Was there a question or this just rant about how life can be unfair?

I taught for a couple of years. There were headaches, I was not treated fairly, there were most definitely teachers who were better than me. The food sucked and I had to be at school on time in the mornings, I had to grade homework and wear nice clothes, blah blah blah.

All-in-all, the experienced sucked (yes even for fair skinned people), but it was worth while and I would do it again, if for no other reason than experience, culture exchange, to give back to my host community..

@John *******

You obviously didn't read the fine print.

A) Didn't sign any document

B) I was absolutely truthful on the application. You could re-read my post to see what I said.

People like you are the reason Immigration Officers don't like expats.

I theory it's easy and you can do it yourself. In actuality, because its the Jomtien immigration office, you may want an agent.

The last time I tried to do an extension there, I was turned away three times. The final time they told me to come back the day the visa expired which would have been problematic if they turned me away again so I used an agent to get the extension the same day.

Jomtien Immigration office is crooked. Of course I have a questionable visa history so they may be more crooked towards me.

@Sophie ************

I hope to do a retirement visa based off of income in a 9 months. So I have been transferring using the reason "long term living in Thailand", which probably adds time.

I have applied for a Thai tourist visa from the US Embassy Washington while in Cancun. The eVisa website has an "eligibility" test on the first page. It asks two questions: 'Where are you?" and "Where are you from?". If a person enters US in both cases they are allowed to go to the actual application. The actual application ask very similar but slightly different questions: "Where are from (nationality of your passport)?" and "Where are you a legal resident?". In my case I am a legal resident of the USA, I have a driver license to prove, which is the requirement.

Its a $60 risk (or whatever the cost of the visa). It's worked out well for me. I have done it a few times (Mexico and Indonesia) and I would do it again, but it is not gaurnteed.

yes you can!

I would recommend transferring yourself some money just to gain experience. Also, if there is time, I would pay this months rent via wise so your Landlord knows what to expect.

Wise is a great service and use them frequently. However, they can be quarky. Most my transfers have been taking 24 hours. Before it was with in minutes. On occasion it can take a week.

The thing I like about Grab is that I know the price up-front. With the taxi at the airport they're supposed to use the meter but sometimes they don't like to.

I take a semi-large back-pack that is about 70% full. Contained within the backpack is a smaller bag that I use for miscellaneous other things. The smaller bag holds my passport, emergency money etc. Sometimes the airlines ask to weigh the bag, at which point I have to check the bag. I take the computers out (as required by airlines) of the bigger page and put them in the smaller bag.

The trick is to have a bag big enough and rugged enough that it can hold ALL of your stuff and can be strapped to the back of a motorcycle. Also, you will want a smaller bag that can hold your necessities, you don't want to dig in your big bag each time you need your passport.

Raining is a factor depending where you go and the time of the year. I water-proof stuff inside the bag instead of the whole bag (put laundry in plastic bag, toiletries in a plastic bag, electric cables, etc, etc). A waterproof bag is easier to get a hole in, than several smaller bags contained within the bag. If you have liquid stuff in your bag and the container busts all your stuff gets slimed with your liquid stuff. Finally, the little plastic bags proove to be useful for a variety of reasons (many stores on small island wont give you plastic bags), so bring some extras.

Yeah because Bangkok needs one more , temple, Indian Restaurant.

'When' you can apply for extension depends on the immigration office you intend to use. In the past I have done it within two weeks before the stamp expires.. Once I was turned away from the Pattaya Immigration Office and told I had to wait until the day it expired. I used an agent in that case. I think the pattaya immigration office is more crooked than other immigration offices. Also I have a pretty questionable visa history so that may have been a contributing factor.