markwhite

Same as you in that I resisted the need to move to a "phone for everything" as opposed to using a PC where I could control the environment the software ran in. But after Krung Thai removed their web front-end to online banking and went app only, I've installed and activated the app. And notwithstanding any insecurities which are not immediately obvious from casual use, it is useful. Booked some plane tickets in person on Sunday and scanning a QR code on the counter-top device and checking the transaction was right before hitting "Confirm" was a lot easier than making 4 withdrawals from the ATM and giving them cash. Same with household bills. I'm reluctantly seeing the benefits... Anyway (for Krung Thai app) 1) It'll work over wifi or mobile data, so if you're only using wifi you should be fine (don't remember if it was mobile data only for install as suggested by OneMoreFarang) 2) Wifi only is fine. There is no OTP. On install it requires a Thai ID card number, and should accept the NDID thing that farang can't get, so I did have to visit the bank branch to get it activated. The cashier knew what she was doing and it was painless. By default she set it to a fingerprint check for each transaction, though I changed that to use a PIN instead. So no OTP, but other secondary permissions are needed (though possibly could be disabled completely).

We like this: https://shop.doitung.com/en/product/ground-coffee-classic-roast/

Support her while she goes through the breaking point. She will either break with you, or she will break with her family. You know her best and you know what is more likely. And she may need to go through the breaking point more than once before she gets to a place that's healthy for her. I think this sort of thing happens in healthy, supportive relationships, for a variety of reasons. It's just that with Thai-farang relationships, it's particularly because of this issue of how relatives view the relationship and money. She is talking to you about this in a way that seems fairly open and honest. There are many similar stories here where that is missing, and they don't always end so well. Good luck.

It went from being a bit overcast to sudden, very strong winds in the space of about 10 minutes yesterday morning. There may have been some forecast warnings based on what was coming in from the east, but on the ground this was a sudden, sharp squall. All over in about an hour.

Not sure of the usual prevalence of these around the country, but I just had my first home visit in Nakhon Si Thammarat. This is after 17 years in Thailand and about 10 years on a non-imm type O (currently for retirement, previously for dependants) visa, with no changes or issues that should have flagged anything with immigration as being suspicious. It turned out to be a form-filling exercise which took no more than 10 minutes. Two immigration officers in attendance, one filled out a form confirming my residency at the address and taking ID numbers from my passport/visa and my wife's ID card, which was signed by me and my wife and witnessed by the other officer. A few photos were taken, including one of me, my wife and one officer at the front of the house showing the house number. When asked, one of the officers confirmed that was as a direct result of the number of Chinese visitors found to be overstaying and/or running illegal businesses and had been ordered by on-high. It was suggested that this could be an annual visit. They were working through everyone in the area and had already visited other ex-pats in the area this morning including two foreign teachers at the local university. So just a PSA in case this becomes a thing, and if people are wondering if that thing is happening to others. It may be perfectly usual for some, but this is new to me. That's all.

As said, it depends where he's borrowed money from. If it is from a bank or other reputable organisation, they do not tend to be in the business of deliberately taking possession of secured property just for the sake of it. It is a very last resort, and usually one that is taken when all other options have absolutely and irretrievably failed. There is more money to be made from keeping a borrower in their house and milking them for interest for the next 20 years than taking possession and selling the property. IME there are two categories of deliquent borrowers: those who won't pay and those who can't pay. You get the "won't payers" out as quick as you can, but you give every chance to the "can't payers" until they prove repeatedly that they are not capable of keeping to any payment agreement in the long term. So possibly your neighbour has just burned too many chances and the bank no longer believe him. Source: 15 years in retail banking in the UK, but admittedly all experience in the past in a different country may not be relevant to how things work here. Though I suspect the principles are somewhat similar.

On a beach on one of the islands, walking back to my room, drunk, during a power cut, with no torch. I couldn't see my hand in front of my face it was so dark, so I was feeling my way (badly) with my feet. And didn't account for an unexpected drop from broken concrete on to the beach itself. So I went face first into the sand. No real harm done, so got up and went on my way. Next day, I went back and looked where I fell, and it was just full of jagged rocks and other broken bits of concrete. My face had landed in just about the only place where it was safe to land. Missed a bad injury, and probably death, by inches.

4x90 days is usually a bit less than the one year visa renewal date, especially when a 90 day report falls due on a weekend or public holiday so it gets pulled forward by a few days. I find this comes up every year, and I just did a 90 day report at the end of April, then a full renewal a couple of days ago. If you want to pay the fine (or whatever penalty) for missing the 90 day report it might make no difference, but if you're not wanting to do anything that might cause problems with your visa renewal, just accept you'll be making two trips to immigration in quick succession* and get it done. *or online reporting, though I have no experience of this.

Firstly, book an appointment at the local transport office. Ours was shut for 7 months and we got one for 1 month hence as soon as they starting accepting appointments. Very quickly they were fully booked for 6 months. They confirmed the existing 2 year license was still valid even though it had long expired by then. When your appointment is nearly due: Get the certificates from your local doctor - one for each form of transport (one for car and one for motorbike for example) Get the proof of residence from your local immigration office (I got just one certificate that covers both forms of transport). Take a copy and self-certify the copy. Take a copy of your passport photo page and current visa page and self-certify them (one for each form of transport) The video/test is valid for a certain amount of time which I don't remember. If you've done this without an appointment, you might need to redo it closer to the appointment time. Attend the transport office for your appointment. Complete one form for each form of transport, each with a doctor's note, an immigration letter, and a copy of the passport. Wait for the physical tests (brake reaction test, colored circles test) Pay your fee, have your photo taken, collect your new 5 year license.

Our 2 year licences expired in Apr but the testing centre was shut due to COVID, so Mrs has repeatedly phoned to find out when they would open again. End result is we got an appointment for later this month with a grace period after expiry so we will still get the 5 year licence on renewal. No practical driving test required. I need proof of residence from the Immigration Office, and letter of competency from the local doctor, and one of these for each licence (car and motorbike). We both need to take the test here instead of taking this at the testing centre on the touchscreen kiosk things. I've not done it yet, but Mrs says it's essentially the same with a printout at the end to confirm the final score and to take to the appointment: https://www.dlt-elearning.com/Home?fbclid=IwAR0JeNU0npZHTmWWhxGMojUeiowjxBaXby0hfOs0qSgye7D_-vTKYxTxwdk This is Nakhon Si Thammarat. YMMV for your location.

I've been renewing non-imm type O visas at NST as a "marriage visa" for about 7 years, then as a "retirement visa" for the last 3 years. In all those times, if the paperwork has been in order they've been handled quickly and easily. Overall my experiences with them have been very straightforward compared to some reports from other offices being unusually picky. For retirement: TM7 form 2 x photos 4cm by 6cm Copy of every page of passport Copy of wife's tabien bahn Copy of wife's ID card Printed screenshot of Google Map showing lat/long of a marker placed on the house Photo of me and family outside the house showing the house number, photo of me and family inside the house Make a small deposit into the bank before obtaining the next 3 Printed bank statements showing 800k continuous balance over 3 full months (eg: today I would do Jun, Jul, Aug as full months and Sep as partial month) Letter from bank confirming balance as at today's date Copies of updated bank book showing the same When I turn up with the above in all prepared correctly, it's about 10 mins to get the visa renewed, and this was last done in August. I can't help with how they view proof of income as I've always shown sufficient overall balance without issue.

It's a kind invitation, thank you, and it is nice to be asked. But I won't pretend I'm likely to follow it up.

I've lived in a small town about 30km outside NST town for 14 years. TLDR; You need to like the quiet life, Thai style. So there's not lots of amenities that can be found in more popular farang haunts in the country: 3 cinemas, a large mall and a couple of smaller ones, and literally a handful of restaurants offering non-Thai food (couple of decent pizza places, same for Japanese, one almost-fine-dining European cuisine, and some fast-food staples). Apparently there's a golf course inside the army base but I've never been. And that's about it. It does have lots of good quality Thai restaurants (and a fair few bad ones) at proper prices with real Thai food, few foreigners (I think there are 4 or 5 regulars in the town where I live) though there are a fair few teachers in the main town, few foreign tourists at non-COVID times, limited English speaking locals, 30-60 mins from nice beaches, an hour from the ferry to Samui/Pha Ngan, a couple of National Parks and waterfalls, and no seasonal burning. If you need nightlife, a large social circle of like-minded people, or a variety of provided entertainment, it's probably not going to be a good fit. If you're happy to make your own entertainment, are okay going months without having a conversation in English, and can eat Thai food everyday without feeling like you're missing out, then it's as good a place as any I guess. It suits me but it's not for everyone.