giruz

thank you both for the help. We will try to contact the Child Adoption Center and see what they say ????

HI,

My wife and I are living in UK. I have a EU & UK passports while she has Thai & UK, we have been together for 15 years, married for 5 and have been trying for a baby for a long time but due to a medical condition she can't have one (also tried in-vitro both in UK & Spain using an egg donor).

We are not starting to think that adoption is the only way for have a child so I wanted to check if it was possible to try to adopt a child in Thailand (ideally very young or infant). I did some research and found a bunch of agency that could help for a fee but it's hard to say which ones are good vs. which ones are scummy of not a scam.

Anyone has adopted this way? Any suggestions?

If needed, we can temporarily move to Thailand to get all the paperwork in place as we can both work remotely.

Thanks!

Hi,

So....I am about to get married in Thailand and I was wondering if it was possible to source cake toppers.

Does anyone know a shop that could help? I am in the UK at the moment and what I would like to get costs an arm and a leg...

Thanks!

Hi,

Thanks for the suggestions. Just one last thing, we getting 'married' in Bangkok (i.e. papers & c). We are not planning to live in Thailand or get any type of VISA (she has a British Passport and I don't need a long term Thai visa).

We are looking for a classy site not for a tacky or kitsch ceremony, there will be people flying in from Australia, USA, Italy, France and UK....we don't want to disappoint them.

If you guys can think of anything else please feel free to add a new reply.

Pm me can give you more details.

Sorry, I can't send you a PM because I get an error.

'You already have the maximum number of messages that you are allowed to store. In order to send a new message, you must delete some existing messages.'

(Yes, I have tried to delete all my other 3 messages that are stored)

Hello,

Any idea on what is going on near Ladprao/Sutthisan station (soi 64)?

I'm supposed to start my 3 weeks vacation on Friday and I am not sure if I should go or not...

Thanks,

Giruzz

A colleague of mine flew with Jet from Bangkok to London via Dehli.

As ex cabin crew on UK charter ops his comments were:

1) Flight. On time

2) Aircraft. Appeared well looked after.

3) CC. Crap.

4) Food.... OK as a vegetarian.

5) Fellow Passengers. The most uneducated, ill dressed and smelly that he has ever encountered in 10 years of CC work.

6) Transfer at Dehli. Nightmare

7. Security at Dehli. Nightmare

8). Would he fly again with Jet... Never again.

X 2

Just his opinion.

Personally I have flown Pakistan Airways, but only internally. The curry for breakfast on the Lahore- Islamabad sector in C was a surprise the first time but looked forward to after that.

My gf's brother and mother flew to visit us in London with Jet and their feedback was exactly the same. They really were upset about the transfer/security at Delhi which was describe as 'awful, the worst we ever had'.

They were slightly unhappy about some of the passengers as well....

g.

Why Thailand dude? I am curious to know from these guys. Why not Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, the Philippines or where else? Is it Because the legal system is to weak? Or Thailand is a heaven for these crooks.

It's not just Thailand. This is happening in many/most countries. I've been rung by my bank and advised of suspicious activity before I knew and had a new card issued. Some Australian banks now require that a card holder travelling to a 'high risk' area, and most countries in SE Asia are on the list, notify them prior to departure and nominate a maximum amount of any transaction they anticipate. I've even had my card reissued after visiting Thailand and Vietnam. If I refused the offer, I would be responsible for future losses; easy decision.

You are correct. I worked in a fairly technical position for one of the two big payment scheme (V...) and I now work for a very large UK bank and fraud was/is one of the plague for western issuers. There are an handful of countries that are regarded as very high risk, to make it in that list you need a series of factors:

1) Easy connection (i.e. it is easy to enter/leave the country)

2) Weak (or weaker than western) legal system

3) ATMs that do not support chip & pin (e.g. the ATM can only magstripe)

4) ATMs at every corner

So far, most European banks (but probably this applies to all western banks) are considering the following countries as high risk (for the reasons stated above):

1) Thailand

2) Malaysia

3) South-Africa

...but...please remember that if by magic tomorrow, the three countries would move all their ATMs to Chip and PIN then the fraudster will simply move to another country that does not support chip&pin.

The fraud works pretty much this way:

1) You need to skim ATM cards of a western country (because cardholders in Ghana or Brazil will most probably have less cash on the account that a UK, French or American cardholder)

2) When you skim a card you copy the magstripe. That magstripe contains a value that identify if the card is 'chip&pin' enabled (at least in Europe). If you copy that value into a blank card and then try to withdraw the cash at an ATM in Europe ...it will be declined because the ATM knows to expect a CHIP&PIN transaction. So you need to go in a country where ATMs cannot read chip&pin

3) Let's say you go to Thailand (or Malaysia, South Africa or USA). The ATM doesn't have a CHIP reader so it is happy with the cloned magstripe...and allows you to take out the cash.

4) You go to a western union office and then wire all the cash back to your accomplices in whatever country they are (i.e. Romania).

5) Go back to point 1 and re-start until rich

Until a few years ago, these fraud were done within the country (e.g. UK cards skimmed and re-used in UK, French cards in France and so on...). However, when the UK moved o Chip & PIN the skimmers had to move to another European Country as cloned cards weren't working in UK so they first moved to Italy, Romania, Poland, France..... These countries (France, Poland, Romania, Italy) are now implementing Chip & PIN so....if you are a skimmer you need to move further away to a country where chip&pin is not implemented....

If you are a Romania citizen, you can't enter in Australia or USA without a Visa...that's why these people are going to places where it is easy to enter on a Visa on Arrival or without Visa...

If tomorrow, all thai banks (or malaysian) move to chip & pin...you will simply see a huge drop in the number of frauds (frauds will drop about 99.8%)....this is not because fraudsters stop...they will simply move to another country that doesn't have chip&pin and where there are plenty of ATMs, it is easy to enter/leave and the police doesn't have much resources.

Hope it helps....if something is not clear let me know....and I'll try to explain better.

* if you are American/Australian you will have an old magstripe card. These cards can be used within the country (e.g. you don't need to fly to Thailand to withdraw cash with a clone). However, the risks are much higher so skimmers prefer to fly to Thailand...and also...you have to consider that often the skimmer does not use the card. It will re-sell it to a third party for a fixed price.

G.

I am guessing that you will be using the train to reach Milan from Rome....if so you can use just catch the Metro to go either one.

If you are landing in MXP or LIN the cost by taxi could be very very expensive (I am guessing around EUR100).

Giruzz

Thanks, Giruzz.

Are you suggesting that it would be cheaper by train to Rome compared to taxi from either airport at Milan ?

btw, does that also mean Rho Pero is at the outskirts ? I have been trying to locate Fiera Milano using Google Map but it just doesn't show which street the exhibition centre is located.

Hello,

You can go by high-speed train, I think takes 3.5hrs from Rome city centre to Milan city centre. Have a look on trenitalia.com, depending on how much in advance you book you can find tickets for 49EUR (one-way).

If you are flying try Easyjet (landing in MXP), I think that Lufthansa and Ryainair do it as well. Alitalia will be very expensive.

Rho & Pero are just outside Milan (about 10-15kms). This link should help you:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/place?cid=12508907552966091644&q=Rho-Fiera&hl=en&sll=45.527555,9.018164&sspn=0.056244,0.143773&ie=UTF8&ll=45.590498,8.96862&spn=0,0&z=12

giruzz

Hello,

Your understanding is correct.

Fiera Milano is the new exhibition centre in the outskirts of Milan.

Fiera Milano City is old exhibition centre within the city Borders.

I am guessing that you will be using the train to reach Milan from Rome....if so you can use just catch the Metro to go either one.

If you are landing in MXP or LIN the cost by taxi could be very very expensive (I am guessing around EUR100).

For further information please check here:

http://www.fieramilano.it/portal/page?_pageid=36,38554&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

Also....when/if travelling on the Metro/City...please always keep an eye on your bags, NEVER EVER leave them alone not even for a second. Too many gipsies around who target tourists/foreigners...

Giruzz

just to clarify, my son goes to a private independent school btw but that is becuase my husband work there, we get a 75% staff discount & with his government early years funding it costs nothing for him to attend, he gets to go into nursery with daddy in the morning, go home with him in the afternoon & have dinner at home without the need for us to employ a childminder or nanny. If we didn't have all these factors then he would be at a local government run school, of which we have about 7 with high ofsted ratings & a lot of personal recommendation from friends who's kids have attended & if for some reason he isn't able to carry on through to reception & junior school at the pre-prep I would have no issue sending him to the local junior school that my niece left to join secondary school last year.

Just out of curiosity, where do you live?

I currently live in East London (working for a major bank) and around me schools are far from good. We are thinking about moving and settling but unsure where to go.

We had a look at areas such as Chiswick but at this stage we cannot afford to live there :-(

giruzz

I had a friend who came here to Samui to get married. She had the most perfect day. If you would like the email of the girl who organised it all for her just drop me a PM. A very helpful lady who will answer the many questions you are bound to have

Perfect. if you want to drop me a pm it will be great.

giruzz

I never tought I would be writing this message but times have changed :-)

After an happy 6 years of co-habitation it seems the right time to get married...and in order to have a great wedding (and to minimise the number of relatives attending) my gf and I are thinking of getting married in Thailand.

Unfortunately I don't have any specific locaiton in mind as I only been to BKK and the north. Ideally the wedding should be somewhere near a beach in the south...anyone is happy to reccomend/advise on how to start or places to look?

I am trying to complete a list that we will scout during our next trip in Thailand (mid-lat 2010), at this stage the wedding in to be held 2012 or 2013.

Hopefully I am not the first that had this 'problem' and hopefully someone will provide a little bit of advice (on venue & collaterals).

Thanks in advance for any help you could provide.

giruzz

This is a copy from Bangkok Banks website on the charge made when they receive funds in Thailand.

Transferring funds in Pounds Sterling (Conversion in Thailand)

• Bangkok Bank’s London branch will deduct a transfer fee of GBP 20 before sending the funds in Pounds Sterling to Bangkok Bank in Thailand.
• Bangkok Bank in Thailand will then convert the funds from Pounds Sterling to Thai Baht using its daily TT buying rate in Thailand.
• An international fee of 0.25% of the transferred amount will be deducted before crediting funds to the recipient’s account (minimum fee 200 Baht, maximum fee 500 Baht per transaction).
• Funds will be received in Thailand within five business days after the London branch receives the money transfer from your UK bank account.

If only hold a UK bank account I'm afraid to say that Nationwide is still the cheapest option to transfer small amounts into Thailand.

Barclays, Natwest, Santander and all the other banks are more all more expensive than Nw. I work for the biggest card scheme and I can see the rates that most banks applies....and NW is still the cheapest.

If you can pay by card (and if you can request a card) then ask for an Halifax Clarima, Post Office Mcard or Visa Saga. No fees on card purchases.

For cash transactions you should stay with Nationwide as from the banks I came across as part of my work...

I think that NW was forced to raise the fees for two reasons:

1) NW pay 1% to Visa for each transaction that is done outside the VE Region

2) NW pay around 1EUR to the ATM owner (acquirer) for each cash withdrawal that is made on the card (so if you take 20GBP out, then it cost 20GBP+1% FEE to Visa + 1EUR to the atm owner)

They probably had too many people using their cards just for overseas withdrawal and this was costing them too much.

giruzz

I think that you should not place so much reliance upon the UK Border Agency information leaflets, which don't have any basis in law.

Regulation 7(3) of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 states:-

...a person who is an extended family member and has been issued with an EEA family permit, a registration certificate or a residence card shall be treated as the family member of the relevant EEA national for as long as he continues to satisfy the conditions in regulation 8(2), (3), (4) or (5) in relation to that EEA national and the permit, certificate or card has not ceased to be valid or been revoked.

In other words, although you and Waravan are not married, she is considered to be your family member. You can then set about thinking about her mum. Do you have evidence of regular financial remittances to mum in Thailand? If so, this could demonstrate her (mum's) dependency.

Scouse.

Oh..interesting...we never sent a penny to Thailand (funny enough is her mum that already paid all the expenses for the European trip). Is this going to be a problem or shall we try?

Assuming we try and the visa is refused. Would it be a problem if we apply the same/following day for a visitor visa?

Last question, does her brother qualify too for a Family Permit? (he is a 20yrs student)

Thanks,

giruzz

If I haven't got my wires crossed, you're a citizen of an EEA country and your girlfriend has a residence card as your unmarried partner.

Should this be so, your girlfriend's mother can apply for a family permit free of charge and you don't need to worry about bank statements, accommodation, intention to leave the UK etc.

Scouse.

Hello Scouse,

Thanks for the help but I am not sure if her mum qualify. The Guidance for EEA and Swiss family members (INF 18) is mentioning that:

Can my family members join me in the UK?

Yes. If you have the right to live in the UK your family members can join you.

Under European Community law, your family members include the following:

* Your husband, wife or civil partner.

* Your children or the children of your husband, wife or civil partner (including adopted children). Children over 21 must be dependent on you or your husband, wife or civil partner.

* Your parents and grandparents or the parents and grandparents of your husband, wife or civil partner. Parents and grandparents must be dependent on you or your husband, wife or civil partner.

I am an EU Cit, my girlfriend is on a 'Residency Card of a Family Member of an EEA National'. It seems that you either need to be married or in a civil partnership and also the parents must be dependant. We are not married and her mum is not our dependant.

What do you think?

Thanks,

giruzz & waravan

Hello,

I am helping my girlfriend to prepare her mum's visa application to visit us in the UK. However, we are finding the form really difficult to complete. We have the following questions:

1) Her mum is divorced and she doesn't know her ex-hubby whereabouts. The form is asking for the address, phone number and mobile number. Would it be ok to put 'Not known'?

2) Her mum asked her bank (Siam Commercial Bank) a bank statement to use to request the visa. The bank gave her a sheet that only says the she owns one current account and one savings account. There aren't amounts for either, for the savings account it offer this detail:

Balance - (X) Low ( ) Medium ( ) High - SIX Figures.. Is this enough?

Thanks,

Giruzz

As in the photo I posted on 22 Jan, fee for USA citizens is most expensive. 2 other categories are Thai and other countries.

I also gave the guard 40 Baht. He said the parking lot is for their staff only. Next time I can just park on the street in the soi. I saw many cars out there.

Can anyone get a visa to visit China at that embassy? That is, my Indonesian GF who is visiting me wants to go to China. She doesn't have a Thai visa other than the stamp in her PP when she entered Thailand.

Hi,

I have the same question. I'm EU passport holder living in the UK but visiting TH and China. With my gf (thai passport) we would like to apply in TH as it is 1/3 then applying in the UK...are we allowed to do it?

Thank you

giruzz

Hi every one

Well I am popping back to good old blighty this weekend.

Last time i flew with Jetairways for just under 14,000 baht and got stuck at Mumbia for 13 hours what a nightmare

I think this is the link

jet

This time I am going air asia for 12202.59 THB including an International meal (cant wait for that)

I am flying BBK to KL for 1,360 THB,

anybody else done this trip ?

How bad or good is the food ,seats, comfort,crew

If not i will post what i went through on here next week.

hey ho off we go

Colino

Hi,

I've just done the trip with my gf (about 2 weeks ago).

LON-KL Airasia

KL-BKK MH

and then back...

I'm just quickly typing few things we've noticed:

1- Landing in KL: best landing ever. The pilot was a STAR! I didn't even noticed we landed...really smooth landing.

2- The International meal is crap. Try the Asian. For the international meal they gave us a Shepherd's PIE for breakfast (bleah! I'm Italian and I need something sweet). Chicken for dinner.

3- The food is not enough. Buy heaps of food so you can eat something on the plane. Few passengers did it on the way to Thailand. Every passenger did it on the way back (I'm serious!). The prices are way to much if you buy on the aeroplane.

3.1- My gf points out that if you want to eat something more you can only buy Oreo (3 biscuits per packet), Instant noodles and small bags of crisps.

4- The DVD player has only few movies. We didn't buy entertainment on the way back because they had the same movies and we watched all of them on the way in

4.1 - My gf reminds me that most of the movies are OLD (e.g. Ice Age 2, Juno, etc)

5- They have a fancy exchange rate. Pay in MYR or Credit Card otherwise if you pay in GBP is a ripoff

6- You need to get a bus 1.5MYR from the lowcost terminal to the main terminal in KL. Make sure you have small notes (e.g. less than 20MYR)

7- We landed 1h in advance. If you have a flexible ticket you may be able to take an early flight to BKK. We paid our ticket 300MYR per person RT and unfortunately we couldn't...but you may be lucky and do it.

8- The way seats are arranged is not to bad..way better then our MH flight...

Hope it helps

Giruzz

"Used AEON twice today with two different ATM machines and no fee."

"There is an AEON atm on the second floor of Tesco/Lotus . . . It limits you too 7,000 baht"

Any chance that someone could post the exchange rate you got from AEON?

.

The rate I had was 54.30 but it was with nationwide.

STOP asking the rate that the ATM Machine gives you as this is decided by your BANK. You can go and do twenty withdrawals in 20 locations...but if the transactions are processed on the same day..then you will have the same exchange rate twenty times (as long you withdraw with the same card).

jfchandler: I said 'tried' because the machine was saying 'inter-regional transaction will have a fee' or something like that..then I pressed cancel and walked to the next AEON atm.

giruzz

Used AEON twice today with two different ATM machines and no fee.

GSB tried to charge.

giruzz

I am just arguing that Thai banks (as any other commercial venture) have a right to charge for the services that they are providing. If anybody on this forum can come up with a really convincing calculation, showing that the charge is excessive in relation to costs, then I'll be willing to join the complaining choir.

/ Priceless

I work in the credit card payment industry and I can assure you that Visa (and I believe MC) have in place a very complex fee structure in order to balance costs & revenues for both issuers (who gives you a card) and acquirers (who deploys ATM/POS machines).

Each time you do a transaction using an ATM....no matter the type (balance inquiry, withdrawal or something else)...then your bank will have to pay a small fee to the bank that deployed the ATM.

(If you do a transactions in a shop then is the other way around the bank that puts the POS machines and charge you pays a fee to your bank)

In other words, every time you take money out of an ATM your bank will have to pay a small fee to the bank that put the ATM...and you may not even be charged for that...

The cost difference between transactions on national or international circuits (e.g. Visa/MC) is really slim. The 150 THB in no more than a cash cow for institutions that deploys ATM machines...the actual cost difference is probably somewhere close to 1/10 of a Bath or less...

giruzz

Hi,

K-Bank in central world charged 150THB about 1hr ago.

Ayudhaya didn't charge, ATM located 5 miters from the K-Bank one.

I work in the credit card industry in UK and when an acquirer updates ATM machines it may take up to 3 weeks to have all of them updated (at least in EU with larger banks)...so this may explain why some ATMs from K-Bank do not charge yet.

Regards,

giruzz

Kasikorn withdrawal today (wed) and yesterday (tues). No fee charged.

Money out from ATM in central BKK (one in MBK and the other one around mbk)

GBP rate for yesterday 52.71

regards,

giruzz