arithai12

I have to differ from some of the opinions expressed here. Partly because they address aspects which were not in the OP. The OP asked about seeing a doctor at Sriphat. That is so-called out-patient care, OPD. Sriphat recently (1 year?) opened a new OPD building, about 1km away from the old one. While it is true that the old Sriphat used to be hell in navigating the 18 floors and queueing for a doctor, let alone parking even a scooter, the new OPD is absolutely fantastic, efficient, modern, clean. Highly recommended. I see a specialist there regularly, his fee is 200B. I present myself at the scheduled appointment, I hardly ever wait more than 30 min. A comparable specialist at Bangkok Hospital CM (also highly recommended) or CM Ram (of which I use only the new Skin Center wing, the old original building is by now disgraceful) will cost about 3-4 times more. In the end, especially if you have insurance, it's ridiculous to discuss price differences like these. What matters are things like price of medication, and of course if you have to undergo procedures. In my experience, medication prices vary wildly and unpredictably from one hospital to another.

If you are referring solely to the OP, I agree expat discount won't apply. However, in general for expats who obtain a "pink card", there are sometimes discounts. For example by showing mine I get Thai prices at a few attractions in Chiang Mai. Not always, clearly. Off the top of my head... zoo, 4-d museum, royal flora, and some more.

Correct. But also recently TP was quick. In November I had to wait a few days for approval, in May a few hours. If it will now be a few seconds, good but all the same to me. And I hope this is my last one, I can't imagine how they will keep justifying TP in the next high season.

I do have one for arrival on June 17, the requirements (fully vaccinated, 10k insurance) when I applied were the same as those announced here from June 1.

I don't mind wearing a mask, I don't mind if people around me don't wear it.

Same here, after a long time driving in Thailand, I was driving a car in my RHD home country and for perhaps 15 seconds I drove on the left, luckily it was an empty mountain road and as soon as a car appeared in the opposite direction I realized with a shock my mistake - and a sigh of relief for not meeting the other car at a curve. So yes, that car was a danger to itself and others, but it can happen. IMO, the driver in the car behind is equally to blame.

Not sure what this has to do with Laos, but pray tell us why China should know more about long Covid, it spread to most of the rest of the world within weeks. Also, long Covid was caused by Delta, now basically extinct. btw, most if not all of the variants originated in countries other than China. Omicron, now dominant, was first detected in S. Africa.

I consider myself as "general public", or even one step lower because I am in fact a guest in this country, also not married to a Thai. Yet I had no problems to get 2 AZ last year, then a Pfizer for my booster. A few weeks ago I decided to get a 4th, no questions asked, I could choose Pfizer or Moderna up to me, I got Moderna. Shots 3 and 4 were walk-in without appointments. So your post is very much at odds with my experience.

You are right of course, he should have gone to Japan on foot, along with all its entourage. Flying a "vip jet" as you say is what most prime ministers around the world do, not so much for comfort as for efficiency: take off at any unscheduled time they please as required by emergencies or other pressing matters, for example. May I also add that, as you surely know, prime ministers do not organize their own trips and do not check how many dollars per hour they cost. I am certainly not a fan of Prayuth, of the way he came to power, of the objectionable new election rules, and so on. However, I view comments like yours as absolutely populistic and a perfect example of the way that social media is pervaded by people who are out just to get likes from other social users. Which, I am sorry to say, is exactly Prayuth's point. Also sorry to see you stoop so low, when I do respect many other of your posts.

So if someone tells you not to do something, you shoot him dead?

No.

If by rouge you meant red, I appreciate your subtle political humor. Abiding or not, they have the last word.

Chiang Mai Imm wanted me to update my TM30 a few months ago (returning to the same address). So I guess that this might depend on the specific office.

No, indeed, but there can be a requirement on how recent was the latest shot. If the last one doesn't show and the one before is too old, there might be a problem.

While I am not especially fond of the EU in matters of economy and trade, if memory serves me right it was the UK who first pedaled back on the agreement. First they undersigned that there would be custom checks at sea bewteeen NI and the rest of UK (already a ridiculous measure drafted by clueless burocrats on both sides), then they decided unilaterally that this was not acceptable. I suppose this is "graceful behaviour" instead?

Well, we know something about you since you stated that your job had to do with police contracts in schools, that hardly makes you an unbiased person in this issue. As for statistics, "Firearms became the leading cause of death for American children and teenagers in 2020, according to researchers who analyzed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data. ... Car accidents are now number two, while drug overdoses are number three." This from the Time magazine, based on a research paper in the New England Journal of Medicine. An entirely different math form yours, perhaps because 10-year old kids don't die of tobacco use. You have to accept that to us non-Americans the situation re: guns in your country is simply appalling. I read somewhere yesterday (CNN?) that there have been already more than 200 school attacks in the US just this year, defined as episodes with 4 or more injured or dead. To suggest as you do that it is necessary to add more police in schools, or even that teachers should be armed as some senators say, might patch things up in the short term but the real issue is that Americans love weapons to an extent that we non-US find it hard to grasp. And that there is a huge market behind this. Until this mentality is fixed (not in my generation I suspect), the US will continue to have a huge problem. I watched the documentary Bowling for Columbine 20 years ago, nothing has changed.

DM... did you mean DN? Or Depeche Mode on tour? Or perhaps Digital Monad, that would make Leibniz take a roll in his tomb.

OP, you want a place with all the amenities, quiet, almost without customers, where you can sit for hours (electrical outlets) sipping Cappuccino... at a guess such a place doesn't exist or it would be full. But if you find it let us know, I wouldn't mind going there to read a book. I'll be quiet I promise.

Setting aside the definitions the main differences are: The former requires 800k deposited in a Thai bank, the latter 400k. There is also another way, to have monthly transfers from abroad to your Thai account, of 65k/40k (not 100% sure about 40k). You are allowed to use some of this deposited amount during each year and replenish it later, but there are rules. As DrJAck pointed out, retirement is relatively straightforward each year, marriage is 2-steps (first under consideration, real extension 1 month later). Marriage also requires your wife's presence, and a number of additional things such as map of your home, pictures of your home together with your wife, sometimes we hear about imm officers visiting... all this seems to vary from office to office. Important: with marriage extension you can get a work permit and be employed, if you so wish. With retirement, no job is possible not even on a voluntary basis. Last but not least, marriage extension only works as long as you are married. I wish you the happiest of marriages, but some people wake up one day to find that there is no more wife. Retirement doesn't have this small risk. Switching between the two is possible, but not at short notice.

You are hijacking a post from someone who asks what to do with his situation, to advertise no-vaxx propaganda. Shameful. The OP said he was vaxx'd with 2 Sinovac, this was probably over a year ago since that has been discontinued, and we all know that that paricular vaccine was not very effective. In other words, you can count the OP as no-vaxx'd - suddenly your argument is not so strong is it? But if you really want to discuss such things, please educate yourself in statistics first. The fact that an old non-vaxx lady doesn't get sick doesn't prove anything (the almost totality of people dying from Covid in Thailand these days are unvaccinated elderly persons), the fact that you have not been sick doesn't prove anything: maybe you are a Superman, someone with a titanium immune system, good for you but statistically irrelevant. People like you are basically taking advantage of the fact that the rest of the population is largely vaxx'd. If everybody had followed your example, you can be reassured that you wouldn't be gloating so much.

I have had occasion to consult with Mr Pichai Ponpai, who works in the legal office of Ms Sumalee Jennapa, I would say he's definitely experienced with leases and tenant's rights. His rate was 6000/hour if I remember correctly. They are in the Santitham area, easy to google.

Including copies of all relevant pages of your passport, TM6 and TM30. So perhaps better not leave it to the last moment at the airport, do it at imm before. 1000B for single re-entry.

Actually they were running TO the police to get help because they were being chased by a rival gang and felt their lives were in danger. Even in Europe, it would be ok once you explain.

Same logic of why someone living in an Isaan village in their own home needs the same funds as someone living in Bangkok in a rented property.

Define silly. 10% pa of 800k is the price of peace of mind, and to some of us it's not a big price. Now if you start considering that 0% is actually not true, that your 10% will be taxed in general, that if you want to live continuously here by other kinds of visas you will need travels in/out and repeated visits to immigration, the price difference will start to look even smaller. To each their own, I am sure you have options that suit you better, no need to call everybody else stupid we simply have other priorities.