321Rich

I'm a retired photographer who also likes to photograph birds. One of my favorite lens for birds is a 150-500mm beast that looks a little like a shoulder mounted weapon, black and all. I'm not in Thailand yet, will be later this fall, but just how safe is it to walk around in public with a camera/lens combination that locals will perceive as being worth more money than they make in a year?? (Yes, I know not to take it down town at night in the red light district -- I'm talking about in the field, zoos, bird sanctuaries, etc.)

"Birds of Thailand and South East Asia" is a later development of Robson's "Birds of Thailand".

its actually the other way around.. His Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia came first & was published in 2000, his Field Guide to the Birds of Thailand (like i said, basically an obvious thinned down version of the first with a few changes) came later being first published in 2002.. They're both good. I like the first for the more in-depth text, and the second for the convenience of just having (nearly) all the Thai species only.

I think we're all talking a bit round the bush about this.

In 2000 came the first "Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia"

In 2002 the thinned-down version "Birds of Thailand"

In 2008 the latest version, "Field Guide to the Birds of Thailand and South-East Asia." This is much more than an updated version of the 2000 book. Many of the plates have been redone, there are numerous additional species, and changes in nomenclature (which you may not like, but are likely to supersede the old names).

I expect most male expats in Thailand live in a certain city or place because their wives or GF's wish to live there -- not necessarily because "they" wish to live there.

Lets play a little "What If" game… You are retiring in Thailand, you are not connected in any way to a Thai lady, and for the sake of this exercise, you are not looking for a Thai lady, and one more parameter for this exercise, armed with the knowledge you "know now", what city or area would you probably wish to retire in???

Notice I spoke of "retiring" -- I'm not interested in knowing where you young studs looking to prove your manhood every night would be hanging out, I have a fair idea where those cities would be!

Is there a link to the actual poll results? I have been looking but no luck.

Do a Google search for the title:

ABAC Poll: Thailand´s happiest people live in Suphan Buri

and the article will appear (at the top I believe).

I, for one, am most skeptical of ANY poll, especially one such as this that places one region above another as far as happiness and desirability to live there goes. Regardless of what criteria used to conduct the poll, the results can be manipulated in all sorts of ways to fit the preexisting "expected results" of the poll takers.

Before I could accept a poll's results, I would want to read the questions asked in the poll, know the cross section of people asked, and things like that. Results would certainly be different if only college kids or working class people were polled when compared to, say, old farts like me.

Maybe some Farang on this forum should conduct the same sort of poll (for expats only) to see what area of Thailand is most desirable for Farang to live in. I would think such a poll would result in chaos as the answers would be driven by biases of all kinds.

Thanks Kamalabob2,

I certainly hope you "copied and pasted" that long response and did not have to "hunt and peck" your way thru it!!

It seems like excellent advice. I will copy it and hold for record, just in case I lose site of the post.

Thanks again, --Rich--

If one lives, say 45 minutes away from a hospital, in my mind that qualifies as "living within minutes of medical help". I didn't say anything about calling something like 911. I was simply trying to make a point that I did not want to live a couple of hours drive time to the nearest hospital.

The ability to get quality health care in such a case needs to be in minutes -- not hours or days.

Just a quick note to help further your understanding of the situation here: unless you live next door to the hospital you are seriously unlikely to ever be within minutes of quality health care anywhere in Thailand. There is no emergency medical response system here to speak of and the concept of calling the paramedics on 911 doesn't exist, it doesn't really exist in practice in Bangkok so it certainly doesn't exist in Isaan therefore, if emergency and rapid response health care systems are your priority, perhaps you need to rethink Thailand as your destination

With all due respect to your hopes and plans, perhaps it would be best if you first visited Thailand on holiday before going further with all this!

Thanks all for the valuable information. This gives me a frame of reference as to which city I may or may not wish to retired in. My living experiences have ranged from the sharecropper farm existence in rural Tennessee as a child to living in the inner city of Chicago for four years and eight other US states, I favor the quietness of the country (province) but recognize that decision to live there might prove to be fatal in the event of a major heart problem or stroke. The ability to get quality health care in such a case needs to be in minutes -- not hours or days. I also lost everything but one car and the clothes on my back when I had a home burn to the ground. We lived out in the country and it took the fire engines 28 minutes to reach the house. In a city that home might have been saved.

As for the bank, yes, I will open at least one Thai Bank account but still favor the few advantages of keeping money in American banks also. Wire transfers are some what expensive -- I would favor using that method only in emergencies, instead just write a check from an American Bank and deposit it in Thailand and wait the month or so for the money to show up is OK with me.

I have to keep at least one American bank account open since I plan to turn my home over to a property management company.

Thanks again. --Rich--

Banks question clarification: I expect to deposit social security and a pension monthly into an American bank and then transfer money, as needed, to Thailand. So I still need that question answered. (What are a couple of stable banks in the Isaan area (cities please) that have American counterparts? (Like HSBC and CitiBank)?

Hospitals: Do any Isaan hospitals routinely treat people for heart attacks or strokes or do they simply stabilize the person and ship them off to Bangkok or some other location? Anyone had any first-hand experiences with either one of these conditions?

Thanks for any information...

I'm a new Farang to this forum… planning on retiring to some where in Isaan in a few months.

Two questions:

(1) What are a couple of stable banks in the Isaan area (cities please) that have American counterparts? (Like HSBC and CitiBank). I plan to open accounts (set up Pension & Social Security deposits) here before moving to Thailand.

(2) If you suffered a stroke or heart attach tomorrow, which hospital would you hopefully end up in (what city has good medical facilities). No, I'm not interested in a good mortuary, just a quality hospital. Thanks. --Rich--