bkksteve123

I just hope this so called arab looking guy doesnt end up being a thai.

and hope he isnt wearing a wig to disguise? after all he did covered his face with that goggles that he was wearing

guy in yellow shirt is old news. Has already gone to police.

http://www.khaosod.co.th/view_newsonline.php?newsid=1439889213

To be clear, is he the guy in yellow and claiming the left backpack was just innocently left, or is he clarifying that he is not that guy in yellow?

Saying the guy in yellow is old news doesn't make sense either way. If he is the guy in yellow, there's some more explaining needed. If he's not that guy, then the guy in yellow still is of interest.

He is clarifying that he is NOT the guy in yellow in the CCTV footage, who obviously remains a main suspect.

Would be interesting to see that footage.

The damage is done though. I will be working from home today, offices at Gaysorn Plaza...I passed the shrine yesterday at 5pm on my way home.

Two of my colleagues were still in the building when this happened, and what they described sounds disgusting.

I work in Gaysorn Plaza (5th floor) and walk pass this intersection/shrine twice every day. Today I decided to go in early and left at 5pm, always passing the shrine while I walk to Ratchadamri BTS.....

I called my colleagues that were working late, said they were evacuated shortly after the explosion and were walking in meat....absolutely horrible scene.

RIP to all the victims.

I think most girls are takers. In Thailand obviously men are givers, women are takers. You can see this simply by reading their "Dating profiles" which typically goes something like this: "I'm looking for someone to love me, for someone to take care (of) me" etc. You hardly ever see the opposite i.e. "I'm looking for someone to love, someone to take care of".

And yes, before anyone starts telling me about how their TGF is amazing and cooks & cleans, of course there are exceptions.

Keep in mind that September is the rainiest month, which statistically sees 21 rainy days and a total of 334mm of precipitation (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangkok#Climate). Having said that, August and October and not much better. Just something to keep in mind when you come here, if you've only been here in April.

Usually though the rain comes in the evening and lasts a few hours, other than that it's mostly cloudy but you do get some sunshine as well. It seldom rains here all day like we see in parts of Europe.

If you're coming for a beach holiday, I would recommend postponing to November. If not, you'll be fine!

No, I came for a "beach holiday" and had no interest in Asian women the first time I came here. That slowly changed.

Slowly???????????????

Yes, it was a gradual change in preference. I'm actually slowly going back to prefer caucasian women again....

No, I came for a "beach holiday" and had no interest in Asian women the first time I came here. That slowly changed.

Silom from Lumphini park. Took this one last weekend with my Sony A6000

Just like you, I love my balcony, enjoy sitting there watching the city over a beer.

Most Thai people do not care much for balconies because.....they like to stay in air conditioned space if possible?

Also, lots of condos do not have proper balconies, they are typically small and only there so people can dry clothes, and to store the air con compressors. One of the reasons behind this is that the balcony space counts towards the m2 of the apartments 100%, as opposed to (for example) Northern Europe where typically it's something like 30% only (if the balcony is 10m2, it will only count as 3m2). So balconies will cost more for the owner here in Thailand, thus they choose not to have them.

Central location, kitchen, pool, near BTS AND all inclusive of utilities? Not for 15k my friend. Maybe with 30k.

I had a sweating problem for most of my life. My armpits would always be sweaty.

Then one day I stopped using deodorant, and began using a "special" product which you apply once per week before going to bed:

https://www.apoteket.se/produkt/absolut-torr-35-ml-100001/

This one is from Sweden, but I'm certain you can find similar one's here at a pharmacy.

My advice is to skip the deodorant. At least for me, deodorant seemed to be the cause of the sweating. I do not sweat anymore, and NO I also do not smell.

I don't doubt the numbers, but I think the majority of the growth consists of tourists that 1) are not spending as much, and 2) not staying as long, i.e. mostly Chinese tourists.

I went out in Bangkok the other weekend. Two observations:

1) First we went to Khaosarn road. I have never seen those street bars so packed (I've visited KSR at high-season / low-season since 2009). You could barely walk.

2) Then we took a taxi to Nana/Asoke at 1.30-2am. I kid you not, there was a proper traffic jam on Sukhumvit rd. at 2am (we came down soi 3 - driving towards sukhumvit rd.) I don't remember ever seeing that much traffic at 2am in that area. Ridiculous.

So I don't know what exactly is going on and why, but seems that there are more and more people here than ever before.

How can you tell the difference?

Who knows? But as you say, why would she pretend for free?

Define "free".

You don't have a dictionary?

I do not actually. But that wasn't what I meant....Anyway, doesn't matter, I was just pulling your leg

Maybe she isn't pretending.

Why would she do that?

How can you tell the difference?

Who knows? But as you say, why would she pretend for free?

Define "free".

Bkksteve. Best of luck thinking that you know more than everyone. I doubt we'll every see any original thought posted by you. But I'm sure you will have opinions on everything and everyone.

Yes, sure. Thank you for the brilliant financial advice. Duly noted.

Bkksteve. Wasn't priced in until this week. Greece was the main focus and last week most thought 2016. Now most are returning back to the sept 2015. I'm not sure what it will be and to be honest. I don't think it will break 38. Unless other forces come in. I.e currency speculators whose last name begins with an S and is now playing with house money

The expected rate hike speculation has been going on for a year, and everyone has known that it's getting closer each day that passes. To say it hasn't been priced until this week just tells me that you will have a hard time earning that Ph.D. (unless of course it's from Ramhkamhaeng, or any other Thai university for that matter)

Soros has better bets than buying Thai baht. He took action in 1997 due to very different reasons, related to an unsustainable overvalued PEGGED thai baht.

Yes. Bkksteve123. You still haven't shared your opinion. Maybe you're brain is only weed to criticize. Lol.

Honourable Sir Economist Ph.D.

You didn't ask for an opinion. You simply stated "facts" (your opinion) and "tips".

My opinion. From a technical point of view (which ranges are based on) - looking at a long-term chart for USDTHB, you can see that 36.00 is the high from 2009, so the new range we have broken into would be better described as 33-36. Following this range, 36-42.

But, so what?

Will the USD/THB go down? Probably not for some time to come.

You are right in that US rate hike is expected, but it's no secret, thus it's more or less already priced in. Keep in mind that the USD has rallied a lot recently.

Good to see the normal cynic, know-it-all, knock other people down to build yourself up posters to jump in. Of course they don't share an actual opinion. Let's see where the baht is 6 months from now.

Yes, we are the "know it all", when you were the one claiming the following "Now we are in 33 to 37 range. Followed by 38 to 42." and giving obvious personal finance advice (assuming your predictions about rate are correct) as if they are well-kept secrets.

Of course there is "a chance", but it's very unlikely to happen anytime soon. Euro-zone needs to get its act together, which will take years. Or Thailand needs to really mess up (more than they already do).

Now that the Greeks postponed their inevitable Euro-exit with yet another bailout package, we are looking at 12-18 months of this nonsense. Then we will repeat the process "OMG, Greece has no money, just missed another payment, GDP has shrunk even more, unemployement is even higher!? What to do??".....

Wow super helpful, thanks for posting. If you had not posted this I would have done the exact opposite.

I think the longer you stay here and get to know the people/culture, the more frustrating/annoying some things become, but on the other hand, you also learn to live with it, expect it and accept it.

Last I looked, the fee structure at Transferwise varies depending on the originating country/currency, and the U.S. appears to have a different fee structure with them that Europe. But, more to the point, anytime you send money internationally via some private business, there are ALWAYS fees... May be explicit fees, may be a lower exchange rate, may be a combination of both... But nobody moves your money internationally for free.

Absolutely agree.

Also, just realised I wrote 0.05% fee for Tranferwise, which certainly is NOT the case. I meant 0.5%. This may of course vary depending on location and the currencies being exchanged.

I can imagine that the fee is higher when converting to THB.

I did this 1 month ago at Bangkok Bank in Paragon, no fee. What a shame they have caught up with us.

However, I would never recommend the - debit card 50k charge - as a long-term solution to get funds to Thailand.

If you have a Thai bank account, I recommend using TransferWise.com to transfer money from abroad. As far as I know, they have a very fair (flat) fee structure. I used them when I was working in London (paid in £) and sent money back to my € account. Basically they (Transferwise) will give you the interbank FX rate (spot rate) + charge a 0.05% fee no matter the amount.

When you withdraw money from your debit card at SCB or Bangkok Bank, you are at the mercy of your Bank back in Farangland, and they typically have a "hidden fee" 1-4% i.e. via a rubbish exchange rate + an actual fee.

Unfortunately I have not been able to open a Thai bank account yet but I hope to do so soon.

I used to say Bangkok Burger Co. (Saladaeng and Paragon) is the best, but now that they've removed the bigger beef option, it's not as a good of a deal any longer, it's simply too tiny. However, in terms of taste, it's still pretty damn good.

Carl's Jr would get my vote.

I find it a bit strange that this fella spends 75k a month in Bangkok and apparently doesn't even do much of the "going out" AND lives in a fairly cheap 10K condo. I don't get it.

For me, accommodation + going out are probably 60-80% of my expenses in this city. With a 10k condo and so little on going out (3k?) I would probably spend no more than 30-40k per month.