7 hours ago, flyingtlger said:

Thailand has the largest community outside of Japan.

As of October 2022 there are 78,000+ Japanese living in Thailand.

The Japanese are the most traveled population in the world.

It sounds like you're xenophobic.....

Look no further than the Japanese government's own website.  https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/toko/tokei/hojin/index.html
(Click on PDF or Excel link once on the page.)

Or refer to the attachment below. Thailand (red box) has dropped in ranking according to the data of the government of Japan.
As of 2023 Thailand has the 5th largest population of Japanese residents outside of Japan after being overtaken by Canada, eh!
78,000+ Japanese living in Thailand is consistent with the MoFA Japan website for 2022.  Otherwise try qualifying your opinions with "I think" or "I believe" etc.

17 hours ago, reefsurfah said:

Not seeing this option except expedited and it looks like you need proof of travel.  So things may have changed.

Don’t you have to pay more for expedited?

I didn't pay more for expedited. Yes, things may have changed.

2 hours ago, reefsurfah said:

Good info, but what would you advise the reason and do they check?  What have you done before?  Will temporary passports still work for Thai immigration visas?

As I mentioned in my first post the reason is an upcoming international flight. (You could use another reason.) I don't know if they check. I've done this twice in Thailand. Temporary passports are fine for immigration/working visas.

27 minutes ago, reefsurfah said:

Do you get a new passport and need to provide new photos and application?  

When applying for temporary one-year passport the regular application and new photos are needed, just add the request for the emergency/temporary passport and reason why.
Just before the 12 months are up, apply to convert/renew to normal 10-year passport. No new photos, application or payment is needed although you may need to sign something. A receipt is given to you after you submit the 1-year passport. Then the 10-year passport will be on the way.

Pro Tip: Request an emergency one-year passport reason being an upcoming international flight. The price is same AND process is expedited. At the end of the 1-year period it's free to convert to the normal 10-year US passport. That way you can get 11 years for the price of 10.

33 minutes ago, JayClay said:

When did this buzz term get invented? I'd always known it as "product shrinkage".

 

In US retail lingo the word shrinkage refers to product pilferage, shoplifting, loss, destruction etc.
Factors contributing to shrinkage include employee theft, stealing, administrative errors, vendor fraud, product damage and more.

2 years ago I got a 6-month fixed deposit at 0.4% interest that paid at the end of the 6 months. It automatically rolled over into another 6-month fixed deposit. About a month after it rolled over I went to Kasikorn and the teller suggested an 11-month fixed deposit at 1.4% which pays interest monthly. (taxes are also taken out monthly) I decided to put the balance into the 11-month fixed deposit BUT I had to forgo the month or so interest after the 6-month one rolled over.

Try https://worldwideweedthailand.com/  in Pattaya 

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1s0x3102954598b5b36d%3A0xe41b25ba088e1380!3m1!7e115!4shttps%3A%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPrV8RF_p7fAHHO516o9ZEdMwnGdS8SJfCJM-RK%3Dw124-h220-k-no!5sWorld Wide weed Pattaya - Google Search!15sCgIgAQ&imagekey=!1e10!2sAF1QipPImjkOHWC26KzizdTb-bdB3OdkU1gfy69puqHM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiA34Si4Jj6AhWrS2wGHUftC_UQoip6BAhEEAM&cshid=1663312076876421

I like cardless withdrawal because I don't need to pay the yearly ATM card fee (200 baht?) at Kasikorn Bank.
Has anyone tried cardless withdrawal using a Thai bank app outside of the kingdom?

The riskiest health problem that occurs from inhaling nitrous oxide is passing out while trying to hold in the gas. People who inhale it standing up sometimes fall over and hit their head or injure their body. It should be done from a sitting position with a "trip sitter" for harm reduction.

2 hours ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

Top 10 List: Where to Buy Kratom Online

https://www.chiangraitimes.com/health/top-10-list-where-to-buy-kratom-online/

I'm aware there are many websites selling kratom among other substances. However, how likely is it that a package containing kratom will be seized by Thai customs? 

3 hours ago, JayClay said:

Why would you do that when it grows here?

Why order from Lazada or Shopee when you can get the product in a brick and mortar store? Better convenience and price are some reasons why. 

Frankly, how to get kratom? Where exactly in Bangkok is it being sold? 
I've heard about underground Kratom bars for years but never found one. Everyone I've talked to has no idea where to buy it. 

Is it legal to buy Kratom online and have it shipped to Thailand?

I was also stuck in that cesspool called America when the gates to LOS slammed shut. I finished quarantine September 15 and was released in the wild. On that same day I went into work and handed over my passport and work permit so our visa agent can get the 3-month Non-B changed to a 1-year visa. 5 months ago I was living in a different apartment. When I finally made it back to Thailand I moved in with my girlfriend who owns the condo.  I totally forgot about the TM30 and now I don't have my passport to get copies of the TM06 departure card and most recent entry stamp etc. It's way past the 24 hour time limit. Any advice ?

Has anyone ever tried Fatboy's Motorbikes in Bangkok? According to their website a foreigner can get a Thai motorbike license in 3-6 hours for 1900 baht. It sounds a bit too easy.

http://fatboysmotorbikes.com/thai-driving-license-service/

9 hours ago, johnbarley said:

 

What hotel are you staying? Would you recommend it?

I have 3 more nights to go in The Kinn ASQ hotel. It's a little clean. The floor under the table was dirty and there was bits of rice and a seed on the chair when I checked in. It's on the 9th floor so water pressure is so so. The air con is ok and there is a TV with 1 English-language channel, maybe 10 Thai channels and many infomercial channels. I guess this is a cheaper cable package. I have been teaching online for my school in Thailand from USA and now in quarantine for the last 5 months so the Internet speed is crucial. Because of unstable Internet connection the lessons have been interrupted or dropped out at least 10 times in the last 11 days. The connection in this hotel is unstable. This "deluxe" room has a small balcony and is 30,000 Baht so it is on the cheaper end. There is no pool nor gym. The staff and nurses are pleasant. There is a poor French lady across the hall with 2 young daughters one of whom cries and cries at various times during the day and night so I shouldn't complain. As you can see from the attached photos this hotel is down the street from The Office massage parlor. In fact my friend told me that this hotel was converted from a defunct massage parlor called Afterschool or Playskool or something like that. Some of the meals are good but often times not warm by the time the meals are placed outside the door. There is no microwave, but there is room service. If you want to save money this hotel ok. 

I think the embassy that one must use depends on the return address. I applied to the Thai consulate in Chicago from my parents' house in Michigan even though I am a Florida resident.

My Non-B visa had expired but my work permit was still valid. I applied for a new visa etc. and now on my 10th day of quarantine. Persistence defeats resistance. 

I did mine by email and phone, mostly email though. 

On 9/9/2020 at 6:42 AM, unheard said:

I think it's pretty much a simultaneous process.

The embassy/consulate is in charge of issuing the visa. However the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in charge of the COE. Ideally this would be a simultaneous process.

5 days soup to nuts for me.
I overnighted my passport and myriad documents on Thursday morning to the Thai consulate in Chicago and was very pleasantly surprised to get my passport with visa the following Tuesday. I was sent the COE by email about a week later.

Now on my 10th day of quarantine trying to keep my sanity.
By the way, in the instructions on the Thai embassy's website it is quite clearly written that 15 business days should be allowed for visa processing. Good luck.

20 hours ago, unheard said:

My understanding is that you won't get your passport back with stamped-in Non-O without obtaining a COE first.

In my case I got the ASQ hotel booked, flight booked, Covid insurance and the myriad of documents scanned  and then submitted online through the embassy's website. Then I sent all the documents, passport etc. to the embassy on a Thursday and miraculously got my passport back on the following Tuesday with a Non-B visa but no COE. I had to send a few emails begging them to send me the COE. Only then would the travel agency charge my credit card and I could be sure of a seat on the repat flight.

So to sum it up I got the visa in passport BEFORE getting the COE. Maybe it's different for a Non-O? 

On 7/27/2020 at 10:23 PM, Skallywag said:

$1200 is very cheap for Business class one way from LA. 

I paid around $1250 one way Chicago-Seoul-Bangkok for an economy seat.

So $1200 would be very cheap business class LA-Bangkok. 

I'm at the end of my first week of quarantine  and going absolutely barmy. If you teach online or do lots of meetings with Zoom, Skype, FaceTime etc. the hotel where I'm staying ASQ The Kinn's Internet service is just so-so. A couple of my classes had to be restarted because of an unstable connection. Also, there's no gym here either. The Kinn deluxe room is on the cheaper end: 30,000 baht.

I was staying near Detroit so I went on Michigan.gov/coronavirus  and there is a list of labs that do testing.
I sent  messages to all of the email addresses listed explaining my situation. A few said they would do results
within 24 hours if I could get an "order as STAT" from a doctor. However, my insurance and doctor etc. are
all in Thailand. I sent another email to the labs that had responded explaining that I didn't have a general
practitioner. One lab in the boondock's took pity on me and let me do a self-referral for the test and also referred me to one of their doctors they do business with. It turned out that the doctor's son works in Taipei
and went through a similar situation so she was sympathetic to my cause. I was so worried that I asked her
to do 2 different Fit-to-fly certificates. One about Covid and one general. 
I called Passport Health and Travel Clinic and they were not useful. I even called places in Chicago (were I flew from) thinking that a bigger city would have more resources but it seemed that they had no idea about expedited lab results. By the way, the Passport Health in Chicago only does Fit-to-fly certificates 2 days a week. 
So unless you are undergoing surgery or are a professional sports player it's very difficult to get results within 24 hours in the midwest. I'm so glad to get out of there.