Thunglom

I think it's a good idea for expats to look at maximum payouts on their policies as those "living" in Thailand may end up with chronic conditions or palliative care which is when the big money kicks in.

Slavery existed before the British and Americans cashed in on it, but it doesn't make it forgivable any more than the exploitation of Thai women by the US armed forces. It does however illustrate a pattern

is that a justification?

This is a big problem in Thailand...getting the appropriate treatment. there is no GP system so diagnosis is often done by visiting several specialists. THis of course takes time. many people too are obviously very fearful when they go to see a doctor and incredibly relieved when their condition improves or is cured. This actually leaves another problem, they will never know if they received the most appropriate treatment. This is so often dictated by factors like insurance, ability to pay and thwdoctors personal preference or limitations. the Thai healthcare system runnings on a very strict hierarchical structure and doctors are almost Gods - what they say goes and there is absolutely no room for criticism...especially by subordinates. All this leaves the system short on ethics and very short on any patient comeback. Many people have minor treatments and pay themselves and are impressed rightly or wrongly by the results. X-rays are done within hours and are cheap - dressings are applied to motorcycle injuries and opiates and opioids are easily bought...antibiotics over the counter. however as retirees get older the healthcare they require gets more costly. Cardiovascular diseases and cancers can cost millions of baht of a drawn out period and those with limited savings suddenly find themselves facing bills they can't pay and no way to return home. Ten there is the possibility of accident - roads or whatever lead to a complicated mix of emergency procedures and payments in different hospitals - patients get moved for financial rather than medical reasons. the Thai authorities have long been concerned by this and are no doubt worried about any scandals arising from this. I purposely don't use anecdotal examples here as they are not really valid. almost all people who describe their own personal experiences have no valid qualfications to make a judgement anyway. My problem and eventually many foreigners is the range of demonstrable faults in the Thai system. How it runs the ethics and the inconsistencies throughout thesytem.

Don't know what the actual figures are , but I know of several expats who have fallen ill without proper insurance. They either have no cover or insufficient. At first they can cover stuff out of their savings and then the crunch comes and they end up left to die in a hospital bed unable to pay for the full treatment.

UK is 50k cases per day, with bout 45 deaths - th UK govt thinks the public will accept his. Te Thai government has to consider the tourist industry of 20% lost to Covid by are conflicted by their overwhelming urge to control. If Thailand looks bd, people won't come.

Another day, another dictum. Tourists who visit Thailand seem to risk several changes of policy during their stay and then have to confront their own country's policies on return.

Every year the same magazine and the same thing. the only problem is they are wrong. The Thai healthcare system may have a lot of money floating around in the prib=vae sector, but it is devoid of ethics, training and comeback.

This is not any real policy, it is purely a statement that reflects the "snobbism" of the minister. It is a personal wish that has no basis in reality. Thailand has almost totally lost its income from tourism and thousands of people are unemployed as a result - simply wishing for a 'high end" market is not going to be=ring back these people's livelihoods.

Flashing orange means proceed with caution, flashing red means the other (orange) road has priority. They normally change to that at night or at times of low volume traffic.

Ah - slight change of subject - one of the main problems with road safety in Thailand is the poor quality and inconsistenc=y of road single. This is down to the traffic engineers - and I see little or no evidence that Thailand has any suitably qualified people doing this.

With new fuels the problem is not so much octanes and the amount of bio fuel they contain. 97 octane “super unleaded” in Britain is roughly equivalent to 91 octane premium in the United States. - the octane is just the fuels suitability in higher compression engines. E10 is a biofuel made up of 90% regular unleaded and 10% ethanol E10 fuel introduced in UK, increases the share of the renewable energy produced using crops to 10%. It's estimated that the greener fuel could reduce CO2 emissions by 750,000 tonnes per year, the equivalent of taking up to 350,000 cars off the road. [RAC]. Thailand has five categories of petrol at retail pumps: gasohol 91 E10, gasohol 95 E10, E20, E85 and premium ULP 95 petrol. Putting high octane in a low octane engine will have no significant effect whatsoever - apart from increasing the fuel companiy's profit margin a little. Companies in Thailand are pretty strictly controlled as to why they can charge for basic fuel, but they can increase the profit margins by adding additives.

E10 fuel has. "shelf-life" of 3 to 6 month, whereas older non bio content fuels last 6 months to a year. This hardly seems to be a practical problem for most vehicle owners. On your filler cap it should tell you what fuel is suitable for your car. This may very from country to country. For instance - UK is now totally E10 - and there ae meant to be about 600,000 vehicles that this is not suitable for. however on the other hand ALL Hodas from 1996 are OK with it. The damage caused is not immediate and drastic, it is often related to pipes, plastics and filters and underperforming engines - although unless you are doing extensive mileage at high speeds you may not notice the difference. here is Autocar's take on the stuff.... “E10 petrol’s higher bioethanol content is corrosive to rubber parts, gaskets, seals, metals and plastics, which causes engine damage, so it could dislodge deposits in older engines and fuel systems, causing blockages. ……. If you make a mistake at the pumps and brim your older car with E10, all is not lost. Unlike the fuel-tank draining consequences of a petrol-diesel misfuel, simply dilute it with E5 from then on and it should be fine. But don’t make a habit of it, say the manufacturers, including Shell.” – autocar.

Red arrow means STOP in that direction.. As for turning left on a red light there should be a sign saying if it is permitted or not.

Ok - so bloods thicker than water!

Yes! - We couldn't have the boys in brown neglecting their duties through the distractions of onanism?

Up to you, but I use government and internationally recognised statistics and know how to read.

your brother has got it wrong. the double vaccine figure is 67% of the population - single 73%. These re getting near to the figures required. the higher percentage relates to adults (over 18s) or something like that. They are now vaccinating minors which should bring the levels up rot that golden 80%. Thailand appears to be at Completed Vaccinations 32%% of Population, 22,386,653. the problem here is without lockdown restrictions those not fully vaccinated are still vulnerable to the most serious effects of the virus - hospitalisation and death.

OP -is basically true - but you need a high rate of vaccinations. In UK with a population about the same as Thailand infections are running at over 30,0000 per day ... BUT hospitalisations and deaths are much , much lower than when the population was unvaccinated. The same should apply to Thailand - so long as they have enough people vaccinated and the hospital spaces for the sick.

You've just given an example and then said you don't see it.

architecture around Thailand has reflected climate for centuries - however as the population has grown the trend has been towards quick-build concrete houses with few ecological acknowledgements. BUT - just building you house on stilts is not actually a satisfactory response. I have done flood relief down south and a house on stilts does little to address the problems that flooding brings - it mat =y keep your belongings dry but that's about it. (BTW many people build rates when the floods come and just float everything on them. THe problems it doesn't address are utilities and the environment and event substructures of those buildings. Places inundated with salt/brackish water lose not just there crops but the ability to replant for several years. Flooding does just interrupt electricity supplies it often destroy the infrastructure it self....the same goes for water supplies phones, roads and worst of all sewerage-. So you may feel oK for a while in your house on stumps but it only addresses some of the problems. The aftermath can be devastating.

Thailands policy on ware is basically 50 years out of date. They still think dams are the answer and don't understand the effects of deforestation and farming encroachment have on flooding in urban areas. They still think digging big holes will work - when in Bangkok for the past 100 years they have been filling in channels in a delta that is slowly sinking and has an average height above sea level of 1.5 metres. Reforestation and returning the natural flow of rivers can slow the process but global warming is increasing the extremes of climate which in turn will mean higher foods heavier rain and more pronounced droughts. The government needs a radical rethink of how they deal with water throughout the country.

I think quite a few people are unaware that regardless of what the Thai law may say (in translation), how it is interpreted by various offices at various times over the years may vary quite wildly. I got my first full D/L on a BOI visa and was accompanied by a high ranking official from my company - basically they just handed it over on seeing my UK licence. I have renewed a couple of times since then (20 years) and each time has been different - the last was in Samui where I was asked to do an eye test and reaction test for another 5 years. - THet was all it took about an hour in total. However if you turned up in shorts and flip-flops you wouldn't be served. I've always had a car licence and found that quite apart from being legal it has helped tremendously with ID and interactions with police. It also used to help avoiding dual pricing in National Parks - however that has got much more difficult in re=cent years. I think many expats don't get D/Ls because they fear or know they won't pass the various tests - this unfortunate practice means many are driving round on Thai roads bellowing at other motorists when it is in fact themselves who are to blame. They are a danger to themselves and others.

Thailand requires a licence to have a photo and English language. But they don't seem to like state licences as opposed to national ones. In the end, an IDP is an internationally accepted translation of your home licence and that's what the police and insurance companies require. after 3 months in Thailand, you are required to have a Thai licence. I know many expats are outside this protocol and some sendup having to pay out enormous sums of money as a result.

Sadly in practice it doesn't work - the US licences are state , to national licences and you'll find that most bureaucracy and police want to see an IDP. You may also find your insurance is invalidated. UK licences ae in English and are better received. Thailand didn't sign the 1967 Geneva accord on motoring and although they "play along" - it lives a lot of issues in a legally grey area. It's much easier to get a Thai D/L ASAP.