dddave

I take that bus frequently and that is the only additional BKK to Jomtien stop I've experienced. i have never experienced them picking up passengers at any other stop BKK bound after departing Jomtien.

Netflix certification allows 4K and HDR which is immaterial if using older 720 P TV's. You might also consider a mini-pc. There are windows-11 mini PCs with great specs for watching TV and normal internet browsing, YouTube and Netflix. For example this mini-pc from Lazada would work very well. https://www.lazada.co.th/products/geekom-mini-pc-mini-air11-se-intel-celeron-n4020c-nuc-11-mini-computers-with-fan-coolingup-to-28ghz-6gb-lpddr4128g-ssd-desktop-windows-11-pro-support-4k-uhddual-wifibt42gigabit-ethernet-i4871547293-s20400690342.html? Actually, with your older TVs, you could probably get by with some of the even cheaper used office mini-pc's with VGA graphics. and windows 10. https://www.lazada.co.th/products/acer-veriton-n4640g-i5-gen6-mini-pc-i4831860551-s20788104352.html?

It has never occurred to me to check my condo router for being used by others in my building. How does one go about it?

Unless he has millions of Baht to grease many hands, his only option is to book a flight out of the country, check-in, go through security and hopefully be allowed to pay the overstay fine of B20,000 and accept a 10 year ban. There were reports recently at Phuket Airport of overstayers being arrested before they got to Immigration, perhaps tipped-off by a check-in employee but I have never heard of that at BKK. What your friend needs to realize is that he could face an indeterminate incarceration in an IDC if arrested and they are very unpleasant places.

This is 2nd hand. A friend with similar issues, paralyzing back spasms, sciatica and meralgia was being told by several orthopedic doctors that surgery was the only option. He kept digging and somehow found a Physical Therapist who was what one would call a minimalist. She worked with him on a variety of exercises: strength, flexibility, motion, resting. Her focus was always finding the minimum amount of exercise that provided relief. Everything was done slowly and easy and not getting aggressive about the number of reps or testing the limits of motion. She stressed allowing and encouraging long term healing of joints, bones, tendons, muscles. Not to aggravate then further but to just do the minimum to keep them flexible and maintain strength and motion. He said it was actually difficult to maintain such a minimalist program as it was in his nature to push himself but it seemed to work so he kept up with her and was amazed at how successfully it turned out. His back spasms meralgia and sciatica attacks went away and have never come back. He was able to totally avoid surgery. This was nearly 10 years ago and AFAIK, he's still doing well. I guess this kind of follows the "less is more" school of medicine but worth thinking about.

OP here. Too late to edit the original post. My friends condition has rapidly deteriorated in the last 24 hours and at home care is no longer possible. Thanks.

Thanks for pointing that out. I was unaware of the onward ticket requirement.

A friend is in end stage cancer, perhaps weeks. He would rather spend his last hours in his Condo than in a hospital room. His sister and his girlfriend are with him and both are quite capable and knowledgeable but for him to be able to remain in his condo, he really needs a qualified palliative care nurse available though perhaps not full time. Does anybody know of any such nurses or medical professionals in the Jomtien/Pattaya vicinity who would be qualified to assist?

Can do the shuttle bus Don Muang to Suvarnabhumi, then the Pattaya/Jomtien bus from there. First floor, near door -9

When the same happened to me, I continued to get unordered CODs, the value of which escalated. Took about six months for them to figure out I wasn't going to bite.

Appears they are implementing more stringent security protocols. Ad blockers and VPNs running in the background seem to cause problems. No problems so far with the app but the website won't clear my Bangkok Bank debit card transactions. My US based debit cards clear without issue. They seem to be asking for sign-in verification more often on the website. As I mentioned on another similar post: Much easier to get discounts, especially free shipping on the mobile app than on the website.

Pre-internet, my VCR/DVD players were my primary sex partners. Every video store had a back room. Prior the VCRs, practically every city had a block of "Porno Shops" with racks of porno magazines, books and 8mm film loops. Porn is nothing new. Just different delivery systems.

More than 10 years ago, a Western couple with similar desires started a "Swingers Club" in Bangkok and discreetly publicized it. However, nothing erotic stays discrete for long in Thailand and it didn't take the BIB long to stage a very visible raid on a party, news cameras in tow. Politicians and Thai social media went wild condemning the Westerners perverted pleasures and high bails were paid and heavy fines issued. Thailand may seem sexually open but it is not. They don't like anything that looks out of the ordinary. It would be impossible to keep things quiet and discrete. I suggest you do not go public in any way, just keep it between friends.

If OP is staying in a hotel, usually the front desk can furnish you with a copy of their immigration report when you checked in. This will satisfy the TM-30 requirement.

Maybe more than 10 years ago, a Thai woman poster a hilarious cartoon video on YouTube explaining all the nuances of Thai female gay relationships. There were "Dee's" who are ultra feminine, always beautifully attired and made up. The Dee's were usually supported by a jeans clad, wallet on chain "Tom"..It was not unusual to see this style couple wandering the aisles of Siam Paragon or Gaysorn Plaza. The video also defined other strata of the gay world in a really funny way. I just tried to find it but couldn't. Does anybody here remember it? It made quite a stir at the time. This video explains it all, pretty much everything OP wanted to know, and more!

An obscure "Gotcha!" I encountered on a US sourced laptop, nothing to do with import or customs, Just a cheap HP bought at Walmart in US and carried to Bangkok in my hand baggage. When I went to set up my Bangkok apartment Wi-Fi, the new laptop wouldn't connect, didn't even see the network. All my other wi-fi connected devices: mobile, desktop computer, TV box were connected and operated normally. Long story short, after 2 days of frustration I discovered the obscure problem. The US Government reserves certain wi-fi channels for it's exclusive use. I forget which ones: 11 & 12 perhaps? Most computers sold in the US have these channels blocked. It happened that when I had set-up my router, it had randomly assigned one of those restricted channels, which are unrestricted in Thailand to my apartment network. Once I changed the network channel the new laptop connected without further issue.

In a friends similar case, in a car hit from behind by an uninsured motorbike, the Police did mediate between the parties and he did get actual repair costs but nothing above that. He was surprised at how fair the police actually were.

It's been happening to me on the Lazada website when using my Bangkok Bank debit card but not my US card which goes through no problem. No problem with either card when using the Lazada mobile app. BTW, much easier to get discounts, like free shipping on the App than on the website.

"I prefer to live among old people who still remember what proper behavior was....many decades ago. That was a completely different time. People were civil, then. Road rage, by in large, did not exist then" In 1950, incidents of road rage had become so commonplace in the US that the US Government commissioned Walt Disney Studios to produce this anti "Road-Rage" cartoon which then played in almost every movie theater for several years.

I don't have an answer to your problem but don't lay the blame entirely on Thailand. Western governments, especially the US & UK have been putting enormous pressure on banks and financial institutions worldwide to tighten rules and aggressively enforce existing rules, especially when it involves moving larger sums of money internationally.

"Wirecutter" a product testing site owned by the New York Times tested and rated a bunch of supermarket brand olive oils. The BERTOLLI brand which is sold locally in Thailand came out in the top 5. Usually not too expensive: 350-400 baht for 500ml. I've tried it and it's lightly fragrant with a mild taste. There were several locally sold Spanish olive oils that I really liked as I like an oil with an assertive flavor but they have disappeared from the shelves. Can't recall the names, I would just recognize the labels.

A friend was having similar problems with an older PC. It turned out to be an auto driver update issue. The OS was automatically deleting and trying to update drivers on various hardware, in some cases unsuccessfully. When he disabled the driver update function in Windows the problem ceased.

Unfortunately, Intel ceased production of NUCs early this year. There may still be some models in stores. JIB used to sell them.

I use a Mini-PC for TV streaming and internet browsing using my TV as a monitor which works out pretty well. My Mini PC runs on a Ryzen R-5600H, 16 gb RAM, 500 gb ssd, onboard graphics which are sufficient for my needs. Runs 4K content with no problem. Chinese brand "GenMachine" purchased on Lazada, about B6000 6 months ago. Windows 11 Pro included. So far, no issues. Runs for hours at a time in a non ac room without any overheating issues though I don't stress it much: no video games or advance photo or video editing. Very quiet fan. I also use a mini-pc for my bedroom TV running an Intel Alder Lake N100 processor which is capable of 4K video. It's really only used as a streaming device, runs Win 11Pro, 8gb RAM, 256 ssd. quiet and no overheating issues. Chinese "Peladn" brand. About B4000 on Lazada.

I believe the A53 still had the jack socket and they are still easily available. I bought one for my gf last year. Not impressed with the build quality. The case has come open a couple of times and one of the rear camera lenses popped out.