gomangosteen

Presuming every Thai embassy abides by the same requirements - suggest you check; we have a friend staying with us who gained a Single Entry Tourist Visa from Wellington New Zealand last month / August 2022:

Single Entry Tourist Visas (TR)

    Required Documents for Visa Application

 Application Form, completed, signed and dated 

 Passport or travel document with a validity period of at least 6 months from expected date of travel.

 One recent passport-sized photograph, taken within 6 months 

 Valid round-trip air ticket (the date of departure from Thailand must not exceed 60 days after arrival) 

 Proof of accommodation in Thailand for the entire duration of stay is required (e.g. hotel bookings, invitation letters from family/friends in Thailand together with copies of Thai national ID and/or passport of family/friends in Thailand)

 Bank statement with a balance of at least 2,000 NZD (credit card and home loan accounts not accepted)   

Re Covid - not required by Embassy however this was required by the airline - (Qantas) pre-boarding

Health insurance - no proof required however one would be foolish to travel without it.

Is there a Thai Watsdu store withing traveling range for you?

2-part aluminium GIANT KINGKONG PRO LZ2410W size 2 x 10 steps

Tidy little island on Lake Tung Na Choei, central Chanthaburi city

^ dairy products - what's country of origin; recently back from a stay in New Zealand where the price of cheese / dairy products seems to be a national indicator of inflation most often quotes in news as impact on familiy expenditure ... huge price increases there, and NZ's Fonterra is the world's largest dairy producer.

Lotus's Go Fresh has NZ's Mainland Tasty Cheddar 250g for 209 baht (NZ$9.50) buy the same item in NZ 187 baht (NZ$8.49). Freight and mark-ups no doubt, but the prices have definitely risen.

Three years ago - Tesco Lotus often had Mainland cheese selling at equal and sometimes even lower prices than in NZ. 

rain and flooding inland, however the Chanthaburi river through the city is well below risk level

if that's a 'friendly scorpion', I'll rate the local ones as 'unfriendly'

I'm no bug fan right now, stung by a hornet Saturday morning, a decidedly unfriendly one.

Several years back I bought a new Nikon (brand loyalty - I'd had one stolen, dropped one, this one simply 'stopped for no obvious reason) when I was in KL, complete with a 'global warranty'.

Encountered problems while still under warranty when back home in Thailand, and was informed 'yes' under warranty but 'no' for any service or repair here in Thailand as had to be returned to country of purchase, Malaysia. 

Guess that may have been mentioned in the very very small fine print, but rather defeats the purpose of a global warranty.

Withing the grounds of the Royal Thai Army base (Taksin Military Camp) at Chanthaburi, restored section of the old fortifications from 1700s

and more recent architecture, one of the restored French military buildings from their occupation here 1893-1906

I'm unsure just what level of supervision you expect for 10-12 year olds?

At that age, I don't recall having parents with me every moment of the day.

Neither have our two daughters here, now 22 & 17, been watched over every minute.

Revisited our previous house on the other side of town and paid a visit to the friendly but lonely horse - Mr Ed of course!

Many horses around here, some in temple grounds and appear well cared for. When we moved here 2011 there was a horse riding school but it closed about 2019.

6 September 2022, Samet Ngam, Chanthaburi.

Beyond restoration, and I'm doubtful it could now be refloated to tow out to sea and sink, the HTMS Phosamton / HMS Minstrel has the river flowing through holes in its sides.

The photos are missing, but here's a link to an earlier history of this vessel from this forum in 2013:

From Toronto To Chanthaburi: H M S Minstrel - H T M S Phosamton

NZ via Sydney to Bangkok (Qantas) Monday 29 August - had to produce proof of vaccination status at Wellington airport. Qantas had advised this was required and had a reminder text a week before flying., NZ has an online system for domestic or international proof of vaccinations/boosters, free, and it really did take, as per their website, 'one to two minutes' to arrive by email 

27 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Thanks, suspected not 'eastern' from surf snaps in same folder.

Cheers, it an interesting photo - and in reality this concrete version is about as useful/functional as the real one.

I've seen other photos of naval vessels brought ashore like the one at Prasae, but haven't seen any other ones in-person.

Haven't been to Samet Ngam for some time, I'll go this week and see how the HMS Minstrel / HTMS Phosamton is, last time appeared to be settling in to the river bed.

^ interesting concrete scale replica in Chumphon

HTMS CHAKRI NARUEBET REPLICA

The replica of the aircraft carrier HTMS Chakri Naruebet  is 74km south of Chumphon Town.

The replica is roughly half the size of the actual ship, being is 29 meters wide, 79 meters long, and 6 meters tall. And all concrete.

There's a 'real' WWII ex British navy minesweeper (later sold to the Thai navy) abandoned on the Chanthaburi river at Samet Ngam, at one stage I thought they may drag it ashore but almost 10 years later it's still there at the end of the pier.

HMS Minstrel - later HTMS Phosamton

Just across the province border north of us, into Rayong at Prasae, there's this one:

HTMS Prasae at Paknam Prasae, Rayong province about 15km from the border with Chanthaburi.

Formerly USS Gallup, built 1943 and sold to the Royal Thai Navy after WWII.

^ nice pic, but Bangkok . . . not exactly 'eastern'?

This is the Chanthaburi River, facing inland/eastwards from the Laem Sing bridge, 3 September 2022

There are few tall buildings in Chanthaburi city, but on a clear day the KP Grand hotel is visible from her

20 minutes ago, Sparktrader said:

Thai hotel 600 baht, oz 3000 baht

Thai curry 60 baht, oz 420 baht

Thai Massage 200/300 baht, oz 1600 baht

Kayak tour thai 1000 baht, oz 5000 baht

Thai women under 50kgs, oz 70 to 90kgs

You get the idea

I guess that's relevant if you're retired/living off savings and pension.

I'm far off retirement; my most recent NZ contract, 32hr/wk @ NZ$80/hr has been more than 'scraping by' or poverty; going back January for more.

And women's weight? What, do you have to pay by the kilogram?

Lat Krabang, Paseo Mall, 29 August 2022.

Visited twice this week, didn't see any mask-less shoppers or staff.

Seems clear enough.

Squirrels in the park, 3 September 2022

King Taksin Maharat Park, central Chanthaburi city around lake Tung Na Choei

Tha Mai (Chanthaburi) fitness park, 600m from our home - basketball courts, futsal, walking/jogging track, indoor and outdoor gyms, swimming pools - this the main 25m.

A well-utilised area, tai chi in the morning, takraw, aerobics in the evening. 

There's a pre-school daycare centre inside the grounds, wonderful place for the kids.

And dinosaurs.

I had a cycling accident (hit by a motorbike sidecar) as well as grazes i had jaw injuries and lost the tops of five teeth; had accident/medical insurance through Kasikorn - they paid the hospital fees direct - including the pharmacy fees, for ongoing dental i had to submit the receipt after each dentist visit and the money was into my account on the third business day after putting in the claim. Not a huge amount involved in western terms but at the time the premium was so low as we'd invested at the time and there was a deal on this insurance.

I found the Kasikorn staff and service excellent, as was the medical and dental care.

We have Thai Watsadu and Global about 300m apart on Sukhumvit just out of Chanthaburi city, and I'll alternate between the two. Locally, find TW better for tools, electrical, and Global has a better selection for gardening and landscaping materials.

8 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

I've yet to see an Arabian woman sunbathing, swimming , driving a jetski , parasailing or even exercising. 

I have

Location identified as Tha Nam beach, Koh Chang.

Thairath reports the body of Anna Carreras, 21, (Spanish) was located 300m away and the search continues for the French male; they were part of a group of six who went into the water.

Pic from Matichon news.