Tracechain

There are no Ex US Marines, only former Marines.  He needs help!

If you can come to Udonthani, I have used Xbox S (year old) and new (less than 10hrs use) Xbox X.  5,000 and 10,000 respectively.  No games, however, as I buy all of mine on line.  

This may or may not be relative and perhaps even covered elsewhere but on my last Transferwise transfer, I noticed that they have added as one of the reasons for your transfer, 'Funds for long term stay in Thailand'.   The deposit showed international transfer but then again most of my other ones did as well.  I had submitted this recommendation on one of their questionnaires I received from them.   Again apologizes if this is out of place or belongs in another post somewhere. 

I just did four in as many days and all worked fine.

If I wanted to be woken up at 6am by noisy motorbikes, loudspeaker trucks and heavy plant I could stay in Pattaya.

Yep, move to a village and get woken up at 6am by chickens, dogs, etans, bikes with no baffles and the poo yai on the tannoy system instead.

Plus be prepared to get no sleep at all for three days every time someone gets married, dies or have a young lad going to the Wat for a 15 day skive.

Here's a new one for me. Music and singing started yesterday just down the road. Asked the wife who died. No one she said. I then asked who is getting married. No one she said. Then asked her who was going off to the temple, blessing the temple, or raising money for the temple. No, not that either dear, she replied. Ok I say, I give up. What is the occassion? She replies, well it is just so-so who lives down the road who has just come back from working in Korea and is going to build a house with all his money. So, go figure. When it is party time, it's party time. Roll out the barrel, everyone has a barrel of fun around here!

A few things.

A) Thailand is on the Human Rights Watch List for countless violations, especially regarding prison conditions. His attorney's will probably be all over that in an effort to stop it.

The U.S. actually DOES have jurisdiction, and grounds to request he be sent there for trial, due to the fact that he not only killed a U.S. Citizen, but a member of the U.S. Military who was on medical leave from active duty. I think maybe they might be waiting to see what happens with the extradition to Thailand. If this scumbag is able to successfully stop being sent to Thailand, then the U.S. will probably start extradition proceedings to have him brought there for trial.

As a former Marine myself (20 yrs), I would love to see them send this guy to visit the unit Dashawn was part of. Trust me, justice would be served.

Agree!

If found guilty, senior officers would be put on probation and face 5-per-cent salary cuts for three months, while less-senior officers would receive warnings, Sathaphorn said.

That's a real deterrent isn't it....... sack them <deleted>.

They could have made the cops really pay for their crimes and add to the severe punishmet they will receive-yes give them hell--inactive posts- that will add more hurt on them ,making them feel guilty for what they have done ((or not done))

I stand by my first recommendation.

If you want to make them lose face, do it Chuck Connors style.

Ah, thanks for the walk down memory lane with Chuck, even if it reminds me of how old I'm getting. Out here in the village, there are numerous gamblin get togethers. For many, that is all they do. According to reliable sources, there is a set schedule for the local law enforcement folds to raid and receive their, oops I mean the monies on the table.

At 63, he must have had a very energetic shuffle and been a master of disguise to have eluded the BiB this long.

Maybe he is really D. B. Cooper!

Does anyone know if it matters when you arrive at Bangkok airport (the main one because I can't spell it) if you are brining in your dog? We arrive 2300 and I was wondering if we will be able to retrieve our dog or wait till following morning/day.

With apologies to the OP, for stealing his thread with our sidebars on some unique features of Bangkok Bank.

But, maybe Bangkok Bank has earned its kudos. Plus, only the reported problem banks begin with the letter "K".

Well Jim, if we walk into BB and notice that you are a newly appointed senior vice president for marketing........just joking. Thanks a lot for the info. Good stuff.

One question. Wife and I will be moving for good next summer to Udon to live. Can I open the BB account now, on our Christmas visit, or do I have to wait until we settle down in LOS for good?

Trace, Bkk Bank used to be one of the harder banks to open an account without a work permit or certificate of residence. However, by reading this on their website, it sounds like it's gotten easier, even if just on a tourist visa:

Even if you are only visiting Thailand for a relatively short period of time, you can open a savings account and get a debit card to use for shopping and ATM withdrawals. All you will need to provide is your passport and one other official identification document – for example, your driver's license or a reference letter from your embassy, your home bank or a person acceptable to the bank. (More details below.)

You will also need to provide evidence of your address in Thailand as well as your regular address in your home country.

Further info is found on their website, here : Bangkok Bank

Letter of reference looks a little hokey. Maybe somebody who's gone this route can better elaborate. Also, the bank manager/bank local rules can drive you crazy, with their ability to make things harder than advertised -- or easier. Crap shoot.

Unfortunately, it's harder to get internet banking before you're fully established. And ibanking is a pretty significant aid, especially if you're monitoring things stateside prior to transition.

One option: have the wife set up her account, and ibanking, and funnel everything thru this account. We built our house, bought most our assets, using just the wife's Bkk Bank acct. Finally, I got around to opening a joint account with her, showing nothing but my passport. Signed up for ibanking at the same time, with no problems.

Good luck.

Thank you very much.

Didn't see anything about the "push only" only option

Pib, one of the questions USAA asks when setting up a tranfer account is, "Do you have signature authority" over the account you're setting up, i.e., if not, then you "only can make deposits." If you do this, no trial deposits are made (for obvious reasons, since it's assumed you won't have the authority to identify these deposits). This option is what you should choose when setting up a transfer to Bangkok Bank.

I was curious as to what would happen if I hadn't chosen that option, so I set up another transfer to another BB account, but this time choosing "Yes, I have signature control over this account." Sure enough, two trial deposits showed up in my BB account -- and I also got a message from USAA to the effect: "BB has notified us that this account is deposit-only. Therefore, we are setting this up as transfer-out only." (Not exact wording, but same meaning.) Never had to report the trial deposit amounts, of course, as part of the security in setting up the transfer. Also, I don't believe the trial deposits were ever reversed, probably because things aren't supposed to flow backwards from Thailand thru ACH. And, no minimum 200bt fee for each of those tiny trial deposits (something in the coding probably).

This must now be the canned reply to your US bank when BB sees two trial deposits arriving from its New York branch (at one time, years ago, I recall folks actually reporting these trial deposits to their US bank). Surely problematic if your bank doesn't have the option to set-up 'transfer out only' with BB. But, maybe all banks/financial institutions have this option -- I don't know (?).

Jim, great info and many thanks. One question. Wife and I will be moving for good next summer to Udon to live. Can I open the BB account now, on our Christmas visit, or do I have to wait until we settle down in LOS for good?

Today I drove home behind a small van carrying school children of a very young age. I'd estimate a bus full of 8 year olds. A constant stream of litter was thrown out; cartons of drinks, sweet wrappers etc.

The point is that no adult on the van did anything to intervene. So the children have no moral compass; no role model adult. So I witness the young without a sense of morality and an adult in charge of children also without a sense of right and wrong.

That's typical across Thailand. It is a society without morals, professionals without ethics; organisations without standards. Bangkok pubs flaunt the rules and 60 die in the inferno. Same in Pattaya. Death at Siam Paragon as a child falls to its death as there is no balcony rail. The examples are endless.

A friend of mine reckoned that 99% of thais were corrupt. The other one percent were simply awaiting their chance.

How often have you suffered the antics of an out of control child ina restaurant or shopping mall where the parents seem oblivious to appalling tantrum behaviour? It is a common place occurrence. The Thais will not act responsibly with their children neither do they apply a normal level of moral certitude to their own lives.

And where they do approach anything resembling compassionate morality it is bizarre. I witnessed a well dressed Thai at a Loi Kratong celebration point to a single baht in the road, gesturing for the beggar to seize it. There was no inclination to give money or to hand over a meal, but at best there was this strange attempt to do what exactly?

I despair for Thailand. The Thais are their own worst enemy and they do it to themselves. Malaysia streaks ahead; Singapore and Hong Kong operate ina different universe; Burma has the potential to roll back 50 years of stagnation over night; Cambodia is climbing out of genocide; Vietnam has forged ahead and put a War behind it; Laos can blame communism, but what excuse can you find for Thailand?

I would argue none other than it simply implodes. Currently, we have red versus yellow so it couldn't be simpler. We, the much maligned foreigners, couldn't have planned it any better.

Right on, but overall I think Thailand is still cleaner that the Philippines.

Good grief! Talk about herding cats....

As Jingthing says, you can simply apply for a non-O visa without the need for a police check. Only the O-A visa rquires a police check, the big difference between the two is that with an O-A visa you will have to get an extension after 1 year (or 2 years if a multiple) and with a non-O after 3 months (or 15 months with a multiple non-O).

If you want the O-A visa you can apply in the coutnry of your residence. The embassy will decide if they also require a police check from the US. The could ask for it, but dn't know if they will.

Thanks guys. I want to do the one which gives me the longest stay time and the longest time between requesting extentions, be it through retirement or marriage.

Does anyone know if you can apply for the retirement (long term) visa in a different country (not Thailand of course) other than your native country citizenship and if a background investigation from the country you are in suffice? In other words, I am US citizen currently living and working in South Korea. Have been here for the past 17 years working as US contractor with the US military. Wife is Thai and I plan on retiring next summer and going to live in Udon in the house my wife owns that I paid for.....I have not been to the Thai embassy yet here in Seoul to ask the question, but was planning on doing the retirement (long term) visa here in Seoul and not have to go back to the US. Just wondering if anyone else has had this experience.

Good grief! This topic has covered everything from landmines to arms sales, who pays for billeting in Germany for the US, even the French Navy and its role in the American Revolution! If everyone who has posted here on this topic were to gather together, then we would have an alternate to the UN.

I guess I have neglected to ask ONE key question of the EuroLanders on this thread: and that is if you are of the belief that the US is an evil, ever-corrupt, imperialistic empire to be roundly condemned as often as possible, then WHY is it you rely upon the US to foot the vast majority of the bills for EuroLand's defense??? Personally, I (and a fast growing number of my compatriots) are all for yanking our troops home to defend our own borders, which sorely need it. And the US needs can then drastically reduce our Defense budget which is ripe for a good whacking. So, have it EuroLanders; walk your talk and tell your gov't to tell the US to GTFO. Ooops...then your generous vacation allowances, socialized health care, early retirement, 35 hour work weeks, etc., just might have to take a good whacking too...

Amen brother.

Sorry folks I dont mean to gloat, but I warned of this event 6 months ago when the drought was in full force and La Nina was growing.

I am a boy scout and the motto is "be prepared" clearly my warning was not taken seriously here or when I posted a message to the meteorological society of Thailand. I was ignored and I did not get any replies.

This is not over, did you ever see a floating taxi on Sukhumvit? You will hang around. The next wave of rains are expected to bring 5 inches per hour you wont like this much but it is already in the making. It may not happen, but what the heck?

"be prepared"

Ah, Willard Scott would be proud to read these posts.....

"" The escape route has been well known for many years. Usually in the past, though, I gather the North Koreans also tried their best not to get caught by Thai police. They usually headed straight to BKK and got on a plane to South Korea with false documents.

The Laos leg of their journey involves trudging through jungle for a number of days - for which most of them are ill prepared - so maybe this particular group just had a tougher time of it and just gave themselves up out of exhaustion, unless this new 'agreement' thing is true. ""

My favourite subject at school was Geography......so without giving the game away ....How do refugees completely circumvent China in the North by several hundreds of miles. Go trudging through jungles in Laos/Cambodia avoid stepping on US ordanance and blowing their legs off and end up in North Thailand with enough money to get to BKK. Then get on a plane with "false documents" and fly to South Korea.....!!!???

If there is an "agreement" between the governments to re-patriate. Why would they need false documents?

I read the details on the link and other articles before, these people are "dirt poor" so getting enough money together to bribe, feed and travel around must be nigh on impossible.

All very sad.

I really feel for these poor people. George Bush and Tony Blair went marching off round the globe to rid us of the worlds evil dictators...but only in mineral rich countries overflowing in oil reserves strangley enough.....so they avoided North Korea, Mr Mugabe and Thailands sister dictatorship on the Western border..........

You show very little knowledge of geography and world politics when you consider that the main reason NOT to invade N. Korea is their lack of resources. You may also consider that they have the backing of China, have quite a large military coupled with a persecution complex, may well possess nuclear weapons, and that the border is in artillery and rocket (and also missile) range of Seoul. And you think Bush is an idiot!

My sincere apologies...but I was being IRONIC about my statement at the bottom about BUSH and BLAIR...........................Bush would have been a bigger IDIOT (your word not mine) if he invaded a small S.E. Asian country bristling with nuclear Armamants backed up by a giant communist regime....Did the Americans not try that before and failed miserably and left a legacy of damage that will never go away in S.E. Asia...???

http://www.khmercity...omment%3A509570

Ooooooops there I go again being IRONIC.....But since I have little knowledge of Geography ( Phd ) after visiting and working on every continent on the planet and 35 different countries before settling in LOS what the hel_l would I know ??????? all I was asking is the obvious as are others on this post - why do the N.Koreans go through such a long route march to get to next door....

Henry...Henry Kissinger is that you? Wow! Have you seen Elvis?

"" The escape route has been well known for many years. Usually in the past, though, I gather the North Koreans also tried their best not to get caught by Thai police. They usually headed straight to BKK and got on a plane to South Korea with false documents.

The Laos leg of their journey involves trudging through jungle for a number of days - for which most of them are ill prepared - so maybe this particular group just had a tougher time of it and just gave themselves up out of exhaustion, unless this new 'agreement' thing is true. ""

My favourite subject at school was Geography......so without giving the game away ....How do refugees completely circumvent China in the North by several hundreds of miles. Go trudging through jungles in Laos/Cambodia avoid stepping on US ordanance and blowing their legs off and end up in North Thailand with enough money to get to BKK. Then get on a plane with "false documents" and fly to South Korea.....!!!???

If there is an "agreement" between the governments to re-patriate. Why would they need false documents?

I read the details on the link and other articles before, these people are "dirt poor" so getting enough money together to bribe, feed and travel around must be nigh on impossible.

All very sad.

I really feel for these poor people. George Bush and Tony Blair went marching off round the globe to rid us of the worlds evil dictators...but only in mineral rich countries overflowing in oil reserves strangley enough.....so they avoided North Korea, Mr Mugabe and Thailands sister dictatorship on the Western border..........

There is a very simple reason, it's called CHINA. The only so called friend of nK.

How can Thailand survive when the baht is 20 something per dollar

Simple - stop using the US as a base trading currency and let it fall to 25 - who cares? - start using Euro or Aus dollars which are more stable at present. I never understand the fixation of the use of USD when it constitutes a control factor propagated by the Fed! Now therein lies some answers...

Hey Gordon The Gecko!!! if you are a 60 something retiree with a pension in US dollars, a US credit card, and pretty much all you own measured in dollars, your suggestion might be just a tad difficult to implement!

If you are a 60 something retiree with a pension in US dollars, speculate at the exchange into a weak third world currency, but suddenly find out your money isn't enough you should go home. There you will be much less affected by a dollar that goes weaker day by day.

You had 60 years to be prepared for that situation.

Look at the good part of it: Some of them can hope for a second career. working as a bar boygrandpa in some touristy places in America and waiting for young female Asian tourists who have some kind of a fetish and visit bars full with old men. The weak dollar will help to bring these tourists.

Good luck.

You know, you are right. I do remember thinking to myself when I was but a young lad of three...I think I'll retire in Thailand. I seem to recall telling my dear ole Pappy that I had better prepare myself in case and have extra monies to cover down on the bleak US economic picture because some prick would certaintly be around to comment. Thank you so much but I think I'll stay. Maybe we can get together sometime and have coffee.