tfc

Xanax is a strictly controlled drug in Thailand and OTC sale or purchase in a pharmacy is illegal for both buyer and seller.

It is also highly addictive, and inadevretnt addicition is not unusual in opeople being treated for panic/anxiety disorders, and is a complication to be wary of.

There are some non-addictive medications that can be very helpful in the long=term management of anxiety disorders though.

In addition I believe it was announced that the generic Xanax (alprazolam) is going to be banned some time in June? Though some small bits of information say that the name brand will be available only from government hospitals.

3 of my friends who had moderate panic attacks in Australia were able to control (not eradicate) their issues with Cognitive Behavior Therapy with trained therapists (lots of $$ though because the average was 10 sessions). Another friend who had strong panic attacks after returning from service in Afghanistan said that CBT did nothing for him and he tried 3 therapists with 35+ sessions. In his case he needed the medication because the concern of the doctor (as well as myself and his family) was that he could become a danger to himself and possibly others. The medication along with therapy is ongoing for him and in my opinion in his case the side effects of the medication are far better than the effects of his panic attacks - for now. Don't get me wrong I'm not for people being drugged out for life and when I was younger I was almost knee jerk anti medication. It was only after seeing people absolutely lose their being and become violent and/or unable to even cope in the world and myself being in some fear for my life that I recognized that medication has it's place. It is only when it is handed out to anyone for even the smallest anxiety when there are other alternatives that it becomes an issue.

For me, Yangtze Jiang is above all a destination for the excellent dim sum.

That is what I go there for too. It is better than the other places that I have been, but have not had dim sum at the Oriental.

This is what I want to know because while I was not impressed with the meals at Yangtze if someone can vouch that the Dim Sum matches or surpasses the Fujian I'll give it a shot.

I tried to apply for a Thai tourist visa in Tokyo in 2010 and they wouldn't do it. I'd heard (from Thaivisa) that it could be a challenge in Tokyo but I thought to try anyway since I was there. I'm an Australian by the way and I was in Tokyo to visit a friend for 10 days so no residency card.

In the end I thought stuff it, came back to Thailand got my 30 days on arrival, stayed for 4 weeks then went to HCMC and got my double entry Tourist visa with no problems and no need for any of this extra stuff - just my passport, form, photos and money.

I don't know the current situation in HCMC as that was some years ago and visa situations change like the wind it seems. I'm now on an 1 year business visa and I don't know the Tokyo situation as it presently stands but after all the hassle last time I wouldn't bother with the Thai Tokyo embassy again anyway.

As irritating as it is, I prefer just paying them on the spot and going about my business. Having to pay at the police station is a pain in the bum and can be time consuming.

That said, people should be free to make the choice of wearing a helmet or not. Sure, it is stupid not to wear one, but humans do stupid things all the time. That is what choice and personal responsibility is all about. It's not like the government actually cares about the people. If they did, they would start at the ground floor of their education system and work their way up.

You remind me Of home in British Columbia. I think it was around 1980 when they came in with the compulsory helmet law.

The arguments went on and on about it. One fellow even claimed more people died with a helmet on. It didn't take long a few years perhaps with strict supervision of the law and you no longer see people riding with out helmets, Today it is as important for them to buy one as it is to buy gas.

In Montana it is not mandatory. I was going to visit my brother one year in Billings Montana on the Eastern side of Montana I noticed large groups of bikes heading west most of them had helmets on. I asked my brother if he knew where they were coming from, He said they were on their way home from Sturgis North Dakota where bikers from all over the states come once a year. It is a huge affair attended by thousands.

There were not that many with out helmets and of the ones who didn't live in Montana I bet when they hit the state line they put one on.

Just a wild guess but the guy who claimed that more people died with a helmet on - he was the village idiot right?

My friend bought a new Dell with average specs but good enough for her from Pantip Plaza for 12K. Does the job. I would avoid second hand unless refurbished and with a warranty.

The 23K Asus I bought from goodspeed has already had two major issues requiring warranty (which they took care of fast and efficiently) one was a motherboard replacement which would have been pricey without the warranty. The other was a screen issue which needed a whole new screen put in.

Not only that you don't know what people have been doing on second hand computers, overclocking or whatever stuff that wears down the life of the computer.

"Fixed" is a very ambiguous word in Thailand.

It's difficult now. When I was a backpacker I had my CELTA and got a few years of fulltime solid English teaching experience under my belt but no degree at the time. Getting a job anywhere was as easy as turning up and the wages were fantastic particularly in Vietnam. These days I hear that even with CELTA and 5+ years experience it is impossible to LEGALLY get a work permit for English teaching even if you are are fantastic teacher. On the other hand my friend with a degree in Fine Art snapped up a job with no experience and no English teaching qualifications. By his own words he is getting destroyed psychologically in class as he doesn't know how to structure a class or lesson plan but it seems they don't care what degree you have as long as you have one. As a result I'm coaching him in structure, lesson planning and delivery.

Clearly my other friend with CELTA and 5+ years teaching experience has much higher real world value when it comes to providing knowledge but they just don't care here. So what did he do? Moved to Tokyo where they recognize his skill and are paying him exponentially more than he had ever received here and the students are learning with a very good teacher.

Tell them the cash is in your hotel room at any 5 star hotel. Once safely inside, the hotel will help. Happened to a thwarted jet ski scam attempt in Pattaya.

How and why hotel will help?

How would they help? I suspect the hotel management would take a dim view of a foreigner getting beaten up on their premises.

Some years ago I took a taxi, shared with a woman who arrived on the same flight, from Da Nang to Hoi An in Viuetnam I negotiated a fee to drop her at her hotel and me at my hotel, and he drove to hers first. She gave me her share, and I thought I'd be paying when he dropped me at my hotel, but he demanded a LOT more then and there, and told me to walk to my hotel. I refused, so he reached into his cab and spun around with a taser trying to zap me. I grabbed my dufffel bag and pinned him against the side of his cab, and within 10 seconds, on the command of somebody in reception who saw the incident, the huge iron gates were swung closed, and security descended on him.

He was left in no confusion about his position if he persisted, so they gave me a head start of several minutes before they would let him out. He was paid nothing for the trip, and copped a belting with my duffel bag for his trouble, so hotel staff, in my experience, will assist, and I wasn't a guest at their hotel. Of course that wasn't Thailand, but............

I've had similar experiences in Vietnam. The staff there will really get involved they are almost fearless in confrontation. One time it was the doorman, another time the desk clerk came out. Next thing you know the whole neighborhood is involved and on my side I should add. Even had a policeman get involved on my side too when once a taxi driver tried to rip me off a policeman could see that something was going on came over talked to the guy then told him to go away. He then cautioned me to be extra careful because there are "scams everywhere here."

My friend who was ripped off noticed that the taxi driver refused to drop him in front of his hotel (Sheraton) and guessed, correctly I'd say, that it was because the staff there would make sure he wasn't scammed.

As much as I love the rain I'm crossing my fingers right now that we don't have another outage today where I am.

Pizzas, cappuccinos... What next? The answer people is quite simple. When in Thailand please do not expect western food/drinks to the same standard as farang land. Simple. But I so realise some have an inclination to moan on here regardless so please... as you were.

Sounds like you'll fit in well here, no argue no complain, be careful you don't start "baaaaaaaaaing"

Oh please. Life is too short to be moaning about such things. When they happen to me in Thailand I chalk it up to a lack of understanding, say mai bpen rai and order something else.

As people get older they like to moan. Ones geographical location does not affect this behaviour. 5555

That's a bit unfair I'm still relatively young and I like to moan and complain too.

I used to travel very regularly between CM and HCMC and taking into account that I'm not a big fan of long bus trips the most comfortable way for me was to fly from CM to BKK in the morning then a flight to HCMC from BKK in the afternoon. If you want minimum hassles (but pay a little more) get your Vietnam visas before getting to Vietnam (so not the Visa on arrival) so that you and your family don't need to wait in the big mess of people waiting for theirs at HCMC airport.

I'm near North Gate and 3BB has been the best for me in this area.

Thanks a lot and even better that it's fairly close to me. Cheers!

The mail man came today and delivered my water bill but when I went to pay the 7/11 the lady said that the due date was yesterday and so I'd need to go the company to pay direct. Could someone be so kind as to give me directions to where to pay?

I'm near the North Gate area is there are more than one offices.

I was shocked when I went to Goodspeed computers which I think primarily serves Thais to return a day old modem that I found out I didn't need. At best I expected store credit and at worst a "no can do." The guy walks out the back comes back with 1700 baht hands it to me. I can't get that sort of service back home.

Strangely I haven't met any commandos, navy seals or SAS but I have met a guy who is "a original founder of Google, worth millions!" hiding away in a cheap little condo because his American wife is after him for money, another guy who makes "20K US a month easy!" with his startup yet seems to have no clue about anything I.T. or business and a guy who was the "driving force" behind Steve Jobs and "the catalyst for many of the designs of Apple".

I've probably met more people here (in Chiang Mai) who are the CEOs of "massively successful startups" or "working on the next massively successful startup" than I've met anywhere else in the world. So yeah perhaps this is the new "I work for organizations so secret that I shouldn't even be talking about it but I will spill the beans to you a guy I just met at the bar/coffee shop."

I know that you can't tell an IT guy buy what they wear or drive because back in the 90s when I worked for HP the guys who were lucky enough to get in at the right time with SAP and getting 250 AUD an hour used to wear the sloppiest clothes and drive bombs - but the minute they opened their mouths you knew they knew programming because their command of the programming language was better than their command of the verbal language.

The guys I met here not so much. They talk a lot and talk big but the minute you ask them a legitimate question about the process they either give some excuse, get indignant that you are asking them a question or try to sneak out the back door. It's weird. Back home if people work a shitty job they just say "I'm a pencil pusher." or "my job sucks." Why all these 25 year olds over here who are wannabe CEOs...

At least with the fake commandos or navy seals I could expect some good stories.

I know of 5 Acupuncturists in Chiang Mai including the 2 at Mungkala. All of them charge 500 baht for about 1-2 hours so I'd say if you were to charge more than that there would need to be something that stood you out from the rest. Just speaking English wouldn't be enough to for example attract expats since Dr. Rungrat at Mungkala or Herman both speak fluent English too. I've heard that there is also a doctor at McCormick Hospital that does acupuncture but I haven't tried.

Could happen anywhere! Leave if you don't like it! We're guests here!!

Come on, there are plenty of non-guests who don't want people to die. Whether or not it "happens anywhere" is not the point, reducing road deaths is always a good thing. Even the Thai govt acknowledges that (whether they enforce it or not is another thing) and as a guest here I'm in agreement with them on that.

Suvarnabhumi is certainly far from the worst airport I've traveled but to call it the best is taking it way too far. Singapore airport wins even comparing how it was 10 years ago to Suvarnabhumi now. That doesn't necessarily detract from Suvarnabhumi, it's just to say that Singapore has done a really really good job.

Ironically our water pump seems to have blown something today and I've been able to observe what it's like to get un-pumped water pressure. Not very good. A water pump is definitely needed.

As things currently are I'd go for 2 individual 1TB drives over one 2TB drive just for extra safety. I've had drives die in the past and it was bloody annoying so I don't keep everything on one anymore.

The Lotus hotel behind the Orchid also has a pool that non-guests can use. I forget the price.

There is also the 700 year old stadium pool. http://a.northernthailand.com/chiangmai-sports/swimming/97-700-years-stadium-pools.html

hmm its funny why all these folks advising you not to come and posting doom and gloom stay in Thailand.

wrt to jobs there are always new finance positions in BKK. new investment banks, quants wanted etc.

as for living expenses the amount you spend in Snpre on accom can pay for everything in BKK with lots left over

One can only pay for everything in BKK with lots left over if there is money/wages to start off with. No job/savings = not good in BKK.

It is not doom and gloom to advise getting some good savings behind you first or good work experience that provides value to an employer over here.

Otherwise the real doom and gloom will happen when arriving, then running out of money. Better to hear this in words on an internet forum than to experience it in real life.

Getting an agent is the way to go with immigration. It's the difference between anywhere from 3 hours to a whole day vs just dropping off your passport and picking it up in a few days, no crowds, no hassles. My time is far more valuable then hanging out in a waiting room all day.