Thailand

The daily churning of news on protests in Thailand reminded me of similar situation in Myanmar.  
Strike a conversation with a Myanmar tourist whom I encountered 2 years ago in Singapore whereby she clarified the misconception of the world on the actual situation in her country. 

Myanmar Chronology
Oct 18, 2013 -Three bombs go off in eastern Myanmar, killing one person and wounding six, latest in series of unexplained explosions
Oct 3, 2013 - Resurgence of religious violence in western Myanmar leaves six Muslims dead and dozens of homes destroyed


In Myanmar, Flirtations by Investors Turn Into Commitments
Some of the world’s most prominent multinational companies — Coca-Cola, Unilever, General Electric, Philips, Visa — have started doing business in the country.


Since December, when automatic teller machines were reintroduced into the country, the number of A.T.M.'s accepting international credit cards has gone from zero to 160 and spending by foreign cardholders in the country has totaled about $7 million.

But as a measure of the still tiny size of the market here, in neighboring Thailand, which has a similar population but a much more developed economy, foreign cardholders spent 400 times as much during the same time period — about $3 billion, Mr. Maher said.


This is similar to Noise in investing world where one will perhaps analysed till paralyzed into inaction.

Reduce the noise levels in your investment process
5 Stress about this. Exert lots of energy, spend lots of time and create lots of tension about all of the following: Federal Reserve and the Taper, the Dollar versus the Euro, the Tea Party and Congress, Hyper-Inflation, European Sovereign Bank Debt, Gold, China, Deflation, Austerity and the Hindenburg Omen.


How To Ignore The Noise When Investing
There will always be noise in the markets. Headlines form market darlings like Google (Nasdaq:GOOG) dominate the daily discussions and add very little information that is useful to long term investors.

There will always be issues surrounding our domestic fiscal issues or tension and unrest in the Middle East.



Commentators will breathlessly tell you how critical these situations are for investors. In truth, unless there is an immediate inventory creation event they are of very little practical use at all. The time as a long-term asset based investor is better spent looking for cheap stocks and special situations like the ones mentioned here. There are more.



The investor's job is to find them and own them until they are worth several multiples of the current depressed price.

Zuolun, thankfully the situation is not as bad as the media puts it. I am told that the protests are usually very carefully orchestrated. Every protestor seems to know his or her role.... ushers, traffic wardens, etc. Amazing. They usually do not interfere with the tourist aspects. Yes, the main concern is that they may block the airport. I will be leaving tomorrow.

Am happy to be back in Singapore. Though the protests are peaceful, I too have been concerned as the opposition appears to be gaining ground and they may sense victory around the corner. Hence, I will not be surprised that the protests will intensify in the coming weeks.

I enjoyed my visit to Bangkok very much. The people are very courteous and one senses that they are very genuine. I got a bit lost searching for Hard Rock Cafe and a nice gentleman got out of his car when he saw me with a map trying to locate the shop. He pointed me to the shop and even walked me there. Such nice people in Thailand.

The only thing I did not like were the taxi and tut tut drivers. One has always to be alert with these folks. Pity that the government cannot sort this transport issue as otherwise, Bangkok must surely be one of the nicest places to visit.

Their shopping malls are much larger than ours and the variety is a lot better as well. Moreover, many of the top malls are connected to one another such that if it rains, one can easily move from one mall to the other. If they can sort out the taxi issue, I have no doubt that Bangkok will become the shopping paradise of this region. 

Interestingly, though they have a tax refund of 5% I think, I was not able to claim these back because they have a strange policy of having to stamp the claim form in the airport before getting the passport stamped. Those of us who are new to Thailand will surely miss this important first step and will end up like me tearing up the form as it is of no use without the stamp! Strange system as I doubt many tourist will know this.... but what the heck, this is Thailand with its own unique way of doing things!

With your favourable feedback & review, would consider visiting Bangkok next year without the protest though.  

Think it would definitely benefit fellow forumers if you could provide a list of recommended hotels over there.

Whenever I travel, I prefer to use cash rather than credit cards. This is because most credit cards charge between 2.5 and 3.5% extra (VISA charges the card companies 1% on all overseas transactions). These charges are usually buried in the conversion rates. One is much better off just taking along cash (Singapore dollars and foreign currencies) and not using these credit cards to pay for your overseas spending.

If you still prefer to use your credit card overseas because you don't like carrying large amounts of cash, do ask the shops to charge you in their local currency instead of in Singapore dollars. This is because the shop will use a poorer conversion rate. Do google and read up about DCC or dynamic currency conversion. 

articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-05-16/lifestyle/39303655_1_dcc-conversion-currency

Hi oldman, we also utilise cash to make purchases overseas.

Great article shared.


Foreign visitors and Singapore residents reminded to pay GST for shopping items
If you are headed overseas this holiday season and planning to cart home items that would otherwise cost more in Singapore - do remember to check if you need to pay GST.

Common items that Singapore travellers buy from their overseas travels include branded handbags, leather wallets, health supplements, beauty products, electronics and bird's nest.

The Singapore Customs reminds returning holiday makers to check if their overseas purchases exceed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) relief.

All goods brought into Singapore by travellers - including new items, souvenirs, gifts or food products - are subject to 7 per cent GST.

~~ Travellers who spend 48 hours or more abroad will enjoy GST relief for goods valued up to $600.
~~~Those who are away from Singapore for less than 48 hours will receive GST relief for goods valued up to $150.

There is NO GST relief for liquor, tobacco products, petroleum and goods imported for commercial purposes.

news.asiaone.com/news/relax/travellers-remember-pay-gst-your-overseas-shopping