Florin

I don't understand why people complain so much about traffic there, MRT & BTS are within easy reach and they can at least take you part of the way you need to go...

Been there several times in the past, it's a great place to laze around on a Sunday afternoon

I think we've been reading the same thing Their EDGE website is Thai-only and my aversion to Nokia phones has made EDGE temporarily a non-issue for me anyway, but considering that it seamlessly integrates with GPRS, it would make a good solution - EDGE at home and in a few heavily industrialized places (shopping malls, office buildings, etc.) and GPRS for a quick browse/chat/e-mail on the road.

Well, shoddy tech support is a feature of most companies out there, while the speed problems are probably related to the number of users in your area. Do you have other options for broadband where you live?

If you're a DTAC subscriber, perhaps you should have a look at their EDGE package...999/month for 10-15k is pretty pricey, but it IS fully mobile as well (which would mean no need for WiFi hotspots if you have a laptop), and there can't be too many users yet.

Well yeah, but your 10% teachers' discount (how'd you come by it, btw, ISIC?) means 2500-3000 baht in this case, which is still a sizeable difference...it costs 7000ish (maybe even less) for a round-trip to Taipei, so I'd still reckon it's worth the trip...see the world, get a laptop, what could be better?

And yeah, ACER is a generally low-end brand, but it's not too horrible...everything these days has pretty shoddy workmanship (even Plextor drives are now OEM BENQs!), so I think it's fine for the money.

Was quite impressed by the prices in Taipei a month ago...didn't go to a dedicated computer mall, but still, a slick Panasonic Pentium M could be had for the equivalent of 25.000...same thing would cost at least 32-35.000 here.

How about going here:

British Honorary Consul

198 Bumrungraj Road

Muang, Chiang Mai 50000

Thailand

Tel: +66 (0) 53 263015

Fax: +66 (0) 53 263016

Email: [email protected]

Opening Hours:

Monday - Friday 0900-1130

Closer to your place and probably queue-free...on the other hand, it IS just a honorary consulate...

######...so, because of the expiry date it's as useless as a VISA Electron for such purposes? Have you guys tried using it to buy things or also for bookings & such?

sabaijai, do you mean that the expiry date is bad as it is, or that most web forms would not let you input 2015 (i.e. offering a list only going up to 2007 or so?)

Thanks for the info...while not offering the same kind of protection, I think it would be good enough for what I mainly need it for, which is to book airline tickets or hotels (through the companies themselves, not dubious online travel agencies). I'm not sure if they would also give it for this card, but SCB even has support for "Securecode", MC's equivalent to Verified by Visa. Wouldn't that help with any kind of security issues?

I'm curious about this card that's being offered by Siam Commercial Bank. It's a debit card, but looks like a real Mastercard, none of that Cirrus/Maestro crap. The clerk I asked about it said that it can be used to pay online...does anyone have any experience with this particular card?

I basically want to set up a savings account there and use this card to pay online for stuff...I'm a student here in ABAC, so that means a long-term visa but no work permit privileges.

Thanks in advance for any help