DavidS

We need to move a car from Bangkok to Phuket.

Any feedback on the quality of service provided by the companies mentioned here?

Any other companies perhaps?

Thanks.

I am on the eastern side of Bangkok. The last few weeks, TOT internet speed at night has been pathetic. I am aware that it is the peak period, but the degradation is terrible. All tests are to a Chicago server, as that is where the data servers I need to access are located.

=======================IP Address=====Download===Upload====Ping

9/13/2012 12:50 PM GMT 101.109.161.243 0.78 Mb/s 0.28 Mb/s 505 ms

9/13/2012 12:08 AM GMT 101.109.173.196 6.66 Mb/s 0.44 Mb/s 295 ms

9/12/2012 3:30 PM GMT 182.52.11.162 0.22 Mb/s 0.18 Mb/s 395 ms

9/12/2012 2:19 PM GMT 125.24.238.93 0.16 Mb/s 0.16 Mb/s 405 ms

9/11/2012 1:46 PM GMT 180.180.90.205 0.17 Mb/s 0.28 Mb/s 415 ms

8/30/2012 3:52 PM GMT 101.109.165.98 2.16 Mb/s 0.40 Mb/s 385 ms

8/29/2012 4:36 PM GMT 101.108.40.71 4.34 Mb/s 0.51 Mb/s 295 ms

8/28/2012 3:54 PM GMT 101.109.165.250 1.48 Mb/s 0.20 Mb/s 385 ms

8/28/2012 2:31 PM GMT 101.109.167.38 1.97 Mb/s 0.48 Mb/s 295 ms

8/27/2012 2:19 PM GMT 101.108.36.150 0.87 Mb/s 0.17 Mb/s 291 ms

8/27/2012 2:10 PM GMT 125.24.232.130 0.79 Mb/s 0.39 Mb/s 305 ms

Local server tests give speeds of 8.5 to 9.0 Mb/s. As you can see on 29th August, speed was OK. Half the local rate but enough for my needs. And off peak, as on 13th September, pretty good.

I have tried calling TOT, the moment they hear the problem is with international access, they lose interest.

I am having the same sub-1 Mb/s as I write this. Is anyone else having this problem with TOT? Is it any better with other ISPs? If you can run a check with Chicago servers and advise, it would be greatly appreciated.

Well, then, use your Embassy, they probably have the same deal as it's common for getting a Thai driving license, visa extension, etc.

Mac

Just spoke to the embassy and indeed they will issue the letter. Hopefully that will satisfy the brokerage.

Thank you.

How about using the notarized statement from the U.S. Embassy? Ain't cheap, but since it'd be from the Embassy, should be fine for purposes in the U.S.

http://bangkok.usemb...l-services.html

If you go, don't forget to make an appointment, walk-ins not allowed now except for real emergencies.

Mac

Sorry, I am not an American.

Edit: I see documents that are to be used in The States can be notarised. Might be an option. I would need to establish what they would accept as proof of address.

I am trying to open an account with a U.S. brokerage and because Thailand is not a full member of the Financial Action Task Force, the usual bank statement is not acceptable as proof of address. Utilities and all the other acceptable stuff are in my wife's name. Mobile phone bills are not accepted.

I have a yellow tabien ban issued over 2 years ago. The documents deemed acceptable are required to be less than 12 months old, and even if they agree to accept the yellow tabien ban, it would have to be translated and notarised in whatever form acceptable.

I'm thinking of going to Chaeng Wattana for a Residence Certificate, but if that document is in Thai, I would be faced with the same issue of translation etc.

Has anyone had experience in this matter? Is the Residence Certificate all in Thai or bilingual?

Thanks Mario. Will proceed accordingly.

The wife is rather busy this year so we are squeezing in the red tape as and when possible.

We plan to go to Chaeng Wattana for the Non-Imm O Marriage extension on Wednesday 28th March. I will get the letter from the bank on 27th March, but we plan to get the Kor Ror 2 from the amphur on Friday 23rd March. As I understand it, the K.R. 2 would be considered current.

Could somebody with recent experience at Chaeng Wattana kindly confirm that this would indeed be acceptable?

Thanks for all the pointers.

I will have to persist with my questions at the True shop until I get answers that make sense. First will be does True have cable TV in my village, something which I doubt but I may be wrong. If not, then it's the ADSL option, which I will have to re-confirm with the rep.

TOT is getting hopeless here - just had a 2 second power outage (no UPS) and no work lost, but it took 2 attempts before I could re-connect to TOT.

Cable Internet uses Cable TV, not phone line. Operator is obviously have no idea what he is talking about.

You can also use TOT 3G / AIS 3G as backup if you need internet for business etc. If your TOT line goes down, you can use TOT / AIS 3G as backup.

There are open source firmwares for certain routers on the market that can make these devices dual wan support (meaning: you can load balance your internet to these two connections to achieve faster download speeds).

Thanks for clarifying. I will ask the appropriate questions when I go back to the shop and presumably I will end up with True ADSL. With a shared physical line out of the village, it will only serve as backup if there is a problem at the TOT servers - if somebody damages the cable as happened last year, that's that.

I have an iPhone on True 3G network, but where I live the signal strength fluctuates and I often end up with Edge instead of 3G. I'll need to check how AIS and TOT are in this regard.

1) Is the True cable internet going to go through the TOT exchange / servers? If yes, then a TOT outage would mean True will not work either?

No. True have / operate their own equipment.

2) With 1 phone socket in the home office, could I use a splitter so that both modems can be plugged in?

It doesn't work that way... The purpose of a POTS splitter is to isolate ADSL signal from the voice signal. BTW, what service are you getting? ADSL or cable?

3) Current computer has only 1 socket to connect to the modem. If there were 2 sockets or a splitter, could both modems be connected (but only 1 on at a time) so that swapping is not required?

If you have both TOT and True ADSL, you'll need to get a router with load balancing features (aka Dual WAN) to be able to utilize both services simultaneously or have one or the other as backup.

Wi-fi from the router they will supply is an option, but I prefer hard wired for security.

A wireless network can be just as secure, just make sure you configure the wireless device to use WPA.

I was told that it would be cable and there is no need for a True fixed line. I am however puzzled about this as I thought cable uses the same line as cable TV, which we do not have, but the rep said just plug-in to the telephone socket, which means the TOT line.

If it is indeed cable, I don't suppose the Dual Wan would work for 1 ADSL and 1 cable?

You really should make use of proper NAT/firewall router otherwise you could be awfully vulnerable to attack. Chances are forwarding ports correctly on the router would have fixed your download speed problems.

Unfortunately, D-Link Tech support did not get into this. English tech support is routed to Singapore, and I worked with 2 levels. The first was the call centre that deals with standard 'menu' problems, then I was channeled to one of the engineers. No joy, other than updating firmware which made no difference.

I have a TOT phone line and DSL broadband at my place in the Eastern Suburbs of Bangkok. As I have been having difficulty connecting at key times (which probably coincide with general heavy use), I decided to look into having True Internet as a backup.

Popped into the True shop at Central Bangna today to inquire. Chap asked for my phone number, then says it is a TOT number so I have to install a True fixed line to have True internet. I give him my address, he checks the database and then comes back and says no need for the fixed line, I can have cable internet. I ask how that works and he says just plug the modem into the phone socket.

My Thai is too basic for a technical discussion, so I would be obliged if someone here could answer some questions;

1) Is the True cable internet going to go through the TOT exchange / servers? If yes, then a TOT outage would mean True will not work either?

2) With 1 phone socket in the home office, could I use a splitter so that both modems can be plugged in?

3) Current computer has only 1 socket to connect to the modem. If there were 2 sockets or a splitter, could both modems be connected (but only 1 on at a time) so that swapping is not required?

Wi-fi from the router they will supply is an option, but I prefer hard wired for security. Also, a D-Link router I bought significantly degraded download speeds so I stopped using it (Tech support in Singapore could not overcome the problem), and that leaves me wary of routers.

Thanks in advance.

Edit: Also, I always thought cable internet means the same system as cable TV. Out here it is all satellite as far as I know, so I am a bit puzzled to say the least.

We were on our way before 10.30 a.m. so we decided to stop by at the amphur and apply for a Yellow Tabien Baan.

Documents required to support the application were;

1) Passport

2) Photocopies of passport - particulars page, visa page and latest visa extension.

3) Original and photocopy of Tabien Baan

4) Photocopy of wife's ID

5) Photocopy of Marriage Certificate.

6) 3 passport size photographs of applicant.

David, this list does not say that the passport needs a certified translation.

We were informed at Khet Khannayao, this is required.

I know the requirements vary according to Khet. What khet do you live?

Good tip about the KR2.

We live in Khet Pravet, and we did not need a certified translation of the passport particulars page.

Are they asking for the translation so that they have your name rendered in Thai? If so, we got around that because they copied my name (Thai version) from the Marriage Certificate. I recall there was a bit of a discussion at the time (between my wife, the staff and the Registrar) as to how best to render my name in Thai. There must be more than 1 way to do so, because this time around the staff processing the application for the Yellow Tabien Baan was discussing the same thing with my wife.

Re the questions in other posts about the Kor Ror 2, we were asked for the original Kor Ror 2, the staff went in the back office and came back with a copy of the original.

The copy had our signatures and everything as per the original, but not the original stamp and signature of the Registrar. They must keep this copy on file or electronically, because it was not a rough cover up of the original stamp, which would have left a large white patch on the form. The copy was then stamped with the seal and current date, and signed by the Registrar.

The original Kor Ror 2 was returned to us, so do ensure you get yours back.

The lady who issued the Yellow Tabien Baan told us that draft legislation is ready, awaiting approval, for photo IDs to be issued to holders of Yellow Tabien Baan.

I already have a Thai photo ID, it's called a drivers license!

Bully for you old chap.

I believe what they have in mind is a 'foreigners version' of the Thai ID.

If for example someone applied for a visa extension on the grounds of marriage to a Thai, and all the Thai spouse could produce was a drivers licence, I rather doubt things would progress much beyond that.

Then again, I might be wrong.

How do you update a KR2? I have my original KR2 from 10 years back. My wife went to our local amphur and they hadn't a clue what she was on about. They said you only get a KR2 after you get married and thats it.

We got the same response initially, but when we explained that it was required by Immigration, the officer in charge of the section told the staff to issue it.

Went in to Chaengwattana today to get the Visa extension. Ticket stamped 9.48 a.m. with 4 ahead of us, so we waited about 20 minutes before being called.

Document processing was routine, though the officer did comment favourably on the Kor Ror 2 which we had obtained from the amphur yesterday. I had done my usual pre-extension check on this forum and thanks to the post mentioning that the Kor Ror 2 should be dated within the last 6 months, decided better safe than sorry and got a new one at a cost of 20 baht. That went down very well indeed!

This time I was given a form to sign acknowledging that I understand that for future visa extensions on the grounds of Thai wife, the 400,000 baht needs to be in the bank for 2 months prior to the date of application. The form 2 years ago stated 3 months, so they have now formalised it at 2 months.

By sheer coincidence, this was the 3rd extension in a row to be processed by the same lady, but sadly it will be the last as she retires in September and will not be there for the next application.

Next stop was to get the 'Under Consideration' stamp initialled by the officer-in-charge, which took all of 2 minutes. She too commented favourably on the documents being in order upon seeing the Kor Ror 2 and the photocopy of the bank passbook (updated today).

We were on our way before 10.30 a.m. so we decided to stop by at the amphur and apply for a Yellow Tabien Baan.

Documents required to support the application were;

1) Passport

2) Photocopies of passport - particulars page, visa page and latest visa extension.

3) Original and photocopy of Tabien Baan

4) Photocopy of wife's ID

5) Photocopy of Marriage Certificate.

6) 3 passport size photographs of applicant.

My wife filled in the application form and handled the interview as everything was done in Thai. The interview itself was pretty routine, where I was born, when I first came to Thailand, whether I work or have a business in Thailand, and so on. At the end of the interview, the responses were printed out (in Thai of course) and I signed off after my wife had verified that everything was correct.

The actual issuing of the Yellow Tabien Baan had to be approved by the number 2 district official who was upstairs in a meeting - the lady who handled the application was good enough to call him out so that we would not have to return after lunch!

Once printed out, I was asked to pose for a photo with the staff, holding up my passport in one hand and the Yellow Tabien Baan in the other - I was more than pleased to oblige.

The whole process took about 30 minutes. The lady who issued the Yellow Tabien Baan told us that draft legislation is ready, awaiting approval, for photo IDs to be issued to holders of Yellow Tabien Baan. This of course will have no impact on Visa status, which is a separate issue, but I can think of Police and Banks as a couple of examples where having an official Thai photo ID may be handy. I don't hold my breath for this sort of thing (which gives more opportunity to be thankful for small mercies), but if all this comes to pass, someday having that ID might mean exemption from 90 day reporting, as in reporting only when there is a change. One never knows.....

Simply delightful service today from 2 government departments.

I'm sure the beer this evening will taste exceptionally good.

My appreciation to all members who take the trouble to post updates, and the moderators for ensuring clarity when things get confusing.

Thanks Lopburi 3.

Better safe than sorry I suppose, especially with Immigration.

When I did the extension in Suan Phlu in 2009, I was asked to sign a form acknowledging that I understood that the 400K would need to be the the bank for 3 months prior to any future application(s) for extension on grounds of marriage.

I reported this in this forum at the time.

Subsequently, I noticed other reports here mentioning 2 months, so when I applied for the extension in late March 2010 at Chaeng Wattana, I asked the officer what the current requirement was, and she said 2 months. Got my wife to re-confirm this in Thai.

I'm due for the next application in March 2011, so would be obliged if someone could confirm what the current application of the regulation is - 2 months or 3 months?

I will be making the application at Chaeng Wattana.

Microsoft recommend 1 Gb RAM for Win 7 32 bit and 2 Gb for 64 bit. I'm no expert but I would take these as minimum standards, as with more RAM applications can run faster and multi-tasking goes better too.

MS states limits for Win 7 32 bit at 4Gb RAM and for more than that you would need 64 bit.

How much RAM and how much hard disk space do you need? The simple answer is probably more than you think you do now. Leaving aside cloud computing, you can expect programmes to steadily require more memory to run efficiently, as the tendency is to build in more bells and whistles (and useful stuff) with each new release. Also, your needs might change.

I am keeping in mind you mentioned you want a computer that lasts, so future needs matter. I started out needing to run large Excel spreadsheets and Win XP with 512Mb was good enough. Some years later I started digital photography and even with Photoshop Elements, editing was painfully slow. Now I typically have 2 or 3 large spreadsheets open, 2 browsers (some websites are designed for Explorer, but I prefer Firefox) and a couple of other programmes I use regularly. So I am running Win 7 64 bit and I loaded the desktop with the maximum RAM it has slots for, ie 4 x 2Gb modules. I could have gone for 4 x 4Gb modules, but I didn't and I hope that it was not a mistake. Time will tell.

Like you, I keep my machines for as long as possible and I reckon more 64 bit software and more bells and whistles are a given, so I try to prepare for it.

As for Hard Disks, I have 1Tb in the desktop. I also have a 500Gb external drive that I use to backup the laptop, but I will have to clean out the junk on it - photos and music have a way of accumulating.

Cheers.

I bought a Vaio in 2003 and it is still going strong. Had a hard disk crash a couple of years back so I replaced it, dirt cheap nowadays. No problems besides that, other than its age is showing with new hardware and software designed for the latest processors etc etc.

I have just switched to a desktop because I wanted 2 large screens and a faster processor with more memory, something that better suits my needs today, but I am still using the Vaio on the side for other stuff.

Which reminds me, before I decided to get a new desktop, I looked into the cost of upgrading the RAM of the Vaio - 512Mb module was 10K baht and 1Gb module 20K baht. Stunned silence and then the Sony chap said prices are high because these are older generation memory modules which cost a lot more to make back then (apparently current generation memory modules are a lot cheaper). Whether true or simply jacking up the price because of holding stock of obsolete parts I don't know. Anyway, lesson I learned from that was to do the RAM upgrade at the time of purchase, which is exactly what I did with the desktop.

Cheers.

As advised, I called Immigration yesterday (Tel: 02-141 9889, Menu 1 for English, Menu 2 for Address Reporting) and was asked for details of when I mailed my report, when delivered and reporting due date, as well as for my phone number. I was told they would check and call me back.

Did not hear from them so I called again today and left the same particulars. This time I got a call back and was told that my report was processed on due date and mailed back to me the next day (14th September), and my next report is due 11th December. Unfortunately there was a bit of a struggle telling me what to do next as my Thai is pretty lame, so the lady asked me to call back in a hour and she would arrange for someone more fluent in English to help me.

I did that and the officer told me that they would send me the acknowledgement once again. I was asked for my full address, and told that if I do not receive the acknowledgement in a reasonable time, I should call again. As ThaiRich noted, having proof of posting and sitting quiet is not an option Immigration will accept.

I must say the staff were pretty patient and helpful, and I'm pleased to have this load off my mind.

Thanks opalhort for your helpful advice.

I sent my 90 day report by mail to the Chaengwattana office, report date was 13th September and EMS tracker showed it was delivered on 9th September.

I recall a post mentioning they process reports as of due date, but even allowing for this more than 2 weeks have elapsed, which seems unusual to me.

Does anyone know if returns are taking longer nowadays?

Is there a telephone contact number I could call to check what happened?

I'd appreciate any advice on how to proceed as it is quite a journey from where I stay in Bangkok and it would be helpful if I could settle this without going to the office.

Using TOT in the suburbs of Bangkok, Platinumcyber package whatever the rated speed is. When I last checked 6 months ago, I was getting 2.5 meg download, 280k upload. For overseas websites speed really depends on the time of day and TOT rely on the international 'pipes' over which they have little or no influence. Local download speed was fine, though uploads always sucked.

Unfortunately, we were told it is not possible to just have internet, the phone line and phone service are a must have. Never use the landline for calls.

TOT call center is like any other call center in Thailand that I have dealt with. They take your call but simply cannot tell you when the problem will be fixed - there seems to be no direct communication between the call center and technicians, just input into the system and tech takes care of it when they do.

Early last year I had a spell when the phone system went down so we had no phone or internet for a couple of days. Then internet came back but the phone was out for 5 days over a weekend. Didn't give a toss about the phone, but talking to them about the internet was infuriating. Call center people were nice enough, but clueless about what was happening if at all.

I haven't tried streaming video since last year. Too many interruptions because of buffering. I read in the Bangkok Post Database section that TOT throttles streaming video so that may be why.

I use the internet all day at least 5 days a week. Things seem to be better now in terms of uptime, but stuff still happens - last week I had a brief early morning outage, thankfully fixed in a couple of hours.

In summary, if it is a general problem affecting many users, it will get fixed fairly quickly. For technical issues like frequent dropped connections or being unable to logon to a website, the techies are pretty helpful on the phone and I have even had a couple come over when I complained about slow speed. They could not do much as it was with international sites, but they did at least test and confirm my setup was done correctly.

Heaven forbid that you be the only one with a physical problem like line outage. You get attended to when they have nothing more important to attend to.

BTW I did try to have TRUE Internet installed as a backup system. Our locality is all TOT phone system. When we called TRUE call center, they said they would check and revert in 2-3 days as to whether it would be possible to connect us. Again, we would have to sign on for the phone also, no way just internet. They called back 2 days later to say sorry, not possible to serve our area. A couple of months later they sent a sales agent to hawk TRUE internet in our moo ban. By then I had decided on an iPhone as backup. Impossibly slow but never mind if a tree falls on the phone line, as long as I am near a cell tower I can connect. It'll do for emergencies.

Update on this.

I received the item today. There was no customs duty levied on the software.

A couple of general points of interest:-

1) Package was certified as meeting U.S. regulations on export of software, ie all done by the book.

2) Declared value was USD10, a fraction of the purchase price. I understand that insurance only covers cost of physical replacement, ie CDs and manuals. As loss or damage does not involve loss of intellectual property, only physical media, there is no cover for full purchase price.

That said, whenever I order DVDs (eg golf instruction, Ryder Cup, etc), customs duty is levied. I suppose the difference is this was software, the other stuff gets classified under entertainment items or some such. Just a guess as I really know nothing about customs tariffs, other than feeling it when I get clobbered.

Can't you buy a downloadable copy?

Much simpler.

Unfortunately no. Would have much preferred to download but vendor did not provide the option.