General Reports

[EihTooms]

That is the big question. Will quarterly deposits be ok, bi-monthly, every 4 months? Hopefully we will be provided with some clarification on this.

A fellow expat from the USA I met a few months ago Lined me about his experience trying to renew his Non-Imm/Retirement Visa under the monthly income stream proof requirements a couple of days ago. He is about 60 and has been staying in Thailand on the retirement visa for about 10 years. He has only been getting $1,600 USD/50,000 baht (at today's exchange rate) per month from a pension but has been avoiding the 65,000 baht requirement due to the ease with which one could avoid it in the past. He said he had no other regular source of income. I don't think he qualifies for Social Security for some reason.

He says the lady Immigration officer didn't care that he received a larger than 65,000 baht Foreign Transfer last April. She wanted to see a minimum of 65,000 baht in Foreign Transfers for each and every month of the previous 12 months, not quarterly, not annually, no exceptions. This does not mean that every Immigration officer is on this same sheet of music or that it won't be modified along the way. I also can't say if there is something else going on with this fellow since I barely know him other than that we struck up a conversation about the new proof requirements and agreed to exchange info on the experience when the time came to renew. His time came a few days ago.

I followed up with, "So what will you do now?" I saw on Line that he read it within the hour but it has now been 2-3 days and he has not replied. I think he might be shell-shocked.

[EihTooms]

But it is the same thing. I pick up my phone and go to the Schwab mobile app. Click transfers. Put from which account to which account. Enter an amount. And touch transfer. Save your 1.45%!

So I'm supposed to keep my Schwab account filled with cash or my Schwab card loaded up to draw out cash and pay bills AND transfer at least 65,000 baht per month in Foreign Transfers to my Bangkok Bank account every month to satisfy the retirement visa requirements? Believe it or not, I can actually gain MORE than the 1.45% I am charged on those cash transfers by putting some of that cash outlay per month to use elsewhere. Or, better yet, just leaving it where it is. I think making that 65,000 baht per month (at a minimum) Foreign Transfer to satisfy the visa requirement AND paying my bills out of it along the way works out pretty good. I mean, as long as I have to do it, why not pay my bills out it too instead of mucking around with an additional withdrawal or cash transfer source?

[Mr Enternational]

is as easy as sitting in bed and tapping out a few keyboard strokes in the Bangkok Bank mobile app.

If Schwab offers free international ATM cash withdrawals, great. But the thought of moving all the incoming and outgoing stuff from BofA to Schwab feels more painful to me than just paying the 1.45%.

But it is the same thing. I pick up my phone and go to the Schwab mobile app. Click transfers. Put from which account to which account. Enter an amount. And touch transfer. Save your 1.45%!

[Mr Enternational]

When I want $1000 of my money, here's what I do:

I put my Schwab card into an ATM machine. Then I take out $1000. That's it. At most, I might have to make 2 withdrawals if the ATM has a maximum withdraw. My money gets from my US bank account to my hand in 60 seconds. The total cost to me is $0.

At TMB you can take out 30,000 baht at one time. At the other banks I think the max is 20,000.

These days I do it the same way. And whatever I don't want to keep in the safe in my room, I deposit in the ATM at my Thai bank. Truth of the matter is that I really have not needed that bank since I got the Schwab account a few years ago. I used to bring over plenty of cash and change it over then deposit it into that Thai account, but that is no longer necessary.

[Rick Rock]

I live in Thailand full time on a retirement visa. Yes, at this point I am very glad to have access to a Thai bank account's printed record of me receiving at least 65,000 baht in Foreign Transfers into that account for each of the 12 previous months.

But even before that, paying rent, paying my phone bill, transferring money to help support the purchase of a condo for my Thai (ex) wife, the occasional emergency transfer for a couple of favored and deserving girlfriends, to receive money from fellow expat friends for various and sundry services, etc is as easy as sitting in bed and tapping out a few keyboard strokes in the Bangkok Bank mobile app. No walking to an ATM, no carrying wads of baht in my pocket, no waiting for my apartment manager to be in his office so I can hand him cash, stand in queue at the nearest AIS outlet to pay a bill and all the other hassles associated with relying on an old world cash system.

Meanwhile, I hardly ever have a reason to actually go into a bank anymore. I have been with BofA many years, everything goes in and out of that account without a hitch. If Schwab offers free international ATM cash withdrawals, great. But the thought of moving all the incoming and outgoing stuff from BofA to Schwab feels more painful to me than just paying the 1.45%.

I refuse to deal with the Byzantine Thai immigration system, so I chose to live in other parts of Asia. I feel your pain there. I visit Thailand rather frequently though have never wanted to trust a Thai bank with my money or go through their odious banking requirements. Funny that a Thai can open a bank account in the US online without even visiting the country, but an American in Thailand has to produce all sorts of forms and maybe even a letter from their embassy. LOL!

You're of course free to do whatever you want too. I was just trying to understand.

I don't move anything. My money is deposited right into my Schwab account. Then I either withdraw it when I need cash, or use one of the two Visa cards attached to my Schwab accounts. When it's time to pay rent, I don't even leave my room. Just have it debited right out of the account in schedule.

Thailand is weird with paying bills at the mall or 7/11 and such. I've seen friends go through it. Reminds me of the US fifty years ago. My grandmother used to go "into town" to pay her bills. In other parts of Asia it's like being back home now. You can pay online, set up automatic monthly deduction, or settle it all at your condo office. I haven't seen a paper bill or visited a utility office in five years. I barely even have to fire up the apps on my phone.

Anyway, if it works for you enjoy.

[EihTooms]

Why go through that? Is there some reason you have to have money in a Thai bank? If it is for a visa or something I understand. Otherwise, I can't figure why any American would go through that.

When I want $1000 of my money, here's what I do:

I put my Schwab card into an ATM machine. Then I take out $1000. That's it. At most, I might have to make 2 withdrawals if the ATM has a maximum withdraw. My money gets from my US bank account to my hand in 60 seconds. The total cost to me is $0.

I live in Thailand full time on a retirement visa. Yes, at this point I am very glad to have access to a Thai bank account's printed record of me receiving at least 65,000 baht in Foreign Transfers into that account for each of the 12 previous months.

But even before that, paying rent, paying my phone bill, transferring money to help support the purchase of a condo for my Thai (ex) wife, the occasional emergency transfer for a couple of favored and deserving girlfriends, to receive money from fellow expat friends for various and sundry services, etc is as easy as sitting in bed and tapping out a few keyboard strokes in the Bangkok Bank mobile app. No walking to an ATM, no carrying wads of baht in my pocket, no waiting for my apartment manager to be in his office so I can hand him cash, stand in queue at the nearest AIS outlet to pay a bill and all the other hassles associated with relying on an old world cash system.

Meanwhile, I hardly ever have a reason to actually go into a bank anymore. I have been with BofA many years, everything goes in and out of that account without a hitch. If Schwab offers free international ATM cash withdrawals, great. But the thought of moving all the incoming and outgoing stuff from BofA to Schwab feels more painful to me than just paying the 1.45%.

[Rick Rock]

I don't know if this is the "best" way. Someone else always seems to know how to make transfers for free at "their bank" or get bonus points on cards, whatever. But, as an expat living in Thailand who still has economic interests in the USA, this is how I make transfers.

Why go through that? Is there some reason you have to have money in a Thai bank? If it is for a visa or something I understand. Otherwise, I can't figure why any American would go through that.

When I want $1000 of my money, here's what I do:

I put my Schwab card into an ATM machine. Then I take out $1000. That's it. At most, I might have to make 2 withdrawals if the ATM has a maximum withdraw. My money gets from my US bank account to my hand in 60 seconds. The total cost to me is $0.

[EihTooms]

Correction to my earlier post about that. I checked last night and the claim is 3,000 MG per tablet, not 5,000 MG. It is a product called Gold Vigra. The misspelling is apparently intended, although the word Viagra spelled correctly is also on the package. It comes in a pouch of ten tablets, each supposedly containing 3,000 MG of Sildenafil Citrate. Quoted price for the pouch of ten tablets was 300 baht. So, 30 baht for each tablet.

Here is what the U.S. FDA had to say about the product of that name in 2014:

Public Notification: Gold Vigra Contains Hidden Drug Ingredient.
https://www.fda.gov/drugs/resourcesf.../ucm401540.htm

Sildenafil Citrate, the active ingredient in Viagra, seems to be the only "hidden" drug ingredient they are referencing and found in it. But the package on the vendor tables in Bangkok clearly states that it contains Sildenafil Citrate and that it is the active ingredient in Viagra. There is nothing "hidden" about it on these packages.

I am not recommending anyone take it or any other boner drug found in or out of a pharmacy. But I might give this one a try just to see if it offers something of a faster or longer lasting nature than what I have been taking lately. I will report on the results if I ever do give it a try. Assuming I survive long enough to reply, that is. LOL.

I am not taking any of the nitrates or high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. drugs mentioned above nor do I need to take them according to my most recent thorough medical check up just a few months ago. Well, I have seen this product on the tables for years now and have not heard or read of a bad reaction to it. Has anyone else?

I decided to give this product a try the other night. So I had my doctor and a priest on standby by phone and text, then (LOL. No, I didn't have anyone on standby).

Anyway, I got my usual Sukhumvit Road table vendor boner drug seller down to 250 baht for a pack of ten of the above tablets and took one about two hours before an expected sexual session. The test was conducted under very comfortable circumstances where I would engage in an act that very rarely fails to give me a hard on, especially when I have taken an effective boner pill; DATY of my favorite regular girlfriend. And I would be doing that at a time when there was no pressure for me to be ready to roar with a twisted blue steel hardon. Great if I did, but no big deal if I didn't. I have conducted other tests of new (to me) boner pills this way and it seems to work out fine.

The results? Nothing. I mean absolutely nothing. It was as though I had not taken any boner pill at all. There was zero stirring in my package either during or after I delivered a normal, typically wonderfully rewarding (LOL) DATY treat to my lovely GF. It was the exact same results as when I tried one of those claimed 500 MG Tadalafil tablets. Nothing.

So, what am I to conclude from this little test? Well, as with the 500 MG pills, I could have gotten a bad batch. However, to me a pattern has emerged to strongly suggest the products that are claiming MUCH greater MG dosage of active ingredient than one normally finds on the tables and in the pharmacies around Bangkok (500 MG, 3000 MG, etc.) do not contain much active ingredient at all. In the USA FDA report linked above for this particular product, they did not report finding "dangerous" amounts of Sildenafil. They only reported finding some. For all we know they only found 3 MG of it in each tablet, not 3000 MG.

Therefore, I suspect products that claim such higher dosage than the norm in a given market are instead relying on a placebo effect or psychological reaction to take over. If they tell you it is filled with over the top, never fail, can't miss levels of active ingredient intended to produce a boner, surely you WILL grow one within minutes of taking their tablet and experiencing some sexual stimulation, right? Maybe. Maybe not.

Also, for 250 baht and whatever I paid for those 500 MG Tadalafil tablets, I have now determined to my satisfaction that I am not particularly susceptible to a placebo effect or a psychological reaction to grand claims in these matters. If they don't really have the stuff in them at an effective level, my brain and dick aren't likely to imagine that they do. Good to know, I suppose.

As always, YMMV.

[EihTooms]

Just a heads up, I heard Bangkok Bank is discontinuing ACH transfer service in April 2019.

Thanks for the heads up. I have not heard or seen anything from Bangkok Bank about that. But I will keep my eyes open for it.

[Lefeu]

Dude that water is gross. But sometimes you can catch Thai people doing it at the end of Walking Street when it is low tide.

I assume he is interested in fishing in cleaner waters. I have a buddy who does this every time he comes to Thailand. I never asked him for details, as I have no interest in fishing for that species. But, if you send me a PM, I can ask my buddy for details.

[Mr Enternational]

I will be in Pattaya 3/30 for two weeks, am interested in fishing from the shore, any input would be appreciated. I have seen advertisements on the internet with varying impacts. Cheers.

Dude that water is gross. But sometimes you can catch Thai people doing it at the end of Walking Street when it is low tide.

[Rob Jones]

Can anyone throw some light on the sex resorts in Thailand. I would love to go there on VIP package.

For $100 US per day consultancy fee me and my buddies can accommodate you with all the pussy you could possibly want in Pattaya.

[FL Hawk]

Can anyone throw some light on the sex resorts in Thailand. I would love to go there on VIP package.

The entire city of Pattaya is essentially one huge sex resort. What do you hope to gain with a VIP package? It is not hard to find your own ladies, and you will likely do better for yourself than letting someone find the lady (s) for you at super inflated prices.

[Crocodilexp]

ACH making a domestic USA transfer to myself at the NY Branch of Bangkok Bank but using my account number from my local Bangkok Bank.

Just a heads up, I heard Bangkok Bank is discontinuing ACH transfer service in April 2019.

[StLouisMo2010]

I will be in Pattaya 3/30 for two weeks, am interested in fishing from the shore, any input would be appreciated. I have seen advertisements on the internet with varying impacts. Cheers.