Bmouthboyo

Well tried an Esso near me in bang na and got absolutely no where. The thai cashiers tried to help when i showed them pictures on phone etc but could not really explain where they were saying to get one.

Anyone know the main supplier name here? Like in the UK if i searched calor gas i would be able to find local stores.

Better still does anyone know of a place in the Bang Na area?

Lastly what gas should I go for? Propane, Butane or LPG? Back in the UK i only ever used propane but not really sure in options here.

Thanks guys

Ok so makro was a gold mine for a good majority of them thanks arthurwait but still a few I couldn't find.

Mainly need:

Garlic powder

Ginger powder

Onion powder

Tamarind concentrate

Going to try villa now so wish me luck!

Garlic, Ginger and Onion powder, sorry cant understand why you would use dried powdered ingredients when you can get the real deal fresh?

Tamarind paste at any local market.

Because when you make your own spice blend / massala you need dry powdered spices. These are then fried slightly in the oil before adding the meat etc to release the oils. Most recipes use fresh ginger and garlic in addition.

Ok so makro was a gold mine for a good majority of them thanks arthurwait but still a few I couldn't find.

Mainly need:

Garlic powder

Ginger powder

Onion powder

Tamarind concentrate

Going to try villa now so wish me luck!

Hi guys,

Went to makro today in Bang Na to get some bits and bobs and picked up one of these gas burners as i had one in the UK for cooking curries.

I was wondering firstly what gas is best to use as in UK i used propane, and secondly where I can get a small bottle, how much roughly it will cost and If I can just collect or need to setup an account, deposit etc?

Cheers

Arthurwait absolute legend thank you. i will let you know how i get on. Didn't have great deal of luck with spices at big c mega bang na but hopefully makro will be a winner.

Hey guys,

in the UK i perfected to art of cooking British Indian Restaurant curries. Huge scene in recreating them and would love to knock the odd one out here in BKK from time to time.

I need to first source all the spices I need and finding it somewhat difficult to find a few. I have not yet however headed to the indian quarter in the city where I am hoping I can source the ones I cant find. Could anyone glance over the list and highlight any I may struggle to find, and if possible recommend local / thai alternatives.

tumeric powder

coriander powder

Sweet paprika powder

Curry powder

cumin powder

dried fenugreek leaves

ginger powder

Onion powder

cardamon powder

fenugreek powder

coriander seeds

cumin seeds

garlic powder (not garlic salt!)

mango powder

dried mint leaves

powdered red food colouring

powdered yellow food colouring

Concentrated tomato paste

Tamarind concentrated

Jaggery sugar

White vinegar

Ghost chillies

Star aniseed

Cloves

Cardamon (green / black)

Cinnamon / cassia bark

Coconut milk powder

Chilli powder

Almond / cashew meal

Cheers

sweet, i thought he was asking if I wanted a toasty lol

Hi Guys,

Couple of questions really. I have just had true hooked up in my accommodation, it is a little slow and I would like to increase the package we have however my company sorted it all out and when I asked for a customer ID etc the office lady seemed to think it was my phone number. When trying to link my account online however it doesn't work so is their an easy way to find out my service ID? I have not had a bill etc. yet but I am able to lg into my router etc.

Secondly I have a new Samsung smart TV and am interested in being able to access the UK app store. I saw some tutorials on a service specifically for this where you basically pay and get an alternative DNS server IP for the TV, however I would like the flexibility of a VPN so I can use it with my computers etc as well. Can anyone recommend a good VPN service that would be able to do both?

Lastly I was just wondering what true's stance is on usage allowances, i.e do they give you a maximum download amount per month? and do they monitor what you download like in the UK where if you download copywritten movies then you sometimes get cease and decist letters.

Cheers

Random question I know but thought I would ask here. I bought some luncheon meat slices from a 7/11 last night and I could have sworn the cashier was trying to indicate if I wanted them microwaved or heated or something. Was a little confusing so I just said no. Does this sound normal or was he asking me something else?

Hi Guys,

I got round to getting a rabbit card just to use as a topup card instead of having to queue up for the machines all the time, I did not get any trip package etc. I could have sworn from Bearing to Nana was 44 baht but when I swiped out at Nana I could have sworn is said 70. Is this the trip cost or remaining? I originally put 200 baht on is and on the receipt it says 50 for deposit (not sure how that works) and 50 for card fee so I should have had 100 baht on it. Was the trip only 30 or was I overcharged 70?

A little confused.

Bump

On a serious note, the thing that scares me the most is a topic that we are never permitted to discuss. What I hope is that the country stays strong and stable.

Mods, if this comment is a problem, please delete immediately.

Cheers

Can someone message me what is meant by this, new here. What is the topic you cant discuss? Seems weird for the internet

Sorry its more we are confused why she did like 12 seperate small topups or varyingly little amounts insted of the straight 300 baht

Hi guys,

So the my wife buys an AIS sim for her phone the other day and we were a little confused how to activate it as the texts they sent were in Thai. We decided to head to the AIS store in Megabangna and a lady who worked there took us to the ATM style booth.

I thought that we could slap 300 baht on there and this would be credit to use and give us say 100 days service, then when we topup again in say a few weeks more balance is added and another 30 to 100 days is added depending on amount topped up.

Now what i dont understand is we said we want 300 baht credit and she then did literally topups, some were 20 baht, some 10, 30, 50 etc. I tried asking why she didnt just slap the 300 baht on and didnt really understand her response. Can anyone enlighten?

Cheers

Just to clarify as i think the stored credit card would be much less hassle for me, are they all the same card but if you want a 30 day deal you just put it in machine and ask for a package, or are they completely separate cards? If so what one do i ask for if i want the stored credit one?

Cheers

Hi guys,

Anyone know of any popular judo clubs in BKK? I am over near Bang Na but happy to BTS it.

Thanks

Did you budget for a monthly trip back to watch the CHERRIES ?

Haha luckily I am a rugby boy so no interest in them toe tappers!

I appreciate there are lots of threads in cost of living, i was more just wanting to focus on if my bills and food expenses were about right. We really want to not only explore asia with this new job but save some money for a future deposit on probably a UK home, as back in blighty it is almost impossible to save at the moment. As a result we want to live on as near to 50000 baht a month as possible (accommodation already provided).

If however proves we are missing out we could save less but not ideal. She is British btw.

So looking like 20000 TBH is in order. We do like cooking in the west but am sure we will be tempted out more to eat out. We are not food snobs however and are looking forward to eating local food.

I do however like to Lash, however that will have to come out of my personal allowance (circa 10000 tbh a month).

Are you saying that 20,000 baht is enough for your regular expenses? Because your original budget adds up to more than that, and everyone is telling you that your food budget is unrealistic. Or are you saying that 20K baht for FOOD is now "in order"?

Just checking. And what is Lash? It seems expensive, in comparison to your regular budget of expenses anyway! As much as your food??

Sorry i should have been clearer. 20000 seems more like what we will allocate to food for us both now bith formeating out and in, althouth that seems bit high given we are OK eating cheaper street food. Lashing is the art of consuming alcohol in a proffesional manner ( nights out in beer) lol. That will be covered by our seperate "allowance" of 10000 just for personal stuff.

Thanks guys. At present we are living of one salary and part of this journey is to save some money. we basically have a surplus after savings and then when bills are paid split the remainder for personal spending money, gifts. We have always had our own money so this way we retain some independence and not feel guilty when buy a PS4 or she buys some shoes lol

So looking like 20000 TBH is in order. We do like cooking in the west but am sure we will be tempted out more to eat out. We are not food snobs however and are looking forward to eating local food.

I do however like to Lash, however that will have to come out of my personal allowance (circa 10000 tbh a month).

Hi guys,

My wife and I will be heading to Bangkok to work for 2 years next week and I have been trying to put a cash flow estimation in place so we know roughly where we stand. Obviously everyones spending is subjective but I was wondering if you could cast your eyes on this and say if you think it is about right.

We will have our accommodation and health insurance provided but think all bills etc we will need to cover. We will living in a suburb near a BTS station.

Transport THB 4,000 Food THB 10,000 Gas ?? Electricity THB 4,500
Internet THB 700 Water THB 250 Phone X 2 THB 3,000

We will obviously be spending more at first but just wondering what a young married couple with no kids generally spend on bills / services each month.

Thanks

Blimey never heard of a UPS before. They are fairly pricey, why would they be better than a good quality surge protector strip / tower other than continuous power if fails for a while? Would i need to buy one for each applience area? I.e one for ps3, htpc, plasma and one for imac, macbook etc?

Regarding freight light things are fine as we are pre checking extra baggage so each has upto 23kg opposed to paying excess at weighing which is pricier per kg.

Great advice here

I have never used a surge protector here in the UK, I think the Mrs of all people has one for her PC but I expect it is a cheap one. Anyone recommend one here in blighty that will be worth buying and bringing? Last thing I need is frying my iMac after its epic journey and case that cost near on a flight ticket lol

Overall very excited, only hard thing is we have been spending more time with our family and friends in the run up to leaving and it makes it all a little harder. Just keep telling myself only live once, chin up

Well everyone is different. If you had more time I would have told you to sell everything you own and bring only clothes and store your sentimental stuff back home.

Do you take supplements or vitamins? You may want to stock up until you find a source in BKK. Back up your iMac to small external drive and carry that with you on the plane. Your can get just about any consumer electronics or appliance in BKK but you will toss them out after a while. I would think short term personal items like medicine. Do you have a smart phone? Get the Sygic Southeast Asia GPS app now. You are going to wish you had it on day one.

Not sure if your have been to BKK but it is hot all the time 24/7 365. So many of my best clothes stayed behind because you just can't wear them! Impossible.

I have been looking at Sygic Southeast Asia GPS as it is on sale for £21.99, is there any difference between that and the Thailand version? I wondered if the thailand one had more attractions or something? Also is it recommended even if not driving? I will be based in BKK mainly but hopefully venture out whenever possible.

Thank you all so much for these great replies. Reading some of the other threads I thought I might get flamed!

I have not actually been to thailand before however my wife has a few years back. I have a friend who is TEFL'ing out there and loves it so been picking his brains.

Regarding what to bring my imac unfortunately is way too big for hand luggage so it is going in the hold with a flight case, fingers crossed. I shave with DE blades so that will be easy to stock up thanks. We are actually keen cooks back in the UK so although I know not really cost effective in LOS we would like the option to knock the odd curry or pasta dish up. Silly question but is flour, yeast etc readily available at comparative UK prices?

Regarding UK electronics will they run on thai voltage OK? Or require a transformer of sorts?

Wine is going to be one of our biggest sacrifices as I love the stuff, so a bottle each for special occasions is a great idea thanks. Would that be best as hang luggage? Some Holy Puree sauce also a must.

Clothes shopping I am finding hard as I am trying to buy heat sensible stuff but also trying to avoid shirts and T-shirt look that I know thais can find too casual at all but the beach and parks. I get hot fairly fast so in for a rough initiation I think. I have one pair of work shoes, rugby boots, trainers, sandals and some casual pumps. Are decent smellies like Armani black etc readily available or worth bringing?

Thanks again guys and gals

Hi guys,

So move day to Bangkok is only a week and a half away and so the packing begins!

My wife and I have decided to just pay for extra checked luggage opposed to shipping. So in total we will be bringing 5 suitcases, one of which is a flight case with my imac in it (another story and not ideal i know).

Now i am sure this has been discussed before but thought i woukd ask anyway after a failed search. I will be in a furnished accom provided by my employer for at least two years. From what i can gather it has the basics but no more. Can anyone advise on what I should or shouldnt pack?

So far it is work clothes, 2 suits, rugby kit, judo kit x2, PS3, Small HTPC, bread maker, some sentimental bits.

Cheers all