mstevens

That was abolished 24 years ago, after New Zealand changed the rules on Thais who until that point could visit New Zealand visa free for 90 days. When NZ changed the rules on Thai passport holders, Thailand did the same to NZ passport holders.

For me, a big part of the appeal of Thailand was that it was a very cheap place to visit and when I moved there, a very cheap place to live. And by that I mean a Western standard lifestyle. Nowadays, it just doesn't feel to me like the bargain it was. Sure, compare it with some places and it's still cheap but it's nothing like it once was. When things were so cheap, I was able to overlook some stuff that I wasn't really comfortable with. Now that it's a pricier place, I find it harder to overlook some stuff. As Thailand becomes pricier, I think it changes the mix of foreigners who choose to live there, to some extent at least. Probably visitor numbers will just go up and up. But because it's not the bargain it once was, it becomes a less attractive place for someone like me to live.

I think it's simply a case that the Thai embassy in New Zealand jumped the gun and posted the new fees before it was officially announced. With forum moderator George coming out and saying the MFA will be announcing new WORLDWIDE visa fees on Tuesday, you can take these new fee rates as Gospel.

I would expect that the price to extend a visa in country of 1,900 baht will jump by a similar amount. Before it was 500 baht, it was 1,900 baht - so it increased by almost four x. Could that happen again? Could it become 7,500 baht or thereabouts to extend a visa?! Oh, this is going to hurt a lot of people!

Thai embassies and consulates around the world standardise the price of visas. So if a visa costs NZD 50, it will be around USD 30 in the USA, UK 25 etc which is about the same price as NZD 50. There will be slight differences due to fluctuating exchange rates but they work out to be roughly the same price. This is nothing to do with New Zealand being an expensive country. Assuming these visa fee increases as posted at the Thai Embassy in New Zealand are for real, you can expect similar price increases in all Thai embassies and consulates around the world from the same date, March 19. These price increases are very steep!

When Omeprazole first came on the market it came with warnings NOT to use it long-term. I seem to recall the recommended time of use was 6 - 12 weeks, maximum. Omeprazole reduces stomach acid. The problem with that is that stomach acid is an important part of your digestive process and a lack of stomach acid affects digestion. This can mean undigested food which can result in bacterial overgrowth, malabsorption and other GI issues which can cause a cascade of increasingly serious symptoms. I know acid reflux is not nice, but perhaps it might be worth hunting for a doctor who can identify the root cause of the acid reflux and treat that - and not just treat the symptoms which is what Omeprazole does.

In this case, Campbell is but the interviewer. As for Campbell being an opportunist, you do know that the money he makes from his channel goes to medical facilities in Africa to help people in rural areas. He has done countless videos from the clinics he supports in Africa. Campbell is not someone living high on the hog. If you disagree with the people Campbell has interviewed then so be it. That's your right. But no need to tell fibs about him.

I gather neither Sanuk nor Stickman are American.

22 degrees all night long for me!

Really enjoyed this one!

I have tried it a few times although the last time was several months ago. It's good and if you enjoy seafood, lovely ambience and eat a lot, it's worth it. The restaurant, Edge, in the Hilton, is very nice with tables spaced well apart, a really nice ambience and a gorgeous view out over Pattaya Bay. Do consider that there are other seafood restaurants in the area and you might prefer to order specific menu items to your liking. 1,500 baht x 2 = 3,000 baht. Spend that at one of the seafood restaurants and you'll get a lot of food. I think it's one of those things you should try at least once. Plan to go again when I am next in Pattaya.

It's not that bad, but then it's not good either. If you drink alcohol, take a break from it for a few months. Ditto soft-drinks. Lower your fruit consumption, especially fruits particularly high in fructose. Lower your consumption of processed carbohydrates (pasta, bread, cakes, muffins etc). Feel free to eat lots of good quality meat, cruciferous vegetables, healthy fats. Within a few months you should see improvements. If you follow these suggestions, I'd retest in 3-4 months time and see how the levels look then.

A long shot, but could it be an electrolyte imbalance? Take some electrolytes or coconut water....might help.

I would like to come at the issue of food intolerances from another angle. People often develop sensitivities to foods over time i.e. something you used to eat and had zero reactions to now causes a reaction. This is often due to gut issues. It could be anything from IBS to dysbiosis to SIBO to fungal / yeast overgrowth to leaky gut to something more serious like Celiac or IBD and the likes of Crohn's or ulcerative colitis. When you say, "From what I can see all im left with is meat and veg and rice", this is a classic presentation of people with a messed up gut! Thailand has plenty of gastroenterologists but I am not aware of any specialist gut clinics that take a functional medicine approach to gut health which is often what is needed in cases like this. When you're next in Australia (presuming from your post that you're an Aussie), it might be worth scheduling an appointment with a gut clinic and going from there. This is one area of medicine / health where Australia is light years ahead of Thailand. A quick medical history along with a breath test and comprehensive stool test can identify many issues which conventional gastroenterologists simply don't test for. Identifying such issues and treating them (often with a combination of practitioner-only supplements, herbal anti-microbials and perhaps antibiotics and / or anti-fungals) can resolve issues. With the gut fixed, your food tolerances disappear. I really don't think testing for food tolerances is the way to go. Find a really good gut clinic or functional medical doctor who specialises in gut issues and go from there. The root cause will be identified, can then be treated and following that you should have far fewer issues with intolerance to food.

Err, if you're going to cover your face you should probably cover your boarding pass too. Those large files can be displayed at full size and there is a name on the boarding pass.....

Pancreas and spleen in that general area. Sounds like it is too high up for kidney. Blood tests and an ultrasound of the area would be a guess at the doc's first line of investigation. Don't worry about English being an issue with docs in Thailand. Any reasonable hospital and the docs speak great English - and I suspect many docs even in government hospitals speak perfectly decent English too.

I can tell you now that many progressive doctors would not blink at those numbers in October. HDL and Triglycerides both very good, and LDL, quite frankly, nothing to worry about. Higher than what the medical profession used to be comfortable with but hardly sky-high. In the January numbers, her Triglycerides are worse (but still fine) - they have gone from stellar, to good. The LDL is, frankly, too low! Plenty of modern doctors want to see LDL in the range of 120 - 300. Your wife went from within that range to outside that range. Sorry, this is not what you wanted to hear and I am not a medical doctor nor do I have any medical training. I do, however, follow current medical research and commentary very closely.

I don't want to take this thread in a different direction but do take some time to look in to high LDL cholesterol and statins. Conventional medicine has always considered high cholesterol a risk factor for heart attack and stroke. Increasingly, there are more in the medical field questioning this. High cholesterol may not be as significant a risk factor as previously thought (in the absence of other factors), and statins do not come without wide effects. My LDL cholesterol was 193 when I had my last check-up in November. My HDL is very high (which is considered good) and my triglycerides are very low (also considered good). Many on a ketogenic diet have a similar pattern. There is increasing evidence that high LDL is not a risk if HDL is also high and triglycerides are low. My doctor was quite comfortable with my numbers, especially as my blood pressure was good at 114/76. Statins absolutely work to lower LDL, but do take some time to look in to the research and have a think about how necessary they may be for your wife.

My understanding was that the issuing of a visa does not check to see if you are on a blacklist. When you check in for an international flight, the computer system "communicates" with the destination country and a check is run. If you're on a blacklist, it will be flagged at that point and you will be denied boarding. If there was, say, an arrest warrant in your name in Thailand, you would be allowed to board the flight and when you arrived in Thailand, there would be a welcoming party for you at the air-bridge.

Just as a thought to the OP, have you tried a stinging nettle root supplement? It's a commonly used supplement and one its many benefits anti-histamine properties so it can help with a runny nose. It has many benefits and is worth Googling to see if it might be suitable for you.

When a foreign national is deported, that means sent back to their own country. An Israeli citizen convicted in Thailand should be deported to Israel, their home country. Sending them to Russia would be extradition. For that to happen, there must be a court order following a court case to hear the request for extradition. In the absence of a court case, I don't see how they could be "deported" to Russia.

The amino acids tryptophan and glycine both help with sleep. If you're looking to go entirely natural, you might consider consuming a diet high in foods with these amino acids. Think red meat and turkey.

If you have a runny nose when / shortly after eating, look in to histamines and histamine intolerance as it may be that.

Do you consume a high-carb diet? Are you prediabetic or diabetic? These can contribute to a runny nose. As far as multivitamins go, I am of the opinion that it's worth spending a bit more on a good brand. Centrum is a big seller but not a great brand. And yes, there is a difference between different vitamins from different companies. Just because they each have similar amounts of vitamins, minerals etc does not mean they're the same. If your budget allows it, it's worth spending a bit more on a premium brand. My favourite brand of supplements is Thorne. Not cheap, but in my mind it's worth it.

Most urban Thais would not accept this at all. Decent, hard-working, middle-class Thais are as intolerant of unreasonable noises that affect their enjoyment of life as are most Westerners.