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XGM

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Posts posted by XGM

  1. 2 hours ago, chingmai331 said:

    The poor man in north Thailand breathing shi**y air does not concern them. And never will.

    There is no need to do anything. Negative media coverage only starts to be a nuisance around February. By March, government releases some "very concerned" statements. By April, they will take some symbolic acts and "commit" to fix the problem.. By May, the rains arrive and everyone forgets it. Until the next year.

    • Like 2
  2. I have Aetna's Platinum 5M policy. They recently sent emails saying they cover covid-19 testing (physician-ordered). But what about treatment if it becomes necessary? Does know if it's covered? I've read through the exclusions and found no mention of epidemics and such.

     

    Not asking for visa purposes, just wants to know we're covered.

  3. The term "epicenter" is confusing and irrelevant to the discussion here. Yes, it most probably started in Wuhan's infamous wet market. One could claim that very limited area to be "the epicenter". It has no practical implications for handling the situation today.

     

    The real issue isn't what is the size or location of any such "epicenter" but where does significant seeding of new cases is taking place, and more specifically, where is the number of cases too big for the local medical infrastructure to identify and treat in a timely fashion.

     

    All such places need to be isolated. However when the number of cases and spread is so large, we can safely assume there are many cases that weren't confirmed yet. No intentional hiding or elaborate conspiracy theories are necessary to reach this conclusion. Simply - lack of resources. Further, we can't only ban flights with people who visited some specific cities during the last month, such analysis / investigation of individual travel record isn't feasible. In my opinion, a temporary ban of flights from all of China is therefore justified.

  4. 27 minutes ago, EricTh said:

    That's just like stopping all flights from all of Europe just because London is the epicenter of a virus.

    Where is the epicenter today? Wuhan only? all the cities with over 100 (known..) cases?

    Looking at the map, you'll see those are spread over an area a "bit" larger than London's.

    epi.png

    epi1.png

  5. There are currently 248 confirmed cases outside China, with 2 deaths.

    Do those figures support the theory of a huge coverup of mortality rate being done in China? I think not. We'd expect more deaths in other countries had that been the case.

     

    My impression is that the 3% mortality rate is the situation when hospitals are flooded with patients, resulting in many receiving subpar treatment (obviously the situation in Wuhan and other cities in Hubei province). Otherwise, lower.

    • Like 2
  6. 1 hour ago, Mapguy said:

    Would appreciate posters remarking on the Corona virus IN CHIANG MAI as this thread was intended.

    Summary of CM related events as of now:

     

    One confirmed case, the patient is hospitalized in Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital (Suansok). Chinese national from Jingzhou. Travelled via Wuhan to Kunming on Jan 14 and flew to C.M. on Jan 15. Showed symptoms on Jan 18th, went to hospital 2 days later, confirmed as a coronavirus case by Jan 31.

     

    That's it AFAIK.

    • Like 1
  7. There is little point comparing the number of flu cases to those of a new virus, that still shows exponential growth despite the precautionary and very restrictive measures (e,g. millions under travel ban) applied.

     

    It is encouraging though that the mortality rate is significantly lower than what we've seen with SARS and MERS.

  8. On 11/20/2019 at 3:16 AM, matthew777 said:

    As you have discovered Thailand is about style over substance. Asia tends to be a culture of superficiality, where looking like you are learning is far more important than actually learning. You will have zero problems getting your children enrolled into college or other high schools with your choice. The international schools abroad are so poor that it's recommended that all graduating students get their GED in addition to their "international school" diploma. 

    Couldn't have said it better. Unfortunately I find that the Thai "Style over Substance" approach propagates to international schools too, with large emphasis given to festivals, special days and any excuse for an event - anything that offers photo-ops and can be used for marketing purposes on the school's social media channels. Many promises, buzz, impressive slogans, very little follow up or willingness to tackle issues.

     

    I don't however see how anyone with a full time job or anything similar could sustain homeschooling over years. Even if you are using tutors extensively, you still need to recruit, evaluate and monitor them on an ongoing basis. I really salute those who manage to do it over time.

    • Like 1
  9. The massive influx of Chinese families is certainly a major factor for the increased demand.  In CM, the percentage of Chinese students in International Schools was around 3% just a few years ago. Now it's over 35%, and over 50% for Elementary grades (most new admissions are at younger ages).  Schools increase supply by building more classrooms and moving to larger campuses (e.g. Lanna), and in parallel increase the tuition fees each and every year.

    • Like 1
  10. On 7/19/2019 at 8:37 AM, bkk6060 said:

    Unfortunately, many of the Thailand International schools are a joke.

    The examples I have are US parents living and working in Thailand.

    They send their kids to these schools with a goal of sending them to a US high end collegiate experience. They get very high grades here during their enrollment.

    But most if not all I know, fail miserably on the S.A.T. test and end up in a much lower end University. 

    My point is, the International schools here I believe provide an inferior education for a great cost.

    But, do what you want. I think it is a huge waste of money.

     

    Beyond kindergarden level, schools here have been nothing but disappointment. Sorry to say.

    And we aren't paying 150,000 a year, more like double that amount.

    Friends have their kids at one of the schools that charge 200,000 a year.

    Listening to their stories, I rather keep my kids at home then send them there.

     

    Specifically in Chiang Mai, the inflated growth of Chinese families (read: huge additional demand) led schools to increase fees and reduce quality. Some have just realized they can do whatever they feel like and get away with it. More profit to ownership, teachers turnover remains high. Prices creep up towards Bangkok levels.

     

    Waste of money? it's all about alternatives. Thailand isn't the place to go to for high quality education, I think there's no debate about that. Still, if you're here, you have to choose from what you got. Thai schools are much worse in my opinion. Home schooling is good if you have plenty of time on your hands.

  11. 3 hours ago, edwardandtubs said:

    That's a bizarre way of looking at things. Nobody would say 'well this credit card company only charges an extra one or two hundred baht per transaction so what does it matter?' I think such attitudes reflect the mentality of bitcoin traders and illustrate why it will never become a widely adopted currency.

    Nonsense. If the purpose is to learn, than a one time 100 baht more or less don't deserve the energy invested here (unless your time is worthless).

     

    When you're doing ongoing business, yes, you better pay attention to all costs, but you're not there, and won't be having those issues anyway since you'd be dealing with larger amounts.

     

    Your only problem is if you must handle tiny quantities. It has nothing to do with crypto, it is quite common in many cases that fixed costs make small transactions less interesting.

     

    Also localbitcoins.com has a fixed cost for withdrawal. Did you notice that?

     

    You need to understand that moving from fiat to bitcoin and back for each and every tiny payment you do isn't the way to go if you want to minimize fees.

  12. 1 hour ago, edwardandtubs said:

    It should be but it isn't, making bx completely unsuitable for buying say 1000 baht worth of bitcoin in order to buy something or pay someone. Clearly for smaller transactions localbitcoins is better. Of course I'm talking about withdrawing bitcoins here, not withdrawing baht. 

    Taking the rates you showed (different listings on localbitcoins.com have different rates so it's not very meaningful to speak about any one specific rate there),  localbitcoins is 2.5% lower. The bottom line difference is what, 100 baht?

     

    If you are looking to do a single deal in BTC, does it really matter? dip your toe, 100 baht more or less... and do you have extra expenses using the payment method you like on lcl (for example, do you go and deposit money physically in a bank account)?

     

    If you're going to be do many deals, then it's easier to just purchase a larger amount and keep it for whenever you need it. Sure, there'll be exchange rate fluctuations, but again, do they really matter with those small amounts?

     

  13. We are using mealsonwheels. I guess they're ok, a bit pricey. Drivers don't always manage to find the place despite exact google location included in the information I provide. Sometimes they drive to another mooban with a similar name and call me from there LOL. Lately better though.

     

    Didn't try panda here. Used them a few times when we lived in bkk.

     

  14. What happens if you go to renew it say a couple of weeks after it expires? Processed as a new one or can still be renewed with some kind of fine?

     

    Mine is due to renewal at the end of next week and I see last reports mentioned there is no next day service in immigration for the Residency Certificate anymore.

  15. On 5/10/2019 at 7:51 PM, wisemonkey said:

    Well I am just wanting English because I will be going back and forth between Australia throughout the years

    If you want your son to easily move in and out of Australian schools (unless you are OK with PLENTY of private lessons) you need a good international school, not any bilingual.

     

    200K - 300K a year for Elementary / Primary, more later on.

    • Like 1
  16. On 5/10/2019 at 4:03 AM, wisemonkey said:

    Wow, the school looks physically beautiful, 225k baht per year plus 50k admission fee is quite high for a 50% english 50% thai school, it looks like it would be good quality though from the website, but this is similar to International school pricing. 

    There are only two types of schools in Thailand: Thai schools and International schools.

     

    The so called "bilingual schools" / "EP" are actually Thai schools (the content is as dictated by Thai ministry of education) but with just more emphasis on English than other Thai schools.

     

    In International schools, the content is taken from elsewhere, and accreditation (if any) comes from foreign bodies.

     

    Panyaden is an international school, not a Thai school. Thai ministry of education does not govern the content. The pricing is accordingly.

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