jaansinatra

i'm at Bangkok airport now, and i just changed some money before immigration at TMB.

the representative was supposed to give me some chinese money, and 150 euros.

i counted out the Euros twice. the representative saw i was somewhat distracted because my husband was nearby with my severely handicapped daughter that (we adopted from Udon Thoni).

anyways, i counted 110 euros. i counted again, 110 euros. i yelled YOU DON"T KNOW HOW TO COUJNT. i noted that all the bills were in demonimational order.

when he recounts himnself, it comes out to 150 but the bills are no longer in denominational order. what he did was when he knew he was faced with a recount , he with slight of hand, added the two 20 euro notes.

i got all my money but the moral of this is you must count your change, everywhere. especially at a busy and distracting airport.

thinkingi am weeho is a big compliment indeed! thanks so much;

i'm about to post something in the airport thread which i believe weho did too .

i have a feeling that if the OP is looking for some side action, and thinks he can hide it from the wife, im pretty sure the wife is also cheating and is probably better at hiding it than the OP.

she's probably what they are calling in the US ofAmerica now a "cougar". can anyone define "cougar"?

ouch! 330 baht is getting near the danger zone. but compared to other nearby places, if you're a glutten, you cant beat Sizler. like in that "wave" on the roof, 330 baht will get you a small plate of something with rice and a bevargeg; and if you go to Au bon pan, 330 will get you a small sandwich and a small salad and maybe a beverage. so in terms of shear volume, Sizzelr comes out ahead.

the baked potato sounds horrible. you could always go to Villa market and make everything yourself but that will probably cost you 1000 bart. so bad chicken at Sizzler is starting to seem like the best value in town. i say "go for it".

if someone knows the developer, can you please pass along my sugges tion to please consider having a floating shell gas station; so if they get caught cheating customers we can throw them directly into the polluted tourist water

what i really would like to do when they don't reset the pump, and i catch them as usual in their act of theft, is to let them fill my car full with gas. and then announce that i will only pay them for gas put in after the pump was reset. since the tank is full, they can't put any more in, and i guess all they put in already is mine for free, like a gift from them. problaem is you really need someone to video tape the whole incident to show it wasn't reset. i'm sure the police would take this very seriously as they are on the side of decent people i think. but maybe not.

i've been in taxis in bangkok where they don't turn on the taxi meter. i usually wait til i'm 1/2 way to my destination, then i announce to the driver that i only pay from them time they put the meter on, so "the fester you turn on the meter, the more money you will get paid".

they always just turn it on, and i get a bargain taxi rate. and i feel really good about it .

Either you are just a Troll who has never been to Thailand or you're tired of living. People who don't pay gas stations and taxi drivers what they think they are owed are routinely beaten to cripples by the use of whatever metal or stone items handy. You can forget about the cops, they are on the locals side.

Ob. Topic, Shell in Pattaya Tai are infamous for the mentionned cheat. Just don't use them. Easy.

you think they would beat up a sweet old lady like me? aren't taxi drivers in bangkok required to use meters? and if they don't intend to use meter , should not they at least tell price in advcne ? so you are on the side of the crooks, bravo for that. that's it just give in to the crooks that's your answwer. if every people was like your attitude then everyone would have reason to be crook.

actually i think you are a troll who has never been anywhere except your basement computer room.

i like the idea of a floating 24 hour "entertainment zone" which would be nice for the local hookers and we could get some of that kind of activity away from the more family oriented parts of town. but nothing makes me think more of "ancient thai culture" than a floating The Pizza Company;

what i really would like to do when they don't reset the pump, and i catch them as usual in their act of theft, is to let them fill my car full with gas. and then announce that i will only pay them for gas put in after the pump was reset. since the tank is full, they can't put any more in, and i guess all they put in already is mine for free, like a gift from them. problaem is you really need someone to video tape the whole incident to show it wasn't reset. i'm sure the police would take this very seriously as they are on the side of decent people i think. but maybe not.

i've been in taxis in bangkok where they don't turn on the taxi meter. i usually wait til i'm 1/2 way to my destination, then i announce to the driver that i only pay from them time they put the meter on, so "the fester you turn on the meter, the more money you will get paid".

they always just turn it on, and i get a bargain taxi rate. and i feel really good about it .

cant he just got some English whores in the u.k.? i do condone your behavior but it seems very complicated all this mobil phone roaming and Skype stuff. i supposed in a pinch you could try xtube.com and do a search for "thai whores", would be alot chaper.

I think some of you guys go looking for trouble just so you have something to post here.

I recently bought a pick-up and I have filled up at least 5 times at the Shell Station you guys are talking about. I have never had a problem and found the staff to be really nice. Obviously if you are going to fill up, go to a pump which is not being used. It will automatically reset to zero when placed in the pump holder.

Another tip...I always get out my truck and manually take off the petrol cap and hang around the pump until finished...

Colin

they attempt to cheat at the Shell 100% of the time. i find it hard to believe you could go there five times without incident; unless you wrote " i went there five times, and saw that the meter was reset all five times" etc. i have a feeling you were cheated and you just dont know it. i'm not sure if the pump automaticall y resets to zero when the pump is put back in the handle.

but what happens is when you pull in, part of their scam is to have one guy block your door before you can get out to look at the meter, and have another guy already start pumping the gas, with no resetting of the meter. by the time you eventually get out to check, the meter already may read 400 baht, and still going up, and you don't know that they probaby started the meter at 200 baht, which was leftover from the last guy. that they already got paid for.

the only way to avoid it is to jump out of the car when you park, rush to see the meter and have them reset it while you watch. if you have a locking gas cap which can only be opened from inside the car, they will do the distraction scam, which they are pretty good at.

it's so sad that we expect people to be crooks; we expec t people that find a wallet to steal the money in it so we're shocked and surprised when someone actually does what a human is supposed to do.

too bad it's not the other way around and we're shocked and surprised when someone commits a crime like they do at the Shell gas station, or like what they do at homeWorks.

people have the luxury of going there knowing you're going to be cheated, so you're prepared for them. then when you catch them in the act, you can shame them. but they are crooks, so they dont have any shame or guilt.

the reason i keep going back there is because i really dont care. and i have no fear of being cheated there since i am on guard from the second i arrive. and i guess i enjoy catching them in the act, just like i enjoyed pushing the guy today who was standing trying to block the meter.

yes this has been going on for years at this station. i also enjoy going to the first aisle with a car that cleary says " motorcycles only" cause the crooks know they have an extra distrction they can try on me but i'm so on to them, i'm so prepared for their cheating it wont happen. i should go there with a friend with a camera and film some "gotcha" footage for Pattaya cable t.v.

still think the crooks at Home Works are worse;

so i pull in to the Shell gas station, immediately hop out so i can see the meter before they start pumping, to make sure it has been reset by the phi beta kappa attendent. they tried to distract me telling me i'm in the motorcycle only lane, but the other accomplice starts to put the nozzle into my car. the first accomplice has moved into position completely blocking my view of the meter. io tell him to move but he stands there, then i push him out of the way. the meter still wasnt reset. i blurted out "you no reset meter, you try to cheat me", but i caught it with maybe 1/2 second to spare.

this game has been going on for years at this station. i'm told other stations do similar things, but none does it 100% of the time as the Shell station.

verify with your own eyes so the crooks dont cheat you.

thai floating market is on canals and not on the pond/lake - it needs local farmers/artisans selling their ware and local population interested in fresh and cheap stuff directly from the producers.

not a long time ago, some 30-40 years, there were such markets in every larger village, than the land was drained and roads build and now there are street markers everywhere.

tourists do flock to the few existing floating markets not for the vegetables and articrafts, but for boat rides and eventually food/snacks. It will be down to the tourists in pattaya to visit this centre, tourists from bangkok will still chose the original floating market on the day trips to kanchanaburi

actually it does seem odd to make the claim it is to recreate some "ancient thai cultural village" and have The Pizza company, KFC ans Starbucks . if they change their claim to a "modern floating tourist Thai village", and be a little more honest, i'll go. or i'll go to the Pizza Company have their salad bar buffet in air con floating comfort.

i wonder what kind of stains are on the mattress. probably he spilled syrup or something.

a friend was booked on the Thai Airways nonstop from new York to bangkok in that "premium economy" class; then Thai advised that the flight was cancelled and my friend was downgraded to edconomy class on a connecting flight and was told no refund as "it is still economy class, same same".

my friend suggested to Thai airways that they provide him seats in premium economy but since that isn't available or any longer a choice, he should be upgraded to business class on a connection, at no extra charge. my friend asked "why you downgrade me, why not upgrade me", response: hysterical laughter.

I went to my local pattaya nursery today to get some grass fertilizer. i buy about once a year a gigantic 50kilo bag of 16-16 brand fertilizer. used to be like 1,400 baht, now it's 1,800. anyway, there wer out of it but they had these little sandwich size bags for 20 baht each. i told the gal i wanted the big bag and she said "no have, only have small for 20 baht" .

so i said to her "ok, if i buy ten bags for 200 baht, can you give one bag free, so i pay ten bags, you give me eleven bags".

she literally literally fell on the floor laughing. and the 85 year old grandmother was there too and she though my proposal was so funny, i though she was going to have a heart event due to extreme laughter (it can happen).

in between her lauighter, i said eleven for 200 baht" , she said "no, eleven is 220 baht", and the laughter continued.

they had no comprehension of bulk buying to get even a small discount. i imagine if i said "1,000 small bags, same same, 20 baht per bag, is 20,000 baht, or i get discount for 19,000 baht?"; i'm sure that would have given her an irregular heartbeat with excessive laughter.

i didnt realize iw as so funny .

i'm also troubled by strange pricing, like why is an ice cream cone at Swansen's 35 baht but it's 55 baht for a smaller one at BaskinRobins? how much different can it be?

and why are some Subway sandwiches more expensive in thailand than in the U.S.A.?

and why is bottled water 7 baht at Villa market, and it's 28 baht at their counter restaurant, and a can of coke is 12 baht in the market but also 28 baht at the counter restaurant?

and with my discount card for Accor hotels Asia, why do they give discounts in the restaurants of 25% if one is eating, 50% if two are eating, 33% if 3 are eating, and 25% if four are eating? shouldnt it be more like 25% off for one person, 30% off for two, 35% off for 3 and maybe 40% off for four?

and why is it usually more expensive per can/bottle to buy a six pack of something, than single cans/bottles?

in other words why do the thais punish people that want to spend more money in their store/restaurants?

What's with the wailing and gnashing of teeth? Oh, I get it, Swensens wouldn't take your bulletproof and invincible credit card so there's no way of getting a charge back. Tough deal. I guess the issuing bank must draw a line somewhere.

I reckon the higher prices are charged at places where you can sit and enjoy your 'expensive' purchase, with a padded stool or an air conditioner or maybe a pretty waitress. I consider that charging more for a product in a restaurant versus a supermarket is basic global marketing and not just a Thai affectation. Or you can buy in the aisles and then take a seat on beach road and enjoy your 'cheap' imbibe there with the other old cheap buggers.

I am really sorry but it does appear that the Thais really have got in in for you. Maybe don't even stop in Bangkok, just head for the airport. Need any help packing?

yes, i need help packing; but packing fees have gone up too. too bad my credit card doesn't cover unjust packing assistance fees. i' guess i'l just have to stay and stew here with you.

i'm also troubled by strange pricing, like why is an ice cream cone at Swansen's 35 baht but it's 55 baht for a smaller one at BaskinRobins? how much different can it be?

and why are some Subway sandwiches more expensive in thailand than in the U.S.A.?

and why is bottled water 7 baht at Villa market, and it's 28 baht at their counter restaurant, and a can of coke is 12 baht in the market but also 28 baht at the counter restaurant?

and with my discount card for Accor hotels Asia, why do they give discounts in the restaurants of 25% if one is eating, 50% if two are eating, 33% if 3 are eating, and 25% if four are eating? shouldnt it be more like 25% off for one person, 30% off for two, 35% off for 3 and maybe 40% off for four?

and why is it usually more expensive per can/bottle to buy a six pack of something, than single cans/bottles?

in other words why do the thais punish people that want to spend more money in their store/restaurants?

It also depends on us, the consumers, if we are willing to pay the inflated prices then they will continue to stay and continue to rise!

It's a matter of economics, the best way to curb this is to wisely choose what you spend your money on and this will flush out the over inflated retailers that are trying to take advantage of the situation.

so true. and i think it was "weeho" that wrote something that those who dont stand up for overcharges or who just blindly pay inflated prices are slapping everyone in the face. its all supply und demand so if people demand fair prices and don't give in, prices will stay fair and accessible.

whether its for weeho's ruined 16 baht bowl of rice or caving in to pressure to buy overpriced sheets or fertilizer that has increased in price too quickly, don't cave in. shop around and let the store owners you are shopping elsewhere.

but everything is going up. the price of "Down" detergent has gone up. 7-11 is now eight and twelve.

i needed some new sheets for a bed i recently bought with my great credit card; for a single twin bed. i wanted better (greater) than 220 thread count. i wanted a fitted sheet, a top sheet (or duvet cover), and a standard pillow case. at homepro, homeworks and the outlet mall, they were quoting me 5,500 to 7,500 baht, including their current 35% discounts, approximate).

i found these prices insane. so i was in Bangkok and went to the real department stores there where they have real "amazing thailand" sales, unlike Pattaya. i got the identical, i repeat identical 286 thread count "exotica" brand sheets at the chitlom Central department store sales "event", for under 1,200 baht. there are never any real sales in pattaya. bangkok had all sorts of real sales in every department store.

-"Dispute charges" does not mean "keep the merchandise and do not pay". I challenge you to provide documentation that your credit card agreement specifically states that you can do this.

The mechanism for disputing charges is for false charges, cancelled charges that did not go through, etc.

- Do you really believe that, anywhere in the world, signing a delivery acknowledgment means only that they delivered it, not that you accepted it? Accepted it means that you inspected it and all is right.

Perhaps if you had not been such an ass to them when you called them back they might have taken care of you better.

you know it all, dont cha! too bad you don't understand how my agreement works. generally the merchant is required to respond within x amount of days, like maybe 30 days. normally they dont even bother responding. so they get an automatic chargeback, my credit becomes permanent and my bank tells me i can either return, throw away or keep the defective merchandise, up to me. in the unlikely event the merchant does respond my credit card company will always side with me no matter what. they are not stupid like people that think they know everytning. i notify my credit card company that i attempted multiple times to contact them, and the merchant ignored me. that is a violation of their agreement with the credit card company.

the last time i disputed a charge was about two years ago at another thai home center, and i have a nice lamp to show for my efforts, all within the law. but it's a lamp i can't get the promised wattage replacemtn bulb for, but it still works nicely. they misled me, i keep the lamp and get my money back. all legal. sorry your credit card is not as good as mine.

and i know you'l hate knowing that i have an ever newer card debit/atm/credit that allows me to use any ATM in the world, with no ATM fees, any charges anywhere in the world, with no foreign conversion fees for any transactions, including cash advances, cash withdrawals at foreign ATMs. it's an invitation only card that i got. of course it has the same generous consumer protections that my other card has too. and it gives double points for any transaction except cash withdrawls in the fidelity program associated with the card. and it automatically comes with travel and luggage insurance for any transactions bought with the card.

i'm sure you're quite jealous and sad that you dont understnad how these things work and your card is inferior to mine. but even still you know it all.

and you show that you're clueless because when you sign for something, you're signing for delivery/ackhowledgement. like if a box comes by Airborne express/Fedex etc the delivery person doesnt see or wait around for you to open the box, assemble or set up what ever is delivered etc. you're out there.

Jealous...of a dumbass who has no clue about how the real world works? Not likely...

BTW, where can I get one of these miracle credit cards? I cannot wait to get started acquiring goods without paying.

Signing for a box from FedEx is *not* the same as signing for a delivery from a retailer. Even so, if the box is obviously damaged, or you ask, the driver will wait while you inspect the contents.

i'm a dumbass/? maybe i am but i know i must be smarter than you cause i have a better credit card. copanies signe agreements to accept credit/charge/debit cards. they have obligations to customers; why are you so jealous of me cause i know what my rights are? you probably can't get my card. i mentioned it was "by invitation" from a bank. even still if you have an inferior card, you still have some rights. sorry i dont understand "the real world" like you do.

-"Dispute charges" does not mean "keep the merchandise and do not pay". I challenge you to provide documentation that your credit card agreement specifically states that you can do this.

The mechanism for disputing charges is for false charges, cancelled charges that did not go through, etc.

- Do you really believe that, anywhere in the world, signing a delivery acknowledgment means only that they delivered it, not that you accepted it? Accepted it means that you inspected it and all is right.

Perhaps if you had not been such an ass to them when you called them back they might have taken care of you better.

you know it all, dont cha! too bad you don't understand how my agreement works. generally the merchant is required to respond within x amount of days, like maybe 30 days. normally they dont even bother responding. so they get an automatic chargeback, my credit becomes permanent and my bank tells me i can either return, throw away or keep the defective merchandise, up to me. in the unlikely event the merchant does respond my credit card company will always side with me no matter what. they are not stupid like people that think they know everytning. i notify my credit card company that i attempted multiple times to contact them, and the merchant ignored me. that is a violation of their agreement with the credit card company.

the last time i disputed a charge was about two years ago at another thai home center, and i have a nice lamp to show for my efforts, all within the law. but it's a lamp i can't get the promised wattage replacemtn bulb for, but it still works nicely. they misled me, i keep the lamp and get my money back. all legal. sorry your credit card is not as good as mine.

and i know you'l hate knowing that i have an ever newer card debit/atm/credit that allows me to use any ATM in the world, with no ATM fees, any charges anywhere in the world, with no foreign conversion fees for any transactions, including cash advances, cash withdrawals at foreign ATMs. it's an invitation only card that i got. of course it has the same generous consumer protections that my other card has too. and it gives double points for any transaction except cash withdrawls in the fidelity program associated with the card. and it automatically comes with travel and luggage insurance for any transactions bought with the card.

i'm sure you're quite jealous and sad that you dont understnad how these things work and your card is inferior to mine. but even still you know it all.

and you show that you're clueless because when you sign for something, you're signing for delivery/ackhowledgement. like if a box comes by Airborne express/Fedex etc the delivery person doesnt see or wait around for you to open the box, assemble or set up what ever is delivered etc. you're out there.

not sure where to get the bongo, but you can probably get a coconut at any market like Big c or LotusTesco.

remember that birds can be loud yappers and can disturb your sleep patterns. maybe the birds yapping will annoy your neighbors. personally i would prefer people left birds in the wild. have you considered adopting a soi dog instead?