TallGuyJohninBKK

No. If you set up a legal trust in your home country that covers your various financial assets, those after your death are administered by the trustee you designate while you're alive, and the trustee is legally bound to follow the instructions you establish in the trust. The beneficiary or beneficiaries have no say or control over that, or any ability to challenge or change those terms. Just make sure you pick the correct trustee (ideally NOT a Thai beneficiary), ideally a disinterested neutral third party, someone who can be relied upon to faithfully execute the terms of your trust in your home country.

A bit more about the process at Bang Sue today: --I brought my passport, and it's probably a good/safe thing to do, in general. But today, no one asked me for it. They only wanted to see the appointment confirmation QR code I received via SMS when my vaccination appointment was confirmed. They scanned that, and that gave them all the info they needed/wanted, including my passport number, of course. --After arriving and getting inside, you're given a single page medical questionnaire (mine included English type) to check about all the various things that might disqualify you from getting a vaccination or require a doctor's sign-off first -- things like high blood pressure, allergic reactions, serious medical conditions, etc etc. For most people, it's going to mean checking NOs to everything. Then sign and date at the bottom to give your consent to getting vaccinated. --After my booster dose vaccination, no one gave me or offered any kind of paper vaccination certificate. So I had my Thai wife ask, and we ended up getting pointed to a series of tables at the far end of the vaccination area where they had printed signs up only in TH language saying paper vax certificates were available to Thais over age 60 and foreigners. So we sat down, the lady again asked to see my vax appointment QR code saved on my mobile phone, and in about 30 seconds, had printed out and handed me a half-page yellow-color vax certificate with a QR code up in the top right hand corner that only listed my 3rd booster dose given today (although I have a separate prior paper vax certificate from the private hospital that gave me my original two AZ doses). So the overall process from the start was: --go to the outside entry door, and either get sent to the queue for those with appointments, or those doing walk-in (if it's available at the time of your visit.) --Once in the appointments queue, they'll check the appoinment QR code for your visit on your mobile phone, then send you in to sit in an area where they have the medical questionnaire form to be filled out, with a pen and clipboard available on each seat. Once you've filled out that form and they've checked it to make sure you're good for a vax.... --Then, your group is sent to an adjoining vax area were you sit once again on lined up white plastic chairs in queues in front of the many vax stations. And then every time one person in your line in vaccinated, everyone stands up, and moves one chair closer to the front. And then again and again and again, until you reach the vax station, where they take your medical form, and ask to see your QR code again before giving you the shot.

AFAIK, the Thai MoPH system doesn't have any records of foreigners' COVID vaccinations done abroad, unless you've officially told them somewhere along the way (perhaps such as a tourist / sandbox entry or something like that). So, if you had two Pfizer doses abroad and those aren't in the Thai government's system, AFAIK, you could register in the Thai government system for what they would consider to be your first dose. However, right now, for the "unvaccinated," they appear to be offering only a 1st AZ dose followed by a 2nd Pfizer dose. And someone who's already had two Pfizer doses outside Thailand really doesn't need or want a third dose being AZ. So the alternative would seem to be to wait until the Thai government's own system open Pfizer booster doses for those who've already received two Pfizer doses in country, which probably will be about six months after they first started doing Pfizer doses here. https://app.dtac.co.th/vaccine/index-en.html https://www.ais.th/vaccinesforthais/

Very strange and not what I encountered there today at all.... I had an appointment there (made more than a week back thru the TH mobile provider websites) at 4 p.m. this afternoon for a Pfizer booster shot four months after my original two AZ doses. I was in and vaccinated in less than a half hour, and then for some reason, they only had my cohort wait about 15 minutes before letting everyone go on their way. So I was out the door in less than 45 minutes overall from start to finish. This was my first time to Bang Sue for a COVID vaccination, and the setup they have there is HUGE, making use of vast otherwise unused area of the Bang Sue Grand Central rail station complex. But at 4 p.m. today, there were no crowds, no long queues for anything. And although there were a lot of people inside in various stages of getting vaccinated, they were more than matched by the available vaccination staff and stations to move everything along. The seating queue leading to the vax stations at front. When I made my appointment via the DTAC COVID vaccine website, I only got to choose my appointment DAY, so I chose an available Saturday. Then later when the MoPH system accepted and confirmed my appointment via SMS, they assigned the time, which happened to be 4 p.m. And all I can say is, 4 p.m. on a Saturday seems to be a very good time to be doing vaccination business at Bang Sue Grand Central Station.

I was reading a variety of news and science reports on all this yesterday, after coming across this thread, with a particular emphasis on how well these tests do in detecting Omicron. The latest medical indications are that Omicron infections can occur,be infectious and be found via PCR while the ATK nasal tests still show negative results. The suggestion is that saliva/throat test/swabs will give a better early warning indicator of Omicron. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/rapid-nose-swab-tests-covid-may-not-detect-omicron-quickly-enough-expert-says-2022-01-07/ Rapid nose swab tests for COVID may not detect Omicron quickly enough -expert says "Jan 7 (Reuters) - Swabbing the nose with a rapid antigen test will not reliably detect the Omicron variant in the first few days of an infection, so manufacturers should seek U.S. approval to allow users to safely collect samples from the throat as well, according to an infectious diseases expert. People can already transmit Omicron to others when it has infected their throat and saliva but before the virus reaches their nose, so swabbing the nostrils too early in the course of infection will not pick it up, Dr. Michael Mina, formerly of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and now chief science officer at eMed, said during a news conference on Thursday. A study released on Wednesday on medRxiv ahead of peer review looked at 29 Omicron-infected workers in high-risk professions who had PCR and antigen tests done simultaneously on multiple days. The PCR tests of saliva detected the virus on average three days before the rapid nose-swab samples became positive." So, if you just want a negative test result to show someone, regardless of the truth of the matter, then I guess the nasal swabs are OK. But if you're doing to test to really find out if you're a threat of Omicron infection to those around you, then the saliva/throat swab test/method seems to be the better course.

I found that as well recently with our Thailand hotel booking experience. Not only that, but these days, Google Maps also tends to show the current booking rates from numerous 3rd party booking sites, all in one place, when you look at a particular hotel's listing in Google Maps. The rate info isn't always entirely up to date, and only shows a single rate, not all the various permutations available from the different booking sites. But the Google Maps rates recap gives the shopper a good idea of which booking sites to check first as potentially having the best current rates for that particular property. And of course includes the weblinks that lead to those various sites' listings.

Your comment above seems inherently illogical. You start out by saying it's something "we have zero control over." And then proceed to tick off a series of correct preventive measures that everyone can and should follow as a means of preventing and reduce the spread of the virus. In short, it's still something every individual has some ability to influence thru their own actions or lack thereof.

I believe, the latest guidance from the Thai government regarding eligibility for (third dose) booster shots is as follows: --6 months after for those with two original Moderna doses. --6 months after for those with two original Pfizer doses. --3 months after for those with two original AZ doses. Their policy and advice has been updated recently, and I'm doing this from memory. So if I've erred, happy to corrected. Even more details and the booster time frames for various mix and match scenarios for the original shots are explained here: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/thailand-to-speed-up-vaccine-booster-shots/

Ya... my comment above wasn't in relation to child molesters or those possessing child porn in general... But rather, the specific issue raised by the Thai police in the OP here -- where Thai children allegedly are being extorted by adults for more once they have shared their own explicit images online. I don't doubt that kind of conduct is and has been occurring. But it was that specific scenario about which I couldn't recall any Thai arrests / prosecutions off the top of my head. If the issue was of sufficient magnitude to warrant a public warning from Thai police, you'd think there might be a public record of past arrests and prosecutions for such cases.

Thanks.... I kinda meant more what company that test is made by, and what country it's made in.... I was going thru a long TH FDA Powerpoint file of all kinds of ATK tests, and not all.... but almost all... of the ones they listed on their list as being saliva tests seem to be being made in China. I believe, this below is a list of the tests kits that the Thai FDA has licensed for import... including links for authentication and instructions for using. https://www.fda.moph.go.th/sites/Medical/Shared Documents/ข้อมูลรายชื่อชุดตรวจและน้ำยา COVID-19 Home use.pdf

Just curious... Why take TH purchased test kits back to the U.S. for travel? Is the available supply there worse than it is here? Surely, the quality control there is better than it is here.... PS - what are the particulars of the Hip Bio Tech kit that you posted a photo of above. That's a different one from the two I cited....

I see Boots online is advertising this one that's a 5-pack from Roche, presumably legit. https://store.boots.co.th/products/roche-sars-cov-2-ag-pst-nasal-5-ea/61656fb4377743511d77a4d9 And Watson's online is selling this one from China, a brand I've never heard of.... https://www.watsons.co.th/kissh-sars-cov-2-antigen-test-kit-nasal-swab-1-pc/p/BP_296171

Any suggestions on quality/specific reputable brand tests that are actually available here in Thailand?

This is for the day prior, Jan. 4.... not yesterday. But worth noting that the government still has NOT reached its original self-stated goal of getting 70% of the population "fully vaccinated" with two shots. And, just barely have got 70%+ percent of the population vaccinated with at least 1 shot. Meaning, according to their own stats, there remains almost 30% of the Thai population out there that's received NO vaccine thus far. And that's not even factoring in the additional complications that a lot of the original two dose vaccinations, at this point months later, are likely of only little to no effect in preventing those people from becoming infected. Because the original vaccines were non-mMRA and so much time has passed since the original doses. https://fb.watch/amGhfs8zUZ/

Weren't they having problems previously with dodgy ATK test kits imported by the Thai govt. from Chinese suppliers that were supposedly next to worthless? Apart from the price, I'd be wanting to know is the test kit I'm buying actually one that is legitimate and produces reasonably accurate results for better or worse. The wide price range @sqwakvfr posted above leads me to think there's still some dodgy test kits being sold out there.

Thanks...Yes, that's what I vaguely recalled from past inquiries, given that the home where the Thai wife and I live is a rental. I considered pursuing it, the wife and I discussed it, and in the end, decided against asking our landlord (with whom we're on very good terms) to trek down to local khet office in BKK and spend half a day doing the processing for this. I've lived here more than a decade thus far, and the lack of a Yellow Book hasn't been a big impediment to anything that I can think of along the way.

There's an alternate route/method that still works with having the BKKB NY branch serve as a routing agent for funds transfers from the U.S. to BKKB in Thailand. Yes, the old ACH transfer method to BKKB NY no longer works because of the recent IAT requirement. But BKKB NY will still accept incoming domestic wire transfers from U.S. bank accounts and forward them onto the designated BKKB account in Thailand. Some U.S. banks offer free or very low fee domestic wire transfers. So using those in conjunction with BKKB NY's transfer service to Thailand can be a very cost efficient means of moving money from the U.S. to Thailand.

Re the Yellow Book, I know that works if you're the owner of a property... But does it also work, and if so how does it work, if you're only the renter of the home where you reside?

What kind of status / visa / documentation did Kasikorn HQ require from you in order to open a new savings account?

...

And the rules change again..... "He also said that the government extended the deadline for the arrival of the travelers who had earlier applied to the now-suspended Test & Go country entry scheme. The new deadline is on Jan 15 instead of Jan 10." https://tna.mcot.net/english-news-856606

I'm trying to recall if I've ever read / heard of a case where the Thai police actually arrested and prosecuted anyone for this type of offense... And off the top of my head, I can't recall any. That's probably more a comment on the nature of Thai policing, and less a comment on the extent to which this kind of criminal activity is occurring.

That certainly wasn't our experience when we used Agoda to shop for and ultimately book a Christmas-New Year hotel reservation in Thailand. Rather, for any given hotel and/or type of room, they typically had a whole series of different price quotes depending on the payment /cancellation details you wanted. Generally speaking: --lowest rate: pay up front at the time of the booking and no refund for cancellations. --slightly higher rate: pay maybe a week before the actual arrival date, and refund available for cancellation. --slightly higher rate again: only charged like the day before your reservation arrival date, and refund available for cancellation. I saw those kinds of options on Agoda for virtually all the hotels we shopped online for our recent trip.

And yet the OP article doesn't even broach the question of WHY all these Thai police have run up such huge collective debts? Could it be at least in part that the whole promotion and advancement system in their organization is not primarily based on performance and merit, but instead, on payments to superiors in order to essentially buy promotions?

"Those who have applied and been granted the Thailand Pass can still enter the country under the Test and Go programme until January 10, 2022, as per the previous announcement." https://www.thaipbsworld.com/thai-government-needs-one-month-to-decide-on-anti-covid-19-measures-update/