Alexx

That's great news. Something to look forward to for you.

Exactly, Thailand is somewhere in between these extremes, and in many cases it is quite literally "up to you". I've progressed to tipping more, mostly because I think an extra 20 baht or so helps the minimum wage earners more than it hurts me to give it away.

Again, all Thai "ATM cards" that have been issued in recent years are Visa, MasterCard or Union Pay debit cards. All of my KBANK cards I've ever had attached to KBANK savings accounts have been Visa debit cards. Do check and adjust your limits, and activate SMS notifications if you haven't done that yet.

There's no protection whatsoever with cards issued in Thailand, both debit and credit, until the time you've notified the bank that your card has been stolen. Banks do sometimes reimburse their customers, in particular in case of skimming devices attached to their ATMs, but you really are at their mercy. Don't take my word for it, by all means, read their terms. So what you do is keeping your limits low and activating SMS notifications for all card transactions. Effectively that limits your potential loss to the daily limit you've set. With debit cards, you also have the option to keep just a small amount in the account they are drawing from and to transfer more from another account as needed. Such transfers are both free and instant within the same bank.

There are different limits for different payment channels. So if you changed the internet banking transaction limit, that is just that. I changed my purchase limit to zero using Bualuang Phone Banking. There's also an option to check your current limit. If you do that and it says zero and you can still make purchases at a shop, then I'd say something went wrong and you probably have no other option than to have them look into it.

Well, you had the choice between being playful and being paranoid in response to the waiter's irritating behavior. Personally, I'd have chosen the former, but each to their own.

There's no protection until the time that you have notified the bank. That even applies to real Thai credit cards, not just to the debit cards we've been discussing here. Even if it were any different, try to sue a Thai bank in Thailand as a foreigner and win. A foreigner recently sued Bangkok Bank in the US and won, but that's a much different story. If you want to make sure that your Thai debit card can only be used at an ATM with a PIN code but not at a shop without, set the purchase limit to zero, as I've indicated in my previous post. Simple, if you realize there's a problem and if you don't want to use the card for shopping. That's what I do.

Thai ATM cards nowadays are usually Visa, MasterCard or Union Pay debit cards. Unfortunately, unless you reduce that particular limit to zero with your bank, they can be used for purchases at shops without the PIN code (signature only, and no clerk bothers to check). Many people don't know. Thai credit cards, on the other hand, do have the cardholder's name embossed just like anywhere else. Still, no clerk would stop a Somchai making a purchase with a card issued to an Alex, so that alone doesn't help much either.

Exactly my observation as well. It also makes perfect sense to me.

Once you've literally shagged him to death, none of that will matter.

I've completely boycotted the Olympics this time around and have no regrets whatsoever. Not because of the host country or city, however, but because of all the doping and corruption crap the IOC is infamous for. They are so far removed from the ideals these games supposedly stand for that I really don't see any attraction anymore. That a bunch of top athletes from the US considers it appropriate to make up a story about being robbed tops it off. If they actually filed a false police report, I hope they will spend some quality time at one of Brazil's prisons. I'm sure Mr Lochte would be quite popular.

Definitely double check about that land border, ThaiVisa is probably your best bet for up to date information. When I went to Mae Sot years ago, I could cross into Myanmar, but it wasn't legal for travelers to leave the border town (Myawaddy). Burmese immigration actually kept my passport to make sure I won't disappear. That might have changed.

I don't have any time to be lonely, in all honesty. I've been busy pretty much all the time I've been living in Thailand. I've got farang friends for serious talks and the occasional reality check, Thai friends and family for less serious talks and partying, a boyfriend more often than not - and otherwise plenty of work to do.

I much prefer the superficial friendliness we often see in the US over a complete lack of any form of friendliness, often seen in Europe. Same with the silly complaint that many Thai smiles are fake or disingenuous, in my book. I still prefer a fake smile, knowing that the alternative would be a heartfelt frown or pure indifference.

Still, a bad experience is one thing, but threatening to call the police for not paying the full tip is taking the cake... I probably wouldn't be back either.

Maybe it's his business model.

Londoner, if my memory doesn't play tricks with me, the nutcase who is the head of your boyfriend's "Buddhist" sect is actively promoting superstitions, at least those with the potential to make him rich(er). So, no surprises there.

I've never seen Boybutter in Thailand, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it isn't being sold anywhere here. My vote goes to Durex and I will never understand why K-Y is so popular here. I think it sucks really bad.

I visited NAB in spring. Incidentally I also staid in Soi 6 back then and it's indeed a short walk away from there. I liked what I saw, but it's one of these places where I'd prefer to take a group of "friends" instead of hoping to find a hookup. Not saying it cannot happen though, and I saw at least one group of bar boys I had seen at Sunee Plaza earlier that night...

In Bangkok, there's no lack of office workers in their 30s and you could basically get any number of them for free. The tragedy is being spoiled and lusting for the really hot locals in their early 20s.

But now you're mixing two different things. First you talked about using a (shared) baht bus, for which the correct fare is a fixed 10 baht. No haggling, you just flag it down and hop on. But you remarked that you are well advised to give them the exact amount, because otherwise some of the drivers will drive off without giving you your change. That's a reasonable precaution, but if all baht bus drivers were honest, it clearly wouldn't be necessary. Now you're talking about taxis. That's right, you just haggle and unless you're happy with the price, just don't use it. Still the law says that taxi meters have to use the meter, so as far as you mean actual taxi meters and not for example a baht bus that you hire for your exclusive use, calling such a taxi driver a scammer is technically correct. They prey on people who don't know or don't care enough, and it works because of a serious lack of enforcement. In my opinion, not a big deal and most of my many experiences with taxi drivers have been completely unremarkable, but nothing wrong with calling a spade a spade.

That's why it's beneficial to be on good terms with your boyfriend's mother. That has always been quite easy for me, even the girls' mothers in highschool had always liked me (more than the girls, anyway).

Agreed, you are well prepared and that's how you avoid getting ripped off. You are making an excellent case for sharing scam stories, so that others will be prepared just as well. That's why I don't understand why you seem to have a problem with that.

That was a wonderful series of trip reports and it was a joy to read all of them. Thanks a lot for sharing! You earlier asked me about why Thai colleges are bad for one's moral uprightness. Nothing too serious, just the usual combination of hazing, cheating and jealous intrigues, I figure from what I've heard.

I really love the way you handle this thread, your replies are candid and give very interesting insights. Three thumbs up from me!