Tayaout

22 minutes ago, daveAustin said:

Just out of interest, are Thai banks paying interest on 400/800k? 

I use a fixed deposit account with Bangkok which pay next to nothing (I think it's around 0.45%) but I put 420K in it and forget about it. The 20K extra is a deposit so I can have a visa credit card which work better than the Mastercard debit card for online purchase.

24 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Hopefully they are referring to a TM30 report.

Change your address from where stamps were obtained to province where you are having this extension processed. 

Did you provide funds in the bank for 2 previous extensions when you used an agent.

Are you using money in the bank for your current application? 

Which immigration office issued your stamps? 

 

Yes I have plenty of funds in the bank. At the time I was living 1.5h drive from the closest immigration office so I found an agency online that is pretty well known to make things easier. My tm30 are always up to date but I never lived in Khon Kaen where they processed my previous extension. Since then I moved to another province and we are closer to the immigration office. I thought I would give the money to my wife instead of the agent this year but I hope it wasn't a mistake. I just want to keep my interaction with immigration at a minimum and now thinking about doing 20 years elite visa next year if I'm still allowed in Thailand.

I've been using a visa agent for my marriage extension since COVID started. Before that I was using multiple entry non-O. This year (the third extension) my wife decided she would get help from a friend who work for a visa agency and do the paperwork herself. Yesterday, she got a call from immigration and they want to know why my last stamp were from an office in a province where I didn't live. I didn't know this could be an issue... They want to interview me next week and make me sign a report. It might be nothing but it's stressful since I have two Thai childrens and a lot of stuff after all these years. 

2 hours ago, internationalism said:

the world leader is chinese beike, with the majority of market, they have hospital on sukhumwit.

Treatment cost in tens of $k.

Insurance doesn't cover it.

I would definitely go for physiotherapy.

For that $20-40k you can have several hundreds physio treatments, even every single day. 

Good insurance will cover some costs.

And chances of real improvement are high.

Start off at the nearest government hospital, would be half price of private

I already did physio and didn't notice much improvement. I train and stretch almost daily but from what the doctor told me some of my disc are completely dry. Money or insurance is not an issue. I'm looking for the best available treatment and I'm willing to pay. The pain is getting better over time but I can't train as hard as I would like to. Maybe I'm just getting older!

3 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Stem cell treatment for back problems  is still in  early experimental stages and not approved as a treatment in Thailand nor in most other countries.

 

The Thai Food and Drug Administration has regulated the use of stem cells since 2009 after there were some horrific deaths as a result of their use. Stem cells are permitted for use in conditions were the benefit has been proven, such as leukemia and other blood diseases. Other than that, only in approved clinical research which has been approved by national regulatory committees.

 

Any clinic offering it otherwise is operating against medical council regulations. A fact which should give considerable pause.  See https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/certain-clinics-in-thailand-offering-fraudulent-stem-cell-treatments

 

You should  be careful not to fall victim to quack or fake treatments.    If you really want to try this, best to do it either in a country where it is an approved therapy or in the context of an approved clinical trial. (These have their dangers too, and may not work, but at least the risks will be fully explained. In addition treatment is usually free. Also, the treatment given will be as described which is often not the case in unregulated stem cell clinics in Thailand).

 

Bangkok Samui (or for that matter, anywhere else in Samui) is not where to go for a chronic back problem and what you quoted them as having said makes no sense to me.

 

There are some excellent Western trained spinal specialists in Bangkok. I suggest you see one of these:

 

https://www.bnhhospital.com/search-doctor/entry/4093/

 

https://www.bangkokhospital.com/en/doctor/dr-tayard-buranakarl

 

 

 

 

Thanks, I know there is approved clinic in Panama run by American. After your post I don't think I will do it in Thailand.

Edit: here is the link to the clinic in Panama: https://www.neilriordan.com/medistem-panama/

Looking for reccomendation about stem cell therapy for lower back injury. I contacted The Regeneration Center in Bangkok but I'm curious to know if anyone has experience with this kind of treatment and where they went.

I went to Bangkok Hospital in Samui seeking conventional treatment but the doctor said I waited too long and they can't help until I injure myself again. I still experience pain daily and heard stem cell therapy could help.

4 minutes ago, tonray said:

This is about a year old...I hope it helps

Thanks it helps a lot but in the end it doesn't look very advantageous if I already have the money to cover myself and it's not required with my visa.

I'm used to universal health care so it's a bit confusing finding the right health insurance.

I'm almost 40 with no pre-condition (I don't drink or smoke) on marriage visa and will probably spend the rest of my life in Thailand. I have plenty of saving and don't mind paying directly for anything that is less than 1,000,000 baht. I would prefer the lowest premium and highest deductible in order to have the lowest monthly/yearly payment. I want to get insured mostly for something catastrophic like cancer and pay the rest myself. I also need insurance that won't stop covering me when I'm old.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

So did you invest? This thread aged well ????.

Bitcoin is now trading at all time high.

This means everyone is in profit unless they panicked.

You can buy bitcoin via PayPal in the US.

Institutions are starting to keep part of their cashflow into Bitcoin.

Let that sink in.

3 hours ago, simple1 said:

isn't Koh Mak infested with sandflies, was when I was there, departed after the first day

Maybe it depends on the season or the beach. Never saw any. 

Edit: I remember the hotel staff fumigating the beach... After doing some research it seems like a common problem in this area including Koh Chang. 

My wife and ex-girlfriend told me they eat dog somewhere in Isaan near Laos but it's not common. My brother in law raises, eat and sell rats for a good price he tell me. 

One of the best movie that I've seen. 

I'm not an expert but I guess it can easily be determined using cunnilingus. 

1 minute ago, gunderhill said:

Who care?

I sure dont. 

35 minutes ago, gunderhill said:

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-52153145/coronavirus-we-do-not-recommend-face-masks-for-general-wearing

In the article it says it's his opinion. Who care? I base my opinion on studies that are published in peer-reviewed journals and don't rely on someone title as a professor.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_authority

5 hours ago, Chrysaora said:

I clicked on the last link.  You didn't read it.

 

The study was a comparison of surgical masks versus cloth masks.  It is not surprising they advise not to wear cloth masks.  They didn't say not to wear a surgical mask.  It would help if you are going to go cherry pick articles, that you read it. 

 

It makes look foolish indeed to make statement about "facts" not present in the article.

I simply posted the link because it's a real study and not a newspaper or bro source. It was to support the "mask don't work or are useless" point of view of my "opponent"  and not my personal opinion that they do work. I could have only posted the first couple links if I was cherry picking. If you read all the links you probably also say the study that say cloth mask are better than no protection. 

Oh! Now they are not useless anymore? 

1 hour ago, jak2002003 said:

Does that mean farangs don't have to go to immigration? 

 

Or, more likely, we will have to go out to get the special documents to say we need to take other documents to immigration.  Might have to go to immigration first to get fill in forms to get permission to go to the place to get the documents that will be needed so we can take our visa documents back to immigration lol. 

 

Oh, forgot to add, as farangs we may have to pay a charge for the forms too.  

I suspect if there is a curfew we will eventually be on overstay and fined.

At least if you don't believe mask work for their intended use they do work at potentially saving 20,000 baht fine! 

5 hours ago, frequentatore said:

University of Pittsburgh scientists believe they found potential coronavirus vaccine

https://nypost.com/2020/04/02/scientists-believe-they-found-potential-coronavirus-vaccine/

There is already a couple vaccine candidates. However it takes over a year to test them with the best scenario. Average is 10 years with 96% failure rate. 

32 minutes ago, Pravda said:

Everyone is skeptical including me. However, just maybe Thai individuals (not the government) are more responsible than people back home.

 

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2020/04/01/opinion/canada-taking-covid-19-seriously-enough-it-didnt-look-it-my-plane-home 

From what I understand after SARS Canada concluded that airport screening is not effective. Everyone in my home province (Québec) are on lockdown for a couple days already and everything is closed except for supermarket and hospital. My uncle is a dentist and is prohibited to work except for emergency. 

22 minutes ago, Logosone said:

You're right it is flawed, the chart does not provide proper sources and in any event it is not flu season and it is early spring, whereas Covid19 is in full peak pandemic flow now. So obviously the daily average for Covid19 would be high now, however, at the end of the year the figures could look very different. Particularly if, as some like Levitt in the LA Times claimed, the growth in new cases will be short-lived.

The chart is maintained from someone on Reddit. The source of the data is from the CDC. 

17 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

No idea what NYC’s obesity rates are. So couldn’t really say. Better healthcare is always a plus though. 

https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/prevalence-maps.html

brfss_2018_obesity-overall.svg