HermesHermes

Is a tier II or even tier III private hospital in Bangkok with an good dermatology department that is *good enough*. It's not like I need the best and greatest for this chronic issue. Google Maps gives me two different extremes when I search for 'dermatologist near me'... 1. fancy lady's doctor clinics for beauty treatments 2. public hospitals offering long queues and probably waiting for certain days when skin doctors are in Maybe Thailand is different than India. In a metro area such as Mumbai or Chennai I just look up the closest dermatologist's clinic in private practice and walk in, or make an appointment for a consultation in a day or two. They are always willing to squeeze me in. What do you recommend when you want to see a medical dermatologist who can do skin tests, prescribe treatment and drugs (only as necessary) but not wait half a day to see them? I know that everything will be cheaper and faster once I get to India, plus no language problems (English), but my departure is delayed. I expect to be in Kolkata in six to ten days but soon thereafter I will be in very remote cities with provincial care. As a perpetual traveller this is the story of my life, not in one place long enough. I am thinking of just dropping at the Institute of Dermatology near Victory Monument. But it sounds like a long wait there because it is reputed to be one of the best dermatology hospitals in Asia. They have the reputation (and maybe this is the best way) of saying 'try this. If that doesn't work, try that. if *that* doesn't work..." I would rather they do a test to identify the problem first, even if it takes a day or two for definitive diagnosis. I don't have months or even weeks of experimenting. Fact is, if I get a solid diagnosis then I can buy more of the creams and pills in India with my Thai Rx, presumably.

Near Tuk.com Keep in mind that while he seemed professional and good value (he gave me a firm price and said it would be finished in two days) when I arrived six hours before closing on the second day, he had not started the job. Somehow my post on this subject disappeared.

I asked at several pharmacies. Some had it, some didn't. The one east of CHILL Inn (same side of street) near Ekamai Gateway (mall) had it in stock.

Thanks Sheryl for your prompt and informed reply. You have the reputation as being the most reliable and helpful moderators and information sources on ASEAN Now. I must research further to see what is the Thai law and what is the Thai Post Office practice (not the same thing). Right now I am more looking for anecdotal evidence. I presume by FDA you mean USA. But what about for Canada, Australia, UK etc? I expect that being sovereign countries they do not all have the same rule as USA. And what of all those (licensed?) pharmaceutical companies in India selling drugs by mail? Then there is the Canadian companies with sellers in India who sell to the USA. It all becomes very complicated, no? I presume that these are medical supply house businessmen not gangsters. Of course, you cannot know about every single drug in every country. I presume this rule requiring licensing is for three reasons - 1) to protect the R&D investment costs of drug companies, 2) to protect designated markets different pricing structures, and 3) for safety reasons. Otherwise everyone would just order from the world's kid in a candy(drug)store - India. I like India because it does not have the reputation for fakes, although my doctor in Kolkata tells me that this can happen, just not on the scale as in PRC. My experience from travelling in India (where, as I understand it, patenting rules cover the process not the chemical makeup) is that drugs there are a fraction of (like 1/20th) the price of in USA, and 1/10th the price of in Canada. Indonesia and Vietnam are also low. Philippines curiously is high. China, I forget. So, whenever I travel there I always go shopping and bring home a stash of whatever I think I, my friends, neighbours and the family down the block might need. I have never had any serious difficulties at Canada Customs, although if I am ever asked, in writing or verbally, I would declare what I have - it is always personal amounts (sometimes borderline). The rule seems to be discretionary according to the person doing the checking. Actually, I might be mistaken, I think only goods under X dollars are even enquired about. Are medications some special category of products? I do not know. Maybe I am asked about cannabis (prohibited entry even though legal within the country - go figure), alcohol and tobacco (both are legal within the country but over certain amounts prohibited entry or taxable, even inter-provincially). I think that I am never asked specifically about prescription or OTC drugs. I think retail amounts are impossible to control and what they are on the lookout for is people lying about what they are bringing into the country or those doing it on a wholesale bulk level. More of a problem is passing through third countries like Japan. It is quite strict. Singapore once did a spot test of one of my bottles of essential oils (since I was travelling with dozens). All very polite and quick. A lot of the rules and especially enforcement seems to be spotty, discretionary and interpretive. Who can know all the rules? I have had strange experiences and surprises. Once I brought in a class of supplement called amino acids when I was into life extension [detour: a scam?] , I do not remember which one what was it. CBSA did a test and said it was amphetamines! They did not arrest me but did hold the unmarked pills (I always repackage because drugstore containers are inefficient packaging). Wasn't worth returning to the airport to pick it up when a secondary test proved it to be a false positive. Another time I imported from Switzerland a long-lasting testosterone injection called 'Nabolene' [detour: I do NOT recommend this drug, neither did the European doctor who wrote the script for a friend there - a whole other subject. In brief: very effective but not without side effects]. My Canadian doctor at a Men's Health Clinic administered it [detour #2: The hospital clinic treating such things as low-T got closed. Women's Health Clinics get lots of funding, men's health not so much. Can't imagine why...]. Yet despite being not available in Canada and technically in some sort of grey area, Canada Customs was a breeze. I had to go pick it up at the airport. My Canadian doctor was amazed it got through. There was no subterfuge. Everything was above board, no duty or taxes. Maybe a Customs fee? I suppose one could write a whole book on this subject of the international trade and private importing and exporting of pharmaceuticals. All I care about is helping my friends. I think I read somewhere in the news ten plus years ago about an entrepreneur in this field actually being criminally charged for buying and selling a legal drug. Go figure. But who wants to pay high prices. We do not for vegetables (we import from Mexico, USA and China where costs are lower). So why would medicines be any different? I suggest to you because the downside is so serious (though I would rather have the freedom to take that informed risk). I find these rules rather esoteric and confusing. And of course, ignorance of the law is no excuse - though I suspect innocence of purpose may affect enforcement and penalties.

I am not asking the rules about the country where it would be sent, only what the rules are about the country where it would be posted from... A friend has asked me to post him some for personal use. He intends to use it for a prostate tumour. I question the prudence of his action, but he is a big boy and it is his body. To be completely frank, I think he is being irresponsible to his partner to not take any conventional treatments in favour of an experimental drug. But, that is not my business. As a loyal friend, I told him I would do so if it does not break and Thai Post rules or any government of Thailand laws. BTW, I was not asked for a prescription at any of the three pharmacies where I enquired, so I presume it is an OTC drug in Thailand. It's not a cheap tablet: THB80-110 per 6 mg, depending on manufacturer and which retail pharmacy is selling it. Curiously, it was not available in 12 mg. I told him to wait until I go to India or even Vietnam, but he would like something now to start. Obviously I would have to send it dotting all my 'i's and crossing all my 't's, because the last times I have used Thai Post I had to present it for even the smallest package (at what point does a letter become a parcel?). The country of his address requires one of those international post green Customs declarations.

8. None of the motorcycle taxis (guys in orange vests) have spare helmets. Some don't even have their own.

Arrived this Friday Nov. 30 night just before 10 p.m. * driver on government bus from Ekkamai was cranky 1. No songthaews waiting at northern bus station to take passengers into town at flat rate. None at all actually. 2. Crosswalk light broken 3. WC at Makro open at 10:05 (not for long) 4. Macro urinal malfunctioning in two regards 5. No freelance taxis running towards town 6. Air is better than in Bangkok 7. Feels cooler too So climate is superior but transportation is inferior.

I use a basic package from AIS. I will check their website to see if short-term packages are available.

Good to know, *for the future*

No, I didn't. Perhaps you are referring to hot spotting? I am not a technically-inclined. I tried to do this with my Mac in Bangkok. PITA. Good to be reminded that it is an option, buy my data is quite limited. I would rather use the hotel's

'Work' is a stretch.

A sensible suggestion if my eyes were young and I did not need the serious screen space of my laptop

Is there a minimum price (THB800, 1000, 1500 or whatever) per night, where below that you are most likely going to find that the speed and reliability is just good enough for working? I ask because I have to do 12 hours per day intense reading and viewing of videos online over the weekend. What I cannot afford is a disappointing connection. Normally I stay on Soi Bukao for under 700. But some of these budget hotels have less than stellar internet. You have to be in the hall,way or in the lobby, or the router works on and off, or they turn it off after X p.m. /a.m. Maybe it is something as simple as area of the city, or you must enquire about some technical spec, such as they subscribe to a particular service provider's super-deluxe package. Or the hotel has to be 3-stars plus. I don't need luxurious digs. In fact, Inprefer a simple fan room with fabulous WiFi.

Big C (Sapan Kwai) in Bangkok sells hilltribe-raised true free range chickens. According to the label, anyway. Presumably Big Cs in Pattaya do too.

Malaya became part of Malaysia on September 16, 1963, when the Federation of Malaya merged with Singapore, North Borneo (Sabah), and Sarawak to form the Federation of Malaysia

I am not talking about land prices, but maps (ideally interactive and live) that measure the asking prices of what rents are according to neighbourhoods in Bangkok. Do they exist?

Lemborexant ('Dayvigo') is not cheap but is effective - for me anyway. Available by Rx only. I take half the prescribed dose or I will be groggy for an hour when I wake up 9 hours later.

Now BKK Heart Hospital charges THB3600. Best price I can find now in Bangkok is Thonburi Bamrungmuang: THB2500. I do not know about quality of technician and machinery. Since the skill of the operator does make a difference, I am thinking of BKK Heart Hospital never the less. Re: price, the Thonburi Bamrungmuang ad says that it does include doctor and hospital fees. Actually, the best deal if one wants several tests is leaving Bangkok for KL. Prices are 40-50%. Keep in mind that Malaysia is not only better value for medical testing, and has been for over ten years, language is simply not an issue. I find that the support staff especially in Thai hospitals to have a much less fluency in English plus the front desk staff tend to be moronic (or the systems are inefficient/non-transparent). I walked in to my closest hospital Phayonthin Sapan Kwai and even after 20 minutes I still couldn't get a price for Calcium score. I enjoy aspects of Malaysia for a break of 4-5 days anyway.

Phnom Penh and Battambang. More recently Kanchanaburi (in Thailand). Weird, although I did not notice any air pollution, KB rated poorly recently too. Malaysia and southern Thailand have much cleaner area. So, it's not like you have to go to Borneo or New Zealand for fresh air.

Just got a refund of the rail ticket I bought less than two hours ago. Only 30% refunded. But my health is worth more.

Isn't this slash and burn an offence against some law in Thailand? Enforce the law! At gunpoint if necessary. But the problem could be the futility of it not being an international endeavor. I recall when doing video work at the US southern border. US laws were useless if Mexico continued its industrial pollution.

VN e-visa application question: "Have you ever entered Vietnam under a different passport?" What are they, worse than Indians in the love of bureaucracy and unrealistic expectations? What do they expect people to do who have been travelling for 40 years and are almost 70 years old, and visited Vietnam probably a dozen times? Spend weeks on a wild goose chase to dig up passports from the 1980s? I don't have such records at my fingertips in my home country, let alone in an ASEAN country where I am now. Plus, I would only be guessing which passport I used when, even if I did find any of them. How many people throw their hands up in the air and plain lie, i.e. omit this field?

Sheryl, I appreciate the link but it is in two languages, one of which I am illiterate. It took some digging and experimenting for this non-techie to figure out how to get Google Translate to do it with entire webpages on an android phone (not intuitive and oddly I had to use the website not the app). But anyway, here it is in English - list of the pulmonologists at Thonburi Hospital. Dr. Wanida is not on the list. Stranger things have happened. To the coughers, hackers, wheezers, sneezers and chokers among us... if you have deep pockets and/or are willing to spend the time to be firm with the pulmonologist or ENT MD you might do better than I did. Perhaps get the bill for hospital services and pharmacy separate, and discuss options in detail with the doctor, at least more thoroughly than I did. She said that the oral and puffer would be about the same price. Next time I will say what my budget is. That I find hard to believe. And I don't recommend speaking Thai with your doctor *if your comprehension is poor*, as mine is. So, here you go, the lung doctors of Thonburi Hospital.in English. There is also a page two... https://www-thonburihospital-com.translate.goog/doctorprofile/?page=1&specialist=357&_x_tr_sl=th&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp

In Alberta, Canada the health authorities (at the government level) recommend it. They just wouldn't authorise the public purse to pay for it. That is until COVID, when at least for one year they did. Don't know if they have continued. I too wonder whether to get the vaccine because if I pay it in Canada it is double Thai price. What my pharmacist told me in Calgary when I got it in 2022 (?) was that it is twice the amount and stronger, but fewer variants taking the gamble at tackling. Or something like that.

Postscript: She did not write me a prescription. You know, so I could easily refill it should my circumstances require and/or to prove a licensed practitioner authorised me to use the drug (useful at some borders, very unlikely ever necessary for small amounts). Mostly, it just struck me as odd more than inconvenient.