The Fugitive

My Thai niece was making a left turn in her car. A girl on a moto undertook and was knocked off. Fortunately, she only suffered bruises and a few scrapes. Policeman who attended was a family friend. Nevertheless, he ordered my niece to pay for the girl's hospital treatment (we never received a bill), repair of her moto and compensation for injuries. Surprisingly, the girl only asked for 1,000 baht. I can understand why the police do this, their prime concern being getting people patched up and vehicles repaired and back on the road.

You mentioned; 'insurance adjuster'. Assuming you were insured which is good, otherwise the police would have ordered you to pay for medical treatment for the moto rider, repair of moto plus compensation for injuries. Consider the 500 baht a very reasonable admin fee/tip. When police recovered my stolen Honda Wave they demanded the reward money my wife had offered on Facebook (10,000 baht) before they would hand it over claiming that they had incurred considerable expenses.

Feel very sorry for the lorry driver. If you have a choice don't drive after dark. The lorry driver almost certainly wouldn't have had a choice.

Many thanks for the clear and helpful advice. Much appreciated!

Most intelligent, forward-looking and compassionate suggestions. You are a Gentleman!

Absolutely! It all depends where you are. I first stayed in a basic apartment in Pattaya. That was 5,000 per month. Returning to Thailand last month got talking with a young guy who was revisiting Pattaya after a five year absence. He was very happy to have secured an apartment at the price he paid upon his last visit. The price being 5,000 baht per month.

Sounds as if the guy is 'losing it'. OP may feel some sympathy and/or responsibility to help him.

Very sensible advice. As we know, there are many others in the same boat living day by day, existing in 5,000 baht per month apartments receiving State Pension only with no provision for illness, old age or accidents.

That's the nub of it. He's used to an agent doing things for him. He's not confident exiting the Country.

Arriving at Suvarnabhumi airport on 19 September this year before even looking at my passport the I.O. asked; "How long are you staying for?". I advised her I didn't know but I have a Retirement Extension and a Reentry Permit. No further questions. Presumably if I'd said less than 30 days I'd have been OK. If longer, was she preparing to deny entry?

After my AliExpress account was hacked I now want to receive OTP's each and every time. Using different passwords for my various accounts is important too.

You forgot about the 80 cigarettes you smoked per day.

Only been here since 2017 but so far found that all doctors whether in hospitals or their High Street clinics and specialist dentists speak (or are willing to speak) excellent English. Nurses in A/E at Provincial hospital did but only some at my local community hospital. Thanks to them all, they do a great job IMHO.

Interestingly, it was the PEA not the ISP's who chopped all our fibre data cables the week before last. The man was an animal, leaving no internet connections for anyone.

I asked same question of my Mrs. She has contacts at our local community hospital where we got our first 3 jabs. No more apparently!

Great info, good warnings and very pleased you got well again for 12,000 baht! Year's (decades) ago a lad I worked with got pneumonia at age 16. When he returned to work he looked like a cross between a ghost and a skeleton. Took some time but he became a superb squash player, competing in tournaments at local and regional level. Best wishes to you Sir!

On the subject of healthcare professionals and languages, my specialist dentist told me he qualified in the 1970's. However, when he was studying for his Master's Degree in the 1980's it was, by then, compulsory to learn English. Maybe it depends upon the qualification and timescale?

Most people express this wish as I understand. I know that nurses can prescribe drugs subject to obtaining extra qualification. However, I believe my chances of minimising suffering would be greatest in a place where there is also access to doctors and a pharmacy. My theory failed when put to the test in a National Health Service hospital due to staff shortages. Therefore I would, if financially possible at the time, elect to receive end of life care in a private hospital.

Did that with us the week before last. Severed and disposed of all data cables. ISP's strung new cables for their customers after they complained of loss of service. We were off from Friday to Thursday. A credit of 71.16 baht has appeared upon my Internet account. Assuming it's compensation for loss of service?

Worrying unnecessarily! No males in my family (Grandfathers, father and uncles) lived beyond 72. The good part is that none of them suffered senile dementia/Alzheimers Disease.

Top comment. I would think any private hospital will provide 'end of life care'. Unfortunately, accommodation, nursing plus repeated assessments by doctors, prescription fees and medication costs would use up $10,000 USD rather quickly. Even with symptoms under control and minimised the end would likely still be unpleasant.

Good advice, why struggle? Alternatively, instal one of the lighter weight Linux distro's.

As I'm only a recent State Pension claimant I can't comment on the proof of life letters/certificates. It could be that things have recently changed at the DWP as regards UK addresses and UK mobile 'phone numbers? As always, what we get told and the level of customer service depends upon who you speak to on that day. If I was you, I would be thinking along the lines of advising the DWP that you have returned to the UK upon a permanent basis. What happens in the future is another matter as people's circumstances can and do change all the time.

When I claimed my U.K. State Pension the lady I spoke to at DWP advised me that I MUST (emphasised) maintain a U.K. mobile telephone number. Reading between the lines she just may have been tipping me off how to avoid a frozen pension?

Thanks. Good advice. I don't think the OP mentioned his operating system. Some of us don't yet have PC's capable of running Windows 10/11 properly. But the time will come.