.png.3b3332cc2256ad0edbc2fe9404feeef0.png)
jfchandler
-
Posts
6,978 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Forums
Downloads
Quizzes
Posts posted by jfchandler
-
-
I can only guess, the Song Kran holiday/demonstrations and then the two additional, unexpected government-declared holiday days Thurs and Fri may have put them off their implementation schedule....
-
jfc - are you sure that you have a debit card and not a credit card ? I have UK HSBC cards and was recently charged GBP 6.00 on a GBP 300 ATM withdrawal via credit card i.e. 2%. I was also charged GBP 2.00 (I guess a minimum charge) on a GBP 50.00 ATM withdrawal in KL.
Chaimai, I have an HSBC ATM/check card (not credit) that has the MC logo on it. I can't speak to the HSBC fees situation for UK accounts, and on whether they are the same or different from in the U.S.... But here is the language from the HSBC web site re U.S.-based HSBC accounts....
Foreign Transaction Reminder**If you effect a transaction with your Debit MasterCard®, ATM card or your MasterCard® or Visa® Credit Card in a currency other than U.S. dollars or effect a transaction in U.S. dollars outside the United States, MasterCard International Incorporated or Visa as applicable ("Card Association") will convert the transaction into a U.S. dollar amount. A currency conversion will occur even if the transaction is made in U.S. dollars. Card Associations will act in accordance with the operating regulations or foreign currency conversion procedures then in effect. Currently the currency conversion rate used to determine the transaction amount in U.S. dollars for such transactions is either a government-mandated rate or a wholesale rate determined by Card Associations for the processing cycle in which the transaction is processed, and is further increased by a percentage established from time to time by us (currently 3%). The currency conversion rate used by Card Associations on the processing date may differ from the rate that would have been used on the transaction date or cardholder statement posting date.
** Foreign Transaction charges do not apply to Premier [meaning you have a balance with them of at least $100,000 U.S.] credit or debit cards.
You can read that language above as meaning that HSBC passes along VISA and MC's own 1% foreign transaction fees, and then adds another 3% charge of their own on top of the 1%. Now, they don't even call those "fees", but instead, they show it as, "Foreign Transaction Reminder."
They also have a $1.50 per transaction fee for using non-HSBC ATM machines, depending on the type of account you have with them. Regular checking and savings account holders pay that fee. Their online savings, online payment and Premier account holders do not.
-
I believe, the correct terms are.... Tom for the masculine lesbian...and Dee for the feminine lesbian.
You wouldn't have two Toms together as GF, generally speaking. But I'd be OK going together with two Dee's.....
No machettes...please!
-
Nobody's mentioned Jeff Garcia coming to the Silver and Black, and giving JaMarcus a run for his money, or at least, an insurance policy if he fails to deliver.... GO RAIDERS.....
-
Thus far, the most comfortable, best experience, best value I've had -- for a regular movie seat/ticket -- has been at the SFX Cinema at the Emporium on Sukhumvit Road near Soi 24.
As of Sept. 2008, their standard ticket prices are 140b for a regular seat, but 120b Monday to Wednesday before 8:30 pm, and 80 baht Monday to Wednesday after 8:30 pm. The latter two early week ticket options strike me as a very good deal.
Bummer... just saw a movie this week at the SFX Cinema at The Emporium, and they seem to have abolished their prior 80 baht per ticket special offered Mon to Weds. evenings. Now just the regular 120 baht tickets Monday to Wednesday and regular 140 baht tickets Thursday to Sunday and holidays.
They're also offering higher priced digital "D2K" tickets and screenings now. But I'm embarrassed to admit, I don't know what "D2K" is, didn't feel inclined to try asking the Thai staff there, and wasn't too interested in paying 250 baht per ticket to find out.
-
I'm not sure I'd rate Outback Steakhouse on the second floor of Siam Discovery as the best steakhouse in BKK, but they certainly do have some decent (albeit a bit pricey) offerings.
Went there for lunch the other day for the first time, and had to try their hamburger, which was pretty good and reviewed elsewhere here on Thai Visa. So steak will have to wait for another visit... But did come away with some shots of their menu that will give you a good idea of their offerings and prices, as follows.
-
Stopped by the Outback Steakhouse on the second floor of Siam Discovery the other day for the first time, and had to try their 299 baht Mad Max burger and fries. For an American style hamburger, it was pretty darned good, and the beef patty was not only generously thick and tasty, but also probably the largest I've eaten yet in Bangkok.
The Mad Max comes topped with two slices of good bacon strips, two slices of melted American cheese, pickles, onion, lettuce, tomato and mayonaise. Added mustard by request. Nice order of hot, crisp, good french fries on the side, and a pretty tiny cup of average cole slaw. The menu doesn't say the weight of the single burger patty, but as the photos attest, it was big. And it arrived cooked exactly to order (requested and delivered medium rare).
Service was very attentive and good, and they offer a standard menu item of 69 baht for refillable soft drinks, coffee or tea. Only minor quibble is all their menu prices are before their mandatory 10% service charge and the 7% VAT that they add on, meaning everything is actually about 17% higher than the menu price. So the combined price of the Mad Max Burger and an unlimited soft drink (all in with tax) was about 430 baht.
Outback also offers another (presumably smaller) of their burgers, the Outbacker, on their Lunch Specials Menu, which is available Mon.-Fri. from 11:30 am to 2:30 p.m. (except on holidays). The regular burger for 259 baht++ or the cheeseburger for 279 baht++ comes on the lunch specials menu along with a cup of soup, a loaf of their bread, and your choice of a refillable soft drink. (The 259/279 baht amounts also are the price for the Outbacker burger alone on their regular non-lunchtime menu.) So with tax, the 279 baht lunch special cheeseburger set totals at about 327 baht.
All in all, I'd certainly go back for their burgers again, especially if I could hit the weekday lunch special offering.
-
GF introduced me lately to the Waraporn Salapao chain, which offers Thai versions of Chinese steamed dough buns (bao) filled with savory and sweet fillings. Pretty tasty fare at 18 baht per bun at Waraporn Salapao, which made BK Magazine's list of 100 favorite dishes to eat last year.
Locations on the ground floor of MBK (counter next to Tops market), 7th floor of Central World, a sit-down shop a block down the street from Phyathai II Hospital, and elsewhere. Used to have a location at Siam Paragon, but that's now departed.
Bao flavors include ground pork, roast BBQ pork, mixed vegetables, green pork curry, roast duck with ground pork, cream, black bean with sweet pumpkin, taro with gingko, and lotus paste with salted egg. Menu also includes hot and cold drinks, meat-rice dishes and some shumai dimsums.
They have a Thai language only web site here.
-
Hey...it's not just sleeping and eating...
You forgot to add... Thai television... Thai music/musicians... what's up with the Thai family/relatives... and occasionally... sex....
-
Thanks, TheCatMan, for posting the list of bank members of the TBA earlier in the thread, on page 2... I had missed it there...
It looks like the list is pretty complete.....not too many (if any) Thai banks missing there...
Bangkok Bank
Krung Thai Bank
Bank Of Ayudhya
Kasikorn Bank
Thai Military Bank
Siam Commercial Bank
Standard Chartered Bank
Siam City Bank
BankThai
UOB Bank
Thanachart Bank
Tisco Bank
Land And Houses Retail Bank
ACL Bank
Kaitnakin Bank
Thai Credit Retail Bank
I have US based accounts with HSBC, so I have their ATM card and have used it at their single Silom area branch in the past. Last time, I believe they were assessing a 3% international surcharge on ATM withdrawals, but no flat fee. They also seemed to have a not particularly good exchange rate compared to others.
But just based on the fee, a 3% fee would be better than a flat 150 baht fee at at amount up to 5,000 baht (which would be break-even, if I did my math correctly). Assuming, the exchange rates in both alternatives would be the same.
As I mentioned earlier, the coming pretty much nationwide imposition of the ATM fee by Thai banks makes appealing either 1) trying the in-branch card-based withdrawal approach (though we don't know if they will try to add the fee to those withdrawals yet), or 2) having a U.S. based account and card that reimburses ALL ATM fees, regardless of amount or location.
-
This may be an unlikely situation, but it's worth mentioning...
I noticed in the Thanachart Bank notice re the fee that the banks assessing it will be members of the Thai Bank(ers) Assn....
So it made me wonder, are any of the various Thai banks that we use perhaps NOT MEMBERS of the TBA and thus not going to be assessing the new 150 baht fee?????
-
I believe I saw notice of the fee on the BKK Bank web site the other day...
And, I agree with the prior poster... My habit in the past has always been to make smaller amount withdrawals from ATMs, but on a more frequent basis. 1 reason: it's a way of not having to carry too much cash around in one's wallet, especially when ATMs are onmipresent in BKK. 2 reason: I found that for me, carrying smaller amounts of cash tends to help me budget/control my spending, whereas walking around with wads of cash in my wallet tends to have the opposite effect.
Now, I may have to change that habit, and make a large withdrawal or two each month, and then probably keep the extra cash at home, instead of carrying it around.
However, another alternative is I'm looking at opening a new U.S. bank rewards checking account that supposedly reimburses ALL ATM fees worthwide, without limit, per month. So if the new fee gets reported by the Thai banks as a separate fee from the actual withdrawals, then I should be covered when I use that account's card. But if the Thai banks don't separate out the new fee, then it likely will be more complicated trying to get reimbursed for those.
-
I think the comment above about the towns upcountry typically having a major street where most of the water soaking occurs is correct. I found that in past years in both Khon Kaen and Ubon, although I also saw some of it occurring with passing motorists out on the highways...
As for farangs vs thais, this week, I was walking down my soi in BKK about lunchtime on my way to a meeting, and a few folks, Thai and farang, were out playing water at that hour. As I was walking in work clothes, two 8 or 9-year-oldish Thai girls approached me with plastic bowls of water.
Not wanting to get soaked, I held out my hands to the girls, with the notion that they'd pour the water over my hands, as in the custom with that gesture. The first girl got the message and poured the water on my hands. The second girl started to do the same, and then turned to try to pour the rest of the water over my chest as I backed away. She got me a bit, but not too much....
There also were some farangs drinking at a bar on the soi with the plastic water guns. As I walked past them, I gestured, NO NO... and they obliged, not shooting at me. But that was noontime. Had it been later in the day, and more beers or whiskeys down the pipe, I'm sure I wouldn't have stood a chance.
As for my Thai GF, who's been returning from work in the late afternoons this week, she made it clear to me she doesn't want to get soaked with water at all. She's no party pooper, for sure, but apparently, she's not too excited about getting soaked with cold water while wearing her regular clothes when we're going in or out from home. I can't blame her.
There should be an accepted/understood way for folks who want to stay dry to do so...without having to stay indoors for 3-5 days, or resort to taking sedan taxis in and out of their sois.
-
I think the key question now is... WHAT'S NEXT???
Seems unlikely the Red Shirts are simply going to give up/stand down... This chapter may have ended, but what will the next one be?
Anyone think Thaksin will surrender and give up? Hardly likely....
More likely... just an intermission...not a finale....
-
There's a certain irony here, that the rotating Google ads for this thread sometimes show one for "industrial strength water guns" from the UK....
Only question is...who would be buying them? The Thai police/army....or Song Kran revelers???
-
A total of 74 injured in crackdown on red shirts
The National Emergency Medical Service Institute's deputy secretary general, Dr Prachakvit Lebnak reported Monday that a total of 74 people were injured from the red-shirt protest crackdown since eraly morning until 14.00.
Of the injured, 71 were men and 3 were women.
The injured are admitted at Rajvithi Hospital, War Vataran Hospital, Phra Mongkut Hospital and Wachira Payabal Hospital.
Rajvithi Hospital also prepared 100 hospital beds to support those who might be injured from the situation.
Twenty-four people were to remain in hospitals for further treatments.
-- The Nation, Monday afternoon
-
Troops clear Din Daeng intersection
By: bangkokpost.com
Published: 13/04/2009 at 01:58 PM
Soldiers chased red-shirt protesters away from Din Daeng intersection after they tried to block the road by setting a bus on fire in Bangkok early on Monday afternoon. The protesters regrouped at nearby Victory Monument.
A combination of water cannon from the street and expressway overhead, teargas and a rolling volley of warning shots fired high into the air as the troops moved forward sent the red mob fleeing from the intersection towards Victory Monument.
One soldier was injured during the clash.
The burning bus was quickly extinguished by a water cannon mounted on a fire engine as the troops moved in.
An LPG tanker highjacked earlier by the protesters and driven to the Din Daeng area was found parked nearby King Power headquarters.
When inspected, it was found the tank contained only vapour. The protesters had earlier parked it near an apartment building and intimidated troops by periodically opening the valve to let gas from the tank. This cause the hurried evacuation of residents from a block of the Din Daeng flats.
Scattered groups of red-shirted protesters elsewhere in inner Bangkok continued to burn car tyres and block roads.
-
Traffic around Victory Monument appears returning to normal
Traffic around the Victory Monument on Monday at 2.20pm seemed to return to normal after soldiers managed to disperse red shirted protesters.
TV footage showed that the roads around the monument which was previously turned into a battlefield by the protesters who blocked the roads by the buses they seized. They set fire on the buses. They even drived gas truck along a road near by.
The situation seemed to return to normal after full-gear soliders fired warning shots into the sky and sprayed water on the protesters. They were seen running away and left the buses behind.
-- The Nation, 2:30 pm Monday
-
Supreme commander chairs urgent meeting of armed forces and security agencies
Supreme Commander Songkitti Chakkrabat calls a meeting of all forces and national security agencies at 14.00 at the Thai Army Headquarters to discuss about the situation.
This was after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had assigned the emergency-tackling command to be in charge of Bangkok and five vicinity provinces, which are under the Emergency Law. The order emphasized prohibition of all road ball road blockage.
Suchon submit petition seeking His Majesty's intervention
Former Senate speaker Suchon Chaleekrua led a group of former senators to file a petition, seeking His Majesty's intervention to end the political violence.
He filed the petition at the Royal Household Bureau to Intharachan Buraphan, deputy secretary-general of the bureau.
Senate speaker convenes urgent Senate meeting 10 am Tuesday
Senate Speaker Prasopsuk Bundej called an urgent Senate meeting at the Senate Secretariat at 10 am Tuesday to discuss the political situation.
Prasopbsuk said he saw that the government used too excessive force in suppressing the protests.
-- The Nation, Monday afternoon
-
Thick smoke seen at Victory Monument
At 13.30pm, thick smoke was spotted at the Victory Monument.
Red-shirted protesters reportedly set tire rubbers on fire just opposite the Rajvithi Hospital and some protesters also drove a car over a fiberglass police statue near the monument. Police also asked people to get out of the pedestrian bridges around the monument but the skytrain station was not closed yet.
The Nation, Monday afternoon
-
No problems, apart from the ordinary, around Nana and Chidlom....
Skytrain and MRT have been running, though the Victory Monument area has had its problems today.
Siam Paragon and various Central Department stores, including Chidlom, closed thru Wednesday.
Taxis and buses are running, but in some areas, they are being used to block streets by protestors.
-
As of noon time on Monday, there's a lot of protest activity going on in BKK again, and reports of some scattered shootings of troops and demonstrators at protest sites. Reports of lots of intersections blocked by either protestors or troops, particularly in the areas around major government locations.
Today, Siam Paragon and a number of the Central Department store complexes (but not all) announced they will remain closed thru Wednesday. No reports of anything occurring with the airport.
That said, most of BKK seems relatively quiet, with many folks out of town for Song Kran...
BKK's a big city, and nothing much happening at all in the lower mid Sukhumvit touristy areas.
But, things are fluid and unpredictable...
-
4 soldiers shot by protesters: PM
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva addresses on TV, denying death report in the morning. He added that 23 soldiers and 47 protesters were injured. Four soldiers suffered bullet wounds.
Rajvithi Hospital director insists no protester killed
The director of Rajvithi Hospital insisted Monday that no protester was killed during the crackdown at the Din Daeng Intersection early Monday.
Warunee Jinarat, the director, said a protester, named Sawai, 40, was seriously injured but doctors had saved his life.
Sawai was shot at his left chest and his main vein was cut but doctors managed to mend it and save his life.
Abhisit urges protesters to go home
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva went on TV live at 11:45 am, urging protesters to go home so that the political situation could improve.
He said the government would rush to ease the tensions.
He said only peaceful rallies would be allowed.
He called on people to cooperate by filing information. He also told people to be confident that the government is trying to restore order as soon as possible.
-- The Nation
-
Traffic closed at following areas, intersections
1 Inbound Vibhavadi blocked by 50 protesters and 10 taxis
2 Our Lady Intersection blocked by protesters
3 Intersection between Din Daeng and Victory Monument blocked by 50 protesters
4 Rajprarop Road heading to Din Daeng
5 Si Ayutthaya Intersection blocked by 200 protesters, using 2 buses and 1 truck
6 Urupong Intersection closed by 100 protesters using metal barricades
7 Rajvithi Road in front of Children's Hospital blocked by protesters
8 Inbound Phaholyothin near Victory Monument tollgate blocked by protesters
9 Phayathai Road in front of Rajvithi Road blocked by protesters, using buses and taxis
10 Roads around Government House closed by some 5,000 protesters
11 Royal Plaza blocked by 100 protesters using 1 one and 3 pick-up trucks
12 Rajvithi Intersection closed by police and soldiers
13 Upai Intersection closed by police and troops
14 Saowanee Intersection closed by police and troops
15 Wat Benjamabophit Intersection closed by police and troops
16 Phan Fah intersection blocked by protesters
17 Larn Luang Intersection blocked by protesters
18 Chor Por Ror Intersection blocked by protesters
19 Yommaraj Intersection blocked by 50 protesters and a bus
20 Thevakum Intersection blocked by protesters and metal barricades
21 Wang Daeng Intersection closed by troops
22 Sisao Theves Intersection closed by troops
23 Dindaeng Gateway under control of troops
-- The Nation, about 11:30 am
Thai Banks To Start Charging For Atm Withdrawals ...
in Jobs, Economy, Banking, Business, Investments
Posted
I wouldn't hold out great hope... but....
Here is the full text of the announcement on the BKK Bank web site.
I made a withdrawal this morning (Sat., 4/18) from a BKK Bank ATM at On Nut using my U.S. based bank ATM card. No mention of the fee on the ATM screen. No listing of any fee on my receipt. And got a normal 35.06 baht rate for my withdrawal.