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Dogs

It is very important that you make the right choice for a home as that will end up being the main exercise/recreation area for your pets. Make sure you have a fenced property. If your dog chases a neighbour’s chicken it may lead to an "accidental" poisoning so always keep your dogs on a leash if you are walking them. There aren't any traditional western parks or committed recreation areas here on the island so you should consider a home near a not so well travelled road so that you can get him out for a walk. There are many "soi" dogs or street dogs here and they can be territorial but none of my dog owner friends have ever had any problems though they were all very concerned to begin with.

You'll find that Thais are very fond of dogs and not a day goes by without seeing a Thai (or a dozen) on their motorbikes with the dogs paws up on the handlebars. koh samui is very modern and you will meet many other westerners who keep dogs, plenty of shops have decent dog food and supplies/toys etc.

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Memories

My husband and I lived in Hong Kong from 1981 until 1992 and visited Thailand a number of times. I went with a friend firstly to Koh Samet which was absolute paradise! Even though we had no running water, only one small pickup van existed on the island. A working monastery where the monks would call on the villagers (when the villages existed) every day with their rice bowls. Also bringing in bottled water. Even though we are British we were few on the ground and that suited us fine! I took my husband back there 4 years later and there were huge changes. Many more buildings no visible villages, place turned into a country park and charges made at the gate which didn't exist before. Of course we understood why this was so since I imagine the place was getting overwhelmed. We still had a wonderful time. By then water was being shipped in daily so one could have showers. But whilst there were no proper roads there were loads of pickups eeeeeeek! We did see the monks in their monastery but only from a distance. Such is progress but even though we plan to return to Thailand in the new year for a few months (we now live in France) we can't spoil our memories by returning to Koh Samet...........sadly for us.

We also visited Kanchanburi one Christmas and new year and stayed at the PS guest house on the river where we had a fabulous time this was in 1990/91 the place was run by some lovely people who both happened to be teachers too. Don't suppose the place exists anymore and on a more jovial note we know that the 'floating nun' is a different one now!

Best wishes to you hardy travellers and spare a thought for the oldies who are about to join the backpackers again whilst hopefully not dying in the attempt.

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Visas

Get the"O" visa first, from a Thai consulate, before you arrive here. Easiest to use an "Honorary Thai Consul", rather than the Embassy Consular Office. "O" good for 90 days. During that 90 days, apply for retirement extension here. That retirement extension is good for one year.

During the year, must notify the immigration department of your address every 90 days. No cost for that -- just fill in a simple, address form. You can send that in by mail, if you prefer. Do that every 90 days.

After one year -- from your original arrival date in Thailand -- go back for another extension. Do that every year.

I don't know about the past, but it is not necessary now to leave Thailand if you have an "O" visa with a retirement extension. Some expats here never leave.

Now a recommendation: Get a visa lawyer to handle this for you. At least for the first application. You don't understand the language, and you don't know the procedures. A visa lawyer here will know everything. Their fee is in the range of $100-400. Pay it and let them do all the work; it will make things so much easier for you.

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