ibjoe

Thank you @4MyEgo I don't have Thai license, but my wife does, maybe she can be a co-driver. I want to know what is typical / standard practice about car rental insurance in Australia. What are the customary / usual options for international traveller for insurance when booking a car in Australia? Research shows that all registered cars in Australia are required to have "Compulsory Third Party (CTP) Insurance" (compensation for any third parties who are injured or killed if the insured vehicle is involved in an accident), so presumably all rental cars include this liability insurance, and that cost is built into the booked rate, no extra costs for injury liability insurance. When I go to book car rental via e.g. Travelocity I find typically "Basic Collision Damage Protection included". But I don't find the definition of that, what the deductibles are, and it doesn't appear to cover "Third Party Property Insurance" (damage that is caused to someone else’s property while driving your car). Research is a lot of work! Insights and links to relevant pages are welcome.

Internet search for "Table of Controlled Narcotic Drugs In Thailand" and "Table of Controlled Psychotropic Substances in Thailand" finds official documents about what is not allowed. Side note: my research shows Modafinil (benign alternative to yaba / amp) is not on the radar, controlled or not, though I haven't seen it available here through any channels.

USA citizen me and my Thai wife will visit Australia soon, for a few weeks, visas are done. We will rent a car. I understand that my USA drivers license plus my International Driver Permit are the only qualifications I need to drive. Also, I understand that liability and collision insurance are automatically provided by the car rental company, though there may be deductibles. My question is, when we pick up the car at the rental counter, will I be offered additional "zero deductible" insurance, and if so, at what kind of cost? That is, additional insurance such that if anything unfortunate did happen I would have no liability. Information, advice, insights appreciated, thank you.

What is the definition of "transparency" for this test, what specific metrics are measured, what methods are used?

At the risk of cross posting (?) Here is link to another thread in this forum detailing eventual success story...

It was quite difficult and a lot of work. As US citizen I'm eligible for e-600 type visa and apply for that with an app, as I understand. But my Thai citizen wife is only eligible for regular 600 (tourist) visitor class visa. So I applied for that visa type for both her and me. First I created a group, each application referencing the other and both referencing the group. Each application was many pages to fill out, online. Possible to save current state at any point. I only needed to provide Supporting Evidence Document of a photo of my passport. But my Thai wife was required and "recommended" to provide many documents, passport, ID card, proof of support, proof of marriage, previous name changes, etc. I didn't provide the requested "Non-accompanying members of the family unit" because digging deeper finds "If you are applying for a temporary visa ... may not be relevant to you". Despite the warning that not providing "recommended" documents might result in denial. One *required* document for her was "Evidence of previous travel" (e.g. visa pages from passport), despite I answered "no" to question about previous travel outside Thailand (for over 90 days). Fortunately we did visit Bali for a few weeks a while ago, so I was able to provide that. Finally I was able to submit our applications. Mine was approved almost immediately. Hers was pending for a while, then another requirement was added: "Biometric Screening". There are only two such authorized facilities to do that in Thailand, one in Bangkok, the other in Chiang Mai. So I had to make and pay for an appointment, and fly her there and back (same day). The actual screening was pretty quick, just take a picture and fingerprints. These two centers also offer agent services for Thai visa applicants. Which could be useful for Thai people, to help navigate the requirements. Then the status changed to "This application requires additional supporting documentation. Please check correspondence and attach the requested documents." But there was no further correspondence. After waiting a few days I poked around some more and eventually found a dialog box "I confirm I have provided information as requested", which turned out to be clickable, after clicking it status changed to pending again. A few days later her status finally changed to granted. A long and arduous and expensive process. The visas were ~AUD200 each, the Biometric Screening was ~฿800, and two air flights (to and from Biometric Screening Center) another ~$120. Our visas are good for one year from grant date, with maximum of 3 month stay after each arrival. Though we will probably only visit once, for a few weeks. We will visit my buddy and his family there.

I had this symptom for many years. Initially neurologist diagnosed as Carpal Tunnel, but treatment (braces) for that had no effect. Eventually my regular doctor did blood tests revealing high level of vitamin B6. Too little or too much vitamin B6 can cause neuropathy. Easy to get enough and hard to get too much from a regular healthy diet, but many supplements are often overloaded with this. If she is eating any supplements or vitamin pills, suggest check the labels carefully and stop any with B6 and/or do blood test for B6 levels. For me, I identified an amino acid supplement that had a ridiculous amount of added B6, stopping that brought down my B6 levels and reduced the symptoms. My blood B6 levels were still a bit high, my daily multi-vitamin had "100% RDA") B6, after stopping that as well my levels are normal and my symptoms are cleared, for many years now.

Too little or too much vitamin B6 can cause neuropathy. Easy to get enough and hard to get too much from a regular diet, but many supplements are often overloaded with this. If she is eating any supplements or vitamin pills, suggest check the labels carefully and stop any with B6.

@paulbrow Those are very useful links, Thank You! ???? I'll update this thread with progress..

I am USA citizen, my Thai citizen wife and I want to visit my friend in Australia for a few weeks. Looking for advice on how to get our Australia visas. I created an account at https://online.immi.gov.au . I think I should next create a "group" for us, then create both of our applications. "Visitor visa (subclass 600) Tourist stream (apply outside Australia)" ref https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/visitor-600/tourist-stream-overseas#HowTo within that group. Any advice, insights, tips? Thank you.

I stayed in Ayutthaya for a few days in January 2022, mostly hiked around in the day, rested in my room at night. Burmese sacked the city in 1767. Now it feels very depressing, destroyed temples, headless Buddha statues, etc. Most people didn't know much English. There was a lot of plastic trash, similar to much of Thailand. The floating market was not happening. There were a few museums open.

OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and Translators are two different things, though they can be combined. Google shows a lot of Thai OCR hits, but I haven't had much luck with any of them yet. Recommendations appreciated. What I do now is view the image and manually type the text in my computer (I have Thai language pack installed on my Windows computer, and I learned where the Thai keys are on my English keyboard). After I have the Thai characters entered as text, I can copy that to Google Translate, which is not optimal, as Thai is a difficult language to translate to English correctly.

Outlaws are a very hardcore worldwide motorcycle gang. For perspective about this type of organization (example is Mongols gang), check out the book "Under and Alone: The True Story of the Undercover Agent Who Infiltrated America's Most Violent Outlaw Motorcycle Gang" by William Queen. It is an interesting read. https://www.amazon.com/Under-Alone-Undercover-Infiltrated-Motorcycle/dp/0345487524 Also (Hell's Angels gang) the book "Hell's Angel: The Life and Times of Sonny Barger and the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club" by Sonny Barger (founder / leader of Hell's Angels). https://www.amazon.com/Hells-Angel-Barger-Angels-Motorcycle/dp/0060937548 One more. I didn't read this one, but it seems to be similar type and targets Outlaws gang specifically. "Outlaws: How a Small Town Biker Gang Took on the Hell's Angels - And Lived to Tell the Tale". https://www.amazon.com/Outlaws-Small-Biker-Hells-Angels/dp/144471662X

She worked in retail, selling hardware and appliances. When we traveled together she had to quit that job, I provided replacement support. When we finished traveling together her old job was no longer available for her. She tried a few things. Another "retail" job that was actually strenuous stockroom work with required long hours / no overtime pay, so not acceptable. A housekeeping job, also required long hours, hard work, no breaks, low pay, so also not acceptable. I paid for her to go to massage school for a few weeks, after which she got a job in an upscale spa, catering mostly to Farang. At first she liked it, but then again was required to work 12 to 14 hours a day, and only paid for actual customers, no hourly wage waiting for her turn. I encouraged her to quit that, and eventually she did. She suffered physical damage from doing that work, massage can be stressful for the practitioner's body. Now she is studying English, which will be useful when we finally get her USA CR1 visa and she can visit me and family in USA. Seems like Thai labor laws are non-existent? For example, not being paid if quitting without sufficient notice, for example quit the day before payday and loose several weeks of due pay. Required non-paid overtime. Etc.

Breeding and domesticating elephants is stressful for them. Consider that in 1989 Thailand banned timber harvesting, an industry that employed thousands of elephants. They are all now out of work and very expensive to care for and feed. Ideally they would be set free, but some don't know how to live in the wild, and available land resource for this is scarce. So, many of these retired timber elephants are in tourist trade, which is probably much easier for them than logging industry. And that pays for their food and care. I would not consider a place producing fresh elephants for tourist trade, but providing retired elephants would okay as long as they are well treated. We rode an elephant that was a retired timber elephant, about 35 ears old. After the short ride we feed her, bananas, pineapple, and some kind of grassy plant. Ref : https://www.eleaid.com/country-profiles/elephants-thailand/ We also visited Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai. It was a real sanctuary, mostly rescue elephants with various medical, etc. problems, also a variety of other rescue animals. Expensive compared to tourist elephant activity, but a good cause. Ref : https://www.elephantnaturepark.org/enp/

I got this Alert communication from USA Department of State : Location: Throughout Thailand Event: The U.S. Mission in Thailand is monitoring reports of possible demonstrations nationwide. Although violence is not expected, even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence. Avoid areas of demonstrations, and exercise caution if in the vicinity of any large gatherings, protests, or demonstrations. Actions to Take: Monitor local media and our Embassy website for updates, and check your email for further alerts; Avoid demonstrations and large gatherings; Review personal security plans; Remain aware of surroundings; Follow the instructions of local authorities. Assistance: U.S. Embassy Bangkok, Thailand Telephone: +66 2 205 4049 +66 2 205 4000 (after hours) Email: [email protected] American Citizens Services U.S. Consulate General Chiang Mai, Thailand (serving U.S. citizens in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Kamphaengphet, Lampang, Lamphun, Mae Hong Son, Nan, Petchabun, Phayao, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Phrae, Sukhothai, Tak, and Uttaradit provinces) Telephone: +66 053 107 700 +66 2 205 4000 (after hours) Email: [email protected] State Department – Consular Affairs 888-407-4747 or 202-501-4444 Thailand Country Information Enroll in Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive Alerts. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter

No one should be forced to do acts against their will, this exploitation is slavery and should not be tolerated.

I believe in Rights and Respect for sex workers. They should have protection under the law. No one should be trafficked, no one should be forced to do things against their will. Best of luck for legislation to protect sex workers, and best of luck to all sex workers everywhere!

Kratom works on opiate receptors, but is not actually an opioid. Sometimes it is used to help with opiate addiction recovery. A primary use is as pain killer. It affects different people in different ways. It can act as a stimulant. Some people use it recreationally, sometimes abusively with other drugs. Lots of information and misinformation available online.

My experiences with Air Asia have been VERY bad. It's easy to book online, but fixing issues or making changes is difficult or sometimes impossible. While the apparent cost is low, baggage is expensive add-on, also "transaction" fees. It's necessary to sign up as a member to do anything more than book. Then you can sometimes make simple changes, like time or date - but only at least 48 hours before the scheduled flight, and also doesn't work for flights with layovers, and you can't change destination. Changing a flight means losing any purchased add-on, you have to buy your baggage allowance, etc. again, and there are more additional fees. Anything more than very simple time / date changes requires talking (actually text chatting, as there is apparently no voice line) with an agent. But first you must get through the horrible less than worthless "Thou Shall NOT Pass" bot (previous female avatar "AVA", now male avatar "Bo"), which only offers otherwise available "help" articles and platitudes. For example, it will say something like You want to cancel a flight for credit? OK, what is your booking number? Then its like, Just kidding, you can't cancel your flight, only we can do that. But first it offers a cryptic message "Please interact with a card or click Cancel", and continues to reply with that message no matter what is entered, though eventually you might get through. Sometimes after arguing with the bot for upwards of an hour it will finally say "...I transfer you to my fellow Allstar". Then, you are in a queue, usually a few hundred. The queue tends to go down fairly quickly (my experience so far), just keep the web page open and it continues to update. So MAYBE in an hour or few you are FINALLY connected to a human agent. Long delays between responses, like they are working on many cases at the same time. Agent may or may not be helpful, if fixing an Air Asia caused problem (for example they rescheduled my layover flight to arrive before leaving) they can maybe do that. But changing a flight within 48 hours, changing a destination, etc. They just say "no" and hang up abruptly. Even at the physical Air Asia counter at the airport, questions like "I'm unexpectedly early, can I get an earlier flight or have to wait many hours for originally schedule flight?" the answer is a rigid "NO", even if they have open seats on an earlier flight. Because of my very bad experiences with Air Asia, resulting in losing many hours and thousands of Bhat over a few incidents, I avoid using them. Thai Lion Air provided great customer service, easy to find voice contact number, option for English speaking agent, short queue, quickly and easily resolved issue. Comments on any other Thai local airlines?

I was sent this screenshot - after booking air ????

Lots of interesting information in this thread. I did not know about FBAR requirement. I will share my experience. My agent helped me open a KrungThai account, the branch is in the same building as Bangkok Immigration, just downstairs, so convenient for that. I have USA bank Bank of America, and was able to transfer funds online via "wire" transfer, no service charges. That did result in a phone call from the bank to validate. So now I have my 800k THB as required for Non-O Retirement visa, which I have now, with multiple reentry. I don't know how to access those funds in USA, I can't even log in. KrungThai apparently does not support web browser access, only NEXT cellphone app, and only for Thai numbers, and my Thai cellphone won't work in USA. I think the only way I can get that money back is to withdraw it all as cash, and physically carry it to USA. This Krungthai account does not pay interest, so I effectively lose money at inflation rate. I consider moving the cash out when not needed for visa extensions, but I'll probably just leave it parked and suffer the inflation losses, plus the interest I could otherwise be earning on it.

I won't use sunscreen! Most of them are contaminated with toxic chemicals. As are many "personal care" products which I also don't use. I cover my skin, long pants, long sleeve shirt, wide brim hat. Long clothes of good breathing fabric keep me cooler than having the sun directly heat my skin.

I did try to decode VIN. Most decoders fail. One called it "2001 Yamaha Majesty 125". The VIN 10th digit, indicating the year, is 1 which decodes to 2001. Maybe the VIN is not standard format, at least for the year. It's MLESE661111xxxxxx (serial # redact). But I found on the VIN plate the apparent manufacture year: 2559 (2016). So the 2017 User Manual should be close enough. It's a decent scooter, even though old and ratty looking. I found an interesting web site discussing motor scooters in general, with emphasis on Filano: https://alphapro.com/decemberlooking13/filano.htm

Thank you for the link. I downloaded the manual. For 2017 Filano LTF125. I'm guessing not much, if anything, has changed since then. I still don't know what year this bike is, maybe earlier or later than 2017.