Pawpcorn

Very likely, I think. I was fortunate, this last time I had to do a brief stay in BKK... (only needed a short time stay in a hotel near the main train station, and our usual OYO hotel was totally shuttered...) Anyway, this nicer hotel's manager spoke pretty sound English (a joy unto itself)... And she patiently explained WHY ALL THE WESTERN FOOD on their tiny restaurant menu was marked "unavailable"... I had never quite grasped how the farangs had just TOTALLY DISAPEARED (from BKK, no less) once the pandemic kicked into full gear. They would have just ended up throwing out the spoiled/dated Western food.. Me, I just had to stay home for 2 years... but so many Thais lost their businesses and livelihoods, entirely. ????

Google Maps is showing Khon Kaen Food Supply as "Permanently Closed"

No TOT available? TOT (aside from tree trimming season, breaking the fibers) has been fast and reliable for me. 3** was a nightmare, and some bad reputation stories, about the other 2 (but no personal experience to draw from).

You can buy Neosporin on Lazada; it's better than the standard Thai adaptation, IMHO.

We always do it a month early, too, just following the monthly SSA transfer from the USA, and THEN adding the 7 days the bank takes to request and receive the year's worth of official bank-certified monthly statements from the main bkk-bank branch in Silom (which has the impound account). Earlier-the-better, IMHO, in case there are any new paperwork complications, dreamt up by Immigration, in the prior year.

Sounds like a broken/malfunctioning electric meter, 99.999% sure, อิอิอิ

I'm shocked! Simply shocked. And in the Land Of (1) Smile! Who would'a thunk! /s

This is needed when using the monthly income transfer method of Retirement Extension. I think the detailed statement has the details of the exact SOURCE of the income, which Immigration wants to see.

Sorry for the slow response, just noticed this today. That same-day rule is in force at Udon Thani's Immigration. I just sort of assumed it was that way everywhere, but perhaps I was wrong.

We call that "gravel" in the USA. ????

Yup, well, in February he was, anyway... Just watched him butterfly from spot to spot, staff to staff, not really seeming to do much beyond "yucking it up" in his pointless movements and motions. My partner is VERY observant in watching the details of the staffing there, and shared the detailed explanations with me as time passed there. He was probably demoted to what passes for an inactive position there. I hadn't made the connection between him and the MB auto, so no observations RE that. ????

Sometimes thermal sensor will fail in the wall unit. I had irratic temperatures in my Mr.Slim a year ago... I found image samples of A/C thermal sensors on Lazada... showed these to my repair guy, INSISTING that he install a new thermal sensor...which he ordered, and installed, and problem was resolved. Requested temperature on the remote, was once again delivered to the room.

That guy was an absolute nightmare, meaning too, he gave me actual nightmares. He would always see us, and aside from any sense of queue, while standing well behind the counter staff, immediately ask to see ALL my prepared paperwork FIRST! It was like the bully seeing the prior victim scenario! One stunt he pulled with us, 2 years back, was asking us WHY we had transferred all but 1000 baht out of my impound account, each month, leaving 1000 baht in the impound acct, each month! It was such a ludicrous question, that it left my Thai partner at a loss for words (a rarity) and he looked at me blankly, repeating his question, which was "what did you do with the money?"! I said... buy food? pay rent? make car payment? OMG, it seemed suspicious to him! Finally he looked at my 3 OTHER bank books, and hemmed and hawwed a bit, and decided not to press the (non)issue. He got demoted, eventually. He's STILL THERE, but in some subservient role, by the looks of things (the movement and positioning of staff) there now. Some new boss lady now sits in his former boss-person chair/office space. The last Retirement Renewal went smoothly, but I HAVE (since that day) left the most recent month's SSA transfer funds just sitting in the impound account, after transferring money to my normal accounts, every month, just to be on the safe side.

RE PEA Payments ONLINE: PEA's website actually DOES SUPPORT THIS! 4 or so years ago, I was fortunate enough to have a nice English-speaking PEA agent set up a payment account for me, over the phone, and later help me navigate the PEA site afterwards... (he actually acknowledged how convoluted the PEA site and methodology is and was... his honesty rating a huge PLUS and HUMOR, in my book.) Nowadays, with the account established (linked to the PEA METER# and my email address being my user name, & password) I just go to: https://www.pea.co.th/home ...click on the "E-Service" icon, then on the new page that opens, click on the top left option, under บริการหลัก (Main Service) (hand holding a ATM card) THEN the เข้าสู่ระบบ e-Service window opens, with Chrome remembering my email address and password... and click the next big button below, which probably translates to "Log In"... At that point, a new page appears with my PEA Meter number, with the amount due... clicking the checkbox showing the intention to pay, chose the BANK (icon) to use (Bangkok Bank, in my case), and the BANK app opens in yet another new page... log in to the bank, confirm which account to pull the pre-filled BAHT amount from, enter the OTP that the bank sends to my mobile phone, and the payment is sent. Print this for records, and click the button close out and return to the PEA site again. Returning to the PEA site, repeating the original steps above, thus logging in again, I get new page that transforms to being a nifty RECEIPT format that prints out nicely for my records... AND... I totally "get it" that this seems like (maybe?) a lot of hoops to have to jump through to avoid the drive to 7-11 plus the fee 7-11 charges for the service, plus needing the CASH IN HAND to give 7-11... BUT... to explain, as a former Computer and Network Engineer / MCSE, it was a personal challenge to me, back a few years ago, to see if this online service that PEA claimed to offer could be "mastered". In all honesty, it WAS a bitch (and ALL the PEA pages are in Thai), but then I've got plenty of time on my hands, as fully retired now, and the 2 minutes it NOW takes to pay the PEA bill each month... feels like a personal achievement, lol อิอิอิ. IT CAN BE DONE!!!!

Yup, posting OP material will generally release some toxic and snide replies... it's a pretty tough crowd here! Hang in there...

Jesus, same for me, except I frame my disorder as being high anxiety. ONE SITUATION PER DAY, is definitely they practical approach. I ended up in Udon Thani too, btw, 16 years in the Land of 1 Smile, hehe.

Yup, talking with Lazada cust serv directly on the phone is always successful, when the situation has become sticky. That said, their automated process for returning improper items seems to accept my side automatically (photo always required) and the free shipping label is sent, and refund processed as soon as item is back in return transit. RE IRS, went through the same 50 minute wait for the same issue, but then having the new Direct Deposit Routing number included in the very recent 1040 filed... simplified the issue for them, and they were able to directly deposit my rebate $$$ electronically, eventually. ONE EXPENSIVE PHONE CALL, to be sure. I do always wonder what had actually become of the original CHECK they had mailed me (which was never delivered, lol)

Regarding online shopping, let me say that Lazada has been a genuine dream to shop at... customer's side, customer's support always has been at 100% perfect, over dozens of returns situations. HOWEVER... the online shopping company S***** is a guaranteed nightmare, customer always wrong, customer guaranteed to be f'ed over, supreme frustration in any dispute is a 100% certainty.

If it's a different branch than where you are at, requesting the 1 year's statement... it's 7 days AFTER you request and pay for the statement. Side note is that TH Immigration will need to see you THAT SAME DAY YOU PICK UP THE STATEMENT (for reasons I've never quite fathomed)

I'll testify to this! Many times, when trying to drive when exhausted... My brain just shut down for a few seconds! It's quite terrifying, too! I think their signs should be in English too, <deleted>.

I wondered about this too, as my bf's nephew's little baby girl got her first (VERY SHORT!) haircut today, one month after birth. My bf said it's "tradition", and according to: https://rudilewis.com/the-ceremony-of-hair/#:~:text=In Southeast Asian cultures%2C particularly,signifying freedom from the past. "In Southeast Asian cultures, particularly Thai Buddhism, the hair of a newborn is called ‘fire hair’ and is shaved off, except for a small tuft at the crown, called a shikha, at the end of the first month of life. This hair is then set afloat on a banana leaf, signifying freedom from the past {lives}."

Got mine too Approved too, in about 2 hours time {shocking!} Key elements are: 1) Can only apply 15-7 days before it's due; no sooner, no later. 2) CANNOT USE A VPN service during application. 3) Chrome works fine. 4) Use every pull-down menu, when offered, for entering data.