Thailand Thread

[rin and john 71]

Nevermind, I chickened out. I'll have them translated

Only about 100 to 200 thb per page in Thailand. You will at some point need the BC and marriage certificate in english (ROC, naturalization, adding her to medical, etc). I've used Rin's BC and our marriage certificate on multiple occasions. Glad they were already translated.

John

[rsn 135]

i used voipdiscount for about a year, it was cheap, but not particularly reliable. Luckily we signed up for a skype plan that allows us to call Thailand unlimited for $5.95/month. They don't offer it anymore but we get to keep the plan. Using Skype-To-Go we can (and always do) make our Skye calls via a cell phone. It's ulta-reliable. I tried Vonage a few times. It was too expensive, not reliable, and the customer service sucked. Not sure how they stay in business.

Edited November 24, 2010 by rsn

[AdamW 2]

i used voipdiscount for about a year, it was cheap, but not particularly reliable. Luckily we signed up for a skype plan that allows us to call Thailand unlimited for $5.95/month. They don't offer it anymore but we get to keep the plan. Using Skype-To-Go we can (and always do) make our Skye calls via a cell phone. It's ulta-reliable. I tried Vonage a few times. It was too expensive, not reliable, and the customer service sucked. Not sure how they stay in business.

This is what we use, wife uses skype unlimited and just signs into skype on her Iphone and uses her phone as normal by using Skype. Works great and no big phone bill!!

[rsn 135]

This is what we use, wife uses skype unlimited and just signs into skype on her Iphone and uses her phone as normal by using Skype. Works great and no big phone bill!!

With Skype-to-go, you don't even need a data plan to make calls to your skype contacts from a cell phone.

[AdamW 2]

With Skype-to-go, you don't even need a data plan to make calls to your skype contacts from a cell phone.

You are correct but she uses the Wifi in the house anyway so doesn't eat up the data plan at all. They force you to have some sort of data plan with the Iphone but... anyway, Skype works great for us.

[rsn 135]

You are correct but she uses the Wifi in the house anyway so doesn't eat up the data plan at all. They force you to have some sort of data plan with the Iphone but... anyway, Skype works great for us.

You must have signed up before they removed unlimited one-country plans. It's a shame they don't offer those for new users. Guess it wasn't a money maker.

[daboyz 36]

FYI Thai Air Asia doesn't accept U.S. based credit cards. 2 hours on the phone with them. What a pain in the a$$. Nok Air takes them though. They only take SCB, Bankgok Bank and one other one. Wife is on the motorbike going to the airport in Chiang Mai to pay for her ticket.

Still the stone ages over there on some levels.

[gvt 0]

FYI Thai Air Asia doesn't accept U.S. based credit cards. 2 hours on the phone with them. What a pain in the a$. Nok Air takes them though. They only take SCB, Bankgok Bank and one other one. Wife is on the motorbike going to the airport in Chiang Mai to pay for her ticket.

Still the stone ages over there on some levels.

AirAsia takes credit cards from almost any country online for Thailand departures with no problems from my experience. You can book online in less than 5 min. I can only speak for online transactions, not phone transactions. The only reason to book over the phone is if the flight is in less than 12 hours which I assume is your case.

For phone bookings it may be also worth trying the Malaysian, Australian, Singapore, etc customer service line and they probably could of done the booking over the phone with a US credit card.

Edited December 2, 2010 by gvt

[daboyz 36]

AirAsia takes credit cards from almost any country online for Thailand departures with no problems from my experience. You can book online in less than 5 min. I can only speak for online transactions, not phone transactions. The only reason to book over the phone is if the flight is in less than 12 hours which I assume is your case.

For phone bookings it may be also worth trying the Malaysian, Australian, Singapore, etc customer service line and they probably could of done the booking over the phone with a US credit card.

I tried like 5 different times using my BoA card online and on the phone. No dice.

[AdamW 2]

Anyone had any experiences bringing nanny from Thailand to USA?

I tried like 5 different times using my BoA card online and on the phone. No dice.

That's strange, I used Air Asia Thailand but had to show credit card when I got there but it was out of Bangkok. They are amazing sometimes when it comes to the credit card situation. Good luck.

[Kang Lang 7]

Anyone had any experiences bringing nanny from Thailand to USA?

That's strange, I used Air Asia Thailand but had to show credit card when I got there but it was out of Bangkok. They are amazing sometimes when it comes to the credit card situation. Good luck.

my SIL was an au pair for a little over a year, she wasn't here in san francicso but was placed in seattle. i can probably answer some questions for you. are you going through an agency or trying to bring a family member over to help?

[AdamW 2]

my SIL was an au pair for a little over a year, she wasn't here in san francicso but was placed in seattle. i can probably answer some questions for you. are you going through an agency or trying to bring a family member over to help?

Thanks for your reply. No, it is not a family member but is a close friend of my wife's. I work away from home (overseas) and need someone home to help her. We are planning the family (kids) so I am pre-planning the help stage LOL I have looked at the agencies but really didn't want to do the stranger au pair so thought about her friend. Thanks.

[Kang Lang 7]

got it, so you will be applying for a b2 visa then? as i'm sure you know tourist visas out of thailand are extremely hard to come by. she will have to prove very very strong ties to home. is your wife's friend an au pair already? if so then that might make things different.

[gvt 0]

I tried like 5 different times using my BoA card online and on the phone. No dice.

Weird. I know the first time I used Capital One with AirAsia I got rejected but found out that Capital One was rejecting it because it was an international transaction and I had to put a "flag" on the card to allow international had a time limit. So even if you have told them before doesn't mean the flag as been turned off again. A ignorant agent in Thailand may interrupt the rejection as meaning only Thai CC cards are accepted.

BTW, You are probably aware BoA tacks on 3-4% foreign transactions fees whereas other cards like Capital One does not. There is a list here of all the fees per credit card and debit cards in case you are interested:

http://www.flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/Credit/Debit/ATM_Cards_and_Foreign_Exchange

[AdamW 2]

got it, so you will be applying for a b2 visa then? as i'm sure you know tourist visas out of thailand are extremely hard to come by. she will have to prove very very strong ties to home. is your wife's friend an au pair already? if so then that might make things different.

See, that is where I think the problem will come in. I know she will never get a tourist visa and she is not an au pair now. She is a manager for a major hotel there so no experience in child care. I am still researching options but doesn't look like it will be easy.