My name is Cal.
I've been living in Bangkok, Thailand for 7 years, and I started this channel to help provide information and guides for visitors and expats!
Just let me know if you have any questions or would like me to cover a specific topic!
# Bangkok, Thailand, travel vlog, travel video
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Does anyone know if one actually need a return ticket when entering Thailand?
Ummmm ... Authentic and instagrammable ...
Fair point 😂
You made the right choice to come to Asia. Asia is rising. China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, and the Asian century is coming.
I agree. Cheers!
How do you support yourself financially?
I work and have some online income sources. I’ll cover this in a video soon.
Most people are happy and security is better than any Europeans countries including USA!! So keep it!!
I agree. Safety in Thailand is very good but there are definitely a lot of scams in the tourist areas.
Why make a video until the actual rules are released, literally everything you said can be found by a quick google search
Actually most of what I said in this video isn’t found by a quick google search… not sure what video you watched but most of this is my opinion on Thai government policymaking.
So its nearly impossible to NOT get scammed in TL, pity the TL Gov couldn't stop these alleged thieves/rat bags.
It’s very easy to avoid once you are aware of the scams!
Thank you Cal, your videos are amazing🙏
Cheers. Thanks for the kind words!
Thailand WAS a third world country. Like 30 - 40 years ago or so. But now it doesn’t feel like a third world anymore but it also not a first world country neither.
I agree with this perspective: I think the term developing is better.
new Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) for long-term travel, “digital nomads,” and participants in certain cultural activities, with a period of stay up to 180 days per visit, on a multiple-entry basis within 5 years. This is not a visa. on arrival. This is the visa pre register before you come to Thailand. You will need to apply. if your purpose matches the purpose of the incentive that Thailand is promoting. For example, if you come to be a digital nomad for contents creator, you will need to register with an agency that will promote the activity. In Thailand, there is a startup business promotion agency called DEPA(Digital Economy Promotion Agency). Therefore, in order to apply for this type of digital content visa, you may have to register in advance with DEPA's agency so that they can participate in Controlling and supporting your activities. This is also the case if you come for other purposes, such as learning Muay Thai, you must register to study with Muay Thai Association of Thailand They will let you register with the boxing camp where you will study, if you come to study Thai cooking. You must register with the Thai Chefs Association through a Thai cooking school that has permission to teach. So this is not A visa that is specific like other visas. It does not say that it states that you are here for one purpose. You may come to work, you may come to study, you may come for long-term tourism, you may come for business. Therefore, it will be a visa for many purposes, such as you coming to study Muay Thai. Your next step may be to become a Muay Thai boxer in Thailand, you may come to invest in a business and open a Muay Thai camp in Thailand, you may become an assistant to a Muay Thai trainer. Therefore, having a DTV visa will answer your needs and expand your opportunities many purposes for visitors to Thailand. and what the next in the future. You not need to apply for a visa extension every 90 days at the immigration checkpoint. You can access the application on your mobile phone. It is connected to the system of immigration. You just make a request through the app. An officer will contact you to interview and discuss visa extension. Or, if the officer has further questions, they may direct you to visit a nearby agency such as your local immigration agency, police station, or tourist police office for further questioning face-to-face before they will extend your visa for you. 😅
Is there any way to get a Thai bank account from your home country before you arrive in Thailand?
No, and the government has made it much harder to open a Thai bank account as a foreigner even if you're in Thailand. If that's the goal, I have no idea how they would implement it, and this makes me skeptical.
I'll believe it when I see it. I hate 30 day visa free on arrival, and wasting half a day (or more) to get a 30 day extension. 60-180 days visa free on arrival would be a game changer for my wife and I!!!!!!!!!!
I feel the same. I never trust a big announcement from the Thai government. We'd be on the moon already three times over lol. I think the 60 day exemption will come into effect very easily though. Nothing revolutionary on that one, just extending an existing policy. So that is a big plus!
@@thebangkokguide 60 day exemption would be fantastic for us!!!!
One of the more mature and sensible videos on the subject thank you. It’s been somewhat entertaining to watch people speculate on the immigration announcement, particularly the DTV; I too got excited at first until I remembered that if something seems to good to be true, it usually is. This year I got a multi entry tourist e-visa which only took 3 days to process and was very affordable (300AUD). The increase to 60 days on each exemption is great news but I suspect it will still be limited to twice per calendar year so the multiple entry 6 months visa is still the best option for me. Incidentally, a lot of people think/say that if you enter the country through an airport, you can get unlimited exemptions but that is technically not accurate. People may get away with more than 2 but it’s in no way a foregone conclusion and the actual rule is 2 per calendar year no matter how you enter the country; just thought I’d mention it since we’re on the subject. Your content is always useful, well thought out and presented. Thank you for taking the time.
Thanks for the kind words. The policymaking process in Thailand is something of a different beast. Usually there is a grand announcement before any planning occurs, and then once the actual planning starts the whole thing changes or falls apart entirely. But big announcements do make for great click-bait lol. The new visa actually reminds me a bit of the METV, as it can and is manipulated to get 9 months quite easily. So there isn't necessarily that big of a change with this visa. Let's see what happens!
Thai goverment hate us farangs thats it
But they love that sweet sweet money lol
Beginning of the year I was planning on getting the Elite Visa but then changed my mind to getting the LTR work from thailand visa at the end of this year. Hopefully you can use the DTV as a multi-entry or is stackable. Personally I wouldn't mind having to pay 10k twice a year but if it has weird quirks I guess I'll have to deal with the bureaucracy with the LTR visa. The issue is I hope the DTV doesn't restrict any access to other visa's like the ED visa's affect on the Thai Elite visa.
This is exactly what tends to happen with these visas... big announcement that looks great and then it goes into committees and comes out as a monstrosity of limitations and restrictions. Let's see what happens!
There is visa on arrival 60 days from 30 days since June 1st,yes DTV is nice but still 500000 baht that's a lot,but overall big improvement.I know they conquering with Vietnam about visas thing 😂Prices of living in Vietnam are cheaper ,but services and environment cleaner in Thailand and also food too
There is definitely a competition starting to heat up for the digital nomad money. I agree that the 60 day visa exemption is a big improvement! We will see what happens with the DTV as there isn't any actual plan for it.
I believe that Thailand would like to welcome everyone in the world to be there home. As the most of the diverse conditions that Thailand have to protect the country including expats to be safed. Thailand is not just a destination of good travellers but also a bad traveller's destination as well. REGRAD.
This is very true. I think that the target of 80 million visitors would be too much for the current infrastructure, and there are a lot of problems with bad tourism. Last month we were talking about too much tourism!
Thailand holds no interest for me. A society which is so well known for scams needs to be dropped from all tourist lists.
They really need to address the scams. Would do a lot of good for the country!
Speaking as a North American, my options are to spend $400 a month upfront on a 5-year elite visa, marry, or pay double taxes on my money for the privilege of staying in Thailand long term. I would rather deal with crime in Latin America or go to the Philippines. That $400 a month I would use for an elite visa is the extra cost of living in Latin America. Thailand seems to always be 20 years behind in this sector.
I'm not a big fan of the elite visa either... they raised the price too much with that 900k bump. In terms of taxes, if you paid taxes in your home country it should be covered by a double tax treaty, so it's unlikely that you would be double taxed... although there could be a differential. But I think the bureaucracy of it all will just be an added headache that pushes people to alternatives as well. Cheers!
@@thebangkokguide yeah before they decided on smoking yaba and raising the price I was actually thinking about buying the 20 year one because it made sense at a little over $100 a month over that time period. And yeah the problem for me being an American is not the Thai government but my own. Dealing with Thailand and taxes is a lot more simple than Uncle Sam fondling me in audits etc.. we will see how this plays out but as of right now it's a huge L if they don't open up for long term tourists like Latin America does.
Really enjoyed this video. It was very informative and well-produced. Recently Wise has raised their fees, I have explored other options, including Remitly, and XE to send money from the USA to Thailand. After comparing the fees, XE is cheaper but it takes longer. Wise did not increase so much that I will stop using it. I will caution people though, do NOT leave a large balance on the card, or in your Wise account. There are many horror stories of accounts suddenly being closed and ZERO help from Wise on returning your fund balance to you.
That's good advice. I had this happen with Paypal before as well and stopped using that service altogether. I will check out XE. Thanks for your input!
How long have you lived in the Land of Smirks?
I've been living here for 8 years.
Not going to let them TAX me 25% of my $$$$$$.... That kills the whole reason to retire there.
No wonder they smirk at us all. Tax and no equal rights or advantages 😂
The tax issue is still unclear. There are definitely some workarounds for this. Will be interesting to see how it plays out during tax season in the next few months.
Great advice! I have lived and traveled around the world. I'm not a city traveler, when I do come to Thailand, I will avoid staying in Bangkok. Scams unfortunately happen in every country where tourists travel! There is no worse feeling, than going on vacation, and having to have your guard up 24/7.
I agree. It's an annoyance and the authorities should actually focus on getting rid of all the scams. For all the tourism announcements, just cracking down on scammers would change the entire reputation of the country. Cheers!
One thing to add, Bangkok is my hometown. I can say it is still reasonably safe in the town, not so many pick-pocket like in Paris. Moreover, most of them are non-thai.
I agree. Bangkok is a very safe city when it comes to street crime. Most of the pickpocket gangs are from the neighboring countries... in fact many of the street scams are not operated by Thai people. It would be nice if authorities cracked down on these! Thanks for your comment!
It took all my willpower to not buy that privilege Visa. I would be so pissed rn. I'll be following along keep up about the DTV and tax changes
Yeah that's my thought. But it's still hard to know what will happen with this visa. Let's see!
60 days rule exemption is effective in june ?
Yeah, this was the announcement. I guess see what happens June 1st…
@@thebangkokguide Cool, my arrival is on 5 June, it's a good surprise
Do Australians get the free 60 day visa as well?
We are flying to Bangkok today June 1. We will see if we get the 60 days...
@@hiddenproductionfilmkeep us posted!
Yep, lets wait and see... my first thought was actually the folks who say now that BKK is not as cheap as it used to be...if this visa comes through or the government comes close to hitting those lofty tourist targets, BKK will be even more expensive and crowded...cheers from toronto
I agree. Actually I don’t think the existing infrastructure would cope with those numbers…it would become a horrible place!
well, let´s wait and see... but im very curious too ;)
It’s a step in the right direction but the government definitely does a lot of total u-turns when it comes to these policy announcements. Last month the main government announcements were about overtourism 😂
This is the best video if you're trying to get someone to not go to thailand.
Lol, fair point. I think it will save some people from problems, so hopefully it does some good!
Grab and bolt solve taxi problems
Definitely. But can be tough to get one in some busier areas
@@thebangkokguide I felt it, when I was in Chatuchak, plan to Stiriki Center. taxi driver ask for 400, Tutu charge for 700 but offer 200 discount, finally I had to wait 15min for a “comfort “ class car which cost 200
100% with you on crossing the road. I used to live in Brussels and the first thing a local told me was it doesn't matter if the traffic light is red, you wait for the cars to stop, as they may not.
Yeah, this can be a problem in many places!
Tourists are likely to visit only developed neighborhoods of Bangkok. Outside of those locations, there are still many third world problems and still has much room to improve. For instance, public transport outside Bangkok is still spotty. People have to rely on their own cars or motorcycles. Cleaniness is also a big problem. And many many other issues. If you stick to just a business, shopping, touristy neighborhoods in Bangkok, you will rarely see many of the third world problems. And you are right about there is high level of inequality and poverty in many area. Bangkok ≠ whole Thailand Lastly, I agree with you about in the last 20 years, a lot of people have come out of poverty. My family included. But I doubt that Thailand will escape middle-income trap anytime soon.
I agree with your points. Thanks for you input!
Why taxi scams are not acted upon by the Thai authority?. Is the government closing an eye on the taxis so that they can flee tourists?,
Hard to say. If they wanted to improve the tourism image of the country, cracking down on the extremely common taxi scams would probably be one of the best actions to take…
Thank you for adding English subtitles! It really helps me understand and enjoy the video better, and it also improves my language learning
I’m glad it’s helpful! Cheers
Thanks Cal, this information is VERY helpful. Will be coming back to this as a point of ref. for sure. Cheers! 👊
I’m glad it is helpful! Thank you for the kind words 👊
Good info.👍👍👍
Thank you 🙏
Great Video. Extremely informative ❤
Thank you for the kind words 🙏
Bangkok is the 7th most visited city
I saw this from the Euromonitor ranking later. Another ranking that was publicized a lot in Thailand has it as first (I think based on airport arrivals). Thanks for the input!
Then there is the tourist visa scam for a US Citizen married to a Thai National by the US Embassy. They tell you to pay an un-refunded fee of $185, for an application, wait one to two months for an interview. The Embassy web page tells you what documents you can gather to prove you will return to Thailand after you visit to the USA. Therein is the scam, your Spouse gathers property deeds, farm ownership, bank statements, and a letter of sponsorship to the USA, marriage documents complete with photos including new house you and your husband built together fee of mortgage. However, the interviewing officer doesn’t bother to even glance at your documents plainly in a clear folder in your hand. Instead, asks 5 question and immediately hand you piece of paper and tells you are not approved. The paper lists the reason that the officer doing this scam will not explain this reason. Later, you look up denied under Section 214 (b) which is an assumption you will not return due to lack of evidence of strong ties to Thailand. If you try to appeal the denial, there is none. You are simply told to reapply. What, like pay another $185, more flights, and rooms for another bogus interview to receive another denial without looking at your proof of strong ties to Thailand. We consulted a visa lawyer in Bangkok, who honestly told us, I can take your case and your money but the fact is, the embassy has no intentions of giving a US Tourist B-2 visa to to US Citizen’s Spouse…that is is scam as it is advertised by the Embassy Web page as simple if you follow the rules.
Thanks for the input. Sorry to hear about that story.. western embassies are generally much more difficult and opaque when it comes to issuing visas to Thai people.
Rainy season
Very 😅
another great video
Thank you 🙏
From Ireland, my mum had a perfect response. When ever she was approached on holiday, she would say a few words in Irish and they wouldn't know what to say.
This is the best strategy! Cheers
1st or 3rd world is just a definition from whoever wants to be the 1st. They just set the criteria and so on. Thai people are fine with whatever they want to rate us because it can’t change the fact that our emotion won’t differ with that rating.
Good perspective 🙏
Many big cities in the United States are now occupied by homeless people. I heard that Canada is about to be like the United States. Vancouver is also occupied by homeless people.
Lots of homeless people in both countries… there is a drug problem due to fentanyl that is causing a lot of the problems. It’s unfortunate
I will be there on an elite visa for 10 years
Sounds good! It looks like the visa options are opening up a little bit as well with the new visa announcements.
How about grabcar ? Can we use this apk ?
Our currency has been devalued. so Thailand is no longer a bargain for us.
From which country?
Best advices ever. Thanks 👍
Thank you for the kind words!
Thanks for the information but that nose hair or booger hanging out your nose was distracting.
Fair point 😂 Cheers
Thailand is 3rd World, but Bangkok is not.
Definitely different levels of development in Bangkok and the rest of Thailand.