Kiwisailor

Can anyone give me an updated guide to withdrawal limits and fees now being charged in BKK using a non-Thai bankcard. In the past some banks were better than others but seem to recall that they standardised across all Thai banks about the time Covid hit.

3 hours ago, sirineou said:

  Greece . a country of 10 million, opened up this summer  to vaccinated tourism, and required only a negative test, In the there month summer season they had 7 million tourists. and very little imported covid by tourists. 

Probably not a great example to pick

3 hours ago, sirineou said:

  Greece . a country of 10 million, opened up this summer  to vaccinated tourism, and required only a negative test, In the there month summer season they had 7 million tourists. and very little imported covid by tourists. 

Probably not a great example to pick

Recently here and this road is lethal. Tourist sites and activities are scattered both sides of the road with no safe option for crossing. There may be a couple of zebra crossings but as we know they only give the pedestrian a false sense of security. RIP to the woman but also remember that just because she was on the older side it does not mean that she was unused to travelling in other countries or in Thailand. Did see police (traffic control?) actively impounding m/c's parked on the footpath.

19 hours ago, KhunHeineken said:

So I've heard, but was wondering what they have by way of long term accommodation, restaurants, and bars down there, for expats.  None of them are posting on TV. 

Not sure about long term accom but we stay at Kampot Hostel for 10-12 USD/night. A/C, TV and large swimming pool 5 mins walk from town (off season).

Plenty of longterm expats in Rusty 2 and Kampot Hilton Bars - they seem to be happy with there lot there.

Some links

Kampot Survival Guide

https://sites.google.com/view/ksgonline/

https://www.facebook.com/CambodiaExpatsOnline/

http://www.khmer440.com/chat_forum/index.php

https://cambodiaexpatsonline.com/?sid=1334d3961dd06817bf22908085f0ad6e

Some amateur analysis of deaths in Cambodia

http://www.khmer440.com/chat_forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=62113&sid=e6458d4ea91de44feae8a87a206bac27

Came through there a few years back. Quite a shock crossing over from dark Malaysian side (although the duty free shop was doing a roaring trade in cigarettes and alcohol!) to party town central. Had to wait for our minibus to fill up before we could head further north. The wife and I were surrounded by exhausted bargirls who fell asleep as soon as they boarded the bus.

Certainly a few there when we were there in August. Most of the Chinese investment in Kampot seems to be over towards Kep although we did see a couple of Kampot building sites along the river with the distinctive gates and hoardings that typified the Chinese construction sites in Snooky.

We also noticed at Koh Rong (off shore island near Snooky) a brand new concrete wharf under construction. Presently all supplies are landed on the wooden passenger/fishing boat wharves or the beach. They are then moved around the island by bike, trike, sidecar or hand trolley. The new wharf will allow construction equipment to be landed and roads built. Most hotels/guest houses at present are max 2 storey wooden buildings, which will change once roads are built.

This year we will skip Cambodia and go to India instead.

19 hours ago, HarrySeaman said:

The Khmer are without work unless they work at minimum wages in one of the Chinese owned sweat shops in the Chinese owned industrial park North of Snooky on the way to PNH. 

A few of the displaced Kmer's have been given (menial) jobs cleaning the beaches in front of the Chinese operated restaurants, the rest have relocated as the rents for locals have now increased 400-500% in the development areas.

13 hours ago, natway09 said:

It is too late we have sold the farm already, but my retirement fund looks good.

The place is ruined. Just what they need 16 new casinos ,,,,, what bridges ?

A Cambodian news report earlier this year reported that there were 70 casinos under construction or in the planning stages for the beach front areas of Sihanoukville.

Be very prepared for a shock, in fact many shocks!!!! Was there 2 months ago and couldn't believe the changes made since ewe were there 10 months previously. Only Chinese oriented beach bars now open at the far end of the beach. The first 2-300 metres of beach from the wharf is a a wasteland. All bars and guesthouses gone.

Still some good bars on the beach on the RHS of the wharf but not sure for how much longer. Mick and Craigs, Monkey Republic and Big Easy the only big name guesthouses/bars still standing. Most places closed through lack of staff - most rentals for Cambodians now 4 to 5 times what they were a year ago.

Otres probably about a year away from the same process and yes roads are bad, tuk tuks will go there but want a lot more money now.

Koh Rong still the same but as you land you can see out to the left a new concrete wharf being built which means that vehicles and building products will be now be able to be landed so don't expect to see it remain as unaffected as it is now.

Kep seeing similar changes (but smaller and slower) and in Kampot there is a lot of talk of Chinese investment but little activity apart from up on Bokor Hill where the old abandoned casino has been fully restored and is back in business (Chinese visitors ONLY enforced by security staff) in less than 12 months.

Saw this video before going there and half of the buildings shown on Beach Rd are now gone.

Our spot of choice was the Beach Rd Hotel - still open but half has been demolished and prices tripled. They still have (or had, who knows now!) the pool open so you may be able to sort a price to use it.

Sadly this place is now off our must visit list.

Have a look on Google earth at Ko Phi Phi - after the last tsunami leveled the low areas a line was drawn from the pier to the high ground on Ko Phi Phi Don. This represented the new escape route (and road). This formerly straight road now winds confusedly through the built up area and many of the signs are long gone. If you're going to Phi Phi make sure you stay in one of the resorts up on the hill!

Having seen that Khao San Rd is now a vast parking lot for tuk tuks and taxis during the day they should make a fortune with this move (nb If they extended the regs to cover the touts for tailors they will probably double the money)

On 8/12/2018 at 12:35 AM, burningup said:

There is no next place. Nowhere has KSR or even close.

Try Bui Vien walking street in Pham Ngu Lau district, Vietnam. 

Suspect that this ship is already sitting on the bottom given the state of repair of the upper decks

If they look a bit closer at the photo you can see that the guy in the red shirt looks to be taking a photo of the guy from the front.

Got to love CCTV - when everyone runs out to "help", take note of the guy who picks up her bag and then has a quick check inside . I suppose he was just checking to see if any eggs were broken.

On 3/22/2018 at 1:45 PM, huberthammer said:

Singapore is a city state

Singapore is over 700 times smaller than Thailand 

Singapore's population is 12 times lower than Thailand

Singapore's cost of living is a 30-40pct higher than Thailand

In the late 60's early 70's the gap between Bangkok (never ventured any further!) and Singapore was much narrower. Both Cities had a rich elite who lived in a world far removed from the average citizen. Singapore was already showing signs of moving away from "Third World" if they had not already done so due to British rule and laws. The great leap forward for Singapore was the continuation of the British approach to corruption in the Bureaucracy (eg it has to be weeded out) and in my opinion this is what Thailand 4.0 needs to address before any other issues.

Interesting comments here. We come into Swampy 2-3 times a year and over the last 3 years we have had no issues whatsoever with queues or meters.  A couple of drivers may have deviated from the most direct route  for an extra 50 Bt or so but they could also have been avoiding traffic jams, checkpoints etc. One driver pocketed the change from the 2 tolls (~35 Bt) saying tip! which just meant we gave him the exact fare at the end.

Spend a few weeks at the beaches there every year in low season. Certainly Western tourist numbers are down but still worth going to. About half (or less!) the cost of holidaying in Thailand. The beach can be a problem late at night if you get separated from the crowd but most people seem to enjoy themselves. Offshore islands have better beaches and clearer (eg cleaner) water and although most accom is at a basic to medium level you can find a few nice resorts.

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Starting in July, the government will ban fishing, fish feeding, anchoring on coral reefs, construction on the beach, and walking on the seabed on the islands, said Jatuporn Burutphat

So could this be interpreted as "No swimming from the beach" as this would involve walking on the seabed in the shallow water?

Would be nice to see the restart of the official fixed fares system that was put in place on Ko Phangan some years ago. All the old fare signs are long gone and now the songtaos show the ad they've produced as the "official" pricelist for travel on the island.