4evermaat

It really is not as difficult as it sounds, but yes Mario was correct.

Back in the days when I first applied it took eight months of monthly visits to Immigration for a decision.

It is a lot simpler than it once was.

Wow, I guess the young bucks have much to be thankful for paving the way. I understand that the 2nd and subequent extensions are much more straight-forward, requiring much simplier paperwork and no witnesses/wife presence?

There was a small part of me that wants to explore the possibility of doing extensions vs Visa. But I suppose that they intentionally do it this way to prevent abuse of the extension system? Ultimately it causes a burden on people who want to do it legitly and the illegitimate process is still done by those who want it simple and can pay more.

What types of questions do they ask during the interview?

We went in person

No one visited our house,we did provide map and photos

No one came as witness

They did ask details religion of my grandfather who died in 1921 !

Was this the first time?

USAA Federal Savings Bank provides free ACH transfers to Bangkok Bank, which does make a charge to receive them. The resulting cost are about as low as you can get them. USAA provides excellent service, such as its bill pay service. Since their customer base is military, they don't blanche at US expats.

I'm with USAA also...I use them as one of my core accounts and all my BillPay, but I don't use their debit or credit cards since they charge a foreign transaction fee; use other banks for the debit and credit cards....cards which do not provide any foreign transaction fee and reimburse ATM fees if required. Many times a person needs to have several bank accounts to get the best "overall" deal and "cover all the bases"...and then you may want to open few additional accounts as backup, like for backup no foreign transaction fee debit/credit cards, to have a backup if your primary bank(s) change policies. But one thing for sure, I no longer get "fee-frustration" when transferring money or using my debit or credit cards....plus I'm covered under U.S. Consumer Protection Laws vs the little to non-existent Thai Consumer Protection Laws...I think the financial protection laws Thailand has were really written to protect the banks and not the customer. Cheers.

It is likely easier now than a decade ago when communications to home bank was not available about 20% of the time so you had to make repeated trips/use various ATM's to even get the cash (and believe most ATM limits are in the $500 range) so not much cash per day (and special weekend/holiday restrictions) and the danger of your card either losing its mag strip or being eaten or cloned. Having a joint account got an extra card for that case but that is also an added yearly expense.

As said no one shoe fits all - and expect ATM usage is more reliable than when I used it - but for me don't have an issue keeping a few hundred thousand in local account at a high interest rate than in US.

Yep. USAA is a cool bank. And most banks will allow you to request one time or permanent ATM limit increases. Not sure the maximum, but I'm guessing $2000-3000/daily if you really want it. You may have to submit something in writing for permanent increases.

i use the US based site. If I had to guess, the global site is for investors only, I think you need to be a US resident with an address to get the "good" checking account (I use my mothers address, as I live in Thailand).Since most of the bank interactions are done through the mail initially, you will need to have access to the mail from the address you use somehow.

.........

Your relative or mail forwarding company would need to scan your documents and email them to you. Most modern maildrops now offer this service for cheap where they will scan in and email you documents you request. This can cut down significantly on remailer fees. You can request to hold on to originals in the mailbox for an additional fee. But in most cases you don't need it, and the cost savings are significant.

edit: Good advice overall. No fee accounts are the best, followed by lower fee accounts. Also good to check all the different services you would use. domestic and SWIFT/int'l wire transfer fees, atm fees (and reimbursements), foreign transaction fees, ability to use an overseas mailing/billing address, etc. Customer service is another plus, which USAA is very good with (at least full members). I think just having 3-4 good options (including opening an account in thailand at a thai bank, including at least 1 bangkok bank) will put you in a very flexible position should any single option become unavailable or cumbersome.

OP you tried to kill a guy and are mad cause he shot a rock at you with a sling shot?

Yeah, makes sense if he's in Pattaya. Went there for Songkran once; big mistake.

Check out the awesome, respectful and FUN pictures of Songkran in most upcountry places though; Chiang Mai forum for example. I had a great time again this year celebrating with the family. And I do try to educate as much as possible, avoiding various dangers associated with the festival. I educate my kids, and, like above, I educate forum members too.

Someone in teh Chiang Mai forum summed it up very nicely, specifically about the Farang mind-set that a water fight is always an act of competition, or aggression even. In Thailand it remains predominantly a blessing; even when that blessing involves really a lot of water and cheeky fun, the blessing part remains there. But that balance is lost in some people, especially Farangs but also Thais especially when they overdo it with the alcohol, or are just idiots to begin with.

The OP shows this Farang mindset (or gives it away as a trolling attempt) most clearly here:

The property is conveniently placed right around a corner and it is easy to take a speeder by surprise.

The above is really quite ridiculous and shows what I meant when I said that he doesn't get it. Let's hope it dawns on him before next year. ......

I did not use a hose, let alone a high pressure one (I didn't mention a hose at all, but I didn't clarify the exact spashing device I was using). Just a mini bowl scoop (like the ones used for pale flush toilet) and tap water (nothing added). The "pressure" was nothing deadly or anywhere near that. A person (paying attention and/or driving at the speed limit) has enough time to see the water bucket. More than enough people had enough time to wave me off if they didn't want it, although there were a few that did it right as I raised up the dish. So no malicious intent, although I could have phrased the OP a bit better to reflect this.

I only saw one person use what appeared to be a fire hose when I ran into town the day before. It wasn't high pressure, but high volume and because I was stuck behind a car, the width of the spray I couldn't avoid the doucing

......And to remain fair and balanced: Someone who goes out on a motorbike expecting to stay dry but DOES pack a sling shot also needs to go rethink his life.

Especially when there is a beach nearby and a big market up the street. If he is so intelligent, experienced, and wise to his surroundings, why not take a back road or wear a poncho and/or helmet? Some of those other water throwers up the street have ice or put soap, lime juice, or some color chemical in the water. I planned the day so I didn't have to go out, but when I went out, I did so in the morning or late evening. Wore the poncho and helmet. Can't let a few sourpusses kill the whole day. How else could you survive being a TV member for any extended length of time.

the iService is for postpaid sims only. I got to sign up somehow with my prepaid sim, but all of the services were disabled because i have a prepaid sim number.

They do not seem to have a straight-forward "eService" type of online account management the same way that AIS/DTAC have for their prepaid customers.

But yes, you can signup via phone dial (USSD) or sending the correct code to 9789. I have uploaded an image earlier that have the codes. Thank the "My Media" button on TV for ready access. Edit: Note that the terms have changed (lower unlimited use speeds after-fair use cap). The codes are the same. It is also interesting to note that you can also cancel via SMS and I think USSD somehow. So in this way, they are more progressive. AIS tends to make it a bit tricky to cancel a service with SMS/USSD, but adding service is always straightforward

internet/3g packages

Voice Packages

This year I decided to participate in Songkran water spraying. Setup a couple of buckets with water. No added chemicals, just the tap water and I cleaned the buckets ahead of time with soap. The property is conveniently placed right around a corner and it is easy to take a speeder by surprise. Anyway, Sunday I was doing the normal water splashing from various passerbyers with my step-daughter (7 years old) appx 2pm and one older thai man (maybe 40-50-ish years old, riding at moderate speed) pulled over about 30 meters from where i spashed him after hesistating and appearing a little irritated about the spash. It just so happened that there was no one else coming at the time (one of those dead periods where no cars come, followed by a string of cars).

So he still hesistates a bit on his motorbike, then comes off and pulls out a slingshot and proceeds to yell something in thai, and fires a rock at me. He keeps coming closer and I say "cartoot" over and over, but he obviously wants to start something, he fired another shot. I'm contemplating briefly whether I will fist his face or just play it cool. I decide to play it cool and keep repeating "cartoot kup" and it wasn't until my gf steps out and explains in thai that I was just participating in the Songkran festival. He hesitantly goes away, and I continue the day, but the gf keeps the daughter up on the porch area for the remainder of the day. I saw later that his shot pierced a hole in one of the buckets. But he clearly came prepared to "get even" with someone. And it just so happened that virtually no passerby-ers during this time. My gf said he was upset that he got spashed and he did not want to get spashed. Of course he was not wearing a helmet.

Never happened to me before, and of the thousands of people I splashed, one sourpuss.. Judging by other TV posts, it could have been a worse ending; although if harm had come to the daughter, playing it cool would have been off the table. Outside of that, we had fun the entire weekend and it was very interesting to be on the splashing side of things.

Has something similar ever happened to or witnessed by anyone?

edit: I was not on beach road, but about 2km from the beach on the main road.

theres a few to choose from on thung wua laen beach,also known as cabana beach,prices range from 6000bht up to 20000bht a month,i live in a 2 bed/2bath ,air con,house with garden 11000bht month

pay 630bht for adsl,quick enough for livestreaming,truvision cable,chumphon city is 12kms away,quiet beach only about 30 or so expats live here fulltime,most of the europeans go home now for the european summers.

My house is about 100metre walk to beach,plus same distance to cafes/restaurants.

Saphli is 5km away and has a fresh market every day and a bigger one on sunday arfternoons.

We also have a small truck which drives up our soi everyday selling seafood,vegetables and fresh pork and chicken.

Does that truck have young coconuts? Can you inquire on that for me? I've been trying to source a local supplier of young coconots NOT cut, preferibly still bunched (on the stem/rack). Sometimes they have it on the beach, sometimes they don't; I was able to get a rack from a temp vendor selling for songkran.

For the OP, this guide should help.

It is a chronic shame Garrya when the innocent have to suffer!

I have always enjoyed going to Malaysia through Hat Yai, unfortunately the insurance companies appear not to insure you if you are in this area. I was intending to come via this route from Langkawi en route upto Nong Khai but looks as though I will be flying instead.

I hate giving in to these bastards, but when you are abroad I guess you have to heed the advice given and of course the Insurance companies love a "get out clause"!

http://www.smartrave...Advice/Thailand

Do not travel. The security situation is extremely dangerous. This may be due to a very high threat of terrorist attack, widespread armed conflict and or dangerous levels of violent crime. If you are already in a destination where we advise you “do not travel” you should consider leaving unless you have compelling reasons to stay.

Don't believe everything you read. The best time to fly after Sept 11 was shortly afterwards. Cheap airfares, and you could sit just about wherever you wanted. Tragedies will always happen; just pick up the pieces and move on. I wouldn't rely on insurance too much anyway but for major damages, but that's me.

As I understand it, the french guy and his gf sold the business and now I see that shortly afterwards it is for sale. It was great while it lasted, and some of the food may move over to The Good Bar. We will have to see how it all unfolds, but if in fact it is over, was great while it lasted. It would make good business sense to consolidate the joints, assuming they want to renovate the good bar (perhaps a larger outside covering for people to eat (the new owner owns both) although it was hard to beat the old location for Ok Mai.

The food was usually fantastic, and it was one of the few places where you could get authentic pizza.

Before the micro USB cables became pretty much the standard, I did have problems with the mini USB cables bought from shops or ones that came with cheap devices. I threw several of them away. The ones that came with my Garmin GPS units have never been a problem and will work with anything that uses the minis.

It turns out that the tesco-branded one or the one they sell in tesco (UFO) worked perfectly. Funny as the shop I bought two of the non-working ones normally sells excellent equipment like blank DVDs, spare cables, spare remote controls, etc, although not a phone specialty store. That was the only reason why i bought a second one from the same store; gave them the benefit of the doubt. Tesco was right upstairs, too. The Big-C / tesco cords are generally great quality. And you can always "take it back" if in fact it didn't work. I didn't think you could could go wrong with a micro-usb cord.

BUMP:

I need to replace my Macbook Pro Battery: Its the removable type from the 1st Gen Unibody design Macbook Pro (now 3 year old).

Hence, all I need is a spare battery to slot in and clip the base back in.

Does anyone know where in Bangkok and how much?

Also there is a mention of cheaper batteries for the MBP, are they any good, the same, poorer? I really have little idea here so if anyone with first hand experience knows I'd appreciate the feedback.

It might be a silly question - any iStudio could sell them, but I've never seen them before and don't want to go driving from shop to shop if there are only a few places I can find one, equally so I don't want to drive to fortune or panthip unnecessarily if the iStore down the road has them.

The iStore below seems to have OEM Apple parts from hong kong. I bought a battery for a macbook 2007 model and it is still chugging along fine. Sometimes the battery will charge to 98-99% and hold, but that is a common problem for some batteries. Maybe I will reset to PRAM again and see what happens.

I can add that they are on MRT, Phra Ram 9 station.

http://www.fortunetown.co.th/index.php/contact-us/map.html

and I will also upload the map here for reference.

The name is iStore is on the 4th floor of fortune IT mall. Pink/white logo near the end of the computer/printer section. (away from tesco) 086 302 2218.

Not sure if he will repair or have the exact part. Maybe he can order. traffic can be bad in that area of town at most times of the day. Take MRT or a minibus if there is one.. A taxi can easily add 100 baht on meter just waiting for traffic to move. tollway or not, that area gets packed sometimes.

"2nd best time to plant a tree is today." Sent from ThaiVisa app.

.....

look at the source of the download if coming from Adobe or not, just good sense;-)

"Hackers trick Mac users into downloading the virus by disguising it as an update to Adobe Flash video viewing software."

So you have to download and install yourself the virus??

Another PR stuff from AV vendors.

A virus use a vulnerability of an Operating System, which is not the case here.

yes. if someone downloads something AND gives the program permission to make changes on the computer, it could cause the user problems. its very doubtful, as system files require admin password to access.

i have little snitch installed. so any program accessing the internet must seek my approval. and you cal limit this to program + specific port requested. and you can grant access once, until the program quits, or always.

unrestricted internet access is key component to a virus spreading very rapidly.

Tricking people into downloading malware or into visiting an infected site is the number one way it is spread these days. A link in your email is all it takes. Macs are just as vulnerable to this kind of attack as anything else.

the user is almost always the weakest link. after switching to xp, sp2 with an integrated firewall, i soon discontinue the private firewall/antivirus. similar to the medical community, the 'virtual doctors' make money with their spookish fear-mongering.

"2nd best time to plant a tree is today." Sent from TV android app.

Earth hour the biggest joke ive ever heard, oh sorry i forgot man made global warming and god, in that order

Not the point is it - there is ignorance everwhere - even an idiot is open to constructive dialogue.

But it is because really if u want to save the planet ( and I think us not being here at all would be so much better) Then you'd better sell your car/bike, stop flying, get your electric disconnected and go back to living in a cave, and yes Im serious. oh or hang on we could turn the lights off for an hour??? what do you think the power stations will cut output for 1 hour??? Does it mean we get an extra hour before the -planet dies later?

Re cycle -plastic, humph we shouldnt be producing it to start with, your'e in Thailand wrap it in a banana leaf.

All pointless Thais couldnt care less and 99% of the Asian developing countries ditto along with the U.S etc etc

the little that we do really has no affect on the planet as a whole. what you do affects YOU more than anything. i think there was an old thread that talks about the things people do to save money in thailand.

I try to save water and electricity by having my morning shower with my girl friend and her two lovely sisters. We all get to soap each other's bodies. Unfortunately, it sometimes takes longer than expected.

this technique, while logical, may eventually cause resentment between some of the parties involved. you must make sure each person gets equal soap time.

"2nd best time to plant a tree is today." Sent from TV android app.

Keep in mind that you can bring only one liter per person though.

Yes, of course, that's true, at least according to the regulations on the book.

So not like I'm going to make a trip specifically for that purpose. But if the wife and I happen to be traveling, it certainly makes sense to bring back two liters or so of something nice.

I'd never done that before living in the U.S., except I think some beer and/or tequila from Mexico a long time back. But living here in Thailand and its over-dutied market for non-local spirits, it absolutely makes sense if traveling to Cambodia, Singapore or similar places.

Do The thai officials actually check at the land borders how much alcohol you have? The land borders are generally very lax, although I have not yet hopped over to Cambodia.





I'd sure like to gain some understanding of how Cambodia, starting from how far it had fallen years ago with the Khmer Rouge and civil war, now has managed to gain such a seemingly good/large population of young people, at least in PP, who have become quite conversant in English. It does indeed seem to put Thailand to shame. Whatever recipe the Cambodians used to achieve that, the Thais and their dubious education system (and not just in regards to English) ought to seriously consider importing it.





The recipe Cambodia used to get such good English skills, is grinding poverty and despair as a result of civil war and genocide. Learning English is a way out, so they work hard to learn it.

When I was in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, I was amazed that even the motorcy guys could speak decent English. After talking with them, many of them could speak Thai too. One I had for 3 days had worked in construction in Thailand, he learned Thai on the job and attended English classes as well, and bought a motorcycle on returning home and started offering tours of Angkor Wat. He spoke better English than some Thais that have degrees from America do


I think a lot of it is the same reason why it seemed so interesting that Jamaica would compete in a bobsleding race. It is always amazing to see people that can do so much with so little. Although I do not personally care if English is well spoken by the locals. As I am a guest, it's more of a bonus. As a tourist it would be of interest for some of the major modes of transportation and some destinations of interest if a few of the staffers speak it.





I am currently in PP for a month and concur with everything previously said. I am impressed with the wide streets and general cleanliness.
The locals tell me that power is very expensive here though, but I am not in a position to verify.
I think I will not visit Thailand as often after this.




Yes Electricity is expensive compared to Thailand....and many blackouts in Sihanoukville.


In the spirit of keeping the thread accurate, can someone post some numbers? How much baht or USD per "unit" (Kilowatt) for electric. In thailand, it is appx 3.7ish baht/unit with vat. And how often do they have blackouts? Are they scheduled or do they just happen? edit: It seems that phuketrichard answered this question. About $.25/unit.

Do they have electronic mall or something that mimics the likes of Pantip to suit computer needs? Is a warranty pretty much out of the question?

Thanks guys. Been following the email updates, but havent had a chance to post in a while.

edit: surprisingly, no one has talked about the banking situation. (Opening account). From TallJonny's initial reports, it doesn't seem like they have a good banking structure if atms are difficult to find.

edit 2: forgot to ask about renting motorbike. Although it appears that tuk-tuk/taxi is already reasonably priced, I still like my own transportation for longer visits.

Thanks for the replies on the internet. Anyone familiar with landline internet? What kind of speeds can one order/expect (Mbps down/up) and cost. What documents are required? BTW, is there anything extra required for foreigners to signup for any type of utility/service besides your passport?

..............

That's correct, you get a big blue extension of stay sticker (3 months, 6 months or 12 months). I quoted the service price for 12 months at $280. The actual fee is something like $275 and visa dudes charge anywhere from about $280 to $3## for the service. 12 month extensions are always mutliple entry, not sure about the others. It's all perfectly legit and official.

.........

The 12 month extension is for business? can business be conducted on this visa?

Besides cost, is there any other advantages for having a long-stay visa for navigating around? For example, bank account in thailand may be easier when you can show a non-imm vs only a visa exempt stamp.

Nice info - I fully agree about the Cambodian's command of English and their attitude to service compared to Thais. It puts the Thais to shame really, esp. in BKK. Same with the Laos. I think it's because the Thais don't need to try hard enough. Your report is very practical - any comments on local/western food and accommodation and tourist sites quality/price?

................

Re the question about western food, Emily and my posts above have touched on various individual places and the general trends. In Phnom Penh, there's certainly a wealth of choices at prices ranging from affordable to pricey, whatever suits your budget. I think a foreigner could easily manage to eat quite well there without breaking the bank by any means. But there are gaps...as I said above, I saw nary a McDonald's or a Starbucks in PP... Doesn't bother me any, but might be important to some people.

About accommodation, did you mean hotel/tourist type places...or apartment/condo type places for a resident?

I am also equally interested in the long-stay type of guesthouses/apartment options. It appears that there is no $100 studio-type box options without air, mini balcony a plus for hanging clothes?

At those times when we might be p!ssed off with Thailand, this a good post to remind us why we left our home countries.

I am sad for you and your wife, and hope she is simply humouring you about your phobia. Please learn to get out and get dirty more often, you'll live a longer and happier life.

The sadness of course is that they are necessary. Violence like that is fortunately confined to one narrow type of vocational school here, and is seasonal. Back home in the US it's normal in the big cities.

Recent estimates are that over 25% of deaths while under treatment in the west is due to mistakes by the doctor or other hospital staff. There might be more "accountability" though malpractice torts in the US, but that's also had extremely negative consequences.

Better to realize you win some you lose some, enjoy as much as you can and accept it when the tables turn - don't overvalue your own life, we're all insignificant ants here for but a short stay anyway.

Yep. No time to miss anyone or anything because you are alive. We cant take the physical attachments, and we cannot take the mental attachments with us either.

There are opportunities for aging Western men. They exist because these men were lucky enough to have won the birth lottery and were born in the West and not in Thailand. That is funny about these topics, imho.

Thais already live in paradise. Western countries tore down their paradise and put up parking lots.

OK - here is the latest:

Spoke to Bangkok Bank Help Desk again yesterday.

They said that the ability to pay TOT bills by Bangkok Bank Biz IBanking had been cancelled by TOT and a senior Rep from Bangkok Bank would call me in an hour to explain.

Called TOT Help Desk - eventually got someone to understand what I was asking. They confirmed I could not longer pay though Biz IBanking due to a technical problem and she did not know how long this would take to fix.

Rep from Bangkok Bank called and told me that TOT had withdrawn this facility due to a Withholding Tax problem.

From what I could gather this was just an issue with Business Banking and not the personal Bualuang Banking. That does not help me as I do not want to mix company and clients funds with my personal funds.

So is this a load of BS or do you other folk out there now have this problem?

- check to see if you can pay @ atm. if this works, then you're only a short trip away.

- i would open a new personal account in the same province as biz acct and setup iBanking but only use it to pay bills. in thailand, i doubt it would matter legally what acct you paid from. but for your own records, that separate acct helps keep you biz-related transactions separate from your other personal accts.

- or open a biz acct with a different bank that is still ok with tot payments.

- or announce to your clients that tot is no longer available for pay online. you must go in person to pay and you can add 10-30 baht for this privledge. i think this would be a better solution, as i'm sure you must go into town at some point. just do the customary double-check of paperwork to confirm acct #s/invoice # match.

If a person knows they will be out of country/won't get the bill in the mail which has the payment Reference Numbers needed to make the internet payment, there is always the option of going to a TOT service center (lots of them around...usually in a mall near you) and overpaying/prepay for the next month(s). And although I've never done it, I bet a person could overpay a bill via internet banking and when the next bill comes it will just show a credit which means you don't need to pay anything. But I know this depends on having the time to do this before leaving and sometimes a person don't have that time, especially in an emergency. I'm not a fan of overpaying just to create a credit on the account, but it is an option.

And just think, by overpaying/prepaying you are helping a semi-government agency like TOT to maintain their high quality of service and cash flow...boy, I almost choked in typing that line.

i dont have too many postpaid bills, but i always pay 2-3 months at a time. for tot, i paid the year in advance.

if you know you will be out of the service area or country, it is your responsibility to suspend/pause service. you call or visit the company office to do this.

. So, what do people do when they are out of the country and one of these bills comes due?

Maybe I'm missing something here..... But, all my utility accounts in Thailand (phone, electricity, internet, cell phone) have been set-up to be automatically direct debited, in full, to my Bangkok Bank account. All's I have to do is ensure I keep enough money in the bank account to meet the fairly predictable monthly amounts due. This Bangkok Bank account is one of several we have, all linked to an iBanking account, so we can view the utility payments on-line (and keep the account sufficiently topped-up, as needed).

Did the same thing in the States -- everything direct debited, in full, from my bank account. Never saw much use in the on-line "bill pay" feature, where, unless the amount due is the same every month, you have to physically fat-finger in monthly applicable amounts and numbers. Too lazy -- plus, maybe I'm not available or it's not very convenient.

And, just as in Thailand, you make the direct debit arrangement through the utility, not your bank.

never allow a company to direct debit from your account. billpay or paying at atm/payment center fullfills this purpose and you have full control over start/stop of payment. as someone already mentioned, if there is a billing discrepancy, they have your private banking info + your consent. i dont care what country you are from, but especially thailand. billpay is usually free and gives you a much needed layer of protection. it is also one or two points of payment vs 5-10 or however many separate bills you pay.

"2nd best time to plant a tree is today." Sent from TV android app.

the police were sneakily staged in the morning for two hours at a major intersection < 2km from the thung wua laen beach. none of the locals wear helmet for short distant travel, especially songran?

not sure if they will do this each morning, but you have to admire the ambition. TiT

ps: maybe the general forum is better category?

"2nd best time to plant a tree is today." Sent from TV android app.

Your definitely looking in pretty much everything... according to your posts

- 19y old, one trip to Thailand, now back in Canada

- trying to find somebody in Koh Samui to export "items" to you

- have safed 5 grand but want to spend them travelling from Canada through Europe to Thailand an low wage jobs...

- but thinking about currency dealings and asking this question on a Thailand forum....

must be your age, I would guess... so you are excused for "looking into pretty much everything"...

good to know I have a stalker. whats wrong with looking into everything?

it's good that you want to explore. some good forums to get free information about basic terminology as well as research brokers and other trader experiences.

babypips

forexfactory

forex-tsd

elitetrader

the same basics of practice until you master whatever your goal is applies. i suggest practicing "the 4 agreements" and go explore the possibilities.

if i had to do it again, i would start my trading career in thailand, columbia, or another area where the cost of living is much cheaper, less stress, and your head can be clear to develop your trading strategies.

and i suggest visiting the countries that have the cheaper cost of living first

"2nd best time to plant a tree is today." Sent from TV android app.

good to see alternative. usually for prepaid ais, use *121# to check balance/validity. 121*1# to check bonus money., 121*2# for mao-mao minutes used/expire date.*777# to see current plan details. *139# to check plan usage.

"2nd best time to plant a tree is today." Sent from TV android app.

I use a US credit card (Capital One) at Friendship and so long as the cashier gets the approval from the electronic machine that verifies the card there is never a question

I think your concern about the Thai Police getting involved is a little over the top and just how many cashiers here in Thailand can even read English letters, no less, signatures

Why does your wife carry your personal Debit card? Should it not be in your wallet? I'm from Toronto and NOBODY there ever checks the signature strip but I see it usually being checked here in Thailand. Maybe Thailand is not so backward as we all think.

+1. a couple of times out of 1000 ive seen the signature check done. you really have to treat your thai credit/debit cards like cash.

with some foreign debit cards, you can afford to be careless because the consumer protection laws force the banks to investigate/side with the consumer, especially when fraud is involved. a lot of that has to do with how credit works, esp in usa. if the consumer isnt confident about using credit, it doesnt work.

"2nd best time to plant a tree is today." Sent from TV android app.

The Deluxe Suicide Tourism-Thailand Package. When you really want to get away from it all.

Includes:

1 way flight.

A deluxe room on a 5th high floor. (*upgrade to higher floor additional fee)

A voucher for a 3-some in a Walking Street short time room. Free Viagra included. (*Lesbian shows and addition fee.)

Last meal. (*not including alcoholic beverages)

Draft of suicide note. (*translations 400 Bt per page)

Barricades to keep pedestrians away from the landing zone.

Plastic sheeting.

Cleanup crew. (*stain remover included)

Funeral with minimum 3 mourners. (*For our Muslim clients, wailers/screamers a small additional fee.)

Cremation/Burial.

(*For those having second thoughts, we can provide "pushers" for an additional fee.)

Jed McKenna would be proud. Well written.

Actually the OP is not correct, except in one case.

Yes, DTAC/Happy did change the terms on one, single unlimited package, 399 baht/1 GB. Previously the fair-use speed was 384 kbps, now it is 64 kbps. I changed to this plan when it was first introduced, and when I saw this change a few weeks ago (I did highlight it in one or more relevant threads) registered a complaint and was informed my package will be honored, so 384 Kbps for me. It remains to be seen if they actually do that, but I am also a bit careful on usage switching to WiFi where available.

All of DTAC/Happy's other unlimited plans retain the 384 Kbps fair-use speed (daily, weekly, 3 GB and 5 GB).

AIS/One-2-Call's unlimited plans (3 GB, 5 GB) retain the 384 Kbps fair-use speed.

TrueMove H's unlimited plans (3 GB, 5 GB and 10 GB) all have a fair-use speed of 128 Kbps.

http://www.happy.co....mid=368〈=en

http://www.ais.co.th...rnet-package/#2

http://www.truemove-...ay-topping.aspx

Hi everyone,

well, I'm on a TRUE-H 999 Baht 5GB unlimited package and always enjoyed 300+ KB/s beyond. BUT:

since last night about 20:00 I get almost nothing, only about 20-30 KB. Sometimes nothing, that I can't even see who's online on Skype. It was so all day long today and still is. I just spent quite some time with the TRUE 1331 service. I was told that they are applying "fair usage policy. Yes, I said, but that is 384KB. Yes, but 384 KB is the maximum, but if there are many users in your area that speed can drop. I askedKhun Tamaiporn who was the Senior officer in charge (supervisor was in a meeting) to check if they were doing some work in my area (northern Surin province) which could be the culprit. She said there was nothing reported.

So, they might throttle down at TRUE-H as well! If that is true, what a bunch of loonies.

I can confirm that after I went over my 3GB fair use on the True H prepaid plan, I got throttled down to between 9-16KB/s. This was downloading from a seedbox using http (not bittorrent). I had to pause to view websites, which i had to consider turning off images so that the websites could load quickly .

I just spoke to Dtac, the girl said to me that they had to drop to 64 kbps because people were abusing the service... Why am I not surprised by this

How can people abuse the service if it is being capped? That is the whole point of the cap. I think the bigger issue is in how much capacity do the carriers possess for regular users. If (for those on prepaid or have multiple sim cards) I can cancel the service and re-signup. Then you start fresh with more pre-fair use bandwidth depending on the plan. You have to pay for this, but you can satisfy a larger appetite for fast data this way.

Seems like the best method is (for true H) is to sign up for postpaid plan from MyByCat MyClick 4GB. Then have a prepaid (or another postpaid plan) sim on standby so that you can order more data on separate sim. Actually two postpaid sims from MyByCat would set you back 631 x 2 = 1262 baht for 8gb. Too bad there isn't a way to bond two or more usb stick connections into one usb router.

I have a separate question: can you force 2g only and use Edge at full speed instead of using the fair use speeds of 3g, which might actually be worse? A friend of mine says that he actually does that because it is more stable that way, especially if your connection keeps switching between 2g and 3g.

The beginning of the end of anything resembling fair pricing.

I was surprised that they (I use True-H - 384kbps) throttled at all, and didn't just cut off / revert to "per Mb" pricing as most of the gsm providers in the so-called "developed world" do.

Sad to see the end of a realistically throttled speed here. Hope True-H don't follow suit too soon. It would be very smart of them not to, they'd probably get a very healthy uptake of "churn" (industry term for people ISP/Provider hopping) as people run away from AIS & DTAC. Sadly that would mean their pipes getting clogged faster and them seizing the opportunity once they've got a bunch of people on board to also start more severe throttling.

The markup on data on 3g is quite staggering if you do the math, rivalled only by the profit margin on an sms...

In Malaysia, Digi actually has some caps on the maximum per day charges if you don't have any plan at all. They also have reasonable fair use caps. First time I've ever seen that, as normally the only protection you usually have is keeping a low balance on your phone.

CAT is much better and I haven't been throttled at all. AIS was a joke they throttled me after 10 days into the billing period same usage and no throttling on CAT.

msgtb

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

Are you referring to My by CAT (hspa) or the CAT CDMA (cdma)? I can confirm CAT CDMA is still unlimited and I still get 2-3Mbps down most days. Since I am still on waiting list for landline service, I decided to use CAT for downloading big files, and Truemove H/My by Cat for regular browsing.