racyrick

I have to renew my 5 year car drivers license in 2 weeks.

Has anybody done theirs recently and can give me advice as to what I need to bring and what time I need to be there in the morning?

Thanks in advance.

I know there are older threads on this subject, but just want to know the latest info.

23 hours ago, Poppadom said:

Mycuppa.com.au, AUD 25 per kilo 

Thanks, but they do not ship to Thailand.

Has anybody been able to find Ethiopian Harrar?

My favorite of all time.

Thanks

1 hour ago, DipStick said:

I am not too sure on your actual question, but when I move things from China to Thailand or vice versa, I always get stung when using DHL or FedEx. Try looking at a courier company called SF, a Chinese company with operations also in Thailand.they are much more efficient and cheaper.

Thanks for the reply.

Do you have a web address or phone for SF?

I heard DHL and Fed Ex was a problem, but any idea what I would pay for the above in taxes, duties and tariffs?

If I purchase 100 mugs from China and it is shipped by DHL or Federal Express, will I be charged any duties, taxes or tariffs?

The total purchase price of the mugs will be either $100USD (3,500 baht) or $300USD (10,500 baht).

Thanks in advance

If I purchase 100 mugs from China and it is shipped by DHL or Federal Express, will I be charged any duties, taxes or tariffs?

The total purchase price of the mugs will be either $100USD (3,500 baht) or $300USD (10,500 baht).

Thanks in advance

Can you have 200,00 baht in 2 different Thai bank accounts?

7 hours ago, Rc2702 said:

Rick your kind of in luck as I stumbled upon a place recently which advertises itself as a coffee shop but makes all types of home made grub that was very tasty. From memory they had:

 

Lasagne - was very good

Home made pizzas - well tasty 

All kinds of burgers

 

All types of coffee including decaf.

 

Ok this is where some locals need to lend a hand:

 

In the centre there is a park. If your standing outside park looking over dual carriageway there'd a big make up shop??? Looks well girly. Big shop. Ok to the left of that on corner is this joint. Susu coffee maybe it's right on corner and next to a haberdashery shop. Lady running place is thai but has excellent english she sounds Canadian and she's a great cook. 

Thank you so much for your help.

Hopefully someone can give me the address or location.

Do you happen to remember the name of the shop- is it Susu coffee?

Thanks again

21 minutes ago, NiwPix said:

good luck on your search. Hope some locals will be able to help.

I am curious about decaf coffee though. Have you been able to source decaf coffee for home use? I haven't been able to find any...except starbucks and boncafe.

They are the only 2 places I have been able to find decaf as well for espresso.

For regular decaf, I found Moccona and Nescafe at Tesco and Big C.

I am going to visit Khon Kaen for a few days starting Thursday to visit my wife's family.

We have not been there in 8 years.

Can you suggest a good place for the following-

1) pizza

2) hamburger-and not Mc Donalds

3) decaf coffee-and not starbucks

4) desserts

My 11 year old son is interested in 3 of the 4 above it's not the decaf coffee. lol

Unfortunately, the coffee is for me and for medical reasons, I can't have caffeine.

Thank you in advance for your help.

PS-We are staying in Amphur Muang, so the closer the better, but not very important

I am considering signing up for these services.

Does anybody have any comments or experience with them?

Thanks

Ask at the police station

What a waste of bandwidth. This forum used to be good without smartarse comments from people with nothing better to do. If ou don;t know shut your mouth.

The man asked a simple question that deserves an answer if anyone knows.

I have dealt with the Special Branch in Bangkok for becoming a Thai Citizen. Try phoning them to find out the location In Khon Kaen.

02 658 5050

Sorry you are upset by my comment

Like hell i am. It was in my opinion a very useful answer.

The officers at KK police station should be able to help, because they will know the answer.

Please lighten up and get a life.

As i final note. You are correct i do not have anything better to do.

As i am confined to my bed or wheelchair all day.

Thai visa is a lifeline to me it helps to keep me going, stops me thinking about ending my life due to me situation.

Hang in there and I wish you all the best!!

You can NOT work more than 40 hours a week and get social security.

It does not matter how much you make when you work abroad. The only thing that matters is the amount of hours you work a month.

Makes no sense to me.

If SSA finds out you are working more than 40 hours a month, they will suspend your benefits and deduct what you got from your future benefits

Flat wrong. Read the links instead of making stuff up.

I don't think so.

Here is the link again which taxout also posted.

https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home%2Fhandbook/handbook.18/handbook-1823.html

The only thing I got wrong is the amount of hours you can work.

It is 45 hours and not 40 hours.

No, please read the link above. Hours do not come into play for retirement benefits.

The link above refers to those who live in the United States.

When you work abroad and are under the full retirement age, you can't work more than 40 hours a month and get benefits.

Just call the Manila office as advised above. They are friendly and knowledgeable and will confirm what I said.

As for finding out if you work more than 40 hours, they do random update calls and yearly update forms are sent out.

Yes, it is the honor system and hard for them to find out, but do you want to take the chance?

You can NOT work more than 40 hours a week and get social security.

It does not matter how much you make when you work abroad. The only thing that matters is the amount of hours you work a month.

Makes no sense to me.

If SSA finds out you are working more than 40 hours a month, they will suspend your benefits and deduct what you got from your future benefits

Thanks for the replies.

Tried to jog, but I get home from work late, rain, exhaust fumes, too close to cars and motorbikes etc.

No fitness place close to me.

No choice but go the treadmill route, but don't want to waste my money if it breaks and I can't repair.

Does anybody know who repairs treadmills?

I want to buy one, but their is no local repair for all companies.

I would need to send machine back to Bangkok which is not feasible.

Whether it is the motor, belt or electronics.

Thank you

Forgot to mention, I have the Asus Zenfone 2 Laser-6 inch model.

Got it on the Advice website for 7,500 baht.

2 sims, 4g, memory card, 4gb AND just got the new Android update

Asus Zenfone 2 hands down. All models and the Selfie as well.

Nothing beats them. You get great specs at a great price.

Check the Advice store website. Usually awesome deals.

Thank you for your answers. I assume you are happy with the school then

Was basically looking for any general good or bad experiences,

So far, I had only heard good things about Tantiwit, so we signed up our son, he started English Program P1 just a couple of days ago.

We we´re told that it would be 70% English and 30% Thai. Looking at the class schedule, I noticed that 9/30 classes were written as Math EP1, English EP1 etc, and the rest in Thai, So was wondering if we had been misinformed, and it is actually only 30% English and the rest Thai? I have been unable to get hold of anyone in the administration office that speak English, and when my wife inquire about it, the answer is along the line of "yes yes, 70/30 no problem".

It is 70% Thai and 30% English. Remember, this is a Thai public school.

The Thai education system is one of the worst but this is the best school in the area.

If you have the money, put your son in a private school!!!!

What would you like to know?

My son has been going to the school in the English program for 4 years and just started P5.

Perhaps a few less Uniforms would help?

Perhaps free public education would help even more.

Following are all of the details from my visit to Phuket Immigration earlier this month to obtain an extension of stay based upon marriage (2nd extension, using monthly income method).

If you're not interested in the blow-by-blow details, just skip to the end for a list of the documents that were ultimately required and accepted.

To prepare all of the documentation, I used the printed "card" that was provided last year, listing all required documentation for a marriage extension. No such "card" is available this year. All documents were provided in duplicate.

Doors were opened at 8:40am (10 minutes late). About 10 people waiting on the 2nd floor terrace outside. There are now large signs posted in the 2nd floor windows noting which services are performed in each room (floor). Despite the fact that it clearly says that Retirement extensions are processed on the 1st floor, about half of the people were in the wrong place, and sent downstairs when they reached the volunteer.

Volunteer reviewed paperwork, and noted a copy of the 1st page of a bank book should be used instead of a copy of an ATM card (as opposed to what's listed on the "card"). Also, I was missing a copy of last year's extension stamp. (I took the info on the card literally, where it says copy of "visa" is required). My bad, I should have known that they want a copy of the most recent "extension to stay" stamp, and not the original visa. Strangely enough, the volunteer insisted that the prior extension stamp is a "visa" and not an "extension of stay". OK, whatever - I wasn't about to argue the definition of a "visa" versus an "extension of stay". He stated that I was missing a KorRor 3 form from the Amphoe, however I knew this was wrong as the KorRor 3 does not apply to marriages (such as mine) that occur outside of Thailand. Only 2 "house" photos were required, so he selected one outside and one inside from our stack of photos for each set of paperwork, and stapled them to a piece of paper. So down to the copy center to get the required copies, and back to the volunteer to re-check the paperwork. The volunteer's queue was empty, so this was very quick.

Next, my paperwork was passed to the I/O sitting next to the volunteer for further checking. The I/O shuffled through all the documentation numerous times (at least 6-8 times) while another officer entered some info into a terminal to check Address Registration and 90 day report status. My wife and I had done my address registration over a year ago downstairs, and my most recent 90 day report was done online 2 weeks ago. There seemed to be some sort of problem popping up on the terminal screen, and after bringing in a couple of other officers, it was determined that an error had been made when entering the Address Registration over a year ago. Some updates were made, a serial number on my Address Registration receipt was corrected, and a new 90 day report receipt was stapled into my passport. Apparently, this error wasn't caught during last year's extension processing, or the past 4 or 5 90 day reports. While all of this was going on, the I/O continued to shuffle through my paperwork checking, and re-checking multiple times. During this time, they gave me a couple of new forms to complete and sign (permission for police check, and something else).

Next, waited until an I/O was available to begin processing my application. This turned out to to be the same I/O that did the initial checking (he moved from his seat next to the volunteer, to his desk). After a lengthy ritual of assembling pieces of paper to form a desk blotter and laying out all of his rubber stamps, inkpads and pens, he began to shuffle through the documents again. I was given a couple more new forms to complete, and my wife was also given a form (exclusively in Thai language) to complete and sign. At this point, the same I/O that had already inspected my paperwork at least 15 times, now determined that he didn't like the way that my wife's Tabien Baan, and my last entry stamp had been copied, so back down to the copy center for new copies. (The issue with the Tabien Baan was that the copy included the inside cover page. The orientation of the entry stamp copy was in "landscape" mode, and he wanted "portrait mode", if that makes sense. These were the same copies that were acceptable last year.)

With all paperwork acceptable, now, he collected the 1,900 baht application fee and told us to go to the waiting area until called. After 15 or 20 minutes, I was called to have a digital photo taken near the waiting area, then told to go to the waiting area again. After 15-20 minutes, the I/O called us back to his desk. There he gave me a receipt for the application fee, and I needed to complete and sign yet another form. Then told to go to the waiting area again.

After another 15 minutes or so, the I/O calls me to his desk and hands me my passport, and I see that the "under consideration" period lasts for almost 60 days (30 days after my current extension expires).

All in all, the whole process took over 2.5 hours, and the office was not busy at all. There was never more than a handful of people in the waiting area, and much of the time the I/Os were idle. Since the office wasn't busy I'm not sure what all of the wait time was about, but I suspect that it has to do with some other officer (maybe the boss) checking things every step of the way.

Here's a list of the documents that were required/provided (in duplicate). All are photocopies except one original and one copy as noted by (*):

-TM7 Application form w/photo

-Passport ID Page

-TM6 Departure Card

-Current extension stamp

-Most recent entry stamp

-Tabien Baan - all pages, excluding inside cover

-Wife's ID card

-KorRor 22* (newly obtained from the Amphoe)

-Foreign Marriage Certificate (in English) (I/O discarded the Thai translation and MFA certification copies)

-Income Verification Letter from Consulate*

-ID page from a Thai bank account

-Hand-drawn map to the house

-2 photos of myself and wife (one inside, and one outside of the house)

How recent was your income verification letter?

Did you obtain that from the US Embassy in Bangkok?

ASUS ZENFONE...AMAZING!...AND UNDER 6000!

What is sound volume like?, I have the older Zen 5, but the sound is terrible on video's music etc, but ok on ringtone and calls. The wife's far cheaper AIS combo much better.

The Zenfone 2 Laser 6 inch model comes with 2 speakers and is very good.

Check the specs on the Asus Thailand website

Look at the Asus Zenfone 2 Laser new 6 inch model. (ZE601KL)

Great specs and price.

Regular price is 8,990 baht, but Advice has on their website for only 7,560 baht.

Check it out.