dddave

As a rule, not just in Thailand but pretty much everywhere, anytime you are selling something used to a retail dealer, whether it be a watch, car, camera or smartphone, they will usually pay no more than half of the current used retail value unless it is an especially high demand item, then perhaps a bit more. They are in business to make a profit.

Make sure the opthamologist knows you want a vision test, not just a physical exam of your eyes as vision tests are usually not part of an ophthalmological exam. Also, if considering progressive lenses, make sure the Dr. includes what is called your "PD" (pupillary distance)

I've been using Zenni for 5 years and highly satisfied. Just got a new pair of progressives: inexpensive frames and lenses, to keep as a spare pair, only $70. Delivery from their China factory was 10 days to Jomtien via DHL. When going through their order process, it's kind of like buying a car with a host of add-ons that can significantly push the price up. Do some googling to decide which you really need. They really are so inexpensive, you can go to their site, buy the most inexpensive pair possible in your prescription (not all frames can use progressive lenses) and try them out. If satisfied, get a better pair for everyday use.

My first day, my first trip to Thailand, 2002 was also the first day of Songkran of which I knew nothing. Staying at the Grand President on Suk. 11. Went out for a walk. Came back an hour later, so thoroughly soaked that the porter followed me to my room, mopping the floor behind me. Every piece of clothing was saturated, including my prized New Balance walking shoes, the only shoes I had brought. The room had a microwave. A flash of inspiration that later proved somewhat less than brilliant led me to put my soaking shoes in the 'wave, put it on "High" and let it rip. How was I to know there was a hidden air bladder in the sole. The resulting explosion of one shoe was powerful enough to blast the 'wave door open and send the shoe on a two cushion carom. The other shoe had a 6" balloon like blister ready to let go. Walking Sukhumvit barefoot the next day trying to find footwear whilst being drenched yet again made me appreciate more my newly acquired knowledge of thermo-dynamics.

How about: "Very unique" or "somewhat unique" or "This resort is more unique than the others." Drives me nuts. Unique is singular and solitary, something is unique or it is not.

Yah, far out! 70s & 80s, so we can have a groovy rap session with the bro's! Oh WOW!

For scale, a 10 Baht coin is 13.3 grams

Another B&W laser convert here. On the very rare occasion I need color, I just email the file to the printing shop a few blocks away. They print it and I can just pick it up when convenient. I have a Fuji-Xerox laser 3 in 1 purchased at IT City. I don't know if they still sell this budget line but I DO NOT recommend them. A lot of driver issues. Never played well with Win-10

If you haven't felt the need for one for this long a time, once the novelty wears off, you'll probably find yourselves using it mostly for warming leftovers. You can soften frozen meat and poultry but do it a bit to long and it can steam the meat and give it an off taste, If you have the space and budget, why not? If you don't get one, you probably won't miss it. Get the lowest price known brand. No need for any bells and whistles, people rarely use them. If you do get one, put some thought into placement. Many are installed too high in cabinets or set atop refrigerators creating a hazard for somebody reaching up to take out a hot dish or bowl. A friends son got badly scalded on his upper body that way when a bowl of heated soup was hotter than expected.

Unless they have massivly cleaned up their act in the last 6 years, Koh Samet beaches are very high in fecal coliform. Many bungalow resorts dump their sewage directly into the sea. I went with a friend. We spent the afternoon swimming at Lung Dam beach. That night she came down with high feaver, convulsions. Speedboat to Hospital in Rayong. First thing Doctor asked is if she had been swimming and where. He said bacterial infections from swimming there were very common.

Been going to BCH for more than 10 years and have recommended it to many others with no negative feedback. Nothing scary about it. Not a modern chrome and glass money pit, but an older institution with a dedicated staff.

If in Jomtien, not far past Beach Rd. Soi 9 is Jomtien Beach Condominium. There is a ground level pub called "Dark Horse". The owner, Tony has several nice bicycles for rent: day, week or month. FWIW: Renting a bicycle for a month appears to cost significantly more than renting a motorbike for the same period.

Re: MBK. A lot of the stalls are owned by the same people so it can be difficult to get genuine competition on the price. Cautionary note on FB marketplace. A friend was selling an i-phone on Marketplace and met a buyer on a busy street corner. The guy took the phone to check it out and then just cut and ran. Nothing my friend could do. Best to meet in a food court or some other place where quick escape isn't so easy.

I have a plastic box tucked in the back of a drawer that contains probably 20 counterfeit SD cards from Lazada, Pantip Plaza and even a few from Fortune Tower. Yes; I'm a slow learner but my brain finally accepted that in the world of flash memory, if it's a bargain, it's probably not a bargain. This also goes for SSDs and thumb drives. Now, I won't buy memory on Lazada for any price. JIB, Banana, Advice and Invadeit only.

I've lived in Jomtien the last 2 years after 18 years in Bangkok. Came as a Covid refugee, wanting a less densely populated area. Jomtien fits that need, Pattaya does not. I rented a 2BR condo on the beach for B10,000/m. I figured it would be raised significantly when my lease ends this month but the owner was happy to keep me for another year at the same rent. There are so many food options. If one only wants to eat in pubs and western style restaurants, then one can easily spend close 1000 baht a day on food and drink. If one is flexible on food and seeks out restaurants, night markets and food stands away from the beach and tourist areas, B300 to 400 a day is easily doable. Cook for yourself, far lower than that. I rent a older Honda Click for B1200/m. I only go on local roadways, no highways or long trips so I don't need a more powerful or brand new machine. Any trips into Pattaya, easy on the song tao (Baht bus) Yes, prices have gone up like they have everywhere but not difficult to adjust to. A friend just this past week found and rented a beautiful ocean view, 80s/m 1BR apartment on Pratumnak in an older building for B15000/m. Reasonable prices still exist if you do your legwork.

During some lean years, I used to ride the #2 Red bus between 1 & 3 AM pretty regularly. Schedule very irregular, often 45 minutes to an hour between buses, then 2 or 3 will come at the same time. Usually very full with late night workers. I never had a problem with anybody on one of those buses. The only time city buses can be scary is when schools let out and crowds of kids push in. Usually they are polite but problems between various school gangs have been known to break-out.

A friend inherited a house in Florida. For various reasons, it was nearly a year after it had been closed up that he was able to go and inspect it. I went with him. When we opened the house, virtually every surface was covered in mildew and a mossy like 1/4" fluff, like a light snow, except green-grey. He had to hire a crew in hazmat suits to clean out the mildew and fungus, then toss every piece of upholstered furniture and all rugs.

Most good hotels have a legitimate massage shop somewhere on the premises. There are usually small, legitimate massage shops in most Thai neighborhoods, staffed by older women and sometimes blind masseurs'. Usually close to a marketplace or in a shopping area like a BigC concourse.

I built several darkrooms during my analog days. I found smaller was always better, like a good single chef kitchen. Just good separation between wet & dry side. With direct AC, dust control, especially when drying film could be an issue. Some AC units have pretty good dust filters. Worth looking into. I used to dry my film in hanging clothes storage bags with zipper opening. Worked great. It would always amaze me. No matter how much attention I paid to making it light-tight, sit in there with lights off for 15 minutes and it's like "Starry-Starry Night", little pinpoints everywhere.

On Lazada and other 3rd party shopping sites, it's really easy for shady operators selling shoddy/ersatz products to basically "Pump & Dump" They put up something like the OP mentions, hi specs/lo price, sell maybe 1000 or so in a couple of days, make maybe $100 on each, then close it out and set-up the next scam. Lazada or whatever doesn't have time to catch it before it's already done and gone.

This past April I spent two weeks in Maharaj Hospital (Govt.) in Nahkon Rachisima. I probably had interactions with 20 Doctors in that time and all spoke understandable English. Not so much with nursing staff and aids but enough so that what was needed was usually understood. I was impressed with the excellent care I received there.

Kluay Nam Thai is not a hospital I would recommend to anybody. Very low standards. It is primarily a geriatric care facility.

Seller's address was Chonburi. I am in Chonburi. Hardly a distance justifying a 50% delivery increase. Single item, no variations. Very simple. Price displayed not the price charged.

If you are running an add-blocker it can cause sign-in problems. Also, if in Chrome, try clicking the "re-load" button, top left. That usually makes my sign in work. Also, when browsing Lazada and a page won't come-up, do the same.

Unless you are somehow getting all that excess baggage for free, forget about it. Good utensils available at better stores (Central, Robinsons) Plastic cutting boards everywhere from B20 stores to department stores. Doritos, cheese popcorn, Cape Cod potato chips, Cheeze-Its, Reeses Cups: now that's a different matter. Customs guy will really appreciate that '79 Yammie. "So Sorry, can not import used vehicles, leave it over in the corner. Don't forget the keys"