watgate

Had a great experience with Qatar Airlines recently. I cancelled a flight I had booked last year to return to the US on April 1, 2020. I had booked the flight with a consolidator and did not have trip cancellation insurance. When the pandemic hit last year I decided to cancel my return flight with Qatar Airlines back to the US and had decided to remain in Thailand during the pandemic. My consolidator, who will remain nameless initially told me I would be getting 200 usd from Qatar Airlines due to my cancelling my flight. After checking with them several times about the refund they then proceeded to tell me I was SOL and that I was not going to get a 200 usd refund from Qatar Airlines. I was not very happy and the consolidator basically told me tough doodoo and was very curt. 

     Just recently, I was contacted by my credit card company and was informed that Qatar Airlines had posted a 200 usd credit to my account. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised and contacted Qatar Airlines for the 200 usd credit. I thanked them for understanding about all the difficulties that were encountered due to the pandemic and for showing that they truly cared about their customers. It was a very nice gesture by Qatar Airlines and they were not legally obligated since I did not have trip cancellation insurance. 

     i will most definitely use Qatar Airlines for future flights and have always been happy with flights I have taken with them in the past. 

I had a pleasant surprise from Qatar Airlines. I had booked a return flight back to the US before the pandemic hit and was due to fly back on April 1, 2020. I had booked the flight through a consolidator and did not have any cancellation insurance. The consolidator, who will go nameless, told me I would be getting 200 usd refunded to me from Qatar Airlines for the loss of my money due to my cancelling my return flight since I had decided to remain in Thailand due to the pandemic. I checked periodically with the consolidator about the refund and finally after several months they abruptly did a 360 degree turn and said I was SOL. Needless to say I was teed off and not very happy. 

     Just recently, I was notified by my credit card company that a 200 usd credit from Qatar Airlines had been posted to my account. I was very happy and contacted Qatar Airlines about the 200 credit. I thanked them and said it was very nice that they reached out to their customers to show them they cared about them and that they understood about all the difficulties folks encountered due to the pandemic. The refund softened the blow of my flight cancellation and it was very encouraging to experience first hand an airline that does care about its customers. 

So glad I am gone from Chiang Mai. Things will never change and will only get worse each year. Good riddance.

I am looking for a visa assist agency in Buriram to help me do my annual extension of stay based on marriage. (non immigrant  O visa) Thank you for any replies.

I am currently residing  in a village about 30 kilometers from Nang Rong and about 60-100 kilometers from Buriram and Korat. I am looking to find a good dentist who specializes in implants and or a good dentist in the above -mentioned locations. Ideally he or she would be able to speak decent english. I think i will be needing some major dental work due to an accident and any referral(s) would be appreciated.  Thank you.

We will be staying in Prachuap Khiri Khan for about 6-7 weeks and would like to find a good decently priced dentist who speaks english. If one is not available in the Prachuap Khiri Khan area then I guess the next best thing would be in the Hua Hin area. If someone can recommend a dentist I would be most appreciative.    Thank you.

Now that Thailand will be getting the astra zeneca vaccine I am wondering if anyone knows why the efficacy as reported was between 62 and 90 % effective. Both Pfizer and Moderna's efficacy is 95% but I realize that due to the extremely cold refrigeration that is needed to preserve the integrity of these vaccines they would not be practical for Thailand. i understand that there was some sort of issue during the testing of the astra zeneca vaccine which might have caused the high variance of efficacy of this vaccine. If anyone knows any of the details of this I would appreciate reading about it. I am hoping that if their was a problem with the initial testing of the astra zeneca vaccine that it was corrected and that the efficacy of the astra zeneca will not have such a high variance in effectiveness in fighting the virus. It would be nice but probably asking for too much for the astra zeneca vaccination to also be in the 95% effectiveness range like Pfizer and Moderna's is.  Lastly I realize, unlike Pfizer and Moderna's vaccinations using new technology in producing their vaccines, Astra Zeneca used the more conventional approach utilizing a dead virus in producing their vaccine.  Does anyone know if the method used by Astra Zeneca is as effective as the new technologies used by Pfizer and Moderna in developing their vaccines Any clarification or  info would be most appreciated.

Being the furthest thing from an expert I am concerned nevertheless in so far as my understanding is that viruses are known to mutate so I am wondering what could happen if the corona virus mutates.  Would it necessitate another vaccine shot being required or necessitate a modification of the current vaccines coming to market?  

Chiang Mai definitely has a  lot going for it but the game changer for me was the horrific and toxic smoke that envelops Chiang Mai for 4-5 months each year. There are many days during this period of time when Chiang Maii has the worst air in the world. No place is worth dying for and breathing that smoke for those many months will surely lessen and ruin your health over time. Also, pre-corona virus all the songtaews and tuk-tuks scurrying around definitely didn't help  matters either. Lastly, I surely was not going to do evidently many folks do is become captive in their condos or houses with the air purifier and a/c running. To me that is no way to live life to become captive and a prisoner in one's abode.

The full moon party will be back in full force once Thailand opens up again because money is king here.It will be the greed factor rearing its ugly head again because undoubtedly the powers to be on the island were raking in huge amounts of money during the full moon parties and will never give up this lucrative cash cow. Who cares about the environmental impact and all the pollution, its all about greed and money.

210,000+ dead people would disagree.                                                                                                                 Only if you believe the disingenuous media who spew lies. Per the CDC 94% of these deaths were due to co-morbities associated with these mostly elderly individuals.

I am confused about sending my absentee ballot back to the US. You need 2 envelopes. I am supposed to mail an envelope to the US Consulate. The second envelope, which you are suppose to put inside the 1st envelope addressed to the US Consulate, is to be addressed to your local state election office and you enclose your ballot inside. Where I am confused is the 2nd envelope needs to be postage paid or have sufficient US postage to be delivered to your local election office from the US sorting facility. If the mail is going by courier from the US consulate to the US sorting facility, how much postage is needed on the envelope with your absentee ballot in it in order for it to be sent to your local state election office?

     When I went to the Thai Post Office they quoted me a price pf 880 baht for an envelope to be mailed to the US and they said that is the only way. Can i go to the thai post office and just pay for postage paid or the correct amount that is needed for the envelope with my absentee ballot to be sent from the US sorting facility to my  local election office  in the US. What would that cost be and can you buy it to have it put on the envelope at the Thai Post Office?  I am very confused and maybe someone can straighten me out on this matter.

LOL Cause I am a nice guy and try to be diplomatic but I am afraid you are correct in your previous statement. Staying hunkered down and captive in your condo for 4-5 months each burning season with your a/c and air quality purifier running is not my idea of how one should be spending their retirement years. It is pathetic how many folks do that to remain in chiang mai.

As much as I feel for the good hardworking folks in chiang mai I SURE don't miss the constant black and putrid smoke pouring out of the back of the countless songtaews plying their trade. I also don't miss the acrid foul smelling smoke spewing from the countless tuk-tuks scurrying around chiang mai. I also DON'T MISS the 4-5 months with the totally out of control burning of the agriculture fields that envelopes chiang mai and the resultant toxic and poisonous haze and smoke which chokes the citizenry of chiang mai during this time. Nothing is being done and each year the problem gets worse. It is a pity because chiang mai has many endearing qualities but it is not worth ruining your health by living there and breathing in all the toxic smoke. 

Jessi- Thank you for your valuable input. There truly are great folks on Thai visa forum and I really feel that we have each others backs as we go through life. It is great to have a resource one can go to for info or input and I have received a great deal of valuable info and advice over the years. For this I am deeply appreciative to all the great posters who take the time to post.

I am having problems with my neck and would like to buy a Tens machine. I went on Lazada and there are many for sale.  I was wondering if anyone has any knowledge about the Tens machine or has had any experience using one. I am looking to buy one and if someone has used one which is listed on Lazada I  would appreciate a recommendation. A couple of years ago I went to a pharmacy in Chiang Mai and they had 1 in the store and were asking 3000 baht for it. Most of the Tens machines on Lazada are listed for sale at considerably less. Thanks for any input or recommendations. 

To the poster who said that most Americans will eventually take the vaccine I beg to differ especially if they have used aborted fetal tissue in the production of the vaccine. Once word gets out about this millions of Americans will not take the vaccine. Also millions of Americans don't trust Bill Gates and his agenda.

 Warren Buffet does not  like Crypto currencies and Jim Rogers has stated that he doesn't like crypto currencies because he is of the belief that Governments will have their own crypto currencies available for the general public. He goes on to say since they basically have the control of the populace they will eventually not let entities like bitcoin remain since they will used to circumvent governmental control. He says bitcoin and the like will eventually go to zero and will cease to exist as governments introduce their own crypto currencies approved for public useage. 

     I  would like to get involved in crypto currencies at some point since I think the handwriting is on the wall but think it is a <deleted> shoot at this juncture and still very risky as we transition away from fiat currency and governments introduce their own crypto currencies.