koo

"

Years ago, I remember walking along some avenue in Bangkok and seeing six (6) opticle shops next to each other.

In Pattaya and other Thai tourist traps, bars are lined up by the hundreds...not to mention the taxis forming a long train rolling along Beach Road and Second Road, without a locomotive.

Upcountry, farmers are competing with each other, offering on the market the same products in ever increasing quantities, at an ever decreasing price."

This is something I have always been wondering also. All the vendors of one product or product group packed together. You go to the market and there are all the apple stalls next to each other. One morning a new stall is free, and the new vendor looks the there are 8 guys selling apples, and, of course he starts selling apples as well.  Why does he not consider oranges instead? It is a lose-lose pricing game when all the vendors have the same item for sale...

On 6.5.2018 at 10:31 AM, Monomial said:

I'm trying to develop a financial app that has immediate access to bank balances, and I am looking for a bank that this will work with. The problem is that SMS's are not guaranteed to always be delivered promptly and always in order. Further, SMS to email gateways that would be needed to make something work like this for online servers are less than reliable, and often fail under larger transaction volumes.

 

I am looking for a way that a server can access bank details through an API and be able to see transactions in an account in near real time. SMS is a very clumsy solution to the problem. So is screen scraping an iBanking screen.

 

 

Hi. 

Looking at how clumsy the setup for (internet) banking is in Thailand, and the amount of cash and otc transactions, I would be quite surprised if any of the banks would have an API set up for customers. I know it is going to be a nearly compulsory service for banks in Europe very soon (due to PSD2), but honestly the banking infrastructure in Thailand is not ready for API services yet, nor is there any demand for it either. They won't build it on current technology and will not upgrade until security issues force them to, or there is sufficient demand and usage for the services or.

You might revisit this issue in around 5 years or so.

10 hours ago, jobwolf said:

If there is Chlorine or Salt in the Water Mozzies will not breed in it.

That is true. Also, if you keep the water pump on, mozzies will not breed in you pool, since they need the water to be still and not flowing.

Swimming pools in general are not good breeding ground for mozzies, since any slight breeze will have the surface moving and making it undesireble for them. They are generally looking for well shielded (from winds, sun  and predators) small pockets of stagnant water (like car tyres, pots, buckets and such) to breed in.

I'm just wondering what is it with importing computers from Canada or USA?  Makes absolutely no sense, since the are all manufactured in China or Taiwan, and can be most probably bought in Thailand far cheaper than US/Canada. Am I missing a crucial technical point here?

Bangkok Bank's USD correspondent is JP Morgan Chase.  They clearly state that in their standard settlement instructions:

http://www.bangkokbank.com/download/ssi.pdf

The document seems to be 11 years old, but since it clearly visible at their own website (and 1st result in Google for "Bangkok Bank SSI") I have to believe it is valid.

FX & MM settlement instructions are normally valid also for payments unless stated otherwise.

Foreign branches of banks quite seldom operate in the payments field (I know Bangkok bank does, but the service is very limited), the branches are there for access to local markets (FX & MM mainly) and to serve corporate customers.

The Nong Khai Immigration office is about 1 km before the actual border.  I do not remember if there is a re-entry stamp desk at the border itself (because I have never needed one), but playing it safe , the actual Immigration is not that far away.

Wouldn't is be so easy to stop all this - just cut the very few and thin Internet cables that go to NK.

A good way to see if you are dealing with a conman is to offer to buy the bus ticket. If one is in true desperate need, he or she will take on your offer. Since the actual bus ticket is useless for the conman, he/she will refuse your offer and only ask for cash. As you have offered help but were refused, it is easy to walk away.

13 hours ago, steve187 said:

no but PC air only own/owned one aircraft an airbus A321-200 , HS-PCC delivered new 30/5/86 been though a handful of Chinese and Vietnamese hands over the year

The aircraft is A310-200  (not A321), checked from https://www.planespotters.net/airline/PC-Air . Also, the picture in the news article shows an A310.

The A321 would have been a (pretty) modern aircraft, but sadly the A310 is very old and thirsty.  That is the reason no one places bids on it. Better write it off and make Chang cans from it.

Just asked this from Bangkok Bank the other week, when having issues with my current bank account.

To open a bank account with Bangkok Bank, a foreigner needs a residence certificate from Immigration, together with a valid passport.  No other requirements.

When I told the assistant manager of a branch in Pattaya that I am on a 30 day visa exemption and thus unable to get a residence certificate from immigration, but am an existing customer of BB, she told me that an exeption to the certificate requirement could be done if the branch manager will vouch for me. That would require purchasing a 1-year insurance policy (I do not know what that includes) for 5900 thb. Then 300 for an ATM card and a 500 thb minimum deposit on the account. Should I have had 6700 thb loose change on me, the account would now be open.

I read Allen Carr's "Easyway to stop smoking".

I really works if you trust yourself to understand and pick up the ideas in the book, and also are truly willing to quit smoking.

The best part is that you don't need to buy or borrow the book, it is now also a free download: http://prdupl02.ynet.co.il/ForumFiles_2/15119301.pdf

I think the only way to get this sucker to court and to be convicted is that the company delivers him.  And the way to achieve that is to stop buying/using Red Bull/Krathing Daeng and telling everyone its a "cop killer drink". If the word spreads around enough, it will affect sales and stock price, and thus force both the Austrian and Thai management to take action on him.

From now on, I am walking away from all Red Bull products and activities and telling everyone I see using or about to use their products that RB is obscuring justice by harbouring a wanted fugitive.

I have operated with bank tellers in Thailand, and somehow a very simple transaction requires a lot of hassle and paperwork. I have watched the tellers work "slow" and very precisely to get things done - even to the point that I've wondered how pedant and at the same time daft does one have to be to work in a bank in Thailand.

Now, reading the above, I am VERY PLEASED to note that it was to my benefit to be able to carefully watch every single step of the operation, and have exactly the agreed amounts on my account, the passbook and cash.

The topic has been tagged as containing video.  Where is it?

EDIT: Ah, it is on a commercial website designed to sell your personal data, so just forget the whole thing...

This is Darwin Awards stuff, anti-helmet protester dies because not wearing a helmet:

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/07/04/new.york.motorcyclist.death/

I rest my case.

Oh, United again.  They really seem to not know how to handle luggage, but now it spreads to not knowing how to handle passengers as well.

This happened 2009:

3 videos were made, going viral, before United finally admitted they screwed up. What a PR mess  :-(

EDIT: Actually Dave Carroll has commented also on this new incident - he was asked to write another song, but he will probably not. However, he gives a good insight of what PR in companies should be and how it seem to be hit and miss with United.  See it here :  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQz8qqioCt8

On 25.3.2017 at 11:40 AM, trd said:

You have to be a UK resident initially to open a UK account but you don't have to give it up if you subsequently move overseas.

This has to be something from the past. I have an UK bank account and a debit card, never been a resident in UK, longest visit 2 weeks. Did not visit any physical office to open account, did it totally online.

http://www.revolut.com

"Open a free UK current account in 3 minutes, without a proof of address or credit check. Other countries are coming soon."

Best advice is to always have all valuables in your carry-on.  If that is not possible, then present the valuables at the check-in counter and demand them to be listed and processed separately. Then if they go missing, you have a valid claim against the airline/airport operator.

Always "follow" your carry-on luggage through security. Very often there is an officer waving you to go through the security scanner, but do not pass through before your carry-on goes through the scanner. Thee have been reports from Europe that valuables disappear from hand held luggage, and this most often happens at the very point when your bag is in a long queue waiting on the belt to be scanned - it is already open because you took your liquids and laptop (which is a target itself) out, and you yourself are concentrated on the body scan. The thief can be a fellow passenger, staff, or some sort of staff's friend who just grabs the stuff and hides it or runs away with it. Following your carry-on is also recommended so that you are the first one to touch it after the scan. This would leave crooks to only grab your stuff during the scan, a very short, risky and even difficult to carry out.

3 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Why do doors open outwards in Sweden when everywhere else they open inwards?

They do open outwards in Finland as well.

Many of the reasons for the toilets have been mentioned here, but for the out doors of your house the reasons are pretty obvious:

- Outward opening doors do prevent snow from pouring in when you open it. And yes, you normally have a roof/ledge over the door so it won't pile up enough to prevent the door from opening outwards.

- Outward opening doors cannot be kicked in. This prevents most unwanted access to your premises. And yes, the hinges are on the outside, but dehinging can be prevented with security bolts behind the hinge running from door to frame. The bolts can only be removed when the door is wide open.

- For safety, all emergency exits have to open outward (even in the USA for public buildings)

Also in the Nordic coutries, very often the outer doors are double doors: you have the outer door opening outwards and the inner one opening inwards, and when closed, they are only 5-10 cm (2-4 inches) apart. The double doors prevent both temperature and (in apartment buildings especially) noise from going in or out.  In mosquito regions you very often also have double doors, where the outer one is an insect screen and it opens outwards, while the actual door opens inwards. 

800G deposit? That's 800 giga baht = 800.000.000.000 baht. 

I guess 800k (=kilo) = 800.000 baht would be appropriate for the mentioned reason.

Also, the risk does not end at the immigration desk at the airport.

On a good day, the imm. officer & computer fail to see your blacklist status, and let you in, but what then?   You go to your normal surroundings, the guest house owner notices a change of surname in the passport, and maybe some other people around you as well.  It does not take long that half the village knows you are there and have a new last name. Then you either piss off a neighbor, or he is just jealous of your farang lifestyle.

Suddenly one day for no imminent reason you get a visit from Immigration Police and it is game over.  

I'd say September is pretty far away in this view...

To add confusion, please note that the original name of the town is Thappaya (or "Thap Phraya" )

16 hours ago, raro said:

Three, four times pumping the pedals and brakes came back a bit, just enough to stop without crash.

And I thought driving schools taught how to brake with the engine and gearbox in case normal brakes fail.  Also, normally the brake pedal affects the front brakes, and you can still use the handbrake for rear brakes.

And this is "good news for motorists" how?  Aren't motorcycles banned from the tollway anyway, regardless of toll gates open or not?

Did you try Freedome ?  I know it will be sideways, but since it is very simple look and feel, taking a peek at it sideways to change the settings is no biggie.