Bangkok Subway Fare Confusion

The Bangkok Frugal Photographer is annoyed with the Bangkok MRTA (Subway). I wrote in September (here) about a planned fare hike (British English word) that targeted frequent travelers. It was due to take place on October 15th. Here is the sign they posted in all subway stations:

Just before October 15th. they decided to defer the fare increase until November 30th. (today). Here is a not-very-good photo of the poster with the new date stuck on.

Fare Increase Postponed

That was a little but of  good news.

Today was meant to be the first day of the new fares. But today I saw this notice in my local subway station:

Second Change

They have discontinued the 30-Day pass which was due to rise from 1,000 Baht to 1,150 Baht. They have a 15-Day pass for 600 Baht, thus 1,200 Baht for 30 days. And that price is only guaranteed until February 28, 2010.

Previously they said they would cancel the 10% discount passengers get by buying a prepaid card. Now that “promotion” (actually the Subway’s free use of passengers’ money) has been graciously extended until July 2, 2010.

Fortunately I bought a 30-Day pass on November 29th at the old price of 1,000 Baht. So I am doing well until January.

I wonder what the Subway Management team thinks it is doing. There are thousands of regular commuters who use the 30-Day pass. Why did they discontinue it? Do they think travelers will not notice the 20% increase if they buy two 15-Day passes?

There must be turmoil in their system to make two changes so suddenly. I wonder if politics are involved. Inevitably!

Singapore to Bangkok by Train – FOOC

The BBC From Our Own Correspondent has a piece on traveling from Singapore by train. Actually two trains. The first from Singapore to the Thai border and the second from Sungai Kolok in Thailand to my favourite Hua Lamphong Station in Bangkok.

I wrote about the FOOC program before here.

They must have renovated the Malayan Railway (KTMB: Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad) Station in Singapore. It’s described as art-deco. When I was there it was run-down – it made Hua Lamphong look great by comparison. (I guess it could be both – I should check.)

Durian Flavoured Popcorn

The discussion about durian flavoured popcorn that she took on the journey but never ate was amusing. Although the fresh fruit smells strong products made from it are generally mild. It’ll be an anticlimax when she opens the bag.

Durian Fruit - Strong Smell

I should take that trip one day.

Durian Mooncake - Slight Smell

 

Jusco Rachada Closing in 2010?

Jusco Supermarket in 2007

Somebody told me yesterday that my local supermarket, Jusco, will close in February 2010. Apparently they cannot keep up with the competition. I noticed they have not invested much in the property, especially since IT City moved out of the third floor last year.

Jusco & Carrefour

There is a larger Carrefour supermarket next door. There are two Tops Markets within 400 metres, one in the Esplanade complex and another under Robinson’s Department Store. There is a Tesco-Lotus store less than a mile away in Fortune Town Mall.

Jusco is the closest to the apartment and it has a good range of Thai and Western food. I think the fresh produce (vegetables) are better than Carrefour. Moreover the staff and always friendly and helpful. In Carrefour the staff often seem tired and overworked.

I hope they don’t close the car park as that is the shortest route to the Subway Station. Cutting through Carrefour would be a pain.

Every Wednesday is “Jusco Day“. Shoppers get a 25 Baht coupon for every 500 Baht they spend – a 5% discount. I don’t know it makes much sense financially. I am sure many people are like me and do weekly shopping on Wednesdays. If Jusco Day did not exist I’d probably buy the same goods on other days. Jusco does not have any loyalty card scheme so they hand out 5% discounts to everybody without collecting any data about their shopping habits. Tops, Carrefour and Tesco-Lotus all have loyalty cards.

According to the Wikipedia article my Jusco is the one remaining store in Bangkok. Clearly they cannot compete against the big companies.

Motorcycle Taxi Drivers Outside Jusco

My local friendly motorcycle taxi drivers will also lose their spot. They seem busy all the time.

Boring but Economical Prepaid Phone Topup

Electronic Phone Top-up - 1-2-Call

I wrote before here about how prevalent prepaid calling plans are for mobile phones in Thailand. Here’s an example of a top-up for 100 Baht generated on-the-spot at a 7-11 store. It’s only for phones provided by 1-2-Call.

This replaces the attractive printed top-up cards that have a number on a scratch-off portion on the back.

It must save 1-2-Call and its vendors a lot in distribution and security costs. Top-up cards are like cash.

I guess the only drawbacks are

• If any part of the federated computer system between the store and 1-2-Call fails they cannot sell top-ups. I have never seen any problems but I bet they happen, especially in country areas.
• There are not any advertising or promotional opportunities with these tickets printed on a thermal printer in the store. With Happy I have seen all sorts of cross-promotions on their printed cards.
• As with stamps, some people like to collect unused top-up cards and keep them in albums, trade them and so on. That’s great revenue for the telco. Nobody will collect cash register tapes will they?

 

Snapping Me Snapping You

Whenever a helicopter flies near the apartment I often pick up the camera and shoot a picture or two. It’s good practice for shooting moving subjects.

Today I noticed that a passenger was shooting pictures of the apartment as the helicopter flew by. Perhaps she’s a Flickr user and I’ll find a picture of me in her Photostream. If you see it, please let me know.

Confusing Google Docs

I have been experimenting with putting copies of some of my documents in the “cloud” using my free Google Docs account. Like most users I am starting with existing documents. Then later I’ll see how well it works to create and maintain documents using Google cloud applications.

I have a lot of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. They are not very advanced but contain things like statistics on my photo collection or the vehicle license plate systems for different countries. I’m not putting anything confidential into the cloud like financial or medical records nor anything that I cannot do without.

So far Google Docs have worked well for me and when I have tried editing I have been successful even with my lamentable internet connection from Bangkok.

I had one challenge that turned into an annoyance: Google Docs has a 1MB limit on the size of an uploaded Excel spreadsheet. It was very hard to find this out. I tried to upload a spreadsheet and invariably got a “Server Error”.

Google Docs Server Error

I thought that was due to communications problems so I tried again, and again, and again. But I always got the same error. I wondered if the file was corrupt. I opened the spreadsheet in Excel and had no problems. It didn’t use any advanced Excel features that could have confused a Google server.

Then I wondered if I was out of space in my Google Docs account. I could not find anywhere that said what the limit is. I was able to upload other documents like Adobe PDF files.

I tried uploading a recalcitrant spreadsheet to another Google Docs account. This time I got a useful error message:

Google Docs Upload Limit

Sorry this file is too big. We can only accept files up to 1MB in size.

Now you tell me! I suppose my other account was running under a different version of the server code.

I don’t know why Google Docs has this limit. It seems arbitrary. I read somewhere that I can upload a PDF file up to 10MB.

I wonder if Google software “reads” my documents and can present me with advertisements depending on the interests it finds therein. If they can do it with my Gmail account there’s no reason they could not do it with documents. So far I have not seen any ads in Google Docs but I bet it is only a matter of time.

Thanksgiving Dinner in Bangkok – Where I Went

I ended up going to the excellent Queen Victoria Pub on Sukhumvit Soi 23. Despite its British theme they made a tasty fixed price American style meal: table d’hôte as they’d say on the E&O Express.

Of course it was not as extravagant as a five-star hotel or with unlimited portions as from a buffet but it was fine for my appetite. I can’t face American sized portions any more – and that must be good for my health.

The Queen Vic offered a set dinner for 365 Baht. According to my trusty Currency Converter that’s US$11. Here’s the menu:

I love the notion of “candid potatoes”.

When I arrived just past 8pm they only had three dinners left. Apparently Americans in Bangkok eat early. It was a good portion and well-cooked.

Thanksgiving Meal

The candid potatoes were actually roast.

The pumpkin pie was good too but I forgot to take a picture.

For me that’s better value than an all-you-can-eat buffet for 900 Baht or more. I’d go back next year.

The pictures from the Nikon Coolpix P6000 are not very good so I did not post them to Flickr – I’m a bit ashamed. They are good enough for this size but no larger.

Currency Converter

I’m always checking the currency conversion rate between the US Dollar (my old home) and the Thai Baht. Considering the political turmoil here the Baht has held up remarkably well.

Anyway … I’ve always used the OANDA.com online currency converter. It’s fast, accurate (as far as I know) and has historical as well as current rates.

Now they have a new feature – you can set up a customized converter page. I have only just started playing with it. I put a link to a converter that defaults to a USD – THB conversion in the “Favourite Links” side bar on the blog. I think there’s more I can do with it but it’s all cosmetic.

Thanksgiving Dinner in Bangkok

I’m not an expert on finding the best American style Thanksgiving dinner in Bangkok. But my friends mention two places consistently:

• Bourbon Street Restaurant in Washington Square, Sukhumvit Soi 22. They advertise a buffet for 899B “++”. I don’t like the Singapore-style ++ meaning plus tax (7% in Thailand), plus service (maybe 10% – it doesn’t say). Most places in Thailand quote prices inclusive of tax and service (tip) is optional. But as you go up the price / quality those extras appear – perhaps because foreign customers are familiar with them and they can get away with it.
• The Atrium Restaurant at the Landmark Hotel on Sukhumvit Road. Their web site doesn’t list a Thanksgiving special this year but I am sure they have something.

I expect the other American hotels like the Sheraton, Westin and JW Marriott all have offerings. I’ll write a post here if I end up going to any of them.

If you have a favourite in Bnagkok or elsewhere in Thailand please post a comment here.

Eastern & Oriental Express

Eastern & Oriental Express

When I visited Bangkok’s Hua Lamphong Railway Station on Tuesday afternoon I was lucky to see the Eastern & Oriental Express preparing for departure.

This train was due to leave at 15:00 and travel overnight to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand. The train looks absolutely splendid in its green, cream and gold colours. Such a contrast from the worn rolling stock the state-owned railway has to use.

I remembered Michael Willem’s advice here and under-exposed for the back light on the platform. It’s not as dramatic as his example, but I think it works photographically.

Each entrance was guarded by a uniformed security officer. I didn’t have the cheek to ask if I could take a look around the interior.

According to the E&O web site this is the last departure to Chiang Mai in 2009. The fares are eye-watering: US$1,400 for a “Pullman Superior / Single”, US$1,890 for a “State Cabin” and US$2,500 for the “Presidential Suite”. The site says that:

Prices are per person based on sharing accommodation and include: All table d’hôte meals on board, with complimentary tea and coffee in your compartment, and sightseeing tours.

Table d’hôte is a hi-so phrase for a fixed menu.

Since it is an overnight train passengers miss most of the scenery. The sun sets about 6:30pm at this time of the year. I don’t think the Bangkok Frugal Photographer will be taking this train any time soon.

According to the State Railway of Thailand web site here the regular train fares from Bangkok to Chiang Mai are: 593 Baht First Class, 281 Baht Second Class and 121 Baht Third Class. According to the online currency converter at Oanda.com thats US$17.91, 8.49 and 3.65 respectively. But you do have to bring your own food.

Note: there are supplements for sleeper accommodation in First and Second Class that I have not included here.

The SRT makes huge losses and safety is a challenge, but the difference is immense.

I wish I had waited to see how many passengers boarded the train.

Note that the SRT could not provide a posh engine for the journey. It was a regular 34 year old Alstholm ALS diesel locomotive.