pomozki

many thanks for all the answers folks

8 hours ago, dick turpin said:

You need to fill out a separate payment form with your

card details and payment will be deducted only when

application reaches UK, for which reason payment

using Thai cards seem to have a habit of being

rejected....by the Thai banks.

thanks, do you know if VFL have this form at their office?

13 minutes ago, farangbuffalo said:

Not sure where you're located but in Bangkok you renew it at VFS global on Sukhumvit soi 13, not at the embassy.

 

2 pages per A4 is fine but you need to do all pages, including blank ones and the inside of the covers etc. Can't remember about the payment form but think they just did it there at the counter and I paid with a UK debit card.

many thanks - and you're right! My appt is with VFS. Thanks for the reply. I might've ended up going to the wrong place. I blame old age

so I only need to take my passport, print the application form and fill it out, take 2 passport photos and colour print every page in my expiring passport - right?
I've printed out last month''s statement from my UK bank and that shows my Bangkok address  - nothing else?
 I don't need my birth certificate after all?

Hi, I have an appt to renew my passport at the embassy in 2 weeks. 
All I'm expecting to take is a completed application form, my expiring passport and 2 colour passport pics
I'm also getting colour photocopies of every page in my passport. Will they accept it if each A4 page contains 2 original pages (left and right), so I only have to print out 16 pages instead of 32?

Can I just pay with a Thai debit card on the spot - I read you also need to fill out a "payment form" but can't find it

sorry for such basic questions, I couldn't find the answers
cheers

Motorists racing through zebra crossings even as pedestrians are nearly halfway across
biggest waste of paint ever!
(sorry, this is so obvious someone else probably already said it!)

well, I wasted more time trying to get a Covid booster through the Thai authorities. True rejected me because I hadn't had my 1st 2 jabs in Thailand and made it impossible to reply to them. AIS then rejected me, saying they were fully booked in my age group (I'm 66yo) and to try again "at a later date"
then a mate told me the British Chamber of Commerce were inviting registrations - and I was immediately given an appt for this week. Fingers crossed, it goes without a hitch - seems the Brits finally came good. better late than never ????

18 hours ago, TXTony said:

Any luck today?

many thanks - not yet I'm afraid. I contacted a former Thai workmate for advice - he told me you can organise booster jabs through your phone service provider, no problem. I duly went to the link he gave me for True (https://vaccine.trueid.net/) and it seems to offer booster jabs to everyone BUT people like me. If you've never had a Covid jab OR if you've had AZ/one of the Chinese jabs then yes, you can book an appt for a booster. But if you've had Moderna or Pfizer it says you're not eligible, no matter how old you are! He said it appears I need to wait. Open to any suggestions! and thanks to you and anyone else who took the trouble to reply

6 minutes ago, TXTony said:

I used it a couple weeks ago to get my choice of vaccinations, of which I chose Pfizer. 
 

My friends have also had success just walking into Bang Sue or the Bangkok Youth Center. 

wow, was that your 1st or 2nd or booster jab? If I go to one of those places and get a Pfizer jab I'd be happy to shout you a slap-up meal ! I just checked the Bang Sue centre and it seems to be offering jabs for teenagers - dunno if they're offering them to 66 year olds!

5 minutes ago, TXTony said:

Have you tried the QueQ app to book an appointment? 

thanks heaps - tbh I haven't even heard of it cos I've only recently returned from the UK. I'm installing it now - is it reliable at getting me a booking somewhere?
edit - I registered and went to vaccination section - it's all in Thai, though everything else is in English!

fwiw I spent some time today trying to book a booster and it was a waste of time. A few hospitals said they were fully booked and to keep monitoring their websites. The Bumrungrad is inviting people to pre-pay 1,650 baht for a booster (Modern, I think?) but say it isn't even in the country yet and you shouldn't expect to get it until Q1 or maybe Q2 of next year, which probably means Q3. I'm really only interested in one of the mRNA ones (Pfizer or Moderna) - if anyone has any suggestions I'm happy to pay whatever one of the private hospitals is charging and travel to anywhere in Thailand to get it! cheers

1 minute ago, mtls2005 said:

Maybe intervac?

 

https://www.thailandintervac.com/

 

Hospitals in which Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Sinovac vaccines can be pre-registered include:
- Vimut Hospital, Bangkok Click  Pfizer Only
- Samithivej Sriracha Hospital, Chonburi 
- Bangkok-Khon Kaen Hospital, Khon Kaen Click
- MedPark Hospital, Bangkok Click ????NEW
- Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, Chonburi Click ????NEW

 

 

But you'll have to obfuscate your vaccination history?

 

 

many thanks. I'll contact them. My only worry is that hospitals usually ask to see your passport when you register - mine will show I re-entered Thailand 6 weeks ago. They might well suspect I got back in cos I was double jabbed? Not informing them of my prior jabs could cause a problem if they ask awkward questions and find out the truth!

The UK govt has changed its stance on boosters, now telling people to get theirs 3 months after the 2nd one, not 6 as before. The NHS have just emailed me asking me to get my booster ASAP and I only had my 2nd Pfizer 4 and a half months ago. Sadly I'm back in Bkk so I can't take advantage of their kind offer!
Out of interest does anyone know if I'm entitled to get a booster here (preferably Pfizer)? I'm 66yo and had 2 Pfizers in the UK so there won't be any record of me having any jabs here if they do ask me - though I had to prove I was double jabbed when I returned to Thailand in October.
Hmm, tricky

On 12/2/2021 at 4:43 PM, FarangRimPing said:

I use IPTVeros, based on a few recommendations here. It has something like 17,000 channels and cost about $70/year. I'm running tivimate on 2 Firestick 4k Maxes, the new version released in October. With it the max, I can use Wi-Fi 6. It's been running really well so far. I use 3bb fiber, 1000mbps down and 500mbps up (I think).

Awesome, I'd like to give it a go. Do you get much buffering, esp during big games. Does it have catch-up TV? Maybe you could give me contact details, either here or in PM? Thanks

On 11/29/2021 at 9:21 AM, FarangRimPing said:

I used IPTV Smarters Pro for a short time as it seemed to be buffering a lot. I then changed to Tivimate which was quite a bit better on my Amazon Firestick. On my Windows 11 PC, I use the built in app : MYIPTV Player, which is great except I don't seem to be able to get the recording working. (You need to use the VLC engine if you want to record.)

I have a Firestick 4k and fibre optic internet (1000mbps) and I subscribe to Tearoom, a service I found on Reddit - most of the time it's fine but the buffering is soooo annoying and it often seems to be when there's a big footy game on. I was about to trial a service from a guy called Broadbandservicesbkk who I found on Facebook but hey presto, FB just banned him today so I can't message him to start the trial!
So my device is great and my internet is great. I can only assume it's my service provider's servers which are the problem - can anyone recommend a terrific service which never (or hardly ever) buffers? And is an Android box or any other kind of box better than my Firestick?
That is the ultimate dream in IPTV but I'm not sure it's possible

Can anyone who has the UK's NHS "double jabbed" evidence in their NHS app confirm this is accepted throughout Thailand? It's all in English and sometimes Thais insist on important documents only being in Thai, thanks

Hi, I'm in Pattaya and would like to find an agent who can help me get a car driving licence.
My overseas ones have both expired so need to start afresh.
Please suggest here or send PM, thanks!

Did you book with a credit card? I booked to go the Tokyo Olympics and AirAsia gave me the runaround good and proper, clearly were NOT interested in refunding the cash when the Games were cancelled - they only offered to travel on a different date (no thanks) or to be redeemed in AirAsia points, which I read were a big con, so no thanks again

My mate said if I'd booked with a bank credit card the bank would secure the refund for me. I had! So In contacted the bank and after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing I got all my money back

That must be one of the most ridiculous reports I've ever read. At the end of July the price of gold is $1,950 - and these brave forecasters reckon it will hit $2,020 by the end of the year, in five months' time.
That's a whole extra $70. What absolute <deleted>!

On 7/7/2020 at 2:51 PM, Airalee said:

With all the condos for sale, it would probably be a good idea for Thai banks to offer mortgages for foreigners with a substantial down payment (50%).

exactly what I was thinking - a good lender will do a deal if you've got enough equity in it

On 7/7/2020 at 3:02 PM, bkk6060 said:

Yes, you can probably get better terms from a seller.

Arrange a low interest carry back with them for up to 10 years.

I would use a reliable agency that has experience with these type transactions.

I have a friend who has been in the business in Pattaya for 10 years. She said this is probably the slowest time in history and told me many foreign sellers are now doing these carry backs to enhance their sale potential.

 

sound advice, esp re doing the finance through the seller, not a bank.

On 7/7/2020 at 4:11 PM, BTB1977 said:

Why not pay cash ?? If you don't have any savings you don't belong here, let alone retiring here. 

what a complete tosser you are. You know nothing about me or my finances - or anyone else's!
FYI, I have enough dosh  - it's currently earning very little interest in NZ - but don't want a great big chunk of it tied up in Thailand.
Also, the way to make money out of real estate is often through NOT buying the whole thing with cash - it's by getting someone else to finance it. But I guess you don't know about that.
Since I posted my question I've spoken to a guy at work (yes, I'm working) and he just bought a high-quality condo in a very good Bangkok suburb for 9 million baht. The asking price was 15m. He said "all I've got is 9m" and they said "okay, deal". There are some great bargains to be had now and likely for the next several months too, I reckon - especially developers who've got surplus stock on their hands
Thanks to everyone else for their contributions

I'm 64yo and too old to qualify for a mortgage based on my current/future earnings - anyway, I'm on a retirement visa.
I'm wondering if i can put down, say, 50% of the purchase price of a property and get a loan for the other 50%?

This is possible in the US - I was over there and approved for a mortgage by this very method a few years ago. And the mortgage rate I was offered was thye normal one, not an exorbitant rate.

The lender just uses the 50% you've put down as collateral (provided they're happy with the purchase price of the property, I suppose)

and can grab it if you default on your payments.

I'm planning to either live in the place and make the repayments the same way as I would pay rent

OR rent it out and pay back the loan out of the income.

The reason I'm thinking of this is cos there are some great deals to be had right now - cheers

8 minutes ago, Airalee said:

Those FB groups are great.  Most of the agents are still asking stupid prices but there are a couple that actually have some great deals.

yep, agents in those groups merely post what the landlords tell them and seem to throw up their hands in horror when you mention the virus and ask them to organise a big discount. It isn't the best way to go

9 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

Can you please post the link (I think it's ok to post links from UK Press sites just not Bangkok Post). 

 

I found this one... https://www.mirror.co.uk/travel/europe/thailand-reopen-tourists-july-brits-22111903 but that was from the 30th May so was wondering if there had been any more recent articles.

 

 

links to Bangkok Post articles aren't allowed? if not, why not?
cheers