General Reports

[QUOTE=MrEnternational;2829675]Dude just go upstairs to the 4th floor and go outside and cross over to the other side and tell the driver 1000. I have done this literally 100 times. I do not know why people keep obsessing over these taxi services or paying more than 1000.[/QUOTE]Well, at the same token I can't understand the obsession of saving 200 baht for 1-2-3 week holiday as a plus difference when ordering a dedicated car service for a 120 km ride. Cars and drivers not comparable with the city taxis. One has spent quite some money in flight ticket, hotel, plus the expected entertainment and food expenditures and 200 baht are a nuisance? A deal breaker?

Oh well, each one his own, of course.

Vietnam finally switching back to pre-COVID 90 day eVisa on August 15. They made it even better saying it's multi entry now. Guess I'll move home base from Japan / Korea to Vietnam soon. I've personally been waiting for 1 of the SEA countries (not Malaysia) to reinstate a 90 day Visa.

Why is this news in the Thailand thread? I believe Thailand needs to react quickly to lengthening their Visa to at least 45 days or Vietnam will dominate tourism in SEA.

[QUOTE=BionicMan;2829862]Well, at the same token I can't understand the obsession of saving 200 baht for 1-2-3 week holiday as a plus difference when ordering a dedicated car service for a 120 km ride. Cars and drivers not comparable with the city taxis. One has spent quite some money in flight ticket, hotel, plus the expected entertainment and food expenditures and 200 baht are a nuisance? A deal breaker?

Oh well, each one his own, of course.[/QUOTE]What does one have to do with the other? You are saying if 2 pretty much identical apples are next to each other but one costs $6 more than the other, then I should just buy the more expensive apple since I paid $1 million for my house.

[QUOTE=BananaBoi;2829878]Vietnam finally switching back to pre-COVID 90 day eVisa on August 15. They made it even better saying it's multi entry now. Guess I'll move home base from Japan / Korea to Vietnam soon. I've personally been waiting for 1 of the SEA countries (not Malaysia) to reinstate a 90 day Visa.

Why is this news in the Thailand thread? I believe Thailand needs to react quickly to lengthening their Visa to at least 45 days or Vietnam will dominate tourism in SEA.[/QUOTE]I agree, should be 45-60 days on arrival for most passports, at least western countries.

[QUOTE=BionicMan;2829861]On principle it should not be contaminated being the ice factory made and not home made (from the tap). So it should respond to certain standards.

But we also know the "standards " in Thailand are very flexible and anyone can set a factory in the back yard.

The cold chain (in food) is also over broken. That's a fact. The reason why I don't eat from stalls, not because I am picky.

Our western body is not suited to many things off tropical countries, and there is also people weaker than others. Another fact we can't control ourselves.

Add the heat / humidity factors that might hurt some.[/QUOTE]The ice in Thailand is safe to consume. It's all from filtered water from factories.

For those with sensitive stomachs and food poisoning concerns, only eat at restaurants and malls and mall food courts. That's what I try to do. The outdoor food stalls are a risk.

I ate from a turkish kebab stall at Tree Town in Pattaya last year and got the worst food poisoning of my life. I couldn't move for two days. My next trip I plan to only eat at the malls and hotel. Conveniently, malls are everywhere in Bangkok and Pattaya.

[QUOTE=BionicMan;2829862]Well, at the same token I can't understand the obsession of saving 200 baht for 1-2-3 week holiday as a plus difference when ordering a dedicated car service for a 120 km ride. Cars and drivers not comparable with the city taxis. One has spent quite some money in flight ticket, hotel, plus the expected entertainment and food expenditures and 200 baht are a nuisance? A deal breaker?

Oh well, each one his own, of course.[/QUOTE]Its not an obsession, its reality. The cost is 1000 baht. Why pay more? For a privately owned Toyota vis a vis one with colours? If I want a Benz, Ill call for one.

Its more about value for money, paying the fair price, viz: Its meter 250 B from my door to the corner of Suk and Soi 3 on a Sunday afternoon no traffic. Pus tip, no tolls.

So if someone tells me 300 B back at 0300 I'm not going to argue. 500? Next.

One early am, I flag down a cab. He tells me 500. OK, no thanks. Wait, 400! 300 I say, he says OK. Hmmmmm, that was easy. Off we go. Conversation: Are you finish tonight? Yes go home. Lightbulb goes off in my head. Where you live? *well its across the road from my condo*. Paid for going home! Fair price for going home! Two winners.

[QUOTE=BionicMan;2829861]On principle it should not be contaminated being the ice factory made and not home made (from the tap). So it should respond to certain standards.

But we also know the "standards " in Thailand are very flexible and anyone can set a factory in the back yard.

The cold chain (in food) is also over broken. That's a fact. The reason why I don't eat from stalls, not because I am picky.

Our western body is not suited to many things off tropical countries, and there is also people weaker than others. Another fact we can't control ourselves.

Add the heat / humidity factors that might hurt some.[/QUOTE]The ice in a decent venue is fine, otherwise the Thais would be sick too.

[QUOTE=BananaBoi;2829878]Why is this news in the Thailand thread? I believe Thailand needs to react quickly to lengthening their Visa to at least 45 days or Vietnam will dominate tourism in SEA.[/QUOTE]Thailand's evisa is already 2 plus 1 month, but I don't know if there is still the multi-entry (it was available only for some countries pre-covid).

[QUOTE=BananaBoi;2829878]Vietnam finally switching back to pre-COVID 90 day eVisa on August 15. They made it even better saying it's multi entry now. Guess I'll move home base from Japan / Korea to Vietnam soon. I've personally been waiting for 1 of the SEA countries (not Malaysia) to reinstate a 90 day Visa.

Why is this news in the Thailand thread? I believe Thailand needs to react quickly to lengthening their Visa to at least 45 days or Vietnam will dominate tourism in SEA.[/QUOTE]I think Vietnam will not dominate, because the majority of the tourists have to get back to work after a couple of weeks, and therefore cannot take a 45 days vacation.

[QUOTE=CaliGuy33;2829908]The ice in Thailand is safe to consume. It's all from filtered water from factories.

For those with sensitive stomachs and food poisoning concerns, only eat at restaurants and malls and mall food courts. That's what I try to do. The outdoor food stalls are a risk.

I ate from a turkish kebab stall at Tree Town in Pattaya last year and got the worst food poisoning of my life. I couldn't move for two days. My next trip I plan to only eat at the malls and hotel. Conveniently, malls are everywhere in Bangkok and Pattaya.[/QUOTE]I stick to American chain restaurants or higher end restaurants. I leaned my lesson onetime eating at night market stalls, which led to me being out of commission for days.

How reliable is Cebu Air flying out of Bangkok to Manila? Would you recommend a different airline.

Thanks for the response.

[QUOTE=HornDog3;2830218]How reliable is Cebu Air flying out of Bangkok to Manila? Would you recommend a different airline..[/QUOTE]Never had a problem. They keep writing to me saying my points are about to expire.

[QUOTE=MrEnternational;2829675]Dude just go upstairs to the 4th floor and go outside and cross over to the other side and tell the driver 1000. I have done this literally 100 times. I do not know why people keep obsessing over these taxi services or paying more than 1000.[/QUOTE]Yeah I'm pretty much on the same point. A regular taxi will generally not give much of a shit and take the fare. Same goes for leaving from Bangkok city proper.

[QUOTE=CaliGuy33;2829908]The ice in Thailand is safe to consume. It's all from filtered water from factories.

For those with sensitive stomachs and food poisoning concerns, only eat at restaurants and malls and mall food courts. That's what I try to do. The outdoor food stalls are a risk.

I ate from a turkish kebab stall at Tree Town in Pattaya last year and got the worst food poisoning of my life. I couldn't move for two days. My next trip I plan to only eat at the malls and hotel. Conveniently, malls are everywhere in Bangkok and Pattaya.[/QUOTE]Just stick with the ice with holes in it and you will be fine.

So the IRS tells me someone may have used my social security number to acquire employment, and they say I might want to put a fraud alert on my credit. I looked around and couldn't find any good info on how that might effect me once I'm overseas such as banking, wire transfers, buying a condo, etc. Anyone had any experience with this? I wouldn't want to make it impossible to access my bank accounts.

On another note I once tried a wire transfer to Thailand from my current bank and had some major issues. My bank actually ran the wire transfer via Bank of America instead of themselves. Is there a specific bank in the US that someone recommends if moving overseas? Does anyone use Charles Schwab in that regard? I already know they are good for reimbursing ATM fees.

[QUOTE=TooDirty;2830761]So the IRS tells me someone may have used my social security number to acquire employment, and they say I might want to put a fraud alert on my credit. I looked around and couldn't find any good info on how that might effect me once I'm overseas such as banking, wire transfers, buying a condo, etc. Anyone had any experience with this? I wouldn't want to make it impossible to access my bank accounts.

On another note I once tried a wire transfer to Thailand from my current bank and had some major issues. My bank actually ran the wire transfer via Bank of America instead of themselves. Is there a specific bank in the US that someone recommends if moving overseas? Does anyone use Charles Schwab in that regard? I already know they are good for reimbursing ATM fees.[/QUOTE]For fraud and stuff, many banks and credit cards allow you to do a travel notification, which is exactly to prevent issues from popping up while traveling abroad. Some have sunset this and just take a look at the chargers, others you can do it online or with a call. Your bank may vary, but generally you can get this all settled before you go, or if a card gets blocked, a quick call or customer support can resolve it, its frustrating, but just takes a short time to resolve.