MTH

If you are going from 1 year to 5 year it must have expired as I understand you cannot renew before this.

This has changed, you can now renew about a month in advance. No personal experience, but been reading it on the board.

If you are renewing both licences surely you only need one resident cert from imigration and at most a copy, can anyone confirm this

Yes one original and one copy is fine. Did this last time.

I am about to renew my 1 year temporary driving license.

Will I get a 5 year license with a 90 days non immigrant O visa, or do I need a retirement extention?

The place I will use is Pattaya/Banglamung.

J!!!

You should have no problem getting a 5 year license in Pattaya on a 90 non-imm O.

I’ve renewed my 5 year licenses there twice on 90 day permission to stay, once on a B-visa and once an O.

A question on the timing of the renewal; Do I have to wait until my license has expired or can I do this just before as well?

You can do it before it expires. Whatever day you do it will be one year from then. Do NOT wait until it has expired.

Not sure if the OP is holding a 1 or a 5 year license, either way you can go before or after expiry, no problem. (Previously you actually had to let your 1 year license expire before you could get the 5 year one, this has now changed.)

If you’re currently holding a 5 year license, letting it expire by a day or more before applying, will grant you a new license that’s valid for close to 6 years.

The 5 year licenses expires on your birthday, has nothing to do with application date.

Count me in +1.

Thanks.

Where is pupen? Anyway map?

Just drive right to the end of Jomtien beach road, look out for the giant crab sign

Anyone have map?

Here you go, just plug these coordinates into Google maps: 12.861461,100.8955

Business Class Visa (out of the Queen Vic on soi 3) and 5-Star Visa (run out of the Sportmans Resto on soi 13) are two of the bigger ones with nice comfy vans. Also, any travel can book you on a run (but on usually a less comfortable van).

Sorry to correct you but the first one is called First Class Visa not Business Class Visa in case the OP wants to do a search.

Yes, and additionally 1st Class Visa Runs is located inside Queen Vic on soi 6, not soi 3.

One of the best outfits in town AFAIC.

I happened to see this story on Pattaya One tonight and the ending remark surprised me:

“Khun Chuchat was taken to the Police Station as a precaution and then released after he realised [sic] that suicide would not be the best option for him at this time.”

Previously just posted the numbers by recollection, so just checked the exact numbers on our two 125cc bikes for grins.

Bike 1: Tax 100, Insurance 323.14, Total 423.14

Bike 2: Tax 100, Insurance 331.06, Total 431.06

Both taxed in Dec 2011. Seems that the OP got away cheaper.

Diamondtel 18x, can’t find any decent pictures, guess it was a bit of an obscure phone and I don’t have it around anymore.

Think battery life was around 8 hours standby and 1 hour talk time.

Sounds correct. About 100 for tax and around 300 for insurance.

Basic insurance is a requirement and you won’t be able to tax the bike without the insurance receipt.

At my local LTO I can buy the insurance from a teller in the same building as I pay the tax, or in a few shacks just outside of the LTO.

No contest. The best massamam is from Numchai, the restaurant on Soi Buakhao opposite the night market.

???

I thought Numchai was an electronics store.

Can you provide a more specific location? I don't know what market you mean exactly.

Do they have beef in chunks or is it sliced beef? Or what meat is it? Chicken pieces?

Numchai is on the corner of Soi 19 and Soi Buakhow. Haven’t tried the massaman there, their yellow curry (gaeng gari) used to be very good, but has for some reason gone downhill.

GPS location: 12.932422,100.88706

A quick Google search brings up their web site and this map, as LeCharivari mentions, just north of the pattaya thai intersection heading north on Sukhumvit.

Well, you cant have it allways, you want cheap property then you have to go without the local services..or spend time travelling to them....if you want to be near superstores, pay the premium.Tesco already have a few express stores on the darkside, why would they spend billions on a superstore there just to loose the custom in Central Pattaya.

Phom, Lotus already has 2 locations in Pattaya, as does Big C. Both are very busy all day and night long. There are plenty of customers on the Darkside to split that business off to a store there. The express stores you mention are no more than slightly larger 7-11s. There stock falls far short of what is available at the supermarkets. (Otherwise, why would anybody from the Darkside travel to the supermarkets?) :-)

I have to disagree with your comment about Lotus and Big C being busy. Granted I always shop late, so usually not earlier than 8 in the evening, but the south stores are not busy at all.

The only problem that could make them seem slightly busy, is that they only have a few checkouts open. So you might have to queue up behind a shopper or two before you get to the cashier.

Even though 6 weeks isn't that long time to leave a car sitting, I'd fill up the tanks. Less air in the tanks decreases the possibility of condensation. Extra air in the tires is a good advice. It's also good to place a "dry-z-air" in the car.

Fellow motorists ,

Do I have to apply for a 5 year liscence before my I year liscence is up ?

YES

NO, you don’t have to apply before the one year license has expired. Some LTOs will not even let you do that.

As Will states above your post, you have up to one year after expiry to renew.

I like to go in the afternoon, show up around 1:45 to 2pm. Maximum have been 2 people in front of me, usually just drive up and have them do the inspection immediately.

The inspection takes just a few minutes, they check the frame and engine numbers, emission, breaks and sometimes that the lights are working.

Afterwards head in to the head office for compulsory insurance and paying the tax. In the afternoon there aren’t many there, so will take around 10 minutes to do this.

Last time I was out at the LTO the inspection station was closed, this was in December. Anyone know if they have opened again?

Otherwise there are a few shops along Sukhumvit that will do the inspection for you as well. Let me know if you need their locations.

This beach near "Pattaya" airport

Come on it's not a secret any more mate. Do you have any specifics/Directions etc? Looks nice.

It’s not a secret any more…, but you still need more info Google Hat Nang Ram and you should find it.

Nice beach, but a bit crowded on weekends.

For those of us who enjoy the retired life in Thailand and sometimes enjoy doing little tasks like cooking or gardening or washing our own vehicles--I finally found a small coin operated do-it-yourself shop located off 3rd road.

As you are heading east just before the signal to soi 17 or soi VC...not sure the name at that intersection, but a 7/11 on the corner and soi is just before that 7/11 ---maybe about 500 meters or so.

As you are traveling east from Pattaya Tai on 3rd road, it is the soi just before the next signal. You have to be careful as turning left onto this small soi, you almost have to make a left U-turn to enter the soi. In a car I'd say impossible...but with a motorcycle...no prob.

<snip>

You can't travel East on Third Rd. it's a North to South road.

South, Klang and North roads are all East to West roads.

Actually you can, if you think about it. Going from Bali Hai take the overpass over Thappraya and you will be traveling East on 3rd Road

just_another_guy got the cardinal directions wrong though in his description, it would be travelling West (or maybe SW) on 3rd road. About 100m before soi 17 there is a small soi to the left that backtracks up to Soi Kopai. This must be the soi he’s talking about.

I understand it is not possible to renew a 5 year license before it expires. What if I am not in the country when my 5 year licenses (car and bike) expire and it will be a couple of months at least until I could go in for the renewal? I am worried that it might be harder to renew if it has been expired for that long, will I have to do tests again or end up with a 1 year license again?

Should I go there and ask if it's better to renew before I leave the country as an exception (which is about 2 weeks before my 5 year licenses will expire)? This would be in Phuket.

If I say, well in 2 weeks when they expire I won't be here, but if I drive from the airport in 4 months with expired licenses when I come back, it might get into trouble, maybe they would renew it before?

There should be no problem renewing before expiry. Up to two months is usually OK, somewhat different rules at different LTOs.

You can also renew up to one year after expiry.

Used to be that you had to let your one year license expire before you could apply for the five year one, but that has since changed.

I use truemove inter with the 00600 prefix for calls to the US and Europe. Prices start at 1 Baht/min and depend on where you calling, and if it’s to a landline or a mobile.

My 1 year license expires 11 feb this year so ineed to get the 5 year license next but my non-o visa expired last month, my last entry stamp is still valid so can i still get my license with the expired visa? thanks

You should have no problems getting the 5 year license with your current status.

I’d second Holiday Rent-A-Car.

Here are two semi recent threads that the OP can look through as well: Thread1, Thread2

According to Swedish media, a 27-year old man suspected of driving the truck has been arrested.

He’s currently held at the police station in Phang Nga. A remand hearing is expected to take place this afternoon.

RIP and condolences to families and friends.

No need for photos, they are now taken at the LTO.

If you’re going for both motorcycle and car bring two copies each of:

• Main page of passport.
  
• Visa/Permission to stay page of passport.
  
• Last entry stamp and TM card.
  
• Residence certificate, Work permit or Yellow Tabien Baan.
  
• Medical certificate, (sometimes required sometimes not).
  

Also bring you passport along with your recent license(s). Note that you need to let your temporary license expire, before you can apply for the 5 year one.

The one year temp in Sakon Nakhon. 5 year in Udon Thani.

Interesting, maybe someone in Sakon Nakon can verify that RCs are still not required at that DLT. Does save you a trip to immigration.

(Note that a work permit can of course be used instead of an RC.)