Paulaew

I would recommend Rutnin Eye Hospital on Asoke. I didn't have Lasik there (I had Lasik in the US about 20 years ago), but they have some of the top ophthalmologists in Thailand and all the latest technologies. I see an ophthalmologist there for glaucoma and I've been impressed by the thoroughness of the diagnostics and the expertise of the doctors. They don't seem particularly expensive for the quality of the care, either. They only do eyes, and they treat them while you wait ???? Paul Laew

Yes, good point. Google accounts too. Paul Laew

I'm at the stage of life where the doctors' offices are calling me to confirm my appointments. I have to have a SIM card so they can reach me ???? Paul Laew

Well, you and I think like that, but there is a whole generation of younger people in America (and probably elsewhere) who have opted out of the phone sevice provider system altogether, and just use wifi wherever it's available. They mainly use social media and, as the OP said, "You can even call each other on wifi messenger if you actually want to speak to someone." As if you might actually want to talk to a live person! Paul Laew

You do need a SIM card if you're going to do any electronic banking here, since the bank may want to send SMS codes to your phone for security. Paul Laew

You could do that with Skype over wifi. But you'll need to pay for the calls (though just a few cents per minute to most countries). Paul Laew

This is apparently the sign in front of Chaeng Wattana immigration (source: The Thaiger website).

I'm not worried about cyberbullying or contact with criminals, I'm worried about my kid becoming a nerd. If he's not playing video games, he's creating videos about video games for YouTube. Even when he's studying, he's on the computer. He rarely sees the light of day. I'm just praying that he can go back to school soon. His school has re-opened, but most of the kids in his class are still studying online due to parental paranoia. These are difficult times to be a kid (or a parent). Paul Laew

Yeah, it always seems lame when advisories from Thai doctors are re-printed in the English press. But we know (don't we?) that he is actually trying to communicate international research to the Thai public in Thai. But let's not miss an opportunity for Thai-bashing. It makes us feel good. Paul Laew

If you are applying for your visa while in Thailand, use the address of wherever you are staying (hotel, friend's home, street corner). If you are applying from abroad, that would be an O-A visa. I don't think you need a Thai address in that case. Paul Laew

If the editor needs to include the suspect's gender in the story, it would presumably be available from the police who checked the suspect's ID card (you can't always tell by looking, as some of us have discovered the hard way). Paul Laew

The fact that the suspect was a ladyperson seems irrelevant to the story. The damage caused is the same, as is the obscurity of the connection with the person's home entry problem. Paul Laew

I own a car but really wish I could live without it. I split my time between a condo in Bangkok and our house upcountry, and I need the car to go back and forth. I don't really drive in Bangkok except to go to the supermarket, the rest of the time I take the BTS or taxis. Since my trips out of the city are occasional, I wish there was a time-sharing service where I could have a car just when I need it, like maybe 6 days a month. When I look at the cost of the vehicle, insurance and maintenance, it's a major expense. Of course I have to pay for the wife's car as well (and she's due for a new one). Paul Laew

For the TM7 I always put the date of my last arrival in Thailand, which would be the date on the last entry stamp in my passport. The instructions for the TM7 should really be clearer about this. Paul Laew

The only side effect I had from the Moderna booster (100 micrograms) was a very sore arm for about 24 hours. The soreness was much more pronounced for me than with the Astra Zeneca doses I had received. It was painful to lift my arm for one day, and I did some exercises to prevent the immune response from being concentrated at the injection site. The high level of inflammation is, of course, a sign that the vaccine is working and the body is producing antibodies. My subjective response was that the Moderna vaccine is powerful stuff. And so far I haven't contracted the omicron variant, so I'm a happy camper. Paul Laew

You never really know from day to day what the state of play will be. The Thais love ambiguity in the statement of, and especially the enforcement of, regulations. It allows those in power to tighten or loosen according to their whim, and for corruption money to change hands as required. We just have to go with the flow. Paul Laew

I had the Moderna booster after 2 shots of AZ. The effectiveness of the Moderna booster does vary according to the size of the dose. The recommended Moderna booster is a half dose (50 micrograms), but at least some of the private hospitals in Thailand (Sukhumvit and BNH) are giving 100 mcg shots as boosters. According to Moderna, the 50 mcg dose increases antibodies by 37-fold, while the 100 mcg dose provides an 83-fold increase. Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/20/health/moderna-covid-booster-omicron.html Paul Laew

The current medical consensus seems to be that a third vaccine dose is indicated 3 months after the second dose of AstraZeneca, especially if you are in a high risk group (over 60, or have one or more comorbidities). The jury is still out on the need for a fourth dose, though some countries have offered it to medical workers and other high risk individuals. I don't think anyone really knows how many doses is enough or too many. This is uncharted territory. Paul Laew

You only want a sanitarium if you have tuberculosis (like in Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain). I think what you want is a spa resort. There are a lot of them in Thailand with various kinds of "wellness" programs. You would have to contact them to find out if they can provide the sort of physiotherapy you need. I suspect you need more than the Thai traditional happy ending. Paul Laew

Yes, there is no restriction on the nationality of beneficiaries for an IRA or 401k. I have my Thai wife designated as the beneficiary for my retirement accounts held in the USA. Since the bulk of my assets are there, it avoids the probate problems in Thai courts. Paul Laew

If you have a beneficiary designated for a retirement account, there is no requirement to go through probate when you die. The beneficiaries take precedence over the will. Paul Laew

Is there some advantage to buying physical gold as opposed to buying shares in an ETF that tracks the spot gold price, like GLDM, SGOL or BAR? With physical gold I would have to worry about storing it and securing it, and then transporting it when time to sell. Buying virtual gold seems simpler, unless you have a Goldfinger obsession. Paul Laew

Actually there is a real issue here. Changing from retirement to marriage requires your wife to present herself at immigration and give her consent. Since the retirement visa is independent of marriage, you could leave your wife without affecting your visa status. I have to confess this was in the back of my mind when I changed from marriage to a retirement visa. (But there is a lot of stuff in the back of my mind, I should clean it out someday). Paul Laew

Yes, absolutely you can change. When I first came to Thailand I was on a retirement visa (non-immigrant O, reason retirement), then some years later I changed to a marriage visa after I got married. When I found that inconvenient (too many documents, required presence of my wife at immigration for extensions), I changed back to a retirement visa. Though some people may disagree, I find the retirement visa very convenient. Visa extensions are quick since there are so few documents involved, and now my visa doesn't depend on my wife or anyone else. Paul Laew

In the early days of the vaccination program, when only Sinovac was available, I pre-payed for Moderna from Sukhumvit Hospital, with delivery promised many months in the future (October). It was a struggle to find any source that would vaccinate a foreigner with a reasonable Western vaccine. I was lucky enough to get 2 Astra Zeneca jabs for free at Chulalongkorn Hospital. They had a big vaccination operation there, but I was the only foreigner there, since they never publicized their program in sites that foreigners would see. I was grateful to get a tip from a Thai friend, and got an appointment with just 2 days notice. Eventually I got a Moderna booster from Sukhmvit Hospital, and still have one in reserve if needed. But the government achievement of 100 million jabs is bogus, since the majority of those were useless Chinese vaccines. If the pandemic continues, those people will need to be inoculated again. Paul Laew