watgate

I will staying in Thailand (primarily in Chiang Mai) this October and will be there for 5 months. I will be eligible for social security next January 2015 and was told that I could apply in November 2014. My question(s) are will I be able to apply online while in Thailand? If not, then will I be able to apply at the consulate office in Chiang Mai or will I have to apply online in the Philippines? I understand a lot of business with social security issues is transacted in the Philippines by expats living abroad. Any correct information concerning my applying for social security benefits while in Thailand would be appreciated.

Lots of great advice and information. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences. I have been staying in Chiang Mai during the winter months the last 4 years and now, once again, the air has turned foul and is causing many health problems for the unfortunate folks who are there. Is the air better down south, and if so, maybe that is a solution, to head down there for 4-6 weeks until the air quality improves in Chiang Mai. Any input into what folks do during this period to deal with the foul and insipid air would be appreciated. Maybe it isn't an issue for folks living in southern Thailand?

Some excellent replys and suggestions. I can be a nervous Nellie if I let myself get overwhelmed. I really am an adventurer and just need to decide how to best proceed. As the replys have shown, there are different ways to achieve your desired results. My challenge is to not let inertia stop me from going ahead with my desire to live full-time in Thailand. I have been staying in Thailand on tourist visas but would go for a retirement visa to stay full-time in Thailand. My health plan pays for emergency or urgent care so I would just private pay for less serious medical issues if I needed to. A question I do have is if I opted to have my mail forwarded to me in Thailand, is it reliable and safe or do you have to worry about someone opening up your mail in Thailand?

I have been wintering in Chiang Mai the past 4 years from 1 month initially to 4 months the past 2 winters. I am planning on staying 5 months next winter and would like to try living in Thailand for a full year after that. It seems quite daunting to me because for one, I have a condo back in the U.S which would be vacant for the whole year I was gone. I couldn't rent it out because all my belongings are there and it would be a real pain to try and move everything to a storage center and then have to move everything back after my year was up in Thailand. Secondly, I get quite a bit of mail and I guess I could have it forwarded to a relative for the year I was gone. Thirdly, I don't know how I would be able to do my income tax return because all the documentation is mailed to me in the U.S. and I would be in Thailand for the year. I have some health issues but fortunately I found a great place that suits my needs so that wouldn't be a problem. I am a very organized person and I don't like it when I can't have all my ducks in a row, so to speak, so I am having trouble coming up with a game plan so that I could take care of any business back in the U.S should the need arise while I was in Thailand. Any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Maestro- A very astute observation. I am planning different scenarios so I can see where you could misconstrue my assertions. In the scenario where I maybe would consider staying for 9 months with a triple-entry tourist visa valid for 6 months, I was addressing the problem in my above-posted reply (#8) with being able to stretch out my tourist visa long enough to encompass the full 9 months of my hypothetical stay considering the need to obtain my tourist visa 2 weeks before my departure to Thailand. I hope this clarifies the situation.

Since I have to apply through the Portland Oregon honorary consulate in order to get a tourist visa valid for 6 months since seemingly all the other consulate offices only issue a tourist visa for 3 months ,which would be no good for me since I am staying anywhere from 4 - 6 months in Thailand, I need to send away for the visa about 2 weeks before I depart for Thailand to assure I get it back in time since I am on the eastcoast of the U.S and the Portland consulate office is on the west coast. Therefore it is issued approximately 2 weeks prior to my departure to Thailand. Therefore in figuring out the utilization of a triple entry tourist visa valid for 6 months, I have determined that since my tourist visa is issued approximately 2 weeks prior to entering Thailand, I can't stretch out my visa for the maximum 270 days since my visa would have expired before I did my second visa run. Therefore I need to either shorten my 6o days before I apply for the 30 day extensions or shorten my 30 day extensions so that when I get ready to utilize my second visa run (actually my 3rd entry into Thailand counting my initial entry when first arriving in Thailand) my last visa run will still be within the 6-month validity for my tourist visa.

Now if I want to do 30 day extensions on all my tourist visa entries, my calculation puts me up at Mae Sai to do a border run on April 28,2015 to implement my 3rd entry which would put me outside of the 6 month window for the validity period which would have run from the date of issue on October 10,2014 until April 10, 2015. Does that create a problem since I would be attempting to implement my 3rd entry and the resultant 60 days plus another extension OR it is not relevant since I began my 3 entry tourist visa within the prescribed period and it doesn't matter that I am utilizing my 3rd entry on April 28,2015, which I explained previously, is outside the 6 month validity period for the triple entry tourist visa which would be issued to me on October 10,2014?

So I am planning on staying in Chiang Mai for 5 months from Oct 25,2014- March 25,2015. I have several questions pertaining to my visa. First off, if it is issued on October 10 and is valid for 6 months, I take it my last border run has to be done before the visa expires. Correct? Secondly,October 25 ( when I arrive in Thailand) until December 22,2014 is 59 days. Can I do my border run on Dec 23 ( the 60th day) ? If so, then does my second entry into Thailand start counting on December 23, 2014? If so, then December 23 until February 19, 2015 would be 59 days. Once again, can I do my border run on February 20, 2015 ( 60th day)? Now, if I start counting after my 3rd entry into Thailand from February 20, 2015 then I reach the 60th day on April 20, 2015 which is more then enough time since I will be departing Thailand on March 25, 2015. Okay now I have another question pertaining to staying for 6 months in Thailand on the same above-mentioned visa since the following year I am planning on staying for 6 months. If my math was correct previously and my visa stay would expire on April 21, 2015, what can I do to get a several day extension since,if I was staying in Thailand for 6 months, I would not be departing until April 25, 2015 and my visa would expire on April 21, 2015 based on my previous calculation? I know you experts will be able to advise me correctly and I appreciate the feedback so I know the best way to proceed. Thanks

I have to do a border run to Mae Sai sometime in the first week or so of February to implement my 3rd entry for my tourist visa. I was wondering if anyone is going up there during that time period, and if so, I would gladly share expenses for the ride up there. My gf has never been up there so she has expressed an interest in going to.

Okay all you back ache sufferers, Does anyone know where you can possibly buy an inexpensive eggcrate or foam rubber padding for my bed. I am having some lower back problems and the mattress I am sleeping on is very hard. Back in the U.S I have an inexpensive eggcrate foam rubber padding that I put on top of my mattress and I am looking for something similar in Chiang Mai. I went to Kad San Kauew Mall and Robinsons Dept Store had a memory foam mattress but I don't want to spend 7000 baht. In the U.S eggcrate or cheap foam rubber 1 inch or so padding can be obtained very inexpensively and if anyone knows who might carry them my back and me would be most appreciated.

Is their a free shuttle to the promenada mall,and if so, do you know the times and pick-up places? Warorot Market area would be the most advantageous for myself. Thanks for any info.

I have 2 questions regarding my tourist visa. The first is " How many days extension can you get if you go to immigration and pay 1900 baht"?. I always thought it was 30 but someone told me you only get around 7 days? The second question is a little complicated so I will try to explain as best as possible. My tourist visa is valid for 6 months and was issued on October 10,2013. I arrived in Thailand on November 6, 2013. I am planning on flying to Cambodia and will be departing on December 14,2013 and arriving in Siem Reap the same day. I will be flying back to Thailand on December 17, 2013. My second question is " do I count December 17 as the first day back in Thailand since I will be needing at some point to either depart the country again or go to immigration to extend my time in Thailand before I depart Thailand on March 6, 2014"?

So I know the fireworks will die down after Loy Kratong but I was wondering why the fascination and seeming obsession for fireworks by the Thais during this celebration. Is it because of an ingrained culture, the thrill of the explosions, the need to eventually cause impairment or loss of ones hearing. I would like to get some other opinions as to why fireworks are so prevalent into the wee hours of the morning by the Thais.

chiang mai- I am not wooloomooloo. You have been very gracious to me and went out of your way to help me when I first arrived in Chaing Mai. I am very thankful for your help. watgate

I am writing this as I am on hold with yahoo customer support. I am hoping they can fix my inability to access my yahoo mail account but in case I can't...... I am on this forum seeking advice. It has been a couple of days now and when I log onto my yahoo mail account I can get into the account but I can not get into my inbox to check my messages. I unfortunately don't have any backup and this is my primary mail account that I utilize to get messages and alerts etc.. I created this outlook account primarily to access Thaivisa. Does anyone have any ideas what needs to be done to enable me to access my yahoo mail account. All my contacts are there and I receive assorted emails and alerts, some of importance through this yahoo mail account. I need some good sound advice as to what needs to be done should I need to change to another provider. I am hoping yahoo customer service will be able to fix this problem such as maybe needing to change my password or maybe there is currently a problem with yahoo mail on there end. Thanks for any info or advice.

Actually, we had a slightly modified version then BillyBodthai's in that if their was someone we didn't like, we would also fill up a paperbag with dog poop, lite it and place it on the front door step and ring the front door bell. We would run like hell around the house and wait for the bloke to get dog poop all over his shoes and feet, and then we would start banging loudly on his rear door. By then he was so pissed off, he would run like a crazed man through his house to the back door all the while spreading dog poop all over his floors and rugs. It was spot on and another victim fell prey to our wicked ways.

So I just got a pre-authorization for an implant from my dentist in the U.S. for a future implant to tooth #14 which, one of these days or years, will need to be extracted. It is really hard to get an estimate from the oral surgeon because their office will tell you that based on the amount of bone grafting that is needed, as well as various other sundry things, the cost could rise substantially. With that said, I was able to at least come up with a ballpark figure as to what I am looking at to have an implant done, as well as a crown placed over the implant. Now, I am hoping that some of you fine expats or world travelers might have had an implant done in Chiang Mai and what was your total costs to have it successfully completed. The implant, as well as the crown. Thanks for any info.

I need to have my blood levels checked on a weekly basis and my Coumadin doseage modified by a doctor if need be. Please, if anyone knows Hospitals or labs in Chiang Mai where I can get this done, it would give me some peace of mind before I depart for Chiang Mai in 2 weeks.

If I go to a lab to have my blood checked and find it is out of the prescribed range, what type doctor would I see, a hematologist or a regular doctor, to correct my doseage? This is all new to me and I am trying to be prepared for any eventuality when I arrive in Chiang Mai. Thanks for any info.

I am from the U.S and thanks for the replys. They are very informative and have encouraged me to not give up the fight nor my trip.

I was just diagnosed with another blood clot and am due to depart for chiang mai in approximately 2 1/2 weeks where I will be residing for 4 months. Since I will only have been on Coumadin for a short while, I am going to have to have my blood levels checked periodically while I am in Chiang Mai. Does anyone know if Sriphat Medical Center performs this service, and if so, what floor it is done on? Also, does anyone know what the cost is to have this blood test done? Thank you for any information. I really want to come to Chiang Mai again this winter and don't want to have this checking my Coumadin level prevent me from coming this winter.

Whew my head is spinning. After reading all the replys I have another question and, mind you, I realize eating is very subjective, and everyone has their opinions about what is beneficial and good for you. With that said, as a bloke who is only in Chiang Mai for the winter months and is not privy to being able to prepare his own food due to his living arrangements, I would like some ideas as to how and try to eat healthy considering this bloke has to primarily eat out at various establishments. Actually, since I am single, part of the appeal of wintering in Chiang Mai is not having to cook everyday like I do when I am back in my country. I try to eat salads and was planning on eating at various vegetarian places which seem to be plentiful throughout Chiang Mai. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.I also will be going to the Holiday Inn and the other hotel off the super highway for their buffets on occasion because I found their selections to be quite appealing and seemingly healthy.

I was wondering what kind of oil is predominantly used for cooking in Thailand. I have to watch my cholesterol and am interested in what oil is used for cooking. I do realize that if you eat at the street food carts, their is the inherent risk of the proprietor not replacing the oil in a timely fashion and continually using the same oil way beyond the point when it should be discarded for new oil. When I eat Pad Thai or various other dishes I would like to know the kind of oil that is used and is it beneficial, say like Olive oil, or is it known to spike your cholesterol and your LDL levels if eaten a lot?

First off thank you for all the invaluable info. I knew I could count on you guys and gals to come through. Part of the enjoyment of coming to Thailand every winter for 4- 6 months is the great hospitality received by knowledgeable and friendly ex-pats. Yes, I must find out where exactly in Buriram her familiy lives. Since we will be departing from Chiang Mai,then first class on Nakhonchai Air Bus Co is how we will travel. I will be on a 6 -month tourist visa with a triple entry so a re-entry permit need not be a concern to me. Cardholder thank you for your pm and offer of advice. I will have to sort though the trip options and may very well book a tour instead of taking a bus to the border and then taking a taxi to Siem Reap. Thanks again for all the info and I will be in touch as I decide the best way to proceed.

I am looking to take a bus from Chiang mai to Siem Reap this winter with my gf. We are planning on visiting her parents who I think live in Buriram. Then we are planning to visit Siem Reap in Cambodia for a few days. I know very little of this area so any info would be appreciated. Any info such as reliable and safe buses to make the long trip to Khorat where I understand we have to switch buses for the final leg of the trip to Buriram, Any reasonable and clean places to stay in Buriram. Also, any tour companies to use to plan a trip to SIem Reap for a few days. Maybe it is better to just take a bus to the border,if their is one, and after crossing, then taking a taxi to Siem Reap. If anyone has made this trip and has any first hand information as to what is involved, I would appreciate it. Is it fairly easy to cross the border at Chong Chom/ Osmach and should I be aware of anything beforehand? I realize I am asking for a lot but any tidbits of information to help plan this trip would be most appreciated.