Hal65

I recently had a work laptop sent from my new US employer to my Thai address via Fedex. Thai customs is holding it and will call me to ask about it and what I do (I'm a web developer). Anyone else go through this process? What documents might they request? The local office said to wait for their call.

I love the BBQ variety, tastes as good as potato chips. Probably just as unhealth. The sweet type is also okay. Is this something the Thais adopted from the West? Who else likes these chips?

Order placed on addids.co.th on Sep 16 shipped today, the 24th from Bangkok (to Pattaya). I guess I'll receive Saturday or Monday. Can someone who understands retail in Thailand explain why it takes 8 days to ship a shoe order? I'm asking in a "want to understand the complexity and/or differences" sense, not "I want to complain secretly."

Is curfew going to last until that time too? Any updates there?

Restaurant or private meal prepper? I love an Indian dish called Aloo Gobi (Cauliflower and Potatos). An Indian restaurant serves a dish for 150 baht, I have not been able to find cheaper. Alternatively I have thought of hiring a thai lady to make it, which of course would require a trial and error phase at my house. Just curious if anyone else has looked into some meal prep outsourcing and what your thoughts were. I lean towards the restaurant on the hope that buying a week's worth will cut the price from $30 to maybe $30 or so (1,000 baht)

I can see some foreigners finding $40k/year jobs in Thailand. $80k/yr on the other hand is 2.6m thb/yr. There are high level jobs in most fields that reach/exceed that number. But not a lot in a country with a $7,000/yr GDP/capita.

New rules are 10 years stay, no 90 day reports. Attractive income tax structure and outright land ownership. Must make 40k USD/year or own $250k gov bonds or real estate. https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/news/thailands-new-rules-for-retiree-visas-sound-alarm-bells-371948 Do you guys think those on the current retirement visa scheme will be grandfathered? If so, for how long?

Pattaya to Ban Phe is 82 km with toll rds. So maybe longer on surface roads. Questions for the e-bikers: 1) Would you rate this type of trip on a $1,300 e-bike very doable? Or on the extreme side? I'm guessing it may take 4 hours or so. If there are many hills perhaps longer. I am well conditioned as a runner but cycling is new to me beyond trips around town on a fixed gear non-e-bike. 2) The hills of Koh Samet are steep. Can ebikes still take most hills or should I expect to walk them? Any other advice on this type of trip is welcome, thanks

It was 40k in November 2020. I also got quoted 40k last month from another school

I went to a school that now issues vol visas and they said it would be no trouble to issue another one. I remember last year on this forum people were saying you couldn't get a vol visa without leaving the country, that info turned out to be out of date. So I think I'm okay this year too since the covid shot isn't mandatory.

I should clarify that I'm not seeking an extension. Essentially the vol visa will be a new one that I apply for within the Kingdom. Hopefully that doesn't change anything!

My 1 year volunteer visa is ending in a couple months and I plan to get a new one here in pattaya. I was curious if Vaccination status is being considered on new visa applications or not. If it is, and is a big factor, I probably need to at least get the first vaccine as I don't have even the first shot yet.

Ended up just going to Immigration. They processed everyone's passports super fast, no need to fill forms or anything. I was in and out in maybe 25 minutes.

This is what I'm seeing on Chrome and Firefox:

I used the Thai Post for shipping 16kg from Pattaya to BKK. 730 thb for shipping, another 240 for boxes and packing. Someone shipped it back with the same packing material via Flash Express. 210 thb. It hasn't arrived yet but presumably will tomorrow. Is Flash express known to be the cheapest? I think I will use them next time.