Wandr

Thanks....but they have very few homes listed on their website .

Is it that they don't list all, or that's all they have?
 

Can someone recommend a property agent I can use to find a house to rent?

Agents are many, but a company with a website is always more useful.

Personal experience is important, hence my question.

Thanks.

I have seen "fresh " pickled olives being sold. By fresh I mean they are not canned or  in jars but piled in a heap. They are usually lightly spiced
.

So there must be a source for fresh olives somewhere. These are green and larger than the ones we are used to. They are stocked by the folks who sell dry fruits sometimes

.

Agreed. Very useful site and one that should add to enjoyment for many people.

You can find the coordinates from Google Maps by locating your destination
..

A bit of care is a good thing.

I asked a laundry recently if they did dry cleaning.
Yes! Came the emphatic reply.

I pressed for more information.

We clean and we dry, was the proud explanation.

I have always held that cold-pressed extra virgin is best for salads and bread. For bread dipping, try throwing in a few sprigs of rosemary.

But there's olive oil and there's olive oil. So you will have to try different brands to see which you like best.

It will be nice if you report back - on the brands suggested above, and what you eventually settled on.

3 hours ago, NancyL said:

Please read the OP again.  He said he's planning a move to CM soon and then asked people for advice as to the best area to live and why?

 

He wasn't looking for us to submit creative writing exercises describing where we live, why we like it, the benefits and shortcomings of the places where we live.

 

He clearly was asking for advice about a good place for himself, ahead of his upcoming relocation to Chiang Mai.  So, it's reasonable for us to want to know more about him (single/married, kids, pets, OK with using motorcycle, anticipated budget) to be able to make an informed recommendation.  We only started to get a little peevish when he refused to provide such basic information about himself.  Still hasn't been forthcoming and he has some of the best CM TV forum regulars paying attention, trying to help.  We just don't like to be jerked with and we don't have time to do a creative writing exercise about why our condo building or moo baan is so fantastic if it clearly isn't something appropriate for him.

 

Some people look at white, and insist it is black. Not much can be done about them, and that is what you are doing. Here is the original post:

" I'm planning a move to Chiang Mai soon, and would like to here from people that have had there boots on the ground there for a while, as to where the best area to live is,  and why ?   "

He is asking for what YOU think is the best area. Leave it at that. Don't try to run his life.

Creative writing exercise? Is someone twisting your arm to write something? You don't have anything sensible to say, why don't you go knit booties, or whatever it is that you do. In other words, get a real life.

Some people genuinely want to help others, without seeking anything in return. Others try to help others simply to validate their own lives. Which category do you wish to be in?

4 hours ago, donglingcha said:

Hey! You and your feelgoodery have no place 'round here. Go on, get!

 

Touched a nerve, did I? What was it? Something about getting a life?

I am not "getting" anywhere. And neither are you.

You cannot tell the truth to "get". It will get you every time you look at the mirror. That's whats happening to you, in case you didn't realize it.

11 hours ago, WinnieTheKhwai said:

 

"I would like to here from people that have had there boots on the ground there for a while, as to where the best area to live is, and why ?"  

 

Please read that again.

What is he saying? He is asking people what THEY think is the best area to live in, and why.

He is not saying "make me a tailor-made recommendation about the best area for me".

So you can say "I like XY area because no board members live there". You can even say "I don't like AB area because too many board members live there".

Or you can say nothing and go on your merry (hopefully) way.

What you cannot insist on is that he provide personal information so that you can make him a personalized recommendation.

And then act aggrieved when he chooses not to.

This advice is not just for you but for so many others on this board: get a life. Find a hobby. Take a walk.

Stop harassing other people.

It is hard to tell why so many people on this forum have become so vitriolic. That is not all. They are combative for no reason, seem to have a feeling of possession about things that are not their's...well I can go on and on.

The point about this thread is, the OP never asked for advice on where he should live, which everyone has assumed, and then railed against him for not providing personal information.

All he asked for were some opinions from people about different areas. X could have said "I like this area because of the cherry trees" and Y could have said "I dislike this area because there are no cherry trees". Taken together it may have provided a useful body of information for all of us. And, if well written, even enjoy.

Instead it has turned into a "bash the OP thread", something which seems quite common on this forum.

I don't know who the OP is, never recall seeing another post of his, and I couldn't care less. But I was interested in reading what people thought of the different areas of Chiang Mai.

Instead of that, I am simply seeing the ugly face of the Internet, in which anonymous people take out their frustrations by trying to appear superior.

I was looking forward to reading the thread, and learning more about what many think is a charming city.

Instead of that I get this...yech.

1 hour ago, Dante99 said:

Why would you want to buy there?  There are so many other more appealing places.

I think that is what he is trying to determine.

But if you have other areas to suggest why don't you post them? It may be of help to others as well.

14 hours ago, orientalist said:

Yes, send me the instructions, please. All my accounts - including expired accounts - were displayed on my first login, but I don't see any way to add new ones.

In your account page, click Administration in the toolbar. In the drop down menu click Tag Account. You should get something after that to select the e-savings account.

If the drop down menu reads Untag Account, then there is some other reason why the e-savings account does not appear.

4 hours ago, orientalist said:

The e-savings account doesn't appear anywhere on my online banking screen. I'd better go back and ask if they can manually add it for me as that would be more convenient. I didn't really want the app in the first place, but they were really pushing it. Since I will only use PromptPay once a year I really don't care which bank I register it with, so I'm quite happy to go with Thanachart if it gets me 1.8% interest - the same as banks usually offer for a 2-3 year fixed deposit account.

Accounts do not automatically appear on Thanachart's online account page.

If you open a new account you have to use the menu to add it to your page.

I don't remember it offhand but I think I can figure it out later. If you haven't found it by then I will post the instructions.

On 5/1/2017 at 7:42 PM, orientalist said:

Today I signed up for Thanachart's e-savings account. Took me one hour. There are a couple of catches - the first is that you only get the full 1.8% interest if you sign up for Prompt Pay with them (otherwise you get 1.4%), the second is that you can only operate the account with the mobile app but not Thanachart I-net (online banking).

 

This wasn't my regular branch. First they called their expert at the call centre who said that foreigners couldn't apply for Prompt Pay. I logged into K-bank's online banking and showed them my registered Prompt Pay. They then called someone else who said foreigners can indeed have Prompt Pay. But it turns out you can't have two Prompt Pay accounts on one phone number (apparently Thais can have one on a phone number and one on their ID number), so I had to cancel the one with K-bank. After that it was just form-filling and signing. I downloaded the app and got logged in OK. They gave me an account book cover with the account number, but no pages inside, just for reference I guess.

 

So the way it works is you use the app to transfer money in from or out to your savings account, and access that savings account in the normal ways. Interest is variable and paid twice a year. Frankly, it isn't ideal for long-term savers because you have to have their app on your mobile just to make the occasional deposit or withdrawal, and having a lot of money accessible via phone is something I try to avoid. They even have a "remember me" option on the app login. 

I have an e-savings account and I use their regular online banking to make transactions. I do not have their app, on phone or computer.

I do not have PromptPay - don't know if that makes a difference for accessing the account.

34 minutes ago, Pib said:

You asked a question and refuse to give any details of your transaction such as your card/any associated fees, amount of transaction, date of transaction, etc.   You just say your math comes up with a 0.08 baht lower exchange rate.   You have been given multiple and specific examples of withdrawals using Krungsri ATMs where the Krungsri exchange rate matches the Visa exchange rate exactly for a no foreign transaction fee card.  You have repeatedly been asked for details but refuse to give any.  So, why did you even start this thread other than maybe to troll responses? 

What makes you think your calculation is better than mine? I have already proven that you cannot think straight.

See my reply above and stay out of discussions if you have nothing to contribute.

You are simply wasting everyone's time.

1 hour ago, puck2 said:

Because "anyone" - including you- will know more then me, why couldn't you solve the exchange-rate-difference-problem by yourself?

You remember me Trump. People with an open brain would like to deliver the requested details in order to be able to solve the problem. Again: you are to lazy to read the terms of your VISA-Card concerning the exchange rates.

 

Because it wasn't an exchange rate problem.

It was a very simple question about whether anyone had experienced Krungsri short changing people in some manner.

You don't know it then you stay out of the discussion. Simple.

No one is asking for your supposed expertise. You don't have any as far as most people are concerned.

Now find something useful to do.

12 hours ago, puck2 said:

Although  "one mayor bank in Switzerland" sets its own rates, the general rule is that the banks (of the issuing VISA-Card) refer to the exchange rates of VISA, re.Visa Europe.

 

Because @Wandr doesn't want to write details of the "not always given Visa rate" it's completely useless to go on with the discussion.

 

He seems to be too lazy to look into the visa-card-conditions of his bank. I, i.e., can read that my bank uses the exchange rates (in advance) published by VISA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

People with limited knowledge frequently get into this box - that they know a lot.

I have no desire to share any details with people like these. I asked a question, no one had an answer, now take a hike.

12 hours ago, puck2 said:

May I give you an advice. Call "God"  to get an answer to your problem. You can find the telephone number in every phone book, or you must google. If that all doesn't work please ask a priest for the number

I would say just about anyone will know more than you!

God help me from so-called internet experts!

I did not ask anyone to analyze my transaction, though I suppose I should thank you for the effort.

And don't keep saying that the calculation was incorrect. Here is what the expert above (PIB) said in his or her post:

"  If included with the cash amount withdrawn be sure you backed out that 220 charge before doing the rest of your exchange rate calculations. "

Totally illogical and incorrect. And I should believe a person like this about anything financial?

I have done a search on the net and found other references specifically about Krungsri Bank charging more than others. The easiest course for everyone is to steer clear of this bank.

But if anyone posting on here is a Krungsri employee or agent then post your details, and I will drop by your office with information about my transaction.

Thanks once again for the effort made by posters.

22 hours ago, Pib said:

Since .08 baht lower works out to approx 0.2% you might want to check to see if your card issuing bank has possibly started charging the Visa conversion fee which can range from approx 0.15% to 1%.  A person will typically here the Visa/Mastercard conversion fee as being 1% but it can vary depending on the contract your card-issuing bank has with Visa/Mastercard.   CapOne cards supposedly pass along (or use to pass along) approx a 0.2% conversion fee.

Unfortunately, none of the above applies. It would have been much simpler for me to know the cause for the deviation in exchange rates than to be kept wondering.

This is the second time (I believe) this has happened with Krungsri, so I can only assume they have manipulated the rate somehow.

But my solution is to stick to Bangkok Bank, which has been accurate so far. I will check periodically, though. Krungsri may have ripped me off for 70-odd baht, but I will have the satisfaction of knowing that they won't get my business any more. And perhaps someone else who has read this post will also stay away from them.

None of the above conditions apply, so I am thinking maybe they can charge what they want and the Visa exchange rate concept is not foolproof.

I will have to stay away from other banks and stick to Bangkok. Even there, I think we should check periodically to see what rate they are giving us, as opposed to what we think we should be giving.

I have never been given a screen where they ask about exchange rate calculation, or even what rate is being offered. The only extra information is about the 220 baht charge which I agree to obviously. (The charge needs to be included in the exchange rate calculation, because the bank is withdrawing your specified amount plus 220 baht from the overseas bank.)

As many others have mentioned, so far the excess charge has not been large. But unless we calculate we won't know. Besides, why throw away money, however little?

1 hour ago, KhunBENQ said:

One possible explanation is the time of withdrawal compared to the time you checked the rate.

It's long ago but when I used VISA the "today" rate changed at 11 AM Thai time.

Seems it was fixed to some US timezone.

I would have to check whether this still applies.

 

It wasn't the time because the previous day's rate was quite different from what I got.

And the current day's (higher) rate remained the same for the rest of the day .

It has been stated several times here that when withdrawing money from an ATM with a VISA branded debit card, the exchange rate applied will always be the day's rate set by Visa.

This was reiterated in a thread that is currently active.

Well, I had withdrawn money from a Krungsri ATM and felt that the rate was not quite what it should be (USD). But I did not verify.

Today I checked. The rate given by the Krungsri ATM was lower by .08 baht than the rate that Visa is supposed to have set, as I see it on the web. (Including the 220 baht bank fee.)

It was a straightforward transaction,  no questions about how the rate should be calculated, or anything unusual.

I am going to stick to Bangkok Bank ATMs from now on. But I wonder what the banks have come up with that allows them to monkey with the rate.

On 04/22/2017 at 6:52 PM, Sparkles said:

 

Progress ? In the last couple of years we have seen the bar code in passports fall over (great idea, saving endless waste of paper)

The online appointment (great idea) gone, it appears forever.

The online 90 day reporting (great idea) again saving endless paperwork) gone

 

So can we  agree that we should not expect anything will change in the near future and people should be free to do what they please to navigate through this chore.

And hopefully we can agree it could be a lot fairer and more efficient.

 

 

 

Maybe not relevant to CM but some information about other offices is always revealing.

I went for my 90 day to Jomtien last week. The officer, who recognized me, asked where the barcode was. I didn't even know what he was talking about . He explained that he had attached a barcode to my passport. This being the receipt for the last report that I had discarded because I had been out of the country.

Keep the old one he said. If you have the barcode you don't have to bring any paperwork except for the form. He returned all the paperwork to me.

This visit set a record for me . From the moment I took the queue number to the moment I got my passport back was less than 10 minutes. I told the officer as much.

 He just smiled.

It can happen in Chiang Mai too.

To add a little more to the cautionary tales, you will not always get asked which currency you want to use.

Using a credit card here I have been charged using an exchange rate calculated by the local bank.

It is best to tell them beforehand "charge me in Thailand baht " or something similar.

That way the conversion rate is decided by your own bank.