John49

My experience is that – he who gets to the junction first - goes first. (In the event of doubt, wait for acknowledgement from the other vehicle.) Also, whether you are driving in RHS or LHS Country, always give way to the right. Both ‘rules’ above could put the scooter rider on the right side of the argument? But, as others post above, these scooters are a dangerous menace and are ridden at your own peril. Expect to get run over and seriously injured, it’s only a matter of time.

If you read my statement and your statement, there is major difference in intent, and you have ‘over-interpreted’ my intent. I’m looking for feedback from others – on their personal experiences with doctors and hospitals. Without feedback from others, I would have a long journey of contacting hospital and doctors, and trying to determine their ‘competency’ for a successful outcome. I really do question their 'competency' - most are average, some are exceptional and some (or most?) are to be avoided. The feedback here has been really good, it has thrown up a few hospitals and doctors – whom I shall now contact for the diagnosis and advice. Why do I go open kimono and detail my recent medical ‘history’? This is to generate interest in my case so that those with similar ‘history’ can identify and be motivated to relate their personal stories. I would like thank all for their “personal experiences, or suggestions on where to get treatment in Bangkok”. A special thanks to Sheryl who contributes so much to this forum. Sheryl gives so much with tailored “suggestions” and “recommendations” to each and everyone's medical issue.

My recent medical results while in Australia: PSA = 8. Prostate volume 35 ml. mpMRI, pi-rads score = 5. Prostate biopsy Gleason score = 7 (4+3). My urologist in Australia recommends: A PSMA-PET scan to determine if prostate cancer has reached any other parts of body. (Where can I do this in Bangkok, avoiding the very expensive hospitals? My urologist says the result will probably be negative, as a recent PET-CT scan was negative, apart from picking up this same issue with prostate.) Removal of internal part of prostate using Holep laser procedure. (Apparently, this laser removes all internal tissue so that it will not grow back. As I’m in my late 70’s, not sure if that is a real risk? The reason for doing this is that flow is already restricted and will become more restricted with radiation. There are other options like TURP, Rezum, or Aquablation? The cost estimate for Holep is AUD 15,000 with negligible Medicare rebate; urologist said must stay in Australia for 4 to 6 weeks after procedure – a negative for me.) Take hormone tablets for 6 months. (I think that is to hold back the progress of cancer.) After 6 months of hormones, start radiation treatment. (Not sure what kind of radiation or for how long? I see that Bumrungrad has video online that says they use hydrogel as spacer between prostate and rectum, to minimise damage to rectum. Are there other hospitals using this technique?) Apparently, I should only do the PSMA-PET scan now, as my prostate needs 6 weeks to recover from the recent biopsy. Any personal experiences, or suggestions on where to get treatment in Bangkok would be welcomed. A looks like lots of specialist doctors available at each hospital, any recommendations on doctor’s names appreciated. Also, it would be really good just to ‘sign up’ at one hospital for all treatments.

I need to change out the battery on my Surface Pro 5. Any suggestions where it can be done in Bangkok? I see the last post above but I don't have Facebook, and it was posted nearly 4 year ago. From what little I have read, a heating mat must be used (not a gun?) as the screen will break easily. I was able to update to Windows 11 from the good advice on this forum, despite MS saying my device was not compatible with Windows 11, so my tablet now has a new lease of life.

I did buy a foam topper about 10 years ago, cost AUD 300, way too expensive at that time, but I was desperate to get a better night’s sleep. I notice that the more expensive hotels now have spring mattresses with a foam top incorporated. Other hotels can still have the older spring mattresses where the springs seem to be rigid. I remember sleeping on kapok mattresses in Indonesia. Kapok is a fluffy tree fibre that settles down solid, in my experience. Great for pillows if you like a firm pillow. The locals like them as kapok is considered cool compared with the other cheap alternative of a foam mattress. I've come across coconut fibre mattresses (in Singapore) – probably the worst, like sleeping on the floor.

I’m a committed side-sleeper. Whenever I try to sleep on my back, I drop off easily but soon my own snoring wakes me up. For many years, I have on/off hip pain from the ‘contact area’ between the bed and my hip. The pain wakes me up after after 1 or 2 hours and I have to switch sides. Then after 1 or 2 hours, pain again and I have to switch sides. The pain is like a burning sensation and dissipates after 10 minutes. Often, I just get up much too early as I’m tired of the constant wake-ups and opt for my first coffee of the day. The hip pain is not there every night. The ‘attacks’ are more often in cold weather and with harder mattresses. I have no swelling on the hip and no problem walking or standing. BTW, I’ve tried cushions between the knees and rubber rings, did not work for me. I’ve had X-rays and MRI of both hips, nothing of great significance. A well-respected orthopaedic surgeon had me standing on one leg and bending in multiple directions and implied it was all in my mind. On the positive side, an ultrasound did indicate a possible inflamed hip bursa. I had a steroid injection into the side bursa and no pain issue for about 2 months. So, I really think the side hip bursas are the issue. Possibly, I should have the hip side bursa removed. From my Google search, seems it’s not always successful? Plus, arthroscopy solutions seem expensive for what it is. My side hip seems to be just skin and bone; that’s part of the problem negligible fat and muscle on the side? Any personal experiences, or suggestions on where to get surgery in Bangkok would be welcomed.

I had a tooth extracted at a private hospital in Ayutthaya, the local anaesthetic was injected a bit off target and the back tooth was effectively extracted without anaesthetic. Six very painful pulls and despite protest, he kept on pulling. None of the “ I’ll just give you a bit more local”. I think the nurse was holding me down… I know an anaesthetic was used, as my jaw was numbed for some hours after. Not all bad news, since this time I have had 3 dental implants, a few caps and fillings – all went well and no complaints. All done at Thai dental surgeries with a good reputation according to local expats.

I twisted my knee about one year ago. I had an MRI of knee and the report mentioned ‘partial tears’. I have since heard that there are 3 grades of tear, but no mention of ‘grade of tear’ in my report (from Bangkok Hospital). I limped for many weeks and thought that the tear would not heal, but here we are nearly one year later and all is well. (Possibly my tear was on the outer 2/3rds that have a blood supply and can heal??) Not sure about the longevity of tear repair; I had a negative report from someone who had two tear repairs that did not last… I have two family members who have had TKR in both legs. They really suffered a lot post op. for many months. Seems like you need to work really hard on post op physio for a good long term result. Like someone said above, 'not to be taken lightly'.

Thanks for highlighting that point - 'equivalent to 8 years versus 10 days - of background radiation'. Over about 40 years, I have about 12 X-ray investigations (with say 5 shots average) of my 'torso', mostly hips, abdomen and spine; with just one CT scan (blood in urine issue - employer requirement). Now, I feel a bit better about my exposure to all that unwanted radiation over many years! Made up my mind on this one - no more CT scans.

Microsoft Surface Pro 5 Battery Replacement - iFixit Repair Guide Here, the cost of the replacement battery is listed at USD77. There are “56 Steps” in the replacement. I see one comment at the end where someone gives thanks for the guidance and says it took him 10 hours to do the replacement himself. The Surface Pro is thin and compact, and mostly glued together, so difficult to open and access. Risky to do yourself, easy to break the glued screen. Best to pass to a specialist. I think a skilled technician may do it in one or two hours, so that brings the price up to say USD200. Before this, I had a Dell laptop – so easy to change out the battery – just 2 thumbs to push it out.

I was able to update from W10 to W11 via register change by 'allowing upgrades with unsupported CPU,' on my Surface Pro 5, much as you suggested above. Then, I found that “Core Isolation Memory Integrity Fails to Enable Because of Incompatible Driver.” ("Memory Integrity," prevents malware and other malicious code from hijacking high-security processes.) I found that I had 4 old device drivers (from 2015) that were blocking this important security feature. I followed some videos on YouTube but I could not get access to SYSTEM as they described. Eventually, I opened Windows PowerShell with administrator privileges and deleted the 4 drivers. Then, Core Isolation Memory was enabled. So, at first I wondered if it was all worth it as there were so many personalisation options that frustrated me when I simply wanted to get back to what I had before. But, now it all looks good and I have the improved security feature - no regrets. Thanks for steering me in the right direction, especially your first perspective about why MS were blocking upgrades on quite modern machine (like mine), with MS not wanting to take responsibility for potential issues, etc. I will eventually change my battery (about $200), then my machine could be good for another 4 years or more. BTW, I have bought 2 Surface cover/keyboards to date and both have failed after about 2 years use, and this is with me taking really good care of them. I will not buy the Surface cover/keyboard again (they cost about $200). I bought a cheap Bluetooth keyboard on Shopee for when I really need to type.

Nobody above has mentioned it but I read that one major point about Vietnam was, the people in the South are friendly, and the people in the North are unfriendly. The bias based on the western support for the South during the war? So, the people in the North don't like westerners? I visited the South for a week and it was fine apart from the excessive number of motorbikes on the roads. I do remember asking Immigration on arrival if I could extend my stay visa (3 weeks?) - totally unfriendly - and that was at Saigon in the South. I felt as though I had arrived in China or Hong Kong/Macau - you are not allowed to ask questions.

Recently flying with Thai from Heathrow to Bangkok, the lady at check-in asked if I had an onward ticket. I said ‘no’ and then I said ‘why do I need an onward ticket’. (I knew I was on safe ground as I had a resident return visa.) At this point, the check-in lady got really upset – I had answered a question, with a question. Cannot remember rest of conversation, but I complained as to why she was so angry and reminded her that I had said ‘good morning’ and she had ignored my courtesy. Ultimately, we both reduced the tension and all was OK. The question of onward ticket is serious issue as of course you can be put off the flight. I learned a lesson flying from Singapore to Philippines. At check-in, they wanted my onward ticket. I found out that this actually a government requirement for travel to Philippines. I had to rush to another counter and bought a return ticket with another airline (SIA was too expensive), before I could check-in. I have not heard of ‘onward flight.com’. I have sometimes bought a cheap onward throw away ticket. Just googled “dummy ticket for return flight”: Dummy Ticket in Visa Processes There are some countries that ask for dummy flight tickets while applying for the visa. Beware: In the market there are some dummy tickets generator who just put your name and other details in the format of an E-ticket with fake PNR, you must not generate such tickets from there because if the ambassador gets your ticket fake he may REFUSE YOUR VISA and moreover can get taken action against you by the cops for providing false information. There are some travel agents also who do not hold the ticket they do the same as the ticket generators do. OK, so I recently bought a dummy ticket from a local travel agent for a Schengen Visa. No problem there – seems like all the embassies are aware that the tickets are dummy. (Why do they have such a dumb requirement, same for dummy hotel booking requirement. That's the EU for you.) The comment I quoted above in italics has 46 upticks, not sure how valid this comment is; he does mention the “ambassador” and not airline. Probably, airline just waves you through – no time to check if ticket is dummy or not i.e. PNR fake or not. Maybe, if you are within that 48 hour window, they have to give benefit of doubt, that ticket has been paid for, but not yet issued? I think I feel safer with a cheap throw away ticket - depends on the price of that ticket I guess.

Would not happen to me – I always remove the blister pack and leave the box and leaflet on the counter with them. Much more discrete - with just a blister pack that fits snugly in your pocket.

The reason my tack was different (no transfers to her) is that my partner is not Thai, and is my dependant in my one year visa based on retirement. So, it’s kind of evident that she is fully supported by me in Thailand. I bring money into Thailand and then pay all the bills, etc. I’m sure that many months or years, of fund transfers to a Thai partner or housewife is strong evidence of support and works well for the visa approval. I guess most applications are based on that evidence of support.