kamalabob2

I paid 8000 baht last year to be tested overnight at the Bangkok Korat hospital in a room set up for this sort of test. Frankly I did it twice. The first test the staff had made a mistake and they invited me to return at no charge. The 3rd trip was to see a Doctor and then 5 minutes later the two sales people came in with the "machine". Free trial on the machine. I received a 2nd opinion on my test results. My wife is correct I sure do snore often at night. It was all very professional at Bangkok Hospital, but I suggest you obtain a 2nd opinion once you receive the written test results. The results will NOT be the following morning unless you time your visit to when the specific Doctor will be there. Breakfast was included. 

A bi-lingual Thai friend phoned. I have had "less than clear" phone conversations with the hospital in Buriram. I hate it when you have important questions and the person on the telephone giggles. I did not ask if the answer was polite or otherwise, but it worked out well for me in my quest to obtain a vaccine sooner than later. 

Has anyone had success in activated for the first time a MINT sim card on their mobile phone in Thailand? My mobile phone IMEI non contract phone meets the requirements on the website. Thank you.

May I suggest the OP have a fluent Thai speaker telephone the largest Thai Government Hospital in his province and the Thai speaker can ask where the expat can go to register in person. The Thai speaker can confirm what documents you must bring to register.

I am blessed to live in Buriram with the major push at Racetrack and Football stadium that started in early May. I see on youtube that major shopping centers and at least one soon to open railroad station are being used as mass vaccination sites. I strongly suspect many government hospital facilities and even the small hospitals run by the Thai government will be sites for Covid 19 vaccinations on June 7th onward. I personally was blown off 16 days ago at a local government hospital, so I had a fluent Thai speaker make a phone call to see where I could go as a "foreigner".  Good luck and be safe. 

Hotandsticky: I do not know, but worth your time to have a Thai speaker phone the Buriram main hospital 044-615-001 on Monday to see if first shots are being given on Tuesday.  The Thai speaker might ask if the "tent to sign up" is at the "racetrack" or at the Buriram Castle Shopping center in a tent.  I was told by the guard last Monday to come back to the racetrack early in the morning (via a translator on the phone) and it was never made clear to me if there was a different location to "sign up".  These shots have been going on for some time as today the owner of Book N Bed Restaurant was getting his 2nd shot. 

There are three problems I have seen at many village homes. The actual size of the cable coming DOWN to PEA pole and going into the meter. Then the size of the cable the home owner bought to bring electricity FROM the meter to his consumer load center inside the house. I have seen builders pull some shady size choices and even the PEA installing 6mm size cable down a pole TO the meter.  The size of the cable matters. Then where the contractor puts in Aluminum cable and not copper cable FROM the meter to the consumer load center.  Cheaper for the builder, but not better for the home owner. Then the whole issue of PEA transformer being "way down the line" and the expat who bought land at the end of the village has low voltage available. I paid well over 350K 13 years ago for proper transformer, poles, cables, etc from a private contractor as a new house was on a private paved road. I read on Thai Visa Forum, there are screaming discount deals currently in Thailand direct form the PEA on 3 phase installations. Well worth checking out IN PERSON at your local PEA office or Regional PEA office. 

I was told that the stimulus check was taking longer to clear, on this past Thursday inside our local Bangkok Bank branch, due to Bangkok Bank staff "working from home in Bangkok".  I could not do that slick "photo of a check" deposit with my USA bank since the check is made out to my wife and my name. Hence one must just wait is my only conclusion.  I am just delighted to have received the two checks, considering I file jointing with an ITIN of my wife. I hope our checks clear sooner than Moderna vaccine arrives in Thailand. 

There is another "cost" to consider if you build a home. Strife. I had a licensed appraisal done on a home, and the licensed appraiser was clear the home would be worth several million MORE had it been located inside Buriram city, and that it would be worth many million LESS had it been located in a village. I do have personal knowledge of what a "estate building firm" buys and some firms really do buy good products and some "estate builders" buy the worst grade of materials. Same as "building contractors" who build one off homes. Some cut every corner in the book, some meet or exceed the house plans. You can appreciate the "serious Message" in the video attached. 

On 5/29/2021 at 2:01 PM, Golden Triangle said:

So where does your Information come from for you to be this confident ?

I would not take the wager unless I had done research. Think about how drugs get from point A to point B.   Logistics makes the world move forward. I am not a man to take a ga mble.

The imported AstraZeneca is in Thailand in limited quantities. However I will take serious wagers, not strokes, that locally produced AstraZeneca will be available in hundreds of hospitals on June 7th. Several hundred thousand doses will be distributed nationwide NEXT weekend.  Do not bet against this fact unless you have the money to pay up. It is good news for Thai citizens and expats that AstraZeneca is an option widely available on June 7th.

AstraZeneca will be in Hospitals all over Thailand on June 7th. It is NOT distributed via Kerry.  

White water pipe is in fact sold by SCG.  It is a good product in my opinion. The thin wall white electric conduit is not the same as white water pipe. 

The OP was helpful to make one aware of "limitations" of that Global House product. I prefer KJL metal waterproof boxes for outdoors.  This IP 54 has served me well.    https://www.kjl.co.th/Product/detail/kbsd

Very good post. Not as rare of a pump issue as one would think. The OP was sharp to contact Bangkok and find the solution. 

The OP could go meet with Williams Property who have built homes for expats in Udon Thani. They have successfully built homes of various sizes for expats in Buriram and Udon Thani. 

I have a bit of experience in Thailand with taps and faucets. I have daily knowledge of which companies will repair, which will replace and which will make excuses on warranties. VRH makes quality affordable stainless 304 taps and faucets. However some water is so bad you might consider the VRH 316 stainless line of taps and faucets. I've spent over 150K on VRH faucets, taps and fittings for a home in Satuk. NONE of the 99 year warranty fittings have ever tarnished. None. Two faucets which have 12 year warranties developed small leaks. VRH fixed both in a reasonable time. In fact they must have a polishing machine as both the kitchen mixer faucet and the bathroom mixer tap look brand new.  Toto and Cotto also sell dependable faucets and will also honor a warranty. Teka sell some very impressive and long lasting kitchen mixer taps in Thailand that are made in Germany. I could name the other brands that just make lame excuses and do not have spare parts. Thai Watsadu has the best selection of no name brand plumbing bits for D.I.Y. repairs. Boonthavorn imports some impressive floor tile. They however stock no special plumbing items and certainly do not discount any mainstream brands.  Very impressive showroom in Korat and Bangkok, but no plumbing items you could not order from a decent builders merchant store. They do stock more Toto items than any Homepro or Global House. 

https://www.buriramhome.com/buriram-master-bedroom-suite/

or Kitchen hot and cold mixer taps by VRH and Teka 

https://www.buriramhome.com/buriram-home-custom-kitchens/

Yellowtail hit the nail on the head when it comes to SOME imported brands of tools. If money is consideration, check out Pumpkin brand or the house brands at Global and Thaiwatsadu.  

The larger Makita battery mower I have seen in Buriram is in this video from Australia. The Makita DLM460 might be more powerful than the OP needs for his sensible sized lawn.   

The Op might consider "Skim coat" if he wants a smoother wall finish.  Sure there is both oil base and/or water base "Quick primer" from all the major paint brands. I am not sure I would primer after waiting only 3 days. The buckets of primer are often in both English and Thai languages. 

You might check the limits of the LIABILITY coverage on your home owner policy.  My insurance broker has helped me with several home owner claims. The discount with some insurance policies on a three year policy can be very attractive. 

In California, builders of lower cost homes would spec asphalt roof sheets like the OP requested. Very quick installation. Sure n plywood sub-roof. However on higher spec custom homes or better subdivisions you may in fact see concrete roof tiles. A stronger roof support is needed, they still use a plywood sub-roof and it takes more labor. Monier was active in California when I lived there. There was legal action due to the color fading. 

https://classactionsreporter.com/settlement/monier-slurry-coated-roofing-tiles-settlement/

I have priced the "imported" asphalt roof sheets from a company in Bangkok. It was a very high price considering what those same roof sheets sold for in the USA. My home is SCG Monier flat roof cement roof tiles. 

I have a few Mitsubishi wall fans installed in my village house. The 18" push quite a bit of air and may be suitable for a Thai kitchen or very large room. However I would recommend a 16" Mitsubishi wall fan of the new model, pull or remote, for a bedroom or TV room. Check the website for Mitsubishi and you can see specs on the different model wall fans. 

The 36 volt Makita Hedge trimmer has served me far better than smaller plug in hedge trimmers in Buriram. 

All of the above are valid recommendations. There is a "probate' in Thailand. The OP really should pay for a will. Maybe consider a medical directive. Save so much hassle for his loved ones. Probate is not fast in Thailand, nor is is fast in other countries. There may be important information in English on respective Embassy websites to help you understand the procedure. The fun of autos registered in a province a far distance from from the widow, how fussy those banks can be, and the joy of collecting survivors benefits or stopping social security payments.