Furioso

Yes I can see this communication issue is worse in Pattaya, Jomtien, & Bangkok since they're flooded with millions of tourists. When I go to stores around Jomtien I often see nonverbal communication from the Thais. Some frustration, slight anger, irritated, and certainly talk amongst them. For some reason when I'm in Pattaya I don't really see this nearly as much, maybe it's a suburb thing.

If you're not paying significant baht for visa/visa service then expect trouble at point of entry.

They're giving you a not so subtle hint.

I just never heard of anyone stealing from carry-on before. Now that I know it happens I'm going to lock my carry-on from now on whether it's a short hop to Vietnam, Bali, or wherevers.

whoa I'm going to Vietnam tomorrow I def will lock up my carry-on from now on.

Yes, this is why Laos in not on my list. I'm going to Vietnam tomorrow for 7 weeks. I've been there a couple of times it seems a little more relaxed and when I come back to Thailand I'll be recharged again. I initially did almost 2 years straight without going anywhere and it became problematic to say the least.

I think it's the hustle and bustle of living in a crowded asian country. Whenever my friend complains I tell him we get 9 out of 10 things we want and still complain. Still, I agree there are frustrating moments and it does bother me enough that I'm taking more trips out of Thailand. I think starting in November I'll spend 4 months Thailand, 3 months Vietnam, 1 months Bali then maybe KL, Singapore or maybe S. America. In short, maybe spending a year straight in Thailand too much!

Still I think you're right it's prob not a good idea to buy the lowest Mini available. I can splurge the extra 7,000 baht and get the Mini M4 512gb. I think I'm going to need the extra wiggle room anyway.

I thought Apple upgraded their 256GB model to 2 RAM chips.

Thanks you make me realize to buy name brand there are cheaper NVME's out there with names like KingSpot lol. Also, I've seen videos where they buy the base 256GB Mac Mini M4 and make it a Super Mac Mini by moving their home folder to the external 2TB drive and the read/write speeds are way faster than the external 256GB NMVE. Obviously Apple will take measures to fight this though. Still, this is the primary reason I'm buying the 21,000 baht 256GB Mac Mini M4.

If so, which enclosure and NVME did you buy? I'm looking at buying the 256GB and adding 2TB but I've heard some enclosures use different controllers and I don't want to buy bad NVME that craps out on me.

UPDATE: Mission accomplished! James and I left Asok Wed morning at 1000 and arrived at Heathrow approx 17 hours later. His niece and her husband were there (Terminal 2) to pick him up right after we passed through customs. All in all we had a really good team (3 loyal friends, 1 escort, niece & husband.. even the BKK airport staff helped out) to take care of James. Returning him home to the U.K. was definitely the right thing to do. He's a very nice gentleman hopefully his remaining years will be peaceful.

UPDATE: The man's friends have sprung into action. All arrangements have been made and if all goes well the man will be with his niece in his beloved U.K. by the end of this week. It's a gruelling 13 hour flight to Heathrow but I'm confident the mission will get accomplished!

UPDATE: OK, the friends of the Alzheimer's gentleman have come to their senses, they asked me to take him back to the U.K. The niece will pick him up at Heathrow. He will initially live with her or stay in a serviced apartment. She lives closer to London than what I was originally told. He has not been officially diagnosed with anything but obviously he is impaired. More info to follow.

I don't know the guy who has dementia but my friend who knows him is my neighbor.

At least one of the guys literally has way more money than what he knows to do with. Still, you're right if you're an older single person you must make proper contingency plans. I'm 59 and going down the same path.. so this is a wake up call that I need to make plans for my ultimate demise I don't want to burden others. I had another friend who was 46 living in Pattaya and he didn't take care of himself. Yep, beer bars, restaurants, awful food..hitting on everything that moved, thinking he was the studliest man in Pattaya. Well, a few months ago he went home, sat down and died. He was a big, tall guy. His roommate told me they came and literally plopped him down 2 flights of stairs, making an awful noise. He didn't care to make plans either but ultimately they did have a service for him at a later date.

I don't know, they seem to be doing what they can they just haven't put all the pieces together yet. I've seen my friend answer texts/answer phone calls discussing plans/finances, etc. Honestly if the sick guy has led a loner lifestyle without any close attachments these golfing "friends" maybe be a godsend.

I know I should but I don't even know the guy. But, if they don't get their s together...

I already told my friend I will escort him back if need be. He hasn't taken me up on my offer...yet.

Good points Sheryl. To summarize what I know, please forgive me for repeating some of this info. My friend knows him because he's part of a small group of friends who get together about 2 times a year for dinner in Bangkok. I think they're ex-golfing buddies. And yes, the guy who has dementia is able to walk fine, seems spritely but he's forgetting a lot. The friends have decided he needs help as his condition is obviously going to get worse. He sold his apartment, is currently renting. I think his financial situation is just "ok". I don't know how much care would cost here in Thailand, maybe that's why they want to send him back to U.K. He's 83, has no family except an 86 year old sister and a niece who he may barely know. As a group they are trying to arrange everything and I believe they're going to contact the Embassy, which is very important as they will probably learn A LOT about how to assist an ailing British ex-pat in Thailand. They're going to find out they can't just put him on a plane solo. Also these friends may not be very close, just ex golfing buddies who happen to care enough to try and help this guy. I can kind of relate as I'm here with no family and only have a few casual friends scattered between here and Las Vegas. He's 83 and alone and now he needs help but barely has anyone in his life to help him. I wonder how common a situation like this arises?

Thanks for all your inputs, they are very helpful. I don't have any new update right now, but I'll see my friend in a couple of days. He did say they were going to contact the embassy, so that's encouraging. I'm pretty sure the original plan to put him on a plane solo isn't going to happen, it doesn't even look possible. Thanks again, I'll post when I find out any new info.

Yes, this is a strange case where the guy with Alzheimer's has no family(no wife/no ex-wife/no kids). He has an 86 year old sister so that's probably no help and the niece that's 600KM away from Heathrow. His financial situation is ok. I offered assistance out of frustration, basically I was complaining "why don't you or your friends take him back?". and he downplayed it then didn't' want to discuss it further. We're still on speaking terms though. Good news is sometime during our discussion he mentioned they would contact the British Embassy. His apt. has been sold(he's currently renting) so that's already taken care of. I don't know all the facts as why they're sending him back to the U.K. I can only surmise they think the U.K. NHS will take care of him. He has no home to go back to. He may barely know the niece but once again, he does have a 86 year old sister. At least 2 or 3 of his friends are getting this plan together, and I can vouch for my friend he's been very successful his whole life and usually get things done proper. It's just the whole put him on a plane and send him on his way that I just don't agree with. Seems really unacceptable. Who knows maybe there's a few key points about their plan I don't know about and he'll be fine. Doesn't seem so but you never know. Abourt 6 months ago a quiet guy that lived below me found out he had early stage Alzheimer's. He was running Venom or Cobra I forget. Anyway, his brother came over from the U.K. Sold his condo and escorted him back to the U.K. I installed a new T.V. in that condo after he left. It was completely empty except for a bottle of cologne. It was just so gd sad I don't wish dementia on anyone.

he's supposed to leave early March and his passport expires 15 March

Thanks, I'll forward this to the appropriate person.

You're a hero for helping that person and I'm not surprised it's exhausting. I think in this case they'll figure out, or be forced, to have someone accompany him on his flight back to the U.K. Can you imagine they stick him on the plane and when he gets to Heathrow he has no idea where he is nor where to go? Nightmare.