tuktuktuk

I suppose Khon Kaen would be easier?

I didn't even know such a thing existed. Not a bad idea. I suppose it's pretty cheap. Getting things done here can require incredible persistence.

It figures! My credit union in New Orleans is open from 9 to 11 and 1 to 3 and closed on Wednesdays. Since I moved away it hasn't been an issue.

I will. Might try Monday. It was an odd encounter. I don't know for sure what was said, but my wife was not happy. When it's like that she usually doesn't say much.

Maybe I'm wrong and actually printed to .jpg. Not sure now. I did have trouble printing from my MacBook. Finally dusted off the old Windows PC (it's probably still updating a month later). My experience with the whole Thailand Pass thing was surprisingly streamlined. When I submitted it I got an email instantly saying it had been submitted. Six minutes later I received the approval and QR code. The eVisa had not been so easy. That took three weeks. Normally I send it off express mail to the D.C. Embassy with my passport and a self addressed express mail return envelope enclosed. I usually get it in a week or even less. This time I was starting to get nervous and sent an email inquiry. The approval bounced back two and a half hours later (at night). I suppose all of this was being done in Bangkok rather than in the US.

Yes, I drink too much. The neurologist that attended to me after an apparent stroke told me so. He said one drink a day is probably good for you, two might be and three is definitely not. I'm at around ten (beer and/or wine), but I've occasionally gone years without drinking. It turned out to be an ocular migraine that he failed to diagnose (maybe not the best neurologist). That was 11 years ago.

No. They never got anywhere near asking anything about me.

I arrived December 9.

I had that problem too, but was able to print to .pdf to get an unprotected version.

We'll try it again in Khon Kaen. We set one up there years ago, but as a joint account they couldn't offer online access. We closed it a year later. I need to be able to access it from the US at tax time.

Mine just gave me a do it yourself antigen test that I did 7 days later. I hope I don't end up in a field hospital.

I sort of figured that. It never got far enough for me to identify myself as an American, but they can tell. People almost never ask where I'm from. They ask if I'm an American.

Around here those pedestrian overpasses are just a way to cross the highway in the shade.

Went to Bangkok Bank in Chumpae yesterday to open a new account to simplify transfers from the US. They said they're not creating new accounts right now because of the Pandemic. It took the lady a long time to tell us that. I don't speak any Thai, so my wife was doing the listening. Is it just me? Is it just Farangs? Is it just Chumpae? Is it just Bangkok Bank, or is it every bank? We're going to try again in Khon Kaen next week. Anyone else run into this?

I was wondering why they asked me what seat I had been in. Nothing happened, but now it makes sense.

They didn't really review the papers before immigration. She flipped through them without scanning the QR codes or anything. It was just to see if the require items were there. About the same as Thai Airways did in London. After exiting past customs I walked around for a while looking for my shuttle driver. When I didn't see him I went back and asked. It all seemed pretty relaxed. The hotel was great and they released me about 8 hours later when my test returned a negative result.

Mine was shockingly simple. I did exactly what they requested and received the approval almost instantly. The hotel reservation I made was actually incorrect and I corrected that later. I had booked a hotel with an SHA+ Hotel, but not the test & go arrangement. I probably could have gotten by and just taken a taxi to the hotel. There was nobody there to stop me at any stage in the process. In Thailand I follow the rules without exception. When an Army officer with a 60 year old M-16 is asking you questions I don't like to tell fibs.