simon43

I notice Starbucks don't sell Civet Poop coffee, even though their other coffees taste like sh*t....... When I lived in Laos, many places around Luang Prabang sold this coffee. For some reason, drinking coffee made from coffee cherry stones that have been pooped out by a civet cat never really appealed to me! ????

Not the same as bipolar...

It's not just Thailand that has had problems with radioactive substances. There is the fascinating story of the US boy scout who tried to build a breeder reactor in his garden shed, using radioactive material sourced from hundreds of old smoke alarms. Here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0QMeTjcJDA&t=1s

I resent that remark, comrade!

[quote] ... I do wonder how they manage to make a profit, but i suppose they must, seems a strange business model. [/quote] Their business model seems to be to charge a fortune for something that really doesn't resemble coffee at all... Give me a Lao coffee from the Bolaven Plateau any day ????

I'm fortunate in that my body size is not 'big' - I weigh 65Kg. So jogging 5km every day is no problem ????

Even if you come down with prostate cancer, usually your life can continue as normal for many years. Many older men die with prostate cancer, but not FROM prostate cancer.

I'm back in the UK with suspected prostate cancer, had an MRI in Bangkok in December, insurance company refused to pay out, so back to the UK for NHS final diagnosis and treatment/surgery. Luckily, the cancer is still within my prostate, so a 'cure' should be possible. However, we all have an "end-by" date. Even if the cancer returns in later years, the medical stats suggest that I should have perhaps another 20 years which is fine for me. But this serious illness has made me reconsider my plans for after surgery/treatment. I could sit on a beach somewhere and relax. That's not for me! I prefer to use my time, whether it be 5 years or 20 years to help others, particularly as regards education in developing countries. And if my time is near, then I have no plans to suffer. It will be party time with a bottle of helium gas!!

Well, although Sheryl will no doubt disagree with me, I'd say that you "dodged a bullet" by not taking out insurance with April International. Because I feel strongly that I never mislead this company when I completed their application form, I have submitted a formal complaint to the insurance ombudsman in France, with a claim for financial damages. I'll let all know what the outcome is ????

Based on my own experience of April Insurance (France) completely cancelling my insurance cover after I made a pre-authorisation claim for a prostate cancer biopsy, I would say that if you do apply for cover from this company, that you declare every absolutely minor injury or illness that has occurred in your lifetime! (ingrowing toenail, botox injections, bunions etc etc). April rejected my claim because I had failed to declare an unrelated condition (slight BPH), even though that condition had never been formally diagnosed by any doctor..... Prior to these events, I had confidence that insurance companies would not try to 'wriggle' out of their responsibilities by citing some totally unrelated clause in their fine print. As a result, I wasted thousands of $ paying April for several years when I could have been saving that money instead. It's very unlikely that I will take out health insurance in the future because now I simply do not trust any insurance company. I'll save my $ and self-insure and hope for the best.

[quote] ... Just like cobolt which is not radioactive until an electron is added ... [/quote] Electron??? Check your text-book again ????

Don't let them in Athens hear you talking like that - Crete is part of Greece ????

Don't let them in Athens hear you talking like that - Crete is part of Greece ????

The volunteer rescue workers always have - for the most part they were established by the Thai-Chinese community.

One reason why I started to think about my own mortality occurred one week before I travelled to the UK for prostate cancer diagnosis/treatment. I never mentioned this event on this forum but did cover it in detail on the 'wooden' forum. I was stung on the back of my neck by a box jellyfish on Koh Phangan. I was utterly convinced that I was going to die in the next 10 minutes because: - Most people die from these stings and the last person to be stung by a box jellyfish on Koh Phangan died within 10 minutes. - All the Thais in the beach restaurant where I collapsed were also convinced that I was about to die as I writhed about on the floor while they rubbed vinegar into me, because I heard them saying in Thai 'look at him, he will be dead in a few minutes' and - I felt that I WAS dying as I lay on the ground repeating the mantra 'I do not want to die today'. It was an absolutely terrifying experience. I was asked if I had medical insurance. Well, not right now because those bastards at April International Insurance had cancelled it!! So I was taken to the government hospital where there was no competent doctor, no medication and nothing that anyone could do except wait for me to either live or die. Fortunately I lived ???? Anyway, this is the reason for my consideration of serious ailments that can be avoided. I should be able to avoid box jellyfish if I don't swim in seas where they are found. So that risk is eliminated, now what about the others!

Well not 'remote' (as in the North Pole). Think rural, in a village.

Same here. All my mates are dead from alcoholism, cancer, motorbike accidents, diabetes and suicide! [quote] ..and get vaccinated against pneumonia [/quote] Since returning to the UK and registering with the NHS I have been offered a free colon cancer test (waiting for the result), free Covid booster, free flu shot and free pneumonia shot ???? [quote] I guess your future health lies in the hands of your health insurance company. [/quote] Well I thought it did, but my health insurance company had other ideas...!

I forgot - diabetes is also a major cause of death...

Some will have read my post about my ongoing prostate cancer diagnosis and possible treatment. This situation has really made me think long and hard about where I live in the future (ie in a city or rural location, regardless of the country), and what actions I can take to ensure that I am unlikely to suffer a major illness or accident. I checked the data about what illnesses or causes of death are the most common for men aged 60+. (This also depends on what country you live in, lifestyle etc etc) Heart attack Stroke Cancer Lung diseases Diabetes Pneumonia Kidney disease Alzheimer's disease Accidents/suicide etc Out of these ailments only heart attack, stroke and accidents are sudden-onset ailments, (well, suicide as well, but unless you're suffering from severe depression or mental illness, then I'll discount this as a likely cause of death). So if one is living in a rural area, far from a decent hospital, all the other ailments may give you time to travel to a suitable hospital for treatment etc. I'm thinking how one can avoid sudden-onset, life-threatening illnesses or accidents. Add into the pot detached retinas, appendicitus as urgent ailments that need one to quickly travel to a suitable hospital. So apart from accidents (slip in the shower, have a motorbike accident, cut your leg off with the power saw in the garden etc), it looks like only stroke and heart attacks are the likely sudden-onset illnesses, (unless you know better - please comment!) I took an online survey as to the likelyhood of me having a stroke or HA, based on my lifestyle and my risk was minimal ???? I have no idea what causes appendicitus (blockage?), so I'm not sure how to be proactive to avoid that. Accidents? Hold onto things in the bathroom, avoid slippery tiled floors, wear a crash helmet when riding a motorbike (and maybe in the bathroom as well!!), don't ride drunk, don't pick fights with anyone etc You can't protect yourself from all the health risks in life, but what other actions can one take? I ask because I need to consider whether living in remote locations is a sensible option for me in the future, or whether I should ;lve within striking distance of a decent hospital. Please feel free to add your own advice and any other (realistic) health risks that might befall the older person.

I've also never heard of this word ???? But I can't understand why a life-scare (cancer) should cause you to shun 'toxic' people. IMHO, you should be shunning such people anyway regardless of a sudden health care.

They can't access my Wise account - I have 2-step authorisation in place and the mobile phone is always in my possession.

Just ask for 'dork boon' (actually 'bpoon'), which means drill bit for concrete. Or 'dork sawan boon' ) (power drill bit for concrete).

Update: Wise has notified Mastercard/Visa of these fraudulent transactions and has fully refunded my funds ???? They have offered to send a new card by a more secure means (DHL), but I'll wait to see if the thief can be identified (if it's the slimy youth at my hotel, then he will no doubt sign for the DHL package etc). But I can certainly freeze the card before it is sent so that no online transactions can be made.

Nope, I think it's true, judging by how most other people are paying! I've been away for so many years that I had to ask the Sainsbury staff to show me how to use the self-scanning check-out tills....

Er ... I pay cash for everything! (I use ATM cards in the UK/Thailand) to withdraw cash to pay for whatever. I never use these cards to buy anything except for plane tickets etc.