windas

Hi 

I rent from Hertz/Budget for 3months at a time using my UK licence.

I get checked at road blocks occasionally, but I have never had a problem or fine. I think the policemen can't read English so just give up an wave me on.

Once driving a car, I was asked if it was a motorbike licence. I answered that it was a special multi licence allowing me to drive any motor vehicle, train, plane etc. He was baffled and waved me on.

Let's face it its luck of the draw with anything in Thailand

Sinead

My wife's family insist on putting a blanket over the fridge/freezer to make it look nice, therefore the freezer part won't freeze anything & the fridge is not cold enough.

Then when occasionally they get Bangkok Belly they still fail to understand that an overcoat on the frg/frzr doesn't stop food deteriating.

I take it off and when my back is turned it is replaced.

I dont recall having to show ID for a BTS rabbit card many years ago, so it must be a new thing.

I assume it is so that recipients can be tracked through the BTS system if need be. Big brother watching.

John K

I recently tried to open a joint account at Blueport TMB. He babbled through an interpreter must have work permit but I'm  retired then something about 9 somethings, gave up. We have an account at BKK bank HO  but the debit card is worn out and Hua Hin branch say can only renew in a bank branch in Bangkok. Tried at K bank same again, must have work permit, again gave up. We are in Bangkok next week so I'll  give BKK bank some grief for this silly situation.

I notice that some people have opened accounts with Visa waiver on TV. I come and go to Thailand on various types of visas depending on the length of stay, and use the wife's sisters address at the bank.

Anyone have an answer to opening an account in Hua Hin?

Hi

I'm in and out of Bangkok regularly but you give the soi number as a location for food. Which road are you indicating.

Hi. 

The very best advice is to open a joint account in another bank and transfer money into it, as others have mentioned.

Have you never read about how the Th*i's have ways of emptying your bank account if given access. It may be relatives/girlfriends/wives etc etc.

The quickest way to become poor is to give a third party access to your main bank account. 

From experience it has happened to my Thai wife via relatives three times. Fortunately she had set up a separate bank account and given away access but controlled the money input to reduce losses. I won't bore one with details that thousands of others have also experienced.

Don't be a DUMMY, look after your money.

Hi.

Funny thing is that some kind of scam is giong on in the UK regarding DHL.

I ordered some goods via an airline air miles and another via ebay. I received constant voice texts on my landline before the goods were delivered that I owed customs duty + vat. The amount requested came to more than the goods were worth, so I wasn't  bothered if they kept them.

The goods were eventualy delivered with no mention of any charges. I never paid any charges and have heard no more scince.

So I must assume it was some kind of scam, but someone knew the goods were going through the system to invoke a scam.

Given up sending goods to Thailand, for some reason they never get delivered. I use a friend to carry goods there where they get picked up from the hotel reception.

The mapping used by Uber in Thailand and UK is less than accurate. I hope Grab improve the mapping as I found Grab in Thailand very good, where as I found Uber hopeless and not much better in London.

Bangkok deserves a good well organised taxi service and if Grab can come up to the mark all the better. My Thai wife has had several bad times in run of the mill taxis and will only use private hire for the longer journeys.

Blooming pidgeons use my car for target practice, if people stop feeding them, stop them nesting, there will be less damage everywhere.

Unfortunately soi  dogs use humans for biting practice,  microchiping every owned dog should reduce the problem.

Correct me if I'm wrong.  But with air brakes on trucks, the air is used to release the brakes, not to apply the brakes. That's why trucks can't move until there is sufficient air pressure to release the brakes.

I've yet to find a genuine Thai caring Mahout. My wife talks to them in Thai and they don't understand the language. It would appear most, if not all, come from Cambodia as they are cheap to employ. The cruelty to Elephants is everywhere you look. Even at the big establishments.

I have witnessed a baby elephant chained to its mother, being dragged along because it was too tired to walk, at a big well known establishment just outside Pattaya.

Does anyone really believe that this corruption will be dealt with and eliminated, I don't think so?

This girls card will be marked and she will not get a job in any government department. There are too many fingers in the pie starting at the top.

Have a BKK BANK Sterling account, had for about 15 years. This is at HO in Silom Rd as at the time of opening branches had never heard of such a thing and said is was impossible. Once paid out reasonable interest. Topped it up every time I came to Thailand.

Went to top up in 2016 and they wanted to charge me 2% fee for the privilege. I now draw down balance  into my baht account, instead of sending Baht to my current account from UK, until it is depleated.

I find some of the managers in Bkk Bank HO very arrogant, extremely envious of my Thai wife and discurtious because of her duel citizenship and social standing. My wife is always very curtious even when they try to humiliate her.  Yet the minions are generally very respectful, especially the older ones, who like to be inquisitive. I think it time for a change this year.

Is there anyone out there who can genuinely recommend a bank with good service.

John K

Hi.  If you wondering where the billions from high end corruption is?

Try going to the LOA gambling casinos in the VIP suite and watch the money laundering going on. Baht in and any currency you like back at the end. The gambling is just a ruse.

I have been in Thailand for over 20 years and can't currently see how graft can be curbed as civil servants are involved from top to bottom, those at top are far too powerful to dislodge. How many billions do they need? 

In the West of Denmark they go over the border to German Aldi and buy wine and beer. In Germany they do not have a surcharge on plastic or glass bottles. You can not put any bottle into the Danish machine, only the ones purchased in Denmark. Clever machine knows which is which.

In the West of Denmark they go over the border to German Aldi and buy wine and beer. In Germany they do not have a surcharge on plastic or glass bottles. You can not put any bottle into the Danish machine, only the ones purchased in Denmark. Clever machine knows which is which.

The problems with Uber drivers unable to find a pick up location is worldwide. I don't know what sat nav they are using but it seems far too inaccurate. They couldn't find Centre Point Silom Hotel (right above Robinsons shopping mall) in Bangrak Bangkok, or a well known hotel at Hyde Park in London. Many other times I have had to cancel. The concept is very good, but the operation is poor.

Go see a good specialist. I ended up with a detached retina. Mine started with floaters then progressed to what I can describe as looking through a swarm of bees.

Don't leave it get it checked.

I've  suffered with RLS at night (and sometimes in the day) for 36 yrs but haven’t yet found a reliable relief and it seems to be worsening. Keeping the legs as cool as possible seems to help.

Recently I started to take Ibuprofen & Paracetamol together for something else, and found that if I took them when RLS kept me awake it would relieve RLS considerably,  enough to be able to go to sleep.

There is many millions of so called low income self employed workers that earn far more than 150,000bt per annum and have no intention of paying tax. They want the state to give, but dont want to give tax to the state. (Not suprised when they blow it on a submarine.)

The last time I spoke with a tax inspector, he told me the basic tax was only 3%.

Hi Snoggers

Well in general I have found that Thai girls have to overcome shyness and practice french kissing.  

The wife, we live 50% in Thailand 50 % UK, is a sort of lip pecker, but one gets used to it.

 Now the 46 yr old Chinese/Thai mistress in Bangkok is a really good french kisser and a bloody good lover in general.

So the poster that said Bangkok girls are good kissers and the rest are not, hit the nail on the head, in my experience.

If you carry an reduced size encapsulated copy of Passport/Dr-lic/Visa you will have no problems unless you are arrested.

Having nothing is leaving yourself open to Tea Money fines. Never carry your passport. Better to pay a fine than the emense agrovation of having to replace it. Never been fined and have had to show the copies many, many times, especially at Tea Money road blocks.

Had an old scam tried on me at Bluepoint in Hua Hin about a month ago. The well dressed female, looked korean or chinese and I was with my Thai wife. She came up to me and said "time please papa". I put my hand into my pocket as she tried to do the same. Knowing that she had been sussed she was gone like a rocket.

I never use a wallet, just have a couple of thousand in mixed notes in my right pocket as I'm right handed. More than that and the wife would have had a field day in Bluepoint.

It would appear the main reason for trying to find an alternative to a normal A/con unit is the cost of running/electric consumption.

Until somebody invents a cheaper alternative, why not use SOLAR PANELS to generate the electricity to run the A/con units. Apart from the initial cost, the electicity supply would be free of cost.

Hi all

I hope that the Embassy website is correct, I sent my T visa application to them yesterday.

When my wife renewed her passport at the Embassy several months back, they said only the Embassy will be able to do postal visas at the moment.

Inadvertantly in Dec 2014 I sent a postal application to Birmingham without referencing the website. They then phoned me, and explained they no longer do postal, would I like them to post it to the Embassy. I thought it was safer to travel to Birmingham and pick it up. The Embassy can be difficult if you do not do things as per text book.

I now await the outcome.

Has anyone done a postal to the Embassy recently.

Cheers all