silk

During my last visit to Thailand, I spend less than 1 hour on the road before being ambushed by a well known uniformed gang... 200 baht (that is a day's wages for most thais). The 3 thai with me were ambarrassed, but said nobody can do anything about it.

But best joke of all: when i got married we had to pay under the table to obtain .... a certificate of good behaviour for my wife....

.

I am happy to pay 200 baht at these speed stations. Everything is open and obvious, don't speed, don't pay

In my home country of the USA, it would cost me at least 10 times more, and can have serious consequences in my private life.

Here it is never a problem for me

In "your country" you might earn 10 times more than if you would work in Thailand. For sure you are a tourist. Do you know that a room maid in a hotel gets generally about THB 6000 per month,(10 hours a day, 6 days a week)??

If N Korea, Burma, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, and especially the FRENCH can have Nuclear, why not Thailand? Are you saying we are worst them them? Especially compared to the FRENCH?

You missed the point. It is not about comparison to other countries, it is about security in YOUR country, this is what people on the forum are worried about. Please enlighten us with information about thai companies (100%) who are world leaders of any kind, because of their invention, expertise, responsibility ect.

Well even the mom and pop shop around the corner here has a ISO 9001 sign outside.Isn't that a quality reference.

This answers the questions

You missed the point. It is not about comparison to other countries, it is about security in YOUR country, this is what people on the forum are worried about. Please enlighten us with information about thai companies (100%) who are world leaders of any kind, because of their invention, expertise, responsibility ect.

To get away from the Thai bashing that this topic seems to be degenerating in to, while I am concerned about a nuclear reactor in Ubon especially if it not of the Thorium type (and anybody who does not know the difference should read this link) I have worked in Thailand and there are very many good engineers who work hard and diligently and would be very capable of doing a good job with the right supervision and guidance. What is more worrying is the way the management force these people to cut corners to reduce costs because of the tea money that was paid to win the contract, and this is what lets Thailand down

Exactly this is what most people living here are worried about, everybody has examples or made own experiences for what to be worried about. Your point is one of them.

If N Korea, Burma, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, and especially the FRENCH can have Nuclear, why not Thailand? Are you saying we are worst them them? Especially compared to the FRENCH?

You missed the point. It is not about comparison to other countries, it is about security in YOUR country, this is what people on the forum are worried about. Please enlighten us with information about thai companies (100%) who are world leaders of any kind, because of their invention, expertise, responsibility ect.

How can Thais build a nuclear power plant. Sure, the engineering and construction management will be done by another country (US, Germany, France, maybe even Japan or Korea), but trusting Thai workers to do the actual work is toooooooo risky!! Thai engineers, supervisors, all the way down to the lowest laborer do a baaaaaaad job. They have no concept of quality work and will make too many mistakes and never build it in strict accordance with the plans.

The safest way is to bring in all foreign workers to build the nuclear plants and then bring in foreign workers to operate them. That's the only way Thailand won't have a huge nuclear disaster.

agreed. Had my house painted by Thais while I was away (first time - I learned froom it for next time). Now I have spots of paint on all windows, window frames and the floor. This is not their responsibility was the answer, when I complained. How would this nuclear power plant be built?

Why is it that I feel that nuclear power plants in Thailand would be a disaster just waiting to happen.

That is not just a feeling mate, this has disaster written all over it.

Anyone who believes they can pull this off needs to go no further than to look outside (if you live in the city), where they can look up and see the unbelievable mess of electric wires dangling above them, or in some cases falling down to the ground. Maybe it would be a good idea to get "electric power" down first, then move forward. My power still goes out when it thunders or has the slightest rain.

I fully agree with you

Majority of the problem came from "Where you pick your wife or G/F from?"

If you picked her from Soi Cowboy, Sukhumvit 7, Patpong...... either she will kill you slowly or killing you suddenly.

You will be so lucky if your girl came from those areas and you don't have to deal with Drug, Gambling, Financial problem, In-Law drama....... etc etc......

I am sure there are good girls out there anyhow.

Moreover, leaving home...drinking with mates in those areas very often can cause problemsssssssssssssssssssss... depends on how tough she is and how well manage of her anger!

Good Luck, my friend!

What do you mean with "pick"??? If you "pick" and she agrees to be "picked", no matter if educated or not, what is there to be expected? Maybe you think "with the time she will learn to love me"

Dream on

I didn't know the army paid that well!

Who said it was her life savings?

It doesn't seem they are that bright, if they got caught and stole from the army or the police in Thailand, where is the honor?

"life savings" we do not know how many years the victim saved the money

cold holding the baby. it sounds like they were caught because the bank accounts transferred to were real people. had they used fake accounts in the middle of nowhere..

why don't you enlighten other criminals how to do it correctly??

wow thanks for the tip mate!!

I take no sides here and I hate foreigners coming to Thailand just for the small girls or even underaged girls or boys. I just hate the kind of false reports where Newspapers, Magazines and internet Forums make a guy guilty before he is proofed guilty. In my ten years here in Phuket I have never seen child abuse, except we are talking about some underaged 16 y.o. girls in Thai Karaoke Bars.

Btw, I find it annoying to see old fellas about 60-70 years of age walking around with a 18-20y.o. too in my opinion they are not much better as the pädophiles we talk often here in TV Forum

70 year old guy with a 20 year old woman. You compare to a pedophile! Do give us the benefit of your wisdom. How old should his woman be? Or maybe you think the old guy should shoot himself to save you having to look at him?

Maybe a sliding scale for dating old guys is in order. 70 years old guy no younger than 60 year old girlfriend.

There is a Thai guy who lives in Chiang Mai. He is a big wheel in Chiang Mai. He is at all the local functions. He is 60 years old and keeps 6, 18 year old women. Yup you read that right 6. He puts them up in one of his hotels and helps them through university. Yes they are all university students.

Is he a pedophile?

Maybe you should read a little about Thai history. He is following in the footsteps of many famous and important people in Thailand.

Take your culture and narrow mind back to where you came from. This is Thailand.

Old Thai saying, “when in the land of the squinty eyed people it is best to squint.”

The question here is "is he a pedophile in his mind?" By law he is not.

Does sombody here really belive this guy came back to Thailand if he is guilty? AND they let him out on bail if they have any proof? Sorry but then you are on a level behind thinking or just in LOS for too long.

Like I said many times before. I will never understand people publishing bullshit like this with full name and a picture, BEFORE the suspect (the word says it all) is PROOFED guilty!

Cancel my membership in TV Forum but if one is not allowed to say what he is thinking anymore dark times begin!

Does sombody here really belive this guy came back to Thailand if he is guilty?

Whatever the truth is, guilty or not, it would have given him very bad press and people would think he did not come back because he is guilty and he would break bail rules (another problem)

What is more disturbing is that this is the second time this week, firstly with phone charges, that the Abhisit government is trying to roll back the free market system.

Abhisit is moving the country towards a communist, statist system whereby prices and eventually wages will be government controlled.

Policies such as these are doomed to failure.

What has your post to do with free market system? What would happen, if the governemnt would not control wages? Would you pay your staff THB 1000 per month instead of the minimum wage, regulated by the government? What is wrong with adjusting unfair bank fees?

It has everything to do with the free market system. If I paid my staff THB 1000 per month then they would leave for better pay and I would have to raise salary level until I could attract staff to do the job. In fact, I do employ Thai staff and I pay them 60-80k THB per month to keep them.

That's how the free market works. I don't need a government to tell me how much I should pay.

Likewise, I offer my customers a low cost and a high valued service. If I don't then my competitors will take my business away. That's how the free market works. I don't need a government to tell me how much I should charge.

If you can prove that all the banks are colluding to raise prices and there is no competition, then I will agree that the government should step in and stop the collusion. But if you read the posts in this thread you will see that many posters give advice on alternatives to get around these charges. If enough people move to the alternatives then the banks charging high fees will have to reduce them or face losing business. It's the way the free market system works, and works very well around the free world.

In Thailand this is the second time this week that the government has stepped in to stop the free market from working. First with phone charges, now with bank charges. Evidence that the country is moving towards a statist, centrally-controlled policy. Which is exactly what Sondhi Lim and the yellow shirt leaders have always demanded. It would appear that Abhisit is complying. The issue is much larger than paying 150baht withdrawl fee at an ATM

This thread is about adusting unfair bank fees. My example about regulation of minimum salary was just to give an example what could happen, if the government would not regulate minimum wages. Of course, you can pay the next applicant THB 2000 (a bit less desperate and he would take the job). My first thought was about people, who desperately need to support their families and would accept any salary to get a job (which would not meet the requirements of minimum salary regulated by the government and they would not even complain, as they are happy to have a job. Complaining to authorities would mean they will loose their job may be not immediately, but later)

As you mention, you are a very fair employer, paying thai people for their skills a good salary (60-80k THB per month is a very good salary for skilled employees in Thailand - nothing to say about this, but there are others doing not.

Back to the banks. If all banks charge the fee of THB 150 in question, where is the competition? To go around the law is not a solution, the fee has to be justified. This is the issue in this thread.

Most ATM machines do accept to pull THB 20,000 at a time and do charge fee of THB 150.

My credit card company charges 1% for using the card at an ATM machine in Thailand and my foreign bank gets their fee too.

Can you do another transaction the same day and pull another 20,000? (no question that the same fee has to be paid again) Has anyone the answer to this question?

Just curious what credit card company are you using that only charges 1% for using the card at an ATM machine in Thailand? thks

mastercardI

Do you see the answer I posted to your question? If not, it's once every 24 hour period. And I think you are talking about an ATM card, not a credit card. Most credit cards charge 3% for a foreign transaction fee. An ATM card from Visa or Mastercard charges 1%. Although I have a grandfathered Visa credit card that I can charge airline tickets etc at only 1% and a higher rate than even the TT exchange rate...

No, I am not talking about an ATM card. I have a mastercard gold from the bank in my home country. When I use the card at an ATM machine in Thailand, for a pull of THB 20,000, I see on my foreign credit card statement the amount of THB 20,150 plus 1 % fee from THB 20,150 (for using the foreign card in in a foreign country - what is mentioned)

In addition to this my foreign home bank charges 2 % for the same transaction.

If anyone has a better deal, please let me know. It might be small fees if you use small amounts for every transaction, but if you count doing this every month for many years, the money you could have saved could have made you a slummdog millionaire.

Any suggestions?

Most ATM machines do accept to pull THB 20,000 at a time and do charge fee of THB 150.

My credit card company charges 1% for using the card at an ATM machine in Thailand and my foreign bank gets their fee too.

Can you do another transaction the same day and pull another 20,000? (no question that the same fee has to be paid again) Has anyone the answer to this question?

Just curious what credit card company are you using that only charges 1% for using the card at an ATM machine in Thailand? thks

mastercard

Bye-bye Rucharee...

Banned.

Whether Rucharee is Thai, or a farang troll, I don't think banning her/him is called for. The true silliness has come from ThaiVisa's ever-sanctimonious cadre of busybodies and railbirds.

Guess if you banned THEM, however, ad revenue might suffer, eh?

So someone politely pokes us in the eye, and instead of considering the source, and moving on, we BAN them?

Oh well TiT(V) - This is ThaiVisa...

"you people can afford it", this is an offence and against thaivisa rules

You can get into contact with her through hi5 (same picture)

What is more disturbing is that this is the second time this week, firstly with phone charges, that the Abhisit government is trying to roll back the free market system.

Abhisit is moving the country towards a communist, statist system whereby prices and eventually wages will be government controlled.

Policies such as these are doomed to failure.

What has your post to do with free market system? What would happen, if the governemnt would not control wages? Would you pay your staff THB 1000 per month instead of the minimum wage, regulated by the government? What is wrong with adjusting unfair bank fees?

Hum, I have three Thai bank accounts. So what. How do I get money into those accounts from the US without paying fees? I have found probably the least costly way, but if you know some way that the receiving bank doesn't charge me, please let me know...

Of course you have to pay at some point for international transfer from your US bank to your Thai one, but if you transfer a few thousand dollars each month those costs are not that high and certainly a lot lower than going to an ATM several times a week to withdraw money from your US bank.

So IMO the problem is not that Thai banks charge money for international accounts at ATM's, the problem is the US banks (or any other non-Thai bank) that is charging for international transfers.

Sorry but I disagree. Bank of America charges me $3 for any amount to transfer to Bangkok Bank New York branch. Bangkok Bank NY charges me $5 (for $2,000 or less, over $2,000, $10 and up depending on the amount) to accept the transfer and send it to Bangkok. Bangkok Bank Bangkok, charges me 200 Baht to receive the transfer from their NY branch. All done online. By the way I can pull 25,000 Baht at one pull at a Bangkok Bank ATM with my Bank of America ATM card for 150 Baht plus 1% to VIsa and $5 to Bank of America. I don't know why some people can only get 10,000 Baht out per pull.

Most ATM machines do accept to pull THB 20,000 at a time and do charge fee of THB 150.

My credit card company charges 1% for using the card at an ATM machine in Thailand and my foreign bank gets their fee too.

Can you do another transaction the same day and pull another 20,000? (no question that the same fee has to be paid again) Has anyone the answer to this question?

Since we're having a bit of a broader medical care discussion now, here's another tip to consider:

In many cases, individual doctors don't just work at one hospital... Typically, they may work at 2 or 3 or more -- with different days and hours at each different hospital around Bangkok.

In many cases, they may have a "full time" job at a government hospital, and then work additional shifts at private ones. Or they may have a main gig at one private, and then work other days/shifts at other privates.

What does that mean to you the customer?

It means the same doctor you might see at Bumrungrad for a 1000 or 1200 baht physician's fee may be holding office hours on a different day at St. Louis for a 500 or 600 baht physician's fee... and then calculate the difference in all the related costs accordingly. The hospital names may change doctor to doctor, but the idea remains the same.

I've had that exact thing happen with a couple of doctors I've seen here over the past few years.

One guy, a dermatologist, used to have his main gig at pretty pricey BNH, but then he left to join a new private dermatology hospital (which I assume is at least as expensive, if not moreso), but he kept his one day per week assignment at St. Louis.... The fee at St Louis was about half the price to see the same doctor at BNH...

Likewise, I had another doctor I was seeing at one point at St. Louis... and for that particular issue, St. Louis didn't stock a particular kind of medicine in its pharmacy. But, it turned out, the same doctor also had a one-day a week schedule at Bumrungrad, so I went to see him there just in case I ended up needing the medicine there...though fortunately I didn't.

Most of the private hospitals have lists of their doctors online on their web sites. So if you have a particular doctor you like at one of the pricier hospitals, you might ask him/her if they have assignments at any other hospitals, or just look at a few other local hospitals web sites to see if that doc shows up on their staff lists. You might be surprised.

very true! I now many thai people covered by government social scheme. They go to a private hospital, check their preferred doctor's schedule when they are on duty in a government hospital to see him/her there.

Why don't more foreigners who live here permanently use public hospitals? They are not as luxurious as the private ones, but the medical standard is mostly good and the prices of medicines often lower than in the pharmacies. The private ones, although better equipped, will often give you the treatment that is the most profitable to them, not necessarily what is the most useful for the patient.

I think the article is not about private hospitals, they do not get re-imboursed by the thai social system, they get their fees from the patient or from the insurance of the patient (any country if properly covered - thais with private insurance included)

To me it seems that the article is about government hospitals, providing treatment and medication, who are charging more than the the actual costs, which they provide to the government social insurance to be paid back. If this is the case, it is understandable that it has to be investigated and actions have to be taken to reduce these costs for the good of this country.

These people would have a heart attack if they ever got a bill from a US hospital

We're not in America? I come from a country where hospitals are free and medication very cheap or free but I have no complaints about the prices here, private or government take your pick. Of course nothing is free as we pay taxes for the privilege of "free healthcare" but no complaints with that either. The money has to come from somewhere!

Please explain in which country you pay for your health insurance, where hospitals and medications are free.

Does one need to be a resident there? How to proceed to get these advantages???

Hope you can enlighten us here in the forum

These people would have a heart attack if they ever got a bill from a US hospital

This is why thai people on holiday in the US do not go to a US hospital (to avoid a heart attack)

There is a cost to physically dispense the medication. There is also a cost associated with maintaining an inventory. Dispensing medications in a hospital is a time consuming process with alot of manual labour that only adds to the costs. The markups on medication adminstered in a hospital are used to help cover the costs of having a hospital that is open and staffed 24/7. Before anyone flies off the handle, consider this: You know the local pharmacy where you can buy the drugs for next to nothing? Ask them how much they would charge to have a doctor write a prescription, deliver it to the pharmacy and then have the pharmacy prepare one or two tablets to be delivered to your bedside by an RN, who would then supervise the dosing.

The markups referenced in the article are insignificant compared to what patients pay in other countries without a government drug plan. It is not unusual for some drugs in the USA to have a 1000% markup. There are however downsides to having a generous drug plan and France illustrates this best. France has a population that is clueless to the costs of drugs since the drugs are covered in large part by the national health plan and/or by supplementary insurance which almost 9 out of 10 people have. The result is that the French spend more on expensive proprietary brands, bypassing generics, and there is a greater likelihood to prescribe drugs in France then there is elsewhere in the EU and North America. When no cost attaches to something, the option is abused.

Yes, Thai hospitals take advantage of a situation. We know that. It is what happens in this part of the world. Personally, I find it repugnant, but we all know that the private healthcare system is run on a for profit basis. It would be great if there was a public drug plan, but who would pay for it? Does anyone think Mr. Abhisit could get away with raising taxes on his supporters to pay for the scheme?

Well said. Also can you purchase just two tablets from your druggist. If time was money how much would it cost to go to the drug store and are they open at three in the morning. Also do they have what you need? I take vitamin b3 and it was hard to find a supplier for it. Even when I did it was watered down.

That being said ten times the drug store price is uncalled for. Also I might add it works both ways I tried to buy a drug there and they told me I would have to get a prescription for it.

Would you have the same opinion if you would work in thailand and receive thai salary??? Do you think thais would buy their medicine in your country on their holiday?? You have to see the whole picture. It not not about tourists buying their meds cheaper in thailand than in their own country.

The only reason I pay the price for prescription drugs in hospitals is because I an not so sure id the drug I am buying at the outside phamarcy is the real thing. I suppose that is the case also in the hospitals. I would like to be sure due to my condition that I am being supplied with the correct drugs and not a copy from a Third World country.

What pharmacy can you trust in Thailand?? Boots?

Did you know that there are hospitals associated with pharmacy manufacturing in Thailand ???

read : http://www.phuket-health-travel.com/hospital.htm

What does this mean???

The poor guy shouldn't have even been jailed in the first place!!! Once again the Thais come down way too hard on foreigners in Thailand. The only time when they realize that they've been doing something wrong / stupid is when foreigners stop coming to Thailand all together!!!

Get some information about what "state of emergency" means before you post. What has this to do with being thai or foreigner? There are charges for violating the state of emergency for thais (you think foreigners should not be charged). Both would have broken the law if they would have violated the state of emergency. It is not about doing "something wrong", it is about breaking the law. Got it????

Democrats Link Riots with Red-shirt Networks Overseas

The ruling Democrat Party suggests red-shirt elements overseas have also played a part in the recent riots in Bangkok.

Democrat spokesperson Buranut Samutharuk said his party has obtained evidence that red-shirt networks overseas have incited anti-government protesters to stage mayhem in Bangkok.

Buranat indicated that the red-shirt networks have encouraged the protesters to stage arson attacks on shopping malls and banks.

Buranut revealed the suggestions on arson attacks were made through a website called NorPorChorUSA2.com. The website has already been blocked by the Thai authorities.

The party spokesman said the interview of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra with Asia Times magazine over his alleged order for red-shirt protesters to spread violence if they are dispersed will be used as evidence in an ongoing investigation against the former premier.

This might depend on the passport he is using

Buranut also said the Foreign Ministry has received full co-operation from European countries to restrict Thaksin's movement and ensure their countries are not being used as a springboard for political attacks against Thailand.

France has recently issued a ban on Thaksin from delivering a speech at a seminar on the political crisis in Thailand. He then reportedly flew to London.

-- Tan Network 2010-05-22

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UK took away his visas some time ago , so they wont let him in, he may fly there but they wont let him land