FunkMaster

Japanese encephalitis is extremely rare but if you get it you basically die, so it's up to your risk tolerance.  Personally I don't get it because I stick to the city, but I've been told by a doctor that if you're planning on going to any jungle areas you should get it.

Rabies is a good idea because of all the soi dogs and other wildlife wandering around.  It's a multi dose vaccine so you have to plan ahead.

Typhoid is a good idea because of flooding and sewerage / food sanitation issues.

All the hepatitis vaccines are a good idea if you're doing P4P.

You might want to look into boosters for tetanus, whooping cough and polio if you haven't had them for a while.

Don't get a dengue fever vaccine unless you've had dengue before.  Risk of dengue in a city is tiny anyway.

Thanks man, I assume this was all done in English?

14 hours ago, e11bkk said:

You will not get that prescription locally. Ritalin is readily available however (16b a pill) for 5mg. Go to Bumrungrad behaviour dept and explain you have it already etc an they'll whisk up a prescription easily. Just get enough in one go so you don't have to come back and pay the doctor fee.

Can you explain a bit more about how all that works?  Do you see a doctor and explain about your symptoms?  Or have to show them an overseas prescription?  What's the consultation fee like?

Yep, if you do a drug in a country where's it completely legal, and then fly to Thailand with traces of it still in your system, the Thai police can theoretically lock you up.

That sound like terrible advice.  He directly contradicts what he has already written on that page, i.e. all amphetamines are banned.  I'm 99.9% certain that if you get caught with any type of amphetamine you are in deep shit and a prescription ain't gonna help you.

Also bear in mind that if you get piss tested (in a club or on the street near Asoke) then it will come up positive if you're taking any kind of amphetamine, and the police won't give a shit if it was legally prescribe in another country.

17 hours ago, little_me said:

I have read news stories about them shutting down bars and performing drug tests, but was never clear if the only tested staff or customers also.  I guess it's pretty much up to them?

I've never heard of Western customers in a gogo being piss tested.  However if you get caught in a Thai club then you can and will be piss tested.  There are some underground electronic music clubs for Thais for example that are more like raves than regular clubs, i.e. everyone is on drugs rather than drinking.  They get raided every so often (normally when the donation to the local PD doesn't arrive) and everyone gets tested.  Also I know that there have been raids at some of the bars in soi 3 that are aimed at Africans and arabs, and they piss tested all the customers.

Also Thonglor police (basically everywhere east of Asoke up to about Ekkamai) are notorious assholes and yes they do piss test foreigners on the street from time to time.  You're given a cup right there on the street and they try to make you do it right then and there.

I have never been drug tested, but I have been randomly pulled off the back of a motosai, turning off Petchburi onto soi 1 on the way to Nana.  They frisked me, turned my pockets inside out etc. and were obviously looking for drugs.

AFAIK all amphetamines are completely banned, no medicinal usage, no exemptions.  You may be able to get a prescription for methylphenidate (Ritalin) from a Thai doctor or be able to bring in a 30 day supply, but I'm assuming that since you're taking amphetamines for ADHD then methylphenidate isn't a good fit for you.

On 2/23/2022 at 11:02 PM, Dubbers said:

What's the easiest/surest way to get a longer-term visa? I'd like to relocate to Bangkok for a year and rent an apartment etc. 

Read an article about a new Digital Nomad visa coming soon which would be ideal. Otherwise what do you guys do? Just constant visa runs? Or you have a student visa or something?

Is it a pain in the butt to keep extending your tourist visa each month with the immigration office? How long does it take to do?

Can you rent an apartment for a year with only a tourist visa?

Cheers!

For one year your best bet would be a 1 year edu visa.  It's about $1000 USD for one year at a language school.  There is a minimum attendance requirement which is about 10 hours per week for most schools.

You can't get a full year off a tourist visa.  With the six month multi entry you would do three cycles of enter -> stay 60 days -> extend for 30 days at immigration -> exit and re-enter again, giving you 9 months total.  Whether that's bearable is going to depend on you, it is quite a few days of time commitment and extra cost to do all the entering and exiting.  Also bear in mind that every time you do a visa run, there is a possibility that they won't let you re-enter, even with a valid visa.

Getting an extension to your tourist visa entry requires a trip out to immigration at Chaeng Wattana.  There's a bit of travel time and some waiting around.  It can take anything from a morning to a day and costs about 2k baht.

With a 1 year edu visa all you have to do is report every 90 days which is much easier.

Whether you can get a rental with a tourist visa is going to be up to the individual landlord or rental agent that you're dealing with.

15 hours ago, solun said:

Same process for Adderall/amphetamines for ADHD?

I've previously just brought mine in on my carry on - I had no idea it could have been an issue

AFAIK all amphetamines are classed as a class 1 narcotic in Thailand which means they are completely banned with no exceptions.  Getting busted with them would probably mean arrest and jail time.  Thailand is extremely strict about stimulants if you get caught.

https://www.fda.moph.go.th/sites/Narcotics/en/Shared Documents/NARCO-list-update-05.10.2015.pdf

You can only travel with category 2 narcotics, and you need to apply for permission before you travel.  Everything else is banned.

https://www.fda.moph.go.th/sites/Narcotics/en/Shared Documents/table-PHYCHO-list-update-21.12.2015.pdf

You can travel with category 2, 3 or 4 psychotropics but you need to apply for permission in advance, provide a prescription etc.  Methylphenidate is class 2.

16 hours ago, Primusthai said:

I've always heard the stories of pick pockets and Ladyboys working together to steal stuff

They're not working together, the Ladyboys are the pickpockets.

Late one night at the mouth of soi 8 I had a drugged out ladyboy who looked like she had terminal AIDS come stumbling towards me, fumbling as she tried to pull a knife out of her handbag.  I just walked off quickly, but you've got to be on your guard around some of the more degenerate streetwalkers. 

Cheap taxis are one of the great things about BKK.  I used to live right next to the Punnawithi BTS station way out by soi 101.  After the train stopped for the night, taxi was the only way to get home, but it was only just over 100 baht from Nana which is like 15-20 km away.  Back home in NZ that'd be at least a $60 NZD taxi.

I always use the airport link from Suvarnabhumi, but I've gotten from DMK to Terminal 21 for about 200 before.  Great stuff.

Is that the same guy as this channel?  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKPPTMFEWBkLBcrt_urlnDQ/videos

Ladyboy streetwalkers are notorious thieves, he should know better than to let them get within pickpocketing distance...

Pretty much all Asians are racist in my experience.

The pent up anger amongst Thai guys mainly comes from young men in the lower classes, and only if you don't know them.

Most middle class and hiso Thais are at worst indifferent and at best curious and welcoming towards foreigners.  But the social experiences of most mongers are probably heavily skewered towards the working poor...

I wouldn't say Thailand is inherently tolerant, but it's more that people won't fuck with you if you don't fuck with them.  Live and let live.

It's weird - Thailand is a military dictatorship and in some ways a police state, but I've never ever felt more free than when I'm Thailand.

If you want to see real racism and xenophobia, try living here in Japan...

You can also try Bolt, which is a newer app / service that is sometimes cheaper than Grab.

The most pain free way of getting to the airport from the lower Suk area is to just get a taxi or motosai to Makkasan station (next to MRT Petchburi station) and then take the airport link train.  Guaranteed no traffic, unexpected delays or tolls, air con, and it only costs about 35 baht.

Bumrungrad is top shelf, super modern and everyone speaks English.  Many or most doctors are USA trained.  However it is expensive as fuuuuuck.