NaamGin

Dr Chanaklan did my hip replacement last October at Bangkok Hospital in CM and I can also recommend him...  I was walking without a cane / crutches after 3 days and  back out playing golf in less than 3 months... Totally pain free in 4.5 months... Total cost, 425,000 baht, although my insurance paid 100% of the costs... 

Grandview Hotel on the superhighway near Maya Mall... 

Still open and the best value for a lunch buffet with a combo of Thai and Western food... 

I have a question about driver license renewals in CM and possible changes in requirements.

I had lunch with a friend yesterday who owns a coffee shop in CM with his wife that is popular with the expat crowd. He told me several long-term expats had come into the coffee shop lately complaining of a change in the license renewal requirements. He conveyed that the new requirement is to provide a reason why you need a driver license in Thailand and that this is done at Immigration when you get a residency certificate for the renewal. I've never heard of such a thing, but we all know how things change here from time to time. Anyone experienced this new requirement or heard of it? 

4 minutes ago, sirineou said:

and my point is that the dynamics that shape immigration laws in the US and  Thailand are different and as such have different systems, one might argue that the US system if infinitely more stringent than the Thai system, but that's an argument for another thread,

There is no difference in the dynamics, either you are in a country legally or illegally. 

Does Thailand tolerate 20,000,000+ illegals in the country? 

The US system, even today, is far, far more lenient that Thailand has ever been. 

Stop replying any time you want. 

18 minutes ago, sirineou said:

Thailand is a more or less ethnically homogeneous  country where the US is an immigrant country, the two cannot be compared.

Not when there are more than 20,000,000 illegals in the US. 

Ethnicity has nothing to do with immigration. 

There is a legal way to emigrate and an illegal way. 

My point was that Thailand does not tolerate illegals in the country, for any reason. I only wish the US were that way. 

Imagine if the US had immigration enforcement as stringent as Thailand. 

On 1/16/2020 at 2:54 PM, jacko45k said:

I am sure having someone slowly dying in your home is quite a stressful thing, but to dump them on the street is hard.

Been there, done that, twice. I still never considered dumping a family member on the street or in a hospice. It comes down to lack of moral fiber. 

Pfft, those are mice. You want to see rats as big as cats, go to New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, etc. 

filthy, dangerous, rip-off, vice ridden

Hmm, I always thought that this was the draw for people going to Pattaya. 

If you want a safe, clean, over-priced and family-friendly destination, go to Disney World. 

The minimum altitude for large turbine aircraft is 1500' AGL (above ground level) and a speed of 250 knots in a terminal service area, except for the purpose of taking off or landing.  Once the ILS is intercepted the MDA/H (minimum descent altitude/height) for an large turbine aircraft is 250' AGL. Procedures call for a missed approach if these minimums are busted. If the aircraft busted minimums at 800' AGL this means the aircraft had not intercepted the ILS yet. 

Many factors could have come into play causing the aircraft to descend below minimums, including pilot error, weather, downdrafts, microbursts, etc. Without more information regarding this incident which is not available it is impossible to determine exactly what happened. The main thing is that the crew determined that the aircraft was below minimums and effected a go-around, although busting minimums by 700' is no joke.

Try the Land and House moobaans in Mai Hia. 

The name of the subdivision is Serene Lake and has three moobaans; Chang Doi, Siwalee Lake View and Natawan, plus multiple condos. There is a new moobaan under construction also but not yet finished. 

Houses and condos for rent there.

It meets all of your requirements and it is one of the nicest developments in all of CM. 

How many times have family members of the influential gone free after committing heinous crimes in Thailand? 

Only a dozen or so in my memory...

42 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

You know what, I believe him. And will continue to do so until I see evidence to the contrary. 
 

soleimani was killed because trump decided he wanted him dead. 

I guess the attack on the US Embassy in Bagdad was just a ruse then, right? 

There was a plan in place to take out Soleimani for 18 months prior to him being killed. 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7877709/US-considered-targeting-Soleimani-18-MONTHS-new-report-reveals.html

9 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

Let us just remember, no country is perfect, America especially, they are the protector of the world right, just ask George W Bush junior.

The evil goes back two more generations from GWB. Read the book "Family of Secrets" for more insight to just how dirty they are. 

On 1/10/2020 at 12:45 PM, URMySunshine said:

Meghan was probably scared the Queen would have her arrested and put in the Tower. Harry should try and raise an army and march on Windsor. The only crown that is worth something is one that is seized not given. Go on Harry , fortune favours the brave!

She is probably more afraid she will wind up like Diana. 

On 12/8/2019 at 10:08 AM, sfokevin said:

Just as a side note... At Mae Hai market a couple Thai ladies have roach coach stall an make killer pork/vegi burritos for 100 baht (They do A Mexican salad style too all made to order)... From the food court area walk twards the back door of Riming market you will see their stall just as you cross the alley (Google Border Run Mexican food truck)... They open mid morning and close when they run out of food 

 

They also have great chips & salsa fo 30 baht! ????

We just discovered this place a few weeks ago and buying burritos from there is now a weekly thing. For my money, they are the best in town. Their tortilla chips are the best I've had in town too. 

On 10/18/2019 at 10:52 AM, grifbel said:

https://www.businessinsider.com/latin-america-is-the-worlds-most-violent-region-crime-2019-9?r=US&IR=T

 

400 murders a day: 10 reasons why Latin America is the world's most violent place

Outside of active war zones, Latin America is the world's most violent region, despite some variations among countries there.

No single thing explains why there's so much bloodshed, but there are several factors common throughout the region.

 

Latin America is home to about 8% of the world's population but has about one-third of its homicides — in 2016, that meant some 400 homicides a day, or roughly 146,000 a year. But the bloodshed is not evenly distributed. 

 

.......

I have an opinion on why Latin America is so violent.

It's the "machista" of the latinos (males) and the values (or lack thereof) of their christian upbringing.

I have observed that christian societies are the 2nd most violent cultures on the planet...

Buddhist cultures are the least violent and most receptive of foreigners.

Before you flame me, these are just my observations after living/working/traveling to over 50 countries. YMMV

On 11/25/2019 at 7:21 PM, Somnambulist said:

Is HCMC in the Geriatric Medical Center?  If not, could you post a map or link?  

It's directly cross the street from the Geriatric Hospital. 

Thank Buddha for the ignore feature on TV.

Buh Bye. 

3 minutes ago, donnacha said:

I was describing one for your entire house. I don't think anyone mentioned a home computer. In any case, most people use laptops these days, laptops already have batteries. The phrase I used was "devices".

Important devices in a typical home in Thailand might include a fridge freezer, air conditioners, fans, a microwave, a water pump, an electrical shower, a television, a Hitachi Magic Wand, a broadband router, home security cameras etc.

Losing access to any of those for several hours, several times a week would be a serious problem. Simply having an old-style desktop computer UPS would be pointless if it is too hot to work without aircon and the food in your fridge is going off.

Far from being "a different animal entirely", a UPS for your house works in exactly the same way as a UPS for your desktop computer, only the scale is different.

So, you fit a nice big UPS at your fuse box, you no longer even notice the power cuts, problem solved. Alternatively, you could install a good solar panel system with a nice big battery.

 

 

Well, for most people, paying a lot is fine if, in return, you are getting a lot of convenience.

Living in a cheaper, undeveloped country naturally comes with certain disadvantages. Lousy infrastructure is one of them. You simply take the money you are saving on rent and invest it in things that make your family more comfortable. I see a lot of westerners making the mistake of enjoying the cost-savings but not understanding the need to invest those savings elsewhere.

 

 

You never used the term "devices" in your original post. Go read it, again.

I am well aware of what it takes to install and maintain a building UPS and yes, it IS a completely different animal than a standalone UPS. 

A full building UPS system may rely on the same concept as a standalone UPS, but the implementation is completely different. It entails banks of batteries and inverters which are spec'd on power requirements during an outage, along with generators to recharge the battery banks, switching devices that monitor power coming from the grid and switches to facilitate the failover to backup power when necessary. In most cases, the only things that are powered in a complete power outage is the data center, telephones and the HVAC systems due to costs. The cost of a full building UPS systems can run into the millions of $$$. Even for a home it can run into the thousands of $$$. On top of that, unless maintained with regular inspections and service, a building UPS is useless. The batteries have a finite lifespan and must be replaces regularly, thus increasing you cost of ownership. The generators must be maintained and cycled regularly to assure that will work when you need them.  I have never witnessed a seamless cut-over to backup power without an interruption in service in a building UPS.

As you may be able to tell from my response, my experience in this area is a bit deeper than reading a brochure or repeating a sales pitch. A home UPS is a novel concept, although far from cost effective or efficient in a home setting.