Hanaguma

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...