Job Discussion Forums

[sloegraffiti]

Hi,

I am planning on travelling to Thailand in early January with the intention of finding work teaching English.

I am wondering about some logistics such as phone, money and computer.

I live in the US and have a bank account at Bank of America. What are the best ways to deal with money while over there? Should I suck it up and pay the fees that my US bank will charge me when I use the ATM's in Thailand....travellers checks...?

Also, I currently have a Verizon cell phone. I haven't yet looked into international plans. Would it be best to break my contract and give up having the cell for my time there or get a plan in Thailand after arriving. And what's the cheaper way to go about international calls?

Finally, I am wondering if it's a ridiculous idea to bring my laptop. Though I'm applying to several jobs before leaving, I am anticipating that I might be looking for work after I arrive. Are there many internet places and would that be a good way to go about the job hunt?


For the first month I'm there I will be in Ban Phe where my boyfriend is doing the TEFL cert. program.

Any input to even one or all of my questions would be GREATLY appreciated.


Thank you!!

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

hello sloegraffiti:

I can't help you much with the banking questions; I've been abroad too long to know the details of that stuff.

Regarding your laptop: I'd bring it along. When I left Russia last year I decided to sell my old Dell and travel lightly. Now I wish I hadn't.

Yes, there are internet cafes everywhere, and they are cheap at 20 to 40 Baht per hour. The problem is that my resume (and other documents) were stored on my laptop, and the disc that I brought along doesn't seem to work here. In terms of privacy, convenience and job-hunting --- you just can't beat having your own laptop here with you, especially if you'll be in Thailand for a year or longer. imho. Bring it.

As for the mobile phone issue: First, you could contact Verizon and see if and how your present phone could be used in Thailand. They are probably the only ones who can tell you that with 100% confidence.

If it's even slightly inconvenient, I'd leave your phone at home. Getting hooked up here is so easy and so cheap it's practically ridiculous. Thailand is the most 'wired' country I've ever lived in, even more so than Japan, if that's possible. Everybody has a mobile here. Absolutely everybody --- and that huge demand has created huge competition which keeps the quality of services high and the prices low.

Hope that helps!

Now I'm off to the Ploenchit Fair 2004 for a pint of British beer and a ride on the Big Wheel.

[Volodiya]

I've never worked in Thailand but, for convenience when traveling, I have bank accounts there- both Baht accounts and foreign currency accounts- at Bangkok Bank.

Only thing I've been asked for when opening these accounts is to see my money, and my passport.

You could bring cash in with you, or have it wire transferred to your bank in Thailand (I've done several wire transfers into the accounts: for some reason, they seem to take at least five business days to clear).

With your Baht account you can get an ATM card that will work around the world. The service fee will be very small if used in Thailand: used abroad, it is $2.50 USD/withdrawal, with no practical limit on the amount you can withdraw per day (500,000 Baht/day).

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Regarding banks:

Here are 2 links to local banks in Thailand. Both offer internet banking:

http://www.bbl.co.th/Bangkok+Bank/main.htm (Bangkok Bank)

http://www.bankasia4u.com/index.htm (Bank of Asia)

[Gringo Greg]

I would buy one of those thumb drives for all of the data you need. Most computers have USB ports in Thailand and in a worst case scenario you would ust have to download the storage drivers. Another otpion, the one I used for 3 1/2 years there was to use my email as a place to store files but that gets very old and very slow. The thumb drive is so easy to use and pretty durable.

Getting internet in your place of residence is not so easy and I never came across an internet cafe with plugins for laptops, the thumb drive is the way to handle it.

Chuck the Verizon phone, it wont work in Thailand. Better just to spend $50 and buy a cheap no frills phone here and just buy phone cards. It is ridicously easy and cheap to just use the cards. I suggest Orange Just Talk. 5 baht per minute, unlimited in calls and you pay standard CAT prices for International Long Distance.

My suggestion is to come with at least two ATM cards. And if you want to go a step further, go ahead and get an account with NetBank. NetBank lets you have an ATM and a Debit card, you can basically take them both so you have a backup if one fails or eaten by a machine. Netbank doesnt charge an ATM fee so that is a plus. You can easily transfer money into your netbank account from your Bof A account.

[Volodiya]

I'd like to amend my previous post, just a little.

When using the Bangkok Bank ATM card abroad, you WILL be subject to the foreign bank's daily limit. To illustrate, I used my Bangkok Bank ATM card today in China. One bank had a 1,000 RMB (5,000 Baht) daily limit; the other, the one I decided to use, a 2,000 RMB (10,000 Baht) daily limit. [Had I gone inside the bank to make the withdrawal, I suppose I might not have been subject to these limits.]