richard_smith237

Its strange but at night time the ‘mood' of taxi drivers shifts.... When I used to take a taxi at night with my Wife (then girlfriend) I noticed that if she did the talking it opened the door for the taxi driver to behave like a d!ck. It was subtle, but a sufficiently recognisable general character trait that led to me being the one to do the talking whenever we go into a Taxi.... I’d use a firm but polite tone etc... I suspect this just sent the message to the taxi driver that I could speak Thai, knew where I was going etc... Sometimes its the subtle things and I’m sure the above could be ridiculed by some posters who don’t understand the minor idiosyncrasies of dealing with different characters here and in other countries. But speaking politely but firmly etc definitely placed me in a position of ‘relative dominance’ which perhaps made the difference between a driver messing us about and just doing what he’s asked. Certainly for a lone female that position of dominance remains with the driver... in society which could often be accused of being morally and legally corrupt, this places a lone female at greater risk.

Have you considered the possibility of being called up for national military service if you are officially registered in Thailand ?

Its nothing to do with raising the handlebars..... The Thai shop is wrong.

Its a suspension adjustment. Depending on the model you can go from 'Full Lock' (no suspension) to a ‘Soft' setting and various degree’s between. On Cheaper models it may simply be a suspension ‘Lock' or suspension ‘Unlocked' setting. The effectiveness of your suspension depends on various factors such as air (it may need to be pumped up) and the quality of equipment itself. The ‘raising the handlebars’ information you were given is mostly likely a very poor translation and an very over simplified over simplification of what he front suspension does.

Not sure if that's still so, but in the old days MBK sellers would only offer half of what they can sell it for. So for example they can sell it for 30k, they would offer 15k. A very lousy deal. I’ve sold numerous phones at MBK in the past - its not quite as horrific as you point out, certainly not ‘half the price’.... but there is a negotiation and you can always walk away. Basically, I put something on Facebook Market Place and if it doesn’t well within a week or so, at a convenient time I go to MBK and sell it for there... usually for just a little bit less than my intended selling price... Thus: If I couldn’t sell the iPhone 13 Pro-Max 256gb for about 32,000 to 35,000 baht on Facebook Market Place, I’d let it go for 30,000 baht at MBK. (thats the usually prices I’d expect for this item). Defiantly agree, the best option is to miss out a middle-man... Hauk and Bank are just another reseller as you’ll find at MBK... but at MBK there is a lot of choice. Still worth giving H&B a try, but their FB page already highlights they are selling the same phone for 33,900 baht... so I very much doubt they’ll offer more than 33,000 baht... as with all the shops, they’ll want their mark-up. This: FB market place remains the best place to sell the phone IF the OP wants to get the most reasonable price. Taking Photos and Posting them is certainly less effort than physically going to a shop and trying to sell your item.

I think the Dr. was perhaps stuck between a rock and a hard place. I would certainly have liked to have spoken to someone in a position of decision making power and asked for an explanation of the discrimination. I would want to look the decision maker in the eye and ask them why my health is threatened by their discriminatory decision - the reality is such people would never be available to face those directly impacted by their discriminatory decisions, they are protected by ‘face’ and the ‘kraeng-Jai’ of those subservient to them. There is the additional facet that the Op was particularly unwell, vulnerable and certainly in no position to handle any other discussion than that of his symptoms and his immediate medical care. This hospital and its policy makers have failed in their duty of care to provide medical services. I very much suspect that the refusal to provide the Op with medication the Dr wanted to prescribe to him may actually be an illegal action. ------ It is this such behavior that drags Thailand down and continues to prevent it from evolving beyond a developing nation.... Perhaps this is what ’Thainess’ is.... It is the absence of consideration hidden behind a thin veil of platitude and the Thai smile...

You judgment is clearly overwhelmingly muddied - he was refused medication he needed - how is that possibly pathetic. IF this were true the Op would not have received any discriminatory treatment at a time of medical need - he would have been treated fairly and allowed to pay for the medication he was told he needed. No where in this thread has the Op stated he shouted or lost his temper - You have projected something which did not exist to created a strawman fallacy supporting your false impression that there must be a reason for the discriminatory treatment against the Op. Oh gawd.... the highly unimaginative and wholly moronic “IF you don’t like it go elsewhere” response, the go-to response of fools who lack the intelligence to post a valid counter argument to justify the negative.

I agree... IF he [Neeranam] looks non-Thai, by other Thai’s he will always be considered a foreigner with Thai Citizenship. There are also area’s of ‘Legal’ discrimination. For example, my Son is Thai (and British), he will face conscription, but he cannot become an officer in the Thai Armed Forces because one of his parents is not Thai.

Apples trade valuations are always very low compared to what the Op can sell for directly (to a shop or privately).

The obvious answer which will get the most people and probably the best price, but also expose you to a handful of 'tyre kickers’ is FaceBook Market Place. But... You’ve mentioned you don’t want to do that.... and I agree, it takes a certain amount of patience to deal with all the silly questions most of which are in the body of the Sale Post itself !!!.... That said, I have found FB market place to be a successful tool in the past and have sold phones and watches etc (but only when selling and meeting in person - there is too much scope for a scam when posting an item). I currently have my Smart Watch for sale on FB Market Place.... at least until I go to sell it physically... .... The base place for this (and the answer to your question) is MBK - This is were there are the most resellers located in one area. You won’t quite get the same price as selling on FB market place and they too can be a hassle as you get your time wasted by some people who take the phone, open it, turn it on, test it, then lowball you... So getting a decent price still involves ’shopping around’ a little to fund a stall which is being reasonable (I think they often rely on the seller either being gullible or lazy - which is why I think FB market place is the better option).

There is no reservation of funds - foreigners pay, the hospitals profit. None of the treatment is subsidised by the government and the drugs are in ample supply. You have presented no reasonable justification here. Agreed, the Op has not tried to blame the Doctor who was under instructions. It is illegal for any Hospital in Thailand not to render ‘life saving care’. What you are suggesting is that any hospital could refuse a patient based on nationality which could potential cost them their lives... That said, this wasn’t life saving care - but the hospital agreed to treat the Op, then turned the tables on him when it came to providing medication. That is clearly outrageously and very wrong. Agreed, many of us would go straight to a Private Institution, however, when quite unwell we may need to go to the closest. Knowing we may be treated poorly based solely on nationality should be alarming for all of us reading this. Excellent - but how would you have felt halfway through the treatment had they turned around and said “Sorry, its policy that we cannot give Farangs this treatment”... I’m sure you’d be quite angry.

I quite agree.... I don’t think it was racist, but its definitely discrimination against someone unwell. Any possible agreement is somewhat moot as it pertains to free treatment. The Op was paying for treatment and prepared to pay for medication which was not expensive nor in undersupply.

Yes… the Dr. Being the authority…. Having further oversight is what surprises me in this case. I’d be surprised if any medication I’ve been prescribed in the past requires higher authority than a Dr’s signature.

Molnupiravir used to be expensive at 8000-10,000 baht per course but is now approx 600 baht per course. No sensible reason to block the Op from receiving this.

Agreed... thats also a possibility.... One thing which is somewhat odd in the story.... Since when does a ‘big boss’ get involved with a Dr’s diagnosis and prescription ??? It does seem very strange that a Dr would prescribe something only for the ‘Big Boss’ to say no... at which point in the proceedings was he consulted etc ?... Note: (as already pointed out) IF the mediation was Favipiravir is neither expensive or in short supply in Thailand, so the response is just strange.

IF we’re going to get into the nuts and bots of it, the policy still ‘could’ have been racist... ... Would a Burmese, Vietnamese, Cambodian etc also be refused medication from the hospital in the same situation or was it as the op stated?... ‘She [the treating medical practitioner] then told me that her boss had told her that she could NOT dispense these drugs to Falangs regardless of their medical condition' Thus, what is meant by ‘Falang / Farang’ in this instance ??? white foreigners? ... or was the Dr simplifying the statement and instead of highlighting ’non-Thais’ used the work ‘farang’ (a world I very rarely here educated professionals use - perhaps the Dr’s handle of English was not as strong). .... OR... did the Dr. actually state ’non-Thai’s'.... and the the Op has since stated ‘Falang’....?? Where language is a barrier, there is plenty of scope for variance in the underlying wording, meaning and facts of the policy the hospital was operating under.

Agree with all the comments here... Well done to the young chap. I also strongly agree with the comments on here regarding training for all - this example should drive the message home to all authorities, schools and people in positions of decision making power that water safety and first aid skills are an essential facet of education and really need to be implemented in the curriculum across the nation.... .... not just Thailand, all countries.... And then... Add road safety and driver / rider education while they’re at it, electrical safety too... .... So many unnecessary deaths can be avoided with education alone.

...deliberately obtuse much ??? The Op explained the situation well enough to understand, the Dr. prescribed mediation that would help his condition. Life saving is of course an exaggeration, but antiviral medication has also saved lives during the Covid pandemic.

I agree with Neeranam.... even though I mentioned that the policy is racist and it certainly seems so... I'ts not racist, not in the true sense of the word as we witness it at is worst in other area’s of the world. Such policies are nationalist and perhaps border on xenophobia with understandable interpretations of undertones of racism. Why ??? and why does Neeranam know this ??.... Because he’s British (apologies Neeranam, Scottish), but he also holds dual nationality and is also Thai, the dual pricing or unequal treatment many of us witness and discuss does is not experienced by Neeranam because they are based upon nationality, he is a strong example of ‘racism’ not existing in Thailand in the context we discuss on this forum. My argument is that many of these policies being based on nationality alone are unfair and wrong, they are clumsy, insulting and not mirrored in our home nations which do have policies based on residency, but not nationality..... Thus, IF Thailand were to be considered moderate, fair and not be accused of bordering on xenophobia with understandable interpretations of undertones of racism where policies of differentiation exist, Thailand should either remove them completely or base them on residency and extricate itself to the the high-ground.

There were certain hospitals, including Bangkok Hospital that gave some of the vaccines to foreigners before Thais. I couldn't register, they asked for visa. I could initially get the Sinovac or Astra by showing Thai ID but I didn't want it. Ah.. that changes the landscape of your comment somewhat... I received Astra Zeneca... as did my Wife and Brother in Law. Mother and Father In Law received Sinovac (all within the same week)..... There really wasn’t any availability of anything else until much later. That's definitely unfair then.... extremely clumsy and wholly wrong to differentiate between anyone.

Trying to benefit from cheap, govt. subsidized medications meant for poor people. The local Pharmacy is always cheaper than the hospital Pharmacy and the Op was paying for his treatment and Medication. The op has quoted the cost of the paracetamol and Cough Medicine was B620..... Thus, Neeranam... you are distorting information - there was nothing subsidised about the Ops visit, unless of course you have information that the medication the Op needed which was rejected was subsidised.... ..... and, I could be wrong, but my guess is the Op was prescribed Favipiravir (antiviral) which is a very common medication, has been around for a long time and is very cheap. Neither is Favipiravir in short supply either.

A valid point.... The Op also states he was quite unwell.... I can’t compare covid because my case was extremely mild. Years ago I had a case of influenza and I couldn’t make it out of bed.... So, if the Op felt anything like that, getting to a hospital in the first place just a lot of horrible effort.... then to be sent elsewhere for medication for such a spurious and unfair reason seems just wrong.... ...I think anyone would be justifiably annoyed at this.

No. I fail to see why their nationality is relevant to my NOT getting a vaccine, as a Thai citizen before, or even at the same time as foreigners. Agreed.... The nationality of Neeranams parents is irrelevant. In this case the nationality Neeranam and the Op is irrelevant, or rather it should have been irrelevant. The Op was treated at hospital and refused medication because of his nationality - this is very wrong.

I too was vaccinated early on, a few days before my Wife and Mother and Father in Law. No one checked my Visa at all.... (I used the info on the front and back of my Pink ID to register). You could have registered with your Thai ID... OR are you suggesting that in Khon Kaen non-Thai’s were receiving their vaccinations before Thai’s ???? - IF so, thats the first I’ve heard of it. You're reaching and projecting to exaggerated behaviour to justify poor treatment of someone in medical need. From the Op we do know he was refused medication he needed - that is wrong. (and yes, it appears he did need it because he was given a prescription to go elsewhere and get it).

A strong argument, but a strawman fallacy nonetheless, for this is not what is happening here or in the UK.... The hospitals in Thailand are not and have not been over-run with expats seeking medical care. Non-Thai’s are not a burden on the Thai Economy or healthcare systems by any stretch of the imagination. Pre-Covid: Medical Tourism generated US$140 billion. In 2019 foreign tourists failed to pay US$ 300 million in bills. In 2018 there were 39.8 million foreign tourists.... >>> thats 7.5 Baht per tourist burden.... (in 2019). The argument, while emotive and used by Thailand politicians just doesn’t hold any mathematical strength whatsoever.... And I’d be racist in doing so... Particularly to the ones who’d lived there, paid tax and contributed to the local economy etc... I’d be embarrassed to paint all with the same brush.... That said, I do understand your point it perhaps rings a ’them and us’ bell in all of us, perhaps an instinct from ’neanderthal times’ when protecting ourselves from other packs of hunter gatherers... we’ve moved on... but some underlying attitudes seem not to have.