Gumballl

unbelievable... don't know if to blame the US or Germany/FIFA. The England-Paraguay match has been delayed here (in the US) by an hour.

This is possibly due to two reasons... the Americans are cheap, and they want to blend 4-hours of soccer coverage together (the T&T-Sweden match comes on after), and/or the Germans/FIFA are stupid for scheduling matches an hour apart, even though the matches are held in different stadiums.

Doesn't Germany/FIFA realize that a hour of broadcast "downtime" is a waste of money for the broadcasters??? It is no wonder why the ABC network here in the US is delaying the match.

Oh well, I guess I will have to wait another 32 minutes to start watching the game. You folks in LOS probably don't realize how lucky you are to see the game live.

I haven't the slightest idea concerning the settlement form (I'm from the US), however I was just thinking that it would be easy for you to merely write down the phonetic spelling of the names of your in-laws. I doubt that the Embassy is going to verify the "spelling".

The mango.

I always though the King was just a revered figure head of the country? It is a surprise that he has the power to release (err, pardon) convicted criminals. It is a surprise he has any powers at all.

Such a shame that so many are being released. It sort of blemishes the Royal Majesty's special day.

You could ping the server at a time you suspect it of being down, for example at 3 a.m. at server location. If it is down, you will get a message indicating that the server could not be found:

---------------

Maestro

My system at home is up 24/7, and I bet you would not be able to ping it. Go ahead, try!

Maestro, on a simple setup, your ping test may work, however with a proper firewall setup, pinging should not return a reply, thus masking the fact that there is even a server there.

OP - what kind of systems do you have at your office?

Maestro, actually I may be wrong with my assumptions. But I know there is a way to prevent someone from getting replies to a ping.

You could ping the server at a time you suspect it of being down, for example at 3 a.m. at server location. If it is down, you will get a message indicating that the server could not be found:

---------------

Maestro

My system at home is up 24/7, and I bet you would not be able to ping it. Go ahead, try!

Maestro, on a simple setup, your ping test may work, however with a proper firewall setup, pinging should not return a reply, thus masking the fact that there is even a server there.

OP - what kind of systems do you have at your office?

Is it just me???? I sincerely want PM Thaksin to do nothing and let the Thai economy collapse. This would be a good thing for farang, right? I do not live in LOS, and all of my dough is in US dollars. I really would like to see an exchange rate of 50 baht to the dollar.

The US Embassy also does not accept cash for visas. One must go to a Thai Post Office and purchase what appears to be a money order. I forgot whether there is a fee or not for this, but if there is, I'm sure it isn't much.

In my case the ATM took the card withdrew the monies from my acocunt in the states and then did not dispense the cash. Try to explain to the people at the bank that the money did not come out and watch them snicker when they ask you to proove that the funds did not come out.

I am very lucky that my bank is very customer oriented. Had an immediate response to my email and the money was back into my acocunt within one hour. I then turned around and did a Cash Advance on the card within the bank in person.

ATM's are a thing of the past for me, effectively immediately.

It is very rare for an ATM not to dispense money, and yet debit your account of the funds. How did you approach the bank staff? Did you throw a tantrum?

There are two ways that a bank can determine if a customer did (or did not) receive the cash: 1) is to look at the video record, and 2) is to go over the transaction records kept by the ATM/bank and reconcile the quantity of funds still available within the ATM.

Did you ask the bank to perform either of these? Or did you merely say the ATM did not give me money?

I guess during the rest of the year, or when nobody important is celebrating a birthday, the homeless are just worthless sh*t that are ignored.

This report clearly shows the callousness of the Thai gov't.

850,000 Bangkok football fans gambling on World Cup

BANGKOK: -- More than 850,000 Bangkok residents will be betting an estimated 56 million dollars on the upcoming World Cup football matches in Germany, with most of them convinced that Brazil will emerge the champions, an opinion poll disclosed on Wednesday.

According to an Assumption University ABAC opinion poll of 1,584 people in Bangkok and its surrounding suburbs, 63.8 per cent of those surveyed said they intended to watch live broadcasts of the World Cup that will be held in Germany from June 9 to July 9.

That may prove bad news for employee productivity in the Thai capital as the live broadcasts will be more...

It's a wonder how Assumption Uni was able to come up with the number of people that will gamble, and the amounts.

Their poll seems to suggest that they were able to determine (with a slight margin of error) the number of people that will watch the World Cup. Did they extrapolate that Thai's by nature are generally gamblers, and that they would wager 4-weeks salary on the games?

Maybe Assumption Uni was polling to see if people are betting that LOS will show "live" World Cup matches on television. That would make more sense.

Simple question.... does Thai Immigration go out of their way to verify one's (possibly new) address to be a residence (ie. a home or condo?)?

What bank does your GF use? If she uses Bangkok Bank (BB), you can wire money to BB's NYC branch. I believe that BB's ABA number is 026008691, but you may want to confirm this with your bank. Other than that, you will need your GFs bank account number.

If this option will not work, then consider using Western Union and expect to pay a fee of $30+.

P.S. Ask your GF to provide you with a receipt of the hospital expenses!

There were fuel subsidies from Oil Fund, but these days it's the other way around - part of fuel revenues goes to paying back 80 bil in Oil fund debts. The governement can reduce these oil fund contributions to keep the price lower for a while.

They've done it already.

1 month ago : they reduced of 1 THB/liter of diesel the contribution to the Oil Fund.

This is why the subsidies are not over. on the contrary. Thaksin will do everything to curb the price of gasoline before the elections. Even to put the economy in danger.

The -political- stakes are too important.

If Thaksin is willing to put the Thai economy in danger, then he's the man! I would love to see a repeat of the 1997-era.

My theory about the "skyrocketing" prices to fly from the US to BKK is because of two reasons:

1) Higher prices for fuel

2) The declining value of the US Dollar.

I would almost wager that the airline ticket prices in Thai Baht have not changed by more than perhaps 1-2%, however when you consider that the Dollar does not buy as many Baht as before, well, voila... higher ticket prices.

BTW, are the prices you looked at thru Thai Airlines? They may be high because you might have been looking at their non-stop flight from JFK to BKK.

I pay $0.16/min when using my Vonage phone line. Perhaps not the best price, but it works for me. And it's better than my mobile phone which costs $1.50/min

You stated that it went straight to the BIOS. Ok, that is normal. What happened after? Was the OS on your HDD booted? If so, it is quite possible that you have a faulty power-switch on the PC box. But then, that is merely a guess.

So you use a speed-dial (one-button) and you're in, then enter 011 66 0n nnn nnnn.

I think that the second zero (0) in your example is not necessary. I usually just dial 011 66n nnn nnnn or from my mobile phone +66n nnn nnnn.

No big deal though... some folks like pressing buttons.

When you receive your 30-day entry permit, your passport will be stamped with the date that you must leave. Thai immigration does this as a courtesy for those who can't count.

Jono - The info you posted is the requirements/hurdles one goes thru for (permanent?) residency in Thailand. Completely different ballgame than merely obtaining an O-visa for retirement.

After 3 years on a non-immigrant visa (i.e. the O-visa), one can then apply for residency, and thus the background check. Or, just remain on the O-visa (with renewals of course).

I for one would hope that the Thai gov't would tackle smoking and prohibit it from occuring in ALL workplaces.

As far as drinking is concerned, I think it will continue. Unfortunate though that a lot of drinkers (including tourists) get drunk without thinking of the repercussions of their actions, and put everyone at risk when they drive a car or motorbike. This issue occurs worldwide, not just in LOS.

I want to create a bank account. I have a non-immigration visa from getting married.

How do I fund it from Thailand?

Having only a tourist visa, I was able to open a savings account at Bangkok Bank (BB). The bank required me to have my identity verified at the US Embassy (I'm a US citizen). After bringing back the embassy-certified letter stating that I am indeed the gent appearing in my passport, I was able to open an account with a small amount (I only deposited 1000 baht initially).

Returning to the US, I setup the means to perform electronic (wire?) transfers from my US-based bank to the BB account. BB has a branch office in NYC, thus all I needed was the BB's ABA number and my account number. In the rest of the world, I believe that a Swift code is used in lieu of the ABA.

I hope this helps.

I'm also a US citizen and need to open an account at Bangkok Bank. How long did it take you at the embassy, how much did it cost, and did you need to make an appointment first or did you just walk into the embassy?

Can you get internet banking with that account? I've heard mixed stories about a tourist being able to get internet banking.

Do you have any recommendation on which branch to go to which will give me the least hassles?

I'm planning on getting a box at Mail Boxes, Etc. and use that as my address as I don't have a permanent address in BKK. Do you think that'll be ok with Bangkok Bank?

I went to the ACS (American Citizen Services) at the US Embassy on Wireless Road. Cost was about 800 baht for them to verify my identity. Wait was about 45 minutes (because it was crowded that particular day). The ACS closes at 2pm.

No I could not get internet banking (requires work permit I think?). However, I am able to verify my account balance, transfers, etc using an automated service via telephone.

The Bangkok Bank branch I went to sits between Sukhumvit 8 - 10. After returning with the affidavit from the US Embassy, it took me about 20 minutes to open a savings account (with an initial deposit of 1000 baht).

As for your last question, there is probably no way for any bank to verify your address. Makes me wonder if folks do this (i.e. use a MBE address) when reporting their address every 90-days to immigration.

If there are so many True customers in one building, and you suspect that True's problem is the server, then take up a collection to buy a new server.... and maintain it yourself. Just a thought.

It's not just the "rich" that cause deforestation. The poor are also to blame. In today's world IMO, a poor person would be happier being rich for a week (and then die), than to be poor for a lifetime.

Let me guess, the money is for the "dowry".

I would not give, or even take in cash so much money. But for all I know, that kind of money is pocket change for you.

The best thing I recommend is that you carry the money in the form of travellers checks. Do not carry cash. Also, consider using an ATM in Thailand, or obtaining a cash advance from a credit card (at a bank in Thailand). For these last two options, notify your bank that you will be making sizeable withdrawals/advances in Thailand, so that they do not suspect fraud or theft.

P.S. If the money is for a dowry, I would not recommend offering more than say 100K - 200K baht. To offer any more is ridiculous, nor is it warranted.