Mike Teavee

Mister Prakan https://misterprakan.com/th/main?lg=en is probably the best/easiest site to use to compare Health Insurance Policies. Once you have a good idea of the kind of policy you want you can either buy from them direct (which is what I did, very simple process for initial purchase & subsequent renewals) or use another Broker (AA Insurance Broker https://www.aainsure.net/ is often recommended on here)

Did you mean City Garden in Soi 15 (City Center) or the City Garden Tropicana off of Naklua Soi 16/1? I live in Wongamat & looked at the Sanctuary/Club Royal but found them to be too remote from everything unless you had your own transport & even then it would be a pain to have to drive/ride to do something as simple as go to a 7-11/Family Mart). If you are looking for a unit in the Wongamat area contact Som at Ocean Properties, lovely lady who will find you what you need.

I tried it a few times during the day & had no problems, you’re not using a VPN on your phone are you? Tried it again at 04:30am and again had no problems…

Options would seem to be:- Change the country on your Apple ID - Unless you live in Thailand then I wouldn't do this in case as I think you're the restricted as to when you can change it back (It's not like you can flip-flop). Create a new Apple ID, log in with it, download the app, then log back in with your normal AppleID (This was the way I did it). Get your GF to log into your phone with her AppleID, download the App then log back in with your own ApplID Get the GF to install the App on her phone (Apple or Android) & use the app on there

Yes, I'm an IPhone user & it's called IMM eservice on the AppStore. If it doesn't show up in the search you need to change the country associated with your AppleID to Thailand or set-up a New/Dummy AppleID to download it.

Have you tried checking the status of your permission to stay on the IMM eServices mobile app? (You probably need to have Thailand as your registered country for Play/App Store to be able to download it). If they only did your extension on Friday then it might not show up on there yet, but worth a check as if your extension date has been updated it's one less thing for you to worry about.

I believe (again must stress that I get my re-entry permit with my extension so have never done this) that once you've got your permit you are able to join the queue close to the front rather than having to double back & join at the back of the queue.

I believe (have never done it) that you need to get the Re-entry permit before going through passport control & the requirement is to complete a form (TM8?) & have a passport photo but my main gripe is it's another 1/2 a page of my passport taken up. Also worth noting that this is only available in the "Normal" security channel so if you're travelling Business Class or have access to the Fast Track Lane via another means (e.g. > 70) then you need to use the "Normal"channel to get the permit.

It's obvious why we currently need re-entry permits, but I'm reading the OP as more... "What's the point (for Thailand) to having Re-Entry Permits" Why not just make all Visas multi-entry for the duration of their validity & make Extensions to permission to stay automatically "Multi-Entry" rather than getting an Extension stamp in your passport & then immediately replacing it with a re-entry permit. Waste of time, money & passport pages. And if it is just about the money, then simply add a small amount to the price to every extension.

Yep, can even view your itinerary on the airlines website using the 6 digit code...

https://www.visatraveler.com/blog/proof-of-onward-travel/ Friend of mine used onwardflights.com (Option 3 - "Rented Ticket") & had no problems checking in for his Thailand flight with it (This is where you'll typically have a problem, have never known immigration to ask for one).

I lived in On Nut for 3 years & loved it... Stayed at Ideo Verve so was right next to the BTS/Century Mall/a Small Beer Garden, Had Tesco Lotus /Beacon Square across the road & a huge Big C around the corner. Again, it was far enough away from the "Action" to not have to live with the noise, but close enough that I could be in Soi Cowboy or Nana in 20 mins (I preferred Sois 20 & 22 (RIP Queens Park but nowadays the new beer complex on Soi 7 seems to be doing quite well). Great Place to live & would return to that Condo if were to move back to Bangkok.

Wongamat for me, for the same reasons… Far enough away from the madness to have a quiet life by the beach, close enough to the madness to be in the middle of it within 20 mins. I do miss living in Bangkok but am much happier here & if I were to move it would probably be to South Jomtien (Cetus Condo area).

It's pretty simple... Exit Thailand (By Air) using the UK Passport that he entered on (Has to that as it will be the Passport with the Valid entry stamp) & then when he gets to a neighboring country (Lets say Malaysia) he goes through Immigration using his Irish passport. But it doesn't need to be "by Air", he could use a Land Border crossing in the same way (switch passports in "No Man's Land". Coming back into Thailand he enters on his Irish Passport. OP It doesn't seem worth renewing your UK Passport unless/until you need it (e.g. if you planned on living in the UK).

As an aside & as I get older, the 1Million THB 20 year Thai Elite visa becomes more & more attractive. When you start from the mindset that you have 800K deadweight in a bank account to support your retirement extension then it's "Only" an extra 200K for 20 years multi-entry easy life visa.... Maybe next year hey son (1 for us Brits I were right about that saddle though ????

As a Retiree I'm happy to maintain 800K in the bank & pay my agent 8K to go do all that stuff for me... Why would I scrimp on 6,100 THB and have to run around filling out forms only to find that I got something wrong/was missing something so come back tomorrow... The wonderful thing about having Jomtien as my Immigration Office is I no longer even have to show up for my extension, CW was an absolute pain to get to.

As much as I detest the "Man" you are absolutely right, nobody should have to take that sort of abuse when attending their mother's funeral. As an aside, it was interesting to see that he was the only (Male) Royal not wearing military uniform at the funeral, a bit of a shame as he did (very) active service in the Falklands.

My only concern about living in Thailand for the remainder of my life is health related, I.E. Some serious problem arises & my Health Insurance won't cover it, but if that happens I honestly think I'd rather go up in smoke here than go back to the UK Guys who are considering moving here now need to think long and hard about all of the points you mentioned especially the cost of living / exchange rate points (I'm too committed now to give a toss about those ???? )

Never ceases to amaze me how we have these septuagenarian leaders who are well past their prime (No offence to Joe & I wish him the best of health but he should be enjoying his remaining days not running the World's largest economy!). Same with "King" Charles in the UK, why wouldn't he just do the right thing & pass the baton on to Wills?

The signs around town say this is happening on Friday & Saturday (16th/17th) I hope it is as that's my Friday night plans.

All 6 seasons of How to Get Away With Murder are available on Netflix in Thailand so if you can't see it where you are maybe try a VPN to switch your location. Thanks for the recommendation, I've considered watching it a few times but always get distracted by something else, will give it a whirl...

I don't think I've ever seen a songteaw on Soi 5 but after getting my Residence Certificate & needing to go to Central it was a simple case of booking a Bolt Taxi, no way was I going to mess around on a Baht bus & then have to change when I got into Pattaya for the sake of 80 THB... If there were 2 of you that's 2 x 10 THB twice over so you're 1/2 way to paying for the Taxi anyway.

Unfortunately yes, I do try to check to see if they're running again when I get the bus to Bangkok but so far still no buses running BKK - Pattaya North. The Jomtien (Roong Reuang) bus is still running & will stop on Sukhumvit so you could always take that from the airport & either get a Baht bus or a Bolt Taxi from where it drops you.

Bell are no longer operating & there are no buses running BKK to Pattaya Nua but there is a Roong Reuang bus that will take you to Jomtien. @NZAMBOY2nd the recommendation for Nam Taxi service, safe lady drivers, nice cars & 1,000 THB (includes tolls) for BKK - Pattaya.

Very few Thais (in legitimate jobs) earn anywhere near 50K pm, 30K is a decent middle management salary for a Thai office worker. .