Steve2UK

How excitable people get............ and all those CAPITAL LETTERS which experienced posters should already know is the equivalent of SHOUTING.

Polls (ingenious or silly) aside, what purpose is served by announcing that someone is being put on permanent "Ignore" (whether or not one thinks that's ever a sensible/defensible thing to do). IMO, it's akin to announcing that you're resigning from a forum (albeit rather less than permanently in the case I have in mind) - rather than just doing it.

OK, sorry for straying off-topic. Back to the excitement.........

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/96760.php

Please educate yourselves.

"Medical News Today"? Not much credibility, IMHO......... Now if I saw it reported by The Nation, NNT, TANN, ASTV/Manager etc - that would be a different story (usually is with them). Do you never research those?

I mentioned not wanting to wait at Loi Kroh to the Doctor one day and the Doctor recommended I make a an appointment for the next day. I marched in on time and was allowed to se the Doctor almost immediately.

Thanks, UG. Did you just get given an appointment card/slip to show when you went back? From what I've seen, there doesn't seem to be an appointment book kept there - as I'd expect for 'phone booking.

As the OP specifically requested suggestions of alternatives to Loi Kroh (where I have been going happily for several years), I'll mention Chiangmai Medical and Dental Polyclinic, 129/1 Moon Muang (053-326600).

My only "experience" of it was going there just recently to get a last-minute medical certificate for my visa extension - and, yes, most of us know that that generally requires no more than noticing that you made it to the desk and are still breathing . I formed a very good impression of the GP there - mature guy with superb English and a very grown-up/worldly/friendly manner - and noted it as a smart place that I would check out if I weren't already with Loi Kroh (and Grace for dental work). Perhaps another member has proper "patient" experience of this clinic, the GP, costs etc there? My medical certificate was just the usual 100 baht.

Incidentally - a question about Loi Kroh. I've seen passing mention of an appointments system there - does one actually exist and function properly e.g. through a prior 'phone call? (Yes, I know I should have asked there myself........)

Well at least you're over her and have closure.

Not the only "closure" heading his way, I think.........

My best wishes for a speedy and full recovery.

First piece of advice is to check out several places/bikes/options before parting with your cash. I suggest you'll make a good start by going to the dealer near the north end of Surewong Road which drops south from Chang Lo Road (south side of the moat). Dozens of bikes/scooters there - some just a few months old and others older. Price will obviously vary depending on model/age/mileage. The young owner/manager there speaks very good English.

I believe that there is also a regular weekend auction next to the Rimping store on the 2nd ring road - and I've seen bike auctions occasionally in the car park next to Carrefour. Others will have to give you more precise details of when these occur. As with any auction, you'll need to know what you're looking for and know your own mind regarding price etc. If you're not fluent in Thai, I suggest you'll be glad to have taken a Thai speaker with you to help.

FWIW, many Thai advised me not to buy second-hand - and I decided to followed that advice (because I could). Up to you and your finances if you do the same or not.

In my experience, bike insurance is pretty standard in terms of price/cover everywhere here; the dealer I mentioned can probably arrange it if you buy your bike from him. Otherwise, just pick a sensible broker.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&amp....00478&z=18

Plenty of useful advice so far - some of it slightly conflicting according to people's preferences. I agree that having a sensible reserve of convertible cash is prudent - just don't flash it around. Traveller's cheques if you insist, but I'd advise ensuring that at least one of your "ATM" cards is a Debit card - so that you will be able to go into just about any Thai bank and use it to make an over-the-counter withdrawal of funds (in baht) from your home country account (useful short/medium/long tern) - subject only to the Thai bank's per day branch limit and the funds available in your home country account. Note that this does not work with ATM cards that are simply "cashcards". Much more information (and almost certainly more than you want) in the long-running thread at http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Thai-Banks-S...it-t255263.html

From that same thread, you will learn that most Thai banks now levy a charge of 150 baht per ATM transaction when a foreign card is used. Current exceptions are ATMs of 1] Aeon and 2] Government Savings Bank.

There are many things to learn and I doubt anyone here could/would provide a fully comprehensive starter kit of information to protect the newly-arrived from absolutely everything (and, speaking personally, I wouldn't want that). That said, most things turn out to be relatively easy to deal with - but it clearly pays to get your information from more than just one source with his/her apparently very limited experience (e.g. the person who said/implied that most if not all Thai rental accommodation comes as just a shell).

As others have said here and previously, get yourself started in a well-equipped and serviced place (there are many to choose from) and then set about learning the ropes and looking around for what may suit you better as you grow into living here. Good luck and welcome.

I believe Amorn at Icon Square on the north side of the moat will probably be able to handle it.

If Amorn* is the large place down the soi to the right of Icon (with the moat behind you), I can almost guarantee that they'll fix it. I took in a re-chargable hair trimmer (Wella) whose battery refused to charge; they were able to look up the correct type, order it, fit it and hand back to me within about 10 days. While I was there, I saw their wizards working on everything from toasters to blenders to stereo's etc......... an amazing place and a very efficient service.

* I know the place mentioned in the car park at Carrefour and doubt that the one I'm describing above is the same outfit? But, I stand to be corrected on this.....

Actually the place in the car park at Carrefour is the same outfit. But the large Amorn shop you refer to on the soi to the right of Icon Plaza is where the main repair shop is located. The outlet stores only sell electronic parts. And you and Tywais are correct. They can fix just about anything electronic there.

Thanks for clarifying that. I'd still advise anyone with an electric/electronic repair issue to go to the one I/Tywais mentioned - must be better to get access to the main repair team there. For my battery replacement, the guy at the reception desk called over a particular technician (one of about 10 that I could see) to examine the item and advise on what to do. Based on that (and keo's Macbook anecdote), I'll be taking my high-end stereo amplifier there to get some faults sorted out. Very much a 10/10 place.........

Just Google "Chiang Mai Freecycle" and you'll get right to it in a couple of clicks.

I believe Amorn at Icon Square on the north side of the moat will probably be able to handle it.

If Amorn* is the large place down the soi to the right of Icon (with the moat behind you), I can almost guarantee that they'll fix it. I took in a re-chargable hair trimmer (Wella) whose battery refused to charge; they were able to look up the correct type, order it, fit it and hand back to me within about 10 days. While I was there, I saw their wizards working on everything from toasters to blenders to stereo's etc......... an amazing place and a very efficient service.

* I know the place mentioned in the car park at Carrefour and doubt that the one I'm describing above is the same outfit? But, I stand to be corrected on this.....

As jackr says, the west side of Lotus Khamtien is a good bet - two large stores there. One on Atsadathon Road that drops south from the Superhighway - and another just outside the west wall surrounding Tesco Lotus. Probably best to have a Thai speaker with you - particularly for the first one.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&amp...a4e37b3bc30de9b

I saw that GSB has a 20,000 withdraw limit & AEON 7,000! Is this correct?

Also, any update's about these ATM's at the airport?

Thanks

Don't take that AEON 7,000 figure as an absolute limit. From my experience with a couple of Aeon machines (in Chiang Mai), the "Quick Cash" (or similar wording) screen's highest figure offered is 7,000. When you continue to further screens, you get the option to enter other amounts. What I have found is that I often (but not always) got declined when I tried, say, 10/12/14,000 (which should be comfortably inside the baht equivalent of my UK bank's GBP 300 per day per card limit). Re-trying on those occasions with the same card but selecting the 7,000 option has always worked. That experience suggests to me that there was maybe some glitch in the authorisation process for the higher selected amounts - i.e. it doesn't indicate a "fixed" or absolute limit of 7,000 for AEON machines.

Going in two weeks! Will get bank confirmation as it is sod's law they will want it.

They did your re-entry at the same time as retirement visa or two separate actions?- will be getting multi entry- hopefully at the same time!

In practice it seems to be two separate actions (and different windows/officers) - re-entry to follow completed extension of "permission to stay until x date" because they'll need that "x date" to set the expiry of the re-entry permit (only takes 5-10 minutes). Forms are available there, but I find it better to download them as Word docs and type in the details beforehand (and no need to make up dates of an upcoming exit if you don't have one planned).

Agree about the sod's law aspect. For the sake of 100 baht and 10 minutes wait in the bank, I'd rather have the letter and not need it than vice versa......

I was there for 3 hours* last week to do my retirement extension. I actually preferred the previous open air set-up and never had a problem with heat. The problem that you get now is that half the people who enter/exit don't close the door - so you get the worst of both worlds.

Incidentally, this year they didn't want and just handed back the letter from my Thai bank confirming that I have an account with them and the balance (it has been asked for and duly processed 2 years running - even though my application is based solely on income).

* I made the mistake of arriving at 1.30pm and added my name to the sheet at the counter. Took over 2 hours before I was called to hand in the paperwork, but barely 40 minutes to process after that (including re-entry permit). Astonishing how many of the people before me didn't have their paperwork complete - delaying the process while they signed copies, went to get missing photocopies and got into involved discussions about points that are IMO detailed as clearly as you could wish on the Immigration website. That aside, if anything I thought the process was even smoother, more efficient/friendly/cheerful than previously.

I'm one of those fortunate enough to have the pleasure of face-to-face (i.e. non-biblical ) "knowledge" of PB - and have good cause to be grateful to him for advice on many things Thai and non-Thai........... from the mysteries of two-wheeled machines to the vagaries of two-legged creatures. And some of that advice I have also taken - and given some in return. Long may he prosper.

[PS, PB: As I see I'm approaching my albeit paltry 2,000th* post, I'll PM you with a few notes for your spontaneous congratulations/compliments on my milestone]

* Might well have been 3,000th by now were it not for my happy decision some months ago not to participate further in the tediously repetitive dialogue of the deaf conducted by the same dozen die-hards over in News Clippings.

problem with thailand - lot of sh*te tables and sticks. Makes it hard to win when not used to it.

Totally agree. Playing against anyone who really knows the speed and quirks of that particular table (and has already nabbed the one decent cue) puts you at a major handicap.

One thing I've noticed is that most Thai players (particularly the guys) tend to go for the "crowd-pleaser" shots - zapping the colour loudly into the pocket and little thought given to where the white ends up. Impressive potting skills - and better than I manage most of the time - but still only half the story without control of the white. Against that type of player, I've found that dropping repeated snookers on them (and blocking pockets with your own colours) often throws them off their accustomed game. Some get a bit peeved and maybe think you're not playing fair - but I've watched the likes of Maltese Joe repeatedly wait until they've got the table "ready" like this and then move in for the ball-after-ball clearance.

I checked out AEON machines for the 1st time, one of the 4 in CM area. This one was located at Airport Plaza in a somewhat isolated area. I am not sure if I would use it. It looked like it could be a candidate for machine tampering especially during late business hours. Besides, I normally like to withdraw money at a bank branch during business hours just in case the machine didn't not giving me the correct amount which has happened to me twice or swallowed up my card which so far hasn't happened. I see phone numbers along each on the ATM machine listed but wonder how easy it will be to speak with someone who can speak some English.

Since I has several fee free cards, if GSB joins the 150b fee club, I'll just double or triple my withdrawal amount which is right now very low (usually under 2k) and spread the reimbursement of fees around my cards.

No idea if it's convenient for you, but there's a pair of Aeon ATMs in their branch on the lower floor of Tesco Lotus Khamtien; from what I've seen, the Aeon branch seems to be open the same hours as Lotus. As it happens, there's also a GBS ATM just outside the left-hand entrance to the Mall - but that won't meet your (entirely sensible) criterion of it being attached to a bank branch.

Each to their own ways and far be it from me etc..... but I can't help thinking that the days of simply strolling a few yards to any nearest ATM to pick up a couple of thousand are behind (most of) us. But, maybe if you're getting the fees reimbursed, this doesn't apply so much to you?

..............so it may be time to start just transfering lump sums to my kasikorn thai bank account. Does anyone do this and have any views on it negative or positive? the only negative thing i can think of is that the £ seems to be getting stronger against the baht at the moment so if i transfer say 4 months worth of money tomorrow, i will get todays exchange rate where as if i was using my atm card i would be getting an up to date exchange rate (hopefully better than todays).

if anyones get any bright ideas/info, please let me know!

best regards,

Matt

Hi Matt,

As someone already said, the rates move around and, therefore, transferring a large amount (e.g. the 4 months supply you mentioned) is a gamble or a "play". My habit before UK interest rates dropped to negligible was to keep as much as I could earning 5-6% for as long as possible. Plainly that's less of an issue now. I think I get 0.5 or 0.75% from my Kasikorn account (should check) - either of which is close enough to 1-ish% available in the UK for instant access savings to make it academic for the amounts involved.

My advice would be to spread your rate risk by transferring via the over-the-counter Debit card withdrawal route. The Kasikorn branch I use has a daily limit of 20,000 baht - others may be higher and you might even be able to get the same from a different branch on the same day........ or (maybe) just go to other brands of bank, come to that; worth checking out. You need your passport but the process only takes about ten minutes. Not as quick as hitting the nearby ATM, but hardly a major hassle either.

The other negative of the transfer route is the fee. I've established to my satisfaction that there is no fee (other than Nationwide now passing on the 0.84% visa charge) - overt or hidden in a poor exchange rate.

I'm sure others will have different views.......

"Aeon machine delivered 7,000 baht (as usual, no fee) . . . (some Aeon machines seem to have a limit of 7,000 per transaction and I've taken to accepting that as a general limit so as to avoid problems)."

I don't know if all AEON ATMs are capable of vending more than 7,000 per transaction, but the one I've been using in Pattaya has done 22,000, 23,000 and 25,000 in one shot on separate transactions. You still see the 7,000 limit on the first screen, but if you drill down through 5 or 6 screens, it will allow you to enter the amount that you want.

I don't recall the exact sequence of screens, but it's something like "Other" > "English" > "Savings" or "Current" ( "Current" is a checking account ) and then there may be one or two or more screens before you hit the jackpot.

My comment was based on going to screens beyond the first "Quick Cash" to get to where I could enter, say, 10,000.00 (well within the per-day limit from my UK bank - Nationwide) and getting declined. Re-starting the transaction and selecting 7,000.00 from the first screen works every time. As I said, there seems to be variation between limits on different Aeon ATMs - either that or there's some quirk in the system. I just do what works for me.

If I see any different when I the debit is posted to my account and I can check it online, I'll report it here.

That will be great. I assume you will check the IER of either Bank of Thailand or XRate for that posted day. I have yet to try this withdrawal method since I generally only take out no more than 2K at any given time but may consider it as the "fee free" well may dry out before long.

OK, here are details of the over-the-counter (OTC) withdrawal using a Nationwide Visa Debit card at Kasikorn on 19th August at 12.45:

20,000 baht shows as a cost of GBP 359.77* = rate 55.59

* includes Visa charge of 0.84%. Extracting that (if my maths is up to it) gives a cost of GBP 356.77 = rate 56.06

(Sorry, I can't get the X-rate page to show GBP/baht as opposed to US$/baht - so someone else can do that comparison biz. The rate is in broadly in line with what I see reported by ThaiVisa for that day)

FWIW, the Aeon ATM transaction details (N/wide Cirrus [Maestro] Cashcard) on 19th August at 12.24:

7,000 baht shows as a cost of GBP 126.55 = rate 55.31

Another comparison (between the two cards) from simultaneous UOB ATM withdrawals on 13th August (i.e. pre fee introduction):

N/wide Visa Debit card - 10,000 baht shows as a cost of GBP 178.96 (inc. 0.84% Visa charge) = rate 55.88

N/wide Cirrus cashcard - 10,000 baht shows as a cost of GBP 179.22 = rate 55.80

This matches what I have observed before - even with the 0.84% charge added the Visa rate is consistently somewhat better. Visa transactions tend to show up in my account about 12 hours after the Cirrus transactions so there could be rate fluctuations because of that time difference - but IMO the pattern seems clear.

______________________

I posted over a year ago about making OTC withdrawals and pointed out then that I had tested the rate by making a small ATM (SCB) withdrawal using the Debit card and then going straight inside to make a larger OTC withdrawal using the same card. Result - identical rates for both transactions.

While I didn't do the side by side test for the recent Kasikorn OTC transaction, I have no reason to think that it would be any different now.

Given that Aeon and GSB are now the last of the no-fee Mohicans, I have to wonder whether/how much longer that situation will continue - even if neither is a member of TBA it seems logical to expect them both to see the fee as a source of additional revenue. As I have both SCB and Kasikorn accounts (with ATM cards provided), I suspect I will start to move over to making OTC withdrawals, depositing the cash into one or both of those accounts and using their respective cards (fee free) for when I need cash.

Are there any banks not charging this fee? I went in and took money with passport got dinged a 14.50 charge for taking 17,000 baht so that was no good.

At an ATM of UOB bank, I just withdrew 20,000 THB from my USD-denominated account at a US bank, and was not charged a fee. I only got 33.75 THB per USD, which is a little below the published rate today of 34.03 (on Yahoo Finance). I don't know if withdrawal through another bank's ATM would change the exchange rate; I doubt that it would.

See my post on the long-running (and very comprehensive) thread already covering this subject. Rather than resurrect an old (and less detailed) thread on the same subject, I suggest that members post only on that one - so that all relevant information is in the same place (even if you have to plough through a lot of posts to find what you're looking for).

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?s=...t&p=2953120

Sad to say that UOB appear to have joined the 150 baht fee club. At noon today, I tried to use both my Nationwide (UK) Visa Debit card and Nationwide Cirrus (i.e. MC/Maestro network) Cashcard in the same UOB ATM outside a Chiang Mai branch (Huay Kaew Road) that I have used several times before with no fee advised or charged.

Result for both - an admirably clear (and very unwelcome) screen announcing that 150 baht would be charged....... continue/cancel etc.

I cancelled and went to a branch of Tesco Lotus which has both Government Savings Bank and Aeon ATM's (along with the other usual suspects we now avoid). "Communications error" attempting to use my N/Wide Visa Debit card in the GSB machine - first time I've had this, but just a coincidence I think. Aeon machine delivered 7,000 baht (as usual, no fee) using my N/W Cirrus Cashcard (some Aeon machines seem to have a limit of 7,000 per transaction and I've taken to accepting that as a general limit so as to avoid problems).

As it happens I needed to do some business inside Kasikorn, so I withdrew 20,000 baht (Kasikorn's branch daily limit) - using my N/Wide Visa Debit card over the counter. No fee - and I expect to see the exchange rate to be in line with ATM withdrawals. If I see any different when I the debit is posted to my account and I can check it online, I'll report it here.

Trying to visit the site of Dokmai, my virus controller gave me the following message:

The website at www.dokmaigarden.co.th contains elements from the site ciqx.in, which appears to host malware – software that can hurt your computer or otherwise operate without your consent. Just visiting a site that contains malware can infect your computer.

Good to be careful, but I had no problem/warning visiting the Dokmai site just now - and I have a lot of sophisticated "sniffer" stuff installed. Looks OK to me.

It's called Ta Krai Hom

Taller and coarser than the eating variety.

If anybody sees any in Chiang Mai for sale please let me know as the clump I planted seems to have been ingested in the spread of bamboo clumps.

Its meant to keep away mosquitoes, not sure about snakes.

my neighbour swears by Salae Pang Porn which is prickly and has reddish markings on the leaves, grows into big bush as a snake deterrent.

Thanks for the naming - I'd already forgotten it. Just sent you a PM with Khamtien stockist's phone numbers. If any other CM residents want the same information, just PM me - though it generally needs to be ordered.