Utley

Not in Kansas anymore - shoes/sandals left directly in front of a doorway and motorbikes parked directly in front of a store's entryway making it difficult to enter or leave. Why oh why can't they put them to one side or the other?

"The move has raised an alarm bell among Thai pig raisers, as the US government subsidises its farmers to strengthen their export competitiveness, which means they can impose lower retail prices than local producers in overseas markets are able to do."

"Americans have been dying in droves from all the ractopamine and carbadox in their pork products /sarc."

To add some credibility to your statements, could you indicate the source(s) of your information please so we can read for ourselves.

Or, as the Thais say "go hoak"!

The model I purchased is the 6602; I didn't even know there was a 6603.

I am still in the exploring/experimental stage but so far so good. Some things are not as intuitive as a desktop PC like - in Google Search, how do you get the keyboard to appear? What is "Sony Car" and why do I have such a hard time getting out of it? That sort of thing.

I'll let you know at the end of the day how things are progressing.

I went back to my local Jaymart and they still don't have the Xperia Z but a sales girl there said that she thought she saw one at Power Buy. Yes, sure enough Power Buy does have the Xperia Z - hot damn!!!!

It is beyond my comprehension however why a discount store would have a new Sony product before a Sony Store has one. Oh well, my MBA is in finance, not marketing.

I have been looking for something like this; where might it be available?

I think this model is generally available - I am almost certain I have seen it at Jaymart for 20,900. It could be challenging to source as it is one of the few LTE phones which currently works with TrueMove H 4G/LTE (other band 1 models need new basebands, or firmware updates).

I have also checked my local Jaymart to no avail. If this Sony model is available in Thailand, why wouldn't a Sony Store have it?

A woman with a large derriere; a total buz kill.

Does anyone know when the Sony Xperia Z will be available in Thailand? I checked two Sony Stores over the last two months; they had mock-ups of the Xperia Z but didn't know when they would be getting the real thing. I see that Lazada has it available online but I would be more comfortable buying from a brick and mortar source.

This is one example of why you need not worry about the baht gaining too much strength against major foreign currencies. It is only a matter of time before the bubble bursts.

According to the Heritage Foundation's 2013 economic report on Thailand, the country had only 0.1% growth in GDP last year and averaged 2.6% over the last five years. Not exactly the stunning figures published by the Thai Government. The bubble will burst, just be patient.

I like the one with the dark hair and pretty smile.

I really don't think that forcing expats to purchase medical insurance would accomplish anything as the insurers would simply exclude all pre-existing conditions. That leaves little else to be covered in most cases.

Show some respect. Use your head. You are dealing with Thai employees at the Embassy more than likely. I would never walk into a Canadian Embassy in shorts and sandals. This is Thailand not America.

Actually, not true. Each Embassy is technical sovereign territory of its country. In the American Citizens services section nobody gives a toss, Thai employees included.

I thought so too until I read recently that an embassy being sovereign territory of it's county is a myth (technically). The grounds still belong to the host country - it's just that the host country has sworn to protect the grounds as if it were sovereign territory. This international convention works everywhere except of course in Iran.

It isn't the overall size of the steak that is important - it's the thickness. Why would anyone want to waste his time eating a steak that is only 1/2" thick?

I don't know if this will help you but I use the 3G service from TOT. They set up an antenna next to our house with a small receiver on top then ran a cable into my office. I have it connected to a wifi router. It is always on, it costs me less than 1,000 baht per month, I get a little over 1 MB/S download speeds (mega byte not mega bit) and additional computers on the home network don't seem to slow it down noticeably.

That seems to be just what I need. How did you go about getting it set up, was it a pain?

Contact your local TOT office and ask them about their 3G service. We live in the provinces and I believe that the Thai Govt. gives TOT incentives to get the Internet to people in rural areas. They set up our antenna at no charge; there are 30 households on our TOT WAN. I couldn't be happier with the service.

Steak BKK, Only the NY Steakhouse...

Gaucho's is not bad food - service is total crap..... NY has the best steaks and the best service full stop.

Are you talking about the NY Steakhouse restaurant in the JW Marriott Hotel?

I don't know if this will help you but I use the 3G service from TOT. They set up an antenna next to our house with a small receiver on top then ran a cable into my office. I have it connected to a wifi router. It is always on, it costs me less than 1,000 baht per month, I get a little over 1 MB/S download speeds (mega byte not mega bit) and additional computers on the home network don't seem to slow it down noticeably.

I used an iMobile for several years with no problem until I lost it about a month ago. I replaced it with a very basic Nokia for 800 baht and have had no problems.

The Thai bank that you used set the lower limit to protect themselves. Once they get to know and trust you, they will raise the limit to match your U.S. bank.

We have been discussing the use of U.S. bank debit cards to withdraw cash at Thai bank teller windows for several weeks now on this forum: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/632460-bangkok-bank-again/

I would think that the defense attorneys for Comstrac would be the ones inviting the Thai authorities to testify in the British courts that the GT200 and Alpha 6 bomb detectors do work and are not a scam - as the Thai authorities have already gone on record stating as much.

My wife buys hers at Makro.

I didn't know Bangkok Bank was so behind the times.I was going to use them for my social security payments,but I don't think so now.

I checked yesterday while in Bangkok; the New York branch of Bangkok Bank can be used to accept direct deposits from the U.S. Treasury but nothing else - and I mean that literally. If you wish to use Bangkok Bank for all your banking in Thailand then you will need two accounts; one with your local branch and one with their N.Y. branch. When your monthly benefit payment arrives in your N.Y. branch account you will have to withdraw those funds physically at your local Bangkok Bank branch and then deposit the funds while still at the window into your local Bangkok Bank account; and they will charge you a foreign exchange transfer fee. Or of course you could go to another bank to deposit your funds.

You can have your funds deposited into your U.S. bank account and use your U.S. bank debit card to perform a "bank to bank" transfer - which is free - obtaining the cash at the teller window of your local Thai bank. Then deposit the funds into your local Thai bank account while still at the window (K Bank for instance). Just be aware that not all Thai banks are equipped and/or have the staff knowledge to perform a bank to bank transfer. I use Bangkok Bank for that purpose; I would assume that a large branch of K Bank could do the same.

I asked the Thai customer service person at Bangkok Bank why I should use the Bangkok Bank N.Y. branch to obtain funds and subject myself to an exchange fee when a bank to bank transfer using my U.S. debit card is free. She of course did not have or just would not answer the question.

FYI - a bank to bank transfer using your U.S. debit card requires the card, your passport and the amount of cash you desire (within your withdrawal limits of course).

You do not open an account with the Bangkok Bank "New York" branch; you only use their ACH "routing number" along with your "in-Thailand" Bangkok Bank account number. Same process used when you use ACH to transfer money from a U.S. bank to your Bangkok Bank account.

The NY branch is only a commercial bank; not a retail bank for the common joe on the street. Basically, the money just flows through the NY branch which has a ACH routing number to your in-Thailand branch account. Also sounds like you are talking about a "Direct Deposit" account with Bangkok Bank which they do require for U.S. govt pensions such as social security, military retirement, etc. Such an account complies with U.S. law which is attempting to minimize those cases where a pensioner dies, nobody notifies the U.S. govt sending the monthly pension of the pensioners death which would usually stop the pension, and the money continues to flow-in. And if the account was a joint account (which it can't be) the joint account owner like maybe the spouse might not notify the U.S. govt, continue to receive, withdraw, and spend the pensioner's pension illegally. Yeap, it happens. Yea, yea, I know a U.S. govt pension can flow to a U.S. joint account, but Thailand is not the U.S. With a Bangkok Bank Direct Deposit account it can only be in your name with no ATM access or ibanking transfer capability...you can view the account on ibanking but you just can't transfer money out of it. Here's Bangkok Bank's webpage on Direct Deposit account setup...Link....and remember you will first need an account opened at a Bangkok Bank branch "in-Thailand." And here's Bangkok Bank's webpage on transferring money to your in-Thailand branch using their NY branch ACH routing...Link.

You would be better off having your U.S. pension first flow into your U.S. bank account and they have it transferred from that U.S. bank account to your Bangkok Bank account...this way, the govt pension coding is not longer in the transfer data coding and instead just has normal money transfer coding. While a Direct Deposit account does have it "show up personally restrictions" it does provide a way for your U.S. govt pension to go directly to your Bangkok Bank account versus first being sent to your U.S. bank account and they a follow-on transfer being required which may or may not incur additional fees.

A 200 to 500 currency receipts/transfer fee is common for all Thai banks. Getting funds via debit card is always an option (that's primarily how I get all my day to day living money in Thailand), but unless the debit card is a "no foreign transaction fee" debit card (most are not...most have a 1 to4% fee) you would get hit with the fee every time you used the card outside of Thailand...whether you used the card at the bank counter or in the ATM. As I said most U.S. debit cards do have a foreign transaction fee but some don't such as Schwab, State Farm, CapOne.

I stand corrected - you do not open an account with Bangkok Bank's N.Y. branch - but you do need 2 accounts; one for the government direct deposit and a second for normal banking transactions.

"If you use a direct deposit service to receive funds from a US Government Agency, you must appear in person at a Bangkok Bank branch to withdraw the funds.

In compliance with US regulations, Bangkok Bank cannot authorize the withdrawal of funds from your direct deposit account by an appointed representative, or via ATM or any other electronic channel. You must appear in person at a Bangkok Bank branch to withdraw the funds. You can, however, open a normal savings or current account and transfer the funds from your direct deposit account to this account. You may then withdraw your funds as usual via ATM or any other electronic channel.

You can also opt to directly contact the US Government Agencies to send funds into your savings account with Bangkok Bank. However, we still need to request that you change your savings account to a Direct Deposit account. Failure to comply will result in Bangkok Bank not being able to deposit funds transferred from the US Government Agency into your account."

As I mentioned elsewhere, I have a VISA debit card issued by TD Bank (Toronto Dominion I believe) issued to me when they took over my Florida bank a few years ago. I use the card at the Bangkok Bank teller window to withdraw funds from my U.S. bank account and have never been charged a transaction fee.

As PIb points out, it most likely won't be free -- unless using a Schwab or State Farm Debit/ATM card -- as most card issuers at least pass on the network's 1% foreign transaction fee.

I have a VISA debit card issued by TD Bank (Toronto Dominion I believe) when they took over my Florida bank a few years ago and have never been charged a transaction fee when transferring funds to Thailand. Maybe I have just been lucky and never realized it.