statman78

Cataract surgery.

I have my health insurance through Bangkok Life Assurance. I had 2 claims this year which were paid promptly without any questions. Premiums are set and increases happen every 5 years and are predetermined so I know how much it will cost. They will cover me up to age 95 if I live that long.

At least here in Chiang Rai it is easy. I just did my retirement extension last month. In November I had Bangkok Bank give me a 11 month statement since it had to come from the main office. The day of my appointment for my extension I stopped at my local bank branch, updated my bank book, got a statement for the last month and the bank letter. Since I copies made of my bank book I had my bank make a copy of the last page which showed the update. I went to immigration and 20 minutes later everything was approved. Since the immigration office in Chiang Rai is not the main office for the area I needed to return the next day to pickup my passport with my new extension. No problem for me since it is only a 10 minute drive to the office.

As people have posted, I arrived this past Monday just after noon and the lines were short. Took about 5 minutes. The luggage arrive soon after I got to the the baggage carousel. Unfortunately my bag never arrived and I am still waiting.

I had this experience today when I arrived but my luggage didn’t. They wanted to see my baggage claim ticket and both of my boarding passes since I started in Cairo and transited through Jeddah.

I fly domestically every month and never had any issues using my Thai license.

I got my first Thai license while my US license was still valid. Right after that I let my US license expire. When it came time to renew my Thai license I did not have any problems. I’m not sure about the EU but I no trouble renting a car in the US with my Thai license. I could have easily renewed my US license but I wanted to make sure I did not have too many connections to the US. Since I can show my country of residence is Thailand, I do not need to pay US income tax on my retirement income.

The flower festival in Chiang Rai, is in the same location, next to the river. December 25 to January 8. There is another one near walking street but I don’t know the dates. It will be right around the same time but is open longer but it is smaller than the one near the river. my wife and I go every year.

Last week I also got my re-entry permit here in Chiang Rai. Twenty five minutes total, 10 minute drive to Immigration, 5 minutes at immigration, then 10 minute drive back home. I prefer to have it in my passport before getting to the airport. One less thing to do at the airport.

I still read books here in Thailand. I love browsing in the used book shops in Bangkok. I also get some books on my IPad. We just added a room to our house in Chiang Rai and my wife wants to put in a fake fireplace. I already have my recliner and reading lamp set up. We are having a few winter scene prints framed to go above the fake fireplace so it will feel like our old home in northern US without the extreme cold and snow to shovel. ????

I hate to see what immigration looks like when they open all the new gates they just built.

For my last 4 retirement extensions I used the monthly income method. I transferred over 65k baht from my US account to my account here in Thailand. When I do my annual extension at the end of December I’ll have my 12 transfers complete. I’ve never had ant issues with Chiang Rai immigration using this method. For the next extension I am considering putting 800k in the bank. Here are my questions. 1. after this current extension is complete, my next extension will be due 29 January 2024. When do I need to have the 800k in the bank? Is it 2 or 3 months before my application? 2. I plan to get my next extension at the end of December since I can apply 45 days before my current one expires. I do not plan on transferring money to Thailand unless I need it. Is there a minimum balance I need to have in my account from the time I get my current extension and when I need to bring in 800k? I plan to have 100k-200k in my account for unexpected expenses. 3. Does the 800k need to be a foreign transfer? We are trying to sell a farm we have and I would use some of the proceeds to cover the 800k. (If you are interested in buying a nice farm in Chiang Rai send me a message ????)