago (14th ish), it should have cleared the next day, but it took a week. Wise just kept saying 'technical problems, it'll clear tomorrow'. In the end, I sent a payment from a UK debit card, which cleared almost immediately. I cancelled the original transfer, then they paid is out anyway. I don't use it very often, but in future I'll stick to debit card transactions, they seem more reliable.

I get all 3 at Villa in K Village. I've seen Nesquick there as well, but not for a while, though I've not particularly been looking for it either.

Sorry it didn't work out for you. Were you able to open an account with BB?