NanLaew

Buddhism isn't not a cult and this isn't a religious issue. It's yaba. A friend of mine's stepdaughter, who was totally fried on ya ba, spent days chain-smoking and trying to set fire to the house. When she finally succeeded in getting a good, raging burn going, she lay down to snooze on a nearby sofa and shouted at her stepfather and others who were fighting the fire, saying they were too loud and keeping her awake. There's absolutely no link with reality when they are this f%^&*d up on the stuff, none whatsoever. That's why they suddenly go 'berserk' and attack or stab total strangers OR family members OR friends and then have no recollection of it. Absolutely agree. Some really bad people hide behind the cloth everywhere, not just saffron ones.

That's a ballast for Xenon lighting. You had a total lighting retrofit. Xenon is a more expensive lighting option than LED but better suited than LED's for headlight assemblies that have built-in reflectors.

...in daylight? Having too dark a tint is a real issue at night especially when the trend here is for a darker tint on the side windows. This further impedes peripheral vision at night and can seriously impair the view in the wing mirrors. I rented an old Datsun pickup years ago and the owner had already cut away the heavy dark tint on the front lower quarter of the driver and passenger windows to make it easier for the driver to see the wing mirrors. I have subsequently seen it done where a neat circle is cut out using an X-Acto (modellers) knife or similar.

Back to the OP's first question. Replacing the stock reversing globe with an LED should brighten up the rear view. I did that on my pickup that only had the one backup light on the drivers side with a high-intensity red on the passenger side for driving in heavy rain/road spray. Eventually I doubled up on each of them, adding 'Rigid' brand after market white LED on passenger side and a red LED on the drivers side. These were paralleled in with the existing wiring without need for relays but they would sometimes not light up. I ended up adding resistors in series with them so that the vehicle CANBUS saw a 'proper' resistive load (same impedance as a filament) and they work great. Knowing Ohms law is handy. If the OP can take a picture of one of his headlights and possible the connectors behind them under the bonnet, we can advise what's best for the headlights. Generally, if anything has a reflector as part of the assembly, an LED will make a brighter white light output but the beam scatter will probably annoy oncoming drivers, especially with cheaper LED's where no effort is made to make the LED match the 'point source' of a filament globe with partial shrouds.

I consider the probability of catching it is the same as before. Less faffing about is a good thing. It's bad enough catching it after being vaccinated (yes, I know the vaccine isn't a prophylaxis) but in my opinion, that was just another faff. We are well into the the newest Omicron mutations and still jabbing people with the 'old stuff' developed for Delta that they already admit has questionable efficacy.

No way. Sound like two Yaba addicts. So you've done yaba?

I’m guessing they installed a relay with a direct feed to the lights from the battery, switched by the standard headlight switch and loom. It makes quite the difference giving the bulbs a ‘clean’ power feed More likely a CANBUS adapter to dupe the cars electronics into detecting that some sort of globe is fitted. LED's have lower resistance than filament globes and some vehicle's electronics will see that as a short circuit and turn off the power to the socket. Similarly, if the filament blows, the vehicle electronics detects an open-circuit and may turn on a warning light on the dashboard. Most CANBUS adapters are simply high-wattage resistors in a special box. LED's are lower power (wattage) equivalent devices than regular filament globes so a relay for power isolation is generally not required.

It's not a very big airport.

A few months ago I stopped scanning with phone apps. A few weeks ago I stopped temperature testing. A few days ago I stopped with the hand gel. Today I threw away my last mask.

Isn't it the "older white Christian male"?

What's the Thai phrase that means "Keeping one's head well below the parapet" ?

When is your "next leave from the vessel" and what is the duration of your leave? Otherwise your airfare quotes lack context.

I never said they were illegal. A standalone visa-exempt entry can be legally extended by an additional 30-days but just the once. That rule hasn't changed. What has changed are the Covid extensions which are unique to the prevailing situation, ie. they didn't exist as an option before Covid. Again, they are also legal for as long as you can get them. It's like the 60-day extensions that married guys can legally get to visit spouse or their children. Is it unfair or illegal that single people don't get some sort of similar consideration? Really? Are you new here? You are joking, right? They have all the discretionary powers that the law permits them to have. The fact that some of them flaunt the rules and arbitrarily make them up as they go along does not mean they do not have discretionary powers. Since the Immigration police themselves are a division of the Royal Thai Police, it's simpler to say just don't even think about it.

Never mind then. More of a case of wait and see how the others in a similar boat manage. You said I come across as bitter so nothing else to add? I got over myself ages ago. I advise you try the same. Nominally back on topic: What I find truly ironic is how the Covid extension panic merchants are being openly applauded for availing themselves of the same corrupt agents and immigration officers that the married and retired have previously been vilified for.

I doubt the "visitors" started this let alone caused it. The locals have to run the same gauntlet when they deal with Thai bureaucracy. It's part of life here. Just don't expect it to get any breaks or for it to get any better.

Excellent news. Now, what's your contingency plan for the next, almost inevitable Thai immigration duck and weave?

There is a caveat in the laws as they are writ. For example, when it comes to paperwork, there's the "any other document that the officer may see fit to request" which empowers them to play fast and loose. Sad but true. I'm not apologizing for any of them and some of them are simply contemptible in the way they carry out their work. However, I've been here long enough to know and appreciate that there is no universal rule of law in pretty much anything here so why expect immigration offices to be any better?

You don't know me but I'm not bitter. I just call it as I see it. Those habitually using the lowest-bar to qualify for an extended stay here aren't necessarily making any more of a contribution to the Thai economy than they are to global warming. Anyway, the OP skipped out on getting this magical, all contributory visa in the UK and winged it on a visa-exempt permission to stay for a finite time that has already been legally extend to the maximum permissible. There's something here about lying in the bed you made but it's easier to say the OP's plan was more winging it than he'd probably like to admit. It's an extension that he's being denied here, not a visa. He never had a visa. NB: I did also wish the OP good luck earlier.

Covid extensions will end. So your friends got Covid extensions in Hua Hin last January. What's your point? I understand the OP has been rejected in Krabi and wants advice if Phuket is still a viable option. Should the OP head for Hua Hin? There was a very recent thread with someone else in an identical situation. I couldn't muster enough interest to come back and check if he was successful (or if he even bothered to tell us). The Covid extension writing is on the wall. End of. Anyone still getting them should have a viable contingency plan in place. Shouting "HELP!" on this forum doesn't qualify as such. Good luck to the OP.

To be fair, 5 of the 6 hotels I used regularly before Covid have shuttered due to Covid. Fact. Not sure but I can't see how those who can't afford a visa (and don't stay in hotels anyway) could have saved any of them. Next you'll be telling us how much the ED visa holders and Muay Thai "scholars" contributed to the Thai GNP.

Good point on the heat. I used to giggle at the older Thai blokes at PTT stations on the long road trips who pop the bonnet and gaze lovingly at their hot dongers on their ancient Vigo's while the tribe hit the 7-eleven, noodle shop or dunny. My sports lorry is now old enough to be inspected and I do two things every time I get home after any sort of journey, either a road trip or back-to-back school runs or a multi-stop shopping trawl. 1 ) Let the engine idle for a couple of minutes. This apparently helps with turbo lubrication rather than killing a hot engine. 2 ) Lift the bonnet (gazing lovingly optional). I read somewhere that the engine compartment temperature will drop 80% faster with the bonnet up. That means your battery will also cool down quicker. (I also hear that leaving the bonnet up and a small light on deters rats moving in if that's an issue down on your farm). Oh yes, I sometimes lift the wipers off the hot glass (but not very often).

I had an Amaron fitted after the preferred Boliden's became scarcer than hen's teeth. Did the job for a tad over two years but eventually went the same way. The same guy who was touting the Amaron was all about Panasonic which is what's been under the bonnet now for 11 months. Funnily enough (but not for Mrs NL), the Boliden and Amaron both expired while I was away at work. I noticed a battery shop the other day that had a rack full of Boliden's so I may just go and get one as a spare. I'll be away again in October and that's when her birthday is.

Exactly. It's the long, staggered European school holidays and annual northern hemisphere summer vacation season. Expect to see the same reporting before Christmas and New Year and airlines reintroduce the traditional 'black out' dates and 'high season' fares where you pay through the nose or stay at home. Sheesh...

I think yellow warning lights are like maybe something needs fixing and it may be expensive if not done. Red warning lights mean it's more imminent and it's going to be expensive either way.

Or just go home, get a visa and start over. Covid is in remission around the world. It may be temporary, it may not but that's hardly the concern of Thai immigration. The fact that some immigration officers already see through the ruse of some wannabe long-time lurkers is neither here nor there. I can hardly wait to witness the wailing and gnashing of teeth when the Covid extension's death knell is officially posted in the Royal Gazette or whatever.