Lacessit

I used to go to a laundry in CM for ten years, run by an ex-policeman and his family. Usually 120 baht for a full basket, washed and ironed. Never mislaid or damaged a single item. Plenty of laundries in Chiang Rai, 40 baht per kilo. There is a coin-operated laundry next to my regular massage shop.

There is no way any hospital in Thailand can rack up 1 million baht in 3 days without considerable padding of the bills. I only use the Thai medical profession for minor complaints, or for the initial stages of anything more serious. I go back to Australia, where I can get free treatment with top level private health cover. For example, I have a urologist in Chiang Mai for routine checks. If I needed surgery, my urologist in Australia is far more qualified and experienced.

Thais are not stupid, they have different priorities. I have the education you refer to; however, in terms of Thai street smarts my GF is way ahead of me.

Isaan women have a reputation for being strong-minded and hard-working. Never having been in a relationship with one, I don't know if that is true. I have a joint account with my Thai GF of 200K baht. The rest of my assets in Thailand and Australia are my business only. Any woman who became horrible or started shouting at me would be out the door before she could blink. I put up with a psycho once, never again.

Morrison is fishing around for employment, just as Abbott did after quitting Parliament. Both duds. I understand it was John Howard who changed the parliamentary pension rules to stop politicians of every stripe from reaping very lucrative lump sums. Would that the OAP was as generous, any MP who has served two terms, including backbenchers, gets 50% of their salary. That's a pension of more than $100K, compared to the OAP of about $26K. It's difficult to convince me most have earned it.

I turn 80 next month. I always have something to occupy myself, exercise, golf, swimming, eating out. I have mental exercises as well, such as creating videos, or driving my scooter in Thai traffic. I enjoy life, when it no longer has quality I will check out. I don't have a bucket list. I have been places and participated in events most would only dream of. I suppose I have the mindset it is better to wear out than rust out.

Nothing will change in that respect. I've seen owners of legitimate businesses not connected with the sex trade making payoffs to police. I assume it's a form of protection to ensure the Thai mafia stay away. Gambling breaks Thai law too, pa som sip is the Thai national card game played in all the rural villages.

Science does not care what you believe. Feel free to take your own view on the Second Law of Thermodynamics, no-one has ever been able to circumvent it.

When I look around at expats younger than me in my area, the majority of them seem to be bent on eating and drinking themselves to death.

The proposition America's Second Amendment is logical is absurd. It's about as rational as stepping off the 14th floor of a condo balcony, to prove gravity is just a theory. Even some of the most backward nations place more value on the lives of their children.

I definitely have white coat syndrome, typically 140/75 at any hospital or clinic. At home and at rest, 115/65. I progressively eliminated anti-hypertensives via diet and exercise. I keep 25 mg of Losartan as a standby, have not needed it for several months. Just as well, because pharmacies in Australia have to back order it, whereas it is as common as soi dogs in Thailand.

You may be right. However, if it does nothing for me in terms of pain relief, there would be no point to taking it regularly.

Melatonin does absolutely nothing for me. I can't become addicted to morphine either. OTOH, give me Demerol and they'd be hauling me down from the ceiling. Everyone is different, I guess it's a matter of individuals finding what works for them. I have heard kratom is a sedative in higher doses. I haven't tried it myself for sleep, as I understand it is addictive.

My approach has been to not worry about it. I am up 2 or 3 times a night with BPH. If I don't feel tired, I may be on the internet at 2 or 3 am for an hour before going back to bed. I nap during the day if I feel like it. All medications must be metabolized by the kidneys and liver. For that reason, I limit my use of them as much as possible. I quit using anti-depressants 10 years ago, anti-inflammatories 6 years ago, and anti-hypertensives 2 years ago. Everyone is different, I have quit alcohol because it disrupts sleep anyway, it's a diuretic. Diet and exercise were important in enabling me to quit. If I really want a good night's sleep, I may take a Codiphen or half a hash cookie once a week, no more. Yes, they are processed by the kidneys and liver too. I can't remember who said the pharmaceutical industry has no interest in making a drug that cures a health condition permanently. They prefer developing pills that create repeat customers.

Vaidam Health: "Pet Scan cost in Thailand is between USD 1530 to USD 1870. The total cost of the treatment depends on the diagnosis and facilities opted by the patient" BookIMED "The average price of PET/CT in Thailand is $19058, the minimum price is $15246, and the maximum price is $22869. Request the price. United States of America." Is it my fault I found the BookiMed site or something similar on my original search? Or the unit may be baht instead of dollars? You are also assuming the cost of scanning a single body part such as the knee is the same as a full body scan with all the bells and whistles. I can't find the original link of $15,000 , Google probably puts up and takes down thousands of links every day. Your repetitive harping does not even possess any originality or creativity. End of discussion with you.

You can see the name if you turn on notifications.

You're not a Trump-basher or climate alarmist? Says a lot, do you donate to his campaign fund? You're right, I was posting as a lesson in relative esteem. As I told you before, I have better things to do with my time than go searching for the original links, which won't satisfy you anyway. IMO you'd be more valuable to the forum by being less obnoxious.

He wasn't my favorite politician either. Having said that, he did not have the modern culture of lying and spinning. He simply did not answer awkward questions.

Stalking is when someone persistently posts negative emoticons to a poster, I have had that a couple of times. Somebody does not seem to do that, the worst I have had is one confused emoticon.

You may be right, although I notice not all my posts are flagged. If your hypothesis is correct, maybe the emoticons are randomly generated. I suggest buying a lottery ticket.

I am cursed or blessed with an inquiring mind. I would like to know - who or what is somebody? He/she/it never starts a topic, or posts on a thread. There is no avatar. The only evidence of somebody's presence on ASEAN are the emoticons posted in response to posts by other members. Is somebody just preternaturally shy, or do we have AI in our midst?

I can see this thread and its posts will be a shoo-in for the Good Taste award.

Best hedge against currency of any kind is precious metals. Gold, silver ( both going gangbusters ) platinum, palladium. I've made and lost money on shares and property investment. I have never ever lost money on precious metals. Bitcoin? Something I can't see, hear, feel or touch? It has all the characteristics of a religion, and we all know how leaders of religions fare compared to their followers. Google the net wealth of David Miscavige, Brian Houston, and Jerry Falwell.

Take a look at the number of posts I have made, then the number of positives given by other posters. Then compare it with your ratio. IMO that says it all about our relative value to this forum.

There is no such requirement at Chiang Rai Immigration. I do my 90-day report online. The only time I report the bank balance is the day I apply for extension. They require a bank letter, and a statement for the last 6 months prior to renewal of the extension. IMO it just shows how inconsistently the rules are applied across the Immigration offices. Any IO with two brain cells should be able to look at a passbook and determine if any requirement is not met. It's definitely not rocket science.