DFPhuket

Perhaps one thing each of us could do to honor his legacy is to be more like Ubon Joe. Be respectful, answer when we have the knowledge to do so, and not be condescending when someone asks a question that has been asked countless times before. The world (and this forum) could be better if we all tried to be more like Ubon Joe. He will be missed.

If you have an international flight (you need a boarding pass to enter the immigration area), at the far left you will see a sign for re-entry permits. It's the same area where you pay an overstay fine.

The restaurants in the dining area of Jungceylon are beginning to reopen. Wine Connection is refurbished and reopened three days ago.

The do allow you to go through security and board the plane with the boarding pass on your phone in both Phuket and Bangkok. I've not tried it in Pattaya.

A friend of mine went to get his 5 year renewed on January 25. He walked in with all of the papers (medical certificate, passport/license copies, etc). They checked his papers and gave him an appointment to return on April 18. He had already completed the online video and had hoped he could just do the color blind and reaction tests and get it renewed. Nope.

If you have only a carry on bag and check in/get your boarding pass on the app or the website you will go straight to security and to the gate so an hour is plenty of time. Boarding begins about 30 minutes before departure. If you are checking a bag, the check in counter will close about 40 minutes before departure so if there is a queue, that would be cutting it too close for my confort.

With no checked bags, as long as you've checked in and have a boarding pass on your phone or a hard copy, walk straight to security (skipping the check in desk). From there, go to your gate. Boarding usually starts about 30 minutes before departure, so I aim to walk into the airport 1 hour before departure. The biggest variable is whether there is traffic along the way to the airport.

In 2021 the exact same thing happened to me. I was turning right with my signal on and a 14 year old and his 12 year old passenger tried to pass me on the right. He hit my door, mirror and front panel causing 30,000 baht damage to my Honda. The kids bounced on the road but only got road rash. Their new motorbike had minimal damage. Obviously he had no license. A policeman happened to be going by and a minute later. After looking at the scene, he told me it was 100% the kids fault. My insurance guy came, we went to Patong police station and filled out lots of papers. The parents came. I expected I'd have to pay a bribe or the insurance excess but paid zero. I assume the family paid since I didn't have to pay the insurance excess and my rates didn't increase. It was my first time dealing with the police and was shocked that it all worked out.

As others have properly noted, bank apps (at least my Bangkok Bank and SCB apps) work outside the country with no issues at all. Mine have worked in a dozen countries. You need to keep your Thai phone number active so you can get an SMS with a one time password (OTP). It doesn't require any special steps to receive an SMS. You should NOT turn on data roaming unless you don't mind being shocked with a big bill. Once you download the app, you will need to go to the bank with your passport and bank book so they can set it up for you. While you're at it, make certain you also have access to the website setup.

I always fly into Thailand on a one way ticket or the return half of a round trip and have been asked about my return/onward ticket for 9 out of 10 of my flights in the past 12 months. The flights have been on different full service and discount carriers in different countries. About 1/3 were business class. The one time I wasn't asked was a Scoot flight from Singapore. I have a re-entry permit, show that to the agent, and I'm fine. But as others have suggested, https://onwardticket.com/ solves the issue.

She is fine. As a transit passenger, there are no Covid checks or requirements in Japan. I flew through Japan in both December and January. She just needs to meet US requirements, which for foreigners, currently means proof of a 2-dose vaccination series.

I'd take a look at Google maps once you've landed and decide. It's usually fairly reliable. If it's an international arrival it will probably take about an hour to get out, domestically maybe 30 minutes. Either way, you're going to be in the middle of rush hour if you get in a taxi around 6 to 6:30 PM Pre-Covid I landed in BKK on a domestic flight around 6 PM on a Wednesday and opted for a taxi to the Shangri La. It was a mistake, taking me nearly 2 hours to get there. Typically it's about 1 hour in a taxi at that time of the day. If the traffic looks bad, I would take the airport train to the last stop (Phayathai), then Sukhumvit Skytrain green line toward Kheha (2 stops) to Saim. Switch in the station to the Silom line toward Bang Wa and get off at Saphan Taksin. You'll see the Shangri La at the station. Actual train rides are 28 minutes, 4 minutes and 13 minutes but with transfers it will take about an hour.

Grab, Bolt and InDrive apps all work, so I'd install all of the apps. Sometimes you'll find better availability on one or the other. If you're far from "civilization" they are often uninterested in traveling far to pick you up.

I was asked for my passport once last year (I have Phuket license tags) coming into Phuket. I handed over my driver's license instead and it was fine.

Here is what my AIG Travel Guard policy says about exclusions. I assume other policies have similar exclusions. The insurance under this agreement does not cover the following expenses: 16. Injury arising from the action of the insured while the insured is under the influence of alcohol, addictive substance, or narcotics to the extent of being unable to control one's mind. 17. The term "under the influence of alcohol" in case of having a blood test refers to an alcohol level of 150 mg percent and over. (Note: that is a 0.15% blood alcohol level, which is 3 times over the driving limit)

Those "servicing in the area against rules and regulations" mean that they hadn't paid the required taxi fee to the Phuket airport taxi mafia authorities. Why is it that Grab/Bolt/InDrive can freely service BKK, DMK, CNX and other airports, but they can't do the same thing in Phuket? It's a rhetorical question.

It took my friend arriving Tuesday at 3 PM well over an hour to get through immigration at BKK. The good news was that his bag was out by the time he finally got through.

When I was departing this week I noticed a sign to the far left (next to the air crew/diplomatic immigration lines) that said "Overstay and Re-Entry Permits". I would assume you'd need to tell the person directing people at the queue that you need to go there rather than the regular immigration line.

I would only do a minimum of 3 hours with checked luggage. That can mitigate problems of a late flight and your bag being the last one off the belt. For international flights, you must be at the check in desk a minimum of between 45 minutes and an hour before departure.

On my iPhone I have both an eSIM with my Thai DTAC number and Ting as a hard SIM installed in my phone. I've never had an issue getting OTP's via Ting and have used it in multiple countries. It's charged to my US credit card monthly. As others have said, you need to get it (and I think Mint is similar) setup before you leave the US. Obviously leave data roaming turned off. My typical charge is about $11 unless I'm in the US and then it can jump to about $20-40 depending on usage. It's great to have a US mobile number/data plan as soon as I land in the US. I've had it for about 10 years and there has been no issue even though I live full time overseas.

I landed at BKK today and the immigration queue was stretching down the arrival hall. It did move fairly quickly, but it took nearly an hour. There is no doubt that whatever process they come up with is going to increase the processing time since it's clear to everyone who flies that the 300 baht can't be made part of the ticket (since it varies by work permit/passport). It will have to be paid or checked at arrival.

I can't see how this can be collected by the airlines. I travel in and out of Thailand a lot. No airline website is setup to ask about work permits, etc., and charge a different fee for different passport and work permit status. I already have a ticket for a round trip with a return in June. Obviously no 300 baht was collected. That means the only viable option is to have a place at the airport to collect 300 baht upon arrival. Will they accept other currencies? Credit cards? Or will they tell airlines "do this" even though it's nearly impossible to implement - and what about people like me who already have a June ticket? This sort of reminds me of the Covid Sandbox rollout where they made decisions but didn't think though the implementation and the startup was a complete mess.

In Phuket, I applied and got mine exactly 45 days before the expiry date since I was traveling in the weeks before it was expiring. No questions asked about why I was doing it early. They extended it by a year from the date is was to expire and I got my multiple re-entry that was also good until the new expiry date.

Yes. Bangkok Airways has check-in in both terminals. With a through ticket and connection in BKK, your bags will be checked to your final destination, you’ll get a CIQ sticker, go through immigration in Phuket and in Bangkok they will direct you to your connecting international gate.

In Phuket, they asked me to provide proof of my flight booking, so make sure you take that. Phuket allows renewals 45 days in advance. I went in 46 days in advance prior to a long trip and they processed mine the same day - with no special "service charge".