rak sa_ngop

I made a purchase by Counter Service on Lazada which could not be fulfilled so I received a refund. In order to obtain the cash refund I have to activate an e-Wallet and then subsequently transfer the money from the Wallet to a bank account.

I should have set up the Wallet inside my existing account in order to link my mobile phone number to that account. But somehow I set up the Wallet using my mobile phone number as log in and this has linked the Wallet to a new account which I access by my phone number (not by my email address).

So it seems that I now have 2 accounts, but the account with the money cannot be linked to my mobile phone number as that is linked to the new account.

Here's the rub. You can only link your phone to one account. You cannot change the link to another account. You can delete the 2nd account but you can NEVER use that mobile number again to link to the first account.

Lazada recommended that I use a different mobile number to link the the account. So crazy as it sounds I need to get a new phone number to get my money out (404 baht).

In fairness to Lazada they have now given me a way of transferring the money directly from the account to a bank but it seems this is something they do not advertise as their first recommendation was to get a new phone number. (I had to resort to the 'please talk to your supervisor' routine to get this)

So be careful when you set up an e-Wallet linked to your phone. You only get one chance to link the phone number to a Wallet to a Lazada account. It CANNOT be used for another account, EVER.

Tops has always been my least favourite supermarket. Huge amount of stock (although not the cheapest) with numerous staff running around and manning counters, but when it comes to paying at the checkout only a couple operating and long queues.

It is only the installation of the self service checkout machines that persuaded me to go back for the occasional purchase.

Foodland is sooooooo much better!

On 12/28/2020 at 2:03 PM, bloodyholly said:

heri ya mwaka mpya!

And a Happy New Year to you....too

Lots of gun shops in the Mega Plaza at the end of Yaowarat road in Chinatown. This plaza specialises in games, toys, models etc so I assume the gun shops are for replicas and air rifles/guns. If you go to the nearby Old Siam Plaza that is where you will see real guns and rifles with accessories. Look for the small shops opposite the east side of the plaza.

Its one of those mysteries in life that the majority of books you find dumped in hotels/coffee shops/ condos etc are not in the English language but in German, French, Dutch, Danish etc foreign language.

So does this mean than all the European visitors who dump all their read books then pick up an English book? Or maybe they don't bother to read anything else?

I's a mystery to me, and also a bit annoying when you see an interesting title only to find it's in Swahili.

Try and find an old-fashioned bristle hair brush. Not easy to do these days as most hair brushes have plastic bristles, or if they have real bristles they are meant for grooming  dogs, etc and therefore the bristles are too stiff.

Give your scalp a good vigorous brushing every day which will get the blood in your scalp flowing and help in promoting healthy hair.

Another 'trick' which may work is to lie on the floor and raise your legs and torso into the air supporting your body on the floor with your shoulders and arms.  Rest like this for 10 minutes. Again this helps blood flow into your head and scalp.

And finally just bite the bullet and get a hair transplant. It worked for me.

On 9/21/2020 at 8:19 AM, Susco said:

Whisky getting better after it has been bottled?

 

Like aged in glass bottles?

Yes whisky does age in a bottle, although this does not necessarily mean it matures in flavour.

It is called OBE or Old Bottle Effect.

1) Air enters through the top/cork/stopper and reacts with the whisky. Also leads to evaporation of the whisky which is why old bottles you see on auction sites have fill level which are lower than the original neck levels.

2) Whisky and alcohol can react with glass, especially in older bottlings when glass quality was not a pure as modern glass. (Cognac producers have known this for years).

3) Whisky being a mixture of many trace chemicals will still have slow reactions taking place for many years. This is why some whiskies are blended in vats and of left for a number of months to marry the flavours before bottling.

But to all intents and purposes one can generalise to say that once whisky is bottled it does not change flavour (except it does but over a period of many years).

There is an short archived TV  thread from Jan 2016 about WRLife. It erroneously suggests that WRLife is part of the William Russell health insurance UK company. I believe there is no connection.  So WRLife has been around for a five years at least. Maybe I will be able to post my experiences of this company in a few years time if/when I need to make a claim.

But yes I agree with Sheryl, not much to go on with this company at the moment.

Check out WRLife. ( Nothing to do with William Russel). Affordable with both Thai and International policies. I recently switched to them to save $$$ and to know that I will still be able to afford their premiums in 20 years time. My previous policy was doubling every 7 years!!!!!!!

I recommend Royal-D electrolyte powder in a glass with hot water, brown sugar and a large shot of whisky. 

1 hour ago, Saltire said:

Have read several similar reports in the past which is why I only select Cash on Delivery items. Saves any hassle. I also click the 'local' box which reduces choice to Thai sellers so quicker delivery.

 

Having said that, I have never had a problem witht Lazda in 3 years.

 

 

So how do you check the item before paying?  Do you keep the delivery person waiting while you unpack the package, check the contents and try out the item? 

Just wondering how Cash on Delivery works in practice.

Registered airmail for letters is now available from the Thai Post office. Not parcels though, but small packages probably OK. Tracking works in Thailand but may stop once entering Aus.

DHL has certain restrictions on sending jewellery and gemstones so best read the terms/conditions.

I send rings by Thai post registered airmail, mainly to the US, as one off items with low value. Never had a problem.

I went to send a small package airmail to the US this morning and was pleasantly surprised to be told the price was 250 + 40 (registered) baht.  Not the 800+ baht minimum price for a parcel. I suspect that the price is a bit more than pre Covid but I haven't had time to check.

I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere else, but the list of countries, issued on 27th Oct, is pinned in the thread above. Australia and many other countries look back to norma airmail service, but New Zealand is not mentioned for some reason.

I have attended 4 language schools over the years and have observed that tones are not the biggest problem that students have to overcome. Most students get it in the end. What many students even in the most advanced classes never seem to master are the unique vowel, dipthtong and tripthong sounds of the Thai language. For some reason Thai teachers never seem to correct students so these students never get to speak Thai effectively, and are even unaware of their own poor pronunciation. Some nationalities seem to be worse than others in this area....but I wont go down that road.

I have put a fair bit of cash into whisky. Not bottles or casks but litres of pure alcohol bought at wholesale prices and held in bond in Scotland. Easy to buy and sell. Check out Whisky Invest Direct. Very informative website.

My big toe nail took almost 12 months to fully regrow. Now it looks just like its old self. Just wait!

The probable catch is that if you outlive the policy  you will lose the whole amount.

Normal commission rates to brokers for health insurance are 15 to 18 pc of premiums. Plus add the company running costs and investor profits. So only a small percentage of premium money goes to hospitals for medical procedures.

Now I don't know about life insurance companies, but if there is a similar amount of charging do not expect to see the whole of your 3500 pounds a year wisely invested.

But if you put 291 pounds  month into a bank or other investments for 20 years, you will need an annual investment growth rate of 12 pc a year to reach a total value of 290,762 pounds (69,840 deposit plus 220,921 growth return).

So putting money into a bank with low interest rates is a mistake. But SOME investments might bring in the return you need.

Use the Compound Interest Calculator on this site to check out my figures.

https://www.thecalculatorsite.com

On the face of it 3500 pounds a year Life Insurance for 20 years doesn't look too bad. But what's the catch?

Tread carefully.

I am 66 years old and with a UK company (William Russel). I started with them 15  years ago when the premium was an affordable 900 pounds a year for in-patient cover with 1000 GBP excess.  Fast forward to a year ago when the premium increased from 2954 to 4322 GBP, and this year it has gone up further to 4986 GBP which represents a 69 pc increase over 2 years. So in six years I could be looking at 10,000 GBP a year and by the age of 80 it will be 20,000+.

Clearly continuing with this policy is not sustainable if I wish to stay in Thailand for another 20 years (my father lived until 95 and my uncle until 107). At some point I will have to return to the UK for free NHS treatment, or stay in Thailand and self fund my health needs.

However I have just had my annual medical and basically have no pre existing conditions so I am 'free' to switch companies. I am currently looking at alternative non-Thai companies that could offer a reasonable level of cover for the SE Asia region. Hopefully I will be able to find one.

A map would have been useful!

The Damrong Sathit Bridge is on Charoen Krung Road where the Saphan Lek (iron Bridge) market used to be located before the canal was cleared.

From there I do not know if the walk goes north, or south to the river as there is no Osathanon Bridge that appears on google maps.

19 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

saw it 2 weeks ago at Lumpini park

That must have been the A3 airport bus that does a loop around Lumphini park before heading back to Don Muang.

I picked up the expression 'tang tek' to mean broke, no money.

Useful expression I thought, so I started using it saying ตังค์แตก as in 'money broke'

I was beginning to give up using it because I was not getting much in response........until I read

ถังแตก in a book 'tank broken'.  It made a huge difference!

Are dentists working normally in Thailand now or maybe just taking emergency cases? Is it wise to postpone routine dental work until the Covid-19 situation is resolved?

Go to Vietnam and see what tea with no milk can do to your teeth. Vietnamese are amongst the highest tea drinkers in the world. Even if you order a coffee you may get a glass of tea with it. And their teeth are permanently stained with tannin ( or whatever). The worst in SE Asia (apart from betel nut chewing Burmese). I reckon milk helps to neutralise the tannin staining.