Three Ways To Beat Those Frustrating Immigration Queues

My excitement at packing my bag for another trip to my retirement house we built in Pakchong (Pak Chong) is tempered by the thought of suffering the long delays and waiting to get through the immigration checks at the airport on arrival. (And on departure but let’s not get ahead of ourselves!)

I started writing this post assuming that I would be in for the long queues at the airport immigration that we all know and hate.

Thinking about these delays, I recalled something someone had written on the Thai Visa wesbsite about fast tracking through immigration because he had a business class air ticket. I started to investigate the possibility of this fast track service and almost by accident discovered that anyone could fast track through the immigration, either the FREE way or by paying for it, whatever kind of air ticket they had bought!

This is the story…

Just How Bad Are The Long Immigration Queues At Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport?

I have been following with disconcertion the debate on the Thai Visa forum (Massive Delays Through Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport Immigration) about the long delays to get through immigration at the Suvarnabhumi Airport and as I pack my bag for my next trip to Thailand I’m not looking forward to it at all.

Some Comments From Disgruntled Travelers On The Waiting Times At The Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport

These are just a few of the many comments by travellers from the Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport Passenger Reviews and Customer opinions forum on the AirlineQuality.com website.

“All I can say is the immigration procedure is farcical.”

“I’d rank such disorganised airports as Sydney, Ho Chi Minh and Denpasar as better run than Bangkok”

” I travel all round the world and this airport ranks as one of the worst major airports I travel through.”

“Transiting through this airport is nightmare.”

Fast Track Method No. 1. Get A Business Class Air Ticket?

Last time I entered it took me about an hour to get through (entering Thailand) and I was pretty fed up I can say. One guy on the Thai Visa forum said that if you have a Business Class ticket than you can go through the business channel and short-cut the queues.

It so happens that when I went to buy my air ticket earlier this year there were only one or two spaces left on direct flights near Easter and they were on Business Class on Thai Airways. I really had no choice but to cough up the £2,555.83 * ($3,322.58 or 122,679.84 Thai Baht) fare if I wanted to travel at that time (I did). Ouch!

Even so I could not get the exact flight I wanted and had to leave at lunchtime instead of the evening. Hence I lost a day at work.

* By comparison, my standard class ticket with EVA Air last Christmas was £1,149.73 ($1494.65, 551087.40 Baht). So Business Class is about double the normal fare. You’d expect a few extra perks for that apart from a wider seat and decent food.

Anyway I read this on the AirlineQuality.com website and I perked up a bit:-

“My wife and I flew business class and we were given a premium pass to help us through security and immigration.”

Also I just found this statement on flyerwiki.net:-

“At Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, Royal Silk Class passengers have their own exclusive check-in lounge, with separate fast-track immigration channels, before they proceed to any of six Royal Silk lounges”

And this:-

Fast-Track Immigration at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International airport

Updated on July 14, 2010

“All Première guests traveling from Bangkok on all Jet Airways flights will be able to enjoy the new Fast-Track Immigration service at the Suvarnabhumi International airport at Bangkok. No need to wait in long immigration lines! This new privilege offers Première guests a special immigration channel which bypasses normal queuing.” on the jetairways.com website. (Admittedly not Thai Airways, but the principle is the same. i.e. it seems that a fast-track immigration service is available.)

So I concluded that Business Class travelers can short-cut the immigration queues on landing at Bangkok.

Can anybody comment on whether you can by-pass the immigration queues on entering Suvarnabhumi Airport if you are have a business class air ticket?

Fast Track Method No. 2. The Free Way To Beat The Queues – Cheat

How I Avoided Missing My Flight Due To Long Immigration Queues Leaving Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport

If the immigration queues on arrival at the Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport are terrible, they are nowhere near the terrible queues to get through the Thai immigration when leaving Thailand through the Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport.

I experienced this for the first time whan I left Bangkok in January, 2012 and I nearly missed my flight.

I arrived at the airport with plenty of time to check in and there was no check-in queue. Then when I went through to the immigration desks my jaw dropped when I saw the huge queue. I had been used to long queues at Heathrow airport in the UK after the liquid bomb scare, but Heathrow seems like a fast-track process compared to what I witnessed in Bangkok.

The queue was ‘controlled’ by those portable posts with black webbing tape strung between them. The posts were arranged in zig-zag back and forth across the immigration hall and about twenty lines deep to the front of the queue.

As I slowly (very slowly) moved along the queue I became quite alarmed at how slowly it was moving. As an engineer (engineers always count or calculate everyhting) I started to count how far the que moved in a minute. Then a quick calculation showed me that is would take two hours to get to the front of the queue. Then I would still have the long walk out to the terminal whch as you know can be half an hour.

In danger of missing my flight, this was unacceptable.

Always naughty, I slipped under the webbing tape and was in the next line. Nobody complained so I did it again. And again until I was at the front of the queue and ready for the first hurdle of the immigration process – no not the immigration desks – but security. Shoes off, belt off, lap top out, jacket off and through. Then it was straight on to the immigration desks where the queues’s were quite short.

I’m not looking forward to doing that again.

Fast Track Method No. 3. Fast Track Airport Services

Fast Track Services To Avoid The Immigration Queues At Suvarnabhumi Airport

As I became engrossed in this issue of the long delays at the airport and the possibility of being able to fast track through immigration I started to do a bit of investigation on the Internet.

First I found this on teakdoor.com:-

Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce : Fast Track Immigration in Suvarnabhumi Airport

03 February 2011

Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce offers Corporate Members to buy “fast track” tickets that will make it possible for the members to skip the long waiting lines at the immigration in Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. Hours of waiting in the ordinary line for tourists can be cut down to 10 minutes at the Fast Track counter for only 200 baht per ticket that are sold by the Chamber’s office.

“If you travel from and to Suvarnabhumi Airport on a regular basis you will spend much time in the immigration process. The fast track service will save a lot of valuable time for our members and at a very competitive price,” says Stig Vagt-Andersen, Member of the Board at DanCham, who has arranged the special offer.

DanCham offers 10 fast track tickets at 2,000 Baht while pricing found on various internet sites shows prices more than ten times higher than the offer from DanCham. Usually, the fast track service will be provided if you got a Premium Class flight ticket or you can buy the service from several companies in the airport.

That sparked my imagination and very quickly I found that there are several companies in Bangkok offering a fast track service at the airport to circumvent the immigration queues. Of course there is a fee for this service. Here are some of the fast track services I came across, with examples of their services:-

http://fasttrack.in.th/products.php

Service: Meet and Assist and escort through formalities on arrival and departure First Class lounge access at airport on departure.

Price: One person 3,700 Baht

http://www.thaifasttrack.com

Service: As soon as you step foot off the aircraft, we will have staff waiting for you at the gate to escort you to the VIP fast track immigration line for your convenience. After immigration, our staff will escort you to the baggage carousel and assist you retrieve your baggage. After retrieval of your baggage, we will escort you to the fast track customs line to avoid long customs check saving you time. If you have relatives/friends picking you up, we will make sure you meet up with them.

Price: 1,400 Baht. (it doesn’t clearly say if this is just arrival only or arrival and departure. I assume arrival only)

http://www.limousine.in.th/fast-track-immigration.html

Service: Our friendly Airport Hostess or host will meet & greet with you at the arrival gate, holding a sign with your name or a more discrete expression like a company name, logo, initials, etc.

She or he will help with carry-on luggage and lead you to the exclusive fast track immigration counters, where he or she will assist with immigration documents details to ensure that your official entry into Thailand occurs without any delays.

After collecting your luggage from the Bagage claim area, she or he will then guide you through customs and deliver your bags to one of our limousines that just then pulls up in front of the arrival hall at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

If you are traveling by other means of transportation, you will be taken to it instead. If the pick up vehicle does not hold green or yellow license plates, please ask the driver to park in the parking building and meet at outerdoor number 3.

Price: 1,100 Baht. (Arrival only, limousine not included)
Price: 2,100 Baht. (Arrival and departure, limousine not included)

Other Services Offered

These companies also offer other services, typically limousine transport to/from your hotel.

Which Method Will You Choose To Get Through Thai Immigration At The Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport?

Grin And Bear It?

There are those who hate being ripped off and see these fast-track services as being a rip-off. These people may take the view that the airport shouldn’t need fast-track services to get what is taken for granted in most other airports around the world.

Having spent many thousands of Baht on air tickets and other transport costs the last thing they want is to fork out for ‘services’ that fill in for the Thai immigration and airport planning and execution failures.

They may take a cynical view and see the immigration department deliberately creating long queues so that they can take a rake-off from the fast-track services. I personally don’t think this is true, but some people may think so and consequently get angry.

Pay For The Fast-Track Service?

I have no experience of the services, having only just discovered them.

If anyone has used them every reader would love to hear their comments, so please post your experiences below.

Get A Business Class Ticket?

Again, I have not flown Business Class to Bangkok (until this time coming), so I have no experience, but watch this space for a report in a couple of weeks time.

At around twice the normal fair, business class tickets are extremely expensive and most people would find the additional cost difficult to justify. I’m travelling alone but if you are travelling with your wife two trips (to the U.K.) would cost around £10,000. That’s $15,000 or 480,000 Baht! Half a million Baht!

That’s nearly as much as we paid for the brand new Toyota Hilux Vigo pickup we bought in Bangkok.

Whatever your views and experience please leave a comment below. Your email address will not be divulged to any third party and you have the choice if you want to be kept posted of further comment.

This question arises again and again just as the question “How much does it cost to build a house in Thailand”

The answer is always as long as a piece of string. But let’s try to do better than that and open it up for comments.

The question was:-

 Hello Alan,

My name is P, I am formerly from Scotland but now live in Australia. I am 59 Years old and I am seriously considering Retiring to Thailand. I have Approx $630,000 and wondered if this was enough to live on ? I have nothing else, only this amount of money. I would be grateful if you could help me with this Question.

Thanks, P

This Is My Short Answer To The Question Of How Much Money You Need To Retire To Thailand

Your question was “Is $630,000 enough to retire on in Thailand”

Now it’s my time to ask a question. If you’re not going to retire to Thailand, where are you going to retire to?

Perhaps your question should have been “Can I get a better standard of life retiring on a lump sum of $630,000 in Thailand that I can in Australia with the same amount of money?”

P, I hope this helps.

There are so many things to consider, so many different situations, it’s really impossible to answer your question.

But my advice is “Have a Plan B”.

Dear Reader Please Add Your Comments Below

Many of you already live in Thailand. Some have lived in Thailand for many years.

Please give us the benefit of your experience of what it costs to live in Thailand, and what the risks are with your retirement budget.

Pah Pai has been running the wonderful restaurant in Pakchong (Pak Chong) for around 30 years.

I always look forward to having lunch in Pakchong (Pak Chong) at Pah Pai’s restaurant.

It has a lovely garden and plenty of shade from the sun.

This is a sign advertising her restaurant in Pakchong (Pak Chong):-

Sign Advertising Pa Pai's Restaurant In Pakchong (Pak Chong)

Here is a photo of  Pah Pai herself in the restaurant garden:-

Photo Of Pah Pai Herself In The Restaurant Garden

Watch this short video to see how lovely the garden restaurant is:-

Pah Pai’s speciality is Larp Phet – is a north eastern food and Phet means Duck.

Pah also does a lovely Yum Pla Muk (squid salad) and of course the usual range of Thai yams and curries.

Yum Pla Muk (Squid Salad) At Pah Pai's Restaurant

A lunch for Kanyah and myself with about three dishes plus rice and two large bottles of Heineken costs around 500 Baht.

Buying A Lathe In Bangkok For My Model Engineering Workshop

When I retire to Thailand I intend to be making model steam engines and other kinds of models.

To do this you need a model engineering workshop which must contain a steel workbench and a lathe.

A milling and drilling machine are also important, and my lathe incorporates both of those machine tools – saving me a lot of money.

On the Model Engineers Workshop In Thailand – Buying A Lathe page I show you how I bought a lathe from a lathe shop in Bangkok. Also there is a story about using the Garmin nüvi® 2565 Sat Nav to find the lathe shop in Bangkok.

As to the steel workbench, you can see that on the Model Engineers Workshop In Thailand – Steel Bench page.

I’ve been back in the U.K. a week now since my Christmas trip to Pakchong (Pak Chong) where our Thai retirement house is and I’m feeling under a lost of strain and pressure.

Far away is the idea of retiring in Thailand right now.

And yet a lot of this pressure is because I am planning to retire to Thailand that I am creating too many jobs and too much pressure for myself.

Trying To Catch Up, Trying To Stand Still, Trying Just To Get Some Piece Of Mind

• Make all the posts on the RetiringInThailand website using the photos and movies of my last trip
• Reply to and approve all the comments made on the website by dozens of readers
• Catch up with work at my day-job
• Catch up with my other two projects one having a deadline coming up in a few weeks and I have a stack of work to do
• Prepare and pay the VAT for the last quater for my own limited company
• Chase up a load of stuff I ordered last year by mail order (for model engineering) and which hasn’t arrived
•  A major project related to my car
• Buy air tickets for my next trip to Thailand at Easter
• Buy tools and a model kit to take to Thailand on my next ‘retiring in Thailand’ trip to our retirment hosue in Pakchong (Pak Chong)
• Tryto finish my model steam engine I’m building in my model engineering worshop in Nottingham.
• Work on the design of my next model engine (a steam traction engine) to be built in the U.K.
• Try to suport Kanyah in Thailand as she suffers the loss of the thai landscape gardener, lives on her own and tries to combat loneliness and bordom
• Ponder on how to keep kanyah happy and occupied when she comes here in the summer and I’m still working 12 – 14 houras a day…

The list goes on and on and on… and all this while I’m working away from home in London during the week only travelling back to my home in Nottinghma at week ends.

Why Am I telling You All This?

1. So that you can understand why I am slow respond to your comments posted on the RetiringInThailand website and to answer questions, and slow to post the photos and videos from my last thailand trip
2. So that you’ll understand that retirning to (for me) Thailand is not at all a straighforward thing like jumping on a plane and lying in the sun for the rest of your life
3. It may be theraputic for me to get all this stuff off my chest and written down – may take some of the pressure off me

One New Page Posted “Setting Up A Model Engineering Workshop In Thailand – Making A Steel Work Bench”

This exercise (plus buying the lathe) sounds trivial but for me it was a major test of my resolve to retire to Thailand. To see whether I am ready to make the commitment or not.

On retring to Thailand my plan is to spend a lost of time in my model engineering workshop making steam models. So, in order to do that i need to invest time, money and effort into buying the tools I need for the workshop and setting it up.

I could have easily spent the last two weeks in Thailand ‘on holiday’ – going out and around or doing not much at all. But instead I had to prove that I could start setting this model engineering workshop up in Thailand ready for my retirement.

This is not an easy thing to do in a country where ‘model engineering’ isn’t heard of and there aren’t many places you can buy the tools and materials.

Plus there is the inertia and the need to motivate Kanyah to help me go out and seek out what I need. And to fight Kanyah’s critisism of me spending a lot of money on ‘silly tools and steel’.  A lot of determination and courage was brought to bear.

Anyway the Making a Steel Work Bench in Thailand  project is finished now and the story is online.

Buying and installing a lathe in Thailand is another project that I completed but the web page is not complete yet.

That’s my rant for today – got to get back to that huge to-do list I made above.

Rip-Off Thai Gardener Suspected Of Being In Cahoots With Our Neighbour Over Extortinate Commisssions

Kanyah phoned me this morning to tell me that the day before yesterday our Thai landscape gardener had arrived on site at our retirement house in Pakchong (Pak Chong), Thailand, with 3 labourers and cleared the garden areas of vegetation, builder’s waste and other rubbish ready to comence the garden landscaping.

She told me the labour cost 220 baht/day which is line with what some people have mentioned in comments on the previous post ”Gardening Contract For Our Retirement House In Pakchong (Pak Chong), Thailand“.

Kanyah told me how clean the garden areas looked now and promised to send me some photos so that I can post them up here on the RetiringInThailand website.

She also told me that the gardener had asked her for another 30,000 Baht on top of the 120,000 Baht we had already agreed for the landscaping of our Thai garden as detailed on the “Gardening Contract Post.

She explained that she had been angry with the gardener and was yelling at him asking why he was asking for more money now and why didn’t he ask for 130,000 Baht when her husband (myself) was there (in Pakchong) and when the contract was negotiated and agreed?

“We didn’t tell you the price was 120,000 Baht” she told him. “That was your price, not ours. If you wanted 130,000 Baht why didn’t you ask for it” she told him.

She asked me what I wanted to do. To go along with the 130,000 Baht or to cancel the contract?

Well, no doubt you won’t be surprised that I firmly asked Kanyah to cancel the contract.

Kanyah agreed with me 100% and said she was suspicious of our neighbour Noi trying to sqeeze more money out of us through the gardener.

Update As The Gardener Returns And Is Promptly Sent Packing

Literally just a few minutes ago – about an hour after Kanyah’s first telephone call this morning – she called me again the say that the Thai landscape gardener had returned and she told him that the contract was terminated and told him to leave.

She also said that when she made the first telephone call to me this morning the neighbour’s wife Tim had been standing in our doorway, listenening. Kanyah suspects she was spying for Noi.

Seems Like What People Have Said Is true

After I made the the “Gardening Contract Post several people emailed me or posted a comment on the website to say that at 120,000 Baht i was being ripped off and warned me about the neighbour being in on the deal to get a fat commission.

Seems they may well have been right after all!

Some people suggested that there were several gardening centers around Pakchong (Pak Chong) and that I should go out and visit them to get advice and costs, buy plants etc and basically ‘do the landscape gardening’ myself.

I did explain (at length) that I am back in the U.K. now and that I have not time to spend in Pakchong (Pak Chong) making a Thai garden.

I suggested this route of visiting the local gardening centers in and around Pakchong (Pak Chong) to Kanyah but she wasn’t too enthusiastic about it to say the least. here approach seems to be to leave the garden as it is until I can go over and sort it out.

Well, I guess I could sort it out (i.e. get the garden areas landscaped and looking nice) but I’m no gardener and my retiring in Thailand plans are all about building steam model engines in my model engineering workshop!

So unless somehow Kanyah manages to find another thai landscape gardener then it looks like the Thai garden will stay rather bare for some time to come.

Thailand Landscaping And Garden Design Contract For Our Retirement House In Pakchong (Pak Chong), Thailand

Thoughts, ideas and a plan to make a beautiful Thailand garden design based on other Thailand gardens.

As I write this the house itself (except for the second floor kitchen) is finished but the Thai garden is still rough and needs landscaping and planting after.

My  15,000 Baht Landscaping And Gardening Budget.

I agreed with Kanyah that I would pay for a Thai gardener to produce the Thai garden design and undertake the gardening etc, thinking it would cost a few hundred £. (£= Great British Pounds – Sterling), say maximum £500 = 15,000 Baht. I was prepared to pay for a professional Thai landscape design rather than let Kanyah struggle with the Thailand garden design.

When I retire to Thailand I want a nice cool and beautiful Thailand garden, somewhere to really relax after a morning in the workshop making my models.

One thing we wanted was a “covered terrace” for want of a better word – an area with some wooden posts that climbing plants grow over it and make a shady and cool place to sit in the hot weather.

The main areas of the land, front and back to be lawn (grassed) and planted with trees. Small climbing plants to go around the perimeter fence to hide it. I did not want any water features because they need a lot of maintenance.

Enter The Thai Gardener

Our neighbour, Noi, introduced us to a Thai gardener and he came to visit us.

The scope of the gardening work was discussed and I caught hold of a few pieces of the conversation which was taking place in the Thai language like ‘clearing the land’ is not included and ‘putting the new soil is not included’. When I heard a price of 200,000 Baht I said we would do the Thai gardening ourselves.

I just couldn’t understand why Kanyah can’t hire the labour and organise them to do the Thai gardening work.

There was also some discussion that there was currently no “Malaysian Grass” available. The gardener got on the phone to “head office” and that was confirmed. Also he said that “Malaysian Grass” cost 30 Baht per square metre. We had about 1,200 m2 to be covered by lawn so that would amount to 36,000 Baht. I wondered what the other 164,000 Baht would be spent on.

It seemed that the grass would be put down in pre-grown roll form. I suggested that Kanyah could simply get the labourers to place grass seed and that would be far cheaper. The gardener said that “They won’t sell you grass seed in Thailand”. I replied that I would send it to Kanyah by mail. That started a whole lot of conversation about send parcels by mail, import duty and so on.

Exit The Thai Gardener

I had heard enough and walked away. There was no way I was interested in that kind of rip-off.

After about an hour or so of noisy discussion between Kanyah, the Thai gardener and Noi, Kanyah explained that the Thai gardener would include the land clearing and put the soil for 120,000 Baht all-in price.

I Demand A Thai Landscape Gardening Contract

I kind of agreed to the revised offer for the gardening design and work but said I wanted everything written down into a contract. Having been stung by our first builder I was not prepared to agree to a deal based on a noisy conversation in the Thai language with a 120,000 Baht price tag attached to it and nothing written down.

The Thai gardener went away and said he would come back another day with the contract.

He did come back a couple of days later but without a contract. After much discussion between Kanyah, the Thai gardener and our neighbour, Noi, he went off and return an hour later with a pre-written “Form of Contract” such as you can buy in stationery shops and places like Tesco Lotus here in Thailand.

From what I gathered the intention was to simply enter the names of the two parties (the Thai gardener and Kanyah), put the date and the cost and bingo! You have a contract.

Not The Kind Of Thai Landscape Gardening Contract I Had In Mind

That was not at all what I had in mind. I wanted a proper description of what was to be provided for the Thailand garden. If possible with sketches and the type and quantity of plants itemised. I wanted to know – in written form – exactly what kind of Thailand garden design was being provided for my money.

Kanyah kind of understood what I was driving at – particularly when I said a wanted to see a list – she knows what a list is – and she took out an exercise book and got the Thai gardener to write a list of what he was to provide. The list came to me for agreement and I sent it back to have more details added. After this repeated itself a few times Kanyah complained that I was making her (and presumably the Thai gardener and Noi) do “hard work”.

In no kindly manner (you’ll understand what I mean) I explained that it was I who had to do a thousand times more hard work back in the U.K. to earn the money to pay for the garden than she was doing in Thailand to make the list.

Eventually the list was agreed and signed by the Thai gardener.

There were still some omissions to which Kanyah said something like “Never mind he has to do that”.

Below is a copy of the list from the exercise book and a rough English translation made by Kanyah as I sit typing this out. Click here or on the image to see the full size version as a .pdf file.

Pakchong Retirement House Gardening Contract

Gardening List English Translation

Below is the rough translation into English of the gardening contract written in Thai in the exercise book

Date: 30/12/2011

1. Put the soil 5 trucks in front

2. Put the soil 8 trucks in the back

3. Put the sand 3 trucks in front

4. Put the sand 6 trucks in the back

5. Grass – Japanese 350 Talang metre in front

6. Grass Malaysia – 16 Talang metre

7. Grass Malaysia – 500 Talang metre in the back

8. “Mai Brob” Growing the tree 50 “ton” (50 trees about 3 m high).

9. “Tiang Tong 1,000 ton”. Small tree plants 1,000.

10. Little and small plants grow around all the fence.

11. Put in the pot “Daily Ga-Tang” (Plants)

12. Four Post “covered terrace” to grow the plants. The posts to be hard wood. He will put the plants.

Everything 120,000 Baht. (£2,500 or $3,750)

Take time 3 months.

Start 10 Jan 2012

Finish 10 March 2012

Signed: Surapon Chua Ngang

Warranty people: Jalan Mea Na Lu Ji (Noi – our neighbour)

Payment Schedule:-
10 Jan 20,000 Baht
10 Mar 40,000 Baht
10 Apr 60,000 Baht
Total 120,000 Baht

Included but not written down is:-

Clearing the ground.

3 Months guarantee. i.e. after 3 months all the plants have to be healthy or the Thai gardener has to replace them. The Thai gardener is responsible for looking after the plants in this period.

What Do You Think?

Our land is 80m X 20m = 1,600 m2 (one Rai). About 600 m2 is taken up with the house and Terrace and about 200 m2 by the drive leaving around 800 m2 to be landscaped. The total in the Contract is 850 m2 – see above)

So 120,000 Baht / 800 m2 = 150 Baht/m2. Is that a fair price?

Before giving your opinion in the Comment Box below, please quickly review the Scope of Work (i.e. The Contract) above which includes 22 trucks of sand/soil, 850 m2 of turf, 50 trees about 3 m high and 1,000 small tree plants, little and small plants grow around all the fence plus the Terrace.

First The Good News About Our Retirement House in Thailand (Later to Be Followed By The “Bombshell”

(It’s actually taken me 7 days to get this post written and published. busy with the house and my workshop and Internet connection problems which you can learn about on the “Mobile Broadband Internet In Thailand” page.

This trip to our retirement house in Pakchong (Pak Chong), Thailand, is the first for me since the house was completed just a few weeks ago.

I see the visit as a ‘test’ or perhaps a research project to see if I really can commit to retiring in Thailand. One thing I have been told (AKA the “Bombshell”)  has really put me off but lets put that to the side for a minute and look at the good things I have found so far.

The House Is Really Fantastic

The house really has a big ‘airy’ feel to it, especially the outside concrete area (I’ll call it the Patio) and the huge Utility block both of which I have complained about as being a waste of money. Maybe they are but it’s still a great feeling to be sitting there and enjoying the space and the amenities.

(Having great difficulty getting videos uploaded to YouTube. Could be the G3 mobile broadbandI’m using.

If you want to be informed when the videos are uploaded then simply Join the Announcement List)

Kanyah had been telling me for weeks before I came to see our completed retirement house in Pakchong (Pak Chong), Thailand, that it was very windy and cold. I believed her but when I arrived I was no quite prepared to find out exactly how cold and windy – and dusty – it was. The wind howled through the wooden house and literally whistled as it blew through the gaps between the windows. That made it very noisy and cold in the house but there was another downside… the dust.

The dust was everywhere, and we know about dust from our days in Saudi Arabia. Little did we know that it would follow us here to Pakchong (Pak Chong)!

So the days start cold and very windy but after around 1000 am the sun breaks through and we get a hot (by U.K. standards) day. The windy mornings are quite spectacular. Here is a video on a windy morning showing the views from different positions aound the house. Make sure you wait until the end to get a glimpse of Kanyah’s Thai humour.

How To Quickly And Easily Get Online In Thailand With Mobile Broadband Internet

When I asked my readers and posted the question “What is the best option for mobile broadband Internet in Thailand?” on the Mobile Broadband Internet In Thailand page there was a mixed response.  Some people had a “work-around” linking their lap-top to the Internet via a mobile phone and others suggested a landline connection.

The solution was so easy I almost couldn’t believe it.

I walked into Tesco Lotus in Pakchong (Pak Chong), Thailand, and spotting the “Mobile Phone and Internet” counter made a simple enquiry.  ”How do I get mobile Internet in Thailand?”.

Minutes later I walked out with a device and when I got home plugged it into my laptop and was online in less than a minute!

I’m still using it now! Go to the Mobile Broadband Internet In Thailand page to see how easy it is to get mobile broadband in Thailand.

So much for the good things going on with our retiring in Thailand project. Now for the “bombshell” I have mentioned before…

The “Bombshell” That Rocked Me To The Core And Dashed My Retiring In Thailand Plans

I don’t remember how this came up in conversation but Kanyah mentioned that once you reach 60 years old you are no longer allowed to drive in Thailand.

That was like a bombshell to me.

“The maximum legal age to drive in Thailand is 60 years old” – was it true?

Apparently our neighbour had told Kanyah that you can’t drive in Thailand if you are 60 years old or over.

If true, this was a major blow to our retirement plans. Although we don’t live deep in the country, our retirement home in Pakchong (Pak Chong) is about 10 minutes drive from the nearest shops of anything but the daily needs kind. We simply could not survive without a car.

Kanyah is not 60 yet (officially anyway but that’s another story) so she can still drive, this would mean that I would never be able to drive in Thailand.

And another thought struck me – it’s a recurring thought actually – what would happen should die before me? How could I get around?

You can understand that this was a terrible blow to me. Kanyah seemed not to worry too much, she doesn’t seem to care too much about dealing with the police. So long as she has ready access to cash I suspect…

Anyway that is not my way so I immediately start looking on the net for any upper age limit on driving in Thailand.

I tried all the usual keywords in major search engines. Key phrases like “age restrictions driving Thailand”, “upper age limit driving Thailand”, “can’t drive over 60 Thailand”, etc.

These two websites said there was no maximum age for driving in Thailand:-

http://www.sawadee.com/hotel/service/selfdrive

http://www.budget.co.th/tips_driving.aspx

This website tells you how to get a Thai driving license but doesn’t mention an upper age limit to be allowed to drive in Thailand:-

http://driving.information.in.th

So Was I Told A Bummer – And There Is No 60 Years Old Upper Limit On Driving In Thailand?

I have spent a couple of hours on the Internet searching to see if there is an upper age limit (e.g. 60 years) on driving in Thailand and have not found any mention of it.

Quite the reverse, several websites say that there in no upper age limit to driving in Thailand.

So maybe there is no “can’t drive over 60″ law in Thailand? Maybe it’s OK?

As far as I can tell from my Internet research there is no upper age limit for driving in Thailand. but to be sure i want to hear from people who know.

Most of the readers of this website have more experience than myself about retiring in Thailand and have more knowledge about the driving laws in Thailand and the age limits.

So please, if you have any actual experience on this subject I would be most grateful if you could take a moment to leave a comment on your experience below.

It will only take a few minutes of your time and could influence the decisions by many whether it’s a good idea to retire in Thailand or not.

Thank you very much.

Update: From “The Source” About The Upper Age Limit For Driving In Thailand

Last night our Thai neighbour. Noi, came round and we shared a few beers together. I raised the question with Noi about the law relating to a maximum driving over age in Thailand, since it was Noi who made the statement in the first place.

Noi “clarified” as follows:-

After you are 60 years old in Thailand you can still drive a car.

But after you reach 60 years old the officials will not issue you with a new driving licence in Thailand.

I’m trying to grasp the concept he explained. That up to the age of 60 if you drive you must have a driving license. but when you are over 60 you don’t need a driving license to drive a car.

So I posed the question “I am over 60 years old and I do not have a driving license. Is it OK to drive a car?”

Noi answered “Yes, no problem, just make sure you have 200 Baht in your pocket.”

Add a zero for farangs I guess…

I’m typing this on my laptop sitting in my garden in our retirement house in Pakchong where I arrived yesterday evening from UK.

Alan At His Retirement House In Pakchong Christmas Day 2011

There’s a lot to tell you, quite a lot of good news (the house is lovely) and one piece of bad news – a very unwelcome bombshell in fact that will drastically affect the whole retirement in Thailand project! If I had known this I probably would never have gone ahead with the house build as it is.

And if you intend to live to Thailand when you are in your 60s (and if what I was told is true) then this is likely to be a very serious matter for you!

That’s all for now. I’ll go write up my news now and take some more photos and a movie or two.

All the news will be posted on the next Post on Boxing day. (Tomorrow)

At last Kanyah settles down to live in the retirement house she has built in Pakchong (Pak Chong), Thailand.

Let’s Get Straight In With The Photos

Click On Any Image To See A Bigger Version

This photo shows the nine Monks perform the House Blessing Ceremony (Keun Ban Mai) presumably to bring good luck and fortune to those who live there. Until the House Blessing Ceremony (Keun Ban Mai) is done the owner of the house can’t move in to live there, according to Thai Buddhist Tradition.

How the house looks from the front – the road side. The new gravel drive on the left and the garden on the right yet has to have the landscape treatment.

Here the shape of the house is clear. You can see the main house roof and the balcony roof. Looking at the detail the ant-burglar bars to the ground floor workshop and the second floor windows are visible.

The Utility Building From The Neighbour’s Side

The massive size of the Utility Building is clear to see. The narrow window on the left indicates the toilet and shower room and the large window on the right is to the ‘washing and ironing room’. (I have another plan for that room – so I’m not complaining too much.)

I can understand the window to the toilet being on the rear of the building but I would have thought that Kanyah would want to overlook her own beautiful garden when ironing the clothes… Strange.

Above, A Complex Arrangement Of Building Forms And Materials Combine To Generate Mystery And Architectural Mastery

I love this photo. If Kanyah took it knowing that it was a brilliant composition – an exciting and beautiful composition of shapes directions and materials – then I have seen a new side to Kanyah that I never knew existed. This photo could easily be part of any renowned Architect’s portfolio.

Another Great Photo Showing The Stainless Steel Handrails On The Balcony

This is more of an ‘informative’ photo than the ‘pure art’ photo above. Nevertheless notice how the view at ground floor level through the ‘car port’ to the front drive and gate adds interest to the house. That ‘car port’ space was intended to be used as a car port originally but now that Kanyah has paved it with marble terrazzo I don’t know what it will be used for. Just a collecting place for junk or a table tennis or snooker table maybe?

I designed it to be available for additional accommodation in future if we need it.

Natural Wood Lightweight Steps And Stainless Steel Handrails Leading Temptingly Up To The Balcony

I altered the original Architect’s design for these steps specifically to be steps and not the stairs that he designed. The difference between ‘steps’ and ‘stairs’? Steps have a vertical fill material between the treads. I took that out so that you get the gap you can see between each tread to make the steps look light.

Originally I wanted wooden handrails (balustrades if you like) and only agreed with Kanyah’s idea of stainless steel when she said it was cheaper than wood!

I’m glad I went along with Kanyah’s idea because I really do love the stainless steel handrails. They emphasise the ‘light’ look and help give the house a touch of the “Wow!” factor.

What do you think? Please feel free to comment below.

Rubbish All Around – Why Can’t They Tidy Up?

By the way – and this is something you’ll see in many of the photos – why do they leave bits an pieces of junk lying around. It makes the place a bit like René Magritte’s modern art paintings who put common everyday objects at laces in his paintings where you wouldn’t expect them to be, just to shock you.

René Magritte's Man and Dove Painting

It’s like these Thai’s purposely placed junk around the house just to annoy you.

Don’t know what I mean? There is a plastic bottle at the base of the steps. And on the left of it is a Thai floor brush. Further over on the left is a Thai home-made ladder. You’ll see this junk in most of the photos.

Above, the stairs (steps actually) have that light ‘look-through’ feel.

The design intent of the wooden steps leading up to the Mai Malay wooden balcony was to make them look light and airy. This has been accomplished by leaving out the stair risers and using thin sections of wood.

The polished Mai Malay (Malaysian hardwood) floor of the balcony is well shaded from the sun and protected from the rain by the low overhanging tiled roof.

Another view of the wooden balcony floor but at low level which shows the full extent of the balcony and the beautiful red colour of the wood. Also clearly visible is the wonderfully workmanship of the polished stainless steel handrails locally made in Pakchong (Pak Chong), Thailand.

Although the red coloured hardwood is from Malaysia (called Mai Malay in Thai) it makes a wonderfully warm and welcome flooring.

The hand made Thai teak wooden doors to the accommodation on the second floor level and the polished stainless steel security gates.

Beautiful hand made in Pakchong (Pak Chong) Thai Teak wooden doors and hand-crafted stainless steel security gate with the highly polished balcony floor make a very lovely view and easy on the eye when relaxing on the balcony.

The highly polished and ornate hand-made stainless steel balustrades and handrails together with the natural Thai wood of the stair landing and the white-painted concrete structural frame of the house make a stunning vision.

An optical illusion that takes a bit of mental dexterity before you realise that the wooden planks in the centre of the photo are actually the vertical wall of the house not the flat balcony floor.

Interesting view of the stairs showing masses of stainless steel on the handrails and lovely re-coloured wooden stair landing.

This photo shows the steel anti-burglar bars fitted to the second floor bedroom window. It’s not clear how the steel anti-burglar bars are secured to the window frame or wall of the house, and whether they are made from stainless steel or not.

It’s no surprise that the anti-burglar bars fitted to the ground floor model engineering workshop doors are made from highly polished and decorative stainless steel similar to all the other stainless steel handrails around the retirement house in Pakchong (Pak Chong), Thailand.

This is the same white stone drive that runs all the way past the house to the rear garden. The drive is higher than the garden area and is held in place by a small brick retaining wall.

This photo of the white stone front drive is taken from further away from the road so that the full length of the drive from the road to the house can be seen.

The driveway is made from small white stone pebbles (I think marble chips) and passes beside the house into the rear garden. It gives access to the land at the rear of the house.

Proof that Kanyah has moved out of The Mansion in Pakchong (Pak Chong). A Pile of her things collected from her travels around the world and sent to Thailand from our house in the U.K.

80 Days To Fit This Ugly Western Kitchen!

Kanyah told me she had bought a kitchen for 50,000 Baht and they wanted another 40,000 Baht to fit it.

40,000 Baht to fit a kitchen! Taking a Thai craftsman’s wage at 500 Baht/day that’s 80 man-days!!

Nearly 3 months to fit a kitchen.

I later learned that she hadn’t bought it and when I saw this photo it’s obviously a shot of a show kitchen still in the showroom.

I quickly warned Kanyah that the bamboo mat lining to the walls of our house were not strong enough to support the upper cabinets.

She didn’t believe me but after checking with her Thai neighbour she agreed.

Hopefully this grotesque western monster is still in the shop.

Another finely composed photo from Kanyah showing the stainless steel handrail curving towards the house with the teak doors in the background.

View of right-hand part of the massive utilities building. This is the toilet and shower room side.

Left hand side of the utilities building. Note the lack of windows! Looks more like a jail than a washroom.

Why did she put the window at the back?

Notice the concrete forecourt in front of the building where the car is standing.

The photo of the shower unit in the utilities building shows again how much space there is in the shower/toilet room.

The WC in this photo of the inside of the utilities building is not the objective of showing the picture> The purpose is to show how much room – wasted space and expense – there is in the building.

As with the other photos of the shower room/toilet in the utilities room on the ground floor of the retirement house in Pakchong (Pak Chong), Thailand, this picture also shows what a huge room it is.

The roof water collection system comprises rain water gutters that collect the rain water from the roof and downpipes that then deliver the water to the rain water plastic storage tanks.

Storing rain water collected from the roof of the retirement house in Pakchong (Pak Chong), Thailand, is essential to be able to irrigate the garden in the dry season. This plastic water storage tank is one of two that we have to store the collected rain water.

This plastic water storage tank has the number 2000 in bold letters on the packaging so I assume it’s 2,000 l capacity. (2 m3)

Another plastic rain water storage tank to store the rain water collected from the roof.

The super-strong Thai Teak wood doors are enough of a deterrent to keep the casual burglar from trying to get into the model engineering workshop at our retirement house in Pakchong (Pak Chong), Thailand, but these stainless steel gates will make breaking into the workshop virtually impossible even for the most determined burglar.

The strongest Thai teak wood was used for the hand made doors for the model engineering workshop in the retirement house in Pakchong (Pak Chong), Thailand.

The massive electric water heater has been sized to suit the bath that Kanyah has had put in her bathroom. in our retirement house in Pakchong (Pak Chong), Thailand. In front of the electric water heater you can see the stainless steel sink in the workshop.

The stainless steel sink is to wash my hands and dirty metal model parts in my model engineering workshop in our retirement house in Pakchong (Pak Chong).

Notice the tiles around the sink. Actually it’s a wash-hand basin. I wanted a massive industrial sink suitable for dropping heavy steam locomotive boilers about 2 ft (600 mm) long in for cleaning after they have been welded. What chance of that with this punitive little basin?

Have A Laugh On Me

Click on the image above. I mean it.

You’ll love it. Honestly.

That’s all for now. Took me 3 weeks part time work to put this Post together hope you like it.

Please leave a comment below.

Kanyah Is Too Lonely In Her Newly Completed Retirement House At Pakchong (Pak Chong)

Now all the building work is complete and the shock of living on her own is too much for Kanyah.

A sobbing Kanyah phoned me three times in the last few minutes to tell me how lonely she was in the house all by herself. Yes, yesterday they had the house blessing ceremony (Keun Baan Mai) and her sister and nephew’s son came to visit her from Kamphaeng Phet. The had her family with her and all the monks performing the ceremony.

Her sister and nephew’s (Jalan’s) son stayed overnight in the house but now (now it’s mid afternoon in Thailand) they have all gone home and she is alone by herself and very lonely.

A Lifetime’s Dream Come True And She Doesn’t Like It

After spending a lifetime waiting and fighting to get her own house in Thailand and spending nearly a year putting herself under great stress building one in Pakchong (Pak Chong) the truth come home to hit Kanyah hard. She doesn’t want to live there because she is alone and too lonely.

Well, I can imagine her feelings at the moment. I had a great sense of ‘loss’ when I finished my degree exams many years ago. After all the stress and being busy, working hard and being surrounded by builders, suddenly all the people are gone, all the work is complete and there is nothing left to do an no people around.

Kanyah just has to focus on the next stages of the retirement project. For her it’s getting the house furnished and sorting out the garden. She has got to learn to slow down and relax and to be comfortable with her own company.

Unfortunately it’s one of the great challenges that people face when they retire. Not many can cope with it very well.

A Few Bits And Pieces To Finish Off And Send More Money

Kanyah told me that there just a couple of things to finish off at the house:-

1. The water tanks have been delivered and the builder has to finish them. Kanyah didn’t explain what that meant but I assume it’s providing water pumps and maybe a downpipe from the gutters.
2. The water supply to our house is (if I am understanding what Kanyah is telling me) is not from a municipal water supply but is a local supply from a well set up by the local people. Hence the water is not clean and the builder told her she should fit a water filter. She mentioned 20,000 Baht but she’s not sure about that.
3. Also it seems the fitting of the kitchen is not quite complete.

Buying Furniture In Thailand

When I asked Kanyah if she had anything to sleep on last night, she said no, she just slept on the floor as did her sister and Jalan’s son. That’s OK for Kanyah but not for me.

(She just phoned again, with the same news: Her sister has gone back home to Kamphaeng Phet and she is all by herself and lonely, etc, etc.)

Anyway she asked me to send more money to buy furniture, so I guess I’ll do that. The last thing I want is to arrive in Pakchong (Pak Chong) to live in a bare house and then to spend my time on holiday chasing round furniture shops.

Apart from the fact that I hate shopping, I just know we would be arguing about whet furniture to buy.

Setting Up My Workshop And Buying Machine Tools

No, let her buy the furniture and I’ll spend my holiday setting up the workshop, including buying some machine tools from Bangkok. (More on buying machine tools in Bangkok on the Retirement House Finished – Today Post)

Stop Press – Changed My Mind About The Furniture And Garden

Kanyah just phoned – again – and we discussed buying furniture and sorting the garden.

Starting with the garden she said that she wouldn’t do it until I came because it would be very expensive and we have to design it together.

Then she said she wanted to buy marble stones. (I guess she means paving stones to cover that mass of concrete she has had laid.) I said NO to that. I’m sick of throwing money away on non-essentials.

Next I mentioned buying furniture. Of course she would need more money but I was thrown back when she mentioned how much she wanted.

500, 000 Baht!. That’s £10,000 or $15,000!

I can understand spending that much in the West (e.g. in the UK) but I’m not spending that much in Thailand.

So I told her to buy the basics only. Basics being a fridge, freezer, bed and chair and table (for me)

That’s all for now. Now the retirement house really is officially finished. But still the pain and the spending goes on…