sbaker8688

Got an account at SCB. Got their SWIFT instructions, called my mother and told her to wire money to me and I would write her a check to cover it. She emailed and said that the bank in America needs a "stateside" bank, probably in New York, to handle the transaction. She needs the information for that bank.

Does anyone have the info for the Siam Commerical Bank in the states so I can do the transfer? Nobody at Siam here told me anything. I suppose I should have expected problems.

Time is of the essense - I ran out of money a few days ago! Help!

Thanks.

I looked for a SCB on Thaipae Road, didn't see one. I saw a few other banks, but not SCB. Can anyone tell me where it is? Or did I overlook it perhaps?

Thanks.

So the Siam branch to go to is near Thaipae Gate?

Also, what documentation and information will I need? I already assume a passport. What else?

Thanks.

Can you tell me where a good branch is for a falong to open an account? Maybe they have one that "specializes" in opening accounts, speaking English, etc? I am located near the Thaipae Gate/Night Bazaar area.

Thanks.

Anyone know where I can buy a converter or transformer or whatever its called in Chiangmai? I've looked around, but I don't know Chiangmai that well.

Also, perhaps a water pick?

Thanks.

Not Airport Central Plaza - the other one. The one with the bowling alley in it. Give me a name I can give a taxi driver.

Thanks.

Went to Loi Kroh. Was in and out in 30 minutes. Very satisfied.

Thanks.

I need an english speaking doctor in Chiangmai. I am staying in the Night Bazaar, so I need someone in or around the Night Bazaar so I can walk. I would like to get one of those "swab tests" for strep throat, but I'm not sure if they even have those here in Thailand or not. Anyone know? Can anyone suggest a doctor?

Thanks

How do I say the word "mai" (no)? As in "mai dee." I hear it said different ways, and no Thai seems able to tell me the right way to say it. If I ask how to say it in different ways ("do I say it like this, or like this, or like this?"), they just say "yes."

Do I say it like the english word "my?" Or do I say it like the english word "may?" Or do I say it like the english word "me?"

Please use an english word which sounds the same to tell me how to say it (hopefully one of the 3 provided, if one fits).

Thanks.

what happens when I fill up my passport with entry/exit stamps and visas and what not? This is already close to happening, but the passport is only a few years old. Will I have to get a whole new passport, or is there some way to have extra "pages" added so that I can have more room for stamps and what not?

What do I do?

Thanks.

I bought a 3 entry tourist visa from the Consulate in the U.S. before coming to Thailand. I paid for three entries, and the visa stamp on my passport says "three (3)."

After 60 days, I got a 30 day extension. The 30 days passed, and I have just completed a Cambodia border run. Upon reentry to Thailand, the clerk who was examining my passport acted strangely. She got up and went to find her supervisor. The supervisor came and asked me how many entries I paid for. I said 3. He asked me for a receipt. I said "Receipt? I don't have a receipt - the visa was bought in the U.S. 3 months ago. You think I would walk around with a receipt for 3 months? What's the problem?" He pointed to my visa and said it was for 2 entries, not three (even though it says 3 entries). The clerk then wrote a "2" at the top of the visa and circled it, and then wrote a "1" at the top of the 2, and circled it.

I looked at my passport and visa stamp carefully, trying to figure out the source of the problem. While the visa stamp clearly says "three (3)," the numeral 3 has a little curly-q at the bottom of the number, almost like the visa clerk who issued it wrote a 2 first, and then corrected it to a 3. At least, this *could* be the problem (I'm just grasping at straws here). Regardless, it sincerely looks like a 3 that was not modified by anyone, and it clearly says "three" in writing. There should be no problem here, but Thais, I have come to learn, are extremely paranoid by anything that looks even remotely suspicious about anything. Case in point - I have a $100 bill that I have been trying to change since the day I came to Thailand over 3 months ago. It's a nice, fresh, crisp $100 bill, which looks no different than any other $100 bill that I carry (in fact, it was given to me by my bank before I made the trip), except that someone has taken a magic marker and made a smiley face on Benjamin Franklin's face. Therefore, no Thai will touch it with a 10-foot pole. It's as if the bill has leprosy or something. In fact, the other day I went to a bank teller, and handed them 4 $100 bills, one of which was this "smily face" bill. The teller not only did not accept that particular bill, but she gave me *ALL* of my bills back, and told me they were counterfeit. I simply laughed, walked out, and went to the teller down the street, making sure not to include the smiley face this time. I got my exchange no problem. Thais are paranoid, but I digress.

At any rate, I believe that they "took away" one of my entries, but since this is the first time I have used a visa, I have some questions so that I can try to figure this out. My first question is: When you "use up" an entry, do they write a number at the top of the visa and circle it, telling how many entries are left? If so, then they indeed took away one of my entries, by first circling a 2, then a 1 on top of that.

My second question is: How can I deal with this? Preferably, I would like my entry back (if it was indeed taken away). Should I contact the consulate? Try to procure a receipt? Would the consulate even know what visa they issued me, and how many entries it had?

Third question: If everything else fails (as it probably will), is there any chance I can get some money back from the consulate?

My thoughts are that I am probably screwed, as if they indeed took away my entry, there is probably no way for me to prove to the next person I talk to that I did not actually use the visa that was taken away. Also, there are probably no formal procedures for "giving back" an entry that was "taken away" in the first place, but I'm just guessing. At any rate, any advice is much appreciated.

A course of action, please?

Thanks.

Hello,

Currently renting a pretty decent condo (effeciency) in Chiangmai for 5000 baht/month (not including electricity, phone, etc. which is seperate). There are decent places I have found here for 3000 - 3500 baht as well. This place has an air conditioner, cable TV, hot shower, refrigerator, phone, and even a balcony.

Anyway, I'm interested in something comparable in Bangkok, that I can rent by the month, or perhaps week. The main things needed are air conditioning, hot shower, and a rate of between 3000 - 5000 baht/month. I don't really care about balconies and what not, although that's fine if the place has it.

If you have suggestions for places, please send the web site links if the place has one.

Thanks so much.

Could someone tell me the difference between the Thai electrical system, and the U.S.? My thought was that they were "close enough" for most electrical devices to work normally. However, my electric toothbrush (a sonicare) has not charged a single day since I've been in Thailand (for over 2 months now). Now I find that my electric waterpick, which I only use on occasion, has a dead battery. It will not charge either, and probably has not charged since the day I arrived. I have an electric razor, however, that charges just fine.

Anyway, I'm torn between assuming that both the waterpick and the toothbrush went bad (they were both brand new, bought just before I stepped on the plane over), or that they are good but that I need to buy some sort of "converter" or whatever to adjust the electrical system.

Can anybody tell me anything?

Thanks.

I have taken to eating a few cups per day of that Dutchie yoghurt that you can buy at a 7 eleven for 10 baht. I do this simply because its cheap (it tastes okay too). But it occurred to me that I cannot read Thai, and therefore I do not know if this is lowfat yoghurt or not.

Can tell me whether or not it is lowfat yoghurt? Can you tell me anything else good or bad?

Thanks.

I live in Chiangmai and need a 30 day extension on my tourist visa. I will be in Bangkok this week - when my 60 days "runs out." Is there an "immigration" in Bangkok (place where I can get an extenesion)?

Thanks.

If one wanted to buy a lot in Chiangmai to - say - build a house... where would one even start to look? There is no "real" Chiangmai newspaper to speak of, like Bangkok, so you can't look at newspaper ads (for that matter, I don't see much land for sale in the Bangkok newspaper - only condos). And I see no "real estate" magazines like in my home country.

Going to a real estate agent - if they even have them here - would probably be disaster. As soon as they see white skin, I'm sure prices would double. I know this because I came to Thailand a few years back with an American Thai friend. When she went to look at land herself, anyone with white skin was forbidden to go with her, even her husband, because "They see white face... prices double, and I have to 'palm grease' (she meant 'grease palms,' ha) 30% from bottom to top!!!!"

To solve the "palm grease" and price doubling problems, I presume one way would be to send a Thai whom you trust to negotiate the deal so that a "bronze face" is presented vs. a "white face."

But again what about where to look to "know" about land for sale?

Also, do they have professional "property appraisers" here like back in the States, so that you could have the property appraised before you buy to attempt to ensure that you are not being ripped off (at least too horribly, that is)?

Thanks.

Until I have a direction and a plan, I'd like to park my money where it would make 5%. I already have a third of it in a New Zealand CD making 5%. But I don't want to stick all my eggs in one basket... what if their currency drops like a rock? Too much risk. So, the rest is in a "standard" U.S. account making essentially nothing.

Any ideas? At this point I prefer "guaranteed" (CDs, etc) over things like stocks and what not.

Thanks.

I've heard some rumors about the "bottom about to fall out" of the real estate market in Thailand. Can someone tell me why this is supposed to happen? And is this a "consensus view?" What's going on?

Okay, hate to be dense, but I'm still confused with all this "khraap" crap (pardon the pun, heh). The problem with the above is that sometimes I'm expected to interpret the r as an actual r, and other times I'm expected to interpret it as an l.

Let's make things easy, please. Do I stick a bloody "L" sound in there, as in an AMERICAN ENGLISH L (not an asian "r"), or not?

I think it would be best if you spelled the word that I'm supposed to say as an english word, not as some dictionary word like "khraap" which is totally confusing. So, should I say "club" (going to a club), "crap" (going to take a crap), or some other word?

Thanks.

Hello, I speak very little Thai, but always try to pick it up whenever and wherever I can.

Nobody has been able to tell me how to pronounce what I see written as "klub" or "krub" - as in "saa wa dee KLUB." I always pronounce it like "club." As in "I'm going out to a night CLUB." Recently, a swedish tourist "corrected" me and told me it was pronounced like "cub.'" As in "I saw a bear CUB in the woods."

Just how the hel1 is it pronounced? And if it is pronounced "cub," then why on earth is it spelled either "klub" or "krub?"

Of course, whenever I have ever asked a thai person "do I say cub or club or crub?" They just say "yes." Which is no help at all.

Thanks.

Last data value in Graph erroneously shows the reciprocal.

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Yeah,I think you're right. That's one for the books, isn't it?

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What's going on? Are you guys saying that www.x-rates.com got it wrong, and that my NZD have spiked up against the dollar instead of down?

That has to be wrong, unless news articles online also have it inverted. The news articles I read said that the NZD plunged against the dollar.

Perhaps I am saying this wrong. I will word it another way. It seems that my NZD are now worth much less vs. dollars than they were worth before. In other words, I can now buy much less dollars with my NZD. The graph I saw (which some of you say was inverted) was backed up by some news stories I read to confirm the graph.

What is going on? Any more comments?

Thanks.

I had moved a good chunk of my USD into New Zealand Dollars a while back to avoid the losses I was getting in the dollar. Well, I just arrived in Thailand, and just logged into an internet shop computer to find that, to my utter horror, overnight I have lost about half the value of my NZD against the dollar. The NZD crashed vs. the dollar. I have lost tens of thousands.

Then I checked the exchange of NZD against the Baht, to find that it is relatively unchanged. Then I checked the exchange of the Baht against the dollar to find it is relatively unchanged as well. In other words, it appears that I can move my NZD into Bahts (and then into USD if I want) and "avoid" the loss.

How can this be possible? How can one avoid losses in this manner? I fear that there is some fundamental misunderstanding that I have regarding currency trading. Can someone who knows what is going on explain things to me, and sooner rather than later? I need help real quick.

Thanks.

Its also used for gonnareha, but you already knew that right?

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Actually, I didn't - LOL. Thanks for that little bit of info. In fact, don't stop there. What would be the dosage if one wanted to use Norfloxacin to cure such an ailment?

for the "stomach thing" (gastro-intestinal infections and the like)? Is it Norfloxacin, or am I not remembering it right?

I'm just trying to get all my ducks in a row before I arrive.

Thanks.

Where is the best place online to get (free) data on what a currency is trading at? I see all the graphs and charts and real-time info you guys throw up - I just wonder where you get it. I always go to, well... can't post the website cause someone might have a cow... but anyway the point is the web site sucks. I can only get a graph at the end of the day of what the currency did. And I can only get either a 6 month or 90 day graph. I can't anything intra-day either.

Thanks.