theoldgit

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.

And Cathay Pacific do or don't issue fast-track Immigration coupons in Business Class?

Sorry, Cathay Pacific do issue fast-track Immigration coupons for their Business Class customers.

I looked at going last Christmas and only started looking about October, prices for the flights I could get were well in excess of £1,000 in steerage. In the end we didn't go, and with the snow in the UK I'm glad we didn't.

I am amazed to hear that both Emirates and Qatar business class issue fast track immigration coupons for landing at BKK.

I wonder why Thai Airways do not?

And Cathay Pacific.

My lawyer gave me a copy saying that copies should be given out on arrival, but it was too late by then.

Not sure what the third degree treatment is.......

There have been a few reports of Thai women getting a hard time from Immigration Officers and given in-depth questioning, though I think it is women travelling alone. It has never happened to my girlfriend, and neither have I seen it.

Your girlfriend does not need a visa, but possibly might get the third degree from the immigration staff, only possibly.

Cannot advise on your requirements because I don't know your nationality, but most westerners can enter visa free.

Have always avoided train journeys to Malaysia and Singapore because I have been led to believe they are fairly complicated, but I'm sure it would be fun.

It's wait and see I'm afraid, the text just tells you the package has been returned from the embassy and even VFS don't know the result.

You will know how strong the application was, good luck and let us know the result.

I wonder why they just transfer these corrupt cops to an inactive post, where they probably are still being paid, though the punishment is probably the lack of opportunity for further corruption.

They should prosecute and, if convicted, jail them - have to build more prisons though.

Cannot see the point, perhaps the Mirror have a hidden agenda.

Maybe the police have a hidden agenda.

What happens if you are out of the country when you renew your passport?

Will the re-entry visa in the old passport be valid to get back into Thailand?

That's a good point, I was thinking about renewing mine in the UK on cost grounds.

Buy the paint and do it yourself is the best bet, it doesn't take long.

Totally agree, this will ensure that you have proper preparation and ultimately a better, and probably cheaper, result.

I didn't think BA had a lounge at Suvarnabhumi, I thought they used the Qantas lounge, is this new?