@Andy *****

And it allows you to keep your money in your own country working for you for those two years, without you having to move any money to Thailand to sit earning a low interest rate in a Thai bank where half of it has to remain untouched all year

@Roger *********

a 60 day single entry tourist visa costs roughly half what an extension at immigration costs

Definitely doing the best thing applying in Australia, there are no advantages to applying after you get here. Leave your money in Australia working for you for those initial two years

Might be worth checking flights to Chiang Rai and fly straight there from Bangkok instead of Chiang Mai

@Tamara ****************

check what date it says in your passport that you are stamped in until. I think you're right re it being Tuesday but check to be sure. You will be able to go up to Mae Sai at your leisure on Tuesday from Chiang Rai. It's only about an hour bus trip

Yes that is correct. The tickets on the Green Bus to Mae Sai were 315 baht per person each way in January. This was the cost for comfortable armchair recliner like seats. It would be pretty impossinle to arrive in Chiang Mai on Monday and do your border run the same day. Unless you are arriving in Chiang Mai at 4.00 or 5.00am. You need to be at the Arcade Bus Station by 7.45am to catch the 8.00am bus. The bus station is not near the old town and you could find yourself in peak hour traffic that barely moves. It's risky trying to get out there straight after arriving in Chiang Mai. Have a look on the Green Bus Thailand website and see the seat availability. You can book your seats like you would do on an aircraft. You can pay for your tickets by credit card or at any . The 8.00 am bus for this Tuesday does not have 6 seats near the front available, people will have booked those well in advance. The 6.00am bus has plenty of seats, this is not such a comfortable bus but it is adequate. It will cost you 319 baht per person each way. Leaving at 8.00 will get you to Mae Sai about 12.30 depending on traffic and road works. It is not far to the border from the Mae Sai bus station but not walking distance either. Allow about 15 mins by songteow to get to the border. I would reccommend booking the 3.30pm bus back to Chiang Mai to give yourselves adequate time to get through Thai and Myanmar immigration both times, time to look around the quaint little market in Tacheleik and maybe grab a bite to eat. It's a long day without food and you don't get to stop for food on the bus trips. Bring snacks and plenty of water. Conversely though your idea of flying directly into Chiang Rai is not a bad idea at all. You would save money on the bus journey on the way up to the border and still book to travel to Chiang Mai on the Green Bus the next day or later. That way you could have a bit of a look around Chiang Rai and see the white and black temples.

Or you could do as others have said and go to immigration and do your extensions there for 1900 baht each. It is likely to be chaos at immigration this week as they will have just moved back (24th September) to their original building near the airport, about 500 metres from the airport. It is walkable, if you have a lot of luggage you might find it easier to leave it in the left luggage facility in Chiang Mai airport

Yes definitely the cheaper option, it's a long day trip ie 12 hours but it is nice scenery on the way up and interesting the first time you do it. If you can afford a night in Chiang Rai and so can break up the trip that might make it more enjoyable

Or you could apply for a multiple entry non immigrant OA visa (commonly referred to as a retirement visa) in your own country whilst you are there. The advantages of this are that you will get two years in the kingdom instead of one, by exiting and re-entering Thailand just prior to your first year being up. Also you don't need to move any of your funds to a Thai bank during that two year period unless you want to, so your money can stay working for you in your home country

@Robert ******

@Evie ****

I think you are talking at cross purposes. Robert, Evie's adult Australian son who is here on a spousal visa it seems, cannot get a Thai passport just because he is married to a Thai woman and has a Thai driver's licence. Her grand daughter on the other hand may be able to travel in the way you described when she is older

@Be**

I'm not sure from your post whether you are extending each of your 30 day entries by another 30 days at immigration. Giving you 60 days stay on each occasion. If not you can extend that 30 day visa exempt entry at immigration for 1900baht. You can also extend that a further week for another 1900 baht which isn't really an extension but an order to leave in 7 days. Might be useful to match up with flights on occasion. This is not as economicacal as applying for a single entry tourist visa before you leave Australia, and extending that, more for if you're already in the country and want to stay