KWA

Do modern ones come with control via the internet/with an app? I got a Worcester combi about 5 years back and retrofitted a controller for remote operation. It's great for getting the place warm when you're returning from a trip or even just optimising settings when day to day plans change.

Unusual experience at Samui Airport the other day. My 11:50 flight had been changed to 12:00 and downgauged from an A319 to an ATR turboprop a few days before. On arriving at the airport a few minutes before 09:00 I was asked before I even entered the building if I wanted an earlier flight and thought why not? The guy radioed ahead and directed me to a free check-in desk where a lady checked me in for a 09:15 flight. My boarding pass said the gate closes 15 minutes before departure and when I pointed that out she said it'd be OK and to get moving. Ignored the checked bag checkpoint and got to the furthest away gate to go throught security and board the buggy to the plane and nobody seemed to be in a hurry. Missed out on the lounge! Of course I'm 2 hours early at BKK where I'd got the bus booked for 14:00 hours but I sent a copy of my booking to a mate who was on the 12:00 bus and he got me changed on to that for a 50 baht fee. Had time for a bite to eat in the food hall (not impressed) and a leisurely wait before boarding the full bus and home well ahead of plan.

There's a lot of them around. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_rock

That's my go to tipple at the moment too but a lot of places don't seem to stock it.

A couple from Bangkok Airways flights this week.

Beachside breakfast of chicken and cashew nuts.

Lamai Beach.

This had a fancy name on the menu that I can't recall, but was basically an avocado, ham and egg wrap and was pretty tasteless. Beachside restaurant in Lamai, Koh Samui.

Seen that done on several sites around Pattaya in the last couple of years for precisely that reason.

Things could be a little busier now. This is the quietest day I could see in the next 5 (blue means occupied).

Yes, I've got it and yes I've claimed on it. They were a pain in the a**e to start with as they wanted to check my medical history before giving the go ahead, which is OK in principle but in the time they were taking I could have gone blind (detached retina with extras). I ended up paying for the operation etc. myself and claiming it back which went fine even with all the paperwork they required. They have different levels of cover available and I'd increased mine the year before. The original cover would have paid for the op, but another benefit of the increased cover was it covered 90 days of follow up appointments as an out patient, even though I had declined out patient cover when taking out the policy. My last check up was on day 89 so it's something to be aware of when deciding what cover you want. I tried to get them to pay for new glasses too but they declined that bit.

I know it's not even Hallowe'en yet but I've come across a couple so here goes. Robin Hood. No name on this one and I can't remember where I got it, neither can Google. Maybe someone recognises the style or has come across it too? I can't compare it with any from last year's thread as all the images there have disappeared.

14 until Koh Samui.

Run my cars until my mechanic says the next MOT could be costly. Scrap them off and start again on ebay.

5 years into retirement now and not regretting a minute of it. Stopped work at 55 when my financial advisor said I could and spent about 50% of my time in Thailand for the first year or so, then March 2020 got "stuck" here by Covid for a long stretch of about 18 months. Since then it's been 90% here with visits back to the UK where I've kept my house, car etc. Nice to have the place to go back to even if money-wise it's probably a bad move. Wouldn't change what I've done given the choice again.

Another reason some may use the 800K in the bank method is to ensure they are grandfathered in should the requirements change, and potentially the agent route for the new requirements is more expensive or even not available.

Emirates was mentioned on-line as being one of the first users along with Thai AirAsia X and Thai Vietjet but don't know what happened to that.

Baby pies and baby beers in the BA Lounge. No flight food as I was in the cheap seats this time and it wasn't worth photographing.

6 hours.

Emptying the fridge before travelling. Every one of them was out of date but I've survived so far.

Fixed that for you. We have our own delicacies north of the border.

Have customs ever made you empty it looking for contraband? I can't imagine that would be fun.