Goldpanner

THought this might be of interest. From Thai Visa site BANGKOK:-- Foreigners in Thailand will soon be able to apply for a 10 year visa. First proposed in November 2016 as a way to promote Thailand as a medical and wellness hub, Thaivisa understands the 10 year visa was this week formally approved by the Prime Minister. The new Non O X visa will be available to anyone who is over 50 years of age and from one of the 14 countries listed below. Applicants will need to have a minimum 3 million baht in a Thai bank account, or a combination of 1.8 million baht in the bank and income not less than 1.2 million baht. The 3 million baht must be kept in the bank as a deposit for a period of one year but can be reduced to 1.5 million under certain conditions. Criminal background checks are required on all applicants, who must also have valid medical insurance from a Thai insurance company for the duration of the visa. Foreigners are not permitted to work while staying in Thailand on the visa and 90 day reports are still required. The visa will cost 10,000 baht and will be valid for 5 years, before being renewed for a further 5 years. The new Non O X visa will be available from 11 August, with an official announcement expected imminently. The Non O X visa does not replace the current annual retirement extension. Thailand 10 year visa in brief: - Over 50s only - 14 nationalities eligible: Japan, Australia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada and United States of America. - Minimum 3 million baht in Thai bank account - or combination of 1. 8 million in the bank and income not less than 1.2 million - 3 million baht must be kept in account for one year, can be reduced to 1.5 million under certain conditions - Criminal background check from country you hold passport - Health insurance provided by Thai company, Outpatient coverage minimum 40,000 baht, Inpatient coverage not less than 100,000 thousand baht - Not permitted to work - Unlimited entry valid for 5 years - Fee is 10,000 baht - 90 day report still required. - Visa issued in two 5 year periods

Overnight Thai Fares have dropped over £50 for flights in October/November Now selling at around £477 return Ex LHR Qatar are offering a 3 day sale on their website but prices are still £50-£60 via Internet agents. I suspect if the embargo continues prices will start sliding soon.

Selected flights deals from London to Bangkok Prices found within past 7 days. Prices and availability subject to change. Additional terms may apply. Tue, 4 Jul - Wed, 11 Oct LHRHeathrow BKKSuvarnabhumi Intl. £356.21return found 1 day ago Open LHR to BKK flights search result page Tue, 5 Sep - Wed, 13 Sep LGWGatwick BKKSuvarnabhumi Intl. £389.80return just found Open LGW to BKK flights search result page Wed, 15 Nov - Wed, 22 Nov LCYLondon City BKKSuvarnabhumi Intl. £477.11return just found Open LCY to BKK flights search result page Tue, 12 Sep - Tue, 12 Dec STNStansted BKKSuvarnabhumi Intl. £477.98return found 6 days ago Open STN to BKK flights search result page Wed, 25 Oct - Thu, 4 Jan LTNLuton BKKSuvarnabhumi Intl. £911.86return found 15 hours ago Open LTN to BKK flights search result page Mon, 9 Oct - Mon, 23 Oct LHRHeathrow BKKSuvarnabhumi Intl. £449.67return found 5 days ago Open LHR to BKK flights search result page

My problem is I just get bored with the busses, taxis and trains so I tend to mix up my transfers, but I do like the train. I rarely have a suitcase (Unless the wife wants me to cart back loads of stuff for her) so that doesnt bother me. And as for skiddies? Wear them one way for a week then turn them inside out. Simples.

I never take much to Thailand now, a spare pair of socks, skiddies some decent slacks and that usually goes in a shoulder bag with the laptop or Tablets. I just buy the stuff from the street markets though I do wish they would bring back the "2 T shirts for 100 Baht" I occasionally get some decent shirts made, then take them to another talors to be overstitched as they usually fall apart. I remember back in the 70's and 80's I used to go out there with evrything I needed in a Tesco bag !!

Baggage? you take Baggage? I buy most of my clothes there then dump most of it before I come back ! Shorts and T shirts do the job with a decent shirt and pair of slacks for anything remotley posh.

Fortunately in the UK with BT Fon and BT connect we get access to all the nodes across the UK which is handy. I dont realy need a phone in Thailand as all my business contacts are on Messenger or email so I can get away with cheap usage with that 10 quid Sim.

Agreed, but in the final analysis it IS the Airlines responsibility to see that all travel requirements are met BEFORE departure. It would have little to do with Immigration if the Ticketting computer says that Insurance has been checked and verified, and it would be pretty simple to implement that. Even simpler to implement it at the departure airport. No insurance, no travel. It would be a simple matter when booking to ask for Policy number of any Personal Travel insurance held. If there wasnt any then the Travel companise could off some sort of minimal Insurance simply for the duration of the air ticket. Yep they can provide machines at Immigration In Thailand but that could create queues lasting days. The potential here for making millions if not Billions is too great for Thailand and Travel agents and airlines not to implement this. Most travel Insurance is far too expensive in the first place. The big problem as I see it is that most UK Travel policies dont cover riding Motorcyclesand other relatively dangerous sports that most dickheads get hospitalised for.

Actually if you think about it, it would be pretty easy to install.It would be for medical Insurance only, they could probably rule out pre existing conditions or specify extra for that. Maybe a mnimal charge of say £10 on each air ticket would do it. I also suggest it IS the airlines problem as, if Immigration refuses entry because of no Insurance it would be the airlines responsibility to take them back. I would suggest with 30 million tourists per year, at, say, £10 a head or its equivalent there would be a lot of insurers willing to take that on. Machines at the airport, pre-immigration could also sell basic Accident insurance. But again Im sure I remember that the Hike in Thai Departure tax years back before it was absorbed into the ticket price was done wth the excuse that it was to cover uninsured Hospital visits? I have pre-existing conditions so pay a bloody fortune for my travel insurance. I remember in 1992 2 days before Christmas I was hospitalised with a realy nasty eye infection that made one of my eye sockets swell right up pushing my eyeball out. I went to Bangkok Christian Hospital and they wouldnt even look at me untill I had handed over my Credit Card details and totally ignored my Insurance Cover, though I did claim it back when I got home. HoweverI did get a realy nice Christmas dinner with lots of nice nursies coming in wishing me a 'Melly Kissmas'

I get one of those Unlimted Data Sims with 100Baht phone credit at the airport, for around a Tenner.. Then I use Skype or MS messenger or a simple VOIP programme. I have a Samsung Mega bought in Thailand and when back in the UK just turn off Data. I never use my phone to access Data or internet in the UK. I Have BT which has thousands of nodes all over the country that I can connect to free and automatically if I want internet.

Ive put this here as I think this is going to be something thats going to have to be enforced by Air companies and travel agents. Please move to somewhere more suitable if you think it doesnt fit. http://www.express.co.uk/travel/articles/814026/Thailand-holidays-travel-insurance Tourism officials in Thailand are calling for mandatory travel insurance for all visitors to the country. The push has come in a bid to recover losses incurred from unpaid medical bills. As tourist numbers surge, there has been a spike in uninsured holidaymakers needing medical treatment. According to authorities, many of these travellers can’t afford to pay for their treatment and often leave hospital without paying at all. I think this is going to be enforced and the only way it can be done is by Airlines demanding Insurance or actually offering it. It will be the airlines that will be responsible for carrying anyone without Insurance. I think its either that or the end of One way tickets. Didnt the increase in departure tax a few years back cover the extra expense of Hospital defaulters?? Someone is going to be made very rich, thats for sure.

I like the August suites as well due to the bike parking being off raod and not being in plain view.. Thanks for the update on the March Hotel. Im going to check it out maybe for my October stay. If not it will be the August Suites again I wonder when the December Suites will open

But has anyone tried the train into and out of Bangkok to the Airport? Its brilliant !

In the UK newspapers last week it was announced that Exodus would be pulled from Kodi as they didnt want to be prosecuted for distributing copyrighted material

To be honest I found the train from Swampy to be pretty good.

This month, I are mostly reading.....'Chesapeake' though I should say, 'This year im reading' as its huge.

Yorkshire pudding should only be eaten with Jam.!

I should have followed up my statement by saying, When you see a price on Skyscanner or any screenscraper, do a company review on Google. Now its worth looking seriously at the replies as some of the most bitterest slagging off are planted by other companies but you can see the similarity in the complaints if you look. Also some of the replies and complaints are obviously by some people who dont quite understand Internet booking of air tickets. If you make ONE mistake, say in a name, they dont realise that, in many cases the E-Ticket is issued almost immediately that payment is received, and to change it can cost you a lot of money. If youre booking online? TAKE CARE WHEN TYPING OUT NAMES AND CHECK CHECK CHECK BEFORE YOU HIT THE 'SEND' BUTTON. One wrong letter can cost you hundreds.

Qatar have a 48 Hour sale on and flights to Bangkok are included. They are selling for £409 which, IMHO shows a little desperation on their part. I still say that fares for around my departure which ar at present around the £410 mark will drop well below the £400 mark. I fully understand the desire to book early. You book, you pay and you feel safe and contented that its all sorted, you get that warm feeling inside (and in your pants) knowing youre on your way. But in 6 months many things can happen and prices can go haywire. A bomb here and a bomb there and prices can collapse. Military Coups also dont engender confidence in most destinations. But the big problem is the big companies and their seat allocation demands based on what they think will sell. They nigh on always get it wrong but they have to over allocate to cover their arses, and its good for late bookers who can grab a good deal when they dump their spare seats. Best case for me was about 5 years back. Thai dumped a pile of seats back to consolidators and I got a non stop flight for the wife for £325 2 weeks later the price was back up to £425 as they had filled their empty seats. My advice is to try and book via Skyscanner or any of the 'screen srapers' at least 10 months in advance. Then if you cant do that, leave it untill 1 month before. Booking direct with an airline will give you more leeway if cancelling or rescheduling, but, in general you will pay around £25 more than you would via the consolidators or online agents. Start looking around 6 weeks prior to departure then check EVERY DAY, and its odds on that one morning you will suddenly see the prices drop, sometime by around £50 to £100. Im REALY pissed off as I missed the Qatar Flights for October that were on sale in January for £321 !! BUT thats a good indicator of what they 'might' sell for in September if they have spare seats, and I suspect they will. Looks like £321 is the base price they can drop to. Thai are high now and I suspect they wont drop that much as they have bloody high seat occupancy rates with their shiny A380's and non stop flights, but you might get a few spare seats at a cheap price 4 weeks before any departure. Its better for airlines to offer some knock down prices than to have empty seats. Empty seats=Bad. Cheap seats= Not good but still paying.

BA will opnely and brazenly lie through their teeth to get out of any situation. They think an email saying 'Sorry' solves it all. Its also a fact that the UK Authorities ignore pretty much all complaints about BA. They should be stripped of the name 'British' and renamed Rubbish or Gay.

Your link doesnt work. Yknow I wrote a long reply to your post but decided it just wasnt worth it. Just ignore my posts OK , if I can help some people fine, if not thats fine too. I reay dont give a shit

You arent going to get Consolidators or airlines to tell you how they do deals matey. I used to buy from Consolidators and from 2 airlines direct. They werent allowed to sell to me direct but I was selling so many tickets it was worth their while. I'm still friends with many in the business and large comapnies taking block allocations on each flights are standard. How do you think they can offer all inclusive holidays on open dates 6, 7 or 8 months ahead if they didnt have allocated block seating. on flights? However when its gets close to departure dates and they have more than a dozen or so of their allocation unsold they release them back to the airline. Hence the price goes down. If they then need some seats for their customers they get priority. So there are the facts. Take them or leave them, I care not a jot, I just post to try and help people. If they take that advice or not is up to them. But take note of prices for October November now, then check them in September, all of a sudden you will see a drop in prices on some flights by as much as £50 to £75 as the companies dump their allocations. Thats the time to buy. Either well before they take their allocations or close up to the date of departure when they release unsold seats.. Qatar are a good example. In January this year they were selling LHR-BKK LHR for £321, that then jumped to £454 and is now down to around £420. I suspect in September they will drop to around £350 for any seats they havent filled. In January Thai were selling at £425. Its now up to £540 mark. You pays yer money

If everyone claims the correct compensation it could Bankrupt BA. Over 6 hours delay costs them 600 Euros EACH !! Suffer, you bastards.

t isnt a hypothesis. Its a fact that large companies have block allocation on many Airlines, thats why when you try and book very early you will see half the plane seats already full. Yes you can get a cheap ticket from a big company even if its close to the departure date as they, like anyone else can buy their tickets from any Consolidator.

Yep big Holiday companies will start sending back unbooked seat allocations around a month before any departure dates so most airlines will start discounting. I note Qatar, for departures at the end of October are now slowly slipping down. Now at around £405 whilst Thai who have been filling their A380 flights from LHR have gone way back up to £545 but even they will drop later to fill any empty seats.