orchidfan

Dr Jack, given the wealth of threads and reports on the 90days issue, WHY do people leave it until the last moment or forger?? Mail in, online And personal submission! All mostly easy. I'm in my 70's but even I can put a calendar reminder and alarm into my fairly old Samsung "smart phone" I travel overseas a bit (times overlapping with 90 days reports. But I carefully calculate 90 days from when I return, and set reminder accordingly, Also I keep EVERY boarding pass inbound and outbound to Bangkok# (# these I photocopy in time sequence and submit if an annual extension is due, along with the other normal docs.) It's not rocket science !

Kiwis mate of mine yelled and carried on when,at a 7/11, a thai guy pushed in front of him at the checkout till. He won that little battle (after all he had beers to buy)...... BUT, outside the shop the war raged and he was beaten up by the Thai guy and his mates. (Common 3 on 1) I think he learnt a lesson.

In HK, I usually know where to look, but failing that,just follow road signs saying "Public Toilet" In English and Chinese 😳

Apart from living most of the year in LOS (Thai wife) I/we also have permanent Residence (HKID ) in Hong Kong (20yrs working there) and one thing is pleasantly obvious every time I go over there.. PUBLIC TOILETS are everywhere ! Hygienic, and well maintained. I guess it was due to having been a former British colony. As for here, the only "public toilet" I have seen and used is in the local wet market and costs 5 baht to enter.

Some countries use the traffic light system of momentarily pUsing on AMBER in BOTH cycles. So it's green, amber, red.....then from red to amber then green. It works if the lights timing is adjusted accordingly.. Mind you, in Thailand, not much adherence to many laws/rules....helmets (if worn, rarely fasten chin strap ), seatbelts, traffic lights, crosswalks, Indicators, NO lights on vehicle or bike at night etc. Not Thai bashing, have seen the same in several South Asian and SE Asian countries, excluding Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam. But those 3 have working police, traffic cameras and heavy fines 😶

I'm sure any of us can find many images / photos of bare breasted women of all ages in "ANCIENT" Siam. Some in Temples and palaces etc. Nobody, it seems, was offended or outraged back then ! It's a hot. and often humid country....so they were just being practical back then. These girls on the grass were just charging up on Vitamin D....something highly recommended and promoted during the "pandemic". Religion gone over the top again.....nothing to do with "culture" , Check the cultural history.

I just want to clarify that the boys who came on the home visit didn't ask for, nor receive, any "bonus" from us on the day. Just coffee, water and bickies. Any small enticement may have been offered at "HQ"..("I know nothing " Sgt. Shultz ) They did get to drive the "smart" BMW though. Neighbours were impressed.

As mentioned in my previous posts, I also use Pathum Thani for marriage extensions and find them quick, smiling and helpful. Note : As from Covid until now there is no "face to face" with Imm officers as in the past. Docs are submitted to the "reception/triage" girl/lady just inside the entrance. She quickly checks them. This year (actually late December 2023) No TM28, or ANY other time wasting nonsense forms to fill out. No request for TM30 or 90 day report. Documents: 1 (one) only copy of the following... TM7 Marriage Certificate and (3 days old) KOR ROR 2. 3 months bank statements, Letter from bank, (same day, but have previously submitted 2/3 days old) 3 months copy of bank passbook including a withdrawal on the day of presentation. Passport.....new, so only 3 or 4 pages. ( previous latest extension stamps already transferred from old PP) Photos....5 coloured, glossy. Normal locations around the house. Wife's Thai ID card and passport# 1st page only. (#probably not required) House book..blue, 2 x double pages. ☆I think wife slipped triage girl a few baht for doing any extra photocopies that they may require. Back outside to wait under the "tent". Not long after my PP arrived with "under consideration stamp". Painless! (Wife did attend with me but was never seen by anyone (I think) apart from Triage girl. Final note: Wife arranged a specific day for home visit......they came as requested in 2 days. Probably a small donation for that too. (2 neighbours kindly attending this annual ritual )

Hong Kong (and I hold permanent HKID) has an extensive and varied list of countries to whom they give a variety of "Visa free" periods of stay. EG. UK 180 days OZ 90 days Thai up to 30 days (7 to 30 days) Philippines up to 14 days. etc. However the IO can vary this and even refuse entry at their discretion on arrival. Source: HK Immigration website.

I think that the burning, unanswered question is......What is the mad rush when locals get in a car or on a motorbike ? For a people who do pretty much everything# else VERY slowly, why the sudden mad rush? (except when they are selling you goods or services.) It burns up way more petrol and brake linings....when a lot of the same people are eating sausages on a stick from a roadside vendor. I think for many it's a "buzz" that's missing in their everyday, boring lives. Hard one to answer or rationalize.

Same reaction when I first took my Thai wife to the UK (I'm from Oz). We stayed in Paddington and the first experience at a crosswalk (no trafficlights) she couldn't believe that cars ALWAYS stopped and let you cross. Just as I had assured her that they would. Education and rules drummed into you from a young age. We now spend a lot of the year living in Hong Kong.....ex British colony, so same rules apply and obeyed.

Currently, citizens of 79 countries and regions, including Australia and New Zealand enjoy visa-free entry into Macao SAR.

I travel regularly, internationally from Thailand and have no problems with my 20,000 mAH powerbank. Maybe Oz rules are different.

Of which they have at 99% of crosswalks in HK, AND many over~pass foot bridges.....which they COULD build at "bad" crossing points here in Thailand. These don't rely an vehicles not speeding or stopping at red lights !

I think that this is all fine for a person on Retirement Visa/'Extension who can renew every year of their remaining life, irrespective of "wife" being alive or not. But not so for those if us on Marriage extensions (and perhaps unable to switch to "Retirement ") whereupon, if the wife dies, they can only stay until the end of current extension....despite wills, chanotes or usefruct(?) documents. Correct or not ?

Btw, I said I'd report after my pension transfer last night. No OTP required# ,but,as usual had to put in my password again. #When I explored further it seems that IF you select the option for 2 x authentication THEN it appears that they send you an OTP, doing that process. I don't....and I use a very good VPN showing me wherever and I guess, protecting the transaction. It arrived in my Thai bank in 8 seconds after. I hit send. For anyone interested, i also select "monthly living expenses"(sic) as reason for sending and it's never delayed or rejected. TIT...what would they know ,or care, what you do with the money after it's in your bank ??

Sorry, but what's the "normal " 60 day extension to a marriage visa/permission to stay? Recent "Normal" 1 year extension based on marriage at Pathum Thani IO, wife got Kor Ror 2 a couple of days before attending. Same every year. Bank letter and statements plus P/Book withdrawal on the same day as attending IO (BBL branch is on the way to Imm. ) No new tricks this year (mid December). Even dropped some of the old "stallers" like TM28, Details of when and where married , My mother and father's full names , penalties form, Previous occupation etc,etc. None.this year !!! Handed in ONE copy of the normal forms/photos at triage and the girls (for a small consideration) made whatever photo copies they wanted whilst we waited outside under the outdoor pavilion with the others. About 20mins later, called in to pay B1900 and obligatory computer photo, then was handed PP with "normal" 30day consideration period.....and receipt. Wife arranged specific day for home visit (convenient to us) for another small enticement ! The Boys and BMW arrived as arranged for coffee and cakes, more blab with 2 neighbors and more inside/outside phone pix (theirs) All finished in about 20 minutes. No dramas/surprises/new procedures etc. whatsoever at Imm office or home. Guess I'm a lucky old F....r

Really ?? The transfers I did a fortnight ago and all the previous transfers every 2 weeks this year did not involve an OTP . I'm doing.f one tomorrow evening so will report back. I have no objection to the OTP security measure (use it all thr time buying air tickets etc using my BBL Debit card......but they come to my registered Thai mobile number here. How.many expats here have ,or need, a functioning Australian mobile phone number ?

OTP?? I've been using Wise for years from Oz to my BBL account here. I DON'T have an Oz phone number. Yes, had to verify ID, then nominate your Oz bank account and any overseas bank accounts (or clients/customers ) to which you wish to transfer. Transfer money from your Oz bank# to your newly established WISE account (which has an Oz BSB and Account number). They notify you in minutes by email/App of your deposit being received and ask where you would like to send it. Usually arrives.in be BB.bank account in under 10 seconds. Bi "cooking a transfer" and getting your funds 2 or 3 days later. Wise's exchange rate is normally exactly or very close to the XE site at the point of transfer. Compared to taking it out of a local ATM I'm up hundreds of dollars saved. # Someone has mentioned previously that you don't have to do this Oz bank transfer to Wise but can do it directly from your bank. I've not done this and like the.quickly notified "money trail".which results from all concerned....including my.thai bank which send instant SMS of the deposit.made by Wise in Thai baht. PS.....NO OTP received by me from Wise or any bank conceded in this process. I use Westpac, maybe other banks differ.

Luckily Andrew the water to our 2 story house, 3 bathrooms and kitchen (they all are in this moo baan) and garden are fed from the underground tank (2000 or 5000 litres I think) via the pressure pump....so never any pressure problems, except if, as happened yesterday, the government water supply fails or is turned off. As I mentioned previously, we had no idea of this cut in supply (it is extremely rare here, maybe 3 times in a 5 year period ) so we were merrily using water everywhere until Mr Hitachi got hot and shut down. Thank goodness for that auto function and not burning out the motor ! Incidentally, since reconnection, the "mains" water seems to be at 3 or 4 times the previous pressure. (There is one tap on this mains line,in the garden, that I can turn on and check. But otherwise that water pipe runs underground only to our main storage tank.

I live in a gated Moo Baan (security entrance etc) in Pathum Thani, north of Bangkok. Yesterday, the metropolitan water supply stopped for some unknown reason. Like all the houses in this Moo Baan, we have an underground water tank supplied with water by the MWS, and pumped to the house via pressure pump which, if it runs out of water and gets hot, automatically cuts off. So here we are with no water to the house as the tank had been (unwittingly emptied watering the garden, showers, washing the car etc)......meaning no showers, no water refilling toilets etc. A call to security was enlightening as they informed us "yes the water supply has been cu off !!! But now the good part, about an hour or two later along come a Fire Department water tanker going from house to house to see who needed water ( it was dark by now and mosquitoes out in force). Luckily I was out in the carport and hailed them down as they crawled along the internal road. Two guys jumped off and came over. First young fella only spoke Thai, but the older man decked out in red fireman's outfit took over and spoke near PERFECT English. He quickly assessed the situation and after a few intelligent questions, located our underground tank and proceeded to removed the very heavy concrete cover and tank lid and, bringing a long fire hose from the tanker, commenced filling our tank. I then re-primed the pump and we had water again. (Everyone inside ran for toilets) They then replaced everything correctly and ensured that I was happy that it was all fixed (he assured me that the "mains water would be back on again in about 20 minutes" - and it was !). As they were leaving, I tried to offer them B100 each for their hard work and good response, but it was absolutely refused - no matter how much I insisted. So, 3 things: 1/They knew what they were doing and went about it quickly and efficiently. 2/One at least spoke excellent English which made it all much easier ( on me....wife and family could talk to them in Thai but really had no idea what the problem was) 3/ They categorically refused even a small tip - a first for me after a couple of decades living here. Well done to those guys!!!!

Whilst living 70% of my time here in Los, I also have permanent ID in Hong Kong. Starting in Covid era, the government there has made several cash and "consumer coupons" in the order of $HKD10,000, $5000 etc,etc....and continues to do so now. It goes/went to EVERY legitimate HKID holder.....rich and poor (and there are lots of rich Hongkongers ) It was simply paid into your nominated bank account or a cheque left at your local post office. The most recent "consumer coupons" value has to be spent on local goods and services, and can be downloaded to one's rechargeable "Octopus card" which can be used on trains buses,supermarkets, ferries etc. Ok, there are only about 7million people there, however all these handouts have been achieved quickly,seamlessly and efficiently . The gov't and finance ministry here could learn a lesson from them (it's only 2hrs away). But, as we all know, they hate taking outside advice and prefer to re~invent the wheel every time. Lastly, during Covid, employees who were laid off were able to claim back their lost salary....from the gov't. Employers were compensated if they kept staff on. Again, all done very quickly and efficiently. End of sermon !

Why bother doing at the busy IO office when you can do it in 5 minutes# AT THE AIRPORT ?? # assuming you have the form already filled out with photo attached I've been doing it like this for years now fly regularly to HK, or anywhere o overseas. (Mostly at BKK, but a couple of times at DMK) Also, politely ushered to the front of the Imm desk by a uniformed officer. Maybe because I'm in my early 70's !

My Thai wife and I both live (on and off) in Hong Kong where we have permanent Residence status. EVERYTHING , anywhere (except a few restaurant names etc ) are in both Chinese and English. Also, everyone carries an ID card, which is often checked by cops on the street, on their beat, and always in 7/11 etc before selling alcohol to younger looking people. Like they SHOULD do here instead of the stupid selling hours here. Prostitution is not illegal there.....only running a "house of ill repute" is. They are not stupid....so why make it illegal? I'd say one of the places (of many) I've stayed and lived in worldwide......but a bit expensive.....apart from beer and wine.

Same. Same. Had (well educated and Dato status) Malaysian business friends visit Oz. On my brother's big launch they drank themselves silly on chardonnay and oggled/cuddled the bikini clad girls who had come along for the ride. Offended??? I don't think.so.