mikebell

I don't think I explained myself very well. Avast is threatening to cut off my protection - the free level which came with the computer. Every message got more dire as I had nine outdated drivers which they would fix if I downloaded the expensive version so I downloaded it from TPB - but can't find the key.

Thank you. I have checked in vain. Avast has verified my email but would they send a key if they detect me using a Pirated version?

This is my intention in the future. I am impressed with your detailed answer. I did fly with them (eventually) but not without Etihad first telling me for an hour my entire journey appeared to have been a scam and I had been cheated out of 1800 UKP. I did not know planes out of BKK would be shabby during the UK Summer months. I have never travelled in any plane, with any other company where I have been too hot - I thought that the provided blankets were to combat the opposite discomfort. I have experienced turbulence before but never heard hysterical screaming broadcast to the rest of the plane and the complete absence of cabin crew for nearly two hours.

I have Avast free anti-virus which came with the computer. The messages kept getting more and more threatening; then they were going to stop my (free) subscription. I downloaded the professional version but can't get it to work (I need a key?) I am doing it because Avast tells me I have NINE outdated drivers. If I erase Avast is there another (simple) way of updating drivers? I am 82 and a bit simple in the IT world.

Agreed.

Introducing TDAC is not the right way to go.

I said I booked it in September of last year. The actual flight was June into July this year. I came back two weeks ago, thank you for asking.

see above.

See below.

I'm clairvoyant! I meant 2024.

Despite booking my seats September 30th 2025, the flight times changed five times. After two in two days I wondered if I was being hacked and sought help via the Chatline. The experience left me traumatised fearing I had been scammed out of the most expensive air tickets I had ever bought. I have a full transcript of their failures which went on for over an hour in which I was told I was not in their system despite giving them my booking reference; the ticket numbers I provided were not recognised; finally to be told 'OK we've found you, panic over.' I began a series of emails with a spokesperson for the company, who was totally devoid of any empathy suffered by this 82 year old in the middle of the night. Eventually he deigned to offer an apology though he clearly did not know what damage his company's inefficiency had caused. When I mentioned the C-word (compensation) he just ceased all communication and ignored my subsequent emails. As my departure date drew near, I feared the worst and that is exactly what I got: the worst flight experience in over 70 years of air travel. The Etihad flight EY407 from BKK to AUH was an unmitigated disaster from start to finish. I had paid for Economy + for the extra legroom & priority boarding. The 777-300ER was well passed its scrap-by date; on a survey of ONE row, my companion's window seat did not recline; my TV needed a woodpecker to change screens (I pitied the guy in front); the aisle seat also had a problem but this was forgotten in the next 50 minutes as we hit turbulence. How must passengers feel when they hear the cabin crew screaming hysterically over the (very poor) intercom system! Not ONE announcement was decipherable except 'Cabin Staff may resume your duties.' This effectively resulted in mass hibernation and it was TWO Hours into the flight before they made an appearance. It was obviously my lady's first day on the job as she ignored the hungry, thirsty lines of passengers in front of her, to chat at length to perhaps her family on the front row supporting her. Eventually it was our turn; she got two of the three orders right but had to be called back to serve us drinks. Her attempt at G&T was comical (and expensive) - seemingly 50/50% gin to tonic - no ice; no slice. Sweat dripped off my nose as despite the millions spent on the plane, nobody had taught the pilot the rudiments of the thermostat. From AUH to AGP it was as if I had magically changed companies. The 787-9 was everything the previous plane wasn't; everything worked even the staff who were extremely attentive; one had even sorted out how to work the thermostat. Again the return journey was a tale of two companies; no problems at Malaga; the Check-in staff even wanted to see my TDAC completed form (though they didn't realise my Thai companion did not need one - it is only for foreigners entering Thailand.) Then came the return flight where again no one knew how to adjust the thermostat for at least three hours and frequent requests to the cabin crew. I normally never comment on food served as it is generally unappetising whatever airline one flies with; this one was possibly the worst I'd attempted to eat ever and with NO CHOICE - Thai Chicken curry. Disgraceful

Thank you.

Thanks to the on-line 90 day reporting, it is ages since I did one in person. However I believe after a holiday abroad a personal visit is required. I have forgotten what else is required besides the above completed form. I need to go to Soi 5 Jomtien.

I play table-tennis 3 times a week. The Ambassador Hotel Na Jomtien has turned its nose up at our 600 baht and shut down its A/C. We moved to Royal Garden Pavilion; less convenient but cool. Last week they too shut off the A/C so we have gone to Mike's Shopping Mall - cheaper and no fuss about parking.

In Bangkok too. My usual is asking for 30% more; I've gone with another hotel opposite. Thai economics is senseless. 'Our profits are down, let's punish the few remaining customers'. Will the last tourist please turn off the lights on their way out.

Some cracking imagery. More applause; keep 'em coming.

So much bickering and nit-picking. It is a story; literature. Some of it may be real; some/all fictitious. Quit carping over whether it's been raining or not; whether there's football on TV. Enjoy or ignore. The writer has a distinctive voice, a decent stock of images and his stories are often topical.

Warning to the long suffering clients of The Ambassador Hotel Na Jomtien. Yet again this vast white elephant has shut its doors to the only people who use it; clients of the Sports Facilities. I have been a regular customer for over 15 years, first as a Squash player and latterly as a table tennis player, yet I experience disgraceful service seemingly on a monthly basis. Despite assiduously filling in our contact details of email/telephone numbers we are often denied service for a variety of lies without notice. 'Gym closed for refurbishment for two days' - it re-opened over two weeks later with not a trace of anything new! The most common fault is in the A/C system which works or doesn't depending on who's on reception. One manager confessed that the 'hotel' cannot afford to run the A/C as it was too expensive. It is an unguarded secret that the site is earmarked for Thailand's first casino. Thus they have no interest in penny-ante clients paying 600 baht a week whilst employing two redundant people to stare at their phones all day. Until Thailand understands the Service Industry; brand building, they will continue to lose tourists to Vietnam.

A perfect time to introduce TDAC. Keep It Simple Stupid - Vietnam's recipe for success.

I filled them in on on the return plane every year of my family trips home. Then Thai Immigration decided they were unnecessary for some years; then they decided they were and came up with TDAC. Was the country overrun with criminals after TM6 and before TDAC? The point I am trying to make, amid my incompetence, is surely there should be a go-around for long-term expats whose particulars are held annually in triplicate on paper (and often used to print other documents on by officers trying to save paper.)

Thank you for your continued support. I am a belt & braces man and the thought of waiting till I got to the airport would have been totally abhorrent to me. It may have resulted in my arrest by Malaga police for causing a public disturbance! I have now two numbers to play with: my retirement 'visa' number valid till next May; and my multi-re-entry permit number also valid till then. I did a dummy run & printed out all the data I thought I would need to satisfy TDAC. Apparently I missed something.

I have a phone which is smarter than me - I don't know how to do screenshots and/or even find them again; I needed my TGF's phone to photo everything. The TDAC is predicated on the fact that everyone has access to the internet. I do not have a plan that allows me access to satellites anywhere in the world; I am reliant on a hotel's wi-fi which in my case was infuriatingly slow and may well have contributed to my impatience.

Amid the plethora of false starts, I cannot remember at what point I tried inserting the visa number. I kept getting the 'Insufficient Data' message almost every time I sought to move on to the next page. My experience is sufficient to deter my daughter/S-i-L from T/Land; we're going to meet up in Vietnam.

'visa # NOT required!!!' I did not get past the 1st page till I had answered this! As I said there will be many who smugly reply about how stupid I must be. Presumably you are a lot younger than 82; have a modern phone/computer access (hi-speed?) and are not an ex-pat. Once you got the reply you were obviously sufficiently tech-savvy to save it without the need for a 2nd phone. I am suggesting that in the world I inhabit, there are dinosaurs like me who armed with a multiple re-entry permit and 20 years of data already collected by Thai Immigration (I have seen pages of this stuff on my records on a computer in a Pattaya Immigration office,) I question the need for TDAC in some cases.

I know I face criticism from those more blessed/smart than I. Before I went on holiday to Spain, I did a dry run and photographed & printed it out. Then I attempted the real thing! It took at least 30 attempts to progress not helped by doing it on my phone with the hotel's slow internet. The site is not kind towards ex-pats. All these years of being carefully to avoid using the 'Retirement Visa' phrase, I now find TDAC asking for my 'Visa number'. I had to check and for the 1st time in 20 years, the number had been printed in pen and legibly. Then came more false starts over my (Thai) telephone number - 'Insufficient Data' times 10. In the end I made up an English one and moved forward. Many have said it's a piece of cake to fill it in; I disagree - I was lucky enough to have my TGF with me to photo my eventual success. When I got to Malaga airport yesterday for the return journey, the authorities asked for it (As I don't have a satellite phone package and relied on her 'Gallery' photo! They've not got it quite sorted as they also asked for my companion's Digital card & I pointed out as a Thai, she did not need one. (Meanwhile Vietnam tourism keeps it simple to visit whilst Thailand's numbers are circling the plughole.)