wpcoe

Some younger friends once asked me about how to get Viagra in Thailand and when I asked why they would need it, they told me that when they take certain drugs, and I think ketamine was one of them, they need Viagra to perform.  So, maybe that photo *is* Viagra, although it wasn't mentioned in the article?

5 hours ago, johndudorn said:

After you get retirement Visa than put 1 year, upon arrival/return.

2 hours ago, Suradit69 said:

He intends to get an extension of stay based on retirement, not a retirement visa.

 

If/when he wants to travel outside Thailand while here (on either the permission to stay he got when he entered on the non-imm O visa or the extension of stay based on retirement) he will need a re-entry permit.  When he re-enters Thailand he will be using the re-entry permit because he will no longer have a valid visa of any kind, but he would still have a valid permission or extension of his permission to stay in Thailand.

 

At that point, if he wants to be scrupulously accurate. his length of stay would depend on his time remaining on the current extension. He would also use the re-entry permit number on the arrival card where it asks for visa number.

So, for those of us on a one-year extension, we put a time period corresponding to the end of our extension?  i.e. If we return five months before our extension returns, should we write "five months" on the form?

On 2/15/2018 at 1:31 PM, Jingthing said:

Big Kahuna burgers range between 235 and 425. The 425 one is a ridiculously large sized one. Most choices are under 300. All include a soft drink.

 

Reuben is 325 also including a soft drink. 

Not sure if all the sandwiches do, but the ones I've had also included a side dish, which was a choice of onion rings, fries, and a couple others (cole slaw, maybe?).  Also, have had a nice big pickle with each sandwich.

1 hour ago, KittenKong said:

When I tested the TMN domestic fibre package it was slow to international destinations and I did not extend the trial.

Slow is right.  Compared to my 18/1.8Mbps 3BB ADSL, the TMN 30/10Mbps TMN FTTH provided less (and often way less) than 50% of the speed in tests to Singapore and Los Angeles.

1 hour ago, JayBird said:

3Bb still tells me they can not deliver fiber to condos. Anyone hear different?

That's definitely the mantra from the 3BB shops in Pattaya.

3BB  doesn't offer new ADSL accounts any more.  If you don't want (and/or can't have) fibre, then the only 3BB option seems to be VDSL 30/10Mbps for B590/month.

A commercial airline flight, MU7097, a China Eastern A320 scheduled from Jinan to Utapao circled the city eight times now and just broke out of the pattern to head north.  Any ideas why it couldn't/wouldn't land at UTP?

If the FlightRadar info is accurate, it circled at 4,000 feet, but has climbed to 9,000 feet as it heads north.

PS:  The plane landed at Suvarnabhumi at around 130pm.

21 hours ago, NewlyMintedThai said:

Hence the invitation to PM me.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

I would be reluctant to malign anybody via PM as well.  What if you were a Nova representative?  You'd still have concrete proof of defamation.

Publicly discussing a reputation, whether of a business or a person -- can be tricky in Thailand, especially online where there is a obvious  paper trail.  Only folks who have positive experiences/opinions can legally express themselves without risking a defamation suit.  Defamation laws allow prosecution of an individual for posting negative things about someone/something even if the negative things are true.

I have a condo with a 3BB 18/1.8 Mbps ADSL package.  The building also offers TMN Fibre internet access -- bona fide FTTH with a fibre cable terminating at the living room wall in my living room.

Last year I tested the two available TMN Fibre internet packages -- 20/7 Mbps and 30/10 Mbps -- and was not impressed.  3BB ADSL consistently was faster for overseas web sites than TMN Fibre.  Within Thailand, speed tests showed close to advertised speed, but they dropped drastically for overseas access.

Here's part of the data from my tests.  I attempted to get different days of the week and different times of day.  Across the board, TMN Fibre came up short.  Their 20/7 Mbps results were, of course, even worse.

On the plus side for TMN is that you can opt on a month-by-month basis to subscribe for FTTH service, no contract involved.  You do need to pay for the modem, which was B2,000, but other than that you can try the service to see for yourself for just a single month's fee.

One of these days, I might try another month of TMN FTTH to see if it has improved.  Since I already have the modem, all I'd pay is the monthly fee, which I think was B999 (?) for the 30/10 plan.  I know the 20/7 plan was B599, as I have the flyer for that.

The penalty adds up, too:

In most cases, if you don't sign up for Part B when you're first eligible, you'll have to pay a late enrollment penalty. You'll have to pay this penalty for as long as you have Part B. Your monthly premium for Part B may go up 10% for each full 12-month period that you could have had Part B, but didn't sign up for it. Also, you may have to wait until the General Enrollment Period (from January 1 to March 31) to enroll in Part B. Coverage will start July 1 of that year.

source: Medicare web page

The standard Part B premium amount in 2018 is $134 (or higher depending on your income).  So, if you became eligible today but waited five years to enroll, you'd pay $201 monthly ... for the rest of your life.

tl;dr:  Whatever gout meds you are prescribed, be sure to follow up with blood work in 30 or 60 days.

Long version:

I was initially on Allopurinol but after 60 days my AST and ALT (Aspartate Transaminase and Alanine Transaminase) numbers went through the roof.  Those tests indicate liver damage and my doctor was concerned so took me off of Allopurinol and put me on a different med (which off the top of my head I can't recall.)  The AST/ALT numbers came down to a less alarming level but still not far enough so that I'm now on a combination of Colchicine and Sulfin.

When I was put on Allopurinol:

My AST went from 17 U/L to 56 U/L (normal range is 0-40)

My ALT went from 28 U/L to 132 U/L (normal range 0-40) 

Without the follow-up blood work, I would have blindly continued with Allopurinol since it got rid of the gout pain with no symptoms which would have hinted at the damage being done to my liver.

On 1/13/2018 at 11:16 PM, watgate said:

I am still perplexed because a friend told me he has a group medicare advantage PPO plan and he said the handbook states if you are away from their service area for more than 6 months you will be terminated from the above mentioned plan.

I believe that's more of a PPO-related restriction than a Medicare-related restricted.  i.e. Anybody enrolled in that PPO, whether on a Medicare plan or pre-retirement age, must live in their service area to receive treatment.  To set limits on it, they drop you from the plan if you don't live in the service area full-time at a six month limit.  Very similar with HMOs, if you are more familiar with them.

Did the husband die?

If there is a next time, and there really *is* a missile inbound to Hawaii, how many people are going to see the SMS, think "Yeah, right.  Here we go again" and just disregard a valid warning?

The TM.30 queue system is strange.  You need to get a number and still need to stand in line.  It would be nice to have a place to wait for them to call your queue number like for all the other desks, but there's no place to do that, so you get a queue number AND wait in line.

When I went in November the day after I returned from an overseas trip and got the conflicting information from IO's vs the front desk young ladies, the queue for TM.30 stretched out he front door and half way to the street, so I chickened out and didn't file, hoping that the IO's were the ones with the correct advice (that I need not report if I returned to the same address as already reported on the previous TM.30).  On subsequent visits, including twice last week in the peak of High Season, the TM.30 line was nowhere near that long.

21 hours ago, The manic said:

Thanks. Threppasit is a long rd to walk or on motosai taxi from Pratumnak. But I'll check it out if I'm in the area. 

Pratamnak is a large area, but just choosing a random point and checking their apps, a ride from Tesco Lotus South Pattaya to Pratamnak with Grab is B120 and with Uber is B95 to B115.  May sound relatively expensive when compared to baht buses, but for once a week shopping trips might be tolerable when laden with shopping bags?  Throw in the frequent promo discounts and the price is even more reasonable. (Right now Uber has a promo for B40 off of up to 10 rides. B55 to B75 from Tesco to Pratamnak seems like a good deal, no?)

And, yes, it could be tiresome to walk:  Thepprasit Road itself is almost 3km long.

Since it's a top floor, one important factor to consider is the the heat load from above:  Is the ceiling insulated, and is the attic space (if there is one?) adequately ventilated?

The standard back-of-a-napkin calculation uses 600 x sq.m of the space to be cooled.  In your case, that is 5m x 4m = 20sq.m, so 600 x 20sq.m = 12,000 BTU.  But the heat load from the ceiling can alter that significantly.

Also, are the windows double-paned and/or coated with an infrared reflection film?  Is the south-facing wall a cavity wall or otherwise insulated?  Are the other walls exposed to the outside?

On 1/9/2018 at 9:11 AM, WorriedNoodle said:

Have you already asked if they have VDSL? That's what 3bb upgraded our house to from ADSL, much better and seems as good as Fibre Optic on basic package 599THB/m for 50mbps.

On 1/9/2018 at 1:47 PM, TGIR said:

VDSL is an upgrade of ADSL.   They do have it and it doesn't require fiber.  It is now 599 for 50 mbs.  They charged us 1,200 baht a month for the same product (for a full year)  until I discovered we didn't have Fiber and made them change our bill..........sorry, no refund for you sucker (I think I heard her say this under her breath).  They claimed they had lowered the price just recently..........

How recently did you guys get 50Mbps VDSL for B599 from 3BB?  Their web site and the local Pattaya 3BB shops have been offering only 30Mbps VDSL for B599.  The Pattaya shops were offering 50Mbps (for B799 ISTR...?) up until some time last year, but now their only VDSL product on offer is the 30Mbps package.

On 1/9/2018 at 5:09 PM, Travel2003 said:

Duty Free, or extra duty?

Probably duty free but extra profit.

Duty free simply means the vendor -- and hence the shopper -- doesn't pay some/all of the import duties applied to items brought into the country.  There's nothing to forbid them from adding an equal, or higher, amount on as added profit.

@geisha: Uber and Grab could become your new form of transport.

Can you go to an AIS shop/kiosk and have them walk you through how to use the package you bought?