NanLaew

Regarding parking, there's large covered parking right at the check point, left-hand side before where the minivans turn around. I was there on a week-day just before the Covid lock-down and there was only maybe a dozen cars parked there. They seem used to people on the 2-day 'overnight' visa park up and I can't recall what the fee is but maybe 200 to 400 baht? You get a receipt. It's reasonably secure but like all parking, you assume the risk. Just don't leave the wallet on the dashboard of your Maybach while you're away. Marked 'Parking Lot' in the appended.

Decathlon for me as well. The shoe's description as sold is 'walking shoe' and I bought my first pair maybe four years ago at Decathlon Pattaya. My work offshore involves walking miles with loads of stair climbing and they are simply awesome. Last summer, I headed off for work in Malaysia and forgot to pack them. Luckily, while serving quarantine (remember that malarkey?!) I discovered lazada traded in Malaysia and Decathlon had a store on lazada and I bought my second, identical pair for a whopping 49 ringgits. I wear them for everyday use and as my 'dress' pair for flying, traveling while the original, only slightly shabby pair also get packed for work. The low, low price is a huge bonus. Top link for a full description and bottom link for Thailand online. https://www.decathlon.com/collections/urban-walking/products/mens-fitness-walking-shoes-pw-100?#product-imageGallery https://www.decathlon.co.th/en/p/8486177/walking-shoes/men-s-urban-walking-shoes-pw-100-grey

Please clarify what short time marriage means. For example, if it ended before the monks left, then that's a yes. NB: The Olympic athletics rules apply when it comes to counting false starts.

The "OMG! I just noticed I only have one page left in my passport which runs out this Saturday and my visa ends on Sunday" thread has to start somewhere, no?

You do? Every day I ask myself will it be beer or whisky.

He spotted some elderly farangs on the sidewalk and feared he may be lynched if he stopped to help.

Good job mine's a sort of beige then.

It was relatively frequent thread subject matter pre-Covid. We had spurious new members allegedly posting from some holding facility while their AirAsia rep formalized the 'deportation' paperwork. Mostly seemed to be at DMK when immigration started randomly enforcing the somewhat nebulous mandates on how many times one could claim to be a legit tourist in a year. Most of these 'tourists' or visa-exempt airport hoppers were outraged that the 'no proof of income' was being cited by immigration despite being shown condo rental agreements, car keys, bank books, local bank ATM cards, etc.. The lack of funds was an easy, catch-all excuse that covered the more difficult to prove (but more likely) 'suspected of working illegally' exclusion. Also note that nowadays there's a broader (yet unspoken) acceptance of digital nomads who were also swept up in these somewhat irrational and over zealous border protections. But as noted by a few who do visit regularly, they still keep the 20 k cash (or equivalent) handy, just in case.

If you reckon your local immi office aren't a total bunch of shysters and oxygen wasters, while you are still here, why not go and ask? Just because nobody on this forum has come up with a definitive answer (yet), there's no harm in getting affirmation or otherwise from them on what's do-able. Otherwise, you may end up lying awake at night pondering, "What if?"

Ooooh, pithy. I like that Mikey. Thanks.

Exactly. And at the same time, it means some farangs here buy a truck so they can go to the pub... that is their real world

I find it's quite hard for me to run away when I'm legless. My speech gets kinda stuffed up as well.

Alleged drunk driver. Good grief. Why so defensive of someone you don't know? Let's try and think outside the "farang drunk driver defence club" box for a minute and consider what model motorbike comes off best against ANY alleged drunk driver of ANY nationality?

VFS do not process anything. They are simply the conduit for passport applications from overseas. They check the submission for errors and completeness. If the standard online passport application/replacement/renewal form has all the check boxes needed for a name-change passport issue and you provide all the evidence and documents the Passport Office requires, VFS are obliged to accept it. If the procedures you have researched would result in a new passport being issued in your new name if you applied personally in the UK, there's no reason that VFS can say otherwise. I would be more interested in what challenges your local immigration office may throw up when you submit your old/new passports for transfer of visa/extensions or whatever long-stay entitlement you currently have. That may be worth checking out first? For example, they may need something ratified or endorsed by the Royal Thai Embassy in London which could throw a spanner in the works for a 'remote' application via VFS. In lieu of that, it may need a trip to the MFA in Bangkok but they may need to see some form of affidavit from the British Embassy in Bangkok. You may need to check if the British Embassy consular office here offers any of the required support in their ever-diminishing list of services. Good luck.

If he and the girlfriend have been living together in a durable relationship for in excess of two years, and can provide compelling evidence of doing so, she could meet the requirements for a Family Visa, though that doesn’t seem to be the case here. Good points. In this brave new world of blissful unweddedness and cohabitation, the strictures or limitations of being in a de-facto relationship of say twenty years ago have relaxed. Such a couple have more rights and 'traction' than say twenty years ago with regard to their lives and entitlements in their homelands but when it comes to immigration, I think that in many countries, the 'old rules' still carry more weight. So maybe it's better if I say: Girlfriend isn't a social status that easily qualifies for a UK settlement visa, regardless of the girlfriend's nationality. Good luck to the OP. It needs patience and honesty as well as basically starting over as the criteria for 'just visiting' is different for those seeking the more permanent status of 'settlement'. It's so much easier for a foreigner to flip there status after they get here than it is for a Thai to even get their foot in the door over there.

Perhaps more salient is what model of motorcycle comes off best against a drunk driver?

The simmer/vinegar/crack or dimple-drop/swirl method is kerfuffle. Or, as I prefer, too much faffing about. Yes, you look like a proper Jamie Oliver or Gordon Ramsay but IMHO life's too short (and nobody's watching). The vinegar-free, non-simmering, non-swirl in a small cup/bowl/glass with water and nuke in the microwave works every time. But paramount of course and as mentioned by previous eggsperts, fresh eggs!

Anyone just picking up on this thread should cut to the chase and read the stories in the above two links. To me, the first portrays the story of an innocent girl, used and betrayed. It's not in her words and it does go off at tangents but that's simply to flavor the tale for those who know nothing about the darker side of Thailand, like the innocent girl herself. The second portrays a man so riven with guilt for what he's done... he's fighting in a proxy war? Give me a break. He's probably, subconsciously half hoping that he'll be taken out by an RPG which in his eyes will absolve him of his sins and make any proper judgement someone elses call. The incompetence of the RTP and corruption of certain people, both Thai and foreign, isn't anything new. That's a sideshow that's cluttering up the narrative. Maybe the RTP misread the relationship between the girl and the dealer and thought it was stronger than it really was? If they hammered her, he would give himself up? He was their real target after all but having missed the big catch, they're bitter and angry and making themselves feel better by locking her away anyway.

Girlfriend isn't a social status that qualifies for a UK settlement visa, regardless of the girlfriend's nationality.

Citation needed.

If that's what floats your boat, go for it.

I had a neighbor in Udon maybe 16 years ago who had a Lao wife and every six weeks or so would bring me back a case each of blonde and dark from his Vientiane conjugal visits. After a couple of years, I lost the taste for it but just before the Covid lock-downs, I was in Savanakhet and they had an 'IPA style' variation with a green label. It was quite decent and made for a pleasant change. I have heard that it can be had in Bangkok but probably for a silly price. It's not THAT special.

But they all accept บาท so not a big issue.

I used an agent for a few years, until I understood I was assembling the paperwork for them, all they were doing was speeding up the process at Chiang Mai Immigration. Which could be a real bunfight back in the day. I dispensed with the agent's services, which saved me 7000 baht. Waiting 3 hours instead of 1 hour, my time was worth 3500 baht/hr, at least that's the way I thought about it. When I moved to Chiang Rai, the time spent in attending Immigration shrank significantly - I am usually finished inside an hour. IMO the poster you are responding to misses the point - it does not matter whether one is employing an agent or not, AFAIK all foreigners have to attend Immigration to apply for their annual extension. I put said poster on ignore quite some time ago. AFAIYK you mean. Plenty foreigners are squatting 100% legally in Thailand and have never seen the inside of their local immigration office. When you anonymously start ignoring anonymous forum members, isn't half the thrill about knowing that the ignored member doesn't know they are being ignored? So what's the point of admitting that you're ignoring someone?

So if great gobs of money (meaning stored physical cash) come from a bank account, it's assumed to be all legal? I'll need to keep that in mind when shopping for a new mattress. OMG! You mean I should have told the tax man when I bought my Vios Bentley?