dageurreotype

Try Kasikorn. Get online banking with them and you can create a virtual Visa card online. It's good for one year and great for online buying. They will let you have a direct debit card.

Good luck

I popped into Kasikorn just yesterday to open an account and was told I must pay 800 for the ATM card (other banks between 3-5 hundred), 2000 for insurance (told them I didn't want it) AND if I didn't have a work permit an extra 2,500. For what? Cheating bastards, I told them to shove it.

My friend had the same problem with immigration in Chiang Mai until someone told him about the 'other office'. According to him if you go to a different office and pay a 'processing/handling fee' of some sort, everything is expedited very quickly. TIT

Exactly. Constantly amazes me this fact flies straight over the many posters on this forum saying 'why can't they organise things better'. Becausssse, they've already organised things well enough to generously supplement their incomes. Who's going to stop them? Duh. And you think they're stupid ..

Will the Japanese actually have to pay their workers this time around?

Well it took 25 years for them Don Mueng BTS to...well not finish...but at least...start going again.

I bet the farm in ten years this still won't be done.

Hopefully

way past time they locked these criminals up, they are making a laughing stock of thai police, not that they arent already. Why transfer a crooked cop, arrest and jail time along with confiscation of their wealth is the only way to ensure it starts slowing down, inactive posts are bugger all to these corrupt mongrels

There's a notorious cop here on Phuket who, for many years, had been, it is rumored, collecting 3 million per month from his personal gambling den. This, among the many bribes he had been demanding to actively seek criminals/look the other way, was enough reason to have him transferred to another, less lucrative province. He's now back on the island. Anyone expecting anything ever to be done about the RTP under all and any administration, legit or otherwise here, is living in fantasy land.

You are way behind. An article was already published that admitted most of the teachers cannot speak English and so of course they cannot teach it. Very simple. There are many solutions.

And the reason these teachers can't speak English, and therefore can't teach it, is because they are Thai! They sa-peak Thai! Toning down their silly nationalism and false pride would be a start to opening up to the fact there's a world outside of Thailand and they must now engage with it.

My prediction...they will be summarily ignored.

Too much money going into official's pockets to look the other way.

Au contraire, Prayuth's just issued a ban on new licences, for the time being. Perhaps the military's notorious involvement in these mines are becoming an embarrassment.

45 fake cards would have been fine, but 48 was over-the-top.

Just so long as yours wasn't among the 45 copies eh?

This SCB hacking thing went off around a couple or so months back and is ongoing? Why is it so easy to hack ATMs here? I really don't know how it's easier than the West. And at least in the West, there's recompense, not like here. Thieving bastards.

BTW, love how they always cite 'foreigners' when hacking is endemic within Thai society.

until they actually do more than ban them for 5 years or re assign them this will keep happening, How about jail time for fraud, killing, theft, corruption etc instead of a slap on the wrist, confiscate their money/holdings and make them repay all money gained corruptly. Way past time they made these criminals(thats what they are) pay for what they are doing, it is a good way to send out a message that the time for using corruption to make money while doing govt work is not on and will be automatic jail time.

I'll tell you why, it's because they're ALL at it, every last one of them. 1+ million baht x how many officials, water or otherwise, in every tambon in Thailand, and they're all covering each others' backs. The lot of them.

How can any Thai held their head up high knowing that their own police, navy and army, the pillars and protectors

of the Thai pride and it's sovereignty, accused in people kidnapping and human trafficking? I die of shame right now

if I were a proud Thai.....

How does anyone with 4K posts not understand this? Thais respect and admire power, influence, and corruption, to include xenophobic trafficking of lowly non-Thais, because Thai culture is based on the Sakdina system of institutionalized inequality and restores the average Thai with the conviction that he is not at the bottom of the ladder and he feels gratified that there are people to look down upon.

Then again, you could have 4K posts without ever stepping foot in LOS.

Don't be silly. The poster was merely being rhetorical. Lighten up.

We have to stick with the laws,” said Gen. Pravi

There are now no laws, only dictats. They really should learn the difference.

Start from zero, LOL, and where do you suppose these magical beneficent altruistic beings will spring from? Planet Zog? As long as the current Me Mindset prevails midst those who would aspire to lord it over everyone else, same same. As they say hereabouts.

<snip>

You are correct - there is no public transport here.

Yes there is a public transport system here on Phuket Island. For sure the routes are inadequate both in service times and areas served.

But it is wrong for you to declare 'no public transport here'

Oh yes, and the public transport on this International Holiday Destination is clearly exhibited in your avatar. Why shouldn't Phuket have a mass transit system of modern air conditioned buses running every five minutes in much smaller George Town. No need to answer, we know why.

No, that's where the majority of low quality tourist and expat live. If they simply moved to pattaya they would get: parking, cheap prices and public transportation.

I know a few expats who have moved to Pattaya, and a few tourists that now holiday in Pattaya, rather than Phuket.

Who would ever think that a sleezy place like Pattaya would offer a better holiday product than Phuket?

Namkangman, not all expats that live on the west coast of the island are low quality. Some live there because that is where their businesses are. As for moving to Pattaya, no thanks, not a chance in hell. In one sentence you talk of low quality tourist and expat and then you suggest moving to Pattaya, the sleaziest, scummiest place in the entire country. Each to their own though. I know many who moved from Pattaya to Phuket and others who moved from Phuket to Pattaya, all had different reasons but all have said the same as I said before…. it's just scum and sleaze.

I disagree. Walking Street is easily avoided and Pattaya is compact enough to easily get around, unlike Phuket. Unless you've your own transport it's impossible to get from one beach destination to another. Tourists don't necessarily want to travel half the world away to stay on just one beach and many will go back to their home countries thinking the entire island is the overpriced whore infested shithole that Patong is. Many are not given the opportunity to travel to the less ripoff areas on the island, and all because an entire bloody army couldn't sort out a bunch of greedy little thug taxi drivers (I refuse to call them 'mafia', implies some sort of glamour).

Also, Pattaya is much more diverse in it's attractions, here it's all beerbars, overpriced crap restaurants and malls. Given the chance again, and Pattaya's proximity to Bangkok, I'd probably have opted for that just as soon as the die had been well and truly cast and Phuket becoming what it is, rather than it was, and could have been.

My old neighbour who is Thai was taken to court for this. He has an income of 23000 baht per month and his wife make about 18000. they have 2 kids and he is forced to pay 3000 baht per month and same for his wife so combined they have to pay 6000 baht on a 41.000 baht per month of income. Doesn't seem very humane in my opinion.

besides that they also pay 6.000 baht per month for their 2 kids to go to bilingual kindergarten...

You keep saying 'they', what 'they'? Is there more than one father? And how is 6000 baht per month 'inhumane' to care for a wife and kids? Not enough? Too much? Dear God ..

Now if they can only go after those deadbeat Thai fathers for back child support Then they got something.

And round up all the farang ones occasionally posting 'can they track me down here in Thailand?' &lt;deleted&gt;.

Don't they already get a 500 Baht departure fee as part of the ticket price? (it used to be collected at the airport)

How do they expect to collect an arrival fee?

Yes 500 baht departure fee levied in flight price for many years

I remember this was the case some years ago but haven't been charged it for recent international flights.

Violent drunk marries hard core hooker. Happy days ahead

Well at least they haven't had the chance to breed, yet

Who gets the land?

Together with the mineral rights. Junta happily throwing mining concessions, with let nor hinder from environmental groups, to ... itself. And people continually citing the RTP only for rank corruption. The Military positively dwarfs them in ill gotten gains. They have the bigger guns, after all.

Often students are the vanguard of democracy as they have yet to become cynical old buggers like many on this forum. Youngsters who have not forgotten the meaning and purpose of freedom of speech.

Kudos to each of them and they can be proud of themselves.

I see more than just 'students' among these protesters, unless they're 'mature' ones. Sense of injustice not sole preserve of the young.

Thankfully it appears to have gone ahead peacefully and without incident.

The last thing the self imposed, unelected PM wanted a few days before his UN jaunt to NYC was for the $h1t to hit the fan in Bangkok.

Is the timing significant? Or merely a coincidence?

Personally, I would have no problems with buying a house in my wife's name. I would also have no worries of putting all my money into her account. Why? Well, because when I went bankrupt and lost everything in 2012, she was the person that helped me through it and did everything for our family not to fall apart. She helped not only financially, but also helped me out of a deep depression and helped me get refocused and back on track.

Not all Thai-women are bad people trying to take your money. The money my family has now, was built on the money my wife borrowed in the bank and invested into our family business, when it needed it the most. We are now back on track and that is 100% due to her and her willingness take risks for the family to survive financially. My wife has never requested a house, a car or anything like that. We both have money in our account and can buy what we want. She will however never buy anything expensive without letting me agree on it first.

I think the video is a really good way to show that the law and justice system is really bad and corrupt in this country - because it really is. The legal and justice system in Thailand is both rotten and corrupt.

However, I also think it is important to note that not all Thai-women are bad gold-diggers and there is no general rule (besides common sense) for how to live and survive in Thailand. Unless of course you only hang out in Nana Plaza, then you could maybe set some general rules ;-) But Thailand and Thai-women is just so much more than only that!

Would you please post a photo of the two of you together

And yet again the bogeyman is wheeled out to scupper any moves towards REAL democracy from the currently protesting New Democracy Movement

“It is impossible not to be encouraged by so many young voices supporting us and demanding an end to corruption. While our Government and embassy abandoned us the Thai people have taken us to their hearts. Something we had no right to expect… Thank you.”

What do they expect. An embassy can only give advise about the laws. He should have contacted the embassy before he burned 65 millions. Rule 1, take a lawyer recommended from the embassy for all real-estate transactions.

My 'lawyer recommended by the embassy' ended up being engaged to act for my opponent in a serious criminal case I was pursuing them for. You couldn't make this place up

As it happens the lawyer was recommended by the Consulate I believe. And the police officer that dropped him in the s**t it was the Consulates police advisor. You best re write that rule book.

I was taking my reference from the post I was quoting, to wit :

While our Government and embassy abandoned us

Embassy trumps consulate, BTW

Europe has made their bed now they have lay on it ....... a hell of a big mistake !!!!!!

Profound post