looks like there is another bank where you can get 30k / transaction

UOB or united overseas bank says 30k / transaction on their website

bangkok bank should still be 25k

http://www.sunsetplaza.eu/ i'm playing 1.3k(40k thai) for a 2bedroom for this place and they have 1 bedrooms condos for 1k(30k thai). its in karon right beside kata and its 2mins from the beach. probabably the nicest condo around karon/kata area that i seen. you dont have to book online, you can just show up and get a place, its low season they have alot of rooms avaliable

coming to BKK tmrw as I'm in for work on Thurs/Fri and then taking advantage and sticking around for the weekend.

Any updates on the situ in Sukhumvit? From what I was told everything appears to be calm but to stay away from the Soi 1 area.

that's a bit of a beat since I wanted to go Soi 3/1 on the Arab street for dinner. I hit up a nice Egyptian restaurant the only other time I was in BKK. Or is it fine around Soi 3/1 area?

I like how the suits in my office were all "stay outta Soi Cowboy" but couldn't maintain a straight face.

Regarding the ATMs, the bangkok bank ATM supposedly allowed 25 bills in a single transaction (=25k), but when I tried (twice) I got an error that my account balance was insufficient, but it would give me 20k after trying again.

So no luck there. Has anyone even actually succeeded in getting 25k out of that one?

(Maybe not spending too much would work too )

Crazy stuff.

It seems like it could be good practice when traveling to immediately take a pic of anybody new you're meeting up with and send it to a friend. It'd take like 5 seconds and isn't exactly tin foil hatting.

There are ATM limits, and there are bank limits. My bank will only let me do $300/transaction. (I think $500/day total, etc.) This *might* be the limit you are running into...

Train is ok if you are into trains (some people are). Overnight sleeper cabin costs about 800 baht iirc. The annoying thing is that you then have to catch the ferry to the Island from Surat Thani which takes another 2-3 hours depending on how long you spend waiting.

Flying is definitely the best way but the train is a good option if you want to see some countryside on the way.

Don't catch the bus, they are death traps and take forever.

VISA QUESTION:

So I just got my double-entry visa into my passport, BUT, since I'm going to be coming into thailand on the 4th and leaving on the 10th, then coming back after that, is it possible for me to use my double entry visa AFTER my initial journey and get a reg tourist visa from the 4th to the 10th? Are the customs people gonna look at me funny?

like said, most likely a limit on your card by your bank

you can either

a) not fill out the visa number on the arrival card and hope the immigration officer doesn't see your visa and give you the 30 day visa exempt stamp

or

b) tell the officer you are leaving and coming back soon and would not like to use the visa this time and then hope he got some the previous night or she doesn't have PMS

i'd probably go with b but dunno what is the max ev line

i just did this last week, just explain to them clearly and nicely that's what you wanna do.

i expect that you will not succeed with either A. or B.

What about getting a re-entry permit? Anyone ever attempt to get one?

just seen the US state department has placed thailand on the list of places not to travel because of what is going on at the bangkok airport, can i get some updates on how dangerous this is? also if coming into phuket i fly to bangkok and then take a flight from bangkok to phuket?

As far as I know, there isn't anything going on near nor at the airport, just in a couple of places around the city. The consensus is that if you avoid those areas you'll be fine.

Also, you can fly into Phuket without going through Bangkok. I don't know where you're coming from in the states, but I know on Delta/KoreanAir you can your connection to Phuket to go through Seoul.

You asked about apartments before and some guys posted good hotel spots that are supposed to have decent internet connections. There is a building just up the street from me (although I'm leaving in a week) that I know has great internet and a fantastic view. It's call Mountain Sea View apartments and Jeffman was staying there before. Maybe he can tell you more about it. I stayed there for a month one time a long time ago and it was great. You can use the pool at the hotel across the street too.
Another option, depending on how long you'll be staying, would be to ask Rutang if the lower level of his house is open. Sweet place and the lower level is a self contained apartment with bedroom, kitchen and all. They (I believe) have good internet and a roof top pool with sick view, maid service, huge bbq grill etc. There would also be some other guys you'll get to know anyway living just up the stairs from you.

oh how did i missed that about requimen4ever, he pmd me and wanted to meet up in bangkok or pattaya, and wanted to have my msn etc i think it was in february, well glad i was busy and went to phuket and never heard of him anymore

Things are getting a bit crazy outside. I've been hearing explosions and gunshots going off intermittently all night long. There's been an attempted assassination on one of the red shirt leaders who was apparently shot in the head while doing an interview with the New York Times, and a protester has been killed as well.. along with whatever else is going on that I'm hearing right now.

I wonder what's going to happen. It looks like the chances of this ending any time soon or relatively peacefully just went to 0.

Dear lord at the dead guy's interview: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home...-30129281.html

"The red shirts have come to fight and die."

I know this sweet little girl who has a coffee shop in a northern province who gladly closed up the shop (no money in low season) to go protest in bkk for her 300baht/day. I doubt she was told fighting and dying was on the agenda.

"I don't go outside. I stay within the protest areas. It's like a spy movie if you imagine about them infiltrating among red shirts and taking me."

Bad guys die in these movies too.

hmmm this is discouraging now for my decison to come, becoming more of a toss up

damn commies, ruining it for everyone, send em all to Guantanamo

Apparently, the guy who got his wig split was a rogue General who was demoted..

taken from yahoo!

According to the journalist Richard Ehrlich, who interviewed him on Tuesday, Seh Daeng, one of the Thai army's most experienced strategists, was reassigned to teach aerobics in 2008.

warning: graphic images/video in this link that will probably be on the front page of every Thai newspaper tommorow: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapc...ex.html?hpt=T1

this is bad :/

uhh man I really wanted to go next month but now... it just seems to get worse, god dam red shirts, I don't think ill be going now.

Hoping for the safety of all the Bangkok crew, NST policy: don't talk about it with farang, which i'm cool with, so its pretty out of site and checking CNN is just depressing but I did. Wow.

-GWM

weren't you coming to phuket?

all the protests are going on in bangkok. in phuket it's been business as usual

I'm just saying there is like 0 reasons not to come to phuket, atleast at the moment, obv no one is forcing you to

hahah yea still very likely, sending out stuff for visas tomorrow, with a big protestor going down i'd assume stuff could spread

any of you guys LHE players?