allane

This is an awfully hard topic to summarize in a few words. Different credit card issuers in the same country (to say nothing of different countries) have different policies. Credit is a privilege, not a right, and there is no requirement for standardization. Read the fine print of your Cardholder Agreement. If you are still in your home country, make some telephone enquiries. If you are already abroad, you may want to have someone in the home country do it on your behalf. Remember that whomever you are talking to has call display on their telephone, and can easily put a note on your file if they suspect that the caller is being economical with the truth. That note will then be visible to everyone in that call centre if you call again.

Is there anyone who lives nearby this hotel, who could walk in, and then provide me with an E-mail address or fax number that I can use to contact them ? Or, maybe someone who is currently a guest there ? The E-mail address which I have been given doesn't work.

Sorry to be a bit of a bother here, but hotel contact details can be hard to locate on the Intenet. They normally have to agree to suppress them when they join one of those on-line hotel reservation sites.

It certainly will be, and will be very crowded. It is likely too late now, for anything that requires a reservation. Be prepared for long queues, with no guarantee that you will get a seat on public buses or trains. Go to the station as early as possible in the morning. Everyone has Dec. 31, and Jan. 1, 2 and 3 off, so travel outside that period if you can.

Again, a bit of an off-topic digression, but a further thought which I had meant to include in my first post above, particularly for anyone who keeps a credit card for emergency use only: Use your home country credit card at least once every 364 days. Some companies have a policy of cancelling a card (with no prior notice), if it has not been used for a year. Keep the subsequent statement and some sort of calendar or diary, so you will remember to use it again before the next 12 months are up.

Different credit card companies have different policies. You don't have to start with the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, but try this:

Have someone still in your home country phone in and make a general enquiry on behalf of a friend/relative (you) who is currently travelling abroad.... "What if he is away for 3 months...?, What if he is away for 6 months...?" This should prompt the person taking the call to give a general statement of the company's policy. Once you have heard it, you can then decide what to do next. Don't make the initial call yourself, if you are already abroad. They have call display, and can see where you are calling from.

This next part is a bit off-topic, but I mention it anyway to help others. Maintain all of your home country credit cards if you can. You never know when some unforseen mix-up can result in one of them being cancelled. I once did what the OP is planning, selecting as my contact a stable, married couple who had been in the same house for 15 years or so. Unbeknownst to me, they decided, a short time later, to move to a new city, of course forgetting to tell me. My new credit card landed in the mailbox of an empty house, with a notice on the outside saying "Do not forward, if the addressee has moved."

You didn't mention if you are male or female. In the past, there has been a sexist element to this; I don't know if it still exists. I once worked with a man who was half-Thai, half something else. He said that because his mother was the Thai parent, he didn't have to enter the lottery for military service, but that he would have had to if he had a Thai father and a foreign mother.

In 15 yrs. here, I have had that happen twice I think, though with the banks' ATMs, as I am not a customer of AEON. Remain calm. Go to your home bank and tell them exactly what happened. It can take 2 or 3 days, but I think that you will have the money credited back to your account.

P.S. You did the right thing in walking away from the first ATM. There are enough ATM's everywhere in Thailand, there is no reason to stand there, trying to "negotiate" with one that is acting strangely.

If you are still in the UK, bring the original copy of your degree. You will need it to get a Work Permit. Photocopies are not acceptable.

I have seen small in-line filter systems attached to water coolers for drinking water. They contain a silver canister, which is about 1.5 litres in size. Look for places that sell water coolers.

Ratchawithi is a normal street. There is no continuous expressway from one to the other. You would have to come down from Stage II, get on Wisut Kasat Road, go over the Phraram 8 suspension bridge, and get on the elevated expressway above Talingchan Road. The new Sai Tai Mai is at Sai 1, I don't know where the nearest downramp is. Check Google Maps, they show the expressways, including on and off ramps.

Ask at the nearest public school. If they don't offer it there, they will know the nearest school which does.

I certainly would not go out of my way to patronize a business, just because it was owned by a farang. They "require" three times as much as money as an equivalent Thai person, in order to be able to maintain their expensive lifestyle. That money has to come from someone, doesn't it ?

Check out www.bangkokairporttrain.com It is my understanding that full, regular service does not begin until sometime in Feb. 2010.

When my Topic is about to fall from Page 2 to Page 3, it is time to give it a "bump".

It is like a lot of other legal matters in Thailand, and like a lot of the questions posted on Thaivisa:

- the fact that someone else was able to get a relaxation of the law is no assurance that you will get one too.

And no, you have no right to complain if you have to follow the law, even though someone else did not.

On this particular issue, I think that airlines sometimes overlook the requirement if you come from a wealthy country, have white skin or they are too busy trying to keep to their flight schedule.

Thanks to all who have replied so far,including those who sent Private Mails. I presently live in Bangkok,and am scheduled to be in Pattaya several times over the next month, for several days each time. I plan to use this time to check out different neighbourhoods and buildings.

Forgive my ignorance, but what is a "Letter of Residence", and when might I need one ? Aren't the stamps in my passport proof enough that I am here, and have a legal right to remain ?

Having consulted a map, Tha Chang is the nearest pier, with boat service, to Tha Maharat.

I saw a "Chao Phraya Tourist Boat" just a few days ago. They used to run the large boats only during peak hours. Then they got the bright idea of running them through the middle of the day to rip off anyone silly enough to pay whatever sky-high fare they are charging.

I don't know "Maharat Pier" by that name. If you know another name for it, or know a nearby landmark, I can likely tell you the nearest pier.

I am looking for a simple studio apartment for long-term rental. It must have an attached bath and air-conditioning. I am looking for a place in the 5000 - 8000 baht/month range.

With a slight handicap, I would prefer a place that is on a lower floor in a building, if the building has no lift.

It is not necessary that you give me contact information at this time, as I won't be moving for a few more months.

I speak Thai well enough that if you describe the building, I will go by, look at the exterior and the neighbourhood, and if I like the place, walk in and talk to the manager.

Feel free to send me a Private Mail, if for some reason you don't want to describe the place here.

Check out www.bluechillibar.com This is not an endorsement, or recommendation. I have never been there, and don't know anyone who has.

Is this the link/topic your referring to:

Yes, thank you.

To expand a bit on my comments... I have been working as a teacher in Thailand since 1995. Early in my time here, I became aware of the salary cap for teachers in government schools and post-secondary institutions which I mentioned in my two previous posts.

While I certainly don't know exactly how long this regulation has been in place, it was by no means a new regulation when I came here. My impression in 1995 or '96 was that it had already been in place for several years.

the question still stands...is there a $ limit for foreign teachers (link or quote please) & can this be negated by approval from some ministry? Has anybody heard of this before?

I answered this question already in a reply to a Topic that YOU had started. The topic is titled: "maximum" Wage/salary

I posted my comments at 18:38:22 on September 12, 2009.

For anyone else who wants to view it, and can not find it using the above topic title, try searching this forum for the word "Rajhabat", exactly as I have spelled it here.

By definition, you can't have two (or more) residences. That is why the "90 Day Residence Reporting" exists. Immigration wants to know where they can find you if anything arises.

A difficult question, because I have been here a long time (about 15 yrs.) But my answer is "yes", not because things have changed, but because they haven't. Prices have been remarkably stable. I speak enough Thai that the attitude of Thai people toward me has only improved, as you would expect. As for other foreign visitors or residents, I don't care what they think of me.