jfchandler

EVA's Evergreen Deluxe and even economy seats are OK.... I'm a tall guy, and I can do both, particularly by snagging an emergency exit row with its added legroom. Though I'd say the added price for the Evergreen Deluxe, assuming you're not using miles and actually paying, isn't worth the supposed upgrade. There's virtually no difference in the attendant service/food levels provided -- though the seats are a little larger and more comfortable.

I've never flown Cathay...mainly because every time I check for my BKK to LAX route, Cathay's layover times and resulting total trip times in hours are FAR longer than comparable EVA flights. And that's a detail that matters...unless one has no concern about how quickly they reach their destination.

EVA is not spectacular, but they are reliable and pretty consistent. In my experience, your flight experience time after time is likely to be pretty constant. And, they do have some reasonably pleasant flight attendants, both Taiwanese and Thai on their BKK flights.... if you can ever find one.

I've been to Spice at the Ambassador any number of times... But...after the first time to see for myself...never of my own choice!!!! However, I have non-pro Thai lady friends who like to go there for drinking and music, and pay no need to the ample number of working girls who assemble there...

In my view, the atmosphere is dank, and the music is boring and bad. It's in the basement/parking garage of the Ambassador, hardly even feels like it's part of the hotel, for better or worse. However, as stated, it is one of the few/only larger after hours places reliably open late in lower Sukhumvit...

For a more enjoyable late evening, I think the Boss club nearby MBK is more fun and a better after hours setting. The change of scenery for me would be worth the 60 baht extra cab fare.

I've stayed at The Bedrooms adjoining Carefour at Onnut before...and it's a very nice small hotel... very friendly helpful staff, nice rooms, Internet available...simple buffet breakfast... All good there at a reasonable rate.

Having said that... Onnut is at the FAR end of the BTS Skytrain Sukhumvit line. There are a lot of other comparable hotels at comparable prices that are closer into the center of town. It really depends on where you want to stay, and where you'll be spending your time while in BKK.

I didn't pick The Bedrooms for the price.... But I did pick it at the time because I was condo shopping in the area. In the end, I opted for a place closer to the center of town... because BTS only runs until midnight, and I didn't want to be taking taxis between the center of town and Onnut every time I would be coming home late.

Re clothing, leave all your coats and winter clothing at home... Think light and cool attire.

Most desktop PCs have a power switch on the back to toggle between 220 and 110 AC... Laptops usually come with dual 110/220 power converters, so no problem about that.

I brought a couple 110/220 power converters/transformers for some audio/video gear from the U.S. that can't handle 220 power, though I've heard such power gear also can be bought here...

Last time I checked a year or so ago, EVA wanted about $100 per suitcase/box extra for their LAX to BKK flights. The comparable cost of freight shipping from Los Angeles to BKK was far less, though six weeks or so of delivery time means you should use that for things you don't need immediately.

I find it difficult to spend my wacking great salary every month and always have a surplus. Luckily the bank holds it for me for a rainy day.

Sorry to hear...you hadn't married a Thai lady.... Obviously if you had, you wouldn't have this problem!!!

The first report says 80 underage bar workers were found. The second report said no bars were found to be violating the staff under 20 law, but dozens of boys/guys were detained for soliciting in the plaza...

Those two accounts would seem to be pretty clearly opposite of each other. The first account would put the liability on the owners of those bars, at least in theory. The second account would not necessarily implicate the owners/operators of bars there.

That question doesn't bear on the issue of minors selling sex services. But it does bear on whether those particular bar owners are legally liable when the police come knocking...

After coming to live here, the problems still continued, though my nose certainly was more open after the various surgeries in the USA. Finally, after very unsatisfactory doctor experiences at Bumrungrad, I went to BNH and found a very good ENT doc -- Dr. Pasakorn Thavornant -- who took the time to listen to my symptoms and history, and was open to different testing and treatment approaches.

He did a variety of testing, and came up with a result positive for fungal infection...something the doctors in the U.S. would never test for despite my requests. He put me on an anti-fungal medication for the past two months, and I'm feeling much better and my symptoms have subsided.

I wholehearted endorse Dr. Pasakorn, as well. Besides being a very attentive and compassionate doctor during my septoplasty, he also was able to "think outside the box" (e.g. not routinely prescribe a bag of antibiotics) when I was sieged with a series of ear infections. I live in Pattaya and had been visiting the ENTs at Bangkok-Hospital Pattaya about once every six weeks and each time, the treatment was a different antibiotic. I was in Bangkok on a day-trip, and decided to see Dr. Pasakorn, and expressed my concern at taking so many antibiotic pills so often. He examined my ears and verified there was an infection, but because I was leaving for Pattaya in a few hours, didn't have time to take a sample and determine the type of infection (which none of the BHP doctors ever did...). He said infections often thrive in the ear canal when it is too alkaline, so prescribed acetic acid (vinegar) to flush the ear canal a few times daily to raise the acidity of the area, and a TOPICAL (not SYSTEMIC) antibiotic to apply directly to the infection. He satisified my concern about systemic antibiotics and successfully treated the infection.

A friend of mine also went to Dr. Pasakorn to diagnose the cause of excessive and constant post nasal drip after having no success with other doctors (here and abroad), and Dr. Pasakorn found, and treated him for, polyps. Amazing that other doctors didn't "notice" the polyps, but my friend is now post nasal drip-free.

Glad to hear your account above and that he helped you. Equally glad that your experience and that of your friend match mine with this particular doctor. It's very hard to find a really good doctor in any particular specialty... The only real way is thru personal trial and experience. This should be a good indicator to others on TV in need of a good sinus doc....

I should have likewise added re wpcoe's comments that the standard, near universal answer most all the sinus docs have to almost everything is to prescribe oral, systemic antibiotics. But, that isn't always such a good thing for you and your health, and more importantly, in sinus cases, it may also treat only the symptoms but not the CAUSE of what's leading to infections. That's why it's so refreshing to find a doctor who's actually interested in getting to the cause of things, and not just treating recurring symptoms...

After coming to live here, the problems still continued, though my nose certainly was more open after the various surgeries in the USA. Finally, after very unsatisfactory doctor experiences at Bumrungrad, I went to BNH and found a very good ENT doc -- Dr. Pasakorn Thavornant -- who took the time to listen to my symptoms and history, and was open to different testing and treatment approaches.

He did a variety of testing, and came up with a result positive for fungal infection...something the doctors in the U.S. would never test for despite my requests. He put me on an anti-fungal medication for the past two months, and I'm feeling much better and my symptoms have subsided.

I wholehearted endorse Dr. Pasakorn, as well. Besides being a very attentive and compassionate doctor during my septoplasty, he also was able to "think outside the box" (e.g. not routinely prescribe a bag of antibiotics) when I was sieged with a series of ear infections. I live in Pattaya and had been visiting the ENTs at Bangkok-Hospital Pattaya about once every six weeks and each time, the treatment was a different antibiotic. I was in Bangkok on a day-trip, and decided to see Dr. Pasakorn, and expressed my concern at taking so many antibiotic pills so often. He examined my ears and verified there was an infection, but because I was leaving for Pattaya in a few hours, didn't have time to take a sample and determine the type of infection (which none of the BHP doctors ever did...). He said infections often thrive in the ear canal when it is too alkaline, so prescribed acetic acid (vinegar) to flush the ear canal a few times daily to raise the acidity of the area, and a TOPICAL (not SYSTEMIC) antibiotic to apply directly to the infection. He satisified my concern about systemic antibiotics and successfully treated the infection.

A friend of mine also went to Dr. Pasakorn to diagnose the cause of excessive and constant post nasal drip after having no success with other doctors (here and abroad), and Dr. Pasakorn found, and treated him for, polyps. Amazing that other doctors didn't "notice" the polyps, but my friend is now post nasal drip-free.

Glad to hear your account above and that he helped you. Equally glad that your experience and that of your friend match mine with this particular doctor. It's very hard to find a really good doctor in any particular specialty... The only real way is thru personal trial and experience. This should be a good indicator to others on TV in need of a good sinus doc....

Todd...do you have some idea what is the pricing for the course you mentioned at Major Ekamai????

It's an easy short walk from the Ekamai BTS station, and lots of nice places there for having a snack before or after...

The two Tawandaeng venues on Soi Pattanakarn in Klong Tan are still going strong. To make it easy for folks, they actually are directly opposite each other on either side of the road -- Country Tawandaeng on one side and Isaan Tawandaeng on the other.

They both open around 8 or 9 pm and have been staying open lately until 1 or 2 am...depending. One difference is, Country Tawandaeng, which is the more Thai rock style music place, has food and drink menus in English, whereas Isaan Tawandaeng's food menu is only in Thai.

They are among my favorite places in Bangkok, in the variety of go with a group, buy a bottle of whiskey and assorted mixers, and have fun for the rest of the night.

Country Tawandaeng is strictly band and singer on stage, and the audience dancing and drinking at their tables. Isaan Tawandaeng tends to be a bit more roudy (but perfectly hospitable and safe), with the band and singers enhanced by male and female dancers onstage, comedy routines, katoeys and other assorted silliness...

I've never seen Thai women there visibly "working" after farangs, so to speak. But there typically are many tables with groups of very attractive ladies out for a night of fun and drinking, without escort. Generally, they're just keeping to themselves. But on occasion, as the night goes on, tables have been known to mix together...

Easy way to get to either of them is take the Sukhumvit BTS line out to the Phra Kanong Station, then taxi straight up Suk Soi 71 (Phra Kanong) toward Klong Tan...and Soi Pattanakarn. The location is pretty close to the Nasa Vegas Hotel.

Thanks A.... Appreciate the feedback....

As I mentioned above, I want to digitize a large boxful of rock/pop LPs...

My computer hardware and software are perfectly fine/suited to accomplish that. The only question is whether, for that purpose, it would be worth my while to spend another $50 to $100 on a separate soundcard, or just go with the RealTek HD Audio onboard system that's on my MOBO....

Obviously, the original analog LPs don't provide an absolutely clear input source... So, I was hoping to use a soundcard for capture that doesn't further deteriorate or muck up the analog input. I just don't have any good guage for whether the RealTek HD Audio is suited to that.

The Creative soundcard models, particularly when running Vista, seem to have gotten VERY mixed reviews in looking at Amazon, CompUSA and other places with many user reviews posted. Lots of talk about software problems and unwanted noise pops and clicks. But other users say their experience has been fine.

So I was in a bit of a dilemma... I hopefully was looking for a better soundcard solution for Vista where there wasn't quite so much discord about quality and useability.

Part of my reason for posting the idea of a time deposit, was to see if anyone else on TV had ever used that approach, and if so, how it had been received at Immigration...

Thus far, though, no one has chimed in saying they've tried that approach.

I don't believe the visa regs say anything about what kind of Thai bank account the 65K baht funds need to be on deposit in... ie... checking/current, savings, or other.... I've never seen any reference to that.

Yes, they might wonder, how would the person be paying/affording to live here if their funds were tied up in a time deposit... And of course, the obvious answer is....using other funds... unless the Thai immigration folks think you'd be on the street starving and pennyless while you have 65K in their bank... But then again... TIT.... so.. who knows!!!!

Here's the link to a review I posted earlier in this thread on Charlie Brown's...

Yes... good point above...

The purpose of me looking into this subject was to try to assess how adequate my current health insurance policy (based in Thailand) is in terms of hospital coverage. And, should I ever need it, which hospital would I likely look to for service (along with the obvious consideration of MD quality and specialty).

The hospital rates posted above, on their web sites and in the screen shots I posted, generally include the breakdown for room only, meals and nursing service. Likewise, my insurance policy has daily coverage amounts for room charge and nursing service (I think it lumps meals in with the room charge).

The policy I have also, of course, has other components relating to surgeon's fees, medical expenses, medicines, etc etc... But those are going to be pretty variable, depending on what kind of situation might arise. I have what I think are pretty high limits. But this process will help me review and re-confirm that.

That's too bad. I'd usually eat there whenever I was in Silom before their closing time, now there's nowhere for me to eat Mexican in Silom. Mexican Tartars in Khao San Road is closed for remodelling or something as well, so now it's just Sunrise.

Try Charlie Browns on Suk Soi 11/1 and you might be pleasantly suprised with their offering.

I just had dinner there last night with a Thai and Japanese friend and they loved it. I have never had a bad meal or bad service there. The place is clean and friendly. Most people who I have invited there, return again for a meal on their own.

I agree. The food and prices and drinks there are pretty good and authentic...for Thailand... Staff is always friendly... usually have some music playing and have an upstairs area in addition to downstairs eating. Tasty regular margaritas also...

Compared to Sunrise Tacos, it's more of a traditional restaurant setting, the prices are higher, the service is better. But judging the food between the two is a close call. Sunrise clearly has the edge on pricing, and it's clearly better for a quick bite or takeout or delivery.

Last time I checked, Charlie Brown's wasn't always open for lunch time...only dinner. But they may have changed that by now....

Thanks for the responses.... I have a very good set of PC speakers.... But my question here is not about playing music from the PC....but instead.... RECORDING music from a turntable onto my PC...

I've got a couple boxes full of pretty classic rock LPs that I want to digitize before they (and I) get much older... So, if I'm going to spend the time to do that and keep the digital versions in perpetuity, I want to get as clean and good quality a digital recording as possible.

My HP Pavilion has RealTek High Definition Audio onboard. I dont know all the particulars of that RealTek hardware, but I'm assuming it's not up to the same standard as a good standalone soundcard... But feel free to correct me if I'm wrong...

OK... so.... no one has a recommendation for a good Vista compatible sound card???????? Hard to believe that!!!!

Looks like the Taco Loco guys are calling it quits, they are selling their taco stand

http://www.businessesforsale.com/Taco-Loco...s-For-Sale.aspx

They are very nice guys, but unfortunately, the food never measured up.... I wish they had done better, since Silom is still lacking an easy Mexican place, apart from the pretty pricey Coyote margarita bar.... And it seems that Sunrise Tacos isn't going to be opening there anytime soon.

I am not looking for free testing, but I am looking to find a reasonably priced, reliable, hopefully considerate place for routine testing... After reading here, I sent an email inquiry to Bumrungrad, and got the following response below...

I'd be interested in comments on what they say below.... I don't know what all those test terms relate to, or which ones would be considered the standard approach to testing...

Regarding your inquiry, as there are several tests for infection screening (HIV/STD test) based on the patient's consideration and doctor's consideration.

Following are some primary tests for the disease:

* Anti HIV – 765 baht

* Urinalysis – 225 baht

* VDRL – 215 baht

* CD Profile – (CD3/CD4/CD8) – 2,200 baht

Viral Load Test for HIV – approximately 6,430 Baht, not include doctor fee

Schedule only as follows:

Tuesday and Friday before 10:00 hrs. – Results receive on the same day at 18:00 hrs.

Sunday after 19:00 hrs. – Results Monday at 09:00 hrs.

However, we would suggest you to see our physician first for initial consultation so that the doctor could recommend you with suitable treatment plan, as treatment method and price may vary based on each patient’s condition.

Doctor’s Consultation Fee ranges from 600-1500 baht

(end)

Aussie...I believe the Unico Grand Silom used to be the Tower Inn???

If I'm thinking of the same place, they have a rooftop swimming pool and adjoining that, an open air BBQ restaurant with widely spaced out tables, where you can sit and have a nice meal right at the edge of the roof looking out.

Last time I was there, the Thai food was pretty good and not expensive. But it really was more of a restaurant setting... They had a small bar/counter area.... but the only people I ever saw around there were folks coming for dinner.

Are we talking about the same place???

Kat, I responded to your questions via PM....

Kat, all of the many sinus docs I saw in the U.S., almost without exception, dismissed any notion of fungal or Candida as a cause... But, I'd never had allergic sensitivity to all the many things I tested positive for in the past, when I'd had prior allergy testing... So something changed.... And, when I began taking a prescription antifungal here, I began feeling much better and had much less bothersome symptoms. In fact, at times, I could smell at times what seemed like dying yeast in my nose or from my skin...sort of like a moldy cheese smell... very weird....

The nice thing about the Ivker book, however, is you can accomplish much of it on your own, simply by changing your diet. He also mentions some homeopathic products that can help at killing Candida, though I found them hard to find and haven't used them as yet. There are, then, the prescriptions anti-fungals, but those should be used with caution because of potentially serious side effects... They are obtainable in the U.S., however. And he does say those are the quickest way to begin to remedy the situation.

Ivker's book also contains a list of MD's in the U.S. who are knowledgeable about his program. One of those used to work at UCLA in Los Angeles. But by the time I went looking for her there, she had already departed and I couldn't figure out where she had gone to... If you're back in the U.S., and you want to PM me with your state location/area, I'll check my copy of the book to see if there's any doctor listed nearby....

The other good thing about his approach is, even if your self diagnosis is wrong for some reason, there's nothing bad or harmful in his dietary recommendations just in the overall healthy living sense, i.e, seriously cut down/out sugars, avoid all yeast-bearing products, especially BEER, more lean meat and vegetables, fewer starches and focus on non-gluten grains, etc etc...

If you needed to go to the hospital in BKK, where would you go, and how much of the cost would your health insurance cover??? Part of that question is one of medical quality, and the other is one of cost.... So, I wanted to get some idea of how some of the better regarded hospitals in BKK compare based on their daily inpatient rates (room, plus nursing plus meals).

I decided to use their basic single patient room (not shared) as the yardstick for comparison. Of course, most of these hospitals also have double or more greater patient facilities on the more economical side, and on the other hand have more luxurious single patient rooms at much higher costs. Each of them have their 2008 rates posted on their web sites that can be found with varying degrees of searching.

I found it very interesting to look at each of the hospital web sites, check their rates, and look at the photos they almost all have posted showing their different levels of room accommodations.

Here's the basic daily rate results I found for their single patient rooms, including nursing and meals (except as noted) in Thai baht:

Bangkok Christian Hospital 2,300

St. Louis Hospital 3,340

Bangkok Gen. Hospital 5,950-6,600

(depending on whether you choose Thai or Western/Japanese food)

Bumrungrad International 6,205

BNH Hospital 7,400-7,800

(lower is Thai food, higher is Western food)

Samitivej Sukhumvit

This was the only one I couldn't draw a direct comparison for from their web site, because they show only their room-only rate -- 4,000 excluding nursing and room service -- for their "superior" room. Based on room-only costs, that would put them somewhere between Bumrungrad, which showed a room-only rate of 3,350, and BNH, which showed its room only rate as 4,500.

None of the above, of course, speaks about the quality of medical care. But, assuming you can find a good doctor who knows what they're doing at any of the hospitals, it does give you an idea of what you and/or your insurance can expect to be paying on a daily basis for the basic hospital services (apart from specific treatment and medicines costs).

I was intrigued to notice, also, that Bangkok General at least does have a membership program that, by buying one of several different level three-year memberships offered ranging from purchase prices of 4000 to 30,000 baht, offer discounts of between 30% and 50% off their posted in-patient rooms rates, as well as discounts of many other of their services.

Here, following, are screen shots of the actual room rates posted by the different hospitals listed above: