w11guy

Relocate cities and towns!!!! What planet are these people on?

Would be easier to just route the train through towns, as they do in Europe.

Most people are more at risk of killing themselves from eating junk food. The chances of a large earthquake killing thousands in Bangkok is extremely remote. More get killed in road accidents every year. So stay in your hi-rise, eat healthy food and stay off the roads.

Try a drive along Highway 35 to Maeklong to see the train passing through the market - an amazing sight...

The Amphawa Floating Market is 7km from the railway. Mostly Thai visitors, so a bit more authentic than the rest..

Dont know how much room you have in your passport but be careful if limited pages, Laos and Cambodia will take a FULL page each, unless you get the E-visa for Cambodia. Just a word of caution .

I have plenty of room, but it's starting to fill up fast, so that's good advice and something I'll keep in mind. Why can't all countries introduce passports with the stamps stored electronically? Or they could just download to my cellphone. Governments are always way behind the technology curve.

How much time do you have? When are you thinking of traveling???

$1300 seems like a lot. I did the boat from Angkor Wat to Phnom Penh. It was fun and cheap. I've heard the road is better from there to HCMC, but have not done that. Flying from HCMC to Hanoi is the way to go, unless you want to stop off in Hue or Hoi An, which are both great places to visit. What about Luang Prabang?

Might go to Luang Prabang as well. Planning to go for 10-14 days or so.

Have just checked a spreadsheet I did for our trip.

Transport - Road & Rail

From Poiphet/Siem Reap/Phnom Penh/HCMC/

Nha Trang/Hue/Hanoi = US$104.00/person

Accommodation:

19 Nights averaged US$35.00/double room/night

That's very reasonable. Did you mostly take trains or buses? How many hours did you spend travelling between places?

I recently got an Aeroflot flight to Croatia. Now that I know they don't serve alcohol they will be one of my preferred airlines. Service was great and staff were friendly. Much better than times I've flown both BA and Virgin.

After the security check at the airport I noticed that there was a notice up saying you could get a re-entry permit there and then, So good to know. Would still rather get one in advance, just to be safe.

I'm thinking of a single trip to these three countries and would probably want to visit Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Vientiane. I had a quick look at flight prices and it was about $US1300 to make a round trip. But a return to Phnom Penh from Bangkok was less than $100, so the full trip price seems expensive. I'll be starting and ending at Bangkok.

What's the best way to travel between these places (in any order) that will ensure reasonable comfort. I would prefer flights, but trains and buses are ok if much cheaper. But I don't want to waste whole days sitting on a bus.

I'm sure many on here must have done similar trips.

Also suggestions for accommodation would be much appreciated. 3* and above, as I don't want to slum it.

This is just initial research, so i'll check things in closer details once I have the basic trip planned. And I'll let you all know the final cost, how I got on, etc.

..the ex-wife is suddenly concerned......and suddenly has a convenient explanation, too..........

There is nothing to suggest that she is suddenly concerned. They have a daughter so were probably in regular contact. Seems quite normal to me.

Not the first one hiding here and for sure not the last one either ..... It seems its quite easy to "disappear" in Thailand . Well , when you have money everything is so easy.

It is pretty easy for criminals to 'disappear' in any country. The UK has 1000s of foreign criminals on the run. Neither the police or immigration have any idea where they are.

If you want to escape the law, come to miracle Thailand! Should be a TAT slogan!

But he didn't escape the law - the caught him. So what are you wittering on about?

The bank clerk will know what their code number is. They are not stupid you know. Stop worrying so much and just give them the form to fill out, pay them and walk out. Very simple.

90% of Thai's can read English you know.

I reckon most bank employees can read English, but no way is it true that 90% of Thais can read English.

Sounds like another bearuricrat just woke up from a long winters nap (overslept also). They may want to consider a foreign effeciency evulation of the entire facility and get some useful imput. They might be surprised at what could be done with what they have, under qualified management, who had authority to sort out the various problems which have been apparent from the opening of this "tabernackle to waste/corruption"

Foreign efficiency? Now that's funny. I came through BKK airport last weekend and waited last than 5 mins at immigration. The wait at JFK is usually 30-60 mins. In KL I had to queue up for over 2 hours at immigration leaving the country and nearly missed my flight. UK also sometimes have long queues. This isn't a Thai problem but a worldwide airport problem.

Also, what's the spread like on blue chip Thai stocks? And how much are the brokerage fees?

I've never invested in Thai stocks? What brokers do you use? Is it easy to set up an account? Is it easy to get your money back out of Thailand if needed?

All the main thai banks have brokerage service- i would use one of these, i trust them slightly more than the stand alone brokerages companies. Its easy to set up if you have residency in Thailand e.g. have work permit. Also its easy to take money out of Thailand IF you have a valid work permit, once your work permit expires then its a lot harder to take money out.

I don't have a work permit, only a retirement visa. Can I still open a brokerage account?

You don't need an external keyboard. Just buy a new laptop. I'm surprised you even have to ask.

Yes, those are the standard savings account interest rates. Check out the websites for each and you'll see the no-fixed option. The only catch is you can only make 2 free withdrawals per month. If you go over 2, you have to pay a fee. Krungsri and Thanachart pay interest monthly, TMB pays every 6 months.

Goto Krungsri(yellow) Thanachart(Orange) or TMB(red white blue). All have "no--fix" saving accounts earning 2.9 - 3.0%. There is no need to lock the money up.

This website shows much lower rates for these banks. Are these rates still available for easy access?

http://www.bot.or.th...te/IN_Rate.aspx

No good for me, as I make withdrawals 10+ times a month. And before anyone suggests it, no I don't want to take a lump sum out once a month. I'm not going to create hassle for the sake of a few baht.

One day something like this will spread across the globe and kill a substantial number of people. It's only a matter of time. Could be tomorrow or could be in 20 years time. But it is coming for sure.

A man was killed and another injured in a shooting on Ratchadapisek Road reportedly caused by illegal drug transaction on Sunday morning.

As opposed to all the legal drug transactions that go on in Bangkok.

You can buy drugs legally in Bangkok and many other cities. For example, Starbucks is a big dealer of caffeine and this is where many addicts flock. Completely legal. And how about Boots, Watsons, etc. Loads of legal drugs being sold there. Add in the 1000s of bars and shops selling alcohol and you can see that legal drug deals happen every minute of the day in Bangkok.

So yes, there is a difference between legal and illegal drug deals.

I've never invested in Thai stocks? What brokers do you use? Is it easy to set up an account? Is it easy to get your money back out of Thailand if needed?

I ended up using Aeroflot. Ending up costing around $1550. Only snag was spending 20 hours at Moscow airport waiting for connecting flight back home. Luckily I have a lounge card that came free with my credit card, so was able to use the three lounges there.

Ah yes but what if he sells his art / photographs online and someone from thailand buys it over the internet?????

How about this case: An artist (painter/photographer) or an author, who likes to spend time in Thailand, is content with a 30 day stamp in his/her passport on arrival, and tourist visa from neighbouring countries, ... sits in his private space to draw, paint or write, .. has no interest in having clients in Thailand, never shows his work in Thailand, because all the income is generated from business outside Thailand, > publisher in the UK > galleries in Europe etc Stays out of everyone's way, ships his work out via courier, in his luggage or in the case of digital files, via the WWW .. does not take a single Baht from anyone in Thailand, nor competes with any local "wanna be" artists, so jealousy is nothing to contend with ....

If that were you, would you even worry about a permit?

If it is delivered from the USA then it's not a problem. If it's delivered from Thailand then it could be a problem.

I would suggest that anybody that is interested in the matter and wants to know more about to visit the website of Department of Labour on:

http://wp.doe.go.th/en/downloadform

All the docs you might need can be downloaded from there, and you will find all the explanation you need.

I cannot find anything on their site that confuses me, so I fail to understand the confusion in this topic.

There is no confusion. According to the law you need a WP for online work for companies outside Thailand. In practice you are free to do this work and no-one cares.

Has a single person actually been prosecuted for this? I doubt it.

There is a huge difference between something that may be technically illegal and the actual enforcement. Many laws are outdated and irrelevant. Just because those laws exist doesn't mean that you will be prosecuted for breaking them. Too many paranoid people on here.