Siamesecarper

Looking forward to trying the IPA and see how it compares to the Beer Lao IPA which is pretty good IMO.

Checked status on the BKK Hospital Khon Kaen site via Intervac and now have my Pfizer appointment on 12th at Central Plaza 11.00-12.00 You have to confirm the appointment on the status page and now status shows successfully confirmed ???? Not sure if it will be followed up with an email but I took a screenshot of the page just to be sure. Finally some progress! Also date of 2nd jab is 3rd October so all good.

So received the email from Expatvac this morning and followed the link to upload more documents and guess what - failed due to name and passport already taken. This was belt and braces as I managed to register through Thailandintervac at BKK hospital in Khon Kaen a few days ago but what a fiasco ????

28 minutes ago, Mutt Daeng said:

@SiamesecarperDo you need to live in KK province to do that?

No any adjoining province. I am in Chaiyaphum

Official MFA spokesman gave a radio interview this morning which will be on YouTube MFA channel later. According to Twitter replies they are saying the following " I asked my colleague at the Consular Affairs Dep & was informed that vaccines allocated for expatvac registrants include Sinovac, AstraZeneca & Pfizer. The vaccine you receive will be determined by the vaccination site, based on allocation & availability at the time."

So there it is Sinovac and AZ most likely with Pfizer for the chosen few...

TMD use the same classification numbers as the Phillipine Meteorological Agency for tropical disturbance warnings which differs from the Saffir Simpson scale normally used in the USA to classify Hurricanes. I understand this is confusing for some people who are not familiar with local conventions but you are correct in your assertation that Molave is equivalent to a CAT3 on the Saffir Simpson scale at present. It looks like a very dangerous storm for Vietnam especially after recent flooding events. It may pass directly over us here in Chaiyaphum as a very wet Tropical Storm!

Couldn't be a worse time to be inaccessible with Typhoon Molave approaching...

The website and app not working ????

11 hours ago, stretch5163 said:

Have they changed the process as when I recently did my trip you get your Laos visa on the Lao side not before you clear Thai Immigration ? 

You're quite correct my mistake - apologies for the confusion. You hand in the Laos visa application on the Laos side of the bridge before clearing Laos Immigration.

You buy the bus ticket at a counter at the entrance to the bridge, then get your Laos visa sorted for 1500 baht or 35 USD before clearing Thai Immigration. The bus takes you across the bridge for 50 baht and after clearing Laos immigration you can get a tuk tuk to the Thai consulate for 100 baht. I left my pickup at the covered parking on the left hand side car park at the bridge - it was 150 baht for 36 hours.

From it's current level the Mekong would have to rise another 4 or 5 metres to burst it's banks at Mukdahan and Savannakhet. We stayed at Daosavanh Resort by the river in Savannakhet Aug 2nd and the hotel tuk tuk driver said he  had never seen it do that before there. There could be flooding in some side streets as connecting rivers and streams back up but it is highly unlikely to affect the main roads IMHO. Anyone visiting soon should have no problems - other than encountering some miserable uncommunicative Farangs ?

Just got back home from our trip to Mukdahan/Savannakhet and can report that the roads are all fine. Some signs of high rivers and flooded fields the closer you get to Mukdahan but no transport issues at all. The Mekong is very high and there are some riverside properties and the lower IndoChinese market affected. The hotels are really, really quiet and very few people in the queues for immigration or the bus. The bridge crossing is unaffected. Thanks to UbonJoe and the advice on the forum my first non-o multi-entry application for visiting my Thai wife was a doddle. 

My local Tesco Lotus has been selling off the Mont Clair 2 litre bottles of red at 338 baht and white at 428 baht - so needless to say I stocked up.....

First visit to the new office today for my 90 day report and must say I was impressed.  It was easy to find and closer than the KK office for me.  Interestingly I gave them the pre-prepared TM47 form and the girl typed the information into the computer and then gave me a printed copy to sign. I also had to provide a copy of the photo page of my passport, a copy of the marriage extension stamp from passport, a copy of the entry stamp from passport and a copy of the departure card.  I had a copy of the foreign national information form ready but they did not request it.  No admin fee was requested and I was out of there within 10 minutes.  There was only one other person waiting and made a nice change from sitting in a large queue at KK. 

So all in all a very positive experience - but my wife didn't rate the shopping opportunities in Chaiyaphum and I must admit to missing our trip to Central in KK too  :)

I can confirm the news - I was at KK Immigration yesterday and the lady officer on desk 4 told me that my next 90 day report would need to be made at the new office in Chaiyaphum. There is no definite opening date yet but she said check the Immigration website and ring KK Immigration office before your next visit to see if the new Chaiyaphum office is operational. I need to renew my marriage extension before 10th August so it looks like this will now be done at Chaiyaphum. Unfortunately there are less shopping opportunities for Mrs Siamesecarper in Chaiyaphum - every cloud......

Interesting - will check it out when at KK immigration next week for my 90 day report...

Just received my first Thai driving licence yesterday at Phu Khieo DLT office in Chaiyaphum province and was given exactly 2 years validity and not the 1 year I was expecting. Maybe there is a new policy being implemented without being broadcast?

The Beluga Sturgeon is the largest freshwater fish in the world by a long way and the freshwater stingray in Thailand is third on the list.

http://www.conservationinstitute.org/10-largest-biggest-fresh-water-fish-in-the-world/

A lot of people come to Thailand to specifically target this fish and Jeremy Wade on "River Monsters" managed to catch some.

The Giant Mekong Catfish is stocked in many Thai fishing ponds even up here in Isaan but is certainly endangered in the wild.

, that's estimating and the reality is of caught fish it is the stingray then the catfish. Thailand has the heaviest river fish in the world. do a google search for them being caught at those weights quoted on that website. for a dot.org they don't have a clue.

This stingray may well end up as the largest verified weight for a freshwater fish caught on rod and line ( the big Mekong quoted was caught in a net by the way) but the White Sturgeon caught in Canada is clearly the largest freshwater fish landed even though it could not be officially weighed. Speak to any knowledgeable angler and they will all agree on the Sturgeon being the largest fish living in fresh water.

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/post/monster-white-sturgeon-weighing-1-100-pounds-caught-in-canada/

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/26/international/asia/26thailand.html?_r=0

The Beluga Sturgeon is the largest freshwater fish in the world by a long way and the freshwater stingray in Thailand is third on the list.

http://www.conservationinstitute.org/10-largest-biggest-fresh-water-fish-in-the-world/

A lot of people come to Thailand to specifically target this fish and Jeremy Wade on "River Monsters" managed to catch some.

The Giant Mekong Catfish is stocked in many Thai fishing ponds even up here in Isaan but is certainly endangered in the wild.