canadiangirl

Oops, haha, sorry I didn't see you already found a place. Congratulations!

The thing to remember in Thailand is that contracts like leases are worth very little, so a lot comes down to how trustworthy the person you're dealing with is. I rented 3 different apartments in TH, 2 in Bangkok and 1 in rural Issan and in each case I went out of my way to find somewhere where I felt I could trust the landlord. In each case I had a very good experience, much better in fact than most of my rental experiences in Canada. But it took me a bit longer to find somewhere and I definitely had to eliminate landlords where I could just hear the cash register going off in their head when they saw me walk in. In two cases I had landlords that became a little bit like family, they would visit me and talk to me and bring me treats and help me with different things.

With deposits, you can ask if instead you can pay 2-3 months of rent ahead of time (so if they ask for a 3 months deposit, ask if you can give 1 month deposit, but pay 3 months rent ahead of time, let's say). A lot of times landlords will say yes, as it's partly just a way to verify that you have enough means to pay for the apartment for a year.

I don't know about Pattaya, but in Bangkok I had good experiences with condos, one of mine had maintenance staff in the building so if something broke you can just immediately get someone to come fix it.

Good luck in your search. Personally I feel if someone seems dishonest right off the bat, I wouldn't rent from them unless I was really desperate, as it rarely ends well. Before I found my nice apartment in Issan, I ignored my warning signs and rent a lovely house from an old Thai man who seemed a bit dubious. In the middle of Songkran he came into my house and told me that I had to padlock one of the bedrooms, as the rent only included one bedroom and if I want to use the entire house I would have to pay more! He figured I would probably pay instead of moving out, but I moved out. IN THE MIDDLE OF SONGKRAN. Coz I was so mad!

Re: bra washing, I found an amazing net in Daiso Japan (60B) which is just for bras, it's like a laundry bag but has a hard frame that keeps the bras from getting twisted in the wash. I can't live without it!

Its not a bad idea Sam but for me the customs duty kills the deal

Hi ladies, I've strangely had good luck at Big C and Tesco...most of the time it's hopeless, nothing fits properly but every once in a while I've gone in and found a perfect fit bra, which I've then bought in every single color since they are pretty cheap. Last time I got about 5 bras for 130B each!

Underwear I buy at Mark and Spencers in Central, and I've noticed they have Western sized bras too. It's probably worth trying.

The reopened Central World also has a La Senza, although I'm not sure if you can try stuff on (god, only in Thailand!)

Good luck, I feel you pain about the bras!

report: flew out sunday the 27th on an 11:55pm flight. Arrived at airport at about 7pm, because i was worried about delays and had a lot of stuff to ship home too. At 7-8pm, I waited about 5 minutes at immigration, and crossed almost immediately. Security was easy too, while it was much harder (and ruder) in Toronto for my connecting flight.

So...are delays getting better?

I've been on a lot of dates with guys where they drone on and on about their money, their cars, their whatever, in the hope of impressing me. If you're interested, like me, in having an equal, loving partner, and not some daddy moneybags, that s* is boring as hell and does the opposite of impressing me: it makes me think a guy has nothing else to offer than money and is insecure about himself. A golddigger would see things differently, I'm sure.

Hi Harvestmoon, I understand where you're coming from. I'm 33 and have travelled by myself a fair bit around Thailand and SEA and have experienced a lot of the problems you describe.

I found for loneliness, it often helps to always have a good book when travelling alone. If you don't manage to meet people, at least you can have the comfort of reading a good book in your room or in a cafe. Meeting people is tough...when I really wanted to meet people travelling, somehow I ended feeling needy and ackward and not really meeting people, once I stopped caring, I could meet tons of people -- it's one of those annoying paradoxes of human relationships. It does help to stay in a busy hostel with some kind of common space instead of a hotel. Don't be discouraged by people being in couples, too, often couples travelling for a long time together are totally sick of being alone together and welcome a third wheel/breath of fresh air!

As for harassment, here's where you have to be tough. Thailand just have epic amounts of people who are always calling at you from the streets (touts, etc), and it's super annoying. You can basically have to ignore them all, and make no eye contact with them. If any of them talk to you, you ALWAYS have a husband that's waiting for you. Don't be afraid to brush them off -- you don't owe them your attention. Eye contact is a big thing -- I used to get harassed SO MUCH walking through Soi Arab on my way to the B hospital...then I figured out to make eye contact with NO ONE, and I almost never get harassed anymore. I ignore men who try to talk to me on the street --- if they want women to be polite to them, they should find a more polite way of meeting them.

I was in Krabi a few days ago and I had exactly the same problem "hey beautiful girl, where you go", some of them quite aggressive and annoying, so I feel your pain. If we're being annoyed in the daytime (at nighttime, I just don't talk to strange guys at all) one put down in Thai that's not super mean but will make a guy's friends all laugh at him if he's in a group, is when someone pulls the whole "beautiful girl, where you go crap", you can say "oh pak waaan" -- like sweet talker, but with a bigger connotation of being insincere. This always make a guy's friends laugh at him, I find. :-P

Hi everyone,

moving back home to Canada (from Bangkok). Would like to post some of my stuff home as it's probably cheaper/easier than lugging it all on the plane. Don't mind if it takes a while to get there, but I'd like to find something not too expensive (EMS everything is not really a possibility) and above all, reliable. How reliable is sending stuff via surface mail from Thailand post? Is there a big chance my stuff will get lost/stolen in the mail? More emotionally valuable things, not $$, like souvenirs and clothes, but things I would miss if they were lost. My guess is I might have about 2-3 5kg boxes or so.

Thanks a lot for any info.

Had my own personal immigration exit hell story last Friday. I arrived 3 hours early, having read the horror stories here, so I arrived at 11:15 for a 14:15 flight. I asked twice, both at check-in counter and also at airport information if the delays were bad today, they both ASSURED ME that it would be 15-20 minutes at the most, as many people had complained.

Well, that was a relief! Time for some lunch. Still, there was a niggling feeling at the back of my mind that I should check for myself at the immigration area, just in case. Man, good thing I did, as the line was HUGE, on both halls. I lined up immediately. Outside it moved fast, but inside the hall, it was an utter nightmare, compounded by the idiotic system of having one queue per officer instead of one big queue that feeds people to each officer as they become free and queue jumpers everywhere, so you can't even just relax and read a book while the queue advances, if you ever want to get served. I was stuck behind some really smelly tourists. Some little girl sneezed on me, and her parents didn't even say sorry or anything. Not all booths had officers, mine only had one. In the middle, some officers just left, leaving the people who had just waited for an hour high and dry. Some other officer came and yelled at them that they should just join another line. THE NERVE! It took an hour just to get stamped out. Totally ridiculous and a horrible experience. I complained to airport staff airside, they said they can't do anything as officers aren't under airport authority. Great, thanks a lot.

I once waited 2 hours to get stamped in at Narita, which was long and boring, but still way better than this in that there was an orderly line, so you just read a book and waited your turn. Here's it's just an epic third world free for all, a total nightmare, compounded by total incompetence and rudeness on the part of the Thai staff. Plus, what's up with those two airport staff people lying and assuring me there was only a short wait? One of them was from the airline I was flying, if I had listened to her and gone through 20 minutes before boarding, I would have missed my flight for sure.

Not impressed.

I've found the best prices to be in MBK, there are many different shops, easy to compares the prices. As well, there are some online shops who deliver within Bangkok, just google for thailand contacts and you can see what the prices are like.

Thanks for the replies everyone, looks like I'll just have to make a trip to the hospital!

Hi jdinasia and Phil,

thanks for the reply! I'm aware of the downsides of this medication, I take as little of it as possible and I try to not it take more than a few times a week as I'm afraid of becoming addicted to a medication.

However, all that other stuff that people suggest for insomnia I already do: yoga, daily exercise, avoiding caffeine after morning, practicing relaxation...but in my case when I can't sleep, I REALLY can't sleep, and this drug has been a lifesaver for me. Normally I hate taking medications, especially, things that potentially mess with your brain, but before it I regularly failed university exams that were early in the morning and had to retake them, I couldn't even consider taking early morning flights or having a job that required being at the office in the morning. And now I need to get a good night's sleep every night or else I'm in pain the next day. So...it's all about weighing the pros and the cons, I think. :-)

thanks a lot for your help!

Hi everyone,

I take clonazepam for chronic insomnia and fibromyalgia. Normally I go to my doctor at the hospital here to get it, but my insurance outpatient coverage has run out for this year...so if I'd rather not pay for a doctor's visit if I can buy the medication over the counter. Is this possible in Thailand? Boots doesn't carry it, but I know sometimes a proper big pharmacy will carry medicines that Boots doesn't.

Thank you for any information!

Hi Kolohe,

I haven't seen this specific brand, I don't know if they are rare, but I usually buy my contacts on the first floor of mbk, there's a shop called "yours optical", the Chinese son of the owner speaks great English and is really helpful, can order things for you if they don't have in stock, reasonable prices. Also many other shops on that floor if you want to check around.

Lyrica is OTC in Thailand, no prescription needed. Any large pharmacy will have it, and costs will be less than at a hospital pharmacy.

In the Sukhumvit area, there is a large pharmacy near Soi 2, sort of across from the expressway entrance. Prices are usually competitive. Try there.

Thanks! Are counterfeit drugs in LOS a worry since it's an expensive drug with no generic? Should I be checking the packaging and so on?

Thanks!

Hi Sheryl, thanks a lot! Will be heading there to check it out in the next few days! :-)

Hi everyone,

hoping someone might have some info on this forum. I've been taking Lyrica (pregablin) for fibryomyalgia for a year now. It's really expensive! My insurance used to pay for it, but it's so expensive I've exceeded the maximum amount they'll pay for. So now I have to pay for it myself. :-(

Since insurance isn't paying, I can buy it anywhere in Bangkok, but I haven't seen it at Boots or Watson. I've seen it at a Chinese pharmacy close to Nana on Suk, but I was a bit worried it might be counterfeit. I wouldn't trust the Viagra on Nana, but are counterfeit drugs a big problem with something like Lyrica in Thailand?

In hospital the prices I've found are:

around 140B/150mg at Bumrungrad

around 103B/150mg at Bangkok Christian

+ the cost of talking to the doctor to get them to prescribe the drug in the first place.

(My regular doctor is at Bumrungrad, but I've already discussed with her that it's really too expensive for me to keep buying it there :-(

Does anyone know a cheaper place to buy Lyrica in Bangkok? Thanks for any info!

Hi Sheryl,

I just wanted to reply to your advice about STI/HIV testing for women, as I read this thread looking for information before I went to a clinic.

In Canada, STI clinics are the best places to get tested (vs a normal clinic) as the staff tends to be more sensitive and open-minded, and many of them are anonymous to encourage people to go.

So I thought I would try the Community Planning clinic (with Cabbages and Condoms). Having tried it, I would encourage anyone to avoid it, it's absolutely awful. I called ahead about what tests they could do, and would they take female patients, as well as foreigners. The nurse on the phone said no problem. When I arrived, the doctor looked furious to even see me, and asked me why I didn't go to a hospital. He claimed they didn't do the tests the nurse confirmed they do on the phone. After arguing with him, then he ordered me to "go to the back" Confused, I went to the back room, to see a nurse looking at me like she was drinking vinegar and saw an gyn examination table --- um, yeah, like after that I was going to let this rude and angry doctor give me a gyn exam? I think not. I told him forget it and left.

I felt sooo horrible when I left. I was almost going to cry. What an awful place! I hope I'm not sounding too dramatic, but I felt like they thought I must be some kind of diseased whore for even wanting to get tested, instead of someone who just wants to be safe and take care of my health. Not a fan of that attitude!

Then I read someone's comments about Red Cross being super nice, and so I thought I would try them. They were awesome! Super nice, compassionate. There was counselling before by a nice old lady who asked me if my partner was male or female...I didn't expect such open-mindedness from a clinic in Thailand, honestly, with no hint of judgment. I was able to talk frankly about sex with her, and she was really nice and kind. The testing is anonymous, and for HIV it costs 200B to get the results in 1-2 hours. They do other STI testing but the old woman said for others I should only get the tests if I had symptoms. They also do pap smears and other blood testing type things.

They were really busy when I went but all the staff treated people kindly and without judgment -- it's a pretty no frills setup, but I really liked their attitude compared to much more luxury Bangkok hospitals where the staff can come off as a bit prudish and judgmental...at least towards women. The only thing is that the level of English is not great...they speak some but not a lot, so if you just want a simple HIV test it's probably OK, but if you have questions or want more complicated tests, you might want to bring a Thai friend with you.

Anyways, hope this information can help someone else!

No flooding and not much rain either. But the wind is fairly strong and the waves fairly high so if you get seasick you had better take something before getting on the boat. And no problem with accomodation, its very very quiet on Koh Phangan

Thanks a lot for the info! :-)

Hi everyone,

Is now a good time to come to the islands? In particular, I am wondering if the rain is still bad (flooding?) and if there is accomodation this week, between the King's Birthday and tourists not being able to leave with the airports closed.

I want a break from BKK! :-)

any info much appreciated. :-)

ah, ok! Thanks! :-)

This might be a dopey question, but I musn't be the only one to wonder this:

If my passport stamp from immigration says "admitted until Sept. 1st" -- can I exit ON Sept 1st without being on overstay? Or does that mean I legally have to exit BEFORE then?

thanks! :-)

thanks for all the info guys! :-)

Hey visa gurus and people who live close to the Mekong,

I was all excited to go on a trip to Vientiane to get a new tourist visa at the end of this week, and eat croissants :-), but I hear there are big floods up in Nong Khai and Vientiane.

(Sorry for sounding a bit self-centered about this -- obviously, the floods are causing problems for Laos and Thai people much bigger than my little visa issues. Still, I need to do *someting* about my visa :-P

1) What's the current flood situation? I heard the waters are receading? Am I crazy to think of taking a train up to NK this weekend?

2) Is the Thai consulate open in Vientiane? I don't mind sticking arund if it opens only on Monday.

3) I've had 3 tourist visas already, is it possible they might refuse me a new tourist visa? I'm not a criminal and I look presentable. I take Thai lessons and in principle I can get a 3 months student visa through my Thai school, but if I could get another tourist visa, that is simpler for me.

thank you for all your information.

cg

Enter while your visa is valid - if it expires on the 27th you should enter on the 26th or before.

Believe it is more a name game than any real difference but suspect Jack is the only company still using full size bus for some service. If I were using would very much appreciate over mini vans - especially full vans.

Thanks lopburi!