If anyone was wondering it takes just 9 days to get your passport with the expedited service (or maybe I’m just lucky). I did my application in person at a post office on 10/03/07. According to their paperwork the expedited service should take 3 weeks (for an extra $60) and the standard was 8-10 weeks. Well my newly made passport arrived at the door via USPS Express Mail on 10/12/07 (it was mailed on 10/10/07 ). That’s right… it arrived in only 9 days. And in case your wondering there’s exactly 20 blank pages for visa stamps.
Just to go over it again the fees involved for the passport including the expedited service were $195.51
- Expedited application / Shipping: $143.25
- Execution fee: $30.00
- Post Office fee: $22.26
If only I was leaving in 9 days 
One of my main concerns with leaving my home country to an unfamiliar land will be the quality of life and cost of living. I’ve converted the chart below (from www.into-asia.com ) to include the current USD price of common items:
| Food and Drink | ||
| Plate of Thai food, some rice and a soft drink at an average small restaurant |
40B to 70B | $1.00-2.00 |
| Plate of western style food and a soft drink in tourist-orientated restaurant. |
150B - 300B | $4-9.00 |
| Meal for 2 at a high quality Thai restaurant | 300B to 500B | $9-14.50 |
As you can see above the average meal is quite a bit less expensive than anything you could expect to find in the States. You can see at this fellow’s blog all sorts of meals he bought for under $1.00.
| Accommodation | ||
| Luxury apartment (per month) | 20,000B + | $580 + |
| Central Bangkok apartment with good facilities (per month) | 8,000B to 20,000B | $230-580 |
| Non-central cheap apartment with few/no facilities (per month) | 2,000B to 4,000B | $55-115 |
Luxry Apartments in for less than $600/mo… quite a deal. And according to this they even go as low as $55.00/month! That’s unheard of here. I haven’t been able to find any apartments for under 15,000B/month on any of the Thai apartment searching sites but they all appear to only have listings in the Silom/upper class areas.
This site claims the following:
5,000 - 25,000 per month. The lower end would be a single apartment room withair-con and fridge. More expensive rents may include two room apartments and a shared swimming pool.
And here several interviewed expats claim rents of 5-10,000B/month for good living conditions.
| Travel | ||
| Average taxi or tuk-tuk fare round central Bangkok | 70B | $2.00 |
| Ordinary / Aircon bus fare | 3.5B / 8B - 16B | $.10 - .50 |
| Average Skytrain fare | 25B | $.70 |
| General | ||
| Cinema ticket | 300B to 500B | $8.50-14.50 |
| Cheap haircut | 60B | $1.75 |
From the looks of things life in Bangkok will be much less expensive than any major US city. Since I plan on working for an American company what worries me is that the dollar has been constantly weakening against foreign currencies and the Baht is no exception:
U.S. Dollar to Thai Baht Exchange Rate
I don’t currently follow or adhere to any religion but I do feel it is important to have a basic understanding of the beliefs of the people I live around. So I decided it would be a good idea to learn a bit about Buddhism before arriving in Thailand. Thai culture in general appears to be quite different from western life and by learning some of their customs and basic beliefs I’ll have a much easier time interacting with the people once I’m living amongst them.
Anyway.. The Life of Buddha is a 50 minute documentary about the origin of Buddhism and Siddhartha Gautama. It follows his life from birth in India all the way to his death and beyond. The video is easy to follow even if you have no knowledge of Buddhism. It doesn’t get too detailed about everything but has enough information in it to leave you with a basic understanding of how Buddhism originated and the basic principles behind it:
Life of the Buddha is a major landmark documentary following Buddha on his journey from the lap of luxury to the verge of starvation and final enlightenment. Shot on location in Nepal and India, Life of the Buddha uses dramatic computer-generated images and recent archaeological discoveries to piece together this remarkable story.
Here is a link to the video: http://filmtalks.socialka.net/post/2007/10/09/the-life-of-buddha/
And if you’re interested the Wikipedia page has quite a bit more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism
Thailand Fever: A Road Map for Thai-Western Relationships
Since I’ve been reading (trying to learn as much as I can before I arrive in Thailand) some books I figured I’d review them on here for anyone interested.
The first book I’m reviewing is Thailand Fever. This one is all about relationships between Thai’s and westerners (mostly about Thai women and western men).
It covers in great detail many of the cultural; communication; and conflicting family values that you will face in a relationship with a traditional Thai woman. Is she just after a rich westerner or real love? Why do they expect a dowry? What role will her family (parents) play in your relationship? All of these things are explained from both points of view (and even in the Thai lanauge for you to show and share with your partner). Any american male may be quite surprised by just how different relationships work in Thailand; I know I was!
If you’re planning on having any kind of relationship with a Thai regardless of casual or serious I highly recommend this book. After learning about how different a Thai views a relationship in comparison to american girls I can already tell it would be quite a challenge to make things work - but I look forward to trying. You can buy it on amazon.com for $12.50; or www.BuyThaiBooks.com also carries it for a little more ($18.95).
This is where I’m going to post a list of all the websites that have valuable information for anyone interested in moving (or traveling) to Bangkok, Thailand. I will add more as I come across them.
U.S. Thai Embassies
- www.thai-la.net- Royal Thai Consulate, Los Angeles
- www.thaiembdc.org - Royal Thai Embassy, Washington, D.C.
Visas and Work Permits
- www.thaivisa.com - Ins and outs of Thai visas and work permits
Job Resources
- www.workthailand.com - Job listings in Thailand
- www.workthailand.com
Moving to Bangkok
- www.thailandguru.com - Guide for Living and Working in Bangkok
- www.1stopbangkok.com - Many Resources on life in Bangkok
- www.nancychandler.net/move.asp - Tips for moving
- www.bangkok-maps.com - Free detailed maps of the city
- www.amazing-thailand.com
- www.thaiembassy.com
Rentals and Home Listings
- www.kkbkk.com - Houses, condos and apartments
- www.roommillion.com - Serviced apartments and condos
- www.bangkok-apartment.com - Serviced and regular apartments
- www.micthaihome.com - Apartments and houses
Taxes in Thailand
News
Books
Blogs
- www.thailandroad.com
- www.coolthaihouse.com
- crazyfarangs.blogspot.com
- storiesfromthailand.blogspot.com
- blog.4amexpat.com
After doing a little research online at the government’s main passport page I decided it was a good day to go and apply. I’ve never had a passport so I was unsure how many steps I was going to have to jump through, but I was determined to get it all done in one day.
What you need to bring with you:
- Proof of Citizenship (a certified birth certificate)
- Proof of Identity (Current Driver’s License)
- Two Passport Photos (more on this below)
- Your SSN # (no SS card required)
I didn’t have the photos required for the application so I headed over to kinko’s. They already have a booth setup and getting the picture taken and printed out took less than 10 minutes. I also had the photo put on a CD to use later when applying for my Thai Visa and Work Permit.
So I did a search on where to apply for a passport and a local post office was the closest match. Upon arriving I was told they only have the passport application form and do not accept or process them there; how frustrating (lesson learned: the government’s search is outdated, call the facility first). Next I found out passport applications are only done on certian days and times and in most cases appointments are required. So I had to drive across town to one that was open.
You will also need to bring a check/money order (no cash, no card) with you for payment to process your application. The application fees are as follows:
- Application fee: $67
- Execution fee: $30
- Expedited Service (optional): $60
Not listed on the website was an additional $22 fee the city charged me for taking the application totalling just under $200.
Additional resources:
I’ve decided to become an Expat and move from my home country the United States to Bangkok, Thailand. Follow my adventure as I detail the process of applying for necessary documents (passports, visas, permits); research the Thai culture and the large city of Bangkok; and anything else involved in moving and working abroad.