RMN

A few months ago I've bought new a Nikon Z50 and a few lenses. I'm feeling a bit too limited by the options the APS-C offers me and I'd like to switch over to a Sony a7 III.

Are there shops in Bangkok that could help make that transition painless for me? Either buy my Z50 and lenses cash and I'd use that money towards buying the Sony new, or offering a direct "trade in" program where I give them one, get the other and pay the difference.

I'm not trying to squeeze out every baht from the transaction, just want something reasonable and most importantly easy and safe.

Hi,

We're coming to CM soon for 3 weeks with a 5 year old boy.

We wonder if there are any kind of by-the-day or by-the-week daycare / activity places where we might put him for such a short term stay?

Also, does anyone have experience in finding babysitters in Chiang Mai, and where should I start looking?

Hi,

We are a family of 3 (Father, Mother, Son).

All 3 are French nationals.

Son is 5.

We are planning a 5 weeks vacation in Thailand this summer.

What would be the best option for the visa? We don't want to make any visa runs.

1) Ask for a 60 day visa at our Thai consulate before coming

2) Come in on the 30 day visa exemption allowed to French citizen then extend for another 30 while inside the country (taking into account that our plane tickets will show that we intend to stay longer than 30 days)

3) something else

Many thanks in advance for your help.

Thanks Iantoh, I'll check it out.

Thanks Tongue for another recommendation.

Luckily, parking is no issue since I'm a Tuk Tuk enthusiast.

Oh and I should add that I'm looking for a private room, not a dorm with other people.

Thanks Siam2007. This one sounds good too.

I'm glad I asked, you guys gave me plenty of great options.

I'd be happy to buy you a beer as a thank you next time I'm in CM.

Thanks for those two additional suggestions.

I'm sure one of those will work out fine for me.

I use Soi 8 Bar all the time when I need to have Wifi to work.

I've done bandwidth tests at all the bars with free wifi I could find in the low sois Sukhumvit area, and they have one of the fastest.

The tables are quite large, with comfy seating, and they provide another very important element : a power socket you can plug your laptop into.

It's a sports bar, so you have TVs all other the place, but the sound level is incredibly quiet nevertheless. I've had some voice over IP meetings right from the middle of that bar without problems.

You can get all the drinks and food you need while using your laptop there, of course. Food quality is quite OK. Prices are a little expensive, but since you're sucking up their power and internet bandwidth it's a fair deal.

On the minus side, the staff is not super friendly, even to regulars. But hey, if you're going there to work or get something done on the internet, that's not the most important part anyway.

Why is that every week someone posts a new topic asking about cheap accommodation , internet access, etc., etc..

This one is a bit different in that he/she has been here before and still asks the same old questions.

Hi Bill,

The reason is that I've been there before, but the combination of cheap rates and unlimited internet was not to be found.

In the current economy, I'd be glad to save a few bucks by finding a place that offers just what I need and not more.

So I'm counting on the experience of other forum members to help me find the place I need. So far it looks like it's working pretty well.

Jackr that sounds great. I'll definitely check it out.

The options in the 700Bht range are also worth checking out, it's still cheaper than the hotels I used on previous trips.

Thanks a bunch to you three who made suggestions.

Hi guys,

I'm looking for a recommendation for a guest house for my repeated 3-4 weeks stays in Chiang Mai.

My criteria:

1-must have free unlimited internet accessible from the room

2-rate must be cheap

3-ideal locations are near the moat or Nimmanhemin, but anything not too far from the old city is good

I speak enough Thai to manage, so english speaking is not a requirement.

Thanks for your help !

Oh, maybe I should also mention that I speak enough Thai to manage without need for an english speaking / super farang friendly place.

Hi guys,

I'm looking for a recommendation for a guest house for my repeated 2-3 weeks stays in Bangkok.

My criteria:

1-must have free unlimited internet accessible from the room

2-must be located in the Sukhumvit area at a decent walking distance from a BTS station. Close to Nana or Asoke is best

3-rate must be as cheap as possible while still keeping criteria 1 & 2

Basically, I already know an hotel that can get me all of this for under 1000bht per night, but I don't need the extra services an hotel provides (daily maid service, and so on), so I hope I can find something a little cheaper, since really all I need is the room and the internet.

Thanks for your help !

You can also use your phone as modem if you don't want to buy the USB modem. Almost all have GPRS/EDGE data capabilities nowdays.

Well, that's a great suggestion MJo. I own a Nokia N95 8gb, recently got it unlocked.

In France there's no way I can use it as a modem, because that's restricted by the service provider (who wants to be able to sell a separate modem access contract).

What kind of card do I need to put in my phone to get to use it as GPRS modem ?

Also, I get the feeling that configuring everything correctly is going to be a very "trial and error" experience.

To the OP,

the gprs usb modems you can buy in any IT mall (pantip Plaza, TukCom Pattaya etc). Solomon is the biggest brand, but expensive at 4,900 Baht. I have an unbranded model, with unlocked software from China Telecom. Works a charm at 2,650 Baht.

Then just take a regular pre-paid simcard.

I think for the OP, buying a netsim from AIS is the best option. 99 Baht/month for 30 hours, and if you charge with 300 Baht, validity gets extended with 90 days, so 300 Baht gives you 3 months with 30 hours/month internet. The card itself costs I think 210 Baht.

If you run out of hours, I think you can get some extra by dialing *138 and choosing how much you want through the automatic system.

Otherwise the system will deduct 1 Baht/minute if you go over your 30 hours. You can always check how much time you have left by dialing *139#. You'll get a message back with your remaining minutes.

Thanks again Monty. Very clear information.

What would the guys at Pantip be calling that GPRS USB modem ? (If I walk up to them and say "GPRS USB Modem", any chance they'll catch my drift ?)

For the prepaid card, do I need a special one or just the same kind of AIS phone card I would use for my mobile ?

Thanks a lot Monty, that is very useful information.

Could you tell me more about where to buy both the device and one of the Edge packages with pay per use ?

Go to a Hutch telecom outlet. For 12500 Baht you can get a USB EDGE modem and unlimted internet for 12 months

Thanks for the suggestion Esprit. Actually right now I'm only in Thailand 3 weeks each 3 months, so that kind of deal will not be interesting until I'm a permanent resident. Paying for a few hours of credit on a prepaid card sounds a lot better for the present.

Thanks a lot Monty, that is very useful information.

Could you tell me more about where to buy both the device and one of the Edge packages with pay per use ?

Hi everyone,

Some time ago, I was trying to find a 3G modem or something similar that would work in BKK. The idea being to be able to connect my laptop to the internet while being anywhere in Bangkok (using Edge/3G when available and failing over to mobile phone network if not).

At the time I was told that this did not exist yet in BKK. I was a little doubting, as I had used it very successfully the week before in Chiang Mai (I think it was a True offer, not 100% certain though), but took that as the answer.

How about it now ? Anyone got experience using a wireless usb-modem thingy in BKK ? What kind of speed do you get ? How much do you pay ?

Hi everyone,

Just wondering if anyone had some tips about where to buy high quality kitchenware (kitchen knives, woks...) and light appliances (eletric grill...) in BKK.

By that I mean good, solid stuff, not brand or pay-through-the-nose exclusive department store.

This is for personal use, not for a restaurant.

Sam's Lodge on Sukhumvit 19 (Asoke) is pretty cheap, accomodations are OK, free in room internet, and the new owner (just changed 2 months ago) is very friendly.

As a related question, if you're in Bangkok and want to do a real quick 1 day escape to see the sea (and not spend 5 hours in a bus going to Pattaya and back ), where would be the best place for that ? Accessible by bus or by taxi would be the best.

Thanks for all the info.

The purpose of the buy is to give to a friend who needs a (amateur) theater costume for a japanese female character. So it must be the cheap kind.

Any way to find cheap kimonos in Bangkok ? I'm not going to japan anytime soon.

There are alot of places that would fit the bill. What kind of price range are you looking for?

You said it does not need to be by the BTS, if you can move outside of Downtown (around 20-30 min from Skytrain) you can most likely cut the rent in half or more.

You can probably find something like this for 13,000-100,000+ thb/mo depending.

I have a ranch style home fully furnished. 2 Bedroom/2 Bathroom + maid room/office full western style kitchen with 3 A/C units for 13,000thb. My house is located in Pattanakarn (about 30 min from skytrain[15 min if no traffic])

I believe my landlord has another house available (or did 8 months ago when I moved in). If interested in taking a look PM me and I will ask.

If you are looking for a more high end home, I know some one who has a few very nice homes up for rent, but most are in the 70,000 -100,000+ thb/mo range.

The only issue is if you will be actually moving in in Q3 2009, it may be a bit of a time waster to look now. Unless you are willing to sign a contract and start paying rent a lot of folks will tell you to come back in Q3.

Thanks for the reply.

Actually, I'm really fixed on living in downtown Bangkok (Sukhumvit or Lumpini). 100.000 bht/mth is not a problem if the house is worth it.

I know looking now for Q3 movein is too early, I'd just like to begin making contacts and get a feel for the market, so I can go to the right person and rent the right house when the time comes.

Does anyone have an address in Bangkok for me ?

If I were after a traditional Thai sarong in Tokyo, I would check if there are any Thai shops or departments stores, Jim Thompson, for example..

For a kimono in Bangkok, I would check Tokyu Dept store at MBK.

If they don't carry the kimonos, they might (only might) be able to tell where to look.

Thanks TTM, that'll be very useful.