CMBob

One option might be Kantary Hills....they have a salad & antipasto buffet on Wednesday evenings and a carvery buffet on Fridays. You can check it out on their website for times and prices.

While I'll have to admit the thread contained some interesting info about rabies treatment, overall I found the thread rather weird. Why? (1) A guy sitting on a moat bench at night (which evokes certain questions as to why) and getting bit by a rat. (2) Then gets a bit huffy because a few found the whole deal a bit weird/funny. (3) And nobody as yet has expressed any concern about the rat.....555555.

Repeating notions posted above and also repeating a fair number of often-heard comments from US expats here in Chiangmai, it would be nice if the Consulate employees would actually earn their nice US government salaries and actually provide services that would actually be helpful to US expats. Let's see, you quit doing passport renewals for the most part, quit doing residence certificates (which expats needed for obtaining a vehicle, etc.), you quit doing income affidavits (which made it more difficult for extensions based upon the 65k a month), and now you're even quitting providing the form letters to assist transfer of Thai stamps into a new passport. And you're spending mega-taxpayer dollars to build a mega-building out next to Index mall. Given we US expats pay US income taxes which help fund you're operations and palace-building here, how about actually asking the US expats what services they would prefer and, then (I'm not holding my breath), actually provide them.

Had stamps transferred to a new passport 3 months ago here in Chiangmai. Besides a copy of the new passport photo page and a filled-out "Transfer Stamp to New Passport Form", they also wanted a copy of every page of the old passport (in my case, every page including stamps from other countries). Was quick and easy and there was no fee.

I also got mine in Chiangmai about a decade ago, a lady at the revenue office providing same. I do recall that, besides a copy of a couple pages of the passport, she wanted a residence certificate and that she did accept a copy of one I had although it was a few months old. I obtained the tax ID number solely for the purpose of filing a Thai tax return to retrieve the 15% of bank interest withheld.

Rather obvious that the "many years" hasn't added up to a fair amount of awareness of the rules. And, given he's on annual extensions based on retirement, the usual stamp (at least as granted in Chiangmai) reads in part: "TO KEEP YOUR STAY PERMIT RE-ENTRY PERMIT MUST BE MADE BEFORE LEAVING THAILAND."

Went once to the Blind School (near Suthep gate) as they offered massage and was turned over to about a 65 year old blind woman who grabbed me by the shirt sleeve and dragged me into a two-story teak building. Once inside, she flipped the light switch at the bottom of some stairs and no light came on (which, of course, was unknown to her). She dragged me up the stairs.....it was absolutely pitch black, I couldn't see a thing....and then hit me with the standard massage outfit (baggy pants you tie, pull on shirt). Once the massage started, I realized she also was hard of hearing too (and/or didn't understand my yelling "jep maak!" every couple of minutes). Not sure if she knew how to give a Thai massage but she had most excellent torture skills. Stick with the Olde Time Medicine School, you won't regret it.

Ditto on that recommendation......and don't hesitate to advise of your specific desire to have them concentrate on your back (best to tell the ladies at the desk so they can advise the masseuse as to your needs).

I've always understood the name stands for "crystal stream", referencing the stream that fed the moat at Hua Lin corner. The "crystal" likely means in this instance "crystal clear." The now closed mall - gat suan gaew - essentially had a meaning of crystal garden market. I've also heard (but have no clue whether it's true) that the there are underground remnants of the stream that may still reach the moat on occasion.

Never got a text message from them but was told (by the gals that prepared and filed the returns at the revenue office) that the refund checks would arrive in about 3 weeks. And they did. Think this was the fifth time I filed returns to retrieve the withheld interest and I don't think the refund checks any time arrived later than about 3 weeks.

I went to both SCB and Bangkok Bank roughly 6 weeks ago. Got statements for the past three years from SCB but only asked for a statement for 2022 from Bangkok Bank (only opened that account near the end of 2021). Took about 15 minutes at SCB and maybe 10 minutes at Bangkok Bank. As has occurred for me in the past, the banks have forms for this purpose and are well aware of the requests for annual interest statements.

I've read a few posts over the last couple of years that one can obtain a Thai Tax ID, give that info and a request to stop withholding to the bank, and they'll stop the 15% withholding. That may be true for some people in some locations but hasn't worked for me here in Chiangmai at either Siam Commercial Bank or Bangkok Bank (I've tried it at both banks....... they affirmatively respond that they don't know what I'm talking about and the withholding continues).

I have no idea how they file the withheld tax if one doesn't have a tax ID number.....but presume it's filed under the person's name and account number. Given revenue would also have the written bank verification of the account number, amount withheld, person's name, and address (all that information is on the forms issued by SCB and Bangkok Bank), I'd guess that the revenue department wouldn't have any problem matching it up.

Hasn't happened to me.....and, as mentioned, just got checks for the three years (2020, 2021, and 2022) I filed returns for.

The "form 90" the OP refers to is a Thai personal income tax return. And one is required to first have a Thai tax ID number. I obtained one of those here in CM about 10 years ago and to get one, besides copies of a couple of pages of your passport, they wanted a certificate of residence (in my case, I had one that was several months old but they accepted a photocopy of that). You get the tax ID number at your local revenue office. Here in Chiangmai, one can do this by simply going to your relevant revenue office and they will fill out and file the income tax return for you. About three weeks later you'll get your check(s) in the mail which you take to Kasikorn bank and you can retrieve the funds. I understand, given the lousy interest rates the last few years, one can decide to not bother for low amounts withheld; however, you can file for 3 years back (I just did this a month+ ago and got three checks for the amounts withheld for 2020, 2021, and 2022). Easy process and worth my time. Edit: If you had other Thai income and you owe personal income taxes, maybe you do or do not simply get the withheld funds back. In my case, I'm retired and have no Thai income. Once they asked me if I had any other Thai income (answer was "no") whereas on at least two other occasions they never asked me anything (i.e., there was zero "digging into my business").

Yea, biggest wind I've ever seen here in CM. A piece of somebody's roof landed in our porch area. And I'm told that billboards and other stuff went down near Airport Central Plaza.. Thankfully, we didn't lose power.....although a lot of places are still without it.

The are taking forever to repair what they have torn up on Huay Gaew Road (both west and east of Canal Road...and now east of Nimmanhaemin). Some of us complemented the B-Quick outfit (that built the building about 100 feet west of the scene in the first photo above) for the very nice brick sidewalk they built in front of their building. It's history now.

I would expect that it is still that way. But (1) in prior times the desk was on the left after you went through the international security line (and don't think you could get through that line without proper ID AND an international boarding pass, and (2) according to poster above, the re-entry desk is now located before you go through the upstairs security line (where seemingly anybody can go there) so I wondering if anybody (including somebody not flying out internationally) can get a re-entry permit there. Poster Appleton, do you know?

Following expiration of my retirement extension while being trapped back in the US during the covid mess, I returned visa exempt in September of 21 and no new TM30 filing was required here in Chiangmai. Used a copy of the old TM30 Receipt of Notification still stapled in my passport for conversion to a Non-O without any problem or question and have used a copy of it again for other services (including two annual extensions based on retirement).

If you're entering after March 31, 2023, you'll only get 30 days absent a change in the law in the next 3 weeks (the Tourist Bureau has advocated extending the 45-day routine for the rest of the year but the government has not taken any action on that as yet); regardless, if you run short of time to meet the 15-day requirement Dr. Jack mentions, you can always get a 30-day extension to your visa exempt entry). Although irrelevant for you, at least one immigration office (Chiangmai) requires 21 days left on a visa exempt entry (or tourist visa) to apply for conversion to a Non-O.

If you want to be technical, the TM30 is due within 24 hours after you take up occupancy; however: (1) In some provinces, no filing is required if you return to your already registered address (i.e., it sounds like your wife has already registered you online at the same address and, depending on your Immigration office, no additional filing may be due). (2) If you won't be going to Immigration for any service and just staying for the 45 days or less, don't bother (although technically it's due) as there will be no consequence for not doing it. (3) Asking the question on the basis that somehow you'll be jet lagged for the entire 24 hours after you arrive and will be too inconvenienced to do a 5-minute online task seems a bit silly. And having a tabien baan and/or pink ID is irrelevant to your question.

Almost no reason to suspect that will happen; besides, all accounts in one bank are backed by the Thai version of FDIC to the tune of one million baht.

Perhaps timing has changed but processing applications by mail for US passports has generally been well under 3 weeks. I got a new US passport this past December, mailing the required items by DHL from Chiangmai to the Bangkok embassy on a Monday morning. I received back my new passport, punched old one, and the Embassy letter to Immigration in my Chiangmai mail the following Thursday (i.e., 11 days later). No complaints here.

Would be helpful if you'd actually mention what country's passport is involved. If you're talking about renewing a US passport, there isn't anyway an agent can do that for you (read the embassy/consulate website as what's required is plainly spelled out).

The Tourist Bureau publicly advocated that the government continue the 45-day exempt entry for the balance of 2023 but there as been nothing in the newspaper that the government/cabinet has even considered that as yet. Until that happens, it's back to 30 days after March 31st.