neilrob

We transfer money from the U.S. to Bangkok Bank just once a year and every time I research all the options just to see if anything's changed. This past year, we decided it was cheapest to simply write a personal check on our U.S. account, deposit it in Bangkok Bank and wait for the funds to clear. They said the funds wouldn't credit our account for 30 days, but the deposit showed up on day 24 or 25.

On the two occasions I have had to deposit a foriegn currency check (once USD and once GBP) at Bangkok bank, they have given me a poor exchange rate. The wire transfer rate is much better. Did you check what exchange rate you were getting? Differences in exchange rates can easily outweigh fees if you are talking about significant sums.

You are fortunate, MSPain, to have a credit card giving good exchange rates. My Visa card (and probably most) has poor exchange rates, plus an exchange fee. For large transactions the exchange rate is usually more important than the fee charged. Incidentally, the Bangkok Bank exchange rate you quote is for bank notes. Transfers such as the OP did get 30.55B per dollar, as of this morning.

In answer to the OP's question, I do transfers from my account at Vanguard (the large mutual fund company) to my account at Bangkok Bank. I initiate the transfer online. Vanguard charge no fee, I get the transfer exchange rate from Bangkok Bank, and the money is there in 2-3 business days, so I'm quite happy with this service.

It is scheduled to open late 2013, December I think. They have 70 rai, so that should be enough to provide adequate parking---but all depends on how they lay it out of course.

At the buffet they have all the dishes mentioned, and more. I am generally not a much of a fan of buffets--too many have food that was cooked a long time ago and is now cold. However at Le Crystal's buffet, most of the hot food is cooked fresh to order. It really is great value for that price (and I have no connection whatsoever to the restaurant, except as a satisfied customer!)

BTW, I used only my Thai drivers license in California to rent a car, buy insurance for same, etc. There was no requirement for an IDL. Other countries might have different laws. The IDL is issued by a home country auto club, and is a document written in several languages that certifies the holder as having permission to drive in his home country. It is not issued by a gov't entity; it is just a corroborating document under an international convention of auto clubs.

And the California Dept of Motor Vehicles specifically says that California does not recognise IDLs. I have rented cars and driven in many places using just my Thai DL, including such varied locations as New Zealand, Italy, California, Ohio and Louisiana and previously using a US or UK license in a variety of different countries. I have yet to find anywhere where an IDL is of any value.whatsoever.

Good to hear that you enjoyed Le Crystal. 10% is a reasonable tip if there is no service charge.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Le Coq d'Or.

I agree--Le Coq d'Or is excellent. Chiang Mai is really fortunate in having a remarkable range of really good restaurants. However I'd still recommend the monthly buffet at Le Crystal for a "treat" over Le Coq d'Or, because it is such good value for fine dining in a fancy restaurant.

There are many good Western style restaurants which serve fancy cuisine in CM. Examples include: La Fourchette, Cafe Mini, Lapin, La Terrasse, in addition to Chez Marco. Dukes does not fall into this category---whether you like their food or not, it is not "fancy".

However the place I would strongly recommend for a treat is the monthly World Buffet at Le Crystal. It has everything from an extraordinary range of really fine food to great ambience and service---it feels like fine dining in a fancy restaurant. This month it is on Sat 24th. The cost is 1200B---a real bargain for the quality. With free flow wine I think just add an extra 600B

This thread contains a great deal of ignorant misinformation---I could use stronger words!. Cards are NOT illegal in Thailand. If they were, how do you think that bridge clubs, with hundreds of decks of cards, flourish? In fact cards are produced by a government monoply and sold with a government tax stamp, so they could hardly be illegal. The reason it is a government monoploy is that the government wants to collect their tax. Furthermore they are sold openly in Tesco, 7-11, etc. Three things are illegal: 1. gambling (the person arrested was certainly arrested for gambling, not for having cards), 2. printing cards (it is a government monopoly) and 3. importing cards (again it is a government monopoly).

You can get away with bringing in a few decks of cards, but the Customs may well notice 5000! The only way the OP can follow the law is to have the government card printing company do the job.

I suggest taking the car to Khun Daychaa. He specialises in repairing older cars---he only repairs cars with carburettors, no fuel injection etc. He is competent, reliable and remarkably reasonable. He does not speak English however, so unless your Thai is good take a Thai friend with you. PM me for his phone number. To get to his shop these are the directions. Drive out of the city on highway 1006, towards Sankhampaeng. Cross the Superhighway. Drive a bit less than 1km. On your RHS you will see a large shop on a corner which usually has forklift trucks, golf buggies etc outside (and parts from wrecked cars inside). Turn right immediately after this shop. Drive about 100m and his shop is on the right---it looks like a house, but if you look in through the front gate you will see lots of cars being repaired. Hope this is helpful.

I can speak from experience. I have left Thailand numerous times in the last two years and never had anyone query or look at my 90 day report slip at the airport. If your friend just leaves and returns, immigration simply looks at the last entry when you come to make the next 90 day report, not the previous history.

I am also using 3BB. Hotmail, both sending and receiving, is working fine for me.

Has anyone heard any news about the police investigation of Richard's death?

As Iain points out, the advantage of holding both a Thai and, say, a US credit card is you can use the Thai credit card for charges in baht and the US credit card for charges in dollars. Even if there is no foriegn transaction fee on the US card, you will still pay extra by being given a poor exchange rate.

I got a Bangkok Bank Visa card five years ago with a retirement visa. I had to put 400,000B in a separate interest bearing account (from which I could not withdraw) to get a 200,000 credit limit. Two years ago I asked them to lift the requirement for me to hold money in this account. They agreed and I closed the account and still have my 200,000 credit limit. However, I do still have quite a bit on deposit with Bangkok Bank in other accounts.

Quite a sight---wish I'd seen them. Maybe purple herons, which are visitors to this area. I would suggest great-billed herons, except that my book shows these as possibly extirpated in N. Thailand, and this area does not seem like their sort of habitat.

Condos are leasehold and the maintenance company controls everything, so you can never own it.

I wouldn’t even want one for free.

Where on earth did you get that idea? Condos are NOT leasehold. Owners get a full chanote title.

The full name of the shop is World Chemical Fareast. It is on the north side of Mahidol Rd (the road connecting the airport and the Superhighway). If you were driving from airport plaza towards the river, then about 500m before you cross the Ping there is a big elevated PSI sign on your left, which is visible for a long way. Right after the PSI building is World Chemical, which occupies a row of shophouses.

I tried Colosseo. The description as home-style Italian is fairly accurate. However the food was mediocre and the prices not very good. For example, my seafood ravioli was 280B. The general price level is not much different than Lapin or La Fourchette and yet the food in these two restaurants is in quite a different class. Chez Marco is another with better food at similar prices. For home-style Italian, the food at Noi's is better and the prices are half the prices here. I don't like to criticise new restaurants, but unfortunately Colosseo is not nearly good enough to be charging these prices.

Thanks for this, Oneman. Sounds good. I'll give it a try this week and report back.

In Thailand in my experience it is actually MORE expensive to book online than directly with the airline. Coming from a US/UK background this seemed a little odd at first. However, I have found the same thing with Thai, Bangkok Airways and China Air, to name just three examples. It is often also more expensive to book with a travel agent than directly with the airline. Consequently I usually check the price first online and then go to the airline office and ask them what is the best fare they can offer. With Thai it is almost always significantly better than the online fare. You might also mention the fare from a competing airline and ask if they can match it. So I suggest going to the big Thai Air office in the old city (a short walk south of the Chang Puak gate) and booking there.

Are you getting the exact same ticket types? Also, when you book with Thai online, you are booking directly with Thai.

Bear in mind there are tickets that earn reduced or no mileage or are restrictive in other ways that you may be getting at the office.

I used to get the best Thai prices at Charal travel, but then the Thai website offered better prices. The downtown Thai office could not match the online price. This was BKK LAX BKK

Yes, essentially the same tickets---no restrictions on mileage etc. What happens is that Thai generally seem to offer online their plain vanilla offerings, which may include a so-called "web special". However, if you go to their office they have a variety of other promotions. These promotions may be a little more restrictive in terms of refunds or length of stay etc, but if you are sure when you are going this is no problem. With China Airlines, it is strange. For a recent ticket to the US their "listed" price (which is what they show on the receipt even if you don't pay it) was 53,450B. Their online price was 46,000. But if you call their Bangkok office their price for the exact same ticket is 37,450. That last is what I actually paid. So it is worth making a call!

In Thailand in my experience it is actually MORE expensive to book online than directly with the airline. Coming from a US/UK background this seemed a little odd at first. However, I have found the same thing with Thai, Bangkok Airways and China Air, to name just three examples. It is often also more expensive to book with a travel agent than directly with the airline. Consequently I usually check the price first online and then go to the airline office and ask them what is the best fare they can offer. With Thai it is almost always significantly better than the online fare. You might also mention the fare from a competing airline and ask if they can match it. So I suggest going to the big Thai Air office in the old city (a short walk south of the Chang Puak gate) and booking there.

This sort of topic always brings out the moaning mollies telling us never to invest in Thailand, never buy a house here, etc etc. It probably says more about those who post such negative advice than about Thailand. If you plan to live here for an extended period, BlaMuek, then it probably makes every sense to go ahead and buy a house. I have and certainly do not regret it.

Alhough I thought a BlaMuek would be looking for a house under the sea, rather than in Koolpuntville...

Just stayed in a very nice new resort, close to the city but in a very large park-like garden--Nan Noble House Garden Resort

Interesting post because this is a topic relevant to US citizens. US citizens are of course already supposed to report their foriegn accounts to the IRS on form 5500 each year. The act is however more complex than described and the provision for expats takes effect on Jan 1, 2013, not 2012. Also, the 30% withholding only applies for foriegn financial institutions which do not comply with the act. My guess is that major banks in Thailand will comply and therefore there will be no such withholding. However, there will be increased reporting of accounts held by US citizens by these banks