markeewan

On 5/29/2024 at 6:03 PM, DaLa said:

Anyone know if it's possible to buy access to the Thai Air Royal Silk lounge at Suvarnabhumi. I've waded through various web sites where there is a great deal of inf. on the t's & c's of use of the lounge and come up with a blank.

 Try this to check if available still at AU$65 

https://www.thaiairways.com/en_AU/plan_my_trip/Special_fare/Offers_Booking/Lounge+Passes+at+BKK+Airport.page

I had a molar root canal and gold crown done in Bangkok for $1300 and the AU dentist had quoted me $5000 for it (but that was for porcelain and not gold). This was about 5 years ago so prices will have changed a bit, but this is also larger and gold, so I would think ballpark still.

From memory there was a specialist dentist that just came once a week to do this type of work and I had to go  4 or five times to have it completed.

Yes I think that you need consent, my wife had to get my consent for some large purchase with her money.

On 9/15/2023 at 12:54 PM, OneMoreFarang said:

This is a concern.

My unit's drains were not used for some time (because it was empty when I bought it). If the unit below is also empty and there is a leak, then there could be a lot of damage before anybody notices that there is a leak at all.

I guess it is my responsibility to fix a leak and pay for that. But first I have to know that there is a leak. And if nobody tells me because nobody is watching then that can get expensive.

Let's see.

I think in a condo you only own the space inside the walls and the structure is common property. It is worth reading up on as it may not be as you think.

On 7/16/2023 at 1:49 PM, LS24 said:

The very best way would be to change the Thai Baht to AUD and then carry it to Australia and declare it at AU Border Security. If it is more than $10,000AUD you will need to explain where it came from with documentation.

 

All other rates will be much lower. If you want to shift it from a Thai bank to an AU bank, you will need proof of where these funds came from if it is more than $10,000AUD.

I think there is a $5000 limit per day to do that at Superrich, so I don't think that will work.

Does anyone know if Azithromycin 500 mg is available. The local pharmacy indicated the laws had been changed and she only offered me packs of 250 mg x 6.

Normally the Thai price is around 500 baht per a/c unit, but this includes the outside one as well.

My outside units in Bangkok get clogged up with those fine white floating seeds that get shed each year. I am not sure what the real name is I just know them as Sugars and they come from a long grass. They can be brushed or vacuumed off but pressure washing makes sure they are removed from the internal fins.

2 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

My experience only here. My driver gets my call and my driver shows up a few minutes later at gate 3 (the meeting area) The driver has to know where to hold up while waiting for the call. That's the tricky part.

 

I'm sure more experienced will have different info but this is how I've done it many times over the years.

This is how I do it. Just wait at Gate 4 arrivals drop-off area after giving the call. Normally I give the call once I have my bag and by the time I get to Gate 4 there could be at most a 10 minute wait.

If  after exiting Customs, you go to the meeting point at Gate 4 and look back to the Boots Pharmacy there is a luggage storage service to the right of Boots and that is where to store your stuff.

5 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

From internet: 

 

Any person who brings or takes an aggregate amount of foreign currency exceeding USD20,000 or its equivalent out of or into Thailand shall declare such amount of foreign currency to a Customs Officer.

 

OP, be aware that if planning to exchange at say Super rich green you will find Wise transfer is better.

 

I would be happy for you to screenshot examples of online transfer being less then a cash transaction...thanks

Normally in this situation you would engage a Financial Planner to cost out the various options and identify the most favourable one. However as you have found out they are not allowed to give financial advice to non-residents, which makes things a bit more difficult for you.

Looking at your options in a systematic way, may give you some more clarity.

For example at 60 years:

Option 1: Close Super Account, transfer money offshore, invest elsewhere.

Option 2: Convert Super Account to Pension and draw down (monthly or annually)

For each option, write down the risks and benefits.

As you go through the exercise, write down any questions and then use Google to ultimately make a decision.

Try not to overthink it with multiple scenarios or risks as it just becomes too confusing, but at least try to consider the larger risks and probability.

1 hour ago, Tropicalevo said:

I worked in a petrol station in the UK and the 'pump boys' had to make up any shortfall in cash at the end of the shift when the till was checked against sales.

Most weeks I lost money.

Mind you, this was many years ago when Noah was a young lad. Not sure that there are any pump attendants in the UK any more.

Bloody hell!! How old are you? There were no pump attendants in 1980 at least.

3 hours ago, tjintx said:

My understanding is that the only testing at Swampy is for arrivals and, most likely then, on the secured side.  Is there one on the side before security?

Wife used this Samitivej booth option to fly out two weeks ago and 550 baht and 30 mins as said and before check-in.

Ticket changes can't be done online, so the process is to do as you have via email and they process them in terms of urgency. The Facebook page is a good source of information, so you can always verify on there.

I am not going to comment on the situation with the Irishman in this story, but my experience with normal bars is that if you are obnoxious in any way then they may pad your bill. 

They don't just create the bill in an unfair manner, what happens is they transfer the bill of the polite customer over to the obnoxious customer and it is the girl's way of getting their own back.

I was once in a bar and ready to settle up and found out the Indian over the other side was going to be billed. So that is my experience of someone else getting padded and I got off with a light bill.

Everyone in Thailand (bargirl or not) has a respect level and if you encroach that, then expect poor treatment.

4 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

So, if I get refused, will I get a refund for my hotel booking and the insurance I bought to enter Thailand?

No, same as any country you can be refused at the border.

7 hours ago, NanaSomchai said:

It happens more often than you would guess. Any futile reasons may be invoked, the most frequent one is "alien has no ways or funds to sustain himself in the Kingdom for 30 days" they stamp you with that, deny you entry in the Kingdom, flag you in their systems database and you're being sent back home.

 

Which is why the only sensible thing to do is to always carry 20,000 baht in cash on you. They do not care if you have bank assets, credit cards, debit cards, Thai book banks, Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency portfolio, they want to see hard cash.

 

When one lands to Suvarnabhumi airport, the first thing to do is to reach out to an ATM machine and withdraw 20,000 THB with you, then you carry on onto the immigration lane, not the other way around.

 

And yes, there a few ATM machines before the immigration desks.

 

As far as I know there are no ATMs prior to immigration in Suvarnabhumi Airport, only currency exchange booths. However, if you have seen any can you please advise the concourse location and how recently this was...thanks

On 2/27/2022 at 2:14 PM, markeewan said:

Submitted a Class 600 visa application in November for wife to visit Australia. She did the medical and biometrics at VFS Bangkok in December and then submitted all the information.

 

Then after Xmas we found out that you also need the pre-approval for the double Covid Vaccine. At that time this requirement wasn't on the Australian visa site and so we missed submitting it. Wife did that documentation in double quick time and that information was added to the application mid January.

Fearing that the application had been put into the non-vaccinated pile. I did a manual submission of "Change of Circumstances" by 22nd January, advising them this document has been added.

So far we have heard nothing, and the wife is past the upset stage now.

My wife has had a two similar visa applications approved in the past very quickly and so is very frustrating that this has taken so long and  there is no mechanism to follow up with the visa dept.

 

Guess what....Visa approved today, multiple entry of upto 3 months for three years.

Happy wife, happy life.

Submitted a Class 600 visa application in November for wife to visit Australia. She did the medical and biometrics at VFS Bangkok in December and then submitted all the information.

Then after Xmas we found out that you also need the pre-approval for the double Covid Vaccine. At that time this requirement wasn't on the Australian visa site and so we missed submitting it. Wife did that documentation in double quick time and that information was added to the application mid January.

Fearing that the application had been put into the non-vaccinated pile. I did a manual submission of "Change of Circumstances" by 22nd January, advising them this document has been added.

So far we have heard nothing, and the wife is past the upset stage now.

My wife has had a two similar visa applications approved in the past very quickly and so is very frustrating that this has taken so long and  there is no mechanism to follow up with the visa dept.

 

12 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

I’ve read the same...    

 

Day 1 Test & Go remains (along with Thailand Pass) and Day 5 PCR test has been replaced with an ATK test - from 1st March (if I’m not mistaken). 

 

Of course, as usual, any useful information is absent:

- Does the Day 5 ATK need to be performed at hotel.

- Can the Day 5 ATK be self administered and results submitted.

 

 

It seems that throughout this debacle the government and MoPH have placed their responsibility on hotels who are happy to take it because it means ‘guests’....   Back in Nov the Day 1 Test & Go program included a day 5 ATK... so this is the same. 

Back then (Dec) the hotel didn’t know what to do with the ATK... they just gave it us and said they don know !!! ....    Since then I read that we were supposed to mail the ATK result to the hotel. 

 

So... I wonder if this is the same..

A 1 night Test & Go with a Day 5 ATK result e-mailed to the day 1 hotel. 

 

 

https://www.tatnews.org/2022/02/thailand-reopening-exemption-from-quarantine-test-go/

9 hours ago, TropicalGuy said:

and we know Omicron is dominant now, five times more infectious but also ten times less lethal so just STOP all this daft purposeless testing & case reporting. UK & Scandinavian countries stopping all this nonsense next week. No more Thais will get vaccinated so maximum effort now made.local Thai transmission must be way higher than from tourists so just open up to the vaxxed as Phil have done.

It is not correct to state that Thais are not getting vaccinated. My wife got her third injection yesterday and son the same day. The local people are still taking this quite seriously and vaccination is ongoing.

I tried to edit the place name on the map but it disappears when it zooms in, so it seems you may not be able to do it. Things like this can be reported to https://support.google.com/maps#topic=3092425

Really, 24 hours in an airport is going to be a challenge.

You can read here, but this site only goes to a maximum of 11 hours, as no one with any options would stay any longer. https://www.bangkok-travel-ideas.com/bangkok-airport-layover.html This was obviously written pre covid.

I think you are correct that the Miracle Transit Hotel does not seem to be taking any bookings, as all dates I checked are closed. In any event you can only book 2 or 4 hour slots.

Paid lounges may be an option, but most close between midnight and 5am, including Thai Airways, so you are going to have to find somewhere to have a rest when they are closed.

Concourse C has some beds you can relax on, they used to be Lazy Boyz before they broke. Also there are toilets are nearby.

Use these beds for the night time and then maybe book into one of the lounges for the day portion Whilst lounges may seem expensive, you won't need to buy food and WiFi there, so they work out reasonable.

If you have your own bed then Concourse B is pretty quiet after midnight as that is where the Europe flights leave from.

I really don't envy you.

5 hours ago, ftpjtm said:

Thanks. The last leg of the current booking is ZRH - BKK via Thai. I guess I'll contact Thai to see if they can offer something. Seems that with the new regulations there could be demand. 

Just change your flight to ZHR HKT and you will be eligible for sandbox and after 7 days can go where you want.  That is as of today, in the future, who knows.