grain

The only law of Thailand you need be concerned about is it's always the foreigners fault. If you had of stayed in your own damn country this would never have happened. I'm not pulling your leg here, that is the mindset, Thai cops and authorities have actually stated this often.

Thanks, for the additional info, as we're traveling with luggage I'm thinking now we might drop the KL idea, might be more fun to make a side trip from Perth to Bali.

Cheers, I'll make a note of these suggestions.

I've sometimes had to stop for a quick leak while driving, however, I've always searched out a secluded spot with some trees and bushes, but taking a dump is a totally different matter, you'd think he could have hung on until they reached the next gas station.

There have been many cases in Australia of people who had a night on the booze, went home, got a good night's sleep, and the next day got pulled over by the cops and blew over the legal limit in a breathalyzer test. Also it depends what you were drinking the night before too. Beer's not so bad, it wears off faster, but people who get sloshed on Scotch and heavy alcohol are still drunk the following day. A couple of hours rest to sober up is absurd.

It's law that the foreigner must do a new TM30 when returning from outside the country, even to the same registered address, but a few years ago a group of foreigners held meetings with Thai immigration and got them to relax the TM30 regulations if returning to the same address. The Thais went along with it and relaxed the law but now it's creeping back in. There are reports that many immigration offices around the country insist on the updated TM30. What may well come back is the one where you have 24 hours to update your TM30 even if you go to Bangkok for a night and stay in a hotel, then return home, or go to Koh Samet for a couple of nights. That regulation may well return too.

Maybe a walk along Pattaya Beach Road after dark should also be included in UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.

I'd agree if it was toned down and held in designated areas for 2-3 days, but the way it is now is just insane, it's closer to drunken hooliganism than anything resembling "Cultural Heritage". There's also the huge death toll and terrible traffic injuries to consider, that's nothing to be delighted about.

Same story with us too. Last visa was Nov 2019, after several weeks waiting we got a phone call saying she needed a medical report, we live in Korat and the nearest acceptable hospitals were BKK and Udon Thani, so it was a mad rush to Udon Thani. A couple weeks later she was granted the 3-year visa, which was fantastic, then 4 months later the world locked down.

did you have the chanote translated to english?

Thanks for your reply: her last visa grant, in Nov 2019 was the 3 year multi, but of course she lost over 2 years usage due to the border lockdowns. She has been granted about 4 or 5 tourist visas over the past decade, so I'm not expecting any hassles, I own my home in Oz and have a sizable bank balance, so they're big pluses, in addition she has a very good track record of not breaking any visa conditions. All previous applications have been hard copies, so never done it before by the immi account. She already has an immi account and I've already started some of the filling in. I'll prepare all the supporting docs and save them as pdfs. What I'm not clear about is this: In the past I just made copies of all the docs and included them with the application, but I see now they want everything certified. So all these pdfs have to be certified first? In the past I gave bank balance statements, mine and hers, now they say the statements have to show 6 months of transactions. Before I included a copy of her chanote, but now all Thai docs have to be translated and certified.

could you please give me the contact details for the TH agent.

Just sent you a message mate.

Cheers, I've done several successful applications for her over the past decade, I really want to find out if it's best to do this new application by hard copy or the online application. Also where to lodge the completed application (hard copy)

Will be flying BKK to Perth late Feb 2024, and will no doubt transit through KL airport, and I'm considering breaking the journey at KL and having approx 5 nights stopover. So I'm looking for some recommendations for parts of KL to stay in and suitable hotels in those areas. I'll be with Thai wife, we're not backpackers nor are we 5-star, guess we're medium budget. Not into shopping, pubs or clubs, or fine dining. We'd like to be in an area with lots of character, and some nearby attractions, close to public transport, we like local food, night markets. As for hotels, I guess 3 star, a pool would be nice but not essential, AC of course, clean, and not noisy. Breakfast included would be OK but not essential as we can eat outside. So any ideas for me?

If so I'd like to ask a couple of questions.

Does this apply to ASEAN tourists too, like Thais?

I'm the exact opposite, I'm looking for a slow one, the ceiling fans I have are too damn fast, on 1, the lowest setting, it's way too fast, never ever had it on 3. I'd like to find one that circulates slowly on low setting.

The only solution is culling strays, any other approach will be a waste of time, effort and money.

I know several farang guys living in Lao with Lao a gf/defacto wife, they don't have any hassles and even get accompanied by their Lao gf when they go to immigration for extensions. I believe the law is an old one that was strictly enforced in the past but is now dormant. Mind you if some foreign guy was really flaunting it no doubt he'd get reported and the authorities would act upon this law, but if you're behaving in a decent and socially acceptable way you're ok. That's how I see it anyway.

I've been registered at my TGF's in Korat for the past 6 years. Some months ago I went to the amphur to ask about getting the yellow book (and after that, the pink ID card) but the amphur asked if we're married. We're not, so they said get married and then come back and we'll see about it then. Well, for an assortment of reason I don't want to get married. Anyway, I've been living in Thailand for a very long time, a few decades now, and have got along OK without a yellow book & pink card. I have 2 bank accounts, and own my car in my name.

Absolutely no. I've been through all this myself. Thailand doesn't recognize dual citizenship, you're either one or the other but can't be both at the same time. Switching PPs is not that easy. You can't do it via a land border but can do it via an airport.

Yep, great idea, extend it from 30 days to 60 days, then notice an increase in tourists after a few months, and get alarmed about all these dirty foreigners all over the place, so drop it back down to 30 days again and stuff up everyone's travel plans who have already booked tickets based on getting a 60 day entry.

Imagine bringing a senior family member with dementia and plonking them down in this country when on top of all the difficulties they already have in life, they now have visas, maintaining required amounts in Thai bank accounts, 90 day reporting, TM30s, and starting soon taxes on their foreign pensions to deal with. There's also the language difficulties, not so many Thais are fluent in English or any other foreign language. I guess the answer is some staff member will take care of all these matters. Do you trust Thais to handle a foreigner's finances? When my own mother was put into an Australian old age home with dementia she was frequently confused and lost in her thoughts and bearings. It would have been hellish for her to have been in a foreign country with vastly different customs and culture, plus communication difficulties. Finally, there's the never ending uncertainty hanging over all our heads. Other than those few foreigners who have been able to obtain PR or Thai citizenship, the rest of us, even people with homes, families, kids in school, are all here on a fragile year by year basis, never knowing if the day will come when the Thai government bring in further regulations and requirements that will make living here on a long-term basis impossible. Why would anyone place an old-age family member suffering with dementia into that kind of situation?

Not a good place in my opinion, for reasons too many to list here. However if you found a care home isolated in a natural scenic rural setting that offered peace & quiet then that would probably be good. Otherwise not a good idea. Anywhere in any of the cities or tourist hubs forget it, the old folk will have thumping karaoke pubs and howling soi dogs to contend with.