A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand

[chonburifc]

i very sianz. เบือมากๆๆๆๆๆๆๆๆๆ
really miss small one. even we talked over line everyday but feeling different. think she more mature now. and i also feel strange cos' last time talk 10 sentence hoot liaoz. all the gu and mueng all come out. now she like very gentle, talk soft soft, i not used to it.

really boring here without small one.

 

[Froggy]

holy shit...a monk breaking the precept...is he using the donation money by devotee to pay for the whore service..

Yo what's wrong with this? Monk exorcising for woman getting rid of demons la.

 

[Froggy]

what is the verdict?
think must pour some blue belt then sedap.

Mediocre la. But beggars cannot be choosers right?

 

[Froggy]

Having these two for dinner now, for share. These really got standard la.

 

[tonychat]

Yo what's wrong with this? Monk exorcising for woman getting rid of demons la.

i think the monk himself is a demon.

 

[johnny333]

I remembered vividly, in one of my trips to Bangkok the night before my trip I was pinned to the TV watching the coup ousting Thaksin, Sep 19th 2006.

Well I was in BKK when it happened & when I saw the tanks on the streets I jokingly commented to my Thai friend that it must be a coup

Little did I know that I was correct

 

[panzer]

hehehe. me same same but different president. mine was wahid. a bomb exploded a few streets away from my hot in south jakarta.

just curious, were you sent there becos you are single?

Pii chon

Yes, that time I was quite junior, the senior charbor staff all excuse themselves from that assignment so those single guys got to go for this exciting assignment in 1998. But it was a good experience quite peaceful except sometimes see hordes of "protestors" spill over the highway linking Sukarno Hatta airport to Jakarta...

 

[panzer]

Well I was in BKK when it happened & when I saw the tanks on the streets I jokingly commented to my Thai friend that it must be a coup

Little did I know that I was correct

Pii johnny333

Must have been an experience. My 1998 Jakarta experience taught me to see the street situation.

When locals act normal normal, means not so serious e.g. Can see soldiers at posts looking quite relaxed means threat level is low. But if soldiers Kam cheong then time to get worried...kekek.

Side note - typically Indo soldiers typically look gilat. Yet to see fat soldier on patrol/sentry in Jakarta...kekek...

For Jakarta, advice given to me was avoid farang/masala/Ang moh hangouts and stay in Indo owned hotels.. So far the sway place Kenya bombed more than once Jw Marriott.

 

[Froggy]

Think I'm pathetic, alone drinking Hennessy eating peanuts watching movie.

 

[yinyang]

Think I'm pathetic, alone drinking Hennessy eating peanuts watching movie.

Aiseh man, this vid fits your bill :p

[video=youtube;iEfZU_Lc2KA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=SG&hl=en-GB&v=iEfZU_Lc2KA[/video]

 

[mikec]

Aiseh man, this vid fits your bill :p

[video=youtube;iEfZU_Lc2KA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=SG&hl=en-GB&v=iEfZU_Lc2KA[/video]

The silhouette of the lady in this video reminded me of a photo I saw in this forum of a similar silhouette lady but with a long prick.

 

[chonburifc]

morning guys. a cool morning due to heavy rain in the early morning.

had a small party last night because got back my driving license. kena cheong kong because no wear helmet and drunk. this time no give chance. anyway, get back liaoz.

quite torturing cos' nowadays, i usually ride motor bike, scared kena another time, so even go 7-11 100 meters away also wear helmet.

 

[panzer]

morning guys. a cool morning due to heavy rain in the early morning.

had a small party last night because got back my driving license. kena cheong kong because no wear helmet and drunk. this time no give chance. anyway, get back liaoz.

quite torturing cos' nowadays, i usually ride motor bike, scared kena another time, so even go 7-11 100 meters away also wear helmet.

Bro chon

Ride safe, yah? Drunk and riding moto-sai a bit risky...

What was the penalty? Fine only? Do they have demerit system like sinkieland?

chok dee laew

 

[panzer]

Think I'm pathetic, alone drinking Hennessy eating peanuts watching movie.

Pii joetys

Can drink Hennessey can't be pathetic lah... I drink bia Chang at home think is more pathetic...kekeke...

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

I've used AEON many times - I can confirm there's no 150B charge. It's not a Malaysian; it's Japanese - they run malls primarily but also do hire-purchase. Their ATMS are harder to find because it's often just a nondescript free-standing box, but there's one in most The Mall malls and places like Terminal 21/Siam etc. There's a handy ATM locator on their website.

I use a lot of ATMs and I travel a lot all over the place so I know a little of how this all works.

1) In Thailand, first off, there's the 150B charge. This is a mandated fee and it is charged per transaction.

2) Next, all ATMs in the world use an interchange network to settle debits and credits. You know this as Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay, JCB etc. The same network is used for credit card transactions, debit card transactions and ATM transactions. The interchange network sets the currency exchange rate, which closely mirrors the interbank exchange rate (see xe.com for example). There are minor variances between networks. Currency exchange rates fluctuate during the trading day e.g. there is spot rate, there are buy/sell margins. The internetwork exchange sets a rate for the day.

3) Then your bank (not the Thai bank, they don't makan any fees except for the 150B), bloodsuckers as they are, sets a margin above and over the network's exchange rate from 0-3% (typical).

4) Finally there's the question of withdrawal limits. This is set by your bank in home currency, usually a daily amount and a per transaction amount. The Thai ATM however has a physical limit of how many notes it can dispense at one go. It is usually 20 notes so 20k baht (scb, k bank). Some banks are higher: Bangkok Bank is 25k, UOB is 30k and AEON is 40k. So if you need more, withdraw a couple of times.

So if you withdraw 20,000 baht: you are paying 150baht fee + Visa(for example) exchange rate (MC and Visa publish their daily rates, but close to or beats local money changer rates) + DBS' fee (for example 3% = 600 baht) for a total of 750 baht. This represents a 3.75% leakage.

In my case, I use an offshore bank ATM which has no fees (they charge 0% on top of Visa) and also reimburses the 150Baht so that's why I use the ATM when I need cash. I usually use a credit card though because they pay me 1% rebate.

Wow bro which off shore bank account do u use? so no fees means they charge according to the exact exchange rate. I calculated the rate i got which is 1 sgd to 22.87 baht way below the current exchange rate which means that's the 3% fees i was charged on top of the 150 baht and 5sgd dbs charges for overseas withdrawal.


You are lucky you don't need to hunt for a an atm from a specific bank for those of us without off shore accounts we can use Aeon atms to avoid the 150b charge.


this post is worth quoting


Wow thanks for this info. I called up dbs and the guy doesn't know who sets the rates but says its the bank you are withdrawing from that sets the rates. Made me actually call up 1 thai bank and say them about their rates. Posb also charges 5 for every overseas withdrawal so it's 150b + 5 dollars.

 

[johnny333]

Pii johnny333

Must have been an experience. My 1998 Jakarta experience taught me to see the street situation.

When locals act normal normal, means not so serious e.g. Can see soldiers at posts looking quite relaxed means threat level is low. But if soldiers Kam cheong then time to get worried...kekek.

Side note - typically Indo soldiers typically look gilat. Yet to see fat soldier on patrol/sentry in Jakarta...kekek...

For Jakarta, advice given to me was avoid farang/masala/Ang moh hangouts and stay in Indo owned hotels.. So far the sway place Kenya bombed more than once Jw Marriott.

That was my 1st coup experience.
It was a bloodless coup & not as exciting as the one in Indonesia where the local Chinese were targeted. Rumour has it that the army was behind it.

I doubt that the natives would be interested in targetting Sporeans. However we look like those rich indo chinese so must be careful in indonesia. If you go to those health clubs heard that those areas are protected by the local secret society. So it is quite safe well at least I've never had any problems

 

[johnny333]

Wow thanks for this info. I called up dbs and the guy doesn't know who sets the rates but says its the bank you are withdrawing from that sets the rates. Made me actually call up 1 thai bank and say them about their rates. Posb also charges 5 for every overseas withdrawal so it's 150b + 5 dollars.

If you are a frequent visitor to LOS it's probably worth it to open an account with a local thai bank. Spore ATM cards are inconvenient because you must remember to turn them on when you travel outside of Spore.

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

If you are a frequent visitor to LOS it's probably worth it to open an account with a local thai bank. Spore ATM cards are inconvenient because you must remember to turn them on when you travel outside of Spore.

yup that's correct it's a security measure and you have just reminded me that i need to turn it off i remembered to turn it on before going to los but forgot about it.

 

[Froggy]

Seems I have an "exciting" life... Was in Jakarta for work in 1998 near the time Suharto was being overthrown, now going Bangkok this week when this happens... But one thing I learnt from those trips, Jakarta is a huge city and so is krung theb. :-)

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/7-injured-in-bangkok-bomb-blast/688976.html

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/351923/ramkhamhaeng-explosion-probably-a-bomb-police-say

Hope pii chon, joetys and others are safe and sound in krung theb!

Police suspect gang rivalry behind Ramkhamhaeng blast
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Police suspect that conflict between gangs involved in extortion from roadside vendors was behind the small explosion on Ramkhamhaeng Road, near Ramkhamhaeng University, on Sunday night.

Police and National Security Council secretary-general Paradorn Pattanathabutr ruled out linking the blast with the insurgency in the deep South.

The explosion occurred at a roadside stall at the mouth of Ramkhamhaeng Soi 43/1, at 8.50pm. Seven people, including passers-by, were injured.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Pol Lt-General Khamronwit said that although a home-made bomb was used in the attack, the composition of the bomb was different.

He said the types of nails used in the bomb were different from those assembled in the southern border provinces. He said the bomb was apparently aimed at intimidating, not at taking lives like in the deep South.

Khamronwit said police would need more time to gather evidence and information before they could establish an exact motive of the attack. He added that police have not yet ruled out conflicts between gangs demanding protection fees from roadside vendors as a possible motive.

A bomb-disposal officer, who asked not to be identified, told The Nation that the maker of the bomb apparently wanted to make it look like attacks in the South. However, the bomb on Sunday night used less powerful explosives and it was stuffed with a lot of nails, in distorted shapes, the officer said.

He said bombs used in the southern insurgency attacks were more powerful and aimed at taking lives or causing serious injuries as the bombs used sharp and straight nails and pellets to harm victims.

Government Spokesman Teerat Ratana-sevi said Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was informed of the explosion on Sunday night and she had ordered security agencies to urgently investigate the incident.

Teerat said police were checking for possible motives. Investigators initially suspected business conflict as the motive for the blast. However, terrorism has not yet been ruled out, the spokesman said.

He said the PM had instructed the police to step up security around Ramkhamhaeng University. Teerat denied earlier reports that police had arrested a suspect.

Paradorn said he had evaluated the situation and believed that the explosion was not related to southern insurgency because the facts were different.

Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration will extract records from security cameras near the spot and give them to the Metropolitan Police. The records would come from cameras at the mouth of Soi Ramkhamhaeng 27, 41/1 and 53.

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

The daily limit is set by you with the bank (local thai or foreign banks ATM cards).
You just need to make a few withdrawals.
Using foreign bank atm cards there is a 150 baht charge.
Transferring money to Thailand IMHO use remittance services direct to thai bank account or western union.
Hassle free and good enough rates.

Turns out the limit isn't set by the account holder but the bank. Now i think it's the same for most atms in sg which is 2k per day. 20k baht is quite a small amount of around 850-900 sgd i think the limit that one can set in posb account is the internet bank transfer thing.