Keeps

Chicken tikka masala was supposedly invented in the UK in the 1960's. A few Indian restaurants had opened, I believe in London initially. The food they were mainly proposing was a bit spicy for the local taste so they ended up mixing tinned/canned condensed tomato soup with a curry to mellow it and the chicken tikka masala was the outcome. No doubt someone will be along to advise that is complete and utter tosh. Won't touch it myself - nothing to do with curry snobbery. Just don't like the taste. Prefer a dhansak, Madras or Jalfrezi. They are all probably about as authentic as a tikka masala ( particularly the Madras).

Basmati accompanied by a chicken dhansak, sag aloo and naan.

Sounds like the sort of thing that old bogan, the GOAT would have said. Couldn't possibly be you though, could it?.....

Thank you both for the input. I humbly stand corrected.

I don't agree with your comment. On all sites I have looked at including the official application site it states to download the completed application to your phone and/or print a copy. If there was no need to provide evidence of successful application, why would they state this? Also, why would they provide a QR code for the IO to scan?

I find it easier to hand over a paper copy of visa and now, a paper copy of the TDAC rather than faffing about on my phone and handing that over for scrutiny. IO seemed happy enough with this also so I'll stick with the paper for now. I very much doubt I am going to get a lecture from the Thai's on the environment and wasting paper etc.....

High Fibre foods are your friend. Make sure you are getting plenty.

Except for the fact it's complete BS. I have a large number of M&S button down short sleeve cotton shirts. Excellent quality and last a very long time. Don't rate their boxer shorts now though. You pay £6 for a pair end end up with £5 worth rammed up your crack.

The bookies are quoting that at 33/1 ON that that's a big, fat no.

Not one and the same I hope? That would be very, very wrong and most certainly illegal. Although, nothing surprises me with you Aussies......

Thank you. That clarifies the situation. Don't suppose they have curried goat on the menu? I love a bit of curried goat. Some fantastic places to get that in London, mainly south of the river.

Back in my chuffing days I used to visit Amsterdam once per month for some high quality smoke when it wasn't in such abundance in the UK. I worked in the City then so would get a flight from City airport straight after work on a Friday evening then fly back either Sunday evening or first thing Monday morning and head straight to work. Been in excess of 150 times. Absolutely love Amsterdam. Used to get stoned on some high grade skunk then hit a few of the museums and chill out in Vondelpark. When the munchies kicked in would visit a FEBO for their vending machine snacks. Bitterballen, Frikandelbroojde etc. Hit the Warmoesstraat in the evening for a bit of nocturnal activity. After a ten year hiatus, I have provisionally booked myself a long weekend in January 2026. Only booked the hotel so far which I can cancel without charge so I will see nearer the time whether my old(ish) bones are still up to the task.

I am intrigued. Are they the owners, servers, chefs or is that all there is on the menu?

My response has been deleted by one of the Mods (surprise, surprise). Use your imagination as to what it contained. I don't recall much input from yourself on any topic which is of any value. I was merely asking the question as to how this was 'popular' in the pub based on 2 responses in 12 hours. I was not having a 'pop' at either the topic or the OP.

Just as an update to this, I arrived in Bangkok around 3 hours ago (same time as the OP arrived). I feared the worst as I approached immigration as the queue snaked back to where the banks of Ipad type devices are to complete the TDAC. However, the line moved extremely quickly and the wait was no more than 15-20 minutes. I did see dozens of people trudging back to the Ipad's though who I can only assume were not aware of this requirement. Female IO looked at my paperwork (passport, SETV ((to mix it up with the visa exempt arrivals)), printed DTAC and boarding card) gave the appropriate stamp and even a smile and "Welcome to Thailand". Baggage was already on the carousel once through immigration. Even Heathrow was a pleasure. Checked in (EVA counter) with a few kilos overweight baggage. No questions or asking me to take anything out of my case. No mention was made of whether I had completed the DTAC. Fast track security but no need to take liquids (up to 2 litres in size) from hand luggage or electrical devices including computer. All in all, a very agreeable experience from start to finish.

Why does this appear as 'popular in the pub' when it has had two responses and the last one 11 hours ago? It's not a 'pop' at the topic but I think this demonstrates the general tedium of what we can expect these days. Tomorrow another bar girl topic started by the Aussie ( who pretends he is a Brit) MalkyB? The boredom is really setting in now. Any fresh ideas?

I think you are correct regarding your interpretation of how the Popular Contributors works. The benefit of the thumbs down is that the poster you allude to, @Harrisfan, can no longer appear on the list by default due to the huge number of negative emoji's his posts attract. He therefore can no longer claim 'a win' (whatever that means) as he previously did. This is reason enough to keep the thumbs down emoji.

Not too thrilled to hear about the queues as I arrive the same time as the OP this coming Thursday. Completed my TDAC this morning. Found it very straightforward and the email with acceptance attached arrived within seconds. I thought there was meant to be banks of IPad type devices for those who hadn't already applied to keep the queues for the booths manageable? Might have to try limping on Thursday when I arrive......

You've taken a right hammering on this thread Bignok and we're not even on the second page yet.....

I am lucky enough to still have access to a NHS UK dentist and the associated charges. It was a bit of an emergency. I do use a dentist in Chiang Mai who I find to be excellent. It depends where I am at the time and whether urgent or not.

Complete tosh. This morning I have been to a newsagent's, a bakery, two grocery/supermarkets, a chemist and the dentist. Paid in cash in all of them other than the dentist. Could have paid with cash in the dentist if I had wanted to but it was a considerable sum of money so paid with card.

Complete and utter rubbish.

I think you really need to change 'porn' to 'pawn' and quickly. Two very, very different things....

I find day to day existence to be much less stressful in Thailand compared to the UK. I currently split my time between the two due to various commitments. Pretty much 2 months at a time back and forth. I find almost everything to be a PITA in the UK. Trying to get things done, dealing with bureaucracy etc. I know Thailand can have it's challenges but my days generally go smoothly and without incident. I can always part with a few baht to get things done if necessary which is far from the case in the UK. I am much happier with my life in Thailand and very much looking forward to the day when I can make the move permanently.

Talk about dumb and dumber. You really think @zz4096 is a newbie? He hasn't been here before under another name? He has mugged you pair of halfwits.