donna

Today I was in the supermarket in Banglampoo. A farang girl and two blokes were in there looking for salted cashew nuts.

"Are they salted when they are growing or after they are picked? I don't know which sort you want" she asked them.

Oh My Buddha! Words fail me!

There was a guy in Phuket selling a device that could make Colloidal Silver. I don't know if his place was wiped out in the Tsunami, but I do know that he survived. You could try doing a google on Colloidal Silver Phuket and see what that turns up.

Try looking at Sangkhlaburi. That is where the accommodation is in that area.

P Guesthouse is OK. There is also another place just down to the left of that but I forget the name of it.

My friend has been seeing Dr Wirote Siripatananont and she says she is very happy with him.

I guess it's all personal choice, but she is happy with the service that she is getting and has no complaints.

Good luck!

A friend of mine had her baby at Samitivej and could not give them enough praise. She was enduring a long labour and was nearing the end after 14 or so hours. In the end, the doctor told her that she would have 3 more pushes til he could perform a Caesarian. Well, after 5 he finally decided to come out.

My friend was more than happy with the service and level of expertise from all staff there.

Another friend of mine is pregnant at the moment (about 20 weeks). She is going to Samitivej also and is more than happy with their service. Her doctor seems excellent so far and has told her that their goal is to have a natural birth wherever possible.

Good luck!

Does anyone know of a van for hire around Bangkok? I need a VW or Mercedes van which can pick people up from the airport, and run them around Bangkok? I know that there are plenty at the airport, but I want one that we can call up and have them go around Bangkok and surrounding areas.

A toyota won't be enough, unless it is brand new, as my clients are looking for more up-market vehicles.

If anyone knows of any one who can do this, please let me know.

Even if it were Erawan falls, you could still go there as there is water all year round really. I've not been there for a while, so if anyone has been there in the past few weeks, please correct me, but you should be OK going there.

You can either catch a public bus up there, or go on a minivan with other tourists for a reasonable price.

Entrance to the falls is 200Baht per person.

That's nothing to what I've heard about many blokes here.

Some I know (not that I've seen them - or would want to) have a special 'benz' cut in the top of their penis which when erect swells and spreads to give their partners more pleasure.

And then there's the story that says that many blokes who have been in the navy have a pearl placed in their penis to give pleasure to their partners.

The same bloke with the 'benz' cut has apparently had so many pearls put in his that it looks like a chokito bar!

Some women have trouble breasfeeding, and they actually assist the mother with how to get it right without stressing about it.

Maybe your friends had bad experiences. My friends had good ones.

No, they don't promote natural birth, prefer CS, and how for *** sake they can assist with breast feeding ?

Overpriced place with no good reputation at all.

Good luck, Scampy. I'll miss reading your posts.

Wishing you all the best of luck in Dodgerland.

A couple of my friends (farang) have had babies at Samitivej and were VERY happy with the service. They promote natural birth, and are excellent at assisting with breast feeding etc.

I would highly recommend them.

I remember that 60 minutes interview. Liz Hayes I think did it.

Schapelle admitted that she had experimented as a kid but that was about it. She does not use drugs now and is quite anti.

I do not believe for a second that she is guilty of this. It screams 'set up' and I hope that she gets off.

Those 9 twits who got caught a couple of weeks ago, however, are a completely different story.

Getting back to the original post, why not spare a fellow human being a lousy 5 baht? Heck, give the guy 10! Seriously, if you guys could somehow put yourselves in that same situation, I am sure you would have some kind of feeling for this person.

Does it really matter the reason for him being in this situation?

Did it occur to you that maybe he is mentally ill and needs help desperately (even though he had these food cards - who would get a person looking like that to promote their business - get real).

Whether he spends the money on a non alcoholic drink, or a bottle of Sangsom - does it matter? You have given him the money already. If he was an alcoholic, maybe you WOULD have helped him by giving him his hair of the dog?

If that was your father, your brother, or your son, you would surely love for some stranger to help him out, wouldn't you?

That very same 5 baht is probably sitting on your bedroom floor collecting dust . It would not have hurt to help him.

I am not, however, defending his abuse of you. But can you imagine people walking by in their suits, not making any eye contact at all, and looking down their noses at you?

What can 5 baht buy you?

Half an hour on the internet. The time it took you to write your original post probably cost you more than that (unless you did it from work).

If you are working legally here you would be on at least 50K per month, so that measly 5 baht would not have affected your life.

Get a grip.

Does anyone know of a good shop in Bangkok where I can buy a second hand Honda Dream or similar?

You can look at the hospital websites and check out prices online. They may go into details about recovery times etc.

There are companies running trips where you come to Thailand, go into hospital the next day, stay overnight, then spend about 10 days or so in a nice hotel recuperating. This is usually enough from what I can understand.

BNH and Samitivej are also worth considering.

I think if you go to the Northface shop in Siam Centre you should be able to find them.

Alternatively, you could visit any Super Sports store (attached to Central department stores) and see if you are able to pick one up there.

A couple of years ago I became really ill in Indonesia. I spent a night in the BIMC in Bali, and they decided to medi-vac me out to Australia because they thought I may need a blood transfusion. My platelet count dropped down to about 39.

Whilst in the clinic in Bali, they tested my blood every 4 hours, when I was in and out of fever. No diagnosis.

I spent a few days in Royal Perth Hospital and again was tested often for both malaria and dengue fever with no result.

After that, I went home to Melbourne and spent about 5-6 weeks recuperating. I was still not well. During that time I went to see an infectious diseases guy who told me that I probably had malaria.

He tested me for dengue and told that I did not have it, and have never had it (so, there is a test you can do for this). I am not sure what the test is, but it is readily available.

I have spoken to many people and they tell me that the first time you have malaria, it is not always picked up in blood tests.

After returning to Thailand from Australia, I was back here for only 6 weeks before I went down again with the same symptoms. I was quickly diagnosed with malaria vivax. I have had it two times since then, too. It sucks.

So, if you count the first undiagnosed times, I have had full blown malaria 3 times, and been admitted with spleenomegaly (an enlarged spleen) once. The spleenomegaly is related to malaria and scarring, apparently.

Each time I get malaria I notice that my stools are a pale almost yellow colour, and the yellowness remains for a few months.

Your symptoms sound identical to mine, so I would probably say that you had malaria both times, and not dengue.

Apparently if you have sex during your period your kids will turn out stupid!

If you stare cross-eyed for too long, your eyes may get stuck.

If you swim within one hour of eating, you may get cramps.

Pizzerias sometimes use rat meat instead of canned ham.

Dr Pat Pong is really a doctor.

Bamboo larvae are yummy.

Bamboo larvae aren't THAT bad, are they? Fried is much better than dry roasted. I once heard someone describe them as 'they tast like hot pus'. I, for one, would not know!

Depends on where you are coming from. If you are in Australia, you can ask your dr for a script that can be done for a whole years worth of pills. This is really cheap compared to the usual price.

You can buy many pills over the counter here. Diane is available, and many triphasil ones are too. Many brand names may differ from what you have at home.

In order to not upset your system, why not just get a years worth anyway when you come over?

You get another 90 days.

I would go a few days at least before it is due.

Do you know anything about Wat Chi Pa Sataram? I THINK I went there the other day too (my driver said it was Wat Chi Pa) but I can't find any other information about it.

I went to Wat Lai today and it was stunning. I don't know if this is the same place you are talking about or not. There's an old monk there who has been there for 28 years. I think he was dying for a chat, as I couldn't get out of there! Gave me icy cold water (which was much needed), and chatted to me about his life.

A great (albeit VERY hot) day.

Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it.

My boss has sent me to Lopburi to see what there is to do that aren't too touristy. Well, that is proving to be a bit of a problem. Taxis are hard to find, aside from the 50 year old tuk tuks from the train station (nothing against old cars, but it's too ###### hot at the moment to be spending the whole day in a tuk tuk). Locals I have spoken to are only able to tell me about the regular sites such as the local khmer ruins, sunflowers, monkeys (of course) and that's about it.

Do any of you guys know of some pretty cool places around Lopburi that aren't too touristy? Something off the beaten track would be nice.

Thanks to anyone who is able to help me with this.

I have two tattoos. Neither of them are on public show. In fact, people are surprised when they DO happen to see them and I have never had any negative comments about them.

I am neither a slut or a prostitute.

People making ridiculous generalisations is what makes me mad on this forum.

Is it also fair to say that all men are in Thailand looking for Thai women? No, it's not.

Is it fair to say that all blondes are dumb? No, it's not.

Is is fair to say that a tattoo on a man makes him look masculine? Not necessarily. In fact, I have seen some blokes with tattoos which look stupid on their insipid white/blue arms.

But whoever has the tattoo, is it THEIRS. They got it for their own reasons and whilst some of them may look stupid, so do many things. (Personally, I think a man with a combover is a most silly sight, but I don't categorise all these men into the one area).

To say that a woman with a tattoo is a prostitute is absurd.