jaizan

Thank you. I'm likely to do exactly the same. Using the app on my new phone will have to wait until I return to Thailand. In the meantime, I don't need it much, so I can get by with web based access or using my old phone.

I've been using the Kasikorn banking app on my old phone for years. I now install the app on my new phone and it insists I firstly log in using the cellular network rather than wifi. So I switch off wifi and it comes up with the same error message, telling me to use the cellular network. I am currently in the UK, using my UK SIM. Is the app somehow expecting me to use a cellular data connection from my Thai SIM registered with the bank account for the first login ? Or a Thai cellular network ?

What is the normal expectation for motorcycle insurance when renting ? I saw one company which offered insurance. However, the cover was for 100,000 baht, with a 20,000 excess. So just 80,000 baht cover. Like about £2000. So I'd better not run into anything expensive! Does anyone here do proper insurance? With decent cover for unexpected events. Please assume I will have all the correct licenses, so no need to discuss that.

At what cost though ? I hear some charge 3500 in Pattaya. Another quoted me about 1600, but that was as part of a much larger "fee" proposed for a retirement visa, bending a few rules. (I didn't go for it) My actual account was opened over 10 years ago. The first branch said no. The second said yes. If faced with a 3500 fee, I would at least try walking into half a dozen branches first.

Does anyone sell Sidegra in Pattaya at the correct price ? ie 100 baht for 4 x50mg or 180 baht for 4 x 100mg. I'm not interested in Kamagra or any number of alternatives.

There is potentially an app for the railway. This You Tube video shows it. However, they don't demonstrate ticket booking. I cannot find the app on the play store. I don't know what's wrong with building a station as close as they can to the city centre and having a ticket office that takes cash for tickets. That has worked for almost 200 years elsewhere.

I don't yet have experience, but hope to try it in a couple of months. From what I hear, the official ticket offices only take Union Pay or some odd Lao banking app. Nothing sensible, like cash or Visa/Mastercard. Then, in the age of computers, you have to buy tickets within 48 hours of travel. Anyone would think it was run by communists, rather than some practical business minded people who want to provide a good service in order to earn a return on their capital. The problem was solved by using a ticket agent.

Does anyone have any recent experience of LAO ATMs and cash withdrawal fees ? Last time, I think I mostly used cash taken with me (~4 years ago). The one thing I noticed was that it was cheaper to convert GBP to THB in BKK Airport Rail station (about 0.5% loss v mid-market at the time) and then convert the THB to LAK in Vientiane than it was to directly convert from GBP to LAK in Vientiane. Having noticed the difference in spread, I checked the live exchange rates online, so this was definitely down to a poor GBP spread and not exchange rate movements. If the ATM charges are reasonable, I think I prefer that to taking cash this time. As for the trains, there is a separate thread for that.

Thank you for the recommendations everyone. I probably get bitten by a mosquito about once a week, usually when I forgot to put any chemicals on my skin until noticing the mozzies. So I'm not going near a doctor unless I'm ill. I just want something to stop the itching.

What do people use for insect bite pain relief ? I have found the Hydrocortisone gels sold in the UK worked very well and some of the alternatives were of no use. Now most of the places near me don't stock Hydrocortisone. So I can either buy some unknown brand off Amazon, or buy something in Thailand, as long as there are some good recommendations.

How long is the Air Asia check in queue at DMK these days and how long should I allow for it? My proposed flight is likely to depart at 12:50. Pre-covid, I always used to buy their premium package, which included a checked bag, a good seat, a meal and best of all, access to the fast check in queue. This wasn't that much more expensive than the price for checking a bag. I remember that the check in queues often looked quite long, so picking the premium package was an easy decision. Now they have repriced the packages, so to get access to the fast check in, plus some irrelevant benefits would cost me +1200 baht.