Cathay Pacific had the best departure & arrival times both ways but now only Tuesdays BKK/LAX.

Customer service says back to twice per day next year. maybe?

2 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

This is a pretty good search engine.

https://www.skyscanner.co.th/transport/flights/bkkt/lax/220111/220119/?adultsv2=1&cabinclass=economy&childrenv2=&inboundaltsenabled=false&outboundaltsenabled=false&preferdirects=false&priceSourceId=&priceTrace=202111111252*I*BKK*LAX*20220111*uair*UA|202111111252*I*LAX*BKK*20220119*uair*UA&qp_prevCurrency=USD&qp_prevPrice=785&qp_prevProvider=ins_month&rtn=1

 

And this one:

https://www.kayak.co.th/flights/BKK-LAX/2022-01-11-flexible-3days/2022-01-20?sort=bestflight_a

 

Best to check several different dates.  Not all airlines fly every day now.  So searching on just a specific date might miss some other options.

Aetna Thai, formerly BUPA. No problems (denials) in 17 yrs., no hospital pre-pay. 10% Family plan discount. 10% premium no-claim refund. But get in before age 60 and no breaks or they can cut your line at age 70. Several coverage levels to choose. We have In patient only. Also inexpensive BKKBank accident insurance for back up. 

returning to Thailand with just enough insurance  to cover till your "O" retirement visa needs renewal? Say 30-60 days? has any retiree tried that yet? 

????"...mostly due to external interferences, he said... "

“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”

when CamelToe bar reopens sometime in 2025-2026, I may consider popping over. 'Course there'll be a new generation of toe girls there by then

Thailand might get a few tourists IF it drops the silly insurance requirement, stops saying no quarantine when there IS a quarantine. Open up the fun zones. Or forget it. Air carriers won't schedule flights when most seats empty. Get a clue!

hello anustin, you loser: I got your swab hub & fit to fly. hangin'

the new normal with the same old silly pre flight regulations still in place? Forget it

 That was my R & R hotel in 1971. (VQ1 formerly VAP61-Danang) Thermaes in front and taxis every evening to take us over to Thai Heaven on Petchburi Rd. Thanx for the mammaries! Crazy

contact Mr. Sumit Gupta @ Aurel Pharma, Delhi India. Upon payment, he'll EMS Hepcinat LP to your door in Thailand. Generic but licensed by Gilead and Identical to Harvoni. Completed treatment over a year ago- 3 lab tests on, no detectable virus. Probably infected at Balboa Naval Hospital in 1972.

This has nothing to do with any future SS payments for Thai wives or anything financial but just putting out there for guys who want to get their ladies a US visitor's visa.

I retired to Thailand in 2005 with my wife who then held a 10 yr. green card. She had been living with me in HI. for 6 yrs. After moving here, we continued to visit  the US regularly -she was briefly hassled only one time upon arrival at SFO ("obviously living outside the US/ green card not a visa, . we can revoke it, more than six mos. out of the country per year"

, blah blah The SFO Homeland Security agent was a bit unpleasant but just doing her job. We were not trying to get away with anything -just coming  and going for holidays. I told the officer  that we were straight up retired in Thailand. "OK, she said- next time maybe not so lucky, your wife might be refused entry." We made a few more trips without incident.

  When my wife's  green card expired we wanted to visit the US again so she applied for and succesfully got a 10 yr. tourist visa. At the visa interview,(at which which the husband or boyfriend cannot even enter the embassy let alone be at the interview)

 she was asked if she ever intended to return to the US permentently?  "not sure" she replied honestly. They let her keep the old green card ,although it had expired. She returned the next day to pick up her passport with the 10 yr visa. Max stay per visit is 6 mos. Zero  problems since then. 

 Hello forum readers,

   Here's a personal story about my self treatment for hep C this year that may help someone out there.  Excellent and affordable medicine is available.

 I was diagnosed with the hep C virus/ genotype 1b back in the mid 90's in the U.S. After a conversation about the risk factors which may have exposed me to it,  my doctor was pretty sure it was from a unit of blood that I had received at Balboa Naval Hospital, San Diego in 1972 . I found out recently that lots of Vietnam vets such as myself and others were infected with it back in those days and on into the 80's at various military and civilian hospitals with tainted blood. It was then called non-A/non-B Hepatitis. Hep C wasn't labeled as such till much later.

  Dr. took what he called a watchful waiting approach to it. My liver enzymes were elevated but no cirrhosis or symptoms yet. I continued seeing him for years, still showing elevated numbers. I turned down the peg-interferon therapy offered to me in 1999-  didn't think I could perform my physically demanding job on the stuff. I was lucky to have none of the fatigue or other bad effects that many victims suffer from. Surfed and dove, traveled, played lots of sports, worked hard with lots of overtime, helped raise a son. After working over 30 yrs. in a heavy construction trade, retired to Thailand in 2005. Before leaving the U.S I had some final blood-work done. My HVC load count was 3.5 million - not super high but not low either.

  Flash to 2013-14. I was about 65 and had hep C for over 40 yrs. I started reading about all the celebs. and people who could afford it being cured of hep C by the new miracle drugs made by Gilead Pharma. Solvadii, then, Harvoni. 97% cure rates. One pill a day for 8-12 weeks. $800- $1,000 per pill at first. Around $70,000 for 10 weeks of pills. No way I could afford that. I made a few visits to a big VA hospital on the West Coast. Yes, they said they would probably cover me but it would take time and I must stay in the U.S. and be monitored every few weeks before being given another one month supply of Harvoni. One month at a time. They recommended 8 weeks for me, maybe more. My life is in Thailand with a home and family and I love it,  but I almost did that. Only 2-3 months right? But I would still have to go through a lot of testing and waiting and paperwork before being possibly approved and getting started.

  Back here at home in late 2015  I heard Gilead Pharma had agreed to license several pharma makers in India & Bangladesh to manufacture generic Solvadi and Harvoni at a drastically reduced price. It was already available in fact but not in Thailand (it may be available here now, not sure). I researched, emailed back and forth to Dhaka and a few Indian drug suppliers for most of a day. I chose to do business with Mr. Sumit Gupta. who runs Aurel Pharma in Delhi. I could either fly to Delhi and pick it up myself or wire him the funds and he would EMS a 12 week supply to my door. I had the funds wired to him from the U.S. within 2 days. About 4 days later the package from Aurel Pharma arrived. Came to about $13 per pill (maybe less now, not sure.) Took 84  pills, never missed a day. Last month, about 6 mos. after taking the last pill, I had blood-work and a liver & spleen ultra sound done back at the U.S. West Coast VA hospital . Results were no detectable virus, liver enzyme levels all normal (in the lower range),  ultra sound negative for liver or spleen disease. My doctor there said she also  was happy for me but couldn't completely go along with my "non monitored self medication/treatment plan" or recommend it for any of her other patients. I was beaming as I thanked her and left with an appointment for another check-up next year.  

    I would encourage anyone who has or knows anyone with hep C to consider doing what I did.

   Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all the forum readers.

Sorry to be repetitive. I was genotype 1b, viral load 2.3 m. Liver functions high normal-high, no cirrhosis. Completed 12 weeks generic Harvoni in March. I purchased Hepcinat LP by NATCO from Aurel Pharma, Delhi (EMS to me in NE Thailand) In April went to an Arizona VA clinic for bloodwork: results were no detectable viral load, antibodies detectable, liver functions all normal range. Rather than get more blood work here in Thailand, I'm going back to the U.S. in Nov. for another that. That will be 8 mos. post pills. I'm hoping it's gone for good. My VA doctor seemed super interested in how I got my Hepcinat LP. It takes weeks or months to get approved by the VA for Harvoni. They give it out 28 pills at a time and a patient has to stay in the area until the course is completed with testing done all the time- not an option for me.

FYI another Hep C once a day pill has just been approved by the FDA for all 6 genotypes. Epclusa by Gilead to be taken with ribavirin. i think Merk is just about to or already has introduced another one as well. When they will be available as generics, I don't know. Congrats to everyone who has taken advantage of the huge price markdown with these readily available generics. All good wishes and best luck to those who will soon. Get well, be well.

Hey all,

The cost of generic Harvoni: Mine worked out to around $14 per pill when I purchased Hepcinat LP from Aurel Pharma, Delhi back in Dec. That includes the bank wire transfer and EMS delivery to my house 3 or 4 days after they received the money. When I was researching pharma suppliers i found prices both less and more than what i paid and it's probably getting more competitive by now - all good. I went with Aurel not based on cost alone but the assurance I felt after speaking with the owner, Sumit Gupta. We still stay in touch.

Was looking at some articles about the massive effort to bring a vaccine to the market asap. It's all looking very different than it did just a few years ago.

Best wishes,

Hi all,

yeah, for baseline reference you need your HCV genotype for sure, viral load (which I've been told can vary wildly) and liver enzyme levels. joeyg, this is the first i've heard that peg interferon/ribavirin treatment had a high success rate but I'm not very up-to-date on that. I had been lead to believe they were not that good Anyway, far as I know the gold standard now for hep-c treatment is Harvoni once a day for 8,12 or 24 weeks. It has now been approved for more genotypes other than 1. It's ridiculously expensive but if your insurance doesn't cover, Gilead has options to get it to you gratis. In the U.S. you have to jump through some hoops though.

I won't go through my story again, which is on page 1, but I will say again that anyone who seeks hep-c treatment and lives in this part of the world can fairly easily get the generic Harvoni (several different makers) for a very reasonable price either by direct pick-up in India, Bangladesh, Nepal or EMS delivery which is what I did (from India). I completed my 12 weeks in March, got a non-detectable result from the Phoenix, Az. VA in April and will get another test done later this year in the U.S.

Best wishes and good luck to anyone out there looking for help- it's there and not that hard to get.

finished 8 weeks of Hepcinat LP (Indian generic Harvoni) last week and went for blood work @ Bangkok Hospital. Results: normal liver enzymes and no detected virus. Now there are 3 more weeks of daily pills to take and I will be visiting a VA clinic in April and have a liver scan and blood work done there as well. Hoping for the best after 12 weeks post pills. Some manageable side effects for me so far - joint aches, technicolor dreams, and the most irritating- mild to moderate tinnitus which I never had before even after over 30 yrs. in heavy construction work. No complaints, just putting the info out there for anyone who might be interested. Best of luck to all.

the wife looks stone cold double tough

Really great news about the growing availability of the three (so far) generic Harvoni - Twinvir, Ledifos and Hepcinat LP. It's happening. People in this part of the world who have hep c gen.1, 3 are in the right geographic area to access them fairly easily either by direct pick-up or mail. I hope these drugs just take off worldwide to help everyone.

I had my three bottles of Hepcinat LP sent from India to Issan quickly with zero problems. A bit under $14 per pill including EMS. I will take my 14th pill tonight. Everyone will react differently to any given medication especially a med. as strong as this one. For me, so far, nothing bad at all yet. It's hard to describe, but I can tell something heavy is going on. I've had a few headaches which I rarely had before and vivid but not unpleasant dreams. Slight fatigue but I am 66. Still doing light weight training and cardio at the gym 4-5 days per week. Hoping for no increase in side effects but if that happens so be it- anything to clear the virus. I got the bad news after routine blood work at the VA in Nov. Liver enzymes high normal to slightly high. Viral load was high- 2.3 million. No cirrhosis according to liver scan. I plan on getting my blood checked in a couple weeks.

I just hope all you readers that have hep c or know someone who does will realize this could be the year to do something about it. Spread the word, please. Good luck and happy year of the monkey to all.