General Reports

[QUOTE=MakeItOrBreak;2059751]I don't know if this is bad manners for me writing about this here. Anyways it seems like Thailand has woken up in regards to allowing Farangs with tourist visa to get a driving license. I have seen a large increase in police checks in Phuket where I spend most my time but never been stopped myself. That said it's only a matter of time before I have to pay my first 500 THB and argue why I shouldn't have to give more.

Anyways I went to this driving school in Phuket that is on the left hand side going from Dcondo Mine to the bigger Tesco Lotus / Home pro. I don't know the full cost yet but basically 1500 THB for the school and 500 THB + Copies / Photos for Immigration (Make sure you save 2 photos for the license). So I would estimate it to land somewhere around 2500 THB. I have no clue about the expiration time on the license or if this works for people staying in a hotel but I suspect so.

What you need from immigration is a "Certificate of residence" and to my knowledge this is something new and when I asked them about it they said its been around 1 year or more. I am scheduled for my test on Saturday so if anyone has input on what usually is included I'm all ear. I will report back on my experience after Saturday.

I continued my talk with Immigration about the reporting of your address when staying in Thailand. The answer I got verbally is that if I have reported my condominium as the place I am staying that is fine even if I leave and come back. I extended the question to what if I go around in Thailand and stay in a hotel and got the answer I didn't need to re-report. Can anyone confirm this is the case or is this just how laid back they are here in the south?[/QUOTE]Certificate of residence at my local immigration is 500 THB tea money if that helps.

[QUOTE=Crazy4Thai;2060348]This is quite a change from the norm and perhaps is only available in Phuket. Rules and regs are not adhered too consistently across the country. The part about a certificate of residence from Immigration is the norm for those who live here long term. For a tourist it almost seems laughable because they tend to be on the move so much. You do not need to report your whereabouts on a tourist visa because the presumption is that your hotel will report it. That is partly why they take a copy of your passport.[/QUOTE]I have no idea but since I have a condo the certificate seems quite handy for buying a motorbike / car etc.

Suggested workflow for making a license.

1. Immigration get copies of passport and a bunch of pretty photos of yourself. 100-300 THB.

2. Immigration get certificate of residence and ask if you can have a receipt if they ask for money. The price will most likely go down from 500 THB. (Paid 500 in Patong had no idea it should be free until someone said so here).

3. Get medical certificate for driving license 100 THB if you go to a Thai clinic.

4. Go private driving school. The one in Phuket charges 1500 THB for motorcycle and includes introduction to the rules of the road in Thailand and the theoretical exam. You can retry a couple of times but it should be no problem. The test is basically online so you just make sure to have 90% [URL]http://thaidriving.info/[/URL] .

5. The school prepares all paperwork needed and off you go to Provincial Land Transport Office and hopefully getting your new license.

I roughly think I spent 12 hours including driving / waiting to make this happen. For me personally totally worth the 3000 THB spent. I actually to my own surprise received a 2 year license and I'm only on VOA. A kicker is that it opens up for driving a bike in many nearby countries and a lot of other things gets easier in Thailand!

I am researching the idea of bringing my legal US prescription of Valium *30 pills with me into Thailand. I would have a layover in Japan in route to BKK.

After researching the web I see that Japan bans a lot of these drugs even with legal prescriptions and Thailand requires you to fill out forms prior to arriving.

I've got one doctor willing to write me a letter but she doesn't prescribe the valium. So basically I would have a different doctor's name on the letter than what is on the bottle label.

Will I be searched in Japan on my short layover. Any recommendations ?

I also have questionable religious tattoos all over my body. Bad idea for beach areas ? I read they are cracking down on them.
Thanks.

Today is the day that enhanced security measures start for people entering into the USA.

[url]https://www.dhs.gov/news/2017/06/28/fact-sheet-aviation-enhanced-security-measures-all-commercial-flights-united-states[/url]

The enhanced security measures include but are not limited to:

Enhancing overall passenger screening;.

Conducting heightened screening of personal electronic devices;.

Countries: 105.

Airports: 280 (approximate number as it will vary based on seasonal airports).

Total airlines: 180.

Average daily flights: 2,100.

Passengers: 325,000 average daily passengers.

[QUOTE=Artisttyp;2062685]
I also have questionable religious tattoos all over my body. Bad idea for beach areas ? I read they are cracking down on them.
Thanks.[/QUOTE]I was in Bangkok last weekend and coming through immigration that had a video showing how having tat's and decorating budha's was disrespectful. They also has signs pretty much saying the same thing and the desks. This was new to me, they weren't there when I came in a month earlier. I don't think it's as bad as some countries, I think Sri Lanka deported a British woman a few years ago that had a budha tattoo, but you probably want to cover up as much as possible, especially coming through the airport, going to temples, etc.

[QUOTE=Kerrstar;2062959]I was in Bangkok last weekend and coming through immigration that had a video showing how having tat's and decorating budha's was disrespectful. They also has signs pretty much saying the same thing and the desks. This was new to me, they weren't there when I came in a month earlier. I don't think it's as bad as some countries, I think Sri Lanka deported a British woman a few years ago that had a budha tattoo, but you probably want to cover up as much as possible, especially coming through the airport, going to temples, etc.[/QUOTE]Seen those signs at the immigration booths since at least two years.

Good advice as too many farangs are disrespectful of those values (Buddha, King, flag) and then cry like babies when sent to bkk Hilton for some serious rethinking of their acts.

They are bent well warned now.

[QUOTE=Kerrstar;2062959]I was in Bangkok last weekend and coming through immigration that had a video showing how having tat's and decorating budha's was disrespectful. They also has signs pretty much saying the same thing and the desks. This was new to me, they weren't there when I came in a month earlier. I don't think it's as bad as some countries, I think Sri Lanka deported a British woman a few years ago that had a budha tattoo, but you probably want to cover up as much as possible, especially coming through the airport, going to temples, etc.[/QUOTE]Thanks. I have some pretty strong looking religious tats on my upper body. One is the word darkside written in old english letters across my stomach with a cross in the middle. ID like to go to pattaya but question if it is a good idea.

My apologies if this has already been posted but felt this is useful information for those coming to Thailand. Earlier this week immigration has turned away many people who can not show 20,000 baht in cash when entering Thailand. This must be cash, not what is in your bank account. I believe it can be in any currency but safer to have baht imo. Better safe than sorry carry cash.

[QUOTE=BananaBoi;2063180]My apologies if this has already been posted but felt this is useful information for those coming to Thailand. Earlier this week immigration has turned away many people who can not show 20,000 baht in cash when entering Thailand. This must be cash, not what is in your bank account. I believe it can be in any currency but safer to have baht imo. Better safe than sorry carry cash.[/QUOTE]That's roughly $606.00 dollars. But who asks that? I just arrived 3 days ago and I didn't see any issues or delays. Maybe they are stopping people at the customs center and ask you to declare your cash? Strange.

RL.

[QUOTE=BananaBoi;2063180]My apologies if this has already been posted but felt this is useful information for those coming to Thailand. Earlier this week immigration has turned away many people who can not show 20,000 baht in cash when entering Thailand. This must be cash, not what is in your bank account. I believe it can be in any currency but safer to have baht imo. Better safe than sorry carry cash.[/QUOTE][QUOTE=RobertLong;2063193]That's roughly $606.00 dollars. But who asks that? I just arrived 3 days ago and I didn't see any issues or delays. Maybe they are stopping people at the customs center and ask you to declare your cash? Strange.

RL.[/QUOTE]Where has this happened BKK? I will be moving in and out of Thailand a few times at HKT and will keep this in mind!

[QUOTE=RobertLong;2063193]That's roughly $606.00 dollars. But who asks that? I just arrived 3 days ago and I didn't see any issues or delays. Maybe they are stopping people at the customs center and ask you to declare your cash? Strange.

RL.[/QUOTE]For those wanting visa on entry.

[QUOTE=BananaBoi;2063180]My apologies if this has already been posted but felt this is useful information for those coming to Thailand. Earlier this week immigration has turned away many people who can not show 20,000 baht in cash when entering Thailand. This must be cash, not what is in your bank account. I believe it can be in any currency but safer to have baht imo. Better safe than sorry carry cash.[/QUOTE]Never seen that or heard of it either. Who did they stop? Someone you know? Or was it just random people?

I arrived, no issues.

In any case, I usually carry some home currency when I come. It's easier to change money at the exchanges plus avoid the ATM fees (up to 220 baht now).

[QUOTE=BananaBoi;2063180]My apologies if this has already been posted but felt this is useful information for those coming to Thailand. Earlier this week immigration has turned away many people who can not show 20,000 baht in cash when entering Thailand. This must be cash, not what is in your bank account. I believe it can be in any currency but safer to have baht imo. Better safe than sorry carry cash.[/QUOTE]Such a nonsense can't be true.

20000 baht if I stay 1 day?

20000 baht if I stay 29 days?

That is enough to show it can't be true.

I have been traveling the world for short trips of 5-6 days and many times I nevertheless changed any money in local currency, for instance.

Why should it better to have baht? Are they planning to close the country exchange booths?

Cash and not what is in my bank account? What I have in the bank is none of their business, so that is already another nonsense about this news.

By the way, what is yor source?

Which I immigration enforced this "rule"? Airport? Ground border with Myanmar? Laos? Malaysia?

I would be cautious to write these posts if there is no ground to it.

[QUOTE=Artisttyp;2062685]I am researching the idea of bringing my legal US prescription of Valium *30 pills with me into Thailand. I would have a layover in Japan in route to BKK.
After researching the web I see that Japan bans a lot of these drugs even with legal prescriptions and Thailand requires you to fill out forms prior to arriving.
I've got one doctor willing to write me a letter but she doesn't prescribe the valium. So basically I would have a different doctor's name on the letter than what is on the bottle label.
Will I be searched in Japan on my short layover. Any recommendations ? ...Thanks.[/QUOTE]You should be fine with just a layover. I know in Tokyo you go through a quick security screening again when going to the connections area. This is for your carry-on bag, laptop, etc.

Just carry the prescription and keep it with the pills. Alternatively, you can put them in your checked bag if you have one.

As for Thailand, I carried some xanax back and forth to and from the States many times. No problem and no forms. (Great for sleeping on the long flight).

Also bought some xanax (2 packs of 10 pills) in Saigon and carried it back to Thailand in my carry-on. No problem. You are only carrying 30 pills with a prescription, not a huge red flag.

[QUOTE=BionicMan;2062969]Seen those signs at the immigration booths since at least two years.

[/QUOTE]Really? I'd only just noticed them on my last trip. That's not to say they weren't there, I just may not have seen the. I do travel extensively, around 10 months of the years to lots of places and I do tend to zone out a bit in long queues at airports, that may explain why I didn't see them.