@Jimmy ***

5 working days - bearing in mind that both Thai AND Malaysian public holidays are non working days

@Thomas ******

that’s great. I did mine in February and at that time Vientiane had just brought in a mandate to remain for 2 weeks. Sounds like they scrapped it pretty quickly then!

@David ******

clearly you’re the expert…

I’m only using my very recent personal experience (and I was in Thailand, had to leave, went to Malaysia, followed the process and got my visa).

And yes, I also have a bumper passport and ridiculous or not, they are the requirements.

You seem to have an awful lot of opinions for something about which you clearly have no experience. But nevertheless, I hope your day gets less boring. 😊

@David ******

as a Brit, yes, I’ve been to the UK 🙄. I’m not entirely sure why you think the OP would want to go to the UK to get their visa from Thailand, but still, in answer to your question, border control will have no opinion on your state of mental health, were you to ask for a stamp.

@Zara ******

you also have to remain in Laos for a minimum of 2 weeks now.

@Zara ******

it’s online. You don’t see a human, so it doesn’t matter.

But given the choice I’d go to Penang for the food!

@David ******

you use a border force officer to get one. They do use them, you just don’t necessarily require one. You just ask.

@David ******

you have to send a copy of every page of your passport including the entry stamp to the country. VPN isn’t going to help that!

Yes, I just recently did this and it was great! Laos had just changed the rules, so it was a much easier option, all done online, straight forward and clear what to do.

As others said, you can cut rent in half, food will be nothing like that unless high-end dining every day ($5-$10 PER DAY is plenty), phone / wifi $20, transport, again, significantly lower. Maybe $50 per month, assuming bus / train use. For elephants, I'd recommend WFFT in Chiang Mai as it is one of the few genuinely ethical experiences. Avoid Phuket as others have mentioned, Samui is expensive. Many nicer experiences, e.g. Koh Phayam, Koh Tao, Koh Lanta. Krabi / Ao Nang may suit your needs. Massages are around $7-12 for 'standard' massage. No idea of the cost of 'special' massages as I don't partake... Anyway. Sounds like you've thought of most things so have a great trip. Recommend to bring mosquito repellent as the strongest ones here are insufficient for me. Also sunscreen is expensive and / or whitening.