Requiem

Awesome, it's clear now. Appreciate it! :)

Hi,

I know there has been similar posts before, but laws here are changing quickly and things might have changed.

I really need an expert knowledge on this "enter before" date matters concerning Multiple Entry Tourist Visa, because what I've been told contradicts with what I had in mind.

Here's my situation:

- I have an METV, got it in my home country in EU. I believe the visa is valid for 6 months.

- Date of issue: Sep 12, 2016

- Date of 1st entry to Thailand: Sep 25, 2016

- Entered again on Nov 26, 2016 and admitted till January 24, 2017.

- Enter Before: March 11, 2017
 

Now since it's a multi entry visa, I can enter as many times as I want. That's pretty clear.

My question is: Can I enter Thailand on March 10, 2017 and does this entry allow me to stay in Thailand for 2 months, till approx. May 8, 2017?

My doubts on this are because the METV is valid for 6 months, and since I entered 1st time on Sep 25, it should expire on March 24, right?

Appreciate expert info on this.

Br,

Req

Here's my situation:

I am on METV and my first 60 days expire on Nov 23. I have a flight to Singapore on Nov 23 and will come back to BKK on Nov 26.

When entering Thailand first time in the end of September, I indicated an Air BnB condo address, because I stayed there for a week. After that I rented a condo for 7 months and my address changed.

My question is: Am I going to face any troubles when I fill in the Departure card on Nov 23 or the Arrival Card on Nov 26 and they will see (will they?) that my address has changed?

Thanks for the help,

Req

During the past 2 years I have never seen thai baht so strong. It's ratio with EUR is at its highest point during those 2 years, which make me worry, as I get my salary in EUR.

Any predictions for its further course? Eventually I will have to exchange EUR to THB again in the beginning of November. I'm wondering if I should wait more or do it now and accept the extra 20-30 EUR loss.

What do you think guys?

I'm wondering about the 1 year contract for new customers. I'm thinking of going with AIS for 20/7 Mb internet plan, I see they have promotion for new customers and the price is 590 thb/month if you sign up for 1 year. Installation is free.

Now since I'm farang, they will want me to pay for full year immediately? I guess they want to protect themselves for event when farang used Internet for, say, 4-5 months and then leaves the country without notice and without saying anything

Did you guys had experience with that? What would happen if you sign up for this plan, say, your thai girlfriend signs you up (so you don't have to pay for full year) and then you leave after 6-7 months, etc.?

I'll be staying in Thailand just for 7 months and I see the cancellation cost would be about 4000 thb if I don't use 12 months. I wonder if it's possible to avoid this cancellation cost somehow.

Appreciate any advice.

18 hours ago, wpcoe said:

 

True requires a 12-month contract, but if you move they will transfer your service to a new location under the same contract, if they have service in that area.  Are you staying in Thailand after the seven months, or leaving the country?

 

I haven't had 3BB for several years, but reports I've read here even since I stopped using them say that foreigners must pre-pay the first year's service in advance upon signing the contract.  If you have a Thai wife, or other Thai friend maybe, you might avoid that?  If so, I'm not sure about the length of a non-foreigner contract.

Thanks, the problem is that I live 7-8 months in Bangkok and the rest in Europe. Every time I need a new contract if the condo I rent does not have Internet installed from before.

I have only thai girlfriend.

I also see claims here that TRUE does not install Internet above 3rd condo floor. Well, a year ago I was using TRUE internet from my 23rd floor condo, but it was installed already when I arrived there.

The interesting thing is that my rent agent told me I would be able to get 6 months contract... Now I'm confused.

Hey guys,

maybe it will be a little bit off topic, but do all these providers (AIS, TRUE, 3BB) allow 6 months contract if i'm a new customer? I remember last year they only had 1 year contracts and then you pay a fine if you cancel the plan before 1 year.

i will need to sign up for a plan for 7 months, since that's how long i'll stay in Bangkok.

Also, which provider and plan would you recommend? I just need internet for work from home, dont need netflix.

Appreciate the information

Req

Hi!

I'm moving for 6-7 months to Bangkok in the end of September.

Want to rent a condo close to BTS on Thonburi side and need advice.

Is anyone living in that area? I'm thinking about condos near BTS Thon Buri or BTS Wongwian Yai, but don't know which one is better in terms of food and location. My budget is about 16,000 thb for rent.

How is that location in terms of noise? I used to live near BTS Phra Kanong last year on Sukhumvit and the noise from Sukhumvit main road was a bit too much. Maybe there's less traffic on Thon Buri road?

Any information about that area would be appreciated.

Regards,

Req

Buy a pocket WiFi router from AIS/Telewiz and pay for it on a monthly contract package from the shop?They're very good I used to use one for backup,plus you can use them anywhere in Bangkok when out and about.

Do you think it's fast enough to play videos on my computer? Is it unlimited data? Thank you!

4G will play videos on computer no problems. As I said I use my phone as hotpot using Dtac 4G was everything I needed

Deepinthailand,

Could you do a speed test with 4G? I also might need to get it, but would be really interesting to know the speed. You can do it by visiting http://www.speedtest.net.

I would appreciate that.

Foot note to earlier post, what nationality are you ? How old are you ? The most important things you left out.

What kind of visa will you use ? If indeed there is one that will fit your needs Also only earning around twelve thousand pounds a year is a very low income to play the world traveler , still wish you luck but I would do some serious thinking if I was in your shoes.

I'm EU, from Lithuania originally. 28 years old, will use METV.

I'm not playing world traveller Although I've been to many countries due to my previous job. My plan is to spend summer (June - September) in Europe and cold season in Thailand. METV visa works fine for that.

Yeah, 50,000 thb is not that much, I would much rather have 100,000 thb I think eventually I will earn it if I move to another job, but at the moment I love my current job

I live in Phimai 60 kms away but regularly go to Korat for shopping trips,but there's little else in the city or even the whole region to enjoy. An Olympic pool in the Mall shopping centre with horrendous parking and a tired zoo but with an OK water park,and a night market,but that's it. Geographically it's a flat rather featureless region until you get to Kao Yai national park,but that's halfway to Bangkok anyway.Others have made good points but on balance I'd say a place you'd tire of quickly and at least in Bangkok (which I don't like anyway) you've more options to get away

Thanks for all the advices to everyone.

What would you think is the best town in Thailand then, apart from Bangkok and Chiang Mai?

I think I will get bored with Nakhon eventually, that's true...

Hey there,

Some background:

I have been living in Bangkok for 7 months and I quite enjoyed it. I never been anywhere else in Thailand, except Koh Lipe so far. When I was choosing where to live before coming to land of smiles, I was only considering Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Chose BKK because of better accessibility, metro & skytrain, more things to do and due to Chiang Mai's infamous smoke pollution.

My thai girlfriend, whom I know for 3 months is from Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat city) and wants me to live with her in Nakhon when I come back to Thailand in October or November.

I work online remotely.

My question(s):

(I'd love to hear from Nakhon residents (those who live in the city). It would be perfect if you have experienced life in BKK too)

- Which city do you prefer and why?

- I assume Nakhon is cheaper than BKK. I'm currently making 50,000 thb/month - is it enough to live comfortably in Nakhon? I prefer a nice condo than a house. In BKK I used to pay 18,000 thb/month for rent, which I think was too much for me.

- How is the weather in Nakhon?

- Is it easy to reach Don Mueng airport from Nakhon, since I will be travelling once every 2 months.

- Do you know where to find a nice condo for rent and how much it would cost? I'm thinking about 35 - 50 sq m modern condo.

- How is the traffic and commuting like? I don't drive, but my gf does and has a car.

Appreciate your help!

Req

It depends what you want to do there. Vacation or living.

If you want vacation - both places are good to experience. Bali is more for culture and nature. Phuket is more for beach vacation lovers.

If you want living - I would say neither. But it depends on individual.

I was staying for 2 weeks in Bali and living in Bangkok for 7 months now. I find thai food more attractive and big city life more fun and interesting. When I want to get away from big city, I just go to some island or national park in Thailand, very easy to reach from BKK.

So to me, Thailand is more attractive than Indonesia, both Bali and Phuket are ok for vacation, but there's many better places for that.

A little bit off topic, I will have 2 days overstay.

Does anyone know where exactly to go in Suvarnabhumi Airport to inform about the 2 day overstay and pay the fine? I want to make sure I inform them first and not the other way round

Actually you know what, Tarutao closes for the year on April 30 anyway. Here's solid info for Ko LIpe: http://www.travelfish.org/location/thailand/southern_thailand/satun/ko_lipe

Just search on that site and you'll find a similar page for Ko Kradan.

Thanks! That's very helpful.

Around 12 years ago, We ( about 15 of us, families with kids ) visited to Ko tarutao - we had the most amazing holiday ever, first staying on andang where there was no great accommodation at the time, but the island was a desert island paradise.

We went to Lipe for a morning - we were shocked by the uncontrolled development - God knows what it's like now. It's also really expensive, as everything has to be brought in by boat.

From there we went to Ko Tarutao and due to family connections got given the bungalow next to the bungalow next to the Kings.

The island itself is spotless, the park accommodation way above what you would expect.

We have been back a few times taking other friends, always staying in the same big bungalow which will house a couple of families.

The island has beaches and history and now electricity. The rangers are there to inform you about the island, they don't just sit in a box collecting money at the gate. We went on a tour of a navy patrol boat stationed there, toured round the island on a truck, walked round the prison, collected shellfish for dinner, snorkel, took a boat trip - there is no bike hire but someone will lend you one for a tip - the food in the restaurant isn't great but similarly, take a poly-cooler with fresh meat and like any national park, the staff will prepare it or find you a bbq.

In the long run its a way cheaper holiday than Kradan although the beaches aren't powder white like butter and certainly more enjoyable than Lipe.

I was looking at Koh Tarutao and then noticed these 2 lines in Wikitravel:

"Walking is the best way to see the island. The speedboats drop off passengers near the park headquarters building on the north side of the island.

The south part of the island is generally unpatrolled and a report notes that it is run by gangsters and is the location of a human trafficking operation."

I will be taking vacation around May 10 and thinking where to go for 4 night short beach holiday.

My main interest is a beautiful beach and not too overcrowded. I'm not a party type and prefer to just chill, but wouldn't mind some activity like cycling around the island or do some sightseeing.

I'm mainly interested in Koh Lipe or Koh Kradan, as these have some of the most amazing beaches and are developed (I don't want to stay with mosquitos in a dirty bungalow).

That said, which one to choose?

They look pretty similar to me, but maybe you have been there and know the pros and cons for each and can make me decide?

So it means that it does not matter which ATM I will use - their bank currency exchange rate has nothing to do with this and I will get charged the same if I use AEON or Kasikorn or any other ATM? (apart from the 150 - 200 thb withdrawal fee)

The Visa/Mastercard network exchange rate is the same for any ATM....just don't accept a DCC offer as that rate is set by the local bank that operates the ATM and that rate will be approx 4% lower than the Visa/Mastercard rate.

And here's the real bitch, if your home country card-issuing bank applies a foreign transaction fee say of a few percent (3% seems to be common for many cards), just because you allowed the local Thai bank to accomplish the exchange and Visa/Mastercard nor your card-issuing bank was involved in the currency exchange, your card-issuing bank may still charge the foreign transaction fee simply because it was a foreign transaction in "whatever currency...even your home country currency." That is a double whammy, rubbing salt in your fee wound...banks can be very sadistic in the pursuit of fees/profits.

Thanks, that's very useful.

So far I have only used AEON, as they have the lowest transaction fee (150 thb) and AEON never asks to use DCC.

Yup, local banks are bitches, with every 20,000 thb withdraw I lose about 10 EUR to my local bank + the loss for currency conversion + 150 thb.

But as I said, the solution of opening a thai bank account will produce similar costs as I would have to wire transfer my salary from my local bank's account to my thai bank account.

Oh well..

All ATMs offer the Visa/Mastercard exchange rate unless the ATM offers a Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) transaction which is that local bank's rate which will usually be around 4% lower than the Visa/Mastercard exchange rate. Now if the ATM offers a DCC transaction which probably will not be called DCC but something warm & fuzzy like Bank Rate, Home Rate, etc., decline that offer and continue on to get the Visa/Mastercard rate.

And of course don't forget any foreign transaction fee your "card-issuing bank" may apply that effectively lowers the exchange rate. Blame that on your card issuing bank and not the Thai bank ATM, Visa/Mastercard, etc., that's purely your card-issuing bank making profit off you.

Thanks for informative reply.

So it means that it does not matter which ATM I will use - their bank currency exchange rate has nothing to do with this and I will get charged the same if I use AEON or Kasikorn or any other ATM? (apart from the 150 - 200 thb withdrawal fee)

I do understand the extra amount i pay to my local bank for this. There's nothing I can do about it, opening a thai bank account is now not an option and I would still endure similar costs if I transfer my salary from my local bank to thai bank account every month.

Hi,

Need to withdraw 20,000 thb from my VISA (euros) card.

I know that AEON offers lowest money withdrawal fee (150 thb) compared to other banks. However, I don't think it offers the best currency exchange rate - I have EUR in my card.

I know that Kasikorn bank offers pretty good rates, are you guys aware of which bank offers the best rates for EUR to THB? I wonder how much can be saved when taking out 20,000 thb.

Clean and cool weather you say?

I open Google weather for Chiang Mai and I see +41 C for the next week. Good luck living in that.

Also, what about 2-3 months of smoky season?

Hi there,

Does anyone know what they are building between Ideo Mobi and Ideo Verve instead of the old On Nut Beer Garden?

I'm thinking of renting a condo in that area later this year.

By the way, sorry for off topic, but can someone tell me how to start a new topic? I'm new here.