What are the best strategies for applying for the DTV Visa in Thailand, particularly through the Soft Power route?

Hello fellow nomads! 👋

I’d really appreciate some words of advice:)

First a little background info (feel free to skip😅):

I originally planned to move straight to Bangkok and apply for the DTV in Hanoi. But after arriving here about a month ago, I realized it might not be the best idea to commit to Bangkok without ever having been there. So I planned to spend 2–3 months in Bangkok first and then decide whether I prefer Bangkok or Vietnam.

However, I’ve now found out that my line of work (prop firm trading) is not allowed in Vietnam. So that leaves Thailand/Bangkok as the only option since I'm not interested in other countries at the moment.

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Current plan:

I'm flying to Da Nang on the 12th and I'm planning to stay there until the 15th of May (as of now). I'm planning to apply for the DTV via the Soft Power route. I’m not sure yet whether to choose Muay Thai or a cooking class, as I do genuinely intend to participate in the course (unlike some, from what I've read😅).

I also saw that it’s possible to apply for the DTV Soft Power route through a language (and culture study) course. I’d love to hear if anyone has experience with that, as I plan to start learning Thai ASAP. But if this has a higher rejection rate I would pass on it. So I would like to hear your thoughts on that.

Secondly, does Hanoi really have the lowest rejection rate (in Vietnam)? Or is this just fairy tales.. Asking because like I said I did initially plan to apply here, but now due to plans unexpectedly changing, I will apply in Da Nang as it is more convenient. However if it's true I will just go back to Hanoi, to apply here.

And lastly, I could see that a IO could imply that I'm "abusing" the DTV Visa since I've never been there yet (I'm saying this because I've seen rejection posts, while allegedly, every piece of documentation was provided correctly). So would it be better to visit, before applying?

I hope I didn't bore you with my extensive writing😅