how241

21 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

And yes interest rates here are lousy. 

Yes they are.  I read a while ago, when the  Thai Central bank raised its interest rate to 2%,  they told the banks that it is not necessary for them to rate up their rates for their general customers. Currently the Thai central bank rate is 2.5%  but you will find it hard to get anywhere near that.  When I first came here in 2009,  the Thai banks would rate their rates the same as the USA  Fed did,  buy no more.  Definitely not good for the retirement visa people. It almost pays to use an agent but I was never comfortable with the illegality of that. 

7 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Pacific Cross is a Thai company.

 

Thank you Very much for your very detailed answer.  I am Very surprised to learn that Pacific Cross is a Thai company as 5 years ago I went into the AA insurance offices , in Pattaya, and was recommended Pacific Cross even though I specifically told them I do Not want a Thai company.  I asked about April Intl. or other Intl companies. The agent told me that he personally used Pacific Cross.  This AA insurance office in Pattaya was always recommended highly in several insurance threads.  Live and learn.  It's a complicated world and hard to get straight answers.  Some friends have recommended that I move back to the USA so I can get free Medicaid and not have to deal with all this insurance stuff. I have been living in Thailand for 14 years and have been happy here. Thanks again for your help.  You are a most wonderful addition to this board.  Your knowledge always impresses me.

7 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

If you have as much money as you say then for self insuring you don't need to transfer all the money to Thailand, takes seconds for money from Wise to settle in a thai bank account 

Thanks for that suggestion.  I have used Wise before and always had fast transfers with them.  

Question:  I am looking to buy insurance for the first time.  I am 69 with no health issues ever.  I have never been hospitalized and take no daily medication.  From following all the threads it looks like I should be insuring with April International or Pacific Cross.  I am not concerned about the costs and don't need the cheapest.  I can easily self insure as per Sheryl's financial recommendations. The reason I am now considering buying insurance compared to self insuring is I don't like the requirement of keeping a large amount of money in a Thai bank, earning very little interest. I believe that if I was to take out the self insurance money from the Thai bank and get that same money earning a decent return,  that might earn me close to what the insurance will cost me.  My questions are,  which company would be the easiest to get a policy?   I live full time in Pattaya,  so which broker should I see ?  I am looking for a policy that would cover me for major events.  A high deductible would be OK.

   Thanks for any help or suggestions.

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

This is not approved for use in Thsiland.

 

Antihistamines available here that can be used for sleep/sedation include:

 

1. Hydroxyzine  

2. Doxylamine (Sominar)

Of these two,  which would give the strongest sleep assistance taken at recommended dosages ?  Would Doxylamine  leave you feeling less groggy the next morning being the half life is shorter ?

Seat belts should be required to be worn at all times, except for going to the  bathroom.

A while ago I read that the basic assumption of the immigration staff is to say 'no'  unless you can convince the immigration staff that he should change that to a 'yes'. 

I have no info or facts to back this up,  just read it somewhere.  Good Luck.

Thanks to all posters for their help and info.

I have a 10 year old Mitsubishi fridge that works great.  The gasket on the door is cracked.  Anyone have any info on who might come out and replace it and the cost involved.  I am located on soi Khao Talo,  dark side.  The refrigerator is about 12 cubic feet. I paid about 12,000 baht for it a long time ago so I don't know if this is a worthwhile thing to do.  I don't feel any cold air leaking out and it is not sweating around the door area.  Possible , this is just one of those things that is better left alone ???  I don't want to hunt around for the part and do it myself. 

Anyone know of any shops that sell and deliver second hand fridges ?    Thanks for any info.

Thanks to all poster for their help and suggestions.  I have a lot to check out.  I appreciate the help.

13 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

When there is water (i.e. before the tank runs empty) - does the water pump run constantly ?

No,  the water pump runs the same as always.  Not so often.

18 minutes ago, CharlieKo said:

Has someone tapped into your water supply, without you realising it? Do you have access to all the pipework to/from your condo. 

It's a townhouse,  not a condo,  and yes I have access to all the pipeworks.

16 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

It could be draining back into supply side if you don"t have a one way valve on it
and also if water pressure is not high enough , if you dont see a leak anywhere ,

that could be the problem.

 

regards worgeordie

It's been fine for 6 years,  never had any problems.  The supply side adds water up high,  close to the top of the water tank so even if it was draining back it could only go down a little bit.  Now it goes down to almost empty. 

There is no problem with the water supply, coming to the house,  refiling the tank.  If I turn of this water supply,  the tank will soon be empty.  As if it is leaking out but no water is anywhere to be seen.  It is dry everywhere around the water tank and the patio.  I am in Parkrungeng, off soi Khao Talo.  I pay my monthly water bill to a small private post office type shop.

Hello,  looking for some help please.  I am living in a townhouse on the darkside. Very recently the water tank is empty almost daily.  I don't see any wetness anywhere or any signs of water leakage.  Any thoughts ?  Thanks for any suggestions. 

4 hours ago, JacksRiVe said:

Just thought I'd chip in my two cents here on the big question: "Is Bitcoin going to zero?" That's the million-dollar question everyone wants answered, right? But let’s be honest, it's as likely as pigs flying. Bitcoin's got a lot of staying power; it’s weathered storms before and come out swinging.

22 hours ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

Here in Thailand we all know surgeons/doctors move around private/government hospitals.

Yes, doctors move around But do you really think that top doctors, many who trained internationally, would move from a quality private hospital to a lower Gov't. hospital.  

On 3/2/2024 at 8:18 PM, save the frogs said:

Just heard there are 19 million bitcoins in existence.

And the highest it will go is 21 million?

Not even sure what that means though. 

 

Everyone always talks about the 21 million and this is a fixed-limited supply  BUT being the whole bitcoin game is a man-made invention I don't see anything that would actually prevent a consensus from raising the 21 million BTC  to 50 BTC. 

I don't really think this would happen as it might crash the market prices but it's certainly possible .  Any I wrong and this is impossible  ???

Diazepam, or similar,  can be bought at some pharmacies.  You would need to ask around, possible asking some of the younger people, about the diazepam.   No pharmacies' will sell you codeine but there some clinics that have it.  My Thai lady was given a smaller amount of codeine pills when she  did her breast implants.  Another option for the codeine is to buy some poppy seeds at Friendship market in Pattaya.  Easy to make the tea  and Google can show you how.  You need to VERY careful as you sip the tea  as it contains both codeine and morphine.  Highly addictive as you might imagine.  You will have all the usual side effects of codeine and morphine. Poppy seeds are expensive.

Years ago,  I read that ulcers are best treated with a certain antibiotic.  Google would know more.  Just a suggestion.

Deleted post.  Posted in error.

49 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

For me it makes sense for 1 or 2 times a week. If i was someone coming on holiday for a few weeks I'd take PrEP and doxy PEP

I  agree that for holiday visitors taking both of these would be a good idea if they plan to bareback.  I know that acyclovir is used to limit herpes infections and can also used used full time, at lower dosages,  to limit or prevent outbreaks.  I'm  purely speculating that if you took a full dose of acyclovir for 1-2 weeks while on holiday that it 'might' prevent you from getting herpes.  The drug stops the herpes virus from replicating But I don't know if it would actually stop a person from getting the infection initially.  I'm old so I remember back in the 70's,  where there was no HIV and not much talk about herpes.  We screwed like crazy and the worst thing I ever got was the 'drip',   Gonorrhea  that was easy cleared up by a shot of penicillin or taking some pills for a few days. Those were the days of Sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll.  Sex was carefree,  fun,  and usually free.  Times have changed.

I believe that I read that the Doxy PEP  can be taken for up to 4 months continuously.  It does seem like a lot of pills to take just to 'maybe' have relatively safe condom free sex.  Some might conclude that is more trouble than  it is worth.

               It's a personal decision for each to make.  

2 hours ago, FruitPudding said:

Except, I highly doubt that 65% figure you are saying. I don't see how those bacteria could get into the body while taking doxycycline, especially since it treats syphilis and gonorrhea even after you been infected.

A quick Google search using "Doxycycline for STI Prevention:"   will show many different results .   Some show 50%  protection, some show 70-80%  protection, depending on many factors.  A lot of different results seem to depend on if you run into drug resistant gonorrhea. Pattaya has a lot of  resistant gonorrhea due to the high number of sex workers.  All the results are Far from the 99%  that PeEP offers. Your right that you could just treat infections if or when you get them. 

Lots of reading if your interested :  https://www.google.com/search?q=Doxycycline+for+STI+Prevention%3A&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8