mohinga

No Ireland. I don't know where they have a list of countries where they have servers. But since I use Linux I configure my settings manually, and the list of servers is more than I require... e.g. fully-routed openvpn for Canada (2 servers), Luxembourg (more than 10), France/Germany/Switzerland/Sweden/Netherlands/U.K... many of which have multiple servers. In addition to proxied servers for Canada/Germany/Netherlands and Switzerland. Also surfing/streaming only servers for Italy/Japan/U.K and U.S.

​It might be worth a couple of minutes to send them an email to see if Ireland is a possibility.

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PS.. after posting this I went to their site. Countries are listed on page named "About Us": http://bit.ly/1OUbwH4

​I've been using BolehVpn for several years now. They are a Malaysian company that punches above their weight-class, often mentioned in "top 5/top 10 best vpn provider"-type articles by Lifehacker, Greycoder etc.

They have released a notice regarding a fix (new server) for the BBC IPlayer problem :

http://bit.ly/1NoQdLY

​One of the reasons they rate so well on the various lists is that they don't keep logs. Those interested in privacy may also like to know that it is possible to fund an account wish a cash bank deposit in Malaysia. That, coupled with webmail address of ones' choosing provides a good degree of anonymity.

​But the main reason I like to recommend BolehVpn is that, whenever I have had a problem, their support people always come through promptly.

Not so common these days to find a service company that knows the importance of customer service.​

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Why didn't the just set the office furniture on fire?

I will be in Bkk for a few days, and would like to find a shop selling Therm-a-Rest camping mattresses.

I sort of remember there being a few camping supply stores in the vicinity of Wat Saket, and I think there also used to be one in the upper back reaches of Mah Boon Krong. But that was a long time ago.

Any suggestions?

I will be in Bkk for a few days, and would like to find some cheap blue cotton work shirts. Many years ago I found some in the port town outside Ranong. They were made in Thailand, and were not expensive. I guess they were mostly sold to local fishermen.

Any suggestions?

I'll be coming to Thailand for the first time in 5 years. Previously I had usually stayed at the Bed + Breakfast Hotel in Patumwan. But during an internet seach I saw one refererence to it being out of business. No detail... just 'out of business'.

Anyone know if this is so?

As well as getting access to sites blocked locally, many choose to use a VPN to protect their online privacy. If this is a concern to you, then you might wish to check out this article on which VPN providers keep logs on your traffic.

http://bit.ly/nob4XI

Strong VPN does not fare very well in this regard.

As to the point made about being able to switch servers "for free"... other providers also permit this. I'm with a Malaysian provider (Bolehvpn.net), no logs, servers in many countries, and reasonably priced. If, for some reason, I had to switch providers, I think I would go with "privateinternetaccess.com" the second one listed in the article.

Not plugging these companies... just saying that I'd check out a lot of other options before choosing Strong.

Like I said, most of us here would not qualify. So it's irrelevant if you can't live there. Cheers.

Hey Jingthing, please don't think I'm promoting retirement in Malaysia. I, too, would not qualify if the present criteria were in place when I applied. i.e. the RM 10,000/mth in pension income.

But I checked the link you posted, and I believe there is a bit of misinformation there. The fixed deposit is 150,000 ringgit... not $U.S... so it's closer to $U.S. 50,000, or a little less than double the 800,000 baht required for Thai retirement visa.

I don't know if there is a way around the RM 10,000/mth requirement. But it is a fairly recent rule, and it might be subject to change.

Although, I have to say, it seems that the trend over the past 5 or 6 years is for the requirements to become even stricter. So, when my visa runs out in a few years, I may be forced to move to Thailand.

Not too bad an option.

I'd be interested in Malaysia as I do like the place, but I daresay most retired expats in Thailand wouldn't qualify for their retirement program. So we may as well be talking about retiring in Australia.

The visa requirements are more costly, but if one can qualify then the cost of living is nowhere near that of Australia. The RM150,000 fixed-deposit must remain intact thoughout the term of the visa, but it does pay interest (currently about 3%p.a.). I don't know how flexible they are on the income requirements. They didn't exist when I applied. But, for sure, it is possible to live on a small fraction of what they deem to be necessary.

One plus - compared to LOS - is that, once one has the visa, then that's it. No checking in with immigration every three months. And no re-entry permit required. Once one is in, it's quite hassle-free.

Another plus, for the wealthier expat, is that one can purchase property in ones' own name

So, I think that the program is set-up for primarily "comfortably well-off" retirees; but if one can manage to get the visa, it is possible to live at about the same cost as in many places in Thailand (discounting the fixed deposit).

I've been in Malaysia for five years. It is possible to live quite cheaply here if one is just interested in the basics. e.g. can rent a small house in some towns for RM 500/mth. Food at wet markets reasonable... but fruit a bit more expensive than in Thailand.

I find that, in general, people are friendly and tolerant. Perhaps as a result of it not being a very popular detination for farang khee nok, many locals still have a postive view of Westerners. Maybe a carry-over from the Raj?

The retirement progam - Malaysia My Second Home - does require a heftier fixed deposit that LOS. RM150,000. In addition there seem to beem more income requirements being imposed.

A very good site for info on this topic : http://www.my2home.info/index.php

I hope I'm not being rude by posting here... I am a Canadian expat; but living in Malaysia, not LOS. I will soon be able to apply for CPP and OAS (or whatever it is now called) and I'm seeking advice on the ins and outs of the application process.

There are not a lot of Canucks here (almost all pension queries on the local expat forums seem to deal with UK pensions); so I'm guessing that are probably more Canadians in Thailand.

I have a year or so to go before I qualify; so this is just a preliminary kind of thing. Even if someone could refer me to another forum dealing with cpp/oas matters, that would be a big help.

My situation: I have been out of Canada a long time; so I will only be eligible for partial pension. During this time in Asia I have been living on savings; so I have had no income to report. When I acquired Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) status I checked with the taxman here (Hasil) and was told that, since I had no income other than bank interest here in Malaysia, I was not required to register with them.

So now I am wondering about the means test for the OAS (sorry if the terms are out of date). I think it used to be something like 50K or 60K per annum as the cutoff for oas clawback. I only have something like $1,000.per year from bank interest, but how do I present and substantiate this without a Malaysian tax return?

I have until next year before I am eligible; so I guess I could go back to Hasil and request that they register me. But I am still stuck with the fact that I have no reportable income here. Seems like a lot of hoops to jump through for nothing.

Any thoughts/suggestions/referrals would be much appreciated.

Thanks, eh?

All depends on what promotions you can catch with Air Asia. Yes, generally the 1 hour flight to Phnom Penh will be the cheapest. I've done it for as low as $50 return, but keep in mind you also have to pay $20 (for visa) on arrival in Cambo and $25 when departing. Also flew to Medan (Indonesia) for $50 return in January. The Bangkok to Yangon route can also be really cheap, but you have the hassle of the Myanmar visa then.

What is the hassle with the Myanmar visa? It is a VOA. now.

AFAIK Myanmar visa on arrival termiated around last September.

http://www.dhammatalks.org/

http://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/9/

http://www.abhayagiri.org/index.php/main/media_download/C22

http://www.cittaviveka.org/talks.htm

http://www.pdxdhamma.org/audio/teachings.htm

This 66-page PDF book on what's been wrong with Theravada since the beginning makes very interesting reading and much of it pertains to Thailand. The Broken Buddha was written by S. Dhammika, an Australian who spent 25 years as a Theravadin monk.

Contrary to the implication that the Venerable "... spent 25 years as a Theravadin monk.", it seems that he is still in robes, and blogging : http://sdhammika.blogspot.com/

I have downloaded the pdf; but not yet read it. Maybe some interesting observations there... but I have to be in the mood for interesting observations.

[Good post, honu...

Have no experience with Brasero; but did have similar problem using K3B in PCLOS '09. Even with the MD5sum checked, it usually not burn an iso file to a normal CD at any speed. I could select a lower speed (e.g. 8x etc) but the process would abort at around 15 second mark.

But it would burn to a rewritable CD. Strangeley the speed options for this was only normal or 10x.

Am now using Mint KDE and K3B works fine with it... burns iso's no problem.

Don't know if this is any help.

I've heard people going at it on the train from BKK to Butterworth... farang khii nok style.. But the train doesn't cross the border until after daylight the next morning; so it was all within LOS.

You say you are travelling to Singapore? I think you'll find that there are no sleeping cars on KTM... even first-class is seats only.

Pseudoephedrine (common brand name = 'Sudafed') is a decongestant. I believe it is a restricted drug in Thailand because it can be used to make yaabaa.

It's been a couple of years since I've been to LOS, but I used to find it easy to by a medecine called 'Clarinase'... which was an antihistamine (which reduced the histamines caused by the allergic reaction) as well as pseudoephedrine for relief of decongestion.

This was a long-lasting capsule. The anti-histamine is a 'non-drowsy' type; and since the pseudoephedrine has a bit of a speed effect, I would only take one during the daytime.

'Actifed' may have a formula with pseudoephedrine, as one poster mentioned, but the common formulation has an anti-histamine which causes drowsiness. This capsule is more suitable for taking later at night.

The last time I bought Clarinase was a couple of years ago at a pharmacy in Mah Boon Krong. It was about 270 baht for a strip of 10 capsules.

The same thing costs about 12 Malaysian ringgit (about 120 baht) in Malaysia.

This is a service I could possibly use... I seem to get to Toronto once or twice every decade. I went to their website to see if I could find out about the flight... i.e. is it direct Toronto to Tapei? etc. But I seem to have a learning disability when it comes to airlines' websites. I just want to know the routes and shedules, but I am forced to enter dates of travel, etc... and only get a bit of information in return. Never an overview.

Anyone know how I can find out things like stop-overs... if so, where? I gather Taipei is their hub, so it could be possible to fly to/from K.L. (rather than Bkk), but are there good connections with the proposed Toronto flight, or not?

I haven't flown much in the past few years, and don't have a credit card... plus I'm getting old and cranky... so I guess I'll be forced to use a travel agent if I ever fly again. Just another disincentive for an already abundantly unpleasant mode of travel.

Oops! stupid me... the OP's link was in two parts, and the first part (which I missed) had an article about the flight... seems it's direct Toronto to Taipei.

Nice pics. Not being an art-historian I wouldn't know if the image is original or a copy. I would bet that Sabaijai is correct in saying that it is a figure of Avalokitesvara. The area around Nakorn was part of the Srivijaya emire; and for several centuries Mahayana Buddhism was predominant there. Hence the bodhisattva image.

Just a guess, though.....

I guess you could call this a refinement of the five precepts; but it is more of just the way the precepts tend to be taught in Burma.

The title of your post is perhaps a bit misleading i.e. "...the 8 Precepts for Burmese Laypersons." The 8 precepts (sometimes undertaken on uposatha days, and always by lay yogis in meditation centres) include total sexual abstinence, refraining from eating after mid-day, no perfume, jewelry, singing and dancing etc.. Just like in Thailand.

Most Thais will continue to go to the temple on "auspicious" (love that term auspicious they use a lot here) occasions but really it is just lip service for tradition to make them feel Thai. They don't really believe it or actually follow the precepts.

Although a Buddhist country, only a fraction will follow or know the five noble truths & the eightfold path.

Huh... I didn't get that memo!

As an historical aside, one of the more influential figures in the development of Buddhism in the West - Christmas Humphries - was both a barrister and magistrate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Humphreys

accesstoinsight.com is (afaik) the best online source for english translations of the canon.

Another source is : http://www.metta.lk/ ... sometimes one can find a sutta here that is not on ATI... but most of the translations are a bit dated. The site is worth checking out for other writings as well.

Another source is : http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/index.htm

in the "Southern Buddhism" section you will find many of the original late 19th century translations. The language can sound a bit florid to the modern ear... but might be worth a look.

Bhikkhu Bodhi's translations are well worth the purchase price. I think the Buddhist Publication Society's prices might even have come down in recent years. Their website is worth a look... they intend to offer more free translations in their online library.

It has been a few decades since I read it, but you might enjoy John Blofeld's "Bodhisattva of Compassion. The Mystical Tradition of Kuan Yin".

A blurb from one review states : "Kuan Yin is both a Buddhist symbol and a beloved deity of Chinese folk religion...." I'm guessing her entrance into Thai religious practices was via the Thai-Chinese community.

Blofeld had an interesting life; and lived for many years in Bangkok.