JayBird

Consulate in Singapore didn't care I was recently in the EU for three solid months and choose to not give me a SETV. Invoked the rule about 180days (which is obsolete)

Is there the possibility that they may deny if you carry cash in a currency they do not see often (pesos, liars,etc) or if in large denominations (1000 chf, 500 eur).

 

If they accepted the 1000 chf note then it would be easy to permanently keep one in passport purely for IO.

 

I'm concerned they may start to insist it has to be THB.

 

also do visa elite people need to show cash when coming in?

She remembers mine even if i forget it. Does not make it a big deal (which is good). Normally just asks what special food I want her to make for me and if I want to do anything special. (See a movie, visit a park, etc).

 

Kinda sweet now that I think about it.

 

On hers she just wants me to cook and get her a big cake. No parties for either of us.

As for buy vs rent, there are arguments on both sides. I suggest to not pay more than you can easily throw away, and expect the building to be badly built, maintained, and undesirable in 5 to 10 years, with plan to sell by then.

 

You might get lucky but plan for being unlucky.

Location of condo is a key factor. If your condo is great but far or inconvenient to go anywhere, then that may be a cause of boredom. Your suggestion of renting and perhaps moving around often suggests there is not enough near you to keep you happy.

 

Perhaps one needs to first figure out what they want to do daily, their interests and hobbies, then find the nearer most suited condo.

I have purchased from Lazada and have always gotten what I ordered, although sometimes it can take a couple of weeks

It's concerning that this was done to someone with a G7 passport. Typical  they are given the most latitude and in the past embassies told me to  not worry about immigration as I'm G7.

 

Unsure why the crackdown. I sense that it is due to obviously? Wrong visa. (op is using visa and Ed to live in Thailand and is not here earnestly to study). So It may be as simple as clearing out anyone who is here a lot without a yearly visa (despite what the rules may say)

 

Only suggestion at this point is a Thailand Elite visa (I believe they refund you if entry is denied?)

 

To be fair: The law may allow work around, but I think the desire is that foreigners do not stay here long. If only the laws were revised to reflect that.

 

 

Hello all, hopefully this is of some use to others:

 

Went into Bangkok Bank's ATM in Pattaya Central Festival a couple weeks ago and tried to use my ATM card (which I frequently use).  I typed in the PIN and requested a cash withdrawal.  After a moment, a message was flashed *very* quickly on the screen that I could not quite read it all, and it kept my card.

 

Fortunately this ATM was attached to the bank and I tried to go in to talk to them.  But they closed 1 minute before me walking in and told me I had to come back tomorrow.  The next morning I was back and asked for my card back.  After a few minutes they found it.  I asked them why the machine took it, and the conversation went like this:

 

Bank>  You type in wrong PIN too many times?

Me> No.

 

Bank> You not have money in bank?

Me> No.

 

Bank> You break card, it not work anymore?

Me> No.

 

Bank> I not know, but you can have card now and try again.

 

(Basically, everything they can do to say its my fault not theirs).  Then I said:

Before it took my card the screen flashed a message saying 'Account Suspended'.  (I was not sure, which is why I did not start with this, as the message flashed quickly, but I believe that's what it says).

 

So finally she went on to the computer and looked.  Fortunately I could see the screen, and it quite clearly indicated the card was suspended.  It turned out it was not a CHIP card and they are recalling ALL non-chip cards.  I asked why my GF's non-chip card was not recalled (she opened at same time as me), and the bank girl said it was being done over the course of the year.  I then asked why I did not get a message, she said that I should have gotten an SMS (no SMS, I double checked).

 

So there you go, you could have your non-CHIP debit card suddenly eaten at the ATM.  Be prepared!

 

Next:

I wanted a new card.  No problem she said.

I said I wanted Visa (not Unionpay).

She said they do not have but could order from Bangkok.  It would be here in one week.  It would cost 100THB (or 200, I honestly can't recall).

I said, why are they charging me.  She said it would be free for Unionpay.  I said I want Visa.

 

She made no arguments, no complaints, just matter-of-factly ordered me a VISA Chip Debit Card.  The option to order one is still available on the computer (I was watching her screen as she did the order and could see the option).

 

One week later the VISA ATM card arrived (it was in an envelope, so suggests it was sent via mail).  It was an ugly Rabbit VISA card (what will I do with this in Pattaya I have no idea.. I suppose I could hop around or go to the Bunny Bar?)  But at least it works and has the nice VISA logo on it.

 

As for the Unionpay grief, i'm not sure what's going on here... I'm thinking maybe Bangkok Bank is not phasing out VISA but rather some manager somewhere up the food chain gets a bigger kickback if Unionpay cards are given out instead of Visa so he's informed his staff to only push the Unionpay cards...... I also think they watch what's going on at Wells Fargo and get inspiration....

 

Anywho, Pattaya, VISA ATM card obtained without problems.

 

 

 

 

 

Based on the posts I've seen I think if you must import the car your best bet is to plan years in advance, including making friends with customs or government officials through your wife or their family.

 

Arrange compensation, etc. for their efforts and of course make sure they are either well placed or highly positioned.

 

As I think it's common in Thailand, most families are two or three relations away from someone in power (police, military, government)

21 hours ago, pgrahmm said:

My wife budgets carefully & keeps a ledger of how everything is spent month to month.....If I ask about something we did or bought 2-3-4+ years ago she will have the answer in under 10 minutes....Even meals eaten out....

She's not once caused a scene like that but has sometimes asked about a tip amount once we're in the car....

 

We kind of got the reverse of what happened to you in Paris....It was toward the end of the trip & after the meal she counted out bills and also counted out the small change putting it with the bills to make use of it before our trip ended making sure to leave a nice tip....

 

Typical French waiter poof-ily offended/contempt yanked up the bills scattering the change across the table & haughtily strode away.....

My wife was totally taken aback - stunned she looked across the table to me and said almost hurt "that's good money".....I had to laugh it was so comical on both sides to watch....

 

I don't think I'd put up with the nonsense that you seem to.....

 

She actually manages money spent better than me....One daughter is like that too - the other is learning slowly....

Cani borrow your wife to teach my GF these skills. I tried to no avail. My GF doesn't waste money, just doesn't keep track and wonders at the end of the month where it all went ( in an honest confused way).

 

As to the OP:

 

I think giving coins instead of paper is not considered as nice?

 

She not tight, just not polite or well tempered. More education and temper tantrum training needed.

 

 

The eggs are good. As is the chicken breast and occasional banana they have.

 

About the cleanest and healthiest options they have.

Is/Was there a BBC radio in Thailand?

he does not seem happy.

3bb works great with Netflix Thai servers. Plenty of content nowadays. Fast enough for UHD.

 

Amazon works but you need VPN as only Amazon originals are available in Thailand. No local servers I think so speed is slow.

 

BBC iplayer works great through VPN.

 

iflix is great and works without VPN. Get a lot of American shows soon after their season ends. Just got flash 3 and the latest arrow. Big catalog and only 1000thb a year.

 

 

 

Sophon and Tmn have some English channels but nothing great. You will get some news and NHK.

 

Unless you need live or sports the above should be sufficient.

As far as I know there are three main places people are going to for TRT in Pattaya:

 

Maximum Performance Wellness Center: http://www.maximumclinic.com/

Dr. Olivier's Clinic: https://www.dr-olivier-clinic.com/

Bangkok Hospital Pattaya: https://m.bangkokpattayahospital.com/en/

 

 

I am uncertain of the prices for each of these places.    I believe:

Maximum: ~9k / mo all in.

 

Dr. Olivier's Clinic: 500/mo excluding blood workup.  Total: Do not know.  Price higher for the Test. you take ever 3 months instead of the monthly.

Unsure if he's okey with doing the TRT with him and the bloodwork at a lab and showing him the results.

 

Bangkok Hospital: No idea.

 

 

My questions are:

1) Can anyone give more details on the pricings for the above places.

2) Anyone suggest any other clinic/hospital that can offer these services.

3) Can anyone rate the above services (especially regarding attention to bloodwork, etc.).

 

 

Thank you.

 

 

Moxy is also pretty good and they often send out coupon codes for 20% or So off if you are registered.

Normal shops and malls and restaurants should be open as normal I suspect.

I've tried to flag a bus whilst waiting on the bus stop. It want interested. Private hire only.

 

I do notice taxis parking in the bus stop, so I guess it's a good place to go if you wish to hire a taxi.

I think each border crossing by a non Thai passport counts as one tourist.

 

I'm not sure of airplane passengers who cross Thai air space without landing counts even if they are high altitude tourists enjoying Thai nature.

 

Bangkok has only a few. (3 or 4) high end malls. Sufficient for rich locals, not dependant on tourists.

Is there a reason they are producing rubber when there is no demand? As in required to by government, license, no other suitable crop for that land?

On ‎6‎/‎23‎/‎2017 at 11:58 PM, impulse said:

 

I think they'd prefer we use the sidewalks to get from one air conditioned high rent mall to the next.  

 

I know I'd be a little miffed if I were paying Siam Square level rent and then seeing potential customers buying pirated versions (or even real ones) of what I'm selling, from the sidewalk vendors who haven't made any investment at all into the infrastructure, or paid any taxes to actually build and maintain the sidewalks they benefit from.

 

I love street vendors- well, most of them.  But they do make it tough on the shops they often block access to, and compete with on an uneven playing field.

 

From a business perspective: IF you can't compete with a 60 year old illiterate grannie trying to sell pirated DVDs on the sidewalk, then you have a bad business model :)

 

Yes, blocking access to the shops is bad, but I've never notice it get so bad you can't get into the shops... of course this could be addressed by fixing/building-out the sidewalks more... and pedestrianize all the shopping districts!

 

 

 

Easy. Penalize driver and passenger of uber for being illegal.

 

Then penalize taxi cabs for not picking up, or cheating fares or not using meter VERY stiffly.

 

Then legalize Grab Taxi to work only with licensed taxis and the fare to be paid automatically through app.

 

And finally increase the starting rate as 35thb is just too little given gas prices are no longer controlled.

 

All penalties have statutory minimums so high that it hurts.

 

Give police a 10% cut for each court proven conviction.

I recommend two banks.

 

Bangkok bank. Superior international availability. No problems with transfers. Good mobile and online banking. However no Visa card now makes it difficult to access funds.

 

UOB. Easy to open, Visa ATM. Free withdrawals in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia. Online banking as well.

 

Do international transfer to Bangkok bank and then transfer (automatically) to UOB, then withdrawal with Visa.

 

Best of all worlds and more secure.

Does this mean we will no longer see a head to toe chain of these buses on second road every evening?

 

30 within eye view.

28 private hire only.

2 full.

 

Faster to walk. I know. I've done it.

6 hours ago, 1SteveC said:

 

And you need to learn that there are many types of wai. - http://www.speakrealthai.com/wai.html

 

"hands near his boobs" ? You do know that Miss Spears is a female ?

 

You can never be sure of these things in Thailand