PatLogan

Hi all,

I need to find a good orthodontist for my 15yo daughter. She started a complex treatment 18 months ago in Beijing to get a tooth which was inside her upper palate out (she has specail braces which are adjusted every 2 months so to make room for the tooth which is slowly extracted from the palate).

I heard about Dental Clinic Bangkok in Sukhumvit 49, but other recommendations would be most welcome.

I don't need the doctors there to be very fluent in English, both my daughter and wife can speak Thai.

Oh, and even if I have a good insurance over, I am not looking for a very expensive foreigner-oriented place, I am looking for skills, good equipments (the ones we used to go in Beijing had picture taking PC-based system on the chairs to show us what happened in there), but not luxury

Thanks!

Maybe I am not familiar with what you call Kway teow here, but for me there is for me only one kind of of, though they might differ in width. Kway teow is the Hokkian name of the flat strip rice noodles (sen yai in Thai?)

Or course they can be cooked in many ways, but I will definitively go with the stir fried version, the char kway teow:

Most likely you can and KL will do it with proof of 100k in Thai bank account.

That would be an alternative to my home country (I'm French) since I go there once a month. Thanks for the tip!

In that case I would not extend until you need to do so as multi entry visa entry/exit would fit your travel better.

Yes it indeed seems the best solution. Now one question I did not ask was if I could renew as many times as I wish the visa I have if I do it in my home country.

It is an extension of stay for one year and can be applied for during the last 30 days of any 90 day entry if you meet the financials. There is no requirement to purchase any re-entry permit but if you travel out of Thailand it would be required to keep the extension of stay alive. So for most people buying a single re-entry at 1,000 baht covers them in case of any emergency travel requirement as they can obtain another on return for the next emergency or planned travel.

Thanks. Since I travel out of the country at least twice a month, I think i then have no choice but to apply for the re-entry visa.

Thanks for your replies. I indeed managed to open a bank account and get a Visa debit card without any problem at K bank yesterday

Asiawatcher, yes we have 4 kids and house fully paid for in Thailand. My wife is busy getting me registered on the family book this week, then I will proceed first with the driving license, then will study whether I do not now the visa as support of my family or wait until the end of the current visa. My understanding is that i have to stay quite some time in Thailand to get that visa, as i also need to apply for a multiple re-entry visa once it is done. Am I right?

Thanks for the info, 15,000 to 20,000 sounds good. A stop over would not be a problem, if it is just for a few hours. I have seen a flight with Qatar for a good rate but had 22 hours in doha which i am sure would drive anyone mad. My wife is used to air travel so connecting flights would not be a problem. Although I heard in the past that Thai had some good deals on one way flights, but i have been unable to find any. I will have a look at the websites of the recommended airlines.

Stament: I can only see us getting worse this season, even more so now Tomlin has gone. 1 point from 3 games is shocking from the teams we have had so far. I fear it will be a long season once again Where abouts are you from?

Thanks again for the help

Air Asia have some good deals at the moment from BKK to KL and then KL into Stanstead. I have seen them advertising on theie wbsite KL to Stanstead for 110 pounds. Be careful of all the add ons if a lot of luggage

Worth a search on their web site to see what the prices are

It could be a very good choice in terms of prices, just be careful that they do not have flight transfer yet at LCCT in KL, and your wife will have to clear immi and customs, then check in again. So better make sure there are least 3-4 hours between the flights.

That said, flight transfer on the BKK-London route might come soon, since they have just started proposing it on other routes: http://www.airasia.com/th/en/transfer.html

I downloaded version 1 a few days ago although I have been using 2.0 Beta for a month;

I used it mainly for uninstalling software; I use other applications for registy, cleaning temp

is there a better uninstaller out there ?

I use and have been using Revo Uninstaller for years. It cleans up crap usually left behind when the program's uninstaller finishes.

I have been using CCleaner for years now, and I am very satisfied with it. But I am going to give a shot at that one since it has a few tools CCleaner does not have.

I think I know why they did not let your fiancée enter Singapore. That was for you to avoid a traumatic experience at the Marina Bay Sands (you had booked there right?)

Read here: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g294265-d1770798-Reviews-Marina_Bay_Sands-Singapore.html

Excerpts:

“Utterly embarrassed and disgraced to have such a PATHETIC hotel on Singapore soil!”

“Disgraceful service”

“Terrible stay for the birthday boy....”

I was in S'pore 8 days ago, and was thinking about going there to see the view from the roof. But reading that stopped me to go there, even just for the visit.

Back to the topic, 8 years ago my Thai wife who was holding a 2 year dependent pass from Malaysia (we were living there) had difficulties to get it., so that time since we had to land in S'pore to go to Johore for wedding, I suggested she used her EU passport. Bad idea, they refused to let her in with this passport and she had to queue again for a while to get her Thai passport stamped... but she got in eventually, even if given suspicious looks...

If you use Chrome and want to download Youtube videos, try this: http://unlockforus.blogspot.com/2008/09/directly-download-youtube-videos-in.html

No need of third party software, just a new bookmarks you simply click on when on Youtube.

The drawback is that sometimes it does not work any more when Youtube makes some changes, but they quickly come with a fix for it.

Does anybody's Thai wife think its a load of <deleted> with awful acting?? My wife of course loves that crap

So does mine. And so do my teen daughters

That is why I now seriously consider getting a second True access point so I can watch TV too

Gosh I wish I had read this topic a month ago when I was trying to find out which TV to buy.

I had a first look at what was available here end of June, then while I was in holiday in Europe, I spoke with several salesmen there and look into quite a lot of reviews. Back then I was really thinking about getting Samsung 50" Plasma. Was tempted by LED-LCD since it seems the blacks were more realistic, according to most of the things I head or read, and because the higher range of Samsung LED was said to have a motion rendition close to what you get on plasma. But those were priceys, and pricer than in Europe for the same model too!

So when we got back I went back to Power Mall at Emporium to get the Samsung Plasma I was eyeing at a bit less than 50K, when the sales guy mentioned about the promotion they had on the last LED-LCD 46" from Samsung they had (the one on display), a 46" 7000 series. The original price was close to 80K, and they were selling it for 56K...

So I went for it

Been using it for about 2 weeks now. And I am till now VERY happy with my choice. I had a bad buzzing noise the first 3 days, but I called the sales guy 9OK, my TW did tbh), who came to my home and check what happened. The issue was with the cheapo cable coming from True. He changed it for a gold plated component cable, and miracle, no more buzzing sound, and of course a way better picture quality! I am honestly surprised by the picture i can get from my True box, much better to what I was used in Malaysia or China. And I don't have True HD! He charged me 400THB for the cable and fr coming to my place (on a Sunday). I would really recommend this slaes guy to whoever wants to get a Samsung at Emporium

The 7 series was a perfect choice for me because i wanted to be able to directly read videos from by USB stick or HDD, and having the possibility to go to Youtube by adding a Wifi USB dongle was a plus for my teenage girls. I am yet to try this out, been too busy to go and buy one additional USB Wifi dongle (careful it is not included with the set, the sales guy was clear about it, but I had another one "forgetting" to mention it to me in another shop...

The only drawbacks I see:

• 1 year warranty only (but the add on for getting 3 years shop warranty is not that expensive)
• the sound quality (or more exactly, the sound power) ==> I believe if you are into movies, you really need to get a Home Cinema system with this TV

Again, the typical Thai retirement type is either single or married to a Thai national without significant income/assets. Again, this isn't a program most people interested in Thailand are going to have a chance at. Philippines, more like it!

Hmm, then I should fit in this type, being married to a Thai and with no significant asset yet. But on the other hand, I am still over 20 years before retirement, so I might change opinion by then.

The current Malaysia program is beyond the reach of a large portion of expats in Thailand. Offshore income of 10,000 ringits a month? That's over 3,000 USD. That is way over even the maximum that any American gets from social security. They are targeting JAPANESE. It's obvious.

Well if the rules have not changed, it is 10000MYR for a couple. Will check with my friends there again.

That is 2 to 2.5KE/month which is quite a normal retirement pension for a couple in Europe I think. Most of the MM2H people i know there are either Aussies or Brits, not Japanese (on the other hand the Japanese might tend to stay among themselves due to the language barrier).

Edit: the 150K MYR was if you could not prove the 10K MYR / month pension if I am not mistaken. Besides, there was a rule back then when you could use that money to buy your house. Again, I am going to check again what the conditions are nowadays.

Anyway, I am not here to advocate Malaysia, I am explaining why I could choose Malaysia. And I guess it might interest some people, even if you are not.

Having lived for 8 years in Malaysia (KL), I would definitely consider Malaysia. Why?

• Their Malaysia My Second Home program, even they change quite often the rule is kinda stragiht forward: http://www.mm2h.gov.my/
• They have good infrastructure
• The medical care (in KL) was of really good quality in the private hospital, and not very expensive (and by good quality, I mean emergency caesarian delivery of 31week twins, or double surgery on knees with stem cell injections later on for example)
• You can survive and travel aroudn the country even if you can speak English only (ok, in some places it gets easier to communicate if you can speak a bit of Malay, but it is not mandatory)
• Easy to mingle with locals, and get some local friends
• Expat community is not that big, and expats seems to tend less to gather according to their citizenship, which is a rebreather compared to say... Beijing.
• Did I mention it was pretty cheap? I'd say quite on par with Thailand (there it is cheaper for the cheese, but more expensive for the booze
• You can live in KL and go to beach every weekend f you wish
• Or you can live in KK and enjoy the beach all year long (but i am more of a big city person, so i prefer KL)
• Traffic jams are bad, but nothing compared to here or Beijing, or Jakarta...
• You can argue endlessly with Singaporean expats on the reasons why you prefer to live in KL rather than in Lalaland (cheap shot, sorry )
• Good food every where

Some cons are:

• If you cannot live in a country with race biased politics, you might end up not enjoying your life there...
• Cars are bloody expensive as they try to protect their local sh1tty manufacturer
• Alcohol is kinda pricey
• Public transportation globally sucks (even if long distance buses are quite OK now), but on the other hand you can fly to many places using Air Asia or Firelfy low cost airlines.

Oh, and before I am flamed down, I love my life here in Bangkok thank you (but if I was to retire in Thailand, I would never consider BKK, while I could retire in KL).

Financial requirements to obtain a 12 month extension based on being married to a Thai lady. A few other documents will also be needed.

(6) In case of marriage with a Thai lady, the husband who is an alien must have an average annual income of not less than 40,000 baht per month or a money deposit in a local Thai bank of not less than 400,000 baht for the past 2 months for expenses within a year.

Thanks Lite Beer. That is what I had understood, hence my question about whether we had to keep the 400K THB for 2 month or could start using them before applying. But given the otehr replies, I think I'd better keep with my current visa for now.

That would be the one year extension of stay rather than a visa. You only have to report address every 90 days if you do not leave with that but you can not leave without a re-entry permit or the stay will be lost. So the cost would be 1,900 baht for extension and 3,800 for matching multi re-entry permit. As it serves no useful purpose unless you plan to apply for PR (which without local employment is unlikely) the multi entry non immigrant O visa you currently have might be better for you now.

If you do decide to obtain read the marriage extension of stay posts for details as it will require a bit of paperwork and you must be available 30 days (or more) later to get final approval stamped into passport.

Thanks, it is much clearer now. I indeed remember he made first a 3-month visa and then applied for the 1-year marriage extension. But I somehow understood wrongly it was a OA and not a O Non immigrant.

TBH, if I can get all what I need (license, bank account and tel number under my name) with the visa I have got, I won't bother trying to change it, especially since I can get it renewed in one day back in France for 5000THB every time we go back there on summer holiday.

Thanks!

I am gladly surprised to see so many helpful people here. Reminds me of now dead expat forum i used to moderate in Malaysia .

I will deal with another True branch to get the phone she registered under her name transferred to my name.

She just called K Bank and they indeed are OK to open the account with my visa.

As for the marriage registration, she is going to take care of it too, it seems she should indeed do it where our house is (Rama 2), which is kinda far from where we live now (Sukhumvit 71) but anyway I think we better do it now that we live here - and she can deal with the French Embassy too for the papers since she has the right passport to go there too...

One of my friend managed to get a 1 year visa which did not require for him to leave every 3 months (also married with a Thai). I will check exactly what type he's got when he's back from holiday.

Now the last thing I need to check is whether I can get registered as living in Thailand at my consulate with this visa!

Immigration and certificate of residence: sorry for the dumb questions, but where to go in Bangkok for getting this?

Chaeng Watthana. Details are Here

Thanks a lot! OK, my wife is very busy preparing all the paperworks now. Good for a change, it has been my job for 10 years

Thanks to both for your replies!

True did not like the look of my one year O visa and insisted on a work permit. I will try again then. Guess i had the wrong person in front of me.

As for the bank, good to know, my understanding was that it was not possible at all. Will try tomorrow.

Oh, and of course we need to register the marriage here first I guess. Since we have never lived in Thailand, we have not done that yet (we married in France). So i don't think I can get a driving license before doing that.

Immigration and certificate of residence: sorry for the dumb questions, but where to go in Bangkok for getting this?

Hello,

After 10 years living around Asia (Malaysia and China), my wife and I decided it would be a good idea to settle down in Bangkok, and the kids agreed.

In order to make things faster (and because it was way easier to get it), I did back in France a non immigrant O visa multiple entries last month. Since I have to work to travel every second week to NE or SE Asia for my company based in Europe it is not a big deal having to leave at least every 3 months !

But for the sake of convenience, I am thinking now of getting a proper OA visa as without this I don't think I can register under my name a phone number, open a bank account (my wife already has 2 here, but I'd prefer to have one under my name for getting my travel expenses refunded), and I can't get a local driving license, and I am a bit wary of driving around BKK with my international driving license only...

Does anybody have experience in such a process and could advise me?

Before anybody asks:

1. My wife is Thai, I just noticed i did not clearly stated it - and we have been married for 10 years.
2. She has a house registered under her name here (even if we currently rent another one under my name)
3. I don't work for a Thai company, I word remotely for my company back in Europe, I travel for them around Asia but do not do have business activities in LOS.
4. I can get salary slips from my company showing my monthly income and i guess my Embassy can certify them (we do not have right now 400K THB on our account here, but we had not long ago, I am not very clear if we have to keep over 400 KTHB for 3 months for getting a 1 year OA Visa?)

I have roamed the forum and found valuable information, but not specifically on a case like mine

Oh, and recommendation of agents who could speed up the process of getting it would be most welcome. I know of one in Pattaya, but one in Bangkok would be more handy!

Thanks in advance!

Our 4 and half yo twins, half French/Half Thai (actually not really half French since my grandparents were Spanish and Italians )

Megan:

And Logan:

Which version of Outlook are you using?

Scanpst.exe should be there: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12

I would suggest you to downlaod this tool from Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=8B081F3A-B7D0-4B16-B8AF-5A6322F4FD01&displaylang=en . It will automatically backup your pst periodically, whihc might be a life saver

Hello Gentlemen,

I am also quite interested, just moved to Bangkok, and looking to start again playing. I had a low/intermediate level back then.

Have you defined a date for playing?

Thanks!