Lannig

Hello folks,

I'm stuck here in FR until April and I need to ship an Android tablet I've bought here to Thailand. It's a gift I want to make.

Normally I would be planning for my trip in early January, but it won't happen this year ????

I've read enough horror stories about shipping over int'l postal services to make me reluctant to do so. Lost/stolen, broken on arrival, held for taxes etc.

It will really be my last resort.

In the meantime I wonder if a TV member who will be travelling to the LOS over the next month would accept to carry it for me?

Of course the item will be unpacked, available for careful inspection, unlocked for contents checking (none whatsoever, it will be reset to factory settings). Packaging will be provided to ship it on arrival (EMS to a friend's work address in Pathum Thani). And of course fully paid in advance.

Giving the item hand to hand in Paris / CDG is preferred, but as an alternative I might ship it to any western EU country.

If someone can pick it up in Paris or around, I will offer complimentary driving to CDG to show my appreciation.

Obviously it's a light item (check model: Huawei Mediapad M5 Lite for details)

Please PM me.

Sorry, but GH is..?

Hmm, thanks for the heads up.

Do they require something that shows that you've actually pre-paid for it?

11 minutes ago, Gillyflower said:

The Embassy in Paris wouldn't give me a 60 day visa, if I didn't show proof of an hotel booking.  Not quite the same thing I know, but the idea is there.

Are you a French citizen? That's new to me.

Not correct as far as Kasikorn K-Cyber Banking goes.

You need an OTP for every money transfer.

Only topping up mobile phones (possibly up to some max amount I don't know) can be done without OTP.

They also have this PIN2 security scheme (basically just a second level of password protection) but they're very reluctant to allow it.

Now they also have a new scheme based on QR codes but no one at my Kasikorn local branch had a clue so I'm still trying to figure out how it works.

Need to call their hotline next time I'm in the LOS. Not a priority now.

6 minutes ago, saltrock said:

If I recall correctly, think the problem initially arose as when I tried to do it from UK it said a code would be sent to my mobile phone (but I had no Thai mobile number whilst out of the country to accept the code). 

I called Kasikon call centre who said I would need to register whilst in Thailand but when went to branch was told it was not possible to transfer from one Thai account to another whilst our of country.

Looks like may be able to overcome by changing Thai bank. Thanks 

Ah, that's correct. You do need a Thai mobile phone number.

They won't register a foreign mobile phone number, and you do need to make the registration in person at your Kasikorn branch.

I use mine in roaming mode. It's a plain prepaid DTAC SIM you can get in just any 7/11 with your passport. Then after some time (one month I think) you can call DTAC service center to make then open up roaming service to this number.

I've heard that AIS doesn't have this delay. You can get roaming right away.

Receiving SMSes to a roaming phone is free. Not always reliable, though.

EDIT: there's some confusion here. I'm writing about making domestic money transfers while staying abroad, not making transfers to foreign banks. I don't do this. No idea.

Well, KBANK has internet banking (K-Cyber Banking). You must know else what would you be using when in the UK?

I use it all the time to make money transfers, even more when I'm not in Thailand. It works OK except for the OTP password by SMS that's broken from time to time.

Well, that's what import taxes are made for, forcing you to buy locally.

Whatever country you live in, having to pay taxes or not on these shipments from Chinese internet shops is kind of a lottery. You can't always win.

22 hours ago, diznax said:

I finished a series of photos that I took at an abandoned gas station in Nakhon Sawan on new year's day. 

Astonishing series, really. Loved it.

Would you share the GPS coordinates of this gas station? or at least define its location? I happen to live in this area when in the LOS, can't recall seeing it, would be curious to go take a look (and no, I won't take pictures, I'm a terrible photographer anyway)

Won't elaborate on the DHL/UPS vs. regular mail issue, several people have brought correct information here.

OTOH you might well get in trouble with the online merchant you've bought from. Returning an item due to refusing to pay the customs fees and VAT normally is NOT considered a valid reason. Someone has to pay the shipment back to China too. Be prepared not to be refunded easily if at all.

In my home country (France) almost all customer service hotlines have been outsourced to Maghreb countries, mostly Tunisia and Morocco because many people supposedly speak French there. Well, at least they think they do. Besides answering with pseudo French first names that sound ridiculous considering their strong accent, communication is often next to impossible.

And this includes the hotlines I call from my job for maintenance calls made through very costly 24x7 contracts on critical computer equipment.

Not only this, but these people run the show now. E.g. HPE (HP Enterprise, the arm of Hewlett-Packard that sells servers to businesses) have their level 2 support there too, meaning that even if you manage to talk to one of the few remaining local engineers, their hands are tied and they can only do what "the guys from the other side of the Mediterranean" allow them to do. Incredible.

I've wasted days struggling on the phone with these folks up to the point of having racist thoughts, which I was quite ashamed of  

Well, it seems that even Tunisia or Morocco is too expensive now and the latest trend seems to be moving the call centers down to central Africa. Last time I've called for a problem on an ADSL like, the guy whom I was talking to was in Burkina Faso...

Sitting in front passenger seat might not be the greatest idea, though. That's a seat I would avoid, in my own language we call it the "the fatality's seat".

OTOH if that allows you to monitor the driver, I get your point.

I know it's not a recent series (last season 7 aired in 2015) but I'm an absolute fan of Nurse Jackie that deserves to be more known than it is/was.

I've just finished the season 7 finale and I already miss it 

It has to be the best crafted characters I have ever seen in a series, every episode is a cliffhanger. The writers have made an extraordinary job making the situations believable, the story addicting and the characters lovable. 

I really have mixed feelings about this. Poor Thais love these minivans and use them a lot for transportation. They're cheap, they're flexible, they're fast.

I hate them as much as anyone while on the roads. Years of driving in Thailand have taught me to consider them as the most dangerous and unpredictable thing you encounter on the roads.

I can foresee what's going to happen with this new smart transportation scheme the government has come up with: it will drive prices up and poor people will bear the pain once again.

Oh yes, sure you can try to explain to them that this will be safer and such. Good luck with this. Life is cheap in Thailand.

Quote

and how well the roads are maintained

Sure. Take a drive from Bangkok to Kamphaeng Phet along the Asia Highway 1, aka. Routes 1 and 32 in Thai numbering.

This is the road to Chiang Mai so it probably qualifies as one of the top 3 highways in Thailand. So it must also be among the best maintained?

It's so broken along some sections (especially north of Nakorn Sawan) that no one drives on the left lane anymore. Potholes so big that you really risk breaking your car's steering, chokes, bearings and such  if you drive over them. Loss of control is a real risk too due to the shocks passed to the steering wheel. So every car/truck/bus drives on the right lane at a crawling speed and only daring souls sometimes overtake by using the left (slow) lane, in a crazy inverted fashion.

It's been like this for years, it gets worse with every passing month and it's a crying shame.

Well, there seem to be quite a few pickpockets operating a Morchit 2.

They seem to be targeting people who doze away.

Never got hit myself but different people among friends/family have.

Better use a money belt if you stay there overnight.

France (hint: my avatar)

As written above, controversy is relevant.

If there was only one ready-made, unique reply and advice possible for a given question, absolute knowledge would be easy to acquire.

1 minute ago, iamkanga said:

 

So I ask a question regarding procedure and when someone extrapolates from that I should get a girl and return to Australia I should consider this relevant?

Not any less relevant than the kind of reply you'd get from the people around asking this seating on a bar stool. Think of this forum as a virtual bar. That's not far from what it is (not many bar girls here though).

It's a forum, pal. A forum is where people chat for fun. Some of them like to provide advice for free, really trying to help. That help is of variable quality though, because people might really know what they're talking about, might even be real pros on that particular matter... or not.

Some other just want to chat, give their opinions which may or may not go against yours. That's freedom of speech and it works as long as the forum rules are observed.

If you want unadulterated and professional advice on how to deal with this guy just like you want it done, hire a lawyer, don't come to TV.

I drive a lot "in the bush" of Thailand and in my experience Here Maps has the best maps in the rural areas. Even better, it works offline and it's free.

However, this is on Android and the OP is using an iPhone (some here seem to have missed this) and I have no idea whether Here Maps is available on the iPhone.

Quick search: yes, it is - https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/here-wego-city-navigation/id955837609?mt=8

Why do you think businesses like Double A are so extraordinarily successful here?

Android app not working either. Stuck at "connecting to server".

Sounds like a lot of "friendly" advice but I can't help finding this a bit suspicious. Hope that's not the first stage of some kind of setup to offer you some extra "protection" from fake or corrupt "low ranking police officers" at a price.

Maybe I'm just paranoid.