tryptamine

wi-fi? all over the country? simply unrealistic, it means millions of access points

maybe they meant wimax or something similar?

anyway, better they would be quicker with 3G

in Indonesia i have 200 kb/s (that is 1.6 mbit ya) real 3G speed. and several operators have this service too

or unlimited 384kbit for just above 500 baht/mth or 35/day

and it works not only in Jakarta or on Bali

in many major cities and even on Lombok

and of course outside of the 3G coverage i often still get EDGE

that said, with dtac sim it's more difficult to get stuck without any signal or GPRS (no EDGE) only, yes

but it was exactly same 2+ years ago (and that time it was really wonderful, yes) in Thailand! where's the progress?

and yes, dtac has no 3G so far even in Bkk

I do not see the problem Personally I like these short skirts, the shorter the sexier

To understand the "problem" better I need more examples! Keep the pics coming:rolleyes:

agreed almost to the entire post

the only difference is that, in my opinion, TOO short skirts are less sexy (coz maybe reveal too much and this is more of erotism than of feminine beauty)

as such, there's some "perfect length".... hm maybe same as on the original photo, or a bit less

<br>Maybe they should require the universities to pass out condoms the first day of class?   That's a bill that might have some positive effect.  <br>

Condoms will not solve problem alone, I guess. Having sex with one partner (and especially when first time) while using a condom doesn't appeal to many Thais at all (non-Thais as well, maybe to the lesser extent due to sex education). And hormonal pills.. hm, there are just emergency ones or those requiring long course. Difficult again for young people.

But, where are the other kinds of contraceptives, such as spermicides? I Was first concerned about that here in 2008 - and was told that they're not licensed for sale in Thailand (!). Isn't it crazy? (Yes, and as I do not go back home often now, sometimes I have to ask my friends coming to Thailand to bring some =)

I had my Kasikorn atm card stolen while I was in Vietnam and whilst I was trying to cancel it with the hopeless staff in Thailand they went shopping and cleared out my account. No PIN number needed! I lost 17,000 baht...luckily I never keep too much in my Thai bank accounts as I know there's no chance of getting it back...moral of the story? Never keep more in a Thai bank than you can afford to lose as there's no protection from fraud here like in most western countries. I even managed to get online and report the theft before it was used but the guy couldn't cancel it...I had to call the hotline in Thailand and by the time I managed to talk with somebody it had already been used! There're still a lot of countries where a pin number is not required to make a purchase so be careful guys, if you lose your card you could lose all your money to boot! By the way I also lost an HSBC UK credit card at the same time and this got hit up for 150,000...had the money refunded within 2 days! DON'T TRUST THAI BANKS WITH BIG $!!!

If you have an "O" Retirement Visa and don't have a fat pension, we have no choice but to keep a large amount of cash in Thai Bank...kao jai?

still have almost 20 years until I could enjoy all benefits of this kind of visa

but... just out of interest... is it necessary to hold these money on a card-linked current account?

besides of obvious danger of card fraud, there's 0% (or 0.1% that is almost same) p.a. usually on those accounts, isn't it?

yes and i agree with previous readers - the story is quite strange

700k baht and the bank doesn't care? and no daily/monthly limits? still, if it's genuinely so, I'd never be customer of that bank

Maybe then 500 baht fine for operating an elephant without license, and another 200 baht for driving one without a helmet?

Btw, saw elephants on the streets a few times last month, but I'm in Chiang Mai.

Still do not think the streets of central tourist areas here are nice place for those beasts. :-(

Maybe you can enforce this in the major cities of Thailand but in the small villages where the local store sells alcohol to anybody regardless of age will never stop. In my village I have kids who are 7 years old buying,drinking and getting drunk on Leo.

I have talked to the shoip owner about this and she does not care one iota. As long as she gets her 60 baht for a bottle she is happy.

60 baht for Leo? in a shop? sounds pretty expensive, is it a bar+shop or something like that?

or, is it just a drawback of not having 7-eleven/Family mart around? still wonder, do locals have so much money to spare, or else why they not use their motosai/pickup to visit one, or even better Tesco etc. in a nearest city?

i often drank beer in CM bars cheaper, many (Thai ones) have smth like 139 for 3 large btl of Leo (for Chang can be down to 109)

Better to book air tickets with the airlines direct. Thai travel agents used to be able to share some of their discount with customers but the airlines have cut that so much there is nothing they can share any more. Travel agents also usually want customers to pay the credit card commission which airlines don't. I can't see the agents add any value these days. Most cannot use the airline online reservation systems properly and you see them phoning a friend to make the reservation for them.

It may be safer to book online direct with the airline but certainly not cheaper,

i recently flew to London and back, and when i tried to book online all the airlines, Thaiairways, Britishairways and Evaair, were way over priced compared with the agents quotes,

I ended up saving 10000 bt by booking through an agent.

I really can't understand why this was the case as the same thing happened the year before too.

Thai, British? maybe this explains?

these are normally quite expensive "major" airlines (though if say Thai has a nice, even a bit more expensive than competition, promo fare, sure I will fly)

also, as I've noticed about Thai, the fares posted on their website are often too high, but when I (once) contacted them by phone (that was in Moscow, Russia), the fare told me was around 30% less!!

and from Thailand, for many international destinations I can see only Y fare available, that is yearly/one-way and fully flexible, but not even close to cheap

so, maybe it was cheaper via agent than online, but still same or a bit more if talk with them directly? IMHO, not so difficult to check both and choose the cheaper one

also, were there just 3 options for you? how about a connecting flight?

that's how I've flown from and to Moscow since I started to live in Thailand/SE Asia

Swiss via Zurich to Bkk yearly ticket, then Etihad OW to Delhi, then again Etihad from Trivandrum to Moscow and 3 weeks later Bkk

I still don't get why people wouldn't just book online where most of the time you can get much better deal...

well, i agree, not all the time (just above I wrote a story about that in Indonesia, and, as I was told by friends, in this country it's not so rare occasion), but mostly true, especially for cheaper flights

as for me, when i plan to fly somewhere

normally (as usually these are flights within SE Asia/India, where LCC's are abundant and cheap) first i check airlines themselves, including some exotic connection variants (why not to visit some another place for a few days and still pay cheaper, especially if no visa needed?)

however, sometimes I start from online booking engines, specifically if: 1) the trip is outside of that area and complex (they may have multi-airline deals), 2) the route is new to me (to have an idea from which price i should look down)

as of offline agencies... well, i may check too, if not satisfied with any options offered, or know about some flights on my route which aren't available online

but of course, i'll come there already knowing about general price for the dates needed

so won't pay more than if myself

Book online direct with the airline, Better prices and never worry.

They say, "you cant cheat an honext man" go looking for a deal and u get one

you know this is not always the case.I use a local travel agent on Samui and will get a better price than online.

better than same airline on their website? and which one, for example? if say domestic Thai i am not surprised at all... with twice regular AA fares, sure they could pay so much commission that even Thai travel agent can discount and still have a nice profit

but, true said, good travel agents can do that sometimes

in Indonesia almost 2 months ago, my friends had Surabaya-Mataram ticket on Merpati for 281000 rupiah (roughly 1000 baht)

and, as Merpati does not accept foreign cards online, when i finally visited their office (in Malang), it was CLOSED (friday evening), my friends were flying next Monday, and another low-cost airline (Batavia) serving that route asked 377000 on their website

but, while going back and thinking about maybe i have to fly a day or two after my friends (and i had just about 10 days before returning to Jakarta), or take long and not really cheaper bus/ferry trip via Bali

i've just noticed an agency with no signs in English at all, only in Indonesian

so i gave it a try

and was amazed when they offered me 277000 on Batavia on Sun/Mon (just 2-3 days in advance), without any extra fees

well, after back home I've checked and found that it was Batavia who dropped price to 277000 that day (probably had too many seats left)

still, the agency hasn't charged me anything, they charged Battavia for.... 10000, or $1.1 (as the price listed in my ticket was 267000)

and i remind, this is a low-cost airline, which also flies not too ancient planes (B737-400 all 3 times I used it), unlike some other Indo low-costs, compared to those One-Two-GO's "birds" are fairly young :-D

so... i'm not totally against travel agencies

some can be good and even can offer bargain prices

unfortunately, all of them I saw in tourist-infested areas, including Pattaya, were not of that category

As they book tickets FROM Thailand, guess they live here for a while, and, as such, should be aware that travel agencies in Thailand are rip offs more often than no (or occasionally worse, as in this case).

So because this one agency has been caught means that all are a rip off, thats going way over the top, what about the rest that are properly licensed and happy making the small amount they do compared to agencies in western countries making a lot more with a lot more overheads, now I can see where the rip off is.

First, I said "more often than not", not ALL. Say, in Chiang Mai once I booked a train ticket to Bkk, and they charged just +60 baht to the price (I agreed, because I knew the real price, of course, was w/o motorbike and this was just before SRT opened their online booking, so the visit to train station would eat 40 baht for songthaew at least, not to mention time lost). Yes, I do not have anything against agencies like that. Also, if the agency charges more, but for a reason (such as they take care of their customers if something goes wrong), it's perfectly OK! If some people do want that and not to be on their own, and are ready to pay - yes, why not?

But... when I walk around some tourist place in Thailand (like say Pattaya), so often I see crazy prices posted just on the street/on TA doors... such as many hundred baht for local trips 10-20-30 km away, 1000 baht to Ko Chang (not sure if they won't make you to pay for the ferry after, and not just to pay normal price, but 2x price in some another agency on the way). Or, how about so popular "just 2000 baht" for a visa run to Cambodia (and guess you'll be lucky if have time to bargain with Cambodian officials even to 1000 baht before it's not too late to return to your minibus). I always use (well-organized and often offering better conditions) Thai public transportation while traveling around, so those numbers just sound crazy to me!

So, yes, I never tried to book any air tickets from a travel agency in Thailand - but, given all what I see, do I have to expect those selling long-distance tickets on the same street will not try to rip off any farang in a same "Thai" (so to say) way? Yes, I still believe there are many honest ones too - but not the majority. And one should do some work choosing right one before giving them money, especially if the sum is large.

And, if the agency is not even licensed... well, then it's just a plain stupidness to give them tens of thousand bahts. Not just in Thailand.

P.S. As of this case - it's not a rip off, it's a plain scam, as the topic title tells us.

Just wonder - why people do not use online booking available now from almost any airline (or, if too lazy to check all the options/can't find cheap tickets themselves, online travel agencies or ticket search engines) and resort to "offline" travel agencies, especially in Pattaya.

As they book tickets FROM Thailand, guess they live here for a while, and, as such, should be aware that travel agencies in Thailand are rip offs more often than no (or occasionally worse, as in this case).

I notice that more and more people arriving at Pattaya Nua bus station walk across the road and hail a passing baht bus rather than patronise the bus station taxi mafia. May that long continue.

hm... mafia at Pattaya Nuea? as i remember, they always asked 20 baht (for shared trip of coz). and, considering a distance between there and, say, soi 13/1 second rd., where I often lived before, maybe it's not exactly cheap, but (for Pattaya) is reasonable

but, last time when I arrived to Pattaya few weeks ago (from Udon), tuk tuk drivers near Pattaya Klang didn't want to bargain for less than 50 for 1.5 km just straight to Klang/Buakhao corner... and yes that's while they saw I came from Udon and also while I bargained with them in Thai!

i just ended up crossing Sukhumvit myself, then catching 10 b songthaew down Pattaya Klang (was not difficult at all even at 7.30 am)

about Phuket tuk tuks... i heard a lot about them, so, when finally i visited Phuket 10 to 15 may this year after coming back from Indonesia, i even never tried to talk with them

but of course saw those crazy 900 baht prices to Patong at the airport... of course, my choice was a bus to Phuket town for 85

yes, drug laws in U.A.E. are crazy

but at least these are LAWS.. and, I guess, if actually you did nothing serious, they'll most like release you (even while being jailed and maybe sentenced then pardoned is not funny at all) after showing how serious they are, as someone noted above

back in Russia, where I had not so big luck to have been born and to live almost 28 out of my 30 years

by the law, since 2005 technically it's just a misdemeanor to have less than 2 grams of hash, for example (the fine is around us$ 35 or us$70, if i rememeber right)

but... last year a friend of mine was caught with some 1,5 grams

do you know what the police said.. they said "ok, if it's not enough we'll ADD some, and then you'll face a prison sentence" (suspended most likely, as she has no criminal record, but still not a good idea to have one, and also to be sure to have suspended one most likely she would have to pay some money to judges, etc... corruption there is rampant, yes)

she ended up paying to the police around us$2k bribe (after bargaining down from $4k)... very "fair", right?

and on the customs... do not remember if any amount qualifies for "illegal drugs smuggling" or no

but I had my baggage checked TWICE on the customs (once in SVO, once in DME last November) when I was flying in from India (out of just 4 India to Moscow flights I had)

and I didn't look like a hippie at all, also sure no one would "tip off" about me also, because I even never tried and not going to carry anything illegal across the border (Russian one especially)

by the way, does someone know - are there many precedents of transit passengers in U.A.E. busted because of the controlled medicines in their CHECK-IN baggage?

as I guess, normally they should just reload the baggage from one plane to another, why bother checking if the baggage has no chance to enter U.A.E. territory?

thinking as such, last November I have bought in Bangalore some Melatonin and Fluoxetine, then I've flown Etihad flight TRV-AUH-DME to work there for 3 weeks, then another flight DME-AUH-BKK

was it still a real risk in AUH (and would be it more risky if via DXB)? I carried these medicines from Moscow because couldn't buy those in Thailand, and from India simply as they're many times cheaper than patented versions of the same medicines in Moscow... paid Rs.770 ($15.5) for 12 packs of each, instead of $100-150 if in Moscow

and the customs officer who stopped me in DME was quite interested why I have so many pills... but after I explained why and that they're available in Moscow over-the-counter, he had lost any interest

A tsunami, if occurring in the Pacific, can only be caused by the movement of the underwater fault line lying west of the Philippines. In that case, it would take around 14 hours for a massive wave to travel over thousands of kilometers before reaching Thailand.

i predict that if an earthquake really would happen on that fault

and it would be massive enough to cause tsunami

the Pattaya (which is well covered by Cambodia and Vietnam) and even Samui (which is not) will be perfectly OK

the Gulf of Siam is too shallow, and the wave will not travel far enough to reach land

but... poor Filipino girls in Angeles City then

as the earthquake itself would be pretty close to that area

+1, definitely agree

why so many people complain about paying baggage fees, GoInsure, airport taxes (any airline charges same airport tax for the same route, by the way)... if you do not need that service, then exclude it; if you forgot to do that and ended up paying more - it's just you fault, not AirAsia's... same applies if you want to fly some EXACT date, but the tickets are expensive... the airline offers cheap tickets when it's convenient to it, that's why cheap

anyway, checked this promo a few days ago just out of interest (as i am ticketed totally till mid-autumn, all 8 flights by AirAsia, and all except one are promotional ones)... yeah couldn't find 0 baht fare, but, if i remember right, they told just about 10000 free tickets this time, and most were sold out in a few hours, i guess

but.. i am quite happy that when my current visa expires in July, I have Chiangmai-Phuket-Jakarta-and 30 days later Bkk all for around 4500 bht, including baggage fees yes... that's 9 hrs flight in total

have to spend a night in HKT airport, however :-D arrive 0.30, depart 8.00

also, can't say today's evening flight BKK-CNX with my gf is too expensive... 1710 total for both incl my 15 kg baggage fee.. that's why we flying by the way... i am not "rich farang" and normally pay for domestic more than 1100-1200 only if in hurry