jharr

Thank you for the responses.

There seemed enough posts on the side of caution so I did the 90 Day today.

I then checked with them whether I needed to do it.

They gave me a clear not required within the 7 day grace period.

So leaving after 90 days but before 98 days without reporting is okay.

This was Muang Chiang Rai Immigration.

Cheers

Is this a potential issue or because it is within the 7 day grace period a non-issue?

Cheers

Thanks taxout for the tip.

I applied for a 60 day visa at the consulate in Chiang Mai.

Details:

Flights and detailed itinerary for 51 days.

Comfirmation of hotel bookings for every night on the mainland.

I was asked "why so long?"

I explained I was retired and had plenty of time to travel.

Asked for 60 days and was declined.

They suggested two entries, 30 days each, which I accepted.

I do not live in Chaing Mai and mentioned this and asked if the express service was available.

This appeared to be no big deal.

So for ฿2,850 I got the two entries, 30 day each visa the SAME day.

Picked up after 3pm.

Do you get a 60 day tourist visa regardless of the itinerary you submit with your application?

My itinerary will show 3 weeks but I may want to stay longer.

I would prefer to not end up with a 30 day visa and then have visit local officials to extend.

Applying Chiang Mai consulate.

Thanks

Thanks for those comments ubonjoe.

Yes OA long stay visa.

My spouse is under 50 and so doesn't qualify, need them to be the dependent on a non-O.

An OA with multiple entries to push things out to perhaps close to two years sounds encouraging.

My experience with enter before dates for Tourist visas has been disappointing. On a double entry Tourist visa my local consulate made the enter before date 90 days from when the visa was approved, which encourages leaving the application as late as possible (far from ideal). I will see what they say about the enter before date on the OA with multiple entries.

Interested to hear how much better it is in practice to apply in one's country of residence rather than arriving on tourist visas and attempting to convert over to a non-o.

The advantages of a country of residence application seem to be:

• country of residence proof of bank funds required, but no Thai bank deposit until you extend after a year (assuming you're not going the income certificate way)
• not having to convert the tourist visa to a non-o
• not having to convert the spouse's tourist visa which some here state is not possible and therefore requires exiting Thailand and applying for a non-o at an embassy or consulate
• marriage certificate may not have to be notarised as it would in Thailand
• some embassy/consulate staff in the country of residence may have better English and may be easier to deal with

The advantages of applying in Thailand:

• no verification of no criminal record required
• no health certificate required

Is all that correct? Have I missed anything significant?

Thanks

I've seen Waves with fatter tires in the north, but no rear disc (which would be great). I read somewhere that a conversion to disc is north of ฿6,000. I'd probably put money into tires and firmer rear suspension first. I saw the Club in the Arctic. Impressive.

After riding a new-ish Wave in steep country two up I wondered about gearing it a bit lower. I don't care about the top end, but having the pillion having to get off and occasionally both of us getting off on a steep climb is another matter (we're both a bit heavier than your average local). I've only come across comments about Thais gearing up for a higher top end, not the other way. Any thoughts on gearing down? Weight loss for the rider and pillion are already under serious consideration.

If money and hassles were no bother I'd have a CRF and a PCX. Later in the year I'm keen to ride in Laos and the Wave looks the best, though under-powered, compromise option for owning one bike. Some inspiration from this blog, http://unleashyouradventure.com/what-the-honda-wave-can-handle-or-laos-off-road-adventure-time/

Thank you for the thoughts everyone.

Hat off to Sydneycraig for riding a PCX down to Huay Tung Tao, I've ridden that on a Honda Wave.

Thanks Issanman for the photo and suggestion.

Not a lot of replies from PCX riders. I'm guessing that perhaps many of them don't follow the bike forum and those that do don't want to engage with a lunatic.

I'm leaning towards flagging the PCX and going with a Honda Wave with a suspension upgrade and dual purpose tires. That seems to be the most popular choice with the locals in the north.

I know there are a lot of happy PCX riders out there.

Just wondering how many take it off-road and what impact that has had on the bike?

What do I mean by off-road? Rutted dirt roads and tracks, decent potholes, grades over 10%. Able to be ridden relatively easily by a Honda Wave with road tires.

Thanks