kiakaha

I have been retired and lived happily in Thailand for the last 5 years.

However, just recently I was asked quite seriously, what I thought the biggest problem was in making Thailand my home.

After some serious thought and a few more whiskies, I finally came up with the issue of language and communication - have worked hard on this but it's still a challenge to me.

I would be interested in the thoughts of others on our forum re the major problems/hurdles they face in deciding to retire here in Thailand

i think i'm in the minority....i work in thailand and plan to retire back in new zealand.

Please a response.....

Windsor Castle...

U.K. Citizen 15 pounds

Thai Tourist....150 pounds

Is that OK........only fair isnt it....

Can you read pricing sgns in Thailand ? blah blah blah............yes actually I can and probably far better than you

If so, you'd realize that a more accurate point could be made with the wording :

U.K. Citizen and Resident 15 pounds

Foreign Tourist 150 pounds

dosnt really matter the exact wording, the concept is wrong...would you agree a Thai tourist should pay the 150 pounds against a resident from Dedworth Road paying 15 pounds....that is exactly what is happening at attractions in this country and you agree with it so the above should be introduced at the Castle

My thai reading/writing/speaking is only at Matayom 6 level. Work in progress. LOL.

He's got wealth, power, control and the ability to ACT.

At the other end of the spectrum are nameless, faceless internet loser nobodys who have nothing but winging, moaning and petty gradeschool like insults. Regurgitated loserism at its finest.

I dont care about Taksin or Thai politics at all , but I do find the disparitys of the various camps to be very hilarious.

The world is full of big mouths..blah blah blah blah blah : is all they've got...actions are all that really count.

Please a response.....

Windsor Castle...

U.K. Citizen 15 pounds

Thai Tourist....150 pounds

Is that OK........only fair isnt it....

Can you read pricing sgns in Thailand ?

If so, you'd realize that a more accurate point could be made with the wording :

U.K. Citizen and Resident 15 pounds

Foreign Tourist 150 pounds

I suggest you lock yourself in your room & seethe for the next 10 years.

Average Isaan migrant worker in Bangkok earns between 3000-8000 baht a month. Foreign expats can't get a work permit for less than 50,000 a month most earn in excess of 100,000.

Instead of looking at it as you getting ripped off, why not look at it as people poorer than yourself getting a discount ?

I was trying to convey that I am already used to the double pricing in Thailand, and it bothers me less. But more important to me was - I was stopped from buying the same ticket as last time and "compelled" to buy this stupid sticker which was sold as "Unlimited" rides. I really couldn't care less about riding on the rides, but parents who want to ride with their kids should beware - the sticker is NOT "unlimited" rides.

- and speaking Thai did not help me either..

maybe you speak poor thai (ie : you cant read thai script, therefore struggle to pronounce correctly like 99.99% of the people who tell me they can speak thai)

maybe you are not a thai resident ? check those little stamps in your passport. tourist permits, 1 yearly permit of stay extensions or permanant residency ?

i've been to dreamworld half a dozen times , no problems. 150 BT everytime.

Blah blah blah...we all know you speak Thai...wow what an achievemnet...well so do I as well as Spanish, Greek and Latin....you are missing the point......it is wrong and I never go to such places....maybe you can answer how much my kids should pay...born in Thailand with both Thai and U.K. passports, U.K. father and Thai mother..please what should they pay and back it up with reasoning.

UK father...what is your' thai residency situation ? are you a tourist ? Spanish, Greek, Latin are irrelevant communication mediums for a ticker sellers at thai parks, attractions etc..

No, i dont miss the point..i'm trying to make this point....

the pricing policy is thai citizen/thai resident vs tourist/non -resident NOT thai vs farang

now as a resident you will likely have characteristics(speaking good thai) and legal documentation (immigration prroof of residency vs being a tourist). Put the shoe on the other foot, how would you perceive a legal resident in your country...you'd expect them to speak the language and have legal documentation to prove residency.

all the caucasian thai residents i know NEVER have pricing problems, EVER, funny that.

all the wingers and moaners i bet ARE NOT legal residents but somehow in their little self victimized worlds feel that they deserve some special residency treatment.

I suggest you lock yourself in your room & seethe for the next 10 years.

Average Isaan migrant worker in Bangkok earns between 3000-8000 baht a month. Foreign expats can't get a work permit for less than 50,000 a month most earn in excess of 100,000.

Instead of looking at it as you getting ripped off, why not look at it as people poorer than yourself getting a discount ?

I was trying to convey that I am already used to the double pricing in Thailand, and it bothers me less. But more important to me was - I was stopped from buying the same ticket as last time and "compelled" to buy this stupid sticker which was sold as "Unlimited" rides. I really couldn't care less about riding on the rides, but parents who want to ride with their kids should beware - the sticker is NOT "unlimited" rides.

- and speaking Thai did not help me either..

maybe you speak poor thai (ie : you cant read thai script, therefore struggle to pronounce correctly like 99.99% of the people who tell me they can speak thai)

maybe you are not a thai resident ? check those little stamps in your passport. tourist permits, 1 yearly permit of stay extensions or permanant residency ?

i've been to dreamworld half a dozen times , no problems. 150 BT everytime.

The degree of fraud depends on the level of charges involved. For all you spineless people who try and defend this action I will open a sumptuous restaurant offering a five course banquet at 1000 Baht for Thais and 5000 Baht for farangs. For this princely sum farangs will be served a cup of tomato soup and a bacon sandwich. The Thais will get a full on meal of five courses of their choice. You will all obviously go home very happy and well nourished and will not resort to complaining either here or anywhere else.

ot

thats a pathetic analogy.

why ? because pricing in thailand is resident/citizen vs non-resident/tourist...not thai vs caucasian. show me a pricing sign with word "farang" on it? I haven't read one in 14 years anywhere in the country. i have read "tourist" plenty of times though.

sure, many caucasian residents will get mistaken as tourists, I do , its an obvious presumption for ticket sellers to make....however if you explain yourself in well spoken thai(something a resident would be expected to have a grasp of), thats often enough.Failing that, present ID.Done.

all the caucasians i know in thailand who are legally resident(citizen, PR, Non-imm work etc...) , have ID , speak/read good thai etc...never have problems.

I don't really have a problem with "farang" pricing, especially at private business like Dream World. Such pricing is common around the world at both public and private venues of all sorts. However, the prices and such should be clearly stated and in order to promote business, should be reasonable. (An unreasonable example would be the Thai national park's 10x price for non-Thais.)

Then one can make an informed decision on whether to patronize or not.

I have never seen double pricing in England, Germany, Holland, France or Spain. Where have you seen it?

It does not happen in Europe that I am aware of.

And it does not happen in OZ either

I disagree, and here is an example of resident vs non-resident pricing :

http://www.futurestudents.unimelb.edu.au/fees/

learn to speak thai :

here some benefits outside of thailand:

1) you'll be able to communicate with you partner...and the rest of the thai reading,writing,speaking population world wide.

2) you'll be able to listen to what she's saying to her friends/family

3) you'll be able to read all the local thai gossip/hints/tips/promotions in the local circulars, message board postings

4) all the riff raff of the local thai communuty will stay clear of you(cos your lang skills can out their hidden agendas) and you'll just attract decent, honest thais who genuinely respect your language skills

5) you'll be able to pretend you dont know thai, and pick up on all sorts of useful information around thai speakers

etc...

While I understand the reasoning behind it--Westerners are rich and Thai are poor--it doesn't make it right and creates NOTHING but animosity as Farang realize that they truly ARE nothing but a "walking ATM" to much of the Thai people. I don't BS; I tell it like it is. I lived in the land of the facade *fake smiles* for 19 months and travelled to 17 provinces and I know how it feels. My gf/informal fiancee is Khunai as her father was a senator and it was embarrassing being treated like I was just because people "THOUGHT" that I had money; this is a feeling that I will never, ever be able to forget and has forever left a terrible feeling in me toward the Asian system in general, because that is what I have seen with my own eyes in four (4) other countries.

You are not alone in your anger and resentment at how we *farang* are treated, and that is one reason that I left, because I DO NOT DESERVE to be treated as anything but a good human being and not ripped-off openly in front of the woman I love who is MUCH richer than I am.

LINDSEY

NB: Injustice, no matter in what form it lives, is forever unacceptable to me and knowing what I know about our collective futures I simply will not tolerate it, and didn't for the last three (3) months that I was in the "Kingdom." That means that if it was egregious enough of an insult I let the person know it and made sure that everyone else around me knew how I felt so that maybe, just MAYBE, these people who take us for fools will think twice before LOSING FACE from someone who will not accept mis-treatment.

If you could read thai you would never see the term "farang" used on a pricing sign, i certainly never have anywhere in the country. You will however see the terms for non-resident and tourist witten on pricing signs.

If it is caucasian(farang) discrimination , as you are ranting, then how come myself and countless numbers of other caucasians I know in Thailand dont have a problem.

Pricing policies in thailand (parks, attractions, bank interest etc...) are a resident vs non-resident practice. The application of the policies at the ticket window might be inconsistent due to an individuals presumptions , but its nothing that some thai language communication and/or presentation of appropriate ID(to prove residency status) in a calm collected manner wont take care of.

Good luck dealing with you anger and resentment.

As a caucasian(farang), what is your legal residency status in thailand (citizneship, permanent residency, non immigrant B + work permit etc..) ?

Or are you just another "tourist" hoping to be granted the same pricing rights as residents...if you're not sure of your stauts, check the stamp in your passport

I have always paid 150 BT at dreamworld by explaining in the local language(a medium that a "resident" would be expected to communicate in) that I work, pay tax and live here.

In florida , floridian residents get a discount at disneyworld and universal studios.tourists pay a higher price.

Some seem to get their kicks out of this kind of non-sense.

Maybe you'd like to label people to A, B, C and so on members of society. This one speaks Thai so let it be A, this one...but as OP asked: How are you going to label his children? Maybe just B.

I am a fond lover of equality in all aspects. You can dwell in your bubble making qualifications but not all are wealthy or have a top-paying job. They still manage to keep up their families and give other kind of donations to society.

If business is not profitable by same price tag to everyone, I don't think it's going to be a success. How about someone who looks Thai and speaks Thai but is actually from UK. Happen to know someone like that, too.

Your (and those who favor this disgusting practise) view is really not well-based, morally, ethically nor practically. I avoid these kind of places at all cost (<pun intended).

I certainly have no problem worldwide with local residents getting a local discount for theme parks. This is hardly a crime against humanity(like the self victimized winging moaning brigade would lead you to believe)

Went to DreamWorld today with a group of Thai friends and their kids.

I offered to buy the tickets - same as before - 150 baht with the tear off tickets - one free ride on each attraction.

The lady managing the queue at the box office - No Sir, Falang must buy ticket in the office - leads me into the Information office. There I am informed that I can only buy a sticker for unlimited rides all day, naturally for 3 times the Thai price (450 baht instead of 150). I wanted to go back out and buy the Thai ticket as per plan A. But the box office refused to serve me.

So I have to let my friends buy the tickets for us, and I am marched back to the office to buy the overpriced but "unlimited" sticker.

Well you guessed it - "Unlimited" rides is a blatant lie. Almost all of the rides demanded an extra ticket on top of the sticker. Plus I found out from my regular taxi driver that he gets a commission by quoting the number on the silly Sticker.

I have experienced Thai double pricing before, and it does not bother me, but never simply lying to Falang is a step further.

So I will not go there again, and they have lost my business for the next 10 years. I will tell everyone I know that they cheated me, and I wish them all an early redundancy.

I am just as sure that they do not care about my disgust, because I am just a Falang ATM, and there will always be more along in a minute, but it makes me feel a bit better to have a quick rant.

As a caucasian(farang), what is your legal residency status in thailand (citizneship, permanent residency, non immigrant B + work permit etc..) ?

Or are you just another "tourist" hoping to be granted the same pricing rights as residents...if you're not sure of your stauts, check the stamp in your passport

I have always paid 150 BT at dreamworld by explaining in the local language(a medium that a "resident" would be expected to communicate in) that I work, pay tax and live here.

In florida , floridian residents get a discount at disneyworld and universal studios.tourists pay a higher price.

This will be my 15th Songkran and I hate it.

The first one was OK when I was young and drunk. The second was OK too. Now, the festival has become totally out of hand. Two years ago in Bangkok, I was "assaulted" - getting ice thrown in my face. Three years ago, I did the back of a pick-up thing and was bloody freezing - it was a nightmare.

At least the guys who bought a pick-up will get a chance to use it.

Anyone else hate this holiday?

I love it in the sense that I get to take lots of free holidays from work and get as far away from thailand as I can for a couple of weeks

UOB have also confirmed the fee :

http://www.uob.co.th/announcement/bankfee/...9Mar2009_en.pdf

In the U.S. at least, banks do use separate terminology for ATM vs debit cards....

Usually, when they say debit card, that means it's VISA or MasterCard branded and can be used for online purchases, point of sale purchases and such, although the money is taken directly from your bank account (unlike a credit card).

But when they say ATM only, and I have some of those, it typically only carries the issuing bank's name and can only be used to make ATM withdrawals.

Anyone know if the new fee will apply to just the one type, or to both??

The core banking software that processes card transactions knows cards as being debit or credit. 2 categories for financial cards, period. There are also non financial cards ie: loyalty cards, fleet cards etc...

How a card is advertised,marketed, branded, etc... by an issuer, is obviously irrelvant to a computer system processing ISO standard messages to complete the transaction ie: in the context of the transaction...... a "cash card" would be "debit", a bank issued card that some people refer to as "ATM card" would be "debit" , a Visa credit card would be "credit". a Visa Electon card would be "debit" etc......

So when the Thai Bank Association refer to debit and credit cards, I would have to assume that they are being technically correct and referring to all financial cards.

Reading the Thai Bank Association rule carefully, it does not mention fees for use of ATM cards. It mentions a 150 baht fee for use of CREDIT OR DEBIT cards in an ATM machine.

So - it is not clear that users of ATM cards will face any new fees. This past week, I was locally charged 20 baht for one ATM withdrawal, and nothing for a withdrawal using a different machine.

Cheers!

Indo-Siam

to be technically precise , all financial cards are either debit or credit , there is no such thing as an "ATM card". this is an erroneous/lay person term used by Joe Blogs on the street. So the Bank Association are correct.

when the transaction messages are sent down the wire(from a payment terminal in a store or an ATM machine etc,,,) the PAN field in the message is inspected by the payments switch to determine whether the card is credit or debit.

After all the years are their still people who keep using outside cards for withdrawals when they live here ? surely not !

Some people have passive income outside thailand(rent, bank interest etc...) and also have zero ATM cash out fee credit/debit cards...thus, a convenient and cheaper way(no fees + you get the internal baht FX rate) than doing a bank transfer to bring funds into thailand.

so I'm just posting this here in case anyone happens to know any reasons why this won't work. Otherwise I'm going to start planning a test run in the near future.

Just as valid today as the day it was written...

The penalty for working without a valid work permit in Thailand is basically the same as for overstay:

Jail, fine, deportation and possibly blacklisted from entering the Kingdom again.

Read this info: http://www.thaivisa.com/303.0.html

I repeat, there are NO exceptions. All foreigners need a valid work permit.

About 200 western foreigners per year are deported for illegal work.

and even more seriously....you would be committing a tax felony by not paying PIT(personal income tax) to the Revenue Department.

I always taxi via the tollway and get off at Urupong or Yommorat, depending on which way I am coming from.

Coming home late, I might travel on the streets(rather than the tollway), less traffic.

You could get a skytrain to Saphan Taksin Station and then board a river boat up to Tha Phra Athit Pier, then a 5 min walk to Khao San via Thanon Rambutri.

Thailand local bank's door has so high for expats. They are thinking usully foreigner has something bad thingking.

We cannot fully use local bank's functions. They are always just received and deposit money from farang.. damm...

How do you think about establishment new bank for farang??? lol..

When open saving account, they are all request Working permit. Do you know, Bangkok Bank don't provide non-resident account!!!

So, in my opinions, we need 'Expat Bank or some finance institution" in thailand.

Am I crazy??? Thailand make me crazy..

I can easily perform all the banking functions I require in Thailand(savings/chequing/credit card/domestic and international transfers and bill payments/internet banking etc.....)

Axl Rose is known to frequent Thailand

have u tried called the embassy.

Hi,

I'm launching new websites made with Drupal CMS ( Drupal.org ) and need someone able to design themes ( Drupal.org/project/Themes ).

I also need a freelance coder that can do some PHP code and modify / improve some Drupal modules.

Please contact me or add a message here if you are a designer or a coder, but if you know any company in Bangkok or Pattaya who does great job about website design or php code / drupal development, please also tell me.

If you want to propose your services please don't forget links to see your work online.

Thanks for you precious help.

Graphicdesignthai.

you should make it clear whether you provide work permits for non-thais.

at work i wear trousers, business shirt, leather belt, italian leather shoes(bought overseas cos i find it hard to get nice fits in thailand).

have a jacket and tie thats been sitting on a coat hanger in my cubicle for years, never wear it.

when i want to look snazzy i have a tailored black armani suit(a real one), worn with black italian leather shoes , an open neck white versace dress shirt, and black bleather belt. Pretty much a stock standard, cant go wrong classic outfit.

the world really needs to be attacked by extra terrestrials to bring us all together as the human race.