orientalist

However, when I talked to the doc at the clinic she said the vaccine wouldn't help with internal eye infections like uveitis. It WOULD help with an external infection on the skin around the eye and also reduce the pain of post-herpetic neuralgia. She thought Shingrix wouldn't be available here for several years.

I went to the Mediplex branch yesterday for a consultation. Very professional and friendly, though a bit slow as there seemed to be only one doctor there. After the usual vision tests, including a nasolacrimal duct flow test, and an examination of my retina, the doctor quoted 40,000 baht for one eye (monocular) and kind of recommended the blue-light blocking lens. Researching this a little, the jury seems to be out as to the benefits of BL blocking lenses. There is a queue of 3-4 weeks for the op so it'll end up being after New Year for me. Prior to surgery they want me to do what amounts to an annual checkup plus HIV and Hep B tests at a hospital. I suppose this is because they are a clinic rather than a hospital and they don't want any surprises. The consultation and tests cost 1200 baht.

Shingrix is recommended for those who've already had Zostavax so I will do that if/when it becomes available in Thailand.

Anyone had a cataract op at Chulabhorn or Ramathibhodi hospitals in Bangkok? The latter has good doctors but none of the admin or nursing staff speak English and can be unhelpful at times. I am looking for somewhere cheaper than Rutnin, which recently quoted me 80K+ for one eye.

They have been saying that for many months. My virtual card expired in April and I still can't renew it. In the meantime I signed up for the True virtual card mainly for ease of ordering small items from lazada. It's simple if you already have True Wallet.

Yes, sorry, I meant the universal healthcare system. The problem is we don't have a tabien baan where we live. Every member of the family is on a different tabien baan scattered over Bangkok and the nearby provinces. From what you say, upcountry Thais working in Bangkok would have to head back home for anything other than emergency treatment.

Thanks. A very comprehensive article, and it does mention that the vaccination helps protect against zoster-related eye infections. It's weird that a very successful vaccine like Shingrix is used in so few countries, but it doesn't look like that will change anytime soon. So I guess I'm off to the clinic next week.

Anyone had this in Thailand or researched it? I recently had an eye infection (uveitis) likely caused by the chickenpox zoster virus. I assume a shingles jab might help prevent a recurrence although I can't find any info on this. It seems the UK NHS recommends the live-attenuated Zostavax jab but the protection is only 50% for those in their 70s and doesn't last many years. Zostavax was withdrawn from the US market and the 2-shot Shingrix vaccine (protection 90%) took its place. Shingrix is recommended even for those who have had Zostavax. In Thailand the Thai Travel Clinic used to offer Zostavax for 5000 baht but now has a Korean vaccine called Sky Zoster for 3600 baht. It is an "inactivated" vaccine but I can't find any efficacy statistics for it. I just wonder if it is worth it, either for shngles or zoster infection of the eye.

Anyone know how to re-register a Thai's Gold Card social security in a different province. We need to re-register the granddaughter where we live rather than in the province of her tabien baan. Where do we start?

I used the K-Bank virtual debit card for years, mainly for small purchases on Lazada. I liked that you could set your limit to anything including zero to protect yourself from major fraud. The purchase record appeared in the statement of my K-Bank savings account. The service seems to be suspended now pending a relaunch. The True virtual debit card (MC) is set up to take money from your True wallet so you have to keep topping up the wallet. That's an extra hassle for me. The great advantage of True Wallet is that you can link it to your credit cards so that purchases from 7-11 show up on your monthly bill. But other vendors like Makro and Lazada will reject the transaction unless the amount is present in cash in the wallet. I guess they don't want to pay the 3% commission.

I had a Kbank ATM outside a Kbank branch eat my card and display an error message last weekend when I was not in my home province. This is the first time it happened to me in 40 years. They could not simply open the machine and give me my card back. Instead they got onto their call centre and reported the problem and ID of the machine. Then they handed the phone to me and I was asked some security questions. They said they had to cancel the card and issue a new one. I said OK but I would not pay anything. So the process is I have to take my passport and pass book to any branch to get a new card. The 50-baht fee will be waived. I will pay the new 200-baht annual fee, but they will refund the pro rata amount of the already paid annual fee. All fair but a bit inconvenient if I didn't have other cards and cardless withdrawal as backup options. Cardless withdrawal is a bit slow but I think I'll use it in future.

The end to this ridiculous story is after a day of tears and recriminations I sent a photo of the clasp to the MBK repair shop and they said they could fix it. Then the same day we were walking past some random gold shop at Imperial Samrong 1st floor and we saw a whole row of clasps. They had one the standard size for a 50-satang necklace and after trading the old one in for a new one the total cost was 232 baht.

Very likely "Jewelry Clinic" on the 3rd floor. I found their details. many thanks.

Do you recall which floor or which shop? I've been told that gold repair shops as opposed to gold sellers will repair a clasp, but I guess in Bangkok that would mean a trip to Chinatown.

By ornamental gold I meant 23K gold jewelry as opposed to gold bullion. The necklace is a status symbol for the gf so she would never agree to a "fake" clasp. As someone mentioned, Thais aren't really sentimental about possessions, and even less about the possessions of others.

Their explanation was that any new clasp would have to make up the original weight of the necklace but I still don't see why they can't make a custom clasp that makes up the weight. And what do they do with a beautiful and unique necklace that is traded in - melt it down and start again?

I have a gold necklace (sentimental value) that the gf wears. The big clasp for pendants has broken and a bit of it is missing. The gold shop we went to today said nobody sells those clasps and they can't make one. Doesn't sound right to me. They wanted us to trade our necklace in for a new necklace with clasp and pay 1,500 baht. Anyone know of a Bangkok shop where I could just change the clasp or have one made?

I have astigmatism and have read there are special - more expensive - "toric" cataract implants for this. Anyone had these inserted?

My own experience of Rutnin over 20 years has been excellent with the exception of a basic vision test which (a few yeatrs ago) I found too perfunctory and nowhere near the standard you find at Boots or Specsavers in the UK or at Bumrungrad. All the specialists I have seen have been excellent.

Anyone had a cataract op done on social security here? I am told i would qualify at least for one eye but my 20-year experience with prakan sangkom has left me unimpressed with the quality of service. Although I live in Bangkok I am registered with a small hospital in Samut Prakarn that does not have an opthalmology dept, so I assume I'd be referred somewhere else in that province and have no say in the matter. Second option would be a reasonably priced op in Bangkok. Rutnin quoted me 80k+ so that is out. I could have waited another year or two but a recent bout of uveitis treated with steroid drops has made the cataracts much worse in both eyes.

Yeah, I pointed out this was pretty pathetic for a Seniors account but they replied that is is tax-free - as if saving the 15% tax made it a winner. I claim back all tax from fixed deposits anyway, so it's not an advantage for me. My biggest concern these days is not to get caught with all my money stuck in fixed deposits, which once happened to me. The Thanachart no-book account (my first no-book a/c) was great but it disappeared in the takeover by TMB. Then I opened a no-tax savings account with Krungsri, which works well and has a book but is now down to 0.90%. So I am happy I could eventually get the no-book account with SCB.

I didn't have too much trouble getting approved since they accepted my PR status, but initially they registered the accounts with my pink card, then changed it to passport 2 weeks later, then changed it again to pink card when I was unable to move the app to a new phone. Shambolic, really. But CIMB was only useful for decent interest rates a few years ago. They didn't have many branches and they now have no ATM or other machines at all. They told me to use other banks' ATMs. Lol.

I forced my card on them and they did enter it into their computer system during the one hour it took to set up my savings and EZ accounts. Two sets of copies of every page in my passport and alien's book, all signed. So much for Thailand 4.0! The app isn't so well-behaved on my Android 8.0 phone but I can usually get it to load on the second attempt. I regret now that I renewed my Senior account at CIMB. 2-3 years ago the interest was good and no tax is withheld, but now it is down to 0.7%. However, if I withdraw the funds I lose my Preferred status and don't get to deal with the hotties in the VIP area. Also, I'd like to keep my money spread around as many banks as possible.

Well, I went to the Terminal 21 branch and after a bit of confusion ("Do you have an address in Thailand? Do you have a Thai phone number?") they just photocopied everything I had and sent it to HQ for approval. They will call me in 3 business days. All fairly painless and I am in no particular hurry. This time I spoke only English and was dressed pretty much like a tourist, so I guess that's why they were confused initially.

Regarding the waiving of withholding tax for these "tax-free" accounts, it seems foreigners must prove they pay or are liable for tax in Thailand. For us that means showing them a Thai tax card. My particular problem is that I got my first tax ID 40 years ago when they were only 10 digits. I still have that Tax card. When they changed the IDs to be the same as the Thai ID card 13-digit number, they allocated me a new 13-digit ID but didn't send me a new card. Meanwhile, I got PR and a new Thai ID which is different from the tax ID. Nothing matches. Krungsri accepted my annual tax receipt as proof of Tax ID with 13-digit number, but I really need to get the tax ID changed to my tabien baan ID.