Enzian

then I will be forced to decamp again to Europe and California in turn, best thing that could happen to me.

Seems Chuwit hasn't yet specifically brought up the 800K/400K requirement issue; it will be interesting if he does. I assume Prayuth has always known about it. I prefer adherence to a rule of law in most situations, but half my friends might have to find a different country if that became an issue.

If a vaccine prevents the virus from taking hold in one's body during an encounter, then one may not pass it to another. You might disagree.

And (I should have added) are what's available said to be the latest mRNA for the latest variants (which I got on doc's recommendation in the US in August) or the same as what's been available for a year or more? Thanks!

My gf has had two Pfizer and for herself would not get a booster, but she's 42 and I'm 83, so she says she is open to a booster so as to reduce the chance of giving the virus to me (I've had 5 shots, but still had a mild case after #4); is there anywhere she can go? Thanks, and sorry if this has already been covered, I wasn't sure where to look.

It does look like someone is following the new policy of not reporting the nationality of foreigners accused (and convicted?) of crimes. But they have not stopped reporting the nationality of foreigners involved in unfortunate accidents, which to me makes the crime restriction seem absurd. Also the crime restriction is contrary to freedom of speech, but yes, I know, there's none of that here anyway. ALSO: if it is really China that caused the change in crime reporting I think we have a right to know, but again I feel absurd even using the word "right". And what Thai ID card are they talking about? That has confused me for a while, since I have a "pink card", perfectly legal for me; but of course it doesn't say I am Thai. So they are talking about a similar card saying one is Thai?

But what things exactly was he accepting bribes to approve, construction on park land, or what else?

It's beyond me. I heard him speak in person at the FCCT about 6 months ago and he repeated with emotion that the goal is medical and that he didn't approve of mobs of westerners taking advantage. Deep down on some level he really dislikes or feels above foreigners, but at the same time anyone with half a brain could see where this was going, and boy did it! It's cognitive dissonance on a grand scale.

What is this, what are the items in it, and what is the process of "debating" it? Are they serious, or is this just a delaying tactic so that the big money can have more time to make the fait accompli completely entrenched? I don't feel that all these pot shops around Sukhumvit have improved the quality of life (such as it is) here, but I would never want the stuff to be illegal. It's probably: the cat is out of the bag, that ship has sailed, the horse has bolted, take your pick.

A further thought about "cultural" differences, regarding the issue of providing money to an IO for overlooking the financial requirement in a long stay renewal. If a Thai woman spends time with you in your room, and you put money in her hand when she's leaving, she may well not-as a woman in America would-see that as being paid for sex (also a "crime" in LOS). From her point of view she's "taking care of" you, and you're doing the same for her. I'm not trying to be clever and equate IOs with prostitutes, I'm just referring back to the-still valid I think-time honored view that we westerners will never fully understand the asian mind. The beat goes on.

One thing that makes this discussion difficult is that the "rule of law", as it is understood in the west, is problematic in Thailand. I'm not taking sides in this (is there a crime or isn't there?). I just want to see something really authoritative one way or the other, and imo no one so far has provided that.

"in any country" is the hard part I would submit. Places and cultures (culture is higher than law here I would argue) around the world differ more than we can imagine. East is east and west is west and sometime they don't meet--that's the limitation in my previous comment. Clarity would be nice but maybe we will never get it. But I would further argue that it is all such a mess that the whole system should be scraped and started over in a way with a greater appearance of fairness and equity. Drop the 800K requirement. The east for centuries has been moving slowly toward the west. Keep it up, and hope that China doesn't take us all down before it happens.

This is the crux of the matter that keeps coming up. It's fresh to me because I just renewed for 1900 baht 5 days ago with bank letter, monthly printouts, and bank book photo copies showing monthly activity and current balance of over 1.2 mil. Now either that 800,000 requirement is a hard and fast rule written in the instructions IOs must follow, or it is an option, the other option being that top IOs have legal discretion to do it differently on a case by case basis. NO ONE HAS ESTABLISHED WHICH IT IS. If it is the first, then corruption is the system, and bribery exists. If the latter, then there's nothing to talk about, we're wasting our time. I'd appreciate a truly informed view on this.

Yes, in minutes, a separate page of paper for every month going back. Each page was only a few lines of small but readable print at the top of the page for that month, so most of the page was blank in every case. The IO also wanted a photo copy of every page of the actual bank book going back to this time last year, to make sure the two agree I assume. And the letter was perfectly stated but not a word longer than it needed to be. And the bank's red ink stamp was on every page of everything. Fee of 300 baht.

I want to thank everyone who contributed to this thread, even those who argued. I got it all done on Tuesday the 13th. Waiting a day or two might have been better, but my nerves couldn't take waiting, had to get it done. Krungsri bank office at CW did a beautiful job with the letter and a printout of every month. And much faster than my original branch. The frustration came with the fact that the queue system for the re-entry permit is a separate system, and the window to get the number closes at 3:30. We got there at 3:36. But an officer at the re-entry desks told us that if we just wait till those with numbers are served they would try to fit us in before they close up--and they did, but it meant waiting for an hour and a half without knowing what would happen. GF said she saw one guy without a number start asking a lot of questions and they told him to just leave. But we were super polite and they did do it for us as almost the very last of the day. Again, thanks.

I was just in southern France for 5 weeks and couldn't believe the number of people feeding those things. Feed them, just have more of them. Of course the French smoke relatively a lot, so there's that too.

I always thought it had to be the morning of the same day.

How is such an appointment made these days? Online or phone? I'm planning to go in Tuesday morning after the Monday holiday when they are closed, so am I too late to make an appointment? Thanks.

I opened the Krungsri account at the Chid Lom branch, but it has been suggested that the branch in the Immigration building can issue the letter just as well, so there is no reason to stop on the way, but just go directly out there. Sound right? Thanks.

What about Constitution Day, December 12, this Monday?

I just wired $2K to BK to cover my new apt (plus some) getting ready for my arrival this weekend, and Chase asked what the money was for. Family Expenses seemed to satisfy them. Money changing seems to have virtually ended in Europe. I spent just under the 90 day limit in the Schengen zone 2nd half this year, and spent less than 300 in Euros cash. Money changing rates are not reasonable, and ATMs can be a complicated <deleted> shoot and require some trial and error, or friends with experience. Everything, even an espresso, went on the credit cards.

So if I (American) were to lose my Non-O by failing to (using my single re-entry permit) enter and renew before its drop dead date, the start-from-scratch plan would be to enter visa exempt as soon as reasonable, apply for 90 day Non-O, then apply to extend it for 12 months, and at that point I'm back where I started, correct? (More than enough money would always be in the bank.) Thanks.

Anutin has actually said exactly what these people are saying, while knowing full well the reality that has emerged and having no plan to control it. As with prostitution, that's the Thai way and it will prevail, as it always does.

Everyone knows, or should know, there's no freedom of speech in Thailand, what are they talking about?

Krungsri has always done it while I wait when I go to the central branch at Chit Lom where I first opened the account. I would go there first in the morning and then out to CW. But thanks for reminding me of that step.