Visit to Bangkok - Pattaya

booo said:
if you have a citibank debit card, you can take out the money from the citibank atms in the local currency. and citibank rates are usually very good. and never convert money at the airport.
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Thanks. Wow..!! All of you here are recommending to use Debit Cards in ATM's which is the safest method. But are you aware that those ATM's charge 150 THB - 180 THB (~300 - 400 INR) per transaction?

Also, how does CC works internationally? Will it be converted automatically to INR? Or it'll be in INR only (without any conversion)?

Sanav3 said:
You can contact ICICI for converting rupees to baht, but I would recommend using Credit card directly for big transactions and withdraw cash from ATM using Debit card when needed.
Also you can buy Thai prepaid SIM cards @ airport and they come with one week of free 3G and India calling was Rs 3 per min.
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Yeah that's why I was thinking of buying those prepaid SIM Cards from Airport.
 
krishnandu said:
Thanks. Wow..!! All of you here are recommending to use Debit Cards in ATM's which is the safest method. But are you aware that those ATM's charge 150 THB - 180 THB (~300 - 400 INR) per transaction?
Also, how does CC works internationally? Will it be converted automatically to INR? Or it'll be in INR only (without any conversion)?
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This is what I did when I recently visited India. I have a citibank AU account and I was withdrawing money directly from the ATM machines here (read citibank ATM not other bank ATMs). also making purchases directly on the debit card. they never charged me for any thing. and the rates were almost equal or more than WU forex rates.

The CCs will say that you can use the CC for any purchases overseas and the transactions are free. but they have very shitty forex rates and its very dangerous to use the CC for purchasing stuff overseas. I used my CC to buy some coffee in singapore airport. but the forex rate was crap.
 
booo said:
This is what I did when I recently visited India. I have a citibank AU account and I was withdrawing money directly from the ATM machines here (read citibank ATM not other bank ATMs). also making purchases directly on the debit card. they never charged me for any thing. and the rates were almost equal or more than WU forex rates.

The CCs will say that you can use the CC for any purchases overseas and the transactions are free. but they have very shitty forex rates and its very dangerous to use the CC for purchasing stuff overseas. I used my CC to buy some coffee in singapore airport. but the forex rate was crap.
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Thanks. So should I open a Citibank A/c? So as per your comments I think I need to open a Citibank Thailand A/c?
 
pauldmps said:
Be careful. I've heard stories of people turning up um..... how do I phrase it....... "not of the expected gender" :D

http://www.erodov.com/forums/how-i-got-scammed-7000-rs-valentines-day/61307-5.html#post835024
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Yeah, the exact phrase is Ladyboys. Yes it's very common there ofcourse because Womens make more money than men there in Thailand. So mens go for sex change operation. Though there are 100's of tips there on internet to how to identify a ladyboy and all but I'm not sure how much it helps in practical situation.

As for me, I'm also not much sure whether I'll be fooled or what but let's see. Basic idea that I have got is to check ID's which will have their gender on birth, no matter what they do. But seriously, I'm not pro so no idea :p
 
krishnandu said:
So as per your comments I think I need to open a Citibank Thailand A/c?
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No, just Indian account with international debit card.
my account is AU account with AUD in it and I withdrew INR from citibank ATMs. The forex rate was the rate that citibank had at the point when I used the ATM. no other charges. same with other purchases using the debit card. but anyways, citibank also allows you to create an overseas account and put some money in it. but I never needed to use it.
 
Thanks a lot @boo. So isn't these type of offer provided by other banks? I'll try to know about HDFC.

What are the possibilities that I'll find HDFC ATM's there? Do they exist internationally like Citibank?
 
The minimum balance in a citibank savings account is 2,00,000 INR. And it is not always that the transactions are free. I think it depends on the country. I have a malaysian citibank account and i was charge around 200 INR per transaction even when using a citibank ATM. Although it would have been free if I used a citibank ATM inside a branch office. I think the best option would be WU. You can send some money and receive it when you land there. Better rates than any forex agencies. Credit cards are also fine. The exchange rates are determined by Visa/Mastercard so you cannot be scammed on that. The general charge is 3.5% (I used HDFC). Even adding the 3.5%, it turns out cheaper than the money changers.
 
Thanks @Dhrubo. Yes I called HDFC Customer Care and this is what they said...

1. For Debit Card, they will charge flat INR 100/- + Tax + 3.5% on total amount (Forex Charge).
So ultimately it becomes INR 100/- + Tax + 3.5% on total amount (Forex Charge) + 150 THB / 180 THB for me.

2. For Credit Card, it's as you said already, 3.5% on total amount (Forex Charge).

So, I rule out HDFC Debit Card, as it'll incur heavy charges. But will keep Credit Card in case of emergency as you are saying even with the charge it'll be cheaper.

Thanks for the WU suggestion. Let's check about it :)

Regarding Citibank, sorry can't put 1 lakh / 2 lakh whatever it is :p Don't have that much money.

But yes Citibank or any other bank who have ATM's there, is best to have a A/c on those banks.

@vyral_143 It's 2 lakh for savings a/c. http://www.online.citibank.co.in/portal/newgen/citibanking-SOC-for-viewing.pdf
 
All the best for our trip. I might be visiting Thailand myself in January but for different purposes :p I will be accompanied by my wife. So maybe will do Phuket-Krabi than bangkok-pattaya.
 
krishnandu said:
It's 2 lakh for savings a/c. http://www.online.citibank.co.in/portal/newgen/citibanking-SOC-for-viewing.pdf
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Actually last month only I got my charges Rs.500 reversed for not having balance of 1 lac in my account. Hence I commented so, but PDF does looks little different then that. May be mine is quite old account - since 2010.

On topic: Have you considered Foreign Currency card ? We can load balance of destination currency from India only with some charge + Forex Rate.
 
vyral_143 said:
Actually last month only I got my charges Rs.500 reversed for not having balance of 1 lac in my account. Hence I commented so, but PDF does looks little different then that. May be mine is quite old account - since 2010.

On topic: Have you considered Foreign Currency card ? We can load balance of destination currency from India only with some charge + Forex Rate.
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Yeah may be.

Forex Card is a costlier option. Check http://www.hdfcbank.com/personal/products/cards/prepaid-cards/forexplus-card
 
Dhrubo said:
The minimum balance in a citibank savings account is 2,00,000 INR. And it is not always that the transactions are free. I think it depends on the country. I have a malaysian citibank account and i was charge around 200 INR per transaction even when using a citibank ATM. Although it would have been free if I used a citibank ATM inside a branch office. I think the best option would be WU. You can send some money and receive it when you land there. Better rates than any forex agencies. Credit cards are also fine. The exchange rates are determined by Visa/Mastercard so you cannot be scammed on that. The general charge is 3.5% (I used HDFC). Even adding the 3.5%, it turns out cheaper than the money changers.
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I enquired in western union and apparently one can only recieve money in india, we cannot send. Here is the reply that I got.

We're sorry to inform you that Western Union does not send domestic nor international money transfer in your location. Our service in India is for receiving money transfers only.

Best regards,

Western Union Customer Care
 
vaibhavyagnik said:
I enquired in western union and apparently one can only recieve money in india, we cannot send. Here is the reply that I got.

We're sorry to inform you that Western Union does not send domestic nor international money transfer in your location. Our service in India is for receiving money transfers only.

Best regards,

Western Union Customer Care
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Ouch. My bad. I used WU services to send money from Malaysia and receive it in India. I assumed it would be true the other way round as well. Seems the RBI does not allow outward remittance.
 
Ahh bad luck :(

Anyways, I think I got my answer (options).
1. Carry cash and exchange (High Risk)
2. Carry Debit Card and use to take out a large amount of money say for 1 -2 days at a time. (This would lower the risk and transaction cost)

Anyways, so any idea regarding costing of foods?

In many sites I see, they recommend having Thai street food and all. And for anything except Thai food will cost much higher, which I don't intend to do. As I can always have other cuisine, this is the chance to have authentic Thai cuisine.

I came to know that street foods there are most famous and it's not like India, restaurants or etc. will cost a bit more. So can you guys please confirm? Or any suggestions / tips?
 
Again I am speaking from my experience in Malaysia and hearsay things from my colleagues, so take it in with a grain of salt. The street food are essentially stalls set up at either side of the road with some chairs laid out in the open or there even might be a cafe which allows you to seat there but you have to buy drinks from them. The standard is a notch above the "jhoops" we have ;), its almost similar to a food court in a shopping mall minus the glamour. Thai food is excellent as long as you are ready to try out new things. Sea food is the specialty, so expect to eat oysters, squids, prawns, cockles, jelly fish and sea fishes. Pork and beef will also be abundantly available. Expect the curries to have coconut milk in them. The street food should set you back by 100-200 INR per meal. A meal in a normal restaurant will be 2-2.5 times more.
 
Dhrubo said:
Again I am speaking from my experience in Malaysia and hearsay things from my colleagues, so take it in with a grain of salt. The street food are essentially stalls set up at either side of the road with some chairs laid out in the open or there even might be a cafe which allows you to seat there but you have to buy drinks from them. The standard is a notch above the "jhoops" we have ;), its almost similar to a food court in a shopping mall minus the glamour. Thai food is excellent as long as you are ready to try out new things. Sea food is the specialty, so expect to eat oysters, squids, prawns, cockles, jelly fish and sea fishes. Pork and beef will also be abundantly available. Expect the curries to have coconut milk in them. The street food should set you back by 100-200 INR per meal. A meal in a normal restaurant will be 2-2.5 times more.
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Thanks Dhrubo. This is almost same what I read. Thanks for confirming. I don't plan to have anything except Thai food.
 
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