MartinL

Strange, although it might be due to the passing of time, but when I renewed my 5-yr. DLs in 2021 in KK province, the Yellow Book/Pink Card were acceptable but they then said the licence would only be valid 'within the local area' and if I wanted one covering the whole of Thailand (which I did, of course!) then a CoR was required. That 'local area' sounded ridiculous then and still does but the renewal criteria with PC seem to have done a 180 so that the card is now preferred.

You could try this place:- https://www.smckku.com/smc-respiratory-clinic/ Screenshot from Google Earth attached with dropped pin for building entrance location. If you know Srinagarin Hospital, you'll be familiar with the 2 roundabouts shown. SMC is on the ground floor of the building, on the right as you enter.

Kukri snake. Very sharp teeth but not venomous. Just let it go on its way.

I took these pictures of a scooter in our local park some months ago. As far as I can tell, it's a 1960s Vespa 125 Primavera but I know little of scooters. The condition of the bike suggests it might be that old but the number plate is a very recent one. Good to see it still in use and looking pretty original, if it IS 60 y.o. .

+1 - but MY wife, same number of years and hope for many more. I don't know yours - honest!

That's lovely!! Does she call you 'daak ling' too?

Doesn't "sexual activity without consent" = Rape? Returned to Qatar without treatment for his 'rare heart condition' I hope.

I think you're correct. According to this:- https://www.moore.co.uk/news-views/august-2024/automatic-paye-refunds-are-no-longer-issued automatic repayments of overpaid tax ceased after April 2024. A bit of form-filling required then.

There might be a clue since this topic is in the 'Motorcycles in Thailand' forum.

Looks like this thread has run its course ..... but that seems to be what happens when a slanging match kicks off.

Maybe I should give credit to the NHS where it's due since it's not all doom and gloom where it's concerned. My brother lives and works in China but was on holiday in UK on his sailing boat last year. He had an accident while sailing solo off England's south coast - he got his hand caught in the ropes while winding on an electric winch. He's an experienced sailor so I can't guess what happened that day. Anyway, his hand was badly damaged and the meat was stripped from one of his fingers - 'degloved' is it? Also damage to a hip that has since required replacement in China. Repair to hand carried out in Portsmouth immediately, no costs to him and he made a good recovery although the finger will never be quite the same. There's a chance he might read this so I hope I got it all correct, bruv. However bad scheduled treatment and appointments might be, it appears that emergency treatment, based on this one incident, is still readily available.

I have no recent personal experience of the NHS since I haven't used it for my 16 years in Thailand nor for 18 years before that, except for very minor reasons but the service seems to have been far better in those days. I can only base my negative opinion of it on my best mate's attempts to get 'seen to' and the complete absence of any GP attention for my 95 y.o. mum. Your comment seems to mirror their experience of their local GP surgery - both are registered at the same practice. My mum's given-up trying to get appointments with her GP - it seems to be telephone consultations only for her so she just suffers in silence although, apart from her legs, she's in good shape physically and mentally for 95. My mate had a skin cancer removed from his ear late last year about 6 months after diagnosis and, some months later, a recurrence on the same ear. The local recurrence meant he was dealt with as a 'priority case'. He eventually saw the GP practice nurse who couldn't make a decision on it and referred him to the dermatology nurse. The dermatology nurse took some photos but, again, couldn't make a clear decision and referred him to a dermatologist who took a biopsy in May. This sequence of events took 3 1/2 months. He was told to return for the biopsy result and decision on treatment in NOVEMBER, 6 months later and would have been 9 1/2 months since he saw the first nurse. Following complaints, this appointment has been moved forward a few months to (iirc) August. The visits to the 2 nurses seem totally superfluous when the only meaningful action came from the dermatologist. Why waste time with nurses? Dermatologist should have been the first stop. Compare this to my own skin cancer experience in Khon Kaen, April/May this year - wait a few days for dermatologist appointment because that specific doctor's clinic is only held once a week, biopsy at first visit to dermatologist. Biopsy result and referral to surgeon a week later and surgery 9 days after that - 19 days in total. Our family Civil Service health scheme took care of it and obviously differences in payment methods means my experience was faster but even so, such a large disparity between NHS and Thai experience is ridiculous. UK NHS's 'free at the point of use' might be great in theory but it just doesn't seem to work when waiting times are so long for whatever reason. Maybe what is 'free' and who benefits from the 'free' bits needs to be reconsidered. @theoldgit mentioned above a 48 week wait for an 'urgent' referral - that's not 'urgent', that's kicking the can down the road and almost ignoring the illness and consequences caused by delays. As I've heard a number of times "They hope you'll die first".

Why didn't you ask him 6 years ago?

I gave you a 'laugh 55'. You seem to have confused 'principles' and 'principals'. Haven't you said you were a teacher in the past?

Yes. Attacked with guns, knives or machetes for honking another car in traffic ....................... but retaliate against a bullying, sadistic teacher? Perish the thought, mustn't do that!