@Alma **************

Hi Alma I’m not sure how food without spices can be anything but bland. I did say there were exceptions, Bicol Express comes to mind. Please understand I was answering someone’s query for a suitable country to live in long term. I can tell you I had some great times in the PI, including a visit to Cebu. But there I met a German guy living in nice home with a jetty by the sea but his yard was surrounded by a high security fence topped with electrified wire and he told me he had a weapon he would fire twice. The second shot being the warning!

Btw like you, I was wary of MSG until this series of posts but I've since learned that the US FDA now states it is safe to consume, in moderation of course. Mabuhey!

Just spoke to my son in Australia. He is half Pinoy and by the way he agrees with my assessment of the PI - he visits there often with his mother. He corrected me on my few enjoyed dishes. While I like dinuguan (pig’s blood) and sinigang (fish head version) he reminded me my favourite is Bicol express.

@Vlad ******************

I’d rather eat soup number 5 than balut if my sex drive was flagging. Immature duck feathers etc is not to my liking😖😆

@John *****

I have to admit I found dinuguan to my liking but not much else and definitely not balut!😆

PI isn't somewhere I would recommend for a long term stay. People are nice, only trouble is there are too many and last I was there it's one big garbage dump. If you like Thai food you'll find Pinoy food pretty bland, with the odd exception. There are some nice places to visit but in general it's not on my holiday agenda any more.

@Andrew ********

I’m with Krungthai and have no issues either. Transfer from Australia takes about 3 seconds.

@Per ********

😄looks like I didn’t ask the right questions then 😉

@Per ********

I am in heaven on earth in this country so I would always prefer to do things by the book.😀

@Brandon ***********

Thanks Brandon must have just been an unfortunate coincidence that the other applicant and myself chose that day. I have to say that the staff at Pathum Thani Immigration are very patient and helpful.

I’m actually towards the end of the process of applying for a Non O retirement visa myself. I was lucky apparently and opened a Thai Bank account a couple of years ago at the first bank I approached in Changwattana.

I’ve never done land border runs but last year after entering Thailand on a visa on arrival basis from Australia or Bangladesh after a month or so away each time I found Immigration at Suvarnabhumi were getting quite hostile -hence my application for a retirement visa.

If you can open a Thai bank account and I met a UK guy who told me some banks in Tourist hotspots like Pattaya will still let you on a tourist visa, then I would say you don’t need an agent to get a retirement visa but having someone at your side who can read and speak Thai is a big help.

As

@Brandon ***********

has indicated you can readily get info to convert to Retirement Non O visa from the authorities. But here are some tips from my experience which aren’t in the guidelines. First, you need to complete the application forms in blue biro/pen. I used black for my application copies initially- had to redo.

After each signature, I’ve learnt to put my telephone number, a requirement at my local immigration office, at least.

Then you need to get photo copies of every visa entry into and out of Thailand in your Passport and of course your personal details at the front. Each copy page must be signed by you.

If you do manage to get a bank account and deposit the 800,000 baht and meet the time lines, etc I learnt another lesson. When you apply to change your visa, mine is a 90 day tourist visa, you are instructed to get a bank statement and have your bank book updated on the day you submit your Non O application. This seems easy but be aware, you also have to make sure to make a small transaction to be recorded in the bank book that same day.

By coincidence a fellow applicant banking with Kasikorn Bank found this a real issue because his bank insisted they don’t update the statement on the day. In my case, I deposited some baht through the bank’s atm and then updated my passbook also by atm at the same time.

Myself and the other applicant also found we’d been neatly conned? because my particular Immigration office requires 15 days to process the Non O application and both our visas had only 14 days remaining, so we had to apply for an extension of the existing visa. I got stung for 2,000 baht and they tried to do him for 4,600 baht but in the end he got the same charge as me.

Both of us have been assured we will get a 3 month retirement visa initially, followed by the full Non O visa after an appropriate application to extend. We can learn our application outcome on 8 March.

If you consider what myself and the other guy went through too much, then choose an agent. However, hopefully the clues I’ve provided will make it easier for you do yourself. Took myself and the other guy the best part of two days and two trips to our banks to achieve what we did. Should be possible to do easily in one day in hindsight.