SurfRider

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"Fascino is still 20-30% more expensive than the Chinese Wholesale Pharmacies in Bangkok"

Check with S.C. Pharmacy in Silom. You can order via eMail or via the "LINE" app on your phone.

Ask for "Mai". Phone: 022-330-223 - eMail: [email protected] - Pay via Bank Transfer

Prices considerably cheaper than anything I've found in Pattaya. Overall, I save about 12K Baht per year. They will ship via EMS - two day delivery to your residence.

http://www.farangfriendly.com/s-c-drugstore-silom-road
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Just for a departure from all the speculation and conjecture, here's a link to a panoramic view of the Avionics compartment on a Boeing 777.

One pilot on one of the TV media panels who has flown a 777 for four years, said he has only been down to this room in the aircraft two times and wouldn't have a clue what most of the avionics gear does. Use your screen cursor to pan around the room.

http://hawkeyemedia.com/panos/777_Avionics.asp

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"Why do you think that's exceptional ?"

Not true - The "distance" portion of the lenses is for a MUCH longer distance than what I need for my 32-inch LED Monitor. I was surprised when they worked well with the PC screen. I also ordered a pair of "computer glasses", but it turned out to be unnecessary.

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Today I received a pair of Progressive Lens Glasses from Zenni Optical. I ordered on-line on March 3. I've had problems with Progressives in the past - both from Lens-Crafters in the States and one up-scale shop in Pattaya, so I ordered from Zenni with my fingers crossed. I ordered the best they had - cost was 65% of what I paid in Pattaya.

I'm pleased to report that the new glasses are Great! Exactly what I ordered and a pleasure to wear. Very light weight - almost like not wearing any glasses at all. I can even use them when working on a computer.

I had the prescription done at Bangkok Pattaya Hospital.

One word of caution - The glasses came via FedEx from the States and Thai Customs charged 825 Baht Duty and VAT.
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"I have just picked up this bit of information from an oil&gas site"

"This was released early this morning .... "

The letter is two days old - I posted it yesterday in this thread.

See Posts #1284 and #1455

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/709464-missing-malaysia-airlines-jet-carrying-239-triggers-southeast-asia-search/page-52#entry7552811
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"the linked page appears to be an attack site (at least for Android systems) and tries to install a fake app store to your tablet or phone :-( "

You're right, that link to the oil rig worker's letter that I posted yesterday has since been compromised by hackers. DON'T CLICK ON IT! It still works on a PC but has been altered to cause mischief on Android phones and devices.

I've posted a .jpg image of the letter below.

If the recent news of the Chinese satellite photos turns out to identify the actual site of the crash, the letter from the oil rig worker will prove to be the first piece of accurate information to surface on the crash site - two days ago!

And, you saw it here first while the wild goose chase was underway in the Malacca Straits

See post #1284

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/709464-missing-malaysia-airlines-jet-carrying-239-triggers-southeast-asia-search/page-52#entry7552811

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Looks like they finally got things under control . . .

Ibrahim Mat Zin (centre), a local well-known ‘bomoh’, holds two coconuts as he performs a ritual to help in finding the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport March 12, 2014. — Reuters

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Shades of The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight . . .

KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 — Malaysia, aspiring to become a developed nation in six years, is finding that more than 50 years under one coalition and tight control over information is a mismatch for handling a rapidly growing crisis followed around the world. China is calling on Malaysia to be more transparent as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak lets his cousin be the face of the investigation into why a Malaysian Airline plane vanished on March 8.

Najib’s Organization leads the coalition governing the Southeast Asian nation. The government’s lack of a clear message, compounded by a series of false leads on the plane’s whereabouts and questions on coordination, risks undermining its image internationally. “They’re handling a huge global issue as if it was domestic politics,” said Clive Kessler, Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, who has analyzed the nation’s politics for half a century. "You can understand the need for discretion and caution but it’s being perceived in Malaysia and elsewhere in the region as a bid to hide the truth.”


http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/failing-to-manage-mh370-crisis-exposes-leadership-limit
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Location of oil rig where worker claims to have seen the burning aircraft referenced in post 1284 above.


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More alleged evidence placing the incident back near the original flight path of the jet from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. An eMail from oil worker on a rig in the sea.

http://twitpic.com/dy1qmm

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Another apparent ear-witness report would focus the search back to the eastern coast of Malaysia - very close to the original flight path of the jet from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The claim is that police reports were filed by several alleged witnesses. Wouldn't it make sense for investigators to be checking these reports?


MISSING MH370: Loud noise reported, believed linked to missing plane

MARANG: Eight villagers here lodged police reports today claiming that they had heard a loud noise last Saturday coming from the direction of Pulau Kapas and believed it was linked to the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight on that day.
All of them, from Kampung Pantai Seberang Marang, made the reports at the Marang district police headquarters at about 10.30 am.

One of them, Alias Salleh, 36, said he and seven fellow villagers were seated on a bench about 400 metres from the Marang beach at 1.20 am when they heard the noise, which sounded like the fan of a jet engine.

"The loud and frightening noise came from the north-east of Pulau Kapas and we ran in that direction to find out the cause. We looked around the Rhu Muda beach but did not see anything unusual," said the lorry driver.

Replying to a question, Alias said they lodged the police report so that it would be of help to the authorities who were trying to locate the missing MAS aircraft.

http://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/535538-malaysian-airlines-mh370-contact-lost-92.html#post8366873

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Woman remembers cockpit fun with missing pilot

A young woman claims she was entertained in the cockpit for an entire flight back in 2011 by the co-pilot who was on board the Malaysian Airlines plane that went missing on Saturday.

(Scroll down a bit for video)

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2014/03/11/19/08/woman-remembers-cockpit-fun-with-missing-pilot
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It's a Schwab/VISA Debit Card - the only option I currently have.

I'll soon have an E-Trade VISA Debit, which also covers the Thai ATM fee, but charges the 1% VISA network charge.

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Tonight at my local CIMB (Red Bank) branch, the Thai Banker's ATM usury fee had been increased to 180 Baht. No way to know if it's same at all CIMBs, but probably only a matter of time.

Last night TMB was still 150 Baht.

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"I normally log-in using my U.S. residence IP address"

Tall guy, can you say which VPN you use to relocate your IP to the U.S.? I have one but it's very slow and sometimes locks up.

If not appropriate to post in this thread, could you please PM me? - Thanks in advance.

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Schwab Anomaly: I attempted my first 30K pull from my local TMB bank yesterday. No problem with the 30K part, but the transaction was refused. First time in almost 10 years in Thailand that I ran into that. Tried CIMB - same-same.

I called Schwab - after navigating their brutal security gauntlet, a very accommodating CSR checked and said that both attempts had flagged their fraud monitor. He cleared the account and assured me that I would probably not have any more problems. I asked why the account had been flagged, but he didn't know.

He said in a case like this they file a report with their fraud unit so they can look for past patterns and adjust their fraud monitor. Everything was OK today, but I didn't like the comment about "looking for past patterns" I'm hoping their fraud police are not concerned with repetitive withdrawals from Thailand and an extensive amount of reimbursals of the Thai banker's usury fee. Time will tell . . .
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"Bank of Ayudhya (yellow) and Thai Military Bank ATMs both allow up to 30,000 baht per withdrawal"

The CIMB (Red Bank, from Malaysia) branch near me also offers 30,000 max ATM pull, so I would assume all other CIMBs allow the same.

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Must be the type of Safe you have. Mine is electronic and he wanted 500. I offered 400 (lot noi dai mai) and he agreed. He also replaced the manual lock for another 400. I thought it was a good deal, especially since he arrived only 30 minutes after I called.
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"Is the number of allowable withdrawals clearly spelled out in the Account Terms and Conditions?"

I seriously doubt that information exists anywhere and it's certainly understandable, from a business perspective, why Schwab would never state such a policy in writing. Most likely it would be a decision made arbitrarily by some staff functionary on an individual case basis.
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My Sophon modem runs a bit warm to the touch, but the power supply does not. I've never had a problem with either in 3 years. Sounds like you should replace the modem. They will give you a swap for free. You should also have your modem power supply running off of a UPS to avoid the famous local power surges.

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It it's still there, there is a business - something like "Pattaya Key and Safe" on the Soi off of Second Rd. that runs in back of the large school yard on the south-east corner of Pattaya Tai and 2nd Rd. He charges around 500 Baht,. Last phone number I had for him is 089-252-9830 - his English if pretty good.
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" I need to decide, use one of my other worldwide ATM fee reimbursing debit cards and grab the entire amount in one pull, or wade into the uncertainties of Thai bank counter withdrawals"

Like you, I've always been concerned about Daddy Warbucks (Schwab) eventually growing weary of reimbursing the enormous amount of ATM usury fees originating from Thailand.

I have done at least 15 to 20 ATM pulls per year for the past 3 years. I always take 30K. Since I already know of one Schwab account that was terminated due to excessive ATM withdrawals, I wonder what daddy's tolerance threshold is - but I know of other Expats who do far more than me. They believe that Schwab has the funds in their reimbursing accounts invested and that yield easily covers the ATM fees and then some.

I'm not so sure about that and I'm watching to see if one of those accounts is eventually terminated. Only time will tell.
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"Are these U.S. Dividend Champions stocks something you can buy on the Thai stock market?"

I seriously doubt it, but why would you want to? There's no market more stable and less risky than the U.S. Equities Markets.

"don't meet the immigration requirement"

TallGuy already covered this matter - if you use the Embassy letter, it's a non-issue.

"I did the U.S. Embassy Income letter for a few years....got tired of the $50 charge and the trip to the embassy"

As TallGuy said "different strokes". The Embassy trip and $50 might be a pain, but what if someone paid you $560 to make that trip and pay for the letter. That's the difference between the 3% you're getting now and the 5.56% you could get by investing the same funds in a 100% liquid investment managed on-line from your keyboard.

TallGuy, it's $1366 per YEAR, not per Month
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For those who keep 800,000 THB in a Thai Bank to meet their yearly Retirement Visa requirement, there's a much better alternative than even a 3% yielding account.

You could invest the same cash in the top 5 yielding U.S. Dividend Champions stocks, which currently yield 5.56%

On 800K THB that's 44,480 Baht or US$1366 per year. U.S. citizens would need to use the U.S. Embassy Income Verification letter in lieu of the bank deposit. The letter costs US$50 per year.

The investment could be done via an Interactive Brokers on-line account - the commission on sale of one share is $.005
The funds are 100% Liquid. The Dividend Champions are companies with 25+ straight years of increasingly higher dividends, so they're not going away anytime soon.

These are the current top 5 ( let the bashing begin )

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I notice this supplement has been discussed quite a bit on ThaiVisa. Anyone know of a source in Pattaya / Jomtien?

http://thaifoodandtravel.com/blog/moringa-marum/
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