Camelot

I can survive the heat but it's the humidity that gets me. Partly my fault for living in Bangkok.

Same here. No problems and I've never been charged import duties. I've only purchased the 'dead-tree' edition, not Kindle. I spend far too much time ruining my eyesight staring at screens as it is.

The most irritating and cliched response to a query in a topic has to be:

"Google is your friend."

The OP wants to learn from the experience of TV members, not from an ad for a search engine.

Accidental duplication.

Losec and Miracid have the same therapeutic ingredient --- Omeprazole --- in the same amounts. I was prescribed Losec in 1993 and, at that time, it was imported and very expensive. Miracid is made in Thailand and sold for a fraction of the cost. I switched to Miracid and, for me, it works just as well as Losec. Why pay those inflated import taxes?

So they kicked the can down the road again.

I'm disappointed, but not surprised.

I'm also curious about what will have changed in a week's time when this stopgap measure to fund the Department of Homeland Security expires?

Not many left from the original Star Trek crew. We've lost Scotty, Doc McCoy and now Spock. I've been a fan since childhood and the loss of Leonard Nimoy is especially hard to bear. I wish him well on his final journey.

Nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there.

Heck, I couldn't afford to live there.

Don't underestimate the popularity of comic books among kids. They can't get enough of them. It's a huge market.

According to press reports, the US does have an agreement to refuel its military aircraft here en route to Diego Garcia or elsewhere. Takhli RTAF base in Nakhon Sawan was the designated stopover point but I've heard this has now been expanded to include U-tapao and possibly Udon and other former bases.

Let's be honest. Those who bitch about life in Thailand would probably find something to complain about wherever they lived. Their negative attitude to life is probably why they ended up in this country in the first place.

Hold on until they build the Kra Canal and then you can laugh at all these naysayers.

Saw Palmetto works for me as a morning diuretic. According to the US National Institutes of Health, it doesn’t shrink the overall size of the prostate, but it seems to shrink the inner lining that puts pressure on the tubes that carry urine. That provides enough relief for me to justify its cost. I've been importing it so it's good to know it's now available locally.

Phu Hin Rongkla National Park in Loei for wildlife and nature at its finest. If it's too far, Kanchanaburi, Saiyok waterfall and Hellfire pass, taking in the 'death railway' museums. That would be a memorable trip.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) passed a city ordinance in 2008 requiring all pet dogs to be microchipped, vaccinated against rabies, neutered or spayed unless a letter from a vet certified that this could be injurious to the pet's health, and registered at a municipal office in Bang Rak. Fine for non-compliance is up to 5,000 baht. The biggest danger is that if the pet is caught in a round-up of strays and found not to be microchipped, it could share their fate.

Any vet or BMA office should be able to provide details. We went through this process with our dog and it wasn't as big a hassle as it sounds. Cheaper than the UK. I don't know if it's being enforced, but ignoring a city ordinance posed a risk my wife and I were not prepared to take. There are certainly far fewer strays around nowadays.

Your dog's vet can provide the microchip and paperwork. This municipal ordinance only applies to Bangkok although there was talk that Pattaya and other cities might also adopt it.

Take the info you've been given here and then spend a week to 10 days in first Bangkok and then Chiang Mai.

That way the choice is yours.

I stayed in Narathiwat in 1978 and the province was a delight to visit. The beaches at Tak Bai are some of the finest in Thailand and it's a great pity that the security situation prevents most tourists today from seeing them. That wasn't always the case. A scandal erupted over female Western tourists sunbathing while topless around the time I was there. Definitely taboo in the Muslim deep south. Despite that, everyone I met was friendly. Most of the food shops had jukeboxes and they played "Hotel California" day and night.

A complete contrast to Pattani where the townsfolk made it clear to me that foreigners weren't welcome.

Why do people move here to escape the stifling regulation of their own over-policed countries and then insist that Thailand be more like them? This attitude has always baffled me and I see it a lot on Thai Visa.

I had the worst massage I've ever had in my life at a well-known health spa near Hua Hin. It was also the most expensive. Masseuse admitted she was untrained.

Nice grounds, but monstrously overpriced for what was on offer. I would never go back and suggest a thorough check by reading all the reviews of any place you have in mind, especially health resorts that advertise heavily and have big marketing budgets.

The Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand in the Maneeya Bldg on Ploenchit Road is a good place to make interesting friends. You don't have to be a journalist and can visit several times before becoming a member. It's definitely affordable.

Look for a small house to rent, preferably a detached one. That way you avoid the risks of communal living in apartments and condos that are causing you so much stress. I did and have never looked back.

I take silicone earplugs and a portable white noise generator and they pretty much guarantee a silent night.

My only concern is that if a fire breaks out, I probably wouldn't hear the alarm which would put me at risk of being incinerated or asphyxiated.

Sometimes you just can't win.

Plenty of Chinese and Russian tourists ready to take up the slack if some of the Aussies decide to abandon Bali and go elsewhere. A Bali boycott would also delight Thailand's tourism authorities.