TallGuyJohninBKK

So you're expecting that somehow the service/website should be operating and performing its services for free to everyone, with no means of paying for their support staff, tech expenses, etc???

Similar story for me with ThaiFriendly. That site just served as the initial means for us to know about each other. Courted in person for months. Then lived together for two years. And now married for 8 years and counting beyond that. My wife was working as a school librarian at the time, and was and is as real and legitimate as anyone's going to find. There are success stories out there. And were it not for the dating site, we most certainly never would have met, as we were living in different cities and traveling in entirely different circles at the time. So I'm a satisfied ex-customer.

Stat, you mentioned above planning to use a credit card (cc) above as opposed to a debit card. So, just be aware and for others reading here, the 220b Thai ATM fee and the prospect of your home card issuer charging a foreign currency conversion fee on the use of your card abroad aren't the only fees to be aware of. When you plan to use a home country credit card in Thailand for a so-called "counter withdrawal," people also need to be aware that a lot of credit card companies also have a separate so-called "cash advance" fee charged against the credit card anytime you use it anywhere (domestic or internationally) to obtain a cash advance. (That type of fee, by comparison, doesn't typically apply to debit card use, because it's your own funds you're withdrawing in those instances). For a lot of U.S. credit cards, the typical cash advance fees (whether using the credit card to withdraw funds from an ATM or do a so-called bank counter withdrawal) often can be even higher than the typical foreign currency conversion charges. Lately, I've seen credit card cash advance fees of up to $10 minimum (for any amount) or 5% of the advance, whichever is greater. And a 5% surcharge on a credit card cash advance would make it a pretty darned expensive advance. So, when treading into such waters, it's always good to be cognizant of all the different kinds of fees that can come into play. Some credit cards may not have either a foreign currency fee OR any cash advance fees on their use. I have some of those. But I'd say that vast majority of credit cards, at least among those issued in the U.S., have one or the other or both, especially those issued by the various mega banks/finance companies.

There's some good photos and background on her here: https://thesmartlocal.com/thailand/miss-universe-thailand-2021/

Personally, I was more intrigued by this runner-up, who as usual here, had no identifying caption info on the photo posted with the OP Thai news report... ????

I'd agree the OP photo of her isn't particularly flattering, at least to my eye... But there are some other photos and videos of her out there that look better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjRqlhFgukQ https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianHalves/comments/pm4ohz/anchilee_scottkemmis/

I've been a big buyer of cauliflower and broccoli in Thailand in recent years for personal consumption at home in BKK, so I can offer some personal data points. At the high end, Central Food Hall was selling imported Aussie broccoli lately for about 300b per kilo. At the low end, I've seen Foodland selling imported broccoli from China for around 100b per kilo, and Thai grown cauliflower for somewhat less than that. For me personally, because of pesticide residues and related issues, I pretty much avoid vegetables imported from China and am pretty careful in any Thai veggies I buy, mainly sticking to a few that don't typically have a lot of pesticide residues, according to past testing here, like cucumbers. For broccoli and cauliflower, I was buying frozen 500g bags of Waitrose brand of both veggies imported from the UK that Central typically was selling for between 129 and 159b. But then Central ran into COVID related supply chain issues, the Waitrose cauliflower disappeared, and they ended up finding a decent replacement for the frozen broccoli florets with a brand imported from Spain. Yes, the frozen prices are high, but that's offset somewhat by the fact the contents are exclusively florets, so there's no waste, stems, leaves, etc. Hopefully, the Waitrose and Spanish brands Central are selling are a better health bet than the China imported and locally Thai produced versions.

Let's see... which sounds more risky from a COVID perspective? 10-12+ hours on a long-haul interprovincial bus trip with Thais who probably have not for the most part been fully vaccinated or even tested (because most of Thailand thus far still has not been fully vaccinated -- less than 40% overall nationwide at this point)? vs One hour on a domestic flight with Thais who, by virtue of their economic position (being able to fly) probably are somewhat more likely as a group overall to have been vaccinated, and will have been required to show vaccination status and/or COVID test results at a lot of the outbound destination cities? (See the ThaiAir domestic flight COVID testing and vaccinations rules graphic posted above by @lucky2008) PS - the jets also supposedly have HEPA air filtration systems for cabin air, unlike the buses, though I'm not sure how much difference that's going to make if an infected person is sitting next to you, or very close by. But it's certainly better than nothing.

But do Thai bank customers know the score? In my home country, there is a national law that provides very clear and comprehensive protection against bank card fraud and theft. And the card holder is NOT presumed responsible, as long as the fraud/theft is reported to the bank in a timely manner. And even VISA and MC in some countries, including mine, advertise "zero fraud liability" for cardholders as card network policies. In Thailand, in the past with individual bank card fraud/theft cases, Thai banks have often taken the position (as cited in past threads here) that card holders are responsible for any fraud or theft that occurs prior to the cardholder reporting the issue to their bank. Bank reps also have responded to reported theft claims by blaming the cardholder's spouse or other family members as being responsible. And AFAIK, the advertised VISA and MC "zero fraud liability" policies have never applied for Thailand-issued bank cards. If Thailand has any clear national consumer protection law that requires Thai banks to timely reimburse customers in the case of reported bank card fraud or theft, I've never seen it or heard of it.

The government's Deposit Protection law is designed to protect depositors up to the specific limit in the event a Thai commercial bank totally fails/goes out of business. However, the DPA scheme does absolutely nothing and provides zero protection for anything to do with financial theft, fraud, etc., regardless of who the stealing/thieving party might be.

Thanks for that! FWIW, my wife has an incoming domestic flight to BKK at the end of this month via Nok Air... After reading the news report here, I've been bugging her to check with the airline about what they will or won't require both upon check-in and also upon her ultimate arrival to Don Mueang. This week, the airline called her to reschedule the time of her flight, and my wife said she checked with them then about the COVID rules. She says Nok Air told her no COVID testing or vaccination proof required from her flight originating in the Northeast and arriving to Bangkok. So... what the heck gives with the original OP news report in this thread???

Here's a link to my BKK CW retirement extension trip report thread from last month for 2021: fyi, AFAIK, the original 3 misc add-on forms have been in use at BKK CW for some years.... they're not new. But the fourth added form is a relatively recent addition.

AFAIK, that place is basically a nightclub kind of place that serves Korean food. But the Sukhumvit Plaza building (little Koreatown) where XOXO is located is hardly Nana Plaza or Soi Cowboy...

This is the main local Koreatown complex there. Don't see any farang faces in the photo accompany the OP... And I'd guess, given the location, there likely weren't any or many farangs there for this one. BTW, that's NOT any kind of "red light district" location.

Interesting juxtaposition of info in the article you linked above... This: "adding that commercial banks regularly check their security systems to screen for suspicious transactions." vs. This: "According to the “Drama-addict” Facebook page, as many as 40,000 bank customers may have been affected by what they suspect is the work of hackers." From all the reports of bank fraud involving customers being mentioned here, it doesn't sound like the banks' supposed screening has been doing a very good job!

Thanks for the info, Lopburi. That's exactly what happened to me last year at BKK CW... There seem to be conflicting reports here on the forum lately of whether people are or are not being asked to provide the two forms as part of extension applications. I've been trying to figure out what way the prevailing winds are blowing on this one. So every time someone updates their experience with this, it's a useful data point.

Any chance you could post the pertinent QR code for Bangkok via reply here? I've got a wife making a return flight to BKK soon, and am struggling to figure out the requirements.

I didn't include either my most recent 90-day reporting receipt OR my one and only TM30 filing in my retirement extension packet at BKK CW last year in fall 2020, and was asked for both by the IO handling my application. (Fortunately, I had both with me at the time, so was able to provide them upon request.) This year, I included both in my paperwork packet at BKK CW and both were accepted by this year's IO and not returned to me/kicked back. In all my years living here, I've always had a rental lease that I could provide if required. But as best as I can recall, have never yet been asked to show a lease at BKK CW as part of my annual extension renewals -- though I always bring a copy with me just in case. Next year, I suppose, I'll go halfway and bring the 90-day and TM30 slips along with me, but not include them in the packet I submit, and see if the officer asks for them again.... You just never know what they might be up to. At a minimum, best to be prepared for the worst.

I didn't really notice anything "new" about the letter format I received this year in mid-September from Krungsri Bank in BKK. But here it is (and it was accepted without comment or even much scrutiny by BKK CW Immigration. (The places where I whited out personal details I've noted on the letter with underline markings). I have the impression, each of the major banks have their own format for producing such letters. They don't seem to be uniform among the different banking companies. For example, @ThailandRyan KBank letter above is in Thai, and mine from Krungsri is in EN, and they don't appear to have the same format. I asked Krungsri this year whether they should produce the letter in TH or EN, and after checking with their head office, their response to me was English.... Who knows!!!

Just for the record, my retirement extensions at CW have been based on an original B visa... not an O or O-A... But I don't know that that difference has any significance in regards to the TM30 issue.

I'd be happy if BKK CW itself would ever come up with a publicly available list of exactly what documents they want for retirement and marriage extensions. But in more than a decade living here, I've never seen such a list issued by BKK CW, although I do know other Immigration offices in other cities have produced their own such public lists from time to time.

Such groups generally are corporate creations of the Korean (and similarly Japanese) music industries. For the most part, they're pretty/handsome faces / fashionistas that can, if need be, be substituted with others having similar looks / styles. AFAIK, actual composing / writing / playing talent isn't much required of these folks. But looking good on music videos is. So what kinds of actual talents they have might be a subject for some debate. "They returned last year with their Square Up EP, and are set to bring their In Your Area tour around the world this year ...All of the songs on Square Up were written by YG Entertainment’s in-house producer Teddy Park in collaboration with various songwriters." https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/k-town/8465027/blackpink-things-to-know

That's what I'm planning to do, as a third private purchase dose following two original AZ ones under the government program. From all indications in the private hospital/Moderna world, that's perfectly acceptable. I originally registered with the private hospital for, and then later prepaid for, a single Moderna dose as a booster. But the chart the hospital sent me suggested I might/should wait 6 months after my 2nd AZ dose before getting the Moderna booster.

I tried that back at a private hospital in BKK a couple months back, after I had received my first AZ vaccine via the government's program, and was hoping to get the second shot as a Pfizer vaccine. At the time a couple months back, I got registered and went thru all the preliminaries at the private hospital for the second shot being Pfizer. But just before the last stop to actually get the shot, I had to sit down with a guy hooked up to a computer terminal who took my passport number and promptly pronounced that I could NOT get a Pfizer shot because I'd already received one AZ shot, and would have to wait for the 2nd dose of AZ. Now, since then, they supposedly have laid out plans to allow for mixed doses here in Thailand, including for farangs. But just how and if that's really being implemented, I've lost track of the ability to keep up with that one, other than for Sinovac recipients where they've clearly gone to 2nd doses and booster shots of AZ or other.

Anything about Google Pay or Samsung Pay here, as vehicles for making local payments?