Doctor Tom

Yes but unless you want to waste one day of just 7 days in airports and flying, you are rather restricted in choice. If its difference the OP is looking for, at or around 4 hours flight time, then maybe Nepal.

and that is not a long flight? Most local destinations to here are in side or around 2 hours

Sounds cold to me, but I agree, its a beautiful country and Taiwanese are as different from mainland Chinese as chalk is from cheese, friendly, well educated and outgoing. I still have many good friends there. p.s. It's still miserable weather in winter. ????

A dump of a place. .

Taiwan at this time of the year is cold and it rains almost ever day. Love the place and lived there for a few years, but its not really an Asian holiday destination, in my view. Its definitely worked and operates for the residents rather than visitors.

It has indeed changed a hell of a lot since then; bankrupted to the Chinese, heavily polluted , high corruption and crime rate and disintegrating infrastructure.

And its happening.

Avoid like the plague.

Long way to go for one week, and expensive. Japan is cold in Winter.

What? You have got to be joking, I hope.

Vietnam, cheaper, nearer and an upgrade on most Thai locations. Da Nang would be my choice, but the east coast has many great locations, clean beaches and clean blue sea. It will not be many years before Vietnam replaces Thailand as the number one South East Asia holiday destination.

At 6;30am? Not sure if they will open for that time, or even if its legal to serve drinks then?

Beware doing anything in haste that you may later regret. Depending on the type of visa and extensions awarded, the maximum allowable time you can legally say that you live in Thailand is 12 months, Your visa is Non Immigrant, not immigrant, nor permanent resident. You are not legally obliged to tell any UK authority that you travel in and through foreign parts if you stick to the going back to the UK rules, which you can find on the 'Gov UK' website in the part dealing with residency and being domiciled. You dont have to do a thing now and not for quite a while, so take it slowly and do your research before telling the busy bodies in UK Gov what your plans are longer term. . https://www.litrg.org.uk/tax-guides/migrants/residence-and-domicile/when-someone-resident-uk#:~:text=If you are physically present,the UK for that year. https://www.gov.uk/tax-foreign-income/residence

Depends on the agent I guess and the level of their relationship with the IOs. I use a Pattaya Agent and Jomtien Immigration.

Its obvious. They must protect themselves, they don't care if you get into trouble, but they do care if they do. The only person who could come out of this badly is you, for working illegally.

They are. Your sentence above answers your question. You work, you pay tax. You are in effect being 'emergency taxed', as is done in the UK and US, before your documentation is in order. It should be rectified once that happens, but this is Thailand, so good luck with that.

Last time I needed one, my agent arranged it. 1,000 Baht all in.

Do you not know about the Arctic Conveys? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dvgck_VvCz0

or not a girl at all ! Beware

We would do well to remember that Stalin was every bit as evil as Hitler and actually murdered more of his own people than Hitler did his own, The Russian people, through fear, lack of education, a peasants lack of intellect, means and cowardice followed Stalin to their near destruction. If it wasn't for western aid during WW2, lead by the UK and US, Russia would have lost the war. Putin is an admirer of Stalin, he is as evil as Stalin and any Russian citizen who colludes with him, either actively in their Military, or passively, as tourists here, has blood on their hands, whether they like it or not. Perhaps remember this when you see them playing happy families in Big C, or admire the young females and their military age, muscle bound boyfriends on the beach.

Yes, yes and no. Countries have a responsibility to the rest of human kind that goes beyond their own narrow, National self interest. Unfortunately in this screwed up World nobody cares much, certainly not Thailand.

what a cowardly way of looking at things.

Rubbish report, except on holiday weekends, Pattaya is nowhere near as busy as it was pre covid, Yesterday, T21 looked virtually deserted. Big C last weekend busy but not as before, traffic moving and not too many vehicles. I have no idea where they get these idiotic notions. I cant speak for nighttime as I'm never there at night.

How do these 'happy families' feel about Ukrainians who can't enjoy their freedom? All Russians, including these 'happy families', should be thrown out and sent back to Russia. My view, you fight for your country or against it, its as simple as that. You are collectively responsible for what is done in your name, or you fight against it. What you don't do is sit on a Thai beach drinking Singapore Slings and claim that its nothing to do with you. Its everything to do with each individual. Kudos to those Russians who fight for freedom in Ukraine, they are hero's, the lot here are cowards

correct,