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The only good thing about MiniVan shuttles is that they are cheap.

I took one from Hua Hin to Victory Monument onetime. I think they packed about 12 people in a van designed to hold 8.

What's worse, the driver was a speed devil. They stopped along the way to pick up passengers and I think the driver was trying to stay on schedule so he travelled awfully fast and took a lot of chances passing into oncoming traffic.

That was my last trip on a shuttle.

After that I began paying for direct service from Hua Hin to the airport in a special taxi. It's 2000 baht but the trip is

1. comfortable,

2. I can pack all my bags (don't bring baggage on a minivan),

3. the driver picks me up and drops me off exactly where I want to go...no transfers, and

4. I get to the airport faster because we aren't waiting to pick up passengers

5. Above all, the driver is safe so I can relax, take a nap and know that my life isn't being endangered by a crazy driver.

My life is worth 2000 baht to me.

About 6 months ago my wife and I took a bus from Hua Hin to Chiang Mai on a vacation trip.

The bus ride went smoothly. The double deck bus was clean, the service efficient and the trip pleasant.

When we got in Chiang Mai we were expecting to arrive at a bus station befitting the bus on which we had traveled.

Instead we were appalled when we got off the bus and wandered into a dirty filthy bus terminal that looked more like refugee camp. The floors were dirty and sticky from discarded food and sodas . There was trash everywhere. And no wonder. There were no trash cans anywhere that I could see. The bus station looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a month.

Don't use the restroom there unless you absolutely have to. It was filthy and disgusting and with water and urine all over the floor. You would think that after paying a fee for using the bathroom it would at least be clean and have toilet paper and paper towels.

If Chiang Mai hopes to be a tourist destination they need to close down the bus terminal for a week to clean the place from top to bottom.

Otherwise anyone arriving by bus is going to think their bus missed it's destination and landed in Nigeria instead

I am married to a Thai citizen

We live in the US

We are planning on building a house in Thailand

My wife plans to go back and forth to Thailand to oversee the building process while I remain in the States.

When the house is finished in a year or two, we both plan to move to Thailand to retire.

The rule for shipping personal belongings to Thailand for Thai residents like my wife states:

Returning Thai residents who have been abroad for one year or longer, for the purposes other than touring are eligible to bring in household effects acquired abroad free of taxes and duties.

Question: If my wife is traveling back and forth to Thailand to oversee the building of the house, does that mean at some point she will have to return to the States and remain there for another full year before we can qualify for duty free shipping?

This should be a warning to Thailand

I shudder to think what could happen if Asian countries go ahead with their plans to build nuclear power plants . Especially in countries like China where safety and environmental safeguards are non existent , where factory and mine accidents are all too common and where official corruption is rampant.

In 2009 The former general manager of China's largest nuclear-power company, the state-owned China National Nuclear Corp., was sentenced to life in prison. Kang Rixin accepted bribes worth nearly $1 million , embezzled $ 265 million and interfered with bids for nuclear power plant construction schemes., according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.

Can you imagine how easy it would be to bribe an official in Thialand, where corruption is deeply ingrained, to take shortcuts the building process or go for cheaper, less reliable components and equipment?

It wouldn't be so bad if a nuclear accident could be confined to the country of origin.

Unfortunately that isn't what happens. When Ukraine’s Chernobyl power plant went into meltdown 25 years ago, vast areas of Europe were coated in radioactive dust, putting farms out of business and leaving millions ­fearing long-term health issues. Even British farms felt the effects of the radioactive particles.

A nuclear disaster in Asia could easily affect other nations in Asia

When you combine third world countries, laxed regulations and private "for profit" power companies who often put money before safety, you have a recipe for worldwide disaster.

It's unfortunate but I have to side with American government policy.

I personally know of several Thais who have come to the US under the guise of a tourist visa or student visas and have taken work here and are now living here illegally.

And I know of several Thais who are in the process of trying to apply for visitors visas to the US in order to jump ship and remain in the US illegally. They've even hired visa "experts" to walk them through the process so they have the best chance of "fooling" immigration officials

Thailand is one of those countries where , due to the number of aliens coming to the US and disappearing into the background is a major problem.

It's unfortunate but that's the fact of life

As a result the US embassy has to go out of their way...and that inconveniences legal visitors and tourists, like your girlfriend.

My sister in law is 65 years old, has visited America several times...returning to Thailand each time...and was given a 10 year visa. So a good history helps

I like to buy house in Palm Hill resort and golf club.

And I heard someone I met in there, said that they paid very expensive for water because they have to used water from property and so on...

I'm Thai family and we from Bangkok but I have to work there, so we are looking for a new house.

We like the located of Palm Hill.

As we a big family and that why we worry about all the money.

Maybe anyone could help us for more information.

Thank you

PS., Sorry if my English not so well

Hi

If you have any questions about living in Palm Hills, the residents have a website and a forum where they discuss matters like golfing fees and water rates

The website is

http://www.palmhillsresidentsclub.com/

Perhaps you are all getting the message by now.

Thailand is under new management

Foreigners are NOT WELCOMED to live in Thailand any longer.

I had a good Thai friend 25 years ago who asked me to loan him $1000.

Later, He was either unable or unwilling to repay the debt.

Anyway it spoiled our relationship and even though I bore no resentment, it made it difficult for us to get together socially knowing that the unpaid debt was still there.

If asked again, I would say

"I value our relationship more than anything else. If I loan you money it could hurt that relationship and I don't want to risk that. "

I am surprised at how cheap health insurance is in Thailand

I am 61 years old . My wife is 58. We live in the States and are self employed.

We pay about $8000 a year for health insurance.

They insurance company doesn't pay for anything until either of us has paid out $5500 in medical bills out of our own pockets.

After that they kick in about 80% on most things.

So basically, I have to pay over $13,500 (475,000 baht) before my health insurance starts to cover any costs.

Last year my wife had to have her pacemaker replaced.

It costs us just about $5,500 for the operation.

So my insurance company didn't have to pay a dime. We paid it all

In the US we have the worlds most expensive healthcare system. We are number one when it comes to costs.

But we are rank 37th out of 200 countries by the WHO when it comes to quality of care.

If you are from the States and living in Thailand....stay there!

Just take a look at the concrete work along any street in Hua Hin and that should give you an idea of the quality of workmanship in Thailand.

If that doesn't discourage you, take a look at the workers on any Thai construction site. A bunch of farmers with flip flop shoes who come down to work when the harvest is over.

If you still aren't sure, walk up and do a close inspection of the brickwork on the walls of a typical house construction job. Notice how the bricks aren't even laid even

If someone recommends a builder, do yourself a favor and make sure to checkout one of his sites under construction. You don't have to be an expert to tell sloppy workmanship or to figure out if the people working for him are professionals..and not just some day laborers doing everything from tile to electrical.

In Thailand the building trade is like the wild west. You don't have to have a license to be a contractor. Just buy yourself a hard hat and a pair of working boots and you're ready to build yourself a house. And don't expect to find licensed carpenters, electricians and brick masons. No such thing in Thailand. There are no building codes. No inspector from the city who comes by during the construction project to make sure everything is up to code.

Ask your builder who inspects the quality of his work and he will tell you with a straight face...HE does.

No wonder the warranty period for a house built in Thailand is......ONE YEAR. You see, even the builder doesn't have much confidence in his own work.

Democracy in Thailand

18 coups in 60 years=3.3 years per coup

Next coup...2010

The governments of Thailand, Burma, Laos, Vietnam...now...same...same.

Now that might be true, but the current government is still on record as moving towards a new constitution and elections fairly soon. ... they are indeed showing signs of keeping their core promise, going away someday.

Yes, that's right. They are going to have free elections at the end of the year.

In preparation they are banning any political opposition parties and politicians that stand a good chance of winning.

That way they are guaranteed to have a slate of candidates that they approve of.

Thailand has never understood the concept of "Democracy" or "free and fair elections"

The governments of Thailand, Burma, Laos, Vietnam...now...same...same.

Does anyone know the names of some hospitals in Thailand that specialize in the prevention and treatment of strokes.

My sister in law had a stroke when she lived in the US

Now she is living in Hua Hin and thinks she may be having the same symptoms again.

My Thai wife gave birth to our daughter in the US 26 years ago.

We recently applied for, and received a Thai birth certificate for our daughter from the Thai consulate in LA

Here's a hypothetical question that came up in our family

If we had not applied for the certificate and my wife had died,

would our daughter still have been eligible to apply for a Thai birth certificate, say, 5 or 10 years later.

In other words, is the right to have a Thai birth certificate good for life as long as one parent was Thai.

Just out of curiosity, at 85 she may be needing a lot of medical attention one day soon. Can she use her medical benefits from back home in Thai hospitals.

If she becomes incapacitated or unable to take care of herself are there nursing homes in Bangkok that cater to western people ?

As far as I can tell the local authorities are not concerned about building quality.

As long as the building won't collapse they could care less whether the house is safe to live in or if construction was shoddilly done.

They pretty much let the builder do whatever he wants.

And since the warranty on a Thai house is limited to one year, don't be surprised when concrete driveways start to crack or things start to leak.

You are pretty much on your own once the year is over.

That's why the best advice still holds true.

"Don't invest any money in Thailand that you can't afford to lose"

Got that from someone on this forum

I was told that house constructions in Thailand is largely unregulated.

You don't have to be a licensed contractor to build houses.

The city requries that you submit building plans but they only check to make sure you have enough support pillars. There are no other demands or requirements. There are no inspectors who come out at regular intervals and inspect the building of the house.

There are no set building codes.

Quality control is monitored by the contractor....sort of like the fox guarding the chicken coup.

Most construction workers are farmers or day laborers with no formal construction training. They get on the job training. There are no building trades like electricians or carpenters or bricklayers or plumbers in Thailand. Laborers carry out those functions themselves.

The warranty period for a house in Thailand is one year.

It's truely "let the buyer beware"

Maybe others will have their own opinions

The beauty of Buddishm is that it teaches us that the desire to make Buddhism a state religion causes suffering.

Eliminate the desire the make Buddhism a state relgion and you will be on your way to Enlightenment.

I should think those monks protesting in the streets should know this one by heart.

I am the orginal poster of this inquiry about nursing homes in Thailand

Since I first posted the inquiry last year a lot has happened.

My thai mother-in-law now requires weekly kidney dialysis. (diabetes) She needs daily monitoring of her blood and diet. And because she can no longer move around she has to be fed, bathed and diaper changed

We all felt that taking care of her at home was out of the question since she needs round the clock monitoring and much more care than any of her children could provide.

So when we went to Thailand last December we began looking for a nursing home in earnest.

We went to Google Thailand and were able to find references to different nursing homes on the Thai version.

We visited Golden Years and two other homes.

In the end we opted for a nursing home in Bangkok. The patients are all housed in one large room (on for men and one for women). The rooms are bright and air conditioned. There is always a nurse on each floor as well as orderlies. The doctor comes by once in the morning and once in the evening to visit each patient.

We've dropped in for visits unannounced and there always seems to be staff members working with patients.

The place seems clean and well run.

We've had the mother in law there for 5 months now and she is actually getting better. She speaks well of the staff and they seem to like her.

The doctor took her off a lot of the medications she was taking while in the hospital and she has started to eat solid food again (after being on a feeding tube for a month). She is started in do a little exercise out of bed with a walker.

More importantly they seem to have her blood monitored.

They don't perform kidney dialysis there so once a week an ambulance from a local hospital picks her up and takes her for her treatments and then brings her back.

All in all we are happy with her treatment though the cost is a little steep for thais

Her nurising home bill is 24,000 baht a month including food and care

Her medications run about 2000 baht a month

Her kidney dialysis runs about 24,000 per month (3000 baht including 1000 bath for the ambulance to take her to and from her appointment...6 times a month)

All totaled her monthly stay costs between 50,000-60,000 baht...which is more than most Thais earn each month

We are not sure how long she will live under these conditions..but it could be for years (she's 85 years old now)

The one drawback is that she doesn't have much quality of life. Family can only visit her occasionally and so she's pretty much there by herself. The other patients seem to be mostly coma patients or people "near the end" so she doesn't have much socialization other than with the staff.

I'd appreciate hearing from anyone else who has had a similar experience with nursing homes in Thailand.

I have no one to compare notes with

There's a good reason why some of the major religions ban the eating of pork

And to eat it raw is just plain stupid.

This isn't the dark ages any longer. There's good science warning people that eat raw meat...especially pork can lead to Trichinellosis.

The public protest in Thailand againt "evil america" is only a mask for the greater problem Thailand has regarding copyright.

It's not just drugs.

Thailand has historically been a major producer of knockoff goods from Gucci bags to American cigarette lighters.

In lots of shopping centers in Thailand pirated software and movies from abroad are openly sold for a few dollars. Dispite very public "raids" on a few vendors, the government has never been serious about stamping out this practise.

Using the excuse that "We can't afford it" is no excuse to rip off someones music, movies or programs and copy them sale.

Same goes for drugs.

The problem is that Thailand does not take seriously copyright protection. Even Thais do not like to produce software and educational CD programs for the local market because they fear they will just ripped off.

Can and should drugs be cheaper. Yes. (In fact drug prices in Thailand are far cheaper than in the US. If anything Americans should be the ones to protest high prices.)

But ripping them off is not the answer. Stealing never is.

I got dengue fever in Thailand about 40 years ago.

At the time we lived in a wooden house over a pond in Bangkok

A lot of mosquitos came up through the cracks in the floor.

It was one of the worst fevers I've ever had. I remember it to this day.

If you live near standing water, do whatever you can to minimize exposure to mosquitos that breed there.

Thailand should learn some lessons from Vietnam

While thailands economy is plodding along , Vietnam, long thought of as a poor country is now one of the fastest growing economies in Asia

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailfeatur....R01&irec=1

Why can't the Thai government just buy HIV drugs from the drug companies? After all Thailand isn't a debtor nation any longer. It certainly has a positive trade balance with many foreign countries including the US.

And Thailand understands the value of intellectual property rights. Back in 1997 when US researchers came out with a Jasmine rice knockoff, I remember the outrage that Thailand expressed at the time and the anti American feelings.

I can see a poor nation taking this position but Thailand is far from poor. It's government can and should do a lot more for it's people.

Yet in Thailand you will find the poor throwing themselves at the mercy of private organizations for charity and welfare. The government provides scant few services for the poor.