tfc

DHL has always tried to charge me an extra fee of about $45 or 1300 THB approx for "quarantine" or customs fees. In Australia all parcels that go through quarantine will have a sticker or notification from them on it and I called DHL to notify them of their "mistake" and without admitting anything they just said that they'd "waive the fee." Happened every time. I figure that they get away with this at the bigger businesses where a receptionist just signs and gives the cheque. They must be making a mint of all the extra fees.

Over here I just don't use DHL since I don't feel like dealing with the hassle over the phone here and in a language that is not my native tongue too. To be fair FedEX tries to add fees here for me in Thailand too but never in Australia.

Iherb.com has it. They ship International Airmail only, which amounts to a little over $4 shipping. Not trackable, but I've never had a problem with a loss shipment.

I wish I could say the same as I'm still waiting on 2 orders from over 3 months ago. My risk as they warned me that many don't get through so I certainly don't blame Iherb.

When I had dengue hemorrhagic fever about 5 years ago my doctor at Sripat hospital in Chiang Mai gave me Vitamin K which helped. I was too delirious to remember if it was an injection or tablet but as said it's probably a good idea to get tested. My child was given an injection of vitamin K upon birth too if memory serves.

Rimping and Central also have them. Often they have sales as we got ours for something like 50% off.

Homeopathic remedies... I remember The Amazing Randi (reknowned magician and hard-core sceptic, took an entire bottle of homeopathic sleeping pills on stage. Obviously, a huge overdose. But, as he explained, homeopathic remedies are diluted to the point of not one molecule of the original substance remains in the water. Homeopaths claim that water has "memory" but there has been no scientific evidence of this. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. And there is none.

Melatonin, however, is a real substance, and it does work. Unfortunately, it is illegal in Thailand.

Best way to avoid jet lag is to work up your sleeping and eating patterns an hour at a time, day by day, for however many time zones you intend to cross. Don't drink alcohol or take benzos on the plane. Try to sleep on the plane in sequence with the sleeping pattern at your destination.

Good luck conquering the jet lag, let us know.

Melatonin is illegal here? I had no idea, I've had it shipped here in the past and I guess customs didn't know what they were looking at and just let it through. I could have sworn I'd seen it at Pharmachoice but must have been mistaken.

I've taken Atarax as a temporary sleep aid before, it has a stronger effect on me than melatonin (fall asleep with 20-30 minutes) though from the googling and broscience research I did melatonin is better for me.

I guess I'm part of the 6%. Love the food. Admittedly I don't travel around there much though, the footpaths around the Opera House area in HCMC are so good that I find myself taking long walks for pleasure which is something I don't do in Chiang Mai or Bangkok.

Melatonin works well for me though it's not as strong as some of the other suggestions. Atarax I found knocked me out quickly and with no grogginess in the morning but I was warned against taking it for too long (more than 2 weeks). Dramamine (or generic) also seems to do the job but with same precautions.

I know people who live here on $500/month, I know people who live on $5000/month. Both can be done and both types of people I know find contentment and happiness in their own ways.

Promenada itself is fine, it's just the location that makes it unappealing to myself and others I know as it doesn't have anything (that I can't get closer) that makes the trip out there worthwhile.

I don't know how bad your neck situation is so YMMV but the McKenzie Method exercises especially the "sitting chin tuck" helped me significantly though it was a slow but sure progression over about 6 months.

This site has the exercises that I used:

http://www.fultonmassagetherapy.com/?p=948

My physio in Oz gave the exercises to me as "homework."

I've seen multi-fan Cooler Master laptop fans around ICON Plaza. Check around the shops there, especially the one in the back left corner where they have a lot of gaming items. The building next door has a gaming shop to on the right side near the back, you can't miss it. Seen the fans there too a while ago.

I bought one of these from Pantip Plaza, it has 3 fans which you can move/adjust to where you need them to be. It does the job really well.

I would fight if I were a citizen but as an "alien" I wouldn't want to be arrested for working.

I bought an Ipod shuffle from "Siam TV" a few months ago:

https://foursquare.com/v/electronic-plaza-siam-tv/4b6cf6dcf964a52080602ce3

As some of the reviews say, the after purchase support is not that good so keep that in mind but it was the only place I could find mp3 players after going to KSK, Airport Plaza and Tesco.

I also don't expect any problems (and haven't had any problems) from an ipod shuffle anyway.

At the time they also had sony Mp3 players and perhaps the SanClip.

Otherwise there is always Lazada online which is said to be reliable but I prefer to see my product in hand.

Completely anecdotal experience but for what it's worth when I used to drink to the levels where I'd get hangovers the next day I used to take "Milk Thistle extract" sometimes with "dandelion extract" in it and it would help, seemingly to the point where my hangover symptoms would disappear.

Use to be able to get it for asthma at the heath food shop on Chang Moi road. You can get albuterol at Peera Pharmacy near Tapae gate. Well you could a few months ago.

The last I heard is si toom until tee si, or 10pm until 4am in old money.

My wife says the same about tomorrow. No water on the taps 10pm-4am. This is Chang Phuak area...

Either stock up on water or make your poo before 10pm. LOL

So did this actually happen last night in some areas of Chang Phuak? I live here and had water. Is it all good for tonight?

Has anyone found Magnesium Glycinate in Thailand?

Glad to hear it. I'll try a small order and see how it goes.

Just want to check current experiences from people who have bought from Iherb and received or not their packages.

On their site its says:

"Due to Thailand customs currently preventing importing of our products we have currently suspended shipping orders to Thailand with DHL Express or UPS International. We are currently working with customs to determine what we can do to get our packages to be allowed entry into your country. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you."

They do however ship using "International Airmail" however with no "No Tracking & Non-refundable."

I'd find value in hearing of any recent experiences with them.

I've had them. They are in the Waikiki Beach area and anyone around there probably knows about them as they are meant to be a local "icon."

Ultimately it's going to depend on personal taste, in Waikiki they only cook the burger's "medium" which can vary. They are actually strict on that and it's on their menu from the website too.

I'm uncertain how successful they will be replicating what they do in Waikiki if they use local beef.

For what it's worth, the few I had in Waikiki were not to my preferred burgers. It would be funny and ironic to me if the ones here are though. I'll give them a try that's for sure.

Have a play for yourself between the Yamaha, Epiphone and Tyma and you'll notice the difference

Remember he said, "I must admit i do not know anything about guitars...." This is why I suggested he find someone who is a guitarist to accompany him to the shop.

...after say a year of not changing your strings...

A YEAR without changing strings? Wow! If he's learning, then he's using the guitar every day. I'd suggest changing strings every month (or sooner if you want). No need for specialized strings for a beginner.

I know, I know, I hang my head in shame.

There was once a time when I would change my strings at least once every 6 weeks or so. These days sometimes I don't even pick up the guitar once every six weeks.

The top floor of Kad Suan Kaew has a guitar shop.

If I was going to buy a higher priced guitar then I'd go with a brand name but for the prices you are looking at I found that the Tyma brand sounds a lot better than similarly priced Yamaha and Epiphone. Back home I have a Maton, Martin and a Cole Clark but they are $1400+. I used to have a $600 Yamaha and to be honest this Tyma I have which I bought for between 3000-4000 baht (can't remember the exact price) on sale sounds better. I'd say that it sounds about 80% as good as my Cole Clark or Maton. My Cole Clark and my Maton are solid wood guitars and has been warmed in for about 3 years. I think my $1400+ Martin still has layered laminate in it.

Have a play for yourself between the Yamaha, Epiphone and Tyma and you'll notice the difference I'm sure though perhaps different people have different auditory tastes. Personally I find the Tyma in that price range to be warmer.

I also second the opinion on getting the Elixir strings. They may cost more now but they retain their brightness longer and I noticed that they don't "splinter" after say a year of not changing your strings. Not that I recommend keeping old strings on the guitar if he's going to be a regular player but sometimes the guitar ends up standing in the corner and it's nice to be able to pick it up and not get small bits of metal in my fingers.

My only issue is that "they" banned a very useful medicine "pseudoephedrine" unless I go to a hospital, see an ENT then pay inflated prices.

The ban was meant to reduce drug production but from what I read from the catches the production seems to be going up.

Melatonin supplements usually sort me out within a day or two.

When I was in the U.S. I had a form of rhinitus that wouldn't go away, my doctor prescribed Bronkaid which has ephedrine in it and it cleared up within 24 hours. These days I only get seasonal rhinitus and when I do I go to an ENT at a hospital to get prescribed something with pseudoephedrine in it. Actived or Clarinase or a generic. They all do the trick and often within the hour.

Tiffy used to solve the problem but since the ban on pseudoephedrine for sale outside hospitals the replacement ingredient phenylephrine does nothing. I actually talked to my Thai doctor about this and he confirmed that from his experience phenylephrine doesn't work for sinusitus or rhinitus.