harpman88

To Ka and Camerata:Thanx for your imput. Looks like Thai Military Bank has some explaining to do .

To Eyebee: If you inquire to your bank's management,Id love to know

what they tell you!,All the best,the Harpman

It could also be that as Thai Banks pay no interest to farangs, the farang (quite wisely) moves his money to a bank that does pay interest, or invests it elsewhere.

Ive always received interest on my passbook acct. at BKK bank since opening the acct. in the early 1990s.

Has the law changed? Am I in for a rude awakening when I return to LOS early next year and update my acct?

This is certainly a new one on me!

ANDY; I have had an acct. since I came to Thailand on a tourist visa,and I opened it my first week in CM at SCB and still do business with them,

To KevinN: This sure sounds good!

I will be arriving in CMai early next year and will be needing an acct. there to handle my retirement deposits/withdrawals,

already have acct. at BKK Bank in BKK, but as a result of your recommendation will go with SCB for my CMai acct. Exactly where is the branch at which you opened your original acct? Thanx much in advance,the Harpman.

As to BKK Bank's service,Ive had no problems at my branch,(Sukhumvit

Rd.across from Ambassador Hotel)

But I would hesitate to recommend them in general,as most posters here know,this experience could vary widely between branches/regions.

Miami Bob:I certainly understand your feelings of having to tie that much up in the bank,if we indeed are moving into a higher interest rate environment,however this COULD

potentially ease the pain somewhat.

( I personally hate the fact that over $10,000 at any time must be reported to the IRS) This is the main reason why I want to keep 8 to

9 Thousand$$ in BKK bank and combine that with the pension/income to satisfy the financial requirement. We

shall see come next year. All the power to you for learning to speak Thai.I think its a great idea,assimilation is key. Ive been speaking for over 10 years and now learning how to read ,write,and even more importantly LISTEN also.

As so many farangs butcher the language, for one to properly learn Thai will be a big plus in your favor. I would be sure and have your "polite particles" in order for Thai immigration tho!

To BKKHarry: In your post you say that you "once a year wire transfer the amnt. needed for the O visa". Since you also have pension/income(as I will too) is this amnt. 800K baht or are you using (as I hope to) the combo method to meet the income requirement?

As I stated earlier I would like to keep 8 or 9K U.S.in the bank and transfer in the rest from my pension/income. Thanx much in advance the Harpman.

Hello to all..I will be in the same boat as Kevin and ChuckD come Feb.1 when my U.S. Govt. pension begins.

I will be supplementing this with a steady stream of monthly income from my investments in closed end municipal bond funds. Also already have acct. at BKK bank. No problem showing both more than enough monthly income AND substantial amount in BKK bank.This,as has been suggested by PTE,Dr.PP,etal on more than one occasion seems to be the best way to go. If you can show Thai immigration BOTH the pension/income AND are willing to maintain a sizeable bank balance,I dont see why anyone who plans on retiring in LOS would do it any other way. Thanx much again relating yor experiences, Kevin and Chuck.

Huski,thanx for your reply. However, I neglected to mention that my buddy is only 45 years old and doesnt qualify for the OA,Sorry about that.

He's also wondering then if there is any other consulate closer to Thailand that would be able to issue 3 entry tourist visas on a regular basis.(keeping in mind that he's a U.S.citizen) If so this would ,of course, save time,money,etc. If not, he would still be willing to recon to the West Coast,(probably the Portland

OR consulate) if this ends up being his best/only alternative. I myself am still curious as to whether this could be done on an ongoing basis...

Best to all,the Harpman.

Hi all...While we're on this subject,a friend of mine wishes to get a 3 entry tourist visa,(no problem in U.S.) and then extend for 30 days each entry,of course leaving before the end of each 90 day period to activate the next visa,giving him a total of 9 months stay. I see no problem in this,but my personal concerns center around the OA

retirement visa, so this isnt really anything Ive researched. He also wishes to return to the States after the 9 months is up,stay for 3 months or so and then start the process all over again. Could he conceivably do this indefinitely? What say all?? His financial situation wouldn't be an issue,by the way.

Hello all,While it's true that the "official" rules state you can combine

bank balance and pension income,I would

(for those people such as myself who easily qualify on pension/investment income alone) to have a substantial bank balance in reserve for "emergency" purposes,as suggested by Dr.PP on more than one occasion. Thai immigration likes to see this,and satisfying them is the name of the game.

One question tho,Could anyone elaborate on

the bank letter having to be issued on the same day one goes to apply for the OA extension?? Also,do you have to go to the same branch at which the account was opened (in my case was BKK bank on Sukhumvit,in BKK) to get the letter,or will any (in my case BKK bank) branch in the kingdom be able to do this? I will be living in C.Mai,so maybe some of you C.Mai retirees could chime in on this.

All the best ,the "Harpman".

"You've got to move fast cause I ain't gonna wait for you,Ive got a whole lotta places to go and a whole lotta things to do.",Kim Wilson,Fabulous Thunderbirds.

Thanx so much,Lop and Dr.P! Im sure they will be very happy to hear about the options available. Cheers! from the Harpman.

Hello to all,Ive just returned from a close friend's Thai restaurant and found out that their baby(less than a year old,and a U.S.citizen) has been in Thailand since Jan.25 on a 3 entry tourist visa,but was only stamped in at BKK till Mar.24! The Thai consulate here

(New Orleans) did not explain to the parents, (She is Thai native,but U.S citizen, "Sue" is her name, He is a Thai citizen, "Sam" is his name here on green card) that the baby must leave Tland

every 60 days to activate the 2nd/ 3rd visa.Sam and Sue did not notice this(the

Mar.24 "admitted until" stamp) till just recently,thinking all along that The 6 months for the baby was "automatic".

To make matters worse,Sam has just returned to the U.S.(sans baby,who is under the guardianship of its grandmother

in Surat Thani province.) However Sue,will be returning to Tland in a couple of weeks,(alone,while Sam remains here to manage the restaurant)

In other words Sam could have taken care of this while still in Tland,but its too late for that now. Also,its my understanding that the grandmother is elderly and has no knowledge of the situation. What should/ can they do either now while both in U.S.or when Sue arrives back in Tland (she will only be staying for 3 weeks on a 30 day entry permit) ? and yes they're legally married and were before the baby was born. All

I could say was that the baby should have certain rights because Sam is a Thai citizen..They want the baby to remain in Thailand for the duration of the 6month period. Please can anybody help?

Hey Cherry,You say they're giving you 6 tourist visa entries? That would mean you're good for a year,even without extensions,Tourist visas are for 60 days(2 months,

approx) x 6 entries= 12 months.Visa runs before each 60 period expires.

Hi all,I dont think mbkudu could have said it any better,and Im sure Dr.P

would agree. Same thing with smiling,being polite ,and dressing nice

during visa applications.Many foreigners,

(whether farang or whatever) just cant

get these essential things thru their

heads,and go into the "blame game" as a result. Preparation is the key!

Hello Jim,Im pretty much in the same boat you are,now just waiting for my pension date to be finalised here in the US.

All this stuff is an excellent example of how the "prevailing wisdom" can change so rapidly. For instance,on another thread,it was almost"gospel" that one had to enter LOS on a non-O before having any chance of getting the OA. Now ,suddenly, its possible to have a tourist visa changed to a Non-O while in LOS.and,of course, the OA stems from that.

I was totally convinced to enter LOS on a Non-O and then change to the OA extension during the last 30 days of of the Non-O,

but Im starting to think(as you are now also) that getting the Non-OA here in the U.S.,(with re-entry permits) could very well be the way to go. I will be dealing,by the way,with the Thai consulate in New Orleans,but my dealings with them in the past have only been for tourist visas,which were a breeze.Just also want to say that ur posts are obviously very well informed and written.

The saga continues! All the best "harpman 88"

Hi again F.Fiend,Thanx much for spending the time and providing the Blues Club

links,much appreciated! Last time I was in BKK Chai wasn't there on Sat. But just may have been on hiatus. Anyway,I grew up not far from Chicago and had the opportunity to see Muddy,the Wolf,Willie Dixon,Hound Dog Taylor,James Cotton(with his stellar 70's band including Matt"Guitar" Murphy),Son Seals,Lonnie Brooks,Albert Collins,and many lesser

knowns on a regular basis. It will be great to be living in Thailand knowing there is a thriving scene available.

Mojos and Tokyo Joe's both look very promising indeed! Cheers! and best of luck to all the club owners and Blues Musicians....."harpman88"

Hello Friendly Fiend! Thanx much for ur

post. This is just the updated info I was looking for. Let's hope these venues succeed, Also do you know if"Chai and the Blues Maniacs" have a steady gig anywhere

these days? I heard they were at a place on Thanon Pahonyotin last time I was in BKK,but we couldn't find it. Anyway thanx again for the news Bluesfully yours,"harpman88"

Hey Spanky! (You still there??) My name is Scott and I will be returning to LOS

later this year. Anyway,Im a blues harp

player who was fortunate enough to be in

BKK when the "Magic Castle"was home to Oodie's Blues Band in the mid nineties.

It was on Sukhumvit Soi 12 and drew great musicians from all over. Oodie is a great left handed guitarist who has since opened up his own venue on Ko Chang,which I hear is doing quite well. Also my good friend,Khun Boy, was Oodies keyboard player who later want on to play with the BKK Blues band during their long stint at Saxophone Pub near Victory Monument.

Ive played /jammed lots with these guys but it seems that the blues has faded since the dearly departed "Magic" closed its doors, and now since the BKK Blues Band has exited the local scene.

But anyway,I sure would like to be kept abreast of the latest developments there

as far as the blues scene is concerned.

Would love to jam when I return later this year (But dont know exactly when that will be yet)My Email addie is [email protected] if you'd like to drop me a line....Im sure if you ever

make it to Ko Chang playing with Oodie would be a real treat. I cant wait to get there myself to see him again.

Also if you ever make it to Chiang Mai (my HQ in LOS) dont miss "Took" and his band at the Brasserie,just up river from

the Riverside and Good View restaurants.

He's a KILLER guitar player (as is Oodie)

and also mixes up reggae,Cream,Santana

Hendrix,etc.,but really shines when it comes to the blues. Anyone else with any

"blues news" from anywhere in LOS,please feel free to get in touch! Regards,Scotty

This is in Re to Doc Pat_Pong's suggestion of going with a Non O multi

entry vs the "geeza visa". I (still in U.S.) qualify for either or. Knowing all the requirements for the retirement visa,

what are the pros and cons of going with the Non O multi instead? Most importantly

how easily is the multi renewable after the 1st year is up? This very issue has been debated on another Thai related

website at which a friend of mine was once the forum administrator. Anyway,the

consensus of opinion there was that the Non O multi is,in most cases,the best one to go with,although Im sure that this

may vary depending on one's circumstances.

Your thoughts and input most welcome!

Thanx in advance "harpman88" (its almost

"crunch time" for my decision.)

Hi to all! This is just great stuff!

Ive been coming to C.Mai for over 12 years now,and am currently waiting for my retirement to be finalized so I can make the move.I know the city quite well,and have several dear friends there,and have

the good fortune of having a great initial place to stay at a very "special" monthly rate. Anyway,as the postings

indicate,there is a lot of subjectivity

as to what people feel are the dominant factors for loving the area. I, for one, am in total agreemnt wiih Larry's posting.

Best climate,food choices,beautiful women

(My lady is from Yasothon,so I wont say most beautiful,lol) and I also love the C.Mai Univ/Huay Kaew area.

However,Im sure there are just as many who can relate more to KevinN's take on some of the drawbacks of being in the city proper.So I would say this:Be absolutely certain as to what your priorities are and your needs in C.Mai

can be met. It's got a little something for everyone! I can have HQ in the city,

and "head for the hills" for a break anytime,they're so conveniently located!

Of course,the opposite is true as well.

You have the best of both worlds,no matter where you want to spend the bulk of your time. Learned so much from this one thread! This is a great site!

A big Hello! to all my dear friends at the Top North,and to Rome: the 1st one's on me at the Brasserie next year! Im sure Took will be rockin' the house! Scotty

To TaxExile,You took the words right out of my mouth in your reply to flakjackets

drivel about"the rich" and all of the other BS that went with it! You couldn't have said it any better!

Where some of these people come up with these all encompassing generalizations

I will never know......All the best harpman88

Dear Karen,300,000 Baht PER MONTH??

No dear,I think its 300,000 baht for the year to,in this case,make up for the

shortfall to equal 800,000.baht.

Dont scare me like that!,lol,All the best "harpman88"

Hey Rhaugland! I opened my bank acct. at BKK bank,Bangkapi branch,Sukhumvit Rd.

(Had both passbook and fixed accts.)

and did it on a tourist visa with no problems at all,using my hotel as res.

Also,you can get ATM card for easy access to funds anywhere in the kingdom. BKK bank should be a fine choice for your needs.Interest rates very low right now,

as they are most everywhere. Passbook acct. is the one you want. Have barcode

printed on it to use automatic "update "

machines available in lobby. Hopethis helps and all the best,"harpman88"

Hello good Doctor and cm boy!

Couldn't this procedure be done with a combo of monthly pension/investment income and bank balance instead of just the 800K in the bank? (Id be getting at least 100K income per month at least),

already have acct. at BKK bank.

For cm: Why haven't you been getting double entry tourist visas until now instead of running to Mae Sai every 30 days? Just curious,bud! Hope to be joining you in C. Mai next year as "home sweet home".HELLO to all my wonderful

friends at the Top North!Be there ASAP

Khun Scott

(harpman88)