DavidMavec

16% annual interest can still be gotten from EMI for 24 month fixed deposits http://www.emimfi.com/emiweb/ . It's a microfinance institute, not a bank, but the service is good and you do not need a residence permit. Been around for over 10 years and was started with World Bank backing. I've had funds there for over a year and so far so good.

16% in Kip, Baht or USD, may I know? Anyway, thanks for useful info, David.

Sorry for the delay in responding, it's in kip. They only operate in kip whereas many of the banks offer accounts in THB/USD/kip...

16% annual interest can still be gotten from EMI for 24 month fixed deposits http://www.emimfi.com/emiweb/ . It's a microfinance institute, not a bank, but the service is good and you do not need a residence permit. Been around for over 10 years and was started with World Bank backing. I've had funds there for over a year and so far so good.

I live in Vientiane and a close friend of mine needs to go to Udon Thani tomorrow morning to have a minor surgery and it is a bit of an emergency (hospitals in Laos are not sufficient for this). I will go with him to make sure he is okay (I speak Thai) and would like to take him to a good hospital that is also affordable. I am not sure which hospital to take him to as I have noticed there are several in UT. Could someone please advise as to what would be best in terms of price/quality? I don't believe he has insurance.

Thank you very much in advance.

Perhaps slightly off topic but what about opening an account in Laos? The term deposits are competitive with Cambodia and the LAK has been rising/staying steady with the USD for the last nine years with only one short period of exception. If you invest in microfinance institutes in Laos, you can get up to 16% and one of them, EMI, has been open since 2005 with an excellent track record. If you choose to not take the LAK currency risk and keep your money in USD, you can still get 7% through BCEL Bank, which is one of the largest and partially state owned. If I am not mistaken, you can also get around 7% for THB. Almost all banks in Laos require you to have a work permit, which is a USD$600 process that can be done through a lawyer.

It is not a "Friendship Bridge" simply because it is not a bridge. It's a land crossing. Yes, foreigners can use it but it is out of the way from most places so most foreigners cross at a different location.

Answer them in English. They cannot read English.

Are you Russian or something?

Hello...

I am wondering if anyone knows of a good Christmas buffet 12/25 in Udon Thani, maybe at a nice hotel or something like that?

Cheers!

Today I bought a cheap blender for 399 THB at Tesco Lotus. Somehow I had forgotten the adage "You get what you pay for" as it is a piece of junk and I it doesn't blend very well at all. I would like to take it back and exchange it for a more expensive model. Does anyone know if this is possible? Anyone have any related experience? Obviously, buying a cheap blender is my mistake and so if I have to eat the amount, oh well, but I thought I'd try my odds first.

Indochina is offering 12.5% for the first two years which gets bumped up to 13.5% if you let them automatically renew your account after two years maturity.

Do they require the work permit or is passport enough ? Interest is paid yearly or at maturity ?

They require a work permit. Interest is paid at maturity for the interest rate I specified but you can choose to receive interest at the time you deposit the money, for a slightly reduced rate. The only bank I know of in Laos that does not require a work permit is Phonesavanh, which I have heard is in trouble.

You will get 30 days max. before you need to take the vehicle out; if you exceed 30 days you will be charged at the rate of 1000 THB per day up to a total of 10,000 THB.

Find someone to buy it using thaivisa or one of the other sites instead of selling it to a shop.

Currently, fixed rate saving accounts for LAK are offering between 13-16% interest.

Could you write which banks are offering 16% ?

A few micro finance banks offer 16%. Most major banks offer 13% for long term (5 year) savings.

Indochina is offering 12.5% for the first two years which gets bumped up to 13.5% if you let them automatically renew your account after two years maturity.

Don't pay anyone. Try the Stronglifts 5x5 routine to start. You can download videos on YouTube to get your form right for all the lifts.

What daveAustin said is about the worst advice anyone can give, second only to the chocolate cupcake diet. You will gain that weight back immediately if you do that and you will feel like garbage water fasting for a week. I am speaking from experience.

An excellent diet is the keto diet. It is a low carbohydrate, high fat, medium protein diet. I have been on it for about two months and have lost 12 kilos. I feel more sustained energy and am sleeping better than I have in a long time. I combine the diet with strength training and cardio. You don't need to starve yourself on it or eat unappetizing food. Eating a low carbohydrate over a long term period will help you keep the weight down and curb your cravings as well. I recommend you take a look at www.reddit.com/r/keto. You can also read a book on it called "The Ketogenic Diet" by Lyle McDonald but you don't need to read a long book to get started. PM me if you want any more information on it.

If you have a problem with the phone, I was told by Kasikorn Bank (but have not tried yet so I cannot verify it is problem free) that if you call them each time you need to use your card when you would normally get the OTP sent to your phone, they will send you an email with it.

How is that?

Yes .. Thats great iPhone 6 plus It says at the top.

It's OK .. I have come to expect this from Thailand .. Ask a simple question .. never get the answer.

How much is an iPhone 6 (not an iPhone 6 plus) in iStudio ? .. someone can't answer a simple question with a simple sentence and gives you a completely different answer, then everyone jumps to their defence to justify the fact.

I asked the question and received an answer. I think you need to read the thread better before whining. It will be the same for the iPhone 6, 500 THB over the price on Apple's website.

Would it be silly to get a 5s (at a reduced price) instead of a 6 right now?

I think so, but no one has posted the price of a iPhone 6 at istudio.

I just ordered the 6 from the apple store @ 29K, the 5S is 22K for a 64G and 32GB respectively .. Im sure I'm going to wait the full duration and expect some problems with delivery, but upgrading from a 32GB 3GS, and the 7,000B i don't think it would have been worth downsizing to another 32GB phone.

That's not true, Lammbock posted a link where you can find the prices. Looks to be 500 THB over the website prices.

You must have amazing eyesight .. I can't make out the price of an iPhone from those pics. There is a larger image of the iPhone plus at the bottom.

With no disrespect intended to Lammbock. How about someone answer the OP ..

Might be an idea to start the sentence off with .. The iPhone 6 32GB is xx, xxx the 64GB is xx,xxx and the 128GB is xx,xxx

Uhh, actually Lammbock answered my question. See post #2, which has a link where you can see the prices.

You're right.

I'm just curious about how other people are rationalizing their choice.

The 'kinks' don't usually show up until a product has been out for a couple of months.

You asked about how others are rationalizing their choice. I am planning on buying an iPhone 6 Plus. I currently have an iPhone 4S version and there are significant improvements from my version. I'm excited for the bigger screen because I read a lot on the phone. I think buying once every three versions is good for me, but certainly your idea of buying one version back is a good way to save money.

Would it be silly to get a 5s (at a reduced price) instead of a 6 right now?

Silly in what sense? You would definitely get a better price compared to before the iPhone 6 came out.

The 6 is new and it might take awhile to work out the kinks in the technology. And Apple is not shy about the price.

The 5s has a proven track record. It's getting cheaper. And it's close to the 6 in performance.

I want something that will fit in my pocket, without breaking.

Is it really worth the extra cost (and breakage risk) for the bigger phone?

It's hard for anyone to answer that question except you. It does not seem that many of the new iPhones actually are breaking in peoples pockets and this has been noticed more with the 6 Plus, the larger model. I haven't heard much about the "kinks in the technology" you mention either.

Would it be silly to get a 5s (at a reduced price) instead of a 6 right now?

I think so, but no one has posted the price of a iPhone 6 at istudio.

I just ordered the 6 from the apple store @ 29K, the 5S is 22K for a 64G and 32GB respectively .. Im sure I'm going to wait the full duration and expect some problems with delivery, but upgrading from a 32GB 3GS, and the 7,000B i don't think it would have been worth downsizing to another 32GB phone.

That's not true, Lammbock posted a link where you can find the prices. Looks to be 500 THB over the website prices.

Would it be silly to get a 5s (at a reduced price) instead of a 6 right now?

Silly in what sense? You would definitely get a better price compared to before the iPhone 6 came out.

I wanted to take a moment to update my comments. I am sorry I didn't do this earlier because I went back to the Coocase shop in Chiang Mai with my bike in early July and had a very good experience. The owner and his team provided excellent service this time and fixed the wiring and other issues with the box. Really outstanding service and I can tell the owner is taking pains to do as good a job as possible with his shop.

I've now had the box back since early July and with not really any problems. The box did move forward again, blocking the seat, but I realize now that this actually is not a problem with the box and just happens after a while after going over bumps as I have been riding it on bumpy Laos roads and the screws come loose. It's no big deal as any mechanic knows how to push it back and tighten the screws and it can be done in a couple minutes. I have also realized it is important to keep the lock well lubricated as it gets stuck if not and can end up locking up. I've put lube in it twice since July to prevent/counteract this from happening and it opens/closes a lot more smoothly.

Hopefully they will be able to open up shops in other major cities in Thailand soon.

Cheers.

I just left Luang Prabang on Friday, 31 Oct, and was able to exchange my extra kip to bhat at the exchange desk at the airport.

Sure, that was only for a short period in 2013 that you couldn't exchange LAK to other currencies.

It's just you.

How long have you been in Thailand for? Just asking.

Check here.

http://www.macthai.com/2014/10/31/macthai-istudio-sell-iphone-6-and-iphone-6-plus/

Thanks, it looks like they are 500 THB over the website price, that's not too bad. I just wonder when they have the list of carriers next to the prices (TRUE/AIS/DTAC), what that means, if it means they are locked to the carriers or simply that they give you a free SIM card as a gimmick/promotion.