Stocky

I guess it's relative, but the difference between Betong at 280m elevation and Hat Yai at 10m elevation isn't really that much. Humidity levels are similar, but annual rainfall is higher. I don't know anyone living there, it's pleasant enough, though the last time I was there is nearly 30 years ago. Easy flight connections from Penang, only 125km away.

Why exactly is this posted in the Southern Thailand Forum? Perhaps a Mod can move it to the Eastern Thailand Forum or the recycle bin.

Ask Traifinders for the e-ticket number

With the booking reference they can do it on the Qatar website, though depending on the class of ticket they bought it might incur an additional cost. https://www.qatarairways.com/en/complement-your-journey/preferred-seat.html .

Depends on the currency and the margin between buy and sell. For all the currency I've looked at changing to THB, with the exception of USD, Wise remains the better option, regardless the amount, because the margin is wide. The USD trades on a narrow margin because its so widely traded, and above about USD10,000 then Wise is no longer the better option. Certainly for GBP, EUR, AUD and SGD then Wise is best. But with anything to do with finance, always best to do your own homework.

I thought most of the Russian bot farm operatives had died in the trenches of Ukraine

Gammulous - a pointless waste of Internet bandwidth

I'm still puzzling over this response. The 'picture' is a cartoon with generic natives, so I have no idea as to whether they were literate farmers or not. As for Mel Gibson's Apokalypto, a portrayal of Mayan society directed by a rabid Catholic. The Mayan civilization did have gods, they built great pyramidal temples to them, they had agriculture, animal husbandry, were literate, numerate, well organised with a civil society. Though, I'm guessing from your capitalisation of god and it being singular, not your god, and there's the rub. The most common reason for bloodshed throughout human history is religion, born out a belief that my god(s) are better than you god(s). The Mayan civilization was one of several destroyed by the arrival of the Conquistadors and their religion. The world would be far better for having no gods to spill blood for.

That's incorrect. Whilst the provincial governors are appointed by the Minister of the Interior, the local council and the mayor of each city and town municipality are directly elected by the local electorate. .

I set it to 26°C when in the room, and turn it down to 24°C for sleep. Night time temperature in Hat Yai seldom gets below 26°C this time of year with a humidity is 80-90%, it's uncomfortable without A/C.

An armchair warrior, long on criticism, short on solutions.

Not just Asia, there's just not that many fully democratic countries.

Is this a joke?

Or maybe not. I've never found the Hat Yai IO particularly problematic, I just followed the list they gave me, so no idea if I could have got away with one only, from your experience quite possibly. The wife picks up the forms and list of documents a couple of weeks before my extension runs out. I just do what they request - anything for an easy life!

It was required last May when I got my extension and was needed the previous two years too - item 2.6. Maybe they've dropped it.

Missionaries belong in the pot.

Talk about a Pavlovian response - mention the word Muslim and there's Proton frothing at the mouth. It's about tourism not terrorism.

I hadn't realised Grab worked for transport in Hat Yai, I've only used it for food delivery and shopping. Maxim started last year in Hat Yai and they have a lot of drivers signed up, so you don't need to wait too long for a pick-up, even for us living the wrong side of the tracks in Hat Yai Nai.

I note it's been approved in Phuket as well. In Malaysia Maxim is available in most cities.

I don't think it's available in Bangkok. The app only indicates car, bike or delivery.

An increasing body of evidence points to marijuana as a cause of psychosis; there's a lot of high potency ganja out there, it's not as benign as it may have been 20 and more years ago. https://www.verywellmind.com/can-marijuana-cause-psychosis-5200547

I think Maxim is available in Hat Yai because it's widely used in Malaysia, and most of our visitors are from Malaysia.

We use Maxim a lot in Hat Yai, very reliable and you know what you're paying, so better than the laughable Hat Yai (No) Meter taxis, and cheaper and more comfortable than a local tuk-tuk. I've used Grab in Bangkok, with varying results.

Hat Yai want both a Google Map with Long/Lat coordinates, AND a hand drawn map! Why? Who knows.

Ganja