AAArdvark

On 12/31/2019 at 1:42 PM, dcnx said:

US airport security is really good when it comes to finding contraband

Yes, the absolutely find everything they find and don't find what they don't find. 

I didn't see any police at all. I was there until 05:00 when the last of the bars closed.  There was nearly a stampede down Loi Kroh of mostly Chinese when everyone was getting bombarded with fireworks.   

16 hours ago, eyecatcher said:

Well....they have killed songran and they have killed Loy Kratong

Please explain.  This last year I got very wet for nearly a week and I sure remember like a zillion people celebrating Loi Kratong this year in CM.

When I buy internationally online, I like to use Amazon.  I love the way they do the duty.  They charge a fair shipping price and then add an import duty deposit.  The deposit can be fairly high but after a, bit they give a refund on the unused portion.  I always get a refund of most of it.

On 12/28/2019 at 4:31 PM, orchis said:

zzzzzzzzzzzol\IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

(sorry, cat walked on keyboard)

Which part did the cat type?

1 hour ago, HampiK said:

I would guess she had s sponsor letter from some German guy.

Because without money and no sponsor letter it seems extremely difficult to receive a visa!

 

But yes even with sponsor letter there is no guarantee for receiving an Visa.

I forgot that. There was a sponsor letter.  Most countries, that would not be enough.  I tried both in the US and the UK with someone much more qualified and the sponsor letter did not help.  They wanted more proof that the person would return like children, long term job, money etc.

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

And are you sure she told you the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

90% but I did see the visa.

On 12/27/2019 at 11:45 AM, ToYoungToRetire said:

Newyork less than 10000 years ago was covered in a Glacier a mile thick.

 

Global climate change is real, Humans causing it is a laugh. 

No what is a laugh is the dozen or so corporate shrills who don't believe it and the many thousands of real scientists who know that it is true.  It is known why their were glaciers and it is known why the climate is changing more rapidly than at any point in history.

Just one factor is cars.  The average car produces 4.6 tons of carbon and there are 1 billion cars.

So many Thai people struggle to get a visa to Europe.  I have a friend.  She is an ex-bar girl, no money, no job, no family or children and lacks any appearance of innocence. Yet she was able to go the the German embassy and get a three month tourist visa.  She had no influential help.  Everyone told her there was no way she could qualify but everyone was wrong.

I believe that she intends to return or at lease would find a legal way of staying.  I guess it is just pure luck or Christmas spirit. 

2 minutes ago, GalaxyMan said:

too many Aussies

Not too many Aussies.  Too many Aussie teenagers.

20 minutes ago, tomauasia said:

Wow. I never realised that Mexican

There a little know fact about the Philippines.  In the early years of the Spanish colonization, it was actually faster to go from Spain to the Philippines by transiting Mexico.  In fact many of the clergy that went to the Philippines were from Mexico.   

23 hours ago, metisdead said:

 

Please relax, I have now edited the topic title to add an 's' so that it now reads "Thailand vs Philippines".

Can be tricky.

Philippines

Philippine Islands

Filipino / Filipina

Pinoy / Pinay

They will not really  notarize documents.  What they do is have you fill in an affidavit where you attest to whatever you put on the the form is true.  If you say I have these documents and they are real, or words to that affect, they will notarize that you said that.  They really don't even need to see the documents.  I just had an affidavit done where I swore that three documents were true and accurate.

If you haven't already done so, you can download the blank affidavit from there web site.    

4 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

But is seems they can now transfer there - so why not do so and then return to your Thai account if/when needed?  I suspect you could confirm with your Thai bank possibility to use debit card in Philippines as another option.  

I lost money to get my money into my Thai bank.  Transferring back and forth to the US would cause more expenses.  I have mentioned earlier that my plan A is to use my debit card in the Philippines.  The bank says "it should work there" but I have read hit and miss reports about using Bangkok Bank debit cards outside of Thailand. Some say no problem while others say they could not get it to work.  So I am looking for a plan B.  I certainly don't want to spend ฿10,000 + to fly back to Thailand including staying for a few days. 

1 hour ago, lopburi3 said:

Why can't you take it out now and then take it with you?  That would seem easy.  Or take out now and use DeeMoney to transfer to your US account per post that they can do this again starting on Dec 24th?

Because I will need to pay a couple of bills after I leave and I will be getting some security deposits returned to my account also after I leave.  So, as I said earlier, I will probably have ~ ฿50,000 left in the account.  Not a fortune but not throw away either.  I am gradually drawing down my balance and will probably take most of what is left or transfer it just before I leave.  I will not have a bank account in the Philippines for a while and I don't really want to keep a ton of cash in a hotel for maybe a month.

17 hours ago, emptypockets said:

And start the contingency planning for Songkran!!

I already have one, leave before Songkran.

I  am trying to get money out of my Thai bank.  I believe Transferwise does not do that.  And DeeMoney is what started this thread.  I need to transfer out AFTER I leave Thailand and that is where the OTP issue comes up.  It looks like the only way to do is for me to get a cheap prepaid sim, turn on roaming and give DeeMoney that number.

1 minute ago, lopburi3 said:

Just about the same as me - was at Angeles from 1985-89.

Now known as Korea town????

2 hours ago, Pib said:

Yeap, all depends on what you need out of bank acct....very common that a person may need different accts/status at a bank to get the "most benefits"....that is, may need a savings acct, may need an XYZ acct with a certain minimum balance, and/or may need a direct deposit, etc.  

Thanks, I will not need domestic wire transfers for the next month or so. I will not be using any Thai banks after February.  However, I will be transferring via Transferwise via ACH.  As soon as I get some more money into my account, I will call them and discuss the pros and cons.

20 minutes ago, 4evermaat said:

The first trial is to make sure OTP works while you are in Thailand.

Understood, but my banks are in the US where they currently cannot transfer to and my Philippine account is not until I move there.

2 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Expect you will be living with foreign bank cards/ATM for months in Philippines as from my understanding they will not set up a bank account until ACR card is issued, which can not be applied for until in country 59 days.  I suspect Western Union type transfers are possible.

I will be getting a SRRV visa and the people at the Philippine Retirement Authority insist that they can get me a bank account almost immediately although it might be only a USD account.  I specifically asked if the account would be just for the deposit money required for the visa or could I also get a personal account and the answer was "yes".  59 days is normally when the ACR is applied for but no one seems to know if it is possible to apply earlier.

I was pretty much done with getting a Bangkok Bank Western Union account but then I ran into two "minor" issues.  One they also require an OTP and two when I phone them they said their WU is a one way street, receiving only!

16 hours ago, flbkk said:

heard that if you receive SS overseas the companies know and cancel you

Do you mean if you send your SS money directly to Thailand or you register your address?  I do neither of these and my advantage plan has never been canceled.  Some companies might but why would they?  They get the money and never have to pay out while you are overseas.

For me Medicare is nearly free with my advantage plan.  The plan has $0 premium and my former employer reimburses the Medicare premiums up to $1080.00 per year.   I keep it in case someone tell me I have stage 3 cancer.  I go home and pay very little.

8 hours ago, 4evermaat said:

@AAArdvark

 

I would recommend AIS 12call sim.   Change it to the Second Base plan (no monthly fee).   top up 10-20 baht increments until you max out 1 year validity.  You should be good to go at this point.

 

Change your banks / deemoney over to the new phone #.  I would recommend you perform at least 1 transaction that would require OTP from each bank/service you'll need to ensure it all works ok before you go.

 

And of course when you travel outside Thailand, you can repeat this OTP test.

 

The roaming will automatically kick in when you travel outside Thailand.  If you have dual sim phone, just have it in one of the slots and you will continue to receive incoming SMS for free.  

Thanks.  However, I won't be able to do the trial because I won't have the other bank account set up until I get there.  Unfortunately, I don't yet have a dual SIM phone and I won't be traveling in and out of Thailand, only out.

I have an expensive single sim phone but I was thinking of getting a last years top of the line phone, like a Galazy S9+, except most of those appear to be fakes.