Gaccha

Hot news! Miraa now supports Thai. It has the astonishing capability of AI learning: it will analyse and interpret any sentence's deep meaning. For example, let's pick a random Thai drama off YouTube: I can click for an explanation of the vocabulary, and the grammar: And then you can ask for instant deep analysis: This is like having a teacher in the room with you. I have never seen anything like this before. It gives you 30 minutes free a day.

The situation is even better now because there are Apps utilising the auto-generated subtitles allowing us to even do quick re-listens to segments of dialogues. They space out the subtitles so you can see them in full paragraphs. They even allow you to dub over the voice with a clean autogenerated Thai voice (if absolutely necessary). I strongly recommend both LingoTube and LingVotube as examples of these apps (the former is slightly superior). I'm also hoping that the remarkable Miraa App will become available for Thai readers and listeners. In their free versions they are all excellent and I have never felt a need to pay for the extra functions.

I did this for many years, albeit for the work extension. But recently I've found arriving very last minute minimises the wait the best. I think the queue tickets are stopped from 3:30pm, so 3:20pm would be safe. I did have a photo of the queue counter close times but I can't find it now so hopefully somebody on the ground can confirm. If you do this, owing to large numbers of dropouts and staff desperate to get home, you should be seen and done within 2 or possibly 3 hours.

Does your phone still receive regular security updates? It could be that it is so old that Samsung is no longer providing enough security for the bank to be comfortable.

Some very major updates by the son: "As things move forward following Friday's earthquake in Bangkok, things have also continued to be delayed in acquiring an answer from the UK embassy with regard to whether my dad would receive the care needed on arrival back in the UK on time and there is a concern over NHS waiting lists. The last thing I would want for him is to be repatriated back there, only to find he would be waiting for a year for treatment. It seems the best option will be to keep my dad here in Thailand and look to proceed with an amputation, investigation into his internal health issues and to put him on a feeding tube until his weight is brought up. I will also need to look to find other suitable, "honest" carers where things do not get stolen in my absence to support me with him so I can go back to working as I have lost a lot during the last few months. I have therefore updated the GFM target to reflect addressing the medical needs here and caring for him over the next 6 months." Obviously you don't give up a (lucrative?) job in finance in order to do care work for your father far away from home, when clearly the medical costs are going to hit you. The hospitals in Thailand are Grade A level and there is no reason to go to the UK to get better care. In fact, the care would probably be worse because of the long waiting lists and the decrepit structure.

Have you switched off phone WiFi?

Go to "Settings", go to "Accessibility", go to "Installed apps", and then deactivate every single app which is currently on.

Count me out. Under Thai law, playing poker even for fake tokens is strictly prohibited. (I've read the relevant gambling legislation)

I would go if they had a poker table (I mean real poker, not poker where you play against the bank), and it had a low rake. There is a lack of poker in southeast Asia. The nearest reputable poker establishment is Nagaworld. There are also some dodgy places but I don't want to go near them. There are a lot of fishy players (think of all the ASEANnow posters) in Asia making it an ideal place to enjoy myself.

I noticed that that link confirms my position (I'm the only person in this chat pointing this out so I will emphasise it again): you must submit your old passport and they will send it to the UK with the rest of the documents. You do not get to keep it. I suspect most people in this chat are either not UK citizens, or have never applied for a new passport from Thailand. To apply for a new passport from Thailand you must prove that you are resident in Thailand. You cannot be a mere tourist by your visa. To quote the link: Do I need to send original documents with my application? Yes, you must send your old passport, and in some cases, additional supporting documents (such as a name change certificate).

No. But my passport fills up very quickly with visa renewals and travelling to other countries. This is a common problem among expats.

I went myself. Handed over my passport along with all other required materials, such as colour photocopies.

When did this change of rules happen? When I got a new British passport in October in Thailand I had to submit my passport. It was sent to the UK. 2 weeks later I then went to the offices and collected the new passport and the clipped old passport. I did not get to keep my passport. I did exactly the same 5 years before that. Because for 2 weeks I had no passport I was careful to keep a photocopy on me.

I'm very pleased to see how quiet this place now is. I am eager to see if the new digital arrival card will mean we no longer have to attend in person on the first 90 days (this has only been policy since around February 2024 anyway). The first person to report on this-- who will know for certain-- should be around mid-September. Edit: Here is a link to the digital arrival card.

Yes, you definitely have one. It will be recorded on your tax records that your employer has, and which you should also have.

One of the most enjoyable ways to get into Thai language study and politics was to peruse the '2bangkok' website run by Ron Morris. He'd take a political cartoon from one of the Thai newspapers and provide a translation: His analysis was pretty handy: The website closed down a few years back. So if anyone is out there looking to do something interesting and useful, then here is your chance. I promise I'll visit your site.

Because around 20% of all money in financial circulation is criminal money. That money is seeking to be laundered by obfuscating its origins through lots of money transfers through legitimate organisations like Wise.

You have evidence of this? There were rumours in December and nothing since.

Or perhaps not. Did you violate any of their terms of service? Did you engage in crypto activities? This is a giant red flag for regulators and it always risks your account being closed.

It is very highly likely that you are supposed to receive a physical card. It is incredibly unlikely that a virtual card would be charged; they are almost always free. KTB has no travel card which is exclusively a virtual card. But it is possible to withdraw from an ATM without the card, just as it is possible nowadays with many banks through their standard bank App features. I think you have put yourself into a great deal of confusion. Virtual cards have been around for a long time and had no special ability to withdraw from ATMs without a card. In fact that was one of the ways that their functionality was limited. If I was you I would download the NEXT app. See if you can locate the travel card on it and figure out the features for making an ATM withdrawal via the App. When you have the chance you should then go to the branch which issued you with the travel card and ask them for the card.

It operates as a standard ATM card. It just has certain benefits as to currency exchange costs etc. It offers connection to the Visa Paywave system, as do the other cards. For other options you can see that TTB bank's absolute bog standard card has the same function except it's actually better (since the rates are better, although not listed on this chart):

I'm afraid I don't believe he will be able to obtain an exemption. As a male citizen he has a duty that is not avoided by being a dual or triple citizen, or by living abroad: In fact he could even lose his Thai citizenship if he does not comply: There are only very few exemptions. The best possibility looks like walking into the consulate and getting a meeting. If they're not answering the phone I don't see any other option. It is there where the exemption is typically issued.

This case just gets stranger. It turns out that they actually pleaded guilty at the trial despite insisting that they wanted their 'day in court' just a couple of days ago. So foolish but understandable because they obviously buy into the narrative that you see on this topic that the farang is uniquely oppressed by the Thai legal system. Having watched the CCTV, there is simply no way the judge would have found them guilty. The only possibility is that the CCTV has been edited in their favour; I notice that the beginning of the fight is not available for viewing. Did they provoke? Who punched first?

They are extremely cheap compared with English lawyers. It's a very simple legal case and would not require much work on the part of the lawyer.

Let's be clear: You cannot sell what you don't own. There was clearly no risk of prison, as anyone could see from reading about their case. The legal fees won't have cost much. Their campaign to get diplomats and politicians involved had no effect on the verdict.