TallGuyJohninBKK

Central Food Hall at Chidlom BTS has a quite good selection of imported beers, including from the US, UK, Japan, Korea, etc... My personal favorite is the Rogue brand from the U.S./Oregon. Yes, the prices are going to run in the $7-$9 per bottle range. But I figure I can afford a few and still come out far ahead based on what I'm saving on rent vs. what I'd otherwise be paying for housing in the U.S.

These days, for our basic grocery shopping, the majority of it is done via Tops Online, which has a good and broad selection and for Bangkok comes from a central warehouse on Rama 3 -- not from a smaller local store like the Soi 17 Robinson's Tops branch. And then supplement that with in-store shopping as needed from Central Chidlom Food Hall, which has a quite good in-store bakery, along with periodic online grocery orders from Villa, and an occasional walk over to Foodland Soi 5 to stock up on pinto beans and a very few other selected items. For me, the basic difference is -- the current smaller Foodlands and Villas are what I would call grocery stores, whereas the current larger, more broadly stocked Tops Food Halls and Gourmet Markets are more like supermarkets.

Villa at Soi 11 and Soi 33 sometimes had the same kind of staff...though I always thought the Foodland Soi 5 liquor gals were better looking... One in particular there, at least in the past, was quite the stunner....

I believe, when I was checking with the local bakery staff there sometime back, they informed me in answer to my question that they were using palm oil in making their own croissants there.... That was the end of my Foodland bakery shopping.

IMHO, the Tops Central Food Hall at Chidlom BTS is the best farang oriented supermarket in the area... followed by the often pricier Gourmet Market branches at Siam Paragon or EmQuartier. Central Chidlom Food Hall has a newer sister branch very nearby at CentralWorld. But it's harder to get to being up on the distant 7th floor of CW, and is laid out in an unfathomable way that makes it almost impossible to find any given thing there. I also like Central because they have the local monopoly on UK brand Waitrose products in Thailand, which fill the need for a lot of western things I like. But Foodland and especially Villa also have a few things that you just can't find at Central and Gourmet markets, especially in the category of Mexican food groceries. Both Villa and Foodland stock the same U.S. brand of 1 lbs bagged dried pinto beans, which are an essential for me. I've never found the same product at either Central/Tops or Gourmet Market. And Villa stocks, unlike all the others, stocks the very good local brand of El Charro salsas and frozen Mexican entrees along with the also very good El Sapo brand of salsas. Except for stocking pinto beans and some local brand tortillas, Foodland is horrible when it comes to any decent Mexican food grocery products. And Central/Tops and Gourmet Market are almost as lacking/bad.

I live in the same area...and know Foodland Soi 5 well.... Possible reasons: --tourism levels, while recovering, aren't back to what they were before... And those that are coming, the Chinese for example, probably aren't the type to be regular Foodland shoppers. --along the way Foodland for some reason opened the newer and larger and nicer outlet at Sukhumvit Soi 16. Although it's a bit farther away from my home than Soi 5, it's definitely a nicer and better shopping experience than the smaller, low-ceiling, narrow aisled Soi 5 branch. --I think COVID really accelerated the trend toward online grocery shopping and home delivery vs. in-store shopping. And for some unfathomable reason, unlike Tops and Lotus and Villa, last time I checked, Foodland's online website and mobile app are entirely in TH language with no EN option available. Which seems a very odd choice given their status as a kind of international market.

Most Thai people I know seem to have a self-chosen first name nickname, usually short and easy to say.... unlike their given Thai first name, as in our example here of Ava vs. Pawornwan.... Serious question -- given the prevaience of often western style chosen first name nicknames here, why don't Thai parents simply name their kids with the shorter, simpler first names in the first place? That's one thing about Thailand I've never quite understood. In the west, people get usually short and simple first names chosen by their parents like Fred or Frank or Felix... (as opposed to Astralwanderer). But they don't usually end up then later in life going by some other first name nickname such as Pepsi or Roller or Roughrider! But I guess if I had a given first name such as Pawornwan or Jumpeeporn or Siriwaolak, I might be looking at something like Ava as an alternative! ????

There is a growing, fledgling movement in the U.S. toward allowing online notarization services...and a few states already allow it. Obviously that's not going to work for the US Embassy's freedom to marry affidavit here, since the Thai amphurs' only want a document from the applicant's local embassy. But for generic notarization needs, the U.S. online route may well work. I was serving as an executor for a deceased family member two years ago, and was required by a financial entity to submit a notarized document. I didn't want to go the U.S. Embassy $50 route for reasons other than cost. So searched and found a legit online notary in Texas where I got it done and submitted for I wanna say $30 to $35...and then they send the notarized doc to your desired recipient using the secure Docusign system. And that doc was accepted by the financial entity. Involved doing an online video chat with the notary and displaying and her capturing my official ID, which was my U.S. driver's license. All in all, a bit better deal than shelling about $1500 USD for a RT air ticket... ????

FWIW, I renewed my US passport here last year, and everything went quickly and smoothly. Even though I live within walking distance of the U.S. Embassy in BKK, they told me they wouldn't accept me to apply in person, and so I ended up having to do the mail-in route, which then gets forwarded and processed in the U.S., and then returned back here. Got my new passport back in the mail less than 3 weeks after submitting my paperwork. Think I'd tend to agree with you on that point above....

When I choose to drink Guinness, it's because I like the taste and the texture of the drink -- not because I'm trying to get blitzed... I'd buy a 0% Guinness if it were available here. PS - I was in Hua Hin earlier this year at a pub that sometimes sells Guinness on tap... I asked the staff why their Guinness stocking was inconsistent, and my waitress replied that at their price of nearly 300b per pint, punters were choosing other options.

I wouldn't be so happy about a six-week scheduling wait for "a very simple procedure".... when Thais can walk in and get married the same day on demand, AFAIK. Also, did Laksi require you to have witnesses and/or a translator? And an Embassy certified copy of your passport?

You've obviously missed the boat... There's ONE and ONLY ONE way an American can legally get married to a Thai in Thailand, and that's to obtain a "freedom to marry" affidavit from the U.S. Embassy. That's considered a "notarial service" in their domain. If you want to get legally married to a Thai in Thailand, absolutely no choice or alternative in the matter, and it requires making and obtaining an notarial services appointment with ACS.

Earlier this year, I needed to make a notarial services appointment at BKK ACS... Waited an entire TWO WEEK period where they had absolutely NO available appointment slots listed any time -- no matter how far in advance -- on their website..... before one finally became available. When I finally went there, I asked the consular assistant who I met about the scheduling issues. And he replied that they were short-staffed, and thus the paucity of available appointments. No word about whether that was going to be an ongoing thing, or something they were going to remedy at some point. The fact that there was now a 6 week wait when I last checked the other day suggests the problem is getting worse... not better.

Speaking as an American, I REALLY don't know what we legitimately have to complain about here... I mean, the other day, I checked the ACS BKK appointments website for notarial services and it only was a SIX WEEK wait for obtaining the first available appointment, which was going to be in late May...

If I can make it thru my years in Thailand without being on anyone's "most hated farang" list, I'll consider my life here to have been a success! ????

One day you're a pariah.. another day, you're an idol. Life in Thailand: Jul 17, 2017 "Thais netizens joined forces in an attempt to boot controversial expat YouTuber My Mate Nate out of the country. The latest petition that’s going viral asks the immigration department to cancel his visa and exile him from Thailand. ... The petition, which has been signed by over 50,000 people, demanded that the Thai government kick him out of Thailand because he has “caused public annoyance and disrespected Thai people.” https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/thais-sign-petition-kick-mate-nate-country/ Nov 28, 2016 Why ‘My Mate Nate’ is the most hated farang at the moment "My Mate Nate, an American expat and internet personality, has recently caused an uproar on social media for his latest prank video targeting Thai millennials — he’s been accused of staging a scene in the video to make the point that most Thai people don’t understand English. The meant to be lighthearted prank video, titled “Farang tests Thailand’s English language education,” was supposed to help Nate Bartling, an American missionary-turned-YouTuber, emphasize the well-known and often-reported fact that English education in Thailand needs serious improvement. However, it backfired terribly after some people criticized Bartling for intentionally “humiliating” Thai people to make a point — just to end the video with a pitch to sell an online English course." https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/who-my-mate-nate-and-why-he-most-hated-farang-moment/

Agree 100%. He seems to be right in the same groove....

I guess we'd have to check the current state of his underwear.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_garment "A temple garment, also referred to as garments, the garment of the holy priesthood,[2][3][4] or Mormon underwear,[5] is a type of underwear worn by adherents of the Latter Day Saint movement after they have taken part in the endowment ceremony. Garments are required for any individual who previously participated in the endowment ceremony to enter a temple."

I don't begrudge the guy for whatever money he's earned, nor do I have any particular personal feelings about him, other than not caring in the slightest... But I am amazed at how many people, particularly Thais, are so keenly interested in inanity... '

From his 2022 breakup video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oICUQ3ytw_U&t=167s And his last time around prior to the current GF:

"Look mee" -- seems a prescient nickname for a Thai YouTuber... "My Mate Nate" latest: We're still friends as US YouTuber speaks to his fans after eight years with Look Mee

You mean Mormon? https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/bangkok-thailand-temple/ Bangkok Thailand Temple "Preparing for public open house beginning 1 September 2023; scheduled to be dedicated on 22 October 2023" The Bangkok Thailand Temple will be the first temple built in mainland Southeast Asia. On March 19, 2018, an artistic rendering of the Bangkok Thailand Temple was released to the public, revealing a 44,405-square-foot, six-story building with a soaring central spire and eight smaller surrounding spires. Behind the temple, an additional 91,370-square-foot Church facility will be constructed housing two meetinghouses, a service center, seminary and institute offices and classrooms, and mission offices and housing." It seems, like Nate, that they've got plenty of money to spend here....

For a guy who brags about how he's fluent in Thai language and considers Thailand his home, he seems to be a few quid short on prevailing local customs..... In the early going, I used to tap my Thai wife on the head (privately, at home) in an affectionate way now and again... She'd promptly get pissed and tell me in no uncertain terms that you don't touch Thai people on the head, even at home, and that it's bad manners to do so.... So now (privately, at home) I grab or pat her bum instead... She has no objection to that.... ????

Well, the tangential involvement of a Thai "Net Idol" certainly would have won my trust, especially on matters relating to finance! ???? Thailand is sorely lacking in financial literacy and education for the masses.... "she had invested 100,000 baht on the promise of 20% monthly returns." Not even My Mate Nate could pull off that kind of deal.... ????

When I was reading the link to US Embassy website page in the thread here, I noticed the advisory about Americans living in the north NOT being able to apply for passport renewals thru the CM Consulate, and instead having to send their request to Bangkok... I mean really, how tough could it be for the CM Consulate to forward that kind of stuff onward. "There are no appointments available to renew adult passports at U.S. Consulate General Chiang Mai. Customers who appear at U.S. Consulate General Chiang Mai requesting adult passport renewal (Form DS-82) will be required to mail their passport application to U.S. Embassy Bangkok."