srowndedbyh2o

Skippy Super Chunk peanut butter

If there is a chance you will need medical care in the U.S., you may want to reconsider getting Medicare part B. As Sheryl mentioned there is a (10% per year) penalty for signing up late. From the medicare.gov website: “Late enrollment penalties: Are added to your monthly premium. Are not a one-time late fee. Are usually charged for as long as you have that type of coverage (for most people, that’s a lifetime penalty). The Part A penalty is different. Go up the longer you wait to sign up – they’re based on how long you go without coverage similar to Medicare. Find out when you should sign up to avoid penalties." The out-of-pocket costs for not having Part b will quickly surpass what you would have paid for the base premium.

This photo is a scan of an old 35mm slide I took. Must have been around 1985 as I believe this was the first McDonalds to open in Thailand. It was (is?) located in Bangkok, just down the street (up the street?) from the Erawan shrine. It was packed with ‘Hi-So’ school children.

Thank you very much everyone!

If you were able to go to any Doctor/Hospital anywhere in Thailand for a skin cancer check up and possible treatment, who/which Doctor(s)/Hospital(s) would you recommend?

I have very fair skin and burn easily. I use ‘NIVEA SUN Extra Protection Daily Glow Essence Serum, 50 SPF PA+++’ for every day use. I don’t think it’s a dedicated sun screen like Banana Boat, but it works for me, and is less expensive than a dedicated sun screen. If I’m on the beach or going in the water (ocean or pool) I wear a long-sleeve rash guard. Also have a ‘Patagonia Surf Brimmer Hat’ that I sometimes use when in or around the water.

Where have you found avocado oil? I've looked in many stores but have yet to find any.

Thank you. I'll give it a try. The movies are important to me not just because of my family history, but they contain footage of areas in Southern California that do not exist anymore, so some history value there.

Thank you. I’ll take a look at some local shops and check Shopee/Lazada

Many years ago my Father put a bunch of our old home 8mm movies onto DVD’s. I’d like to transfer these to a flash drive. Anyone know a place in Bangkok that can transfer those movies from the DVD to a flash drive so I can watch them on my MacBook? I’m currently staying next to Bangkok Hospital. I looked around MBK mall yesterday, but none of the shops I spoke with had any idea what I was talking about. Anyone know of a place to get this done? Preferably around the Pratunam or Central world area. Thank you.

Thank you. I'll have a look.

Thanks for the info. Hopefully, recovery of my Hernia surgery will go better than my Laparoscopic. Cholecystectomy. At BKK Hosp. BKK before my Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy surgery, I explained that my insurance was a U.S. based company, and it’s clearly stated on my insurance card. The nurse took my insurance card and then brought me a printout of the estimated costs, however as I was looking at the estimate she suddenly remembered I had U.S. insurance. She then took back the estimate, left, and returned with a new estimate with an inflated price. She said the cost is higher when using U.S. insurance.

Wow. That was a long surgery! Kidding aside, it’s great you were able to leave the next day. Were you able to walk and drive ok by the next day? At BKK Hosp. BKK, I was required to stay two days in the hospital after my Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy, and quite honestly, I could not have left sooner as I was in so much pain and could barely even turn in bed, let alone walk. It was a week before I attempted to drive a car.

Not sure what that means, or where you had the surgery done.

Thank you Sheryl. I’m not obese. Actually a little on the thin side, and the only abdominal surgery I’ve had was at BKK Hospital when I had a Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy about 6 months ago. The outcome of that surgery has been good. Haven’t felt this good in years. The only issue I had was the recovery period immediately after the surgery. I figured, ‘Four very small incisions, shouldn’t be that bad’. Well, I was in a lot more pain immediately after surgery than I anticipated, and urinating was very difficult due to the gas/inflation of the abdomen during surgery. 4-5 days after surgery I was able to take short, slow walks, but was still having pain/discomfort. I just took Ibuprofen and Tylenol.

Bangkok Hospital in Bangkok charges 287,500 for Laparoscopic Hernia surgery. That includes a two-day hospital stay.

Thank you, Sheryl. My main concern would be the quality/expertise of the Doctor/Surgeon. I may just go back to Bangkok Hospital in BKK since I have a history with them, and they were able to get approval from my insurance for past procedures I’ve had done there. Unfortunately, that may take two trips to BKK since it takes so long to get the approval and payment guarantee from my insurance. Would you recommend ‘open surgery’ or Laparoscopic surgery? I’m sure BKK Hospital will push for the more expensive Laparoscopic surgery. Maybe even the ‘Robotic/Laparoscopic surgery.

I’m going to be needing surgery for an Inguinal hernia. I’ve had other surgery at Bangkok Hospital in Bangkok and the outcome has been good, but I’m looking at alternatives a bit closer to home. I live in SiSaket, about 25-30 minutes outside the city. I’m not familiar with any surgeons out here. I know there is the SiSaket government hospital, and also a small private, newish ‘Princ Hospital’ in SiSaket. Ubon Ratchithani would also be doable. I’ve been to ‘Ubonrak Thonburi Hospital for a shingles vaccine. It appeared to be a decent, very busy hospital. I also stopped in at Ubon Rajavej Hospital once for a look, but the place was fairly empty. Not a great sign. Also, I’d like to use my U.S.-based health insurance, which I could do at BKK Hospital. Has anyone had surgery for a hernia out in my area? Thanks.

Glad to hear it went so well. 🙂. Was it an inguinal hernia? What type of surgery, open or laparoscopic? Thank you.

Coconut water

Card to share?

Where did you have it done? Which Dr. did the procedure? How much did it cost? Thank you.

At the suggestion of Sheryl, I have gone to Dr. Parit Mekaroonkamol. Although I saw him over at Bangkok Hospital in Bangkok, so you do have a choice of which private hospital to see him. Excellent Doctor. That profile photo of him on the Bumrungrad Hospital website must have been taken at the beginning of his career. He has matured since then; Dr. Parit at Bangkok Hospital

I have been curious about something similar to this. I send funds each month from the U.S. to my wife’s sister in Thailand. Will this be considered taxable income for me since I live in Thailand full-time? If not, then seems like I could just increase the amount I send to sister each month to use for my own living expenses. (For me it wouldn’t work sending to my wife since she has dual Thai/U.S. citizenship and now is subject to paying taxes on our U.S. income brought into Thailand).

Nice try. Since I hadn’t gotten any positive responses to my two original posts, I pm’d ‘DILLIGAD’ since he had helped me out in the past, and he responded with the info I needed in his pm. Thank you very much.