skorts

Well it certainly wasn’t unpleasant! I have already renewed my Thai 5 year car driving licence twice at this office and it was “pleasant” on both occasions. And actually I will be back in 2 years time to renew my temporary motorcycle licence and not 5 years. I was trying to be helpful by sharing my personal experience at my local Transport Office.

I went to the Pranburi Transport Office last Monday at 1:00 p.m. with the following documents: 1. Original passport 2. Original U.K. Driving license 3. Certificate of Residence from Immigration 4. Medical Certificate 5. Copy of passport photo page 6. Copy of current extension of stay 7. Copy of last entry stamp 8. Motorcycle licence application form There is no need to bring passport photos as they take your photo at the end of the visit. Go up to the 2nd floor and as you enter the door there is a member of staff at the desk to help you and give you the correct queue number. Queue numbers are displayed on a screen showing which desk to go to when you are called. Documents all checked in 5 minutes and I was given a queue for the following morning at 8:30 a.m. I arrived at 8:15 a.m. (office opens at 8:00 a.m.) and was No 7 in the queue. By 08:30 a.m. my group did the driving skill ability tests: A. Traffic lights - press “start” button on hand control pad and then press “red”, “amber”, “green” as the traffic light changed. There were 9 of these changes. B. Brake test - press the accelerator pedal and the light goes “green”, once it goes “red”, press the brake pedal before the light on the machine reaches the red zone. I did this two times but most people seemed to have to do it three times. C. Depth perception test - using a hand control pad move a small vertical bar towards another small vertical bar and stop when they are aligned. Only had to do this once. D. Peripheral vision - call out “left” or “right” when a light appears. All in all the tests were pretty straightforward and everyone appeared to pass. As my licence was treated as a “new” licence I had to go and watch a video for 30 mins or so on road crashes and road safety. This was a little surprising as I had already watched an hour long training video on-line and printed off the QR Code showing my training was completed. I had done this previously when renewing my 5 year Thai car driving licence. At least the video I watched st the office was a different video. I was advised in future I can renew my motorcycle licence and get my queue appointment on-line and watch the training video at home on-line and print off or show my QR code on my phone on the day of my renewal at the Transport Office. I left the Transport Office soon after 10:00 a.m. with my new 2 year temporary Thai motorcycle licence. All in all a very easy and pleasant experience. Well done to the Pranburi Transport Office who were very friendly and helpful.

Fantastic! Thank you so much for your detailed response. Not left yet so will go through your suggestions. Really appreciate you sharing your experience. Thank you.

Anyone have experience of this and what you did to get new licence plates? I am aware there is the option to paint over the letters and numbers but have been advised this is actually illegal. Do you have to go to a Department of Land Transport (DLT) Office in the Province the car is registered in to get replacement licence plates? I understand I need to take the car’s blue book and my passport. Anything else? What is the timescale and cost for replacement licence plates? Do the DLT offer a service for fitting the new licence plates or will the car testing centres used for annual inspections do this? Thanks for any experiences you can share with me.

Thanks to everyone for your responses. There is some really excellent suggestions/feedback which will make our trip planning and journey that much easier. Really appreciate everyone’s input. Thank you!

I have been regularly flying that route with Air Asia and it is fantastic! Can highly recommend. If only going for a week or so I fly and hire a car but this time will be there 4 to 6 weeks so hiring a car becomes an expensive option. Also no fixed travel dates so booking flights at short notice is expensive too. With our own car we can just decide to head off when we want. The road between Bangkok and Hua Hin is much better than it used to be. We drove from Pak Nam Pran to Bangkok and back last November and it took just over 3 hours each way. I remember when it regularly took up to 5 hours.

Fantastic thank you!

Great ideas thank you.

Because I need my car in Hua Hin.

Looking to drive from Chiang Mai to Hua Hin. Hoping to avoid central Bangkok by going west of Bangkok. Any suggestions on the route and a place to stop overnight, about half way down, would be appreciated. Thank you.

https://wedo-air.com/product/sqair-air-purifier/ They do sell carbon filters which can be installed alongside the HEPA filter. The carbon filter acts as the pre-filter. It filtrates larger particles and eliminates odours from the air before reaching the filter. Carbon has the ability to absorb almost any type of gas and molecules. Not everybody requires the pre-filter and only want the HEPA filter but the option exists for those who want it.

I just bought the Smart Air - The Sqair Air Purifier direct from wedo-air.com. Only just been delivered and unpacking it today. More than 10,000 sold in Thailand. Some great info in the attached link: https://wedo-air.com/product/sqair-air-purifier/ This unit is suitable up to 40 sqm but they do others for bigger rooms.

I totally agree about voting on-line and raised this with my Electoral Services office. This was after the election on 8 June 2017 when the ballot papers were sent to me in Thailand on 22 May 2017 - 17 days before the election. The form didn’t arrive until 2 June 2017 meaning that even with posting it back the same day there were only 6 days until the election. I doubt it would have arrived by election day. My Electoral Services office told me the election system is designed by central government and passed to local Returning Officers. The need to reform the process has been lodged by the Association of Electoral Administrators and the Electoral Commission on a number of occasions. New policy and subsequent implementation are required to deliver on-line voting. It seems clear there is no interest from the government in creating new policy to achieve this.

I have separate Wills in Thailand and the U.K. drawn up by lawyers in each country. The following clauses were included: 1. Thai Will I REVOKE all previous Wills and Testamentary Dispositions. I HEREBY declare that I have another Will made for my properties in the United Kingdom which I declare shall remain in force and will not be revoked by this Will. 2. U.K. Will I revoke all earlier Wills and testamentary except my Will disposing of my assets in Thailand. Both Thai and U.K. lawyers know of the other country’s Wills and have each others contact details so they can notify the other on death

I have been using Medisafe for a few years: https://www.facebook.com/Medisafe.Pharmacy.Rama4 Used to use Bangkok Drug store but Medisafe are cheaper. I checked out a few others and none came close to Medisafe’s prices. They also have excellent customer service. They do a “free” monthly delivery to major cities in Thailand including Pattaya. Next Pattaya monthly run is on Monday 20th November. Highly recommended.

I recently paid ฿44,000 for colonoscopy and gastroscopy at Bangkok Hospital Chiang Mai including multiple biopsies. Conscious sedation and I don’t remember a thing about it.

Totally agree. I have been to Kui Buri National Park and whilst I only saw 3 elephants it was a fantastic experience and a really enjoyable trip. We spent the afternoon being driven around in an open-topped truck with a guide and a driver. The guide often got out of the truck and went up observation towers to spot the elephants. We also spent time sat near a lake and watching an elephant come to drink at the lake was really special. Seeing even only one elephant in its natural environment beats seeing dozens in captivity - well it does for me. I have visited several elephant parks in different parts of Thailand so speak from personal experience. Khao Yai National Park would be my choice where I understand they offer a night Safari or a guided walk.

Thank you so much for the link DrJack54 - perfect!

I understand I need to submit a TM18 form plus: 1. Passport plus copy of photo page 2. Copy of visa / current extension of stay 3. Copy of TM6 Departure Card (as I still have a current one) 4. 2 x Passport size photos 5. Copy of my blue book/(condominium title deeds showing my name) 6. Copy of receipt of address notification I have been advised Hua Hin Immigration now require a few days to process the Certificate of Residence. Previously you could get it there and then. Presumably you have to leave your passport with Immigration whilst the Certificate of Residence is being processed?

I have been completing my 90 Day Reports on-line for some time. I own my condo and was registered on the old TM30 web site. I successfully registered for the new TM30 web site. I did not submit a new TM30 at that time as my next 90 Day Report was due in the next couple of weeks. I have subsequently submitted my 90 Day Report on-line and had it approved so it would seem that my TM30 from the old system is still acceptable. For now I am not submitting a new TM30 on the new TM30 web site and will see what Hua Hin Immigration say to me (if anything) when I do my annual extension next month.

Thank you, I have been to that office before for the Certificate of Residence. I heard in the last few weeks that you can no longer get a Certificate of Residence on the spot at Hua Hin Immigration and it now takes a week. Hopefully someone who has obtained one in the last few weeks can confirm.

Thanks for your feedback. How recently did you go? Is it still the same office outside at the main Hua Hin Immigration office?

Is it possible to get a Certificate of Residence at Hua Hin Immigration Bluport on the same day? What is people’s experience of how long it takes?

Thanks GroveHillWanderer - that is excellent feedback!

Hi Sheryl, I am due to get Zostavax in CM on Wednesday. Is is not worth getting?