Happiness is....

a catfish
some sticky rice
a bag of fried bananas
a 50baht Johnny Depp video
1915 baht

and a working ATM card...


Felt soooo good to know that my ATM card finally works again.


I've never, ever been really skint here. I've had days when I've been short of cash, but I've always had money that I can get my hands on should I ever need to. For months I kept my travellers cheques and unused american dollars (from last years trips to Laos) hidden in my bottom drawer, so that I could change them on Khao San, when I ended up being really, really desperate for money. The remainer were slowly used up at the end of last year.

Whenever I've been to the ATM, I've normally taken out an extra 1000 baht and hidden it at the back of my purse, in my bag or somewhere in my room. In almost 3 years of living here, I've never, ever found that I've been so short of money that I've been unable to buy the basic things I need to live or travel around.

Until yesterday, that is. I was in Nonthaburi, a small town on the outskirts of Bangkok and needed to get some cash to buy a new inner tube for my bike. I went to the cash machine, waited a while (longer than usual) for the money to come out. It didn't. Instead I got a mesage in Thai about needing to contact my bank. No reason - just 'please contact your bank.' I tried another, then another. I met a friend and tried one more, this time a KrungThai bank ATM. It gave me a similar message. My Thai ATM card totally refused to work.

My English ATM card stopped working a long time ago (each card only lasts 2 years) so I was left with the grand sum of 200 baht (minus 13 baht for the boat fare back from Nonthaburi) to last me until Monday morning.

It would normally be enough. After all, it doesn't cost much to sit around at home watching TV, or reading a book. Food's cheap too. 15 baht for breakfast, if you don't mind eating curry and rice so early in the morning, or 20 for a toasted ham and cheese sarnie from 7-11 if you're not in the mood for Thai food. I wasn't planning to go out anywhere in the daytime. I just wanted to read the paper, watch a DVD or 2, tidy my room and relax. Hardly expensive...

I needed to keep 103 baht of it back for Monday morning.
It will be spent on:-
* motorbike taxi to school - 30b,
* breakfast - 20b
* motorbike taxi to the Bank on Monday - 30b
* bus - 6.5b and songtaew 5b back to school
* songtaew -5b and bus fare - 6.5b home

and need to go to Suwannabhumi airport later today, to meet my friend. I wasn't quite sure how I would get there and back on 70 something baht but was counting on my friend wanting to take a taxi (and paying for it.)

I'd already resigned myself to skipping lunch, and when I went to the ATM machine wasn't too hopeful that it would work. I tried 4 seperate machines yesterday. All reused to take my card. My Bank (KrungThai) would probably have blocked my card by now.

It worked !!! I could hardly believe it. The machine gave me 2 crisp 1000 baht notes. When they came out, I just stood staring at them, as if I wasn't quite sure that they were real. I could buy lunch!!! I had some cash again !!!

To celebrate, I let a couple of the blokes who sell second hand stuff under Pinklao bridge offload their English only copy of 'blow' on me for 50baht. Turns out its the original, and not a pirate copy like I first thought.

So, a working ATM card, 2 hours of Johnny Depp then seeing my friend MO again for the 1st time in 2 years.... What more could a girl want ???

Create Date : 26 สิงหาคม 2550		0 comments
Last Update : 26 สิงหาคม 2550 16:41:24 น.
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