hermespan

Where do you have to go to get full Apple service?

Malaysia?

Vietnam?

India?

Firstly, I don't recall being asked for DNA, blood type and zodiac when I used a Mac in the nineties. I find the 'privacy'' and security steps in Apple to be intrusive and complicated. But to the natter at hand.

When I bought my iphone and registered it to John Doe from Mars the salesman asked for my email address so I compromised on rivacy and gave it to him so we could set up icloud etc.

All was well until I wanted to download some apps. PC software sharers and sellers don't want to know what I had for breakfast (though Google's Android is pretty close to it). Why does Apple, and more germain why do app companies?

Aside from political resistance to this trend it causes problems. I keep getting messages at app downloads that either my password or email address is wrong. So I reset it and start over. Same again. Round and round the mulberry bush. I have a life to live separate from computers! Sigh.

That would be a strange business strategy, running away if competition is offering an inferior cheaper product. If I was selling widgets and someone was selling for a third of the price a shoddy approximation, all the more reason to be there, so customers see the difference. And, it's not that Apple products are not sold in Thailand, just that they aren't being sold not by Apple-owned stores.

Even though iPhones are made in China I just compared prices and there are no Apple bargains in Singapore. even Canada (not the source nation for APPLE nor is it the manufacturing nation nation) has better prices. Singapore prices were about another third more. How foes Thailand compare, comparing apples with apples, i.e. retail stores in Singapore or Vietnam with same in Thailand?

See classifieds, awaiting moderator approval Mid-day Aug. 2, 2013

And it's not just Thailand. Vancouver, Canada has several but Singapore has zero. What is this southeast Asian bottomless pit of no service? It can't be due to a lack of customers, Mac is very popular in Singapore. And it is a wealthy technically advanced nation. What is the cause of this strange discrepancy? Is it the same with Sony? I believe it must have something to do with licensing issues but I have no idea how.

Apple products, officially purchased, are more or less the same price. USA might currently have the biggest advantage due to the exchange rate.

You should purchase additionally the Apple care product as this s providing you the worldwide warranty without hassle. Otherwise you will only have local warranty. As soon as you have purchased the product Apple will know as you have to register with the Apple shop to download anything No choice to keep it anonymous.

To get an unlocked phone you will need to buy directly at the Apple Store. Hong Kong and Singapore will provide you only with unlocked phones in every store. Not that cheap though. USA as I understood will sell in the Apple stores unlocked once otherwise they are branded.

Hope this helps

Thanks

Is Apple Care not available anonymously? It's not like I am a criminal but my habit is cash and I don't like big corporations (or the corner store) knowing my business, especially my financial business. This sounds odd that Apple requires registration. Samsung didn't require any sort of verification by phone or any tricks like that. I just bought the tabelt with cash and maybe registerered it to Mr. Magoo and it works fine. If I remember correctly...

Why would anyone buy a phone that commits you to a cellphone plan? Isn't that like buying a car that requires you to buy gas only from one petrol company? That actually is a possibility in the future if the present trend continues.

Lomatopo wrote"What is your "native" currency?"

USD, CDN, & HKG - I bank in all three. I have cash (banknotes) in USD and CAD also.

"Where, exactly, will you be in the U.S.? Obviously a state without sales tax would represent a savings."

Good point - Seattle, WA

"It is fairly easy to compare prices given there are on-line stores."

Not so easy with five countries. Actually five, but I need the device before I get to Cambodia"

"I'm not certain there is an iPhone 6 yet?"

I read that it will not be a huge improvement and might just be an iphone5S. I hope it does come out in the next week, so there will be a discount on the 'old' model.

"In the U.S., a factory-unlocked iPhone 5/64 GB is $849 before any sales tax or shipping."

That's sounds about right. Apple products do not seem to be as compettively priced compared to PC. I don't mean versus PC, I mean comparing vendors of the same product line.

"You can buy factory-unlocked iPhones in Apple stores in the U.S."

And no doubt in Canada - I will call and compare.

"Do you have any requirements for LTE? If so, which bands?"

Don't know what that is. All I know is that I have to be able to use internet and phone everywhere I go in the world. I am a video scout and I was so impresed during a casting interview to see that the actor was able to use his own device and immediately send the snap to my Director - no fuss, that I decided that using a 'real' camera is obsolete. So, I am buying it for the interconected camera really.

LTE might as well be ABC. All I need is no limits such as arriving in Mongolia or Eritrea and finding out it doesn't work there.

"Unless you plan to use T-Mo/LTE (AWS: 1700/2100) in the U.S."

You are a funny guy.

"I might get the GSM model A1429."

You mean there is more than one model of apple iphone6?

I have two weeks to buy an unlocked iphone5. I will be in Canada, USA, Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok to shop in this period. My priorities are in the following order...

1. best price (the most important feature, but keeping in mind #2-6)

2. worldwide use (quadband is what i heard the key is. I don't want any country I can be online)

3. best value (what one gets in the package is more important than price per se)

4. best service (I stopped buying Samsung when I learned that BKK servcies centres won't even touch my Malaysian purchased product)

5. anonymous purchase (I don't like telling Apple corporation my private business. I pay cash and expect service and subscriptions to be done without ID)

6. best price for used (I will probably buy new, but if second hand with worldwidde warranty is available...)

What I want to avoid is any problems like...

"Oh, the warranty doesn't apply in here/there/Mongolia"

"Oh, you can't use the phone service of Japan/Upper Slobovia with this device"

"Oh, this is a fake - it's not even a real Apple product".

" Oh *this* model is a special one, sold only in nation ABC - it lacks feature XYZ and the menu is available only in Swahili"

In other words, no problems. I don't want hassles just to save $100.

Suggestions? I will probably piurchase a 64 Gb iphone 6 with no attached phone service in USA. I am in a new nation every few months. I can't be tied down with servcie contracts to Thailand or Seattle for example. But perhaps I am wrong and there are better deals in Asia for this California product.

Most Consulates have this as it is a normal condition - but few require for those that actually live in that country - and often expend that to include almost all unless they have doubts about financials or reason for travel and then can use it as a gotya.

This is as I expect it would be. Thus, it is not an absolute requirement. But it is on their list of 'requirements' Because I put down a rather large sum for funds and can show bank and credit cards, and I am not from some questionable nation, I do not expect to be asked. If I am I can prebook a flight out by going to a closeby net cafe.

This is a different question than "Do Thai border officials require proof of onward travel?" I am enquiring about getting a tourist visa at Thai Consulates in Canada.

At the closest Thai Consulate (Vancouver) they require a "copy of flight ticket or itinerary". I notice that it doesn't read 'return/onward ticket'. So, my question is why are they asking? Is it so they can provide fast service in case one's flight is very soon? Is it so they can deny visas to some persons and not others bsed on their travel plans? And why do they care as as a Canadian citizen I can get a visa on arrival anyway?

The ONLY reason I am getting a visa is because two or three times I have had hassles in the last eight years but especially in the last two years, getting checked in on my way to leave Canada to Thailand. I solved the problems before by missing my flight and going back into town to buy a new ticket, then another time buying a tciket on the spot and another two times persuading the staff, based on zillions of visa stamps that it was *not* going to be a problem. Recently, I was required to sign a form saying that if they were charged I would pay their fine and my onward transport. But I really don't like spending money unecessarily (cheaper to buy Asia tickets in Bangkok) and especially having to BE PINNED DOWN. It's not like one can buy open tickets anwymore. I hate this planning trips months in advance. I feel like I am being followed by some sort of supra-national spy agency.

Ineveitably this letter of the law interpretation was when a THIRD airline was doing the check-in, not the real airline doing the flight. They follow the rules more strictly it seems. It also happened once in SE Asia (Indonesia to Thailand I think it was). Since Thailand rarely (never for me anyway) enforces this requirement, why do they have it in the first place? I have my own cynical suggestion left for another post.

I also see some oddities in the choices for visas. Transit visa says it's for "connecting flights" but it also reads "not exceeding 30 days". Huh? I wanted to get the cheapest visa CAD35 for a transit visa but I don't know what to make of the schizophrenic wording just to save $5. I go in and out of Thailand multiple times in a year and usually it is less than 30 days so my free on arrivals are good enough. The one year multiple entry was appealing until I saw the price CAD180 and it is "under the discretion of the Consul". Still better than Cambodia where a year visa is what USD250?

By the way, I do not single out Thailand. Nation-states all over the planet are doing the same thing nd have been doing so for what 75 years? Thailand is relatively easy compared to USA or Russia. Government of Singapore gives me only 30 days (by air) and 15 days by land but doesn't care if I come in and out of Malaysia a million times in a row.

BTW, why do different Thai Consulates and Embassies around the world have different policies? It is the same Royal thai Government. Is it a matter of the good, bad or indifferent relations between Thailand and the nation where the Consulate/Embassy is based or something else?

I started going to Thailand in 1989 and went regularly throughout the nineties, both from Canada and later Cambodia. In the mide to late 90's when I applied for a visa at the thai Consulate in Vancouver it was easy and fast. A western guy (Honorary Consul?) or his secretary would have me come back the next day. Or was it a few hours later? Once, I was given a non-immigrant visa of 3 (6?) months with multi entries, without even asking. This ws all presumably before visas on arrival. No onward tickets. No proof of funds. No checking this and that as far as I could tell. Breezy. Now, they have an impressive office in a luxury hotel, it's no longer in an old office block of second rate dentists.

In the early to mid 90s in Phnom Penh getting viasa at the charming old Embassy on Archar Mean (now Monivong) was friendly and casual. Now they have a fortress-like Embassy. Of course, that could have something to do with some Khmer punks trying to burn it down over an actress's misguided alleged political statement. But all in all I find applying for and getting vsias more complicated than twenty years ago.

On the plus side there are now visas on arrival and I must say that Suvarnabhumi is perhaps the easiest immigration in the world.

But in general, and not only in Thailand, I would say that getting visas for anywhere is stricter than in the early to mid 1990s. And I hear that farangs are no longer so welcome to hang out on their tourist visas ad infinitum. What changed - politcailly, economically, miliarily, socially, whateverarily, to cause this? I welcome opinions on major and minor causes, as relevant to Thailand.

The newspaper, police and the posters of this forum seem to be missing an essential point about a market economy (the only type of economy there is). If I offer you a product or service for price X (interest of 5-500% a month) and you change your mind about paying - tough luck for you. Wouldn't surprise me if the Russian toursists (or Thai nationals as well) are lining up to take out loans. And the ledner gets blamed for opereating a business! Is someone coercing people into borrowing money? Case closed!

BTW, I am not a loan shark, but this argument shows a lack of understanding of principles and practice of money.

We have probably all seen the MBK and Panthip Plaza kiosks selling 'spy pens' and various other objects intended for surveillance. And as westerners we might be familiar with US companies selling a gamut of law enforcement or private investigator quality equipment - where fps, angle of view and all that technical stuff that matters to investigative journalist exposes I see on Thai TV must buy.

I used to buy very high end equipment from a Texas supplier where the amount of wide angle varied from model to model of pinhole camera, as did light sensitivity, number of pixels, size of CCD etc. But thst was back in pre-digital days when I had to so what would now be considered monstor size squares of electronics into bags, attached to camcorders. Times have changed, but I don't want to sacrifice quality for low price.

My question is this...

Where in Bangkok do those seeking high standard covert equipment purchase? A friend bought a wristwatch at a low-end retail shop but every single motion shows up as video noise. Ideal would be where English is spoken, and salesmen let prospective buyers try out models in different lighting conditions and testing resultant 'footage' on their laptop. I am happy to pay a higher price for professional salespeople and a reputable shop. Of course I can buy this in Canada or USA (though I am not uptodate on laws there. It used to be video devices with audio capability were illegal to sell/possess.

Q: In wikipedia's list of the wealthiest top 13 monarchs in the world, how many times richer is the person in number one versus number thirteen?

A: 100

Q: Why is the religious leader of one Shi'ite sect of Muslims (Ismailis) considered a monarch, when he is a wealthy religious leader, an immam, not a head of state?

A: I honestly have no idea, he is called a prince by his followers in much the same way as the Bishop of Rome is considered leader of the faithful by Catholics - but the Pope (bless his soul, especially the new one) is not on the list.

None of this thread should be considered disrespectful.

In fact, and with no sarcasm, I admire the Aga Khan. His organizations do a lot of good in the world. No one forces members of his community to pay multiple tithes to the immamate. He is a progressive voice in a largely backwards looking religion. This is not only my opinion, ask Muslim organizations. I recall an young Afghani firebrand once telling me, in complete sincerity: "There is no such thing as a progressive Muslim" In his opinion, and perhaps even based on reading the Koran, you can be a good Muslim or a bad Muslim but not a dissenting one. Yet the Ismailis disagree as do many Muslim scholars.

Isn't religion a funny thing?

:

Q: Of the five or so 'great religions' which onr heavily weights the top ten? Christian, Buddhist, or Muslim?

Q: Which region is heaviky weighted in the top ten wealthy monarchs?

A: Middle East, southeast asia, North Africa or Europe?

Think up your own skill-testing questions, being careul of course to never question authority and legitimacy.

According to wikipedia, she is number what? I find this skill-testing question hilarious.

In defence of the Royal Thai Railway I must add that someone ajusted the freezer or after a few hours it calms down to less than Antarctic temperatures.

I ordered train food 'khao pat pak sai khai'. I never thought to specify 'je' or mangsaviirat. It came with three slices of dead pig on the edges.

Answer to my own question.

Get a cyclo to take you to the edge of town to SYOOD YEN.

It was ambiguous to me which sort of entertainment was on offer.

Curiously the male singers were the best. I was under the impression that they do not moonlight, but that the gals do. Mostly Thai, some Lao and a middling amount of Khmer singing. I liked best the reparte (war of the sexes) singing comedy match.. The mood, but not the singing style, reminded me if the good humoured male-female verbal battle performed at Cambodian wedding. Very funny and I didn't understan a wird.

Best thing was that when I keft, and there are no taxus, buses or motodops at 1 am, one if thevstaff offered ti drive me home. I tioped her 60 baht for the courtesy fare.

Found the source of my problem... SMS to Switzerland cost like THB25 Each.

Must be because I was SMSing away to Zurich and after a couple of three word messages I get notice that SMDPS cannot be sent 'Insufficient balance' OK, no big deal, time to go topup at 7-11. Hmmm, I am in Thailand only two more days, so 50 baht should do it. I send a long and a medium SMS to Switzerland. At the third few word one...

'Insufficient balance.

<deleted>?

Call 1-2 call.

'Oh, we are so busy, we are giving you the delightful opportunity to call you back... Within an hour... Isn't that nice of us?'

They don't call, which is just as well, because it's 3 in the morning and I don't want to stsy up longer.

Buy another 50 baht.

Each time btw, I do get a message that the credit has taken,.

Three tiny SMSs to Zurich

'Balance running low'

When I was at the airport I was offered some superduper deal on X SMSs for 99 baht or 50 baht, I don't remember. Obviously Switzerland not included.

Excuse me while I strangle the effigy of the CEO of AIS.

Travelling in Thailand with your Inuit parks or want to shock your respiratory system by a totally unnatural contrast between the outside and inside?

Choose airconditioned cars on Thai railway!

I had two choices getting from Surin to Hualomphong ...

1. Third class

Pros

- More pretty girls

- Hang out with workingclass Thais

Cons

- might get old cars with uncomforable wooden seats?

- Cannot reserve specific seat or even sest at all in advance?

-

II. Second class

Pros

- Practice your Tsechiew Chinese

- Good for transporting meats, dairy and root vegetsbles

Cons

- F%&*#@g freezing

- Cannot purchase from station vendors (maybe I am confused with India)

China has opened up railways to some limited market economy rail service on some lines as private enterprise can do anything the state attempts better. Why hasn't Thai gov't done this (well, it has with a ritzy Orient Express to Singapore for people whose money is burningba hole in their pockets).. In China I took an overnightbtrain trip from Kunming to Hekou in the 1990s. MUCH better value (though not cheap) than state railway.

India has the same welfate state mentality when it comes to trains. The cars I took in 1981 are the very same ones I get to use today. Crappy. Why not increase prices and improve quality of services, especially permit COMPETITION.

Suggestions:

- If you travel AC wear long pants, long sleeves, earmuffs and a turtle neck sweater (yes, I know it's crazy but I am serious)

- ask attendant who is curled up on the pile of blanketd, reading a comic book, using a blanket himself, if you can have one of the sealed packages of towels. Put it around your beck and shoulders. Later ask for another one, telling him you are freezing. Put that one around your knees.

- Travel third class

- Take the bus if there is any company with a reasonable temperature

I could not find any temperature controls, the attendant was doing no attending, and I couldn't move to the next warmer AC car as seats were taken, so I figured I'd use my fallback stategy.: go sit in the dining car and enjoy what rail travel is all about: leisurely travel. But unlike night train there is none. The reason I didn't take night train was because with the rocking I find it impossible to sleep so I waste a day of business travel slerpimg next day in hotel at destination.

Learn to read Thai, it is not 3.4% per month, there is the word "deuan" against the figure 9, meaning 9 "months" The offer on their web site clearly states 3.4% interest at the end of 9 months time deposit. They also offer 3.30% if you deposit your money for 6 months. A word of warning which applies to all Thai Banks offering high interest time deposit: At the end of the 9 month period they will automatically reduce your time deposit interest to the minimum interest rate whereas their sales literature implies that if you do not close the account it would be rolled over to a new high interest rate available at the end of 9 months. What I do is go to the bank the day after the end of the 9 month period and open a new time deposit account

Another good reason to bank in Cambodia instead of Thailand. Cambodian bank and mictrofinancing institutions have no problem allowing one to roll over for certain maximym durations, e,g. 8 years, so if it's a 2-year fixed deposit, it can roll over three times after each maturity.

That's outrageous that you have to go in in person or even online to roll it over. In Cambodia I have three choices ...

1. Cash out (actually put into savings account)

2. Re-invest principle only

3. Re-invest principle and interest

No option to reinvest interest only (even though this is how my grandfather taught me how to manage funds while playing craps, i.e. Playing only with profit)

BTW, I emailed [email protected]. Email came back immediately as undeliverable.

Thanks all for the tips on CMBI and K Bank.

" it might help if you could provide detail re: Thailand.Phone: make and model?"

Samsung tablet

I already have a data plan by same company on same phone.

Issan Darling love it. Been there many years ago, but as I recall the entertainers there worked 'afterhours'. I mean straight singers. Whose only occupation is singing. No extras. Garlands mean 'I love your singing' not 'I love you'.

What's more, as I recall Issarn Darling is LAO music, not Cambodian, no?

I store my gold in Singapore. IIt must not only be 99.9% pure in order to be VAT-free entering this 'not really a duty-free port despite the reputation of being such', it also has to be on the 'good delivery list' from London. I haveb't yet chevked to see if any Thai companies are on that list. I am going to guess that if anyone is it is only Bangkok Assay.

However, jewellery is exempt, or at least is not enforced. Keep that in mind next time you want to move a kilo of gold. My understanding is that the aprox USD 23,000 limit on financial instuments probably technically does refer to any form of bullion invcluding pure gold jewellery, but to know if it is enforced (like I hear it is in India) you'd have to ask a Hindu bride coming in with 10 laks of bangles, nose studs and ankle bells.

Ignore the state... At your own peril