Fore Man

Anyone who shoplifts in Thailand is a total idiot...this is the country of a thousand eyes and no secrets. Everything we do is seen by someone.

Anyone got a good source?

I have found some made in China that look adequate, but they are Wholesellers I only want to buy one.

HomePro had some about a month ago...THB 6,800 but works very well. We bought one for my wife's family living in northern Nan province.

My company sends me promotional materials frequently by FedEx, and we've never had any duties assessed. I believe that in your case, duties are more likely as you are importing durable goods that have probably have a resale value here. If you have a choice, I would have the sender deflate the value of the tools. FedEx has a pretty good reputation for in-transit visibility and rarely loses parcels. It's nver happened to me and I've used them 20+ years. Their system in Thailand seems to be pretty good as well.

There is no such thing as a disk fusion...it is the adjacent vertebral segments that are fused using a mending plate. To maintain the interstitial gap between segments, surgeons typically use either your own bone tissue extracted from your hip (a very painful process that often causes more post-op problems than the spinal work) or they can use cadaver bone tissue that has been specially sterilized to eliminate any possibility of rejection or viral infection.

I have heard about the new disk replacements, but it would seem to me that the post-op results would be about the same. Fusion at the level you refer to will cause some impairment in trunk flexibility but in time it is not a problem after it all knits together. I had a hemilaminectomy done of the L1-L2 disk in 1990, but the surgeons accidentally nicked my spinal cord and created a very slow CSF leak...they weren't aware of it at the time and after I returned home and began experiencing terrible pains at the site did they make the diagnosis. In repairing that CSF leak, I contracted a bacterial infection of the spinal canal that laid me up for 4 months and required me to learn how to walk again, because my supporting muscles had atrophied. I was 44 and in very excellent shape when this happened. Other than irreparable damage to the inner ears and kidneys caused by the oto- and nephrotoxic antibiotics used to defeat the infection, I am none the worse today and lead a normal life.

In 2001 I underwent a 3-level fusion in my cervical spine...which went well and there were no ill after effects. The (San Diego) doctor gave me the choice of using native bone or cadaverous tissue and recommended strongly that I accept the latter option. I definitely have no regrets.

I tell you this medical history so you can understand the tremendous risks inherent in invasive surgical techniques.

I would suggest that you investigate arthroscopic surgery of the spine as a very worthy and creditable alternative. This is done in the West as an inpatient procedure, but the patient normally returns home the same day or the next and heals back to normal extremely quickly as there is no invasive wound nor trauma to the muscles and underlying tissue at the surgical site. I have heard but not confirmed that the only place in Thailand to have this done is at Bamrumgrad. I do not know how many such procedures they have done nor their success rate. You owe it to yourself to thoroughly check this out...or consider going to the USA or Europe to have it done. You didn't cite your age, but believe me, most of us do not need a major invasive surgery done with all of its possible complications and heavy use of antibiotics and anti-infammatory medications. These drugs are extremely toxic to your system, especially your kidneys, and your renal function once damaged cannot regenerate itself. After invasive surgery you will also require physical therapy to restore range of motion and speed up healing.

There is another possibility involving the use of a special laser-like probe that literally dries up the inpinging disk tissue, relieving pressure at that nerve root and easing of symptoms.

I have sciatica symptoms from time to time now, 18 years after my original disk surgery. They just started cropping up late in 2008 for the first time. Probably caused by overexertion and excessive swinging when I play golf. If I had to have another surgery done, it definitely would not be an invasive procedure.

You should also exhaust all forms of therapy and bedrest before moving to the next step. Most neurosurgeons will tell you that they are paid to cut, not to prevent. Seek qualified therapeutic advice.

I'm well-educated in spinal surgeries, was once a pre-med student, and my son is also a doctor, but am by no means an expert. You need to learn all you can and compare your understanding with what doctors will tell you.

Good luck!

Hi,

I'd appreciate some "sales strategy" advice from you motorati and automobilissimi !

I have (in Chiang Mai) a 1988 Honda Accord (black, auto-transmission) which now (courtesy of an unknown dent-maker who did their mischief while the car was parked on a small soi) has a large dent in the right front fender. This large indentation goes in about five inches but does not intefere with the current mechanical operation of the car. The underlying white color under the black top-coat does show through : it looks ugly, in other words.

My guess is that it would be better to repair the fender before trying to sell. I have found a second hand replacement fender whose natural color is white for 1800 baht, but have no idea what's involved in trying to get that painted black to match the rest of the car.

I've visited several local repair shops and received estimates from 8k baht to 16k baht to repair the fender. I have not checked with the local Honda dealer under the assumption (perhaps wrong ?) that they would charge more than anyone else.

I bought the car in wonderful condition about two years ago for 150k baht (the farang owners had spent over 40k baht on a paint job and a complete re-doing of the interior before suddenly needing to go to China). I put a 10k baht Clarion cd-player/fm system into it.

Thank you for any thoughts or advice regarding the best strategy for selling the car at this time.

best, ~o:37;

Sounds like you really can't expect to make much out of this older car, as the sale price would have to be quite low. After all, you only paid 150K for it. If you must extract every bit of value possible, then perhaps it would be prudent to get it fixed. Or try selling it as is, but be willing to drop your price to allow the new owner to have the repair done. A Thai can always get someting done here cheaper than we can...fact of life. The cosmetic appearance of a car is far more important if the overall value is a lot higher than you are dealing with in this situation....IMHO.

I appreciate your kudos, myauq, but I wish I'd never had cause to make that post.

In retrospect, I am sure the culprit was the high winds...as there is a pattern of gusty weather all over this region due to colder upper atmospheric air being pushed down from China. They should have canceled or at least postponed their parachute demonstration in Roi Et province. Had they done so, a little girl would still be with her family this afternoon. Shame.

I quit skydiving in the States after making over 5,000 freefalls in the Army and and while off-duty over a 30-year period. All I can say is that there is no excuse for a demo jumper to allow himself to be blown off course that far, unless he had a malfunction and had to ride down a damaged main--or perhaps deploy his reserve. And I know for a fact the RTA uses very steerable ram-air canopies...nobody still flies the old drag-type chutes that popularized skydiving in the 70s. Even the reserves today are ram-air in design and highly steerable....and have been for over two decades. From my experience as a jumpmaster on countless demonstration jumps, the fault for this fatality can undoubtedly be traced to 1) faulty jumpmastering, 2) lack of jumper experience or 3) equipment malfunction. In the first case, the jumpmaster may have made a major error by failing to properly compute the exit point, or "spot" over the ground from which the team would exit their helicopter. This is routinely done by tossing a crepe-paper wind streamer out over the intended target at pack opening altitude and watching to see where is lands on the surface. This tells the JM how far their opened canopies would drift after pack opening, which is normally at 2,500 feet. The correct "spot" is then calculated by taking this same wind drift distance and moving it directly back upwind from the target, then adding an allowance factor for the drift of the jumpers in freefall. It isn't rocket science but a lot of sport jumpmasters find it difficult and a bit scary, as they must stick their head and upper body well outside the aircraft and make sure they are looking down vertically and not allowing any creep in their sight angle to the ground when throwing the streamer out. I made many freefall jumps with the RTA in the past and know they use the same safety precautions as we do in the USA--heck, we taught them--but these safety precautions are often abbreviated or simply ignored. The fault lies then with the aircraft pilot, the jumpmaster, and the jumper in that order. The pilot is responsible for everything that happens..or fails to happen aboard his aircraft. We normally plotted out our demo preparations carefully with our pilots as they would be partially liable in the event of any accidents caused by jumpers leaving their A/C. Does this hold true here in Thailand? Probably not at all.

In my second fault scenario, the jumper, realizing that he may be endangering the crowd below, should have made a quick decision to divert to an alternate landing site further downwind. I've had to do this myself many times and once again, it is easy to do, but sometimes hard to accomplish depending on obstacles, power lines, other hazards and available attitude. We were taught to cause injury to ourselves rather than injure, maim or kill a ground observer. Much the same as pilots who take every measure to make sure their A/C will not cause vital damage once they must eject from it. I also suspect that not every RTA demo jumper is fully-qualified to participate in a parachute demonstration. It takes a lot of experience and confidence to carry off tricky demo jumps safely and accurately. Whether inexperience was a factor in this case is unknown to me, but it certainly would seem so, and is normally the number one cause of incidents.

And the third fault scenario would be some kind of equipment failure that prevented the jumper from choosing his landing site...or denying him a decision to fly over the crowd and land downwind of them.

Demonstration jumps in the USA and I suspect in Europe require close coordination and approval from the federal aviation authorities to prevent danger to innocent bystanders...and to the jumpers themselves. Where the military has airspace jurisdiction, they also have the authority to plan and execute demo jumps within that airspace, and I am certain that throughout Thailand--excepting large municipal airport areas--there is no civil aviation involvement or oversight in these activities....regardless of who regulates the airspace in question.

Finally, if winds are excessive, then the jumpmaster and pilot must reach a decision to abort the jump. Jumpers are a macho lot, and it is not easy to abort a long-awaited demo opportunity. But it appears that a major error was also made in this regard in Roi Et.

It goes without saying....may this unfortunate child rest in peace and that her family find solace...what a sad and avoidable tragedy!

I believe an earlier poster hit it on the head when he mentioned that retaining a retirement visa is easier on the Immigration office; I was immediately talked out of an extension of stay for marriage reasons back in 2004 and now I am beginning to understand why.

i wasnt talking about driving .. oo no, way above my budget!

i am trying to find out if you can do it by bus. to save money basically

yes im tight

i need to be

Sorry, there are some very "remote" places... you would have to pass, as this would lead you through Parts of Assam, Manipur, there are Roads crossing into Myanmar...

Try the lonely planet forum "asia"

here some samples form google maps:

zoomed in a bit..

Looks like Dacca to Imphal and from there to Mandalay... I could Imagine that there is cross-Border-Trade so then there are trucks, maybe no buses - ah... well I don't know!

as I have traveled India, Kashmir and Nepal in the 70ties, I figure it got to be a heck of a trip!

Arunachal Pradesh is breathtaking beautiful, but one of the most remote regions in the world!

The Indian govt has closed Arunachal Pradesh to travelers and tourists...generally only journalists and scientists get to go there. As for bus through-passengers; I doubt it. Seems like a cheap air ticket is the way to go.

The highway system exists to connect the countries but you would have major difficulties with obtaining all of the necessary visas and permissions, dealing with poor road infrastructure, payoffs for police and public official corruption and the likely need to procure the services of a 'fixer' in Bangladesh and Myanmar, where irregularities occur all the time and vehicles can be impounded summarily. There is also the risk to your physical security in this part of Asia, where you and your belongings can vanish at the drop of a hat. Park your car or cycle overnight and it could easily be gone the next morning. Perhaps a good way to begin your quest would be to visit the embassies or consulates of each country that would be egressed from, transitted through or arrived in (Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand) where you currently reside to get their views and recommendations. With sufficient advanced planning and funds to overcome all obstacles, such a journey is certainly possible. Good luck.

I too am on an extension based on retirement--my 5th--and have considered the alternative based on marriage to a Thai national. Not having to keep an additional THB 400,000 locked up in a local bank is a good rationale, but then I have seen what happens to expats whose wife predeceases them...perhaps unexpectedly but then their basis for a visa is null and they must quickly make arrangements to qualify on another basis or leave the Kingdom. The same would hold true as a result of divorce. It seems to me that using the extension based on retirement might be an better alternative, all things considered. I'd be interested in the views of TV experts with experience in this particular issue.

I suggest that you subscribe to a help forum associated with malware and hijacks. I had a similar infection a few years ago and their expert counsel talked me through the process to get everything working again. There were several steps along the way and it is way too complex for anybody less than a tech to resolve. You can do irreparable damage to your system if you do something and get it wrong. These forums are free of charge and the level of assistance is amazing. Good luck.

What is it about some TV posters that makes them want to be flippant and/or injurious to their fellows? I don't want to start a new topic but I would guess that 30 percent of all TV posts fall into that category. A sad reflection on what kind of people are attracted to this site.

First of all I am not complaining about living in Thailand and making just a little money I ask the question

how would you survive on just a little income. As I mentioned before I worked all my life but I will

not recieve, or very little pension from my country where I paid as a worker or when I had my business

for over 22 years. Just ask the expert Gunga Din. And as you all know I talk about Australia.

Check up www.news.com.au from yesterday and you will find Australia is the second poorest

country on pension payments and the poorest in unemployment payments in the developed countries in the world. And to get a pension over here is almost impossible or very little. But this is besides the question what I ask. I just ask you guys how would you survive? And I am not driving a Benz I am driving an old Toyota which is 20 years old.

I think 'mrtoad' post #11 is the best answer here. I too have several expat friends who have difficulties making ends meet here. Many of them were victims of economic circumstances beyond their ability to affect back home. Such as the collapse of their retirement accounts in the span of a year of bad markets, or the precipitous drop in the value of their investment portfolios, or the deflation of real estate values in many locales. In some cases, we have expats who decided to come here anyway but did not perform adequate research as to what it would cost to maintain a decent standard of living in Thailand....incorrectly assuming they could live exactly as their local Thai neighbors do. They burned their bridges back home in most cases and now are forced to endure the circumstances....for better or worse. I believe it is callous for some in this forum to denigrate these people; as fellow expats we ought to wish them the best of good fortune and hope that things will swing around for them. After all, every one of these unfortunate expats probably has friends here in better circumstances and nobody wants to see his friends live out their final years in penury.

(edited) The only post that makes any sense in this thread is that sent by 'henryalleman' above. There have been several excellent posts (while I was preparing mine); I'd like to add some additional thoughts.

Sure, we retirees made a decision to come live out our lives in Thailand and in many cases our pension funds are not indexed for inflation...which hits us really hard when the baht incredibly hangs onto its value in the face of so many major problems in Thai society versus the more stable conditions and greater strengths of the West. Moreover, please don't overlook the fact that we met and fell in love with Thai women (the majority of us here) and married them. It is only fitting that we moved to the place where our wives could be happiest and live out fulfilling lives close to their families. I don't know about you chaps, but my greater Thai family is comprised of young children/stepchildren, nieces and nephews, and their close friends; it is only normal that our wives would wish to be geographically close to them as they grow up.

The biggest disappointment I have had here is the Thai governments's cavalier attitude about making prolonged stays here such a tedious and constantly changing process...after all, we are spending most of our income if not all of it on our Thai families and all of these funds remain in Thailand for the betterment of the Thai economy and its people. Collectively it would seem that our contribution must add up to a sizeable number. An immense bureaucracy known as Immigration has evolved to deal with foreigners and none of how they operate is aimed at either welcoming an expat or to reduce the stress of keeping up with their confusing policies and occasionally heavy-handed tactics. And most of us would really appreciate a sign from the Thai government that our contributions to improving the lot of our families is appreciated and to instill tangible ways to reduce the stress we undergo at an age when most of us need and want to live out our days peacefully. I will add that despite these regulations that govern our lives here, most Immigration officials I have dealt with make it as pleasant as possible for me and go out of their way to reduce the inherent red tape in the process they operate within.

So while a non-retiree who carves out a living in Thailand may be facing a tough road ahead until the global economy ameliorates, we retirees have few options to expand our incomes and it is quite possible that in the direst of circumstances those genteel pensions that comfort us in the LOS could be reduced or vanish. Some governments overseas--particularly the USA--even penalize aging expats by enacting income tax laws that eliminate longstanding income tax exclusions for earned income. Those exclusions were an important factor in my ultimate decision to retire in Thailand. There is an attitude among many Americans that a person who voluntarily decides to leave the USA to live in another country doesn't deserve equal access to benefits that all other Americans in the same age group and category are entitled to...I hope and pray that the next silver bullet to fall won't be our entitlement to Social Security and military pension payments...mainstays for many expat incomes in Thailand. This wandered a bit off topic, but I believe it merits airing to offer an additional insight as to what motivates retirees to live in Thailand and give up the many benefits of living in their home countries.

At least we can clearly see that the reds have not one ounce of democracy in their body. So some of the posters and their acts of being 'champions of democracy' will come tumbling down like a deck of cards.

I don't think that many Thais that I know on all sides of politics claim or expect anything other than "aggressive self interest" when they are behind closed doors.

It extends beyond that...these people are being paid to foment discontent and keep their movement alive for and by...you know who. What saddens me is that this abentee master puppeteer refuses to put a stop to it for the good of his native country. Shame on him and his churlish syncophants who leap to obey him with no regard for the future of this Kingdom and its people.

Most farang gravitate to Chiang Mai Ram I...they generally are better at serving and communicating with Westerners but the tradeoff is that they are roughly twice as costly as other area hospitals. I have had good experiences at CMR1 as we refer to it, but you will often need to define your expectations to the doctor as to what treatment you want and what medication you can tolerate. It can be likened to a self-directed system but if you have any experience or previous medical history to call upon it works and they generally are willing to cooperate.

Like many Thai physicians they are good at treating symptoms but do not look deeply enough at preventative medicine. Preventative medicine as practiced in the USA or Europe is just not a concept the Thai medical system pays heed to. Go in with low back pain and they will give you great physical therapy and anti-inflammatory meds but will not take sufficient care to make a detailed diagnosis backed by adequate testing and imagery as we do in the West. This is my own personal opinion and there may be TV members who will disagree with me. I have found exceptions of course but these doctors seem to be in the minority.

If you are interested in CMR1 I suggest you visit the 4th floor family practice clinic and discuss your needs with them and get a feel for how they operate. I have an annual check-up, including a stress EKG and colonoscopy, which runs to THB 17K...it is well done and I would rate the cardio and gastroenterology specialists as first class (yes, it is costly but I get reimbursed by my stateside employers). I'm not so sanguine about the orthopedic and ENT wards...which seem to exhibit a mass treatment attitude...quick to dispense pills but short on tests and long-term advice. We have zero experience with OB/GYN at CMR1 so cannot comment there. Their physical therapy section is good too.

Another facet of medical care in Chiang Mai is the availability of specialty clinics. These are staffed by doctors who are moonlighting from their full-time day jobs at area hospitals...and the advantage is that you can use their expertise but pay a lower price for your treatment. My family and I have used with success clinics specializing in orthopedics, dermatology and neurosurgery. These doctors are highly trained and in one case the prinicipal is a CMU medical professor as well with years of experience and a strong reputation for solving problem cases. The compromise is that for the low fees you will do a lot of waiting...appointment or not. I also had a problem with elbow epicondylitis (golfer's elbow) that was finally resolved after seeing a downtown clinic...the MD gave me a cortisone injection after I pointed out the exact point of pain and the problem disappeared and never came back...and this was 30 months ago. The cost was a measly THB 300.

A popular general hospital is CMU Hospital--also known as Maharaj. Maharaj is low-cost compared to CMR1 and they have talented specialists but the upshot is that you will spend a LOT of time waiting in crowded areas packed with sick Thais who come from every river, mountain and valley who could infect you as well. You can make an advance appointment but you will still find yourself waiting with the coughing throng for 1-2 hours to be seen.

Good luck and welcome to our Rose of the North.

It sounds like this carrier cannot process credit card charges through its intermediary to any issuing U.S. bank. I travel to India all the time on TG and never have this problem. Maybe you should vote with your feet and change carriers.

The U.S. State Department's travel warning is an adjunct to a far more detailed set of information known as the Consular Information Sheet. Travelers to Thailand generally are savvy enough to look it up before leaving the USA. The CIS for Thailand lays out all the useful details that a one-time travel warning does not. Check it out, and please quit all the bellyaching and barstool philosophizing of these periodic advisories...they serve a purpose.

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1040.html

Don't TV members have something better to do with their time? Some members see one isolated press release and forget that there is a ton of other sources available that expand the level of detail.

Whew, this is a new one on me...and I thought I had seen everything in caddy behavior. I agree with an earlier poster in that it would seem highly unlikely that a) the golf course manager would call the police in the first place and 2) the police would deign to come all the way out there on the verbal, unsupported complaint of one caddy. There is something not being told here...either that girl is whacko, is in cahoots with the BIB or you overstepped the line with her and she genuinely believed she was molested. Was alcohol involved in any way? Have you had any previous problems at this course or with any other caddies? Would your 3 witnesses present your version of the facts if the case went to court? If so, and there is no hard evidence presented to malign your character, I believe you would win your case, but you'd end up shelling out far more than you already paid the wench. Even if the court awarded damages to you, the caddy couldn't pay up. There is no doubt that something smells pretty rotten here. Every course has its problem children and you found one at KK. Good luck and don't let this spoil your game.

Uh...I believe the right response here is...caveat emptor and TIT. Sounds like the stereotypical 'Mexican standoff' to me. Once again, a Westerner has been fooled into thinking the Thai mind works the same as his does. Unfortuntately, the Thai don't think logically in the same way we think logically; very frustrating to us when we expect an outcome that the Thai cannot fathom. You need to reach the publishers if possible to get a satisfactory solution. Good luck.

There have been several threads answering these same old questions...what to do in Chiang Mai. Suggest you do some research before posting this tired subject again. As for the bus to Chiang Rai, sorry, I don't know as I drive up there in my own car. The VIP bus fare is not very much and you can inquire at the bus terminal as to the exact fare and schedule. I am not suffiently familar with the bus system around the city to advise you, but baht buses (songtaews) and metered taxis are plentiful and the normal transportation mode for visitors.

Hi everyone first post today,I first visited Thailand in 2007 and met my Thai girlfriend then, in 2008 I came 3 times throughout the year and stayed for 18 days each time, She is 38 by the way and works in hotel office in Samui. I have lots of questions to ask but will start with this one.

Is this usual for Thai women or just mine, nearly evertime I ask a question I get " I dont know I not think" this applies to if I ask her where she's eating that night,to last November when I came over for her birthday and she had arranged to go for a meal with me and work collegues and up 3 days before the meal when I asked where were we meeting I got the usual reply, in the end I said " for Christ sake you better hurry up and THINK or no one will know where to go for the meal" this did the trick and she picked a restaurant. It's like this all the time and gets on my nerves at times. So my question is, is this normal or just her being sooo laid back. Thanks in advance. Andy.

Western women want to decide everything, thai women wont decide anything

Some people are never satisfied

Unless you happen to have a Thai wife who was reared to be independent and who also lived in the West for many years! Not every Thai girl is stamped from that submissive die.

<Portions of cited post have been deleted for brevity>

QUOTE: ...."You certainly have a point about the fact that some 67 year old dudes are s$#tbags too, but any man in his 30ies or 40ies that hits a man in this age group has no excuse....you shouldnt go around belting people full stop, yet alone people in that age group. Anyway, I hate to be the one that says it, but i can't help myself, what goes around comes around, I'll save my sympathy for those who really deserve it. Theres no doubt about it, Thailand certainly has its fair share of farang scum around the place, you don't have to walk very far in any given place to see that. " END QUOTE

My friend, you have hit the proverbial nail on the head with that statement...none of us are saints but I have sure seen a lot of losers over here...societal misfits most of them...and excessive drink was in large part responsible for their current predicament. Pattaya seems to attract a disproportionate share as well. Live hard, die hard.

Get in line behind a Thai and strike up a conversation...and smile a lot. If they give you the runaround, just plead ignorance and smile while doing it. I have never been turned away from a Thai immigration counter on landing in Bangkok...they always politely accede to the friendly farang who can't seem to read their signage :-)