thegrogmonster

Not really my scene so I try to avoid it if I can. We were in Udon Thani last year in April and I flew back to Australia a few days before it started. The missus loves it and she stays longer in Thailand to enjoy it. She always spends the early part of Songkran in the village just outside Udon Thani. She then brings a tribeful back to our place in Pattaya to enjoy the madness of the last few days of this festive period.

Back in 2002 when we bought our place on the darkside there was room in the street to hang the washing out like this. Most people never had car back then and it was mainly motorbikes at each house. These days most house at least have 1 car and if the kids are still at home maybe more. Now the street is full and it is a struggle to get a car through at times.

So arrived in Udon Thani on Monday and got the new car and bike licences today. Monday: Medical certificates (200 baht, 100 baht each), 30 minutes Tuesday: Residence certificates (1000 bbaht, 500 baht each) 30 minutes Wednesday: Driver's licences (760 baht, car 505 baht and motor bike 255 baht) 90 minutes. This would have only taken 30 minutes as well but the licences referenced my old passport and not my new one. I didn't have my old passport or a photo of it so my mum had to go around to my house in Australia and take a photo of the old passport which they then accepted. So what was needed for each licence: Medical certificate, Residence certificate, copy of my passport main page, visa page and the page with entry stamp. Also had to the online DLT training and show a copy of the QR code showing it was completed. Also needed to show them the QR code for the booking appointment time for today.

Those sausages look good.

See similar business hour signs a bit these days.

Rules are quite similar so you will be OK. Make sure you take a few 100 baht notes to settle any on the spot fines you may get. Other than that enjoy the drive. I do Pattaya to Udon Than and return most trips by car and enjoy it.

Great to have the Pattaya Beer Garden back open again. Over the years it has been one of the best places for an afternoon drinking session with freinds. Good music and food.

Response from the travel agent we booked through for our cancelled March 2020 flight. Aunt Betty are part of the Flight Centre group and have been a pain in the arse to deal with. THAI AIRWAYS BEGINS TO RESUME REFUND APPLICATIONS In May 2020, Thai Airways refund application process was completely suspended, due to the company undergoing a business restructure. The business rehabilitation plan proposed to the Central Court of Bankruptcy in Thailand was approved in June 2021, including the proposal for the resumption of refund payments. Thai Airways plan is now proceeding under the guidance of nominated entities and planners, and as its business gradually resumes, small volumes of refunds are beginning to be processed each month. What does this mean for your you? Each month Thai will release a small set of refunds, with refund applications submitted back in March 2020 being assessed and processed first. What is the expected time of these refunds to be processed? Thai are unable to provide a timeline of when refunds will be paid. We continue to work with Thai Airways in Australia, and their Head Office, to ensure we receive this information if it becomes available. Why can't Thai give us an expected timeline? As refunds are being posted in small batches, Thai are unable to advise timelines. The good news is that the process has started and customers worldwide are starting to see their refunds come through. I had submitted a Thai refund back in March 2020 (or beyond) but it hasn't come through yet. While we work with Thai to refund customers, we acknowledge we are not the only agency to be waiting on refunds. If you have submitted a refund back in March 2020 but have not yet seen it come through, it will still be processing. As mentioned before, we are unable to confirm timelines for each individual refund but continue to work with Thai to try secure this information. Kind Regards, Aunt Betty

On other forums the latest software update stopped Tapatalk working and I imagine it is the same for this forum.

Thanks for the report. I got a chuckle when you said the Impact Challenger is the world's largest column free hall yet they struggle to build a house without needing to put a column in the middle of the lounge room.

Yes well done.

Is it called Ninja BBQ?

I went to a local Remebrance day service this morning. Lest we forget.

Last year we stayed a couple of nights over Songkran in Nature View hotel on Soi Buakhow. It was a quite nice hotel for a reasonable price. Only 5 minute walk to LK Metro.

Have travelled to Udon Thani a couple of times on the overnight train and once to Surat Thani. For all these trips I started at Pattaya catching the afternoon train to Bangkok. This train is slow and takes about 4 hours but I enjoy train travel and like looking at the scenery. I work for the railways back home and have always enjoyed train travel. I try to get in at least one long distance trip a year. Been with my wife for 17 years now and on one of our earlier trips to the village outside Udon Thani we caught the overnight train from Bangkok. She kept on being asked at her village why she was with someone that couldn't afford to fly up there. More than happy to let the villagers think I am poor.