theoldgit

The fact that there's a one bottle limit comes as a surprise; I've hauled in two at a time routinely for years.

The limit for all liquor is 1 litre, so one bottle is under the limit and two bottles slightly over, I suspect two bottles wouldn't cause a problem, it never has with me either.

I thought Moet Chandon was 1400-1500B retail at Tesco in Bangkok.

I noticed the bog standard Moet Chandon at 3995B in Villa today, maybe Tesco is a tad cheaper, but I doubt if it's as cheap as you recall.

I am going into Tesco's tommorrow and if I see it at that price I will let you know - after I have stocked up of course.

Sainbury's in the UK stock it at £30, 1500B.

Yes, World Nomads is pretty good and flexible, and the insurance is actually operated by BUPA. Agree with Neverdie about the 5% discount for subsequent purchases though you can get a 10% discount as well at the moment if you add the promotion code "WNFEB10".

Unlike Schengen Countries you are not required to prove you hold insurance at any stage of the UK visa process, but you would be unwise to travel without it.

stupid policy imo. what if you get stranded in thaioand and the only way home is using a friend or another family members credit card to book the flight who will not be travelling with you....

then what are you supposed to do?

Quite simple really, you either go into the airlines office with the card holder and book, you use the procedure I highlighted a couple of posts back or book person at a travel agent.

This rule only applies for those who want to book and pay online using a third parties card.

This has been policy for most Airlines in the past 6 mths my CC has been asked for with Qantas,Emirates and Thai.You have to read the fine print. I booked online with Thai for a family friend to visit when I had paid and printed my ticket I re checked lo and behold IN BOLD letters it stated the person using the CC had to travel at least one leg of the journey I called Thai in Pattaya and asked what I could do, they told me 'you not read rules you have to cancel' I then called Thai in Sydney who berated me (gently) but sent an Email to Thai in Pattaya asking them to re-issue ticket at no extra charge, the girls were not pleased to see me at the Pattaya office they practically threw it at me. The days of purchasing tickets for anyone bar yourself is the new age of travelling.

Yes this seems to be pretty common now with a number of airlines, but there is a way round the rule about credit card holders having to be one of the passengers with Thai, but it is on their website, though pretty well hidden. It's actually on the page where you enter the CC details, http://www.thaiair.com/booking/non_pax_traveler.html it would seem to be so well hidden that even the Thai staff in Pattaya were not aware.

I think he will be a hard act to follow, especially as I understand it's not a salaried post with the Honorary Consul receiving just minimal expenses.

I have never met the guy but he seems pretty switched on, hope he enjoys his retirement.

What country are you applying for a visa for?

Most countries ask for original documents, because they can be faked, which will be returned, and copies of some documents.

Obviously the original passport must be submitted, that's where the visa will be put, in the event of a UK sponsored application a copy of the sponsors passport. Bank statements, originals and copies.

This is the list from the UK which indicates originals and copies of some documents, http://www.vfs-uk-th.com/images/VisitSocial.pdf but as I say it depends on the country you are are applying for.

^^

Sucked dry for 600 Baht, a bargain indeed.

Probably more importantly, you might want to make sure the Aircon filters are clean & the things are serviced regularly with the outdoor compressor unit being cleaned, ie: you might have to spend a little to save.

Long time no speak.

So how much does it cost to get one of those things, properly, serviced?

I go to bed with a cold water bottle.

Why don't you just put a fan in the kids room.... problem sorted

Or just hide the remote.

Try and avoid the rush hours when you have to squeeze in amongst all the office girls going to work, there really is no room, it's terrible.

I thought Moet Chandon was 1400-1500B retail at Tesco in Bangkok.

Never seen it that price, you could be correct of course but I have seen it at 3,500B.

Surely with the Baht being stronger against western currencies imported products should be going down in price, not up.

Yes you are limited to 1 litre of any alcohol into Thailand though you might get away with two bottles if you are stopped.

The last bottle I purchased at Duty Free on arrival was 1,600 Baht, about £32, a bottle, it's about 3,500 in town.

Or you can get the bus near the bus station at Ekamai to the far end of Soi Ekamai, tuk tuk type bus, the canal boats stop somewhere there, you have to change boats at Pratunam, the end of the line for the first boat.

It can be quite an interesting journey though, depending on the time of day, the boats can get pretty crowded.

I won't bore you with my rave about credit cards, what crap they are, how they are a built in inflation maker, how they are a capitalist scam helping to ruin the U.S. economy...oh, ever mind.

But anyhow I don't have a credit card, I don't really want one, (I do have a bank ATM card for my U.S. bank account) so I never book an airline on line with a credit card. I book through an local travel agent here in Greece, who saved me 200 Euro on my last trip by finding a discounted fare that was available only through travel agents, not on-line, that Thai International had been running in January to promote tourism.

So I never have been asked for a credit card, and if they do I'll tell them I don't have one. The information is in their computer database records for the E-ticket I purchased. My passport, which I always carry anyhow, is fine for identification. In addition I have 3 I.D. cards that have my photos on, issued by the Greek government and the U.S. government that allows me to enter my work area.

Credit cards are junk, a capitalist scam, and I will never have one, or hopefully never need one. I pay with cash, or I don't buy it. My passport and government I.D.s are what I use for identification. I check in with a human agent, and they accept my passport as identification.

That's all very interesting, but if you don't use a credit card to make your booking they will not ask to see the credit card you booked with will they?

I thought this thread was all about people making bookings online, for themselves or somebody else, and the passenger being asked to show that card before they are boarded, it is a fact that some people have faced difficulties if someone else books the ticket and then doesn't fly.

Agree that you should be honest and and your girlfriend should say five months if that's what your plans are.

But bear in mind that one of the reasons a lot of applications fail is because of the reason to return, if your girlfriend is working or studying she needs to explain to the ECO how she can justify leave of absence for that period of time and convince the ECO that she is not using the tourist visa route to live in the UK.

But yes, she needs to be honest.

You only need to provide a certified copy of your passport, I have always certified the copy myself.

Visa World (UK) are based in Mill Hill in London and have been providing consular services for over 20 years we are also an agent of the UK Passport office.

VFS Global are not the best people to deal with at the best of times. In the UK they control the visas for India, Russia and a few others. They are a legitimate company and so far have provided a good service.

Further to the point raised by 7by7, the IPS do not have any accredited agents, nor do they keep lists of agents or make recommendations.

The point you make about VFS Global who, as you say "are not the best people to deal at the best of times" but are "a legitimate company and have so far provided a good service" is obviously your opinion but for clarification they do not "control the visas" what they do is to receive applications and pass them on to the various visa authorities.

Hope you don't mind me clarifying the point.

You might get more replies in the visa section.

BTW I disagree with comments that building up a record of travel to Asian countries can be helpful. In my experience Western embassies are only interested in prior travel to other Western countries. When my g/f first applied to the British embassy in the days when you went to the Embasy and could talk to the consular officer, her prior travel within ASEAN was politely scoffed at by the officer who only gave her a three week visa the first time, due to lack of previous travel (i.e. the ASEAN countries didn't count as travel).

Yes, but travel within Asia is a good start and proves that you have returned to your home country following previous visits, not all Asian countries are soft touches.

Think about what you are saying? If you have no prior travel to Western countries you will not get a visa? So where do you start?

Of course prior travel is only a small part of the picture, but, IMHO, previous travel in ASEAN certainly does count.

You require a UK Visa and a Schengen visa.

As per the earlier replies, and acknowledgement from the OP

Isn't that UK is one of EU country? If so I think it is only one visa for go around EU's. So you can get visa to Spain or UK (which one ever easier then apply there!) only one visa then, I hope that you can go to Spain by passing from UK without another visa. I think that is the way EU's means.

No, that's not correct, The UK is part of the EU but is not in the Schengen area, the OP's wife will need two visas.

happydays, I would suggest that your wife applies for a UK Visa first and whilst they normally issue a multi entry visa it wouldn't do any harm for your wife to indicate that you will be doing a side trip to Spain and specifically say she wants a multi entry visa.

My experience has been that a Schengen Visa is almost a formality once a UK Visa has been granted though there are more requirements, such as details of the trip with accommodation and travel details as well as medical insurance.

I travelled First Class on Thai from London, asked for one of the selections from their menu and was told sorry it's finished - there were two of us travelling in first.

Ask at check-in, but there are no guarantees when changing carriers...

(i.e. - flying Virgin to HK then from there to BKK on Thai, Virgin absolutely refused to label the bags to be transferred, even with me flying in Upper Class. This meant I had to take the train to immigration, collect my bags in Terminal 1, push them to Terminal 2 and check in, go back through HK immigration, and two more train rides to get to my departure gate which was 2 gates along from where my Virgin flight came in... Suffice it to say that I haven't flown with Virgin again after that...)

If Virgin don't have an arrangement with the second carrier, is it called an interline agreement or something? they are not set up to check bags through.

When I flew Virgin to Hong Kong I simply went to the Thai transfer desk, very near the Virgin gate, they collected my luggage and put it on the Thai flight, there was no need for me to clear Immigration. I have done this a number of times, either on my own or with my partner, and will be doing it again in a few weeks.