clinique

Singapore Changi is the best excellent. After flying around the reion on business for 15 years absolutely no question.

I would also include Chiangmai, which I would vote 2nd best,, easy, friendly, no hassles, and quick - maybe Im colored becaus eit is home base !

For worst Jakarta,,

But if we include Perth (which I do in my regional definition) - definately the worst........ no services, shopping and food is sh.. ,, and incoming customs and immigration,, longest lines and least numbe rof Imm officers i have seen anywhere,, can take 2 hours + to clear passport control..

and rude, arrogant, narrow minded, officials...

Had dinner at Charlies last night. Definately the best taste.. and my taste buds are well located in my mouth.

He wasnt aware of thepoll untill a coupleof days ago ( wonder why ??) so that may account for the boost in votes, once his cutomers were aware it was on,, they voted ..

Piggy's - no where near the taste..

Pun Pun,, drove past last nite also.. no cutomers.. but yet to try..(dont like empty places...tells me something )

Charlies for me all the way

hi JD, that has never happened to me at either BBL, SCB or UOB,,

I always get the posted rate of exchange.

SCB Airport Plaza, UOB airport plaza, BBL Chang Phuak.

They post a rate for the day - that is their rate. How do thye justify the difference - me thinks they canot - they are having a lend of you my friend !

As far as I understood, 51.9 was the 'posted rate'. However, I wanted to get the the visa wholesale rate which is what I get if I use the ATM. Does anyone else get this visa-rate in-branch?

Thanks

JD

No, becasue as far an I am aware, this is part of the banks spread on doing exchange transactions. We are not wholesale customers so they are not obliged (or interesed) in giving us that rate.

cheers

Not familiar with this particular apartment block, but with so much construction going on around this city, it's a bit hit and miss as to whether you'll become a victim of noise pollution sooner or later, no matter where you reside. Shortly after I moved into my condo, the builders arrived next door and started to build a big new detached house right under my window. Pneumatic drills, diggers, rotary hammers, and dumper trucks operating morning noon and night almost every day for 18 months! Construction was eventually completed last month. Phew!

And right behind me there are pubs and clubs blasting out live music from about 11-01:00AM every night. Not the tranquil little pad I moved into some 2 years ago that's for sure! Oh, and let's not forget packs of howling soi dogs which spontaneously burst into night time wailing every 30 minutes or so.

But I guess this is urban living in a city which is in the midst of a building boom, and although the noise can be a bit overwhelming at times, I've learned to live with it simply because I like my condo and enjoy the area.

It's nice to see you're voting with your feet though, which is the right thing to do if you're not happy.

Btw, it might be interesting to see where you end up next chboonman. From what to what and from where to where? I currently have a corner 1 bed unit of some 72 SQM which has lots of glass and great views for 9,900 THB/Mo. I've been looking around at some of the smart new condos and apartments shooting up recently, and 10,000 THB/Mo seems to pretty much the going rate for a reasonable sized studio in these new dwellings.

Maybe some of the long term expats here can report some hidden gems here as you search for a new place to live.

Aitch

View Doi in Santhitham. ! bedroom apartment with all facilites including kitchen, mwave, fridge, wide screen TV , fantastic mountain views.. 12,000- pm.

Hi,

AAA is not a Thai creditor. It is a Legal and Debt Collection firm which has been working here in Thailand for about 40 years. They are VERY good at what they do - thye employ very good lawyers, ex police offciers, investigators etc. If anyone can find people / recover money in Thailand AAA can and DO.

They also have EXCELLENT relationships with ALL foreign embassies and Consulates, the local constabulary, credit rating agencies etc.

I would suggest you copy them on your correspondence with Denmark. They are NOT unreasonable and if you can prove your position to them they will work with you to resolve it in everyones best interests.

Whilst overeeas creditors may have no rights here, once AA starts 'looking' for you (ie: making calls, going to your home/ place of work, the word will be out, and the grapevine in Thailand is far more effective than 'the British old school Thai' network.

BTW one of the partners has been a friend of mine for 25 + years.

Good luck.

All my withdrawals are from my foreign account/s by ATM, debit card. ( As noted on another thread one of my foreign banks does have an o/seas withdrawal charge, the other does not.)

I do this at the bank counter. There is no service charge and the exchange rate is the same as the one posted at the bank.

The banks are already making money from the posted rate, so there is no need for them to charge a different rate to what is posted, unless thye dont like you and want to rip you off.

I do this maybe 1 or 2 times a month and replenish my Thai savings account, from there I use my Thai ATM/debit card attached to the savings account to puchase locally.No charge.

Through this whole process I am not charged ( unless i withdraw from the one opvereas account which applies a charge) or applied with a penalty exchange rate.

Are you enlightened yet !! Happy to explain more by PM.

1.5% of what.. - where is that charged. I have used this system under advice from my lawyers and my bankers for many years.

It is legal and is doesnt cost anything.

Of course a banker's going to tell you it's the best way as he's making every time. I thought the 1.5% absorbed charge was common knowledge of overseas withdrawals using debit card. You won't see it on the statement as it's inclusive and zaps the rate a little bit... suggest you read the fine print

The common sense way to bring over that amount of dosh is to TT... can't actually believe this thread is still going and people are advising it is best to bring cash over

sorry dont agree.. i get the same rate with no 1.5% deduction, nothing.

having ben here 25+ years Ive tried all systems and , for me, this is the best, cheapest and most effective.

TT is not always the cheapest, can take taime and is subject to more scrutiny, over the counter withdrawals / ATM transactaction are not.

Thanks for your feedback in any event.

Those who bring cash are looking for trouble - both ends.

ATM cash withdrawals are limited to 20,000 per time.

Yup, but thats becasue the machine will only issue 20 NOTES at a time.

If you need more just go to the counter with card and passport - there is no ATM also when you use the counter.

Beaware = dont use K Bank , thye will only give 20ooo over the counter also. Use BBL, SCB, UOB.

If you have the funds in a uk bank and draw against a debit card inside the bank here you can draw 500.000 baht for sure as ive done it,.

Do the same charges apply from your bank at home as using the ATM outside?

Depends on your card service agreement with your bank.

For me I bank does charge an oseas withdrawal fee, my other bank charges nothin..

bikerlou I am with you on this,,

I use the counter service and there is no charge, dont know why anyone bothers to usethe ATM, there is always the possibility of your card getting eaten by the machine - a bigger pain then 150-baht

the exchange rate is te same as posted by the bank.

AND by the way JF all my over the counter transactions hit my account IMMEDIATELY same as an ATM withdrawal becasue they swipe the card through a card reader fro approval.

If they happen to use the old paper transaction system then yes it takes a day or 2.

just a thouhgt tho, if MORE farangs start using the counter instead of the ATM machine they will soon wise up and charge for over the counter as wel...... there is probably no way around it in the end.

but for the time being ..over the counter for me.. free free free

bikerlou I am with you on this,,

I use the counter service and there is no charge, dont know why anyone bothers to usethe ATM, there is always the possibility of your card getting eaten by the machine - a bigger pain then 150-baht

the exchange rate is te same as posted by the bank.

AND by the way JF all my over the counter transactions hit my account IMMEDIATELY same as an ATM withdrawal becasue they swipe the card through a card reader fro approval.

If they happen to use the old paper transaction system then yes it takes a day or 2.

The funny thing that is rarely talked about....

Not since Rep Paul Kanjorski let it slip is this.....

On Thursday (Sept 18 [2008]), at 11am the Federal Reserve noticed a tremendous draw-down of money market accounts in the U.S., to the tune of $550 billion was being drawn out in the matter of an hour or two. The Treasury opened up its window to help and pumped a $105 billion in the system and quickly realized that they could not stem the tide. We were having an electronic run on the banks. They decided to close the operation, close down the money accounts and announce a guarantee of $250,000 per account so there wouldn't be further panic out there.

What was the true cause of it? What is to stop it from occurring again?

The original clip of him where he states the above about 2:20 minutes into the clip.

Then listen to the last 10 seconds. That somebody who threw us into the Atlantic Ocean without a life raft....Ok who?

still looking at thee vents around then,, BUT it SURE is interesting to look at the gold price charts from Jan 08 thru till today,,, goldprice.org

from 850- peroz mid sept down to 750peroz around 18th then back to 950peroz moid Oct then crashing to 720peroz mid Nov and since thnits hit $1000peroz and mostly stayed there.

Gee i wonder if anyone was making any money ? Now we know where all the stolen billions went - Ah Ha But seriously take alook

just bring your ATM card . you can then withdraw at any bank branch - no cost - dont need to use ATMs..

That would take a few hours plus a few pounds for postage to organise as opposed to filling in one form, bringing the cash with you and saving up to 30,000 baht when exchanging it into baht.

But if he can't explain to the UK Revenue where he got the 30k from that he's taking out of the country (and he can't as he's unemployed) then filling in one form is going to cost him more time and pounds than my suggestion.

Ditto for me!

If he is happy to take the risk,,

How Bangkok can be ranked up there with Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo as the world's best city, let alone in Asia is beyond me.

Singapore is a FINE city...

Latest news there...someone got fined for sucking a sweet on the train.

Talk about police state !

Everythign goes in BKK, nothing goes in Sing.. except the banks and money. And Casinos on the way.

Somewhere for all the bankers to spend OUR well earned $$

Work permit to sell !!

NONSENSE !

Dont need one to buy, so why would you need one to sell.

TAlk to Land Department , not immigration - its not their domain.

Wow...would ten more armchair experts care to offer wrong advice?

hmmm... how constructive !

And your suggestion is ??

I travel international at least 2 times amonth and have found (for me) that the way i suggest is the most legal, cost effective and practical.

it certainly avoids any need for declaration to customs, carrying large cash sums or paying for transfers, travellers checks or Western Union etc..

back to you, ..and im not in the armchair right now.!

Agreed, the saest and most cost effective way. The othe ris to leave it in yout UK account, get an ATM /debit card on the account. Go to Thailand, open an accountand withdraw by cash advance at the Thai bank in baht ( no fees) from your UK account. Deposit to Thai bank account. Same result. Legal.

Except if you do it that way, you'll have to pay 1.5% minimum which on GBP 10-20K is a lot of money just going down the toilet!

1.5% of what.. - where is that charged. I have used this system under advice from my lawyers and my bankers for many years.

It is legal and is doesnt cost anything.

The baht exchange rate her ein Thailand is always much better than in UK (same for other currencies.)

So what are you talking about pls?

use your cedit card , debit cards, inside the bank as if you were cashing a cheque, fill the small amount of paperwork, take your passport, and you won't get charged the 150b.

I just tried this today at Siam Commercail Bank (SCB), Carrefour Chiang Mai. They said no charge but that they would use their own rate 51.9 Baht/£ whereas the current visa rate is 53 on their website (which I will assume has been rounded up from 52.5 for the sake of the example below).

On a £15000 withdrawal I would get the following

SCB in-branch rate: 51.9 = 15000/51.9 = 289.02

Visa ATM Rate: 52.5 (but probably higher) (need to add the 150 baht for this one) = 15150/52.5 = 288.57

So using the ATM still costs me less £ to get 15000 baht

Or should I be getting the visa rate in-branch?

hi JD, that has never happened to me at either BBL, SCB or UOB,,

I always get the posted rate of exchange.

SCB Airport Plaza, UOB airport plaza, BBL Chang Phuak.

They post a rate for the day - that is their rate. How do thye justify the difference - me thinks they canot - they are having a lend of you my friend !

thanks again guys..

its still not here today.

I was thinking of cancelling it and starting all over again - this time by making sur emy bank sends US$ to my Thai account at K Bank.

Just not sure what happens if i get them to cancel the original transfer - when do i get it back ?

any ideas /recommendations.

cheers.

Im with scorecard, as I did 3 years at 2 universities in Bangkok up until recently .

16 hours aweek, sometimes 24 a week total, with hourly rate of 3,000- baht.

Position yourself as being outside the Kingdom when applying.

There is most often a vast difference in salary between those

"in-country" and those perceived or actually coming from

overseas for the position. Ko Jie Mi?

for me i had been in Thailand 15 years when i started these Guest Lectureships

Guest Lecturers and Guest Professors for MBA / above / business professinals are paid quite differently from other educational institutions and high school / college students. Different deal altogether.

BBL branches open 08.30 except in shoping malls which open the same time the mall does 10 or 11. Advantage of the mall branches is thye stay open till 20.00 (8pm)

Other banks some open at 09.00

Some branches close at 3.30pm , some 4.00pm, some 4.30pm -who knows why !

Not bad clinique..... on board 2 days and 31 posts + per day avg....... would you like us to send over Meals on Wheels so you can have a bite.???

Hi guys, keeping my average up today am I ?? I'll take the meals on wheels thanks - 2 Mikes Cheeseburgers with bacon.... haha! I just find these forums amusing and sometimes overcomplicated when there are simple answers...

have a good night,,, might see you tomorrow,,

Have you been to Immigration to ASK them what qualifies.?

I have never had a problem in 20+ years asking them questions openly and honestly. Even on occassion i have overstayed.

I find most officers go out of their way to help if they can.

Get to speak to a supervisor, they will tell you what to do. Get his/her name and ask them if its OK to come back to them to file the application - 9times out of ten i have had no problem with this approach.

When you have complied go back to THAT person.

BTW i have a friedn who gets income from amortgage/lien over a property (which is registered at the Land office, and Immigration accepted that.

Ask the people who will proces your paperwork, be friednly respectful and ask for their help.

hello !!!!!!!

i repeat , having done it for years,,

Agreed, the safest and most cost effective way is swift - most banks you can do this online/internetbanking/phone banking.

The other is to leave it in your UK account, get an ATM /debit card on the account. Go to Thailand, open an account and withdraw by cash advance at the Thai bank in baht ( no fees) from your UK account. Deposit to Thai bank account. Same result.

And entirely Legal.

With anti money laundering laws these days carrying cash in such amounts is asking for trouble.

The best way to do it is by bank account. Because you can only take money out of thailand you legally take in , and to open a bank account you have to inform imigrations so legally the better. You will lose to much money sending by western union or any money gram.

How many are going with you. Because the best way is £500 traveler checks and split them between your mates because you get better exchange rate .. What do you intend to buy with it ?

Did you read the thread? he can take 10,000 euro out undeclared.

Edit: travelers checks are considered cash too.

sorry but you do NOT have to inform Immigration when you open a bank account - BS

if yuor quoting a regulation please post link. thx