2022 Thailand Visa Extension in Chiang Mai at Promanada Mall

 

I wouldn't blame you for not bringing your family to Thailand this year with all of the difficulties, involving the Tai Pass, mandatory covid insurance which may not cover related costs, and the  frequent revocation of Thai Passes, substituted with a 7-14 Mandatory quarantine. 

It's difficult to plan a trip with the mane frequent overnight political changes. Or to want to cough up 20,000 Bhat to 45,000Bhat for a 7-14 day quarantine after first being admitted for a test and go one night deal.   Having bought and paid for the ticket already too!!!!!

 You could just go to Mexico or Jamaica instead and walk off an airplane and go to lunch!

I have been waiting for 2 years for dreadful covid restrictions to subside, so people who would like to, and who choose to get on a airplane, have the ability to travel and have their lives back.     

If you worry about covid, then stay home, and isolate yourself,  but otherwise the rest of us need jobs, travel, and lives back, with or without Covid.  It is now endemic, and not going away, so we must just turn the page, and be allowed to travel once again if WE each choose to or not.

With that said,  here are the steps to extend you Visa for an additional 30 days here in Chaing Mai.

Photos will show you exactly where to go, and how to do it. Keep in mind, that only 1 x 30 Day extension is allowed in 365 days at this time in the kingdom.  So if you planning to stay over 61 days, you must get a Visa before you arrive, and that can be extended by 1 x 30 day extension.

I was the only person at the entire Promanada Mall getting an extension this 9th day of January, 2022. There were two or three older retired guys who are married, checking n for their 90 day check ins. They were in and out in just minutes.

My extension took just 30 minutes with 2-3 fairly invasive and detailed forms being filled, in, even though the Thai pass which is required has ALL OF THE INFORMATION already on its QR code.  So redundancy should be expected.   But 30 minutes in and out sure beats the 4-6 hours lines from back in 2019!

So have a look at these photos, and you will know where to go, and how to wrap this up easily. They were especially nice and attentive, and helped with the awkward paperwork.

LINK to Promenada Official Site.

 https://promenadachiangmai.com/

Here is the entrance. Go left and keep going around back behind the entire mall until you locate the back entrance for the parking lot.

This is the FRONT of Promanada Mall, next to the parking entrance on the right.

Keep driving around to the back of the building until you find the parking lot.

Find a spot, and stumble around until you find the concealed entrance from inside the parking lot.

Locate the escalator. Don't bother to ask anyone, I asked 5 people and none of them had ever heard of the Thai Immigration. I speak Thai as well.   So your wasting time to ask anyone. And it will be futile.

That was a Japanese girl extending her 30 day visa on my way out. I was the only one doing it.

Untill restrictions are dropped all together, let's assume it will be fast and simple, as no one is here to need visa extensions.

Locate the second escalator, and go up again. There is a small Immigration sign written in both English and Thai,  but no one who works in the mall has ever seen it, or noticed it, no matter how long they have worked there.

Here is the view of the mall from the top of the escalator is both directions. Proceed away from the escalator, and you are almost there.

Since most of the store are permanently closed, this mall will not be much fun,  but at least you wont have to wait for hours and hours to re new your visa!!!!

It will likely be years before restrictions are fully removed, including bogus insurance for covid, which I am hearing does not cover mandated quarantine stay if detected.  That can run 100,000 Bhat to 400,000 Bhat, and you wont have a coiice if detected.

Also, FALSE positives are common here just to reassure you of the fun that may await, and that you mandated insurance won't cover any of that. So be prepared!!!

Thai immigration web site. Not that it will help you. In English, or that it has been updated since prior to Covid.  Maybe its time for 5 minute update from someone who can write in English, to explain th myriad of difficulties that have since been imposed. 

Official link below.

http://www.chiangmaiimm.com/en/

Alas, you have arrived. Keep going until you reach the far end on the right!  

As you can see, no one is there except for one janitor.  2/9/2022.

Your all good now!!! 

Johnny

Bungalows on Kho Bulon, Prices, types, and locations, from a traveler, not a hotelier.

 Ploy and I just returned from a trip to Kho Bulon, in Satoon Provence, Thailand.

I must say that it is a difficult place to get to, wherever you are traveling from in Thailand.

After you arrive in Pak Bara, you can get a ferry for 400Bhat each way.

That is when your vacation begins.

The scenery is spectacular, and the boat trip is only about 45 minutes.

There are beautiful mountains sticking straight up out of the water.  The ocean in blue and deep green.

The earlier you arrive to Kho Bulone, the better it will be to locate a room.

We arrived on the second ferry, since we flew down from Chiang Mai where we live, earlier that same morning. Almost all of the rooms were full.

Some people resorted to sleeping in tents.

Ploy and I were lucky enough to find a room for 600 Bhat at Pang Ka Noi. That is about $20.  We did well for the first night.    On the second day, I walked to every resort on the island looking for an empty room at 9:30 AM. That is just after the ferry leaves.

 Here are two nice bungalows at Kho Bulon Resort, but they are going for 2,500 Bhat per night.
                     That is about $85.

The room on the right was for rent for the same price.  Very close to the beach.

 Here is a Thai Longtail boat.  They are very loud, so we opted for a room further in the jungle, and away from the noisy boats being fired up for hours every morning.

These are two Pied Horn-bills. They are the most beautiful birds I have every seen in the wild. They visited our bungalow in the jungle almost every evening.   I learned to recognize their screech, and I would watch them from my bungalow's balcony.

Chinese New Year 2014 in Chiang Mai, Thailand, at the Chinese Walking Market

    I went to the Chinese New Year celebrations last night in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It was held on the side of the Ping River, at the Warrorot Market.

    That is where China Town, Chiang Mai is. I wanted to post these pictures right away, so you can enjoy them. I will come back and label the food items soon. It has been a busy week!

 Thank you for looking.

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Mae Hong Son, the Town, the City, it's Temples and Walking Night Market

   
     Ploy and I recently took a road trip from Chiang Mai all the way to Mae Hong Son. The road is famed for having over 1000 hair pin curves. In actuality, the road has over 1,800 sharp corners. It a majestic ride through the northern mountains of Thailand. We ran into some rain along the way, and had two close calls, when the front tire of our bike hit slick spots.    That will wake you up for sure, if you have never experienced it before.  Still, we persevered, and made it the rest of the way to the small city nestled in the mountains.

     Please enjoy this post, and look at all of the pictures. We have detailed everything you will find in Mae Hong Son, from the temples, to the lake and the park, to the walking street, and its food vendors, as well as the guest house scene inside the town.

    Above the city is a most revered "Wat," or temple, which has stood looking down and protecting the city for four hundred years.

     The first evening we arrived, after checking into a nice little hotel along the edge of the lake, we drove up to pay respects to the two Pagodas on top of the mountain at the edge of Mae Hong Son. Here are the two Pagodas, in the dwindling evening sun.

   

I love the Palm tree alongside the temple.

     Here is a guard at the temple's entrance. It is a giant stone lion, in full battle armor. The mountains surround the valley of Mae Hong Son.

Fish Cave, Mae Hong Son Provence, Thailand (Carp Swimming up stream into a an Underwater Cave)

     Last week Ploy and I were traveling to Mae Hong Son from Chiang Mai, when we stopped off for a short rest at Thai Nature Park, where the fish swim upstream into an underwater cave. It sounds less amazing that it is, so I took many photos of the park and of the beautiful fish to convey how special it is to see them.

     This fish cave park is an absolute must for anyone who travels to Mae Hong Son. It is not a tourist attraction, but a natural wonder.

The large fish swim around in the ponds and stream, until they reach the cave,
where they disappear into the dark cavern beneath the water's surface.

Here is spot where the fish swim into the cave and likely breed in the cool water.

Cave Exploration in Northern Thailand, at the Bang Mapra Tham Lot

   
     The cave at Bang Mapra is far more extensive than one would predict before entering it. This cave is close to one mile long, and is only accessible by floating downstream on a tiny rickety bamboo raft, with both a guide and raft-man.

    As we approached the cave, there was a back board set up in all its glory, as a wary hazard for first time spelunkers.

    This is Thailand, so we knew it could be rough, as we climbed aboard out small bamboo craft and drifted into the mouth of the cave.

    The original cavern is about 50-60 feet tall, and filled with both stalactites and stalagmites.

Bamboo rafts awaiting their riders.

Approaching the cave's mouth.

     The main cave has three offshoots, one to the right, which is easily manageable, and two off to the left, both of which are only accessible by climbing up a very tall, very straight ladder set all the way up to the top.

Here I am, on the raft as we entered the large cave.

 Thank you for looking, and please enjoy these pictures of teh Bang Mapra Cave in all its splendor

A Village Market, in Mae Hong Son Provence. Fresh Vegetables, and local organic produce.

   
     Recently Ploy and I were traveling through Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son Provence when we stopped off at a small local market in the town of Bang Maprah.

     The vendors were very nice and I talked with a few of them. They let me take pictures of their fresh vegetables, some of which I was not accustomed to seeing even in Chiang Mai.

      Check out this post to see what the local Lisu Villagers grow and sell at the market. These vegetables are fresh off the farm, and their sellers likely helped to plant and harvest them. Your money is going directly to the source. The farmer himself. In this case, himself and herself. Enjoy the pictures and plan the next Thai dinner you make at home.

Nice size brown potatoes.

Small green pumpkins.

White and red waxy chilies.

Very spicy green peppers.

Parsley.

Chinese Cabbage.

Pak Bung.

Chinese kale.

Cabbage.