friendphil

On 8/15/2023 at 8:41 AM, Longwood50 said:

I know you can get "ripped off" by going to Bangkok Hospital Pattaya.  However does someone know if any of the other hospitals have neurologist that can test for nerve damage.  I suspect she has either Carpal Tunnel or Ulnar Tunnel or perhaps both.  

 

I'm not in Pattaya, but in Khon Kaen.  My wife very recently had a nerve test on her right arm/hand/fingers and the cost was around 11,000 baht at the Bangkok Hospital here. I don't know if I'd call that a rip-off or not, but it seemed to open the door for more treatments at the University Hospital here. 

3 hours ago, Andrew65 said:

A price they pay for giving visas-on-arrival to anyone. If people had to apply for a visa before travelling, and that included a criminal record check, a very large number of people would be barred from visiting Thailand.

Sure. (with my apologies for the sarcasm.) 

13 hours ago, inThailand said:

The cat is already out of the bag. 

 

Every farmer is already growing ganja. There is going to be a lot of weed here soon. They have jumped on the bangwagon for its going to be a cash cow. And cash is King here. 

Yeah, sure. If every farmer were (and of course every farmer is not)  growing marijuana it would be a very cheap substance to procure and would be about worthless to the government in terms of tax revenues.  Cash cow?  I can imagine weed at the morning market about 500 baht a kilo. 

10 hours ago, 2long said:

May I ask what the duty of a lifeguard is if it's not to save people in cases like this?

I know, I know, he did warn them etc. But that would surely mean he's just a guard, not a lifeguard.

I think you are confusing "lifeguard" with "live saver".  I was once a life guard, however never saved a life, nor was I ever called upon by circumstance to do so.  Also, in this case, it would have been foolish to swim  out after the victims.  Using a jetski might have been plausible, but evidently was not an option. 

5 hours ago, lanng khao said:

Why not get a 90 day non o visa before you leave, nothing to worry about then.

Good question.  (all questions are good, only there are inevitably some stupid answers.) 

Back to the 30+30+60.... it the 60 day extension "to visit Thai wife" a relatively recent change?  I've been away from LOS a few years, and I believe at the time I was there, after a 90 day visa, one could extend a month, but with a Thai wife could extend two months.  

So believable and so sad.  Is anyone paying any attention to this?  

Would not infamous be a more apt word than "renowned"?  

Thanks for posting your video. 

10 hours ago, Pouatchee said:

Another one of your comments that puts foreigners down?

 

You seem to relish doing this.

I thought Neeranam's comment at least showed balance, and using the word  "seemed" seems to be a self-admission of a lack of precise accuracy.  

I am not living in Thailand now, and am not really up on the news there...  But I wonder if the numbers of accidents, injuries and fatalities are down because of Covids and people staying home more.  Your thoughts?  

12 hours ago, CM Dad said:

Wow!  "over-speeding"?

CM Dad.... I guess you didn't know, probably, that there is under-speeding, over-speeding, and then (thirdly, but most importantly) right-on speeding.  ????  (I noticed this term with, I imagine, equal amusement as you.)  

37 minutes ago, Postmaster said:

Ubon Joe has confirmed in the past that Insurance for 30 days has been adequate on entry even with a one year's Non-O Retirement Visa with a longer unexpired period.

Do you mean that ... I mean, what do you mean?  When you say ".... with a longer unexpired period."?  Thank you. 

Very interesting post, this.  What is funny (as in 'odd' or 'peculiar' or 'interesting') is that the question asked in the title never really gets squarely answered. I was teaching in Thailand for about five years, and never heard of this "waiver business".  However, I can well imagine, given the inventiveness of Thai bureaucrats. I eventually got tired of the runaround and was able to escape back to the US.  Here (in California) there are different requirements, and less "runaround" and jumping through hoops. 

Well, I'm missing my point: What is this waiver business? Can someone (or several) explain, please? 

On 8/10/2019 at 8:05 PM, bowerboy said:

 

Thank you for your succinct summing up of the issue (you did a much better job of it than me).

 

Its a scary prospect and I think it effects a bit insignificant number of people living here.

What is "a bit insignificant number of people"?    Just trying to figure out if that's a lot or not a lot.  

Nevertheless, my story: I felt pretty stuck in LOS, where with an employed wife, one child, and myself over 60 and doing part-time teaching plus a small pension, I had enough, but not enough to buy my cashews or pizza every month, for example. Eventually a friend offered me a job remodeling his home back in the US, and it included room and board for the course of the job.  I was then able to save enough to bring the family over to the US, where I am again feeling stuck!  ????????  Now I'm just scraping by but would be doing fairly well if the wife would pitch in instead of sending her money back home and saving up for her future.  

5 hours ago, Snuller21 said:

Safety First. No need saying anymore.

Well, I guess that says it all.  ????

By the way--- what happened to Thaivisa's old selection of emojis?  There were some great emojis, wonderful emojis, unique emojis, very useful emojis.  Now they seem to have been supplanted by the usual ilk. ????

This should be the worst experience of anyone entering Thailand.  But is it?  "Welcome to Thailand!" 

IN fact, Transferwise gives an incentive to share your experience with others.  Please use this link if you care to give this service a try, and both you will save on your first transfer.  

transferwise.com/u/philipl89

1 hour ago, how241 said:

Yes,  TransferWise  works Great.  Their fees are smaller if you only transfer $1200 USD  or less,  otherwise they quickly charge more than Bangkok Bank does. 

I haven't found that to be the case at all (that they quickly charge more than Bangkok Bank).  I just went to Transferwise site, plugged in 100,000 baht for the amount to be received in Thailand, and (from the US) the fees would be about $26.00.  The exchange rate would be 31.77 baht per USD. Here is a copy and past from XE.com "

Try this: transferwise.com  I have been using it for several months and have saved many Thai baht, many USD on fees and exchange rate differences. 

They have their own system by which they don't actually move money out of one and into another country.  They have reserves in each country, to that if you send money from the US to Thailand, for example, the $$ would move from the customer's US account into Transferwise's US accounts.  And money would move from Transferwise's Thai reserves into recipients Thai bank account.  Conversely for money from Thailand to other countries.  It is relatively easy to set up an account, and easy to use.  You can try it here: transferwise.com/u/philipl89

It might be worth trying a company called transferwise.com  

I have no idea what restrictions might apply with outgoing transfers, but we have saved a lot on transfer fees and exchange rate differences over the last year when sending $$ into Thailand by using this site. There is just a small fee, no cut in the exchange rate.  And it's much easier done than doing through a bank, though the money is still coming out and going into bank accounts.  I cannot recommend it enough.   

Plus, there is a reward for referrals of 75 USD (or equivalent amount).  Here is an example transfer and the amounts and fees: sent $638.20 to Thailand, friend in Thailand received 20,000 baht in their bank account.  Exchange rate: 31.72 Thai baht / 1 USD.  Transfer fees: $7.68.  For a slight larger fee, one can send from a debit cards or a credit card.  it's all quite straightforward and easy.  Try it from this link:  transferwise.com/u/philipl89 

Let's face it.  It's Thai style.  They like to party, many terrible (some good!) drivers, lazy cops, stupid checkpoints, the lame idea that a directive that deflects responsibility will have an effect, and in the final analysis, "mai pen rai."  

Perhaps a parallel situation: the horrendous flooding of about 2014 left as many as a thousand people dead from the floods, but it hadn't really been in the news. The reaction I got when mentioning this to a Thai woman was, "mai sam-kaan."  

Interesting that the story above, as written by Patpicha Tanakasempipat , does not mention the Erawan Shrine by name.  I wonder why not. 

Delightful!  And it's refreshing to hear some upbeat responses here for a change. 

However, where are the mystery solvers now?  Why so quiet?  

My hunches: 

He was waiting to receive a little shipment of drugs. 

He took his wife out there for a little dunk and had already dunked her (no wonder he looks so happy!)

He was just trying to get away from his Thai wife (no wonder... same as above).

Indeed, he didn't have a passport and figured they wouldn't bother checking for it if they thought they were rescuing him (he was drifting in from other shores). 

All ridiculous of course, But who knows?? 

Another whiz piece of journalistic excellence!  The details explaining how it was done, and interviews with some of the women, were enthralling.  

4 hours ago, observer90210 said:

Always switch on the CCTV in your homes when bringing in "friendly guests", and make sure the footage is secured online for later recovery if necessary!

 

And inform any trustworthy person where the footage is, that can hopefully would never be needed!

 

Requiescat in pace ©

Is this to secure your future in the case you have none?