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intresting story this one., and while I was reading something came to mind what happened to me once on khao san about a year ago.

Somehwere through the small alley ways paralel to khao san (maybe the same as in the op). some time ago there were a few very relaxed bob marley reggae bars.

My favorite one, now all gone unfortunately was famous for the sell of mariuhana, now I have had my fine share when I was still living in Holland and would not buy anything illigal here in Thailand but the bar itself was a nice place to sit and when having friends coming over I used to take them for a beer there.

Once I was siting there with a good friend having a beer at around 3-4 pm when 2 coppers drove by on their bike. Just looking and kept driving.

About an hour later we took a stroll on khao san itself when the came coppers on the bike drove past and immideately stopped us over to check everything. I must say they were quite polite and pretty torough in their search. Since we were on the middle of the street it drew quite some attention from the other tourists passing by but I took everything from my pockets, showed it to them and showed my empty pockets, my friend did the same. After that they conducted a body search because obviously they knew what was happening at the reggae bar but we had nothing to hide and did everything with a big smile.

After 5 minutes they were on their way again.

So maybe op, you walked by/stood still or hasitated close to a place where the police know illigal things are happening without even knowing it yourself but could be for them a reason to stop you over and check.

Nevertheless with all the corruption here it is never a nice confrontation since actually you are never sure what is going to happen..

Good write up Marcel.....And I know the Reggae bars you refer - And I was stopped 30 meters from that same spot walking down keeping Khaosan to left side and just past the opening to Ratchadamnoen Rd.

It does make sense what you say - Good insight - Good call out!

I think DP25 is right - And because he had the same done to him very close to same - He does know what the score is.

For me 99% of this was the process - So all that is needed really is for the BIB to recognize the problem and go on a prolonged customer services course - Solved! - That shouldn't be too difficult, to do should it?

Good balanced POV by bobo42 It does make sense what you say - Thanks for putting some thought to this.

I agree partially with h90 There are good points here that are worth considering, however I am not sure that I should be thankful it was not worse - It is potentially less healthy than looking at what's going wrong and possibly at improvements for fixing it - Rather than reference the worst that might happened so as to be thankful it didn't.

Very scary situation.

Most...not all...BIB drink on the job and carry a loaded gun and a badge that makes them 100% right and US 100% wrong. I'm glad you made it without them planting something. I would stay off THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED and stay in crowds.

Ha - IAMSOBAD - I like this way you phrased this - You make a made a good clear point and the end with a line that did make me laugh

I am thankful to Tywais - He has cited a similar even that occurred 100 meters or so from where the stop and search occurred for me - Familiar story that it happened in a quiet area, the guy had also just gotten off the bus and amazingly he identifies his type clothing being smart - Just like I did (seems we both are trying to justify who we are by what we wear).

I kind getting a picture that the big factor was the place where I was, not the way I looked - So Police found places that would not bring too much attention to what they were doing.

However knowing this is one thing, but changing the way that they do it is something else - How they conduct themselves should not be an experience that leaves you a little fearful that it might happen again - So if you stay clean - The problem is not that you might get found - Rather that they might want to do the search again and its the process itself that is uncomfortable.

It would not take a lot to make this work a little smoother - Give you a card in English (most popular) telling you your choices and giving some safeguards i.e one of the police will conduct the search and one will film the process - One of the choices might be to it here or another might be to go to a well lit place with people around to witness - Or a choice would be to go to the station, but it might take longer etc - I am not offering a blueprint here for process just an open thought - And there should be a better way of doing this - That is not forced upon you and not done in secret lonely spaces with guys carrying guns with little English to let you know what is going on.

Whereustay - Ulysses G. - I'm a white guy from Yorkshire

Thanks for this post - I had the same - Stop and search 100 metes from where you were searched, but I was closer to KhaoSan - Post here - This time last year there was a large increase in searches by police - They always seem to do it in places that are away from crowds.

Living here and having the same experience happen very close to OP - I know that it is a true experience

You took what appears to be a "bypass" to normal foot traffic, that in itself could be seen as suspicious for a ferang. If only thais usually use it then from there point of view why would you need to ? Could look like you were trying to dodge them or had something to hide by using the alley and not the main walkway like evety other ferang.

Your reaction and behaviour in my opinion was correct, anything else and who knows what they may have done, best to roll with it.

Good point Charlie - The suspicion could have been just that - Odd place to be - Rather than appearance of individual.

I could handle the logic of that (or anything else), but its difficult knowing that they carried this out so aggressively using power with permission - I guess they thought they were being amazing in Thailand - Getting taglines mixed up.

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I assume any countries police have the rite to frisk search a suspect no?

Op someone mentioned middle eastern guys and Israeli guest houses, do you fit the description of a dark haired or middle eastern look?

No not really - I from UK and I dress and look like a Sainsbury shopper - I always make sure to wear smart casual clothes, well groomed, no distinguishing outer symbols or markings, with no tattoos and no clothing typical of eastern people - I tend to overdress smart / never wear shorts or t-shirts even in warm weather.

And I would have thought I would be the least likely (by appearance) to suggest drugs (or bombs) carrying - stereotype.

Ahhhh - Costas - Actually that mihght explain it :-)

Feeling much better now!

I am totally confused what the channel numbers you guys are referring to.

I get my supply from a common supply that feeds into all the condos where I live and hence I have no box to act upon - Hence I used the functions on the remote >Menu>Setup>Auto Tune -> And I end up with numbers 1 to 28 filled with the channels. 

I have now lost movies Channel and KBS world and now http://www.foxtvasia.com/Programmes/NCIS/Guide is dubbed in Thai language where before it was English (American) - But I have no clue how I can do anything other than auto tune from the remote control - Since there are a couple of experts in this thread so I know I am in good hands when I ask this question!

Banana IT had the old Pro for 16000 THB at an IT sale in Terminal 21 - so may still be available at this price?

Sent from my C6902 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Good call - That should mean that the other outlets will probably follow suit since the sale will probably become more common when the new pro 2 is in stock - Thanks

Just back from Banana in Pinklao and they do not have this in yet - The guy said come back Tuesday (I guess I will wait till Wednesday and stay dry) I Did try out the surface pro (original) - And it felt really pretty good - So if they start doing deal on the old stock - I may be tempted to get this if its at the right price.

hawker9000 that is a good question!

Namely - Understanding the kind of paperwork the bank looking for on the inward remittance.

To answer this point let me explain what happened in my case when trying to identify if I could transfer funds back to my UK bank.

I was interested in understanding:

1). Did I need to prove that the funds in my account were actually sent from outside Thailand or is there an automatic record that these funds came in from overseas.

2). Do I need to prove that I was the actual sender of these funds (rather than someone else being the sender) if I make a request for them to be latter repatriation and sent back to UK

• Can I prove that these funds were from overseas? - Yes this is an automatic process

In fact just to emphasize this point - She showed me onscreen a list of all the overseas deposits and dates of these deposits filtered on my account as separate items distinct from all other deposits I had made - without any prompting by me. All inward foreign wired transfer into your account is only moved into your account after being held in a special overseas ledger in the bank for transfers from outside Thailand - Hence being able to prove this latter that these funds actually did come into Thailand from a non Thailand (i.e overseas) bank account this is automatically done in the banking system and this should not be a future problem.

• Do I need to identify that I was the sender of the funds (rather than some other entity)? - NO this is not necessary

in my case this was a little concerning (once I actually realized that there foreign currency restriction are used in Thailand). The funding transfer into my Thai bank account from my UK bank is not a direct transfer, but rather I it is via an an intermediary (FX broker). As a result there is no direct connection between my funding account in the UK and my Thai bank (Kasikorn). Hence the Kasikorn bank can not validate me as the sender. The records of the transaction for the funding show the brokers account details as the sender of the funds.

In fact to make it even more complicated it looked even worse when I saw the broker has used a bank in Australia for the delivery into my account and hence the funding into my account is shown as coming in from Australia and not the UK.

While I did not ask what I should have asked as the right question - Namely: "Does the transfer of funds out of Thailand need to go back into the same account bank / country or name as that used to send into my account?"

But I did ask: "From my account is there any problem sending funds back to the UK when considering the International deposits made so far?"

She made no stipulation that I was required to send back to the actual account that delivered the original funding. She did confirm (on several occasions) that if the transfer was payable to an account bearing my name as the receiving account for the transfer there would be no problem in sending the funds out from Thailand to the UK.

Thanks sms747 - Yes you are right what a howler I made - I absolute can not do the maths - And you are absolutely right it is £1k / $1.6k (US)...So the limit is even worse than I calculated and as you rightly pointed out if you can get the conversion from Baht you get a better limit of 10K Euros https://www.gov.uk/bringing-cash-into-uk.

SuperRich conversions - There has been a number of other people talking about this company and I am not familiar with their ability to get large amounts changed from Baht to other currency - "Chaing mai" posted here that when he tried to get 5K GBP and it took a long time to get the funds together from the different banks even for this modest amount - So I suppose that you are saying that SuperRich can do the bigger amounts .....yes? - If so good to know so this can be seen as a resource to increase the £1k Baht limit to the higher 10K Euros limitation and still stay legal. Good call!

Good Clarification - Chaing Mai - That is worth knowing!

Does anyone have practical experience with cash exchange from Baht to other currencies within Thailand?

Remembe some remarks that even this might be problematic for foreigners,

(I assume this "give it to a Thai friend" goes into this direction?)

This question is a good check - Since the first thing that you think is to change to another currency before you leave, but I do believe while you can change to other currencies there is a restriction on this amount - I remember when getting USD for trip to Cambodia the Bangkok bank when buying USD said I could not buy above a certain amount, but didn't clarify if this was lack of USD in stock or Gov restriction ....Anyone know this?....And I second KhunBENQ....Does anyone have actual experience of exchanging cash Baht to another currency (of sizable amounts) - they can share their experience / knowledge.

Simply taking Baht out and exchanging at the home country - There is a restriction in the amount of baht that can be take out the country A person traveling to other countries (other than Vietnam or China) is allowed up to THB 50,000. i.e £10K / $16.5K - Not likely to cover what is in the bank that is needing repatriation.

I live near Khao Sarn road - I see many many of similar girls doing what your niece is doing every year - So this is not an unusual thing.

There are also thousands of young individual travelers on Khao Sarn road doing the same as your niece, but importantly all helping each other.

There is a strong bond and helpful culture all providing tips and trying to give each useful community along the journey - So to certain aspect she will not be alone or at a disadvantage being alone.

South East Asia in not the same as Europe,Australia or North America - Its much easier to connect with fellow travelers.

​I will be surprised if she did not return with a huge increase in new friends - More than she every imagined - With memories that will last a lifetime.

I'm taking her to Khao Sarn Road tomorrow.

Good Call - Khaosan Road is the general area - Its the most famous, but the best place to go is a few streets away Soi Rombuttri (walking away from Khaosan Road keeping it to your right you will see a bank with lots of yellow ATM's on left side of road after about 100 metres go down this soi keeping the ATM;s to you right) - Here is the soi where the backpackers stay - Its cheaper and she will find it a much nicer place - Most of the rooms are basic, but there are also better if she needs hotels (and these hotels are at much reduced costs to being on Khaosan Road) - To give an idea: Top costs = Rombuttri village inn (900 Baht) or New Siam 2 (there many New siam's 1-3) http://www.newsiam.net/ns/newsiam2.php The old part of building = 840 Baht & New build = 890 Baht (Worth the extra 50 Baht) and at the other extreme are the basic, but are the backpacker favorites - Merry V (180/200 Baht) - The hostel next to this is also basic, but probably the most popular hostel on the soi with backpackers in the know and this is 'My New House' (250/600 Baht - depending on size own/shared toilet or fan/Air con) - Since this is very popular need to get there before midday to get a room - Food is very good and very reasonable price (50 - 70 Baht per meal) and excellent networking happening here (I see new arrivals and strangers making friends with others in the same boat everyday here) - There is a bar further along called Gecko bar they have a few rooms (only 12 months old), but not sure of the quality since not seen inside them - However take some food here or coke or a coffee or a beer at some point and get chatting to the locals and travelers - You will get a mine of info, but in a much more accelerated way - If you walk past the Gecko bar (keeping it on your right - and not going down the small soi off from the bar to extreme right) there are lots of low cost hostels further down - One to watch for is new built the rooms are low cost, but very clean (can not remember the name, but its just after Four sons bar/restaurant - with a Japanese menu board outside - this is part of the hostel.

Lastly here is a hand drawn map I found useful when I first got here - Its now out of date for prices, but the map is useful for navigation - And do not take any notice of the star rating for the places to stay - They are horribly incorrect and confusing http://cdn2.vtourist.com/4/5840945-Khaosan_Road_map_Bangkok.jpg?version=2

I live near Khao Sarn road - I see many many of similar girls doing what your niece is doing every year - So this is not an unusual thing.

There are also thousands of young individual travelers on Khao Sarn road doing the same as your niece, but importantly all helping each other.

There is a strong bond and helpful culture all providing tips and trying to give each useful community along the journey - So to certain aspect she will not be alone or at a disadvantage being alone.

South East Asia in not the same as Europe,Australia or North America - Its much easier to connect with fellow travelers.

​I will be surprised if she did not return with a huge increase in new friends - More than she every imagined - With memories that will last a lifetime.

You have written about something that everyone here recognizes instinctively.

I think most do find it difficult to articulate these sentiments in anything other than clumsy one liners that have so far done little to extend the real understanding that is valuable and important to share - You have hit the nerve with your words - They are crafted very well.

And once someone tells it well - It helps others recognize something that has (or might) happen to them and to be better prepared.

Rather than simply thinking that this new found feeling will develop into something even more beautiful with this nice girl that they have found (But has a unsettling over focus upon money) the sharing of this knowledge that many of the bar girls and many of the unemployed Esan girls do have a certain type of value system which is challenging to long term relationships helps others reach their own decisions faster

.

The way you tell it - shines a light!

So good luck in your new journey - After passing over from the dark side.

Great reply

Good insight!

I note your surprise at the Condo investment.

I'm currently looking at Condos along the Rayong coastline - They are increasingly looking like good value at around 2 million Baht for 30/35k monthly rentals or 2/2.5k per night - Currently the majority of renters are Scandinavian tourist that seem to have the demand for nightly and up to 3 month rental.

Having said that it's still not clear to me as of yet the fully optimum channels to get to this market or the strength of competition that is targeting the same customer. However they seem to be mostly medium sized businesses buying up to between 10 to 50 condos from developers who increasingly are new build projects that seem to be following in the footsteps of the Thai government investment program on its coastal area.