buick

there's been a misconception of sorts that you must get the permit before you get stamped out of the country. it is ok to get stamped out first and get the permit after.

yes you can. i've done it several times in the previous 18 months.

it is not a problem to go through the fast track lane, get stamped out, and then proceed to the other immigration hall to get the re-entry permit. i've done it a few times. after exiting fast track immigration, you walk airside through the terminal to the immigration hall with the re-entry permit desk. just go up the ramp and take a right turn, tell the officers you are going to re-entry permit desk.

my preferred burger is at The Clubhouse soi 23. 280thb. not an overly large burger. comes with fries. fairly basic. i have not tried the burger at sunrise tacos. i prefer ketchup and mustard on my burger, many burger places seem to put on a 'special sauce' which does nothing for me. so pay attention to the menu if you aren't a fan of special sauce so you can order w/o the sauce.

buddy's is still going. i don't visit often but i've seen there newest location near soi 8. and awhile back they opened on sukhumvit near soi 20. plus soi 22 is still open.

i was in pattaya in dec 2022. l live in bkk, i hadn't been to pattaya in 15 yrs. i lived in pattaya back in 2006/7 (i find bkk more civilized). i thought fahrenheit was the best. pin up was ok but the space there is very tight. not good for a group of more than 2. skyfall was ok but not alot of ladies in there. shark and dollhouse, not really worth a visit. my friend and i always ended up at fahrenheit, after trying others. forget kink and the go gos around there. upstairs at kink the music is insanely loud and most seats will have you stuck with a view of just a couple ladies. it might be ok if you find a keeper real quick and can handle the music at ear blasting levels.

i always say california because when i answer USA or America, 90% of the time i'm then asked 'where in USA/America ?' i'm not sure this blue/red thing was ever a reason for anyone, sounds strange to me.

the A2 bus is 30thb according to the link in this thread.

i recently booked a flight on asiana, BKK to USA via ICN. both the intra asia legs are A380 (A350 for the legs to/from USA). maybe thai will use their's again.

i had similar numbers to the OP. 10mg crestor daily (generic name is the R one many mention). been a few years now. years ago, i was in the low 200's and when i stopped cycling as often as i used to, it spiked up. riding in bangkok isn't quite the same as santa monica CA and marin county CA. haven't noticed any side effects.

i went to CW back in september after missing a few 90 day reports. i told the IO in the 90 day report office that i missed a few and she said no problem, no fine. i guess i got lucky. when i did my extension in early october, they did not ask to see my 90 day report slip. it was not stapled in my passport but in a zipper pocket in my bag with my vaccine papers. i forgot all about the 90 day slip. so there is a chance you won't be fined.

it is a close call for me on getting out before lunch when i'm in the 50's. usually i don't make it, i see the I/O but get the passport back after lunch. i need to try the appt system for next year. i've only done one 90 day report. long story on that but i the short version is i just didn't do them and when i finally went to do one last year, they didn't even fine me or care that i missed so many - i actually said 'this is my first 90 day report, i've missed alot of them over the years'. they said 'no problem, no fine'.

i don't know if you had any success with making an appt. but be aware that going to CW the day after a holiday can be one of the worst days to go - w/o an appt. if you don't have an appt, i'd wait until wed or thurs to go. for what it's worth, i did my annual retirement extension in early october and arrived at about 9am (i always arrive around that time at CW). i got a queue number in the 20's for the L desk and they were already past #10. i was shocked, i think i'd had one in the 30's before but also 50's, 70's and once i was over 100 (that was the last year). 50-70 had been the norm. i get my bank letter the day before, i use a foreign currency account.

the USD/THB sure moves around alot. i haven't studied the numbers but it seems like it is usually around 33 but for a few months over a couple year period it can drop to 30 or pop up to 36. so the period at 36 makes up for the period at 30. and there are some extremes, above 36 or below 30. but again, those offset each other also.

that is how operate also, i have a US address. i can access my wells fargo account online with my username and password. no addtl auth required. but to do SWIFT transfers and add payees on normal bill pay, i do need the auth codes. and wells fargo does not offer any choice, unless i'm missing something, it is text code to phone. you can't even get one over the phone, they allowed that for a time. but then that was gone. don't recall an email option but it isn't there now. to access chase, my credit card, they do sometimes remember my computer. if not, they have options for the code as you noted, text, email or phone.

i'm not sure that says what you think it says but we'll find out in a couple days. what about a person on a two week vacation outside the USA that needs to access the bill pay service to pay a credit card bill. are they out of luck ? i know a large number of americans don't travel overseas but it seems like it could lead to loss of customers. of course, wells fargo is used to losing customers - a nearly decade long trend i think. technically, a customer 'located' in the united states could mean anyone with a US based address. a customer, living/'located' in the USA, but currently traveling outside the USA - gets blocked ? not too long ago, maybe a year, i wasn't able to get the authentication codes via phone (text) from WFB (ex. to auth a SWIFT transfer). but all of a sudden i could, i have the same phone service (verizon) so i think it was a change at WFB. but i can't be sure. before that i had to use a contact in the USA to give me the codes and have their number on file for my account. so that requirement seemed to loosen up.

at 7pm on a weekday, the traffic on sukhumvit is extremely heavy. in both directions but even worse in the direction you are looking to travel via taxi. i'm not sure how far into soi 31 you are going or if traveling with bags, etc.. i'd walk if possible. you'll likely get to where you are going quicker that way. but no air con !! and be aware at your meeting spot, one side is 'interchange' tower and the other side is 'exchange' tower. i've told people to meet me at interchange before and they end up at exchange.

i use wells fargo. they do SWIFT transfers to thailand. i can't remember the fee, $35 or $45. i send in USD and have the thai bank convert it to THB. that seems to be the better option on the FX rate. but not great if you are doing monthly transfers. i generally do one large transfer per year so the fee isn't a big deal. but i wouldn't want to pay that 12 times/year.

i've been buying the ETF symbol BIL. it buys short term US treasuries, 1 to 3 month maturities. it yields over 3% now and should be higher soon as the purchases of 3 months ago mature and are renewed at higher rates. i have an account with wells fargo in USA but i'm sure you can buy the same thing with schwab.

there is a true coffee shop in emquartier, maybe that's too much like a starbucks. they are renovating a portion right now. but i go in there alot, they also have an outdoor patio which i like. inside they have a couple long tables that are all folks on their laptops for what appear to be considerable time periods. i'm there for an hour and they are still there. o'sheas bar/pub on soi 33/1 is extremely quiet in the morning. i go there for breakfast alot. also an outside patio if you want some people watching. it is a bit dark inside. but no music at that time. at most 3-4 customers in the place at 10am. but sunday mornings are not good. they have UFC/MMA type fights on that morning. another person noted the au bon pain on soi 31. you could look at these three places in 15 minutes and make your choice. maybe give them all a try to mix it up. real easy BTS access (phrom phong).

really not much change in the taxi situation in inner bkk. i've been living in the same place btwn asoke and phrom phong sukhumvit area for 15 yrs. i guess the good news is 'rates' have been about the same for that entire period of time. generally speaking, i pay 100thb for any taxi ride i take (not the airport). i take the BTS/MRT to get close to where i'm going. if i need a taxi from there, 100thb. i don't take change for a fare under 100thb. late night from nana is sometimes 200thb - mainly when it is raining. a couple months ago there was a rainstorm for the ages and i paid 300thb to get home. i was absolutely thrilled with that ! no sarcasm at all. i walked out of the plaza, the taxi was right in front, i dashed in the back (got soaked from a few seconds of exposure), and we were off. i go to CW immigration once or twice a year, i usually take MRT to chatuchak station. i always get a meter there. and always get a meter from CW back to that MRT station. that fare is over 100 but under 200. to get to the two airports it has gone up a bit. i remember 400 being ok for bkk for a long time. they seem to want 500 now. depending on the time of day/traffic levels, i will take the airport train/taxi combo. i can usually get to DMK for 300. i pay tolls on top of those fares. depending on time of day/traffic levels, i sometimes do MRT/taxi combo for DMK.

that's right. i've also done that. where you are in the departure hall w/o the permit desk. you actually exit the entire immigration area, walk through the airport, and up the ramp to the hall that has the permit desk. easily done, no issues. as i noted, even when i'm in the hall with the permit desk, i will just get stamped out first if the passport stamp out line is short. then go get the permit. there is no 'law' that says it must be done first.

it is most definitely possible to get stamped out at suvarnabhumi and then get the re-entry permit. you don't have to do it first. if there isn't much of a line for the immigration desks, i go through there first. i've done it three times in the last 15 months and only waited for the officer to put the stamp in the passport (about 5 minutes). zero wait at the counter where i paid the 1,200thb. two of these were mid afternoon and one was around 9pm.

you can google 'bumrungrad health screening programs' and there is a chart that shows prices for various packages and what is done in each package. the 'executive' is approx. 14,000thb. i've done that one a few times. i remember paying 18,000thb at one point but maybe they dropped a test or two. i'm no expert on these things but i like the stress test as a check on the heart. i had one that required alot of waiting for each test (you go room to room). but the others i did were all fairly quick. arrived around 7:30am and done by 11am. (the long one was about two hours longer). they have an area with food available so you can snack on some stuff once you've done the blood test and couple other things. i'm sure bumrungrad is not the lowest price option. but it is convenient to where i am and i've had all kinds of stuff done there. i visit several times a year. satisfied with the service.

i'm fairly certain my friend was offered paxlovid at bumrungrad in september 2022. i don't think you can get it and store it on the shelf at home. need to be infected and show up at bumrungrad.