superal

Interesting . Could you expand on the "edibles" I.e. what you do and amounts per recipe etc?

Why do Thais and others wear masks ? under a misconception that they are getting protection from air borne pathogens , nonsense , why ? because the vast majority of masks being worn are medical masks with gaps all around the facial area . The masks are often old , grubby and pulled out of a trouser pocket . They are supposed to be changed every day . The starting point for pathogens or smoke is the N95 mask . This mask is not comfortable to wear for lengthy periods because breathing in through a valve requires effort . Any oil workers in this forum will tell you that for good protection you need a graded cartridge mask that have a short life span and are changed regularly . BTW I have often seen people pulling down their mask to sneeze or cough . Ask yourself this question , did all the people who caught covid wear a mask ? of course they did . Digressing but the Thai motor cyclists who wear a crash helmet , put on their helmets and rarely fasten the chin strap . Some wear a mask and no helmet . Amazing Thailand .

Ironically , this morning I was talking to a pal on the telephone , who I have not seen for a few years . He has lost 20 kilos by exercising and has 1 joint a day . He says the same as you , that the toke gets him motivated to hit the road on his bicycle . I am also in my 70s and suffer with spinal stenosis which limits my mobility . I feel that I must try the weed to get me moving and away from my sedentary life style . Problem is , what weed to buy ( is it a good grade ) , do you mix it with ordinary tobacco or smoke it straight ?

You are correct and the same type of system works around the world ,i.e. A cab company or consortium will put in a bid to the facility to allow and licence only their taxis to park and ploy their trade . A non member taxi can drop off at the premises but cannot pick up . In this particular case , why did the woman not use the authorised taxis ?

Sorry to disagree with you , when you say the majority of cheap Charlies are Thai people . The majority of Thai people have no choice other than to buy in the cheapest shops and restaurants . Because they are mostly low paid and every satang counts ,leaving them with one choice only i.e. markets , the cheapest restaurant / Chinese kitchen and street food . Western guys are mostly capable of living a reasonable life style in Thailand but there are some ( I know a few who are financially well off ) who will go out of their way to save small money and they are cheap Charlies .

So true and many cheap Charlies think that paying 80 baht for a large Leo/Chang is too much and the price should be the same as Mama & Papa shops or 7-11 . Then they are the places to go for them and sit on the pavment to eat their microwaved food and drink their cans . If a bar/restaurant is of decent decor , serves decent food and drink using employed staff , then I expect to pay for the service . As an example , last month my ladys restaurant electric bill was 10700 baht + gas , ice & smaller day to day overheads, finally last but not lease are the excellent staff . So you are sooo right , Businesses can’t keep operational unless they make a profit.

I am all for opening the market to small producers / craft beer businesses but it must be regulated and licenced with an onus on production methods / hygiene . No back street , uncontrolled brewers . There has been no mention of reducing import taxes on alcohol , especially real wine , not fruit wine .

That reminds me of a guy who was talking to his mates and told them that his wife was divorcing him . Why ? asked his pals , the guy said because she said I never listen to what she has to say , or something like that .

My lady is the same . Shopping to some ladies is a hobby to be enjoyed . I can shop with a shopping list for a weeks supplies and be in and out of Mako in 30 minutes . My lady over 1 hour and often the reason is a distraction or being too laid back . Here is another example . Not long ago we were in the car at a small town that we were not familiar with looking for a shop . I told my lady to ask a woman on the pavement for directions . My lady got out of the car , walked over to the woman and talked for over 5 minutes to her and then came back to the car . OK darling I said , so where is the shop ? My lady replied , oh the woman did not know . So wtf were you talking about for 5 minutes ? She said " we were talking about shopping at Big C " . I had a similar feeling that John Cleese had with Manuel in Faulty Towers .

That was me sending the ha ha emoji to Torturedsole

It's been a while now since the introduction of posting anonymous emojis on this forum . I for one think it was much better in the previous format where the identity of the emoji poster was revealed and that made the debate/discussion more interesting plus meaningful . What we have now are emojis from faceless sources . Used to be much more fun . Just wondering if others feel the same way ?

Did you have both eyes operated on at the same time ?

Once again , thanks for the detailed info . The procedure sounds very much the same as the op I had in the UK on my left eye . Was pleased to hear that they did not give an injection into your eye , as some hospitals do in Thailand ( according to Sheryl , if my memory serves me right ) . Forgive me if you have mentioned before but have you had both eyes operated on for cataracts ?

Thanks for the info and update Having read some reviews on the above hospital , I understand why you chose out of normal hours . One reviewer said he had an appointment time but waited another 4 hours . Many people waiting to see the doctor . How long were you in the hospital from start to finish ? I assume all is well with your sight , post-op ? BTW , how did you pay them , cash or card ? Also did you have a pre-op consultation by appointment or have to wait in the queue and was the operation date given then ?

What is the delivery time from day of the order . My Piping rock vitamins are still in the Bangkok customs , so a total of 19 days plus the trip to my address . How long do your vitamins stay in the Thai customs hall / inspection ? I assume that DHL have an informative tracker . BTW Piping Rock told me that the eta would be 10 days , when I made my order .

Agree that a proper fitting mask , not a medical / dust mask , will help to stop the spread of the virus . However the majority of masks being worn are days , if not weeks old , ill fitting or sat on the chin of the wearer , have gaps on the cheeks . It really is a farce .

So why is it that the likes of the UK NHS are sending out messages to get the latest vaccine booster ? Answer is because covid 19 is still lurking in the background and another pandemic is to be avoided , no chances taken . Prevention is better than cure .

The focus should be on supplying the latest vaccine boosters and not just school kids and relying on such protection as ill fitting masks etc

As I am finding now . I made an order to Pipingrock USA for 2 small bottles of vitamins at under 1000 baht in total on the 13th April . They arrived in Bangkok customs on the 21 April . They are still in the customs inspection hall according to the shipment company Aramex . Don't think I will bother again to buy abroad . Only reason to buy abroad is that Pipingrock are an established trustworthy company and trying to find that , on say Lazada , for local Thai companies , who knows what you are getting . Unless others know better .

As is the case in the local gov; hospital near where I live , up in Issan near Surin . In fact there is a 3 tier structure for fees . 1/ Local Thais 2/ Non Thai Aseans 3/ Foreigners/ non Thai . I was admitted as an inpatient for 4 days last year and was presented with an itemised bill every early morning . The bill was a long list which charged for every nursing activity e.g. the administration of giving me pills . Also last year at the same hospital I had an eye check up along with 7 Thai patients . We went around the eye test machines as a group which took under 1 hour . My bill was 2400 baht . The Thais paid 350 baht. With regards to the queuing system in Thai Gov; hospitals , it is quite the norm to go to the hospital at 07 00 am to register and get a ticket . If I go there at say 09 30 and get a ticket , I go back home and return about 14 00 hrs . The patient waiting areas are normally full up with the patient and their families making finding a seat not easy . Having said that I attended the private Bangkok Hospital in Korat at a given appointment time but so did another 10 patients for the same appointment time . Thai hospitals cannot manage appointment bookings for some reason or are they too lazy ? If I have a more trivial medical need I go to a local doctors private surgery in town . ( there are several with senior doctors from the gov; hospital ) . Rarely long queues and a better class of doctor as opposed to the fresh out of medical school junior gov; hospital doctor .

Proper motorbike riders dress accordingly as you describe . As well as helmet and body wear items , also important are gloves , even for the moped rider because the damage to the hand skin can be bad if coming off the bike and your hands scraping the road . I remember some rockers in the UK used to have studded leather gloves on the back of the hand glove in order that in the event of coming off the bike , the gloves would glide along the road with little resistance . I have pals who belong to motorbike clubs that organise away trips and popular they are too . Not so many in Thailand ( I believe Pattaya has a good club ) but mostly in the UK

You can be the top motorcyclist riding in Thailand but what you cannot control are the ignorant Thai road users who only care about themselves and no consideration to other road users . In the rainy season there are potholes hidden under puddles , causes many accidents for motorbikes . Poorly driven heavy goods trucks , often do not give a flying fxxx about other road users especially motorbikes . Many drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs at any time of the day . I agree there are some beautiful country roads and sights to see in Thailand and driving at a moderate speed along with appropriate safety attire will keep you in good stead . Good luck .

You have been lucky never to have had an accident on your bikes . I have a UK pal who is a police motorbike cop and highly trained . Had 2 accidents , both not his fault ( cars pulling out of side roads without looking or slowing down). I have noticed that in Thailand there are quite a few expats who are revisiting their youth by riding motor bikes . Their reaction times and riding skills will have been reduced as they hit their later years . Just crazy because Thailand is the worst country in the world for road accidents . Also many tourists will not be aware of the dangers on Thailand roads . I know of 3 local expats who were killed riding mopeds in Thailand . Never worth the risk and that goes also to riding on motorbike taxis .

Indeed there was some light rain in the night but no trace of it in the morning . Power cuts are a bummer and occur quite often and always at an inconvenient time . When the cuts are prolonged , I get in the car for a run around with the air-con working . How some folk live without air-con up here in Issan is mind boggling . Yesterday my lady told me that within the next 3 or 4 weeks the temperature may hit 50 c in parts of Thailand , according to some Thai news channel . Roll on the real rainy season when I sit outside in the early evening with an ice cold beer watching the lightning and storms. . ps , We have probably met at sometime as you are very close to me .

Made me laugh Sherlock ? Find your post hard to believe but because it is in Thailand , I do believe . Thanks