Spock

4 hours ago, balo said:

Another hopeless case without insurance.  And he lives here. "Should have known better" etc.  

 

I am tired of this. 

 

 

How are you personally affected by this guy's situation? 

7 hours ago, Letseng said:

 

And most travel policies are for 45 or 90 days only. If he is here to teach than travel insurance won't do it. 

Regardless, he has my sympathy. Get well soon.

 

Never had a problem getting travel insurance for much longer than 90 days.

14 hours ago, lust said:

These dogs should be sent to Vietnam to serve up some dishes.

I would prefer to see them humanely disposed of as there are probably too many of them competing for a limited food supply. It's a muslim area and I know from experience the people there do not like dogs, so I am surprised there are so many of them. I know because I once took one there and had great difficulty getting accommodation or hiring a boat.

18 hours ago, BritManToo said:

In Siam Reap the hotel I stayed at had a 24/7 pool bar serving beer for 50c a pint.

Half the tables had joints, grinders, and bags of weed on open display with everyone partaking.

 

Didn't see any police the entire time I was there.

They know how to make tourists welcome!

 

And yes I did have beer for breakfast, the next cheapest drink was a pot of tea for $1, which wasn't bad value as you could get 4 cups from it.

I like the sound of your hotel? Love to know where you stayed at in SR!

Thailand's drinking laws are draconian and yet another reason I would prefer to take my holidays elsewhere. Despite the advantage of speaking reasonable Thai, I no longer enjoy staying in Thailand.

1 hour ago, CaptainJack said:

Thank you and I agree. I will say I don't wish anyone, even those that gloat and enjoy putting others down, to suffer under changes to immigration policies that force them through what will be 10 times worse then what I have experienced.   Maybe some will understand, being uncaring and mean has a tendency to come back on one.  I'll check in later and update y'all.   Oh, thank you again. I think being able to write about this has really helped. 

 

Cheers....

Top respect for your honesty and the fluid style and content that was a pleasure to the senses to read. You provoked thought and raised issues to which many can relate. Retiring to foreign shores at 65 is not as smooth to negotiate as I had imagined.

2 hours ago, Sheryl said:

US Medicare does not give a discount on overrseas care.

It contributes nothing at all to care received outside the US. You're on your own for that.

Can only be used in the US.

And there are not insignificant copays and deductibles, especially if hospitalization is prolonged.

You have to pay a monthly premium for outpatient cover and medication cover, about USD 170/month for the two. This is aside from the copays and deductible.

So far from free care.

The only respect in which it is advantageous compared to Oz or UK is that the cover is not compromised if you live overseas. Dosn't matter if you live abroad nor for how long, as long as you can manage to travel back to the US for care, you are covered.



Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Sorry I obviously misread it. On reflection I think the poster was talking about a private USA medical cover which returned a percentage of overseas medical bills. The fact that you are covered and not wiped from the system for living abroad is certainly a bonus.

2 hours ago, ozmeldo said:

Thanks for the post. I wish you luck.

 

I'm once again reconsidering staying on past 62 (65). Ridiculously priced insurance, pre existing conditions (blood pressure me, wife cholesterol).

 

Medicare despite it's issues.

Wife is young enough to work.

 

Horrible value for some crap box where? Chaing Mai? Phuket? Bangkok? 5 million baht steps to ocean in Florida and half dozen other states.

 

31.2 to USD. As long as Thailand has unstable military govt, they will keep the thb strong.

 

Military government forever.

 

No PR, no citizenship despite being married ten years.

 

Pollution in BKK, CM. Will never change, only worsen.

 

Yeah, I'm back on Zillow again.

 

Good luck there buddy.

 

Consider yourself lucky that you are American, that your Medicare gives you some overseas discount on medical treatment and that your dollar fetches 31+ baht. If you are Australian, your medical insurance, free or private, covers nothing overseas and th Australian dollar, only 5 years ago worth 35 baht, now fetches just above 22. Plus an Australian pension will only give you about 42000 baht a month - if you are able to access it overseas. Personally, I would much rather be in your situation than mine.

1 hour ago, sahibji said:

i am sorry but what is wrong with Singapore state.

One giant shopping center with a single party system running the show. 

6 minutes ago, Howard said:

I think the Australian stance is pretty clear. The PM has twice written directly to the Thai PM in recent days requesting his return to Australia. The Australian Foreign Minister has raised the issue with the Thai authorities during a recent visit to Thailand. The Australian PM has made public statements on the Australian position.

 

The latest suggestion is that he be given Australian citizenship as this would change Australia's status in negotiating with the Thai authorities on his behalf. Will be interesting to see if this eventuates...

The initial red alert from Australia set the course of this unfortunate political tug of war. The Australian government may have subsequently mounted a campaign to 'bring him home', but the trigger happy federal police alert, though subsequently withdrawn, sufficiently murked the moral waters for the Thais to entertain a request for extradition to Bahrain. In any event, Australian citizenship would at least send a strong message of support.

Unfortunately the Australian's don't have a good record in recently failing to rescue 3 women from the clutches of the Thais and Saudi authorities (4 Corners 4 Feb) and they appear to have made a mess of Hakeem's situation. This doesn't mean I think the Thais have acted in the best interests of international justice. There are rumours of backroom relationships compromising natural justice in Hakeem's case. But there is a lack of clarity or sense of purpose involved in Australia's diplomatic performance with Thailand and these Saudi women. The Australian stance has been questionable till proven otherwise by a safe return.

To send money via bahtsmart today from Australia, for the first time I am looking at a rate below 22 baht - 21.5 baht. It's currently 22.2 baht - $A1 on superrich. The room in which I regularly stay in Rangsit costs the same in Baht, but has gone from $23 five year's ago, to $27 2 years back, and is today priced at $34 Australian. I will go to Cambodia where I can earn some money teaching and also fill in some time in the day that would otherwise be misspent or endured. Thailand is getting to expensive for Australians. Today the dollar dropped to 70+c from 72+c against the US dollar. Any further and we are truly in deep shit!

13 minutes ago, HuskerDo said:

I find all the comments interesting as had it been young girls that were the victims I suspect most would be ok with it especially if they were 16 or 17. 

 

Let the mother(s) of the girls cut his weenie off just like a jealous Thai woman would do to her husband if she caught him cheating.  

Your argument breaks down somewhat because the boys were 13-15 not 16-17. I imagine there would also be less of an outcry if the boys were 16-17. In any case, strictly speaking the Frenchman is not classified as a pedophile as the cut-off point for prepubescent children is 13. He is more accurately described as a hebephile.

8 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

unfortunately they come in all shapes, sizes, places and jobs

But fortunately there are nowhere near as many of them floating around Cambodia, Thailand etc as there were 20 years back. Laws have been tightened, groups set up to monitor the activities of pedophiles and communication between police in different countries is much more sophisticated. Hotels and guest houses don't allow single men to bring children to their rooms. Those like this guy who are still operating have had to seek a more clandestine modus operandi. I would suggest that those boys contacted via Facebook were already Facebook friends made through his 'activities' at the stadium. As already stated, the main offenders would be local men with a foreigners significantly in a dwindling minority.

12 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

Across the world the majority of abused children know their attacker, the whole idea of "stranger danger" hides where the more likely threat to children lies.

90% of sex abuse of children was from family members and friends. Don't think the stats now would be much different. I imagine that abuse of kids in the west is now far less prevalent given how well educated children are now on recognising and dealing with sexual predators.

2 hours ago, colinneil said:

After reading the story in the link, i had a good laugh, and call him a cry baby, wanting media attention.

 

Only allowed 40cm width to sleep, same as normal prisons here, no toilet paper, what did he expect?

Thais dont use toilet paper like farangs do, most of them never use it to wipe their backsides.

Food only bones, no meat, same as other prisons here, plenty of rice and a bowl of gruel, normal in prisons here.

Girlfriend overheard guards speaking BS, she would never have been allowed inside.

No medical help again BS, whilst i was in Buriram prison ( in a cell with 104 ) a prisoner in my cell had a problem in the night, he was taken out for him to get treatment, ( what treatment how good ) i dont know.

He was here 2 years on tourist visas, of course he got lifted, he admits to working, so no wonder had problems.

Whilst the immigration prison's conditions are similar to other Thai prisons, this doesn't make the inhumanity exhibited to prisoners acceptable. The only point of agreement I have with your opinion is the toilet paper issue. Surely after 2 years the guy surely doesn't require toilet paper?

6 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

How very convenient.

What's your problem with this guy? Do you know something about him that just about everyone else on here doesn't?

7 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

"Al-Araibi was convicted and sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison for “terrorism-related offences, including an attack on a police station”

 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/feb/05/hakeem-al-araibi-case-bahrain-is-emboldened-to-take-human-rights-abuse-beyond-its-borders

You are not a Bahraini by any chance?

7 hours ago, khunJeroen said:

This issue seems much bugger in Thai media than it really is. In Europe, nobody heard about it, even in SG people hardly bother. I also think most Thais don't care as long as he leaves.

Most Thais don't seem to care too much about human rights issues anyway. Look at the Rohingyas that the Thais were all but complicit in murdering down south. Or Rohingyas seeking asylum. 

11 minutes ago, mfd101 said:

As in every 'Western' country, "the government" in Australia does not raise or lower interest rates. That is the job of the RBA which, this morning (first Tuesday of every month), left interest rates untouched at their record low level, as a result of which the Oz dollar rose slightly.

Sorry. Very true. I wasn't thinking.

On 1/20/2019 at 10:46 AM, wombat said:

whats going on with the Oz dollar is my question ?

The OZ dollar will only get worse not better, particularly if the government cuts interest rates to save the property market and/or the USA raises interest rates again. Brace yourself for more bad news.

7 hours ago, darksidedog said:

This situation with crowd funding is getting ridiculous. It seems almost every day there is another one. Do people who come here check nothing about where they are going before they jump on a plane. Traveling anywhere overseas, especially Thailand, without good insurance is stupid and plain wrong.

And travel insurance is cheap.

18 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Go ahead comment about the things Thais hold sacred.

Referring to Thailand or the government as a dictatorship, military dictatorship or other such terms will be removed.

In the past, discussion of the lese majeste law has been allowed, but due to increased scrutiny by the government this will no longer be permitted on Thaivisa.

 

Do Thais hold the government sacred? Is that your experience? What about democratically elected governments? Are they sacred? Discussion of the government and lese majeste law are surely two very separate topics!

If Thais hold the government sacred, more fool them. I am not going to complement Prayut, watch man Prawit or the junta or even refrain from commenting on them and it. If Thais don't like it so be it.