dundas

I am 73, and touch wood, so far all my implants have been set and forget (first one was in 2012, I've had three more since). I'm probably lucky in that so far my gums haven't seemed to pose much of a problem for successful implants and on my occasional dental checkups, the implants have never been diagnosed as being in need of extra care. My gums are probably in better shape because of the implants, too. If I were in the OP's shoes, I'd consult with a dentist who knows their stuff, because some recipients of implants aren't suitable in any event, some are maybes, some need bone grafts (think extra $$$$) and are still maybes. If the implants fail, that's money down the drain and time lost waiting for an actual solution. If I knew I was likely to be a successful candidate, I'd probably go for it, even if I were a decade older than I am now. And having said that, my experience of the Thai dentist I went to In Chiang Mai wasn't all that great – she kept pushing me to agree to a bone graft; fortunately for me the surgeon she employed told me that it wasn't necessary and it was only his advice that saved me from unnecessary expense. And I've since realised that a lot of dentists are in the business of up-selling and as they're experts, it can be hard to resist their pressure and to make properly informed choices. After the CM experience, I found a dentist in my home country who is price competitive, competent and bluntly honest, and that has made my decision making on my more recent implants a lot easier. So if I'm in the OP's shoes, finding an ethical and competent dentist/dental surgeon would be top of my list before making any more decisions.

A monk told this story, that he was meditating in darkness in a cave one night, when he heard a scuffling noise, so picked up his flashlight and turned it on. The light hit on a cobra in strike pose, and he could almost see the snake deciding whether or not to attack, causing a most excruciating death. The monk's response was to spread loving kindness all around and after doing this for an interminable time, the snake relaxed and decided to go on his way. Which is when the monk noticed that despite his calm mental attitude and his ability to show loving kindness in the most adverse of circumstances, his body was shaking and that went on for a long time afterwards. We might think we're not frightened of death, but our bodies know otherwise. My mother held onto life, until she overheard a nurse saying that she (my mother) would never walk again, at which point she decided to give up. But I think her clinging onto life was more about the fact that she had never really lived it -- she was a good wife and mother, but she had never lived her own life, had never really done her own thing. I think it's easier to let go of life if you have lived a full one, a la Bangkok Barry's post above. All the more reason to cherish every moment.

The answer to your question depends on the travel arrangements for your inbound and outbound flights. The easy way: If you are flying on Thai Airways/Thai Smile on both flights and on the one ticket, for example, you can transfer airside by following the signs. You'll clear Immigration in Bangkok, and Customs at your destination airport. The minimum time for connecting in this way is around an hour. The not so easy not so fun way: If you're flying another airline into Bangkok, and then Thai on your domestic flight, you will probably have to clear Immigration, pick up your luggage, clear Customs, then check your bags in again and go back through security into the domestic part of the terminal. If this is the case then depending on the time of day, I would allow at least three hours. I should say my comments are based on my experience of a couple of years ago, when I arrived on Royal Brunei and then went to Chiang Mai on Thai. I was turned around when I attempted to transfer airside, and was told 'even if your Brunei flight has a TG number, you will still have to clear Immigration and Customs here.' In any event, I'd ask the airline/agent who's done the ticketing, which experience you're more likely to have.

From my observation, the dermatologists I've seen here are both skilled and thorough, and used to working with people from Australia.

I visit Thailand once or twice a year (Covid excepted), but apart from going to a dermatologist for skin checks (still more than 50% cheaper than the same service in Melbourne), I get all my medical and dental work done in Australia. I did have one dental implant + crown done in Chiang Mai and that cost $A3,000. My next two were in Melbourne, and cost the same, but I could claim insurance on them, so I ended up paying just over $1,000 per implant + crown. Another big advantage apart from cost: my dentist in Melbourne guarantees his work (replacement or refund if an implant fails) – I'm not sure how many Thai dentists guarantee their work (although to be fair, my Thai dental implant hasn't given me any trouble). Plus I wasn't impressed when the dental assistants in the Chiang Mai practice stayed in the room when they were taking x-rays. If they care so little about their own health and safety, how much do they care about mine? Not saying this is representative of all Thai dentists, but it was my experience. As for medical services, I can access local networks in Australia that tell me where the better doctors are, which makes me more confident about the treatment I get. Each to his own, I guess. For me, Australia works out as a better deal.

Wonder if the phone was found, and returned.

I missed your columns, I'm glad that you were able to have a sanity break and that you're back. Looking forward to many more.

I normally fly from MEL to BKK on visa exempt, and in Melbourne the check-in agent either asks for the onward/return ticket, or they start frowning as they go searching through the visa rules or my documents or whatever – until I show them the tickets for my future flights. Then it's all smiles and I'm good to go.

Manicuring the weeds out the front of the house. Being a kind of (unpaid) consultant for various people in Thailand and the US. Routines, such as Qi gong, meditation, gym, swim, cycle ... Accompanying a former colleague to medical appointments, as required, and Sunday morning walks. Sex and Related Intimate Activities. Travel, from time to time.

I recently got Covid after sitting on a crowded Melbourne tram – and where I was one of the few people wearing a mask. A $A1,112.99 course of anti-virals later I am recovering but it's not a great experience. The thing about masks is that they protect others much more than they protect the wearer. If you care for the people around you, just wear a mask. And if you care about your freedom not to wear a mask because you don't give a **** about others, go live in a country of like minds where everyone is equally as selfish as you are (like Australia, for instance). As for the legality of it all, who cares?Just don't go around imposing your beliefs on the citizens of your host country, take your cues from them instead. It's their country, after all.

I have a combo microwave that apart from microwaving can grill, bake, steam, as well as fry eggs and bacon, etc, etc. It also has a function that combines microwaving with grilling or baking, speeding up the cooking. I'm still discovering its capabilities and I've had it a while. Overall, it probably works best for people whose idea of a night in is to warm up a pizza, but for me, it's convenient – and fast.

I think Penny Wong is doing great stuff for Australia. She's knows her brief, and she's been working on Australia's relationships with Asia ever since Labor won the election. She inherited a mess from previous coalition government -- Solomon Islands is a brilliant example of that. I'm glad she's met up with the Thai government. And if you know anything about the recruitment processes in Thailand, the government here is not totally incompetent – I'm not talking about the political masters, but the ones who run the machinery of government.

Cherish every moment. Help others if I could. Be grateful for everything.

Thank you for saying this. I nearly finished my post with the question 'so now will the OP leave us alone?' but stayed polite instead. You've called it for what it is.

I think of pride as the opposite of shame. You feel proud of something because it's something you value. On the other hand, many gay people have been forced into the opposite of pride, that is, shame, many of us have had to hide our identities because being gay was socially unacceptable (or in some cultures, dangerous to our continued existence, and that is still the case in many parts of Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle-East). Even today, in parts of Australia (especially rural areas), the suicide rates for young LGBTQ people are much higher than their heterosexual peers. When people feel safe enough to finally be able to stop hiding as 'straight-ish', they tend to flip into the opposite, so from shame to pride. It's a reaction, you could say, a bit like a pendulum swinging (and I know this might be a bit controversial), from one extreme (shame) to the other (pride). So it's no surprise that at some point last century pride marches became a thing, but only when there was enough freeing up in society for those marches to even happen (there weren't too many pride marches during the McCarthy era in the US, let me put it that way). And in some places at least, pride marches were most successful when people still needed to re-claim their identities and stand out against the prevailing push to conform to societal needs. If you have to fight for something you believe in, yes, pride will be there. A lot of gay people, especially older ones, are still trying to leave shame behind and pride is a natural part of that process. Show some respect for us. A lot has changed this century and homosexual identity is no longer such a negative focus for society at large -- at least in the west. For younger gays now, it's just a part of their lives, no big deal, they have nothing to react against, they just accept their sexuality in the same way they accept most other aspects of their identity, nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to react against. It's all cool, right? And for some, there are vestiges of how it was fifty years ago. Big cities for many of us are a lot easier than some rural areas. So it's all relative, depending on the circumstances. But as a trend gay people are becoming more assimilated into society ... look at the Castro in San Francisco, for instance, or Chapel Street in Melbourne. The feeling of solidarity that came from living in a gay ghetto isn't really needed so much any more. In many places, it's now OK to live cheek by jowl with straights and everyone else in suburbia. And yes, plenty of young gays still go to pride marches, but often that's a matter of celebration, there's not so much political edge as maybe 40 years ago, not so much need to fight for the right to be who we really are. That's not necessary in those parts of the world where societies have become enlightened. And OP, I take issue with your notion of 'being gay is up to you.' I don't know anyone who decided that being gay was up to them. It's not a 'lifestyle choice' as some people would have it, it's how it is. The only choice we have is whether to accept who we are, and the chances of that happening are much higher in a decent, open, progressive society. In a society that's only half way there, the chances of pride as a reaction to shame are likely to be very high. OP, does this answer your question?

I prefer to use a debit card, but I carry a credit card just in case. On a recent Thai Airways flight, for example, one individual was trying to buy a seat with extra leg-room, but was refused because 'we don't accept debit cards, it's not like buying something at the mall.' So he had to get to know his knees better down the back. Probably the airline has difficulty verifying payment while in flight so they take the obvious option ... and only accept credit cards.