Lacessit

An ultrasound is worth doing, as well as the endoscopy. About 4 years ago, I had severe chest pain. Turned out I had bile duct sludge which was preventing my gall bladder from delivering bile to the stomach , to assist in digesting fats. The OP may want to look at his diet, there may be foods triggering the pain.

Have a couple of squat toilets in the village if you are interested.

As my bum does not have eyes in it, as long as what I sit on is smooth it doesn't care.

What ads? Perhaps you need to update your OS to include ad blockers.

I guess occupying a bar stool in Pattaya, loaning out money there, would give different results and perspective.

The only way to know for sure is with a PCR test. A person may still have the virus with a negative test, it depends on the detection limit of each ATK kit. Having said that, their viral load is probably so low they won't be contagious, unless they are coughing and sneezing. Having experienced COVID and quarantine here, we were let go after 14 days and a negative ATK. My understanding is one is good to go now as soon as they test negative.

Maybe so. However, D-Day could not have happened without American participation.

"The Longest Day" was IMO a fitting tribute.

I've been living here for 12 years now. I've learned not to concern myself with what other people do here. Recently, there was work being done at the condo. A Thai was using a tile cutter at about 120 dB with no eye or hearing protection. If he does that for a living, he will be deaf by age 45. Is it my problem? No.

I have never been to Taiwan. Even if I had been there for many years, as a foreigner I would not presume to know the thoughts of the average citizen, or the inner councils of the military establishment there. Instead, I would be looking at what is happening, and how that is influencing CCP thinking as to an invasion of Taiwan. Ukraine effectively has had only three years to prepare for a Russian invasion, after Zelensky took over from Poroshenko, a Kremlin ally. Taiwan has had 70 years. The CCP would be looking at how a under-prepared, militarily-inferior nation is mauling one of the supposed best armies in the world to a standstill, and taking out Russian generals in the process. It would quite rightly conclude Western technology is aiding the Ukrainians in decimating Russian armor and air support. It would also be considering logistics. When the Allies invaded Normandy, they did it with air superiority and control of the sea, across about 170 km of water. Xi is a student of history, he would know getting an armada across the same distance with no guarantee of air superiority, or with multiple silent nuclear submarines waiting in ambush, the butcher’s bill would be unacceptable in terms of equipment alone. Then there are sanctions. Russian GDP according to their own forecasters will fall by about 10%. China’s GDP falling by the same amount would cause a revolution. The CCP has enough problems as it is with the property sector without sanctions in the mix. Not to mention cities in pandemic lockdown are struggling to get enough meat, rice and fish. China is utterly dependent on other countries to feed its population, it is the world’s biggest food importer. An interdict of shipping and ban on Chinese exports would be disastrous. IMO unless Xi has a rush of blood to the head like Putin, the probability of an invasion of Taiwan is very small. The lessons of Ukraine are too stark.

I am wondering if anyone has actually gone to a Boots or Watson pharmacy to verify they don't stock it. I've never had a problem buying it at any pharmacy I have visited in Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai, and I don't think the gods of probability have decided to load the dice in my favor.

Every nation has its eccentricities. Durian and beer, sounds ghastly. The Brits with cold pork pies and warm beer. Americans drink beer that looks like water with a head of foam on it, and pork ribs that are more fat than meat.. I've never heard of Australians poisoning themselves with Vegemite and beer, that's because we know the Vitamin B added to Vegemite counteracts alcohol-induced vitamin deficiency.

Exactly, a person after my own heart. I think the most valuable life lesson my father ever gave me was to avoid debt like the plague. As he worked in a bank, he knew what debt could do.

It's very likely the Thai family is what made them poor.

For all you know, those people are in debt up to their eyeballs. You think they would admit it to you? I don't get envious about what other people have. I'm not interested in impressing friends and neighbors with my possessions. OTOH, the last time I was in debt was 1974, and I guess I can call up more cash at short notice than most.

You would have got a lower price playing The National, and had three courses to play on, all three different design philosophy. You can play all three in a day if you have the stamina, included in the price. The heart of Royal Melbourne is the Composite Course; however, that is only open for professional events. Visitors don't get to play it. https://www.nationalgolf.com.au/cms/

My Thai motor and scooter mechanics keep the car and scooter running like Swiss watches, at low cost. The car is 16 yo, the scooter is 14. The most I was ever scammed out of was 1000 baht, the first week I was here. Gave it by mistake to a tuk-tuk driver, who took off like a scared rabbit. I've loaned small amounts to Thais, not expecting to get the money back. Most of the time, it is repaid. Thais tell you what they think you want to hear. That's not considered as lying by them. OTOH, I can remember two farangs who individually could have separated me from a lot of my money, if my BS meter had not been set at 10. Let's face it, there are scammers in every country on the planet. IMO Thais are no better or worse than any other nationality.

The OP can hire a live-in, retired government hospital nurse for 10K-15K baht/month to take care of the MIL. Government hospitals compulsorily retire their nurses at age 45, more affluent Thais employ them to look after their aged ones.

I don't worry about it. If they want to charge me 100 baht where a Thai is charged 20 baht, it's no big deal to me. OTOH, if they are charging 400 baht, that's pure greed, and I won't accept it. I can get two one-hour massages for the same money.

Cost of living in Thailand vs cost of living in Hawaii, no contest. Thai women vs Hawaiian women, ditto. A Hawaiian woman weighing 40 kg would be as rare as unicorn doo-doo. Hardly surprising, the breakfast buffets I saw in Hawaiian hotels seemed to be dedicated to maximum calories for guests.

My needs are quite simple, clean, big bed, aircon. Quiet. I roll into town at 3 pm to 4 pm, start looking with my Thai GF. We can usually find a nice room for 500-600 baht a night. I always ask to see the room first, I check the aircon and plumbing is working. My GF gives the final thumbs up. Have never used an app, IMO too prone to misrepresentation. Book on the app, what do you do when you arrive and your room is a dog kennel?

36 sqm studio in Chiang Rai, 1 million baht with swimming pool. Less if unfurnished.

250 baht? it's 140 baht in Chiang Rai. IMO it would be more difficult to find a pharmacy that doesn't have Sidegra.

IMO the OP would need to look for a company that specializes in silver bullion. Silver cannot simply be melted down, it has to be done in an inert atmosphere, otherwise it becomes silver oxide.

I think it's about 20 km south of Udon Thani, a large meeting hall and series of cabins built as a retreat for the monks. The local villagers built the hall to thank a holy man who banished all the tigers from their village, where the tigers had been eating all their chickens. The hall has a large wooden floor with a shrine at one end. Every day, volunteers polish the floor with coconut husks. It's an unusual experience to walk on the floor bare-footed, it's not slippery but it felt like I was walking on silk. Somewhere near Loei, there is a large dinosaur park with a fairly scary dinosaur robot. Some cave temples/shrines in that region too.