4evermaat

From Patong head over the hill towards Karon Beach. at the Karon Circle take the left exit through Karon Village, keep on going through Kata main road (not beach road) over the next hill to Chalong Circle, first exit, and Home Pro Village is about 70m on the left. Villa Market is in HomePro Village.

Suggestion ... before you go to Villa Market, have a look in the Patong Deli on Rat-u-tit Road, past the main Post Office.

Thanks.

I am familiar with the Patong Deli. I will recheck them out. I wish i could bring the thai symbol for quinoa and show them. But i cannot find it. on google translate. Their english isn't great. But a trip out there wont kill me. and it isnt far from where i need to go.

Villa market chalong has a selection of nuts and grains individually divided.

Hope they have quinoa.

Can you give me a rough idea of how to get there from patong beach (Junceylon)?

We are an online health food store however we are based in the south of Thailand and offer free pick up in Kata/Kata Noi area, but we do not have a shop to browse. I am out of quinoa now but can have it soon. Also I have Himalayan Salt which is also unprocessed and full of minerals as well.Plenty of other good things also such as wheat free-organic soy sauce made with sea salt. Raw nuts and seeds etc petro free/papba free/fragrance free body care<br>detoxing stuff The selection is constantly expanding as we have just launched. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or request, we have great sources all over Thailand and many hard to find items too.<br><br>Click here for the link. <a href="http://www.thailandphukethealthfood.com" class="bbc_url" title="External link" rel="nofollow external">Good Karma Thailand</a><br>Also we support the Health forum.<br>

<br>hi, we have a full range of products which may suit your needs.<br><br><a href="http://phukethealthshop.com/" class="bbc_url" title="External link" rel="nofollow external">http://phukethealthshop.com/</a><br>

Let me know when you have the quinoa especially. Speaking of which, how do you say quinoa in Thai? if you can post the Thai symbols and the roman pronunciation, that would be great for my girlfriend.

For Good Karma Thailand, do you deliver to kata? If you do not have a storefront, how could I come check out your product?  It would be great if you had bulk quinoa and then you could sell it by the kilo.

For phukethealthshop.com, I dont need supplements.  I need somewhere that stocks fresh or dried fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains, preferibly organic. Separated (not mixed together) so that you can pick which ones you want. Also seasonings of the same caliber. Similar to a supermarket, but much smaller. Specifically what I'm asking for. If you can point me in that direction, you can be of great help.

I was looking for quinoa grain as well as ground sea salt. Quinoa is so much less sticky and lighter than rice, yet I'm clueless as to where to find it. I tried to use google translate to show my girlfriend the thai version of word quinoa, but no luck.

I'm also disappointed on how expensive virgin coconut oil is from thailand. Or is 200bht for 200ml about right? Baanzan sells the cheap coconut from Laos with the golden tint to it.

I have a motorbike so can travel nearby (like phuket town) to get it. If you know the prices, that would be helpful also.

I have used Commonwealth bank on several occassions to transfer money to Thailand and have never had any issues. I have always done this via internet banking and you get to choose to send it in AUD. It does take a few days to arrive in the Thai bank account however.

There is another company in Sydney (X Wing) that will also transfer money to Thailand for you and the rate is normally pretty good. I have not used them to transfer money to Thailand but I have used them to Transfer money to Australia and was very satisfied. Thai banks make you jump through so many hoops to transfer money out of the country and this was so easy. We simply transferred the funds from our Thai Bank to their Thai bank and within approx 2 hours (once they could verify the tranfer had gone through) I walked into their office and collected the cash ($10,000). The rate was also very good.

do you have a website for this company?

Why dont you just ask your friend who told you that Phuket was the same cost wise as C/M ?

My friend must be going to the more expensive places. I can always make new friends

I'm can only presume that you are indeed comparing C/M to Phuket in your post [ you dont actually say so.] but i will go with the fact that you are. I disagree wholeheartedly with your friend, sorry.If you are comparing Hua Hin or Pattaya,or PARTS of BKK i agree but definately not C/M.! As i said in OP , near nothing is comparable in cost, most places on the island [ sure , you can buy at cheap prices in various , more secluded Thai areas ] but to say is the same in C/M as Patong is way, way wrong. transport to food,A to Z and especially as you mentioned ACCOMMODATION costs in C/M are way lower than not just Patong , but Phuket in general[once again , in certain areas you can get relatively cheap] but for my family these do not suit. I live in a huge complex with pool,magic mountain views, near all amenities in a 54 meter , mid to uprange fittings and furniture condo and pay 10,000 baht monthly.A mate lives in a similar size and condition in Phuket palace near Patong and pays 17500 monthly.

Says it all as far as my pension goes ..sorry im not one of you have it alls so have to balance the budget monthly..so definately helps confirm my choice FOR ME to live in C/M and not Phuket ...At least i gave the time and effort and cost to actually come here and do a FULL cost comparison for myself and not go on heresay or he, she they said etc .

I was comparing phuket to c/m. Good job. How are the women out there?

For me its not simply the costs.. Its the quality.. Theres a kind of classyness and charm to it.

......

Of course it is cheaper (nuovo elegance 3k a month, PCX for 3.5.. No need to leave a passport) 1 bed service apartment with TV and internet, nicely furnished etc 8k for the month utils included.. A mod for my car I have been looking to get done on Phuket for multi thousand baht got quoted 650b first place I asked. But the cost isnt the attraction, the super easy going manager, who checked us in without even asking for the money (no problem, pay me when your settled). Attitudes in a tourist economy are that your there to provide their income, through fair means or foul (I see JJ is up to his old tricks.. Boasting 'you can see me on the internet' while he keeps extorting money unpunished) and that bleeds into so many other interactions.

Is this chang mai?

I was thinking of moving to chang mai. I'll need a rundown of the different places to stay. I'm looking to spend under 6k for rent. I want to either own a moterbike in girlfriends name, or rent one monthly for 2.5k-3k bht. I want to be close (within 5 km to a shopping district with at least one major superstore)

how much is the visa run in chang mai? How long does it take?

I guess it is true that you can retire on 550 usd a month, eh? i do want to make sure that the move is justified. I dont have too much stuff.

Everything you need to buy here is at a far greater price than the north from A thru to Z .No exceptions, even the prices in Carrefour and big C are up. I wont even mention the excuse for public transport ,or rather, the lack of, and what there is ..tuk tuks is 10 times the price!! Yes , i realise that if living here transport is probably your own vehical, but your own vehical has many limitations, re parking and mafia damage. Everything from a basic noodle or rice dish and especially fish..we buy fresh seafood inC/M cheaper than here and its caught and landed here, not transported great distance as it is to C/M.Why??

i think you'd have to go into phuket town to get the cheaper prices. i was a little surprised by the cost of seafood myself at some of the stores. I went to a market outside the Phuket rajabhat university and the prices on seafood and just about everything else was cheaper. I was kind of surprised at how cheap some of the stuff was.

Interesting thread. A friend of mine who is in parong now was saying it was about the same amount of money to live in patong beach (assume a 7000/mo guesthouse or at with electric included). and to be close to everything.

My wife's cat had kittens two months ago. Still have two of them that would like to give away. We live at Loch Palms in Kathu, just over the pass from Patong. PM me if interested.

Thanks. sent pm. There are a lot of stray cats around, but just dont seem to find many pregnant ones.

know anywhere that specializes in cat toys. Carrefour did't have too much.

As far as food is concerned, i'm seeing that, while the wet canned food is cheaper and better quality than the health food store cat food in the USA, it is almost as cheap to just buy cooked fish in the fish dept. not sure if they sell canned fish.

Have you actually used those no name copy phones ?? Usually awful UI and terrible failure rate.

I would stick to big names.. But then not trying to find phones for 600 baht either.

the 600 baht phone was just for backup while i research a good copy or brand name phones for a couple thousand bhat. There are the copes like imibile and jphone, etc. then there are the copies that are disguised as brand names. some of those can fool you if your not careful.

Back in the states, i could get a great brand name try or quadbad phone for 2-5000 bhat new or refurbished on ebay or a local reseller. I'm seeing the some of the same phones here for 8000-15000. I'll admit, i havent been to every shop yet. So i guess i'll keep ckecking and building honest contacts. Hopefully by Oct 6th, i'll have my new phone in hand.

Not sure if i should have posted this in the locan forum, but i'm looking for a kitten in patong beach. In the united states, people often give them away on craigslist or sell them cheap. Where do they give them away or sell cheap in Patong Beach?

Middle floor at Central....basement at Big C...top floor Junk Ceylon or at Tesco Lotus

I also go to the big market near phuket town on Saturdays/sundays. There is only one guy that sells cell phones.

Have not checked out middle floor of central. "Junk-celon" IT Island at top floor tends to be too pricey. You can look into their eyes and see the "how much can i sucker out of this farang" look.

Big C and Lotus are interesting shops.

You can get a color MP3 playing cam phone for 1000 baht.. new with warranty (tesco lotus) OK looking ones for 1300 baht.

Why buy second hand with an old battery and no warranty ?

I was hoping to grab a couple of spare phones for 3-600 bhat untill i was ready to buy a nice phone. I realized that the "copy" phones are much more functional out here than the "real" phones, unless you can get a brandname pda/smartphone with thai language. The stick/slider phones that are genuine brand name are not worth the price. I bought a new genuine samsung slider 2010 model phone for 2500 baht. It was dual band, only had 1.3 MP camera, and the internal memory was like 10 MB. Any songs stored on the SD card could not be used as a ringtone. I could not customize the home screen keys.

Compare that to my ex-girlfriend's "nokia" stick phone. If it had a full qwerty keypad, it would be excellent.

I wouldn't even been in this predicament if someone hadn't stolen my genuine blackberry. oh well.

But your point is valid, as i was wondering if all the running around is worth it.

Perhhaps i'll tart another thread asking if there are any second hand shops around. Dont see too many yard sales going on. Big Market cannot be the only swap meet in phuket.

I've been looking for a store or swap meet or flea market that specializes in used phones or second hand phones in or around patong. Please advise.

You have to learn to let it go, you let every little things of every day getting to you and the pressure is building in you, you get frustrated because you can't change those little things who are getting to you, you have no control on them. Face it you can't change the way the Thai are driving anytime soon, the only solutions are to move out of Thailand or to learn to let it go. By the time you get up in the morning until you go to bed at night you let the pressure go up all day long and you are like a pressure cooker ready to explode, you are projecting that image of you to other people you interact with and nobody want to be the detonator of that pressure cooker particularly the Thai people who don't know how to handle that kind of rage. Right now you are harming yourself both mentally and physically by letting those little things getting to you, you have to learn to let it go, don't let this stress getting to you and learn to become more Zen in your life.

Holding on to the past makes it very difficult to enjoy what is happening now. Isn't it amazing that whenever you do finally move on, you realize that lthe circumstances you were in previoussly work themself out anyway?

Indeed, as I wrote in my post I got days that the "thainess" bothers me but as above poster said you gotta let things like that go since we can change/control them.

I know many might say : Easy to write this but can you actually do it? Well somedays yes somedays no, on the no days which are rare I tend to stick to myself and find mu own little spot to reflect on things.

After that I'm ready again to handle "Thainess"

The 4 agreements were designed to assist in this process of staying in the present moment. Most people focus on trying to change all of the Secondary characters in their life story. But those secondary characters are causing secondary problems. To solve the main problems, you must transform the MAIN character of the story, which of course is you.. Then you will see changes in your life.

I totally agree with the point you make here. I do at times get annoyed, but rarely now as I have accepted the way things are and getting angry makes you look rather foolish. If you just sit back and relax, and become more "Thai" then you gain respect, instead of looking like a stupid farang throwing a tantrum. It took me a few years to attain this attitude though!

Indeed, it takes time and not everyone succeeds in it.

Gotta work on it everyday .

Just as we learned to write or speak, Repetition and Practice makes the master. There's no kitchen recipe on the art of living. It takes a strong will to adopt even 1 of those 4 agreements. but each time you follow them, you gain more awareness and power. Before you know it, no one will be able to send you any emotional poison. And you will even find it funny how others who were trying to send you all that poison were taking it personally. Sometimes you have to refrain from laughing.

The problem is not the perception.. It is not my attitude to life.. I live a rich and varied life that I enjoy enormously..

The problem is I can no longer keep sweeping the garbage under the rug, I can no longer keep looking away from the crimes committed against me, I can not longer keep smiling while being shafted. If people would stop crapping on me and people I know, there would be no need to leave.

In the last 3 months one person I know was shot, another was held up at gunpoint in his own home, a 3rd had his house broken into and a 4th had his dog poisoned.. Thats in 3 months !!! And I am supposed to balance that with 'positive vibes and energy' !!

Well, whether you choose to stay or leave, I wish you the best and hope you do your best.

I guess I should summarize a negative experience I had with a guesthouse in Patong Beach in the Royal Paradise Complex called Family 2003 guesthouse. I actually moved in when the place was empty and got air condition, balcony, cleaning everyday for 7000 bht/mo. including electicity and water. Many locals said I got an excellent deal. Anyway, on the second month, the manager started acting funny. Started complaining that she was having to clean too often (about every other day or so). Long story short, she wanted 9500 bhat for the next month. But her attitude was that she really didn't want me there anymore. I later found out that some of the other Thai tennants found out that I was paying 7000 for the same size room they were paying 9500 for and they were asking questions (jealousy). My friend said it was common for some thais to get jealous. Plus now that the guesthouse was full(er), the owner perhaps was less willing to be flexible and was more concerned about the bottom line.

So I told my GF that I had no problems leaving if that's what the owner wants, but I would have to get back my deposit + the unused rent. I stayed 1/2 the month, so it was about 3500 bhat + 2000 bhat deposit. Well on move out day, the manager barely wanted to give me back my deposit! Long story short, I got deposit but not pro-rated rent. So I "lost" 3500 bhat. But I didn't take is personally, and did my best to secure a new room (actually I already secured the new room as I anticipated a situation with the money aspect of the deal).

I didn't think it was such a big deal, but no worries. I simply tone it down. And by not taking it personally, I let go and was able to find another place for 5500 bhat. electric was 5bht/unit and water is about 1 bht/unit. And I'm with more honest people now anyway.

3rd month ?? Thats a vacation !!

I was told by my friend who invited me here to get the one year visa, and avoid having to do costly visa extensions. Just once every 90 days, run to a border and back about 1500 bhat. It was very wise advise. I can visit neigboring countries also if i choose and re-enter with no problems.

I think you got to be able to ignore a lot if you want to live here happily long term. Surely not every person can do that. So it's up to each of us to decide if we are ready to live here full time, year in year out, taking all the visa rules, 1000 copy of every page rules and all with it.

Also very important, choosing your partner !!! I married a normal girl, from middle class family, no rich CHinese as some others .

I remember my dad's words : Would I marry a prostitute back home? No, So why fly ....... miles to do it here.

Oh, and to the ones that live here coz they can live off 100 or 200 baht a day. Go home get a job you stingy bunch. :jap:

Ignoring or not taking what is done to you personally is essentially the same idea. Dont let what someone else does to you distract you from your objectives.

The prostitutes here are better fit my needs. The Mastery of Love is the most difficult mastery because we have so much "knowledge" on how people should be, relationships should be, etc we rarely ever accept people just as they are [without trying to change them].

I dont see why you want to spend more money than you have to. I guess if you want to spend 100 bhat or 1000 bhat a day, the choice is yours.

Some have the wrong concept, thinking it's "Them", nope it's them, themselves!

It's a projection of how things should be, born out of a persons very own conditioning, cultural background etc. and so the surroundings are perceived not "as is" but as should be.... that won't work 100%! So repulsion sets in and a person moves into the state of denial!

Yes of course.. I cut myself up in traffic daily.. I broke into and robbed my own house.. I kicked my mates missus off of her bike and slapped her about before stealing her gold and phone.. Etc Etc Etc.

Its 'me'.. Of course..

I think what Samuian was trying to get at is that we cannot control outside events or what other people do. We CAN control how we perceive and react to the outside world. It is diffcult to explain the truth withords, but perhaps these tools

will assist many in this thread to transform their current curcumstances

1) Be impeccable with your word. Words are how [among many things] you describe what you perceive and also comminicate with other people. You dont use that word against yourself as you write your life story.

2) Donn't take anything personally. What someone else says or does is a reflection of themself, not you. When you take something personally, you allow what someone did to you in the past to hold you back and control your future movements. You store that emotional poison and now you get mad and you want revenge; you want to get even. It is more difficult to enjoy what is happening right now in the present moment. You wont see new opportunities that may work out better because you're too busy judging the previous one.

3) Don't make assumptions. We tend to make assumptions to fullfill our desire to justify and catigorize everything we perceive. To make every event "fit" into our own life story. Most assumptions are fiction but we treat them as facts and when the truth comes out, it creates big drama and conflict among other humans. And when our assomptions do not work outin our favor, we tend to take it personally. From my point One of the best ways to avoid assumptions is to have the courage to ASK questions and get clarification about a particular situation. And when you do ask questions, don't assume you know everything there is to kno wabout a situation.

4) Always do your best. Life is not about concepts, its about action. Regardless of present circumstances, you can put forth your best efforts.You are the one that will benefit the most from your own actions.If you take no action, there is also no reward. How do you take the actions thatgive you the results you're looking for? The same way we learned how to speak, write, and walk: PRACTICE. Practice makes the master.

We've already agreed on a certain way life SHOULD be, relationships SHOULD be, Thailand SHOULD be, etc. Being a victim makes us feel safe, because we dont have to challenge these agreements. At the same time, it also keeps us from experiencing new possibilities. We direct our life stories by making choices. If some of those choices dont work in your favor, you do not blame yourself. You simply make another choice.

to respond to the thread starter, I'm not tired yet of Thailand. I'm working on my third month and plan to use up the entire 15 months of my visa. Overall my experience here in the land of smiles has been positive. I implement the tools above almost daily and i make the best of it.

Special thanks to Don Miguel Ruiz for sharing the 4 Agreements and other related works with the world. Especially the audio versions that you can play mp3 and practice mastering awareness on the go.

buy used from craigslist or elsewhere from someone who bought it new and doesnt need it anymore. Verify the warranty is in tact and all should be good to go.

Can you open an account at a sub branch, such as the ones upstairs in Tesco in Rawai?

yepp

the branch you open your account in, is the branch you need to visit every time you have a problem, like needing new passbook, forget PIN, damaged card etc

For most banks, it is also the only branch you can withdraw more than a few hundred k baht

Interesting. You sure you must go back to the EXACT branch, or just any branch in the same Province? I do know that the province or city that you open your account in makes a difference for the commission/fee schedule for deposits/withdrawals. For example, i opened my BB account in Phuket, so i may walk into any BB branch in Phuket and withdrawal or deposit funds into my account for no fee. If I'm in Bangkok and want to deposit funds into my account, it's either 20 bhat at the atm, and 30 b in the branch.

TMB bank has no such restrictions to my knowledge. (i'll double-check on deposits, but withdrawals, ANY atm in thailand free from their end) Overseas also no fees, if I remember the conversation properly.

....

Visa not needed if you have Certificate of Residence

ok. makes sense. But the one year visa sure does impress many of the locals.

10 years on my Bangkok Bank ATM Visa card also and when I lost it last year, two years after opening the account in Koh Samui my new card issued in Chiang Mai branch was valid again for 10 years. Have never been able to fault them yet!

How long ago did you all get these 10 year debit cardss? Do they have the smart chip embedded?

For those people who said tey didnt need the visa to open account, not sure about that. the passport has the visa stamped on one of the pages. When i went to the banks, they photocopied the page with my home country info, and the page with the visa. They make you sign the photocopy. This was my experience.

I'm not sure where you got you information from, but some of it is incorrect:

Their ATM Visa card is 500 bht, but it is good for 3 years instead of BB or SIAM 1 year.

My Bangkok Bank and Siam Commercial Bank ATM cards are good for 10 years...

I meant that the fee covers the card for 3 years @ TMB and 1 year BB. My TMB debit card actually has 07/2013 expiration date (3 years) . BB debit card has 5 year expiration. It has the chip inside like a smart card. I dont know if that makes a difference. My information comes from my experience i just had and looking at the debit cards now as i hold them.

I opened a bank account with The Bangkok Bank Patong Branch. No problems opening the account, but, when I asked to have internet banking attached to the account, I was told I couldn't do it. Anyone know why?

They probably didnt understand you. You can go to the ATM and apply for internet banking under "additional services". With BB, you may have to initiate it inside branch first.

I bring my translator with me on my phone. BBtran works ok. just dont use slang. Say litterally what you want and spell out everything with the correct adjectives. Since i signed up for smartphone package, i can leave my blackberry on with internet and not get nickled down for being charged by the minute from AIS. smartphone package charges by the MB.

My ATM Visa debet cards in Bank of Ayudhya and my Visa creditcard in same bank are both valid 5 years from date of issue. No fees involved.

Most banks will delete an account if balance has not been more than 1000 baht past 180 days.

All the banks tell me commission of some kind associated with debit card. BB is 300 first year, 200 bht/year. TMB was 500bht for 3 year.

To answer the original question, I found a couple of quality places that will do it for 200 bht. The most professional shop is called Emotion Day Spa. 200 for oil, thai, and foot massage. Other massages are discounted heavily also. They were one of the few shops to have raised tables, and you can put your face in the table so you are laying face down comfortably. The majority of massage shops have the mattress on the floor and you must turn your head left or right to lay down fully, which is uncomfortable. They appear to get a lot of traffic. I'm surprised that more massage shops have not implemented their strategy. A hard to beat flat-rate low season price schedule that is clearly visible and non-negotiable.

Emotion Day Spa is located about 1 km from junceylon on Rat U Thit Rd. You walk opposing traffic (towards Royal Paradise) on the same right side. They have red pants and a light red shirt.

Other professional shops are right near the waterfall in the middle of the Royal Paradise complex. The shops that are attached to a guesthouse will have a more expensive price list because they already have foot traffic from their guesthouse. I recommend the Twin Face spa (green shirts).

But 250 is actually a good rate also. I wouldn't pay more than 250 for a foot. Or 300 for an oil massage. But typically you can look at the price list and then say something like "looks good, but it's expensive" Playing hard to get can knock off 50-150 bhat off the listed price (the lists are usually written for high season). Or when other shops try to solicit you for a massage, say "Well I'd love to, but I usually massage over at [hold up business card of the cheaper shop] for xxx bhat. But only do this if you actually want a massage. It's tacky to discuss price, and then not do the massage. Remember, they are at work.

Professional massage shop checklist:

- Typically the "quality" massage will be at the "newer" shops that look recently remodeled and their equipment and design is up to date. They are concerned about the image they project and the facilities that are available for their clients. They are trying to sell their massage techniques, not their happy ending services.

- The age of ladies working there is one way to tell professionalism. The older ladies tend to focus on actually massaging you and not trying to sleep with you. If they have a bunch of young ladies only there all out front pulling you into the shop...........

- How the massage ladies are dressed is another way to tell. Is she wearing pants or booty shorts and heals? Is she tugging on your shirt and feeling all over you or is she trying to show you the benefits of the massage on the price list?

I saw a thread about opening a new bank account in Thailand, but the initial poster wanted experiences in Bangkok. So I figured I'd start a new thread for those of us in Phuket/Patong Beach area.

I have a one year, non-immigrant ED visa.

About 2 weeks ago, I went to the Bangkok Bank branch just outside Royal Paradise hotel complex (After Bank of Ayuda, but before Junceylon on Rat u Thit 200 Rd.) I requested to open a new account and I was asked for my passport. They gave me 2 blank application papers and told me to sign both of them. I did. I also signed a copy of my passport papers. I was asked for my address, I gave them the address of the guesthouse I was staying in. When asked how long I would stay in thailand, I said 1 year. They asked if I was working, I said I work for myself on my computer.

After signing a few more documents, I was given a passbook with my Savings account # on it. I was given a Visa debit card and asked to enter my pin # twice into a number keypad. The minimum opening deposit was 500 bht and 300 bht for the debit card. There is a 200 bht fee every year for the debit card. If you lose your debit card for any reason, free debit card replacement if you remember the pin #. If not, must pay 300 for a new one. They gave me a free carrying bag. I asked if they have a tee-shirt or hat, but they said the bag was all they have

I went back in a week later and signed up for internet banking. The bank associate directed me to the ATM and you sign up right there. You input your password and they issue you a username on the ATM receipt. You complete the transaction with your cell phone when you go online to complete the internet banking setup.

I then went to Siam Commercial Bank in Junceylon. They asked for a work permit. I said no, and the guy said cannot open without a work permit. I didn't argue, I just quietly left.

So I went next door to TMB Bank. They asked me for work permit. I said no. Then he asked me if i have long-stay visa. I said yes, and he welcomed me to open a new account. Similar story to bangkok bank above. But TMB seems to be very friendly. They brought me water while I was waiting, and also served me fruit.

They will try to get you to deposit 2000 minimum, but the minimum is 500 bht. Their ATM Visa card is 500 bht, but it is good for 3 years instead of BB or SIAM 1 year. You can use their ATM at any bank in Thailand and they do not charge a fee. You walk out the same day with your passbook and Visa atm card for your savings account. It also appears that TMB has some of the best exchange rates. I first noticed this at the airport in Bangkok.

I insisted that I already have a bag from Bangkok Bank. I dont need anymore bags. So my free gift was an umbrella. Very useful in patong beach. I was very impressed with TMB bank overall.

You can go right to the ATM and withdraw your initial deposit immediately. I found that interesting. So you could "bank hop" and open many accounts with different banks in 1 day and only pay the ATM card fee. Re-use the initial deposit money.

With any bank account I recommend depositing an odd amount, like 510 bht. So when you go to the ATM to withdraw the funds back out you can leave something in there to post to your account. And I'm not sure about their account closure policies. i know many banks in the USA, even free accounts you must have at least a penny in the account for the account to remain open. Not sure how it is handled in Thailand.

I had an issue with the internet banking setup with TMB. When I went online to setup my account after requesting it from the ATM, I got past the first page which asks you to accept the terms and conditions. The second page that asks for your national ID or passport #, I got errors that the passport # was not found. So the next day I went back to TMB (this was about 3 days after the opening date) and it took about an hour of them calling tech support and they said the problem would be resolved by tomorrow afternoon. I checked that evening and I was able to complete the registration for online banking. So it was good to see that I had an issue, but that it was resolved swiftly. I asked for another umbrella for all the trouble, but unfortuletly no, unless I opened another account.

I said to myself "Perhaps now I'll go back next door to SIAM bank and mention that I have long term visa. And I'll also show them that 2 of their competitors opened accouts with no problem. And see what they say." I went back next door and the line was long again, and I wasnt going to wait. I never re-attempted Siam, although I'm sure I could have opened acct there or their stand-alone branch on Rat-U-Thit 200 road (About 200 meters from Royal Paradise Hotel, opposite from Junceylon). I was curious to know what type of free gift i could get out of SIAM. I already had a bag and an umbrella. Maybe they had t-shirts?

NOTE: The bank branches @ Junceylon are open 7 days a week. appx 10:30 am to 7pm. So if you miss the stand-alone branch times (usually 3:30pm close time), you can head to Junceylon and see if they are open.

One interesting thing I found out about Thailand bank accounts is that that at the ATM, you can do many things: Pay bills, transfer money to different accounts (even different bank name bank accounts). Very user-friendly This is different from USA where you must call in or visit a branch to do many things. Also, they issue the ATM card right away. This is different from USA where you must wait several business days for the ATM card to arrive. I think some Bank of America branches print cards instantly. But I dont see why at least temporary check-cards can just be issued at the branch.

USAA is an exception. Other military-friendly banks tend to have more do-it-yourself options online also.

I hope this information was helpful.

4evermaat, thankyou so much. Now successfully set up following your instructions - awesome!

I posted here so that the next person did not have to go though the hours i did. using a ysb stick is so much easier in the long run, unless your phone and coverage gets 3g speeds, then it may be worth it.

You can cancel from month to month, i have had 1 for years (CAT) works fine, in phuket that is, you can go and buy 1 and give it back the same day if it don't work, they told me it did not work where i was but it worked fine, i think CAT has booster as well, outdoor antenna, yes some of the old USB sticks are slow

I thought you had to pay for 1 year or something when you signed a contract.. are you sure it is not like this.

No. ToT has contracts. CAT CDMA there i no contracts.

I went to their office in phuket and they had 3 modems. 3000, 6000, 9000 bht is the mifi modem, but that one has no promotion. 3000 is their EC150 with sim card. 6000 is a novatel brand but no sim card. But the give you free unternet until end of august (now it might be end of sept). I can go to bangkok or pattaya and switch out with hutch cdma sim card so i think for price and flexibility, the 3000 bht modem is the best value.

You can turn off and on your service anytime at the office. They have temporary suspension and permanent suspension options. with taxes, it is 845 bht / mo for unlimited internet. I leave my internet on continuously on my laptop.

They will ask you to bring in your laptop and will verify it works before you walk out of the building. Modem is mac friendly I stay near the grand paradise hotel and get 3-4 bars in my room on 4th floor EVDO. But practically speaking, i can get 1-2Mbps download speeds.

DTAC only allows you to access DTAC internet, meaning you have to use the BlackBerry APN. To do what you want to do you need to change to AIS service for the same price. They allow you to use their regular APN for free tethering. DTAC doesn't allow that.

I cannot comment on this as i use AIS, but perhaps you can manually setup your connection as i will explain below.

i have the ais package so how do i connect and get it working with my laptop mate im clusless Lol

Now ideally you get mobile software from your mobile provider. In the USA, Sprint, ATT, Verizon, etc have connection software if you tether directly through their service. I remember when i was in sicily, vodaphone had its own software. They usually will have one software that allows virtually all of their modems and phones to connect (eg Sprint SmartView). Since we r talking about GSM carriers anyway, the simpliest way is to have a separate 3G/Edge usb modem that is compatible with your operating system and swap Sim cards between phone and USB device. The usb devices now have drivers pre-loaded on the drive you install one time and reboot and then you r good to go.

There are other third party tethering software, such as tether.com , berry4all.com , junefabrics.com . these are typically useful if you have 3g-like sprrds, but may work on slower gprs connections.

But if you want to leave it in your blaackberry, you must go to options > advanced options > TCP . Plug in the appropriate values.

I think to tether a blackberry usb in windows, you must have desktop manager running or installed. Mac i only tethered usins tether.com or bluetooth dun. I never tethered bb in windows using bluetooth. i tested a beta version of tether.com and junefabrics software successfully via usb.

What you want is when you plug in your blackberry, the computer recognizes it to be used as a modem.

Then, to setup a connection in windows, go to Control panel > Network Connection > Create a new Connection > selece 'Connect to the Internet' > select 'Setup my connection Manually' > select "Connect using a dial-up modem' >

ISP Name : Ais or whatever u want

Dialup # : *99***1#

username/password: ais [or leave blank]

I cannot guarantee setup will work in windows.

Bu I noticed AIS english support was less than helpful on the mac side, but did give me instructions on setting up connection manually on windows. I did some google searching and trial/error and i got it to work with a usb edge modem with mac. Let me see if i can provide some screenshots:

I then just paired my blackberry to mac with bluetooth using the setup pluetooth device wizard in mac system preferences. (making sure to select "access the internet with your phone's data connection in the block). Then, in network preferences, i edited the blackberry connection to match that of the usb modem settings. It works. but just like with tether, the blackberry 8830 tends to crash (reset the phone) whenever i tried to tether lots of data. i think it has to do with sprint it policy or something.

You will need a little technical knowledge to understand what i am saying here so you may translate from mac into windows environment.

As you may see, it is much easier to just have the carrier's drivers or modem drivers available for a much moe plug-n-play setup and usage.

This great website has the APN settings for most GSM carriers worldwide.

http://www.flexispy....0use%20GPRS.htm

I will copy and paste what is needed here:

AIS

APN name = internet

User = ais [or leave blank]

Password = ais [or leave blank]

DNS = 202.183.255.20

DNS = 202.183.255.21

DTAC

APN name = www.dtac.co.th

User = guest [or leave blank]

Password = guest [or leave blank]

DNS = 203.155.33.1

DNS = 203.44.144.33

True

Dial Up Number = *99***1#

APN = internet

User = true

Password = true

DNS = ?

DNS = ?

Orange

APN Name = wap

User = orange

Password = orange

DNS = 010.004.004.004

you will have to google separately each carrier for the dial-up # if needed. I included what i know above.

If you are serious about dedicated high speed mobile internet, a separate usb datacard, mifi, or phone that supports tethering more simply may be your best option. I opted for CAT CDMA: Bring your own modem, buy used (must hunt down private seller yourself) or buy new from them in-store. Just bring your passport and cash or credit card (cash recommended). No contracts and no work permit reqiured (must pre-pay by the month). 875 bht for 2Mbps down and almost 1M up in EVDO area and they verified I recommend you buy the modem with sim card so if you travel to other parts, you can just use the new CDMA carrier's sim. Everything worked before i walked out of their office and someone spoke good enough english.

Even if you want to stick with gsm, Ais or Dtac net sim card is 70 bht, the modems new for 1600-4000 @ it-island in jungaleon mall patong beach, phuket. . The guy closest to the movie theatre seemed to have the best deal. I think it is 999bht for unlimited edge/gprs on either carrier. I had to buy a new modem anyway, so i decided to go with CAT and i'm very happy.

Just my humble opinion. Going the cheap route may cost you more in the long run. Penny smart, pound foolish. You're already saving on living arrangements, women, produce, etc. 4 things i want woring properly are: electricity, air condition, hot water, and internet connection.