Lacessit

"nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American people" ( H L Mencken )

I would not say condo, however, it is possible to rent rooms in outer suburbs such as San Kamphaeng or Doi Saket for that amount. If I chose to rent out my fully furnished condo in Chiang Rai ( with swimming pool ) the current market is 6500 - 7000 baht/month. One can pay anything between 10K and 30K for a condo in CM, depending on size and luxury level. If I was to dispense with my GF and her support, my own budget would be about 30,000 baht/month, which is about three-fifths what I get as an Australian pension. Not that I wish to. I remember an American in CM who was really skint, living on about 8000 baht/month. He claimed he got most of his protein by licking up ants from the floor.

Thank you. It is unlikely you could find it without very specific directions.

Where have you not been, Mr. Ubiquitous?

My average over the last 3 years is 55,000 baht/month. At that rate, I will run out of backup assets when I am 103. I will still have a pension. I live as I want to, if I feel like having a luxury occasionally I do it.

I wonder how long a trip like that would take, what with picking up and dropping off, plus the slow speed of songthaews. The Green Bus between CM and CR takes about 3 hours, doing 80 km/hr. IMO it would be a long and uncomfortable journey.

I actually don't know how real estate agents make a living here, their forte seems to be masterly inactivity.

AFAIK they don't use tuk-tuks to travel from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai, unless they are complete masochists. Seems you don't know what a road trip is.

@BritManToo is the guy you need for information.

I have had two carpal tunnel operations, left and right hand. My hands are fully functional and pain-free about 20 years after the operations. IME splinting and anti-inflammatories are very temporary fixes. Anti-inflammatories damage the kidneys with prolonged use. Cortisone worked for me for about 4 months. The danger with cortisone is it destroys nerve tissue, so usually 2-3 injections is the limit. Like a lot of other surgeries, recovery is dependent on the amount of rehabilitation the patient is prepared to put in afterwards. As Sheryl says, it is a simple operation. One learns to operate with one hand only for a month or two. The good news is the fix seems to be permanent, I have never heard of anyone requiring a repeat operation. IMO you will find the aftermath of an operation is much more preferable to the sleeplessness and pain caused by carpal tunnel syndrome. Cast off your fear.

Why would I want to integrate into Thai society? Seems to me the topics of conversation are money, food, and possessions.

Are you trying to get your post count up with inane responses? Who does a road trip in a tuk-tuk?

Second time this has happened now, at a well known supermarket. I see a pack of Emmental cheese, shelf tag says 160 baht. Good deal for the quantity and quality. I have the mental habit of adding up my purchases as I go, so I have an approximate idea of my spend before I reach the checkout. 1200 baht, about 200 baht more than I was expecting. <deleted>? Sure enough, the Emmental price is 359 baht when I ask for an individual price check. Last time, it was a two for one deal on yoghurt. The deal only applied to a certain expiry date, which was now out of stock. Funny, they forgot to remove the shelf price tags. Mai Ow Krap in both cases, and I don;t care how long I hold up other customers. It's fraud.

I only book when I am outside Thailand, usually through Agoda. For road trips in Thailand, we roll into a hotel and ask the price. 500 - 700 baht/night is acceptable. We then ask to see the room. Specifications are clean, big bed, working aircon and plumbing. I test them. I look at my GF, it's either a nod or a shake of the head. I remember a guy in Sukhothai who quoted a price of 650 baht, then refused to let us see the room. Mai ow krap. We drove to another hotel less than a kilometre away, very good room, breakfast included, 550 baht.

I have all the excitement I need with making videos for YouTube, playing golf, adding to my autobiography, teaching my Thai quasi-grandaughter English, and shuttling between a condo and a village. I read a lot, listen to music, and keep up with world news. Swim and exercise. Post on ASEAN. Traipsing from one tourist "attraction" to another is my idea of boredom. I can remember a trip to Scotland, where I coined the acronym ABC. Another Bloody Castle.

One goes to a Honda shop to get their Honda fixed. One goes to a tyre shop to get a tyre fixed. Am I being too logical for this thread?

Very little, I may go to a new attraction occasionally. I am not a tourist, I live here.

The main problem with GERD is the irritation of the esophagus, which may lead to esophageal cancer. Secondary is the sleep interruption it causes. Pantoprazole and others in that class are known as proton pump inhibitors. In layman's language, it means the drug is damping down the stomach's ability to produce acid used to digest food. Baking soda simply neutralizes the acid in the stomach. If enough gap is left between eating and going to bed, the stomach stops producing acid, leaving only residual acid for the baking soda to neutralize. That is my logic, it seems to work for me.

Unfortunately, it sounds like the other part of getting off medications - exercise - might be risky for you. It would have to be monitored by a medical professional. I am not advocating an Atkins diet, that was too extreme for me as well. I eat as much cheese and yoghurt as I want. Eggs for breakfast every morning. It's a matter of picking the right carbs, not necessarily giving them up. For example, I don't eat peanuts, cashews and pistachios. I do eat Brazil nuts, almonds and macadamias. Surprisingly, I can lash out a couple of times a week with bangers and mash with onion gravy, fish and chips, or icecream without affecting the results of my diet. About two years ago, I made a decision to get fitter. This year, it was to lose weight. 6 years ago, I needed 5 or 6 daily or periodic medications. As I write, I am down to one only. I have said goodbye to high blood pressure, gastric reflux, depression, night cramps, prediabetes, and osteoarthritis.

Does that mean with his foreign appearance he gets the same social standing as Thais? Or did he have plastic surgery? I have a friend who is Burmese, English is his only language because he was taken to Britain as an infant. I wager on appearance alone he is more socially accepted than this six foot roundeye.

With less respect than elderly Thais.

Permeable membranes and filters are not the same technology or manufacturing process. RO is the best system for water treatment. Best is relative to molecule size, efficiency is lower for small highly soluble molecules such as fluoride and borates.

I mean the tax on the interest, IIRC about 200 baht.

Allow me to suggest a sixty-something reasonably fit-looking male would be a less inviting target than a middle-aged female. Where does this reputation of Thai islands come from?

"Only pure water is able to get through". From your own link, efficiency is 90% for fluoride. That means RO treating water that contains 100 mg/L fluoride will result in a permeate that contains 10 mg/L fluoride. That's not pure water in my book, or anyone else with a chemistry background. I stand by my original statement.