MattFS218

When I walked by the other day, there was a new restaurant above Starbucks, I think the name is called Aiku. It's Japanese food and surprisingly the fish was extremely fresh. Apparently they fly in the fish several times a week. It sorta reminds me of the Japanese restaurants near Thonglor and the Emporium in BKK--except of course in Chiang Mai. The price was reasonable and the outside patio very pleasant (as long as it isn't raining), I had the unagi, dynamite roll and some drinks.

It was certainly a nice change from the oh so tired Fuji-chain.

I know you asked for Japanese, but if you want a sandwich nothing beats Butter if Better at the south end of the night market street.

Hi Lawrence,

Thanks for the reply. Do you have a reference for this anywhere? The people at FlyerTalk are saying that all nationals (including Thai) should have been able to get the 24-hour TWOV.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china/708095-china-24-72-144-hour-transit-without-visa-twov-rules-master-thread-137.html

I searched all around google, but could not find anything. Can't tell if it was bad luck with 2 different immigration officers, or a policy that I can't find documented elsewhere on the web.

My girlfriend was transiting thru PEK and had a 10+ hour layover in PEK. She went BKK-PEK-YVR (Vancouver) and I was surprised that she wasn't able to enter China for a day of sightseeing.

The visa exemption for Thai's worked fine when I was transiting via CTU (Chengdu) last year. Does anyone know if something has changed?

It appears Thai's used to be eligible for the 72-hour TWOV (google cache) but that most up-to-date websites now have no mention of Thai's as being eligible. Google searches didn't turn up anything recent.

She was flying on TG -> AC (Thai connecting to Air Canada) and had a boarding pass and ticket confirmed for 10-hours after arrival. She tried two different immigration officers at PEK, and both denied entry and told her to go to the transit area.

I spent the last week in Bangkok at both Asoke and outside MBK. The protesters took over 24 hours away from my life in detours and put my life in danger and the life of my son by not allowing us to walk on the sidewalk they were blocking. It was dangerous.

If they want to protest, they should protest in Lumpini park, and not FORCE everyone else to listen to their whistles until midnight and block people from getting to and from work and school, and the hospital. Or better yet, just participate in democracy and to stop being soar losers. Most people, don't really understand what is going on.

Thank you, I wish I would of had the guts to toss the bomb myself.

Thanks for the replies.

I am the legal father of my son (by birth). My name is on the birth certificate--the extension requires 400k in a bank account?

Citibank does not give a passbook, but does have e-statements and will issue letters for free (citigold) regarding the balance. Both accounts needed a purpose for creating the account...and a visa with over 6 months duration.

--matt

I would like to get yearly non-immigrant O extensions of stay based on the fact I am the father of a Thai son (2 years old)

It is my understanding I need to show proof of 400,000 thb in a Thai bank account.

I would like to know if I can show 200,000 in one account and 200,000 in another or if the 400,000 needs to be in one account. Please let me know if you have any experience.

--matt

My wife has CitiGold thru the IPB program in Singapore and was granted CitiGold for her account in Thailand and the US. The CitiGold stuff does not help with much. The ONLY benefit is that you get a slightly better exchange rate. However I found that if you wire over $10k, into smaller banks like TMB you get a rate equally as good if not better than CitiGold.

CitiGold allows you to use ANY ATM in Thailand--fee free. However you can also get this with a TMB No Fee account (with only a 20,000 minimum) vs the CitiGold 2 million baht requirement. Citibank also has few branches inside Thailand so TMB is the better choice for "fee waived" banking. TMB is good for when you need to buy a car, etc and need to go to the branch to withdraw "blocks" of cash--if you only bank with Citibank you would need to go all the way to BKK.

The Citi Global Transfers is a SCAM, if you are doing any sort of currency conversion. It's fee free, but the Exchange rate (ie USD THB) is super super poor like 3-4% above interbank rates.

I will say that I HATE the way CitiBank representatives look at me when I walk in with my shorts and sandals or with my non-gucci wearing Isaan wife. Too many BKK bank teller judge based on appearances....but they get friendly once they lookup my account information.

Citigold minium balance is not THB 2 million its US$150,000 or equivilant certainly in Singapore... and your not "granted" another Citigold account in another country...you already have it..irrespective of which country your in...its automatically transferable if so required...

True, Singapore requires $150k, but there you can hold US stocks (ie low expense ratio etfs). Whereas 2 million baht in Thailand has to be kept fixed or savings account earning sub-par rates or in a Kasikorn Mutual Fund, which has fund management fees in excess of a comparable funds elsewhere. 2 mil baht at a 1% interest rate difference/fee rate difference is 20,000 thb lost in interest/fees/year.

If all you care about is the minimum balance, HSBC Panama will open you a premier account for only $50k. Citi US will give you CitiGold if you just have $50k of available credit on your combined citi credit cards. You could even get CitiGold by paying the $50/monthly fee and it would be less than the lost interest.

CitiGold is not always transferable it's really up to the local Citi bank to determine if they want to extend Citigold privileges to you based on your account from abroad. I am Citigold in the US, and Citi Singapore will not grant me citigold w/o meeting Singapore's minimum balance requirement.

I should clarify my statement about CitiGold having free ATMs at any bank in Thailand. It's actually not a citigold privilege, its true with any citibank thailand account. Just need to put 100,000 as an initial deposit.

My wife has CitiGold thru the IPB program in Singapore and was granted CitiGold for her account in Thailand and the US. The CitiGold stuff does not help with much. The ONLY benefit is that you get a slightly better exchange rate. However I found that if you wire over $10k, into smaller banks like TMB you get a rate equally as good if not better than CitiGold.

CitiGold allows you to use ANY ATM in Thailand--fee free. However you can also get this with a TMB No Fee account (with only a 20,000 minimum) vs the CitiGold 2 million baht requirement. Citibank also has few branches inside Thailand so TMB is the better choice for "fee waived" banking. TMB is good for when you need to buy a car, etc and need to go to the branch to withdraw "blocks" of cash--if you only bank with Citibank you would need to go all the way to BKK.

The Citi Global Transfers is a SCAM, if you are doing any sort of currency conversion. It's fee free, but the Exchange rate (ie USD THB) is super super poor like 3-4% above interbank rates.

I will say that I HATE the way CitiBank representatives look at me when I walk in with my shorts and sandals or with my non-gucci wearing Isaan wife. Too many BKK bank teller judge based on appearances....but they get friendly once they lookup my account information.

I am wondering if its standard to charge a commission or delivery fee when purchasing 1 baht gold coins at Gold Shops. This fee is in addition to the buy/sell difference of the gold price set by the Thai Gold Association.

I went into a Gold Shop at Central Chonburi Aurora, was the company and they wanted 250 baht above the sell rate to walk out of the shop with 1 baht physical gold. I read on other forms this might be a "gold certificate" fee.

I am wondering if all gold shops charge this mark-up--if so is it uniform. Do certain shops have lower markups? Also is here a fee when selling back gold above the (typically 100 baht buy/sell spread).

If I drive all the way to Hua Heng Seng at Seacon square, will I also be charged this fee above the current buy/sell price for taking home physical gold in baht form (NOT jewelry). What about making the trek to Chinatown.

Thanks.

I saw this topic while researching prices for Lipitor. I take the 10 mg Pfizer brand imported from Ireland and Germany and pay 430 THB/10 pack strip at the neighborhood pharmacy here in Chonburi. So far it's the best price I have found for the real stuff, and the pharmacist speaks great english and has always been good to me. PM if you are interested in her location.

--matt

is it a YMMV thing, so I should go to immigration with what I have and go from there?

My thai girlfriend is actually preagant, and I have a doctors appointment for my high blood pressure.

what is the longest extension of stay you can get at immigration with a visa exempt entry (30-days)? Is it only 7 days? or is it up to the discression of immigration? I am looking to extend for 2.5 weeks on a 30-day entry. I have a doctors appointment, but wasn't sure how set in stone the 7 days extension was. i would rather not drive to cambodia tomorrow.

I have a tourist visa that expires on 23 June 2011. I want to know if I can enter thailand from a land crossing and still activate the visa ON the 23rd of June, or if I must enter on the 22 June in order for the visa to be accepted.

I wanted to confirm that I will not be charged any overstay fees if I overstay my entry into thailand by 1 day. I am on a 60 day tourist visa, WITH a 30 day extension. 23 Jun is stamped into my passport, but I want to take a flight out that leaves on the 24th. Can someone please confirm that I will not be charged.

Please save the...your breaking the law response, and could be sent to jail mumbo jumbo.

Since you have obviously made up your mind that your going to save a whopping .15 THB X 70,000 using this cash and carry method and not one person here has done the same, I say go for it, with our best wishes, that you don't leave it in a taxi coming in from the airport

Actually one person who replied said they brought in $200k. I have also received pm's from a 2 people saying they where bringing in over 30k USD of cash.

Again .15 THB x 70,000 is $350 USD....it's not a small sum for doing this easy activity that maybe takes you an additional hour of work. People do far more work for much less. People cut coupons to save 25 cents, so I don't know why you would make this comment. Do you make over $350/hr working (plus the fees aren't tax deductible, so it's reasonable to assume that unless you make over $500/hr it's still a smart decision to carry cash)?

I am VERY interested tho in these preferential Treasury Rates. Can anyone confirm that they ARE in fact lower and can anyone provide any solid numbers. How much lower? I am sure it varies based on the current situation, but if enough people contribute data points we can have a better idea of the savings....but I am skeptical that calling ahead to arrange a rate is anything more than a simple forward currency contract that locks in a rate. Is there any guarantee that the locked in rate will be BETTER than the actual rate at the time of the transaction? or could it go both ways? I assume I can just call the foreign currency desk at BBL or any other bank to get a quote.

thanks for the additional clarification. Any recommendations on which LTF company to use? Krung Sri has some specials going on now...as do most other LTF companies (since it's the end of the year)

Just to update this post.

There wasn't any problem for me leaving at BKK airport directly. It took the immigration officer maybe an additional 2 minutes to process my departure...it was done in the normal immigration line, without having to go to the overstay line or anything.

It was relatively crowded and the line at immigration was rather long...so I'd say it's almost a sure bet that anyone with a normal 60-day tourist visa who gets a new passport while in bangkok will not have any problems.

Yes, I was stamped in on a normal 60-day tourist visa issued by the LA consulate. No over stays or extensions.

I was stamped into Thailand on a Tourist Visa in my old passport

I went and received a new US Passport, and the US embassy in Bangkok canceled my old passport (with the original entry stamp/visa)

MUST I go to immigration before proceeding to the airport to leave the country? There are mixed reports on this forum. I would prefer to simply show up at BKK airport for my departure flight with both my old passport/new passport and the letter the embassy gave me.

Can anyone confirm that this will not be an issue? The person at the embassy said I could either go to immigration OR just show up at the airport with both old and new passport. Can anyone else confirm that I can just go to the airport? I am leaving on Friday from BKK airport and immigration will be closed, and I really need to leave on Friday.

Thanks.

Try selecting United States, and using the Bangkok Bank ABA number to send it via the Fed Wire System and Bangkok Bank in New York. I bet it makes it through. You might even save some money because Bangkok Bank NY has relatively low intermediary banking fees compared to other bangkok bank correspondent banks.

What exactly is "super rich" ?

search for superrich bangkok on this forum or in google.

Foolish idea. Like other posters have said why quibble over such small money in the scheme of things. I took 10k in cash one time and I was edgy enough until I got it in the bank.

Again, I'm not asking for people's opinion about bringing in $70k cash. I understand that it's a lot of money for some people, and that for some people it's too much of a risk.

I am asking about people who have experience doing it in the past, and if they where able to acquire the proper forms from Thai Customs or Super Rich to purchase a Condo in a foreigners name.

BTW, there is risk in a wire transfer too. You could accidentally write the wrong bank account number, your bank in the US or Thailand could go bankrupt, or accidentally wire it to the wrong bank and loose all your money--it probably happens more than getting robbed for $70k on the airplane or driving to super rich--especially in the past 3 years. I'm not saying it's less risky, but I am staying the idea is not foolish, so if you do have experience bringing large amounts of cash legally to Thailand, please share, otherwise I don't want your opinion.

--matt

All I can say is if it it going to cost you $300 in wire fees, you need to get a new US Bank. Most charge a flat fee $20 to $35 for the wire, you will pay another flat $15 fee for the Thai "correspondence" bank and more importantly you will have documentation to back up your MANDATORY U.S. Treasury Filing.

In case you are not aware you must fill out Treasury Department Form 90-22.1 every year if you own, or have an interest in, any foreign bank accounts, no matter how short a period of time the money is in a Thai Bank or whether or not you earn interest

the $300 in additional costs for the wire is not from wire fees, but from the bid/ask spread charged by the major Thai banks. Typically super rich will give you a rate of 30.15 for 100 USD bills compared to a rate of 30.00 for TT USD wire transfers to a Thai bank. Bank of America charges $45 for international wires.

and yes, off topic, but I am very aware of the relevant treasury and IRS filings. It is a disclosure, so there is no need to back it up with a wire transfer receipt. The US government only cares that you declare it, not HOW it was taken abroad.

Although one could make the case FOR the cash/super rich method because I'm not sure the filings are required if you hold THB in cash, rather than a bank account. even if it is required, some people would prefer the super rich method merely for privacy reasons. For the record the treasure forms are ONLY relevant to US citizens, and not other citizens bringing in 70k of USD cash into thailand.

Since you where so helpful in replying to my post I thought I would do the same to your question and and simply tell you are probably just a idiot who doesn't realize he's accidentally triggering the trackpad without knowing it while you type your useful responses on Thai visa.

There is no airwave interference problem between the AIS 3g aircard and your trackpad. You can buy a USB extension cord and move the ais 3g modem away from your actual computer. This has the added benefit of allowing for better reception of 3g. You could also use an external mouse and disable the trackpad entirely. It's likely your trackpad is old and might need to be replaced.

Also realize that if you are not in Chonburi, or Chiang Mai you are not getting 3g service from AIS.

Useful responses are always welcome.

I had used the same driver for over 8 years, so had him meet me a baggage, and went to the hotel where I put it in a large safety deposit box. Next morning went to Super Rich, haggled a bit over the rate, (as I had all new $100 bills). Went back to the hotel again.

I am curious if you where able to get a better rate than the published Super Rich rate for this $200k USD transaction with crisp $100 bills. I think you are suppose to report it to Thai customs if you bring over $20k in cash, but it might be a newly enacted rule in the post-Taksin era. Thanks for sharing your experiences, as now I don't feel like I am crazy .