Oxx

Complete and utter tosh.  The Government in its wisdom has decided 600 baht pension paid monthly is enough for those aged under 69.  I'm sure they know better than armchair (or barstool) experts here on this site.

The London Stock Exchange charges 0.5% on purchases, so the Thai proposal seems moderate.  (The UK also has capital gains tax which can be far more punitive.)  In all, whilst this move is unwelcome, it is modest, and not at a level that will lead to investors' fleeing the exchange.

43 minutes ago, thaibook said:

I need to apply for my first extension of visa based on retirement.  Do I need to make an appointment or can I simply turn up at Chaeng Wattana?  The link provided by Oxx gives an option for retirement extension but all the dates are greyed out and say "no information".

You can just turn up, but you may end up waiting 5 of 6 hours, or possibly more, to be processed.

With the appointment booking link, you must select the type of appointment first, before selecting a date.  As things stand, there are appointments available on the 18th, 20th, then every working day after that.

https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/ImmigrationOfficeGovernmentComplexChaengWattanaRd@imm1division.onmicrosoft.com/bookings/

5 minutes ago, actonion said:

A  smart lamp post is one that will  jump  out of the way  when  a Thai driver gets too close to it

As opposed to the current "dumb" lamp posts which have a habit of jumping out in front of cars and motorcycles - particularly if they detect the driver/rider is drunk.

1 hour ago, Venom said:

Can we request they install smart traffic lights

Even better, they could synchronise traffic lights so that traffic can flow freely through consecutive junctions.

I've also never understood why Bangkok traffic lights have such ridiculously long delays.

10 hours ago, DrJoy said:

American, Australian, British, Canadian, Universities charge 4 to 5 times fee from foreigners 

Chula is a private university, not a public one, so there's no rational reason for such dual pricing.  The universities to which you allude are public ones, so the fees of native students are subsidised by the state.

From the 18th April, this is moving back to Chaengwattana (along with 90 day reporting).

Not Chaengwattana, Mueng Thong Thani.  There's a recent thread about this:
 

Does anyone know/can recommend an agent that can get Residence Certificates in Bangkok? I did find one agency that apparently offers this service, but it's not replying to my Line/Facebook messages.

Thanks.

1 minute ago, davemax49 said:

Will Police do anything for wired fraud

In short, no.  You handed your money over willingly, and the company is apparently in Hong Kong where the Thai police have no jurisdiction.

Why the quote marks around “broadcasting problems”? Is this suggesting that something nefarious was going on?

40 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

You obtain residence certificate at MTT.

Thanks.

Did you need photographs? Copies of passport pages?

I need two certificates of residence since I'm buying a car and selling my old one.  Seaching here there's so much conflicting information, and there's nothing on the Immigration website. I'm hoping for clarity.

(1) Is this now being done at Mueang Thong Thani, rather than Chaengwattana?

(2) What documents do I need to prepare? (I'm doing 90 day reports, so I presume no separate proof of address is needed.)

(3) Presumably I need two copies of everything since I need two certificates.  Right?

Thanks.

I like Nan.  Used to fly there with Kan Airways and PB Air, but they closed down.  Also closed down are the routes with Thai Airways, Air Andaman, Nok Mini, Solar Air, Happy Air and WIsdom Airways.  Getting their by bus involves a long journey over twisty roads and intermittent bouts of vomiting.

Very few decent restaurants.

Can't see its becoming a major tourist attraction.

35 minutes ago, Bruno123 said:

All claim No MSG.

If they do, then they're lying.  They may truthfully claim, however, no added MSG.

29 minutes ago, khunPer said:

don't forget that Denmark is number one in the whole World when it comes to high taxation, amazing that the taxation-rate didn't caused a revolution long time ago

But at the same time, Denmark is #2 in the World Happiness Rankings.  High taxation, as long as it's equitable and is coupled with good social service provisions, healthcare, education and infrastructure, the people will be disinclined to revolt.

Wow! Chula seems to take dual pricing to extremes.

- Tuition and Academic Fee Two regular semesters:  25,500 baht (Thai)/79,500 baht (non-Thai).

- One summer session:  6,375 baht (Thai)/44,630 baht (non-Thai).

https://bsac.chemcu.org/prospective-students/

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

Speaking as someone who is borderline diabetic, there are very few processed foods that are not unhealthy for me. Even tomato sauce has sugar in it.

Not that it is actually tomato, many are pulped pears for bulk, with tomato concentrate added.

As far as noodles go, the only two viable alternatives are egg noodles (protein) or whole wheat durum spaghetti. IMO the rest are not going to help get my fasting sugar and HBa1C levels down.

The craziness continues. 

Normal tomato sauce (such as Heinz ketchup) is not made from pears.  Possibly made from pear tomatoes (a type of tomato).  Ignoring the fact that it would taste weird, pears are much more expensive than tomatoes.  Doesn't make economic sense.

Egg noodles contain small amounts of egg, and anyway, 100 g of egg contains 13 g of protein, whilst the same quantity of white flour contains 10 g.  The difference is negligible.

And neither egg noodle nor whole wheat spaghetti is going to help with your HbA1c.  Both are packed with carbs.

16 hours ago, EricTh said:

then why doesn't natural MSG like tomatoes taste the same as artificial MSG?

The obvious answer is "it's all in your mind".  Natural and artificial MSG are chemically identical, so taste exactly the same.

However, MSG has virtually no taste.  If you put it directly on your tongue you may detect a slight saltiness, but that's it.  You really only detect it in food because it makes the dish taste better.

14 hours ago, Sheryl said:

16 hours ago, up-country_sinclair said:

Anaesthesia for a colonoscopy?  I'd much prefer sedation. 

People are tending to use these terms interchangably.

I know this has cropped up before, but I'm 100% certain there are two levels of sedation on offer.  At my first colonoscopy I was given the option of what the doctor called "twilight sedation" (not, I suspect, a medical term) or "anaesthesia".  I opted for the former and was aware what was going on throughout the procedure.  I even remember one of the staff calling out when I started squirting from my behind.

For my next two colonoscopies I was fully under.  And for my most recent colonoscopy my doctor said that because the previous colonoscopies had been trouble-free, she could offer me a choice of being fully under, or being conscious the whole time.  Unfortunately, I can't remember the exact terms she used.  I went for the latter and followed the probe's progress on a small screen.