George Bowman

24 minutes ago, webfact said:

"Phra Khru" ...had an answer for everything...

I've noticed throughout the years, many of these guys will go out of their way to deliver answers.

1 hour ago, webfact said:

ASEAN NOW notes that Thais love a ghost story - many believe in the supernatural. 

We have a pizza joint out in the boonies in Phitsanulok province and one of the main problems we encounter is parking. In order to alleviate this problem we rent parking spaces from our surrounding neighbors for B500 a weekend. One young man wanted more money and my wife said no. So what did he do? He hung a black coat up in order to drive away the bad juju thereby increasing our need for  additional parking and more money in his pocket. I gave up trying to figure out this mumble jumbo years ago... 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

...the election could be planned once given a green light by the Election Commission and the Cabinet...

Are we there yet? Are we there yet? How much longer?

Recently, I changed my SS retirement deposit from the Bangkok Bank to the Krungthai Bank. I did this simply because I now could avoid a trip into town, check my account online and finally can use an ATM to withdraw funds. In the past, my funds were available anytime past the 4th of each month. I have been reassured both by SS and the US Embassy folks in Manila that a check has/will be deposited on Sept 3rd, however nothing is showing up.  I am assuming that Krungthai Bank takes more time to process the deposit.  Is this correct?

On 6/16/2021 at 9:18 AM, ubonjoe said:

As far as I know Bangkok Bank has not changed their requirements for the direct deposit account.

And you would be correct. This morning I personally talked to one of the head money counters in Bangkok. He said at this point nothing has changed with these SS accounts and Bangkok Bank's policy with the US. Something about the computer program will not allow an ATM to be attached with these type of accounts. Have to setup a new account. Bummer... 

I still have what was once the mandatory Bangkok Bank account for my social security retirement check. I was the first in this area to do so and initially the bank was confused on how to setup the account. It took a few times, but eventually everything was sorted. That's been over four years now and I still have to go in to town every few months or so to make a withdrawal in person.

Since the US government changed the rules and according to the embassy email from Manila, I can now withdraw my money via an ATM instead of making the long trek into town. My question is has anyone successfully changed their specific SS/Bangkok Bank account to this new system? It would be considerably easier to just get an ATM card instead of having to setup a totally new account and sending all of that information to Manila. 

2 hours ago, webfact said:

The US government has provided $30 million in COVID-related assistance to Thailand...

Any help to fight the virus is a good thing.  Uncle Sam has actually given Thailand millions of dollars every year for decades and I'm certain that the money has always been put to good use. I know one time a bridge was built... 

I've been slowly putting together a book of a few of my photographs along with some short stories. The platform that I chose was Kindle Create which in turns readies the book for publication on Amazon. I'm not interested in making any money and I doubt that I will. Regardless, Amazon requests banking information for possible royalties and a Thai bank is a no go. I'm assuming that I might have to setup a bank account in the states in order to publish the book. Any of you folks run into this problem before?

What is being dragged underneath the car? Maybe something from the previous intersection.

6 minutes ago, webfact said:

At least 37 provinces in Thailand are requiring visitors from so-called ‘high-risk’ locations to undertake 14 day quarantine.

Ok, I'll admit it. I'm confused about the 14 day quarantine. Most of the folks that have been arriving in the village here in Phitsanulok; say they are headed back to Bangkok later in the week...

In 1999, I was a brand new professor working at Bangkok University making B24,500 a month. One weekend, I visited the Hard Rock Cafe for a bite to eat. Talk about expensive, a hamburger was B300 something. But the live band was worth the trip and I was impressed by their level of English. A few months later, I went back and a burger now cost B350 and I also learned that the band members were not Thais at all but were from the Philippines. Never did make it back and I wonder what a burger costs now...