TheSiemReaper

Personal insurance for the wealthy is a no-brainer as the premiums are minor and there is a big upside if something goes wrong ... and rich people like situations with a big upside. The notion that wealthy people don't buy insurance because they have the funds to cover any type of catastrophe is a myth.

... or as in a famous US commercial why a rich person like him should care about the small matters:

" How do you think a person like me got to be a person like me."

Spot on. I have never seen so much ridiculous justification for an unjustifiable position as in this thread. From; "I'll jump off a balcony" (sure you will), to "rich people don't insure" (you're having a laugh). Insurance is a shared risk proposition. Some of us will claim, some of us won't but the potential upside will nearly always outweigh the potential downside. The idea that as long as you have 3 million Baht, you're OK is absolutely ridiculous. And the vast majority of posters don't have 3 million Baht in liquid assets either. Waiting four years to sell your house while you have cancer will quickly teach you the difference between liquid assets and those that aren't.

If you live in a developing nation like Thailand - you should have health insurance. It should be a condition of any long-term visa for the country (including and perhaps, especially, retirement). No insurance? Then go home.

OK. I will go home if you personally guarantee to look after my Thai wife and son for the rest of your and their lives.

Why should I have to abandon my Thai family just because you think it is a good idea?

Nice, so you had a child and can't take the responsibility for insuring you are healthy enough to raise it? Incredible parenting; I can see why you'd want to shift that job to someone else but I'll pass all the same thanks.

Personal insurance for the wealthy is a no-brainer as the premiums are minor and there is a big upside if something goes wrong ... and rich people like situations with a big upside. The notion that wealthy people don't buy insurance because they have the funds to cover any type of catastrophe is a myth.

... or as in a famous US commercial why a rich person like him should care about the small matters:

" How do you think a person like me got to be a person like me."

Spot on. I have never seen so much ridiculous justification for an unjustifiable position as in this thread. From; "I'll jump off a balcony" (sure you will), to "rich people don't insure" (you're having a laugh). Insurance is a shared risk proposition. Some of us will claim, some of us won't but the potential upside will nearly always outweigh the potential downside. The idea that as long as you have 3 million Baht, you're OK is absolutely ridiculous. And the vast majority of posters don't have 3 million Baht in liquid assets either. Waiting four years to sell your house while you have cancer will quickly teach you the difference between liquid assets and those that aren't.

If you live in a developing nation like Thailand - you should have health insurance. It should be a condition of any long-term visa for the country (including and perhaps, especially, retirement). No insurance? Then go home.

I wouldn't rule out Cambodia. There's not a lot of material for sure but there is some. Bohr's and D's books in Phnom Penh can both be occasional sources of quality stuff. Vientiane has a couple of good second hand bookstores. Thailand has a wealth of them - Chiang Mai in particular but there's very little in the way of antiquarian material in them. Vietnam in some ways may represent your best bet - if it's not anti-communist literature (which is all long gone) - the Vietnamese are a very bookish people but you'll need a hand to find the 2nd hand book shops there as they aren't aimed at English speakers at all. Don't know about Myanmar but will do in about 2 months...

If they've caused damage then what they have done is disrespectful; if they've just slept on a wall... no harm done. Of all the many major and minor acts of sacrilege committed daily in this world; sleeping on a wall is not one of them. It does, however, give a bunch of self-righteous expats a chance to put the boot in anyway.

Mondulkiri Province, Cambodia.

Grab Taxi is not legally allowed at the airport and probably best avoided. For a first time visitor - get a taxi from the stand which fixes the price before you travel. That's a $5 journey... not exactly a bank breaker (and if it is, they should have stayed at home).

That's fair enough. It is the law after all. It's funny to see how many people complain when the laws they want enforced aren't enforced (smoking bans, traffic laws, etc.) but when the ones that they want to be ignored are enforced - they're complaining again.

If anyone is worried about being thirsty, all they have to do is pay for their drinks before 2 p.m. they can continue to consume them all the way to 5 p.m. quite legally.

I reserve tickets via the mobile app for Central Festival regularly. It is without a doubt the most cack-handed way of paying for reserved tickets in history. Find a girl with a card. She uses her card to pay for the tickets. You pay her. Then you wait for change which apparently nobody ever considered might be needed. Having said that; it's not the end of the world and doesn't put me off using their service in the slightest. Movies in Thailand are so insanely cheap that it's hard to complain about anything associated with them - particularly when audiences don't talk all the way through the movie (as they do in much of the rest of Asia).

I had a Dukes Single Bacon Cheese burger the other day (from Maya). I was drooling over the monster burgers on the menu, but from experience, I know everything is oversized at Dukes and sensibly opted for a single burger.

I enjoyed the burger and have nothing negative to say about it (except I didn't eat the accompaning dressing (pink, looked like 100 Island) as I've never enjoyed their dressings in the past).

The hand cut fries are 'ok' - would've preferred proper chips. They're certainly a vast improvement on the fies from McShit.

I'd happily order this again, but I might try Rock Me next as so many people have said positive things about their burgers.

I've been to Duke's twice now and was sufficiently underwhelmed both times for there not to be a third time. It's not that anything was bad per se - but the price:value ratio was so far out of whack it was incredible. It is absolutely inexcusable for a Western restaurant charging premium prices to dump the main course on the table with the starter... particularly when your main course is a rare steak (and thus needs polishing off pretty quickly given the post-cooking temperature). Waitresses who were only too happy to loom over the table during the first 30 seconds of sitting down and then barely to be seen following that moment; I shouldn't need to beg someone to pay. And food that was nothing more than alright. None of which would be a problem until you realize that 2 drinks, 2 starters and 2 main courses came to 2,000 Baht... which is premium pricing and ought to represent a premium product with premium service.

Yes, a cultural desert, for sure. Outside of Bkk, I have never heard of such a thing as a symphony orchestra (though I think there is a youth orchestra that plays now and again....better than nothing, I guess).

When you've seen one temple, you've seen them all. (And then you remember how corrupt were the monks in the Christian church of the Middle Ages....)

But some of the farang restaurants are really good. Particularly Why Not? on Nimman soi 9 (or is it 11?) Also, Pern's and Beer Republic (where beer is good, though food too expensive).

And the bookstores are really rip-offs, compared to second-hand bookstores in the West.

Still, I suppose you can read the Metaphysical poets in the daytime, and have a Happy Ending on Loi Kroh at night, when it is much cooler.....

In that case 99% of the earth is a cultural desert - most towns and cities would fail the "must have a symphony orchestra" test. That would include Vatican City for example - one of the seats of Western culture but sadly lacking an orchestra.

You certainly have not seen "all temples" when you've seen one. They're incredibly varied.

I think most of the farang restaurants here are "OK" and rarely hit "Wow!" try Dubai for a comparison test where "Wow!" is very much the order of the day. I do like the availability of imported beer though.

The second-hand bookstores in the West don't have to import their books to Thailand - which is where much of the price differential comes from. Talk to the owners they go on book buying trips (which cost money) and then bring the stuff here (which costs more). It's not just stuff coming over the counter which stocks a large second hand bookstore. For Asia, they're very good value.

I don't see how you can misread an entry stamp, you know before entering how long you will be given 15,30,60,90 or a 1 year stamp.

its not a pick any stamp up and put it in the passport, yes the immigration officer can make a mistake,but all stamps should be checked at the time.

Surely before planing a trip to Thailand you work out how many days you are staying, have the correct visa and travel insurance, and a plan on re-entries etc.

A long term 1 year extension may be forgotten, but again its just bad planing, and not putting that renewal date in a diary, phone, computer.

Lots of people don't realize the date is on the stamp and do their own calculation on their head (30 days) and are off by 1 day (which is probably why they don't fine for one day) [i.e. 30 days means 30 nights -- when it actually only means 29 nights]

This. When I first came to Thailand - I came from China, where the 30 day period on your visa starts the day after you enter the country, whereas in Thailand it starts on day of entry. So, I was exactly 1 day over when I left Thailand to move to Cambodia. I paid the fine, said sorry and haven't done it again. I find it hard to fathom missing a visa date by a month but a day is pretty easy to do.

Really? Another rich person advocating for screwing poor people over and we're supposed to take that seriously? The pending economic crisis is not about benefits to the poor but the insane concentration of wealth in the hands of a tiny, tiny fraction of humanity. A fraction that doesn't spend money. A fraction that doesn't create jobs. (The lower and middle classes do that). Want to stave off an economic crisis? Tax the rich. Want to stave off a social revolution? Tax the rich.

I like the great bookstores; a lot of Metaphysical books. I have no problem finding a book worth reading. Sleep and read during the day and Loi Kroh Rd. at night. Beats working! 555

I'm a huge fan of the bookstores in this town; I'd like better first-hand stores but the second-hand ones rock. A complete folio edition of Wilfred Thesiger's two most famous works for $10? Get in. The staff and owners are all pretty knowledgeable and while some moan about the pricing; I think it's pretty darned fair most of the time. Now, all I need is for somebody to flog off that huge table hardback about Thai masks... which is 2,500 Baht brand new... and a little more than I am prepared to pay.

Thank you for the effort you have put in; though the thing about randomized service times puts me off even trying to use this service. Standing out in the heat of the day for hours for a bus isn't my idea of a lot of fun.

Totally agreed that the random schedule is a problem, however the thing that I was surprised to find out yesterday is that we don't have to wait hours but rather 40 minutes at most on weekdays and 60 minutes at most on weekends (see the post).

I loathe the haggling process with the red-taxis and even more than that I loathe sucking in vast quantities of exhaust fumes and sweating like crazy every time I cross town.

So for me, and I think many, the fact that I "only" have to wait 40/60 max in the shade by the bus stop takes it from something I wouldn't even consider using to something I actually did use successfully twice this week.

The other problem is changing schedules and routes...see my response below...

40-60 minutes? They'd have to pay me to wait that long. I'd rather pay for a taxi than wait that long.

I NOW dislike CM intensely. I first went live in CM 10 years ago. Indeed I still have a house there. Originally i went because I thought my children could have a good life there. Turned out, of course, that the school were huge and mediocre in spite of their Thai reputation. Dara has 7000+ students. Traffic became a nightmare and I was driving 10s of kilos a day to get them from Doi Saket to Hang Dong and T.Mahidol. Then came a huge influx of farangs and other foreigners. If I want to live with westerners I can go home.

What exactly is it that people like about CM?. Sure off to Pai, Fang and Mae Hong Son it is a great base; but to live there. Like the rest of Thailand unless you know creative and clever Thai people it is a cultural desert. Great for subsistence and poddling about; great probably if you have a business? And the endless smoke.....etc. I think if I was 18 I would try a few other places!

A cultural desert? I can't think of anything further from the truth. The city has endless festivals and activities. Photography groups, documentary arts groups, galleries, living, breathing temples, etc. Sometimes I wonder if people actually leave the house when they're here.

As for driving "10s of kilos" a day... why didn't you move? It's not like there's a housing shortage anywhere in this city.

Comparing Singapore to Chiang Mai is like comparing a 2016 Ferrari 488 GTB to the Ebola virus. One is new, shiny, expensive, and exclusive to living well.....and the other is full of sheer misery that is wildly contagious.

Eh? Singapore's not my cup of tea at all - too ordered, too rigid. Chiang Mai doesn't make me miserable at all.

is there a Laos VOA Tourist Visa application form online?

anybody used it?

No, there isn't.

You need to spend a few months homeless sleeping on a cardboard box then ,to realize how fortunate you are .

All I know is that I lived in a 35 m2 flat in Europe for a couple of months while my place was being renovated and I honestly thought I would go insane. It was like a prison cell to me.

Only if you're slightly bonkers. Most of us can appreciate how fortunate we are without resorting to homelessness to kickstart that process. My place is a fair amount bigger than that... and it's still too small for me and there's only me to consider in that. I am more fortunate than the 45sqm home dweller and less fortunate than the 5000sqm home dweller. Not difficult to appreciate either of those things.

Ignore the nay Sayers. If you are going to live in some place the most important part is the location. Many people live very comfortable in 45 sq. meter studios. Part of the problem for many people is they are down deep afraid of people and only feel safe with lots of room around them. I once read a post by a guy who said what if you meet some one in the hall. Obviously a fear of people. Some one for a nice house on a good size lot. Nothing wrong with that. I fail to see why they need to denigrate some one who does not need what they need.

Could be they need outside looks to make up for their insecurities. (flame away)

You are apparently going to have to measure one for yourself. 45 sq. meters is basically a rectangle shape with a bathroom that would have to be measured in. Also it might include the balcony.

When in doubt always accuse others of "insecurities" a term so vague as to have no meaning. I like people. I even like sharing a house with someone who wants to spend time naked with me. I just like space in my home too. This is because I'm a human being rather than a rabbit. Rabbits live happily in boxes because they have no possessions, no money and not an awful lot of needs beyond carrots and water. People live in boxes when they are in roughly the same position as the rabbit and it's rarely a matter of choice but rather one of means.

Lol. Yup, poor service in Thailand must be race hate or homophobia and couldn't possibly be the usual incompetence of a South East Asian supplier; oh no.

Some people love to make mountains from molehills don't they?

Thank you for the effort you have put in; though the thing about randomized service times puts me off even trying to use this service. Standing out in the heat of the day for hours for a bus isn't my idea of a lot of fun.

Oh life; I just realized you guys are actually registering the devices with Amazon... I've never done that.

We've had this discussion this week already. You can ship a new Kindle from Amazon to Thailand as long as it is not the ad-supported model. You can ship an ad-supported brand new one for less money using a seller on Ebay selling brand new ones. Postage on ebay includes taxes in Thailand. The ad-network doesn't function in Thailand.

what is meant by "ad supported" brand. I have a kindle (as does my daughter) and both show book ads every time we turn it off. The ads change regularly, so i just assume it is doing it thru the wi-fi connection.

is there some other ad based system that i am successfully avoiding?

There is a substantial discount for an "ad-supported" model compared to an "ad-free" one. Amazon doesn't send the adverts via Wi-Fi but rather by 3G (which can't be switched off...) I had the ad-supported one until about 3 weeks ago and never received a single advert on it. Then it was nicked in Cambodia and I bought an ad-free one in Cambodia from a shop (no import taxes in Cambodia - paid $10 more than on Amazon for it but got it in exactly 30 seconds after asking for it). No difference at all in the experience with either.

^45 sqm ? ..Thats huge and big enough for one permanent resident at least .Lived in similar for several years ,although now with wife and family i live in a 3 bedroom house .

How is 45 sqm huge? It's a box not a home.

All I know is that I lived in a 35 m2 flat in Europe for a couple of months while my place was being renovated and I honestly thought I would go insane. It was like a prison cell to me.

You need to spend a few months homeless sleeping on a cardboard box then ,to realize how fortunate you are .

Only if you're slightly bonkers. Most of us can appreciate how fortunate we are without resorting to homelessness to kickstart that process. My place is a fair amount bigger than that... and it's still too small for me and there's only me to consider in that. I am more fortunate than the 45sqm home dweller and less fortunate than the 5000sqm home dweller. Not difficult to appreciate either of those things.

Yes, you can get VOA. I think it's $35 for a US citizen. You cannot get a Thai visa in Luang Prabang at all. You must get it, in person, in Vientiane if you want to get a Thai visa in Laos.

SiamReaper

Won't be needing a Thai visa upon my return from LPQ, but I would be interested in acquiring a Lao tourist visa prior to boarding the flight here in Chiang Mai. No waiting in line! Is there a way to do that?

Thanks!

It is but the effort:expenditure:return rule says it's not worth it - you could go to their embassy in Bangkok and apply for a visa before you arrive. The folks in Lao are actually pretty good at processing visas quickly and you won't save much time in exchange for that huge side trip - the only real investment of time is filling in the paperwork... it must be the longest VOA form in the world but once that's done - it's usually about 3-5 minutes before you're on your way again.

Yes, you can get VOA. I think it's $35 for a US citizen. You cannot get a Thai visa in Luang Prabang at all. You must get it, in person, in Vientiane if you want to get a Thai visa in Laos.