G Rex

I think the ATO call centre was from 8am to 8pm AEST, and Commbank 7 to 11. I have a cc with BOQ - they have a 24 hour call centre - and they are brilliant - never more than 5 minute wait with them

Try ringing CommBank!!! It really is almost impossible to talk to a ‘customer service agent’ with them. I am fortunate to have direct line to my Westpac account in Oz, and number of my ‘liaison officer’ from my previous business - but no doubt they will forget me after a few years. I received an email from the ATO telling me I had a message on my MyGov page. They sent me a text OTP to my (now defunct) Oz mobile. To change the settings - I needed to talk to an ATP person. Tried many times - no dice - so thought that if it is important - they will no doubt chase me! (Or grab me at the airport if I ever return !!) As Fat said, early in the morning is most likely to be the best time to get through. I have tried a few times at the end of the working day in Oz, only to be abruptly disconnected at their closing time - even after waiting on hold for up to an hour.. Good luck!

That is part of the reason I left!! The asylum has been taken over by do-gooders and apologists!

As they would say in Australia - “toughen up Princess” ! I would see this as a normal protocol to protect both herself & any other customer that she deals with - you included. No need to get your knickers in a twist about this in my humble opinion.

Yes. I have my 2nd vacc booked in at MedPark already Yes - I have already cancelled my Kanchanaburi appt. I rang them to see if my wifes' father - who has a lung condition, could take my appointment - but no , these vaccines are for non-Thai only. I posted this information to advise people that the vaccine rollout for eligible expats is beginning in areas other than Bangkok. I did not request a guide on vaccination protocol - but thanks anyway...

I received an email today telling me that I can get a Pfizer vacc at Kanchanaburi Hospital on Monday. Great news , except I had my first at MedPark 10 days ago. I registered on intervac & expat vac sites, and came up trumps on both! Interestingly, my email from the hospital came with an attachment - listing the names, age, email address & country of origin for all recipients at the hospital - typical high tech security!!

No! Let’s just say it was a passion of mine to own many cars. I would have up to 8 cars in my ‘collection’ at any one time. Now that I am retired and residing in Thailand I have tempered things somewhat and have reduced the stable to 4 cars ????. ????

Crikey Keith!! Don’t think too much! I have purchased at least 70 cars in my lifetime - but never checked the VIN on any new car purchase. As BTB1977 has said , there is normally another decal on the car with build and or compliance dates. I did use the VIN to determine the veracity of ‘classic’ mustangs that I bought to ensure that they conformed with their original factory specifications, ie engine type, paint colour, differential type, manual/auto gearbox etc. With a new car purchase what you have is obviously original, so should not need verification.

I had Dengue Fever in January. Every joint in my body was sore , I felt like cr#p, and it took about 3 weeks to recover completely. Watch out for those pesky striped mosquitoes!!

Window tint gives you privacy in the car , it helps keep the interior of the car somewhat cooler . All of my cars have 60% dark tint on side windows. As others have stated, be careful with tinting the windscreen. Visibility at night is severely affected (for 60 year olds with age related macular degeneration!). I aim for about 20% tint on the windscreen. No tint at all on windscreen can make the front of the car too hot while driving. Properly applied quality window film can be very difficult to remove - so choose wisely! My wifes’ Honda came with 60% tint on the windscreen - ok in the daytime - but very hard to see more than 30m at night, even with high beam on. I had it removed and replaced with 20% - much better! It costs more to remove the tint than it does to have it applied. Cheers. Enjoy your new car!

Wow! Thank you - every day I receive at least 20 unwanted line messages- stickers/melody etc - hopefully this will stop some of them. Good job ????

I am sure the quite smart vet you have found feels suitably fortunate to have you as a client Just for reference - how much free voluntary work do you do in the community?

In my post I was referring to Western vets. I treated many birds in my practice - more so because vets in other practices in my town & from neighbouring towns did not treat them. They would also not treat reptiles, fish or many other ‘pocket pets’ (rabbits,guinea pigs,ferrets etc). I reiterate that any vet that does not feel confident to treat any particular species should not be expected to do so. It would be unethical for a vet to perform any procedure he/she was not confident they were able to complete. A local ‘small animal trained’ vet should be, as you say, able to treat dogs and cats - but may not have sufficient exposure to other species to develop the required expertise to provide veterinary care for them. Universities, both here & in the West, only provide cursory training for these less commonly kept species. Most vets ‘learn as they go’ with exotics. This does not mean that local Thai vets do not know what they are doing.

I am sorry that your experiences have not been good. many vets have no experience treating birds , and will refuse to attend to them. in my opinion this is better than if they attempt to perform a procedure they are unfamiliar with They cannot win! If they don’t treat they are incompetent or stupid? -if they do treat and the patient dies - they are only doing it to line their pockets? anaesthesia in birds is not the same as in mammals - it requires different knowledge and experience Advocate should not be given as an injection - it is for external use only - ie skin application

Is that 50 baht at the hospital - or at a private medical practice? The vet practice will be a commercial business with associated overheads to cover. It is not cheap to run a practice, and the outlay required for X-ray/ultrasound and blood analysis equipment is considerable.

Wow! I am surprised that so many posters are so anti vet here. There is definitely a reluctance or refusal by Thai vets to euthanise animals. I do not believe that money is the driving factor with this. It is cultural or religious. The thought of euthanising a pet presented to the vet does not even enter their mind space. Over 35 years of practice in Australia, I would have euthanised on average at least one patient every day - both large & small animals. You become a bit numb to it. However I always reinforced to my employee vets that although it is ‘just a job’ for us - for the client it is something that they will never forget (especially when they were present for the procedure) - so make sure it was done professionally, quickly & kindly. My experience with vets in practice here in Thailand has been good. The language barrier has been a problem as far as describing symptoms or history - but compared with Western prices, the costs incurred treating my pets have been ridiculously cheap here. If costs are an issue, my advice to pet owners is to try to deal with a vet with years of experience. The new graduate vets are more likely to rely on imaging, blood tests etc to arrive at their diagnosis - and this is where the costs stack up.

I bought several Kongs from Lazada for my dogs a few months ago. No problems. Original items in correct packaging - no problems whatsoever. Just look for a seller with some positive reviews..

I had a 4 br 3 bathroom house of about 175m2 built 2 years ago for 1.7 mill , so your 2 mill budget should be ok ????

No , I am sorry if I did not make myself clear. Yes - picture and sound quality may be better - but I hate the remote - I used my phone instead. I am very happy with the output from my new(ish) 85 inch Sony 4K Smart tv.

I have an Apple TV unit , but never use it - as we watch most of our movies on Netflix - where it is much easier to have Thai or English subtitles etc. We can watch Apple TV on iPhone, iPad & Desktop Mac. When I bought my new iMac a few months ago I was given 12 months Apple TV + free (as part of the deal). The Apple TV 4K is more like a set-top box. Apple TV is available as an app (either pre-installed or downloadable through google store) on many newer smart TVs.

Great explanation of the 'logic' behind this government decision. I think however when push comes to shove, any foreign resident is unlikely to be prevented from returning to their home - if they were, the media would have a field day! I think they are trying to make expats think twice (or three times) before trying to return to Australia for any short stay. Australia really is returning to its roots. It started its (Western) life as a penal colony - and now once again the whole country is locked up!! Despite the situation in Thailand now, I am very glad that I escaped last year..