arithai12

I thought the main reason why farang pensioners bring in their savings or pensions is to enjoy a better life than back in their home country. I didn't know it is actually to help Thailand's economy, thanks for this insight.

I am not familiar with the Tourist->Non-O Ret that OP wants to do, I suppose it's possible. However I confirm that CM requires TM30 at least for extensions. Provided that the place where you are staying initially does register you, insist on that, you can obtain a TM30 rather quickly at the office located in the back, just outside the main Imm bulding with which you are already familiar. Anyway, when you enter the Imm building there are 2-3 counters at the center where they listen to what you want to do and check your documents. You might need a first visit just for orientation. Avoid the satellite Imm office inside Central Festival, it used to be great but it is now overcrowded. As for the bank deposit, you will need in addition to the relevant passbook also a letter from the bank, but you must be familiar with that also since as @BritTim wrote nothing has really changed since before Covid.

He posted in CM forum. Your last statement is strange: either you don't live here, or you have a rather strict definition of "heavily polluted". The last statement by the OP is correct. Outside that 2.5-3 months window, the air is quite acceptable or sometimes even very clean, like during the rainy season. Today no rain, AQI 30 (total).

The article says that the inexpensive ones are counterfeit. I'd say go to a reputable hospital or clinic that will issue a medical certificate or better stamp your vaccine booklet. A clinic we trust in CM charges 690B for the regular vaccine, and almost 2k for the king kong version (65 and older).

The keyboard warrior who has to bash the country of which he is a guest at every possible opportunity.

So I would find it normal that she walks back 10m to get the key. Also, a 7 y old boy can scream loud enough to be heard at 10m.

First, the CCTV is from the compound not his home. Second, the foreign man was "seen" leaving alone. Presumably the compound has security and they noticed the guy. Third, there are many asian nationalities which are easy to distinguish from Thai. e.g., indian, pakistani, kazakh, should I go on? Carry on with your sinking... or should that be rather thinking, like in a famous ad.

Also in the "West" compensation is usually only for actual expenses. It's mostly in USA that people can claim fanciful amounts due to emotional disorder or whatever. But yes, you are right on the whole, OP should forget it unless he had to undergo serious surgery or such.

OP, it seems you have an issue with your particular Embassy in UK. You should not generalize to Thailand's policies in general. And btw, it is perfectly normal that when a country is overwhelmed with "long stayers" of one kind or another, they adjust rules. You can thank the Chinese, Russians, Indians. Tell me which country keeps their immigration rules fixed for half a century (that seems to be the duration since you say half of us where not even born). Also, do not feel that you are the one that Thailand is trying to attract: they want tourists who drop 5,000B/day for a couple of weeks then leave, or people who buy new condos. You bought yours long ago, in economic terms you are not so appealing. Sorry to be frank. Anyway, if you are 80ish and your wife has mobility problems, perhaps you should consider eventually the hard truth of either living here for good, or staying elsewhere for good. Anyway good luck with your next visa, I hope you manage.

AFAIK, we all live on the same world, planet Earth, including you. Or do you mean that you need to be homosexual to know that unprotected gay sex exists in other countries other than Thailand? Perhaps you can meditate a little bit that HIV and mpox did not originate in Thailand.

just a minor point, unless prices have changed the single re-entry is 1000, multi 3,800

Correct. Just in case the OP doesn't know: one of the ducks is to have 800k in the bank for 2, 3 months (I forget which) prior to the change, and the corresponding bank letter. If he goes with the 65k/month version, then I have no experience.

I did it. You should tell immigration CM that they got it wrong.

Not everybody is in a threesome. Seriously, I also wondered.

What do you mean "allegedly" ?

They are in the eyes of some ignorant posters, who should be reminded what their own religion did around thw world.

First, that scooter has a licence plate, as can be seen already in the pixelated picture and more clearly in the linked video. Beats me why the journalist who wrote the original article had to invent this bit. Second, a brand new two-wheeler has no licence plate until it gets a green book, usually one month. If the police wants they can stop the driver and ask for the dealer receipt, with owner and all. It's not much different for cars, initially they are allowed on the road with a red plate, which is linked to the dealer not the owner.

If you can tell a Russian from a Ukrainian by looking at them from a cctv, congratulations.

So many here misunderstand the meaning of "beauty queen" contests. They are not meant, and they don't intend, to appeal to men. Beauty contests are organized and managed by the cosmetics industry, a rather big market aimed at women, not men. Well, mostly.

Honda dealer in CM. Late August, I ordered a black ADV 160. They told me 2-3 months (!). I paid a deposit of 1,000. End of September, less than a month, they call me: ready. I paid in full and left with the thing. "Full" in my case was the difference between tag price of 106000 and the used Aerox that they bought off me. As always, the registration (green book) takes one month, meanwhile driving with temporary papers and mandatory national insurance.

I don't know where you eat, but I am sorry for you. In addition to true italian restaurants with italian owner and italian ingredients, I eat in a number of Thai places that serve italian brand pasta, cooked "al dente", often with a mix of thai (eg. spaghetti kee mao, or spaghetti with spicy northern sausage), or mix of japanese style e.g. teppanyaki spaghetti on a hot plate. Delicious. The only disgusting (to me) places serving pizza and pasta are the american franchises where indeed some of the nightmare combinations you mention seem to be true.

If one opts for doing the 90d in person, I don't know what's the big deal in filling the TM47 form as opposed to presenting "just the passport". Maybe 30 seconds? And I don't think they know so well how to use the computer if it takes them 2 minutes. Last time, 2 passports in under one minute in CM. Don't even need to say "90d" since there is a dedicated window. Oh, I don't even need to park since it's a drive thru. Anything else?

Amazing how many still have to complain and bash even if he does something really nice.

Yes it's possible to park in the city, in general. Traffic can be bad in CM too at rush hour along a few major arteries. City "center" is usually understood as the area inside the moat, a square-shaped canal that you can easily see on maps. Unless you want to see temples and tour agents and rental places and backpackers all the time, better avoid it. Other magnet areas for tourists are Nimmanhaemin road and Doi Suthep. ChangKlan/Night Bazar used to be but currently dead. Plenty of interesting places to see just outside the city. Shopping malls nice but nothing special if you come from BKK. Also don't expect too much of night life. The airport is inside the city area, planes can be noisy try to avoid staying under their take off route unless in a place with soundproof windows. Pollution is really bad mid-Feb to April, rest of the year quite ok. As a general recommendation: IMO the beauty of CM is in the kindness of the people, low crime, good food, nice garden cafes and restaurants, relaxed life compared to comparable sized cities. Also the fact that you can do 3-4 errands in the time it takes to do maybe 1 in BKK. Try to savor that, and not be a typical Tripadvisor tourist.

Oh please, what will be next, a video on what it is like to shop at Central Festival? btw, tons of videos already on the sleeper train.