KhaoNiaw

You would never see me reading either but I read a lot.

He had a lot of female groupies in Thailand, including some rather hiso types. Seemed very attractive to the ladies.

You're quite wrong. He was a huge figure and story in Thailand before he left and these monks are prostrating themselves out of respect for who they perceive and believe him to be. There probably should be an investigation into why it is they still revere him in such a way after all this time.

I'm not sure but could it be the that it works to a specific agent's benefit to get a bit more out of you? I had something similar happen with Direct Asia a couple of years ago, where the quote was higher than the previous year. In the end, when I talked to the agent, she agreed to a quote a little lower than the year before. When you get a renewal reminder from Direct Asia, it names a specific agent (not necessarily the same each year) and if you call, you talk to that person. It didn't take her very long to change the quote and she didn't seem to need any authorization, so it made me think that she may be working within certain parameters and earning based on those. No idea if that's the case and this has only happened once from a number of years with Direct Asia.

I once helped a Thai friend go through the online visa application form. She was going to travel alone and just wanted me to check that she'd understood it all correctly. It looked like all the information about requirements etc. was on the UK government website: https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor

It will go through customs before it gets to the Post Office. If you get a notification from your local PO, everything will already have been officially logged and recorded and you'll have to pay what's due.

A couple of people have explained that to you already. A karaoke bar where girls just come and sit for drinks is definitely not a go-go bar.

I know they are. Just saying they're not go-go bars.

Go-go bars are very much for western tourists. The Thai bars you're talking about are almost always karaoke places.

Yes. They won't extend beyond the validity of the passport.

It is recognized now.

You don't need a UK account.

The time regular mail has taken to arrive from the UK has been a bit variable but I haven't had anything disappear. Earlier in the year I had a few things that took a couple of months to get here but I got a package a couple of days ago that took almost exactly a week. Though I read stories of disappearing mail, in over 30 years I've only had one piece of mail from the UK that has gone completely astray. If you're not getting anything at all, it could be a rogue postie or someone in the local post office.

You should have a 13-digit ID number on your vaccination certificate following the 2nd shot that will allow you to register on Mor Prom. Worked for me.

Yes, you're absolutely right. I was just unhelpfully musing on them going all gestapo about someone staying longer than number of days stated in the application. It reminded me of the days we had to go for a mini grilling at the tax office to get a certificate to be able to leave the country.

It doesn't actually say the visa is for 43 days. It just says that's the length of stay, which is what you said you've stated in the application. Most likely the visa will be valid for a stay of 60 days but it opens up the possibility of being questioned about reasons and means for an extension I suppose.

Didn't get it that bad, I was just achy and tired. For both jabs of AZ that lasted through the day for me but after a night's sleep I was fine the next day.

Just trying to earn a crust ...

I've never understood why those boxes aren't asterisked when they need that information. Just carelessness when the system was set up I guess. I was once amazed to get a phone call from a very nice woman at immigration (CW) who told me I'd missed one of those boxes. She told me she would reject it and I could resubmit, which all went very smoothly. Excellent service.

I'll need some time to mullet over.

I had the same situation last year. At the Bangchak office, they said the app is only for Thais and even though I could show I'd watched the video and answered the questions online, they wouldn't accept it. I'm not sure what the situation is like now but last year (at that particular office) you had to go in person to make an appointment for a date 2-3 months away. I know a couple of people who got lucky when they turned up in the morning without an appointment and the foreign quota for the session hadn't been filled.

Report from Wild Encounter's first post-lockdown trip. 5 whales seen, including 2 cows with calves: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=wildencounterthailand&set=a.2993103284262285

Yes, it's true. Yes, they are informing people the second shot is AZ.

Wild Encounter have announced on the Facebook page (Thai and English) that they're starting up again taking September bookings. If you don't see whales, they'll take you out again free until you do. They very rarely draw a blank I believe. https://www.facebook.com/wildencounterthailand/photos/pcb.2988581851381095/2988571454715468/

They're not suggesting that, simply reporting their findings.