Beachlife

Has anyone used the online 90-day address notification? It wasn't working for the longest time, but seems to be now. The web-page says it was updated June 8, 2018 and the link specified works ... http://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand/90-day-reporting-immigration.php Gave it a try, but after the "submit" it never gave me a reference number. You can check with your Passport number and other info too though. Question is, how do we prove we "checked in"? If you check the "Status of application" will they give you a "Receipt of Notification" form that you can print and put in your passport?

If you're getting the cab from the airport at marked place (not upstairs from departures) then it must be metered. You get a ticket and if they give you any shit then you can report them based on the ticket (write down cab number too). You will have to pay a 50 THB airport fee on top of the meter charge. Expressway fees are on top also but no need to take Expressway at 1 am. Tell cab to take you to Phetchaburi up to Sukhumvit Soi 3 then straight into Soi 4 (if that's where you're staying). This way you bypass Sukhumvit traffic, but then you miss the seeing the Sukhumvit street nightlife ... Last Airport Link train may be 12:30 as you stated (I'm not sure), but Airport Link last station drops you off at BTS and Sukhumvit BTS closes at midnight. You can take Airport Link to Makassan station and then cab it to Soi 4. Best to walk across Asoke using pedestrian walkway overpass to get on right side of street first though.

Health requirement is different for various western countries. Just as how your foreign income documentation (monthly or deposited) is verified. Same goes for background / criminal check. You don't state your country of origin ...

Sent you a PM on this. Very easy with no money in the bank for a US citizen to get a retirement visa. No medical form needed either.

You can open a Fidelity Cash Managed account and link it to your Fidelity Individual account. I also have my IRA account (previously my 401K) through them as well. www.fidelity.com/cash-management/atm-debit-card www.fidelity.com/cash-management/overview Someone here on the board mentioned this (can't remember who) and I checked into it. Any money in your individual money market account is open to use. You can invest the rest into index funds, stocks or whatever you desire. I've been using my Fidelity debit card here in BKK to top up my Thai K-Bank account, but also want the flexibility to transfer $10k over here as well to buy a bike. You can transfer money online anywhere in the world to an account you've had setup already (takes 4-5 days to verify and setup).

You spoke about Schwab ... I discussed Fidelity. They are 2 separate investment banks in the US. There's a reason to use / have both an international fee free debit card and also have a way to transfer a larger sum of money to ones Thai bank account inexpensively when living here. If you want to buy a car, larger motorcycle or even a condo I would pay the $25 fee and do a wire transfer. For paying rent and other daily sustenance then the debit card is the way to go. Plus the Fidelity wire transfer can be done solely online (even in Thailand) whereas most banks require you to be physically in the US to sign a form to do the wire transfer. I'm not a fan of Bangkok Bank, but the Bangkok Bank NY branch method you mentioned above does seem like a very nice option for larger sums of money.

Fidelity will also give you a Fidelity Debit that reimburses international fees and has a good exchange rate. With Fidelity I can also do a wire transfer to my K-Bank account here for free too $25.00 any amount. It takes 4-5 days to setup the Fidelity wire transfer account (and best done in the US) and then it's easy to do online wire transfer even out of the country.

Not possible on US passport since Jan 1, '16. You have to order a 24 page or 48 page from the git go now. Advantage / disadvantage of getting a new passport is getting a new passport number. Good for coming in to countries since all previous history is lost (maybe the old passport numbers are hidden somewhere, but Thai authorities don't know about it). Not good in other ways since it's linked to your bank account, license and other cards in LoS.

They have ported most of the older drivers (and all the new ones) to Linux so there should not be any issues here. This is why they promote Ubuntu for older laptops ...

You should be able to download VLC Media Player and get WMV formats to work ... http://www.zdnet.com/article/vlc-player-for-chromebooks/ Biggest problem (some may say it's a good feature) is this is a Google box and thus will track everything you do and report back to the mothership. Everything being what you've looked at in terms of buying to better "suggest" what you need to buy. Hopefully, you can get the Ad Block extension to Chrome browser to stop some of the ad's from showing up.

Ubuntu runs great on older, smaller memory laptops. Just wipe it clean (after saving data) and get it cleaned at a shop, then install Ubuntu ... You can make a bootable USB for it easily. They are even pushing this now since the newer Windows OS's need so much memory and the older laptops are just fine. I run Ubuntu 15.10 on my Lenovo X1 Carbon ... many folks come up to ask me what kind of laptop it is since it is as small as a MacBook. OpenOffice (now called Libre) runs fine and you can download Wine to run Windows based App's too (can run Netflix under Ubuntu too). Any decent laptop will run Ubuntu ... doesn't need to be a highend model. Ubuntu is great for development as well. Can download many password cracking app's that run great under Ubuntu ... ubuntuportal.com/2015/10/ubuntu-15-10.html Ubuntu just keeps getting better and better ... been using it since 13.10 with clean installs as I move up. Other flavors of Linux work good too.

Where did you see this was only for Laos people? The articles I've read said it was for all countries. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/702720/new-6-month-visas-begin-nov-13-but-limit-stays

Anyone done a border run to Laos lately? Wondering if they are offering the new 6 month multiple entry visa (B5000) in Vientiane yet ...

More info on the new 6 month Visa has come out finally. Due to start Nov 13th ... Unlike current tourist visas, which offer from one to three entries, the six-month multiple-entry visa will allow unlimited border crossings during the validity period. However, to prevent foreigners from... The new multiple-entry visa will cost 5,000 baht, versus 1,000 baht for a single-entry, 60-day visa, which can be extended in-country for up to 30 days for an additional fee. I don't consider the limit of 60 days at a time a problem at all. Gives me an excuse to travel more ... www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/702720/new-6-month-visas-begin-nov-13-but-limit-stays

"broken down" meaning the new Visa is same price as the PE Visa. Yes, if staying 2-5 yrs the cost is higher getting the newer 6-month Multiple Entry Visa as you stated. You just don't tie up the same cash all at one time.