clokwise

I'm renewing mine next week, this is helpful info. "DLT Online Computer Test Certificate" is new to me... what is that? How do you get it?

I didn't want to post another of those "Where can I find X" posts, but I'm genuinely stumped. I need to find a source of bacteriostatic water in Chiang Mai. It's commonly used in by doctors or hospitals to reconstitute medicines. It's not the same as sterile water. Hoping this is obvious to someone here because every pharmacy I've visited so far has no idea what this is, let alone stocks it. Can't find it for sale locally online either apart from a very suss body-building website. Mods... I'd have posted this in the Health forum but it's pretty dead there, and I would prefer to find a source in Chiang Mai, although online is acceptable if nothing locally.

These idiotic changes won't affect the scam my wife and I fell into earlier this week. We just returned to Thailand and passed our PCR tests overseas, but on arrival in BKK my wife "failed" her test and was told she had "dead covid" in the test results (she had had COVID in August last year) , therefore she must be locked up for 10 days. We said fine whatever, we'll just fly home to Chiang Mai and she can stay at home there. They said, no, we must accompany her to her home, and since she doesn't live in BKK she must stay in the hotel for another 10 days. Oddly, I was free to go, however. After some lengthy and heated conversations, were were allowed to leave because the hotel booking was in my name, not my wife's name, therefore she was technically never staying there - we were advised to not talk publicly about her "early release" LOL. I'm not a conspiracy kinda person, but I really wonder what kind of scam they are trying to pull.

I'm a uber power user - I've worked with computers every day, for nearly 40 years (!) now. I contributed to some of the core Linux code when it was still beta. I developed websites before anyone even heard of "WWW". I've developed cross assemblers, written countless apps, installed petabyte NAS arrays in data centers, mined cryptocurrencies, and god knows what else. I used Windows starting from v1.0 (although not primarily until v3.11). I bought a Macbook about 9 years ago as I needed to work with an app only available on Mac hardware. I had rarely ever touched a Mac before then. For sure I was pretty set in my ways with Windows UI, but after very short period I was fully up to speed. Would I recommend a Macbook? Absolutely. Especially the new ones, they are insanely fast and it will likely be more than enough for you literally until you die. If you have legacy Windows apps you still want to use, you will find Wine or Parallels on Macs will run 99% of them. A notable exception are video games, I personally run a hardware optimized Windows box just for games. I'm pretty agnostic about computers, but I will say I absolutely prefer OSX over Windows, which feels quaint and comfortable because it hasn't really changed much in 30 years. And I also prefer Apple hardware over Windows hardware - my Apple hardware is some of the most rugged and longest lasting hardware I've ever bought, I can't even recall how many Windows machines I've owned. I just traded in my iPhone for a Pixel, so I'm no Apple fan boy either. Don't pay attention to the Apple bashers. They are loud but they rarely offer any constructive arguments why they hate Apple - they just DO, and they will yell and scream to try to ensure you too stay with Windows - no doubt you will probably see someone quoting me below with their list of "Why Apple Sucks", which just proves my point. Some others here have presented very reasonable arguments for Apple so I won't repeat it. Best of luck!

Google Voice is an excellent free option. If you have a Google or Gmail account you can easily get a number assigned to it. There is one catch (if you are currently not in the USA), on initial setup it will insist on sending a confirmation SMS to your existing USA #. If you don't have one, you will need to find a friend or family member to volunteer to receive the verification code on their US phone, then they can tell you the number and you type it in here and you're done. Google will never need that number again, it's just a one-time thing, presumably to prevent abuse. I've had my Google Voice number for 15 years and it is my primary contact number. It rings on my phone here in Thailand or wherever in the world I may be, plus I get free calls and SMS, in and out, to the USA.

I have zero experience with western women, I've only ever dated Asian women, this is primarily because I've lived almost my entire adult life in Asia. That said, I also have never had any interest in western women, for many of the same reasons stated by others here, and I just don't find them physically attractive whatsoever. As for monogamy, my lovely Thai wife of 20 years has a gik, and she allows me to play around as well. We're very honest with each other about it, and frankly, opening up our marriage has saved it and made it stronger than ever.

I'm definitely no expert on Thailand travel logistics. Perhaps someone else has more reliable info. But best I can tell there are two issues: The only way you are allowed to transfer at BKK is if your domestic flight is booked on the same ticket as your int'l flight. So unless you are also flying into BKK on AirAsia, I suspect you'll encounter this issue since AirAsia doesn't codeshare with other airlines. But also, you are supposedly only allowed transit to Samui and Phuket via BKK at this time. Other destinations will require a one-day stay in BKK. I sure wish and hope this is incorrect, I'm also headed back to BKK in March and as it's massively inconvenient for me as well.

So are tourists no longer required to have travel insurance from April 1? And what if they have an accident here, will the really be covered in full? If that is really the case, this is huge - "Come to Thailand and crash your scooter - we got you covered! Amazing Thailand." This is great PR and I would fully support that. No more GoFundMe campaigns from careless backpackers. What about Thai people returning from an overseas trip? Are they also subject to this tax? I've definitely not read anything saying they are exempt. Same goes for long-term foreign residents. We live here, we pay taxes, we have health insurance already. From information I read when this tax was first announced, the "tourism infrastructure" portion of the fee was going to be mostly allocated to the private sector. What could possibly go wrong with that idea?

This is the way.

Wouldn't touch one of those with a 10' pole. For one thing, just google "sandisk secureaccess hack". Also, it's proprietary hardware which could literally just stop working at any time, for no obvious reason, and you'd have absolutely no way to repair it.

Hey man, I was not trying to be condescending or sarcastic. I was not making assumptions, merely trying to give you the simplest solution, which in circumstances like yours really is the best. What you want is something which is platform agnostic so that it can be forgotten about but will still be easy to deal with when the time comes. Zip passwords have been around for 30+ years and are super effective at stopping a random passerby from seeing your data, yet simple enough for anyone to open with the correct password. I'm glad you found a solution you feel comfortable with and best of luck.

You need to consider the circumstances your wife may find herself in should you pass. She's likely to be very stressed. Unless she is highly competent at computer stuff, you would be best off using the most simple method possible to secure your data. Use simple zip encryption to encrypt the files (as other have stated above) which will ensure that she doesn't need any special knowledge or tools to access your data. Give her the USB and walk her through the steps. Maybe even write them down as well. Ensure she can do all the steps by herself. I'd also suggest multiple copies of the USB, or rather, the data on the USB. Keep the USB in a safe. Keep another copy of the zip file in her email or on her computer desktop. Maybe also send a copy to a trusted friend or family member. As for the password, if you don't trust her to remember it (or if you just don't trust her!), you should share it with friends or family members. Don't over complicate things!

In Chiang Mai these similar crossings around the moat are actually more dangerous because people (mostly tourists) assume cars are gonna stop, when in fact they do not. Drivers will slow slightly at the red light (if they actually even notice it), though upon not seeing anyone crossing all traffic will just continue through the red light at full speed. If they really want these type of crossings to be effective they need to install cameras and send tickets to every vehicle which passes through. Otherwise, we're far safer taking our chances sprinting through traffic wherever we think we can make it.

Actually not true. WiFi calling is, these days, generally enabled by default on most devices and by most carriers. There is no app, and no prior setup by the user or the carrier is required. It just works. And frankly, with the way carriers try to squeeze every last satang out of us, it's pleasantly surprising that they are not (yet) charging extra for it or otherwise making it difficult to use. Let's enjoy it while we still can.

Just want to clarify, enabling int'l roaming is not required to use WiFi Calling. In fact enabling it may cause your phone to bypass WiFi Calling and use your roaming credits instead. I can confirm that WiFi Calling works 100% perfectly overseas without roaming enabled.

I believe all the major Thai carriers allow you to use "WiFi calling" when abroad. It's like roaming in that you can receive and make calls using your Thai #. It's totally seamless and there is no charge or extra fees, surprisingly. You just need to enable this function on your phone + you need to keep the Thai SIM in your phone, + you need to be on WiFi of course. If you have to use a local (non-Thai) SIM but still want to use your Thai #, I believe all the major Thai carriers also offer a free app - you add your # to the app before you leave Thailand, then whenever you want to make or receive calls you just use the app. It is also free of charge. EDIT: On DTAC, the app is called "DTAC CALL" and you can in fact add multiple numbers all on a single phone.

This is common. And normal. Some publishers have arrangements with Amazon to allow their books to be sold only to certain territories, such as only USA. Typically that's because other distributors (not Amazon) have exclusive rights to sell those books in other territories. Same applies to electronics or other general goods on Amazon. You'll find some stuff just can not be shipped to Thailand because they have an exclusive distributor here already. It used to be possible in the good old days to order "grey market" books via Amazon, but the publishers have gotten smart. It may be helpful to google the book's publisher and see if you can identify their Thailand distributor.

I would reiterate what the above commenters have said, you need to go local if you want land in a specific area. I've just spent 6 weeks doing the same in the north of the city. Real estate agents are not gonna cut it, just forget about them entirely. Absolutely the best method is to talk to the aunties and uncles in the area you want. They gossip and know everything going on, and they are happy to drive you around, as they will get a small commission if it works out. Second best method is to stop and call EVERY suitable 'land for sale' sign you see. Facebook Marketplace also has some good property ads posted by owners (all Thai language), we found a number of good leads that way. What we found, after 6 weeks of intensive searching, was that what we initially thought we wanted, in terms of location and land size, we didn't actually want. We initially thought we wanted one Rai of rural land surrounded by rice paddies, mountain view, and neighbors far away. It's beautiful and serene, but driving along narrow one-way roads, some paved some not, at night, with no street lights, just ain't gonna work out. No garbage collection. No utilities. Land which is still farmland needs truckloads of earth to raise it up and settle before building on it. A single house in the middle of nowhere seems like an easy target for thieves and other baddies as well. So we realized we need something more civilized. We finally settled on a 300ish SqWa plot in a moobaan for the security and services, and the plots are quite large and spaced far apart by canals, with 20~30 year old trees everywhere. Land is ready to build right now, plus we have a paved road and electricity already. We still have a mountain view. What I'm saying is, it's a process. Be open minded to broadening your search criteria. One last thing, I understand Hang Dong appeals to a lot of people, but have you considered San Sai or Doi Saket or other areas in the north? I found the land prices are considerably cheaper, and generally larger, and there's many more empty lots available than around Hang Dong. You have Ruamchok and Central Fest at your doorstep, plenty of schools. What else would you need? It's the best area to live in Chiang Mai, IMO. Of course many who live in the north part of town would rather we keep this secret to ourselves, but you're welcome to join us. ????

The GP Hero 10 must have been developed and tested in a cold climate. Yeah, I know it wasn't. But I'm ready to join the class action lawsuit if there ever is one. Mine lasts maybe 10 minutes in a Chiang Mai winter just walking about with it. It has NOTHING to do with the SD card, it's a design flaw. Strap it on a bike helmet and it's fine tho. Good luck OP, I hope you find what you're after.

Over the years I've had HSBC offshore accounts in Jersey, HK and Singapore. Ultimately was not happy with HSBC, and with the situation in HK being very unstable I decided to consolidate. Finally moved everything to Citibank IPB in Singapore. You will need a pretty decent amount of cash just to open the account, I showed up there in person and the account was opened same day. WARNING: All these "high wealth" bankers will constantly pester you to invest in this and that. They are not a fiduciary!! I'm not a savvy investor, I know only the basics - like buying and selling stocks and bonds. I became unhappy with HSBC because their recommended investments kept losing me money. When I complained they suggested I just move more cash to another fund - which lost money as well. Took me a few years but I finally realized they were making commission every time I bought into some investment, and could care less whether I profited or not. Citibank IPB did the same until I just stopped answering their calls and their LINE messages. I lose less money just holding cash now.

I don't understand the hate for Thai insurance companies. I'm 56 and have paying for a Thai insurance policy for over 11 years for 5 million baht health inpatient coverage, and also limited outpatient coverage. I've made several claims over the years for inpatient services, many of which were agreed and settled by the insurance company even before the hospital did the requisite weight and heart rate test. They even compensate me for salary lost due to time spent in the hospital, which is nil because I'm self employed but, still, it's a nice gesture. Never once has the insurance company even grumbled about not paying out. Perhaps they are biding their time until I make a huge claim, but hopefully I will never find out. My understanding is that health insurance costs more the later in life you begin the coverage. If you retired at 46 I assume you still have the funds to pay for insurance, even if it's more costly for you. Not everyone has had bad experiences with Thai insurance and for peace of mind, and visa security, you should probably just get it.

I was just there a few days ago looking for vacant land to build a house on. No luck on that front, but a next door neighbor to that building site said it was owned by Chang. That land is far too valuable to be a pig farm, as someone above stated. I'd presume it will be yet another moobaan.

I know very little about the place but it also struck me as an odd little community with the strangest mix of shops bars restaurants and residences. It was hit pretty hard by the flood 10 years ago and spiraled into decline, with no sign of recovery yet.

Extreme weather events are the pretty obvious ones. Periods of extreme heat, extreme droughts and countless extreme floods every year will become the norm. Bangkok and a number of other low lying provinces will essentially become unlivable as the waters rise. I suspect one of the least expected side-effects will be climate refugees coming from all points, and not just from within the country. Particularly those coming from Bangladesh and India, who will not be warmly welcomed, to put it mildly.

Agreeing to do something in 50 years is not an "agreement". It's called 'doing the absolute least amount of effort as possible'. Doesn't matter tho. Thailand is almost certainly going to bear the brunt of climate change, and that will happen long before 2065. By which point, societies and governments around the world will have collapsed and it'll be up to every single individual to look after himself. There's no possible way we can go back to "normal", it's inevitable. I pity all the children born this century (even a bit earlier) - it's gonna be rough.