muchogra

Well, just to let you guys know that the process went through like a breeze. My new passport will be ready within 2 weeks.

It's so refreshing to experience systematic procedures, courteous and expedient services from the US Consulate Chiang Mai. Kudos to the US Consulate Chiang Mai.

Here's my little humor....I regret I forgot to bring USD110, and instead, paid THB3,660. Well...the few hundred bahts that I could have saved, I can bring the wife to have a good meal at Gonzo's place.

ps: Only one 2x2 picture with white background was needed beside the old passport

4. Photograph: One unretouched, full-face photograph taken within the last six months. The photo should be two inches square, in color, on a white background. Please see our passport photo requirements (PDF, 97.5 KB). (You may wish to print this and give it to the photographer.)

JulieM, my apology to you and seligne2. I did see that section earlier and thought it wasn't applicable to me. I misread "...passport issued after 16..." as "...before 16..." so I had skipped reading that section. Now, it's all clear. Thanks!

mesquite and Dante99, thanks. Thanks to others as well.

4evermaat, yes, you do need an appointment which I already did. Thanks again.

Bernard Flint, 4evermaat, thank you very much sir. Will get some 2x2 photo tonight at B90 a dozen in my neighborhood.

Read the link provided by Seligne2. That's all you need to know, including the size of the photograph.

JulieM, I did peruse the website but I didn't see anything written on the subject. I couldn't find a number to call for non-emergency cases and that's why I have come in here to seek the information. Thanks to you and Selign2.

The procedures for renewing a passport outside the US are different from renewing inside the US. Read this carefully:

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/applying-for-a-u-s--passport-from-outside-the-united-states.html

JulieM, thanks for the information. I remember it's very simple the last time I renewed mine at the ACS in Bangkok. The only difference between the last time and the one before is that I was told the last time that it would take longer than before because they needed to send it to Washington DC and not issued directly from the Consulate.

I would bring my passport and my US Citizen Certificate along. I'm not quite sure what size photo I should bring along though.

My US passport will expire next month. This will be my third time to renew it. I forgot what's needed for renewal beside the passport. There's not a number in CM to inquire for non-emergency cases. I already made an appointment. I want to prepare what's needed in advance. Thanks in advance for any input.

I'm just an amateur point-and-shoot shooter. I only look at pictures to see if they are clear and sharp. Yours definitely meet my spec. Congrat, Shaggy!

May I ask if the photos shown are in its original sizes as taken or been resized? Also, how much does a Sony n6000 roughly cost in Thailand?

China has allowed gay marriage performed at the British Consuate (or Embassy) in China. However, recently, the HK Government disallowed such practice in the British Consulate in HK. Explain this paradox to me!

Have people traveled and lived in HK? And for that matter, have people traveled and lived in the mainland recently? To me, it's nothing like some posters have said about HK and China. There's nothing communist about them. In fact, what's worrisome is how they are being corrupted in too fast a pace to generate havoc!

Two years ago I was back in the States visiting.  My daughter's friend bought me some beers.  I looked at the bottles and said, what kind is this?  Her friend said, it's a foreign brand, the American brands are s_h_i_tty!  My daughter was winking to her friend signaling not to say something like that to her dad!  Well, my daughter knows me well!

Well, people say beers in Thailand are bad but I don't find them so bad especially the alcohol content is higher here than in other countries.  Perhaps I have been here too long?  In the States, I used to buy what's on sale, be it Blue Ribbon, Budweiser, Milwaukee Bud, Coors, or what have you!  For whisky, I can't drink the Thai whiskey for they smell alcohol/gasoline.

 

Myself I regard as an incipient alcoholic, as I like being mildy drunk better than I like being sober.

 

On the other hand I restrict myself to 30 UK alcohol units a week,  (one pint of lager is about 2.5 units, a bottle of wine 10 units, and a bottle of whisky 30 units), with two to three days non-drinking a week to rest the old liver.

 

Government health advice in western countries on the maximal amount of alcohol you should drink weekly to have minimal or low risk of adverse health effects varies from between 17 to  35 units, so this suggests the risk can't be determined with much certainty at this level of drinking.

 

So  I reckon 30 units a week is a good compromise between between drinking what I would like to drink (about a bottle of wine every evening, i.e. 70 units) and what I know I should stick to for health reasons.

 

I've stuck to this regime for a decade or so, so it seems to be working, but the fact that I have to discipline myself I think suggests a dependency!

 

This is good to know and thanks!

One pint equals 475cc. So, a big bottle of beers is 640cc which translates to 3.38 units per bottle.

Taking the middle value of 26 units (between 17 to 35 units), it translate to 7.69 bottles of beer per week in Thailand.

Good for me, as I now drink only 3 bottles a time every 4 days.

ps: I've heard Eastern doctors saying that it takes about 2 weeks for the liver to heal itself after a hard drink!

I do not agree with people who smoke in areas where smoking is prohibited such as enclosed spaces. But some anti-smoking activists are pushing it too far and worry too much! Arguing with such group is like arguing with the gay and pc people in which you can't win!

Uh? I certainly don't accuse YOU of being PC. You seem to have a problem with a lot of people. And you want to win! Whatever that means.

That certainly seems your attitude!...wanting to win with your sanctimoious pontification as shown in your post quoted below:

"Whether it kills me or not, it is obnoxious when I inhale the smoke others exhale. It is unsanitary and it gags me and makes my eating, or just life, unpleasant."

My advice to you is to get away from places where people smoke and don't be sissy-like complaining how sanitized you are while breathing all the exhaust in the air!

When I was out doing business in Thailand in 89 and 90, it's at least 4 nights a week out drinking with people of different nationalities.  Each time, it's about half a bottle of Chivas or Black plus 3 big bottles of beer.  During the financial crisis, I drank all - about 2 dozen bottles - the XO cognac at home.  To SAVE money, I drank Chang, 3 for B100, almost everyday.  The record was 19 bottles in a 10 hour period.

Nowadays, I drink 3 bottles of large beer a time every 4 days.  It has reduced from 5 bottles then to 4 a time.  It's all done at home now!

 

I only drink to steady my nerves. Sometimes I'm so steady I can't even move. 

- - W. C Fields

 

Steady like Stevie Wonder in a boat?
 

I do not agree with people who smoke in areas where smoking is prohibited such as enclosed spaces. But some anti-smoking activists are pushing it too far and worry too much! Arguing with such group is like arguing with the gay and pc people in which you can't win!

Instead of wasting time on thinking of any sort of rewards, why not use the time to think about punishments for the vote buyers and the paid voters. Make ample clear to the potential offenders that they will be treated with harsh punishment.

Make it possibe for people to vote anywhere in the country instead of having had to go back to their provinces.

Educate the voters to vote with their conscience bearing in mind of the country first instead of being impressed by populist policies and sweet talks given by the fast-Eddie type. I know this is hard to do as most people in the West are attracted to this type anyway even with their level of 'sophistication'!

Arn't schools teaching that, btw?

Which 'that' is that?

David, I mean cautioning them to use condoms and contraceptives instead of telling them not to screw around!

Arn't schools teaching that, btw?

Incidentally, do you prefer telling your children to bring condoms and contraceptives or just forbide him/her with an iron fist? Your answer may be: it depends?

How can anybody be called caring or having empathy when one neglects one's own parents?

Depends on the parents and one's childhood. I've seen some children who should take care of their parents by hanging them.

You don't seem getting my point. You apparently think most things going on in the so-called First World represent progress while I'm saying otherwise!

I said all of that?

Perhaps it arises from reading your politically related posts and the comment that a farm girl needs to learn English in order to get out of the farm.

My assessment is that you hold freedom and liberty as an inalienable rights the moment a person is born. You throw disciplines and teachings from the parents out the door since it's "old-fashioned". Perhaps, that's why you think some children should hang their parents for disciplining their children and restrict their activities.

How can anybody be called caring or having empathy when one neglects one's own parents?

Depends on the parents and one's childhood. I've seen some children who should take care of their parents by hanging them.

You don't seem getting my point. You apparently think most things going on in the so-called First World represent progress while I'm saying otherwise!

Of course, it's not normal! You did nothing wrong. The resturant should have waived the charge on the dish. Did they?

One time, I bit into a chumpoo(don't know the English word) and there was worms (nong) in it. Since then I have lost appetite on chumpoo! Now, you are making me lose appetite on lettuce.

How can anybody be called caring or having empathy when one neglects one's own parents?