Expat Monthly Meeting

Based on research prior to departing to Thailand, we noted the recurring meetings of the Chiang Mai Expat Club.

The club holds it monthly meeting at the Le Meridien Hotel on the 4th Saturday of every month.  The meeting begins at 10:30 am, but socializing takes place before the meeting.  Dress is casual.

The cost to attend the General Meeting is 150 baht for members, 250 baht for visitors.  Coffee, tea and pastries are served.

The meeting draws 100 - 150 people who assemble in a ballroom outfitted with large round tables to hear a featured speaker.

Expat Monthly Meeting

We arrived via songtaew from our apartment after having some unexpected difficulties acquiring an Uber.

Each time when we were assigned a driver, the wait time for the driver's arrival kept on getting longer and longer.

We arrived at the hotel, got our nametags and paid the 500 baht admission ($14.70) for both of us to attend.

During the pre-meeting socializing time, Jay chatted with Dave about the process and cost he followed to acquire his retirement visa.  Dave indicated that he used OS Visa to process his paperwork.  The retirement visa, along with an additional multi-entry visa capability, cost about 12,000 baht ($350.00).

People at the Monthly Expat Meeting

Other expats have explained they have handled all the visa processing themselves.

The featured speaker at today's meeting was Pim Kemasingki, the editor of Chiang Mai's City Life magazine.

After the formal presentation, we chatted with two newcomers from Sydney, Australia.  John and Dee who are on a ten month travel adventure.

They have already visited Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Penang, Malaysia before arriving in Chiang Mai for three weeks.  Afterwards they are headed to Italy and the UK to visit family.

And we thought our one-month to Thailand was pretty hoity-toity.  We are impressed by their daring do.

New Friends

Helen, John, Dee at Italics Restaurant

Following this delightful encountered with John and Dee, we made plans to have dinner together that evening.

Jay selected Italics Restaurant and Rise Bar.

We had drinks on the rooftop Rise Bar and then a wonderful dinner in the Italics restaurant.

Afterwards we Uber'd to the Night Bazaar.

Travel Tips

• On a visit make an effort to attend scheduled Expat Club meetings.  These meeting provide great opportunities to gather information on expat housing options, sightseeing trips in Chiang Mai, Thailand and other information related to expat living in Chiang Mai.