Firefan

Be VERY careful about believing that your "repatriation" actually means to your home country. Read the small print - cause typically it is not based on your finances (free medical at home so PLEASE send me there now!) but simply a MEDICAL evaluation as to being taken where medical standard up to snuff for the given medical problem. I.e. an evacuation from say Laos to Thailand will probably often make medical sense - even from say Thailand to Singapore if need to go 1 step up the ladder - but there is NO guarantee that you will be send to home country just for (medical) financial reasons. Cheers!

i was told that u couldnt join bupa after the age of 65, so what would the options be for the 66 yr olds?

Any info will be swelly bros

plenty of options, the best ones are the most expensive. I have quite a list of offers from different companies but I have decided to go visit an insurance broker in Pattaya to discuss face to face. I will be 65 in January). As I stated above, Nordic and Cynaglobal seem to give what they say they are going to give, that is lifetime coverage without raising premiums. I found most of the addresses using Google.

I agree that a repatriation insurance is a very good investment if you can get treated at home. I plan to die at my home in Thailand, but you never know..

until your first episode of any significance.

Agreed. That's when you spend hours on internet looking for complaints about the different companies. Doing this put me off April International for instance, Nordic has a good reputation.

Thank you for the advise on Club-protein.com. Fair price and no fillers/artificial sweeteners Etc. Saves me the hassle of ordering the HUGE 20 kg bags, and coordinate sharing like I had to do before.

Will order myself 4 kg now.

Cheers!

A quick tip: many condo buildings will have a switch/cable to traditional antenna on the roof with the free Thai channels (not coding the football). I.e. if you live in a condo and currently using True Visions you can ask management to switch to the free view antenna. I did that yesterday and the signal was clear (much better than rabbit ear antenna or hanger would ever be! ). They simply unplugged from the cable at main, and plugged into the local antenna.

For commentating I used the bet365 stream via my laptop - but easy to find many choices there online - the problem is decent quality PICTURE.

Cheers!

Tropo; I do not disagree. Like you mention when I say "to failure" I should probably say "to failure - light version" I.e. going to failure point but NOT beyond. And not hammering the same muscles with MORE sets and exercises after that point is reached.

For newbies (and even experienced lifters) that can be quite a difficult target to find.

For the typical weight trainer a couple of times a week over training is hardly a problem, but for more serious trainers with 4-6 sessions a wk (some even do twice a day!) it is certainly an issue. I have been there myself and have found that scaling back gave me better gains, less injuries AND more time for other stuff!

Cheers!

I use Iherb.com. They ship to Thailand and have the lowest airfreight costs I have seen. If you use this code YOQ460 (or one of the other codes found on the internet) you get USD 5 of your first order which pays for the shipping. Keep the order total under about Baht 1200 Baht (from my experience) and customs will not hold it for taxes/duties. Cheers!

The BoA routing number you have found will do the trick. And yes; TDameritrade says they require it so for people here to say they don't is not really relevant.

Cheers!

Imovercs have a good point indeed. Check and understand your actual car credit first.

And as Swiss said; Not having emergency cash should probably be the first thing you sort out before anything else anyway. Having at least 6 months of living costs with reasonably easy access is a rule of thumb by many financial advisers, but use whatever works for you (say 3-12 months worth). This could still go in a time deposit as long as you can take some of it out (against maybe losing a bit of interest) with short warning.

Cheers!

Some great info here. In my experience even heavy training for girls (when not on "da juice") does not lead them to becoming blocky/bulky. Girls often state that they want to "just tone and tighten" - and then spends hours with the little pink weights and way too many reps out of fear of turning into Arnold!

Their level of testosterone (with a few exceptions) will simply not lead to that kind of growth in my experience. It WILL grow the "good looking" muscles and thereby do the toning and tightening that was the target.

All the different programs complicate things sometimes. IMHO the main reasons that guys have a hard time to gain muscle is; 1. not training to failure (after proper warm up sets Etc.) and 2. not getting enough protein (right after the workout especially).

I agree that some of the most growth hormones/testosterone boosting exercise like squads/dead lifts can be tricky for beginners and a good instruction is certainly needed in the beginning for those.

Cheers!

So next step for me is to meet with the technicians and figure out how to upgrade to grounded plugs (Incl. change to 3 pin). I presume an entire rewiring would be needed (from my central box to the plugs) as probably not already there.

If the grounding makes it to your distribution board you simply need to add a green wire from there to each of your 3-pin outlets, probably easier said than done mind

Yes - I think that the grounding makes it to my distribution board - so will simply need to connect that there if not already done - BUT, the rest seems like quite a challenge (rewiring the entire condos electricity and change plugs to 3 pin). Will discuss with technicians what makes most sense (maybe just arrange for grounding to PC/tv/hifi and water heaters). Will see what they say. Thanks again!

Cheers!

Hi guys,

thanks for the replies - I now had a basis to ask the building management and the confirmed that there IS grounding installed and that they connect to each condo unit - but unclear "where it goes from there" - I.e. I am almost certain it is not connected to my electric "box" and from there to my (currently 2 pin) plugs.

Here is a photo of the grounding they send me. The black wires lead to a metal bolted beam:

So next step for me is to meet with the technicians and figure out how to upgrade to grounded plugs (Incl. change to 3 pin). I presume an entire rewiring would be needed (from my central box to the plugs) as probably not already there.

Cheers!

Dean; why would they also not want tourists or short term visitors to use their deals? Or simply people who are not as smart as you and have learned reading in Thai? they basically cut out even most long term expats - as I am guessing max 10% of those can READ Thai. Weird biz/marketing plan.... Must be related to Living Social buying them and their rules.

Cheers!

Or learn Thai, you never know, it could come in usefull for other things as well.

Hi Briley!

Thanks for that. I will see what the building electricians say. I still would want some Western type/standard electrician to come check it all, but they do not seem to reply to my emails (2 different ones now).

Cheers!

I'd say do check the Condo wiring first.

I stopped one owner who was running a thick copper wire down 9 floors to install his own earth at some expense to himself. I pointed out that the building did have an earth wired to a star whatever that went through all the electric rooms. But few owners had their unit connected to the earth.

For the cost of a good Choc block and a few metres of wiring we now have another happy camper.

Hi! I have happily used many of the coupon options in Ensogo (Thailand). Today got email from them with latest promotions - and surprised that they state, that from some April date - the deal page will only be in Thai... Living social purchase changing the rules?

(I will work around it with Google Chrome translate but still weird....).

Cheers!

Crossy and Deke; thanks for the replies. I DO have (several) RCCBs so that's at least a comfort when comes to safety. Deke; yes, that is another reason I would like an expert to come and check/advise, because I am clueless

I doubt that grounding via my water pipes will work as seen quite a bit of plastic tubing the few times I have had a chance to peak behind the walls (during repairs/leaks Etc.).

Grounding via the balcony railing sounds like an idea I wonder how well that would work and how to actually test that a true grounding is taking place?

Oh; and btw there might actually be other health benefits (besides avoiding being chocked to death!) in arranging some grounding of even ones bed/other items based on this: http://www.groundology.com/about_grounding.php

Cheers!

Hi!

I own a condo BKK on the 20th floor in an older building with no electrical grounding as we often see here in Thailand.

I wish to reduce the sparks, as well as risk especially to PCs and other sensitive electronics, as well as water heater Etc.

I have seen people discussing the subject in the Do It Yourself forum - but that would mean certain death for this retard!

Anybody knows whether:

1. can anything be done to arrange for grounding in an condo (a 60 m cable over the balcony seems unlikely!)

2. if potentially possible to do SOMETHING, who can come and give a quote/check for options? Guessing some Western style/managed service that does not just do a half ass solution).

I tried to contact the thailandguru.com guy, Mark, - as he seems knowledgeable on this but have yet to get a reply.

Cheers!

Hi Tom. I have only found organic coconut oil here - no other organic coconut products like milk Etc. Do you have a source for organic coconut milk? Cheers!

Yeah, that motivation pill would be a best seller!

And the constant exposure to fast food/processed foods marketing is another stumbling block - always amazed to see how well those places fill up at lunch time near my office. Thai and farang alike. I am often tempted too, but avoid it most times...

Cheers!

again I fully agree with Missesgrin here!

How/what you eat is WAY more important than the exercise part when it comes to weight loss. Do not get me wrong; exercise is important part of overall health (not just talking weight loss) for sure - but also there; what you eat is more important.

Also the old "calories in/calories out" and "all calories are the same" is really way too simplified when wanting to discuss weight loss.

One example; Filling yourself with artificial sweeteners, high fructose glucose syrups, hydrogenated fats, MSG and so forth - creates havoc in your body(despite some of them being low calorie) - Including your fat burning processes, as your body have no idea how to handle these non-natural products. In addition many of these "foods" are addictive. Also:your body realize it did not get the needed nutrition (vitamins/ENZYMES Etc.) and will crave more food.

Instead good fats, vegetables, non-hormone/organic meats/eggs and so forth - might reach same calorie count - but will actually help you burn more fat.

So in short; sure; hit the gym, but what you eat is even more important!

Cheers!

I think the main learning points from this thread is to reduce limits on ones cards.

In addition make a debit card with a Point Of Sale limit set at zero (I.e. can only be used at ATMs). I have done that with Bangkok Bank and I only carry that card (normally). When living in Bangkok - the city of ATMs - it is not an issue to go to an ATM - and yes; go to the most "legitimately placed ones (BTS/Banks/MRT Etc.). It can however be harder elsewhere I could imagine - but then a little cash planning is the solution.

When talking debit cards one could also dedicate a separate account to same - and transfer (smaller) amounts over online/via ATM when needed.

The rest of the discussion about Visa rules and policies is interesting - but for actionable things learned from this thread; the above methods is what I do to at least reduce the risk of fraud.

Cheers!

Vit B never worked for me - still taking it for other reasons.

If the standard citronella sprays don't work, and you prefer natural, try to add mint, lime, tea tree essential oils to the spray.

Works for me. Cheers!

Brilliant advise from Missesgrin. One does not have to do it all in 1 go - or if one can't get (or afford) organic, then buy the normal stuff.

Just cutting out most simple sugers/white carbs will make a huge difference. Eating more fresh veggies/fresh veg juices/smoothies is a gigantic next step. Those 2 alone means (healthy) weight loss for pretty much anybody I have helped with losing weight.

Cheers!

Expatj; the underlying ETF (GLD) which currently is 93% of the fund do not pay any dividends - the remaining 7% of the fund is there in cash/cash like instruments like very short term bonds to have cash to pay people that want redemption's and to pay fund fees, hedging fees and trading fees.

I.e. there is nothing in your fund that EARNS a dividend! Your "dividends" are in reality just some gold being sold and handed to you and your unit price dropping accordingly.

Another proof; look at the link I send you. The graph compare the total fund return (include dividends of course) with the gold price. They are pretty similar but if you were right it should do 5% BETTER that the gold price.

All said; not a bad fund as such - extra layer of fees and hedging costs a bit high, also the "dividends" gets taxed, and not 100% in gold as previously covered - but safer place to park some cash(or bet on gold) rather than having pockets full of gold bars! (unless we get into financial collapse zombie scenario - then bullets and canned food probably better).

Cheers!

Expatj; As I read the fact sheet, it is simply payout of capital gain http://www.kasikornasset.com/EN/FundDocuments/Fund%20Fact/K-GOLD_Eng.pdf

I.e. you do not get the increase in gold price AND dividends. That dividend is simply some of your capital gains (if gold go up) - but now that they are paid out as dividends - you will get taxed on it....

On top of that; all they do is invest in a gold ETF abroad - and charge you an extra layer of fees for that. You are also paying an extra fee to hedge the gold price against the THB.

In addition; they seem to keep about 7% in cash/short bonds - so you will not even get the full upside (as "dividends" OR capital gains) when the ETF goes up.

In short; read your prospectus and fact sheet. I will charge you no fee for my services this time!

Cheers!

I do not think that this will affect condo prices positively as such. Both foreign/Thai investors/buyers should rush to flooded country/city to buy condos? Makes no sense.

House prices in some flood prone areas might drop though.

I live in (and own)a condo, but if the electricity(Incl. elevators) goes - I would have to leave(swim?) no matter what floor I am on, as the condo get too hot.

Time will show! Cheers!

Commodities are up so far today.

Flying; thanks for your explanations on the silver/gold ratio swap technique. Presume your 2 current markers are then 35 silver/gold ratio for going to gold, and 60 silver/gold ratio for going to silver?

Where do you easily buy/sell silver here? Is it coin form only?(having a larger mark up normally).

Cheers!