fittobethaied

One would think that at least one of those young men passing by on foot would have been kind enough to walk across the street and help the old lady to cross; but no, it's everyone for themselves around Thailand. Me me me me me.....the land of Me! I seriously doubt that any of those boys went to bed that night thinking they had blood on their hands for their lack of concern for the old lady. What a joke!

God gave you a conscience for decisions like this. If it is bothering you, then pay close attention to it. 

James 4:17.....Therefore to him that knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin.

The best course of action is to always tell the truth. Just go throw yourself on the mercy of the retailer's return department, and I'm sure they will understand and cut you some slack. Try it! You'll be pleasantly surprised what will happen when you practice righteousness.

I'm with Sheryl and Startmeup on this one, namely the hypoglycemia aspect. I had this condition for years, and I could never put my finger on it until someone schooled me on low blood sugar. Get a fasting glucose test at the government hospital for 60 baht, and also get the HbA1c to look at her score over a three-month period. If there's even a hint that she is having hypoglycemia, then buy a home blood glucose testing kit and keep an eye on it. I do that regularly, but when I wake up and feel those symptoms, I can already tell my sugar is low. I take a tablespoon of honey or drink 4 oz of soda pop (Sprite since it's caffeine free). I also get symptoms in the likeness of hypoglycemia if I drink anything with caffeine in it, so experiment with that as well and keep her away from that morning coffee while you investigate it. I used to get up and drink 2-3 cups of coffee with no breakfast, and by 10AM I was a basket case. I stopped the coffee and started eating something light for breakfast, and the symptoms disappeared. Good luck! Take care of your women. If she ain't happy, ain't nobody in the house happy.

I lived in Makati, the financial district of Manila, for 11 years back in the late 70's, early 80's. I loved the cosmopolitan lifestyle, and the club scene back in those days was outstanding. The red-light districts of Makati and Manila were very accessible and convenient, and being in my 30's, it was the best time of my life. Most everyone spoke English, and I had a secretary, maid, cook and driver, and their wages were next to nothing. The high-rise living in the heart of the city was very affordable, and the ladies were everywhere. I was like a kid in a candy shop! I can't speak for the rural areas because that is not my thing. Resorts along the seacoast are easily accessible and plentiful. If I were you OP, I would take a 2-week vacation and just explore before settling on one place with no knowledge of all the options available to you. Good luck, and God speed!

I lived in Makati, the financial district of Manila, for 11 years back in the late 70's, early 80's. I loved the cosmopolitan lifestyle, and the club scene back in those days was outstanding. The red-light districts of Makati and Manila were very accessible and convenient, and being in my 30's, it was the best time of my life. Most everyone spoke English, and I had a secretary, maid, cook and driver, and their wages were next to nothing. The high-rise living in the heart of the city was very affordable, and the ladies were everywhere. I was like a kid in a candy shop! I can't speak for the rural areas because that is not my thing. Resorts along the seacoast are easily accessible and plentiful. If I were you OP, I would take a 2-week vacation and just explore before settling on one place with no knowledge of all the options available to you. Good luck, and God speed!

I lived in Makati, the financial district of Manila, for 11 years back in the late 70's, early 80's. I loved the cosmopolitan lifestyle, and the club scene back in those days was outstanding. The red-light districts of Makati and Manila were very accessible and convenient, and being in my 30's, it was the best time of my life. Most everyone spoke English, and I had a secretary, maid, cook and driver, and their wages were next to nothing. The high-rise living in the heart of the city was very affordable, and the ladies were everywhere. I was like a kid in a candy shop! I can't speak for the rural areas because that is not my thing. Resorts along the seacoast are easily accessible and plentiful. If I were you OP, I would take a 2-week vacation and just explore before settling on one place with no knowledge of all the options available to you. Good luck, and God speed!

I lived in Makati, the financial district of Manila, for 11 years back in the late 70's, early 80's. I loved the cosmopolitan lifestyle, and the club scene back in those days was outstanding. The red-light districts of Makati and Manila were very accessible and convenient, and being in my 30's, it was the best time of my life. Most everyone spoke English, and I had a secretary, maid, cook and driver, and their wages were next to nothing. The high-rise living in the heart of the city was very affordable, and the ladies were everywhere. I was like a kid in a candy shop! I can't speak for the rural areas because that is not my thing. Resorts along the seacoast are easily accessible and plentiful. If I were you OP, I would take a 2-week vacation and just explore before settling on one place with no knowledge of all the options available to you. Good luck, and God speed!

I lived in Makati, the financial district of Manila, for 11 years back in the late 70's, early 80's. I loved the cosmopolitan lifestyle, and the club scene back in those days was outstanding. The red-light districts of Makati and Manila were very accessible and convenient, and being in my 30's, it was the best time of my life. Most everyone spoke English, and I had a secretary, maid, cook and driver, and their wages were next to nothing. The high-rise living in the heart of the city was very affordable, and the ladies were everywhere. I was like a kid in a candy shop! I can't speak for the rural areas because that is not my thing. Resorts along the seacoast are easily accessible and plentiful. If I were you OP, I would take a 2-week vacation and just explore before settling on one place with no knowledge of all the options available to you. Good luck, and God speed!

I lived in Makati, the financial district of Manila, for 11 years back in the late 70's, early 80's. I loved the cosmopolitan lifestyle, and the club scene back in those days was outstanding. The red-light districts of Makati and Manila were very accessible and convenient, and being in my 30's, it was the best time of my life. Most everyone spoke English, and I had a secretary, maid, cook and driver, and their wages were next to nothing. The high-rise living in the heart of the city was very affordable, and the ladies were everywhere. I was like a kid in a candy shop! I can't speak for the rural areas because that is not my thing. Resorts along the seacoast are easily accessible and plentiful. If I were you OP, I would take a 2-week vacation and just explore before settling on one place with no knowledge of all the options available to you. Good luck, and God speed!

6 hours ago, JohnnyBD said:

Thank you. Does Bangkok Bank charge 500B incoming wire fee like UOB, SCB, and others? Citibank didn't charge incoming fees, so I could make as many wire xfers as I wanted. Now, I'm going to make larger, but less xfers.

Bangkok Bank charges a maximum of 500B on inbound wire transfers, but if you use Wise.com, there is no charge to your bank account. 

21 hours ago, TheFatOne said:

 

That's actually an extremely good idea.

I'm gonna have a look on Lazada.

Thanks

I carry a bamboo stick that I robbed from an old locally made broom. Just saw off the broom straws and you've got a good defensive tool for both 4 and 2 legged aggressive creatives. 

I have an additional question to add to the OP's initial question. It's important to know exactly when to start those 40K Baht deposits for the 12 consecutive months. My Extension of Stay based on Marriage ends on May 17th, 2025, and I usually make application for the extension 1 month in advance, so April 17th. So, if I started my 40K international transfers in early May of this year and conclude them in early April next year just before I go for my Annual Extension of Stay, I will have made exactly 12 transfers to show at my Extension appointment. WOULD THAT BE CORRECT? If I get it wrong, then I'm screwed!

3 hours ago, Stevemercer said:

My wife fell for (another) scam a few weeks ago.

 

She had booked and paid for a flight for me from Khon Kaen to Bangkok on Thai Smile. This was a connection for a Thai Airway flight I had booked myself.

 

My wife got a call inviting her to join Royal Orchid (Thai Airway frequent flyer) and they said she had to pay a small fee. They appeared to already have her essential details. She gave them her credit/debit card details and emptied her bank account (6,000 Baht).

 

I had to tell her it is free to join the frequent flyer program. She thought membership would allow entry into Thai's airport lounges, but, of course, it does not unless you reach a certain level.

Rule number one: Never allow your wife to have that kind of authority over money in the family. My wife has her own Thai Baht savings account, and she may add money to it out of the personal "salary" that I give her each month, but she would never spend 1 Baht from that account without telling me first. It's called "checks and balances, and there must be some ground rules regarding the spending of money. Most Thai women are just not mentally equipped to deal with these scammers, and they fall for anything. Never give them that much rope or they will certainly hang themselves!

Frankly, I just don't care! My Thai wife has been by my side 24/7 for the past 14 years, so I don't feel the need to bother with learning Thai. If anything ever happened to my wife, I'd be out of this God forsaken place so fast, it would make your head spin. I have lived full time in three countries and could never pick up the languages. Let's face it, some people just don't have a knack for learning other languages, and I'm one of them. I once tried to learn Thai when I first arrived, and it was more trouble than it was worth. After a few months of tutoring, I went for breakfast and ordered hot water "in Thai", and the waitress brought me a dinner salad. I knew right then I was wasting my time. The stress and frustration of it all far outweighs any possible benefits to learning the language.

I have the same problem, and I used the Nasonex for nearly a year with zero results. You'll see videos on YouTube explaining how to administer the spray so that it reaches the polyp, but it just doesn't work. The polyp is way up in the cavity toward the ear, and regardless of where you aim the spray, it cannot turn that corner to reach the polyp, and it simply hits a wall and stops there. I stopped using it, and now it has been over a year and hasn't grown since it was first discovered two years ago. It never bothers me! I have a scope done annually to check on its growth.

I think the answer is simple. The green newbie is an easy target for their scams and tricks. They are all looking to gain something from you. If they know you've been here awhile, then they know you're not an easy target and probably a waste of their energy. Don't ever think it's more complicated than that! Always expect to be "had" and you'll be okay!

This is incorrect! You have been given erroneous information which it typical for bank employees. Yes, you can SWIFT transfer your EUR funds directly into your FCD EUR account without having to do the exchange. They will charge you a maximum fee of 500 Baht to deposit it for you, which will show as a EUR debit on your account. To avoid having to pay that deposit fee as well as perhaps a hefty SWIFT fee from your SIN bank, you can do a SWIFT transfer of your EUR on Wise.com and only pay them a small fee. Again, no deposit fee at Bangkok Bank when using Wise.com.

By suggesting that you convert your EUR to Thai Baht and then back to EUR, they are trying to hook you for a fee to repurchase your EUR. Read the terms of your FCD account and you will see the fee which is charged. I think it's .25 of 1%.

Bangkok Bank has so few FCD customers that the clerks are vastly undereducated on the workings of those types of accounts. Maybe you can talk to a manager, but there's a good chance they won't be up to speed either. Get their brochure on the FCD's, and the terms will all be spelled out for you there. 

I actually had a private hospital in Udon Thani quote me a price by way of email of 100K Baht for the Colonoscopy, and if for some reason I needed to stay extra nights if they ran into problems, the per night price would be 20K Baht. That was a red flag if I have ever seen or heard one! I guarantee you they will be ready to make an excuse to keep the patient for extra nights in a private room, and if they do find a polyp, they will remove it even if it is not necessary, then charge you for an extra surgery. All the while the patient is knocked out and will never know if he has been scammed or not. This kind of diagnostic procedure is a slippery slope at best, and I would avoid it at all costs unless there is some other indication that there is a problem "down there". 

After I turned 50 back in the USA in 1998, my company healthcare program offered a free annual maintenance Colonoscopy. Nobody bothered to tell me that I would have to pay if they found something that had to be snipped. After the test I was told that they found one polyp and removed it, and the insurance company billed me $750 for the surgery. There are many doctors that have made this a racket and are scamming patients right and left. It's a big money maker for them. 

From a Biblical perspective, I submit the following for your consideration:

1 Corinthians 11:3...But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

God has designed a chain of authority within the family, and the man is called to be the spiritual head of his household. That doesn't mean that he lords his authority over his wife, but that all decisions should be a joint effort, but when there is an impasse, the man makes the final call. If the wife is more competent at certain tasks, like bookkeeping for example, then the man can delegate that authority to her, but he should be the overseer of that task.

Just remember that it was Eve who was approached by the Serpent in the Garden of Eden, and he convinced her to disobey God, and she in turn convinced Adam to disobey Him as well. The devil will most always attack the weaker vessel when he comes after your family, so do you really want to give all control to your wife?

I personally take my cue from King Solomon in the Old Testament. He was the richest and wisest man who ever lived, and he made the statement that he had met very few wise men in his life, but he had never met a wise woman. Therefore, when a man gives up his authority, he risks it all. What else would explain why so many farangs lose their fortunes when they turn things over to their Thai wives. So, get a backbone men, and start living your calling in life.   

From my observation, most restaurants in Thailand generally use stock photos that they get off the internet instead of taking photos of actual items which they serve. There seems to be no "truth in advertising" here like in the US. What else would we expect in a country where it is totally acceptable to tell lies. In your case I would have refused to accept that dish unless they threw in the third rib. I recently ordered tacos off a picture menu showing 3, but I was only served 2. When I confronted the owner, his answer was "oh, we just made a change in the menu and haven't had a chance to update our photo". If he was honest, he would have made a note on the menu and alerted me before I ordered. I gave him a tongue lashing and never came back. He never offered to serve me the third taco. Obviously, his conscience wasn't working properly. 

My tinnitus worsens with the continuous use of Ibuprofen after only a few days. When I cease using it, the tinnitus disappears for the most part.