Wrong Turn

I send small packages mostly to the UK and US and just recently I've had so many going missing that I'm starting to think that someone is snatching them before they've even left the country!

I've thought about using another service but I can't find anything that offers similar prices to the Thai Post Office, can anybody suggest another service?

My packages have a maximum value of about £20 so I think all of the courier services would be out of my price range, are there any alternatives to the post office??

Thanks in advane for your suggestions

I've had packages missing in the Thailand mail system.

Your dilemma is similar to mine: the value of my goods are not high enough for me to want to pay for courier or FedEx or DHL.

Therefore, I only mail things when I absolutely have to, and this is very rare.

I have friends with bunyuns [sic] that look worse than yours. But they are not in pain.

But....

You should see a medical doctor based on referals that is a good doctor.

Look at the feet.....my friend did.....after the fact.........

Just saw on tv a court ruling for Samak to resign. Apparently he appeared on a Thai television cooking show for which he was compensated? Apparently not allowed by the constitution? Are we in for yet another election and fraud claims?

Some food for thought: Is the PAD very popular or where did they get all their support for the demonstrations? Here in the countryside it's big business. Get paid 1000 baht per day and free transport to Bangkok to participate???

The cooking show seems like an excuse to get Samak out. What the alternatives will bring, I don't know.

I do think LOS remains polarized and will continue to be polarized.

I am optimistic for Thailand as a nation, and yes, there will be political bumps in the road. What countries have not had these issues in their internecine politics in the course of their history?

Oh yeah, construction here sucks. Call me a cynic, but when the Can Tho bridge collapsed last year, killing a lot of people in the process, my first thought was "somebody diverted a few lorries with the concrete" and apparently that is exactly what happened

Yes, that was bad. About 54 workers killed. So, it was indeed theft, cutting corners? Any prosecutions? I check the online papers and do a search.

Shoddy is not the word for what is going on here, just look at the electric installations.

Yeah, when it comes to electrical work, a lot of corner are cut, if there are regulation in place to begin with. I have always been a little concerned about being in older high rises, in case of fire.

I witnessed the downtown Saigon fire in late 2002. It was ugly. You just knew it was bad. I think about 65 people died, and some of them jumped. The fire happened because of welding going on inside the building. When the fire started the welders ran away. (Sorry for being off-topic.)

It's certainly true that the Vietnamese building industry is going through a boom time and the prices of material is going ballistic. However the quality of local civils works is appalling. Everything is, due a heck of a lot to corruption, built on the cheap and shoddy in the extreme. On the project I am on the buildings, sub stations etc, are looking old and they're not even finished yet. The construction of new roads is pitiful and you don't need to be an expert to know that they wont last.

If you are having a house built in Thailand you need good reliable supervision. In Viet Nam you need to be there 100%, 24/7.

I've witnessed this a lot. Someone hires a painter to paint his metal gate in front of his house, the owner will put a chair out and sit in it all day long, and watch the painter paint the gate. For quality assurance. Also, you have to watch the painter open a new can of paint to make sure it hasn't been cut with water or diluted.

A bridge in HCMC was found to be sinking shortly after it was built. The inspectors found out cheap concrete was substituted, and the saving were put in some pockets. The managers, engineers, and some other people ended up in the firing squad over this, I believe.

To be honest with you, these friends can turn into a millstone. They will let you down at the last minute when you rearranged your day to make yourself available.

Last minute cancellations are very common. At least in my experience.

I don't like teaching/tutoring friends or freinds of friends or significant others. It is, mixing business with pleasure a little.

These old husband's tales predate the germ and virus discoveries. Tropical people often have no idea that you can go outside in the rain at 15 degrees and stay alive.

Here is a recent example. About 4 weeks ago there was some of the heaviest rain and flooking, I've ever experienced. Some locals (not foreigners) claimed they got very sick from getting wet.

If someone is wet can airconditioning make you sick? This is what some teachers think, both local and foreign.

After my (Vietnamese) ex-wife gave birth, she was told to not take a shower for four (4!) weeks and to plug up her nose and ears with cotton wool to prevent bad spirits entering. That is where I for once put my foot down and told her parents that if they insisted, I would move out. Luckily, they relented; it is pretty hot here That is also why I will continue to take showers when I am ill, whatever harm it does it sure neats smelling to high heaven.

Yes, there is a lot of superstition in Vietnam. And I think this thread shows there are Old Tales from the West as well. I am still wondering if talking around with a wet head can make you sick.

I doubt it. But this is what I've been told in the East and even from a couple people in the west.

In normal parlance pension busting is when a corporation seeks avoidance of obligations to pay out pensions to retirees in it's system. It's cutthroat capitalism, unfair, and amazingly bullish for the company's stock. In this instance, from whatI can discern, the OP is talking about taking a present value lump sum payment for a future income stream. Obviously, that would have to be deeply discounted. As Guesthouse rightly points out, for most people (who aren't dying of a terminal disease) it's pretty short sighted and even dumb.

So, these people worked all of their life, or 40 years of their life, to have this scam scenario as an option?

Is there a better option?

Can these companies plead "insolvency" and reduce or cut bennies?

Sorry for the Thai bashing, actually no, I take that back as I am not sorry about it at all.

But from my balcony I can look directly down onto the road below. It is a reasonably busy side road, with the occasional car and plenty of motorbikes.

Yet what do I also see but about 10 kids aged 7ish-13ish running around and playing on the road. They are running up and down and from one side to the other, even running out from behind parked cars without looking.

And where are the parents? They are sat there in viewing distance, eating som-tam, chewing the fat and paying no particular attention to these kids doing incredibly dangerous things.

IMO, this is purely a cultural difference. Possibly, some NCF - No Concept of the Future.

Stay out of it, and enjoy the views. I bet that accidents are rare.

Cheers.

There´s a real girls´blouse discussion going on in the ladies´ section about what shoes they have on their tiny feet today.

What do all the butchy men wear, when they´re in Thailand (oh all right.... the non-butchy men can also reply.... )??

I have problem feet......... even during the so-called "summer" in Europe I can´t wear ordinary shoes (and yes, even with more expensive leather shoes I have the same problem), as my feet sweat so badly that I get heat rashes. When in Thailand I NEVER wear shoes...only sandals. How about everyone else??

I do not wear shoes in South East Asia. It's too hot, and when wet season can soak you at any time, shoes are not even practical.

I wear top-quality and good looking black sandals.

Sandals are the way to go, and honestly, shoes are another example of Western Imperialism - no need for shoes here!

'Sorry' or perhaps 'Life'.... Sure couldn't be 'Monopoly' since you can't buy property...

It's too complicated, but I'll say:

Craps......roll the dice and hope for the best.

A company in Pattaya are busting UK pension schemes for a massive 25% fee.

Has anybody done this, and if so tell us about the experience and has the inland revenue caught up with you yet

Can you give more details. There could be two meaning to what you are saying?

Yeah I just read it to on the Bangkok Post website

Samak the Iron Chef!!!

What a turn of events, PM sacked for taking petrol money for cooking show!!!

Are things settling down, now? Or, will this polarization continue?

It's a common folk belief though and not worth arguing......

I appreciate your info once again, Sheryl.

Another quick question:

Some people say that if you walk outside in the cold with wet hair from a shower that you will get sick.

Is there any truth to this?

Thanks in advance.

Most facts on Wikipedia have citations, so you can track down where the info came from.

For the purposes of forum discussion i think the Wikipedia is plenty reliable.

True.

As long as the info is not political or on a controversial topic. And the bibliography/source notes at the bottom are also very helpful in checking.

Can someone who knows about buildings, perhaps an engineer, explain why building 7 at the WTC collapsed?

It wasn't touched by either plane but it imploded. Why? I don't know why but we should know why.

On Youtube you can find the BBC announcing its collapse 20 minutes before it happened? Incredible.

All governments need control and authority of their populace and with the Homeland Security and Patriot Acts in the USA, the checks on government control and authority have been surrendered.

There are clips readily available all over the internet where Silverstein (the man who took a long-term lease on the entire World Trade complex and insured it for very hefty amount of money only months before 9/11) admits that the building was intentionally demolished.

So, it came down the same way the the two main towers came down -- intentionally demolished.

I'm not sure if this board goes into the non-Thailand issues, but as for Silverstein, yes, he changed the insurance policy on the WTC towers shortly before the attacks.

Were the intentionally demolished. No, in my opinion.

Did some people have intelligence about the attack before hand, YES, in my opinion.

The Jerusalem Ha'aretz newspaper even reported this. Mossad likely knew before hand.

So my view is "yes" buy physical gold, but as has been said earlier, don't buy it on the hype and don't buy it as an investment. Wait until it is unloved...again.....and believe me, that will happen in the future.

I agree. Gold is still high.

IF you want to "invest" in gold, buy gold stocks....that way, you get the some of the benefits of owning physical gold but with a different form of liquidity and if you are lucky, with a dividend.

Gold ETFs, good and sound as a general investment in gold?

You can short gold with ETF short funds, too?

I have just lost my job and been told that I have to go to Immigration with my employer so that I can have my one year Non B visa, expring July 2009, cancelled! If I do not do this I will not get back my personal documents (eg. degree etc).

Quick question:

Why does your employer have your original degree? I gave my employer my degree and other docs to get my Non-Imm-B, and then they gave everything back to me.

Sorry if this is off-topic.

In the way the OP suggests, the object is implied, not the verb. It can mean "enjoy yourself" or "enjoy the movie." I also do not recall Americans saying that much.

I also joke about whilst, amongst, bonnet, boot, etc, but it is amusement, not disgust. But I can be as arrogant as most Brits when I choose to be.

I do get tired of the British English vs. American English competition and debates. I think this point is on-topic and related to the OP.

English is an international language. 3/4 English speakers are not native English speakers.

Can anybody recommend a sympathetic dentist to deal with nervous patients? Have been putting of making a visit for many years due to a fear, guess you might call it a phobia. I'm particularly sensitive to the anesthetic injections (in the mouth especially), and ideally would love to find a place that offered an alternative method. When i was younger they still used to gas patients (not Nazi style of course!), and although i appreciate the new method is safer and has less side-effects, i can't help thinking a blast of novocaine might make the experience less traumatic!

(Should have mentioned - i'm living in Bangkok)

One think you can do is: tell your new dentist your situation in advance..

Have you tried to relax by getting (laughing) gas? It helps me.

I had a bad experience at the dentist when I was 10. I had cavities filled and I have a negative image of my elderly dentists just drilling and drilling with noisy equipment into my mouth.

30+ years later, I cringe and tighten up when I have certain procedures done. My current dentist spotted this right away and asked me if I had a bad experience at the dentist in the past, and I said yes, and explained.

My current dentist then wrote in my medical file to give me the laughing gas when coming in, to calm me down.

Maybe the gas will calm your nerves and fear of the anesthetic injections.

Good luck.

If I´m not mistaken, the verb "to enjoy" requires an object...i.e. you enjoy something. It is incorrect to wish that someone "enjoy".

Nongwahyay,

Can you provide an example of someone using "enjoy" as you state above?

I'm from the US and I've never said, nor heard anyone use the expression or word "enjoy" as you have described.

I am concerned about the amount of talk of jogging in this thread.

I think most here are no longer spring chickens and taking up jogging in later years presents a high risk of damaging your knees.

Good point.

Each person has to gauge what their bodies can and cannot handle. I cannot job anymore. Jogging is high-impact. Also, because I'm overweight it's hard on my knees and ankles, etc.

For those that live in Bangkok or other towns with pollution, you are breathing deeper and more often when you job. Note the pollution, also.

Well, this is a bit depressing! 2 weeks ago, I decided to try to lose some weight and get into better shape. Prior to that I weighed 77 kg, (173cm height) flabby chest, paunch, love handles, cycled a bit, drank beer, eat rice etc etc.

My daily food is typically:

Breakfast:

unsweetened muesli with zero-fat yoghurt

2 boiled eggs

green tea

1 slice of toast with thin peanut butter

1 glass of cranberry juice

1 bottle of water

2 bananas

Lunch:

1 glass of red wine

1 tuna salad

Evening meal:

Grilled fish or chicken with vegetables

1 bottle of water

Snacks:

bottles of water, handful of nuts, fresh fruit

Despite 2 weeks of this, although I feel more 'healthy' and my chest is a little toned up, my weight is still 77.0kg! No sign of any improvement with the paunch (beer gut) and love handles.

I am enjoying this diet and not missing the previous foods. But can informed individuals advise me if it's normal not to lose any weight at all after 2 weeks? Should I continue with the same regime or make some changes? (to either diet or exercises)?

You might try adding some monosaturated fats to your diet. A table spoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil for example, which has 100 calories.

Also, try to gauge your macros since your cycling.

Macros are Protein/Carbs/Fats.

I don't know what your Macros are. Many ratios: 40/40/20, for example.

You could be starting to lose fat, but your weight is not changing.

As we get older, it takes a little longer, also.

Best of luck.