edwardandtubs

I'll be checking in one bag but it's not big enough for all my stuff so I'll put clothes in my hand luggage.

Would Lufthansa care if my hand luggage was a 55 litre backpack? It's probably over their dimensions limits but I've never seen a full fare airline make a fuss. Plus, the plane will probably be half empty so do you think I'll get away with it?

Was the test uncomfortable? Was it the "brain tickler" type or just a throat and nostrils swab?

I've got a million baht sitting between a Kasikorn and Bangkok Bank standard savings account. I'm leaving the country for 9 months and would like to earn a bit more interest. Any recommendations for an account that can be opened on a tourist visa?

With these new sandboxes like Samui and Krabi, when exactly are you taking the first PCR test? Is it at the airport or your hotel? The Bangkok Post says at the hotel but they think that's what happens with the Phuket sandbox too so they may be mistaken. Do you know @ubonjoe?

Thanks for the information. I'm not due to fly back for a few months so hopefully the test and go will be back by then. Do you mind sharing the hotel or hospital you used?

Was this at Phuket airport?

Most other countries now use less invasive PCR tests that use a swab from the throat and nostrils (just one to two centimetres in) or even just saliva. It seems if you want to enter Thailand though you still have to undergo the nasopharyngeal swabs that go deep inside the nose right into the skull. Is this what they're still using at Phuket airport? Is there any way, either sandbox or quarantine, of getting a less invasive PCR test?

I felt a bit better when I got a joint ferry and bus ticket at the Seatran ticket counter for 390 baht. The bus was a nice big one and picked us up with no waiting and took us straight to the airport. The whole journey from Nathon to Surat Thani airport took 3 and a half hours. What would be good would be a recommendation for an honest motorbike rental shop in Nathon that's open right now. The roads seem a lot safer now they're so empty.

Conclusion: stay away from Samui unless you've got your own wheels.

470 baht with the metre.

Grab is totally dead. Even the idea of a taxi going from Lamai to Nathon pier for 200 baht is ridiculous. I got a metred taxi instead because the minibus transfer + ferry + transfer to Surat Thani airport services are not running.

I tried to get one a few days ago from Crystal Bay to Lamai but didn't get a driver and didn't see any cars on the map. Tomorrow I want to go from Lamai to the ferry pier. The Grab app shows it costs just over 200 baht which seems surprisingly good value but do you think I'll actually get a car/taxi? I don't want to risk missing the ferry but I don't want to get ripped off by a taxi driver. I've heard about Navigo but can't get it from the Google play store.

Is it possible to convert a tourist visa with covid extensions to non-b for teaching work? Have there been any reports of anyone successfully doing this?

Thank you very much. I think that will suffice, particularly with the signature and stamp at the bottom.

They've specifically said that that wouldn't be acceptable and that it must be a bank statement. Anyone received an actual statement from a Thai bank recently with their address on it?

I need a Thai bank statement for address verification purposes in the UK. A poster in a thread from about five years ago was in a similar position and said the statement given to him wasn't accepted because it was the same as a printout of an online statement. Is that what the banks still give you if you request a statement? Like that poster, I've been specifically told a printout of an online statement is not acceptable. I think what they're looking for is an old school bank statement like you used to get through the post every month in the UK, or at least something that resembles that.

Thanks. Even though I live in Bangkok, I think I'll try that at any easier location like Cha am.

I lost my 5-year driving licence a while ago and it finally expired this April. I would like to renew it but all the online guides I've read say you need to hand in your old licence, which of course I don't have. I do have a photo of it though. Would that be enough? Also, when is the deadline for me to renew it?

I've seen people loading accident victims dripping with blood on the back of a motorbike.

A recent report has confirmed the chances of someone under 50 suffering TTS (also called VITT) are one in 50,000. Here's the full report: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2109908 And here's a more user friendly article about it: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/11/oxfordastrazeneca-vaccine-rare-blood-clot-syndrome-has-high-mortality-rate

Glad to put your mind at rest then.

No. How on earth did you come to that conclusion?

Because of the effectiveness of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, people think mRNA vaccines are some kind of magic, but in reality the CureVac mRNA vaccine failed and there's every chance this Chula one will too.

The upshot is if you're planning to travel from Thailand to the UK any time within the next few months, don't get your vaccine here in Thailand but wait and get it done in the UK. Hopefully some kind of international certification system will be here next year but don't hold your breath.