My three-bedroom Chiang Mai requires maintenance, just like houses everywhere. This is my home maintenance diary, with costs and mistakes that come with caring for houses regardless of where you live.

Electrical Work

Last week my bathroom light went out and, since replacing it required going to the electrical supply shop for a replacement, balancing on top of a stepladder, unwiring the LED ring and ballast, and rewiring the new one, I took the coward’s way out and called the electrician. He came, took a look, vanished, returned with the new unit and installed it–all within 40 minutes. The bill? 250 baht ($8.80). I gave him 500.

Painting

I got tired of looking at my fence and decided to repaint it. Two guys and a lady showed up and started by pruning my giant hedge back so the sliding gate can roll easily. Then they welded four decorative metal arrows (along the top of the gate in picture) back on. Then they painted the metal parts of the fence and gate white and gold, and painted the concrete fence–both front and side–gray, to match the house. Then, for good measure, they re-plumbed my kitchen sink so it doesn’t leak any more. Total: 7,500 Bt. (US $227.00).

Moving into my house in Chiang Mai was a little tricky. Here’s a list of what our Concierge service provides. Before you part company with your realtor and the owner–who should both be present with you at the signing–here’s the minimum:

• Cash–to pay your first and last month’s rent.
• Your new address in both English and Thai–typed into your smartphone and checked by both of them. You will need both for different audiences.
• Mail delivery arrangements–especially if you are in a condo with a front desk. You’ll be receiving all kinds of important mail in the first week or two and you don’t want it piling up under the desk because the clerk was too shy to tell you that they don’t deliver it.
• TV/Internet subscription–get the agent to set up the appointment (if any) for the installers because it’s a pain in the ass doing it yourself.
• Ditto water and electricity–get them to handle it while they’re still your friends, preferably before you even hand over the money.
• Your TM-30 Form, the Proof of Legal Residence that must accompany your permanent visa application and must be filled out and signed by your landlord.
• Your new address, in English and Thai. She also emails this to them
• The names and addresses of your new electricity and water suppliers and how to pay their bills.
• Your cable company. (She helps them subscribe).
• Your trash collector and how to pay them.

The Cost of Living in My House in Chiang Mai? When clients ask about houses and the cost of living in Chiang Mai the first place we visit is my house In the picture): It’s a useful place to start, for several reasons. It’s a real, typical house and we can walk around inside and discuss how much everything costs. It’s very significant to new arrivals that they can repaint an entire house for 15,000 Baht ($500) because now they;’re not afraid to take on a place that needs some renovation or whose color scheme doesn’t suit them. And to know how much each piece of custom-made furniture cost, because now they can think realistically about renting an unfurnished place (most Thai houses are furnished). Ditto appliance costs, my custom electrical work, fiberoptic internet and bottled water delivery. That’s why I call it ‘useful’: in a matter of minutes they have a down to earth, dollars and cents budget in mind, they understand the tradeoffs between location (mine is so-so), size, quality and monthly rent. If you’re planning to move to Thailand I recommend getting inside a real house and asking the owner every question imaginable before you start looking for your own place.

Back Story: My Thai house is on a quiet (no through traffic) street in a mixed neighborhood with expensive houses, a small bus depot and an ice factory. All neighborhoods are ‘mixed’ here: there’s no zoning. Three bedrooms, 2 tiled bathrooms, small Western kitchen, solid concrete that’s cool in summer and warm in winter for 10,000 Baht (US$300)/month. Ten minutes from Chiang Mai Old Town. I’m slowly getting it livable. Before I  moved in 12 months ago I had the interior repainted for 14,000 baht; installed new, custom-made drapes to match the color scheme (8,000 Baht) and a new garden and lawn (2,500 baht).

At dinner last month Christophe admired my windows, “Wow! You’re lucky that your house is sealable. You could run an air purifier!” I grunted and forgot about it until the local Hill People started burning the underbrush two weeks ago. The hills that protect Chiang Mai from violent weather also prevent smoke from blowing away so I followed Christophe’s advice. Siam TV, an electronics chain, has the deepest range of purifiers and I bought the cheapest. My 3,000 Baht (US$100)

Hatari has now been running 24×7 for three weeks and I’m delighted. Its 3-stage filter – mechanical + plasma + ionization – has relaxed my nasal passages and I breathe easier day and night. Highly recommended! I also spent 60,000 Baht on line for a new 27″ iMac from Apple Thailand. It arrived three days later, freight and duty free, by UPS from China! Very cool to see that the ASEAN duty-free market is starting to deliver – literally.

Knowing I was planning to spend Christmas-New Year in Australia a Thai friend suggested that, for 10,000 baht, he’d handle some tasks I’d put off: touch up the 1-year-old interior paint; get some scrapes on the car resprayed; remove the failed outside garden and its brick wall; replace the door tracks….
I returned this week to find that – if the jobs had been done at all – they’d been done half-assedly. The garden was gone but the bricks remained; the door tracks were removed but not replaced; my friend had discovered the car’s insurance policy in the glove compartment, located a body shop accredited by my insurer and charged God knows how much to the policy as an ‘accident’ (the difference will, no doubt, end up in my friend’s pocket) and, though the work was minor, the car won’t be ready for another week. My request that we cancel the job and pick up my car was met with changing excuses, so I’ve rented a car. You get the picture…

An expat friend called and I mentioned my to-do list. “None of it was done, right?” he asked. We both laughed uproariously. I would have been pleasantly surprised if the work had been completed, of course, but I wasn’t surprised at the outcome. There’s a good reason mai pen rai is the national mantra: Thais’ handling of responsibilities is unlike ours. My friend is still my friend. I still love Thailand.  I tell you this story now so that, by the time it’s your turn you’ll be relaxed and humorous about such matters. Now, here are some prices for

Services

• Water delivery costs 30 Baht/case of 24 one-liter bottles.
• Garbage collection (almost unlimited quantity) 30 Baht/week
• Electricity 900 baht/month
• Internet: 30 Gb download fiberoptic: 1200 baht/month.
• iPhone: unlimited service 960 baht/month.

Furniture

I ordered the furniture from a furniture cooperative in the countryside south of Chiang Mai. A very cool place and their solid teak stuff was amazing to look at and amazingly affordable. More on that in my next post. Meanwhile, here‘s a video of the arrival of the plants and the first of the furniture:

Reading

• 3 Phase Power – TeakDoor.com – The Thailand Forum – If you want to build a luxury house in Thailand then this is the forum for you.

January 2015: I Just Found My House in Chiang Mai. I’ll move in next week. Here’s the story:

My house in Chiang Mai was an accident. I’d saved $70,000 from the business over the past 2 years and resolved to buy an ordinary, 2 bedroom condo in a nondescript part of the inner city. But tying up my meagre capital in a piece of (very ordinary) real estate raised some problems:

1. I’d be back to square one – zero capital – while still needing to grow the business (I’ve had two requests to franchise it).
2. ‘Used’ real estate is much harder to sell in Thailand. People don’t like moving in with the former occupants’ vibes (phi) – especially foreigner vibes!
3. There’s a building boom going on with no end in sight. The economy is running very nicely (unemployment is under 1%/ Yes, that’s a’1′.) and Chinese cash is seeping in under the doors and over the transom. Everyone here is suddenly rediscovering old Chinese cousins….
4. I’d be in the middle of a grimy (Asian air quality is OK, but grimy), noisy city.
5. To go for a walk I’d have to walk to somewhere via narrow streets in the pre-dawn light.

So when a client recently told me he was moving out of his 10,000 Bt/mo., 3 bedroom, 2 ba, Western kitchen house with a lawn and off-street parking in a very quiet neighborhood 10 minutes from the city, you can guess my response. And since he was moving out 12 months into a 24 month lease, he offered to pay my first month’s rent so I could make a smooth transition.

Which is what I’m now doing. I’ve had it repainted – interior and some outside changes. The whole job cost me 15,000 Bt ($500) and took 3 days.

I hired three Thai ladies to spend a day cleaning it. They did a great job. The entire bill for that was 900 Bt ($30). I bought lunch, so that added 100 Bt to the total.

Then Aimie took me down to the curtain and drapes shop where I ordered a custom made set of handsome drapes for every window in the house, and the sliding doors. 14 separate pieces. Installed. 15,000 Bt.

Next, it was off to the furniture factory for some custom built teak furniture. And that’ll be the subject of the next episode of this piece about my house in Chiang Mai.

I also get food delivered to my house in Chiang Mai. Here’s how..

The post My House in Chiang Mai appeared first on Thai Retirement Helpers: Retiring in Thailand Made Easy.

Fancy Condos? Says Chiang Mai author Jeff J. Brown, “If you have the income, New Concept Condos are fabulous. Two bedroom condos are 40,000 Baht per month. We come to swim in the movie set pool. There’s a five-star health club and sauna too. 170 baht per person. We’re loving it.” Located in Hang Dong area, approximately 7 Kms from Chiangmai International Airport, you can buy your own condo for US$109,000 and rent it out if you wish. Claimed annual return on investment is 8%.

Serviced Apartments? It’s hard to beat Smith Residence. Nice big rooms, perfectly serviced, smart, helpful, English-speaking staff who will arrange anything, answer calls for you..and very reasonable rates: 3rd Floor suites are 8,000  and Mountain View Suites 20,000 Baht/month. 37-39 Nantharam Rd., Tumbon Haiya, Amphoe Mueang, CM 50200

Kiree Thara Resort is 10 minutes from my home (which is 10 minutes from the city), at the foot of Mt. Suthep on a narrow country road. It’s rural and scenic but in the middle of town! Prices start at $60. GPS: 18.835153, 98.953823.

Kate’s Place. Kate is a yoga buddy, a young Brit who lets people use her nice condo on the canal when she’s out of town–so you have the place to yourself without those awkward moments of bumping into someone when you’re trying to find the bathroom at night! You can make reservations on AirBnB here. If you want to check the condo neighborhood, here’s her GPS: 18.802792,98.960273.

Here’s her home made tour:

Grand Napat.

The Grand Napat is completely commercial. Handy to town. Recently built, with big grounds. Nice staff. No frills. A safe, affordable location with handy shops and stalls. GPS. 18.805376, 98.996128.

And three conventional, but good, places to stay in Chiang Mai:

Take a look at our favorite, the Bodhi Serene. When prosperous-looking people ask me where to stay in Chiang Mai I tell them it’s the best balance of luxury, cost, facilities, staff, location and price in Chiang Mai – which is why we always recommend it. Rooms start around $70 and they’re all good.  The Bodhi Serene is luxury on a  budget at around $75–$150. GPS: 18.786538, 98.990233

Here’s a recent Tripadvisor review:

Great hotel, definite value for money, friendly staff and a great location. Reviewed May 5, 2013.

I must admit I always feel apprehensive when booking hotels without personal recommendations but I found trip advisor to be spot on with this one. As I read in a review recently, the hotel isn’t anything to write home about from the outside street, but once you walk inside you forget you’re even in a town as the hotel is beautiful, tranquil and quiet. It’s situated ideally close to major temples, markets and with plenty of food and drink nearby. Staff are wonderful and can help book tours, transport etc and are helpful rather than pushy like other tour providers. We booked a standard room and found it spacious with a king sized bed, balcony overlooking the garden and there was a shower and large bathtub in the room. Our stay included breakfast and there were a large variety of options available. There are several common areas (pool, garden, breakfast area and library) and these are all kept clean, tidy and quiet also. Can’t recommend The Bodhi Serene enough.

Next in the value list is The Empress Hotel, starting around $45. The second, The Empress, is remarkable value for money, at around $45–$90. GPS: 18.775707, 98.999284

Here’s a recent Tripadvisor review:

Very nice hotel with good service. Reviewed May 30, 2013

We were a group of 3 families with young children who travelled to Chiang Mai in April 2013 during Songkarn festival holidays. We booked this hotel on internet and actually were a little circumspect of what we are going to get when we arrive. All our worries were put to rest when we arrived at this hotel. The location is good being centrally located in Chiang Mai with quick and easy access to night bazar. Breakfast is nice and has a lot of choices. Rooms are big, spacious and clean. Staff is courteous and service provided is also good. Overall, The Empress is an excellent value for money.

And finally, the value leader, WangBurupa Grand Hotel, inside the Old City Walls is where to stay in Chiang Mai if you’re watching your budget. Rooms start around $30–$50 and they’re all good, too. All of these prices, of course, depend on the season and how far in advance you book. GPS: 18.783980, 98.992719.

Here’s a recent Tripadvisor review:

Nice hotel in the old city.  Reviewed May 23, 2013

Here’s a (silent) tour of the Wang Burupa:

Note: I book all our hotels stays through Agoda because they buy half the hotel rooms in Asia for cash in advance, then re-sell them online at a deep discount. Their website also allows you to filter the hotels displayed according to all kinds of personal preferences. Here’s the map:

The post Where to Stay in Chiang Mai appeared first on Thai Retirement Helpers: Retiring in Thailand Made Easy.

An OA Visa requires you to deposit 65,000 Baht monthly into a Thai bank account. You may spend down that total amount each month but you must be able to show that a deposit is made each month for the 12-month period leading up to the time you apply for your yearly Thai retirement visa renewal.

Or you can make a non-interest bearing 800,000 Baht ($25,000 U.S.) deposit if you reside here alone or 400,000 Baht for those married to a Thai citizen. Three monthly prior to renewal, the full amount of 800,000 must clearly be on deposit in a bank and you must present the bank document to immigration for your visa renewal.

This means that you will not be required to show that you have retirement income of 65,000 coming in each month. If we assume that there are half a million foreign retirees here, then they will be lending the country $12.5 billion each year, interest free, which Thai banks lend this money out for interest income or profit. Nice work!

Using these Thailand retirement visa download forms–if your local immigration office is cooperative, you may be able to get an ‘O’ Residence Visa, which means you don’t need to buy medical insurance. Terry writes: “I know the folks here at the Mae Sai Immigration Office and they will help me.  It is very easy, go across the border and come back with a 30-day visa, go to the immigration office with a letter from the bank, dated the same day, and bankbook showing at least 800,000 THB for a few months (at least 2) and my yellow book to show residence.  Fill out form and they issue a 90 day “O” visa. Then return in 90 days and they issue a 1 year “O” visa extended yearly. By the way, when the lady at immigration told me I did not need insurance when I asked 3 months ago, because I had an “O” visa and not an “OA” visa.

Below are some Thailand Retirement Visa Forms Download to speed you on your way, and here are some recent visa alternatives.

From a client: In 2017 I moved to Thailand with the ‘O’ visa and had it extended twice under retirement regulations. I met a lovely Thai woman in Chiang Mai. We married and have since moved to the United States to improve her English. We plan to return to Thailand and I want to obtain a marriage ‘O’ visa instead of retirement O-A visa. I have enough Social Security and a pension to satisfy Thai requirements. But when I left Thailand last year the US consul would no longer certify income. Has this issue been resolved? I have proof of my monthly income. Will this be accepted? The Answer: In relation to the non-0 visa, you must follow the new regulations;
You must apply for a Non Immigrant 0, a single-entry 90-day visa.
You must set a bank account in Thailand and transfer the SS amount into this account every month.
Then we will take proof from both of these documents and get you an extension.

The Immigration Bureau has launched the e-Via on Arrival (E-VOA) system to cut visa processing time to as little as one minute. The new system has beentrialled at Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports since November 15 and is now available at Chiang Mai. You can request a visa on arrival in advance here anytime from 30 days to 24 hours in advance. Once you arrive you show your passport at specially marked counters and obtain your visa in just one minute.

There are now three main alternatives to the traditional twelve month retirement visa:

1. The annual extension of stay based on a farang’s marriage to a Thai national. This is mainly used by expats under 50 who are too young to apply for the retirement option.  It requires at least 400,000 baht in a Thai bank or proof of overseas income to the same amount.  Application and renewal can be slow because of the substantial documentation required and the need to show that the marriage is not on the rocks or fake..
2. The most popular option is the annual retirement visa which requires income or bank balances of at least 800,000 baht, the “extension of stay for retirement”, or O-A visa. Documentation is relatively straightforward. Total annual cost, with all bells and whistles, is around 15,000 Baht. The form to use is TM8
3. The ten year visa– in fact two chunks of five years – requires a lot of complex paperwork including police clearance from your national police at home and possession of comprehensive Thai medical insurance–and foreign-based policies are ineligible.  One disadvantage of X-O is that a sum of money from 1.8 million to three million baht has to be lodged in a Thai bank on a long-term basis. Nevertheless, some people feel much more secure with a visa option which does not require annual renewal and say that the bureaucracy is actually more hassle than the new 10 year visa.
4. The Elite card.  It requires a one-off payment of between 500,000 baht and two million baht for residency rights from 5- 20 years.  You don’t have to do 90 days reporting in person: Elite does that and you don’t have to stand in long lines at the airport immigration.  Other advantages include discounts on spas and golf courses and no need for annual, cumbersome paperwork. The Elite card is run by a company owned by the Thai tourist authority to serve high-end visitors and investors.  It currently has 4,800 members, mostly from UK, China and Asean countries.  There are various options for family membership. The Elite card is the most expensive to obtain but requires little documentation and certainly simplifies responsibilities with Thai immigration.  Although it is true that Elite can handle the 90 days reporting on a customer’s behalf, this holds true only for those members living in major cities and not in rural areas.  Elite membership networks are also useful for those needing work permits or investment introductions.
5. Six Month Multiple Entry Tourist Visa: This gives travelers and digital nomads freedom to go where they wish, whenever they wish and not worry about visa expiration dates. Visit Bali for a weekend, Cambodia to see Angkor Wat, then to Saigon whenever you want and not have to worry about wasting of one of your entries on your visa. Play your cards right and you can squeeze up to 9 months: get the new visa two weeks before leave for Thailand–you must apply in a foreign country and the fee is around 10,000 Baht–and make sure you fly back to Thailand just before your six months expires. You can then extend it for another 30 days without leaving the country!

Thailand Retirement Visas Download Forms: Getting a retirement visa involves getting permanent residency in a new country, so it’s not a trivial matter.

The Thai government doesn’t know you from Adam and wants to protect its own citizens from evildoers (they have enough of their own, thank you) and deadbeats. So expect to jump through a few hoops before you’re settled. If the process seems daunting, use our one-day, 15,000-Baht Concierge Service and we’ll do the paperwork for you (plus get you a bank account, a home, licenses and other handy items).

Like most Asian countries, Thailand is very ‘place conscious’: they want to associate everyone in the Kingdom with a fixed place, a home. So every house in Thailand must maintain a ‘house book’ that records who lives there, for example. That’s why you must get your new landlord to fill out Form TM30, below: it proves that your lease (which you must also produce) is real and that you are listed in the landlord’s house book. It makes your landlord somewhat responsible for your whereabouts.  But be of good cheer. Just click, download the form you need, fill it out and you’re good to go. Thailand Retirement Visas Download Forms:

Application for Visa on Arrival [ddownload id=”6193″]

For this you will need the following:

1. Passport with a minimum remaining validity of 30 days*
2. Return / onward journey air ticket for travel within the next 15 days
3.One passport size (4 x 6 cm) photo
4. Boarding card of the flight of arrival
5. Duly filled-in Visa on Arrival application (Thailand Visa on Arrival Application Form is given in this page below) and Arrival / Departure Card (provided during the flight)
6. Visa on Arrival fee of 2,000* Thai Baht to be paid in Thai currency only
(*Visa on arrival fee will be 1000 THB between December 1, 2016 and August 31, 2017)
7. Hotel address / other stay address in Thailand that can be verified
8. Hotel booking voucher (they have recently started asking for it)
9. Thai or other currency or ATM/debit card with bank balance equivalent to 10,000 Thai Baht per person or 20,000 Thai Baht per family

(* The minimum remaining validity of the passport is specified as 30 days at the LED display near the VOA counter at Don Mueang Airport Bangkok. Earlier the requirement used to be six months. I just hope the airline check-in counter employees and the immigration officials in your home country are also aware of it, otherwise you maybe denied boarding. Please use your discretion in this matter.)

Retirement Visa Application

[ddownload id=”5660″ style=”button” text=”Thailand Retirement Visa Application”]

This is generally called a ‘Retirement Visa’. It’s the fundamental form you’ll need to settle in Thailand. Use the TM8 form.

U.S. Consulate Affidavit Form[ddownload id=”6009″ text=”U.S. Income Affidavit”]

Use this if you don’t want to bother using a bank statement to declare your assets or income. Fill out this form but do NOT sign it. Take it to the Consulate and sign it in the presence of a consular officer.

Change Passport Details [ddownload id=”5656″ style=”button” text=”US Passport Change Application”]

Use this if you get a new passport, or change your passport nationality.

Thai Residency Application [ddownload id=”6003″ style=”button” text=”Thai Residency Permit Application”].

This is required for some transactions like applying for a driver’s license, buying a vehicle or condo or filling a Final Will. A Certificate of Residency is valid for 30 days, so most people apply at the time of need.Fill out the form then go directly to the Immigration office and they will verify it.

Proof of Residency: TM30 [ddownload id=”6084″ text=”TM30 Proof of Permanent Residency Address”]

This must be filed by your landlord, not you, and updated every time you return from overseas or staying elsewhere in the country..

Change of Address: TM28[ddownload id=”6085″ text=”Change of Address”]

Expats are required to keep their residential address current with the Immigration Service.

Re-Entry Permit[ddownload id=”6086″ text=”Application for Re-Entry”]

Use this when returning to Thailand.

The Thai Department of Immigration has proposed offering ten year retirement visas for those who can afford them. They’ll have a 5 year stamp followed by a 5 year extension, similar to the current Elite card visas. To qualify you need 3 million baht in your bank for 1 year or an income of over 100,000 baht monthly and proof of health insurance. I expect that it will be an optional upgrade, rather than a replacement for the current. 12-month renewable visas. The Department intends the new visa to boost medical tourism. The visa fee is 10,000 baht (S$400), he added. Apart from the age requirement–you must be at least 50 years old–the new visa requires eligible foreigners to have a monthly income of at least 100,000 baht or a bank deposit of at least 3 million baht, to be maintained for at least one year after receiving the visa along with health insurance coverage for at least US$1,000 (S$1,430) for outpatient care and US$10,000 for inpatient care per policy per year. But holders of the new visas will still be required to report to the immigration department every 90 days.

Work Permits?

Check out the details here...

Thailand Retirement Visas Can be Difficult to Get, Harder to Keep.

Western countries can be relaxed about foreigners in their midst. Not Thailand. Thais know that their country is the most wonderful, beautiful place on earth, because that’s what they’re taught at school, and everyone on earth would like to live here. Given Thailand’s long, unmarked borders, the millions of immigrant laborers are too much trouble to keep track of. Besides, they do all the hard work (Thai unemployment is under 1%). So Immigration officers devote most of their attention to keeping track of farangs (white Europeans). If farangs’ papers are not in order, the reasoning goes, it’s likely that they’ll either be offered a bribe or get a commendation from the Bureau for catching the offender. The polite, smartly-uniformed (and very cute) officers found my papers were in order so we got to chatting. They were clearly curious about my standard of living. “How much do you pay for your house?” they enquired. “10,000 Baht”, I responded. They shook their heads in amazement. A single man living alone in a 3-bedroom house pays more in rent than the officers makes in salary! Farangs really are rich.

Sometimes getting a Thailand retirement visa turns into a nightmare. It can happen in any country, of course, but here are three Thai tales to amuse you:

#1. With all my documents in hand I visited the Thai consulate in Frankfurt yesterday. The lady at the counter was very helpful.  Then she said that I needed to also provide a rental contract or a condo purchase contract.  I have never heard or read of that requirement.  I checked the Thai Embassy Germany website and there is no mention of that requirement as well.  I know that I will need to find a place to rent, but this requirement creates some logistical issues as I will have to travel to Thailand in August/September of next year to find a place to rent and then return to Germany to submit all the paperwork for a Non-Immigrant Visa “O-A” (Long Stay). Have you ever heard of this? What are your thoughts and recommendations?

I recommended visiting again and approaching a different official, since Thai officials often make up their own requirements. Here’s his report: I did try to get another lady but when I came into the consulate there were plenty of Germans filling out paperwork and no one was in line in front of the three service windows.  The first lady that showed up was the same one that I spoke with the previous week and no one was in line, so I went back up to her and asked her for clarification of the requirement of a rental contract or condo purchase contract in order to obtain a Non-Immigrant Visa  “O-A” (Long Stay).  She stated that it was in fact a requirement, I replied that it is not shown on the Thai consulate Frankfurt website,  the Thai embassy Berlin website, or the Thai embassy Washington, D.C. website.  Her initial response was that I should apply for my visa through the one in Washington, D.C..  I then stated that I didn’t see the rental/condo purchase requirement on the main Thai website either.  She left and went around the corner out of sight.

When she returned she stated that it was the Thai consulate Frankfurt’s requirement and they could add additional requirements.  I then asked her where is this requirement written and she replied that the website should be updated in a 2-3 weeks.  I explained that this requirement creates some logistical challenges.  I asked her how would a person get a rental contract on a tourist visa.  She then replied that many people that come into this consulate have been to Thailand many times and they know the area they want to stay.  I then replied that I do know the area, it is Bangkok.  She then said that it Bangkok is a big area and where would I want to live.  I said it would be near the school that I select to attend Thai language training.  She followed that by stating I need a rental contract.  I asked if a 6 month hotel reservation suffice and she said no it would not. I smiled the entire time and was respectful.  I just tried to understand this requirement and how I would meet it in order to get a long stay visa.  I even politely asked if I could speak to someone else.  She leaned over and spoke to an older lady and then replied to me that she is the visa official.

I will not continue to bore you with what became a circular discussion. Toward the end of the discussion she stated that I should go there on a 90 day visa and then get a one year extension.  I asked her if he one year extension is the same as a long stay visa.  She then stated that I should get a retirement visa.  I told her that was what I was trying to do with the a Non-Immigrant Visa  “O-A” (Long Stay) and I asked her if that is the retirement visa.  She stated that “you could sort of call it that.” As an engineer I only thought about that comment, thinking well it is the retirement visa or it is not.  “Sort of” is not definitive.  After she stated that she then she brought the conversation back to the rental/condo purchase requirement.  I apologized for my confusion and thanked her for her time and left smiling.

#2. I have been in Thailand for many years and am particular to “do the right thing” when it comes to visa. However I finished working last April, so I visited my local immigration office to see about going onto a retirement visa. I was told this was simple, leave the country and come back in on a 15 day tourist visa, and then go back to the same immigration office and take all the paperwork, bank statement and supporting documents with me for a retirement visa. This I did and was duly given a visa stamped RETIREMENT.and I paid the required fee. I never checked the dates on the stamp, an error on my part.

Anyhow they has stapled a slip into the passport which asked me to go back in on the 30th July, the issue date of the visa was the 14th May, I couldn;t work this out, so in early July I returned to the office to ask them was this correct. The woman said no, you don’t have to worry about that and she removed the slip and binned it. just come back when the the visa expires. remember that I didn’t check the dates and in my mind it would have been May 2015.
All my friends on the same visa and reporting every 90 days, and I am worried, so come September I again attend the immigration, pass over the passport and ask them do I need to report, same reply, no, come back when your visa is up. I have witnesses to both these visits.

Today, I attend the immigration with friends who are renewing their retirement for another year, I decide to have another go as to my not needing to report like my friends. The woman looks at the passport and I am told I do not have a current visa, I go through the scenario several times, but you know the story you can never get anything across that they don’t want to hear. When I said that the first visit the woman had torn the slip out and thrown it away, I was told that was impossible and in fact they went to great lengths to tell me that I had applied for and been given a 90 day Non O and I should have gone back in and applied for the retirement visa. By this stage the supervisor was out and so was the head woman who followed me outside.

I am now 8 months overstay. They told me to do a border run to Myanmar tomorrow, (my closest point) come back in on a 15 day tourist visa and then go to the immigration in Bangkok get a 90 day Non O and 60 days into that go and see them with all the necessary paperwork for a RETIREMENT visa.

Not only that they tell me anything over a 90 day overstay can lead to being banned from Thailand for 12 months, but this won’t happen to me tomorrow as they are just introducing it and not enforcing it at present.

The other thing I can’t understand with this new request is why do I have to travel to Bangkok to get a 90 day Non O when they are saying thats what they gave me in Kanchanaburi last year. As you can appreciate I am quite worried aout going to Myanmar tomorrow, as I am not at all sure they will let me back in. I firmly believe they put the incorrect dates in the passport, and if as they say I had only originally applied for a 90 day Non O why did I have to present the bank statement and financials adding up to the 800,000 requirement.

#3. On Monday 30th June I went to the Thai Immigration centre in soi Suan Phlu, Satorn. I had entered Thailand on the 8th of April on a Full O/A one year visa, but as this was my first 90 day report, I wanted to leave plenty of time in case there were any problems.
Not being exactly sure what I would need to make my 90 day report with, I took more or less every relevant piece of paperwork I had. I also took my fiancee with me, to confirm that I was living at her house…

When I arrived at the immigration centre, I joined the information queue, to find out exactly where I should go… the woman behind the counter looked at my passport, visa and entry stamp… she gave me a queue number and and a form to fill in, and pointed me to the longest queue in the building… my number was 40 places down the queue, which moved at anagonisingly slow pace… then all the immigration officers went to lunch… as I looked around the queue, I was suprised to see many entire families, with Dads clutching a whole sheaf of documentation… often several inches thick. Eventually the staff returned from their lesurely lunch break, and started interviewing people again… by this time about 2 hours had passed and only five places had changed in the queue… I asked a chap if this was the 90 day report queue. He replied “No Mate… this is to apply for a visa extension… we have to do this every year” I explained that I had a full O/A visa, and was only there to do a 90 day report… “You’re in the wrong Queue Mate”, he replied, “That queue’s next door, it only takes about 10 minutes”

Heaving a sigh of relief, I collected my fiancee and my heap of paperwork, and went back to the information queue by the entrance : ” I just need to make a 90 day report” I explained… “No, Wrong visa : Cannot report, You need to get new visa” Was her response… I couldn’t understand this at all, as my full O/A, multiple entry visa was supposed to be the all singing all dancing version, which entitled me to stay in the kingdom, and report every 90 days without doing border runs… I had sweated blood to obtain this visa in London, and gone to a lot of trouble to assemble the qualifying paperwork, and then get it all notorised by a solicitor…

Convinced that She had misunderstood, I waited for her to become involved with another customer, and asked her collegue for a number for the 90 day report queue… this was issued, along with a different form….

I filled in this shorter, and much simpler form, and within 20 minutes my number was called : I stepped up and handed over my passport and form, and braced myself for the inevitable grilling… ” No Good : I cannot stamp this Passport : Wrong Visa!” was the response…

It was at this stage that I nearly lost it bigtime… I knew that I had the right visa… but two immigration officials had now refused it… I had one week before my 90 days were up, and I would have to leave… if I couldn’t sort this out. Several harried ciggies and a lot of muttering later, I rejoined the origional queue… fortunately I had retained my origional queue number, and only had to wait one more hour before this number was called…

The lady behind the desk studied my form and passport with interest : “What you do today?” she asked me… ” I have sat in various queues here at immigration today”I replied, and managed to summon up a smile.
“No :What you DO?” She asked again… then the penny dropped… ” I am retired… I don’t work here in Thailand” I replied…
“OK, You need new visa : You need letter from embassy, say you have enough money, you need docter letter, you need Thai Bank account, You need photocopy passport, and photos… ” I asked what was wrong with my origional visa, ” Visa no good, you need change for retirement visa. This visa expire monday”
I was hurled into the depths of despondancy : Three months work obtaining the origional visa in London down the drain… I knew that I didn’t have time to complete the application process again before monday… “Can I border run, and get another 90 days?” |I asked her… “No, Visa no good, not let you back in” Was her response… ” Go get letter from embassy about money, come back tomorrow… come straight to my desk… not queue again” she kindly told me…

Wearily, I and my fiancee left the building… I was not a happy bunny. I couldn’t understand what the problem was with my full O/A visa, and my lack of comprehension made me very angry… mostly with myself.

The following day, I attended the UK embassy,Filled in yet another form, and showed my bank statements, and income. “OK sir, we’ll have the letter ready for you tomorrow…” Whilst I was there I applied for my “Affirmation of freedom to Marry”, although by that stage I was wondering if I would be in Thailand long enough to attend my own wedding.
“No Worries sir, that will also be ready tomorrow : That will be 5800 Baht please… ”
Bloody hel_l, I thought… I thought the Thais knew how to charge for paperwork… this lot evidently tought them how!…

There was no point in going back to the immigration office until I had the letter, and it was My fiancee’s daughters birthday,,, I resolved to make it the happiest day I could, as I could see some bad days on the horizon… As I headed down to the place to get a cab, I bumped into a monk, and thrust 200 Baht at him : “Tam Boon” I said, and left him rather confused… two beggers also struck lucky… as I figured I needed all the merit I could gain with the gods, spirits, or lady luck…

That evening, I went on the internet, and tried to figure out what I had done wrong with my Visa… needless to say, just about every website contradicted every other website on some details… and all seemed intent on selling me an expensive deal with representation… I photocopied every page of my passport, as most of the sites suggested this, and prepared to go dressed in suit and tie, ordering another 8.00 am taxi…

Wednesday morning I and my fiancee attended the UK embassy again, Picked up the financial letter, which seemed to be fine, and the Affirmation of freedom to marry.
Taking a dog leg to a photocopiers, and making two copies of the embassy letter, We headed back to the Immigration Office, filled with dread and forboding… I had no doctors letter, and no Thai Bank account… I could only hope for the best.

When We arrived back at the immigration office I joined the information queue again… even though the lady at desk 17 had asked my to go directly to her… with my luck, I thought, she wouldn’t be in today, and I’d better have a number in the queue to be on the safe side…
Behind the desk sat an altogether more impressive immigration officer, covered in decorations and obviously master of all he surveyed.
He took my passport… ” Sir This Passsport has wrong stamp…” My heart faltered again… ” The Immigration officer at the airport has only stamped this passport for 90 days… he should have stamped it for a whole year… I’m very sorry sir… Please take it to desk 519, and the stamp will be corrected”
My heart started to beat again… Light at the end of the tunnel!

At desk 519 the young lady cheerfully corrected the stamp, and suggested that I make my 90 day report :” Only 3 more days sir… Why not do it today?”
Ten minutes later, and one very simple form later, I was at the report desk, ” OK Sir, no problem”. Not a single question about my address or finances…
Then I was out of the building, secure in the knowledge that I had obtained the correct visa in the first place, and that I now had 9 more months before I had to do my visa extension paperwork again…
So all I can suggest is : Make merit, as often as you can…After all that, I’ve now managed to lose the piece of paper that was given to me after making my report… so I guess I’m in for a 2000 baht fine…Murg.

Need any more Thailand Retirement Visa Forms Downloads?

Need a Thailand work permit?

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My Dermatology Bill

March 6, 2020. Just back from the hospital, where I was checked for Coronavirus at the curbside, had my vital signs checked by a technician, then examined by my usual dermatologist:

• A dozen ‘rough spots’ on my head and neck, which he removed with CO2, and a worrisome lump on my temple.
• He biopsied the lump and sent the sample to the pathology lab, telling me to expect an email in five days that would give me the results of the biopsy and, based on its malignancy, recommend ways of treating it.
• The entire process took 40 minutes from my car and back, everyone was, of course, totally sweet and the bill, 4,400 Baht, US$140, was even sweeter.

Here’s a tip:

Foreigners treated at government hospitals may pay more than Thai nationals according to a new pricing structure, from 30 September. The pricing structure separates foreign patients into three groups: Foreigners from neighbouring countries (including Laos, Burma, Cambodia, Vietnam). Foreigners working or studying in Thailand (Non B, ED, M). Foreign retirees and tourists (Non O, TR, VOA)   Foreigners from ASEAN countries have relative parity with Thai nationals but foreigners who work or study in Thailand will be charged significantly more, while retirees and tourists will be charged more than any other group. Under the new guidelines, a Thai national would pay 160 baht for a HIV test, where as retirees and tourists would be charged 320 baht.

Medical care in Thailand is living up to its reputation. A client recently had a medical emergency and I checked her into Chiang Mai Ram Hospital, which I use and recommend. Tests showed that she was in critical condition so she was hustled off to the Intensive Care Unit, where she spent four days and nights. I’ll have a full report on the quality of care next month but I just saw the bill for the ICU and drugs: US$1,200. Note that this was just for care–she had no surgical procedures but at least it gives you a floor price for IC in a hospital that’s JCI and ISO9000 accredited.

Medical care in Thailand meets Persistent Insect Bite. I’ve always been sensitive to insect bites but for the past six months I’ve had one for six months, above my ankle, that would kept flaring up and itching. After trying every natural and over-the-counter remedy I broke down and went to the dermatology department at Chiangmairam Hospital, close to my home. It’s a world class operation, ISO 9000 and US-certified, where I had my cataract surgery, so I was not surprised by the good treatment I received. Once the receptionist had retrieved my records I was weighed, vital signs – temperature, blood pressure, blood oxygen, pulse – taken and, five minutes later was ushered into the dermatologist’s office.

A young guy (prefect skin, like all dermatologists), he nailed it: “Ah, yes. Persistent insect bite. Nothing to worry about. I’ll just give you a micro-injection of cortisone at the site of the bite, and it’ll disappear by itself”. The bill, as you see above, was under US$30. Since I drove up to the parking area outside the dermatology department, I was back in my car and on the road in forty minutes. That’s what I love about Thai medicine: a lot of value without wasted time, from pleasant, caring people.

Incidentally, the bite did disappear by itself and no longer persists.

More detail on medical care in Thailand here..

The post Medical Care in Thailand appeared first on Thai Retirement Helpers: Retiring in Thailand Made Easy.

Have you seen headlines like this? Thailand Protests–Students Fight to Restore Democracy. Well, those “students” are fighting to weaken Thai-Chinese relations at Beijing’s expense. Western media’s support for the small mob–complete with quotes of support from the American Embassy in Bangkok!– is the first clue that it has little to do with democracy or Thailand’s best interests.

It’s an attempt to boost waning American influence in Thailand Asia (GM just pulled out of Thailand). A billionaire candidate named Thanathorn openly took Western embassies’ support and members of his party , Future Forward, are from US and EU-funded NGOs. Thanathorn “loaned” his party millions of dollars though it has no means or intention of repaying the “loan,” meaning that it was instead in all actuality a donation – made in direct and complete violation of Thai election laws.

Since I moved to Thailand I’ve been impressed at the wide variety of nationalities I’ve met. Chiang Mai has a remarkably diverse cross section of the world’s peoples coming through it all the time. I’ve met Slovenes and Ukrainian, done yoga with Vladimir Putin’s TV producer (she says he’s “very obedient and has a good sense of humor”) and Eritreans and Sardinians and Kosovans. It’s been great!

What hasn’t been so great is the questions they ask. As soon as they find that I’m an American citizen in Thailand they start grilling me about US foreign policy. The Thais want to know why we publicly criticize the current head of government (post-coup) without understanding the difficult position he is in and why the bloodless coup saved so much Thai blood. It’s not a simple story, to be sure, but it’s a story that anyone can understand. They’re kind of amazed at how little we know in America about what’s going on the the real world. I don’t want to bore you with a personal rant, but when I came across American expat Ann Jones wrote home recently, I couldn’t resist passing it on. Foreign policy discussions are now part of polite society’s discourse – at least among expats. Forewarned is forearmed…

Americans in Thailand, and those who live abroad — more than six million of us worldwide (not counting those who work for the U.S. government) — often face hard questions about our country from people we live among. Europeans, Asians, and Africans ask us to explain everything that baffles them about the increasingly odd and troubling conduct of the United States.  Polite people, normally reluctant to risk offending a guest, complain that America’s trigger-happiness, cutthroat free-marketeering, and “exceptionality” have gone on for too long to be considered just an adolescent phase. Which means that we Americans abroad are regularly asked to account for the behavior of our rebranded “homeland,” now conspicuously in decline and increasingly out of step with the rest of the world.

In my long nomadic life, I’ve had the good fortune to live, work, or travel in all but a handful of countries on this planet.  I’ve been to both poles and a great many places in between, and nosy as I am, I’ve talked with people all along the way. I still remember a time when to be an American was to be envied. The country where I grew up after World War II seemed to be respected and admired around the world for way too many reasons to go into here.

That’s changed, of course. Even after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, I still met people — in the Middle East, no less — willing to withhold judgment on the U.S.  Many thought that the Supreme Court’s installation of George W. Bush as president was a blunder American voters would correct in the election of 2004. His return to office truly spelled the end of America as the world had known it.  Bush had started a war, opposed by the entire world, because he wanted to and he could. A majority of Americans supported him.  And that was when all the uncomfortable questions really began.

In the early fall of 2014, I traveled from my home in Oslo, Norway, through much of Eastern and Central Europe. Everywhere I went in those two months, moments after locals realized I was an American the questions started and, polite as they usually were, most of them had a single underlying theme: Have Americans gone over the edge? Are you crazy? Please explain.

Then recently, I traveled back to the “homeland.”  It struck me there that most Americans have no idea just how strange we now seem to much of the world. In my experience, foreign observers are far better informed about us than the average American is about them. This is partly because the “news” in the American media is so parochial and so limited in its views both of how we act and how other countries think — even countries with which we were recently, are currently, or threaten soon to be at war. America’s belligerence alone, not to mention its financial acrobatics, compels the rest of the world to keep close track of us.  Who knows, after all, what conflict the Americans may drag you into next, as target or reluctant ally?

So wherever we expatriates settle on the planet, we find someone who wants to talk about the latest American events, large and small: another country bombed in the name of our “national security,” another peaceful protest march attacked by our increasingly militarized police, another diatribe against “big government” by yet another wannabe candidate who hopes to head that very government in Washington.  Such news leaves foreign audiences puzzled and full of trepidation.

Question Time

Take the questions stumping Europeans in the Obama years (which 1.6 million Americans residing in Europe regularly find thrown our way).  At the absolute top of the list: “Why would anyone oppose national health care?” European and other industrialized countries have had some form of national health care since the 1930s or 1940s, Germany since 1880.  Some versions, as in France and Great Britain, have devolved into two-tier public and private systems.  Yet even the privileged who pay for a faster track would not begrudge their fellow citizens government-funded comprehensive health care. That so many Americans do strikes Europeans as baffling, if not frankly brutal.

In the Scandinavian countries, long considered to be the most socially advanced in the world, a national (physical and mental) health program, funded by the state, is a big part — but only a part — of a more general social welfare system.  In Norway, where I live, all citizens also have an equal right to education (state subsidized preschool from age one, and free schools from age six through specialty training or university education and beyond), unemployment benefits, job-placement and paid retraining services, paid parental leave, old age pensions, and more.  These benefits are not merely an emergency “safety net”; that is, charitable payments grudgingly bestowed upon the needy.  They are universal: equally available to all citizens as human rights encouraging social harmony — or as our own U.S. constitution would put it, “domestic tranquility.”  It’s no wonder that, for many years, international evaluators have ranked Norway as the best place to grow old, to be a woman, and to raise a child. The title of “best” or “happiest” place to live on Earth comes down to a neighborly contest among Norway and the other Nordic social democracies, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland.

In Norway, all benefits are paid for mainly by high taxation. Compared to the mind-numbing enigma of the U.S. tax code, Norway’s is remarkably straightforward, taxing income from labor and pensions progressively, so that those with higher incomes pay more. The tax department does the calculations, sends an annual bill, and taxpayers, though free to dispute the sum, willingly pay up, knowing what they and their children get in return. And because government policies effectively redistribute wealth and tend to narrow the country’s slim income gap, most Norwegians sail pretty comfortably in the same boat. (Think about that!)

Life and Liberty

This system didn’t just happen. It was planned. Sweden led the way in the 1930s, and all five Nordic countries pitched in during the postwar period to develop their own variations of what came to be called the Nordic Model: a balance of regulated capitalism, universal social welfare, political democracy, and the highest levels of gender and economic equality on the planet. It’s their system. They invented it. They like it. Despite the efforts of an occasional conservative government to muck it up, they maintain it. Why?

In all the Nordic countries, there is broad general agreement across the political spectrum that only when people’s basic needs are met — when they can cease to worry about their jobs, their incomes, their housing, their transportation, their health care, their kids’ education, and their aging parents — only then can they be free to do as they like. While the U.S. settles for the fantasy that, from birth, every kid has an equal shot at the American dream, Nordic social welfare systems lay the foundations for a more authentic equality and individualism.

These ideas are not novel. They are implied in the preamble to our own Constitution. You know, the part about “we the People” forming  “a more perfect Union” to “promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”  Even as he prepared the nation for war, President Franklin D. Roosevelt memorably specified components of what that general welfare should be in his State of the Union address in 1941. Among the “simple basic things that must never be lost sight of,” he listed “equality of opportunity for youth and others, jobs for those who can work, security for those who need it, the ending of special privileges for the few, the preservation of civil liberties for all,” and oh yes, higher taxes to pay for those things and for the cost of defensive armaments.

Knowing that Americans in Thailand used to support such ideas, a Norwegian today is appalled to learn that a CEO of a major American corporation makes between 300 and 400 times as much as its average employee. Or that governors Sam Brownback of Kansas and Chris Christie of New Jersey, having run up their state’s debts by cutting taxes for the rich, now plan to cover the loss with money snatched from the pension funds of workers in the public sector. To a Norwegian, the job of government is to distribute the country’s good fortune reasonably equally, not send it zooming upward, as in America today, to a sticky-fingered one percent.

In their planning, Norwegians tend to do things slowly, always thinking of the long term, envisioning what a better life might be for their children, their posterity.  That’s why a Norwegian, or any northern European, is aghast to learn that two-thirds of American college students finish their education in the red, some owing $100,000 or more. Or that in the U.S., still the world’s richest country, one in three children lives in poverty, along with one in five young people between the ages of 18 and 34. Or that America’s recent multi-trillion-dollar wars were fought on a credit card to be paid off by our kids. Which brings us back to that word: brutal.

Implications of brutality, or of a kind of uncivilized inhumanity, seem to lurk in so many other questions foreign observers ask about America like: How could you set up that concentration camp in Cuba, and why can’t you shut it down?  Or: How can you pretend to be a Christian country and still carry out the death penalty? The follow-up to which often is: How could you pick as president a man proud of executing his fellow citizens at the fastest rate recorded in Texas history?  (Europeans will not soon forget George W. Bush.)

Other things I’ve had to answer for include:

• Why can’t you Americans stop interfering with women’s health care?
• Why can’t you understand science?
• How can you still be so blind to the reality of climate change?
• How can you speak of the rule of law when your presidents break international laws to make war whenever they want?
• How can you hand over the power to blow up the planet to one lone, ordinary man?
• How can you throw away the Geneva Conventions and your principles to advocate torture
• Why do you Americans like guns so much?  Why do you kill each other at such a rate?
• To many, the most baffling and important question of all is: Why do you send your military all over the world to stir up more and more trouble for all of us?

That last question is particularly pressing because countries historically friendly to the United States, from Australia to Finland, are struggling to keep up with an influx of refugees from America’s wars and interventions. Throughout Western Europe and Scandinavia, right-wing parties that have scarcely or never played a role in government are now rising rapidly on a wave of opposition to long-established immigration policies. Only last month, such a party almost toppled the sitting social democratic government of Sweden, a generous country that has absorbed more than its fair share of asylum seekers fleeing the shock waves of “the finest fighting force that the world has ever known.”

The Way We Are

Europeans understand, More from Ann Jones…

And a glance at corruption in Thailand.

The post America in Thailand appeared first on Thai Retirement Helpers: Retiring in Thailand Made Easy.

Chiang Mai doesn’t have the usual seasonal progression. Our seasons begin when the rains stop in November and the mornings turns chilly. Last year it was so cold that people with old-style, unsealable, Thai houses had to move in with friends whose homes–though unheated–could at least be sealed by closing windows and doors! The cool weather and clear blue skies persist until sometime in March when temperatures rise. And rise. And rise until the afternoons are just plain hot. Since the rains have not started, local Hill Tribes burn off the underbrush to encourage mushroom growth, as you see in the photograph (right). That’s Doi (Mt.) Suthep, our sacred mountain, being burned off. Only this year, as you see, there were only a few burn sites and those were soon extinguished. The forest rangers have been cracking down on fire-starters and Mother Nature has helped with regular rains and, gasp! cloudy skies. The net result is the best hot season in living memory: almost-blue skies and pleasant temperatures. Perhaps the smoke season will soon be a memory…

Underbrush burning is the cause of smoke in Chiang Mai, which us part of the Southeast Asian haze–a fire-related large-scale air pollution problem that occurs every dry season in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand. Its official name is Southeast Asian Transboundary haze and it’s been recorded almost every year since 1972. It’s part of the price we pay for economic development.

Breaking News:  Singapore proposed that ASEAN nations put an end to the practice of burning foliage and provided satellites and software for our intrepid rangers, who have been snuffing out fires before they get a hold on the hillsides. Old Asia Hands laughed: nothing would change, they said. But Chiang Mai has had mostly blue skies this season, 50 people have been fined 5,000 baht and the fine money given to informers. Though the level of potentially dangerous airborne particle matter in Chiang Mai rose beyond the safe limit on Saturday, the Disaster Prevention Department sent out more frequent patrols of forestland by fire-watch volunteers, strictly controlling farmlands and highway-side areas and asking for residents’ cooperation to refrain from burning garbage and farm waste.
We’ve still got a ways to go before we have blue skies every day (after all, the indigenous people have practiced slash and burn agriculture for centuries) but–at long last–the authorities are starting to get a handle on it, and that’s good news.

Most of the haze is caused by illegal agricultural fires. The worst, in Indonesia–especially from the provinces of South Sumatra and Riau in Indonesia’s Sumatra island and Kalimantan, where it’s carried out on an industrial scale because burned land sells at a higher price for activities like oil palm and pulpwood production. Burning is cheaper and faster than cutting and clearing, too.

The least bad is the northern Thailand smoke, which comes almost exclusively from Hill Tribes’ burning of underbrush in preparation for the great annual mushroom harvest when the monsoon begins. One reason the locals complain so little about it is that they love mushrooms more than clear skies. The Hill Tribes make 20% of their incomes by harvesting mushrooms. Our local hills produce some of the most exotic edible fungi on earth, and wealthy Bangkokians pay a fortune to have them rushed to them. The most reliable way to ensure that the mushrooms set spores is to burn the underbrush during the dry season. That’s where the smoke comes from.

The health effects of haze are mainly caused by the irritant effects of fine particles on the nose, throat, airways, skin and eyes. The health effects of haze depend on its severity as measured by the Pollutants Standards Index (PSI). There is also individual variation regarding the ability to tolerate air pollution. Most people would at most experience sneezing, running nose, eye irritation, dry throat and dry cough from the pollutants. They are mild and pose no significant danger to the health of the general population.

But people with active medical conditions like asthma, chronic lung disease, bronchitis, chronic sinusitis and allergic skin conditions are more likely to be  severely affected and may experience more severe symptoms. Children–with their more rapid metabolisms and the elderly, with their lowered resistance, are more likely to be affected. For some, symptoms may worsen with physical activity.

This documentary, by Chiang Mai filmmaker and photographer Marisa Marchitelli, gives you a sense of Chiang Mai smoke from February through March:

The post Smoke in Chiang Mai appeared first on Thai Retirement Helpers: Retiring in Thailand Made Easy.

Mastering them makes getting around much easier and delights local people, who are glad you’ve gone to the trouble of learning their language. Most  go on to take a 36-hour, 12-lesson course in the language covering

1. Introducing yourself and greeting others
2. Asking and telling the time and date.
3. Going to the restaurant.
4. Negotiating prices.
5. Going to the market.
6. Asking and giving directions.
7. Going to the doctor.
8. Visiting tourist attractions
9. Cooking and eating Thai food, “What do you call this?”

It’s great fun and, if you’re interested, we can arrange for you to join in. Contact us here..

This just in:  Speak Thai Without Learning it?

The days of miscommunication and misunderstandings between foreigners and Thai speakers could be all but over, thanks to Google. Google’s new Interpreter Mode lets you have a conversation with someone who speaks a different language through the Google Assistant app. The new feature enables a conversation to be translated in real time. To use the feature make sure you have Google Assistant installed on your device. Once installed, open the app and say “Hey Google, be my Thai translator” or “Hey Google, help me speak Thai”. You then speak your phrase and Google Assistant translates not only the audio but also the text in real time. The other person can then speak into your phone to keep the two way conversation going. The feature is also capable of translating a total of different 44 languages.

The Interpreter Mode, which was first announced earlier this year, is now available in the latest version of the Google Assistant app on iOS and Android and is being rolled out to users around the world.

The post Learn to Speak Thai in Chiang Mai appeared first on Thai Retirement Helpers: Retiring in Thailand Made Easy.

The regulations say, “In order to open an ordinary checking or savings account, Bank of Bangkok requires that I get a notarized letter from the US Embassy in Bangkok, stating that I’m a US citizen and that I reside in Thailand at a certain address. The Embassy requires an appointment and a $50.00 document fee, not including the cost of transportation to and from Bangkok, or a hotel and meals. And there’s no guarantee the bank will even accept it.”  R. Butler.

Thailand Retirement Concierge clients, of course, do not have this problem, since we act as your guarantor.

This video shows just how infuriating it can be:

New money-laundering regulations require you to establish and prove permanent residence before you can open a Thai bank account. You can imagine the Catch-22 situation this creates: how can you pay the deposit on your new place if you don’t even have a bank account?, More at paydayloansmonster.

We’ve struggled with this since the regulations came into effect and now, with the help of our angelic bank manager, have created a completely legal process that allows Concierge clients to open their permanent account as soon as they arrive.

We go to the bank together and you’ll have your ATM card and bank book when you leave. Best of all, apart from signing a few more forms, it requires no effort on your part: we’ll be waiting with the completed forms as soon as you step off the plane. Here are some simple steps that will make opening your Thai bank account a breeze:

• Except for businesses, checking accounts are not generally used in Thailand. Thailand Bank Accounts are structured a little differently, like everything in Thailand so, when you ask to open an account the bank will open a savings account without even asking you. The administration of bank accounts and the security procedures are slightly different, too, so here’s a brief primer:

  

• When you go to the bank, take your passport, your permanent Thai address and Thai cellphone number
• Joint accounts are very difficult, so get the account in one name and then get two ATM cards. Trust me, this is the better option.
• You will have to pay for your new (chipped) ATM card. Cost is up to 1,000 baht, depending on the bank.
• Ask for online banking while you’re opening the account. The bank officer will usually not suggest this (don’t ask me why) which means you’ll have to go back again later if you don’t do it on the spot.
• Ask the bank officer to show you how to navigate your Thai online account. They’re set up differently from those at home but work quickly and well once you’ve mastered the interface
• The bank will give you a savings account passbook. Don’t make the mistake I made and throw it away or lose it. Passbooks are extremely important in Thailand and are used for all major withdrawals. So keep it in a safe place.
• Update your passbook regularly. It’s your legal proof of transactions and balances. There are Passbook Update Terminals alongside most ATM transaction machines at all bank branches. When you correctly insert your passbook they will read your account number from the barcode on its cover. Ask your bank officer to show you how to use it before you leave the bank. Then use it at least once a month, and after every significant deposit.
• When you get home, start setting up online bill payment accounts immediately, so you don’t forget how to use the interface. You can pay all your regular bills online. The easiest are your Internet and cable providers, and your cell phone provider. If you haven’t opened those accounts yet, remember to ask for their online billpay account name when you’re setting up the account. Otherwise, you may need to call their customer support line to get that information and enter it into your bill pay account. You’ll only need to do this once.
• I use (and strongly recommend) Bangkok Bank. This is a link to their online banking which, once you learn the interface, is a fast and convenient way to pay all your bills. As with all things to do with banking in Thailand, the trick is choosing a bank manager. My guy works miracles for me and for clients…
• If receiving payments from a US Government Agency: Download the “Direct Deposit Sign-up Form (SF1199A)” from http://www.socialsecurity.gov/online. Complete the form to sign up for Direct Deposit with your relevant US government agency and include information which are your name and physical address in Thailand; your bank account number and the name and address of your Bangkok Bank Branch in Thailand; 9-digit routing number 026008691 of Bangkok Bank New York  Branch. Complete a “Direct Deposit Service Application” form, which you can pick up at any Bangkok Bank branch (except micro branches). You can also choose to fill out an SMS Remittance Alert Service Request Form to receive an SMS notification on your mobile phone when funds have been successfully transferred into your Bangkok Bank account.
  Submit all forms to Bangkok Bank with the following supporting documents:
  Identification Card/Government Official ID Card/Passport together with a customer identification document such as your Social Security Card, Annuitant ID Card etc.
  A document from the relevant agency giving evidence of your right to receive the payments.
  After verifying your documents, Bangkok Bank will submit your application to the government agency, asking them to approve your request to receive the funds via Direct Deposit.
  After the request is approved by the US Government Agency, your payments will be electronically deposited directly into your Bangkok Bank account.
• International Fund Transfers for Americans: Bangkok Bank ACH (Automated Clearing House) transfers from the US via their NY branch will end April 1, 2019 and online US ACH domestic transfers will no longer function after that. Bangkok Bank says this will not affect existing Social Security or other federal government direct deposits. The Bank says that, after April, Americans should use an online banking facility called IAT (International ACH Transfers), though no one seems to know of any U.S. banks that currently provide consumers online access to IAT or any U.S. banks/CUs that have announced plans to support it for consumers. Stay tuned and we will let you know as soon as we know more on this. In the meantime, for transfers of $3K or less, Transferwise puts more baht into your Thai bank account when  both exchange rate and fees are deducted.  For larger amounts use an International Wire/SWIFT. Charles Schwab gives you free transfers of $1000 per day and has modest fees, $25, for wire transfers.
• The Bangkok Bank account must be one that is not accessible by ATM so you have the hassle of going into a Bangkok Bank branch each month (any branch is OK, not just your home branch) and presenting your passport in order to withdraw the funds and move them to another account with ATM/internet access.  But, if you’re suddenly incapacitated, Bangkok Bank will visit your hospital bed and get your thumbprint to release the funds to pay hospital bills. If you’re more conscious, but still can’t make it to the hospital, they’ll give you whatever you request to pay rent, give your GF her allowance, etc. (They won’t do this if you can’t give consent, just pay the hospital bill without consent.) If you have your SS direct deposited to a U.S. account it can be a joint account, with internet access and often it’s very easy to move the money into Bangkok Bank using online ACH transfer. But, if you become incapacitated, no U.S. bank will release your funds unless a court-appointed guardian initiates the request and there is no easy way to set up a guardian for an incapacitated foreigner in Thailand.  So, if you’re using the method of manually transferring money from the U.S. to Thailand, make sure you have the process documented so that someone could do it for you should you become incapacitated.
• If you are living in Thailand, the point of contact for more information or to ask questions about SSA benefits is the SSA Federal Benefits Unit (FBU) at the US Embassy in Manila, Philippines. You can contact the SSA through the following channels: Tel: (63 2) 301 2000 ext. 9 Website: http://ph.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen -services/social-security/.  E-mail: FBU.manila@ssa.gov
• If receiving payments from a private organization. Request the “Authorization Agreement for Automatic Deposits (ACH Credits)” form or “Related Direct Deposit” form from the organization or the agency that will be making the payment to you. Complete the form to request the Direct Deposit service.
  Open a savings account at any Bangkok Bank branch in Thailand. If you already have an account with Bangkok Bank, you can use your existing bank account for this service.
  Request your home branch to issue a bank reference letter to certify your bank account details such as account type, account number, date of account opening and current balance to be provided to your agency.
  Include your name and physical address in Thailand;,your bank account number and the name and address of your Bangkok Bank Branch in Thailand;  and the 9-digit routing number 026008691 of Bangkok Bank New York  Branch in your Direct Deposit Signup Form.
  Indicate the Routing Number 026008691 of Bangkok Bank’s branch in New York and your account number with Bangkok Bank in Thailand on your “Authorization Agreement for Automatic Deposits (ACH Credits)” form or “Related Direct Deposit” form.
  Submit the form with the required information such as your Identity Card or Social Security Card, or evidence of your right to receive the payments from the company, together with Bangkok Bank’s Reference Letter. Mail the signed form to the US company asking it to approve the request and initiate direct deposits into your account.
  After the request to receive direct deposits is approved, your payments will be electronically deposited directly into your Bangkok Bank account.You can read it here.

Thailand Bank Accounts for Australians

• Look for a credit card (Mastercard) that doesn’t charge fees for overseas transactions or a percentage of the transaction and visit loans green for monthly deals
• Make sure you pay its balance off every month so you don’t pay interest.
• Only use it in reputable locations.
• You’ll find the exchange rates between Oz & THB comparable to those offered by the major banks in Thailand
• And better than the exchange rates of the banks offered in Oz.
• Incidentally, if your Australian ATM card has a Maestro or Cirrus logo it will work with Thai ATMs.
• But Visa cash advances  attract a 3% surcharge
• For larger amounts T/T (telegraphic transfer bank to bank) is quicker but costs  $35–$100.
• For larger amounts interbank is slower (overnight) but most economical at $20 per transfer, regardless of amount.
• If you instruct your bank to send Aussie dollars (rather than Thai Baht) you’ll get a better exchange rate.
• If you’re sending more than $10,000 you can negotiate a better exchange rate with your local branch manager – if you tell him 24 hours in advance.
• If you withdraw money from an ATM in Thailand, draw at least 25,000 Baht. Your fee ($7-10) remains the same.

The post Thailand Bank Accounts appeared first on Thai Retirement Helpers: Retiring in Thailand Made Easy.

It remains to be seen (a) whether this legislation will actually be passed; (b) whether this legislation will actually be enforced (c) whether this legislation will actually apply to locals, who are currently allowed to drive scooters if, when seated, their feet touch the ground!

Drive Slowly if Drunk 

A Thai road sign that said: Mao Khap Cha-chaa – If you’re drunk, drive slowly. (Japan has very strict drink driving laws while Thailand is sometimes seen as a joke in this regard). The media claimed to have confronted officials in Nakorn Ratchasima about it only to be told that it was impossible to stop DUI – so they were just appealing for drunks to drive slowly at New Year. Sanook reported on the story with part of a headline that stated “Media from the land of sushi absolutely confused”.

Chris’ update on getting a Chiang Mai Drivers License:

“The Chiang Mai Provincial Land & Transportation office gave me the seal of approval today. Two licenses–one car, one bike–in one hit, within 2 hours, for the grand sum of 310 baht.  I am chuffed. Added bonus: no tests, written or practical. Just get your paperwork in order, look at a board of coloured dots, watch a 60 min. (English) video then pay your money, have the photo op. and you are done. The ladies at the Transport Office are really keen to help and are not there to turn you away ‘cos they don’t like the look of you.  If you don’t approach this bureaucratic hurdle with care and due diligence then it will be your own fault for not getting a licence on the day. Here are the tricks:

• Bring you Certificate of Residency (TM30) and
• Medical Certificate plus
• the photo copies of your passport and visa.
• Download the Licence Application form, [ddownload id=”6004″], fill in the top section and tick ‘bike’ or ‘car’.
• If you want both you must make out separate forms for each.
• Your home licence with a translation of the various categories (car, bike) in Thai attached.
• A photocopy plus
• Your original International Driving licence that MUST carry the date ‘1949’ on the front cover and MUST be stamped to match your licence category (eg car, bike).
• The whole “no test” thing hinges on you having an International Driving Licence marked with the date of 1949 on the front …odd but true.

By the way, I did not go there at 8:30 in the morning – I rolled up after lunch and left two hours later sporting two brand new licenses. Oh, and they are valid for two years, not one.

David’s Excellent License Adventure

David writes: “I got my Thailand drivers license and my Thailand motorcycle license a few days ago and learned that folks from Germany and other non-English-speaking countries must bring a translation from their embassy! You do not needan international drivers license as long as your license from your country is valid. I got my car license and motorcycle license in about three hours. I needed copies of my passport and visa and reentry stamps and copies of my proof of residency, TM-30, form, my Missouri drivers license  and of my health form. And, yes, to get to licenses car/motorcycle I needed double copies. So much information was correct. If you need any further assistance please message David by responding to this newsletter and he’ll be glad to help you out. P.S. Jeejee and I have bought a house in Orinsirn 3 and we have also bought a restaurant Paris Chiangmai in JedYod Neighborhood

New Concierge Service:

We’re constantly dreaming up new ways to take the worry out of moving to Chiang Mai and here’s another: car rentals. We now offer rental cars with daily, weekly, and monthly rates for everything from hatchbacks all the way up to 7-seater SUVs. But why, you ask? Aren’t there already plenty of car rental places in Chiang Mai? Lots. But this is the only one staffed by expats (so everyone speaks perfect English) and that has the correct insurance (most don’t–which you discover after your accident) and a workshop so clean you can eat off the floor.

After having tried scooters for three years, I reached the same conclusions as everyone else (duh!): you’re much too vulnerable in an accident–and accidents are much too frequent. So we asked our car guys (from whom we buy our cars) to offer rentals and, presto! here they are. Hatchbacks from 17,000 Baht/mo with unlimited mileage. Let us know when you make your Concierge reservation and we’ll have one waiting for you.

What you need to know about driving in Thailand:

1. Everyone in Thailand (including me) drives everywhere, just like you.
2. Thailand the most dangerous place in the world to drive. The death toll on the jumped dramatically last year after previously being named as number two in the world for road deaths – now it looks like being number one as road safety campaigns have failed to have any effect on the carnage.
3. The death toll jumped from 19,479 in 2015 to 22,356 in 2016. That’s 61 people killed EVERY DAY (compared to 40,000 in the USA, with five times the population.
4. The most dangerous place to drive in Thailand is in the east of the country. Rayong is the worst province.
5. Three out of four deaths are male and the group most likely to perish on the roads are young men aged 15-29.
6. The safest place to drive is Bangkok where you would have a quarter of the chance of death compared to Rayong.
7. The most dangerous provinces are Rayong 72 deaths per 100,000; Sa Kaew 69; Chonburi 58; Chantaburi 57; Nakorn Nayok 56; and Prachinburi 55.
8. Forty-five percent of deaths involve motorcycles, 5% are pedestrians and 1% cyclists.
9. A million people suffer injuries or handicapped by road accidents and annual damages are a staggering 500 billion baht.

Law breaking and lack of law enforcement is routine on Thailand’s roads. Tens of millions openly flout the law and, when officials propose safety measures–like making riding in the back of pickups illegal–the public resists stubbornly.

Not enough is spent, there are insufficient funds available and there is not enough technology employed to help with the situation, said TNA.

via GIPHY. Source: http://www.tnamcot.com/view/5a092853e3f8e40ae18e55e1

Drivers Licenses

If you have a current drivers license you can get a shiny, new Thai drivers license and you won’t have to take a driving test. Just take your current license, medical certificate, Residency Application Form [ddownload id=”6003″] and License Application Form [ddownload id=”6004″] to the  Land Transport Office and they’ll give you an eyesight test (I flunked it so the examiner simply  moved the test card closer to me), a reaction time test and vision test before issuing your license. If you have to take the test you’ll find that it’s written in Tinglish – a baffling form of English which Thai bureaucrats refuse to correct – and which is the chief obstacle to your success. Happily, 80 percent of regulations are the same world wide, so re-read your native Rules of the Road if you’re rusty. After you pass the written test you’ll take a driving test that’s pretty simple and looks like this:

The written drivers test is computerized, you can take it as often as you wish and you don’t need an appointment. Just show up early, mentally prepared to take the test four times. On your first attempt spend only 10 seconds on each question: there’s a 25% chance you’ll pass and, if you don’t, you’ll know what to expect because the test comes with a review that shows you where you went wrong. After a few attempts you’ll get the hang of it. If you want to limber up, here are some typical test questions to amuse you. Here’s musician Darin Dunn’s self help guide to getting a Thai driver’s license: Getting a Thai drivers license would test the patience of saints. Drivers licenses for cars and motorbikes are separate documents and processes. You will need a stack of forms, tests and fees for each. This is a guide for the perplexed. [Note: you can make life easier for yourself if, before you leave home, you obtain an International Driving Permit ($20 from AAA Travel in the U.S.). Then you will be allowed to opt out of the written test and the safety video]. While the process is pretty much the same throughout Thailand, I’ve localized it to Chiang Mai to make it less generic. So before you head to the drivers license office (Koin-Song  in Thai) you will need six items:

1. An Affidavit of Residence from your Consulate or the Thai Residency Form Office. (1050Bt at the Consulate or 100Bt tip at the Thai Immigration Office) or a Work Permit in your name. If you have a Work Permit you can skip #1 & #2 and proceed to #3]
2. Your Passport with a valid Thai Visa
3. Medical Certificate (physical) no more than a month old. (100 Baht at any hospital)
4. A valid drivers license from your home country
5. An explanation of the class (truck, car, motorcycle) listed on your license
6. Money. The fees for your licenses will be 505 baht for the car and 255 baht for the motorcycle. This brings the totals fees for your License adventure to 1810 baht, or $US60.

Affidavit of Residence: It’s best case to obtain this form from the Thai Residency Office. If you have a one year visa you should be able to obtain this form from that office at no charge, though a 100 Bt tip will be welcomed. [Remember, the office staff live on 15,000 Bt/mo – $500 – yet pay the same for cars and housing as you do].  If your visa is less than one year you will need to go to your Embassy or Consulate. The office is located across from the Promenda Mall here. You will need

1. a copy of your home lease contract or a letter from your landlord stating you live in a certain house,
2. a copy of your landlord’s government ID and
3. two passport sized photos.

Take these documents to the Residency Office. Turn in your paperwork and they’ll give you a reminder slip to come back one week later. You should be in and out quickly as this office only does the residency certificates and you can do this without your spouse being present. Upon your return you will receive the document confirming that you live at your address. The driver’s license Dept will honor this if it is less than one month old. If you cannot obtain this form from the Residency Office you will need to go to your embassy or consulate to obtain a notarized copy of this form.

https://youtu.be/pzD3zlF4Jew

The U.S. consulate in Chiang Mai is now handling U.S. citizen services by appointment only. You will need to visit the following site to make an appointment. The United States Consulate is at 387 Wichayanont Road, T. Changmoi, A. Muang, Chiang Mai, Thailand 50300. Tel (053) 252-629, Fax (053) 234-472 or (053) 252-633. The road along the river is a one way street so you will need start north of the consulate and work your way down until you see a large white chedi used as a traffic circle. There on the corner you will see the large, cream-colored, prison-like walls of the consulate. All it lacks is (visible) gun turrets. The fee for the notarized form is 1050 Bt., $US35.

Once you’re out on the road, remember that Thai roads are among the most dangerous on earth, especially for farangs: we’re used to playing by different rules. Don’t believe me? Watch this video:

https://youtu.be/fYYpbProJg8

Here are a few tips that will help you avoid trouble:

1. Breath Tests: A Bangkok court imposed an 8,500 baht fine and a 2 year suspended jail term for refusing a breath test. The court cited the guilty plea of Chutima Kanthang, 28, as ground for leniency. Thai police can prosecute a case as DUI if the driver refuses to the road side breath analyser. The incident happened at a police checkpoint in Bangkok. Police towed the vehicle with the driver inside to the police station. The next morning, Chutima stepped out of the vehicle and acknowledged her test refusal. She appeared before the judge in the afternoon and pleaded guilty. Breath test refusal is punishable by 12 months’ jail and a fine of 10,000 – 20,000 baht. If you plan to drink and drive carry 20,000 Baht cash and, if you fail the test, immediately hand your keys and 20K to the officer and ask politely where you can collect your car in the morning (or carry a get-out-of-jail card like our clients).

Thais have their own road rules, regardless of what the law prescribes. Understand them and you’re more likely to avoid fender-benders:

• Everyone runs red lights. So everyone waits when their light turns green until all the red light runners have cleared the intersection. 
• Everyone knows where everyone else is around them and leaves room for them to do things we would’t do, like scooter drivers who turn inside you when you turn left. Do likewise.
• Most Thai drivers got their automobile licenses in their 30s and may never have driven a car before that. Allow for the fact that they’re unaccustomed to the size, momentum and power of those huge SUVs.

Medical Certificate

You’ll need a medical certificate or physical from any local hospital. These physicals are quick and painless. The doctor listens to your heart and lungs, measures your height and weight, checks your blood pressure and temperature, and tests for color blindness. Any hospital will do your physical for 100 baht. People suffering from 10 medical conditions must bring a medical certificate. Why? If you have a major claim your insurer will demand your entire lifetime medical record in hope of invalidating your claim because you didn’t declare your pre-existing condition when you applied for your license. Here are the 10:

1. Epilepsy,
2. Diabetes,
3. Intermittent loss of consciousness,
4. Heart- and blood-related diseases,
5. Visual impairment,
6. Deafness,
7. Parkinson’s,
8. Mental disorders,
9. Sleep disorders
10. Drug addiction.

Valid License From Your Home Country and Explanation of Class of License

You need a valid drivers license from your home country and to show the Drivers’ License Office what the class listing on your license means. Here are some links that may help you find this information in the USA. It can be tricky. Class A. Class B. Class C. Class D. Print this information out and bring it with you. If you cannot find these items your Embassy/Consulate can issue you a form guaranteeing your license. If your license is not in English you will also need your Embassy/Consulate to translate it and issue you a form with an explanation in Thai script.

The Transportation Office (Koin-Song)

You will need two copies of each of each form, including

• your passport’s main page,
• your visa and
• the immigration stamp you received upon entering the country.

You can make copies at the Chiang Mai Traffic Bureau Office on the first floor all the way to the end. Here’s the checklist again:

1.   An Affidavit of Residence from your Embassy, Consulate or the Immigration Office.
2.   Your Passport with valid visa
3.   Medical Certificate (physical) no more than a month old.
4.   A valid drivers license from your home country
5.   An explanation of the class listed on your license

The Chiang Mai Transportation Office, Koin-Song, is located on Hang Dong Road approximately 3 KM south of airport plaza immediately before you cross under a large overhead arch/pedestrian walk way. It’s a large purple building with purple fences just before Big C. You will want to get started no later than 8:30 am because the various tests and safety classes are tightly scheduled.

Go straight up to the second floor information desk. Smile and hand in your forms to the attendant. After each of your papers is stamped – at least twice – you will be directed to take your documents to window 28. When called you will step across the hall for a series of tests that will involve pulling strings, stepping on pedals and reading charts. It’s lots of fun. If you’re failing a particular test the officer will usually make it easier for you. Thais hate to see others embarrassed.

Next, you will watch a one hour safety video on a computer. It is completely baffling. After that. the written test – equally baffling – will consist of 30 questions. You will be given one hour but you can get through it in 15 mins. They will give you a booklet to study if you request it but you should be able to pass it in one or two tries without studying. They let you take it multiple times. Testing is open 10 –12.

After passing your test proceed to a building in the far north east corner of the property for your motorcycle driving test. It’s invisblle to the naked farang eye, so stand facing the entrance of the building where you just took your tests. The road test area is to your left. Wander over 400 M in that direction and eventually you will run into it. Tests begins at 1pm and end at 3:00pm. You will be required to drive along a narrow 2X4 board for 10 meters which is a bit of a challenge but they will give you a few tries. After that you will be asked to signal, turn right, weave through cones, observe a stop sign and return to base.

After you complete your driving test gather your results from the test along with your results from the written test and return to the information booth on the 2nd floor of the main building – where your day began – and take a number. Pay the 210 Bt and 150 Bt fees and they will take your photo, process and print your license on the spot. Next, hold your new licenses high above your head and exit the building yelling for joy.

Keep Driving in Thailand: Renewing a Thai Driver’s License

If your current 1 year license is due to expire you will need to renew it within 60 days before its expiration date. After your 1 year license expires you will then be issued 5 year licenses from then on. Go to the office M-F 8:30am-15:30pm. You shouldn’t be required to take any further tests.

If you going from a 1 year to a 5 year license you will need:

1. Your passport and visa
2. Affidavit of Residence Certificate or Work Permit or Residence Book (yellow book).
3. Your current Thai Driver’s License (60 days before expiration date)
4. Medical Certificate no more than 30 days old
5. Money: Car: 505 baht, Motorcycle: 305 baht, Smart Card license: 100 baht. Change of address: 50 baht
6. Copies of each document for each license (car and motorbike) as well as your originals.

If you going from a 5 year to another 5 year license you will need:

1. Passport and visa
2. Affidavit of Residence orr Work Permit or Residence Book (yellow book).
3. Current Thai Driver’s License (90 days before expiration date)
4. Medical Certificate no more than 30 days old
5. Money: Car 505 baht, Motorcycle 305 baht, Smart Card license 100 baht/each
6. Change of address 50 baht
7. Copies of each document for each license (car and motorbike) as well as your originals.

You will be required to take an eye exam, reaction test and watch a 1 hour training video (in English). The eye exam is a color blindness test, the reaction test measures your ability to operate a gas pedal when you see a green light and then hit the brake pedal when you see a red light. The video is shown at 9:30am and 1:00pm.

Now you know how to get a Thai drivers license. Just do it! [© Darin Dunn, Deesquared Productionsdarin@darindunn.com].

Now, because you’ve read all this information, here’s an amusing video of the process of getting a license in Thailand:

Getting a Thai Driver’s License the Hard Way – Taking the Test. by Greg.

• Authorities in Thailand Cracking Down on Drunk Driving – … Fiancee Visa, K1 Visa, K1 Visa Thailand, Thai Drivers License, Thai Driving License, Thai DUI, Thai DWI, Thai Visa, Thailan DWI, Thailand Drivers License, Thailand Driving License, Thailand DUI, Thailand Visa, Visa Thai, …
• Driving from Chiang Mai: where to go if you’re watching the road…

The post Driving in Thailand appeared first on Thai Retirement Helpers: Retiring in Thailand Made Easy.

Medbelle surveyed 50 countries for its 2019 Medicine Price Index, a comparison survey of 13 medications from heart meds to Viagra, Asthma to Anti-depressants and HIV treatments. The average prices of both the brand compound and their generic versions were included in order to have a complete profile of each medication. Lastly, we normalised the dosage size in order to make the price comparable.The results range from a +306.82 % deviation in the United States, to -93.93% in Thailand, highlighting a disparity in what patients pay for the same medicine across the world. Thailand came top with a figure that its medications were 93.93% cheaper than the world average. Kenya, at 93.76% and Malaysia, 90.80%, were also money-savers. The most expensive countries were
1. USA 306.82% more expensive than average
2. Germany 125.64%
3. UAE 122.03%
4. Italy
5. Denmark
6. Qatar
7. Spain
8. Netherlands
9. Israel
10. Iceland 56.01%

First, let’s talk about Importing Personal meds into Thailand: Several months ago I had some medical items sent from my home country. They were held up at customs. On my first visit to the airport customs office I learned that unless I got a note from my doctor, the items would be considered commercial and I would have to pay a very hefty fee. I met with my doctor and went back to customs a couple of days later. I found that my note from him was not valid. It had to be issued by a public hospital doctor, not private. Fortunately, the customs officer took pity on me and let it go without the fee, provided I understood that I would need to present a correct note the next time. I recently ordered another shipment of the same product, and was worrying a bit, so I made an appointment with a doctor I had been to before, to ask for a letter. Since he has privileges at both RAM and a public hospital, and since I was told he would be unavailable for two weeks at the public hospital, I foolishly made the appointment at RAM, thinking he could give me a note from CM. After waiting for an hour I saw him, and learned that I would have to set up another appointment at CM hospital, and be careful to do it in the public section. Three hours after that I had my paper from the doctor. He told me there would be no charge. Lester Johnson, President, Chiang Mai Expats Club

I’m buying cheap meds in Thailand but my needs are pretty lightweight, so I turned to a friend, Greg Miller, who was injured when deep sea diving for the US Navy, and I asked him about his wonderful collection of meds and if they are really as cheap as people claim.  In response, he wrote me this:

When I moved to Thailand from the US I found that buying meds here is much more relaxed. Medicines that are out of the reach of many in America because of price, or not available at all because the FDA restricts their distribution, are readily available to the public in Thailand. It’s not perfect in Thailand, but it’s a lot better than in the States. Here are 16 tips for buying cheap meds in Thailand that will save you time and money:

1. If you’re coming to Thailand from the US you can save a lot of money by stocking up on your meds here. Jjust make sure you have documents when you return. It is also good to have a small supply of the “contingency drugs”, the medicine you are likely to need as things happen in the future. If you can legally buy the meds you need in the US, you can buy them in Thailand easier and much cheaper than back home.
2. You will usually find both the brand name pharmaceuticals you have in the US (running typically about 10% of the cost in the US) and generic brands (could be as low as 1%). That huge price difference can make a major lifestyle difference for many Americans. Some people even save enough to pay for their trip and holiday.
3. If while you are in Thailand you want to meet with a doctor to check out everything and get a legitimate local prescription, it won’t be a major investment as it is back home. I recently met with an excellent English speaking doctor at one of the leading Chiang Mai hospitals for annual heavy-duty check-up, giving me updated prescriptions for my blood pressure and thyroid ailments after giving a whole bunch of tests, and my charge for the doctor was 250Baht ($8.36 USD). And if you have a prescription already written by a US doctor, it becomes extremely simple for a Thai doctor to write a new prescription here.
4. By doing a little internet search on your US medications, you can get the generic or medical name for what you are taking. You should write these down to take to Thailand because they may not be familiar with the brand name used in the US. Often the big pharmas will have a different brand name for the same product for different marketing regions. In the US where they can reap enormous profit margins, they often will have a unique brand name.
5. To repeat: carrying an actual prescription — whether American or Thai — with you prevents a lot of difficulties if the medicines are discovered crossing national borders.
6. Many travelers recommend only buying medicines in the pharmacies in big private hospitals. While this can certainly be a bit assuring, it should be realized that this is the most expensive place to cheap meds in Thailand (the same as in other countries as well). You will save much more if you make your purchase through independent pharmacies. They are all pretty much licensed and have licensed, educated pharmacists who are much more helpful than US pharmacists in their recommendations. Senior Thai pharmacists usually speak ‘medical English’. Most travelers have the wherewithal and savvy not to buy from street sellers, I assume.
7. If you go to a Thai pharmacy and there is no air conditioning and it looks or smells bad, you may want to just make a U turn. Medicines do lose their potency in high heat. Fortunately, poor quality pharmacies are the minority. You have to be a wise consumer in Thailand (in anything you buy). And when you store meds at home, a good place to store them is in the fridge.
8. Birth control pills are available over the counter in Thailand, starting at a cost of a $1 for a month’s supply. You can buy the same brand as back in the US or a generic.
9. Male enhancement drugs can be much less than back home. Cialis Viagra and Levitra are available with no prescription and you will save money. There are also plenty of fakes from China (so examine the package carefully and don’t buy from street merchants or border markets).
10. There are national generics from India and within Thailand. For instance, the Thai equivalent to Viagra, which is called Sidegra, seems to be just as effective (or better) than Viagra and can be purchased in 100mg versions at a fraction of the cost is the US (less than $1 ea.). On a somewhat related note, condoms in Thailand are cheap but most (American) men complain that they tend to be too small.
11. Many anti-depressants, antibiotics, allergy meds, steroids, Valium and other pharmaceuticals that require an expensive doctor appointment back in the US are available over the counter in Thailand (but not always), so don’t be nervous to ask. If a prescription is required, the pharmacists can usually recommend a medical doctor that can take care of this at a minimal cost.
12. Or just pop into a private clinic or hospital. You can have an appointment quickly and cheaply.
13. There are also many medicines not available at all in the US that you can buy in Thailand. This does not mean that these medicines are bad for you. To introduce a new medicine into the US takes many millions of dollars and years of testing, and many companies in the world do not have the resources and inclination to go through the US process Many Chinese herbal medicines fall into this category.
14. Understand that while medicines are easily and cheaply purchased in Thailand, this does not apply to vitamins and supplements. These are generally imported and taxed heavily, so you will find these to be substantially more expensive than in the US. Whenever we go back to the US we stock up on vitamins to bring back to Thailand.
15. Not all meds in Thailand are cheap. There are several OTC meds easily available in the US that are considerably more expensive in Thailand. Simple pain relievers like Aleve and plain aspirin (which legally requires a prescription in Thailand) are expensive. Benadryl seems to be impossible to find in Thailand, and good ol’ Tums are very difficult to find. You also will not find Cortisone cream in Thailand, but Thai pharmacies have a generic brand of hydrocortisone cream that is very expensive. It seems that those medicines in the US that do not have a strong FDA and AMA control, the pricing and availability in the US is much better.
16. Also medicines that in the US might be construed as recreational by some (as in Cannabis) are strictly forbidden in Thailand and have severe penalties in this country and throughout the region. The Drug War was initiated around the world by the US (thanks largely to Dick Nixon), and while sanity is finally starting to be applied in many places in the US, Thailand and other Asian nations have been extremely slow in easing up on this. It is wise to avoid any connection with these drugs in Southeast Asia.

Videos About Thai Pharmacies and Buying Cheap Meds in Thailand

And, just in case you’re actually sick and need to talk to a Thai pharmacist, here’s a video that teaches you the basic phrases for buying cheap meds in Thailand! (Though most Thai pharmacists speak English).

For most ailments, there’s no need to see a doctor in Thailand so long as you know a good pharmacist and a good Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner. Here’s the best pharmacy for Buying Cheap Meds in Thailand right in in Chiang Mai, where I live. Its owner, the pharmacist, is Khun Mum, and she really knows her meds! She’s also an excellent diagnostician and her prescriptions almost always fix the problem.

Reading on Buying Cheap Meds in Thailand

• CDC Recommends PrEP for Injection Drug Users – AIDS.gov – The study results were released yesterday by the Thai Ministry of Health and CDC. Based on these findings, CDC recommends that PrEP be considered as one of several prevention options for people in the United States at …
• The EU-Thailand FTA: What Fate For Access To Medicines? – Civil society groups in Thailand and Europe have sounded the alarm over these negotiations in the past months. We fear that access to medicines for people living in Thailand will be one of the things traded away. This will …
• Interim Guidance: Preexposure Prophylaxis for the … – The iPrEx study was conducted in Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Thailand, South Africa, and the United States. Eligible participants were … Participants were seen every 4 weeks for an interview, HIV testing, risk-reduction and PrEP medication adherence counseling, pill count, and dispensing of pills and condoms. Every 3 months, participants …. If HIV positive, order and document results of resistance testing and establish linkage to HIV care. If HIV negative, establish linkage …
• CDC – Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) – Research … – When someone is exposed to HIV through sex or injection drug use, these medicines can work to keep the virus from establishing a permanent infection. When taken consistently, PrEP has been shown to reduce …. Web Site Icon . Antiretroviral prophylaxis for HIV infection in injecting drug users in Bangkok, Thailand (the Bangkok Tenofovir Study): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial · External Web Site Icon . Lancet 2013;381(9883):2083-90.
• The Great Flood of 2011, Thailand: A Firsthand Account – CDC – Blogs – Public Health Matters Blog – The Great Flood of 2011, Thailand: A Firsthand Account – Sharing our stories on preparing for and responding to public health events. … They need to set up their own taskforces and working groups in order to create an effective warning system and coordinate with one another. They should also have their own emergencies supplies on hand. A big thank you to Dr. Wongjindanon for sharing his experience with us and …

If your drugs are from a ‘controlled’ category, then read this post about Bringing Controlled Pharmaceutical Drugs into Thailand VERY carefully!  If you liked ‘Buying Cheap Meds in Thailand’, you’ll like

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