Hal65

I wonder what advantage this has over a boat. I guess more scaleable living area?

How hard is it to move funds between your IB and Thai bank accounts? I'm a US citizen though I don't want to use my US account for transfers. Are the fees decent or prohibitive? Anything else to be aware of?

32 minutes ago, cdnhawk said:

I went last Thursday and on the reservation form it said 9-12. You show up at 9 and they take people in order. I had 220 and it only took an hour.

Ahh, ok. So you don't get a time, you get a day.

If I arrive late, say 11am, will there be any issue besides having a later queue number?

10 hours ago, Caldera said:

I would not recommend doing this. If you miss your appointment for any reason, you won't get another one anytime soon as things stand now in Vientiane. Things can and do go wrong when traveling; spending an extra night in Vientiane gives you peace of mind.

If the timings are tight I would agree. But say I do this:

Leave Udon 5am.

Arrive Thai border 6am

Exit Lao border 8am

Arrive Vientiane 8:30am

So now with a late appointment at say 11am, I think the risk would be quite small. 2.5 hours extra in case something goes wrong.

Quote

 What is the business hours for visa application?

• Business hours: Monday - Friday, closed on Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays.
• The gate will be open at 9.00 a.m.; only visa applicants can enter the Consular Section.
  • Submission of applications: 9.00 a.m. - 12.00 a.m.

These are new hours. They appear 1 hour later than before.

Has anyone booked late or been offered a late time? I'm curious when the latest bookings are, be they 11am or even 11:45am.

My date is pretty far out so I'm okay on that front, thanks for the warning though

This old thread said AUA started offering ED visas: 

Anyone take classes there? Are there any other schools in the area with ED visa options?

Yes I plan to book late to give myself a buffer 11am, maybe 12pm. If I cross the border 1-2 hours early I'll go to downtown first to setup my room.

I prefer to spend the night in Udon instead of Vientiane. So say I check out of a guesthouse near Central Plaza.

Is there a shuttle to the border or will I need a tuk?

I budget 1 hour to border, 2 hours checkpoints, 30 minutes border to Thai consulate. Say 4 hours with a 30 minute buffer. If I leave the guesthouse at 6am it shouldn't be an issue right? Google says the border opens at 6am and I'd expect to arrive at 7am.

How strict are they on appointment times? I assume very strict. Or is it more like "come around this time and get a queue number as before"?

I have a judgement against me related to some medical debt incurred in the US. I live in Thailand now and all my assets are here, and this fact will be revealed during debtor's exam which I can not skip. My main concern are my Thai bank account funds.

Reading into this, it seems expenses go up for creditors pursuing bank levies out of state. I imagine out of country would be even more costly.

Does anyone have any experience in this area? I'm curious if cost really is a problem for the creditor when trying to levy a Thai bank account for a US entity. And how often (or not) they'll do it.

I'd be very interested to find out his sentence. I imagine it won't be less than 5 years and may be a career ender

Almost forgot: The AC blew out a Thai power strip in its first 10 minutes. I had to wait 3 weeks for a Chinese 4000w surge protector on Aliexpress to come in the mail, at a cost of $25. The AC draws 1,200w

I ended up getting a 12,000 BUT portable A/C off Lazada for 7,500 thb. "Natural" brand (seems to be the most popular).

My reasoning for portable was the 10% extra energy cost was worth being able to take it with me if I move to another apartment. I don't use AC that much unless a guest is over, so the added cost is only about $3 per month and I still get to pay fan room prices.

Install:

-- Bought a black plastic board from Home Pro for 850 baht, + 250 for a pickup to get me home.

-- I measured out my window, a side hinged one that would require my custom solution. I cut the board to fit and then cut the exhaust hole with a utility knife.

-- My handiwork is subpar and the board bows inward, creating a small gap for bugs/air at the top (about 5 square inches worth). I can probably fix it later.

Performance

-- In the direct line of airflow it feels like a freezer is venting onto you. Feels nice.

-- After 25 minutes the big room on the Buakao side is dry and warm, about 27C or 81F (I set the AC to 26C). The back room / bedroom is still too warm and humid Though. I can literally take one step forward to go from "nice" to "little to warm/humid"

-- I then "aimed" the AC at the opened section of the sliding door to try to improve airflow. Another 25 minutes later and the bedroom was a little better. Quite nice with the fans also on.

Conclusion

-- On a range of possible outcomes I give it a 7/10.

-- I spend more time in the bedroom so that was the more important one.

-- The humidity removal is huge, probably more important than reduced temperature.

-- Still have to assess the annoyance factor of manually dumping water. I think it will not be a big deal.

I know there is 1/2 baht, 7.6 grams. 

Do they also have a 5 gram size? or does it keep halving below 1 baht sizes?

It's cash only. Though I wouldn't mind giving my CC company something to chuckle about if things were to change

I read a while back that skimming is common in Thailand. My US CCs have some protection against that but what about Thai debit cards (for a Thai bank account)? I assume protections against loss are minimal here and cash is much safer but I thought I'd ask.

I have 4 6 Liter jugs that I fill manually and walk up to the 3rd floor where I live. Thai style apartment without a kitchen (or kitchen sink). It works but is tiring since the water machine is about 200 meters away. 

Is there any better option? I'm on Soi Buakao

Wondered this as I saw a retail person zooming around Big C on his rollerblades. I hear even the rich Asian countries have done a good job holding excessive regulation back. Anyone know how they've done it?

Try using a seedbox instead. It works like this: you download the torrent file locally. Then on the online seedbox dashboard you add the file. The seedbox dls the file at a blazing speed. Then at some point you download the file from the seedbox. 

From the ISP's perspective no torrenting has happened. 

Well I just bought a 4,000 watt surge protector off Aliexpress. Let's hope it acts as a buffer for the socket in case it draws too much current for the wiring.

Plugged in a portable AC and the power strip lasted only 10 minutes. I guess I need something more heavy duty. Anyone know where to get a surge protector capable of 1,200W continous load?

BKK bank isn't allowing ACH to their NY branch > credit to a Thai branch account anymore starting April from what I hear. Checked with Deemoney and they only do Thailand to USA. 

What other options don't cost too much to move money from a US account to Thailand. I have heard Transferwise named as an option. Curious if there are any others.

45 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Not sure about the guest house check in.

Are you aware you have to make an appointment to a apply for a visa at the consular section. See: https://thaivisavientiane.com/#

Good information. Looking on the FAQ page I see this:

Quote

What is the business hours for visa application?

Business hours: Monday - Friday, closed on Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays.
The gate will be open at 9.00 a.m.; only visa applicants can enter the Consular Section.
Submission of applications: 9.00 a.m. - 12.00 a.m.

Which personal information do I need to fill in online to create my personal account and schedule an appointment?

 

You will need to provide the following personal information:
Name
Date of birth
Information on your passport page
Your preferred date and time of appointment

1. Looks like they moved the submission time from 8:30 - 11 to 9-12 

2. It says prefered date AND time. Does their system force a time slot on you if your preferred one isn't available? That could limit my ability to do the early morning flight and consultate visit around 10:30 - 11am

I'm trying a new itenerary this trip where I take a 6am flight to UTH (Nok Air), 2.5 to 3 hours getting into Laos, and then I go directly to the Thai consulate. I expect to be out towards closing time which is around 11am. A walk to downtown takes 30 minutes.

Does anyone remember the earliest checkin times they allow? I believe they want you out by 12pm for checkout, I'm hoping checkin times are around that hour to avoid buying 2 days for just a few extra hours.