livinthailandos

I went to see the eye doctor at Rutnin Hospital they checked by eyes as i'm having a problem with my vision i paid 910 THB however they didn't find anything however they said if want to find out what happened for my eyes i would need to do a blood test which they quoted 6,000 THB. 

KIndly provide other names and places in bangkok for other hospitals or clinics as 6,000 thb is to expensive. Kindly advise how much you spent to see the Ophthalmologist. 

I have a question about buying some a/c units, I plan on buying 3 a/c units however what Id like to know is

1. Other than homepro / nastech are there any other options on where to buy a regular a/c unit from that doesn't include air purifiers

2. Regarding the brand, which brand is easy to find a/c parts for incase a part has to be replaced ?
3. If the a/c unit breaks down and needs some new parts where to find on samui?

4. Are there any brands you would recommend staying away from 

Also I need a installation team  to install the new a/c so recommendations would be helpful. 

look forward to any information you can provide 

thanks

I just wanted to pass along some news that I have been hearing constantly from multiple people that I interact with that include some villas, restaurants, hotels and travel agencies, from what I know chaweng will have songkran 3 days this year beginning from april 12 to 14 and supposedly the main road into chaweng will close.  

by the way Im posting this as trying to let people know and also hoping to get more sources as well, it would be nice to be sure of this as a few people i know are trying make sure as want to inform there guests / customers and to avoid unnecessary trips if can't go into chaweng. 

any updates, sources anyone else can provide would be greatly appreciated
thanks  

I'm wondering if any US citizen has experiences with any health insurance companies that have actually covered you during emergencies in the USA when you were visiting. I am needing to buy short term health insurance when visiting the USA, however I don't know which companies I can use. Lots of health insurance companies will not cover health insurance for US citizens visiting the USA, by the way I am not wanting travel insurance. Here are a few things to help provide additional details

Here a few things to note: 
1. I am a US citizen
2. I'm not old enough to be considered for medicare, i'm under the age of 45
3. I will be staying in texas for 60 days
4. I need a Health Insurance Carrier that will cover me incase of emergencies
5. I do not reside full time in the USA, I live overseas 10 months of the year

Look forward to any responses, ideas

i've been reading up on some of the thaivisa forums regarding getting a chinese tourist visa and while ive got most of the information down i'm just wanting to follow up to make sure I have the right information. I do work in thailand and have a B Visa and work permit so from what I understand I need to provide the following:

Passport, Work Permit( do they need the actual book or copy ), Evidence of plane ticket and hotel accomodation, passport photo, visa fee, filled out application form. 

Is there any other information I need to provide that would be helpful to know. how long does it take to get the tourist visa

Thanks

i'm looking to rent a apartment or condo for 1 to 3 months and I need recommendations and websites on where to look in bangkok, my only requirements are:
Maximum Rent 25,000 THB
Near BTS / MRT if possible
Size wise - i'm ok with 28 sqm for the place
Should have elevator  
Washing machine if possible
Free Wifi
Cable TV
Air Conditioning

Look forward to any help everyone can provide
 

First if my thread is in the wrong section please change it. 

I’ve read threw multiple different websites about watching for beggars, being followed or attempts at being mugged, women offering special services, numerous types of taxi scam, money scam, fake travel agents, kids trying to open the taxi cab to steal my stuff and other things I'd like to ask about other areas of concern in regards to the following

- On taxis - Spray modus, Kontrata system -notice the taxi driver waving a cloth or spraying something towards the air conditioning vents you begins to feel dizzy and if unaware of what is going on, may pass out and leave yourself vulnerable to being held-up or even worse

- Laglag Droga ‘laglag bala’ or ‘tanim bala - contaminated with drugs threw a necklace or gloves apparantly given either at the airport or other destination, wind up possibly going to jail if police dog sniffs you

- Budol Budol Gang - The budol-budol scam involves a bundle (budol) of cash padded inside with sheets of paper cut in the size of money. Only the exposed sides are real money, everything in between are plain sheets of paper. This is done by a group of people with an attractive lead, to disarm the victim and avoid suspicion at the same time. Budol budol gang members are often described as sweet-talking, charismatic, and convincing. The “main actor” of the gang will try and sway victims to swap his bundle of cash with a cellphone or an expensive piece of jewelry

- Are there any other things to be highly aware of, i know already about places like davao, mindanao, sulu sea area to avoid and I’m well aware of the kidnapping and ransoms

- other question is how unsafe is it to walk alone at night

- Any other things to be highly aware of would be useful

Look forward to your response

First of all my staff got this note basically just notes that places like Samui town, replay, parts of bophut will have no electric from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, possibly big c as well. Attached is the note, please note it's in Thai, just thought members should be aware

First of all my question is geared towards US citizens who are exempt from having to buy health insurance in regards obamacare / affordable care tax act and also for those who do not have medicare.
 What I would like to know is whenever you go back to visit the US who do you buy short term health insurance from, The reason I am asking is US healthcare insurance providers will not cover me because my tax home is here in thailand, i live here full time and i'm not required to buy US health insurance. However I am going back to visit the US and would like to know if I have any options? Any recommendations  

Will any companies like  Allianz, AXA, Bupa, cigna cover me? As I am a US citizen visiting the US? 

Look forward to any advice on the issue. or recommendations on who to contact. 
 

As other poster has mentioned hard rock prices are on the high side, I went there 2 days ago and can confirm a few things

Bottle of Beer for singha starts at 149 thb and goes up to 299 thb for a corona,

Margartias start from 269 thb up to 550 thb

For Starters prices start from 329 thb up to 550 thb

As for burgers prices really do start at 769 THB

Even entrees start from 659 Thb up to 1200 thb

for side dishes prices are from 169 thb

Overall this place ain't cheap, food was average, however the prices they charge I can get the same food back home for less. For a family of 4 going here you can easily hit 3,000 thb very easy. Hope this helps

Just wanted to let everyone know from what I understand there are plans to open a thai immigration office in maenum, however at this time I do not know where the location of the office will be or what types of services will be available, that is still to be determined. As soon as I get more details and more information I will post updates on whats going on.

Here is the information from the PEA, keep in mind it is in Thai

img106.pdf

Some new and old information

Immigration

Lots of airports now have a machine you use to check your passport at immigration, you'll also answer a few questions on the machine as well. Process is easy and have found people Willing to help out.

Customs - you should get a US customs form while on the plane that you'll need to fill out. It will be used to give customs

Money exchange

- do due it at the airport, many times the banks in the US wont change currency

Rental cars

- you should contact enterprise or other rent a car companies direct to ask about your thai license, car insurance is required by law though, also check about out of state driving with there car,

- do rent the car only with a credit card if you use a debit card they will withhold about $200.

Driving

-school zones remember that they are on in the morning and afternoon, do not text in those areas and do not speed as well.

- Stop at red lights, do come to complete stop before you turn right if you don't be prepared to get a ticket because almost everywhere now has cameras attached to the stop lights

- No driving while texting

If your caught speeding tickets are high

- do not drive in the same manner like you drive here in the US, your asking for trouble.

- remember you always have to wear your seatbelt unless you want to be ticketed

- when ambulances are coming do move out of the way unless you want a ticket.

- in the event of an car accident stay put at the scene, you do not want to be charged for a hit and run.

Use Waze app for live traffic conditions it's pretty accurate and free

Media coverage

- everyday be prepared to hear about someone being murdered by a gun and in some cases hear about another college, school kids being killed by a gun

- you always see lots of advertisements on TV for Viagra and for some disease you've never heard of or ad for a lawyer talking g about who to sue and for what

- remember people in the US are very patriotic about there country so best to avoid certain discussion including guns and politics. Do assume most Americans have never lived overseas so most people cannot relate to your experience.

Debit cards and credit cards

- good luck using your debit card with banks to withdraw money, just before I left all banks now in the USA implemented a new system where all debit cards must have a chip, if it doesn't your debit card won't work it happened to me ( however my debit card did work to withdraw money at some gas stations and retailers that didn't use a bank atm

- gas stations you cannot use a credit card to buy gas at the pump as the stupid gas stations require a zip code tied to the credit card billing for US credit cards only. Yes you do pump your own gas ( except in Oregon )

Sim cards

I've only used T-Mobile as my carrier as my phone was unlocked and they accepted it. In the past at&t would not take me unless I had a contract, that has changed but they only offer prepaid but the data, voice rates are pretty poor, T-Mobile was expensive at $80 but I got unlimited, talk, text and data, there was no downgrade throttling after 5GB. One month I used 10GB on my phone as still worked just fine

Restaurants

- tipping is self explanatory, US does not have a service charge, by the way I found out restaurants for some reason in the US cannot charge my overseas credit card for the extra amount for tip. I checked my bills and receipt and never showed up.

Bad areas

Use crimereport to check. The bad places in the US are really bad and definitely don't want to be down those areas at night time. Best you know where to avoid.

The US has no exit immigration so that's a plus. However due note that security procedures are strict and there has been incidents with TSA agents before. Never been threw any myself but it has happened.

Electricity

Due note electricity volts is very different from Thailand. Do not take your electronics from here and plug them into a US electrical socket. Your asking for trouble.

Health insurance

- must have before you go. The US is a horrible country to get sick in with no health insurance.

I've been searching online for quite a while and am looking for either a clinic, hospital etc that I can go to, to get a MRI done I've looked online and many people have pointed out BNH hospital, Bangkok hospital, bunrumgrad hospital, are there any other places.

Any good experiences with those hospitals

Can you go on a weekend for a MRI

Any idea what prices are?

Look forward to any help and information

I've seen quite a few posters recommending dr sunil for a dentist, I would like to know What location to go to? How far in advance should I make the booking for. If Sunil is not available any other recommendations, just asking as i used dentist hospital on sukhumvit soi 40 something ( its not far from thonglor BTS Station ) however in the past they didn't really do descent job on my teeth, I'm really just need to go for a teeth cleaning but want a place they knows what there doing. I've had some poor experiences in the past

look forward to responses

I wanted to reply to this posting in regards to the money leaving.

first of all in regards to the money leaving samui, In regards to ( resorts/villas/hotels ) getting out of the market this has been happening not just here but in phuket and bangkok as well as many times in the past 8 years quite a few properties have been sold. Some properties that do stay here though wind up even changing management companies or rebranding there hotel. Also Most people don't know but for a lot of properties that take out loans for renovations you have to pay back the bank plus interest within 5 years.

For a lot of properties though a lot of times they just fail to adjust, change or adapt to market changes.

all in all nothing new though, and for all the talk of money leaving just look at the amount of foreign capital outflows from china.

As my title says i'm trying to connect my xbox one to a vpn settings, ive already tried a bridge mode with my wifi and ethernet cord plus a vpn but didn't work, i also went on a few websites that show basically you connect the ethernet cord from the xbox one to the PC, then on the vpn properties allow the ethernet connection to share the vpn connection which i tried but don't work.

my only last option is to wait till i go abroad and update the xbox one abroad cause it won't allow me to play a game till i update online. and xbox live don't work in thailand.

has anyone successfully been able to run the xbox one and a windows pc through a vpn together. by the way im running windows 8. look forward to anyones help. by the way I can't install a wwrt on my router cause it don't support it

Just heads up for tomorrow, we got notice that in parts of the lamai area from 8 am to 5 pm there will be no electric. Also includes areas of the southern part of the island as well. If anyone else has further information let me know.