We have four more months to get ready to go to STEEMFest in Bangkok. Tomorrow is the 29th, and this is exactly four months from the travel date I will start with in October. Due to my Visa issues here in Malaysia, the 29th is the day I need to be out of this country. So I will have some days ahead of the event to go back to the city I lived in for a few years.

I'm really excited to go back to Bangkok, but it's always about the money, and I wonder how I will make this work. And before all of this I have a trip to Singapore coming up at the first of August, also for my Visa requirements. Lots to do - no money to do it with!

Here are a few of the issues I am looking forward to checking off my list. Some of this is for me only, but may apply to you too :)

I need a new passport

My passport is almost out of pages to stamp, and will be out of pages by the time I go to Thailand. You need one and sometime two pages open before you get a visa or arrive at a Thai immigration checkpoint. If you are near the end of your pages like me, this might be a good time to renew.

You also need six months left on your passport. So if yours is old, and near its end date, renew now!

With photos and travel cost to my Embassy, my passport cost will be about $175 usd or $725 myr. Horrors! I have no choice, so I will make this happen. Simple as that. I need my new passport regardless of STEEMFest. I will get it after my Singapore trip is done no matter what.

I am not sure if I should get a Thai Visa before entry or not.

My country is on this list of countries whose citizens do not need to obtain a Visa for travel to Thailand:
https://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand/changes-visa-exempt.php

If your country is on this list, you can enter Thailand for 30 days with only your passport. You do not need to do anything with Thailand before you step up to the counter at entry. If your country is not on this list, you need a Visa before you arrive.

Note: If your country is on this next list, you need to get your Visa in your HOME country. Thai Embassies in other countries will not issue one to you. This list is for the Malaysian Thai Embassy, but is most likely applicable to you if you live outside your home country, so be sure to check now in case you need to make a trip home to obtain your Thai Visa.
http://www.thaiembassy.org/kualalumpur/contents/images/text_editor/files/listed%20country%202018_2.pdf

There is also a Thai Visa on Arrival program if your passport is from one of the countries on this list:
https://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand/visa-on-arrival.php

NOTE: Whenever you are looking for Thai official sites, be sure they call themselves "Royal Thai Embassy" or "Royal Thai XXX." There are many sites that look official, but they are not unless the "Royal" mention is used.

Once in Thailand, you can extend your stay for another 30 days if you like. You can make the trip to immigration when you have 30 days or less left on your entry, and you must do it before the entry period is over. The extension is a time consuming but almost automatic and easy procedure.

The extension costs 1900 thb cash, and you need a photo for it. Here is the Thai government site about that extension if you are interested in staying for 60 days without getting a Visa first.
http://bangkok.immigration.go.th/en/base.php

If you DO get a 60 day Tourist Visa, the same site above will give you the 30 days, so you can stay for 90 days in total.

I will not be getting the extension. I plan to be in Thailand for less than 15 days.

My cost for the Visa, photos, and travel would be around 200 myr, 50 usd. It would also require me to have more cash on hand at the time of my Thai entry, as you will read below.

Be aware the each Thai Embassy and Consulate has different rules, cost, hours, and hoops to jump through in order to get your Visa. Go to the site for the Thai Embassy you will use now, so you are aware of what they will need from you.

So why would I get a Visa? The reason would be to make the entry to Thailand go smoothly. But that is not a guarantee. I have some worries about entering, since I had so many entries in the last few years. The reason I left Thailand at all was due to the terrible times I was having getting into the country as my entries stacked up. Getting pulled into secondary checks in not fun at immigration checkpoints.

But!

I think due to cost and the fact that I will not be staying long, I should not worry and just show up at the gate with a smile and all the necessary things they might ask to see.

What do you need to enter Thailand for 30 days with no Visa?

• The visit is for tourism.

Our conference documentation will prove that purpose.

• You must have a confirmed return ticket to show you are flying out of Thailand within 30 days of entry.

If you do not have a flight ticket to show you will be exiting Thailand you will be most likely refused entry. You hand this ticket proof to the immigration officer with your passport and that official will most definitely look at it closely.

If you plan to get the extension for 30 days, you can show an outgoing ticket for the 60 or 90 day period, as the immigration officials understand this issue. But it must be confirmed for an appropriate date, and you should say, "I will be getting an extension at Chaeng Wattana" as you hand over your passport and exit document so they know what's up without having to figure it out.

• Traveling overland out of Thailand by train, bus, etc to Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia (including en route to Singapore), Myanmar, etc may be accepted as proof of exiting Thailand.

You will want to be sure to have tickets for your trip to the border and for crossing the border. In most cases, this will be two separate carriers and possibly countries involved in the travel arrangement. You do not want to show a ticket that only gets you to the border. You need to also show the ongoing trip in the next country.

This is what I will be doing. I have two empty suitcases I left with friends in Thailand and I hope to stuff them with all sorts of cheap things from Thailand that cost a fortune here in Malaysia or cannot be found at all.

I will travel by train to the border and then by bus to get back to Kuala Lumpur after STEEMFest is over. I will have liquids and the cost of my checked luggage on a flight would be outrageous. Luggage travels free on the train and bus.

• It will also be necessary to prove that you have funds of at least:

10,000 thb $325 usd per person if you do not have a Visa.
20,000 thb $650 usd per person if you have 60 day Tourist Visa.

This money must be in CASH in any currency. The immigration official does not want to see your debit card, your credit card, your bank statement, or anything else. They want to see CASH of 10000 thb equivalent or 20000 thb if you have the 60 day Visa. This cash is PER PERSON if you travel with family.

I was asked to show this cash two times out of my many entries. Once they counted the money, and once they just glanced at my fat money envelope.

Over the years I have heard horror stories when people did not have this money in cash. There is no atm at border crossings. It you have 9800 thb - too bad.

If the officials get to the point of asking to see your cash they are trying not to let you in. This means you will be sent to sit in a detention room until the next flight out to your prior stop or to your home country. Your choice!

This cash proof is especially needed if you have dreads, visible tattoos, facial jewelry, are dressed like a backpacker or in revealing clothing, look sick, or look sketchy in any way. Every time I got pulled into secondary, it was me and a bunch of scruffy looking young people. So be sure to have this money in CASH and look as presentable as possible.

Who in the world carries cash anymore? You do when you are entering Thailand. I use a SCOTTeVEST Women Lucy Cardigan covering a SCOTTeVEST Featherweight Lightweight Travel Vest when I travel. Both have hidden pockets so I can keep everything safe. There are many versions of protective clothing like this, and I recommend you get something similar.

Here I am in this get up at the airport in Phnom Penh Cambodia, a country where this attire is a requirement 24/7.

It looks like I just have the cardigan on:

But underneath is the vest with my passport, money, tickets, and other valuables.

If you want all the details about STEEMFest, read @roelandp's announcement.

The official STEEMFest web page is here:
https://steemfest.com/

If you use @actifit, enter their contest to win the conference fee here:
https://steemit.com/actifit/@anomadsoul/get-fit-with-actifit-and-blocktrades-and-win-a-steem-fest-ticket

That's it for now, my friends. I hope I see you in Bangkok for STEEMFest this year. Stay tuned for further updates as I continue to figure out how to make this work!

My RoadToSTEEMfest posts:

Introduction to My RoadToSTEEMfest
Hotel Ideas

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Minnow Tips!

My Newest Minnow Tips Updates:

General Ideas of how to do better on STEEM
Places to comment for Upvotes and More Goodies
Who will upvote my posts when I am new on STEEM?
How Can I Solve My Low RC Problem on STEEM?
Using @dustsweeper on STEEM
Enter contests on STEEM and win!
Do your replies fast with with SteemReply
You should be freewriting if you are a blogger
Post Your First Post of Each Day FIRST on STEEM

Here is my last big minnow tips post before the update if you struggle here at steem.

These tips can help you even if you are not new.
Monday Minnow Tips for Everyone from @fitinfun

Contents of the Above Post

What should I do EACH DAY on STEEM with low power?

What to do with your STEEM

Are you shooting blanks with your votes?

Should you use an autovoter?

Join qurator

Do not post to nowhere

Why bother to comment?

How and Why to use kryptonia

How to get Upvotes

For Twitter Users

How and Why to lease delegated sp

Curation Trails

Using Discord

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dApp Information and Reviews:

If you are posting your posts with the steemit dApp, you are missing out. Take a look at the dApps that pay for your posts and post there instead.

Which dApps have the best payouts on STEEM?

Here are some dApp reviews - more to come :)
esteem
Share2Steem with Twitter Tips

Tasteem Restaurant Reviews dApp before I used it
Tasteem Restaurant Reviews dApp with tips to do better

ginabot

And here is an update on @fitinfunfood. I just started this blog in Jan 2019, so you can find out what I am doing to grow my new baby here:
fitinfunfood Update Post

More about using SBI:

https://steemit.com/esteem/@fitinfun/my-steembasicincome-update-spoiler-i-love-sbi

Great post from @brittandjosie, with all kinds of help for new people. Definitely worth clicking every link!

Hey Have You Met!

Please Help Me Keep Helping at STEEM

Please follow my blogs:

@fitinfun
@fitinfunfood
@bxlphabet is my son's blog, but he is on to other things, so I post there too now.

I post on Busy most days, where their upvote for us is based on the collective SP of our followers. We all follow back.

Put my blogs on your curation trail

@fitinfun
@fitinfunfood
@bxlphabet

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How is your journey to better health going?

Is your fitness equipment out handy? Are you on a "diet?" Soon we will be in Bathing Suit Season. Are you ready?

I lost "Half My Size" eight years ago by using natural methods. No tricks, just doing a bit better every day. I started on October 10 one year, and did not give up. Four years later, on October 5th, there I was - thin and healthy for the first time in my life. You can do it too!

This is Sharon @fitinfun. I am posting:

• Healthy Food Ideas on @fitinfunfood
• Motivation Minnow Tips and Everything Else on @fitinfun
• @bxlphabet is posting dApps, dpolls, and song lyrics.

Please follow along or contact me directly if you would like some individual help with weight loss and health. Anyone can do this if I did.