Thank you for the comments and the help. Yes, seemingly the thing to do is to get into Bangkok first and then to open the bank account there. I'm going to go up to Hanoi and speak with the Thai embassy people there and get some information. Right now there are no direct flights from Ho Chi Minh to Bangkok. Apparently, one has to fly to Singapore first and transit and go to Bangkok from there.. Once I get some useful information, I'll post it here. Thanks again to all for the insights.

@Thomas *******************

my father and his second wife were very fond of doing cruises and they just stopped last year. Australia is a very different country than from the 1970s...

@Kool ******

Thank you for the information, and yes I will explore the option of getting the OA visa. Actually, it rather irksome having to get health insurance as I never have. Being healthy is the best insurance..

@Bobby *******

Thanks again for your reply. Yesterday I was asking about the Elite visa and you replied with some information concerning the OX visa which was both interesting and useful because I'd never heard of it.

@Thomas *******************

Yes, I will do that. The only concern I have about getting an elite visa is that there is quite a possibility I will have to return to Australia due to the fact that my father is 90 years old in a couple of months. Australia now has a policy not to allow its citizens to fly out of the country, so I would be stuck in Australia with useless Elite visa

@Thomas *******************

I'm planning to fly down to Saigon next week and go to the Thai consulate and ask them questions

Thank you for your reply. Will I be able to successfully apply for a Non-O visa in Ho Chi Minh City as an Australian citizen?

@Macan *******

thank you for your reply. Yes, that is what I've also heard from an agent woman who's helping me..

Yes, the avoidance of all that the hustle and hassle and to replace that with long-term certainty is going to be most welcome.