suzannegoh

11 hours ago, StevieAus said:

Myself and several expat friends have received the AstraZeneca vaccine at our local hospital in the North of Chiang Mai Province over the last two weeks.

For this vaccine you need to be aged over 60 years and provide some form of identification when registering eg passport.

We were treated equally as Thai residents.

Which hospital?

20 hours ago, Jajazazajaja said:

 

that article actually proved Sinovac Is even more effective than was thought

 

350 medical staff out of 40,000 got COVID and dozens were hospitalized means the vaccine is 99.91% effective 

look at the figures behind the headlines 

How are you coming up with 99.91%?  Wouldn't the effectiveness in that case be 1 - (350 / (40000 * P)), where P is the probability of an unvaccinated person becoming infected under the same circumstances?

On 6/6/2021 at 11:26 AM, ubonjoe said:

You only need a negative covid 19 test done 3 days before you depart Thailand.

Info here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/testing-international-air-travelers.html

Within 3 days of departing Thailand or of landing in the US?

1 hour ago, Nonthaburi Boy said:

I imagine the point of applying for the COE first is that there is no guarantee it will be granted, or how long it will take? Also, regulations can change at any time so somebody eligible at the time of booking the flight is not necessarily still going to be eligible when they apply for the COE and visa.

 

A new expat at our company has had problems with exactly this - plans made before getting the COEs and visas for his family have been completely messed up because the process is taking longer than expected. In our case it is just a bother since we have no significant penalty for flight and quarantine changes but it made the issue clear to me.

 

Sorry, I cannot answer your sensible question with any certainty. Why do you think you have to book through special channels? I have never heard of that. We booked (but this was not the US) through American Express travel as usual. Maybe use a service like that if unsure, rather than direct? Then you can talk to somebody before booking and put your mind at ease. 

Thanks for that input.  I wonder how early one can apply for the COE.  I was thinking that you need to apply for it once you are in the US but if it was possible to apply for it before leaving Thailand that would take a lot of the risk out of it.

1 hour ago, elgenon said:

Thanks for the clarification. So is Molson Coors a Canadian company whose US headquarters is in Chicago? I was hoping to blame the junk beers on foreigners though they originated in the States. 555

 

We have tons of craft beers. Where I live you could spit in any direction and hit a craft brewery or three. But why would you want to do that? 555

With big conglomerates, such as the ones that have bought up most of the mass market beer brands, it can be hard to determine their nationality.  But it’s Molson Coors' corporate headquarters that is in Chicago, not just its US headquarters.  In that sense you might be able to say that Molson isn’t a Canadian company anymore, but really it’s that the old Molson company merged with Coors.   

I’m planning to make a trip to Chicago for medical care and then return to Thailand and I’m trying to understand the procedure for booking return flight to Thailand in this time of COEs, in particular whether it matters where you buy your return ticket from.  Information on the Thai Embassy’s web page in LA says to apply for a COE and then book the flight to Thailand.  They say to book either a “semi-commercial” or a “repatriation” flight and they provide a list of semi-commercial flights, which can be https://bit.ly/2Ude2kx. Among the semi-commercial flights that are listed are some flights that can be booked on United Airlines’ web page using Frequent Flier miles just the same as if it was an ordinary commercial flight, such as TG911 from London to Bangkok.  So it seems like if I wanted to book a trip to Chicago, I should be able to book a roundtrip ticket on United’s web page (in advance) for an itinerary that flies BKK-LHR-ORD and then ORD-LHR-BKK with the final leg being on TG911.  Would that be acceptable to Thai authorities, or must I buy my return ticket through a special source? I have a proper Visa and an insurance policy that covers Covid up to an acceptably high limit, that’s not an issue, the only concern is whether it’s safe to book a TG flight to Bangkok before applying for the COE.

27 minutes ago, elgenon said:

If I remember correctly, none of those beers are American-owned.

That’s sort of complicated.  Budweiser is now owned by InBev (Belgium).  Coors and Miller are owned by a company called Molson Coors, which is a company headquartered in Chicago that was formed out of a merger between Molson (Canada) and Coors (USA).

17 hours ago, BenDeCosta said:

I'd love to see Thai people's responses when tasting beers such as Kentucky Breakfast Stout, Timothy Taylor's Landlord, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale or a Westmalle Trappist Triple.
 

Especially the KBS and the Triple are an acquired taste.  Same with big hoppy IPAs that are all the rage on the American craft beer scene.  They might be popular with beer connoisseurs but they don't taste the way most people expect beer to taste.

Beer Lao is overrated.  At its heart it's just another boring pale lager.

In Chiang Mai they also have started asking for 12 months of Bank statements when renewing extending an OA visa.  Kasikorn was able to print them for me with no fuss but I think that there was a small fee.

17 hours ago, WineOh said:

Tipping is not mandatory in Thailand.

 

This is not the USA.

I wondered how long it would take until someone objected to tipping at all.

2 minutes ago, Pib said:

Funny you should mention that....I thinking about buying a Samsung S21+ 5G here in Thailand.  Took a snapshot of a display model in a mall just to get the IMEI numbers.  A few minutes ago I ran the IMEI thru the U.S. TMobile, Verizon, and AT&T IMEI compatibility checkers and all three said the phone was good to go in the U.S. 

 

But the AT&T checker did note it was not compatible with their eSIM so a SIM would be provided instead.  The TMobile and Verizon checkers didn't note anything about eSIM....just said good to go.

 

Snapshot of AT&T note

 

 

 

Now, I do not expect the checkers were specifically checking for 5G compatibility...instead, just checking for compatibility on their networks for LTE or 5G.   

Do you know what 5G bands the Thai version of the Samsung S21+ supports?

4 minutes ago, Pib said:

I did a google and TMobile supports  n41 in the U.S... picked it up from the Sprint procurement....and it's up and running in numerous locations.   Below weblinks talk the TMobile n41.

https://www.t-mobile.com/support/coverage/t-mobile-network

https://www.bestphoneplans.net/networks/t-mobile#5G

 

 

 

 

 

 

But think that I was in error when I said that Thailand uses that band.  AIS says that their 5G is 2.6GHz (as opposed to 2.5Ghz).

1 hour ago, suzannegoh said:

You might be in for a disappointment when you take your Thai 5G phone to the US.  As far as I can tell, the only 5G band that Thailand and the US have in common is the n41 (2500MHz) band and you won't find that everywhere in the US. 

I may need to revise that.  I’m not sure that the US and Thailand have any 5G bands in common.  It looks to me as though in the US they auctioned off spectrum on these bands:  600MHz, 850MHz, 2.3GHz, 2.5GHz, 28GHz, and 39GHz and in Thailand they auctioned off spectrum on these bands:  700MHz, 2.6GHz, and 26GHz.  And some of those bands in Thailand may not be operational yet.  The Samsung S21 5G phones sold in the US appear to support all of the US bands but none of the Thai ones.

3 hours ago, mwbrown said:

I've got a Samsung 5G phone and will be going to America in September for 3 months so I look forward to information on this.

 

On my old Thai 4G phone the only US provider that actually worked was AT&T which I hate so I'd be really happy with another provider.

You might be in for a disappointment when you take your Thai 5G phone to the US.  As far as I can tell, the only 5G band that Thailand and the US have in common is the n41 (2500MHz) band and you won't find that everywhere in the US. 

Is 1.7%THC as strong as the tinctures prescribed in Thailand get?  Maybe that’s strong enough to treat hypochondria,  but it seems to be being recommended for everything up to and including cancer.

On 4/12/2021 at 11:13 AM, Neeranam said:

I miss the Bourbon St restaurant

It still exists but at a different location:
https://goo.gl/maps/kwjKyXy6Y8WKJ6qE7

1 hour ago, ericthai said:

I think you missed this part

"A further TBH1.4 billion (US$44 million) will be needed for the construction of the complex and its supporting facilities, and the cost will be covered by a joint investment between the government and the private sector."

Yes, I missed that.  But how much do you think that it typically costs to build a modern hospital?  One thing that's for sure is that $44M isn't going to put them on the level of the Mayo Clinic.

26 minutes ago, DrDave said:

To be fair, the $11M is the cost to "prepare for construction" (probably the customary studies, land acquisition and lining the pockets of local influential people). The total budget is projected to be $44M, which I agree doesn't come close to being able to compete with Western medical centers on that scale.

It still doesn’t add up.  To put the costs in context, consider that in 2014 Bangkok Hospital budgeted 6 billion baht (US$190M) for an expansion of their facilities.  The expansion involved adding 4 new buildings with a total of 200 beds.  So it doesn’t add up that this $11M investment is going to allow them to “attract around 50,000 tourists in 2023, with the number projected to double within a year and possibly reach one million in 2026”.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/30243514

6 hours ago, DrDave said:

The aim is that the medical tourism complex will initially attract around 50,000 tourists in 2023...

 

I doubt that the complex would be complete any time in 2023 even if they started construction today.

Even if they did build it that rapidly, the budget suggests a small scale project, not something that would attract tens of thousands of patients. These guys with their $11M budget for a "medical complex" are going to be competing with places i the west that spend more than that on a single machine.

With a budget of $11M?  That's enough to buy about ten MRI machines.

If you’re single or you are married to a Thai who hasn’t ever lived in the US then there’s a greater chance that the math would support taking SS at age 62.  If married to a US citizen the math is different because your spouse will be able to collect your SS if you die before them.

My last SS statement showed that I would get 42% more if I took SS at age 67 instead of 62.  With the right assumptions about by how much the government will under-report inflation and about how long you will live might make taking it at age 62 work out.  If you’re expecting to die at age 70 and you’re single then definitely taking it at 62 would be the thing to do. 
 

35 minutes ago, Lomsakboy said:

Where have I written THB 1 million. Should have said up to 350% to some destination. couple of sample on increase to United States is to port Seattle, WA. on a 20ft. the sea freight increase has gone up by THB 120,000 in approx. 1 year and to Terminal Atlanta GA. the same.  But all depending on destination address in United States, it could cost around THB 500,000 door to door and with everything included with todays freight rates. Hopefully this stop soon and the rates will get back to more normal prices. But I doubt it. 

Apologies, you didn’t say a million baht, I extrapolated that from your estimate of a 350% increase.  US$10K was a ballpark figure for a shipment like that a few years ago, using professional movers who pack and unpack everything for you.  3.5 times that would put it over the million baht mark, which would be prohibitively expensive in most cases. 

On 4/3/2021 at 10:08 PM, khunpeer said:

yes, I got 1 bottle of this and a bottle of that in the Witch shop in the road on the way to SanKampaeng. ask in the street for directions, just say  "MaeMot" and they know where to point you...

I'm not there now, holiday in the South, otherwise I would send you a Google location

Is that Witch place still there and still operational?