bdevaux

Thanks, Joe. I appreciate the information. I downloded a couple of statements and saw that these transfers have a BINT00001 code. It doesn't sound like that will be enough proof. I'll check with my branch. And, I'll bring my SSA-1099 and COLA letter.

I’ve been living in Bangkok since 2007 and have used a Non O A visa for the purpose of retirement since I arrived. I’ve relied on the US Embassy Income Validation Affidavit as proof of financial assets every year until 2019. When the recent changes were announced about the embassy letter, I decided I didn’t want to have 800,000 baht tied up for 5 months. So, I switched to a Married to Thai reason for my 2019 Extension of Stay and put 400,000 baht in the bank. Other than a few snide comments to my wife when sitting with the Immigration officer, things went smoothly.

Around this time, the US Social Security administration announced that they would deposit SS payments into Thai bank accounts. For the past 12 months, I’ve had mine deposited into my KBank account. This December, when I go to get my extension of stay, I’d prefer to use the monthly deposits (it’s more than the 40,000 baht requirement) instead of the 400,000 baht in the bank. 

It’s getting close to the time that I need to put the 400,000 baht in my account if I go that route. I’ve thought about being ready with both – just in case. But, I’d rather not unless necessary. I’d like any advice/comments/experiences on taking a chance on the monthly deposits as proof of financial assets. Thanks.

The shop I have used often is reliable and inexpensive (at least compared to the US) but he's located out in Pakkred off Chaengwattana Road. He's got a website - the name is PRS Modify and the owner is Khun Paitoon.

Vinyl Diehards on Srinakarin Road across from Paradise Park has lots of tubes of all types. Owner doesn't speak much English, but you can write the tubes your looking for and he'll show you. I recently bought a GZ34 rectifier tube from him.

Norman Rhodes Designs, which has a website, has Eames knockoffs as well as other knockoffs.  And, there's also TUBA, which is a restaurant, gallery and furniture shop, on Ekkamai Soi 21. I haven't been there for a while but they used to have Scandinavian Modern furniture.

I don't know how often TV members need to get their hifi equipment repaired. But, recently, I've had very good experiences with two places.

Several months ago, PRS Modify did a rebuild of my almost 40 year old Dahlquist DQ-10 speakers and, more recently, refurbished my Apt Holman preamp. They have a website (http://www.prsmodify.com) so you can see the range of work he does. Unfortunately Khun Paitoon's English isn't very good and he's located a bit far out on Chaeng Wattana so you'll need a car. But he does excellent work and is inexpensive.

Arm Hi-Fi got a recently purchased 40+ year old turntable into great sounding shape. Also, quality work at very reasonable rated. Khun Baum is located off Soi Rachadapisek 3, quite close to Fortune Town. He has a Facebook page at Arm_hi-Fi & Pa and his English is so-so. His phone number is 083-178-2171.

I can provide more details about the work I had done if anyone wants to know. Reliable, honest techs are hard to find but I'm very pleased with the work done by both these guys.

Bill

Lomatopo - yes, it's still operating on Soi 4. I was there a couple nights ago. It was as delicious as ever.

I also received that email. I checked with the Apple store at Paragon and was told to bring my iMac to the Apple Service Center at Amarin Plaza, 3rd Floor. I haven't done so yet but plan to in the next several days.

My wife and I got a pizza from this place last week. It was quite good. It's thin crust (I prefer thick, chewy crust myself) but was nicely charred and tasty. The toppings and cheese were generous. The pizza at Pala is my favorite by a large margin but we'll be ordering from this place again.

There is a True Value Hardware store at The Crystal Design Center. If you do a google-search for Crystal Design Center you'll get info and directions.

Thanks Astral - I'll check with KS in Amarin since I know they are the local dealer;

Thanks for looking around for me stgrhe - I sent an email to Acoustic Reality in Denmark to get their suggestion.

Sorry, I should have mentioned that I live in Bangkok.

Hi Jack,

The digital amp is made by Acoustic Reality and is based on B&O' Ice Power. The Adcom was modded by Stan Warren (of P&S Audio) and involved simplifying the circuit and removing most/all the op amps. He thought the Adcom's had great "bones" and reponded well to modification. To tell the truth, I don't know exactly what all he did; I just know it sounds very smooth for an ss amp.

If you have an more questions, I'm happy to answer.

Bill

And it's the 5400 model

Hi,

I brought 2 solid state amplifiers with me from the US and need to get new power supplies to operate at local voltage and current. (I'd rather not use transformers to convert.) One is a heavily-modded Adcom; the other is a digital amp from Denmark. Does anyone have any experience with any repair places where you have had work like this done?

Thanks, Bill

Hi,

I want to ship my personal belongings to Bangkok. I have a work permit. I'm looking for recommendations on shipping companies I can use. I live in central New Jersey so I can use either NYC or Newark. Time is not important so sea shipping is fine. I don't have lots of stuff - mostly hi-fi equipment, some books and travel souvenirs that I want to keep with me. I may have 2 cubic yards, as an estimate.

On a search, I read about Asian Tigers. Any recommendations and/or suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks, Bill.

Walking along Rajprarop this afternoon, I was given a card for the Delhi Darbar Restaurant which advertises Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Maldives, Malaysian and Nepali food. It's near the Indra Hotel; the address is: 122/69 Soi Somprasongruam, Behind the Indra Hotel, Pratunam, BKK. The phone number is 02 254 3704. Can't vouch for the place but, it's a lead.

I lived in Sri Lanka for 2 years before moving here, so I'd be interested to know if you try the place. I miss kottu badly!

No. The timing of the application for extension has no relation to the validity of the visa, only to the validity of your permission to stay. It is not the visa you are asking the immigration office to extend, but your permission to stay. The application form you use, TM.7, is called “Application for Extension of Temporary Stay in The Kingdom”:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/TM7-Extensio...y-Ki-file7.html

--

Maestro

P.S. By mistake I overwrote the post of bdevaux. His question was if immigration would not object if he applied for an extension of stay after his non-O-A visa had already expired. -- Maestro

On October 1, 2007, I received a Single-Entry, Non-Immigrant O-A (Long-stay) visa for the purpose of Retirement in Thailand from the Thai Consulate in New York City. The "Issue Date" on the Visa is October 1, 2007 and the "Entry By" date is September 30, 2008.

On October 11, 2007, I arrived at Suvanabhumi and was given a Non-OA stamp allowing me to stay until October 10, 2008.

On July 30, 2008, I went to Immigration at Suan Phlu, Bangkok to get a reentry permit for a planned trip to the US on August 6, 2008. My return date was August 27, 2008.

I filled out my form and gave my 1000 baht to the clerk at Window 7.

Several minutes later a women called me and said the following:

I could either pay the 1000 baht and get the reentry permit, or

I could simply wait until I returned to Bangkok on the 27th at which time I would get a stamp allowing me to stay for another year.

Since there didn't seem to be a down-side I chose to get the one year stamp upon return.

When I returned to Bangkok on August 27, 2008, I got two stamps in my passport. One is a Re-Entry Permit that allows me to stay until October 10, 2008. (That is the same date as the stamp I received when I arrived in 2007.) The second is a stamp stating that I am admitted until August 26, 2009. (Just like the woman at Window 7 told me.)

I assumed that I still had to renew my Visa by the end of September anyway. So, around September 9, 2008 (not positive of the date), I went to Suan Phlu to confirm what I would need to renew my Retirement Visa. Both the woman I spoke with at the Main Desk and a woman I spoke with in Room 1 told me I didn't need to renew the Visa; I was good for another year because of the stamp I got upon re-entry.

Being skeptical, I asked my Thai girlfriend to go back with me to make sure there was no language-related misunderstanding about what I was told. Again, we were told that there was no need to do any Visa paperwork until October, 2009 and that I should ignore the Re-Entry Permit.

This seems inconsistent with what I "thought" I knew about my responsibilities for visa renewal. Since I'm still skeptical, I decided to post here and get reactions.

Did I misunderstand my obligations or am I looking a gift-horse in the mouth?

(FWIW, I have had the 800,000 baht in a Thai bank account for 90 days so there's no problem complying with the renewal requirements.)

I'd like to add my voice to the choir: Congratulations BambinA. It's a well-deserved award. Your contributions are almost always useful and even when they're not useful, they're ALWAYS entertaining.

I can personally recommend AbsoluteYoga. I have a six month membership and go almost daily. They offer thrice daily Hot yoga classes as well as Hatha, Vinyasa, Astanga, Yin, Anusara and Pilates programs. Hot yoga is a good place to learn various postures; then you can "graduate" to the more advanced styles. Their website has all the pricing info as well as profiles (with pictures - I don't think you'll be disappointed) of all the instructors. In addition, they have six studios in BKK plus one in Pattaya and one in Koh Samui.

I've read thru the forum threads and think I know the answer but, since this is immigration related, I want to make sure.

I'm an American who was living in Sri Lanka prior to coming to Thailand. I arrived in Thailand March 1, 2007 on a 60-day tourist visa (issued in Columbo) and received a 30-day extension at the end of April. At the end of May I went to China for three weeks and got another 60-day tourist visa in Beijing. I just got another 30-day extension which expires on Sept. 1st. I plan to return to the US in the middle of September and get a Retirement visa.

My issue is the two week period from September 1st, when my current extension expires, and my planned departure for the US on September 14th. What I think is true from reading the forum is that I can leave Thailand on September 1st (taking advantage of the cheap airfares to Singapore or KL) and return immediately getting a visa on arrival to cover the Sept. 1 - Sept. 14th period. Having the tickets for my flight to the US will help if there are any questions when I go through Immigration at Suvarnabhumi.

Am I correct? Is there anything else I need to consider?

Thanks.

Both GNC and California Wow sell Whey protein powder. Don't know the price, though.

Hi Dog,

Without getting competitive, I could suck even more than you. I'm a Unity Thai Language School dropout because of my inability to master the tones.

But, I'm determined. So, I'm taking private lessons with a patient and talented teacher. I haven't mastered them yet but I feel like I've made significant progress during the six sessions we've had together. If you're interested, she has an ad in the Commercial Ads sub-forum as khroojee.

Good luck; if you find the magic solution, please share.

Bill

I went in for lunch today. I had to go to Immigration this morning and on my way up the escalator returning to the Sala Daeng BTS station I saw the sign for Mike's on my right. I immediately looped around via the stairs to investigate. Sure enough, there it was and it was open. Since it was only 11:15 am I went across the street and poked around the golf shops until I couldn't stand it any longer. I walked into Mikes at 11:30.

It's a well-lighted, super-clean, inviting place. (It reminds me of Johnny Rockets in Philly.) Good menu and they serve breakfast, too. Since it was a bit early there were only a few people in the place. I took that as a sign that I'd get a very good sample of the food. I also had the cheeseburger combo. The price was right and it was a good burger (the meat was a tad dry but, with the tomato, mayo and grilled onion it came with and the ketchup I put on, it wasn't a problem) and the fries were excellent (well cooked, thick but not mealy/mushy.) A nice touch was the single, fat onion ring that sat atop the fries. Plus all the condiments you expect (plus a few you wouldn't) were on the table. For 170 baht, it was excellent.

Mike, AKA Brian, was in the shop and I spoke with him for a while. He's moved to BKK from Chiang Mai to oversee the expansion. He has plans to open eight more in BKK. I hope one will be near my apartment.

As an aside, I've been working my way thru the list of Burger joints mentioned on various TV threads. So far, I've been to Big Mango, Triple O, Piri Piri, The Garage and MOS Burger. Mike's is the clear, overall winner, so far. I've only been at this a month so it will take a little time to hit the rest of the places.