thecyclist

Yes, totally agree, not something where the cheaper the better. But more expensive does not always mean better. The escort girls from Hi-so agencies do not guarantee a satisfactory ending..

Don't think Laser is part of the primary cataract surgery. A laser can't possibly insert the replacement lens. Secondary cataracts, which affect the Sac containing the lens can be corrected with a Laser. Nevertheless, an accidental, tiniest of slips of the knife can have catastrophic consequences when we are dealing with an organ as delicate as the eye. But do western doctors have steadier hands. You can minimize, never eliminate, the risk by choosing an experienced surgeon who routinely does this procedure. Would be a lot less problematic if it was an operation on a toe.

Wasn't really asking it in the "pub", rather in general discussions, which had health as a subdivision. Probably not that many people perusing the health forum.

How much is cataract surgery in Thailand? What's the range,from cheap government hospitals to top private hospitals? Anybody undergone this surgery? I think it is possible to do on an outpatient basis. Any tips or pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Done it several times at land borders, but not recently. Took a few minutes. Used to be free of charge and only required old and new passports. The last 2 times was charged a fee (can't remember how much, maybe 200 Baht) and they require a letter from your embassy that certifies the transfer. That letter too used to be free, last time 1000 Baht. Done it once at Manila Airport where it was super fast and totally free of charge. No transfers of visa, just stamp you out in the new passport. That's how it should be done, but bureaucracies have a tendency to expand and complicate totally unnecessary BS.

Wow, U-Tapao the same capacity as Suvarnaphumi. 60 million tourist per annum heading to Pattaya. And they want to get rid of the sex tourists. 555

He was on a motorcycle, not in a Lamborghini, so unlikely to get the Red Bull treatment. Possibly a hitman, judging by his marksmanship. Their life expectancy is low :they either end up in prison or get shot.

Oh God no. The Thais' raison d'etre is whining.

I avoid the old looking ones. Problem is these machines seem to be out of fashion. Very few new ones around.

No, the verdict in the Carradine case was erotic asphyxiation.

Comparing cockroaches to Trump is an insult to cockroaches. Although being hideous creatures, they do serve some valuable purpose within the ecosystem. The orange retard is a wrecker of ecosystems, a merely destructive force, an imminent danger to human life, so hideous inside and out, that extermination is a moral imperative. A similar case could be made for the Floridian Neofascist and liverwurst.

Avoid Soi Buakao, they seem to have a high season surcharge :just a few months ago they were all still 120 Baht, now all up to 150 Baht. There is a very professional one on Chalermprakhiat, coming from Central Pattaya road it is about a km into the Soi on the right side. 100 Baht a haircut.

They always do that. It's the Thai way, they keep kicking until there is no more movement. Never seen a Thai fight where they stop when the guy is down but still stirring.

As the Red Bull brat incident illustrated : any amount of alcohol is nullified by the presence of cocaine in your blood. Or if you are entering a space - time wormhole by racing at a speed 200kph on Sukhumvit you are beyond the reach of the law.

Actually there are still a lot of unvaccinated potential travelers around, at least in western countries. Around 20 % adamantly refuse to get vaccinated.

The questions is for how much longer? Not looking forward to the Chinese mass invasion of Pattaya. The Russian invasion (of LOS) has already driven hotel rates up, and filled many of the budget hotels.

The spread is not much larger if you go to the Superrich main branch. I was not aware of the fact that rates (at least for the Vietnamese đồng) differ from branch to branch. Went to the Siam Paragon branch, noticed that their rates were worse than the ones on their website. Was told that the website rates I had were the main branch rates. Packed main branch, spend about 40 minutes waiting. So not worth it if you have only a small amount.

Yes, it was with my Thai debit card (KTB). Pretty sure it was the ACB branch in Phan Thiết. Will not do it again, because, while the official fee was reasonably, the hidden charges were enormous (lost about 10 percent on the XE midrate. You will get more detailed information on this topic in this FB group :https://www.facebook.com/groups/expatshcmc/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT

Depends on the bank. Up to 5 mil for sure (done it personally), but read reports of people withdrawing 7 mil, but forget which that was.

Yes you can but you will probably lose big time. I tried it 3 times over the last 6 years, always at different Vietnamese banks, with my Krung Thai debit card, and the hidden charges were enormous, losing between 7 and 10% on the midrate.

Very few, if any, banks will accept Baht.Most money changing goldshop will either not accept Baht or offer you a lousy rate. If you are in Bangkok go to Superrich and change your Baht to đồng. Note that their main branch has the best rates. It is not very likely that you will get as good a rate anywhere in Vietnam. Last month on my way to to the airport In HCM I stopped by one of the best money changers in Saigon. While their Dong Baht rate was better than other goldshops, it was still well below the Superrich rates. So I took my đồng to Bangkok and changed them there.. There is a caveat though. I went to the best changer in Can Tho, where I live and inquired about $and Baht. That was at the time when the đồng was losing in value almost daily. The dong to USD/Baht rate was lousy, probably with the falling dong they wanted to hold on to their foreign currency. She then told me that if you sell Baht I can offer you this rate-a rate so good that had I changed my dong to Baht in Thailand and then sold those Baht to that goldshop I would have made a slight profit.

Totally wrong :Vietnam is not Cambodia. Except for hotels in Tourist areas where they often accept dollars (which is illegal now), you will have to pay in dong for everything. Of course if you offer a local 100 bucks for a noodle soup that costs 2 $, and say keep the change, you might see a lot of glee. I have been in Vietnam now for 5 years, and never paid for anything in dollars.

The Burmese scapegoats come in handy when the real culprit is The Burmese scapegoats come in handy when the real culprit is a local of means and influence, a Hi-so Thai. Doesn't apply here. The serpent is Indian /Vietnamese. Not even a real Farang. Even Farangs are not provided with Burmese scapegoats unless they are of the Elon /Jeff /Bill kind with vast amounts of money to grease palms.

The clown show called Thai politics continues. An endless source of amusement. Have to amend a previous post :Most of them belong in the circus.Much too entertaining for the garbage can.

No, they do count all visas in your current passport. The only way to keep alternating would be to regularly get a new passport, as embassies are not linked to the immigration department website. But even then it's only a matter of time before you get interrogated at border, because they can see all your arrivals.