nigelforbes

You know full well what's being said. As if it would be up to the cashier whether or not to check the visa expiration date, that's so laughable as to be unfunny.

You are wrong on this point, go ask your bank and get back to us.

That's not very high, that's the warm up round. Very high is when the numbers get into the 3XX.

He probably collects those picture cards too, the ones you get in boxes of PG Tips. And if he's not keeping stats on me too, I shall feel slighted and left out.

I questioned my branch on this point, would you even know what a current visa looked like. They replied yes, I said show me, they did, game over. I wrote to my bank CEO to ask what bank policy is on this point but he didn't reply. I posted the experience here but some knob told me off for wasting his time and that of hardworking branch staff. Hard working branch staff my appendage, most of them don't know the difference between a debit and a credit.

Or via ATM. Things become difficult however if you need anything more complex.

I disagree. If you don't have a valid visa you will not be allowed to transact on your account, if you doubt that, go ask them, I did.

It's been proven many times that they do.

And they could offer discounts on pizza too.

The rule may have been on the books for a long time but it wasn't always followed by branch staff, especially where the customer was of higher net worth or was well known. All that changed not long ago and all banks have now effectively become agents for Imm. for all their foreign customers.

You know those little electronic buzzer units they use at Pizza Company, it flashes and makes a noise when your order is ready? They could put straps on them and tie them to foreigners ankles at the airport when they arrive. pre programmed to go off 24 hours before the visa expires. If they could rig them to give out an electric shock too, that would be just perfect. And if Immi doesn't enter the visa renewal code into the device or it is removed by them and deactivated, it self destructs and takes of the visitors leg, overstayers would be far easier to spot then.

This is the truly troubling part, the farang sense of entitlement. I have this Harry Enfield like character in my mind, Mr Farang Loadsamoney barges his way through airport Immigration checks, I don't need a visa, I'm a farang and I can do what I want, in fact you don't need to see my passport, that's racist. Report every 90 days, that's racist too. And, I can drive here, I've got a license from back home, that's plenty. Stupid backwards people they will say, a third world country that doesn't have a clue, they should get some farangs in here to fix things. If we all left and took our money with us, the banks and the economy would be in serious trouble, they should treat us better, they say. Is it any wonder that Gov. and Immi, responds to the antics of foreigners the way they do and constantly tweak the rules in response to the latest farang workaround or avoidance routine. If the thin veneer of Thai tolerance were stripped away from the locals, more farangs would spend their holidays in ICU beds! The interesting part is that when they go home, they complain about all the foreigners in their home country. Look at this place they will say, the country's immigration and border security programs are a failure and the economy is a joke. Arf arf arf.

I give up how much is it, do I look like Agoda to you!

I'll run Bridgestone Deullers on my truck for no more than 5 years. My wife runs an Attrage that had a set of Dunlops installed four years ago, she'll run those for 6 years max, because it's only a run about and low mileage car. Much more than 5/6 years and the age shows up in the braking and the noise, especially on the Vigo. And at 4k for a one year old tire, that's at least four more years of safe driving for under a hundred Pounds each, it's silly not to.

We were twice yearly visitors to Pattaya, Bangkok and Hua Hin during the past three years. In Naklua we were able to get a seaview room at the Garden Cliff for under 1,500 per night, during our second visit we were two of only 16 guests and were given one of four Junior suites, for the same price, that then became the standard for two further years. Today, the starting price is 2,400, junior suites are 4,000. Same story in Bangkok and Hua Hin.

Plenty of previous discussions on this, one below:

The storyline we hear most frequently is from the dealers who point out that 4 years is the maximum safe life of a tire here, mostly because of the heat. The last two sets of tires we've purchased have been discounted because the tires were already nearly one year old, Bridgestone Deullers at 6,500 baht each, discounted to 4,000 each.

Ultrasound is probably the best check for a fatty liver although alcohol is not always the cause. Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver disease (NAFLD) is caused by obesity and poor diet, another surprising cause is artificial sweeteners.

The last two are okay

Exciteable

Here's why I'm very choosy about who treats my eyes. I woke up one morning with a very large floater in my right eye, foolishly I decided to wait for a week before getting it checked. A week later I went to a well known private hospital, unfortunately my trusted Ophthalmologist wasn’t working that day. I was offered a student nurse which I declined and said I needed to see a retinal expert, by now I understood the potential risks I faced. The receptionist said, “rentinal expert here in one hour, you wait”. Some time later my pupils were dilated and I was seen by the “retinal expert” who said everything was normal but I should come back in a few weeks to check. Two weeks later I was seen by a very different doctor who after questioning claimed it was them I had seen two weeks earlier, the differences between the two were stark in every respect. I played along to see what was going to happen. Thirty seconds into the exam the doctor said I had a torn retina and that laser surgery must be performed there and then, the doctor was quite panicky. I declined but the doctor persisted, I held my ground on the basis that 24 hours probably wasn’t going to make much difference at this point. I couldn’t find a better qualified Ophthalmologist so I underwent laser surgery the next day. Several follow up visits later and the floater remained, despite being told it would disappear, I had lost confidence in my doctor. I sought a second opinion from an Ophthalmologist at an eye hospital and was told I needed 360 degree laser surgery to both eyes, by this point I was seriously unhappy with the advice and treatment I’d received. Out of desperation I made an appointment at the Rutnin to see Dr Roy and was seen within 24 hours. Both my retina’s were photographed in hi res-color, the entire retina’s. Dr Roy did a visual exam and confirmed that all was well, my retina’s being displayed on a 50 inch screen on his office wall for us both to view. Dr Roy’s findings were that the laser surgery has been successful and no further intervention was required, he said I was lucky because I had waited a long time before having surgery. His advice was to forget the second Ophthalmologist I had seen and not go back. Dr Roy went on to say that the floater would remain with me forever. In case you don’t know, Dr Roy is US educated and trained and was Resident at Emory University. Later, I posted my experience on FB and advised readers to positively ID beforehand, any doctor they see and to check their photograph on the hospital web site. Shortly after that was posted, there was a mass change in photo’s on that hospitals web site, along with photo’s of the Ophthalmologist who did my surgery, at other private hospitals. NO names, no pack drill!

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I would much prefer to get the prescription as part of an annual check by an Ophthalmologist that I trust, that way the glasses shop doesn't have to do anything apart from the mechanical construction and fitting part and I can shop around based on price alone.

I don't know where you get that idea from but Molnupiravir antivirals are widely available here plus boosters are available at every hospital I know of.

Molnupiravar antiviral works just fine, we finished a four day course last week.