Hanaguma

JT, no need to get your panties in a wad. The nomadic lifestyle is a valid option for people of limited means. There is a lot more to it than buying a quarter million dollar motorhome and swanning about. There are myriad low cost options that work for many people, and they don't feel deprived or disadvantaged.

Hey Jing, thousands of people enjoy the freedom of the open roads. You might feel a bit better if you join them! Nature can be intoxicating.

Three since the Reagan years, I would call "almost all". But you be you.

Yes, the President selects them. In almost all cases, his selection is approved. Seems like a distinction without a difference to me.

Jing; The radicals, as you call them, are small in number and exist at both extremes. Very few Americans favor a 100% ban on abortion, an equally small number favor zero restrictions. Most fall in the middle, and most importantly EVERYONE will have a chance to be heard in November at the ballot box. There is a certain hypocrisy in so many world leaders sticking their nose in. Macron of France, for example, needs to shut up. HIS country restricts abortion far more strictly than many US states, and even more strictly than Mississipi in the Dodd case.

Nope. Presidents choose Supreme Court justices. Democrats pick lefty judges, Republicans pick conservative judges. Been that way forever. The court leaned left for a long time before Trump, and will lean left again in the future. It is a long term situation.

If someone knows a bank where I can open an account on a 30 day visa exemption, that would be fab. Otherwise, I dont mind spending some money for other people to do the scut work and possibly use their 'connections' to smooth things through.

Yes there are trigger laws, some restrict abortions to rape/incest/health of the birthing person, some restrict based on timing. None AFAIK punish women for what they decide to do. A ban on travel is highly unlikely and almost certainly unconstitutional. Justice Kavanaugh said as much in his opinion on Dobbs. Not to mention the actual mechanics of such a law are completely impossible. Sorry my friend, you are seeing demons in the shadows when this is a very simple issue. States will decide what happens within their own borders. The debates will happen, they will be messy, and compromises will be worked out. Politicians will be forced to actually state their positions, not just fall back on hyperbole and eupemisms like "right to choose". And that is good for everyone.

You always have the option of going nomad! Buy a nice RV, perhaps a pickup truck and a nice trailer, and hit the happy highways. See America from up close, enjoy the national parks and natural beauty, enjoy sunset beer and barbequed t-bones every night! You could get a nice rig for far less than $100,000. Even with the price of gas, boondocking and BLM land are great! Many states have senior passes for state parks and camping areas too. I have looked into it and it does have a certain pioneering feel!

Jim, you are not paying attention. Abortion has NOT been abolished. States that allowed it last week still allow it this week. Each state can decide. Hell, California will probably have pop-up abortion clinics on the border beside the highways, the same way Nevada has casinos at all border crossings!

I generally go by the rule that the side using the most hysteria and hyperbole is the one that is losing. In this case, the left. Dark pronouncements about coat hangers and back alleys that simply wont happen. The individual states will each choose their path. That is democracy at the local level. So places like California and New York can have radical abortion policies, use tax dollars for safe havens, etc. Places like Mississippi and Nebraska can do what their citizens want. Nothing terrible about that. The reality is that most Americans do favor abortion within limits. The limit usually hits around the 12-14 week mark. Ironicallly, the same place most European countries limit abortion except for in the case of the mother health being in danger. After that point, support drops. Americans who actually favour abortion on demand until the time of birth is a tiny sliver of the country. Thankfully! Yet few Democrat politicians are willing to state their position- wonder why?

Thanks for the advice and hints. I will contact them and get some estimates etc. As for motorbikes, I do have some riding experience. We have been coming to Thailand for 20 plus years- when I was younger we rented bikes for puttering around wherever we stayed. I am pretty good at it, just go slow and assume every other driver is a drunk idiot is the way to stay alive IMHO. Figured a bike is easier to get around the city on than a car for certain occasions.

Thanks Squak. I am 57 now (wife is 52) but still will be working full time for the next 3 years - at least that is the plan. Live in Japan so it isn't a long trip to the LOS and, at least up to this year, wasn't an expensive trip either. Planning to retire at 60, start getting a pension and live off some investments. So we can't really up and start getting a visa sorted as of yet. Long term is definitely to get an O Visa but not for a few years.

Thanks all. That is just the thing, I wont have any visa, just a standard 30 day tourist waiver. I dont want to spend my days wandering from bank to bank looking for one that will help. Just want to get the ball rolling, so to speak, and have some more options for the future. It is worth paying someone to help me get it all done in a day or so, then I can get on with my vacation.

Hi all; Gonna be in CM for the summer vacation season (most of August) and am thinking of starting to get documents ready for a retirement move in the next few years. I would like to set up bank accounts for my wife and I, drivers licenses for us both, and a scooter license for me. Has anyone used the Buddy service for these things? Is there another agency you would recommend? We both speak zero Thai so I think some form of assistance would save us a lot of time.

A bit off topic, but I read earlier that there was consideration to make the 30-day visa free entry extended to 45 days. This was to be discussed at last weeks' CCSA meeting. A lot of details came out of the meeting, but not this. Anyone heard anything about it? I am planning a 6 week trip in the summer and it would make my life easier for sure. Otherwise, I need a throwaway flight out of the country, plus a border run or trip to immigration for an extension...

Thanks. I was looking into a refundable ticket to use as an onward ticket and they are getting hard to find! Most airlines have either fees to get a refund, or in the case of LCCs, no refund at all. So far I think only Malaysian Airlines has a fully refundable ticket, if you purchase the correct one.

Canadian citizen here. I am planning a 6 week trip to the LOS this summer. Sometime in the middle of my trip I need to decide how to renew my 30 day visa free status- either a visa run to Laos or an extension at the immigration office. Question is this; Will I have trouble when I first enter Thailand? I will only have 30 days entry, but my return trip ticket will be about 40 days later. Or will the immi people just assume that I will get a renewal/do a visa run? Asking if I will need to book a "throwaway" flight out of the country during my stay. Thanks!

Don't think so in the case of Japan at least. No tourists allowed as yet, except very small and select groups going on select itineraries, starting in June. Not sure when the country will open for general tourism. Hell, even residents and citizens have a hard time when they return from overseas. Have to do a PCR test at the airport, wait for the result, then go home for a one week quarantine if you are not 3x vaccinated.

As someone who has lived in Japan for 20 years, I can tell you with confidence that the video is PRE Covid, probably in Shinjuku station. There are myriad subways, private trains at the station. That level of crowded is not the norm generally. It is also why I drive my own car and do NOT live in Tokyo. Whoever said that a car here has a lifespan of only 2 years due to environmental regulations is full of unko. My car is 12 years old and going strong! What does happen is a safety check- after 3 years for new cars, then every 2 years after that. But there is no rule on having to scrap or replace vehicles. And yes, people are generally very tolerant of crowding and having their personal space invaded.

OP here with the updates. First of all, thanks to all for their stories and experiences! Combination of "TiT" and "ESID" and the like. Our positive tests were done at a local clinic that specializes in testing for travel to Japan. We both did saliva based pcr tests. Mine was positive at a 29 CT, my wife at 33. Both barely over the threshold but enough to trigger our current situation. First night in quarantine, staff are nice enough, checked in at about 800pm. Brief consult with the nurse on duty, usual health questions. She said that we will be tested again on Day 3 and if negative, can leave. If not, another test on Day 5... and so on. Deliveries here are OK but must be left at the lobby for pick up, final pick up 600pm. But since we arrived later, we were able to get a pizza delivered later than that. Like I said, no complaints about the staff. Situation is complicated by being tourists and not having access to a cell phone. Can't use our phone from home for anything so we can't set up any accounts with virtually anyone. So, no calling Grab or Food Panda or almost any other form of food or service company. Pizza Hut delivered, also this morning we could order from Villa Market and things arrived by noon. Villa and PH didn't require a phone number, just a credit card. We were happy to get stuff like extra paper products, some fresh fruit, drinks, snax, and so on. Makes life seem more civilized. Room? Basic Novotel base. The TV is good, nice view east over Soi 34 and a few houses. Bed interestingly is made of cardboard...bar size fridge and microwave in an alcove off the room. Food? No choices, gets delivered outside the door with a ring of the bell. Breakfast was a bit hideous, think the worst an airline would provide. Worst was no coffee or juice- the room has bottles of water provided and I guess that is all you get. Lunch was char quay teau (sorry for butchered spelling)- flat noodles with some veg and chicken cooked in an oyster sauce kind of base. All in all, definitely different than the food we got in our Day 1 "Test and Go" hotel! Have yet to hear about costs or anything else. We bought the mandatory insurance when we came (through AXA insurance) so we will see what transpires. Nobody took my credit card imprint at check in or anything like that. Thai Airways has kindly cancelled our flight home with minimal fees and seems like they will let us book again when we know our departure, so good news on that front. Otherwise............. waiting and reading. If anyone has any questions, I have loads of time to answer!

...and now we are in a quarantine hospitel. Whisked away in a van this evening at 700pm and deposited in the former Novotel on Soi 34. Here to stay for anything from 3 to 10 days.... depends on whether we test negative on Day 3 or Day 5 or the staff wasn't too clear on it. Sooner we can go home the better.

Hi, my wife is Japanese, I am a permanent resident on a lifetime visa. Lived there for more than 20 years. I am so tempted to get a "second opinion" test done at another clinic and see if it is still positive before deciding on anything. The hotel we are at now is not an official "hospitel" but it is an SHA Plus. Told the front desk our situation at noon and they have not said or done anything. We gonna get kicked out I wonder?

Hi; thanks for the advice. I was thinking the same, why did we both test positive? It was a saliva based test, not nasal swab, and we both have been having a very minor cold (but no fever or any other covid-y symptoms) so maybe that threw off the test. I am sorely tempted to run downstairs to the pharmacy and at least get a couple rapid tests for us to try. Plus ask another testing clinic to send someone here to do a nasal swab test. We don't even eat in restaurants- usually we got take out food and ate at our Airbnb. Drove a rental car. Private tours only. No boozing or nightlife. This makes no sense.

Sorry to cross-post with 'another forum', but I am curious about WTH to do.... So, my wife and I are supposed to fly home to Japan on Thursday after our vacation here. Arranged a pcr test with a clinic in Bangkok, did the test.............. phone call this morning. We are both positive! Both asymptomatic, both double dosed with with Phizer (last November), no sign of fever. Did temperature checks everywhere and was 36.5 always. Currently staying in a nice hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 23. Told the staff and are waiting to see what happens.... Waiting to see if our hotel will let us stay here or we have to transfer to a hospitel somewhere. Visa free status will run out in 3 days also- can we sign up for an extension of some kind from quarantine? Bizarre situation. We dont go to parties, bars, group tours, stayed in an isolated villa on Phuket for 3 weeks..... what are our next steps? Advice, grumpiness, scolding, whatever you want to give is fine. Looks like we will be here a while!