JimmerJJ

Hello I live in Bangkok and I get debilitating migraines. Does anyone know of a pharmacy that carries oral Sumitriptan or Eletriptan (Relpax®). Thank you

Thanks all for the great information!! I have more confidence about getting this done (sometimes I get unduly stressed out) and I really need a license because I have to go back to the US and rent a truck to move a bunch of stuff out of my storage. So this helps a lot. ????

Thanks Tall Guy, Very helpful about the practical tests. I passed them all before in 2019 when I got my 2 year temporary (now expired) but it's a nice refresher knowing ahead what they are.

Thanks Polar Bear! That is one of my concerns on the practical test is not understanding what they want me to do. I guess I'll try watching what others do. Do you know are the practical tests the same at Chatuchak and Onnut? I'm an excellent driver too with about 40 years of driving and only one accident my fault when I crashed the Drivers Ed car in high school because instead of using reverse in backing out from a parking space I had it in drive and gassed it crashing into the store window. ????

Thanks Dr Jack, for all the great information! Very helpful. I am on a Non-Imm OA visa.

Hi everyone, I am in Bangkok and need to get a Thai Drivers License. I see a few websites online that offer assistance with the forms and they also accompany you to the Dept of Land Transportation to get it. If anyone has used any of these services I would be interested to hear of your experience with them. Two services that I saw online are Fatboys Thai License Service and also Thai Drivers License Service Point - TDLS. If you have any feedback on these or others I would really appreciate to hear before i dive in with one. I had a USA DL but it expired and I also had a Temporary Thai Drivers License but then got locked out of Thailand because of Covid and it expired so I guess i have to start over. Thanks All I really appreciate any information about doing this.

Wrong answer. There is a separate time for negotiating the budget. Now is the time to pay bills that were passed into law by Congress. They're two different processes but of course the GOP likes to pull this stunt everytime there is a Democrat president. If need be and rightwingers don't come to their senses Biden should invoke the 14th.

Last Thursday, prior to Biden's and McCarthy's meeting, Durbin provided Newsweek the following answer when asked whether Biden should consider using his constitutional authority to raise the debt ceiling: "I'm open to suggestions about how to end the suicide pact on the debt limit." Perfect answer to our self-inflicted hostage crisis. If need be invoke the 14th.

Anyone want to venture a guess on what this will do to the exchange rate if it's not raised? I've been loading up on THB for the past few months just in case. Like others on here I think there is a strong argument made for invoking the 14th amendment as discussed by Lawrence Tribe, Harvard Professor on Constitutional Law. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/07/opinion/debt-limit.html The thing is if you cave to the GOP and it gets kicked down the road a year what will they ask for next time like 'we want all the the seditionists freed' or some other nonsense.

It is so archaic and backward that in this day and age we have to resort to these measures to try and get a letter back to the SSA. We have secure online accounts called My Social Security so why can't they just use that for us to submit these forms. Or have a normal street address instead of a PO Box. Just ridiculous and maddening that we have to resort to this stuff. I wish all Expats in the world would somehow be able to band together on this and submit a group complaint/petition to Congress to call SSA on the carpet about this. Or at least we should each write all our Congressmen and let them know about this fiasco. It should make everyone mad as hell that SSA is so out of touch that they screw with our earned benefits like this.

I am having difficulty with this form (SSA 7162). The system is broken so I emailed my Senator (copied below) please feel free to copy and email your Senator and keep our fingers crossed. Subj: Problem: SSAs Archaic System for Form 7162 Dear Senator Rosen, I am a Nevada absentee voter temporarily living overseas. I am 70 years old and on Social Security. The SSA mails out a form to those overseas receiving benefits which must be returned to them or their benefits are jeopardized. The problem is they only allow returning it to their PO Box so that rules out using tracking services such as FedEx or DHL. I sent mine on Nov 23rd via EMS mail but that tracking stopped after it left Thailand and was not picked up by USPS. This is an important form to get returned or they cut you off. Why can't SSA have a normal street address to return these forms instead of a PO Box? Also we have no way of knowing if it was received. So as backup I have also sent another 7162 to them by regular airmail from Thailand. Why can't they send us a secure message in 'My Social Security' letting us know that it was recveived. I called the SSA office in Reno (where I applied for benefits) and the Rep did not even know what that form was. The Rep gave me another number in Wilkes Barre PA (where the form goes) but I called there and they said it was the wrong office. Please help us with this nightmare bureaucracy. Thank you

I'm not complaining just trying to figure out if I'm getting ripped off. I've learned a lot just from this thread that there are a lot of variances.

I'm not complaining just trying to figure out if I'm getting ripped off. I've learned a lot just from this thread that there are a lot of variances.

Thanks for the info. I wish I could pay directly to the MEA. The front living room is surrounded on 2 sides by big windows that open. So maybe it's not energy efficient too.

Thanks, padding the bill is what I think too.

Yes I don't have much stuff so not hrd to move. I could afford the extra couple thousand but I just don't like being taken advantage of and I think that's what they're doing. It's the principle of the thing. Thank you

Yeah maybe your're right. Thank you

Hi Sqwakvfr, guess I could if I asked but the Manager was showing me the current reading on paper but i didn't actually see it for myself.

Hi Crossy, I don't know the BTU's but here are some pics and the one in the bedroom is a Trane. The outlet in the living room is a big vent like they use with central A/C but I guess it's not because it has a condensor outside (see vent pic). And outside on the balcony are 2 A/C condensors (I think they're called that) Thank you

Hi everyone, I'm renting a 1 bedroom apartment near Saphan Kwai and Ari in Bangkok and it is my first month here. Electric is not included and the contract says the charge is 8 baht per unit. My first month will be over in a week and the manager estimates that the final elecrtric charge will be about 6000 baht based on what I've used so far. To me it seems high but I've been absent from the country for 2 years because of COVID and just got back. We are very conscious about saving electricity. There are 2 A/C units, one in the bedroom and one in the living room but mostly only one is run at a time. We shut the lights and everything off if we leave. The place is dimly lit with not much lighting. The hotpot stove is electric and we cook normal but just breakfast and dinner and we use laptop and TV. The apartment is about 76 sq meters. I don't have access to the meter and just have to rely on what they tell me. Is 6000 baht about normal? Is 8 baht a unit about normal (live in Phyathia/Saphan Kwai area)? I'm deciding whether to stay here so this is a factor. Thanks all for any info.

That's exactly what I did. Starbucks has a Hazelnut syrup and also at Villa Mart they have 24 oz bottles of Torani Classic Hazelnut syrup. So I mix with a creamer like Barista milk and then top it off by spraying some whipped cream on top. Also experiment by adding a little vanilla or caramel syrup (but the ratio's are top secret so I can't divulge).

Right now I'm hooked on UCC Roast Master House Blend Medium Roast (Thailand product at Big C). It has a really great crema and kind of a nutty taste. Coffee aficiando's will probably turn up their nose to it but i'm not that picky. I look for not fruity but a nutty (like me) taste. But I switch a lot and like to try different ones.

Thanks everyone for all the good info and tips!! I appreciate your help so much!

Hello all, I am 70 y/o and having some serious pain in my back that requires surgery. Severe pain so in my eyes it is pretty urgent. I'm in Bangkok now on a 60 day Covid Visa that expires in a few weeks. I am thinking of using Vejthani Hospital because they have a spine surgeon with extensive training in USA and at Stanford and Cornell. I have no clue on how hospitals do a visa for you or how it works. Do I have to do it from outside Thailand? Can I do the consult with the doctor and then if he concurs (2nd opinion at Vejthani) that I need surgery then do they send me to the hospital Visa office to start the process? Would they do a visa for a spine surgery? I would think since I am going to pay a lot of money for their surgery that they would be happy to help with the visa. I think my spine care will be lengthy so I'll need a long tem visa. Thanks all in advance! ☺

Hi All, I'm really picky about my coffee and coming to Bangkok soon and staying in Thonglor area by Sukhumvit. Does anyone know of anyplace that sells Hazelnut coffee creamer (like in attached pics). I've been out of Thailand and can't remember if Big C or Lotus had them. It's a little coffee emergency if I don't have them Hahaha.