grin

Not able to edit my previous post now. It was a bit muddled as was my train of thought. To simplify, the TM8 is now two pages, asking for exactly the same information. I thought the TM7 pages might have been split at a different line than before, but I'm not sure. And the TM7 was asking for exactly the same information.

But in any case I think it was the box size for the pictures that they didn't like.

7 hours ago, CMBob said:

Would appreciate it if you could be a little more specific as to the problem with the forms you first presented (as your info might help some others avoid the same error.

(1)  With respect to the TM 7 form, did you print yours out on one page (front and back)?  Was that the problem (if not, what was it)?

(2)  The TM8 form is only one page so I'm totally confused as to why you thought "pagination" was the problem with that form.  Can you advise?

Both forms are two sided and were printed out on one page. The same forms were used last year successfully. I only made a few necessary edits this year. I didn't ask for extra copies of the new forms so I don't have them in front of me.

The only difference I could see on the TM7 form was on the first page where my form had "issued at" in English, their form had a Thai word that I can't remember.

My TM8 form had the line for Month, Year, Valid until date, Month, Year at the bottom of the first page. On the form they gave me this line and the one above appear at the top of the second page.

(edit 1) Actually there was another difference that just occurred to me. The boxes for the picture were larger on both new forms, much closer to the actual size. Now that I recall the last line in the boxes also had "4 x 6" instead of Thai numerals. That would explain how they noticed so quickly as the box sizes were so much different. My guess is that people were using smaller pictures to match the box size and did not realize that the Thai numerals translated to "4 x 6 cm".

(edit 2) Assuming the picture box size was the reason then it was me who screwed up. If I had already pasted my pictures on both forms then they could not have seen the small boxes underneath.

Visited Promenada today to get stuff transferred to my new passport, renew my retirement extension and get a new multi re-entry permit.  

I arrived late but around 11:00 AM they took my passports and papers at door number 3 and there was only about 10 minutes wait for them to do the transfers. The transfer requirements were a bit different than I remember from last time. They required a one page transfer form, copies from the old passport of the first page and every page that had a Thai stamp of any kind on it, and copies from the new passport of the first page and the TM6 departure slip and the TM30 receipt.

I spoke with people that came as early as 5:00 AM to queue up at the info desk for doors 1, 2, and 3. I had come down to that desk a week ago before having lunch at Promenada one day to see if I could get the transfer done ahead of time. Even though it was just before noon they said they were not giving out any more queue numbers for the day. So for that desk I advise coming between 10:30 and 11:00.

During the wait I went to the other desk to see if I could get a queue number for the retirement extension. They would not give me a number until the transfer was completed but they did check my papers and said they would not accept my pre-filled and printed TM7 and TM8 forms. The only difference I could see between the forms they gave me and mine was pagination but it only took a few minutes to fill them out. Fortunately I hadn't glued my pictures on the forms.

So after the transfers were done I went back and got queue number 16 for my retirement extension and they told me to come back at 1:00. I had a nice lunch and came back at 1:00. They started with number 14 and called me at 1:30. I think they only processed one more retirement visa after me so the total number was probably only 17. I got my passport back just before 2:00 and then the fun began.

I got copies for my re-entry permit and then got queue number 49. They were really slow in processing 46 and 47 and then someone showed up with drinks and snacks and they took a break at 2:15. Then nothing happened for a while. I asked and they said their system was down. Finally around 3:15 they started up again and I finally made it out of there around 3:30.

Now I've gone and done it. All I see when I'm online is lots and lots of printer and scanner ads  

I missed that on my first read about the Brother laser all-in-one. Looked it up online and it seems like a great deal for $200. Too bad I already have a laser printer. I've always had good luck with Brother printers. I bought my first Brother printer nearly 40 years ago. It was more like an electronic typewriter without a keyboard.

If I get the HP Deskjet I won't be needing more cartridges. My son will just move the continous ink supply system from the cartridges in the dead Brother printer over to the HP cartridges. This is an aftermarket exterior bottle ink supply. These exterior ink bottle kits seem quite common around here.

Most likely I will get the LIDE 220 and the HP Deskjet. That way the Deskjet can be put in a room other than my home office and my family can use it without disturbing me. I will carry on alone with my separate laser printer and flatbed scanner. Like I mentioned before I can do without inkjet printers personally.

Some good information in the replies here. Wireless all-in-ones sound great if you like inkjets. My Samsung M2020 laser printer is wireless and it is nice to be able to print from my phone and iPad with no hassle. I suppose no one has invented a laser all-in-one printer yet.

Thanks for the responses.

I tried Vuescan for Sierra and it does work with my LIDE 20. One problem is that it is not integrated with OS X, i.e. you can't scan from Preview, etc. The license is $40 with upgrades for a year or $90 with upgrades for life. Not sure if it is worth it for a scanner that I paid under $50 over 10 years ago.

I was just in Pantip recently and didn't see the LIDE 220 in IT City but will go back and check. I'm sure they can order it if it is not in stock.

On the other hand my wife reminded me that an all-in-one can be used by the rest of the family to make copies easily. I saw an HP Deskjet 2132 at BigC for 1590 Baht.

Funny thing is that the continuous ink supply system on my dead Brother all-in-one looks like it could easily be transferred to an HP Deskjet (YouTube videos). And I was just about to toss the lot of it.

I have been using a combination of a Samsung laser printer and the scanning function on an old Brother all-in-one scanner/printer/copier. The Brother device just died and I'd like to get a flatbed scanner. I don't do a lot of scanning so I do not need a scanner with a feeder. Also I have given up on inkjet printers.

I have an old Canon LIDE flatbed scanner that I always liked but OS X stopped supporting it long ago and I can't get the TWAIN SANE drivers to work with Sierra. I've been out looking but have not seen any flatbed scanners. Has anyone seen a late model Canon LIDE scanner anywhere? Or any flatbed scanners in Chiang Mai, for that matter?

Was in Pantip yesterday also for the first time since all the remodeling. I like the way they opened up the first floor. The open area is mostly mobile phone accessories, but now the TOT, AIS, DTAC and True shops are lined up next to each other. The BigC is larger than I expected, well stocked and items seem to be priced the same as other BigC's. Sad to see IT City reduced to such a small size.

We toured every floor and in general everything looks nicer. Most of the shops we have frequented in the past are still there. The 2nd and 3rd floors are still pretty empty. The food court on the 4th floor had more people than I have ever seen there before. Hopefully Pantip will be able to attract more businesses and more customers now. The only downside was that the parking lot was overflowing.

When we had the big flood about 6 or 7 years ago the shelves started going bare at BigC and Tesco. All of my favorite Thai hot sauces disappeared and never came back. None of the ones they sell now are very tasty or even spicy.

There seems to be a fad at Silicon Valley startups that I visit. They supply 10 to 20 different hot sauces for their employees in their lunch rooms. I've found quite a few good ones that I buy to bring back here.

What about when you are re-entering the country but only for a weekend when immigation is closed?

Note longer post on Promenada thread.

Has the TM30 requirement changed your travel plans?

I do some work in Asia and in some cases it might be a 2 week stint in a location where it would be easy to return home for the intervening weekend. I have wondered what would happen if I returned for a weekend and due to immigration not being open over the weekend I was not able to update my TM30 receipt. What would happen on my subsequent return to Chiang Mai? Would they still update my TM30 without a fine? They would obviously be able to see that my previous return was on a weekend when immigration was not open. Has this happened to anyone else?

This is not a frequent occurrence as I seldom work more than a week at a time in Asia so our solution is for my wife to come stay with me for the weekend or we will just meet for the weekend in some other easy to get to location in Asia.

Most of the people from the US that I know here that are over 65 use a combination of medicare and an international health insurance policy that excludes US coverage. So far I have not heard of a better option for US citizens retiring here. When I retire I think that will be my plan as well.

Maybe try one of the local solar water heating companies? My copper plumbing was installed by a local solar company but they are no longer around. If they won't do it maybe they could point you in the right direction.

My guess is that utility bills will not be allowed to be paid via credit cards at 7/11. I would not expect it to be any different than paying them at Tesco Lotus where they will not accept credit cards for electric bills as an example.

The problem is that Thai health insurance may not be any better than the 2 million Baht savings in dire circumstances. The maximum benefits the insurance pays per instance or even per lifetime may be less than 2 million Baht. If you have high blood pressure or diabetes they may consider those to be a preexisting condition for a critical illness and not cover you. And it is quite difficult to find Thai policies that will cover you past the age of 70 and nearly impossible past 80.

I had forgotten about the requirement for info about my parents. Fortunately I was forewarned on that and just looked up how to spell their first names in Thai on a website. Only their first names and nationalities appear on page 2 of my yellow book. Possibly the other info about my parents was entered on a form and/or in their database.

Getting the yellow book in Padaet was pretty easy. Showed up with my two witnesses and documents. A very friendly young man spent about a half hour interviewing everyone and filling out forms. Told me it would take a week to get the yellow book but called two days later and said it was ready.

Another problem with street food is the use of old pots that had seams welded with lead. I think there was a national effort about 10 or 15 years ago to get rid of all the pots that had lead in them. It seems like having food or soup sitting in these old pots all day could pose a problem. Plus it is hard to imagine that everyone gave up their old pots.

The dynamic currency conversion can get you in other places in addition to ATMs. If you are buying something online with a creidit card on a foreign website and they give you a choice of their currency or your home currency then you do not want to choose your home curency. As an example when buying an airline ticket online from a foreign airline like Tiger Air then choose SGD as the currency you will use to make the payment.

I just posted this on some topic in the Chiang Mai forum but thought more people might be interested here. I recently received an email from my Citi Premier card:

Based on your airline ticket purchase(s) on your Citi® card, it appears that you're travelling soon. To make things easier for you there's no need to contact us regarding your upcoming trip.

Has anyone else noticed similar tracking of your travel purchases by your credit card company?

Just got an email from my Citi Premier card which has no foreign transaction fees:

Based on your airline ticket purchase(s) on your Citi® card, it appears that you're travelling soon. To make things easier for you there's no need to contact us regarding your upcoming trip.

I visited a friend who retired in Da Nang a few times before he died. Never saw any anti-American sentiment. If anything people were pro-American. He was able to own a house there and in my limited experience the Vietnamese spoke better English than Thais.

Chalk works due to it being quite toxic. You might not want to use it if children are in the house.

I've seen Windex mentioned on this thread and I've been buying it at Big C for years. However, maybe not in the last year.