jinjok

bramburgers

good for you!! i have high respect for nurses and thought if i were to ever marry, it must be to a nurse. they are educated and have compassion.

but you are correct - yourself and a multitude of others that support the poor. but the object of the wealthy/powerful in thailand is much like the usa - to keep a pliant, subservient, cheap underclass in hand.

they care not a wit. in fact, i would never support any ngo's in asia - when i see how the wealthy live and what they steal.

how many guys married middle aged divorced women and take in her children and feed and educate them?? lots.

i have mine done at pattaya memorial - fast test about b650 i think i recall. they sort of push the fast test, im happy not to come back. i know im not + so its like...whatever ok fast test.

they do good/cheap blood work there.

i like the idea of the lab though...

bkk-pty - about 3000 baht - attitude is free :-)

dr oliver is anothe rposs but obviously teh blood goes out. i wanted him to do my peace corp check but he didnt have a tb test.

there is also the clinic up in nakua :-) cheap!

homepro next to carrefour???

ive just been there to ###### long. it was too cheap, too much fun and too many sleezy girlfriends.

apologies.

my realtionship w/ pattaya sort of reminds me of my parents marriage... at 51 years. bickering and squabbling but still together.

and the building, trash, traffic, crime and general rudeness (farnags are often worst offenders)are all very real issues.

i will be leaving though, that is certain...in fact, i cant call it home anymore after last october.

got news for you guys in usa ... you can sue on environmental grounds, or maybe some municipal mumbo-jumbo

yod get laughed out of us court w/ a suit because the bldg is blocking your view.

this is PRECISELY why you should never buy anything w/ a view in pattaya

im just reading tons of hooror stories about bkk-pty. my friend went there for denatl whitening. it was 3000 more than i will pay in bkks best dental hospital and they used some peroxide that was half as strong. its a rip and dangerous doctors.

pih is no good for anything serious as well. i went there for a big check up for peace corp. the equipment was tired. doc seemed ok and took time w/ me but was not impressed. eye test was a joke.

i booked them - arrival 17th april. gave the # to my mate, he has a booking as well. both internet bookings went well. her english was great, even fairly gramatically correct. -when i replied in a bit of thai she was respectful and responded in thai as well.

passing this along ... my days in pattaya are drawing to a close :-(

latest times:

Our bus schedule from the airpot to Pattaya are at

8.00/10.00/12.00/14.00/16.00/18.00.

And the schedule from Pattaya to the

airport/hotel in Bangkok are at 6.00/9.00/11.00/13.00/15.00/17.00/19.00.

thanks. YIKES ... dont want that one.

thx

the 40 or so countries that are granted exemption, is it possible to procure visa at the airport (proper/two month)? iv eseen the queue for years...

does anyone think i should let that slleping dog lie and just go for the one month lottery at the counter and do a runner. actually six weeks would be perfect but if i have to do a run, might as well saty until the month is up.

mexico, surely ez entry/exits. peace blondie - i dont think onne would fare well demo'ing against anyone/thing in thailand either. one thing to have ones say... thailand is not a free nation

I POSSESS A TEN YEAR VISA FOR INDIA. thats fact and thats living. phillipines ez for one year and cambodia as well - even easier.

anyway... most of central america and all of europe as the usa (sure its become a hassle, but you get the 90days sure). per europe - just have to leave every 90 days best of my knowledge. im not against paying for a proper visa, heck i pay b1700 for the visa run. id gladly pay b3000 for a triple 3month non extendable use any time for 12 mos and have to only obtain in ones own country. or two 3month anywhere asia and three visa runs to 90days.

oz is a bit of a stickler from what i hear. i bet canada is super easy for long term stay as well.

also bear in mind this is not a developed country and also bear in mind that thailand has for years encouraged us to do and plan and buy just what it is disallowing now.

you know... if thailand were not such a conduit to its neighbors, entry were open to myanmar and beyond and lao visas were not so expensive - i honestly could care less. but with this move - its just a total hassle.

want to go from cambodia to sumatra? need a ticket onward

want to go from lao to perentians? same

want to go from singpore to vietnam overland - no ticky, no entry

want to fly into bkk, visit friends before moving on to cambodia to LIVe - nope, cant do that.

want to do something really exotic like china entering thailand via chiang sang on mekong - forget it.

want to fly from delhi to bangkok, get rested and dentist? need a ticket to land despite you may not even be able to buy a ticket from bkk-xyz in a thrid country without linking it to the ticket you are flying on. its insanely stupid.

before it was a hassle, but i respect a country to make it s law. now its just a cluster***k for me.

whats missing here is the lazy thai govt in its incompetence and inability to establish good folks from bad. you can easily do this thru visa process. one meeting every few years (tatoos? criminal records? bank statements). you can easily do checks on businesses. trouble is they dont even trust themselves to separate wheat from shaft.

chokchaichas -

actually... to 1 month tourists it might be a godsend. think of all the free/open rooms that were built for long-stay now vacant and double vacant during low season: pattaya, phuket even chaing mai and bangkok. some can be let to locals, many cannot. these cannot bounce back until they are occupied. this impacts - owner, owners family, banks, land prices, taxation. this alone one might see a recession esp coupled with coming us recession.

any and every business catering to foreigners will have marked impact. wine shop and cigar shop - finished. tops supermarket - in doubt, carrefour - in doubt (grocery finished), charter fishing - done, golf courses - finished, but with housing glut cant convert to condos! farang bars - 50% finished. the list is endless.... but the thais have a way of opening suspect businesses and clinging to them even though the end is written in stone. so it will take awhile for all this to wash out.

thailand does have a bad rep. it has encouraged the behaviour and is now somehow unhappy by it. the girls and a go-go was thailands face and for years it was just fine! i would remind you that it also has a reputation for difficulty in doing business and huge corruption issues at every level. too bad its not trying to attack those issues. by tit - it is only concerned with its 'face'.

rich guys spend the money becasue they must - they are too lazy to take a/c train to penang (which is very comfy), they cant be bothered to eat in a street stall, they cant be bothered to learn thai. often they spend money not because they really want, its becasue of a lifestyle choice theyve made. they want 24 hour a/c, big dumb ass car, western food and flush toilets.... they want home -save for the girlfriend half their age. hoonestly, they dont want thailand. these people are the ones that should leave.

i love asia ....from pakistan to the tip of indonesia and inbetween. ive lived in indonesia for months w/o getting laid (no big deal) it was a great cultural experience. same for india and doing the kkh in pakistan. i can take thailand for what it really is - i mention this becasue guys (and women) like me are happy to live simply (i beleive in this movement). i am not a glutton. i do not ask for more than i need. i do not want more than i need. i want the poor to benefit from whateve i can possibly do for them. i live simply so others may simply live. my choice not to spend my is born not only of thrift but of conservation and concern for the planet and its people.

i think so many are deluded about the difference in what 'rich' and 'poor' spend. we all eat out, we all have girlfriends, we all rent flats, we all play golf, we all fly coach to thailand each year ...that was the beauty of thailand. it was cheap.

one cannot look at the extremes and make judgements. rice cost 5b for poor and rich alike. both eat 5b worth of rice. most rich guys wake up after a year in thailand and realize that tossing about piles of dosh has got them less than the guys that mind their cash.

anyone truly in the know understands the girls will stand in line for the guy with the cash, but they will respect someone who minds their money well and is clever. they esp like guys who can help them sort out financial issues and when they get thru it, youve earned their respect (i must have half dozen thai girl-frends who ive known for more than 4 years) this never involves loaning money. loans are gifts even thai to thai. this is the law.

in summary: thais are so off base by simply cutting off the guys on teh lower end. the wealthy are a flighty lot. they can live anywhere and that they will after thailand hassle s them too much. this is teh best lesson of all. the lesser guys - they are sort of 'stuck' in thailand. but the wealthy - what do they care if they have to go to philippines, costa rica, carribe, spain and it costs them 20k baht more a month. big deal. but they are gone and they had bad experience and they and their wealthy friends not to return. they will use their money to insulate themselves for awhile - but when they wake up and realize that between: atty fees, airline visa runs, document hassles and rehassles and feees, fees fees that they pay a huge sum of money for the 'privilage' to stay in the country. in central america... its practically free and spain is free.

emp tud: youve summed the issue up correctly and succintly:

The problem is in a nutshell that there are too many foreigners living in Thailand in the opinion of many Thais, and more importantly in the opinion of many Thais who make the laws, and probably don't earn great streams of revenue from businesses aimed at foreigners. Not difficult to appreciate, and there's certainly no secret about the level of xenophobia amongst the majority of Thais.

*what the above do not appeciate is how an economy functions. EVERYONE benefits from the HUGE influxes of cash brought into the country. and that they will see...

now if we can just boot out all the thais from the usa - theyve never contributed much of anything anyway (and thats coming from someone who knows this community in l.a./valley well). same-same no?

sorry... this rant is wholly a distraction from topic.

i used to live in la - that consulate SUCKS. they are haters.

but in fairness, you screwed up the visa form and somehow presumed there were going to toss you a fairly coveted visa.

just take the train a/c chair - b20 to the bus and b20 to talat sao

i noticed on the new forms when they came out that it forced you to use the visa.

i always thought that sucks.... what if you get a double outside, want to spend two weeks in thailand and go to lao/cambo??? i actually did that last year. friend from dubai wtd me to take him to cambodia.

that would have sucked up us30 + mailing costs and i would have lost 30 days in thailand. but theyre not counting, but they are ...not uh... are....uh... why?! bother...

yeah your mum can get a double no worries!

dude - not at all shocked no o visa. at 46 ive never had the balls to apply for o in usa and ive a plethora of visas/stamps actually my 4th pp and have 72pp at current!

if you can get a triple in houston, go for it.

as for living in thailand on tourist visa (which you must do for at least ten years) - them days be gone. in many ways a perpetual tourist visa could be perfect for you if you back to us each year AND can obtain a triple. hel_l, i worry if they will even grant a double.

as an american i would add that thailand is not half the value it was two years ago. between the petrol costs, the inflation in and of itself and hipsters hedging thb vs world currencies - id think it thru. since ive been away i read on another board the girls are asking for more dosh as well.

but the first thing you need to do is get to thailand and decided if you even like the place and can live outside the usa for the balance of your life. this process ususally is not easily undertaken and takes years of going bcak and forth as well as a myriad of other decsions.

also remember... you cannot work.

there is no peace of mind and there never was. there were better times and more taxing times. the time right b4 the govt fell was a good time and the stamps flowed like wine. few years b4 that were not bad either.

asia is a huge place and you could spend a year easily just seeing south east asia done right.

if your only interested in planting your arse on a barstool, drinking and your fave slice of pie every few days - well then, you might want to look elsewhere or... at least remember that thailand is offically for those over 50 and willing to put us22500 in a thai bank and go thru some hassles every year for eternity (which you can spend down but must top up) OR those on a 30 day holiday (complete with r/t ticky in hand).

chok dii

zzz - dude i dont want to spend us80 for a freeking two month visa (mailers/visas) hence why i stopped applying in usa. 40us a month for privilage of holiday in thailnd - a bit rich no? thats why i started runnin'

then i realized what it cost me even for two two-month visas incl a train to penang. way way too much. so i started running... at least there was a bottle of red and carton of smokes and viagra - which i could swap for a bottle of jwred. sweeeeet.

i go home every year and honestly only spend about 6 months in thailand anyway. like i said - that love affair ended about 8 yrs ago.

solution: three month visas. you can get two (or 3) at home and one abroad in any given year.

braham: youre right fun is GONE, way gone.

the really pathetic thing that to note....

i am a tourist who wants to stay 60 days and leave (although i have MANY stamps .

in fact, i am making plans for return from india to phils/cambodia not to darken the door of thailand for a good long time. just as they want it...

for this - just grief. thats why im happy to move on...

my onward ticket has not been 'purchsed' but confirmed and ff miles. but i just know that e-tickets will be unacceptable. immigration agents will not have internet access nor willing to check every person w/ eticket - whcih now days is MANY! so i have a hunch etix will not count - this will cost you xtra 1000 baht for privilage of your vist to the kingdom.

30 day stamp = ticket required as far as i have known. enforced or not... i was once though asked for onward ticket in l.a (us) to bkk and once forced to buy one in indonesia (sulewesi) even though one can exit by land in sumatra.

i wonder if ill even get on the plane??

...what do tourists do if they want to land in thailand as a hub and visit neighboring countries? requirement is a 30day ticket in hand. so, if you want to spend ### in the region, you cannot buy a ticket unless you scrap it. as we all know, front end cannot be changed w/o sever penaltties -might as well toss it. 30 day stamp with no intention of leaving by air. what about e tickets??? immigration officials barely have access to those old crummy terminals let alone broadband that is always functional!

question: if you were a young backpacker/couple. would you risk all this hassle OR.... just fly into PNH, SIN or Kuala Lampur?? would buying two tickets for 15000 baht each at full airport prices, have immigration in your face telling you to do so - fun?? now of course as i and peaceblondie had mentioned - immigration is not (that) stupid and can easily tell a tourist from a "tourist" - but whould you chance your two week/limited budget to that nonsense. as a hardened traveler, i would not nor would i advise anyone to do so. land elsewhere!

ill never use bkk as a hub again (im just using up my r/t now). add to this the crappy airport, the hassle to-from and the expense. why?

i have a basic question if someone here preferbaly old asia hand can answer...

i am done with thailand. it was a great run while it lasted. i have the money, but not the age for 'proper' visa - but wouldnt hassle one anyway. the love affair has long faded in addition to strength of thai baht ag my usd. ok enuff whinging...

i am flying in april 17.

i have a booking not yet paid but confirmed onward - for 60 days out. e ticket

the above booking is with ff miles and i do not like the routing, im 90% certain ill buy a ticket in bkk (or want to)

have valid onward visa matching e-ticket reservation/confirmed

i do not want to spend us25 for visa and us30 for post for a freeking visa sent to embassy here in us and time is out anyway.

what to do??? i want to stay 60 but

wow- immigration may be accomplishing one thing but think of all the tickets and honest tourism that will go by the by. i will never be buying a ticket in bkk for onward to india or phils. i will fly into pnh via sin/hkg. i will use tpe as a hub not bkk.

i always go home every year. never been in trouble with the pigs. it will be a slow drain and then a meltdown. lest us not forget the us economy slowing and with that, the world economy.

finally, many people will lose money, homes, famiilies... i for one will not be running back. im totally sick of the ambiguity and arbitrariness. i have a ten year visa for india, visa sit is good in phils and cambo and in central america i understand there are no hassles.

finally, i would say there is a keen coincidence in all these crappy things happening and the rise of 30-50yo tatooed english hooligans cum businessmen. we can say despite the 'lack of govt' in bkk - thailand has no issue in moving forward to enforce law.

for what its worth - i go out of my way to patronize 711 and avoid family mart.

more 711s

cleaner

always well stocked

have change on hand

competent staff

list is seemingly endless imo

ps: i think the margins are razor thin just like all thai businesses.

thanks again - there is loads of this stuff on the internet -

sheryl (so many thanks!) and prothai i cant thank you enough.

wow - sheryl - id be same wt i was in high school if i lost 5kg. but i do think my 'best target wt is lose 2kg. i cant seem to get below that.

i really want to do this w/o meds so i must take honest action: real cardio and reduction of salt. see where that gets me. because ive uprooted myself from thailand due to visa hassles/strength of baht-dollar i have no oppty for gym or bike.

i dont have a maid but im a good cook. trouble is i live in a flat. i could cook on the veranda i suppose, but im only going to be in thailand about 4 mos a year at least until (if) the dollar bounces back. it aint half the vlue it used to be...

anyway....i do drink WAY too much coffee. does anyone know if it has sort of residual affect - i drink 3 mugs in the morning and sometimes one in the afternoon. i guess thats something i should look into.

as some posters had mentioned medicaines are better these days but the contraindications around coorigor seemed shocking. ill give myself six months. 2 months excercise in thailand. three moths+ in india hiking in mountians all time eating better/no salt and see what can be done about the coffee. after that ...return to thailand and see adoctor. then i will know whats the best i cando w/o medicine.

i hate taken meds (esp daily) and i loathe multinationals giants esp big-pharma which would like nothing better than to have me on life-long meds.

jeff: while my bp is at worst of times borderline med to high. you cant guaranty any such thing. sheryl provide some fantastic information and also said anything but. now if what youre saying is if i continue like this as i age -and it only gets worse, yes - there is high likelyhood ill have a stroke. but you should go around saying crap like that - esp when its not backed up by anything. you are a constant reminder of some of the dis/mis-infrmation constantly on this board. your post was a waste of your time and provided no help to me assuredly.

if anyone is still montoring the thread.... what tests (other than blood pressure) will be doctors course of action? ekg? caradid (sp) artery check???

*** how does alcohol impact high blood pressure???

PS: YES, I will get on internet and look at sheryls posts

THANK YOU /ALL/ SO MUCH

MM - totally agree.

yeah, ive been saying im leaving the bunghole for a few years now, but it and thailand are now offically holiday stops. pattaya is sour, dirty and has lots of baggage. the building boom has made it even more crappier when you thought it couldnt get any more ugly. its like a big prison block.

its just r/r an dim looking at philippines and central america (few yrs from now).

if all you are is a punter on a holiday fortnight, you get drunk every nigh and basically see little of pattay in the day or not clued in on the drugs/tragedies -broken lives that happen daily before ones eyes. not to mention th eillmannered aggressive drunks (sans shirt or wearing en vouge singlet) oh and you gotta love the facial tatoos.

pattaya was finished three years ago - that is to say thats when the LAST nail went in the coffin.

i would also like to say that the thai govt has no business pushing pattaya as a family holiday. some of the things i see in the street make me blush - and id lived there ofn/off for years. i feel really sorry for poor families on the cheap holiday exposed to the madness and it can be MADNESS.

that gulf charter thing does not look at all cheap - which is what the op is looking for.

how has the salt effected you becasue its in everything! how much lower could my blood pressure be if i essentially removed the salt. yuk how untasty!

actually i know enough thai to say to salt or no msg - but youknow it goes in anyway often. if you eat in the markets its all prepared. i love the food.. i could dook myslef and a good cook but will also drive my food budget way up.

i had a comprehensive checkup a 2 years ago. im healthy save for the high blood pressure, never sick. the idea here is to get the tests - then give the data to a doctor for evaluation.

im not worried about diabetes. i eat fairly well, stay away from sugar (at least in asia) in asia 6'/182 (180cm/83 kg). diab...thats something to check yrs from now.

i just turned 46 - my bp is anywhere from 120-140 (usually about 125-130) over 85-97 (bottom is about 93+). most worried about bottom but top is not great. i dont know my family history, i was adopted.

hi - thanks 4 info, that is odd. i wonder what that guy was posting about his heart freaking out a little. maybe it was the girl and he was confused

:-))

i came back to post/edit my initial question about medications. my aunt says i should go on medication -yesterday. im coming back to thailand and then going on and doing some months of mountain hiking. im want to have the evaluation done after this becasue that will be - as good as it gets ...- me using excercise to lower my bp.

ok... what freaks me out about the medication is that you have to take it for life and meds like coorigor (sp) all sorts of really bad things can happen if you stop and esp if you stop abruptly. sounded so bad thats what really freaked me out.

also... living in south east asia. what can i do to lower my blood pressure? obviously cutting how salt is not ez given i eat in markets and small local places. i usually walk everywhere at least 3-6km a day.

how much can excercise lower the bottom/distolic number - like gym excercise. my daily walking does not appear to do much of anything.