rickudon

I use the Soffel spray and find 90% effective. Lasts for some 3 or more hours. I do not use the lotion because leaves you a bit sticky and of course, a lot on your hands... I have used the natural version but only lasts for about 2 hours. I am also O rhesus positive, and yes, mosquitoes are unfortunately, rather too friendly.

I originally came on Thaivisa mainly for the immigration/visa updates after having fallen foul of a change i was not aware of. I also look at serious Thai news (not every murder and road accident) and for the rare informative thread. Unfortunately of late a lot of threads are just reposts of existing ones or clickbait. Also the forum has become rather dominated by political hatred, no point debating that because those posters just do not want to know any alternative view.

sea ice in the Arctic is decreasing. Their may be transient increases in some areas but it is going down. https://nsidc.org/sea-ice-today Glaciers are loosing mass. A few might grow, due to increased snowfall, but most do not. https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-mountain-glaciers Nid noi is cherry picking.

Yeah, i thought when the conservatives and Margaret Thatcher took over that returning to UK would be a good idea. Hahaha. I spent the next 18 months on the dole, the employment situation was 10 times worse than when i left. Had to retrain as a computer programmer, throwing away all my scientific experience in water management. Thatcher deliberately restricted the ability of the regional water authorities to borrow money for investment, then blaming them for failing to meet standards, privatised it; Look where we are today - in 2017, 83% of people wanted all water services to be renationalised - the only people to benefit from the privatisation were shareholders, who asset stripped the companies to line their pockets, and water services today are in a worse state than 40 years ago. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_privatisation_in_England_and_Wales I will never vote conservative, foe ruining the water industry and my career.

It is called climate change rather than global warming for a reason. the extra heat energy can cause normal weather events to be more severe. The jet stream now ventures further south, which can pull down the polar vortex over the United states, also more storms floods, droughts, forest fires. The day After tomorrow seemed to far exaggerated when it came out. Current conditions make me think now not so much!

The revenue department boss needs to first tell his staff they are taxing all those expat pensioners, because most of his staff think we do not need TINs or to file! THEN he needs to train all his staff on how to advise farangs (in English and maybe dozens of other languages) how to file, and how to deal with income covered by the 31 double taxation agreements. IF he can do that, THEN we can file our taxes.......

Depends on what you mean by 'most'. There are other allowances that pensioners can also claim; an exemption of up to 100,000 baht on your pension, spouse allowance, parents of a Thai child and more. I reckon i have at least 400,000 baht of allowances and exemptions, plus also a pension covered by a Double taxation agreement. I expect to pay no tax. Also, you can gift to a spouse up to 10 million baht a year! (but careful how you gift it).

I get regular check-ups at my local government hospital, as i have CKD (chronic kidney disease). My first visit i just picked a couple of tests i wanted, no problem, but they insisted i see a doctor to discuss the results. Typically a doctors consultation was 200 baht. Now it is all pre-arranged appointments (but can usually get one on the day, if the right doctor is seeing patients). 1. Tests first, 2. when results are available get a spot in the queue, 3. see doctor, wait for prescription, 4. go order medicine, wait and pick up. Most Public hospitals have someone with some English to get you to the right place if you are not sure where to go. Typically a visit at public hospital would take half a day (best if you do tests day before, that saves time waiting for results). Typical bill for everything (a couple of tests, consultation and meds) would be about 1000-2000 baht. Obviously depends on the tests and the meds; in my experience basic meds are a lot cheaper than a pharmacy.

No, in a western suburb of Tripoli, where my employers were based. Was just trying to find another persons house, who had borrowed my jacket out in the desert one night, None of the houses had numbers! so had to walk around looking for one that fitted the description, Only found out they were secret police when the office asked where i had been, They asked me to describe the uniforms, said "you are lucky, that was the secret police, not many see daylight again".

The war will end this year, just depends on who blinks first. Ukraine is running low on men to conscript (but still has theoretically about one million in uniform), Russia has used up 75% of its armoured units, hence uses mainly infantry assaults; manpower is maintained by paying massive sign-on bonuses; the economy is suffering massive inflation. As for Russian re-armament, it is mainly drones and refurbishing obsolete stuff, aircraft and armoured vehicle production is stagnant. By 2026, the only advantage Russia will have is manpower using 1917 tactics.

Udon Thani usually lower than Bangkok, currently in the 130's. All particulate matter, SO2, NO2, ozone all ok. Outside of town always better. As currently staying inside most of the time (a different health issue), Particulate matter not much of an issue. Air purifier goes on if i can taste or smell the pollution.

I'm sure my daughter would like that.

I am sure that fusion will be achieved soon. The next step will be how to tap the superheated plasma without damaging the reactor, to make electricity. That will not be easy, never hear much about that. Still 50 years away from commercial usefulness.

Jonny, do not forget the bull bars and gun rack extras. The MAGA hat (made in China) is free.

Never been in the SAS, but did get arrested by the Libyan secret police once. But i didn't know it at the time, or i would have shat myself. Only questioned for about an hour, guess my answers checked out, because I am still around.

Had one in Udon Thani. Used to sell (maybe still does) outside Fruit market/Makro. Hearsay was that immigration picked him up. he explained he had a son to look after, no wife. They let him go, If he tried selling Som Tam, might have thrown the book at him. Very few Thai burger stalls.

I have lived in Udon Thani for 15 years, and have no plans to go anywhere else. Many things have improved. 1. Traffic - inside the ring road, rush hours are a bit slow. The new ring road finished a couple of years ago is pretty close to western standards and no longer requires the annual 'repair', hasn't needed it. In town out of rush hour(s) it isn't too bad. a bit slow sometimes, but rarely gridlock. And once you know the city, you know the faster routes 2. Air quality - there are only a couple of official monitoring stations, on major roads - so reported air quality is always poor, Get out of the high traffic areas and it is lower. I live one kilometre outside the ring road and although i do have an air purifier, sometimes do not need it even once a year. Local burning has decreased a lot, Main problem is the air that blows in from far away and traffic fumes, Typical real AQI's are moderate, then low in wet season. Much of the old rice paddies are now unused, turning to swamp or scrub, 3, Roads - in the last 10 years nearly every road has been upgraded, this last year has seen an asphalt surfacing surge - smooth. haven't driven on a dirt road that goes anywhere in years - even most of the side soi's now surfaced. 4. Health - several private hospitals, also a good public hospital which has an international office to help us illiterates' access the right services - and no markup on costs (I use it). 5, Food - all the usual big stores (Makro, BigC, Lotus, Tops) also villa market and several other western food outlets, Restaurants took a bit of a beating during Covid but still plenty of choices - even have a Michelin chef with a beautiful restaurant only 200 metres away! 6. sight seeing - not exactly world class, but quite a few places worth a visit, in town and out. UDtown is one of Thailand's largest entertainment, restaurant and shopping centres, The lavish landscaping exceeds anything you can see for free in the UK. Out of town - you may have heard about the 'sea of red water lilies - well i have a smaller 20 rai one 100 metres from home! 7. Immigration is pretty good - very few horror stories and no multiple hour waits for service. 8. Late night entertainment - not much left, soi Samphan only has one bargirl area left now - most of rest is being slowly redeveloped into Bangkok hospital car parking and small hotels. 9. at home I have garden, Small koi pond and on the farm 200 meres away my own fishing ponds; can sit in the sala and watch/listen to the local wildlife. very peaceful.

So much misinformation in this thread. A graph which was first made in the 1960's is used to say it was warmer in the past (we didn't have all the ice core data then, we now know it is probably warmer than at anytime in the last 800,000 years). Also CO2 levels are now the highest in those 800,000 years. Volcanic eruptions? - Humanity's annual carbon emissions through the burning of fossil fuels and forests, etc., are 40 to 100 times greater than all volcanic emissions. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/736161 Did MMCC cause the California fires? NO. But it resulted in more undergrowth from recent wet winters, and drier conditions from hotter summers, meaning that these conditions increased the risk of a devastating fire. The last 5 years have seen a big increase in forest fires globally, even in Siberia. MMCC (man made Climate change) is not just about temperature, but the cascade of effects it causes, The problem is that many people focus on just one point but do not see the big picture. My scientific background includes Biology, Geology, Chemistry, Food science, agriculture, environmental monitoring and more, My interest in climate and man's effects on the climate was first aroused when i wrote a paper about Quaternary extinctions of large mammals - just a small change can cause an imbalance that leads to major changes.

Just a couple of points. First, many posters seem to be unaware of many of the Thai tax allowances (especially if retired and on a pension). Most retirees will not pay tax on the first 500,000 baht of income (includes the 150,000 zero rate tax). There are other allowances, but not available to all. Look at Mike Listers tax thread started last year, or do your own research. Second. We do not really know how much information will be made available under CRS (common reporting standard) but probably very limited. Complicated if more than one bank involved. Credit cards may not even be covered. Third - what documentation will be required, and will we really be expected to provide Thai translations? That will cost more than the tax itself! Also my pensions are processed through different banks before the money is sent to Thailand, and never is paid directly into a Thai bank (cash from Credit card). If audited, could take years.... and i remit less than my tax allowances anyway (plus qualify under a DTA). For me, very much wait and see.

Just over 30 years ago i had a recurring UTI. First treatment was penicillin K, a one gram dose. it worked for a month but then UTI back. next 2 antibiotics prescribed only worked for a few days. Doctor didn't know what to try next. I suggested as Penicillin K nearly worked the first time, to give me 2 doses, which i took 48 hours apart. Problem solved. Just my experience.

Serious problems need serious answers. it can be made pretty near financially neutral.

Well, i find a lot of that data laughable, First, some of it dates back to the 20th century - it isn't up to date. The graph talking about CO2 levels rising 800 years after warming starts, stops when CO2 gets to 280 ppm - it is now over 50% higher than that! That is a level not experienced in the last 800,000 years, higher than in the last 4 or more glacial/interglacial cycles. The double glazing example was a fallacy. It is well known that greenhouses get warmer, but it doesn't affect the other side of the glass outside the greenhouse. Anyway going bust may have had nothing to do with the science, just finances,. Yes astrophysics is behind the timing of Ice ages; but our point in the cycle means the earth should be cooling; it most definitely is not. Global temperatures are increasing, over the last 10 years every year has been more than 1 degree centigrade warmer than the 19th century baseline., with the last 10 years averaging 1.25 degrees. Global temperature has risen by 0.2 degrees centigrade or more for each of the last 4 decades. He belittles the impact of CO2 on the atmosphere. Man made emissions now stand at over 40 billion tons per year, half of which is taken up by land and sea - the rest stays in the atmosphere. We are adding to it faster than the carbon cycle can use it. here is one link - https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide

Halifax Clarity. Free for all oversea use (including cash withdrawals) You do have to pay for UK cash withdrawals, but just need any UK debit cards for that.

Yes, But they have been to chicken to roll it out nationally due to right wing hysteria. The big advantage for citizens is if you do loose your job, you do have the peace of mind that you shouldn't starve while trying to get another.

I tried to use Wise some years ago. made 3 attempts, but only one payment got through. Haven't used since and cannot use because my phone number changed. I use my UK fee free Credit card. use to pay some bills e.g. super market shop, and get cash out at a Thai bank counter. Only 'fee' is the Mastercard currency conversion rate, which is pretty comparable to Wise when you add their rate and fee together. Only drawback is need to payoff cash withdrawals quickly to minimise interest costs. Never had any problem.