billyhouston

I have used 1-2Call for some years and there is a (relatively) cheap way around the expiry period. It's possible to transfer not only credit, but also expiry to another phone and, as a result, there is a market in such things. I pay Bht50 per month for time or, sometimes, get 3 months for Bht100. This is at the Warorot in Chiang Mai but I imagine Pantip or MBK will provide the same.... perhaps even more cheaply.

To convert from Christian Era (CE) to Buddhist Era (BE) you need to add 543. 2009CE becomes 2552BE. Unless you can read the Thai months you need to make certain that your new found friend was born in 2533 or earlier. That way, irrespective of his birthday month, he will be 18 or over. Enjoy!

Tachilek, in the same way as border towns such as Nuevo Laredo or Tijuana, is not really representative of Myanmar in general and Shan State in particular. The Shan people are routinely abused by the tatmadaw (Burmese Army) and, as a consequence, many have been forced to flee across the border into Northern Thailand. Here they are abused by the Thais but they are all clear that it's much worse back home. It's difficult to know exactly how many illegals there are in the Land of Smiles but a million and a half Shan and Karen would probably not be far short of the mark. The present economic climate is making life especially difficult as Thais now are prepared to take low status jobs in construction and catering which, in better times, they wouldn't touch. Some restaurants in CM are staffed almost totally by Karen/Shan whose spoken Thai is limited and whose written Thai is often non-existent. This is why, in some places, you are given a 'list' to fill in to indicate your order.... the waiter is not capable of writing the Thai. If you look around you in CM you will see many Shan working in the construction industry. This is dangerous occupation, which Thais try to avoid, on account of the poor health and safety record. I recently observed some guys working on a roof near Kad Thanin and they were in a very dangerous situation. By and large Karen are to be found to the south, closer to Mae Sot. Last time I was in 'New My Way' there was but a single Thai in the lineup... all the rest were Shan. Circle Pub and Free Guy were much the same, as was Adam's Apple when it was last open. Most of these guys are straight. A trip to Myanmar is a great experience though it's not politically correct to express such a view. For every person within the country who says 'Don't come' I will show you ten or more who say 'You must come! We need to know what's happening in the outside world and you need to know what's happening here'. In the first category you have Aung San Suu Kyi and in the second someone like Par Par Lay who tells some great jokes about the generals and, as a consequence, spends much time in prison. Potentially one of the richest countries in the region, decades of military misrule have impoverished its people. The hill tribes have been targeted for particularly harsh treatment notably the Chin, Kachin, Karen and Shan. These peoples were never part of 'Burma' but in the hurry to rid itself of empire after the Second World War, the former colonial power connived at their inclusion in the Union of Myanmar/Burma. This was the Panglong Treaty of 12 February 1947. Apologies in advance, I feel very strongly about this matter!

This appears to have changed. On 3 Feb flew up to Chiang Mai and, although you have to go to the booth to pay your money, you no longer have to go back to check-in. The guys at the booth issue the baggage claim and boarding pass. The baggage charges for 20Kg and 25Kg were introduced between my booking and flying. Express boarding is now combined with 'Pick a Seat' and 'Standard seats' or 'Hot seats'.

For the vast majority of users, the 32 bit version would be the appropriate one to download. To be honest though, if you don't know which to use, it's probably not a good idea to play around. :-)

No. Cost was Bht 0 plus Bht 230 taxes, so it was a good deal.

Thanks very much for this, I would have missed it. Three flights BKK-UTH-BKK and CNX-BKK each for Bht230

Have internet banking on my Kasikorn account. For the past year or so it has been possible to make INSTANT online transfers, not only to other Kasikorn accounts, but also to those of five or more other banks. The fee is Bht 25 and you can have the bank send an SMS to the recipient included in that fee. Works very well for me but setting up the transfer initially is a tedious exercise in paperwork.

EVA are offering some LHR-BKK-LHR fares between now and 30 June 2009, excluding peak periods: Econ £553 Elite £913 Laurel £1503 including all taxes and surcharges. Maximum validity one month (alas).

If you do decide to go to Samui you might care to look at: http://www.premiumwanadoo.com/atmanasamui/ Mana and Didier are very good hosts. If you want to avoid the sharks at Bangkok Airways, you can fly to Surat Thani and take the ferry from Don Sak.

When you top up your 1-2-Call card, you are buying call credits and also time/validity credits. Being away from Thailand from March to October I need to make certain that my validity takes me through that period. 1-2-Call allows users to transfer validity from one number, which has plenty of time credits, to another number which needs them. A market has grown up in time/validity and it's possible to purchase it, usually in blocks of month at a time, from various sources. Kad Warorot in Chiang Mai comes to mind but I'm sure Pantip in Bangkok will also offer the service. Not had a problem with failing to make a call from March to October provided that the 'validity' is topped up. Of course, there's always a first time.

Managed to open an account with Kasikorn a few years ago while holding only a 30-day stamp. Internet banking was no problem but setting up transfers is tedious. Once set up, money can be transferred instantly both internally and to most other banks. The recipient gets an SMS to inform of the money's arrival. The cost, for normal sums , for this service is Bht25. This is a 'savings' account, comes with a cash card (fee) and modest interest.

jtrack33, why do you have to be so unkind to Nationwide. The rates, Kasikorn in my case, for Telegraphic Transfers are, at this moment, 65.88875/66.48625 so the ripoff is less than you state but since these rates vary by the minute it's difficult to be sure just how much you were ripped off. It certainly wasn't as much as 1.37 Baht.

Using Thailand as a base to visit nearby countries I have found it convenient to use 'Visa Exemption' rules, in other words 30 days. (That's what the Thai Consul, Hull calls it anyway.) For greater convenience, and because of the enforcement of the 90-day rule, that will change to a Category O visa shortly. Looking for a local bank account I tried TMB and Bangkok Bank with no joy but then alighted on Kasikorn who opened an account without problems. Internet banking followed shortly afterwards and, provided the transferee has been set up previously, many transfers are now 'instant' with an SMS to the person receiving the money. Not only do different branches vary in their attitude, but even different employees in the same branch and, perhaps, even the same employee on different days!

It is interesting to study exchange rates for various currencies. It has become the habit in UK to call them 'commission free' but this should be subject to a prosecution under the Trade Descriptions Act. The cost, or commisssion, is hidden in the 'spread', the difference between the buying and the selling rate. In the UK this spread is very wide even for currencies that are considered common or usual. Today's buying and selling rates for the Baht are: Travelex 59.1827/73.7820 NatWest 60.377/72.406 Looking at my own Thai Bank, Kasikorn the corresponding rates are: Kasikorn 65.067/66.795 and this is for notes in all cases. In fact, if you look at Telegraphic Transfers the figures are: Kasikorn 65.9475/66.545 When you use a (UK at least) ATM card in a Thai ATM there are, as I understand it, two possible charges. Visa load the exchange rate by some 2.75% or thereabouts and the UK bank may add a percentage with a minimum of £2 or whatever. Nationwide absorbs the Visa loading and makes no charge itself. This results in an exchange rate as near as dammit to the Interbank rate. I have records of all my 'exchange rates' over the past five or so years and would guestimate that it would be somewhere around 66.3 today. Perhaps a little higher perhaps a little lower. The narrowness of the 'spread' in Thailand means that it always pays to change your sterling there, whichever way you make the exchange (either to or from Baht). Even if you look at commercial rates in UK the spread is wider, though I don't know what happens if millions of pounds are involved. Nationwide offer this facility as a 'come on' and it certainly persuaded me to open a current account with them, while maintaining one with my regular bank. As jtrack33 says they offer competitive rates and their E-savings account, which is tied to a current account, is to be found in the 'Best Buy' tables under 'most consistent'. To sum up, buying holiday currency from either Travelex or the Banks is a ripoff in UK. Using a UK ATM card in Thailand is usually better value for money but the best value for money comes from using a Nationwide ATM card whenever you are overseas. Surely even a Yorkshireman can grasp that?

I'm sorry but, quite simply, you are wrong. By profession, I'm a mathematician... I don't make mistakes where money is concerned. Have a good day.

Clearly they forgot to dish out brains on t'other side of the Pennines... or is it that tykes cannot read? Interbank rate is just that. You will not get a better rate, almost by definition. Enjoy!

Actually for some of us it's the cheapest way to obtain cash. Use a Nationwide card in an ATM and you get the interbank rate without any charges or loading. Likewise their credit card has no charges when used for purchases in foreign currency. If I need US dollars the cheapest way is to draw Baht on the Nationwide account and then use Baht to buy dollars. The dollar 'spread' in Thailand is much narrower then in UK.

Yes, not only is this transfer instant (cost 25Baht) but the recipient receives an SMS to confirm. This applies to inter-bank transfers with about 5 other major banks.

The world reaction to this is shameful and none more so than that of Douglas Alexander MP, UK's Secretary of State for International Development. To start by saying that nothing should be done to offend the 'Burmese' government is just plain stupid and will have Than Shwe and his thugs laughing all the way to China. The only thing this odious lot understand is being negotiated with from a position of strength.... not weakness. The West must insist that aid goes in preferably with, but if necessary without, the cooperation of the Burmese military. Getting around the delta is difficult at the best of times and will need helicopters that the Burmese do not have; nor do they have a heavy lift facility. Their only concern is hanging onto power and they could not care less of a few hundred thousand people die as a result. The people of Myanmar deserve much better.

Had a similar problem a couple of weeks ago returning to UK, in my case at the Thai end. At about 1100 the immigration area was packed tight and it was difficult to get in. There was a little more room at the 'Thai Passports' end but only half the booths were staffed. Similarly the air-conditioning was inadequate and people could easily have missed flights. Peak periods are pretty easy to predict, most of the time, and this sort of thing shames Thailand.

Having discovered PJ's Place a couple of years ago, I see that in five visits since November 2007 I've spent 47 nights there. I can only confirm what others have said about the hospitality of Peter and Jiab, the friendliness of the staff and the excellence of the accommodation. It really is worth persisting in trying to get a reservation, you won't regret it.

What I find particularly annoying is the grandstanding of George Bush and Gordon Brown who are going to 'tighten sanctions'. If they don't know that the generals don't give a monkeys, then they jolly well ought to. Only China has real influence with Than Shwe and his thugs... short of a few tomahawks lobbed into Naypidaw.

I read this last night and was simply lost for words. Later I tried to imagine what it would be like if my friend had his life ended in this fashion but it was too horrid even to contemplate. Nothing I can write will ease the pain and anguish, but you have my condolances nevertheless.

Perhaps this is a good time to remind others stuck in the UK that they can take their pleasures vicariously: