youbuyshirt

On 6/21/2020 at 1:13 AM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

A lot of posters here aren't paying attention!  The OP's question is about shipping bank cards to VIETNAM, NOT Thailand!

 

The issues he's encountering are ones relating to Vietnam regulations, and have nothing to do with shipping company policies in general or people's ability to receive such things here in Thailand.

 

Might have been better posted to the Vietnam subforum.

 

No, if you go to Fedex's prohibitions page (don't have the URL handy at the moment) it says no debit cards and this is not specific to Vietnam.

On 6/20/2020 at 2:43 PM, JimmyJ said:

Credit cards are NOT prohibited from Thailand.

 

If your credit cards arrived to Thailand, it is because they are supposed to be accepted and arrive there.

 

Credit cards ARE prohibited from importing to Vietnam.

 

https://crossborder.fedex.com/us/assets/prohibited-restricted/vietnam/index.shtml

 

I am going thru the identical issue re: getting my USA cc's into Vietnam.

 

Haven't tried yet.

 

I  may wait till I'm next in Thailand.

 

 

 

The list says credit cards, it doesn't say debit cards.

If I fly out of Vietnam (not sure if that's possible but it might be) to Bangkok to take another flight same day to, say, New Delhi, am I subject to 2 weeks quarantine in Thailand? I will probably have to endure quarantine in India but if I have to do it in Thailand too, that's just too much and I won't make the trip.

I thought the border was closed and international flights are not permitted to arrive in Thailand at present.

But this site: https://www.bangkokairportonline.com/flight-status-arrivals-departures/

shows arrivals from many different countries, including China, Vietnam, Korea, Germany, Japan, Russia, France, UK, Austria and others.

What is going on? I'm very confused.

Thanks for the great replies. Well I wanted to ship them Fedex via Parcel Monkey which is much much cheaper than using Fedex itself. But Parcel Monkey says that it’s prohibited by their partner, which is Fedex.

I just checked DHL and i don’t see the same prohibition against debit cards. But 3 times as expensive as Parcel Monkey.

I need to find a Parcel Monkey equivalent that uses DHL.

Sheryl, I heard that EMS does not provide tracking once it leaves the US. Maybe that’s wrong? I wouldn’t trust a non-tracked package in VN postal system.

Actually EMS in the US is same as Priority Mail Express International, which has a tracking footnote that says Limitations may apply for certain destinations. Also the price is not really much cheaper than the big courier companies.

Riclag, international priority mail only provides tracking until it leaves the US, with the exception of a handful of developed countries where it is tracked to destination. Vietnam is not among them. Once it entered the VN postal system, it would be a real crapshoot whether it got delivered.

Priority Mail Express International also does not seem to provide tracking to all destinations. It’s really hard to figure out the USPS’s incredibly confusing price lists and tracking policies.

My US banks have shipped two new debit cards to me c/o my sister in the US, whose address I use as my registered address.

Now I need her to ship them to me (in Vietnam) and I’m finding I can’t do it.

Fedex apparently considers debit cards a prohibited item and I think the other couriers do, too.

She previously shipped debit cards to me by regular mail and they were never delivered. Lost forever. Courier is the only safe way, but they won’t accept them!

Has anyone had a similar problem and how did you manage to get your cards?

Thanks for any replies.

Thanks for the replies. If I take baht bus, should I get it on 2nd Road, or Buakhaew?

Baht bus does not charge extra for luggage?

I don't have to drag bags, I have a rolling trolley, but it's too far to walk to station.

I am ultimately heading to Aranyaprathet/Cambo border. If I go via Bangkok, I will probably take bus to Mo Chit, then bus to Aran.

But I am also thinking about taking train to Chachoengsao, staying overnight, then next day pick up the train to Aran. WIth the train I don't have to worry about bags being overcharged and mishandled, and I think that now it goes right to the border at Rong Khlua market.

Yellow bus from North Terminal to Aran was first choice, but they weigh your luggage and charge exorbitant rates -- 10 baht for each kilo over 15 kilos. And I don't know if they go all the way to the border or terminate at Aran bus station 6 km away.

I’m staying on Buakaew, a 10 minute walk from S. Pattaya Road. When I go to the North Bus Terminal in a few days I will have 2 or 3 pretty big pieces of luggage. What is best way to transport myself and my luggage to the bus terminal?

I went to 3rd Road tonight to see what the baht bus sitation is like there, and if any of them go to the bus station. Very few baht buses going toward the bus station and those that I saw would not stop for me.

I’ve heard that the taxis are super ripoffs in Pattaya so would prefer to avoid.

What is best to do? Get a baht bus on Buakaew and get off at N. Pattaya Rd? How much would they charge me with my luggage? Then get another baht bus on N. Pattaya Rd. to the bus station?

Thanks for assistance.

I finally made it to Siamburi's. The cheese there is about the same price as the best prices you can find in Vietnam if you know where to cheese-shop. Very reasonable prices, and Romano exceptionally cheap. I also saw that Makro has some reasonably priced cheese in 1 and 2 kilo sizes, including cheddar and mozarella that are made in Thailand, which I didn't know existed. 

I wonder how long a 1 or 2 kilo cheese will stay good in the fridge if you eat a little bit at a time?

Friendship has slightly higher but still okay prices.

I could not find anything remotely as good as these prices in bangkok, but I never went to the Makros there. Are Makro Bkk cheese prices same same Pattaya? Most of the cheese prices at Big C, Tesco, and various supermarkets in Bkk are outrageous.

Siamburi proves that it's not the reputed high import taxes that make cheese more expensive in Thailand than in neighboring countries.

On 12/4/2019 at 5:55 AM, steve187 said:

prices from facebook page on 5th nov. 

Cheddar only 149 baht per kilo
Edam only 149 per kilo
Mozzarella only 199 per kilo
200 g lurpak @ only 99 baht , salted or unsalted .

Where is Siam Expats? Where on Country Club Road? It sounds cheaper than Siamburi.

Thanks for the replies. The market on Pattaya Tai is easy for me to walk to. But I can't seem to get there before late afternoon. Do you know what time the lady stops work?

Has anyone seen fresh ground coconut meat for sale at Pattaya markets? The people who make coconut milk should have this available.

Someone told me it's available but only in the early morning. Does anyone know where you can get it in the afternoon?

Thanks.

On 12/2/2019 at 8:38 AM, oxforddon said:

Siam ExPats has great value cheese on Siam Country Club road ......

Thanks. Can you give us some examples of the prices?

Even a new higher 270 baht price for 1 kilo of Gouda is still extremely cheap. In Bangkok supermarkets  that would cost minimum 700 baht. And in Phnom Penh, $15 a kilo.

So how can it be so cheap? I heard that it's Thailand's high import taxes that make the cheese so expensive here. But, according to my research, both SiamBuri and Rimping in Chiang Mai sell cheese at very reasonable prices. So are Bangkok supermarkets just ripping the foreigner off?

Thanks for the replies.

Uh-oh. Should I avoid coming on a weekend? Do Pattaya hotel rooms get scarce on the weekends, and prices go up, due to people from Bangkok spending the weekend in Pattaya?

Is this even more likely to be a problem since Thursday, 5 December is King Bhumibol's Birthday, a National holiday? And then there's another holiday on Tuesday, 10 December, Constitution Day. Does this mean a long weekend from Thursday to Tuesday and many Bangkokians heading to Pattaya, filling up the hotel rooms?
 

Does Siam Buri still have cheap cheese? I read some recent reviews on Google that said they had recently doubled or tripled their cheese prices. But other reviews do not mention this.

I need cheese for my high fat, low carbohydrate diet which has helped me lose a lot of body fat. But am presently in Bangkok where cheese is priced like caviar.

So I want to go to Pattaya, but only if I can still get cheap cheese. Otherwise it’s back to Phnom Penh ASAP.

Thanks for any answers.

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I have read that Pattaya is dead, which is why I'm so baffled that the prices are still so high on the booking sites. But I agree the best idea is to reserve a room for one night, then find a better room without carrying my luggage.

I will arrive in Pattaya on bus from Bkk with a lot of luggage. Where should I go to find a lot of cheaper rooms within close proximity to each other so I don’t have to run all over town looking? My requirements are private bathroom, refrigerator, desk or big table. Fan is okay, I don’t need A/C. Does not have to be near beach. Planning to stay 2-1/2 weeks. Thanks for suggestions.

Tried the booking websites but they are a pain. I really prefer to see a room personally before reserving it.

Thanks for the replies. Well, Sheryl says it's an escalator and rottenScoundrill says it's an elevator. Which is correct? 

It can be really tricky to take a loaded luggage trolley down an escalator. Last time I did that, in China, I damaged my trolley.

They didn't need to go to the trouble and expense of installing escalators/elevators. Simple luggage ramps would have been sufficient and maybe even better.

Is it acceptable, instead of showing cash, to show a Thai bank savings passbook with balance of more than the required amount?

Oh, I forgot to mention, I also have a lot of vitamins and supplements for personal use and I read in another post that they were "cracking down" on that kind of heinous criminality. Is that going to be a problem?

Also, am I going to have to show them an "onward travel" ticket out of Thailand?  I only travel by land and when I exit Thailand it will be by train back to Aranyaprathet, or maybe by a full size bus, then walk to Cambodia. I don't know what day I will exit and I don't think it's possible to get a return train ticket far in advance on the Aranyaprathet line, especially from outside the country.

Other than that, I will have enough cash to show them if they ask to see it.

Everyone says avoid Poipet but the problem is, Aranyaprathet has the best travel options to Bangkok. The train is available right there at the border if what I read is correct (you used to have to go several km to the Aranyaprathet train station to get the train, now it's right there at the border market)

The other options, like the two border crossings near Battambang, don’t have a train and I think only have dangerous minibuses to Bangkok, is that correct?

I have a lot of luggage and it would be a problem to try to cram it into the back of a minibus.

10-15 years ago, I was living in Thailand most of the year and had a lot of visa exempt entries and tourist visas (in old passports), but now, I have not entered Thailand in over 3 years and I think there's only one visa exempt entry in my current passport that is over 3 years old. I want to get a 30 day visa exempt entry at Poipet. Do you think I’ll have a problem?

Thanks for any replies.

Goodness, how do you travel with that much stuff? I'm sure my stuff would exceed the limitations for an airplane, and yours certainly would too. One of the reasons I don't fly.

Well if they x-ray the bags now, then you have to bring them in to the immigration post? Or they do that later, outside the building?

Do they also do body scans? I read somewhere that Thailand was doing that now at airports. Are they also doing it at Aranyaprathet? Personally, I don't want the radiation in my body.

Thanks again for your replies.

Thanks so much Sheryl. I am referring to the Aranyaprathet Thai immigration post at the border that you go to immediately after exiting Cambodia immigration. The place where they give you your entry stamp.

I have too much stuff. I try to minimize it but it's still a lot of stuff that I need to take with me wherever I go. I have a couple of heavy cargo bags that I haul on a folding luggage trolley.

I remember it is the steps going down after getting the entry stamp that were really difficult for me, more so than the steps going up. Is this the building that has the new escalator? But only going up, not going down?

If I take a bus, I wonder if I can leave my luggage on the bus when I go into Thai immigration. Or is Thailand now x-raying luggage so you have to bring the luggage in?

These Khmer porters, do they take your luggage from the Cambodia immigration post where you exit all the way to the Thai immigration post? And then you leave your luggage with them while you go into Thai Immigration and get on a usually very long line? And when you emerge with your entry stamp maybe an hour later, the porters are there waiting for you and haven't run off with your stuff? I think I'd be hesitant to use their services. Too many scammers at that border.

I have a wheeled folding trolley of my own, the problem is it can't go up and down stairs so I have to dismantle it and carry the bags separately down the stairs. It's a real pain.