khunPer

I didn't see any bikinis in the cover photo, but that might however be what Pattaya-bikinis looks like...

If you bought one ticket with Emirates to Samui, they'll allow the Emirates weight. If you bought a separate Bangkok Air ticket you fly domestic with Bangkok Airways and their domestic luggage rules.

No, Phangan is relaxed party life.

Not at all, serious helpful reply, as this is how you find some of the good cheap bungalows, a number of them are not offered on the Internet, and furthermore you need to check location, airbnb-images can be too beautiful compared with real life...????

It seems like long ago you stayed on Samui. Today they don't offer shared computers and the almost all email-shops have gone. Most people are constantly 4G or 5G online. There is WiFi almost everywhere, and free WiFi in malls, banks, coffee shops and restaurants. A 1 Gb fiber with 5G WiFi-router costs little less than 600 baht a month pon Samui, it's 20 baht a day, shared with N number of bungalows. Most of the small huts have disappeared and been replaced with larger more luxurious bungalows – only the ones in the back used by Thai workers are still there – however, there are still a few left in places like in Bang Por for 290 baht a night. Not 24 hour electricity is back in the happy hippie era, Samui has changed a lot since then.

Might not work that easy. Book accommodation for one or a few nights ahead and check areas and accommodation out yourself, word of mouth is often an excellent help.

You can find fan-only bungalows from around 6,000 to 8,000 baht a month – depending on season and personal preferences, fan can be all right, I stayed almost five years in a fan-only bungalow – aircon bungalows comes from around 10,000 baht a month. Be aware of possible higher prices in high- and peak-season, i.e. Xmas-New Year and from January to mid April, plus July-August, when it's not a long term (all year) rent. There are many areas with affordable bungalows close to beach – i.e. relative short walking distance from 100 meters to about 500 meters – cheapest might be Bang Por on the north coast that has both reasonable convenient store shopping and restaurants. Maenam, Bo Phut, Bang Rak, Plai Leam and Choengmon are other possibilities, but with more more tourists, which also means good shopping and restaurant facilities and slightly higher prices. Moving further inland in these areas, you will find lower prices. On the southern and western part of the island you might find little more affordable accommodation, but also fewer shopping and restaurant facilities, and a need to consider transportation. Most bungalow resorts today have WiFi, the island has fiber from 1 Gb down and 200 Mb up. With a 5G WiFi-connection you can have excellent speed. ????

There are a number of visa-run companies on Samui that arrange everything, including transport in minibus. Might be worth checking some of them. Easyway is one possibility, Samui Visa another.

You can, the new wealthy foreigners LTR-visa is a great opportunity, or you can use the for quite some time existing Elite Card...

First of all, check the land's title deed, it need to be not lower than Nor Sor 3 (Nor Sor Sarm), and preferably Nor Sor 4 (Chanute) for ownership, only the last is full ownership. Nor Sor 3 can be upgraded to full ownership, but it m ake take a while to have it done. Apart from investor visa (40 million baht) and wealthy retirement visa (30 million baht) foreigners cannot own land. The most common way around it is establishing a Thai company limited to own the land; however, the foreigner can only own 49 percent and there need to be minimum three shareholders in total with 51 percent Thai ownership. Furthermore the Thai shareholders shall show evidence for funds. With preferred shares – the are two common methods – the foreigner can be able to control the company. The foreigner can be director and have power to sell and/or transfer land owned by the company. There are costs for running a company and preferably the company needs other activities than being an empty shell for foreign land ownership. Another way to secure "investment" in land with high title deeds is, to get a loan declared as servitude – for example the value of the foreigner's investment in land and buildings – with a loan servitude the land cannot be sold or transferred before the loan has been fully paid. There are ways to get permission to use or live on a plot of land, but that does not include rights of ownership or rights to control the land, hereunder selling it. Rights to use the land can be habitation right, usufruct, or lease with a superficies right to own new build buildings on the land. Be aware of that an agreement between husband and wife can be nullified, for example in case of divorce, so do have contracts made before transferring a land title to a wife's name.

Building rules in my area says, one meter from neighbor, and only 50 centimer if no openings, i.e. doors/windows. Two meters inside own land when facing public area and road, 3 meters from water edge. Have you checked the local building regulations..?

Because it's already legal since 7th February last year (2021), read more HERE...????

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Normal requirement for Yellow House Book, mine was even more difficult, almost as applying for permanent citizenship but I however didn't need an interview in Thai language – I could use a translator – and I didn't need to sing the national hymn by heart (the staff at tessa ban shall be very happy that I didn't sing...????). Some places the requirements for Thai witnesses is that one shall be a neighbor and one shall be government employed...????

RSV infections are on the rise in many areas, there will soon be a vaccine or two choices available, they are both in successful trials.

If Thailand want more snowbirds, they should make it easy to stay for up to 180 days, perhaps with a special "snowbird visa".

The purpose of this thread is to focus on what's happening on the island, and what is open. If you wish to tell about deserted beach roads, or post Samui-rants, please start your own thread, or use one of the already opened...???? Seems like the nightlife begins to reopen Saturday 8th April... Green Mango is re-opening.

I kindly suggest that we during the coronavirus pandemi period make a pinned thread with transport from/to the islands – Phangan, Tao and Samui – as the normal timetables and transports are cancelled; and when restarting, they might be only with limited departures. Lomprayah has been mentioned earlier in another thread, and the question about their 12:30 catamaran departure from Samui to Phangan, which I haven't seen, but however seemed like some passengers did make the tour. The reason could be, that there are so few passengers that it's operated by a speed boat. Here is the latest update from Lomprayah...