I’ve opened bank accounts in Thailand but certainly not checking accounts. People generally don’t write checks here. Although they do exist, in my decades here I personally have received only two (2) that I can think of, although really I may only be thinking of the same one twice. Really. It’s a cash society and increasingly a debit-card society.
Technically, you need to be employed or on a retirement visa to open an account, but some banks are less strict than others, even among branches of the same institute. The one constant seems to be you definitely have to show your passport. Otherwise, easy-peasy.