moonseeker

I have ZERO car experience and a friend (handicapped/wheelchair) has just arrived. He wants to buy a used CR-V, as it seem to be ideal to get on/in with his wheelchair.

Any advise where to buy? He seems to think Bangkok is cheaper for the same thing than Pattaya. He is looking to spend between 400-500K.. I hope we can get some hints to help him find a "healthy" car that will serve him well for a while. Thank you to everybody. MS>

Interested if others have experienced the same? Pangasius getting like slimy jelly in the center, even if pan-fried well done. Have found several studies describing exactly this problem which seems to have developed over the last couple of years. 2 companies (importers) i contacted her in Thailand admit to quality issues with some batches. Certainly Pangasius is not a quality fish to begin with, not even nutritional wise. It is a very cheap fish, that is certainly part of the success. No comparison to a wild caught sea fish. So, anybody with same experience. Tried various sizes, importers and still the same. Does not matter if "fresh" or frozen. Thanks. MS>

Thank you all for the constructive and informative answers. Have a great week. MS>

Anybody with experience of "Fixed-Deposit", long-term. Can rates be negotiated somewhat at different banks, especially for higher amounts? What bank would you choose? Is the deposit Government insured? Are there any taxes that get deducted from the paid return/interest? Sorry, I have very limited banking experience here, but am selling a couple of condos and am not yet sure if I should keep the funds in Thailand (I live here) or re-repatriate.Yes, of course I will stop by the maon banks this week and get all info, but TV is such a great place to get educated and informed beforehand. Thank you. MS>

Anybody been there recently, maybe living there? Are the beaches affected still? Would like to do a weekend trip with friends, but would love to hear about the situation first from somebody who knows first hand. Thank you very much. MS>

Heading to Makro tomorrow. Thank you for the great info from everybody. MS>

Thank you all. MS>

Hi there:

Any body knows of an alternative to Pangasius in a similar price range? Recently Pangasius becomes more and more inedible, "doped" with stabilizers and making the fish watery, tasteless and gel-like. Thank you. MS>

Pib Thanks for the reply. TOT are trying to sell me fibre optic, 20 mb at twice what I am paying now. Given as correct what you are saying I would be wasting my money.

Hi Lujanit

Have you tried upgrading your regular package? The low end packagers of all providers are declared suitable for surfing within Thailand/National only and are poor internationally.

I have several fiber optic lines / packages from BBB & TOT and am quite pleased. Here the USA results on a 30-MB line:

Last Result:

Download Speed: 32361 kbps (4045.1 KB/sec transfer rate)

Upload Speed: 2693 kbps (336.6 KB/sec transfer rate)

Latency: 9 ms

9/21/2013 8:52:14 AM

Need professional company to clean out (not just pump) large sewage tank on my property. City Hall declined (or gave up), as this is a big job which involves manually emptying or loosening up debris with high pressure and pumping out. Need real company, not just another little backyard company with basic equipment.

Thank you all. MS>

Any help with choosing a hearing aid very much appreciated. What a nightmare getting old......:-) MS>

Thank you to everybody. Indeed a very difficult subject and who tells me public hospitals here in Thailand are good or sufficient, have hardly had any serious issues, such as major trauma, kidney failure/dialysis/cancer/heart surgery or similar experienced or witnessed. I have seen and accompanied several such cases and I would never submit myself to the mercy of a public hospital. I have seen many good deeds in public hospitals, but for the real thing I would prefer Bangkok General, Bumrungrad, Wattanasot or just fly Downunder or back to Europe. If you don't believe me, spend a day watching "the traffic" at the Chonburi cancer hospital. Best of luck and health to all. MS>

Just out of interest, have any of you guys who rely on savings ever enquired into the cost of cancer treatment. It would be interesting to know how your nest eggs measure up to whatever the figure might be.

Well, I can answer this clearly in a case study. A friend, against my advise, cancelled his top of the line Danish Health coverage @ 14'000 US$/yr. at age 67 and started putting his Premiums in a savings account. With 69 he collapsed at the pool, trouble breathing. Heavy smoker all his life. His lungs were full of fluids and he stayed in the BPH ICU on the lung machine for about 60 days until taken off, then he had to remove a large cancer growth in his lower trachea, just where it connects to the lung, done in a government hospital in Bangkok, but paid to the Professor privately. He then got chemo for his lung cancer and was in and out of BPH for 6 months until he died a miserable death. His entire savings of 7.2 Mio were gone by then! Bad luck, but certainly a very bad decision to stop being properly insured at that old age. Forgot to say, he also had taken out one of these very cheap international insurances, which needed up paying 8000 $ towards the cost after long arguments, as they determined the cancer had been growing way before he got this "emergency insurance" Proper & up to date Chemo is very hard to come by in Thailand, certainly not in a Public Hospital i.e. Chonburi and often more expensive than in Europe. MS>

Presently insured with a large International Group (DKV), but Premiums are killing me. Anybody with an idea for a reasonable insurance, international, around 8000 US$/max. per year. THX MS>

Anybody knows of a shop that does custom shower-cabins to replace existing one. Regular Alu-shop will not do, as they don't have the profile to build in the given situation. Tried this route already. THX. MS>

Very good place, indeed. Pity it is not in Pattaya. Well worth the trip for a special occasion. MS>

I fully agree with the OP, American Long Grain rice has a totally different texture to Thai Jasmine rice and therefore goes better with some dishes. Also I wouldn't use Thai rice with Indian food, I would buy basmati . Friendship does have quite a selection of rices but haven't looked for Uncle Bens.

THX. to all. Just testing the Carrefour Brand Long Grain "Casino" (BIG C/Klang) in the foreign section. 4 x 2 portions, cooking for 10 minutes, 75 Baht only. Delicious with a nice Hungarian goulash or meatballs on an Italian tomato sauce. THX. again. MS>

Pascals....Brunos....

Sorry, but I don't understand: if there is one thing they do well in this part of the world, it is rice. Why would you want to buy Uncle Ben's?

I want to find "parboiled rice", which I understand is also produced in Thailand. I am actually not much fan of the average quality rice out of the steamers (oftenhours....) often very tasteless and deprived of many nutrients.

Actually there is some very good info on Rice, Uncle Ben's, Parboiled on the www. and I will update if I find what I am looking for. THX. MS>

Thank you. Parboiled "Uncle Ben's" is a different consistency. We call it "dry rice". Goes well with Goulash etc. Thanks. Will check in supermarket tomorrow. MS>

Anybody has some info on where to buy parboiled rice? Brand? Thank you very kindly. MS>

SOPHON Cable has it. MS>

No left turn, unless signed out. A sample on Sukhumvit/Theprasit intersection going towards Bangkok. Paid a couple of times and a nice FPV translated my question @ Soi 9 and we got this clear answer. Now I am the only one stopping, while most pass me and...sometimes get caught....:-) MS>

Wow....Thank you all guys....You and TV are great!!! Have a nice evening. MS>

theres a big fishing tackle shop on Siam country club

near to Mabrachan lake

Thanks Blackman. Great info. I am not familiar with the dark-side. Could you get me some more location details please. Thank you so much for your efforts. MS>