All sorts
Muslima
In Songhkla, help a Muslim woman from Malaysia load her heavy suitcase into the tuk tuk (sorry Geert). Two days later I move to Hat Yai and in the hotel where I have taken up residence a neatly dressed lady approaches me with an outstretched hand. Look at her very bewildered and after her explanation come to the conclusion that it is the same lady who I helped with her suitcase earlier. After my compliments on her fashionable clothes, a smile appears from ear to ear. She may have escaped the rules of her environment far from home. Was it really that much different in the Netherlands when I was young?
Bangkok Airways
Fly from Hat Yai around 9am for a short flight of barely an hour to Phuket. Never flown with this airline before. Neat little plane with only two seats on each side. On this very short flight, everyone is served a light breakfast. Next time maybe again with Bangkok Air. Excellent service.
Drink
Sit alone on a terrace and order a beer. The waitress looks at me, raises one finger and asks "One?" It happens to me regularly. Would they call me an alcoholic in Thailand?
Wine
At 7-Eleven, for a bargain price of 299 baht, they have a very acceptable wine in the limited range for the price. Is often a bit hidden in the box without a price indication. It is a red Australian wine from Berri Estates Bin 777; imported by Siam Winery. The vineyards are located in the south of Australia in the river area between Berri and Glossop.
Credit Card
Credit card, debit card or the possibility to transfer money from your home country are now part of the fixed items when you travel for a longer period of time. Nice safe feeling. Still, you have to be more and more alert when using your credit card. Not only the possibilities of fraud, but also the fiddling with the exchange rate used. Regularly experience that a very unfavorable exchange rate is used. Have to pay a bill in the otherwise very neat Deevana Patong Resort & Spa on Phuket; 17.629 baht to be exact. While the rate at any exchange office is 36.5, Deevana uses 34.3159. No less than four digits after the decimal point to apparently demonstrate the utmost accuracy. Converted to € 513.46, which makes a difference of € 30.72 or 6,36 % on the exchange rate used everywhere. So pay cash anyway.
In response to your comment regarding your credit card, you apparently agreed to convert - or were you not asked? That always gives an unfavorable course. At hotels I am usually asked if I want conversion to Euros and I have canceled once and that was also the last time…………
The bank charges the rate, not Deevana.
But when I listen to this you have used Dynamic Currency Conversion (or have it used), where you immediately get the exchange rate in Euro.
Always refuse, and only pay in Thai Baht. You could also have emphasized that you want to pay in baht with your cc instead of paying in cash.
Indeed, those Australian wines are very reasonable. In Thailand they mainly sell Australian wines. You can also get them there in wine bags of 3 or 5 liters. 5 quickly dropped from 800 to 1000 baht. The advantage of those drain bags is that no air is added and they last longer. I doubt whether these are “soft” prices. For a few euros I can buy wine of equal quality or better at Lidl or Albert Heyn.
Indeed, never have conversion to Euros applied. Also in the Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital, for example, they always ask if you want to pay in TBH or Euro when paying with a credit card. Paying in cash remains of course the most advantageous in terms of the exchange rate used. More and more ATMs are also proposing to use conversion to Euros for debit card payments. Not accepting will soon save you 5%. Very recognizable to me is the question from a waiter/waitress if you want to order just one beer, wine or other drink while you are alone. If then, of course always accompanied by a smile, I respond by saying 'yes,
I think I'm alone' or 'if I want another one I'll call you', I often get to see a surprised face. The red wine, Bin 777, which is acceptable in terms of taste, at 7/11 can be called cheap by Thai standards, but still more than € 8. But yes, we all know that the alcohol excise duty in Thailand is exorbitantly high, even a bottle of beer brewed in Thailand costs considerably more in the store than what we are used to in the Low Countries. Wish Joseph many pleasant journeys!
The wine “in bags” is fine and costs only 6,66 baht per bottle (5 bottles in 135 liters). That is very cheap for Thailand: approx. 3,70 euros.
Sorry no answer to your direct question but indirectly yes. The 1st years (from 2000) no wine available, the last 3 years Mont Clair, I think an Australian wine, resembles Chardonnay and is affordable.!
Available at 7/11 and Family Markets!
The last night in Bangkok Amari Riverside we thought we were going crazy and ordered a bottle of Prosecco!
Turned out to be exactly the same brand that we buy here at Aldi for 4,09 euros... the receipt said 30 euros! 😀
The costs for credit card use is 3%, right? Then the often unfavorable exchange rate.
When do I pay interest?
In principle, you never pay interest with a credit card, unless you opt for spread repayment.
With a credit card you receive up to 30 days of payment deferral for free. This costs you nothing and has no disadvantages.
At the end of each month you will receive an account statement of all your payments. If you pay it back in full, you will never be charged interest.
You can also choose not to repay the bills in full, but spread them over a number of months. If you choose this option, you will pay interest. The interest is calculated on the balance that you still have outstanding. The repayment is often in equal installments of, for example, 50 euros. The interest is settled in this installment amount.
Erik
I think Jan is referring to the 3℅ that the seller often charges.