TallGuyJohninBKK

As I noted above, when I dealt with the medical clinic used by the Fatboys service out in the OnNut area, pretty much the ONLY thing they did/checked was a blood pressure cuff reading. But I don't know what (if any) level of reading would be considered disqualifying.

I was there for a bit observing how all those different tests worked, because I'd never seen or done any of them before... and the write-ups I'd read in advance weren't really clear of just how things actually worked. And I did notice, when people got stalled or confused, the DLT staff folks handling the various tests seemed to try to help... perhaps to avoid snarling up their queues and/or avoiding unpleasantness on the part of their customers. ????

They (Fatboys OnNut) were OK when I dealt with them earlier this year. The price was reasonable as listed above. And they were able to arrange for the whole thing to be done in ONE day with little advance scheduling at the DLT OnNut area office, as opposed to the normal DLT routine of having to go one day to make an appointment, and then come back on a subsequent day for the actual appointment. Regarding the required medical certificate, they work with a small Thai medical clinic a short distance from the OnNut DLT office on the main Sukhumvit Rd. that quickly and easily issues the required medical certificate. Never saw a doctor, just had the nurse take my personal details and do a quick blood pressure check. That was all! The more troublesome part was having to trek out to the BKK CW Immigration office to get the required residence certificate, and wait in a long queue there for it. And carefully time that with your DLT visit because I believe (from recollection) DLT wants it to be no older than 30 days at the time of your visit. At the OnNut DLT office, they have four physical tests you need to pass when applying for a Thai license on the basis of having a valid home country license: 1. using a little machine to align two little vertical sticks to be even with each other 8-10 feet in front of where you sit (depth perception). 2. switching from a mock accelator pedal to a brake pedal when a red light is shown (response time). 3. calling out the colors flashed by a traffic light display (for color blindness) and 4. calling out the colors of small lights in side panels on either side of where you sit in a chair (to check peripheral vision).

I had a perfectly valid 1 year extension (via a paper card) issued on a state DL from the U.S. And the Thai DLT office out near OnNut earlier this year refused to honor it for purposes of applying for a first-time Thai license. They only would accept the hard plastic DL type version.

Perhaps now they'll implement a new kind whereby if anyone tries to force their way into the box, it will promptly explode and kill everyone within a 10 meter radius??? ????

Hmm... just coincidence that the amount stolen happens to roughly equate to a farang marriage extension bank deposit??? ????

I submitted mine online a day before yours, and got my confirmation back via email yesterday afternoon from BKK CW, fyi.

I was looking on the E-Visa website the other day as a U.S. resident, and it showed both the single and multi-entry Non-Os as being available. But, now I'm confused in what I'm seeing... The initial screens definitely show the notion of a Non-O for retirement purposes,, as follows: But then when you click thru to the Non-O info link at the bottom, the ensuing page only talks about marriage/family visit stays and misc others...and nothing about straight retirement. https://thaievisa.go.th/non-immigrant-o

AFAIK, a person also has the option of applying for a multiple entry Non-O based on retirement that provides multiple 90 day stays during the first year... The application fee is a bit higher ($200 USD), but the requirements otherwise are the same. That's an alternative to doing a single-entry Non-O and then applying in-country for a one-year extension of stay from Thai Immigration based on either marriage or retirement, which in either case, is going to require funds being deposited in or imported into Thailand.

Tim, what's your rationale for recommending the Non O visa over the Non O-A for the OP here? I always have trouble keeping all these different visa details straight... But AFAIK, the O visa is only going to allow individual 90-day stays before having to leave the country (and return if the visa is multi-entry), whereas the O-A visa entitles the holder to a continuous one-year stay, and a second year if they leave and re-enter just before the first year expires. Also, with the O-A, the financial / bank deposit requirement can be met entirely in the home country / U.S., without having to deposit the funds first into a Thai account. Though it does require a criminal history report and medical check. Given the OP's stated plan -- "Our plan is to move to the US after a US immigrant visa is granted to my spouse." -- it sounds like he's going to need to be in Thailand for a while.

I'd be curious to know from some of the posters making recommendations above just what kind of "apartment" the OP is likelty to find at those prices? An actual real apartment, or, a low-end Thai single room furnished with a bed and small dresser along with a small attached bathroom, and not much else?

Finally got my confirmation acceptance from BKK CW late this afternoon by email. Turnaround time from submission ended up being 6 business days -- which is double what my last two online reports were.

Checked mine today after seeing your report. Mine from Aug. 8 still shows as "pending."

Can't say for sure... but I'm guessing it means the police will write to the hospital requesting the medical records for the victim. Or, if the victim hasn't already been examined there, perhaps it's a formal police request for the hospital to conduct an examination of the extent of the girl's injuries.

You're entitled to your opinion. But in all my many past tourist years in Bangkok (before now living here for many years), I spent far more time in the Silom to Sukhumvit to OnNut areas than I ever did along the river. And I had quite a good time doing so. The river attractions are fine for a visit or occasional stay... But hardly an essential endpoint destination to stay while visiting Bangkok... unless you're just into big dirty rivers.

The news reports here are frequently filled with loads of nonsense... But this particular report really takes the cake for being high on the nonsense scale. "Anti-crime uniforms"??? Key features of "white thread sewn onto a uniform color patch."

As I recall, there was a prior case here not too long back of a similar episode of balcony love making going wrong (if that's actually what occurred here...) And in that prior one, of course, it also was the woman who ended up going off the edge.

No Evidence Excess Deaths Linked to Vaccines, Contrary to Claims Online Posted on April 17, 2023 SciCheck Digest "Excess deaths among working-age adults in 2021 and 2022 were driven by COVID-19 and other factors, not vaccination. Faulty logic underlies claims that vaccines caused mass disability and economic harm." ... "Dowd has repeatedly said that COVID-19 vaccines are causing large numbers of deaths, claims that have been debunked by other fact-checkers." https://www.factcheck.org/2023/04/scicheck-no-evidence-excess-deaths-linked-to-vaccines-contrary-to-claims-online/

The Landmark is doing a major remodel right now of their various ground floor commercial areas... Don't know that that's directly impacting their rooms... But the whole front of the hotel is boarded up right now... And I'm not sure they're in the OP's requested price range, anyway.

"Roughly 180 potentially vaccine-related deaths have been reported to federal authorities since the COVID inoculation was first rolled out, but only four have so far been found to be likely linked to the shot, according to a December report from the country’s Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring, which collects and evaluates reports of adverse drug reactions." https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-covid-vaccines-new-zealand-949096630073 There's your "horrendous trend" -- FOUR.

"officials and experts say the culprit isn’t COVID-19 vaccines. Rebekah Hennessey, an analyst with Stats NZ, said a significant factor is the nation’s growing but aging population. ... The pandemic itself was the other key driver. Around 2,400 of all deaths last year were attributable to COVID-19, Stats NZ said in its Feb. 20 release, citing national health data." https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-covid-vaccines-new-zealand-949096630073 The AP report appears to be using calendar year data for New Zealand deaths comparing calendar 2022 with various prior years.

I'm guessing what you're insinuating here, since you posted this in the COVID subforum... But the topic has already been previously addressed in the news, per the following fact check report from the AP: Deaths rise in New Zealand due to COVID, demographic shifts "CLAIM: New Zealand is seeing its biggest increase in deaths in a century because of the coronavirus vaccine. AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Government officials and experts in New Zealand say the rise in deaths last year is the result of the country’s first true wave of COVID-19 infections, which follow the lifting of the strict lockdown policy maintained during the first two years of the pandemic. They also say the country’s aging population is playing a role." https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-covid-vaccines-new-zealand-949096630073

Ahh... no, I didn't read your prior email that way... So, you're suggesting a "report by email" method.... similar to the current report by postal mail or report online/via website methods.... I could go for that....if they were to offer it. Kind of a half-way tech approach between postal mail and their automated, server-based web portal. Only question is... is anyone at Immigration still managing their AOL email account??? ????

Priced for the same Dec. 19-20 dates I mocked up above, it's a bit beyond the price ranges of 2-3K baht range requested by the OP... And the lower priced rooms are 30 sq mt. The Centre Point above has rooms in his price range in the 40 - 55 sq mt range. The Radisson Suites has rooms in his price range that are 40 sq mt. The Maitria Suk 18 has rooms in his price range in the 35 to 46 sq mt. range.

In terms of pricing, you got to be careful around the Christmas to New Year's week (depending on when exactly you mean by "late Dec", as that's prime tourist travel time and the hotels likely will be hiking their prices for that period. Per your request, I mocked up a reservation on Agoda for some good quality, highly rated, centrally located, convenient to transit hotels within your price range, for a hypothetical Dec. 19-20 stay -- with the pricing IF you were to make the reservation today. These are just some examples: Examples: