I have been using my phone's data plan as my primary internet connection for mobile as well as my computers working off of the phone's wifi hotspot sharing. I was using a prepaid sim that gave me 20 GB of download a month for 1,799 baht.
I now have a Thai bank account that lets me purchase a post paid plan. For a farang to have a post paid plan they need a passport and one of a work permit or Thai bank account.
My post paid plan costs me 1,888 baht a month but gives me 75 GBs a month at very fast speeds.
Here is my latest speed result:
The other great part of this plan is that I can piggy back up to 4 more AIS (provider) phone numbers onto the plan and share the voice minutes and data access. I can go online and track the usage to see who is using what and add and delete numbers at will. Just a great plan.
I was also due a phone upgrade from my business revenues as my last business phone, a Samsung Note 3 was over 3 years old and had died 4 months ago. Of course a Samsung Note 7 was out of the question due to its battery problems so I purchased a Note 5 which is actually a great phone with a great camera. It was going for 21,990 baht at the local TeleWiz store which sells AIS services and has staff that actually understand English :-)
Today's song is: Nights in White Satin .. Moody Blues
We are slowly settling into a routine that is ruled mostly by the boss, Jaidan. We are seriously thinking of enrolling Jaidan in the local Thai school. Apparently they can do so anytime after their 2nd birthday. Hard to believe, but we will check it out.
It would be good to put Jaidan in school as it would give Thavorn and I some free time to go to the gym or simply go for a coffee without always having to chase down whatever Jaidan is up to. He is definitely ADHD like his half brother Jordan.
I may have an opportunity to coach some basketball at an international school and it would be great if it came with a work permit as that would enable many things in Thailand that all seem to revolve around having a work permit such as purchasing a vehicle.
This Sunday we fly to Phuket to stay at the marriot Beach Resort for a week to celebrate our birthdays and give Thavorn a chance to see her daughter who lives with her ex's family in Phang Nga, in Southern Thailand, about 90 mins out of Phuket. This is where the major tsunami hit years ago.
The resort is beautiful and we seem to visit it about twice a year.
We are flying Air Asia and Jaidan has flown about 3 times already but I doubt if he remembers. Hopefully he will remember this time as it is the first time I have to purchase a seat for him as children under 2 years of age fly for free but sit on mama or poppa.
Here are some pics of the resort. I must remember to take my gym stuff as it has a great exercise facility.
We have managed to get out a few times in Bangkok, sometimes all three of us, sometimes separately. We are looking forward to having Thavorn's older children Tai and Dun come visit for the month of October as they will babysit Jaidan and let us go out to have a few beers and enjoy some music. We usually arrive home about 1 am to find the 3 of them watching television :-)
It is amazing how long it has taken us to get our apartment back in order. Dish drainers, cutlery drawers, glasses, mops, mop buckets, pillows, etc. all had to be purchased to replace what got trashed in the village. We also left behind rice cookers, microwaves, etc. to help out Thavorn's family back in the village.
I took 2 last pics before leaving the village:
The poorest of the poor live here, but still have a satellite dish.
This house in the village rents for 1,000 baht a month .. about $35 Canadian a month
The big news is that I have finally managed to open a Thai bank account on my third try. This, after a lot of research on internet. I originally tried to open an account with Thavorn's bank, thinking that would be easier. I tried in the village, thinking, 'Where everyone knows your name', but the village banker was not keen on a farang opening an account. I then tried Thavorn's bank in the big city but the gate keeper (trumped up security guard) stated I need a work permit, so no go. I then tried the Bangkok Bank and was rolling along with the account opened, 10,000 baht deposited, a bank book and debit card when the next person down the approval line stated I need a form from the Canadian embassy. So I made an appointment with the embassy for 2 days later.
When I arrived at the embassy and asked to have the banking form stamped and approved I was asked which bank and do you have the form. I said the Bangkok Bank and they did not give me a form. The young lady said, they always forget to give you the form. Go back to the ground floor and you will find a branch of the Bangkok branch and ask them for the form. I do so, and then take the form up to the embassy and fill it out and they stamp it and charge me 1,400 baht for their efforts.
Back to the Exchange Plaza which is where I opened the account (closest to my apartment) and I handed the form to the appropriate person and he checked it out and lo and behold gave me my bankbook and debit card. Yippee kai yai :-)
I will now be able to transfer money from Canada to my Thai account and avoid the many fees except for the exchange rate and $10 transaction fee. Contrast that with the 200 baht foreign debit fee plus the 2.5% Canadian banks tack on at their end as well. Taking money out at the Thai bank's atm is free.
Down the road, now that I am building a credit history with a Thai bank will make it easier to buy a vehicle or house down the road. At least I hope so.
This Friday night, the 3 kings (Arthur, John, and James) and little John (recently retired from England) will head out bar hopping to celebrate King John's PhD graduation which, I guess also makes him Dr. John :-)
The move was uneventful except our pickup truck arrived at 6 am rather than the designated 8 am. Go figure, meant we had no time to shower or have a coffee. Thai time is variable at best.
Tacky arrived to help us move in. Mostly she welcomed us back by chatting and helping me finish off the bottle of 'welcome back red wine' that I bought for myself.
When we arrived Jaidan was a little apprehensive but when we entered our apartment he did his little happy dance as he recognized it from the first 2 years of his life. He has since settled in extremely well and is high fiving all the staff and the resident motorcycle taxi drivers who all seemed happy to see him back on soi 22.
This afternoon I will probably head off to Rumors Bar with Jaidan to say hello to everyone in that outdoor bar. I am sure they will find a big change in Jaidan.
I decided I needed a bigger work desk for my computer equipment so off we went to Office Mate (Depot) and I bought a desk on sale for 3,000 baht. Unfortunately when we brought it back in a tuk tuk, I discovered it was completely unassembled, but 4 hours later Thavorn and I had it all together, and so far, it is meeting my needs as it has quite a bit of storage inside it, for my many backup drives and cables.
My existing work chair has self destructed and I am simply using one of the regular apartment chairs. If my butt protests I will find a new work chair.
We have been to Big C twice now, buying supplies for the apartment, almost starting from scratch as much of our stuff was trashed over the past 4 months in the village. It was time for new pillows (175 baht on sale) as sweat stains are not that enjoyable to look at when changing pillow cases.
I am also going to install my own dedicated internet as Windows 10 updates are killing my 20 GB download cap on my cell phone. I have the equivalent of 5 Win 10 computers although some are virtual.
Well, our little experiment is over. What did Thavorn and I learn? Thavorn learned that she can't live in her Moma's house in the village. First, her Moma is too loud and secondly, she seldom cleans up the messes she creates and relies on Thavorn's 2 children, Thai and Dun to clean and fetch for her. Thavorn has had quite a few conversations with her Moma and there has been some change but not much. I myself, spent only 2 months in the village and I can safely say, a couple of nights is more than enough for me.
It was not a complete waste as I accomplished my goal of getting back in shape and losing 20 pounds in the process. I feel great.
The second accomplishment is Thavorn and I added one air-conditioned room, a drop ceiling in 2/3rd's of the house and added on an outdoor kitchen. At the same time we replaced the hazardous electrical wiring and updated the plumbing somewhat. Thavorn feels good that her moma's house is much more presentable and livable. Tai has her own sleeping area which is good as she is maturing.
If Thavorn and I were to buy some land and build a house in the village I would need some transportation to get into Bangkok at least once a month for some entertainment. The village is sleepy, the women are chubby, dress down, and do not bother with their appearance at all. There is no one to speak English to other than Thavorn and Jaidan.
I think a better solution would be to purchase something in Bangkok. My friend Arthur bought the equivalent of a townhouse for 1.5 million baht and renovated it for about another 100,000 baht and is quite happy with the place. I am going to visit it in the near future and take a look at it.
Apparently, we have a pickup truck coming in the morning. I asked what time and the closest Thavorn could pin it down was the 'morning'. In true Thai fashion, it is some relation who does not know Bangkok very well. I downloaded TomTom from the Android Play Store and I will be able to give him directions into the core of Bangkok where we live. Getting back out will be his problem.
I had Thavorn call our apartment building and confirm that our unit is empty, clean, and ready for us to move in. I hope Jaidan remembers and adjusts to his new surroundings quickly. When he left, he was propping and high fiving all the staff and the surrounding motorcycle taxi drivers.
We are leaving behind much of our stuff as it has been badly used over the last 4 months. Our dishes are toast and most of our glasses have been broken. Chairs are just dirty and worn out. The pillows are soaked through with sweat stains so I insisted to Thavorn that we buy new. Ditto for towels. Our spin mop units are toast as they are all filthy. So, it is off to Big C when we get back to Bangkok.
We are signing a 12 month lease this time around and I really have to do something with our internet so that I can watch some English content on the television. What we get on the existing feed is 95% Thai and useless to me. Fibre is being installed in Bangkok but has not made it onto my street yet. My phone's data connection is fast but I am limited to 20 gigs of download. I may have to dedicate a cheap phone and new sim card for internet access for my entertainment.
That's it for now, hopefully my next post will originate from Bangkok.
Today's song is: Riders on the Storm .. Doors, Morrison
Two more nights and I will cease to be a mosquito pin cushion! There is about a 6 hour window where I can sit outside and not be eaten alive. That is about noon to 5 pm when the little buggers have their afternoon siesta. Maybe I need to buy a motorcycle to outrun them. I really like the new Honda CB650F that came out in 2015. It is made in Thailand and sells for only 285,000 baht in Thailand. Put 55,000 baht down and pay only 5,000 baht a month which is the usual fluctuation in Thai/Canadian currency exchange rates and if the Canadian dollar grows in strength by one US penny it covers the cost of the bike!.
It is fairly compact so it would be good for threading through the traffic in Bangkok. It is also easier to adapt to driving on the left hand side of the road as all the controls are where I would normally expect them to be. I have the distinct feeling that a motorcycle is in the near future for me. I would buy it in the village as Thavorn already has a credit rating with the Honda dealership in town. Unfortunately, they have the white model in the showroom and I prefer the red one above.
I think it would make a great Christmas present for someone (c'est moi).
TTYL
Friday, August 26, 2016
Today's song is: Rock You and We are the Champions .. Queen and Lambert .. Rio 2015
We started packing up our black bins for our move back to Bangkok and I came across our electronic scales and weighed myself, and yippie kai yah I weighed in at 87.9 kilos down from about 96 kilos I started at less than 4 months ago. Feels good :-) Running is so much easier!
87.9 kilograms = 193.8 pounds .. close to my university playing weight of 189 pounds
Five more sleeps and we are out of the village and back to the City of Angeles in the LOS. Lots of programming for me today so ...
