Lone Ranger

New Central mall opp Market Village ...you can se construction site....

I went to Manila last July booked reyrn CEBU PACIFIC...absolutely fine..1 big big problem though is the grid locked traffic ...took me 2hrs to get to my accomodation in Makita central city location....so if you can arrive non peak hrs like early am .

DannyBoy 66 mentioned go to Koh Samat!!!

Do not go there trust me...largest vampire "hen" mosqitos descend in their millions at sundown from the jungle & no spray works you are literally being eaten alive & to make matters worse the sand flies attack your feet ..still got the scars ...added to which the place is a blatent rip off & the people are just out for your money ...wouldn't wish my worst enemy to be shipwrecked there !

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Thanks Lone Ranger! Very interested to check out Takiab Beach next month. Do you know of any decent website showing real rental prices for villas and condos there?

Forgot to add if you want the best bangers[sausages] & mash with baked beans & onion gravy the Oasis bar is the place to go on left hand side just before Anantisila Resort turn off on the left ...also all day english full monty breakfast to die for ,pool table also & the Brit owner a lovely Mancunian guy is an ardent Man Utd fan so you get to watch the games with passionate Man U supporters like myself !

If you want a spiritual,calm,serene atmosphere where you can arrive in a foul mood say from the traffic or whatever I can guarantee you that within in 30 mins you are are slowly but irrevocably taken to being transformed to an almost monk like state at one with nature,mankind & indeed your very soul....maybe it's the holy mountain ..you should check out the history of that famous monk who arrived by sea from some distant land & decided this place was holy & began to live there alone ...as the locals got wind of this monk they came to meet him & were so impressed wityh his spirituality they all contributed to build him a teample on that mountain at Takiab....although now long dead .I still feel his presence every time I am priveleged to arrive there ....enjoy !

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I lived in Rayong for several years. Work is the only good reason to settle down there. Mae Phim and parts of Samed are nice for short holidays, but expensive and inconvenient to live on. There's also quite a bit of industrial pollution and not much in the way of culture. And perhaps it's just me, but being close to Pattaya is hardly a plus.

Hua Hin, on the other hand, is one of the most cultured, classy,clean, hospitable, safe and pleasant destinations in the entire country. I've never heard anyone say a bad thing about the place (who wasn't a sexpat).

Right on the button Your Thainess !

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Thanks Lone Ranger! Very interested to check out Takiab Beach next month. Do you know of any decent website showing real rental prices for villas and condos there?

I would agrre with PBONLINE's comments. Arrive here 1st & check in to one of the many hotels/guesthouses around Takiab.

Anantisila is 4 star but 1 of the best hotels in Thailand ..great to dine there or just use their facilities ,private sun longers,pool restaurant/bar etc 500bt all in of which the food baically covers that twww.anantisilaresort.com ..cheaper 3 star hotel also on Takiab beach is blue sky hotel but check if renovation of lifts & construction of beach restaurant completed .Thera are many new condo blocks just built all along that area as soon as you turn off left at the bypass going south ...as suggested rent a motor bike & explore ..it's fun too...but if you have the money always travel in a car as much safer.Papa Joh's has the best European foods with steak to die for [i know his supplier & his 2 chefs he pays double the rate so in turn they have been there many years & are excellent chefs. Also right on the beach is a superb thai seafood open air restaurant where literally Thais come from BKK to dine on the beach..50m from Anantisila set back going south ..just marble tables ...but same day seafood cooked to perfection & amazing value ..a must. I know once you spend just 1 afternoon/evening on Takiab beach underneath the holy mountain you will never want to leave....

No loss there then ! I too had the misfortune to visit CM UK Consulate apalling,rude & arrogant Thai lady ran the place under the Hon Consuler who was never to be seen.or contacted as always"too busy". Disgrace of a place. Pattaya had some fat,ugly gay guy & gay team including a formidable looking lady man working next to immigration a few years ago but although making themselves a few quid were at least efficient.

The only decent UK Consulate I met was an ex-Army man on Koh Samui about 6 yrs ago but I think he packed it in as just got grief...all very sad.

I have lived in CM,Samui,Pattaya,BKK & Hua Hin & there is no doubt in my mind & indeed that of my Thai wife that no 1 is Rimping in Chiang Mai ..their 5 [or6 now?]shops in CM are the best by a long way .Villa Market no 2 but grossly overpriced..No 3 Foodland ...the rest are just average sadly.

Pony cafe on Petchakasam Rd 200metres past Makro same side.As well as superb coffees,cakes they have an excelent menu....beef/pork stew just like Mum made,fish'n chips,shepherds pie ...excellent in a english tea room setting ..quite unique !

"garden suite (36 sq metres + 8 sq metre terrace) at 45,000 Baht single occupancy"

I guess these prices even the baht at 32-33, are geared more for foreign budgets rather than Thai's.

The Sunday bike club visited McLean's about 4 years ago and I thought the place looked run down. I hope at the prices they are asking they have improved it a lot.

Agreed. This facility occupies part of an island which was used to house and treat lepers. All those tiny cottages were used to home these stricken folks. Where they are now is any one's guess.

I have not been back for a decade or more but having looked at the pictures of those now being provided for, it is not my idea of a fun place to be in my old age.

At first glance when DOK KAEW GARDENS was first advertised I had thought it might offer a refuge for me one day were I old-age-impeded. Now I believe the atmoshere there, despite their obvious caring attitude for the aged, would quickly expedite my demise.

Any home for the aged however they now spin it would do the same for me.

As a highschool 'Junior Kiwanis' I had, amongst our other activities like telephone gatherings at the city telephone company pitching for blood transfusions for the Red Cross, visited homes for the aged to try to 'cheer-up' those there: I had left cautiously pondering what my future may hold. Here in Chiangmai years ago I'd arranged a private academy's weekend student trip to a nearby old-folks home on the right on the road to the Mae Ngat Dam: the folks there appeared genuinely pleased with their young visitors. On leaving, the students obviously forcing their smiles I do recall their disquiet, which had closely mirrored mine at their age.

Obviously I cannot speak for others, but as I gaze outwards from within myself, my inner-being so to speak, I never perceive myself as 'aged'. As has been mentioned elsewhere, seventy is now the new fifty!

My entire life's journey from childhood through adolescence to now - approaching seventy - is a timeless fusion in which I really do feel ageless. In this, the autumn of my years, I consider every moment wasted as one less 'Livin' la Vida Loca’ . Anything detracting from this 'crazy' life, such as the interminable waiting at immigration for a 90-day stamp, is one misspent second too much. I know, I hear you, there are some who enjoy the 'comraderie' there in the economy-class seating indulging in whatever - all the best to them.

You get the idea....

My intention is to remain in my home with my extended family, my pets and my fusion of memories. If needed, a quintet of nursing caregivers at 8-hour days plus time-off is relatively speaking, not all that expensive.

Sorry...did run on a bit... in closing kindly remember this:

If you're lonely when you are alone, you're in bad company. - Jean Paul Sartre

Truly wonderful to meet a kindred spirit !

I too feel ageless although not when I look in the mirror & like you have always felt that "timeless fusion" ..what a perfect description...thank you.

New 1155 hotline launched for foreigners

BANGKOK: -- The Tourist Police Division has been ordered by the PM's Office to open 1155 hotline for receiving complaints of foreigners, Deputy Permanent Secretary for PM's Office Chamroen Yuttithamsakulsa said.

The hotline will receive complaints on urgent issues and there will be interpreters to help police receive the complaints.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/New-1155-hotline-launched-for-foreigners-30255788.html

-- The Nation 2015-03-11

1155 been around for several years but no-one speaks English as usual that's even if they bother to answer at all.

Just tried twice at 12.25 & 12.27 but constantlt engaged tone ...pathetic !

I went to Chachoengsao Immigration a few months back for a proof of residency document. Expected to pay 200Baht, was asked 500. When I asked to see where it said that it costs that much, the woman said it was "helping money" and if I didn't want to pay I could always go to Bangkok.

I asked to see her superior. She said ok and entered a door (which I know is only the door to the staircase) and came back after 2 seconds saying he was not in and I was welcome to wait. I knew it was BS so in the end I grudgingly agreed because I needed the document quickly and didn't have the time to go to Bangkok.

The 'kind' officer made a point of making me wait for over an hour while they were doing nothing.

When she finally presented the document, I paid and I asked for a receipt, at which point she exploded and tore up the paper in front of me, shouting and telling me to go out. I told her she should be ashamed of herself. I had a few other things in my mind I wanted to tell her, but amazingly I managed to keep them to myself.

In the end I had to ask another (really friendly) officer to get the document and eventually got it.

I wish I knew the relevant number to call for these kind of extortions.

You should take a photo of the officer and record your conversation. Upload it to you tube and send it the office of the PM.

put it on forums Thai and English. Take it your embassy. Take it to newspapers.

Exactly!

In Chiang Mai there are 4 nurse's aids schools that I know of. 1 is very close to Wat Phra Singh. One of my dearest friends and former students is getting her PhD in Nursing at CMU and could probably help out with finding in home nursing care

Thanks for info. Hua Hin also has a teaching college for nurses & their reputation seems to be good.

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Depends where you are in the country, for instance there is a nurse aid school in Hua Hin which can arrange graduates to do this work, they are well trained in the basics and get hospital time as part of their training.

I have heard of & also been reccommended this service in Hua Hin....sounds good & worth investigating more.I tried to call the English mob phone no but dead.......maybe someone who speaks Thai can elaborate more for all concerned?

I have just suggestedto BUPA HO in Thailand that they start a new policy worldwide for care nurse/care home services...they responded they woud consider the idea in due course....can't understand why these private health insurance co's don't see the endless possibilities here to a] make even more money & b] save millions of people unnecessary stress from worryng about what will happen to them & their families when they are disabled/bed ridden.Someone, somewhere, sometime, is going to make a lot of money......

Thank you all for your very helpful contributions -it is very much appreciated ! Looks like my bed ridden friend cannot afford the costs quoted over here so we are hoping to repatriate him back to UK soonest where he can live in a free NHS government care home.

You may wish to inquire of the care services available at DOK KAEW GARDENS McKean Rehabilitation Center:

Their care service reportedly at 33K-45K ( watch for rising costs like everything else) does not include any medical costs:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/767980-assisted-living-at-dok-kaew-gardens-at-mckean/

http://www.mckean.or.th/en/testimonial/chiang-mais-first-retirement-home-for-expats-and-thais/

https://www.facebook.com/mckeanhosp

Also a competing retirement-care center, Care Resort Chiang Mai, offers some of the same yet other services you may find appealing: Inquire as to costs;

http://careresortchiangmai.com/

Thanks for info-appreciated. Just for anyone's interest I was quoted approx 60,000 baht per month by Care Resort Chiang Mai for bed ridden stroke patient but looks like 5 star luxury hotel.

I am bedridden, enquired about full time nurse, live in /out. I was quoted 1200 baht per day.

Thank you so much for your input. Buddha bless you sir.

After seeing a friend of mine recently bed -ridden with a stroke I was wondering if anyone knew what the approx costs would be of employing :

1. A Full time 24/7 365 days per year live in fully qualified Thai nurse ?

OR

2. Paying for that nurse to visit his home on a daily basis to take care of his basic needs such as lifting,bathing, administrating prescribed drugs etc?

Any help would be gratefully received-many thanks in advance.

Doesanyone know if this ruling affects usutfruct agreement when buying a property?

I thought I read somewhere about a new law that said all dogs had to be chipped,vacinated, have a colar with ID tag and only be let out in public with the owner ( or someone responsible ) on the other end of a leash.

I think that was bargirls.

best one today

I agree ! Best one for ages ! Keep 'em coming sir !

El Murphys Irish Bar & The London Pub in Binttibahn red light area have rock'n roll,countrylive music ...great nights out had there !

Saxophone Bar soi 94 (all the way up the top), Thai Wai in Pak Nam Pran (opening a bar in Khao Takiab soon which will be much easier to get to)

Please inform us when the new bar opens up in Koh Takiab..this is great news ...hopefully one can smoke there too as you cannot at soi 94 bar sadly.