wamberal

My wife's family has just been told that they have to take the father out of hospital and care for him at home.  He is currently in a public hospital, I assume that this is because his condition has stablised, there is no medical intervention available, he is tube fed (every two hours!!) and just get him out of here please.  Also of course he has to be moved regularly to ensure that he does not develop bedsores.  I can kind of understand the hospital's viewpoint, but this is pretty tough on the family.

i told my wife to look around for other options, other than taking him home.  The only place I could see is "Golden Years Hospital".  Are there any other options?

That is an absolutely wonderful explanation.  Many, many thanks.

Many thanks for the helpful responses.  My wife flew in to BKK late last night, I am expecting a call from her soon.  One of the other daughters is flying in from the US.

I cannot see this topic anywhere, would really appreciate a bit of info about what to expect in terms of the timeline for the observance of my father-in-law's passing.

My wife is now en route to Bangkok (we live in Australia), she did tell me roughly what would happen after he passes away (he is at death's door right now) from memory she talked about 8 days?  Could have been more.  Anyway, I need to start looking at a few logistical issues in terms of planning for our Christmas trip that we usually take to visit my sister and her husband in country New South Wales.

Any information would be gratefully received.

Thanks,  Sheryl.  Yes, pretty sure it is only one ear that is affected.

My Thai sister-in-law has impaired hearing in one ear.    Anybody out there have experience either with Cochlear implants or something similar for people with pretty bad hearing?

Interested in some of the comments on this thread.  I am looking at retirement options.  My wife is Thai, I lived and worked in Thailand for some years, so have a pretty good understanding of the pros and cons.

i am interested in a full service retirement facility, ideally one that has all the bells and whistles, including a nursing home, if that is needed, eventually.

Neither of us has children, my wife has two younger unmarried sisters who still live in Thailand.  I want to make sure that all three of them (my wife and her two sisters) are adequately provided for.  

As Nancy said earlier (and this is definitely my wife's opinion), you cannot rely on paid help.   The only way to go is either totally independently (with whatever family/friend support you can rely on) or totally on some sort of contractual basis.  The latter is what I am interested in.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.   I will have a look at Care Resort.

What is the point of this thread? A bit of self-congratulations?

Surely there is a better American equivalent to Thai Visa?

So, any news?

Well, that was a wasted ten minutes or so.

Here's a tip, for what it's worth. Stop referring to yourselves as "expatriates". By definition, an expatriate is somebody who has a home country, which he or she is now living away from.

Perhaps something like "long-term residents" would make more sense, and might actually mean something to the Thai authorities.

One possibility is to contact your embassy, there might be some kind of association, there used to be an Australian Association, for example.

So, any updates? Again, fairly recently posted on an Australian rugby league forum, there was a story about a four team competition starting up this year, with another two teams to join next year.

<deleted> me, I realize we just had a full moon the other day but is there something in the air today that is bringing out the soon-to-be zombie topic starters?

Yep.  It's weird, isn't it?

Or it would be, if there weren't so many of them.

       If you don't know, I doubt that anybody else could help you.  Incidentally, you are not a Thai expat.  You might be an expat living in Thailand.

       Thai expats cannot, by definition, live in Thailand.

       That's a weird title.    

  Firstly, Thailand does not exactly encourage immigration from a range of other countries, unlike the US, Canada, Australia for example.  In the countries with a diverse immigration intake, naturally there tends to be a variety of good cafes and restaurants.

 Secondly, as others have said, economic factors are a key issue.  "Foreign" food tends to be relatively more expensive (as well as being not particularly good quality).  As the standard of living rising, well off people will be interested in travelling to other countries, and eating the food in those countries, which will expand the market for foreign cafes and restaurants.

 I lived in Hong Kong for many years (as well as in Thailand), and Hong Kong people still vastly prefer their own cuisines.  Who can blame them? 

 A final observation, Thai food served in restaurants now is certainly not as good as it was 30 years ago, when labour costs were much lower.  Short-cuts are now the order of the day, unfortunately.  That is one reason that Thai food tends to be pretty awful in countries like Australia.

  Who drinks beer in pints in Bangkok? 

A rather strange poll. "Class" and "social standing" are different terms for the same phenomenon, at least in lay terms.

There are some old well established families, my understanding is that they are at the top of the pile, most, if not all, of them have Royal connexions through marriage or relationships over the years.

Thai ethnicity is overwhelmingly important, but then so is money and power. My understanding is that the social strata are now a lot more fluid now, with money allowing some upwards mobility.

But it will be a long time, if ever, that a person of Chinese ethnicity from a poor background can break into the upper echelons, no matter how rich he or she gets, or how much education they undertake.

Reminds me a bit of a court case in Hong Kong when I was living there. An expat threw an apple core away in a National Park. He was charged by a ranger. His defense was similar to that of the OP - "it is biodegradable, so it is not litter"). Actually, vegetable matter is biodegradable, so I think in that case he was harshly made a principle of by the court.

However, vegetable matter thrown on a pavement is garbage. The OP was in the wrong. If he had thrown it in a garden bed, maybe okay, but not onto a hard surface. That is just laziness, IMHO.

Things are potentially a bit stickier now, because the voting public genuinely seems to be involved, there are large numbers on either side of what seems to be an unbridgeable chasm.

In previous coups most of the population was pretty much looking on. Now a significant number seem to be actively, or potentially, involved. And I suspect that the Army knows that.

Any solution is going to leave a large number of people very, very, unhappy - unless all sides are willing to compromise.

There is a leadership vacuum now, the big question is, who or what will fill the vacuum? And will it be filled gradually, or with a big, dangerous, bang?

Students who tried to surrender were forced to lie on the ground. Several were beaten to death and then hanged. Those who attempted to escape by jumping into the Chaophraya River were shot at from naval vessels.Wimolwan, a nursing student, was shot dead while trying to swim to safety. The attack lasted for several hours. Time described the event as a "A nightmare of lynching and burning":

About a thousand demonstrators were taken prisoner and humiliated by being stripped to the waist (though females were allowed to keep their bras on), made to crawl, or kicked. Female students allegedly were raped, alive and dead, by police and Red Gaurs. Officially, there were 46 dead and 167 wounded. The unofficial estimate of over 100 dead

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thammasat_University_massacre

Yes, that was a terrible tragedy. But the point stands, most of the population in previous coups were not involved to the extent that they are now. I am not a historian, and stand to be corrected. My only personal experience of a coup was 1985, and that was treated as a joke by my Thai colleagues at the office, like a football match. The staff crowded around radios, those in favour of the coup at their radios, those against at others - each broadcasting the competing stations. That would not happen now, I am sure and certain.

Well,I managed to be here in '73, '76, and '91 when the military staged coups, and returned

here in '07 when the military were already in power. At no time was there any disruption of booze and nightlife.

Granted, this time may be different, but I'll wager status quo.

Things are potentially a bit stickier now, because the voting public genuinely seems to be involved, there are large numbers on either side of what seems to be an unbridgeable chasm.

In previous coups most of the population was pretty much looking on. Now a significant number seem to be actively, or potentially, involved. And I suspect that the Army knows that.

Any solution is going to leave a large number of people very, very, unhappy - unless all sides are willing to compromise.

There is a leadership vacuum now, the big question is, who or what will fill the vacuum? And will it be filled gradually, or with a big, dangerous, bang?

if your young its proberly good for you to get out but if your old like me then this bar girl dating scene is the only option one has

My mission is to find an old Thai lady that's done the job on a few foreigner and built up a next egg so we can live in relative comfort without constant ATM withdrawl.

Nothing wrong with ATMs, old chap. Would you prefer to keep your money under the mattress?

So, corruption is all the fault of politicians, is it?

That has got to be the silliest assertion of the decade.

I flew Pan Am a few times, never Delta, though.

Actually, I flew on their "round the world in 80 days" offer. First class, fully booked, RTW fares, USD1200! The thing that sticks in my mind is that they had a sit-down meal service for first class passengers in a special dining area on the upper deck. I think some of their planes had a piano up there, too.