4evermaat

I'm back upcountry out in the boonies and have my phone tethered to my computer. The speed is very good here;

Last Result:

Download Speed: 7376 kbps (922 KB/sec transfer rate)

Upload Speed: 3256 kbps (407 KB/sec transfer rate)

Latency: 102 ms

Mon Nov 26 2012 18:37:30 GMT+0700 (SE Asia Standard Time)

I think the luck you have in having such a good connection is because the cell tower you are attached to has fewer customers attached, so the appearance is that you have better service (which you do). but a tower with the same capacity but 20 times the subscribers would have a slower response rate.

I'm in a hotel near villa market/major cinema on 2nd road in Pattaya and the My cat is working flawlessly....better than the hotel wifi, which uses a secure login (you have to request unique username/password at front desk which expires after 1-4 weeks)

i did end up using a tour company to do it for about $15 USD (460 baht). A big coach bus from the hotel in SR to PoiPet, then after walking over and waiting almost 2 hours to go through thai immigration, packed a minibus to this restaurant nearby that doubled as a hub to go to either bangkok, pattaya, and other destinations. Had to wait another hour or more for the pattaya minivan. The whole trip took 12 hours to get into Pattaya (06:00 until 18:15 or so). Poipet bus was late, but it did take 3 hours and we got there at around 09:30. Poipet immigration was a breeze; it is thai immigration that takes the longest. After you get your thai immigration stamp, but before you put your large bags in the scanner you are directed to wait for all the red stickers that bought a similar package you did to gather together. Then you all leave together. It wouldn't have been so bad into pattaya, but we made a lot of unnecessary stops in between to pickup and drop off people, plus the gas/toilet stop at the PTT.

And no, the driver dropped us off not on 2nd road as I insisted; apparently to avoid the traffic. It was somewhere way off so that we had to walk. It wasn't until I walked past the Tops Market building that I realized where I was. The tuk-tuks (baht buses) seemed disinterested in wanting to take any passengers. Not sure if they were off duty or what. The same thing happened last night one baht bus was going up a street I wanted to jump on, but he wanted 150 baht. I'm still not up to par on exactly how the pattaya baht bus thing works.

I understand that you can pay a little extra and go through the group tour line (aranyaprathet immigration); not sure how that works. And thai nationals have their own line. Their wait time was no more than 5 minutes.

I don't know if it would have been quicker to just take the poipet only bus ($6 USD) and then seek your own minivan bus to pattaya. I wouldn't have known where to go; the only thing with the proper label was Kasikorn bank and 7-11. I'll see if I can find the name of the company I used.

edit: judging by marinediscoking, maybe it would have been much quicker to take two separate legs and have a greater choice in when to leave aranyaprathet.

What is done about the address and phone numbers? Dont you need to show a ticket in and out for at least O visa?

WDC would NOT be the place to send you lr packet incidentally. Ive been hassled by them for TRs for many years. Half the time I got a call and 3rd degree.

I have no idea who WDC is. The address and phone # can be that of who is in the usa or whatever country that is handling the domestic legs.

Remenber that you are already in contact with the honorary consulate via email, so you already know the required documents depending on visa requested.

No onward plane ticket needed. Why would someone purchase a plane ticket BEFORE they got permission to go somewhere.

Use billpay, usd money order, or your own checkbook if you brought it to forward visa fee payment. You might be able to wrap cash in the express envelope, but do use that as last resort.

"The second best time to plant a tree is today" sent from TV android app (Galaxy Cooper).

I was wondering what is the best strategy to take from siem reap, cambodia to pattaya. My current understanding is that overland, there is no direct bus. I must use at least two legs, breaking up at poipet.

I do not plan to fly.

Any specific minibus or bus companies are appreciated and appx cost.

Ps: should i exchange khmer in siem reap, or is there places on either side of border to do this?

"The second best time to plant a tree is today" sent from TV android app (Galaxy Cooper).

I recommend the op consider what is more important: his (or family's) life or the snakes?

i had to buy one of those mini pitchforks (6-8 spikes, about twice the kength of your fingers) for 50-80 baht at those markets that sell outside tools. then maybe at the same place attach a long bamboo stick; maybe 2-2.5 meters or so. keep it handy until the next spotting.

I'm all for preservation of wildlife, but i do like breathing also. If you find a snake collector or catcher that's available on short notice, great. If not, man up.

"The second best time to plant a tree is today" sent from TV android app (Galaxy Cooper).

Did it again this year. Got the O category instead of ED, but its all the same. The fee is now $200.

Fedex seems to only take 2 days now from malay to usa for document envelopes. Make sure to have 4 copies minimum of the shipping label / customs form in the pouch,

It might take 3 days coming back to malaysia. there is no place to sign the customs form, but i would sign it near the declaration on all copies.

With same day turnaround on all legs, it took 8 days. the rapid penang bus system is effective and i recommend using it (a weekly pass if possible). You call fedex malaysia (free with local 800 number) to schedule pickup. Request 2 LEGAL size envelopes.

"The second best time to plant a tree is today" sent from TV android app (Galaxy Cooper).

Not all USB cables are created equal. Extension cords shouldn't be a problem, but the actual USB cords that are used to connect the different phones to the computer from your phone or for charging are not always the same. This has to do with what the official USB standard is and what the phone spec requires for power draw and making sure that the phone can connect properly to the computer.

I found that tesco brand cables or their white label brands are pretty good all-purpose cables. Other shops it is best to test the cable at the shop with your laptop?

The sim cards should be bought at any TrueMove shop. Not sure if they still hand out the prepaid True H cards for free at the airport. But they are 99 baht and will usually come with 100mb or so of free internet so you can test the service before topping up. With VAT, unlimited internet with 1GB fair use is appx 631 baht? Someone else can chime in with more experience on the pricing; not sure if my price charts are still accurate, they may have additional plans by now. The website isn't as straightforward with a single price list as it used to be. The english pages can take some time to be updated, the thai version equivilant is the one to double-check. The list format is similar, so even if it is in an image format (and cannot use google translate or thai friend is not nearby), you can get the gist of what USSD/SMS codes apply to what plan, and what to sign up for.

The trueMove H sims only have 60 day MAX validity from the last major activity (adding funds, using internet or sim). I had a hack where you can extend the validity by doing a simple check somewhere that was free (check balance). Not sure if you used the connection card software or you used the SMS code to request balance or wifi password. I havent used it in months, so I do not know if this hack still works. I call it a hack because normally you need to top up with actual money to get extensions of validity.

That second image has a promotion from kasikorn bank. Not sure how long that will last for, but is a good price for 1gb.

Where else to buy sim card? 7-11, Family Mart (maybe), tesco, Big C (maybe), Jay Mart, TG phone shop, or some of the major retail shops like power buy and AUTHORIZED major phone dealers (Samsung, Nokia, HTC, etc). But 7-11 should be more than sufficient. Sim card should not be more than 100 baht, and might be free if bought with a dongle or other promotion.

Maybe better to get My by Cat MyClick 590 (631 w/VAT)? Unlimited with 4GB fair use cap. After cap is reached, speed is throttled to 384 kbps, which is actually acceptable for looking at websites, checking email, etc. Post paid (need passport and maybe guesthouse/apt address to mail the bills to, but you could suspend service for up to 6-12 months (someone can confirm this)? I think you need to go in person and fill out a form to suspend or renew service. (maybe you can do it via email with a scanned copy of passport).

Remember, true h/my cat uses 850 Mhz for 3g (UTMS), so make sure your phone or dongle supports that.

The bus company I used from HCMC district 1 to Phnom Penh wanted an extra $5 'stamp fee'. I saw everyone else hand over the extra $5 as if it was no problem. it and I didn't argue too much myself, and there was no problems with getting the visa issued: the driver/attendant did in fact take care of everything. Just needed to get fingerprints and they put the entry stamp in there. Too bad the visa takes up a whole page. <deleted>? edit: no checking of any luggage at customs from vietnam to cambodia. Similar to going from Malaysia (penang) to Thai (Hat yai).

On the Vietnamese side, I don't remember looking at the exit official. The driver just called out the persons name as their exit stamp was completed and we walked out to the bus for a brief shuttle to the cambodia side.

Should I have refused to pay the $5? It was Phnom Phen Sorya Transport.

I used A language lover in Bangkok. 350 baht / page if you give them 2 days or more. If you want overnight, then 700 baht. You email them a clear copy of the birth certificate. Make sure you have the correct english spelling for yourself, spouse or other parent, and child. Ask them to make a clear, color scan of the certified translation and save it as a png file (lossless). then you can convert later to pdf if you need to.

You can print it out yourself; no need for post unless they require an original signature. But a black/white or color photocopy is usually sufficient.

Their passport photo service was excellent also. 150 baht for 6 - 2" x 2" passport photos. I remember 250-500 baht in the states just for 2. And they are coming in handy now as I hop through a few border countries and do visa on arrival.

I'm guessing it is either a genuine bug or a ploy to discourage overbooking promo tickets. But either way, it is annoying to see that you filled out all pages correctly, get to the final payment page, and when you click on the final submit button (final-final) to process your credit card, you get a plain white webpage that says "503 Service Unavailable". The live chat reps appear clueless, and it scared the heck out of me as I had just had an expired session and actually missed out on my first choice of flight. I was able to get the second choice (same day, but later) and then I get that 503 service unavailable crap. I heard of others on TV having this same problem, but having to go through the entire process again. I couldn't risk this promo magically becoming unavailable, so here's what I did:

1) do not close out your browser window. On the same window (or tab) that you see the 503 error page, click the browser's 'back' button. The browser will prompt that it will have to submit/reload 'expired' form information, and ask you for confirmation. Click on 'reload/submit/ok'.

This will NOT process the payment (I originally thought so). It will instead take you back to the final submission page where you confirm the final price and select your payment information again.

2) You will have to re-enter the credit card information and submit the payment form again as usual.

3) If all is well, you will be taken to the 'verified by visa' prompt to complete that step, which is the last form you should have to complete related to payment. Then you wait for the VbV to finish (30-60 seconds).

4) If all is well, you get the coveted success/flight confirmation page. Now you can exhale. Check email within 5 minutes for itinerary.

PS: Was 2560 baht with seat selection, credit card, and shuttle bus to LCCT from Kuala Lumpur, MY to Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam a good deal?

well, you want on Sukumvit, which I do not know. But I do know Wong Wien Yai where we stay about 560 baht/ night for 2 adults. The 3rd adult will be an extra 100 baht. Isara City Hotel.

air con, queen size bed, tv, quiet, and they unlock your room door whenever you come in (no key is given). A family mart and local food vendor is right outside at the corner of the soi. A Robinson's mini mall about 12 min walk or so. A meter taxi to MBK/Siam Paragon is appx 90 baht when traffic is reasonable (moving with the occasional jam). It is about 20-30 baht for motorcycle taxi to Wong Wien Yai BTS station, or 30-50 baht for the tuk-tuk, depending on your foreigner status. Sometimes when you've been walking around all day in Paragon or wherever, you don't even argue over the 10 baht. If you get out on the 'wrong' side of the bts walking bridge, some of the tuks will add a 50 baht 'uturn fee' to the fare when they see your nationality. I suppose you could walk to the BTS station if you were motivated enough.

i'm sure some of the USA sailors will be happy when the pull into port.

Bear in mind that Thai Citizens have not been flavour of the month in Saudi for the past 20 years. And not without some justification.

Why do you think this is so?

The ACS normally does a good job of things. At least you got to mail the form in.

The other side of the building for visas is another story altogether.

Yep. They received the letter on sunday, which I thought was very odd as I sent it saturday. But then I was informed that all mail is routed to a mail processing center for security reasons, which makes sense. So allow 1-2 business days for the staff member to actually receive anything mailed. The processor got it in his hands Tuesday and processed it either that day or the next. Good idea to follow up via email 2-3 days after EMS shows delivered to make sure they received it.

OK maybe it is simply he can choose when 18?

For SSN, yes. I want him to make the choice to attach an SSN if/when he needs it. Although I know several people on some form of 'disability' and are doing quite well for themselves, I'm not big on gov't handouts and the strings that are attached to them. For citizenship, the qualification is through descent. So like I stated previously, the parent passing down the citizenship must do it in person to guarantee it will be done properly. If something were to happen to me and my son later attempted to document citizenship later, it would be extremely more difficult and he is much more likely to receive a run-around at the embassy.

I know a couple of older family members that did not get their citizenship papers done correctly for their children and, like ubonjoe and others have commented the visa process is much less friendly.

Just curious is the child ever going to reside in the US if not why saddle him with having to pay taxes for life regardless of where he lives. i'm sure he'll thank you later for that.

He has nothing to worry about as long as he remains a non-taxpayer. I cannot speak for those in a taxpayer status. Additionally, I did not issue a social security number, despite the insistence of the ACS rep. But if he later wants to volunteer for that; entirely his choice.

On the other hand, if I were to die tomorrow or something happened to me, it would have been nearly impossible for the mother or him to prove US citizenship or become an American national through descent at a later point. I have given him the opportunity to go; but it is up to him to explore the possibilities.

and the online visa doesn't apply to people entering vietnam via land border. maybe cambodia at certain places, but vietnam the eVisa is only for airport arrivals. Everyone else that is not visa-exempt must get a visa from a consulate.

ok. I pulled out too much riggit at the ATM here. I probably won't be pulling out any USD anytime soon.

For vietnam, would you recommend taking USD or THB there? can I get by with USD, or will I have to convert into viet dollars?

There are buses, more or less the same as the ones that goes from Pattaya to Phnom Pheng. On the boulevard, that is the road alongside the river you find travel agents that have information about those. I also recommend you to stay in that area. Many hotels and guesthouses and the beer (draft ankor) is good and cheap.

There is only one boulevard, right?

For shopping take a motorcycle taxi to the Russian market, that is the place, not the central market, much more expensive. You need USdollars in Cambodia. ATM's gives you these, so no local money. Remember you have to bargain everywhere!!!

Have a nice trip

I am traveling through malaysia (penang). Plenty of money exchangers here near Chulia Street (Georgetown), and I was planning on exchanging for USD at least for the Cambodia visa and for the Vietnam visa. Should I just exchange all USD here or are there places in cambodia to do this?

So I guess I'd actually have to pay for 2 visas to cambodia? as if I go to vietnam, I cannot reuse the same cambodian visa, correct?

quick question to you all: do you notice that the hidden intermediary bank or institution will take off $1-10 dollars off of the transfer? Like the final transfer amount BKB received was $3,498 USD (not aud) and the original amount sent was $3,500.

I remember sending a wire transfer to india and someone skimmed $5 from the recipient. Who is the ghost skimmer?

Recent experiences.

SWIFT transfers.

Canada to Thailand 36 hours.

Australia to Thailand 2 hours.

HK to Thailand 2 hours.

Canada to UK -4 days

UK to Thailand 5 days

The UK and in particular Lloyd's TSB seem to be by far the worst and most expensive!

From Aussie to LOS, which bank was that? was there any special service requested? Many transfers to the same account or was that the first transfer? Trying to narrow down the posting time here.

what about coming back from Cambodia (phnom penh) to Pattaya? which company would be good to do this?

It posted this morning. Thanks for all of the feedback.

My Thai Visa card went to bat for me and got me a refund when I had a dispute with the Emporium.

Was this a debit card or a credit card? which bank?

I had a situation with BkB a few months ago where a refund was processed (and I had proof of the void slip + they admitted that it appeared the merchant voided it out). I had to still fill out a claim and it took almost 2 weeks to receive the credit to my account.

edit....but to be fair, I've mostly had no problems with BkB, TMB (hardly use) or K-bank. It may be annoying to fill out certain forms to do things, but I find that if you work it right, the banking can be quite flexible. I can't speak for the Foreign Deposit accounts (I might need one of those).

Perhaps some people can chime in on the FDA or FCA (foreign currency accounts). I hope it is as easy to open as the regular thai savings account. Wires outside thailand are supposed to be much easier with the FCA, with no restrictions.

I had someone wire around $3000 AUD to one of my regular thai baht savings accounts at bangkok bank. The sender inputted the request over the weekend via internet banking and it was sent out this morning from Australia (I don't know the name of the AUS bank).

I triple-checked the name, account #, swift code, and bank name that I gave the sender and they are correct. Previously I received a wire transfer from a broker in Australia within about 8-10 hours or so after they sent it that I remember. (I remember it being very fast). Another much more recent swift wire transfer I observed from USA to India took about 14 actual hours to be credited to the recipient bank. Maybe I'm just being paranoid.

Is there anything that could hold up the deposit of the funds? The only thing I can see on the bangkok bank website is something about the reason for transfer must be included on all transfers, regardless of the amount. Never worried about that before. But I was thinking it was either that, or the sender made a typo, which is unlikely.

Curious for some feedback or other tips, particularly what to ask the bank/sender for if I do end up having to research this.

You made an edit to the topic I got via email, but I don't see it here. I just wanted to say it appears Singapore is strict in their requirements.

So what is the advantage of using the Singapore Thai embassy? Are there any honorary consulates within Singapore? If so, why isn't anyone using them instead of the main embassy?

And was that a single entry or multiple entry non-B?