rak sa_ngop

I use TD Direct Investing and am very happy with them. However if you are UK non-resident you cannot open an account with their UK office, but no problems opening an account with their Luxembourg one. You can trade UK, Europe, US, HK, Singapore etc.

http://int.tddirectinvesting.com/

Another option for UK non-residents is HSBC Expat banking, but I would never recommend this bank to anybody unless they absolutely had no other options.

Before proceeding with any application always read the fine print to see if you qualify, otherwise you will find yourself wasting a lot of time and be rejected.

"Thai gold is (ahemm) 24 carat, so is quite pure and, quite literally, worth its weight in gold"

Actually:

Thai gold used in jewellery is 23 K (do not confuse K Karat gold purity with ct carat weight) and is 96.5 % pure.

24 K gold is 99.99 % pure

Contrary to many peoples perception there is a very honest trade of gemstones in Bangkok. If you go to the Jewellery Trade Centre on Silom you will be able to find nearly any stone from around the world available. Also many shops sell rough, and many dealers and collectors from around the world come to buy and sell at trade prices. There are also many other shops in the near vicinity where you can deal in stones and have jewellery made up. Most shops will abide by a full disclosure policy to tell the buyer truthfully as much as they can about the stones they are selling.

However there may be issues with determining whether a stone has been treated or not. Even some labs may detect heating or glass filling which other labs may not.

If you want to buy fake or synthetic stones you can go to Chinatown. A large number of Indian/Sri Lankan run shops are centred around the southern end of Soi Wanit. These shops also deal with the gemtrade and will not scam you.

I did see some wonderful emeralds in the JTC a few weeks ago. The price was 500 USD per carat. Is your emerald one of these or more like the treated Indian emerald you can buy for 10 baht per carat?

I did some teaching in a blind school in Hanoi. Over 10 years ago now but the students were using computers with normal Windows by means of software called Jaws Program for the Blind. This program would speak out (with a terrible American accent) the contents of Window boxes etc.

It was quite an eye opener for me to see how easily the blind students adapted to using computers.

Only downside I think is that this program is not cheap and probably not available as a copy in Pantip Plaza.

"Fluorescent tubes will 'glow' with the slightest amount of residual current exciting them."

Just out of interest I suppose this means than the electrical circuit is complete with the air or building structure acting as a (poor) conductor to earth, and electricity is being consumed. So it must be costing you!

A lot of leather goods are actually made in Thailand so would not be 'imported' by Chinatown businesses. There are a couple of Stingray leather shops I know of but not in the watch/torch/glasses/electronics streets that you are probably familiar with.One shop is on the narrow shoe alley (which leads on to the fake gemstone shops), if you know where I mean.

I used to spend weekends in Bangkok when working in Yangon and I was always surprised how clean the air smelt walking up Silom road. The diesel fumes from the 40 year-old buses in Yangon were dreadful!

"Dai Mai" (ได้ไม่) is the usual collequial way of asking (added at the end of the sentence i.e. "sit here, dai mai?')

Surely the correct way to spell this is ได้ไหม as it is an interrogative and pronounced as a rising tone or colloquially as a high tone.

Try Thaniya Spirits where many of the local bars buy their booze from. Its on Thaniya road about 2 doors down from Flan O.Bryans (the old O'Reilleys) next to Sala Daeng BTS. Pretty sure they have some Yamazaki whiskeys and the prices are always better than the big rip-off outlets.

As a comparison Bangkok Christian Hospital charges 450 baht, but then you have the doctor's + nurses fee on top.

There are a number of branches of Pathlab in Bangkok (Silom, Sukhumvit etc).

I am not sure how they work. Do you just walk in and request a blood test?

I am curious to know myself.

."

​That's exactly how the ShyTrain extension down Sukhumvit was done. Everything was completed, except laying the metal rails, and the was done 12:30AM to 5AM.

And then we had to wait 2 years for the signalling to be installed!

I have the Mazumo silver model because it looks very stylish and matches my polished granite shower walls.

It seems to work well although the temperature control does not have much effect at lower levels, i.e does not increase in temperature progressively so either no heat or hot (but not too hot).

The other niggly thing is that the unit 'hums' with increased humming at hotter temperatures.

Not sure if the above is common to other units, but probably the best you can expect from a Thai machine?

My Canon printer now does not work after changing from Win 8. I checked the Canon website and no driver is available for Win 10.

Mind you the printer is about 10 years old so maybe I should be grateful that it managed to work so long!

Getting new doors made by a carpenter seems like asking for a whole load of trouble when all I want is one 30cm by 60 cm door to match the off-white plastic chipboard units I have. (They have taken too many water splashes and are starting to swell).

Always carefully check the label on the edge of the shelf against the item you are buying (helps if you can read Thai and have good eyesight). Most goods do not have a price sticker on them and are not in their correct shelf position, so you can end up paying more than you bargained for.

Or just stick to Foodland where every item is priced.

I once made the mistake of insisting on the meter taxi price to the airport.

Actually came out a fair bit more than the fixed price quoted.

I need to replace a few of my kitchen cabinet doors/fronts.

I have asked around a few kitchen showrooms and also Homepro and they all get a bit sniffy saying they only sell complete kitchens.

I have the Ikea catalogue and they do a complete range of cabinet covers EXCEPT for 30 cm wide cabinets.

So are there any other kitchen suppliers in Bangkok where you can buy components individually?

Thanks

I have carpets in my condo in Bangkok. I love them. I can walk round in comfort in my bare feet.

Quite easy to maintain with a carpet sweeper or vacuum cleaner. I have the professional carpet cleaners in every few years. The cost is offset by the money I save not having to replace broken watches/handphones/glasses and crockery that gets smashed when dropped onto a hard floor.

The carpets are about 15 years old and will last as much or much longer than that in future years.

Of course if ever my washing machine floods it could put an end to them.

.

I am with the vendors, this city is being destroyed by apartment buildings, shopping malls and other stuff. And they haven't learned their lesson either, to this day, there are numerous ghost buildings, yet they keep building, until the market is completely saturated.

That markets, that are being frequented and liked by people for over 20 years have to make way, is of no concern of course.

The old Merry Kings department store across the road from Saphan Lek (now connected by a pedestrian bridge walkway) was converted into the Mega Plaza about 3 years ago. The last time I visited this plaza the majority of units were still unrented. In fact many of the businesses that did open had already closed down as the complex had never take off. Apparently many of the units were bought from the developer, so the owners of these units are seeing their units stand empty year after year.

Seems like there is very little demand for additional retail space in the area.

There used to be (5 years ago) a donation box in the waiting area of the British Embassy for "Distressed British Nationals".

I doubt if there would be much money to pass around to all the distressed nationals that go to the embassy, but it suggests that there was somebody there who 'cares'.

I haven't been there since, so no idea if it is still there.

If you want to watch a real tear-jerker about a Japanese boy who comes to work with elephants in North Thailand you have to try and find a copy of:

Shining Boy and Little Randy

This is a Japanese film based on a true story. I saw it over 5 years ago on an Emirates flight. A very moving film.

Yes, there are expat policies from various European companies that will cover you in Thailand at premiums certainly less than 500-1000 a month (especially if you opt for a deductible).

And some of them will newly enroll at ages 60, 70, in a few cases even 80-90.

Bets to consult an insurance broker, they can give you comparative charts on different policies. I used AOC broker but there are many mroe as well. Google "expatriate insurance broker Thailand".

Suggest sticking to policies issued by a Western based firm (most Thai based won't insure at your age anyhow). And getting only inpatient cover, the additional premium for outpatient is almost never worth it. Inpt policies will cover day surgeries and major procedures as well as hospitalization.

Agreeing to a deductible of say 1,000 - 5,000 USD and/or a copay for day the initial 2-5,000 of expenses will greatly reduce premiums. Then just put the maximum you'd have to pay aside in the bank.

Do NOT come here uninsured and take your chances. Its a recipe for disaster.

I have an international policy with a UK company (apparently governed by EU law) that works out at about 300 USD per month. It is the lowest cover plan they have so only in-patient care and I pay the first 1000 GBP of any claim.

However the main benefit in my opinion is that the maximum limit of a pay-out claim per year is 500,000 GBP.

Compare this with local policies with their much lower limits.

My only experience with a hospital visit worked out at nearly 1000 GBP per day, and that was with no expensive medical procedures.

I forgot to include that I am just short of 62 myself.

Put him into a room with 2 Burmese roti sellers!

He'll blab straight away!

"Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai confirmed that the photographer had been released."

I thought I read that the photographer had been released on bail having to report every 12 days until his trial date in Sept, and unable to leave the country as his passport had been retained.

Sounds like he will have lots of opportunity to sniff out more interesting stories, maybe make a trip to Koh Tao or Koh Samui?