kimothai

Anyone with even a shred of common sense would stay clear of events like this. Safety is a concept (much like maintenance) that most people in Thailand have heard about but choose to ignore.

I went through the process last August (2023). The entire process was about 5 weeks. All documents were accepted the first time. I agree with others that an agent is a waste of money and time.

A (Thai) society that considers maintenance an afterthought is buying the most maintenance intense piece of machinery on the face of the earth. I wish them luck.

On the bright side soi Buakhao is so congested the cars can't go very fast. The victim should thank his lucky stars that he and his so called "friend" weren't at the train station.

As far as I know he can but the way things are going in America, who knows?

Just thinking out loud, it would be poetic (or political) justice if Trump by chance was re-elected and 4 years later, he commuted his sentence. Politics can be very strange sometimes.

Well, the site is working fine. I had a problem about a year ago accessing a government site in USA. In my condo I have a choice of different internet providers. When I accessed the Condo internet which I rarely use due to slow speed it worked fine. Back to my fiber internet and still no good. Called my internet provider and a guy came out and looked at it. Everything worked fine except that one government site. He said "oh yeah, I'll fix it back at office". 30 min later it was working. I have no idea what he did. so, try calling your internet provider if all else fails.

I don't think I've ever been asked to move in a restaurant except when extra friends showed up and a bigger table is required. If I was asked to move, I would ask why and if the language barrier proved to be a problem, I would ask where. I wouldn't accept a table next to the toilet entry/exit or next to entry door where the hot outside hits you every time the door is opened. Other than that, I don't mind moving if it helps the servers.

IF you can meet the requirements of the LTR visa it is a much better option. If you can't meet the requirements, you are on the right track with the "O".

I agree with the advice in regard to a retirement visa but if you can meet the qualifications of a wealthy pensioner ($80K passive income and health insurance (not necessarily Thai insurance)) then a 10-year LTR visa would be a better choice. No bank account required, 90-day reporting is changed to report once a year and if you want to open a bank account it's easy with and LTR visa (and yes, I know that for a fact because myself and a friend received our LTR's at the same time and he walked into a Kasikorn Bank in Bangkok the next day and had a savings account 30 minutes later. He was staying in a hotel at the time and no certificate of residence). If you don't meet the LTR requirements, then I would stick to an "O" visa (it's what I was going to change my "OA" too before I discovered the LTR).

I'll go with the original poster and raise you 2 Oreos.

Couldn't agree more especially when the article says he was married, and that hand doesn't have wedding ring. I guess they figured us stupid falang would never notice.

These apologies are just another version of the "brakes failed" after a drunk runs over someone. Useless and meaningless.

The actual bone graph was listed at 15,000baht.

I assume when you say the bone is thin that you've had some bone loss. I also had a similar situation with a back tooth (missing) that needed an implant. The dentist did a bone graph and implant at the same time. The wait time to complete to install the crown will be longer (in my case 8 months) due to the graph needing time to bond.

"Anyone feeling stupid yet?" Not really. Animals have been going extinct for millions of years. Climate has been changing for millions of years. Land masses have been moving (including up and down) for millions of years. It's natural evolution. It's just pure arrogance to think that driving electric cars, not using plastic bags, etc., etc. is going to save the earth. The politicians have been using these environmental changes to push their agenda for years and the solution is always that we have to pay more money for this or that. This whole environmental business is just that - a business and people/politicians are cashing in. If hugging trees and driving electric cars make you feel better, that's your business. I have no intention of kowtowing to the hype.

I have BC/BS and I never deal with mailing in claims or filing online. I always call BC/BS prior to my appointments and get a Guarantee of Payment. They send to Hospital and send me a copy. I just do the co-pay which is usually 15%. I haven't needed to use my BC/BS this year yet. I usually schedule a physical at the end of year (100% covered in the past) so I will use BC/BS then. My question is: Has something changed that requires you to mail in a claim form now? I've just been calling in advance for many years and never had a problem. It just seems so much simpler to call in advance.

LOL. I feel your pain. I had Pacific Cross when I turned 76. I thank my lucky stars I was able to convert to LTR visa which allowed me to use my USA health insurance.

My condo had a built-in air-con unit (living room) like the one mentioned by the poster. I also thought that it looked nicer than a unit bolted to the side of the wall. A few years ago I started looking into converting to inverters (living and bedroom). The air-con mechanic explained to me that these “built-in” air-con units are difficult if not impossible to do a through cleaning/servicing. I made the decision to completely rip out the built-in system. When I saw the filth of the parts that weren’t accessible with servicing, I knew I made the right decision. After dropping a section of the ceiling to allow for adequate overhead, he installed a cassette air-con unit in the center of the living room. Also replaced the bedroom wall unit. Both units were Daiken inverters. The first thing I noticed when I started using the new units was the noise. It is unbelievable how much quieter the inverter units are. The second thing I noticed was that my electric bill dropped by half. It was a big mess tearing out the old units and an even bigger mess dropping the ceiling to fit the cassette but in the long run it was well worth it.

Gangsters with a badge. You see it in every country, but Thailand seems to have more than its fair share.

I agree that the BOI is very helpful via the phone and the English of the lady I talked was crystal clear. I also used email to the BOI a couple of times and received a reply within 24 hours. A friend who applied from Hawaii sent many emails and had the same prompt responses. If you send email be sure to include your LTR ID.

Exactly. I couldn't have said it any better.

I'm not quite sure where you got your information from. The LTR is for 5 years, and the only requirement is to report once a year to immigration using a tm95 and that's only if you don't exit Thailand in which case the 1-year clock starts again (similar to the 90-day process). There is NO yearly paperwork (excluding the tm95 if necessary). Only after 5 years when you renew the LTR visa do you have to show paperwork which is similar to the original paperwork (just updated). To say that other visa cost far less is very misleading. I used to pay 1900 baht for my retirement visa (OA) and another 3,800 baht for multiple re-entry visa which equals 5,700 baht/year (10 years would be 57,000 baht). I get the same thing for 50,000 baht with the LTR visa. Granted, if you don't use a re-entry visa the LTR visa is more expensive but if you use the multiple re-entry every year you save 7,000 baht (not to mention the hassle of going to immigration to do the extra visa work). I'm not sure I would use the term "precious" when referring to the LTR visa but to each his own. Personally, I appreciate the fact that I don't have to do all the paperwork associated with a Retirment visa, no more bank reports/letters (in fact you don't even need a bank account), no more maps of where I live, no more providing residence documents, no more Thai only health insurance required by OA, no more queuing at Jomtien, no more going back the next day to receive passport and my personal favorite - no more Immigration Officer telling me I forgot a document because we changed the f***** rules.

I use SKYPE when I want to call the USA or when I need someone to call me (from USA). SKYPE works great for voice calls. Some financial Institutions will not allow a VOIP such as SKYPE or Google voice (PayPal will kick you out immediately). I've been using Mint for the last 18 months (which is part of T-Mobile now) for receiving OTPs from my Bank and USA credit card. So far it works great with no problems receiving text OTPs. I don't use it for anything else such as voice or data - it's way too expensive for that but I do use it when I go back to the USA (since it's already paid for). I use an e-sim for the Mint service which I installed while living in Thailand. You'll need an e-sim compatible phone and be willing to spend about $200/year. I used a relative's phone number for years. I would notify him via Messenger that an OTP was coming, and he would relay it to me via Messenger. Sometimes that can be inconvenient due the time difference.

For repair of small appliances/tools you may want to try the Father Ray Foundation on Sukhumvit. If you enter via the road (road that Big C Extra is located on) that runs parallel to Sukhumvit it's the first building on the left. There are usually security guards around that can direct you. It's been a while since I've been there, and I assume it's still operational since covid. The kids/young adults that work there may be handicapped but they are very smart and accomplished at repairing things.