qualtrough

I find that the post office employees are rather hit and miss with the CN22 forms. I have decided to use those all the time now as it surely cannot hurt and might well avoid a delay or needless opening of a package. Last time I was at the PO I asked for some and they gave me a small booklet of them.

Some time ago I bought a Nokia cell phone. Inside the phone it says it is a model 3315. My service provider is AIS, and when the phone is on it says AIS GSM at the top of the display. Not a fancy phone, but I thought (?)at the time it was supposed to be a tri-band that would work in the USA. However, in several trips back to the US I have been unable to use the phone in the US and HK. I would appreciate anyone with expertise in this area letting me know what I need, or what I need to do, in order to make calls using a Thai mobile when in the US. If it means getting a new model, please let me know what to ask/look for. Thanks in advance for any helpful replies.

Go to any phone store and have it unlocked - easy process can even be done by yourself with a brief google search.

Vespa-thanks much. I will try the search.

Vespa-a follow up question if I may. Unlocking will allow another SIM card to be used, but will it deal with the problem of my phone not roaming and finding a local carrier in the USA or HK?

Some time ago I bought a Nokia cell phone. Inside the phone it says it is a model 3315. My service provider is AIS, and when the phone is on it says AIS GSM at the top of the display. Not a fancy phone, but I thought (?)at the time it was supposed to be a tri-band that would work in the USA. However, in several trips back to the US I have been unable to use the phone in the US and HK. I would appreciate anyone with expertise in this area letting me know what I need, or what I need to do, in order to make calls using a Thai mobile when in the US. If it means getting a new model, please let me know what to ask/look for. Thanks in advance for any helpful replies.

Go to any phone store and have it unlocked - easy process can even be done by yourself with a brief google search.

Vespa-thanks much. I will try the search.

Definitely a mafia business, and we try to manage and remove the ppl in our district when they are around. We got rid of the farang beggar with the sign as well. Cheeky sod.

Do you mean the guy who "just needs a few hundred baht for his ticket home"? He's still here. I saw him at BTS Siam Square at the weekend.

As for a mafia controlling the beggars, yes I believe it's true. I travel to different areas of Bangkok each day and have noticed at least 3 beggars who take it in turns to sit at the same places. The places are as far apart as Petchaburi Road, Silom and Soi Ari.

One of them, an old lady, has only one leg and the stump on the other leg is bandaged and has a spot of "blood" seeping out. I have seen her for about 3 years now with exactly the same spot of blood.

Another, a blind man, has huge loudspeakers and can be heard singing at least 30 meters away.

Another woman sits and bangs away at some kind of bells.

These 3 beggars take it in turns at sitting at exactly the same spots in 3 different areas but are never there together. How can some blind man drag 50kg of equipment across Bangkok from day to day.

Also, today I noticed a beggar setting up some electronic keyboards with huge speakers on top of a footbridge. How can they afford such equipment?

Petedk(er du dansk?) There is no Mafia, find a begger who speaks english or if you speak thai, then buy them a mal for 40B and give it to one that you can talk to and you will find that it NOT what you WANT to THINK. This way , especially when you talk to more than 25,That I have, then you know it's nothing but a scream for help-I'll admit there are SOME PHONIES out there, even a lot of farang, try there luck. But the mainstream are the Humble ones, just ask them, they pick those areas cause it where the most people with $$ are of course. If you needed to beg wouldn't you also find the best place for it?

Let's review. You spoke with approximately 25 beggars and they told you they are not part of any organized gang? Of course they would tell you if they were under the influence of a gang, so I guess that settles the issue...

The Captain is right about begging gangs in prime locations. This topic has been investigated numerous times over the years by the Post and Nation, government agencies, and NGOs. For an example, follow the link posted by Meadish Sweetball on page 3 of this thread. These gangs are ruthless and exploit disabled people and babies. As someone else pointed out, many of the beggars are not even Thai, but are primarily Cambodians. I am sure many Thais give because they genuinely feel for the beggars, but for many it is a function of making merit by giving to the poor. I think a better reaction to this situation would be to give to a legitimate charity that deals with the poor. If you are giving to beggars in any downtown location in Bangkok you are almost certainly enabling the gangs that exploit these people.

Some time ago I bought a Nokia cell phone. Inside the phone it says it is a model 3315. My service provider is AIS, and when the phone is on it says AIS GSM at the top of the display. Not a fancy phone, but I thought (?)at the time it was supposed to be a tri-band that would work in the USA. However, in several trips back to the US I have been unable to use the phone in the US and HK. I would appreciate anyone with expertise in this area letting me know what I need, or what I need to do, in order to make calls using a Thai mobile when in the US. If it means getting a new model, please let me know what to ask/look for. Thanks in advance for any helpful replies.

Well My friend(GF) Filipina working in minburi has sent me two small packages and both just seem to have disappeared. First was in Feb,2006..never got that..sent just plain old mail..not surprised.

The second one she sent around Aug.10. This time sent RMS. The Guy at Big C where she sent it from said "No EMS in New Mexico" so they sent it RMS..

Did a "Track and Trace" on the RMS Registered Mail Service

Results for RBxxxxxxxxxTH

Scan Location Description Delivery Status

Monday, August 21, 2006 12:11:34 PM

KHLONG CHAN Accept

What's this mean? Lost in Khlong Chan?

Don't know my Thailand Geography very well yet, but I'm guessing that it didnt get far from Big C

Does this happen a lot even with registered mail? Not really worried, just a couple of Tshirts. Was in an RMS envolope. Any tips on shipping so things dont disappear?

Whats the big deal for a couple of Tshirts? Guess I'm glad to help out if someone needed them

Looks like the last know location for the package was Klong Chan postal center. Your girlfriend should bring the documentation down to a post office to put a trace on it.

If your girlfriend sent something from Big C she was using a private postal service like Mailbox Inc. They generally provide a good service, but just take your mail down to the post office after charging you a bit extra for the convenience. In my opinion this just adds an additional opportunity for mail to go missing. Advise her to send directly from a post office next time. Airmail times can vary considerably. I find packages and small envelopes to the US take about 2-3 weeks on average, but I just had someone say it took a month. Registered mail can slow things down a bit because transit of the item must be recorded at various stages. Overall I have had very good results with the Thai Postal system over the last 25 years (knock on wood).

Hi all,

I'm getting errors back when I load Firefox {default page google.com/ncr} and on this site the google link also fails {colour image for link not being displayed either}. IE doesn't show it though other sites like this one , bbc, etc. ok in both browsers. Is this just me or others seeing problems?

Regards

I haven't been able to raise Google on IE or FF since last night!

I don't know anything about this particular model or whether or not the price is a good one, but you should not necessarily be put off by high mileage over a short time period. This can be better than the same mileage over a longer period. Why? Components often wear out because of age, not use. Seals dry out and crack, gaskets start to leak, rubber components degrade over time, etc. & etc. These components will generally be in much better shape after three years than they would after 5, 6, 10, etc. Thus it is not unusual to find a high mileage but relatively young vehicle more reliable than a low mileage but older machine. If you ascertain that it is in good mechanical shape and that the price is a good one it could still be a good deal, all other things being equal.

You are comparing 167k on a three year old and on a six year old cars. In this case you should compare it to a same three year old car but with 60-80k - about average mileage for Thailand.

No. I wrote that if the price is a good one it could still be a good deal. As I also wrote, I don't know anything about this particularly model. However, if this one is priced, say, 30% or more below a similar aged but lower mileage example (i.e. a good price) it might still be worth a look, provided of course he has the mechanicals checked out , e.g. compression, etc. & etc. by someone he can trust.

This is no Jazz

167k in three years???? Forget it. Maybe they are looking for someone too nice to refuse and found you.

I don't know anything about this particular model or whether or not the price is a good one, but you should not necessarily be put off by high mileage over a short time period. This can be better than the same mileage over a longer period. Why? Components often wear out because of age, not use. Seals dry out and crack, gaskets start to leak, rubber components degrade over time, etc. & etc. These components will generally be in much better shape after three years than they would after 5, 6, 10, etc. Thus it is not unusual to find a high mileage but relatively young vehicle more reliable than a low mileage but older machine. If you ascertain that it is in good mechanical shape and that the price is a good one it could still be a good deal, all other things being equal.

Honestly i thought it was Gary Glitter.....but he is in Jail

Must be somebody else insane .....i don't understand the Op's priorities and i guess i am not alone here. He wants to look good on a "Trike" which as driving it without helmet looks cool and he is much safer as it has an "additional" wheel....

Perhaps the jail accomodating Mr. Glitter features Internet access?

I have read this thread and the OP's previous thread and can't help but think that this is a big pisstake, as the Brits would say. The OP is terribly worried about safety, but won't wear a helmet because it gives him a bad hair day and would cut down on his dating prospects? Oh come on! His obsession with falling off a motor bike despite that being probably the very least safety worry he would experience on a bike seems undiminished despite what legions of experienced riders here have told him. Do I need to mention the harebrained modifications he has proposed as well? Either this is a big joke or the OP is a complete idiot, or both...

When I was in the Philippines I got 3 years behind and had the H.R. Block rep do my taxes. He recommended sending them separately somewhat spaced apart in the hopes of avoiding creating any suspicion at the IRS. How that would work or even if it would work I have no idea, but he seemed to think it was a good idea.

Lomatopo--Is TaxAct set up to deal with those of us resident overseas, e.g. need the exclusion docs, etc.? I just looked at their site and didn't see anything dealing with that. Otherwise looks interesting. If it is, which version did you use?

I am in the same boat as the OP, being about 4 years behind in filing. I worked in Manila 2000-2002 and there was an HR Block Rep there who did my returns for $140 per filing. A year or two back I spoke with someone here and they wanted something like $500 plus so I just put it on the back burner. If anybody qualified is willing to do a pretty basic return for less than that I would love to hear about it.

I wish I could find it, but I recently saw an article in Forbes or some such publication about how the resale value of timeshares was extremely low. I just Googled one article that said the average loss on a timeshare transaction was 46%! Google timeshare + resale for more info. In most cases an extremely bad deal/investment, which is why they use the sleazy high pressure sales schemes to get rid of them. Even if I was interested in one I cannot imagine doing so in Thailand, where the enforcement of any consumer protection laws (if they even exist in this case) is nil.

thanks for all the good ( and bad) tips ;-)

This is not the first startup form scratch for me , and everytime there there are different problems. So far I found language ( and the confusing spelling and translation ) is a bigger problem here than it was in Singapore,Chzech republic, or even indonesia .

I am sure I'll find my way around and I will not give up so quickly . Sometimes it is just good to share the frustration. I have some thai help from next month onwards, and so far , everything runs still as planned , more or less.

ok then bkk, its sweet then, as we have helped you with your quandary.

well done to us punters.

one other thing fella ,

dont forget to have a " jai yen "

cheers

terry57-Get on down to Pantip Plaza and buy a new keyboard with an Enter key that doesn't double space and a working Shift key. I reckon you can find one for about 100 Baht.

OK, some more bad PR for Thailand, but this one has an interesting twist. Note the sentence I have bolded below. I am curious as to what constitutes an 'unusual' number of trips to Thailand? I am glad they caught this guy, but I wonder if they were on to this guy first and then counted up the trips, or if it was the number of trips that got the ball rolling. If it is the latter it might be worrisome to anyone who travels here frequently for legit reasons. Imagine getting a visit from the Feds asking you why you visited Thailand so often, what you do when you are here, have you ever been to location X or X, do you mind if we look at your computer...

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/08/29/sex.prof...r.ap/index.html

It's a psychological technique used to get customers to stay in the shop longer. It is well thought out, and has nothing to do with Thai management.

You see the lines are full, you naturally take a look around, "Oh I missed that bottle of wine!"

Store just made more money from you by having less staff, and taking advantage of impulse buyers.

I really, really doubt that. What kind of logic tells someone that they should get one more item and lose their place in line? I would believe that point of purchase sales rise since people are standing in line with nothing to do but look at the goods on offer by the register. If the lines look ridiculous I ditch the cart. If I am really thinking I will check the lines before beginning shopping. If they are really long I will go somewhere else or buy a few items and use the express lane. I avoid stores that consistently present shopping nightmares. Lots of choices here nowadays.

Hey guys - don't get your knickers in a twist - My suggestion wasn't meant to be taken too seriously - this is a light hearted thread isn't it?

I just had a vision of qualtrough, sitting - Homer Simpson-like - at his kichen table, awaiting his beloved to serve him lunch, knowing full well that his coke bottle was empty for the umteenth time, and when she goes to the fridge and discovers it so, she rushes off in a tizzy to get the motorcycle man to rush down to the 7-11 for a replacement before hubby throws a wobbly.

Probably completely untrue.

However, when this sort of thing has happened in my household, I have got off my arse and done something about it myself' and - for as us farangs say - lead by example; and for the most part it works. Of course sometimes, I'm lumbered from thereon in - "let the silly old bugger do it himself if he wants to", thinks wifey.

Anyway qualtrough - no insult intended - may your lunches forever be a haven of copious, un-empty bottles of coke

Mobi, your vision was pretty accurate, except that for lunch I like to eat while surfing the net, so lunch is served at my computer desk. I would write more but lunch is about to be served. God help her if there isn't an iced tea on that tray!

From the anger and frustration expressed in your post it doesn't appear that you have what it takes to do business here. Not sure why you chose Thailand, but you might want to look elsewhere. The Thais will live happily without you.

And that is what most westerners would call 'back peddling'

Thaddeus-Would you care to explain further what you mean by 'back peddling.'? I assume you mean that I was being disingenuous when I said that neither the OP nor I wrote or implied that Thais had an inability to plan. The OP was referring to his wife and made no other claims beyond that, and I answered the question posed by his post by letting him know he was not the only one in the same boat. If my assumption of your meaning is incorrect I apologize, and would appreciate your explaining what you mean by 'back peddling'. If my assumption is correct, would you mind carefully re-reading the OP and my post and then point out anything in them that refers to, or implies, that Thais as a whole are unable to plan? Others on this thread have made that claim-I have not. Please don't put words in my mouth.

The OP is not alone. My wife has many virtues, but planning is not among them. One way this manifests itself is at lunchtime. I drink either Coke or iced tea. At least once a week I am informed that we are out of those, despite my having repeatedly told her that when she sees one bottle left in the fridge that means it is time to get more. Very simple, no? See one bottle=time to order more. Getting more is as simple as making a phone call to a motorcycle taxi to wing down to the 7/11 for 10 B roundtrip, but more often than not that happens as I sit waiting for something to drink at lunchtime, not before. I have tried everything-it is hopeless. I suppose as faults go it could be far worse. Not that that is the only one... I would balance this by recounting one of my faults but I can't think of any at the moment.

I can. When your bottle of coke is getting low, why don't you get up off your arse and go and buy a new one, instead of sitting around getting upset with your 'dearest' for not planning like a farang and not running to your beck and call?

As I suspect is the case in most marriages, the tasks involved in the running of the household and undertaking all the various other duties involved in maintaining a life together are divided between the spouses. My wife does not have a job outside the home, so I am the sole financial provider, house and vehicle maintainer, chauffeur, etc. & etc. My wife takes care of many household chores and prepares meals (some, not all) for me. This division of labor is such a natural arrangement that it is not really worthy of comment except to point out that in our marriage, like most others, there are different obligations for each of the parties. I could indeed certainly get up and run down to the store to get a drink when my wife forgets to restock. Using your yardstick I have to assume then that if my wife needs money for something I should tell her to get up off her arse and get a job? You mind your marriage and I will mind mine thank you very much.

Mobi-Reread my post. I neither wrote nor implied anything about 'planning like a farang'. The OP asked if there were others experiencing what he had, and I replied to let him know he was not alone in that regard. I have just re-read the original post and see that the OP also made no claim that his wife's failure to plan was characteristic of Thais. If you want to characterize planning as a farang virtue you are free to do so, but those are your words, not mine.

I plan to spend 4-5 months in Thailand. I bank with Bank of America which I understand has offices in Thailand. I will be in remote villages most of the time, so I will have to use ATMs. Is it expensive, convenient to get cash this way? As a foreign tourist, how difficult is it to open a bank account in Thailand?

kind regards,

Karl

I had the experience that the foreign banks in thailand act the same as the local banks.

UOB Thailand don´t even know that Singapore exist.

Deutsche Bank... complete useless

I travel with: Austrian ATM, works nearly everywhere, VISA card, American Express and if it gets outside money cash in my pocket (Baht or USD).

If it looks dangerous I put a part of the cash in my socks (so foot/socks/show) but still money in my wallet so if a bad guy takes my money he get something (so he don´t think I am hiding money) but not all (but that might be not necessary for Thailand).

If you have a 5000 Baht with you, it is not a hugh amount but enough to do anything somewhere outside.

Not a bad idea, but I wouldn't let any Thais in on that secret as they hold the King in very high regard, and placing banknotes with his image on them in your socks would be considered extremely disrespectful.

I have seen the forklift photo before. I don't understand why they need to do that as the first forklift surely has enough lift to rise to the landing?

The OP is not alone. My wife has many virtues, but planning is not among them. One way this manifests itself is at lunchtime. I drink either Coke or iced tea. At least once a week I am informed that we are out of those, despite my having repeatedly told her that when she sees one bottle left in the fridge that means it is time to get more. Very simple, no? See one bottle=time to order more. Getting more is as simple as making a phone call to a motorcycle taxi to wing down to the 7/11 for 10 B roundtrip, but more often than not that happens as I sit waiting for something to drink at lunchtime, not before. I have tried everything-it is hopeless. I suppose as faults go it could be far worse. Not that that is the only one... I would balance this by recounting one of my faults but I can't think of any at the moment.