dia1

Is https://tm47.immigration.go.th still the correct place to do 90 day report? I submitted my 90 day report there almost two weeks ago on early morning on 26/7. The next report due date was 5/8. Well, now is it 6/8 and I have received no approval or rejection email and when I check in the system it just says my application is "pending" just as it did before. Did they just skip over me? Is there someway to contact someone or am I just going to have to endure an emergency last-minute run to immigration tomorrow? I'm so disappointed since the last 90-day report system never worked for me, and this one finally worked the last 2-3 times. Looks like it's back to being a roll of the dice.

My license is expired for about 6 months now. At what point will I have to do it all over? Yes, the process was done with an agent. I'm not sure how I would follow up as I am not sure what office handles the tax records.

Very weird that they no longer provide this letter as I have went to the Embassy for the letter 3 times to get it.... twice for getting the license (one time it was delayed) and once for buying a car. Right around Covid time. It's just recently that the embassy stopped doing it? Yes, I've been my 90 day reports. I'm in Bangkok so I guess the office with be in Chaengwattana

Im on the elite visa and got a temporary license a couple years ago, and in the meantime I purchased a condo. The temporary license has expired. When I bought the condo, the agent gave me the old yellow and blue books, both with foreigner names of the previous owners, which I found odd since I thought foreigners couldn't be in a blue book. The agent told me "You can go to change it, but you don't need to." Now the problem is I need to renew my drivers license and from what I am reading online I need the yellow book or embassy letter for proof of address? When I got the temporary license I went to the US embassy to get a letter stating my address and notarized, but I am reading on the US embassy website now: Now I'm confused, because it wasn't a problem getting this paper from the Embassy before. Perhaps they are just warning that a notice verifying your adddress is not "residence verifcation" or perhaps they have stopped giving the paper altogether. I guess my question now is... what should I do? Should I try to get the yellow book changed to me (and maybe the blue book too). Should I book an appointment at the embassy and try to get a notarized address letter anyway? I really don't want to obtain a "certificate of residence" from Immigration, and I'm not even sure I can get one since am on the Elite visa and don't work here. Further when I read online it says that a work permit is required for the yllow tabien ban, which again I do not work here. I of course have the title deed, purchase agreement, and old books. Is it even possible for me to get the yellow tambien ban without a work permit? To throw in one last question-- the last tax bill I got on the condo had the previous owner's name, despite me owning the condo for several months. Will going to the amphoe to update the book update this as well? Why does this have to me so hard!? Really got to get this expired licesne thing sorted so I can drive my car. LOL

It sounds more like you're not the "sharpest tack in the box" to be posting incorrect information. You should probably educated yourself about what is legal or not before commenting on someone's intelligent level. And if I were in my home country, I'd smoke in my home, my car, or any hotel balcony. Literally anywhere as there are no "smell disturbance" laws. Also, I am not asking what I would do at home or what is legal or not. I am asking where are tourists who are staying in hotels smoking the marijuana that they buy. It's not happening outside, so my suspicion was that it was on hotel balconies. It seems that the other posters in the thread have somewhat affirmed my suspicion.

Serious question and I'm surprised I couldn't find anyone else talking about it. I see a lot of tourists buying cannabis and cannabis pipes at all the little dispensaries that have popped up, but where exactly are they able to use it? I assume they are chancing it at their hotel, but what are the logistics of doing that without issues? Due to the "no smell disturbance" laws, I'm guessing they are booking rooms that are of a relatively high floor and have a balcony so they can puff outside and/or blowing out the window? I'm not even sure 'blowing out the window' would be enough as just lighting it up would definitely cause a strong smell in the room. It's clear that not everyone is an expat with their own house/condo (at least here in BKK), and it's clear there are not enough shops or spots where someone can safely smoke outside of where they are staying. So are tourists exclusively balcony smoking? I heard that balcony smoking is illegal, but I'm not sure if that's true. Does anyone have first hand experience staying in a hotel room, buying weed, and enjoying it in the privacy of your room without trouble? What recommendations would you give to a tourist who is looking to travel to Thailand, staying in a hotel, and would like to enjoy a bit of cannabis on their stay as well? I think the last thing anyone would want is to be stoned and have a sudden knock on the door due to smell or whatever.

Any chance you could share pictures of what it looks like? I found a polystyrene baseboard from that same company at Boonthavorn, but it felt really fragile and plasticy. The surface didn't look like it was something that would take paint well. But maybe I didn't give it a good enough chance. Does it feel solid and durable when it's secured to your wall or does it feel like flimsy plastic? Could it pass as wood?

I considered conwood, but the are very heavy and don't seem easy to work with. Were you able to do this yourself or did you have a 'chang' do it for you? I figure my doors are wood, the door jambs are wood, and I have several piece of wood furniture. If termites show up, I figure the baseboards and trim are the least of my worries.

500 baht lunch money for a month? You haven't given us any information about the type of work and the pay, but judging by your lunch allocation, it probably isn't a high paying or enjoyable job. If you want to keep employees, don't look at what your competitors are paying. They could just as well have high turnover as well.Look at the cost of living in the area of the business. Does the amount you pay give the employee enough to pay for nice housing, transportation, food, bills, clothes etc? If not, or if a person will struggle to live on the salary you're providing you will have high turnover. Every employee is a human with ambitions and goals, and if they only make a a few hundred baht per day but pay 100 baht in transportation back and forth, for example, they will start wondering if the work is worth it. They'll start questioning whether they should look for another job or their next path. And if the job is low on the pay scale, they aren't afraid of losing the job, because there are tons of low paying jobs available. Pay them enough that they can afford to live very comfortably on their own and still have money for savings, and you will not have an employee turnover problem. If you're paying like 15,000 or less for any job though, I think the default is high turnover. Unless they live right next door and can just sit around all day playing their phone.

Does anyone know a good place to buy baseboards and door molding(casing) in Bangkok? I've been searching for weeks and I'm coming up short. Boonthavorn only has a few thin plastic baseboards... no casing. Most of the lumber places I've called around to only have thick, unsanded/untreated lumber. Thaiwatsadu has a very limited selection of wood baseboards, conwood (fake wood) and cheap pvc door casing. No wood door casing that I could find. And most of the contractors I've talked to are just don't seem familiar/confident enough to install door casing, so I plan to do the whole project myself i I can find some options. Not interested in the plastic baseboards as they look too fake to me, and the fake wood/conwood stuff is too heavy and wouldn't be easy to install. I know it exists somewhere as the room I'm sitting in has some nice, real wood trim and baseboards, but I can't find a supplier. Any suggestions or recommendations?

As we age, most men (Like 99% of men) begin to look past sex and sexual attraction and see other redeeming factors in a suitable partner-- humor, intelligence, good conversationalist, and someone who is caring and will be able to share the journey of aging. This realization happens a lot faster when a man find a great partner and simply can't let them go because of how great the relationship is. Eventually, constant exposure to the same person totally reduces and often negates the desire always have sex with them (no matter how attractive). When the man realizes that -even though they aren't that interested in sex with their partner anymore- they still love them and can't let them go, they sort of 'grow up' and realize they'll trade the joys of being single to hold on to that one person, no matter how old and ugly they become. After all, the man is only getting old and ugly himself. There is the 1%, however, who perhaps have have never found that one relationship that transforms them. Maybe they loved and forgotten, or been let down too many times. Or perhaps having abnormally easy access to sex via prostitution, wealth, or whatever means feeds the dopamine addiction (much like a drug), and relationships with women always boil down to fulfilling their sexual desires. They completely look past the fact that a relationship is also a friendship, with, hopefully, someone who develops into your best friend as well. Whatever the case is, no matter how old you are, I'm confident that all men reach the same conclusion at some point in the lives. We all reach a day where our d--k stops working. And we all reach an age where we are sick and end up hospitalized or unable to care for ourselves on our own. Sex and sexual attraction are meaningless to us at the point, and wanting someone to just spend the day with, talk to, watch a movie with, and have someone care for us without feeling like a burden are so much more. Some of the more compassionate men who decline huge age difference relationships might even consider the horrors of leaving a 26 year old wife as you lay on your deathbed and how her future might unfold when you pass. I'm guessing you have, for whatever reason, gotten stuck in the 1% at a seemingly old age-- something that seems a little more common here in Thailand than most places. And it's also unusual as you prefer to stay celibate than have a relationship with a woman your age, when you could just as well have a loving relationship with a woman and be celibate at any age. And if you are celibate, why does she have to look a certain way? Everyone is different, so I can't tell you what to do, but just remember that everyone becomes old, ugly, and sick... and when you reach that age, the last thing you want adding onto the pain is loneliness. Hell, if you're not lonely, being old, ugly, and sick might not even be half bad. If I were you, I'd consider evaluating your 'dating' criteria and make sure it lines up with your life goals. If you want nothing but to 'date' women who are 'appetizing' and when you reach a certain threshold just try to figure out what to do when the time comes, I think you've charted the right course. But if you have a goal of having a partner in anyone you date, you might want to try to find beauty in other ways and be forgiving about physical attributes you might not be fond of. Most of us aren't perfect, and we become less perfect as we age.

You sound exactly like me when I first started the project. I wanted to remove walls and such and hire different contractors for different projects... One for flooring, one for bathrooms, one for this and that. In theory, this is the best idea, but when you actually get to starting the project, you will see how difficult it actually is. 1. 8 out of 10 renovation teams with great reviews online I contacted were uninterested in doing 'just flooring' and insisted that they only whole condo renovation. Some gave astronomical rates, and some said they were booked months in advance. Some simply didn't reply as soon as spoke a word of English. You will be frustrated and eventually cave to bringing a contractor in to assess the whole situation and when they give you a quote they will quote the whole project and likely format it in a way that you get a perceived discount by doing it all with them and pay more as you remove different jobs from the project. 2. Stuff like removing walls are in some cases a fantasy. My condo isn't that old but it was like pulling teeth trying to get a building plan. The best I could get was the type of building plan that you see on purchase websites that show the rooms. It may be a guess to know where exactly plumbing and electricity is hidden and which walls are support walls. The juristic people and the on site maintenance guys barely have a clue. You will probably cave to fear that you'll remove something that will cause a cave in... And as a foreigner, you do not want something to come crashing down during your renovation with reckless contractors. 3. Referrals..... I personally contacted a flooring specialist who referred me to their 'partner' because they were unable to communicate in detail about the job. I thought this was a good thing, but that partner turned out to be a totally different company that was not a specialist and had nothing to do with what I wanted. That partner pretended to be boss of the original company but ended up hiring random unskilled workers to do my work and lied to me about them being part of the company I originally tried to hire. Basically, it is very possible you could have a friend of someone who works for the company you are trying to hire managing the project for you and hiring randoms from somewhere instead of the actual team you think you're getting. They can and will mislead you to get a big payday. This is how my disaster started. Anyway, I'll give a more update about this as the project continues. But basically the the contractors I hired totally tore up the floor and walls with power hammers and were about to pour cheap sand and cement on my floors rather than the self leveling cement that I specified during our consultation, my quotation, and in every discussion afterwards. They were going to lay the tile planks without any spacers (literally touching each other). Basically, they thought I was a stupid foreigner who didn't know any better and would just be happy if they laid tile any way they wanted to get the job done quickly and move to the next one. It has a been an absolute nightmare and I fired the team yesterday. They'll be pulling out the heaps of sand they dumped on the floor next week and I hope I never see them again afterwards. Total money down the drain and more cost to fix the problems they caused. If you value your property at all, do not cheap out. Force them to sign a contract that favors you and specifies every single detail of the job... Literally every single detail down to the brand of cement they will use and the method of tiling, yada yada. Even if you put it in writing, they will ignore it unless you have a contract. As a matter of fact, I would recommend putting a clause in the contract that the contactors must state they have experience with all aspects of the project. Otherwise you will be their guinea pig.

I specified 1/3 tile staggering, tile direction, grout line size, etc. Literally gave them all the specifics for laying the tile and also gave them the manufacture's specification booklet (in Thai) to lay the tile. I didn't purchase the most expensive tile there is, but it is imported high-quality tile and I opened and checked one of the boxes for quality. They looked quite flat. There is no chance they will all be 100% flat, but I think a nice back butter and leveling system should nullify most problems. If there is not enough adhesive, I feel like an warped tiles might be prone pulling away from the adhesive or the old thinset underneath after a while. Before payment was made and the deal was done I asked specifically "Is the self-leveling cement included in the price?" The response was 'included'. I would've been happy to work a deal out with them where I had paid for it, but I would've not agreed to pay for 600k in labor charges if I thought they were just going to rip up the rile and lay the new tile on top of old thinset. The condo is kind of big by Bangkok standards and when the reno is done it will be 1.5m baht for the labor, new tile, new appliances, etc. It's a pricy renovation, but if the job is done correctly, I will have gotten a good deal on the condo. If these guys F it up with the hardest part (the tile), then I am bleeding money on the deal.

I wouldn't say I am obsessed with self-leveling cement, but I want a level floor without lippage or raised/low spots and I have seen many, many tile floors here in Thailand that are uneven. Successfully leveling the floor should lower the chances of me disappointed by the final tile job. I know these membranes are what we use in the west, but I am pretty sure they aren't used here even in the high-end condos. I had quotes from various contractors for this job and not one of them mentioned installing a membrane. I also watched videos of flooring installs here and none of them used a membrane... So I figured the next best bet to get the best quality job is to get floors leveled properly and used a waterproof tile. If done correctly, the tiling should last decades, if not a lifetime.

Here's a shoddy pic taken a week or two ago: https://ibb.co/8s00hS9 It looks like they used an air hammer to go around the grout lines and then yanked the tile out by hand. Nearly all the thinset was not bonded to the tile, and when rubbing your hand across the thinset, a lot of if just crumbles. This is actually the reason I removed the tile in the first place. I had a building inspector check all aspects of the condo before purchase and he pointed out that the there were air pockets under the tile or it wasn't bonded correctly or something. If you set the new til eon top of this old thinset, it is level with the common hallway tile, so any new adhesive applied to the floor or to the back of the tile will cause the tile to be raised by that amount. The bottom right hand corner is where wood flooring was previously installed, and this team was also to raise the floor to be level with the rest of the room during the process. We're a couple weeks in, and the tiling of the main area was supposed to be done on Jan 7. They are just now finishing the demo and no concrete has been poured. I didn't think much about the time time it will take for the thick concrete/screed or whatever they plan to use to bring the bedroom floors up to the level with the rest of the flooring to dryv, but now that we are way behind schedule I guess I'm going to have to start thinking about that as well.

The entire condo has been gutted so I'm not worried about the dust getting in anything so much. I paid them to basically demo everything (flooring, kitchen, bathroom cabinets, tubs, toilets, etc.) There's nothing left in the condo except for the built in ACs, which I will have serviced and cleaned once the job is done. The plan was to have them re-tile the bathrooms IF the tiling of the main area flooring went well. I made the mistake of lumping the whole job into one as I thought I was working with a professional and reputable company. I agree that you can lay over the thinset if you want a 1/4" higher tile, like if you were retiling an entire floor of a house, but the condo tile runs under the front door and meets the common area hallway tile under the front door. They should be level for a proper transition. Aside from the step up looking atrocious, the door would probably scrape/scratch against the new tile. I've never seen someone do that in a condo, but I imagine doing it would decrease your chances of ever selling it in the future. I sure as heck wouldn't buy a condo with a sloppy tile job like that, unless I was planning to redo the whole thing.

They have an English speaker that works for them who is managing the project. Everything is has been communicated verbally and on LINE. I even pointed out to them with screenshots of where I wrote to them exactly what is supposed to be done. Also, even if they didn't have an English speaker, who the heck would set large format porcelain tiles on top of old thinset? It leaves no room for back butter and new thinset. And the tile leveling system would simply be pressing down against old, hardened thinset instead of leveling the edges of the tile like it is supposed to do. These are large format 120x20 planks with the same depth as the previous tile. It seems like common sense that if you set new tile without removing the old thinset, the new tile will not have a strong enough bond and will likely not have the same leveled height as the previous tile.

I recently purchased a condo and hired a renovation team to remove the existing flooring and tiles and install expensive porcelain tile in its place. So far, things have not been too great. Several days in the begining the team missed work, and despite us having a plan of what steps would be taken when, the team started jumping around and doing other tasks that were supposed to be done much later. This resulted in the tile being delivered before all the existing flooring and was removed. I was very specific with the project that I wanted the floors leveled with self-leveling cement before installing the new tile, so I was confused as to how the team was going to work around the huge pile of new tile sitting near the entrance. To my surprise today I woke up to a message from the contractor telling me that they are starting the tile and pictures of them laying the tile out over the old, decaying thinset under the old tiles to check the pattern. This prompted a confused response from me a some panic. Instead of removing the thinset, they intended to skip old thinset removal, skip pouring self-leveling cement, and just use a thin layer of something to put the tiles over the old junk underneath. This resulted in me arguing with them for a couple hours and them trying to tell me that they cannot remove the old thinset as it may damage the concrete floors underneath and that the condo may sue them if they do so. Then they tried to convince me that the condo juristic would not allow them to remove the old thinset. I am not a renovation expert by any means, but I am not stupid enough to think the tile will last long if they simply plop it down over old thinset with a thin layer of adhesive, nor will it be perfectly even if they do it that way. I ensured them that using hand tools (scraper, chisel) that the thinset could be removed without damaging the concrete floor, and I also spoke with the juristic office building manager who agreed with me. In addition, they said they wanted to tile two different rooms at the same time, beginning with the bedrooms which are deeper in the condo. This makes little sense as all the floors will have the same kind of tile so it seems it should flow from the main entrance then seemlessly to all the other rooms. Anyway, I have been fuming all day over this and am going to the job site tomorrow to discuss with them. Am I crazy or does this seem like an inexperienced team I am dealing with? I have already paid them 50% in advance otherwise, I would just call the whole thing off. What would you do?

Anyone else having trouble paying MEA bill via the MEA app with credit card? My Visa has failing over the last week or so despite me paying my bill with the same credit card for the last 3 years or more. Card works everywhere else.

I've noticed that fairly often the oversized hole that is created in the concrete to run the mini-split line set is left completely open and the installers just plop the AC unit over the hole without any attempt at sealing. This leaves a nice compromise for bugs and critters to crawl around in the wall and get into your home, I'd think. Especially if the other end is not sealed as well. What is the best way to seal that hole? From what I've researched online, in the US a lot of people use roof flashing to seal line sets, but I can't seem to find that for sale in Thailand. Perhaps some sort of self-self hardening foam? Any thoughts?

I notice they only quote a few of the cabinet prices on line. What was the total cost for your full kitchen install if you don't mind me asking?

It's owned by a farang and his Thai wife.

I am preparing to buy a freehold condo in Bangkok ... The building is established already and was built in 2007. The real estate agency is preparing the sale contract, and the owner and I have agreed on a price and date to complete the transfer at the land office. I have checked the financials posted on the wall and they do not seem to bleeding cash or bankrupt. My question is... Do I need an attorney for the process? The agent says the foreign quota hasn't been met, and I don't suspect the land office would allow the transaction to be completed if it was. Out of curiosity, I called an attorney and asked what the fee would be to review the sales agreement and all the documentation to make sure everything was on the up and up and the person who answered asked if I had done 'due dilegence' of the condo. When I asked what he meant, he mentioned making sure the unit didn't have any outstanding liabilities that would be passed on to me. This confused me as I was under the impression that the owner needed a letter from the Juristic Office stating that they had no outstanding debts. So, I can't tell if this is something I should really be worried about or just something a lawyer is using to try to get more $$ out of me. It seems like the Land Office wouldn't allow the transaction to go through if it were. I have read conflicting information everywhere. People on this forum say you don't need a lawyer and then others say get a lawyer as there are "horror stories".... The only stories I can find are horrors of people buying off-plan condos that aren't finished yet. I can't find a story of someone buying an established condo and finding themselves lost and broke. So my question is... Do I need to hire an attorney to review the documents or anything else or would I just be throwing my money away to someone who basically does nothing but review the documents just the same as the Land Office will? Is using the Real Estate company for the transfer good enough or do I somehow risk completing the transfer at the Land Office and finding myself screwed. TYIA

I registered the same day as you on expatvac.com and have still received nothing. Don't listen to the people telling you to register at thailandintervac. They ignored the fact that you said you are under 40 with no conditions. We are not eligible to register there yet. Also, ALL of the hospitals in BKK on thailandintervac have had their registration links closed for some time now. Vimut is the the only hospital showing as still available in BKK, but they don't really have a registration link, and if you contact them they will tell you that no vaccines are available and they are waiting for something from the government. I have called nearly every hospital in BKK in the last week, but they will direct you to sign up at expatvac or wait til they open registration. Walk-ins are no longer an option. Medpark has signs that say no walk-ins and will not allow you to enter. People who suggest this are going on outdated information from August. Ministry of Foreign affiairs won't help... called them twice. They will tell you to call a Covid MoPH line that rings endlessly. No one actually answers the calls. Don't bother emailing [email protected] .... I have emailed them three times. One sent a canned response saying that everyone will get an appointment eventually. The other two were ignored. Basically, at this moment in time if you are in BKK and are under 40 with no conditions, there is NO alternative to expatvac, and there is absolutely no support whatsoever to check if you're still in the queue or if your registration is lost. They literally don't care. I've tried for over a month to get someone to listen/help but there is nothing. If you find some way by chance, please let everyone know. If you're under 40 foreigner without a serious condition, they don't give a F about you.