Patong - The Wake

[xylophone]

12 hours ago, fforest1 said:

The Wine Connections wines would not know what a bargain is if it ran over them....

True...........when it first started it had its own range of wines which were cheaper than many one could buy, and this was because they added fruit juice to imported grape juice and produced the wine in Vietnam, and they weren't too bad (if you don't mind fruit juice added, although it wasn't clearly stated on the label so folks didn't know).

 

They also sought out some bona fide wines which were at the cheaper end of the scale, but now the whole range of wines is no longer competitive, so why shop there, this esp if the food quality has also gone downhill?

[LivinginKata]

5 hours ago, hansgruber said:

The problem is that all the food is pre cooked or prepared in Bangkok now. One kitchen weighs it and sends the food to all the other branches across Thailand. 

It's just reheated garbage. Nothing is prepped locally. 

 

 

Mmmm ..... I had thought the company  Phuket only

[madmitch]

3 minutes ago, LivinginKata said:

 

Mmmm ..... I had thought the company  Phuket only

It started in Phuket. The new owners have really branched out. There are several branches in Bangkok and branches in KL and Singapore.

 

[Lashay]

5 hours ago, madmitch said:

It started in Phuket. The new owners have really branched out. There are several branches in Bangkok and branches in KL and Singapore.

 

According to website actually started in BKK in 98, at over 50 locations (all the main tourist spots) across Thailand now

[madmitch]

11 minutes ago, Lashay said:

According to website actually started in BKK in 98, at over 50 locations (all the main tourist spots) across Thailand now

OK, thanks.

 

I know the original owner lived in Phuket.

[hansgruber]

14 hours ago, LivinginKata said:

 

Mmmm ..... I had thought the company  Phuket only

Its everywhere now. Expansion.

To keep food the same taste and cost control they moved to a central kitchen for the whole country. 

I found out through complaining about a pasta I ordered. It was salty and I asked for another with less salt. 

They said they can't as it's all made in one place and sent to branches then it's reheated. 

That's all I needed to know. They took it off my bill and I've never been back. 

 

[xylophone]

8 hours ago, hansgruber said:

Its everywhere now. Expansion.

To keep food the same taste and cost control they moved to a central kitchen for the whole country. 

I found out through complaining about a pasta I ordered. It was salty and I asked for another with less salt. 

They said they can't as it's all made in one place and sent to branches then it's reheated. 

That's all I needed to know. They took it off my bill and I've never been back. 

 

I just cannot understand that HG..........it really is a crock, as the saying goes.

 

So no catering for individual tastes, pre-cooked and reheated food and whatever else the "masterminds" of the organisation have thought up (and not thought through)..........put me off going there ever again.

[LivinginKata]

56 minutes ago, xylophone said:

<snip>

...put me off going there ever again.

 

Really .... you still go there .... oh dear

 

 

[xylophone]

8 minutes ago, LivinginKata said:

 

Really .... you still go there .... oh dear

 

 

555......no LiK I was really referring to the post by hansgruber when I said that, and I haven't been there for about a couple of years.

 

The last time I considered going there was a few months ago when I just fancied some fish and chips, which they used to serve and which weren't bad, so I wandered down to the restaurant and looked at the menu and found out that they'd stopped doing them, this along with a much reduced menu, so I came home.

 

On a related subject, tonight I will be meeting up with a friend in Bangla and eating at my favourite Italian restaurant, Salute!

 

When one door closes another one opens!!!!

 

[hansgruber]

6 hours ago, xylophone said:

I just cannot understand that HG..........it really is a crock, as the saying goes.

 

So no catering for individual tastes, pre-cooked and reheated food and whatever else the "masterminds" of the organisation have thought up (and not thought through)..........put me off going there ever again.

I don't think they had much choice. They expanded so large that the taste has to be consistent everywhere. 

 

Imagine trying to manage 50+ branches to cook to a recipe. Too reliant on chefs. 

Now they don't need to employ chefs at all. Just short order cooks with microwave oven experience. 

[billythehat]

16 hours ago, xylophone said:

555......no LiK I was really referring to the post by hansgruber when I said that, and I haven't been there for about a couple of years.

 

The last time I considered going there was a few months ago when I just fancied some fish and chips, which they used to serve and which weren't bad, so I wandered down to the restaurant and looked at the menu and found out that they'd stopped doing them, this along with a much reduced menu, so I came home.

 

On a related subject, tonight I will be meeting up with a friend in Bangla and eating at my favourite Italian restaurant, Salute!

 

When one door closes another one opens!!!!

 

…and whilst you’re there, ask Luigi if he’d be so kind as to Fish & Chips to the menu…you’ll never have to dine anywhere else ????. Pa used to add a splash or 2 of beer to his batter mix when we were wee bairns and it would make a lighter, crisper coating to the fish. Hand-cut chips of course, finished with a generous application of the vinegar from the pickled onion jar. We looked forward to Fridays then, aye.

[xylophone]

"The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits".

 

Following on from that quote above, one has to question the mental capacity of some of the folk we seem to have here in Patong, not just the visitors, but also the residents.

 

I have said previously that I do feel sorry for some of the small businesses which struggle and go under, but I've also said that on the other hand if one doesn't do the homework properly and goes blindly into something, then the result they get is no surprise, and a few more small businesses have closed following on from that/those comments.

 

A massage shop which never seemed to have a customer, and then became a motorbike rental shop, which never seemed busy, and it's now empty and up for rent again. All this within the space of 6 months.

 

I don't know about the restaurant which I have mentioned here before, La Drinkeria, as it has been closed for a short while now, and I wonder if it has done its dash? By all accounts the food was good, but again sparsely populated on the many occasions I have passed by.

 

On the one hand trying to bring something a little different other than the average everyday bar, is merit-worthy, but situating it in a place which is easily passed by without being noticed, and which is not in the one of the most salubrious areas, does question the research that went into it.

 

I've mentioned a couple of other eating places in Nanai before, and the same goes for them, as I've never seen anybody in them.

 

However I encountered another couple of examples of the opening quote the other evening.........A Fortuna wagon pulled up in Rat-u-Thit road at around 10 PM and the driver decided to park it about 1 m from the curb and across the "pedestrian crossing" which is at the top of Bangla!!

 

Stopping to let somebody out perhaps, but no, three Chinese folk got out of the car, slammed the doors and walked off.

 

Some 20 minutes later a policeman arrived to find out why the traffic was being slowed and what was going on, and decided to put some clamps on it, and soon after this was done the driver and two passengers came back and after a discussion decided to pay a fine from what I can gather, so that they could drive off. Now if that isn't a case of being totally dumb, I don't know what is, but there again they are Chinese and nothing has surprised me about those morons here.

 

Then a little later I was talking to a farang who has lived here for quite a while and had a bar which he has leased out now because he needed to go back home and earn some money, mainly because the bar was not making any.

 

When asked what he was intending to do now, his answer was that he had a great idea for another bar – – a daytime bar which would serve a little food as well as having access to sports games on the televisions installed therein!!! He was serious about this and was going to look into it.

 

There were times many moons ago when places like the small bars in Otop had a few daytime customers, and the occasional bar in Bangla did likewise, but these days the amount of daytime drinkers could be just about counted on the total digits on one's body, although there are occasions when places like the Aussie bar gets quite a few punters in, especially with major sports events taking place.

 

But to look to open another bar when the last effort was pretty abysmal, really defies logic and common sense, and as a friend of mine said, "they are still out there".........

 

 

[LivinginKata]

Nice post xyl .... if I were fresh off the flight in Phuket today I would not 'invest' one baht in a local business.  And I speak as a hardened long time 23 year owner. 

[DrDave]

On 9/28/2019 at 7:52 AM, xylophone said:

"The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits".

 

<snip>

 

There were times many moons ago when places like the small bars in Otop had a few daytime customers, and the occasional bar in Bangla did likewise, but these days the amount of daytime drinkers could be just about counted on the total digits on one's body, although there are occasions when places like the Aussie bar gets quite a few punters in, especially with major sports events taking place.

 

But to look to open another bar when the last effort was pretty abysmal, really defies logic and common sense, and as a friend of mine said, "they are still out there".........

 

 

The potential for having daytime customers in a bar rises somewhat during cruise season, which runs from October through February if I'm not mistaken. These ships typically moor at Patong from about 8-9am until 4-6pm, so those not booked on shore excursions and making it past the touts will most likely head for the beach, do some shopping, visit a local bar, or some combination of these.

 

Doesn't seem like a good business plan to rely on something that occurs only a few days each week, and for only 4-5 months of the year.  

[Olmate]

11 hours ago, DrDave said:

The potential for having daytime customers in a bar rises somewhat during cruise season, which runs from October through February if I'm not mistaken. These ships typically moor at Patong from about 8-9am until 4-6pm, so those not booked on shore excursions and making it past the touts will most likely head for the beach, do some shopping, visit a local bar, or some combination of these.

 

Doesn't seem like a good business plan to rely on something that occurs only a few days each week, and for only 4-5 months of the year.  

Cruise ship passengers and Bangla type bars......never the Twain shall meet!

[Lashay]

12 hours ago, Olmate said:

Cruise ship passengers and Bangla type bars......never the Twain shall meet!

Most Bangla staff and owners I spoken to never see these cruise types. Hardly surprising when so many cruise packages are all inclusive, including booze. So 1 of the 2 main reasons to go Bangla is already covered the other has somewhat slim pickings during daytime, so no real reason for them go/stay there

[xylophone]

Things various covered in this particular post although my first few paragraphs relate to the fact that all sorts of people and behaviours can be found in Patong (already mentioned the almost broke bar owner looking at another acquisition!) But here is one I haven't come across as yet, that is until the other evening..........

 

Sitting at my favourite bar with two other friends, looking out over the ever changing colours in Bangla and we were joined by a Swedish couple, the guy being about 40 and good-looking, with his wife having a nice face, large puppies and an even larger figure, a bit akin to the Michelin man.

 

She started talking to me and asked me what age I was, and if I still "f**ked"!!!! I thought it was a strange question and answered it accordingly, saying that at the age of 72 I wasn't as active as I used to be in that area (trying to be diplomatic).

 

She explained that it was her wedding anniversary and that she would like to "<deleted> me that evening and would I like to come with her now and she would get her husband to watch.

I started to think that she was joking, however she was quite serious, rubbing her voluptuous puppies up against my arm and shoulder as she was speaking to me.

 

I really didn't want to answer her that I preferred slim, petite women to those built like the Michelin man, so I would decline her offer, however she was quite persistent and indeed persisted until such time as her husband dragged her away from the bar and up Bangla, all the while she was gesturing for me to follow her.

 

The only other incident which comes anywhere near it was quite a few years ago when I was dining with my live-in girlfriend at the time and a good-looking Australian couple asked me if I knew of anyone who would be interested in joining them for a threesome. I think this was an obvious hint towards my very attractive g/f.......so I suggested that if that's what they were after they should approach a few bar girls and that would surely find one who would oblige, if the price was right.

 

Moving on with just a few brief observations..........

– I wonder if the recently opened Cafe, 555 will have the last laugh?

 

– Restaurant alley in Jungceylon complex has been remarkably quiet and devoid of lunchtime folk.

 

– The completely white Indian restaurant in Soi Sansabai has not had one customer in it and the many times I have passed by – – a "whiteout" perhaps?

 

– La Drinkeria, which has been closed for a few weeks now, had some lights on in the place last night and I'm wondering if it had closed during the remarkably low, low season and was now hoping for better things to come, however if that's the case I think they will be disappointed.

 

– A guy I know here who has been in the property market for a few years and in fact manages a few of the booths/displays and staff therein, told me last week that he was now "worried" (something he had never admitted to before) because nothing was moving and of course this was down to lack of interested parties/tourists/potential customers.

 

– As if to highlight this, the Chang Residence Hotel, opposite Soi Nanai 6, is up for lease and the complex consists of two parts, administration and bar/pool area, and the main hotel room building, neither of which has seen much activity in the past year.

 

A friend in the real estate business said that they have done the same with some other properties they own, and I wondered just how bad the situation was, because if I'm not mistaken (and perhaps someone could put me right if I am) they are owned by the same folk behind the Tiger Complexes – – and if that's the case, then times must be tough.

 

Finally, the expected huge influx of Chinese tourists for their "Golden week" did not seem to materialise in the areas which I visited. Sure enough there were more about than there had been previously, but nowhere near what "we" had been led to expect, and that has been reflected in the conversations I've had with small business owners, who have seen no uplift in income whatsoever.

 

From what I can see, the downward trend will continue and this coming "high season" will be unlike any which we've seen previously,

 

[billythehat]

7 hours ago, xylophone said:

Things various covered in this particular post although my first few paragraphs relate to the fact that all sorts of people and behaviours can be found in Patong (already mentioned the almost broke bar owner looking at another acquisition!) But here is one I haven't come across as yet, that is until the other evening..........

 

Sitting at my favourite bar with two other friends, looking out over the ever changing colours in Bangla and we were joined by a Swedish couple, the guy being about 40 and good-looking, with his wife having a nice face, large puppies and an even larger figure, a bit akin to the Michelin man.

 

She started talking to me and asked me what age I was, and if I still "f**ked"!!!! I thought it was a strange question and answered it accordingly, saying that at the age of 72 I wasn't as active as I used to be in that area (trying to be diplomatic).

 

She explained that it was her wedding anniversary and that she would like to "<deleted> me that evening and would I like to come with her now and she would get her husband to watch.

I started to think that she was joking, however she was quite serious, rubbing her voluptuous puppies up against my arm and shoulder as she was speaking to me.

 

I really didn't want to answer her that I preferred slim, petite women to those built like the Michelin man, so I would decline her offer, however she was quite persistent and indeed persisted until such time as her husband dragged her away from the bar and up Bangla, all the while she was gesturing for me to follow her.

 

The only other incident which comes anywhere near it was quite a few years ago when I was dining with my live-in girlfriend at the time and a good-looking Australian couple asked me if I knew of anyone who would be interested in joining them for a threesome. I think this was an obvious hint towards my very attractive g/f.......so I suggested that if that's what they were after they should approach a few bar girls and that would surely find one who would oblige, if the price was right.

 

 

Sir, I fear you missed an opportunity here to try the M!lf experience. I’m a firm believer for the saying ‘any port in a storm’ and should Helga make another appearance, I suggest a few more ales and a pair of thick rose-tinted glasses – available at most Patong tourist outlets (& possibly a parachute.) Tuck in; it’ll be top bragging rights when next meeting up with the boys for a few scoops. 

[LivinginKata]

33 minutes ago, billythehat said:

Sir, I fear you missed an opportunity here to try the M!lf experience. I’m a firm believer for the saying ‘any port in a storm’ and should Helga make another appearance, I suggest a few more ales and a pair of thick rose-tinted glasses – available at most Patong tourist outlets (& possibly a parachute.) Tuck in; it’ll be top bragging rights when next meeting up with the boys for a few scoops. 

 

M!lf .... my memory failed me so I had to Google. Billy, one of your less informative posts. You usually make informative and entertaining posts.

 

Edit ... wow that word was taken out by the bad word editor. Surprised me as once upon a time I was chief bad word editor for TV.

[xylophone]

2 hours ago, billythehat said:

Sir, I fear you missed an opportunity here to try the M!lf experience. I’m a firm believer for the saying ‘any port in a storm’ and should Helga make another appearance, I suggest a few more ales and a pair of thick rose-tinted glasses – available at most Patong tourist outlets (& possibly a parachute.) Tuck in; it’ll be top bragging rights when next meeting up with the boys for a few scoops. 

Sorry to disappoint you Billy, but rolling around in the sack with something akin to a large lump of lard just doesn't do it for me and never has!! I will stick with petite, cute, trim and preferably with some sort of personality!

 

If not, then a nice bottle of red will suffice!

[Destiny1990]

How is it with the Dutch guy Kees who owned couple pooljoints on Bangla?

is he still alive?

His billiards place name  was named Living room 1 and 2..

 

[billythehat]

7 hours ago, LivinginKata said:

 Billy, one of your less informative posts. You usually make informative and entertaining posts.

Easy, Tiger, there’s still strong character defamation laws over there…????...however, I'm easily bribed...

[Patong2]

Patong is just full of fascinating sights that even after many trips here, still bring a smile.

 

Last night we had dinner in our favourite Bistro in Nanai Rd, just south of Soi Banzaan. As Xylophone said, the big Chang "hotel" looks deserted and even the traffic is less than ever.

 

A girl on a scooter went past with a big fluffy white Chow? dog sitting with its paws up on the handle bars, it's bum against the seat and rear paws in the footwell. The head of the dog was much bigger than the girls and she was peering around the side of the dog. Just a lovely scene with both of them smiling on their ride.

 

Across the road at a little restaurant a patron had a large, pretty cat sitting on the next table grooming itself while he ate. Just down the road a delightful little dog sitting on another table with I think the owners of a little eating place. Both animals looking beautifully cared for.

 

Being male I watched a well endowed young lady in a low cut, short red dress, go up the road and then she sat in the bar next to us just in my line of sight. Lets say she had ample thighs and it passed through my mind that 15 years ago you would rarely see a girl that big here, but now it is common. She wasn't unattractive, just an "upsize" model.

 

Walking home down Soi Banzai we passed the lingerie and sexy outfit shop on the left and my wife and I looked wistfully at the delightful array of skimpy garments. I remarked that in 5 years time they will have to make them all a couple of sizes bigger. She replied that they already do, there is now a larger range of bigger sizes available in Patong shops now. Where have all those lean little honeys of yesteryear gone?

 

Further down at Banzaan market my favourite Pad Thai cart was missing so the family must be having a well deserved night off. Then we threaded our way through the Chinese blocking all the paths so rudely.

 

Really, there is always something of interest happening here, it never gets boring.

[xylophone]

9 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

How is it with the Dutch guy Kees who owned couple pooljoints on Bangla?

is he still alive?

His billiards place name  was named Living room 1 and 2..

 

I knew him well and almost went into partnership with him on Living Room 2 (lucky I didn't cos it didn't take off).  He also had the Bier Kutsche (?) which was where Monsoon is now and I spent many good times there.

 

Last I heard was that he got into financial strife and ended up owning nothing, then later that he had died........he was a heavy smoker and a keen scotch and beer drinker, doing nothing in the way of exercise.

 

They were good times.

[Psimbo]

10 hours ago, xylophone said:

Sorry to disappoint you Billy, but rolling around in the sack with something akin to a large lump of lard just doesn't do it for me and never has!! I will stick with petite, cute, trim and preferably with some sort of personality!

 

If not, then a nice bottle of red will suffice!

I was in similar circumstances a while back. Very touchy feely Aussie bird, reasonably attractive. One of those who invades your space and is all touchy-feely- hubby didn't seem to mind. As the evening drew to a close she leaned in, giving me a great views and said 'can I ask you a question'? I thought 'I'm in here and said 'I'll <deleted> you in front of him  but he's not touching me'. Apparently the wrong answer when she wanted to ask the best place to get a pizza. You live and learn. ????

[xylophone]

Picking up on something which Patong2 mentioned in his last post, about eating out in Nanai, there are still a few good eateries around, but you have to seek them out.

 

It would appear that La Drinkeria has done its dash as there has been no activity in the place for a while now and just yesterday I noticed some documents/bills wedged in the door – – not a good sign.

 

On another sad note, the Italian restaurant at the south end of Nanai, Valerio and Antonio has also closed, and word has it that it has closed for good because of problems with the building ownership/lease, but all is not lost because just last night I went out and bought a pizza from Da Moreno, which I haven't done for a long time, and it was just as superb as I remember it/them, and is obviously following on from the glorious pizzas available in La Capaninna (same family). I must remember to visit there more often.

 

A hotel, not more than a stone's throw away from me, and not that old either, is lamenting the lack of customers and more to the point, the lack of forward bookings, which has the owner worried, because by now there would at least be a few bookings heralding the start of the so-called "high season".

 

As Patong2 has said in his post, there is always something going on in Patong and yet again, just the other day, traffic was held up in Nanai whilst a couple of trucks and a digger, as well as a few workmen, were busy scooping out tons of sand/grit/silt from under the very large gratings which had been put in the road above a new drainage system. As I have alluded to, this is not the first time this has happened and it's a bit like putting the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, because the water flows down a culvert between the shops and brings with it this sand stuff, which doesn't move but gradually builds up and blocks that huge drain system. 

 

Not only that, the sheer force of the water, after some huge deluges that we've had, also pushes this sand further south down Nanai in the drainage system, where the size of the drains is very much smaller, and it blocks them up. However not to the point where the water will not flow, because it seems to find its way through this buildup and floods the road, mainly because it has nowhere else to go. 

 

So then you have drain covers which have been pushed up due to the force of the sand, and water bubbling up as if from an underground river, and flooding parts of south Nanai. Not only that, this water brings some of the sand with it and lays it across the road, so it's a bit of a deathtrap for anyone on a motorbike because one can easily skid on this. Yet another downside is that when this dries out it also contains some dust and it gets distributed around the place by the passing traffic, so stinging eyes and nasal irritations are the norm.

 

Quite where all this sand/grit/silt comes from is a mystery, unless the hills behind Nanai are made of sand (which I don't believe they are), yet time after time, after heavy rain, the same scenario plays out, and because of this one would have thought that the engineers/workmen would have tried to locate where this stuff comes from, or even why it happens, but critical thinking skills are not found often here, nor for that matter are normal thinking skills.

 

Had to go to Patong immigration the other day so made my way along Beach Road, very gingerly, mainly because it was an absolute mess and was a potential deathtrap for those of us on motorbikes, and I would have thought that they would have taken a little more care to ensure that the large potholes were at least full of something rather than fresh air!

 

After getting the forms I needed from the Patong office, today I trundled along in the car to the Phuket immigration office to renew my retirement extension, and for some reason it always gives me a sleepless night prior to the event and last night was no exception, although the whole thing only took about 45 minutes as there were not too many folk waiting.

 

Tomorrow I have to go back to pick up my passport and my multiple re-entry Visa, which I always get.

 

One particular thing of interest was that when I was sitting in front of the Immigration Officer, after handing him all of the appropriate banking paperwork, he looked up at me and said, "you have to keep this 800 K in the bank for three months and then you can use some of it and before the next renewal you have to have it back up to 800 K". I said that I understood that, and that's what I would be doing, to which he added, "if you fall below that money or cannot deposit the money in the bank you cannot stay in Thailand".

 

I thought that was rather strange, and my mind flashed back to last year when I was at immigration, however using small pensions from the UK and NZ, along with a top up from my NZ bank, and the same IO commented then that this was too much work (working out exchange rates etc) and “not good”, and that I should revert to 800 K next year (which is this year). So I'm pretty sure he thinks that I'm one of these farangs hanging on here by the skin of their teeth and who can't really afford to be here with this new set up – – I didn't want to say that I have planned to stay here until I depart this mortal coil, and I certainly have enough money to do that......better left unsaid.

 

And now for something completely different, as the Monty Python team used to say..........there has been a little fun and games in my very small block of apartments, this because a large monitor lizard, at least a metre and a half long, has decided to go walkabout around the place and the owner wants to try and protect it (it does have a sort of "home" in amongst some rocks nearby but seems reluctant to go back into it) and it has taken up residence behind one of the water tanks where the motorbikes are parked, and no doubt it will give someone a bit of a scare if it comes out and shows itself to one of the occupants here, as although they don't seem to be very aggressive, they do look it!

 

Never a dull moment!

[LivinginKata]

52 minutes ago, xylophone said:

<snip>

One particular thing of interest was that when I was sitting in front of the Immigration Officer, after handing him all of the appropriate banking paperwork, he looked up at me and said, "you have to keep this 800 K in the bank for three months and then you can use some of it and before the next renewal you have to have it back up to 800 K". I said that I understood that, and that's what I would be doing, to which he added, "if you fall below that money or cannot deposit the money in the bank you cannot stay in Thailand".

 

 

 

I got my retirement extension last week, IO made to mention to me about keeping the 800k in the bank. Interesting no mention of the 400k minimum.  

[LivinginKata]

1 hour ago, LivinginKata said:

 

I got my retirement extension last week, IO made to mention to me about keeping the 800k in the bank. Interesting no mention of the 400k minimum.  

 

Correction 

 

I got my retirement extension last week, IO made NO mention to me about keeping the 800k in the bank. Interesting no mention of the 400k minimum to you.  

[Kopitiam]

2 hours ago, LivinginKata said:

 

Correction 

 

I got my retirement extension last week, IO made NO mention to me about keeping the 800k in the bank. Interesting no mention of the 400k minimum to you.  

The only constant is inconsistency even from the same IO.

 

As xylophone said above "Never a dull moment".

[xylophone]

4 hours ago, LivinginKata said:

 

Correction 

 

I got my retirement extension last week, IO made NO mention to me about keeping the 800k in the bank. Interesting no mention of the 400k minimum to you.  

No LiK, the IO never mentioned the 400 K specifically, however he did say that I could use some of the 800 K and had to leave some in the account and build it up again before the next retirement extension was due, so I suppose that was enough for him?

 

I did say that I understood, so perhaps that was enough?

 

Anyway back down to immigration today to pick up my passport and multiple entry visa and that is this whole rigmarole over and done with for another year!!!!!!