PPGuy

Headed to Ahmedabad and Vadodara for work related issued. Not the most scenic part of India but may have time for a couple of days to Goa, except likely to be inundated with fleeing Russians so may look to go elsewhere. Not the season, just now, but have been watching the youtuber, Riding with Gavi, and his recent trip to Northern India was quite impressive. Thanks again.

Just an update. I completed the eVisa application yesterday (8th) after seeing that the UK had been added as per the press reports (thanks @Mahseer). Had a few missteps in both the downloading files and payment process. Eventually completed all the steps and the eVisa popped into my inbox this morning. Went for a 1 year tourist visa. Cost was $41 which compared rather favourably with the normal visa fee (around Bt5,500) not to mention the hassle and expense of a trip to VFS in Bangkok. So, good timing by the Indian government to allow us Brits onto the eVisa scheme. Likely headed to India in the coming weeks. Can't wait.......

For me, works for the SCB App, but not possible for Bangkok Bank App.

Thanks for that update. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/travel-news/india-restores-e-visa-facility-for-british-passport-holders/articleshow/96024317.cms I did a quick check on the application form and see that. on the one I looked at, the citizenship option still excludes UK, but not country of Birth which always has had UK as an option. The article does say that an upgrade is under process. My experience of India government IT issues is that this may take a bit of time....... Good news anyway.

Google is a wonderful thing............

i believe so, but have not tried it myself. Maybe give it a go?

Nope. Maybe you have not heard about the online lottery option......

Thanks for your comment. Luckily my reason for needing to travel at this time disappeared but not before having a go at filling in the visa application form. Had a problem getting it printed and contacted VFS for their assistance. This was about a week back - still waiting for any response from them!! But have moved on from that. Sounds like I avoided additional heartaches further into the application process... Had applied for a few eVisas 3/4 years back with no problem but UK are now off the list (one of only a very few countries) due to quid pro quo issues on UK visas for Indians...... Maybe Sunak can get this sorted!! Been working in/traveling to India since 1999 and the need to surmount any number of hurdles never fails. My company has just concluded a Supreme Court case after going through the many appeal levels for the past 20 years. An absolute nightmare. Now having issues with our local bankers and having to get RBI assistance to resolve. Still not there yet. Paying a fortune to local advisors - the system certainly benefits them, so no desire to change the process. The hardest part is explaining all this to my UK company!!

I believe that was another accident that is reported here: https://aseannow.com/topic/1279284-accident-traphaya-rd-at-pratumnak-traffic-signal-friday-2511/

GB News have recently picked up on the Frozen Pensions issue. Yes, their footprint is rather small but this video has gathered 218k views since 22Nov. Every little helps!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBa_p4jcIKI

Fry Group, a UK based financial / pension advice company but with an office in Singapore, have received some good reviews in the past. May be worth a contact to see what they can offer. I have used them in the past and found them very professional. As with all such actions, caveat emptor should be uppermost.

Yup, the Yanks should be a slam dunk for that World Series face off.

I understand that UK passport holders are yet to be included in the Indian government eVisa scheme. Most countries were re-instated following covid restrictions but that has not, so far, included those with UK passports. https://www.thetravelmagazine.net/qa-im-a-british-citizen-why-cant-i-get-an-evisa-to-travel-to-india/ I believe that an application via VFS at Trendy in Bangkok is the only current option (is that correct?), or does anyone know of a Pattaya based travel agent that can offer this service?

This is an opinion piece on The Guardian. The comments on the article are probably of as much interest. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/nov/23/ftx-binance-crypto-market#comment-159996703

Thanks for that info. Then it must have been possible to have it backdated as he was born in 1991. Is that the case?

Not always so black and white. My son was born at Chula hospital in Bangkok some 30 years ago. His mother is Thai. The BC noted him as 'non-Thai' and the mother, correctly, as 'Thai'. All fully signed off by the Thai officials. We needed to petition the Ministry of interior and it took them over 2 years to issue a letter confirming him as Thai and then having that noted on the reverse side of the BC, still with the front page showing him as 'non-Thai'. 'Officials', don't you just love them!!

I opened it about 4 years ago. As I noted, having a long-term SCB account may have helped but possible that the deciding factor was having a retirement extension. It may be more problematic if you only have a tourist visa or entered visa exempt. But worth a try.

I have had an SCB account in Pattaya for well over 20 years. A few years back I decided to open a Bangkok Bank account because of the advantage that gives when receiving Wise funds and provides proof for retirement extensions. Went to the BBk branch on Khao Noi and, amongst other questions, I was asked if I had another account with a Thai bank. Luckily I had my SCB bank book with me and they took a copy of the account info page and I had my new BBk account shortly thereafter. No idea if that made the difference but it certainly seemed to help.

Not my experience from a year or so back. But may have changed recently.

I pay via the SCB banking app. Works a treat. Scan the QR code and off you go. I know that Bangkok Bank app is not compatible but other banking apps may also work.

Had a 'great' dentist experience at St.Louis but this was way back in the 80's, so highly unlikely same staff but possibly same high standards. Needed a wisdom to be extracted and the female dentist made short work of the extraction process. Couple of jabs and then the crunching as the tooth gave way. Minimal pain for a couple of days and fine thereafter. Was expecting much worse so left a lasting memory of a job well done.

Seems that even the 'billionaire' Winklevoss twins are feeling the heat. It may just affect only part of their crypto empire (Genesis Earn) but this may suggest a wider issue. https://www.thestartmagazine.com/article/f0486b2e-8f99-206d-073f-2843c9f6d17d?ref=TmV0RGFuaWFfV2ViJSQldGNPSVhvWWVzb3F6bVhuYnluVnhTdVF0UlhQSDlQVHQlJCUxMzU3OTg2NDI=&category=48&language=en&recommendationId=TIME_BL

Erm, you may need to redo your calculation as each game requires two teams to participate......

The simple explanation could be that the bike is still under finance. The book is only handed over when fully paid.

Yes indeed. Looking back at my past PEA bills i can see that I was paying about 4.55 per unit back in Oct12, this for using 1,151 units. With the recent increase, my last bill, Oct22, averaged at 5.53 on a usage of 1,014 units. So, an increase over 10 years of around 22%. Not too shabby. In that time the rates have varied, for me, from 4.87 in Jul14 to 4.14 in Nov16.