srowndedbyh2o

Excellent. Thank you very much.

I need a current eyeglass prescription so I can order some glasses online. Anyone know of a shop in SiSaket that can do an exam for eyeglasses and write a prescription? I may consider ordering glasses if the price is reasonable. I’ve stopped in at one of the franchise eyeglass stores (in Lotus’s) in SiSaket, and they appear to only do the check when you are ordering glasses from them and they wanted to charge me 28,800 baht plus the cost of fames. No thank you. I don’t need an eye health exam. Just the eyeglass prescription. Thank you.

It's listed on their website. Which is why I emailed them to check on it.

Thanks for posting how it went. Sounds like you had a good experience, and saved a lot of money over what it would have cost to buy the glasses in Thailand. I need to find a place locally that will do the eye exam for glasses and write a prescription for me, then I’ll give Zenni a try.

I know that the Shingrix vaccine for Shingles is not yet available in Thailand. I saw that on the ‘CM Mediclinic’ website they state “…Shingrix® shingles vaccinations available at CM Mediclinic”. I contacted them and they stated they have no Shingles vaccine available at this time, but they will have the Shingrix vaccine available in October. I contacted other hospitals; BKK, Bumrungrad, MedPark, Samitivej, but they all state they have only Skyzoster and no word about Shingrix. Has there been any information released about future availability of Shingrix in Thailand? Where would one find such info/announcements online?

Anyone have any knowledge/experience with Rajavejubon Hospital in Ubon Ratchathani? Thank you.

I know you’ve mentioned that choosing the right Doctor is more important than the hospital. I don’t know how it works at Bangkok Hospital, (or other private hospitals) but I noticed that at Bumrungrad their packages usually say “Doctors will be assigned; patients may not request a specific doctor”. Just something to check into when using a hospitals “packages”.

I need a new pair of glasses and I was considering trying one of the online suppliers. Please post back when you receive your glasses from Zenni and let us know how it all went. Total cost of glasses. Shipping charges. Time from placing order to receiving glasses. Much Appriciated!

I did a transfer from my U.S. bank this morning and it only took a few seconds to complete. My U.S. bank is based in Hawaii. For years ACH transfers were limited to $10,000 per transfer, however that limit was increased to $15,000 a while ago. According to Wise, the limitations are restrictions set by the State of Hawaii, not Wise. Hawaii is an “unlicensed state”, so If I want to transfer more than $15,000, I have to send the funds to Wise via domestic wire transfer, and even wire transfers are limited to $50,000.

I checked with the pharmacy at Target and they don’t have records going back to 2020, but they did say it was “probably” Pneumovax 23, but not sure. However, when doing some searching into some of my medical records online I came across a “Pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate vaccine”, that I received Jan, 2020. I assume that was the Prevnar-13 vaccine.(?) Target pharmacy did say that I should now take the “Prevnar-20” vaccine, but as you have previously stated, it is not yet available in Thailand. So…looks like I need the Pneumovax 23, and then I’m good for now. If Prevnar 20 becomes available in Thailand anytime soon, is it advised to also get that, or wait 5 years and see what’s available at that time? Thanks again.

If you had one pneumococcal vaccine in US a few years ago you do need another. But you must find our which you had. It was probably Prevnar 13 but make sure. Thank you Sheryl. When I got my pneumococcal vaccine I just walked up to the pharmacy at the local Target store and asked for a flu vaccine and they asked if I also wanted a pneumonia vaccine and I said “Sure”. I’ll have to do some research to see if I can find out what type of ‘pneumonia vaccine it was.

I’ve had just one pneumococcal vaccine and that was back in the U.S, a couple of years ago. I have no idea what kind of pneumococcal vaccine it was. But if it’s a one-time vaccine, I guess I’m good. I don’t know if it would be beneficial to do another here in Thailand. And as far as the Flu vaccine, if I have no plans on going outside of Thailand any time soon, a “current strain” vaccine should be OK? Is the “4 Strains” vaccine just for those that plan on traveling outside Thailand? Also; any issues with doing flu and Shingles (or pneumococcal) vaccines all at the same time?

Back in the U.S. my wife & I got Flu vaccines each year. As far as I know there was just one type offered. I assume it was for the most common strain of Flu going around in the U.S. for that year. I also got a pneumonia vaccine. Again, just one offered. Here in Thailand I see different types of vaccines being offered; “Current strain” Flu vaccine. “4 Strains” Flu vaccine. And pneumonia vaccines offered are ‘Previnar 13’ & ‘Pneumovax 23’ and a combination of the two of them (two shots). I also see Previnar + Shingles and Pneumovax + Shingles offered. My understanding is there is still only one type of Shingles vaccine available in Thailand, so that’s what I’ll get. But how do I determine which of the Flu and pneumococcal vaccines to get? Also, should we go ahead and get the Flu and pneumococcal vaccines now?

Just opened a joint savings account with my wife at Kasikorn Bank. Easy to do, it just took a very long time for them to complete the paperwork. After all was complete and done, I asked if both my wife and I could use the Kasikorn phone app on our phones, and the reply was no. Not both of us, and not one of us. They also told me that we cannot create an online account on my computer. I asked how we were supposed to monitor our account and we were told that we could either go to an ATM machine or go into a Kasikorn bank. We told Them that we need to monitor when funds arrive from U.S. when we do transfers and they told us the only way to know if and when the funds arrive in our account is to go to the ATM or at the counter in the bank. I find it very hard to believe they don’t allow online access, and we are not going to get in the car and drive to an ATM machine just to take a look at our account. They then told us that if we want online access or to use the app on our phones, we need to open additional accounts with one name only on the account. Joint accounts, no access. I checked the app store and see there is a ‘K Plus’ app, but it appears to be only in Thai. ( We need English). I did go online to the website, just to check if it would allow me to register, but it gives multiple choices that do no appear to be regular savings accounts. When I go to the Kasikorn home page online and hover over ‘Login’, the choices are ‘K Biz’, ‘K-Cyber Invest’, ‘K-Cyber Trade’, and ‘K-Corporate Connect’. We are not a business, or corporation and are not investing/trading. It’s just a personal savings account. We also took a look at ‘Digital Banking’ > ‘K Plus’, on the Kasikorn website, but the page is only in Thai. I’ve toggled the switch from ‘TH’ to ‘EN’, but it remains in Thai. Oh, and even though it is a joint account, they would only issue us one ATM card. It wasn’t until after we left the bank that I realized the ATM card has no names on it, front or back, and on the front under the ‘VISA’ logo, it says ‘Business Debit’, but our account is just a basic Savings Deposit Account. The bankbook says “Savings Deposit Passbook’. I know many Expats use Kasikorn bank. So what’s up with this?