Stocky

You've obviously never been married, or at least not for any length of time.

It's like a sore you need to scratch now and again

This really surprised me, schools in Hat Yai don't seem to have problem with girls wearing a hijab, provided the colour matches the uniform.

1st of May Songkhla goes Blue! So I presume we will be able to drink alcohol with a meal without ridiculous subterfuge.

It's a grey area. My daughter grows kratom on their farm, they sell the bundled leaves to a company in Hat Yai. They have considered extracting the juice and shipping the concentrate, but people have been arrested for selling the concentrate, so they stick to the leaves only. At least growing it is legal now!

I moved money from Singapore to Thailand on April 15th, Songkran & Good Friday. "That was really fast. From the moment we received your money, it got to your account in 5 seconds. And you saved up to 50.64 SGD, too." And no @KannikaPit wasn't tagged 'International Transfer', I use money in the bank not monthly income for my extension, and Krungsri won't show it as an international transfer anyway.

Why, you want a needy leach looking to get pregnant? Better a hole in the head.

Bite the bullet and pull the plug. Or "Run Forrest, run!"

Yes, Krungsri are 30K. But since Wise, if I need money from overseas in a hurry, I just Wise to my local bank. Saves being screwed both ends with ATM charges and once again with the exchange rate. However I understand this isn't an option if you don't have a local bank account.

I thought that more recently, because of increased awareness, statistically, the 7 deadly days are actually marginally safer than the other 358.

Until the nightlife restrictions are lifted in the south why would you? You can't even legally drink a beer with your meal in a restaurant in Hat Yai. Malaysian's are generally coming to Thailand for a bit of R&R and to let their hair down, you can have more fun in KL, so why bother.

1972 - I was at school in Birmingham, UK 1982 - I was working in a goldmine in South Africa Forrest Gump was released the first year I got to SE Asia

That explains the naming of the “Amazean Jungle Trail 2022” marathon being held in Betong.

The ban on alcohol in restaurants remains in place for Songkhla province, bonkers when you compare infection rates with other provinces where restrictions have been relaxed for months. That's not to say you can't get a beer with your meal here, but the lunacy involved is exemplified in the photo below from this weekend in Hat Yai.

There's no shortage of loan sharks in Hat Yai. Wonder why they went for this guy, perhaps he was behind with his payments.

I've kept mine. Even after nearly 20 years with Thailand as my home, and 15 since buying the wife a house in Hat Yai. I've not rented it out as I don't need the money or the hassle. Whilst having it gives me a useful footprint in the UK, and a base when visiting. As an investment it's done reasonably well, compounded return is about 5.5% per annum judging from recent nearby sales listed on Zoopla. As said in other responses, if you don't need to burn a bridge, don't. .

This has reminded me I've a couple hundred dollars in TC somewhere. Bought back in the 80/90s as emergency money, but never used. I ought to dig them out next time I'm in the UK. I doubt my signature matches thirty-odd years on.

On that sort of thinking you'd no doubt suggest most Thai drivers be lined up against a wall and shot. Though there may be some merit to that.

"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

What's stopping you booting to a USB stick/CD-DVD and simply installing over the messed up installation?

Not sure why it has to be one or the other? I use both. My work laptops are Windows 10, I use software for work that won't run on Linux. But I have two desktops that came with Windows XP, they both now happily run Linux Mint 20. One I use as a general purpose desktop for music, internet etc. The other my wife, daughters, now granddaughter use for internet, music, word processor, spreadsheets (Libre Office). Granddaughter has used it for online schooling the last two years, initially with Zoom, and this school year with Google Classroom. The Thai language support is very good, and there's little to complain about except the lack of games, though mobile phones cover that. Mint isn't difficult to set up, and it's easy to use. You don't have to use the command line to do things, and drivers haven't been an issue for me. Linux is a very good way to find use for old computers that Windows upgrades have left behind.

So did you get to Langkawi? Guinea Pig information can help others, though I think it's coming back that's problematic. So long as you're fully vaccinated Malaysia will let you in.

As I understand it from 1st April if you are fully vaccinated you can enter Malaysia without any PCR test before departure or on arrival or any need for quarantine or insurance. However, if returning to Thailand you need to obtain a Thailand Pass at least seven days before travel, have insurance to a minimum of US$20,000, and follow the Test & Go procedure. But you don't need to do a PCR test before travel if fully vaccinated. This isn't going to work for Malaysians wanting to travel up to Thailand for the weekend.

I'm sure you can find a drink in Danok, but with the border open for little more than goods traffic, you'll only find truckers and cheap whores for company. .

Betong has a mixed community but it's predominantly Thai-Chinese rather than Thai-Malay. It's remote within Thailand lying at the very far end of Yala province, as far away from Yala city as possible to be, but but for the border it's very well connected to Malaysia . The border is with Perak, west side of Malaysia, not Kelantan. Perak has a high Chinese community, they came as tin miners. The Chinese in Betong are really a part of of that community. It hasn't really had any trouble with the insurgency. Westerners do visit, but usually coming in from Malaysia. I visited Betong many years ago when working in Malaysia. .