cannonball83204

According to MM, it has been a server problem that takes a while to coordinate with the server admins to get it straightened out. CB

I'll have to go back and reread the entire thread. I know there is good advice here and I may have confused myself while reading all the information. I have plenty of time until I have to make a decision and as of right now I am not sure about even coming there to live. One of the investments I was counting on to help me live there doesn't look like it will pan out anytime soon, if ever and with the economy in the tank, I'm not willing to commit myself to moving there for the time being. CB

Thanks mate, only time will tell. If all my stars line up in a row it will become a reality............LOL CB

Yes, I know that, but have been told that it is possible to get everything done to convert that to a retirement visa negating all the paperwork here in the USA and just doing everything before that 30 stamp expires. Maybe I misunderstood the advice. CB

I am still in the USA due to circumstances that changed my original plans. Once I do get ready to move there, I will just get a 30 day tourist visa when I arrive at the airport and do everything I need to do to get the retirement visa in BKK and Pattaya. It will be a snap to do it within the 30 days of the tourist visa. CB

I had a problem with Chrome this morning. It wouldn't recognize my Yahoo mail inbox. It would tell me that I had an error 14 and to try again later. I went to yahoo help and did everything they suggested, but nothing helped. I could look at my mail on my smartphone, so it wasn't a real big problem. I tried sending a message to Yahoo as I thought it was their problem, but never did get any response. So I uploaded FireFox and I could open my inbox. I then uninstalled Chrome and reinstalled it and it is working fine now. Don't have a clue what the bug was, but glad it was such an easy fix. I am running a full scan of my computer for malware and viruses right now. It will be a couple of hours before I have any results from that. Anybody else have this problem in the past? CB

And to think I stumbled across this pictorial right after finishing my breakfast............5555 CB

It's not 10 baht if you hire a BB for yourself if you don't feel like walking to 2nd road or wherever to catch one that is taking everyone. I have used the ones by Marine Seafood many a morning at 2 or 3 am and yes you have to negotiate, but I have never paid more than 100 baht to get taken to RG. CB

Nice lineup there Ricky, will never hesitate to visit as I feel you are one of the best go gos in Patts. CB

From what I have been told, it is on your word, they will give it to you. Maybe someone that has personal experience in this can chime in here to verify or not. Myself, when I go get mine I will have a printed copy of the deposits into my bank account just in case they want more than my word on how much I have coming in each month. CB

Thanks Randy, you are probably right about me worrying too much. The more I think about it the more I like your suggestion on how to do this. I think I am going to wait until after July 20th as I have a birthday for my youngest daughter and one of my grandchildren. I will go a ahead and purchase my ticket and just have to eat the return portion as it is less expensive that way than getting a refundable ticket. At least I couldn't find one this afternoon when I was looking that would be worth it. Any how, see you in about a month or so. CB

Thanks Randy, but I have a question. Once I get the income verification letter, do I stay in BKK or can I come back to Pattaya to do the rest of the steps at an immigration office there? I already have a functioning bank account at Kasikorn, so that is already taken care of. I was planning on staying with Frosty for a week or so until I get something for lease sorted out. That is why I was interested in getting the 60 day visa to make sure I don't run out of time to do everything. I know it can be done on a regular 30 day visa, but I just like the idea of have a 30 day cushion there without having to make a visa fun for only 15 days extra, plus the expense of doing the trip. I'll be talking to you when I get there. I have to sell my pickup before I can leave, so I need to get going on that ASAP. Hope to be seeing you soon. CB

I didn't really notice that the fee was $35 because I was going by the separate "Visa Application Procedure" that I had downloaded from the RTC-Portland website that sets the fee @ $40. I don't know what the difference is other than as you said, the form may be outdated. Thanks for the insight. CB

Thanks for all the info m_holmes and Severn. I think I have a pretty good handle on how to do all of this now and will get started very soon. See you all in LOS! CB

Great advice from you all, thanks a bunch. Seems pretty straight forward, so shouldn't be any problem. CB

Frosty started this topic for me and I am finally getting close to getting everything ready, but I have a couple of questions that I need answered before I send in my application. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. I am in the process of applying for a 60 day tourist visa and have sent an email to the Portland, OR, RTC asking the same questions I will ask here. I don't know how long it will take them to answer, so hopefully I can get some answers from the expats in the know on here. Question #1: On the application it asks for my itinerary. From that section I take it that they expect me to have a ticket already purchased to show them when I send in all the associated paperwork with the application. Is it necessary to have a ticket before I send in the application? Question #2: The application asks for "Evidence of Adequate Finances", i.e., $480 or 20000baht. What type of documentation to they required to substantiate this? I have attached a copy of the application for any clarification issues. Any information provided will be greatly appreciated. Regards, CB Thai Visa Application.pdf

Great set of pics mate, thanks for sharing and keep up the good work. Really whets the appetite for my return. CB

Tom, great reports on life in and around Hat Yai. I really appreciate the pics and the floating market not having plastic anything is very refreshing. Keep up the series and I know I am not the only one enjoying your reports. CB

Nice pics, thanks for sharing. CB

Not to muddy the waters here, but while reading this topic I googled public holidays in Thailand and got this link on Wikipedia. They sure have a lot of holidays and if they enforced bar closures on all of them it would be easier to know what dates there wasn't a holiday. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Thailand CB

thank you, I'll give that a try. CB

ok, well, I am confused now. I just tried to post a picture from my computer files and I see the "image" button here, but it won't let me use a file from my computer. Apparently I am not understanding how to do this. I have done it before the software was changed or updated, but can't figure it out now. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, CB

Make that 2 of us MM. You'd be lucky to get 2 at that price. CB

That's quite the show. I love seeing that kind of thunder and lightening, especially if there isn't a lot of wind associated with it. CB

Been to any spelling bees lately! CB