jas007

Has anyone ever hired a moving service for a move?  Either within Pattaya or between Pattaya and Bangkok?

I’m thinking about moving.  Not much stuff, really, but it’s now more than the two suitcases I came here with this time.  An office chair, a computer monitor, some smaller miscellaneous items, and a few pots and pans, some small kitchen utensils. Anyway, assuming the cost of movers isn’t too high, that might be the way to go.

It’s difficult to get a good balance between movie dialogue (usually the center channel on a surround system) and the rest of the soundtrack using just two speakers.  Typically, the TV settings or the streamer settings will allow for a two channel setup, which will simulate the center channel by distributing the center channel sound equally to the right and left speaker. That helps a little.

You might consider using a real home theater receiver and speakers, including a center channel speaker.  A 3.1 system or a 5.1 system. It wouldn’t have to cost too much, although you could also spend a small fortune, depending.

I’ve noticed that on my Apple TV box, there’s a setting to “reduce loud sounds.”  I haven’t tried it, but something like that might help.  Turning it on would allow you to increase the volume to have louder dialogue without bothering the neighbors every time there’s a loud portion of the movie.

16 hours ago, george said:

 

@jas007 Are you happy with the machine? I'm in the market for the same model.

It seems fine to me. My old MacBook Air was from 2018, so this one seems like a big improvement.  My old unit is out of service (one of the recent software updates bricked it), so I had to do a recovery from the Cloud. But the Cloud won’t update everything these days. I had to reinstall apps and so on.  I guess that’s for security. I need to start using a local Time Machine backup now and then.

For what it’s worth, I bought a new MacBook Air M3 from the Apple Thailand website a few weeks ago. I needed the US English keyboard. Anyway, it was shipped from China via the express service they use.  

I’m in Bangkok and just had a skin cancer check yesterday at Bumrungrad. Just a precaution.  Anyway, the doctor didn’t find anything significant, but she did freeze off five or six little growths.  Two here “benign” and the rest she called “pre-cancerous.” Those were little specks you could hardly see. Total cost was around 10,000 baht.  

Last year I seem to remember having a problem getting my SSA online access sorted out. As part of the process, they sent a login code to my US address.  Someone at that end opened the mail and sent me the code, but as it turned out, TurboTax already had the information. I guess that was a service I signed up for the previous year.  They will collect all your information from SSA, OPM, banks, brokerages, etc., for a fee.

Anyway, I’m in the process of switching everything over to Thailand.  No US address. I’ve got to look into Schwab International.  I already have a Schwab US account, but I don’t see much of a problem using the international account.  It’s a stock account plus a bank.  From what I can tell, the bank is US based (Citibank), so I can have pensions or whatever deposited there.

Another thing I found out is that you can sign up for direct deposit of pensions, SSA checks, etc., directly to a Thai bank. Every month, the Treasury sends a wire transfer. The details on making the request weren’t exactly clear, but you do have to send an actual letter to each agency.  I guess I’ll try it and see.  Maybe it’ll be a simple process. This process is different than the process for sending SSA checks to Bangkok Bank.

Prices for just about everything are going up in the US. Food, housing, utilities, insurance of any kind, medical expenses, etc. Many people can’t keep up and are running up credit card debt or cashing in retirement accounts just to pay the bills. 

I’m glad I’m not there right now. I suppose the situation will eventually sort itself out.  It’s not as if the country hasn’t been through periods of inflation before.  
 

Perhaps look for a functional medical clinic in Bangkok.  I was looking one time, just to check the cost.  Anyway, there are a few such clinics in Bangkok, but their web pages don’t list any prices that I could find.

The bigger question is this: assuming your wife’s tests show an imbalance, what to do about it?  I think the proper diet is the key.  The progress won’t be instantaneous, but a real cure is possible, over time.
 

My wi-fi is terrible, so I guess the only other option is Tru internet, which can provide a fiber hookup in my building.  They’re the one company that can.
 

I don’t mind a reasonable installation charge, but what about the monthly charges?

Someone once told me that foreigners were now required to pay the full two year contract in advance.  Does that sound right? I could do it, but then if I move I’d lose the rest of the contract amount?

15 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Happened to me more than a few times ...

... oh wait ... does it matter if we drugged ourselves ?

 So you think I drank four beers and was knocked out for almost two days? I don’t think so.  

It happened to me once, I think.  I was out having a few beers one night.  I went to a few bars, but I didn’t have too much to drink. Maybe four beers over the course of two hours.  Anyway, I started to feel strange and decided it was time to go home, so I ordered a taxi.  It finally showed up and he drove me back to my condo.  I could barely get out my wallet to pay the driver, but somehow I managed to do that.  I then managed to somehow stumble up the stairs and go inside.  I even managed the elevator ok. 

Once inside, I passed out on the bed, fully dressed. That was Saturday night at around 9pm.  I didn’t wake up until sometime late Monday. No hangover at all. 
 

The last time I was at Tops in Central Festival, they had some different Campbell’s soups, but not many.  

Pizza in Pattaya?  Mostly, I just order what can be delivered, so there’s probably good pizzas I haven’t found yet.  Anyway, I’ve tried Dom’s pizza, Outlaw pizza, WD pizza, The Wine Connection…. I’d order from any of those places again. 
 

I still haven’t found anything like I used to be able to get in NYC. I guess if I had an oven, I’d try making my own.

My condo is quiet, for sure.  Just two regularly occupied units on my floor.  Once in a while, there’s someone in the unit next to me, but I only saw him one time in a year. And I never hear any noise at all from the unit above me or the unit below. If anyone is making noise around here, it’s me with my stereo.  I try to keep it reasonable and I don’t play music late at night, but it’s hard to judge how far the sound travels. 

I don’t wear them anymore, but for years I did. I was extremely nearsighted, and they still had my prescription for daily wear. I think I was -9. I had some astigmatism as well. Anyway, just check with Top Charoen optical.  There seems to be a shop on just about every block.  The worst that can happen is that they don’t have something you could try.  

The airflow or whatever they call it is definitely less aggravating.  The scale and polish technique isn’t much fun.  
 

I recently visited a dentist in Bangkok for a checkup and cleaning.  The dentist used the airflow.  It seems like a water jet/ultrasonic type deal and they were done in no time.  Unfortunately, I needed a few fillings for the first time in 60 years.  I had those done a month later and they didn’t use anything to numb my nerves. They used a laser to remove the decay and then used some sort of filling that was the same color as my teeth. Apparently, the laser is a pulse laser and each individual pulse is very short, so the nerves in the teeth are never triggered.  The entire episode was a breeze.
 

Well, everyone is different, I guess, so whatever works for you.

I’m not sure where everyone is from, but in America right now, there’s a terrible obesity problem.  A large percentage of young adults wouldn’t even qualify to enlist in the military. They’re too obese. As for the population at large,, the numbers are even worse.  They’re mostly obese or morbidly obese, diabetic or pre diabetic. Blame the typical American diet. And the drug companies, doctors and hospitals are making $$$$  treating these people.  And yet there is very little focus on the root cause of the problem.  Most of the medical establishment would just as soon prescribe insulin or pills.  They tell their patients to eat less and exercise more.  
 

Anyway, good information is out there, for anyone needing help. 

3 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

don't need some weird diet, just cutting out western junk food diet would have worked

Cutting out Western junk food?  To hear some doctors tell it, it’s almost all junk food. And that’s the problem. With the exception of fresh meats and organic vegetables, just about all the food you’ll find in a typical grocery store is junk. Too much sugar, too much high fructose corn syrup, too much highly refined wheat or other grains. Seeds oils that no one should eat.. It’s  a long list. In addition, they add all sorts of other chemicals to the food as preservatives, thickeners, coloring, etc.  Of course, you can pretty much assume much of the restaurant food also might not be so healthy.  
 

It’s crazy.  Everywhere you go you see food you’re not supposed to be eating.

For the original poster: I’m in the same boat.  I’m not entirely sure I remember correctly, but when I briefly looked into the issue a few weeks ago, I determined there was no real problem.  If you’re in Thailand and need meds, can’t you just go to a doctor at a recognized hospital, obtain whatever prescription you need, and submit a claim to Blue Cross once you’ve paid for the medication?  This would be outside the mail order drug plan.  That way of submitting a claim was always available in lieu of buying the medications through the mail order plan.  Maybe it’s still the same?

Anyway, I’m sorry if I’m wrong.  I never really take any expensive meds.

I kept Medicare Part B, just in case.  I also have a Federal Blue Cross Blue Shield plan that works all over the world.  I guess I also pay for that.  Maybe around $400 a month. Anyway, that plan has an overseas coordinator that will arrange payment at a preferred provider. I recently had an occasion to try it out for a few appointments and tests at Bumrungrad hospital in Bangkok.  It worked great.  When it came time to pay, I didn’t have to pay anything. For treatment at non-preferred providers, you still have coverage, but you pay first and submit a clam later, unless other arrangements are made.

I’m thinking about getting some sort of Thai accident insurance, just in case something weird happens and I have to go to the nearest medical facility.

As for Thai health insurance, I looked into that and for me, the cost was over $500. Not cheap. 
 

I guess there’s also the option of hopping on a plane back to the US if anything major ever comes up.  So far, I’ve been lucky.  They never find anything wrong with me.
 

Last week I bought a couple of Australian grass fed rib eye steaks at the grocery store at Central Festival.  I think it was 1590 baht for two small steaks.  They were pretty good.  

Two Hooters in Bangkok are still open.  One on Soi 15, the other on Soi 4. I don’t see a problem with them.  People who want to go will go, others won’t.  Anyway, I used to stop into the one on Beach Road once in a while, just for a beer or two and to watch the world go by.

In the US, they’re all over the place, along with other restaurants using a similar business model. Twin Peaks, for example. Same idea, but with better food.

A couple of lunches from Twin Peaks.  Not “healthy,” but pretty good with a couple of draft beers.

Just a quick question.  I have everything I need for renewal, including more than enough money in the bank.  My renewal is coming up.  Can an agent do this for me, or do I have to appear in person at the Immigration Office?