Polar Bear

I am not claiming to be an expert on Thai visa regulations, but all I can say is that in practice they appear to take a very broad view of what qualifies. Perhaps it is based on the institution rather than the individual qualification, I don't know. But people are teaching at Chula on Smart T visas with PhDs in subjects that would not appear to fall under T criteria.

It covers teaching in higher ed if you have a PhD, which is what chickennoodlesoup is asking about. The visa can be extended yearly for up to 4 years.

It would seem that you are confused. Smart visas, at least Smart-T, are initially issued overseas, and you have to have health insurance when it is issued. As you aren't living/working in Thailand at the point, you have to make other arrangements. Once the visa has been issued, you come to Thailand and start working. The original visa then gets extended on a yearly basis, but there is no further requirement for health insurance.

Not on Smart visas. You have to have foreign/external cover for the first year but not for the annual renewals.

I use https://www.tommytaxibangkok.com/airporttransfer Definitely not the cheapest, but they are very reliable. I've had them collect visitors from the airport for me multiple times without a problem.

The foreigners I know at Chula are mostly earning around 35-45k THB. That's in a different major, and it's taught in English, but it's typically 6 hours a week teaching, with additional pay for extra classes. I know a couple of people earning 80k+ but they have a strong research background and high publication requirements. They are discouraged from taking on additional classes, etc. because they are supposed to be doing research. Those figures include small allowances for housing and health insurance, so small that they wouldn't cover either. There are a couple of foreigners on local contracts because they are married to Thais or some such. They get paid less and have a lot of additional admin duties, but they have job security I guess, and maybe they are enrolled in state health or pension schemes or something, I don't know. I teach occasional classes for them when it fits around my other work, but I wouldn't go full time for those wages.

The life expectancy for pet dogs in the UK & US is typically 10-14 years, but it varies by breed and size. For a mutt, size/weight is a bigger factor. For an otherwise healthy mutt that weighs 20-25kg, I'd expect a lifespan of around 11 or 12 years, but obviously that's only going to be a very general figure and there will be considerable variation between individuals. However, I would consider most medium/large dogs to be seniors at 9 or 10. For very small/toy breeds, if they don't die young because of congenital defects, then I'd consider them to be seniors at about 11 or 12. For giant breeds, most are senior by 5 or 6.

The regulations are about residency. Most, but not all, banks interpret that as having a UK address. Shelter already suggest Starling and Monzo for people without a fixed address. (And they've already been recommended as an option in this situation as well.)

You might need a VPN to download the app. Zoog has a free app version that let's you choose the UK for the location. It's basic and sometimes flakey, but it does the job for stuff like this. Once you have the Starling App, you don't need a VPN to use it on a daily basis.

Natwest closed my UK account when they realised I was overseas. I asked Co-op what would happen if I moved abroad, and they said they would have to close my account, so I didn't tell them. This was all about 10 years ago. I'd suggest the person from the OP opens an account with Starling as soon as possible. It's easier to do while you still have another UK account. If you don't request an overdraft/credit, the checks are minimal, and if you don't order a debit card, they don't send anything out in the post.

Why should anyone be concerned about 'losing face' because they do something slightly differently to you? I'd rather press one button in settings and switch the data to the SIM I want to use. I don't have to change anything else. I don't have to alter any other settings, and in over 10 years of doing this, it hasn't gone wrong. For me, it's a lot easier than fiddling round with USSD codes, especially as I have multiple SIM cards for multiple different countries, so I'd have to track down the codes for each (if it even has one), and be sure I was using the correct one for each SIM. There are many more opportunities to get it wrong there, and as you say, accidents do happen. If someone doesn't have that setting option, or if they do but they don't know how to use their own phone, then maybe that's not the best solution for them. But for me, learning how to use a simple setting on my handset is a much better option. But if you prefer to play around with USSD codes, go for it. Neither of us is right or wrong. It's just two different ways of achieving exactly the same outcome. Don't take it so personally.

I have a Motorola, and I have a UK Tesco pre-pay and my Thai AIS SIM. I usually have them both enabled, but sometimes I have the UK one disabled and the difference in battery drain isn't noticeable to me. Maybe eSims are different?

For an established colony, Lumphini Park would be your best bet. For TNR, you could contact Maria Thongklam. (She's easy to find online.) She does a lot of work with temple cats, and even if she doesn't need help with trapping, she may be able to point you to a temple or local feeder who would appreciate help. There's also PAWS Bangkok who might be able to put you in contact with someone who needs help.

There is information here on mobile data and SIM switching settings with iPhones. It's near the bottom of the page. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209044

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.