Swiss1960

Thanks for all that advice. It's really appreciated!!

I am bringing my laptop over and will take your considered advice.

My lass can't use the Internet cuz she never went to school (can't read or write That, let alone English). We just use our UK internet banking to transfer funds between UK and her Siam account. Costs £17 each transaction.

As I'd like to set up a Bangkok Bank account, on both Jingthings and your advice, but I'd also like to set up a Siam account, what sort of sum should I open each account with, any ideas?

500 Baht minimum deposit with SCB, 200 Baht for the ATM card plus 2'920 for the accident coverage insurance (gives you 100K for each treatment in hospitals for accidents plus up to 2 Mio for death and disability). No need for mobile, as you can open Internet banking without any verification (all you need is your account number...). All very easy... that is probably why their e-banking site is called scbeasy

I'm not sure, what do you think?

up 2 u

No,no,no.......Up 2 U!

Look at his nick name... he was obviously dreaming... forgot to tell us about the concept he was dreaming of

Have gotten some really useful info from this thread, so thanks to everyone, but one thing I'm a little confused about....do I or don't I need confirmation of a Thai address (as it happens, my lass does own her home but I don't reside there apart from for holidays).

Whatever is the reply, does that apply to all banks or does is it dependant upon the bank/branch/staff-member ?

Many thanks.

Yes, you should have realized that by now, it depends on each bank and within the bank upon the staff you meet... as I said, in SCB I opened my account with the address of my usual hotel... and I have Internet banking with it... no questions asked... so you will NEVER get a "yes" or "no" to your answer...

Quote from "Google Maps Help":

Can I view Google Maps in a different language?

Google Maps automatically displays place names in the local language of each country. While it's not possible to change the language of the place names, you can search for some major cities and locations in a number of different languages. For example, a search for [ München ] and a search for [ Munich ] will both bring you to the same location labeled in the local language. If there is more than one official language for a country, the option to change the language will appear in left-hand panel of the map display. You can view this map display in the following languages:

However, there are various Google Map API's available which could be used for changing languages, maybe your friend has some of them installed (or you have and he does not).

When I go to Google Maps (no matter whether .ch or .co.uk) and search for i.e. Pattaya, then most things I see are in Thai language. But the more I zoom into the city, the more English written details come to view and finally on detail level, most street names are available in both English and Thai language

Opened a bank account with SCB in Pattaya just back in August... giving the hotel as the address... no problems at all... received ATM debit card within minutes, have e-banking, included basic health insurance and life policy... all I needed was a passport and they solved the KYC within minutes...

I think it depends on what the Thai government will do...

If they do nothing, then the industry affected by the flood might close down forever, unemployment going up and invenstments going down => so the Thai Baht wold go down.

If the government will print money for aid relieve to the people, then inflation might kick in and the baht might go down.

If the government however will print money for investments, rebuild of industry and maybe long-term investments in flood protection measures, then these investments might be seen as a kick to the economy and the growth could impact and the Baht could go up.

No sympathy with him... just an idiot to leave that kind of money out of view and hold for only a second...

And... don't you think that this amount might have been in need for washing a bit?? Maybe through property investment???

I don't think you can beat Dubai prices on cigarettes. Last month I bought 200 Gold Leaf for less than 10 GBP.

I don't smoke now but always buy d/fs. One thing I would be careful about is buying well known brands in Thai d/f because I don't think they always tell you the country of manufacture. I suspect many are made under licence in SE Asia.

They DO produce them locally... and therefore the tabacco smells completely different. I'm smoking Marlboro Gold, but when buy them in Thailand, after 3 days I start coughing like a REAL chain smoker... so in Thailand, I switch to Marlboro red which are almost equal to the Gold here in Europe.

Depends on your plans, primary question is about living: Will you rent / buy a fully furnished place or not... do you have expensive furnitures you want to take with you or not (remember, you might be able to buy all needed furnitiures cheaper in Thailand than what you pay for transport...)

Did drink my coffee and tried to read in the ground... and did see nothing...

Did look into my crystal ball and saw nothing but fog....

What do you think will happen to greece and the European currency? What will the Chinese do about the American import tax penalties? What will happen to Thailand after the flooding?

You can guess yourself.... it's as good as anybody's guess...

Radiola says "dont they know if hitler would be here, he would clean them all out?"

I would say that they might have heard of the hitler / nazi atrocities... but they do not know about the use of the Swastika, because for them it is a religious symbol...

Now before blaming the Thai for being ignorant, ask yourself:

- what do YOU know about the history of the Japanese / Chinese atrocities of the last 100-200 years?

- what do YOU know about the Mao culture revolution and all it's millions of killed or enslaved people?

- what do YOU know about the things that happened under Lenin / Stalin etc.?

Or another example: What do YOU know about all the killings done to the native Americans by the European settlers? how comes that we still see all those cowboy films that tell us "only a dead American Indian is a good Ameriacn Indian"?

Do we ourselves learn about the history of other cultures and countries or are we just as ignorant to these histroy lessons as the Thai might be about the European history?

But of course... all YOU guys out there reading this post are well informed about the world's history and that is why you have the right to blame all Thai to be ignorant...

Was actually waiting for Ian to tell us "more later" so that I could compare what his bank does compared to the one I am working for... but give you my thoughts about it

First, Ian is right, there is no such thing as a fail-safe PC or App or whatever you use for e-banking. And when I say that, there is ALSO no such thing as safe smart-phones... today they get hacked on a regular basis, things like the Zeus trojan for smart-phone is widely available and on sale in special web-shops for the fraudsters. maybe when I have time, I'll tell you few stories about how this fraud industry works...

Yes, Ian is right, we need multi-layered securty systems... and all starts with the user of the system, that is YOU: You have to keep your devices safe, using personal firewalls, keep your anti-virus SW running and up-to-date (up-to-date means DAILY updates of the SW), you shall not open mails you don't know, you shall not click on links you don't know... and you shall use the latest versions of browsers availabe, i.e. browsers like Firefox that have built-in web-site checks from McAffee telling you "the website you are about to visit is deemed to have dangerous code included"... and then NOT click "I accept the risk"... and using Internet Caffee computers for e-banking generally is seen as problematic... once a Trojan / Virus is on a computer, not even the https connection does protect from this Trojan...

And then yes, we as bank will introduce many more security features that may make your life a little more complicated using our sites, but protects from the "easy" and "standard" man-in-the-middle attacks that we see (those coming from the Trojans on your PC...). So we do use strong authentication. Strong authentication means we need you to have three things:

- something that you are (user-ID, contract-ID, other authentication data)

- something you know (password, birthday of somebody...)

- something you possess (card reader, whether CAP or proprietary solutions)

That is the first step. Within our bank, we do NOT use OTP or MTAN (one-time-passwords) over SMS. We see (smart) mobile phones as the current biggest thread for security of our systems. When you ever have been dropping on a phishing web-site, you will see that those fraudsters do not only ask for your account details, but also ask for your mobile number. They will then send you an SMS and once you open it or click on a link sent in this SMS, you will download Trojans like Zeus directly on your phone... and currently, most users are NOT aware that their smart-phones can be hacked in the same manner as their Computer at home... it will take LOT of education until user's are aware of this thread...

Now finally, we also do what Ian has said, we double check sensitive transactions that user's do. Sensitive for us means, EVERY transaction, EVERY payment to a third party which has not been registered / used before. For these transactions, we do request another authentication using the CAP reader (whilst Ian's bank uses SMS codes sent). This way, we can make sure that the "real" user sees the transaction, does confirm the transaction and we can be sure that it is not the Fraudster who has highjacked the computer of our customer. You might find this to be not very user-friendly, but it is protecting your account and it is protecting our bank from the huge effort of dealing with fraud and writing off money.

There is no such thing as absolute security! Security in the Web is a combination of you guys out there being careful what you do and us the banks investing money and time into secure systems. We have teams of people scanning the Web for phising sites and fake banking sites 24 hours a day 7 days a week. We block hundreds of fake sites every week, but as soon a s site is blocked, it pops up on another server within hours only... fraudsters are highly organized, have networks around the globe and have organisational charts that match the organisational chart of every big bank's security organisation...

To summarize: We do want you to use internet banking, because it saves us a lot of cost for human interactions. BUT we do want you do use it in a safe way, as otherwise it will cost much more to undo the damage inflicted to you by the fraudster...

Not every Firefox has spell check included, mine does not as the local regulations do not allow to automatically distribute it, so I woul need to add the dictionaries first manually and then activate them.

The other problem might be your word version and / or the font and the coding you are using in word versus Firefox. If you are using a font that is not supported in Firefox / TV reply box, this could cause a problem (i.e. private fonts vs. Arial / Times New roman etc.). If you are using different encoding (i.e. UTF-8 in one and some ISO code in the other, then this might mix up also... so it is difficult to say.

Just to show what I mean: I copy your text to my word and then back here... and nothing changes...

Thanks for all the replies. I TRY to get things right, but it is frustrating. It's not really that big a deal to just re-edit the post when I see the mix ups, but it confused me at first thinking I had made a mistake. I'll try to give an example by putting this text into WORD and then bring it back here... and see what happens.

Thanks for all the replies. I TRY to get things right,but it is frustrating. It's not really that big a deal to just re-edit the postwhen I see the mix ups, but it confused me at first thinking I had made amistake. I'll try to give an example by putting this text into WORD and thenbring it back here... and see what happens.

Exists for years... I have seen the first such high sophisticated attack on an e-banking system using strong authentication with CAP readers through man-in-the-middle attacks (described above) back in 2004... russian hacker group targeting a highly secure Swiss bank e-banking system... so nothing new...

- keep your anti-virus programs up-to-date

- don't download stuff from sites you don't know

- don't open mails and click on links in mails you don't know

- remember your bank NEVER sends mail asking for account details...

BUT.... 20% of the Internet users (figure in our bank...) are stupid idiots and do either or all of the above on a regular basis...

..so what perentage of us 'stupid idiots' are your customers?

As I said... around 20% of the internet / e-commerce fraud comes from stupid idiots that

- click on EVERY link that promises money

- send card and security details to EVERY spam mail they receive (including Nigeria spams...)

- deactivate the firewalls of their computers because some sites were blocked (and firewalls really only block the worst of the world out there...)

- have either no virus protection program or have not updated it for months and years...

- just ignore EVERY warning they receive at least every three months...

and as the law does not allow us to let them pay for all the fraud caused by there stupidity, we have to write off Millions beause of them...

If you move to thailand now she cant chase you for child maintenance

Stupid post... child support is not about the woman extorting... it's about the child (to who's "production" the OP played a role...) and about making sure the child can get decent education... I paid 3K+ CHF for my two kids till they were 25 and finished their education... and am proud of their success, their current jobs etc...

If it's not about extorting, please explain why the award depends on the mans income, and not a fixed sum?

I assume all children cost the same amount in the same country.

Well, the issue as the courts see it is that the kids have been offered a certain life style and environment during the marriage time. And they ask, why the kids should now suffer from the divorce... few examples:

- they might go to e very good (expensive) school and get a very good education. Why should they now be transferred to a public school that costs less but does / can not not offer the same good education? This of course is true for those countries only where private schools are widely available (i.e. for the US of A, but not for Switzerland... don't know about Australia)

- they might be living in a good environment, have all their friends, school, safe place etc. Why should the suffer, because the woman must move to a cheap apartment, maybe even in a unsafe suburb, change school, loose their friends etc.

We had these discussion during our divorce procedure and I agreed to higher child support but negotiated a very low allowance for my ex... I think we found a win-win situation for the kids - if ever you can speak of win-win in a divorce...

Exists for years... I have seen the first such high sophisticated attack on an e-banking system using strong authentication with CAP readers through man-in-the-middle attacks (described above) back in 2004... russian hacker group targeting a highly secure Swiss bank e-banking system... so nothing new...

- keep your anti-virus programs up-to-date

- don't download stuff from sites you don't know

- don't open mails and click on links in mails you don't know

- remember your bank NEVER sends mail asking for account details...

BUT.... 20% of the Internet users (figure in our bank...) are stupid idiots and do either or all of the above on a regular basis...

Swiss, I was told at that time that the online system did not accept USA CCs. 2 years ago, I tried to book Air India Express online and they didn't accept USA CCs. Do you use a USA CC?

For those that use USA CCs, have you been able to book AA online using a "USA" CC.

Thanks

No, I don't, my cards are issued in Switzerland... but I can tell you why this happened:

First of all, US credit cards for many years lacked the basic security for e-commerce transactions that exists in the rest of the world - called 3D-Secure (actually VISA VbV or MC Secure Code). With this system, the customer entering his card details will be requested to enter a password for validation that it is really him entering the card details.

Second, the Fraud rate (rate of misuse of stolen card details mainly through phising or data theft with banks / merchants => see Sony problem) has been massively higher on US cards than on cards in Europe and Asia - and for airlines which were (and still are) the most interesting industry for misuse of stolen card details, this means that once the fraudster purchases a ticket with the airline, sells it to some stupid idiot who uses it for a "cheap" flight or cancels the ticket in exchange for cash, when the credit card owner gets his invoice, calls his bank and tells them "that was not me purchasing the airline ticket", then the bank will issue a charge back to the card and the airline and the airline will have to refund the card customer for accepting fraudulent data... thus, airlines tended to reject cards from countries / banks where they had too many bad experiences and suffered too high losses.

An example: Air France used to see massive fraud on one-way tickets to Africa... a fraudster bought a next-day ticket to an African city (return ticket without the intention to return on this ticket) and used stolen card details for the payment of the ticket.. of course, he uses fake addresses / fake passports in addition to the fake credit card... so Air France started to not any more accept credit cards from ANY country when the credit card / the bank issuing the credit card did not have the e-commerce security feature 3D-secure available.

One more (through edit): Of course, airlines can differentiate which credit cards from which banks cause them the most problems... and might decide that they accept credit cards from some US banks but not from others... it is the first 6 digits of your credit card that identifies your bank.

The UK is (or was?) very different - you used to have to attend a job centre every two weeks for an interview and to sign that you had not had any paid work in the interim.

You also had to be available for work so anything other than a standard couple of weeks holiday and you would be unllikely to be paid.

Same is true in Switzerland. You must report to the job center every two to four weeks (depending on your consultant) and you must be available for interviews within a short timeframe (not more than 10 days) in case an employer is interested in you...

What means "declined"? What was the error message? Did you talk with your bank? There can be many reasons:

- Your bank declined as they did deem the transaction to not be genuine (i.e. possible fraud)

- your bank declined as your card details were entered incorrect

- your bank declined due to missing fund

- the airline declined as they sometimes flag credit cards from banks where they made bad experiences (too many charge-backs)

- the airline declined as they tried to do "3D Secure" transactions but your bank did not offer

So... try again, write down the error message received and then contact the call center of your bank for details...

Agreed, i flew in August with Etihad BKK to LON via Abu Dabi 28000bt return.

My mate is also flying with them in Nov LON to BKK £478 return.

Cheapest i've seen for a few years.

Same with Swiss airline... specials all over the world... ZRH to BKK direct flight for less than 1'000 Swiss... however you must book early enough, as with every airline, the number of "cheap" tickets are limited to approx. 15% of the seats and then price will go up... same is true for the holiday season where they know that flights will anyway be full and don't need to offer cheap flights...

If there is a Greek default and that would be no surprise, Europe and maybe others are going to have to get into the pockets again. Should the very worst happen then the GBP and the Dollar would be negatively affected as well, as has been mentioned they are intertwined whether we like it or not.

Absolutely true... and if that would happen, unemployment would go up through the roof, their would be a worldwide financial crisis... and no Europeans / Americans would anymore be able to satisfy their investments in Thailand and those would go broke also... and no tourists would anymore be coming (we have seen the decline in tourists in 2008/9)... so the Thai Baht exchange rate would follow the Euro and $ almost immediately...

We better hope that none of the European countries goes broke... even as Swiss, the impact would be a catastrophe to our country as well...

lol what are you talking about? yes if we have deflation that is bad for all asset classes besides CASH.

anyways we shall see if they can play musical chairs for eternity.

Deflation??? What a b__s___ We are talking about a massive Recession if Greece goes bust... we are talking about a massiv loss of Cash generated by European economies... We are talking about Inflation when the Central banks worldwide put more and more money into the market in order to keep the system running....

If you move to thailand now she cant chase you for child maintenance

Stupid post... child support is not about the woman extorting... it's about the child (to who's "production" the OP played a role...) and about making sure the child can get decent education... I paid 3K+ CHF for my two kids till they were 25 and finished their education... and am proud of their success, their current jobs etc...

Thanks Swiss, appreciate your input

Also, thanks Kennkate. Looks like the middle of the road option is the early favourite, and to be honest if I had to say, it is the one I am leaning most towards and means I wont burn any bridges and provides a comfortable buffer.

I also stand to inherit another $400k or so AUS when parents pass (not that I am waiting for that to happen, hope they continue to be well for many years to come). So that provides a further hedge against inflation. With my assets, wont be entitled to old age pension I think but assuming I dont build too many houses and buy blocks of land up in Issan, dont think I will need it :-)

Careful.... Thai ladies can be more expensive than building houses

i would much rather have an Au Pair than my current bog standard nanny.

The term Au Pair conjures up associations with nubile foreign young women who will gratefully allow you to defile them while taking wonderful care of your children.

If you find any of those kicking about, let me know. My children are worth it.

Yep, I would also take one of those.... she only need to take care of one grown up kid....

Depends on when you are going to die.

lol. Nice one kerry, always enjoy your posts - from what I have read, you look to have led a very interesting and full life.

Both parents still alive and very well/active in their mid 70s. As for me, no health problems I am aware of, but the job has its stresses from time to time.

But no guarantees right...

Few thoughts: You did'nt mention family ties / kids that might be important for you back home and how often you need to see them? That is what stopped me from coming too early. What thoughts do you have to live in a beautiful country but with nothing to do (no job) for the next 30-40 years of life? What thoughts do you have about returning to Oz later in your life, is this an option you want to keep open?

All this does influence your decision and we can't really give you much of advice about those points...

Good points / questions.

One child who will be mid 20s by the time I am 50. Doesnt live with me now as it is, and is becoming more and more independent, so dont think this will be an issue. Parents will be into their 80's if still well, apart from that dont have anything really holding me back.

As for the nothing to do bit, fair comment, but after working for 30 years with deadlines and pressure, the doing nothing much but say reading the paper, going for walks along the beach, wondering about what to have for lunch (one of the members said that was their main decision for the day recently on this forum), going out for a drink and perve at night - all kind of sounds pretty appealing to me. Not really that much for me to return to here once I am done building up the kitty, thinking about it......ex wife can do the grandkid baby sitting thing should that come along in the future

Interesting... same situation with me now (being 51)... I decided to do it with 55 and 1mio Swiss in cash and 150K Baht retirement money starting with 65... gives me the opportunity to live on my cash (assuming 150K / month) for the first years and travel back home for two holidays a year to see kid, mom, grandkids (hope not too early...) and have some party with friends... so I go for the financially middle secure solution just in case anything happens to health, economy etc.