Driving on Home Country License/IDP once you have a long stay visa

[WaveHunter]

10 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

I don't know man watch out on any roads where drivers can develop good speed, especially large busses and Fortuners. They will cut you off at high speed then as you blissfully continue your ride you will realize you just escaped with your life thanks to half a second of Gods grace. Doi Suthep is a great ride. Best have somebody in a car drop you off at the zoo.

Yeah, those tour buses and other crazy drivers can be pretty intimidating on the road up Doi Suthep if you don't know what you're doing. 

 

As a cyclist, you have to ride smart to be safe on that road.  When a bus comes up from behind, you stay in the middle of the lane, so they're forced to move to the other lane or wait for a break in oncoming traffic to pass you.  Otherwise, they'll come inches from you as they pass in your lane.  Fact is, if you ride that way, most drivers will show respect and not be a factor.

 

The other thing you have to be REAL careful about is oil on the road.  On your descent, you can really build up speed on a bicycle (or scooter) and if you come into a real tight turn in the road too fast, and not notice an oil slick (which there are many) it will lay your bike down before you know what happened.  THAT is very scary especially when the turn is to the left, and your bike goes down, sliding into the oncoming lane!  Been there, done that! ????  ALWAYS watch the road condition on descents!

 

I always do my rides very early in the morning before there's too much traffic.  Most experienced cyclists make the climb to the temple before 7am.  Riding down Huay Kaew Rd towards the zoo around 6am when it's still dark and empty is kind of nice. 

At that time of the morning, lots of cyclist will congregate at the entrance to CMU, the Arboretum or the Zoo, and then ride up the doi as a pack.  Lots of company, great way to meet new people, and there's a sort of competitive vibe to keep you going when the climb gets tough.  Above all, it makes it a lot safer riding up as a group. 

 

I love riding up Doi Suthep at that time of day when it's real cool and misty! 

The quietness and the wildlife you see is truly amazing real early in the morning.

 

One of the nicest bike rides you can have in Chiang Mai, getting away from all the noise and pollution of town.  Great way to start a day ????

 

Sorry to go off-topic; I'm homesick for Doi Suthep.

 

Edited October 7, 2019 by WaveHunter

[WaveHunter]

REPORT ON GETTING THAI DRIVERS LICENSE (converting from home-country license) at CHON BURI (PATTAYA) DEPARTMENT OF LAND TRANSPORTATION:

I showed up at 8:45am; doors open at 8:30am.  I got queue ticket #29.  It took about 25 minutes for my number to be called and then proceeded upstairs and submitted all of my paperwork for review.

 

• Completed license application (did this before I arrived I arrived at DLT). I am attaching the Original blank copy plus translated copy (since the original is written entirely in Thai).
• original passport plus copies of main, TM7, visa, and extension pages.
• Original + copies of US Drivers license (front and back on the copies) and International Drivers Permit (all stamped pages in the copies).
• Certificate of Residency from Immigration.
• Medical Certificate
• TM30 (signed by landlord...new rule for residency certificate in Chon Buri)  plus rental contract.  Not sure if they are required, but brought them anyway.  They were reviewed, but I don't think they are actually required, considering the girl just passed them back to me.
• I brought extra photos of me (just to be safe) but none are actually required now (at least at ChonBuri).

 

All was approved and I was given another queue ticket for my vision, reaction time testing.  Waited about 15 minutes and was called into the next room along with a dozen other people.  Each person's queue # was called, and then each was quickly tested for red-yellow-green color recognition, and that was it.  Braking reaction and depth perception were omitted for some reason.

 

Then waited about 10 minutes for them to process everyone's results, and given the signed off paperwork to verify that my name was spelled correctly, D.OB. and age was correct, passport number, etc were correct, I signed off on that, and was directed to the pay line where I paid 200 baht, and waited for my queue # to be called for photographing.  That took about 20 minutes of waiting, and then another 30 minutes for them to process the license.

 

All together, start to finish, my time at DLT was about 2 hours, and I left with my shiny new Thai Drivers license ????

 

On the whole, ChonBuri DLT is a VERY busy place but seems to be very well organized and the officers there run things very smoothly and politely.  Their English may not be 100% but it's good enough to be helpful, and they do it with a smile on their face so it's a pretty good experience overall.  I was impressed!

 

Application_For_Driving_License_Blank.pdf

EnglishTranslation.pdf

Edited October 8, 2019 by WaveHunter

[Tongjaw]

Going to Australian for 6-8 months. My Oz driving license has expired but I have a Thai driving license. 

Do I require a IDP to drive or rent a car in Oz?

How do I go about obtaining an IDP here in Thailand before I travel?

I plan to get my Oz license renewed but I believe I will require a permanent address there, is this correct? 

Edited October 12, 2019 by Tongjaw
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