OneMoreFarang

If you would ask me about the weight of any politician I would also not answer, because I just don't care. If you ask me if I think they are liars or corrupt or anything important then likely I will have an opinion and I might answer.

I was never in the USA but obviously I see news, movies, read articles, etc. Until a couple of years ago I could more or less understand their thinking - and the different sides. Now, since a few years, I basically gave up understanding them, because if I try I just fail. Trump is the best example. I understand that conservative people like conservative politics and progressive people progressive politics. And they often have many different ideas. Fine. But I just can't understand how anybody thinks a serial liar with a bad mouth is suitable to be president. Why does a huge part of the GOP support that man? It's crazy and doesn't make any sense - at least I don't find the sense in it. Let's look what happens at the next election and then. Interesting times - to say it mildly.

Pattaya is a "good place" in many ways. But it also has some problems. Overcharging motorcycle taxis. Aggressive ladyboys. (last time I was there) lots of Russian salespeople on the streets. In general: Many Thais like to overcharge farangs. Sometimes we can avoid that but often it's just a hassle. I live in Bangkok and I visited Pattaya many times - but not so often in the last years. What I like in Bangkok is that there are lots of "normal people". Pattaya seems to be full of people who only drink all day and night, and of course annoying tourists.

Thanks Sheryl My gf is registered at the same hospital. I was there with her a couple of times, so I have a rough idea about the procedure. Yes, it is confusing where to line up - also for Thai people. The "after hours" is a good idea. My gf had to go there and see the same doctor a couple of times. First, she visited him in the morning, and waited for hours. Later he told her if she pays a little extra (I forgot 300B or 500B) then she can come in the afternoon without much waiting. That is definitely a good option for all of us with not too much patience.

Thanks for your replies. 20 mm is the max difference for the whole length of 3m (4 x 0.75m) It's a finished wall which existed already before my renovation. I don't think a picture of a white wall will show much.

In the next days I will build an IKEA wardrobe in a corner of my bedroom. The wardrobe consists of 4 parts each 75cm wide and almost 2.4m heigh. Each or the 75cm elements should be screwed to the wall left and right. All that would be easy if the wall would be straight. But it isn't! There is up to maybe 20mm difference left to right. I guess I will use some string to have a straight line about 2.3m heigh, where the elements are screwed to the wall. Then I will put wood with different thickness on those area so that all mounting points left to right align. And then I guess I have to do the same near the floor to make sure the wardrobe is also vertically straight installed. Is there an easy way to do that? Is it best to do this with string and some spacers? I also have a laser level, but I guess that is not useful for this kind of installation. Any tips and ideas? Thanks

Please tell us if you find one. I will make sure that I will never go there.

I hope this doesn't get too complicated. What do you mean with "red tape etc"?

I think I am registered at Lerdsin Hospital, Silom Road. But I am not sure. I just checked on my social security card, but I don't see any information about the hospital on that card. How can I find out? Thanks

I wonder how many of the teenager, let's say 16 up, have sex without permission from their parents. In this case I have the typical boy/girl relationships on my mind. When I hear the stories from the village of my gf and who is pregnant there is definitely a lot of sex going on. And I would be very surprised if many teenagers ask the parents.

The USA, some people call it the richest nation on earth, was always special. The super rich get tax cuts, and the poor have to suffer. And this is what the American voters vote for. Amazing!

Many retirees can return to their home countries without any money, and they will be taken care of. Hopefully we all won't need that option. But it's nice to know it exists. I know a couple of people who had to go "home" broke and now they don't have sun and the sea but at least a warm room and 3 meals a day.

Interesting Do you know if it is necessary to visit the ss office to setup the automatic deduction from the account? And about their website and payments: Do you have an URL? Is it necessary to register or good enough to enter a ss number or how does that work? Thanks

https://opticland.com/ Family business with high quality, and they all speak English. I go there since many years. Mostly to get new glasses for my existing frame. I tried out a couple of places before I found them. No other shop was even half as good. Tell them, the guy with the Oakley frame and the blue glasses send you. ;)

Thanks Sheryl maybe you also know about the following: What happens if a foreigner is in an accident, and he is not conscious? I guess many Thais will assume the foreigner is a tourist and/or they will assume the farang should be transported into a private hospital. But then, what happens if that farang has only Thai social security? Will they expect that he pays from his own money for the cost in that private hospital? Or will no private hospital provide any (expensive) service until it is clear who pays? I have my Thai social security card with me, but obviously that can be lost or damaged at an accident.

Pedophiles are people who are interested in pre-puberty children. That is something completely different to people who are interested in late teens - who had their puberty years ago.

Which age? It seems some people think 17 year old girls are underage, other think anybody below 20 is underage. And then there is of course "real" underage, below the age of consent in Thailand which, as far as I know, is 15. Personally, I think nobody of any age should be forced into prostitution and anybody who does that should be severely punished. But if a teenage girl wants to have sex, and she thinks about starting with a boy from her village for free, or collecting a 6-digit amount, I can understand that many girls will be ready to sell their service.

Thanks for starting this tread. I have no answers but maybe some more questions what to expect. I was working for one company in Thailand, and they provided a private health insurance for me. It was a group policy for that company, and I won't be able to continue with their group policy. Now I work for another company, and I have only Thai social security. I think about paying myself for a private insurance. But there is one problem. I have a preexisting condition, diabetes. It seems any private insurance with exclude that, ask me to pay extra, or they won't allow me to get into the insurance at all. So now I have to decide if I am willing to pay 5,000 USD (just a rough amount) for a private insurance, which won't pay for my diabetes, or if I should just rely on the Thai social security cover and maybe pay some things out of my own pocket. My regular medication cost roughly 3,000 USD per year. Will I get the same medication from the Thai social security? Or similar medication? Or does it make sense that I pay myself for high quality medication if the Thai insurance does not pay it? And what about an emergency? If I have an accident with my bike, will the Thai insurance coverage be adequate? Or would an international insurance be much better? This is just my personal situation, but it gives you an idea what this is about. I am sure others are in similar situations.

Did anybody here try that? What is your experience with that? (Sorry, I hope this fits into this thread.)

What a glorious exiting new idea. Did anybody ever mention that maybe it would help if the police would actually do their job all year long? Or would that be too much of a challenge for the boys in brown in this beautiful country?

And there is no prostitution in Pattaya. Yeah, sure.

The problem with some lawyers is of course, that they want to make money by themselves. I went there with an accountant who was used to Thai officials. She helped me to fill out the forms and answer the questions. That was, in my case, enough. To be fair, my case was straightforward, with enough written evidence, that stating the facts and giving them the documents was all we needed to do. Before I visited the labor department I talked to 3 lawyers (not only about that). Two lawyers told me directly that I should talk to the labor department directly and they will handle everything. One lawyer offered his own service (starting 30k)...