[Wife hasn't gotten paid in almost 2 months here in Chiang Mai]

Easiest and cheapest is the Labor Department. They deal with this sort of problem all the time.

[Dr. Supon Sriplakij , excellent Urologist for enlarged prostrate surgery in Chaing Mai]

way way to much for this type of operation. only 100 surgeries? not very experienced. posting looks like an advertorial.

[AI powered CCTV cameras to target helmetless motorcyclists in Chiang Mai]

They tied cameras at intersections about 8 years ago. Then they stopped working. Why will it be any different now? Isn't Thai AI an oxymoron?

[Making a Thai Will]

This is an often misunderstood aspect and Thai lawyers are either unaware of or willing to exploit - depending on the individual lawyer. Foreign Wills are honored in Thai probate courts. If you do a Will here and have one in your home country, your heirs in both countries can contest the other Wills. The best solution is to amend your existing Will in your home country making provisions for what is to be done with your thai assets. You can then give a copy of the Will to a responsible person here that you want to have a copy of it here.

 

Unless you believe that heirs never fight over Wills.

[American expats and Absentee Voting]

how to do an emergency backup ballot - https://www.votefromabroad.org/fwab/

[American expats and Absentee Voting]

https://www.votefromabroad.org/

[Open letter to the tourism authority and the Thai government]

Well the very premise in his letter is wrong about escaping the flu in Thailand. There is flu here also.  I know lots of people that have had it here over the years. Get a flu shot. I do every year. Immigration gave plenty of notice as to when people had to either change their visa status or prepare to ship out. Ignoring their request to change visa status until the last minute and then pleading that Germany is not safe is rubbish. I've gotten messages from people vacationing safely in Germany.     

[Molecule cargo pants store location in Chiang Mai ?]

Yes, please share exactly where you buy Molecule specifically. There used to be a vendor on the top floor of Kad Suen Kaew that sold, but I haven't found the Molecule brand anywhere in Chiang Mai for several years. Have been buying from a website run by a farang in down south for several years now. - http://thailand.molecule-clothing.com/mens-molecule-clothing.html

[American expats and Absentee Voting]

Well, considering that the new US ambassador to Thailand is a political appointee and not a career diplomat;......you can go from there. I'm sure he'll make sure it's handled appropriately....

[Bank Letters for Retirement Extensions]

Got it at the Kad Suen Kaew branch 2 weeks ago. Took about 1.5 hours for them to get it all done. Teller knew exactly what was wanted.

[Question from Bygone Times]

I think there's a shot vets can give that kills them. there's also a dog collar that kills them.

[U.S. Ambassador praises Thailand’s investment potential]

Shows no respect for local customs. All the other Americans are wearing masks. Figures no covid in Thailand so its a photo opp for him to send to his fearless leader (that appointed him) that he will follow him unto death. What a brown nose. No respect for other cultures. Send him to Brazil, or Florida or Texas and see if he's as brave. What an a__hole. 

[Flying into Chiang Mai from abroad]

Read the Thai visa news posting today as to who can enter later in July. Like every govt. in the world, its all very fluid and uncertain at the moment. Foreign tourists won't be allowed in till the earliest, I suspect, until perhaps September/October; and then certain countries will still probably be banned, i.e., the USA and others where the pandemic is out of control.

[CM - BKK - CM by air. What are the latest to date hoops to jump through?]

Did the same last week. Easy. No extra time needed than usual to be at either airport. CM required download of AOT app. But its in Thai. No worries, security at boarding gates completes on your phone for you as its all in Thai. Masks during flight. Orderly boarding and disembarking. No food or drinks on plane. Temp check when leaving baggage area at DMK. Don Mueng, temp check when entering airport. No AOT app required. Nothing upon arrival in CNX. Always need a mask throughout. Not sure if they will require AOT app at CNX after July 1. Overall much more pleasant experience than before Covid.

[Missing from the Conversation]

Thai government said it was money coming from outside Thailand into the SET and Thai bonds in the first 2 weeks of June. In other words, Int'l arbitrage traders were trading into Thai baht investments out of dollars for short term relief from a perceived weakness in the dollar. If the government wanted to stop it, they could put some kind of limit as to how long an int'l investor from abroad had to keep their money in the SET or in Thai bonds before moving out, say 6 months in stock purchases and 1 year on bond purchases, and not blanket purchases only in the name of the int'l houses  doing the buying, but the individual speculators and companies. Int'l speculators who have the money to run rough shod over small economies for short term arbitrage gains without any thought it what it does to the economy in the long run or the locals. They're worse than guys coming from abroad looking for a 2 week holiday in Pattaya. 

[Put safety before money - academic warns about opening country too quickly to "infected" foreigners]

Meanwhile, Spain will guarantee health safety for foreign tourists to get tourists to come back - https://www.reuters.com/article/us-healthp-coronavirus-spain/spain-says-will-guarantee-health-safety-when-opening-tourism-to-foreigners-idUSKBN2381SY

[Inter Provincial Travel]

What is unclear to me is whether there is a mandatory quarantine on return to Chiang Mai province. Has mandatory quarantine lifted from Chiang Mai?

[cost of echocardiogram or angiogram in Chiang Mai ?]

Ram H has a special where they do the echo, stress, blood, and other things for 7k baht, there was a special that includes angio also.. You can get a echo and stress at Sripath for about 8k, no package deals, all individually priced. I think the package at Ram is the best deal around. At the specialty clinic.

[Haircuts and Prescription Reading Glasses: When will these be again available?]

The optical shop in the old city just east of the UN Irish pub on Ratchwithee is open Monday to Friday. Just got new glasses there 3 days ago. Easy.

[no alcohol sales from 10 to 20 april]

order is for wholesalers and distributors also. When your local small shop runs out, no refilling by the wholesalers or distributors....

[Bangkok Bank ATM'S]

they had the same problem a few weeks ago. Tried 3 different bkk atms. none worked. went over to a siam commercial one 2 meters away, used my bkk card in it. worked fine. They're having some traffic problems occasionally it would seem on the volume on their atm network. But the fact that the siam commercial atms can get through to the bkk server means the problem is in their (bkk bank) atm network servers, not their main bank servers.

 

Also did an int'l transfer last night from my US bank to my bkk bank to test. worked fine. received in 15 hours from when I sent from my US bank.  

 

Also tried my US debit/atm card 3 days ago as a test. Again, no problems.

 

This a biological/medical crisis, not a banking crisis. Not a famine.

[Tax and Insurance on motor bike]

vehicle testing station on road between on the road between the northeast corner of the old city and Tesco Lotus. Going from the NW corner, its just after the first stoplight on the left.

[Leading Thai doctor in dire warning: Deadly Italian strain of Covid-19 now set to wreak havoc in Thailand]

So he's a 'leading physician' - not a virologist, but a respiratory physician. Yet, he 'knows' there is a more virulent 'strain' here from Italy. Strange, no virologists around the world have discovered this 'strain'. Hopefully he's talking to the thai physicians that discovered the cure for covid 19 a few months ago (remember that?).

 

I know a President in the US who could use his expertise. He had a gut feeling that it wouldn't be serious and has also offered up his own drug cures. 

[Asinine and unfair closings]

asinine? really? see here - https://twitter.com/nowthisnews/status/1241225019952263170

[BAHTNET Problems with Immigration]

Found your posting a little confusing. I have HSBC and do a SWIFT transfer to my Bangkok Bank every month. There is no HSBC Thailand or Bangkok. HSBC Thailand closed operations about 8 or 9 years ago. I specify a SWIFT transfer to Bangkok Bank's SWIFT code, always goes direct to Bangkok Bank always shows up as an FTT transfer. It will be up to the immigration officer on the particular day you go whether they understand and accept BAHTNET. You're rolling the dice by using BAHTNET rather than a direct SWIFT transfer from HSBC to Bangkok Bank.