GarryP

Seems that some posters are lacking in reading comprehension skills, and I don't mean you.

Viagra and Sidegra are the same drug, i.e. sildenafil. Sidegra is the one manufactured by the Thai GPO.

You can buy Grakcu at 7/11 stores in Thailand. It is claimed it is a herbal all "natural male support supplement" and is widely available, however, the US FDA has issued a warning that it contains undeclared drugs, including sildenafil. Other similar products include one called Munz. About 70 Baht a capsule. I do not know why generic tadalafil, aka Cialis, is not available here as the patent expired long ago. Sildenafil, aka Viagra is actually produced by the Thai Government Pharmaceutical Organization and sold under the name Sidegra (supposed to be prescription only).

And in some cases incontinence. I went the Rezum steam route at Bamrungrad Hospital. Below are a few of the previous related topics which might be worth reading.

Came here when I was 19 and will be 61 next month. Way back then it wasn't easy to keep in touch with people so no real bridges from the beginning. In the time I have been here, I have only been back to Blighty a handful of times and of those, only two trips were for holidays. Only still in touch with me dad, sister and a close friend and even then I only call home about 3 times a year. Will go back next year for a week or two as my old man is knocking on a bit now (92 next month).

The red rimmers have got someone to join their daisy chain.

This government is planning to change Sor Por Kor land (many land plots used for agriculture) to land with title deeds. That may actually push up the price of the land.

I've noticed that too. Not getting notifications for all new posts posted on threads I follow.

Not many can afford to retire in their 40s. Good for you.

Where I am there are no bars, so at least it has that saving grace. However, there is no real western community either, so if you don't speak Thai here, it could get very lonely. This seems to be quite common among retirees in the North East, who do most of their drinking at home. I don't think they realized what they were getting into. Sad really.

True. There is online work available though which might work for some. I'm lucky in that I haven't needed a WP for the past 6 or 7 years. I officially retired from my employer on 31 December 2022, but they kept me on a 12 month contract working from home 3 days a week. They may even keep me on for another year. It all helps sliding me into retirement as I work out what I want to do to keep myself occupied.

For someone who has been working their whole life, retirement can be difficult regardless of where you live. My dad retired at 60 many years ago and within 1 year he was suffering terribly from boredom (there is only so much gardening and fishing you can do) so he ended up getting a part-time job just to give him something to do. For someone to hit retirement, up their sticks and move to Thailand, after a few months when the novelty wears off, they may start getting bored here too.

Reading comprehension is clearly not your forte. 🤪

I love how being against a right-wing zealot automatically gets you labelled as a left wing extremist. Seems some people are lacking in logic.

Well if he was doing it behind her, who would drive the taxi.

Perhaps, he can no longer get a boner, so had it removed and transplanted to his forehead, as notice to those who aren't already aware what a total d!ckhead he is.

That sucks. Totally unfair.

No idea. Check out this link. https://www.gov.uk/voluntary-national-insurance-contributions

About Baht 750 is deducted from your salary and your employer pays an equal amount. This money is held in the Social Security Fund, which is overseen by the Socioal Security Office. Upon retirement, assuming you have paid in for a sufficient number of years, you will be entitled to a monthly pension. In certain instances, you may be entitled to the choice of a lump sum, or monthly pension, while for some others there is only the lump sum option. In my case, I only have the monthly pension option. The accumulated amount saved in my name is Baht 236,929, so assuming I don't pop my clogs, that will cover a monthly payment of Baht 5,500 for 43 months or 3 years and 7 months, however, the SSF will actually continue paying me until I die. This is one of the reasons that there are concerns that the fund may collapse, i.e. due to insufficient funding and aging population

In my case, I have been paying into the social security fund together with my employer for the past 30 years and when I finally retire, which is likely to be next year, I will draw approximately Baht 5,500 per month. So if your wife has only paid in for 10 years, she will get much less than that. On the other hand, if she hasn't paid in at all, she will get the Baht 600/month when she hits 60, which will increase to a whopping 700 when she hits 70.

I have lived here for 41 years, and still got a few years left before I hit the state pension age. However, I had a good look into the matter and despite having made very few NI contributions, found that I still qualified if I back paid. Obviously, I won't get the full pension, but it is still a really good investment in my case. I would be paying Class 2 Voluntary Contributions, which are Pounds 3.45 per week (179.4 per year). So if they allow me to back pay for 6 years (there is a chance I will be able to pay for more years) I would end up paying Baht 47,840, but hopefully I will be allowed to pay back 12 years and make annual contributions for the next 6. Gov.uk "The deadline for paying voluntary National Insurance contributions for the tax years 6 April 2006 to 5 April 2018 has been extended to 5 April 2025, if you’re eligible."

Still waiting to back-pay into the UK SS system. Applied back in January in order to avoid the cutt-off date and called to follow up. Apparently there is a massive backlog due to impending changes and I shouldn't expect to hear anything before this month or next. The deadlines have been greatly extended though and I was told that as my application was received before the deadline, I had nothing to worry about. Don't know how many years I'll be able to back pay though.

I had never noticed it before, never mind used it. 🤣 Thanks for bringing it to my attention as it is certainly a very convenient function.

It doesn't look like you can clear your notifications anymore.

Here it is. 18/9 Sisuttha Rd, Tambon Mak Khaeng, Mueang Udon Thani District, Udon Thani 41000. Quite central and not too far from Central.