thecyclist

It's just another scam by the extremely corrupt Cambodian land border immigration. They have been at ever since land border opened 25 years ago.. Only accept 1000 Thai Baht for the 20 $ VOA, when the Baht was at 40 to the dollar at Poipet. At Had Lek they started out with 1200 Baht and worked their way up to 1600 Baht (if they thought you looked dumb enough to pay that much). Then they had the 'doctor' charging you another 100 Baht for some Malaria pills and a clean bill of health.

https://e.vnexpress.net/news/trend/traffic-chaos-returns-to-engulf-hanoi-4457750.html

Saigon today is like Bangkok 25 years ago. If you like mega cities like Bangkok, you will probably also like Saigon. But with your qualifications you can probably get a job anywhere in Vietnam. While salaries in Saigon and Hanoi tend to be the highest in Vietnam, some much more livable cities - especially Danang, which is just awesome, but also Vung Tau and Can tho, are not far behind. If you like traffic gridlock and pollution, and are willing to put up with it to earn a few bucks more, than go to Saigon. Otherwise pick one of the mid-sized cities. Plenty of well-paid jobs there too.

Well, they might have the number one spot in the Durian export ranking.Most of Thai Durians go to China, that's why the local price of Durians has shot up over the last decade.

While the Vietnamese people might be welcoming of Farangs, the government here is not, or a lot less so. Constantly changing visa rules, (a lot worse than the dithering we see in Thailand) makes it impossible to plan long-term. The exception is marriage to a local. You can get a 3 year residency without putting any money in a bank.

The implant is way more expensive than the crown.

And your money

Ubon to Loei is not along the Mekong. From Loei you will have to travel north to Chiang Khan. From there to Nongkhai is the most scenic Thai side route along the Mekong. Plenty of hotels and resorts, which used to be a little on the high side by Thai standards. There were no bicycle lanes when I biked it- ages ago - but traffic was light.

Vietcombank does. All you need is your passport, and they issue you with a card (not a passbook), with the swift code and your account number. Takes 10 minutes.

Unless something changed radically during the last year or two (haven't used my Thai card recently to avoid incurring losses) you are wrong. The Thai /visa fee used to be 100 Baht, the ATM machine of the foreign bank will show their fee before you press 'confirm' transactions (usually another 100 Baht or a little higher). I then checked through internet banking how much my account had been charged, and compare it with the the current exchange rates, taking the bank fees into account. The result were invariably (Indonesia was the only exception) that there were hidden charges, which were considerably higher than the 200 Baht plus fees of the banks. Withdrawing the maximum amount allowed by the foreign bank (to minimize the costs) there were still deductions amounting to up to 10%.In Cambodia I used Maybank which 6 years ago had no fees at all, and it was still a loss of 25$ dollars or so, much higher than the 100 Baht VISA charges. I hope things have changed, and this gouging by banks has stopped.

That is true when you use your card for shopping, whether online or in shops. The rate is good, and no fees are deducted. But not when you withdraw money with a foreign ATM card.Might differ from country to country, but I have used my KTB debit in Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Indonesia. Only in Indonesia were the losses negligible.

Yes, they changed the rules recently, and to open a proper account you need either a WP or TRC. These changes make it harder for illegally working foreigners to deposit their money and move it out of the country. With the account I have you can only move money into the country. And I am sure they love getting our money. So no need to cancel that.

Thanks Jack, but I already have a Thai bank account. I could of course have the money transferred to my KTB account and use my debit card in Cambodia. I have done that in the past, and the losses are substantial. It's not so much the bank fees themselves as the hidden charges in the currency conversion rate Last time it amounted to a loss of 7%,still better than the 10% I lost when doing the same in Vietnam.

I know this question should have been posted on the Cambodian forum, but very little activity in terms of replies to be found there. Is it possible to open a bank account in Cambodia on a Tourist visa. It does not have to be a proper account. I just need it for transferwise wiring of cash (they require, in contrast to PayPal an account) I opened an account in Vietnam for this purpose. It's an account that does not come with a bank book, ATM card, no deposits within the country allowed either. Just withdrawal of money wired from overseas. Does such a thing exist in Cambodia?

Had something similar here in Vietnam. It started out as swelling of one eye and a rash around the neck.Then balanatis like symptoms. Antifungals were useful. Went to a dermatologist who said it was contact dermatitis. He prescribed Fucicord for the eye and Tracolimus for the genital area. That got rid of it.

In 2020 the Vietnamese government issued new immigration regulations that did away with the 3 month Tourist visa Allegedly this was done to crack down on illegally working English teachers. TV from then on were restricted to just 1 month (with the possibility to get two 1 month extension). It was unclear whether these extensions would have to be applied for through expensive agents (like previously) or could be done for the official fee of 10$ at the immigration office. The country closed its borders till recently so there was no way to find out. The only immediate effect was that they stopped giving 3 month extension for those of us that were 'stuck' here. I have been doing very expensive monthly extensions for over a year. Now there have been reports/rumors here in Vietnam that they might revert back to the old system that was in effect pre-covid that allows many nationalities 90 day TV, and Americans 1 year TVs. Expect much of the usual dilly-dallying before they come a provisional decision that might last, or might be changed /reinterpreted shortly after the fence sitting. Thailand is bad in this respect, but Vietnam is even worse, much worse.

Songkran hasn't been about tradition and religion for a long time. It's about getting <deleted>, drive around like crazy while <deleted>, killing people by the hundreds in the process. Sadistically throwing buckets of water (often with chunks of ice for increased pain sensation and delight) at each other, preferably at the crotch. Rubbing carcinogenic butt powder into people's nostrils, eyes, mouths. In general, being as loud and obnoxious as one possibly can. Hasn't much to do with what the Buddha taught.

Right now Cambodia. They just scrapped the Covid test requirement altogether. Proof of insurance is not needed either. Both are needed in Vietnam. Also Vietnam right now has a massive surge of transmissions with over 300000 daily cases. High risk of getting infected and having to self-isolate or be quarantined, either in Vietnam or on the way back.

That law was introduced by the Thaksin administration. There was no such law in the seventies, eighties and into the nineties. Thaksin's minister Purachai(the pure one) was spearheading efforts to make Thailand pure again. Strictly no prostitution(so unpurachai/pure) either back then.

It doesn't really say what cancer he has. But if it is stage 4 brain cancer that has metastized to the brain it would take a miracle to cure him. Even stage 1 lung cancer has only a 20% five year survival rate.

Wasn't expensive. About 15 $ on top of the visa fee itself. The faster you want to get it back the more expensive it was at times, at other times the embassy would not allow express service. The Thai embassy in Phnom Penh is one of the worst embassy I know of. They constantly keep changing their rules and regulations. For years they didn't allow non - Cambodian to go through agents. Anyway, after 2 years of suspension due to Covid, hopefully this will be a new Era of more efficient service.

Yes, along the river front. There is one block that has several of them. Before the Pandemic I always used the same agent,for over 10 years. The name of the agency is 3 letters starting with a an L(something like LTK or LPK) He was able to get a TV without you having an outbound ticket.

That is a good question.

Yes, supposed to, but they can't make up their minds about the how exactly. Tourism authorities want to fully reopen, Department of health wants a conditional partial reopening, resulting in the usual Vietnamese dithering. Nobody is issuing Tourist visas yet. Embassies don't have a clue yet if and when they can issue visas again.

How are you planning on getting into Vietnam? Or are you currently in Vietnam?