Captain Ron

So OK..

I appreciate your help with all this... but actually i dont have a wife. So what are the dangers of storing gold in a bank safety deposit box? To collect the gold i need my passport or ID plus the key for my box, is that right?

Why is a bank vault a problem for storing gold? I want to store around 100 baht of gold only.

Thanks

I'm thinking like you Crossbones. I'd like to store a little gold in thailand in safety box bank or private box. My thai wife and I still live in US but we may live in thailand someday or maybe things will get so bad here we'll have to. Anyway we'd like to store some of our bullion in thailand and a safety box is the only thing that makes sense to me otherwise it's with Mom and while I trust her stuff happens.

Not worried about total collapse of a banks-we all know they'll give us all the paper money necessary.

it's nice we all have our own well informed opinions about how to own it and to each their own. I have all of the mentioned forms of owning it, but I don't have an outside the US physical storage place.

Also appreciate the info about Canadian Maples, thought I would have to bring cash and buy some 10B bars.

Does one not have to declare gold coins when bringing them into Thailand? or is there a limit??

Wife has an account at Bangkok bank but we keep getting the runaround about SD boxes. Seems they're in high demand and it's leg work going from branch to branch.

So does anyone have any leads on where to find available SD boxes to help out me and the OP?

Are there any dishes that people know of that are JAM PACKED with vitamins. I have a cold, and im sure eating veggies will be good, but i wonder if there is a special dish out there that really packs a punch? Ant egg soup? - hope not. I drink passion fruit drinks - fresh.. anything else? b vits?

thanks.... sniff***

Tom Yum cures colds, jet lag, lowers blood pressure and maybe prevents cancer.

fish, shrimp or chicken.

GOLD is the currency of last resort. it is the ultimate safe haven. In the Weimar situation Germany 1923 gold was the only way people could preserve their wealth. If you want to hold currencies then swiss franc, chinese Yuan or maybe Singapore dollars(not sure about the SGD). Once the current deleveraging ends gold will soar and cash will be trash.

good luck to you.

BTW check out the Iceland situation. If the govt. or people held gold they wouldn't be in their current predicament.

I have never invested in anything but property and so far so good however I would like to diversify a bit and put some cash into the above. I need some advice and basically need to be walked through the whole process. Where to buy, how to buy and sell, how to store and what to look out for.

I buy my gold in China town as they seem to hike things up a bit in MBK and other tourist areas, there is a lot of competition so some dealers offer lower prices than the standard market rate. You can either buy jewlery or gold bars.

When you buy gold jewelry they will charge you 300-600 baht per 1 baht of gold you buy. This is to do with the cost of making the necklace etc etc, You of course do not get this back when you sell the gold back to the shop and you get a lower rate when you sell it back to what people will be buying it from the shop for. So lets say when you go to the shop there should be two prices in white outside on the window, one for selling and one for buying per baht. The one which is higher is the price they are selling to you for and the other the one they will buy the gold from you for.

When you buy a gold bar you will be only charged 100/200 baht for the making fees but this can change etc etc but is deffo cheaper than buying jewelry. Also make sure to sell the gold back when you want to to the shop you bought it from, every goldsmith will have there badge printed on the bit that holds the necklace together, I am not so sure about this but I think if you sell it to different shop you bought it from you will get less for your money...don't ask me why.

Very good advice. If you're buying for Thailand you should buy Thai gold; bars would be the best. I think they each put their own ID on the bar which is why you want to sell it back to the same shop. If you don't own gold then there is no better time to buy than now. You can buy some every week if you're afraid it will go down. Don't buy paper gold only physical. The premium on physical gold is going up relative to the gold price. Nothing is safer than gold right now and the long term price is up, way up. Silver and Platinum are good to buy now but probably not very liquid in Thailand, and certainly not as safe as gold. Gold is money especially in Asia. Buy some gold and then some more gold then you can buy other precious metals. Good luck we all may need it the way the world financial situation is going.

I have no advise on how to get a tourist VISA. I can tell you how I paid $130 for for my girlfriend attempt to get a VISA. Her interview for the VISA lasted 08 seconds (as in bull riding). The problem is that I tried to sponsor her. the embassy first questiopn was...do you ever intent to marry this man. Answer, Maybe. Response...exit door right...now. The paperwork folder that I created included security clearances, letters from empolyer, letter from God, it all was not relivant. exit door right.

So I took the long route....K1 Visa. Aplied in USA in Sept, 2007. Approved in Feb, 2008. 4 months in Bangkok before fianlly getting VISA. It is a long process.

It is even a longer process if you are married. You need a K3 VISA rather than a K1.

To get a tourist VISA for my girlfriend would have been nearly impossible...she is less than 30 and attractive. Getting one for a man maybe be easier, harder, just the same...have no idea.

I am quite sure if you feel like sponsoring him and have any romantic relationship...the answer will be exit door right. Maybe door left for men. good luck

Yep same thing happenned to me. Once they see a romantic raltionship they figure there's a high risk of staying. Tried 2 times for the tourist visas. letters from senators, monks didn't matter. We ended up with the k-1 visa and breezed through that. Good luck

I liked "The Beautiful Boxer"... good in both Thai & English, set in both BKK and the countryside... check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beautiful_Boxer

Here's a few I found on netflix.com that I enjoyed:

Nang Nak- a classic Thai ghost/love story

The Iron Ladies

The Overture/Hoam Rong-great story about traditional Thai music competition

The Legend of Suriyothai

and Oliver Stone's Bang Rajan.

you can find more on netflix-depends what you like.

I am an American Citizen, age 63, I receive Social Security payments every month and a Workers Compensation Settlement payment every month. My medical insurance is covered by Workers Comp. and when my Settlement Payments end, I will receive a lifetime pension on top of my social security. It's not rich living, but I feel very lucky to have it.

I would like to thank Thai Immigration for making it mandatory for me to keep 800,000 Baht in a bank account in order to maintain my retirement visa. Next, I would like to thank the Property Manager who convinced me that it is actually cheaper to rent a condo than to buy one at my age. Next, I would like to thank the drunk I met in a bar who told me about the ride he got taken on when he married a Thai lady. I would like to thank the Thai Ladies for holding the line on their prices. Lastly, I would like to thank George Bush for making sure that the American economy would be sliding down the slippery slope into recession.

I came to Thailand when the bank took my U.S. dollars for 44 Baht for each and every one I put in their hands. I put a lot of dollars in their hands.

I hope the exchange rate keeps going in the current direction.

I would love to buy my dollars back for 25 Baht for 1 U.S. greenback. That would give me a lot more dollars than I started with.

Then it will be time to head off the Hawaii and spend my final years looking at those beautiful sunsets and nursing on the government tit.

Is this fuzzy thinking? Have I got something wrong? Does every cloud have a silver lining? Is the cup 1/2 full?

Perhaps. Expect the purchasing power of your us $ ss payments and pension to fall by 10-20% per year for the next 2-3 years. good luck.

Selling $ now would be very stupid.

You should have sold $ in 2002 not now.

Now it is almost time to re-buy $

You need to sell expensive and buy cheap.

I'm always astonished by this way of thinking. Reminds me the "Great Reich that will last 1000 years"... This very human difficulty to understand that everything has an end is quite disturbing.

What datas allow you to think that a currency is "just" a "normal good" with "classic cyclical behavior" ?

History shows that fiat currencies have... a life span. Some might last more than other, but they are basically... disposable goods.

On the other hand, gold has a much longer history... I mean a real one. But USD ? A mere toilet paper.

you are naive.

this would be real in the world of dreams...

in 40 or so years gold will be a relic...just like oil...

there are a couple of dozens of big fish who decided gold would be up in these years and as soon as they will decide to sell (and make profits like crazy) --sell to people like you who always come 5 years late to buy the most expensive stuff in the market-- gold price will retreat again.

Look at the $ trend during the 3 past republican administrations.... that has been another planned devaluation by US Govt, just like previous Republican Administrations.

Gold is money. it is the ultimate currency and is now making all time highs against most of the major currencies, $, Euro, Aussie, loonie and even the Baht. In $ it's up 30% this past year and about the same each of the 2 prior years-you would have done well had you been buying gold during these times. Going back to the all time spike of $850 or so that was short lived panic driven buying, todays rise is slow steady and long. But if you want to go back long term go to 1971 when Nixon cut any ties of the $ to gold. Then it was $35 vs. $860 today. up almost 25x. BTW oil has risen about the same it was about 3.50/barrel then. historicly an ounce of gold =10 barrels of oil. Meanwhile all currencies are depreciating against both oil and gold the 2 standards of wealth. We are witnessing an historical credit crises that is spreading worldwide. the U.S. is leading the way. Central banks are minting money like it's going out of style (it is) to save financial institutions like citibank and keep credit flowing as the trust has been lost at a time when credit has been easier than ever before in history. If panic hits again it'll go a lot higher than the inflation adjusted all time high of about $2400. Even without panic we'll see gold double in the next 2-3 years.

Most traditional investments are looking bleak-bonds, stocks even real estate. Bush is clueless. the country is technicaly BK and we are in a recession in the U.S.-the only refuge is gold and they can't find enough of it anymore-mine output is decreasing and more expensive-meanwhile demand is growing-chinese are now allowed to own gold and have setup investment vehicles for doing so. If you think it will become a relic then you believe the entire world will be living under a socialist dictatorship-barring that the external and unquenchable desire to hold gold in europe, the middle east and most of all asia will insure it's value forever. Finally anyone living in Thailand especially as an expat should learn something from the locals-people in this part of the world trust gold more than governments and choose to hold thier savings in it. Just ask all those Burmese whose currency was cancelled back in 1988-oops sorry your life savings you put in your bank account is worthless. How rude, they could have been much more tactful and just let it's value decline by inflating the currency like every body else!

Get gold-a whole lot-you won't be sorry.

I used to work in this field for the U.S. Department of State (Embassy), so I do know a little about the situation--I worked in more than one country as well. My work was in "rejection review", so I saw (reviewed) the cases that have been rejected--so most of my experience is on the negative side of things. I know what can go wrong.

1. A fiancee visa is one of the most difficult to get. The the rejection rate is very high. Officers are quick to spot any holes in the story, conflicting information, inconsistencies. As a general rule, these visas are some of the most suspect.

2. A non-registered, tradition ceremony IS considered a legitimate ceremony. I saw many folks proceed to the US based on no legal paper trail. If they believe they are married, the community believes they are married and they followed some sort of traditional/religious ceremony. Sometimes affidavits were required from folks who attended etc (pictures worked well as well), but

if you get married your married. Of course, a registered marriage is much easier to trace and show.

3. Some years back, people coming in on fiancee and newly married couples, they were given a special CR status, meaning a conditional visa and that if the marriage turned out to be for immigration purposes, or didn't transpire, or failed--separation, divorce, the person was returned to their country of origin.

There are some good lawyers that can help you with the paperwork. Your best bet is to be completely honest. Most of the rejected cases I saw were people who were 'dancing around the truth', taking liberties with the truth and hiding something.

Best of luck to you.

Here is my experience

My thai lady and I tried for a tourist visa 2 times with no luck. they are not easy to get for Thais. Esp young women with no ties to thailnd like kids good job, home. We then went for the fiance visa. It took about 5-6 months. lots of paper work and stuff for her to do there like med and police reports. When her interview finally came up I went there to be with her for that which is pretty important. We got the visa and then we had a religious ceremony in her home town- we did not register it and still have not. She would've liked to change her name but that was more complicated-it can be done later on-probably for us after she gets her permanent green card and we want to spend time in LOS. I believe the US govt. recognizes that many cultures will not allow young women to go off with a guy if they're not married as that could cause the family great shame and there fore they will allow you to have a religious ceremony if you do not register it with the govt. But do like we did and it's not an issue. I have several friends who went the exact smae route with no problem as long as you can demonstrate support and a bonafide relationship-pjotos, hotel/plane recipts, phone calls etc. If you are young with no assets they will probably look at your app more closely but if you have substantial financial assets they figure you're not likely to get involved in a bogus marriage. good luck to you

I read on the website of OCBC China (bank from singapore, has 2 branches in china)

"RMB accounts and deposits are available only for citizens of other countries and citizens of Hong Kong , Macau and Taiwan"

<a href="http://www.ocbc.com.cn/html_english/html/p...meDeposits.shtm" target="_blank">http://www.ocbc.com.cn/html_english/html/p...meDeposits.shtm</a>

Thanks for all the replies. The currency ETF for jap yen is a possibility, but for this purpose I really want a bank deposit account because it is too easy for me to cash in the ETF in my brokerage account and buy some stock with the proceeds.

I am going to look into this OCBC bank further. It looks like a good alternative for me. It also gets some of my $USD savings outside the USA. Singapore is a place I trust also.

***This is another topic altogether, but there have been currency controls (which means no easy wire transfers out of the USA) before and they might come back again quickly if there was to be a $USD currency crisis, so it is a concern for me albeit is probably very unlikely, but I want to have access to some cash outside of the USA now that I am living in Thai with no plans to go back to the USA.

JUST BUY GOLD. no need to worry about currency controls/debasement, fraud, insolvency etc. better than cash. Easy to buy sell in Thailand.

Hi all,

My wife and I (both farang U.S. citizens) hope to take our female Thai friend back to visit the U.S. with us over the Christmas holidays. We have traveled with our friend many times to many different locations to include Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Cambodia and many places near Thailand.

Each time we were able to eventually get our friend a visa, but always after a great deal of effort and numerous calls and trips to the various consulates (Australia was the hardest followed by Japan).

On our first attempt to get our friend a U.S. visa at the Chiangmai consulate, she was denied. However, at that time her passport was newly issued (empty) and she was without work at that time. She also had the bad luck of being interviewed by an especially arrogant Thai man who obviously was suffering from some painful hemerroidal ailment (likely caused by having something stuck up his a** was my suspicion). Since then she has found stable employment and has many stamps in her passport. She has never worked in a bar and has taken some college classes.

My question is: have you ever used one of the professional visa services that advertise in the local magazines such as CityLife? If so, can you recommend one over another? Did you find the experience helpful or is it just an added expense without much added convenience?

Any seriously intentioned helpful comments are welcomed. Thanks.

I agree this is a great thread. I'm surprised no one mentioned Tom Robbins. I would think his sarcasm suits many of the members here. Check out Villa Incognito-takes place in Laos/Thailand and Fierce Infidels home from hot Climates.

I agree that halting those projects already under construction is massively stupid. As farangs in Thailand, we really benefit from these large chains, mainly because we are treated fairly and equally at those places. I don't agree that the dynamics of these stores is exactly the same phenom as Walmarts in the US, but the part about damaging local retailers sounds similar. Walmart often competes with other quite organized and established large retailers, at least outside of small towns.

If they don't protect the local mom and pops they will dissappear just like walmart in the U.S. In the long run it's bad for the people. Just getting cheaper prices from big chains does n ot improve the economy on.ly the big businesses who become more infuential.

We love thailand because it's so different from the west-why would you want to change it.

No problem having some big stores just can't let them take over everywhere-they destroy the middle class.

Halting stores in progress is certainly unfair-I suspect it's a bargaining chip to get them to hold back on development.

Bottom line is there should be both. But let's keep Thailand as much like it is rather than making it become like the west we left.

JMHO

I have a GF in Thailand who is about to try and obtain a tourist Visa. She is 33, family from Udon but she now lives in Bangkok. She owns some land in Udon, a Food Garden in Udon, and a house as well. She has about 200,000 baht in the bank and I will probably catch shi_ for this but for the past 7 months I have been sending her 40,000 baht per month, which she desposits in her bank account and then withdraws monthly for her living expenses. Please hold the comments on what I send her, first, I can afford to do it and secondly I want her to live somewhat comfortably. In any case, I am sure she could say this monthly money is income from her Food Garden to show some history of income. Can anyone comment on what you think the chances of her getting a tourist Visa? And, do you think she could do this on her own or should I contract with one of those Visa companies? One company quoted me $1,600 for the Visa, but it included RT Air from Bkk to New York so it didn't seem to bad. All comments appreciated! Thanks in advance!

If you think it's easy getting a tourist visa to the U.S. you're in for a big surprise as was I. I went through it twice. Letters from a U.S. Senator even, but they just don't give tourist visas to single women unless very rich. You have to prove she will return and having a relationship with you just about kills your chances. They see that as a reason for her not to return. After 2 tries we were far enough along that we went for the fiance visa which took almost 6 months, now we're married and very happy. I doubt you can find anyone who was able to get their girl a tourist visa to the U.S. Student visas. work visas and spousal visas that's about it.

As for the visa services all they do is fill out the paperwork for you and your girlfriend and make sure you don't make a mistake-but they can't get you a visa unless you qualify.

Good luck though and I can tell you Thai women make great wives. I now know 5 Thai/Farang couples here in CA and we're all very happy.

Good luck.

Hello. I understand that both me and my fiance ned to submit our letters of intent.

On the form itself it needs the embassy of the country and address.

Do we both put the embassy info from the US on there? SHould they both be the same or does she need to put her thai address and location on there?

Thanks!

Also, what is an NOA?  I cant find that in the FAQ

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On our k-1 application we each wrote a statement that we intended to marry each other signed it and that was it. I also wrote a letter about us, enclosed pictures of us together and with her family, hotel bills with both our names, plane tickets together in Thailand, and my phone bills. My petition was approved rather quickly by USCIS, only one month in CA, now it's draggging on with the Bangkok end getting their papers, and the med/police exam. Soon we'll have an interview date for about the end of Oct. I expect, and I'll be there to make sure there is no misunderstanding about our intent or anything else. Good luck. Don't hear too much about bonafide k-1 applications being refused-but....

Tourist visa is the fastest. About 60 days from app. date, check at the embassy-they post waiting times. Other visas take 4-6 months.

The tourist visa is always somewhat arbitrary. Applicants are viewed as intending immigrants unless they can prove otherwise. Previous travel to U.S. and her degree is good. They like to look at savings/bank book to see if you make enough moneyand if your jobs are worthwhile to come back to. They can be very arbitrary. Good luck.

Meanwhile I am I the process of getting a fiance visa for my TGF. We've been approved and processed by the National visa center and USCIS who have forwarded the app. to Bangkok(rather quickly I might add only 1.5 months for the first two approvals). On 7-14 they said my fiance would be receiving a packet from the US Embsassy Bangkok with her app. docs for Med exam, police report and whatever.

Does anyone know how long this process takes before we get this letter and whether it will already have the interview date set or does she have to go with the paaperwork to the embassy and submit the app to get an interview date??

Captain Ron

Unless they have a great job, kid to come back to, own a house or have some other unbreakable ties they won't get a tourist visa. Work or student visas are possible but difficult to obtain. The only sure way to get your TGF into the U.S. is with a fiancee or marriage visa. I'm in the process of obtaining a k1 fiancee visa for my TGF. After 2 tries for a tourist visa. She is 38 and is learning English. I think she is old enough not to be easily influenced by the American lifestyle and become overly materialistic, however were she young I would be very apprehensive. I'm older -56-but if you are young what do you have to lose? If she becomes a material girl well you're just back where you started with most young guys in the U.S. Marriages don't last anyway. BTW on the fiancee visa she has to stay 2 years to get permanaent residency so you know she'll be good at least that long and if you don't have any assets or alimony to worry about-what the hey? 4-6 mos. wait for fiancee visa-make sure you fill out the paperwork completely and accurately. The only real criteria-as long as she is not a criminal or terrorist, or have the bird flu- is that you really can and do intend to marry her within 90 days of arriving. There is no financial requirement on her end. YOU may have to show where/how you are going to live in the U.S. Good luck.

i have read a lot of visa stories but didn't find any about America. I had been living in Thailand for 4 years. Just bumming around and boxing and sometimes teaching. I met a girl and all that. She is still in the University but will finish in October. I am thinking about getting married with her in order for her to get a visa and that way we can go back to America and live there. I can't stand the thought of living in Thailand again. Now I am currently in Shanghai. I don't have any kind of future or anything. You know job lined up in America. But my parents are well off as they say and money will be no problem. ........How difficult is this going to be? I mean in my mind i figure it is going to be a huge problem and difficult. Will being married help with the process? I mean then we are family right? Didn't the Nazis seperate families in Cattle carts? What is the difference if these people at the embassy seperate families using papers? Can they do that? It makes me so mad to think that we have to beg to go to America. Being that they don't even have a welfare system. No health care no housing. Nothing.....Anybody have any visa stories from the USA?

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I have a TGF and I want to get her a visa. I want to go the route that is the fastest. It could be a tourist visa or fiance visa. I was thinking the tourist visa would be faster but maybe more difficult, is this correct? Some particulars, she is from a low income family, and only has a very short work history. She does have a bank account and I would be willing to if required, make a substantial cash desposit in her name to show reason for return. Would this help, how much do you think would be required? How long would the process take?

I also have some good business contacts in Thailand that could possibly create some documents that show her with a higher paying job with some longer history, but I am not sure if she was employed would they use the employers letters or is there some gov tax agency that would be needed to verify employment?

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I also have TGF, also from a low income and very traditional family. She has a good work history with a job to come back to and no negative social records. We tried the tourist visa twice. The last time it took about two months to get our denial. She had letters from last two employers, bank account with 400k TB( I gave her), sick and elderly parents, letters of support from me, her Monk, My congressman AND a U.S. Senator(for the second try). They still turned her down. All they cared about was her bank book. That after a very nice letter to the Senator after her first denial, saying she was welcome to reapply and would be given every consideration consistent with U.S. law. What I've learned is that unless the applicant comes from a middle class family and has property-house and car, and a great job or business to come back to, or a young kid, they won't issue a tourist visa-especially to a single woman. At least during the process I learned I am willing to marry her, so we've applied for the Fiance visa. I'm expecting a six month wait-it depends where you live-I'm in CA which takes the longest. On the fiance visa you have 90 days to marry her or she goes back-no extension and no 2nd tries-although I suppose if you actually marry her at a later date-you can apply for a spouse visa. good luck but remember you're guilty until proven innocent when it comes to visas to the U.S.

Do you know any agents in Bankgkok who can help my Thai girlfriend get a U.S. tourist visa. She needs help putting the application and paperwork together properly.

thanks

Captain Ron

Your friend has two options here but both of them require he goes to Thailand. 

First one is that he marries her in Thailand, applies for visa for his wife to join him in US and that that takes about 1 year to get her to the US.

Second is that he applies for K-1 Fiance Visa for her on the grounds that he will marry her within 3 months of her being in the US.  Total time for him to get her into the US this way is about 4-6 months.  He could do this without having to come to Thailand I guess but it would be very difficult.  I dont recommend making her do it alone.

As far as tourist visa or student visa goes, the other people were right in what they told you.  Tourist visa will only be given if embassy can see that she has some tangible assets and a reason to come back to Thailand.  Student visa will only be given if she is going to be a student and has some correspondence from a school in the US proving this fact.  No easy outs here.

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I'm trying to bring a Thai girlfriend to U.S. on a tourist visa. She has a decent shot-job and family in Thailand, previous travel abroad etc. She speaks little English and needs help putting her application together. Does anybody have contacts in Bangkok to help her with this?

Thanks