Bangkok Barry

I'm not sure that factories are on the same tariff. In fact, I doubt very much that they are. And I also don't know if their rate is also being increased. No doubt someone who does know will chip in soon....

The only things I really miss are decent pubs with several different beers that weren't in the last one I visited, unlike Thailand where the choice is usually the same few beers everywhere. And decent fish and chips.

Thanks. And yes, contactless, even though I contact my card with their machine or entry gate. But then, bad and wicked now mean good, whereas when I were a lad they meant the opposite, and ladies who acted were called actresses instead of adopting the male term of actor, thereby giving up their own identity when I think the aim was the opposite. It's hard to keep up. It's a confusing world.

There's always a danger in making assumptions concerning someone you don't know. I've lived in the country I know nothing about for 26 years, 11 of those up country. Even up country, a close relative has recently spent 80,000 baht on a 'special' number plate for her SUV. She's not struggling for basic necessities. I don't think her daughters will be either, with one newly qualified with a near perfect score to be a lawyer who is in demand by several companies in Bangkok for her services, and another who is soon to qualify as a doctor. A nephew set up his own company designing bathroom ware and is doing very nicely with a huge house, and another has three houses, two pickups, a van used to ferry kids to school, two motorcycles and several plots of land. None struggling for basic necessities, and only one - the lawyer - a Bangkok resident. Outside of the family, a noodle seller in the nearest town has three houses, because she has saved her money instead of taking expensive holidays. There are plenty of Thais with plenty of money out there. To throw your statement, your accusation, back at you, you really don't have a clue.

My point was that 40/20% feels very different to 40/80%, yet that isn't factored into the forecast. In the UK they do include pollen levels, though, but that is unrelated to how hot it will feel. Humidity is a very important factor in that, as it is in cold weather too. I've shivered in 5 degrees in the UK but been out in Arctic Finland in -15 without a coat, just a thick sweater, because the air was dry.

Please read the item I quoted and my response again and you'll have your answer ????

I'll be making a trip to Bangkok next month, the first out my area since March 2020! I know that contact payments are the way to go now and I wondered if I can simply use my UK ATM or Visa card as I would in the UK - tap and go. Or do I have to register? And what about in stores?

I bought my house then. Paid cash, 660,000 which I brought over from the UK. Spent double that in bringing it up to standard and it's probably worth 3.5-4 million now. I'm still checking the price of Weetabix though.

I'm puzzled why nowhere ever seems to not only show temperature in a forecast, but humidity level too. 40 degrees with 20% humidity is fine, and I've even worn a jacket. 40 degrees with 80% humidity is not fine. It's downright nasty. There is a very big difference in comfort level. On that subject, after a relatively mild hot season in my province of Kalasin, with only a couple of days hitting 40, I've found a greater need to use aircon now than I did then. My latest bill shows about 120 units more used than in March/April. The greater humidity, see. It's an important factor but never mentioned.

I think, as with many things associated with Immigration, one officer might and another officer won't. If you find resistance, ask for the boss. Politely, explaining that there may have been a misunderstanding so that the IO doesn't lose face.

OH NO! Another 'all Thais are poor' post. Please wake up. There is a fast growing middle class with plenty of money to spend. If you are in Bangkok, make a tour of the bars and restaurants and see how the Thais are fighting for the 'basic necessities'.

They might, in a decade or three. But I hope they would outsource the procedure of writing and implementing the software to non-Thais, based on the previous record of government digital services. I have no doubt, also, that if foreigners came in and did a time and motion study, it would recommend that about 80% of the staff used should be made redundant.

So, not a tourist then. Perhaps the correspondent who writes for Pattaya News once worked for TAT and can't tell the difference between a tourist and a resident. The Mirror reports that he was an expat. Seems to me that he might have suffered a heart attack after running. Not that unusual. And age wouldn't be a factor. The 49 year old manager of the UK League 2 team I follow, an ex Spurs player, had a cardiac arrest at the gym and died a few days later. If you 'challenge' your body in order to 'keep fit' then it can backfire on you. Everything In Moderation is my motto. Boring, I know.

Does this surprise anyone? Anyone at all? Is there anything that Thais can organise properly, apart from raiding an occasional pub to stop people having a beer after hours?

You've become Thai! If it isn't in your bubble you don't care about it.

You can't get Sky anything in Thailand by legitimate means. Sky have no interest in selling their UK content outside of the UK, which is an open invitation for others to do so. Decades ago, Napster used to do the same by offering music downloads and eventually the record companies woke up and provided the service themselves. TV has a long way to go in that regard.

I can watch all that for 600 a month with the service I've subscribed to for nearly three years. 99% reliable. I win ????

It isn't the stalls putting pedestrians at risk on crossings. It's the drivers who ignore them - both the crossings and the pedestrians.

I have absolutely no idea what this means.

Perfectly normal in Thailand, where someone comes up with an idea and shoots their mouth off without ever thinking the idea through. And typical Thai arrogance in believing that every airline that flies to the country will do as ordered by the government and spend their time processing and transmitting passenger info while in-flight. They have found resistance from the airlines - what a surprise. I'm waiting now for a government minister to threaten to ban any airline that doesn't comply. There's bound to be one, who hasn't thought through what that would mean to tourist numbers.

Was your Visa card delivered to the UK or Thailand? (I didn't mention as it is probably irrelevant that my Visa card is with Barclays, as I once banked with them. I did have a HSBC one but I let that go for a reason I can't remember).

Same for me. When the restrictions were introduced several years ago my decades old account with HSBC was 'grandfathered'. A couple of years ago I had to complete some documents which involved having it certified by a lawyer here in Thailand. As the original documents failed to reach me as the local postman destroyed most of the mail for a period of 18 months instead of delivering it I had to contact the bank when I got a reminder, and they were very friendly and had no problem with my having a Thai address. However, my UK Visa card will expire soon and I have to use my sister's address in the UK to receive the new one as they red flag Thailand for mail theft. Now there's a surprise. Having a Thai address on their record for transaction purposes isn't a problem though.

Morally bankrupt. But that's nothing new here, is it.

Not really. From the article: And on Patong beach lifeguards saved three people.

We don't know that, do we. It seems to me that those who have accidents of any kind will benefit, but not those who fall sick. And it'll work as any insurance does. The companies- in this case the government - charge a large enough fee, knowing only a few will use it and they have enough in the pot not to lose money over it.