VirgoSG

Very true. At a quick count, out of the last 9 prime ministers (excluding stand-in PMs), at least 6 spoke English well or fluently. I.e.: Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Srettha Thavisin, Yingluck Shinawatra, Abhisit Vejjajiva, Thaksin Shinawatra, Chavalit Yongchaiyudh

This is the CAAT Facebook page with the announcement: https://tinyurl.com/2yvbbwdb

You absolutely can use your Thai driving licence as photo ID for domestic flights. In January this year, the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand issued a weird statement that basically "encouraged" the use of a passport by non-Thai domestic passengers. However, the CAAT statement also said: "If non-Thai passengers traveling on domestic flights lose or are unable to present their identification documents, they must provide one of the following documents. • Emergency Passport (Original) or Emergency Travel Certificate (Original) • Non-Thai ID Card issued by Department of Provincial Administration of Thailand (Original) • Driving License issued by Department of Land Transport of Thailand (Original) These will be effective as of January 16, 2024" I have flown multiple times domestically since January, and have continued to use only my driving licence as check-in and boarding ID (as I have for the past 12 years). You can also look at airline websites such as Vietjet or Bangkok Airways and there they clearly say exactly the same thing. So, relax, you are good to travel without your passport domestically. Also, as far as hotels are concerned, I always use my driving licence. The once or twice in 12 years that they have insisted on a passport, I have immediately emailed or WhastApped a photo of the main passport page and they have been totally happy with that.

Of all the options discussed, your idea of this make / model is the best in my view. I had a top-of-the-range CRV at my Koh Samui home for 2 years (2018-2020), drove it all over Thailand, and was mightily impressed with it. Performance, road holding, comfort, build quality and equipment were first class. I sold it to a Samui friend in 2020 (I bought a John Copper Works Mini Countryman to replace it), and he enjoyed it big time too. He just traded it in for the CRV model you are considering, and he is over the moon with it. I've driven with him in it, and I concur. A huge step up from what was already a great car. I have another friend in Bangkok who owned a CRV for over ten years, and then 18 months ago bought a new one, having spent almost nothing on the original (which his son is still driving!). Reliability is a huge plus for Honda, and resale value in TH too (ditto of course for Toyota, but the Fortuner -- which I have also owned both in Singapore and Thailand -- will always be a truck-based model) Unless you regularly travel with the dog / cage, 2 kids, 6 suitcases (which even the truck-based SUVs might be challenged by), I would 100% go with the Honda CR-V e-HEV RS 4WD Good luck with your choice!

I think you significantly underestimate the number of Thais who can afford such travel. Apart from the Covid period, the number of Thais visiting Japan, as an example, has been running at over a million a year. This year's number looks like it will be about 1.3 million.

The people you see using Fast Track are not abusing anything. "Passengers who can use the Fast Track are: First Class passenger / Business Class passenger / Person with a disability / Infant / Pregnant / BOI and APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) / Smart Visa / Long Stay / Thailand Privilege / Buddhist Monk / Senior Citizens over 70 / Official, Diplomatic Passport / Crew"

This organisation is doing wonderful work and deserves great kudos, as well as donations from individuals and corporations

There are 500 MPs, and 250 Senators. To be confirmed as prime minister a candidate needs a simple majority across both houses, i.e 376 votes. There is no separate limit requirement for MPs or Senators. So, for example, if a candidate could secure 376 votes from the 500 MPs, he or she would not need a single vote from the Senate

I also saw Dr Bavornrit a few years ago, and was very impressed. No bull<deleted>, very pragmatic approach.

Interestingly, I think AXA International calculate age premiums based on total claims for each age in their customer base, meaning you don't get any sudden big increases in premium when (for example) you go from 60-65 into 65-70 -- which a lot of companies do. I couldn't agree more with your view regarding opting out of coverage when you get older. Very sage advice...

Fortunately, I am financially in a position not to have to ask myself that question. But, given that AXA International only increases premiums based on total claims experience and medical cost inflation, I find it hard to imagine a stage where the question would arise

I've been scanning through this thread again, and see that many people have expressed an interest in what companies / policies one should look at. So, I thought I would re-post what I had to say a couple of weeks ago (with a couple of additions) as it may help people who are reconsidering their coverage options:-- <Take a look at AXA International health insurance (based in the UK, not the local AXA branch in Thailand) [ Search for "axa global healthcare" ]. I have been with them for many years, and had an excellent claims experience (including cataract surgery, removal of potentially cancerous skin growths, expensive hospitalisation/treatment while traveling to HK). Doesn't matter where you live in the world, they will cover you wherever you happen to be, and you can also choose where you get treatment (e.g. if I elect to go to Singapore for treatment, no problem). Contrary to what many people say, reputable (and likely non-Thai) insurers do not jack up the premium based on your personal claims record. AXA increase their premiums based on the company's total claims experience and medical-related inflation. In some years my premium has increased as little as 2%, in others up to 17%. They certainly insure Thais as well as expats, because we recently switched my partner's insurer to AXA International -- her own policy, not added onto mine. Her premium aged 39 is about THB40,000 -- roughly the same as the appalling Thai insurance policy she had before, and vastly superior coverage.With a GBP2,000 (voluntary) deductible, aged 75, my annual (worldwide excluding USA) premium this year is GBP5,300 (about THB230,000). And that includes emergency evacuation and repatriation cover. Once you are insured, there is no age limit that I am aware of (although I don't know if they have an upper age limit for new policies). And there should be no problem getting cover at your young 61 years! They also have an exceptionally reasonable policy regarding pre-existing conditions. If you are interested after reading their website, I would suggest calling their health advisers or their sales team. Their staff are really well-trained (sales people not pushy at all, and customer advisors are superb), personable and helpful.

Before you decide to self-insure, take a look at AXA International health insurance (based in the UK, not the local AXA branch in Thailand) [ Search for "axa global healthcare" ]. I have been with them for many years, and had an excellent claims experience. Doesn't matter where you live in the world, they will cover you, and you can choose where you get treatment (e.g. if I elect to go to Singapore for treatment, no problem). Contrary to what many people say, reputable (and likely non-Thai) insurers do not jack up the premium based on your personal claims record. AXA increase their premiums based on the company's total claims experience and medical-related inflation. In some years my premium has increased as little as 2%, in others up to 17%. They certainly insure Thais as well as expats, because we recently switched my partner's insurer to AXA International -- her own policy, not added onto mine. Her premium aged 39 is about THB40,000 -- roughly the same as the appalling Thai insurance policy she had before, and vastly superior coverage. With a GBP2,000 (voluntary) deductible, aged 75, my annual (worldwide excluding USA) premium is GBP5,300 (about THB230,000). And that includes emergency evacuation and repatriation cover. There is no age limit that I am aware of. And there should be no problem getting cover at your young 61 years! They also have a very reasonable policy regarding pre-existing conditions. If you are interested after reading their website, I would suggest calling their health advisers or their sales team. Their staff are well-trained (sales people not pushy at all), personable and helpful.

Same for me last year, 90 days after a brief trip to Phnom Penh. Not on a re-entry permit, but I don't see why that would make any difference. I hope it works okay for you -- I suggest you do the online report early to give yourself time to do it at your immigration office just in case it doesn't work.

That is very sad news indeed. Ubon Joe was an invaluable resource for reliable information on immigration matters for many years. He was invariably polite, helpful and responsive, and he helped countless expats on this forum, including me. He will be sorely missed indeed. Ave atque vale Ubon Joe

That is very sad news indeed. Ubon Joe was an invaluable resource for reliable information on immigration matters for many years. He was invariably polite, helpful and responsive, and he helped countless expats on this forum. He will be sorely missed indeed. Ave atque vale Ubon Joe

I've driven much of this territory several times. The countryside and landscapes to the NW (into northern Payao province), N, NE, and E of Nan city are some of the best that Thailand offers. You can easily spend several days driving the roads of these areas. Depending on the time you have available, just pick some circular routes around those areas, search for convenient stop-off accommodation, and you will have a great time

I've used RS Components in Thailand and Singapore quite a few times. Very professional, product range is amazing, and delivery fast. Take a look there. They have quite a range of step-down transformers https://th.rs-online.com/web/

A new record. My online 90-day report approval email was received 2 minutes and 12 seconds after I got the submission acknowledgement email.

I would bet a fair amount of money that these are the footprints of a tokay gecko. You can see the thicker pad marks in the photo. Not many creatures can climb a flat wall -- water monitors certainly cannot do that. The latter can climb trees, but don't have the adhesion required to climb a flat surface. Tokays also love running around in the roof space and in my experience the sound they make doing so is much louder than you might expect from their size -- but males can run to at least 40cm long and be pretty heavy. We have them frequently in the roof space of our villa (and in the ground floor ceiling too). But they don't always stay around very long for some reason. Beautiful creatures anyway

I shall keep my fingers crossed!

I have the same situation. My Thailand Elite 20-year visa was "renewed" for its second 5-year period on July 6th at Chang Wattana (it needed "renewal" by August 2nd). My permission to stay was also due to expire August 2nd, and my 90-day report was due August 15th. I left the country on July 19th and re-entered July 22nd via Suvarnabhumi. I got a 1-year permission to stay as usual, and my new 90-day report date will be about October 20th. Yesterday I received the standard email from Immigration notifying me that my next 90-day report was due August 15th. I shall be very interested to see if Samui Immigration approves my online 90-day submission when I attempt it in mid-October (I've been successfully using the system for 3 years). I really hope so, as I won't be in Samui at the time to do it in person

Apologies for 3 copies of the certificate

My sense is that the yellow vax "Passport" is yesterdays news. In the Mor Prom app there is a menu called International Certificate. If you click on that and fill out a simple form, upload a copy of your passport and submit it, within 24 hours in the same location you will have an "International Covid-19 Vaccination Certificate" which you can download as a .pdf to print -- or print from your phone. Worked smoothly for my Thai partner and me and we used them to enter Cambodia yesterday. The certificate looks like this: