junkofdavid2

Hi everyone!

Apologies if this has been covered previously, im a new kid on the soi, but does anyone have any advice regarding opening a bank account with a non b visa? I have approached several banks and was surprised to be asked that I need a work permit and a deposit of 60,000b! Kind of perplexed as why this is necessary? anyone kind enough to give any advice on this matter!? I have tried a few big banks on Th Phahonyothin, maybe I need to go more 'central' ie . along Sukhumvit to get a bank account? Hmmm confused! thanks in advance!

Have a Great New Year!

Lookchin

Although I already have a work permit and one year B visa, I got a bank account even when I was still on a visa exempt stamp (no visa at all, not even a tourist visa), and of course, I had no work permit yet at that time. And minimum was only 500 baht if i remember. Not too long ago... about a year.

Have you tried Kasikorn bank?

2) Were there people of other nationalities with the same visa/VOA stamps as the Filipinos who were let thru more easily than the Filipinos?

( I have some Filipno friends...)

At last... JOD reveals himself.

I don't confirm nor deny.

I confirm however, that my girlfriend is definitely filipino. As for me, it's possible. Very very very possible.

The CHF is affected by gold because the currency is backed by gold reserves; meaning

Although Switzerland continues to retain its status as the safe haven destination for the world's capital in times of geopolitical stress, the country's currency is no longer strongly correlated with that other great safe haven asset - gold. At one time, the currency was 40% backed by the metal, but in 2005 the Swiss government sold the nation's vast inventory of gold and returned the funds to the country's cantons. As a result, the Swissie did not benefit from Gold's spectacular rise above the $700 level in May. Furthermore, given the decoupling that began in 2005, further gains in gold may not produce any additional strength in the Swissie, as the currency will most likely trade strictly off its economic fundamentals.

Interesting...

Thanks for the update.

Anyway, I've been playing the Euro (EUR/USD) for the past 2 years so I haven't kept up to date on the Swiss franc.

Cheers.

I wonder if anyone knows about government savings bonds in Thailand. Are there any? Where can they be purchased? What denominations do they come in? I'm interested in buying them for my kids.

It's easy.... I think.

I have an account in Kasikorn Bank, and the last time I inquired about something and the assistant inevitably saw my passbook and account balance, she suggested to me that I should buy government bonds instead of keeping it all in a savings account.

She then even pointed to some sort of small poster within the bank advertising such bond. If I remember right, it was like 4.5% interest or something.

However, I politely declined the offer and prefer not to invest in any Thai government bond, for my own reasons. If you think it's a safe and good investment, then you can try Kasikorn.

cheers,

junkofdavid2

I understand you do not want to share with us the reasons behind not investing the Thai market. Could you only suggest some tips as to why we should refrain from these investments? I currently buy kasikorn long term equity funds for the mere purpose of tax deductions.

Is that too risky? Should I refrain from investing in index funds? I thought index funds are meant to be considered as 'smart' investments when compared to hyperactive investing?

Smarter? I think the word is safer.

Index funds are definitely generally safer than investing in individual stocks, simply because they are more diversified, meaning they contain a lot more companies and thus, if any one company in the fund were to go bankrupt, it will only have a small negative impact "overall" on the fund.

Likewise, if any one of the companies were to to skyrocket, that would also have only a small positive impact on your money, overall.

There are 2 main schools of thought here.

The first is "Don't keep all your eggs in one basket", which would thereby endorse the index fund mentality. The second, which was and is Warren Buffet's philosophy, is "Just choose a few very good eggs, put it in just one basket, and then watch that basket closely."

Personally, I don't like index funds because when most stocks go down, so does your money. I personally believe it to be lower risk and higher return to choose a fund which doesn't just "blindly" invest in the entire index, but instead picks out the best stocks to invest in.

Unfortunately, if you wish to invest in Thailand, there aren't many resources which you can use to "investigate" and verify a particular fund to see it's long term performance since inception... and you are forced to rely on what the fund marketer says... and they usually just show a particular period of time where the fund did well (and don't show the years/months when it was disastrous).

Ex. XXXXX Fund! ROI of 12% per annum!

and then in the fine print it will say:

*for the period October 2003 to July 2006

I was wondering if anyone has experienced gold online trading. I have been looking into this for some time and would like any advice before I move forward. Any insights? Any particular market? I have been looking at BullionVault and I wonder whether anyone has traded using their service.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

I wanted to play gold myself.

However, I found that a much more liquid alternative which also has a much smaller spread is to play either the Australian Dollar or the Swiss Franc, both played against the USD. (Currency pairs are called AUD/USD or CHF/USD)

The price swings of these two currencies are directly correlated to the price of gold. When gold goes up, the AUD also swings up vs. the USD. When gold goes down, the opposite happens.

The same with the Swiss Franc (symbol CHF).

(The AUD is affected by gold because of so much gold resources in Australia. The CHF is affected by gold because the currency is backed by gold reserves; meaning every single swiss franc represents a certain amount of gold in the Swiss central bank. Likewise, if you wanted to play oil, you could play the Canadian Dollar CAD which is directly correlated to the price of Oil because of the abundance of oil in Canada.)

Moreover, the Forex trading houses allow leverage, thereby allowing you to adjust your risk tolerance to a level which you're comfortable with.

Even if you are in Thailand or anywhere in the world, it's actually very easy to open an account with a Forex trading house based in the U.S.

The most reputable one now, I would say, is FXCM (which advertises on Bloomberg). You can open an account with only 1000 USD. Their website is www.FXCM.com

Take note however, that unlike U.S. stock brokerage firms, Forex trading houses are not insured by the U.S. government. You should exercise good judgement in choosing your Forex trading house.

Hope this helps.

*Disclaimer: I exclude any or all liability for any errors or misinformation contained herein due to negligence or any other cause.

Fred, you will go down in history as the first one to report this feat on ThaiVisa.

Thanks for your report.

--

Maestro

Yup, thanks for your report.

How many days total since Oct. 1?

It is also not known if their treatment would've been different if they were farang instead of Asian.

do you think other asians (non-thai) get treated/viewed by thai immigration with less or more scrutiny than farang when coming thru the border? why?

Actually, there's some contention here.

Many Filipinos tend to feel that they're not treated as well by Thai immigration/embassies compared to Farangs, and that there's a "pro farang bias" with immigration or embassies.

IRONICALLY, many farangs I know seem to feel the opposite. They think that Thai immigration/embassies are more "understanding" towards their fellow southeast asians.

No clear answer here... sorry.

Borat is not a Muslim. "In Kazhakstan we worship hawk."

High five!

question: who is that korean actress on your picture? she's a babe

It's worth a try. Whether they will continue to issue back-to-back Tourist Visa's there is an unknown.

Let us know what happens.

According to a very recent post "60 Day Tourist Visa Laos" (you can check the post), two Filipinos were warned by embassy officials that it was their last time to get a tourist visa there.

It is not known if it was because they already had a previous tourist visa (whether also from Laos or from another country), or because they had too many visa-exempt stamps/days.

It is also not known if their treatment would've been different if they were farang instead of Asian.

I know this doesn't fully answer your question, but good to note.

junkofdavid2

The place get crowded with Filipinos , so that's why they start to question and may be try to divert the flow.

It is still possible to get any Non Immigrat Visa in Savannasakhet , but need full documents.

Latest is that people need to get a Police Clearance Letter .

I interpret the warning that they might give Tourist Visa only one time per year from each consulate/country.

Yea so long as U have the Doc's Ok no problem BUt New B's will need this back ground check for sure.

Only thing I know all the others got no problem Tourist visas 60 days But these 2 Filipnoes were warned 100%

Thanks for the info Paul!

Interesting.

I wonder if anyone knows about government savings bonds in Thailand. Are there any? Where can they be purchased? What denominations do they come in? I'm interested in buying them for my kids.

It's easy.... I think.

I have an account in Kasikorn Bank, and the last time I inquired about something and the assistant inevitably saw my passbook and account balance, she suggested to me that I should buy government bonds instead of keeping it all in a savings account.

She then even pointed to some sort of small poster within the bank advertising such bond. If I remember right, it was like 4.5% interest or something.

However, I politely declined the offer and prefer not to invest in any Thai government bond, for my own reasons. If you think it's a safe and good investment, then you can try Kasikorn.

cheers,

junkofdavid2

Could you expand on the post above please? Changing from tourist (believe the O in error?) to B? What was the same? If a home country police report was required was this everyone? So far had only seen reports of teachers needing such documentation for visa issue. Thanks.

Yes 2 Filipinos warned there last visa application ???.

Hi Paul. I noticed there are question marks at the end of the sentence...

1) Does this mean that they were or weren't warned?

2) Were there people of other nationalities with the same visa/VOA stamps as the Filipinos who were let thru more easily than the Filipinos?

( I have some Filipno friends...)

Sorry, it's a multi entry non immigrant visa valid for 12 months with 90 days stay on each. Does this affect me, can i do the run toCambodia when my visa is due to expire?

Do a border run to Cambodia right before it expires, and then you'll probably get another 90 days. In this case, the one-year non-immigrant visa can actually have an effect of a 15 month visa.

Duplicate topics merged.

Can anyone tell me of a good place where I can watch "fair skinned" coyote girls here (don't like the dark-skinned ones)... and then "take them home"?

How much for the bar, and how much to "take them home"?

don't want those rip-off clubs where they try to sell to you by bullying or coercing customers... heard of quite a few.

i suggest you take those kinds of requests/comments to some other forum (barladies.com maybe?) - these kinds of requests are frowned upon here.

You've managed to pop up on my 'radar' more than once recently 'junkofdavid2' and as some people will agree, thats not a good thing.

sorry.. didn't know

Oh, my wife loves me very much!

That's why the house and the business is all in her name...

For some reason, she seems to have been smiling a lot since the new rules.

I'm puzzled, can someone tell me why???

Duplicate topics merged.

Can anyone tell me of a good place where I can watch "fair skinned" coyote girls here (don't like the dark-skinned ones)... and then "take them home"?

How much for the bar, and how much to "take them home"?

don't want those rip-off clubs where they try to sell to you by bullying or coercing customers... heard of quite a few.

On arrival I always used to go up to departure at Don Muang and get a taxi from there. How's that work at Suvarnabhumi and about how much is the fare about on meter to Sukhumvit? Cheers.

BE CAREFUL.

As soon as you get out in arrivals, there are expensive limosine services (called "taxi service"), and their hawkers will INTENTIONALLY MISLEAD YOU and say "Taxi, Sir?" so that you think that you have to go with them for the taxi.

That is NOT the taxi as you know it, but it is instead the taxi "service", which is a luxury car with a driver. They know that many travellers are confused about this, and will take advantage of that confusion to close the deal. After you book with them and are out in the car, you will see the "regular" cheaper taxis which you actually originally wanted, but it will be too late by then.

And then here's another rip-off:

1) Even if you get to the regular taxi, make sure they turn on the meter BEFORE you get in. Even if you hire them through the "official" booth which has a sign which says the driver will use the meter, do not automatically believe it.

2) The booth will give you a stub which states your destination, and also contains important details of the taxi you boarded so you can report abusive taxis. The taxi driver ALREADY HAS A COPY of this stub.

Therefore, do NOT give it to him. He may pretend that he's not sure where you're going so he will ask for that stub from you "so that he can see" where you're going, and then he will keep it so that you can't report him if anything goes wrong. He already has a copy of this, so do not give it to him because it's your protection and he knows it.

I used to have the same problem, but now I PLUCK IT ONE BY ONE.

Trust me, it's the best.

Painful the first time, but it uproots the hair and gives you the "cleanest and smoothest" shave ever, and it gets addictive actually.

You must have had very few to be able to pluck them out.

I have never had any luck with electric shavers, the mach 3 blades really work well for me.

Oh!

And if I may add. I've ridden in some taxis here in BKK and in Manila (philippines) with the taxi driver doing the plucking as well... while driving.

Using two coins instead of tweezers! (25 satang each in BKK, 25 centavos each in Manila).

sorry to sound harsh white boys...

but just a matter of fact:

upper-classed thai girls from upper classed families

(like graduates or students of Chulalongkorn University or Thamassat or Mahidol) RARELY want to date farang men. (yeah, yeah, i know, there are "exceptions")

However, lower-classed and middle classed thai girls seem to like dating farang men just fine.

Why is that?

I won't say anything. You can answer the question for yourselves...

I used to have the same problem, but now I PLUCK IT ONE BY ONE.

Trust me, it's the best.

Painful the first time, but it uproots the hair and gives you the "cleanest and smoothest" shave ever, and it gets addictive actually.

It's so easy for the government to respond to the demand.

They just have to "blame it" on the former govt and Thaksin. Period. Case closed.

... and then walk away smiling

They can raise legitimate questions and you will have to answer in a way that sounds reasonable that is all.

If a person has for example has 4 years of stamps in their passport from doing monthly border runs, what would be a "reasonable" answer to the question: "why you stay in Thailand so long?".

Easy. Just say "i love the way thai people welcome us."

Helicopter,

If that girl will be fired in January,

You should take advantage of the OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW AUTHORITY.

Ask the CEO that YOU (helicopter) be the one to terminate her, and make sure that the rest of the staff know that you were the one who fired her.

That'l show the rest of your staff who's boss. And the next time you give an order, it's show that you mean business.

*Note: Make sure you consult with your lawyer for advise on how to legally terminate an employee. Moreover, you said you've only been working there a month... make sure your Work Permit is in order before you do the firing.

Cheers,

junkofdavid

This could be an important development.

It could indicate that people using tourist visas to circumvent the new rules will not be able to easily get a 2nd tourist visa if they already previously got one.

It is NOT GOOD to have this poll.

If you vote here "YES" that you are willing to go thru tougher rules, then you're really asking for it...