BKKGuitar

If applying at Immigration in Thailand you need 800,000 Baht in a Thai bank for a period of at least 2 months. Every year after that it has to be there for 3 months.

If applying in your own country (USA) the money has to be in your US Bank and you need a police and medical report.

Thanks for the info, Lopburi3 and Lite Beer! Good system: you can stay legally until your money runs out, then goodbye Do you have to leave the country every year, or is it just a nice trip over to the Immigration office? Sounds simple and easy...

No that is for retirement extension of stay - not for a visa. I you want an OA visa you would need the funds in home country and obtain medical/police report.

So a scenario: a person arrives in Thailand from a no-entry-visa-required country (i.e US), then applies at the Immigration office for retirement extensions (over 50 and need 800,000 in a Thai bank) until eventually deciding to apply for the retirement visa (800,000 in a US bank and appropriate medical/police documents). Is that right?

I lived in Thailand previously, using Jack's Total Golf for monthly "visa runs". I'd like to stay long-term without those pesky visa runs...

Retirement is 800,000 in bank account or 65,000 per month income or combination to meet 800,000.

Marriage is 400,000 in bank account or 40,000 per month.

First application money in bank 2 months - other applications 3 months.

Thanks for that reply! So figuring the Baht at 33.21 to a US dollar, a person would need $24,089 at time of application and sitting in the account for at least 2 months to get a "retirement visa".

Good to hear stories like that.

I am in the very early stages of applying for 'retirement' visa (2 years to go till 50!) and have a question for anyone in the know:

Whilst I would have no income when applying (and no plans to get one!) is it possible to get the visa if proof of funds in either U.K./Thai bank? Basically my idea is to sell U.K. property and buy condo in Thailand. Thanks. Gas.

No problem at all. Only when you apply for an extension in Thailand the money has to be in a bank account in Thailand. For the visa application it doesn't matter.

Just curious: how much money needs to be in the Thai bank, or coming in as regular income? Thanks!

The Trendy condos are on Soi 11. I guess that makes 2 of us who don't know what you are referring to.

You can walk up and down Soi 11 all day and you won't find the Trendy.

It's on Soi 13.

Some units are being turned over to the owners.

The word is the workmanship/finish is crummy.

Considered buying one myself. Office Lady took us up the elevator to look at the rubble that would in theory be a luxury condo, and soon. I'm soooo happy I didn't buy!

If someone can post a pic of what it looks like now, that would be great.

Take the pic from the roof of the Ambassador, it's pleasant up there if you haven't been, and it's got a great view down on "The Trendy."

I hear ya! Darn those cockroaches!!!!!! Like I don't have to deal with them enough on the streets...they've got to toy with me and my rabid fear of them even while I'm at rest. =( So there's no reprieve from them in low-budget hotels then I guess. Waaaaaaaaaaah

Will be staying for a lil over 2 weeks and don't want to spend on lodging.......and I don't even want amenities like pool and internet or cable tv. Just a roach-less room is all. One would think I'm asking for the moon now.

First Prize for roaches might go to the Nana Business Inn, across from the seedy-@ss Rajah Hotel. Checked in, jet lag, woke up at 0200, turned on the bathroom light: OH MY GOD!! Really impressive, the floor and walls were almost covered with them!

The Trendy condos are on Soi 11. I guess that makes 2 of us who don't know what you are referring to.

You can walk up and down Soi 11 all day and you won't find the Trendy.

It's on Soi 13.

Some units are being turned over to the owners.

The word is the workmanship/finish is crummy.

Considered buying one myself. Office Lady took us up the elevator to look at the rubble that would in theory be a luxury condo, and soon. I'm soooo happy I didn't buy!

If someone can post a pic of what it looks like now, that would be great.

Anyone have a good link for Bangkok street map? Google and Mapquest are no good (but Google Earth is VERY interesting for satellite imagery).

Thanks!

Try Multimap

That's a good one. Thanks much!

The Trendy condos are on Soi 11. I guess that makes 2 of us who don't know what you are referring to.

OK, Soi 11. Didn't mean to ruin your day!

I've been looking for a cheeseburger with blue cheese. Pretty much everything else is optional.

Where to go? Closest I've found is the Mad Max burger at Outback with blue cheese dressing, but it's pretty lame.

Anyone?

Blue Cheese in Bangkok, wow, you're an optimist! I haven't been able to find an edible pizza in Thailand, and you're talking about Blue Cheese... good luck to you and keep us posted!

The Miami Hotel (thaimiami.com) on Sukhumvit soi 13 has recently quoted 800 Tb/day. Also, the Business Inn, across from the Grand Business Inn, on Sukhumvit soi 11 (or maybe soi 11/1) has me reserved for next week at 600 Tb/.

If this is the Business Inn that I made reservations at early last year, you'll do what I did and immediately turn around and check into the Grand Business Inn and pay the more money. Open doors and Pakistanis yelling and doing business, hot with no windows, it seemed some kind of alternate entrance to the Netherworld. And it's not "across from" the Grand Business Inn. It's in the alley behind GBI. Grand Business Inn was a great room, but the view was a strip of brick outside the window. It nice but too pricey, I wouldn't stay there again.

Seriously, you may want to cancel that reservation if you haven't already paid.

Also, I stopped into the Miami Hotel when I was hotel-hunting, that's another horrible place, it even smelled really bad. Spend a little more and stay somewhere else. If you can't afford it, go when you have a little more money saved so you don't have to live like a derelict!

At one point in 2006 I paid B800/day living day-to-day at Nana Condo, close to Sukhumwit, and I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again. Prices might be higher now. Nice big room with sun-room, friendly Thai family runs it.

Also, the Dynasty Inn across from Nana Hotel was nice, clean, I think it was B1,200/night and they wouldn't give me a long-term discount.

Hello all, I'm probably going to stay at "House by the pond" on suk. soi 22/2 Is this an okay area for a single traveler who enjoys the nightlife? Reasonable walking distance to nightlife activities? If not where would you recomend. Thanks everyone.

You may need to stay at the notorious Nana Hotel, at least for your first couple nights. You can't get more firmly into the madness than that. Soak yourself (Zen!) in the Nana scene, you'll know if you want to stay there and slowly lose your marbles, or if you want to get out of there and see what else there is to do in Thailand!

Anyone have a good link for Bangkok street map? Google and Mapquest are no good (but Google Earth is VERY interesting for satellite imagery).

Thanks!

Wondering: has any progress been made on this refit of an old building next to the Ambassador Hotel?

Someone is selling a condo in there on the Accomodation Finding forum, saying completion Nov/Dec 2007. I walked by and looked up there almost every day in 2006 and saw very little work being done. Elderly friend of mine from Omni Tower had bought a 2-BR in there and was later convinced he would never have the condo or the money back... Scary business, buying real estate under those conditions. Not for the faint-hearted!

Usually think of ราคา for the Thai word for "price." ราคาเท่าไหร่ครับ

Came across this: อัตราค่า, I'm assuming it's another term for "price" or "cost". Not in my dictionary.

For pay/paying, I use ชำระเงิน. Is that the best/most common way to say "pay"?

Excellent! ขอบคุนมากครับ!

ขอบคุณมากครับ

Dooh! ขอบคุณมากครับ!

Excellent! ขอบคุนมากครับ!

ติดต่อ

as in"ติดต่อเรา"

seems to be made up of two parts: "stick/sticky" and "later/afterward"?

is this a way of saying "contact" or "email", as in "contact me"?

Thanks!

Whitehouse Condotel maybe?

Naah, Whitehouse is across the street. The place I need is next to Inn House, on the beach side. Thanks anyway!

Greetings,

I'm trying to find the name/contact info of a condo building on Soi 13, Pattaya. It's next to the Inn House, Soi 13, on the left if you stand facing Inn House (the building on the beach side of Inn House). I saw it from the roof of Inn House, so there might be a low building between the two. Anyone know?

Thanks!

Warning: I would NOT recommend Saranjai Mansion. I was a good tenant there, then they stole half my security deposit when I moved out (they had required 2 months deposit, and would only give me 1 month deposit back when we moved out). They kept the other half, explaining that it was "a fee" for some mysterious thing. The apt. was left cleaner than when we moved in. Also, the management lied to me on several occasions over the time I lived there.

You can expect they'll do the same to you.

Regarding the price, it was a one-bedroom for 16,000/month, 2005/2006.

I also know people who've been ripped off at Saranjai one way or another, by the management and staf . Including not getting deposits back and overpriced electricity bills even when they'e not been there to name a couple.

To be fair to the OP, though it's important to point out Saranjai has both apartments run by management and condos owned privately. The ad above is for a condo, so it could be unfair to link to management as it could be a private arrangement. That said the condo seems well overpriced even.

Thanks for pointing out my mistake. If you're dealing with a condo owner and not the management office, disregard my post.

Hmmm, first day of first time in Thailand, I wanted to order "khao pad muu" ข้าวผัคหมู(fried rice with pork), but said "khao pad nuu" ข้าวผัคหนู(fried rice with rat) instead, and the server headed for the kitchen with a twinkle in her eye... I still wonder what I had for breakfast that day!!

RealThaiDeal, thanks for starting this thread, I've enjoyed reading (most of) it. Don't mind those prickly, over-sensitive types who spend their time looking for things to be offended by. You obviously meant no ethnocentric offense to Thai people. But... I worry that many people are afraid to post, knowing that those Prickly Snipers are lurking, waiting, rifles at the ready!

Warning: I would NOT recommend Saranjai Mansion. I was a good tenant there, then they stole half my security deposit when I moved out (they had required 2 months deposit, and would only give me 1 month deposit back when we moved out). They kept the other half, explaining that it was "a fee" for some mysterious thing. The apt. was left cleaner than when we moved in. Also, the management lied to me on several occasions over the time I lived there.

You can expect they'll do the same to you.

Regarding the price, it was a one-bedroom for 16,000/month, 2005/2006.

Thai for beginners by Benjawan Poomsan Becker....also has Thai for intermediate learners.

Both with Cd + book( text in English too). on the web they have some other dvds as well.

www.paiboonpublishing.com

I second this. The Becker materials are the best I've seen for Thai. There's lots of junk out there, written by people who don't have a clue about learning language. With Thai for Beginners by Benjawan Becker I was able to learn to read Thai after I had given up on ever being able to. She gradually introduces the three classes of consonants, the short and long vowels, "dead" or "live" endings, and how the tone rules work with the three classes of consonants. I learned to read fairly quickly - mostly while sitting having a coffee - with this great book.