BarnicaleBob

Beer Lao dark. beats any Thai beer.

I agree, Beer Lao dark is my favorite beer that can be purchased locally. I always keep some in my frig, in fact I think I will go grab one now.

On the positive side, it is good to see the Thai police were on top of these cases and were able to make arrests.

Note: It will not be inside the Consulate but outside by the riverfront.

Not sure about Chiang Mai, but there is a Korean church on some little soi off Sukhumvit Soi 39. I attended a BBQ there a few years ago with some Korean friends--boolgoki, kimchi, and soju; not so bad. There were several nice-looking unaccompanied Korean ladies in attendance.

Why do Koreans get their own churches in Thailand? Seems unfair to me. Is there a church for westerners in Thailand?

Koreans have their own churches in Thailand because they like their christian services in their own language and done in the same style as it is done in Korea. I see Korean churches not just here but also in many other countries where there are large Korean populations including America. So it is more about practicing their form of Christianity in their own language and using the customs they are comfortable with.

I think is a good opportunity for the Thai Navy to see just how vulnerable subs are to modern anti-submarine tactics. Then maybe time to rethink any submarine purchases.

Any foreigner who stays in a hotel, motel, apartment, house or any other dwelling must be reported to the Royal Thai Immigration Police within 24 hours of their arrival at that address. It is required that the owner of said property must fill out a TM-30 with the foreigners information along with copies of the foreigners passport and visa pages. Just so you know.

Being that you are new to Thailand and speak little or no Thai, I suggest you go to one of the following hospitals where English is spoken: Chiang Mai Ram Hospital (the closest one inside the City), Bangkok Hospital (on the super highway just east of the city) or the Geriatric Medical Center, if you over age 40 (located on the road to Hong Dong just past the Tesco Lotus).

Tell the doctor what happened and ask for his/her advice. I would also consider going back in two or three months for an HIV test as it sometimes takes that long to show up in your system.

I hope all works out well for you and remember to never ride a strange horse bareback, it could throw you and cause all sorts of problems.

I believe Daoyai is correct in that it is a harmless wolf snake.

The phone numbers are: Phone number is 053 920 605 or 053 920 666.

The outpatient Dept opens at 7am for labs and x-rays, physicians are there 8am-8pm (closing for lunch 12-1pm) There is also a good rehab. dept--you must have a referral from a CMU doctor though (session is B400). There is a sleep lab too (but about a one month waiting list) Good parking available with 2 lots in the back of the hospital. No emergency room--if you come with an emergency, you will be taken to Maharaj (they have an ambulance standing by at all times though.)

I spent a couple of days there and found good service at a low price.

I seem to be reading more and more about knuckle head punk Thai youths gangs or groups ganging up and killing people for little or no reason. I think the best response would be for the government to start having public executions of idiots that do such things. Maybe they will start to get the message that it is unwise to go around murdering people.

Over the years I have had several complicated issues I needed to handle via the Bangkok Bank. After checking around I have found that the Bangkok Bank inside the Kad Suan Kaew mall to be the best in understanding my English and getting things done for me.

I have known a few Koreans here in Chiang Mai. They tell me the 5,000 Koreans here is about right and that a large percentage of those are retired Koreans who have moved here for their retirement years because it is much less expensive to live here than Korea on a pension.

I have had a message or two about my stay in the Geriatric Hospital, so here is more information about it. I asked for a private room and it came equipped with a small refrigerator, a 42 inch flat screen TV with remote, electric bed, a bed for your loved one to sleep on next to yours, a sink, dishes and other kitchen items, a good AC unit, a large bathroom with hot and cold water in the sink and the shower and the nurses were very quick to respond when I pressed the buzzer. I was on the 4th floor and all the nurses there spoke English well for a non-native speaker.

When it came time to check out, my bill and medications were brought to my room, I was then taken by wheelchair to the cashier where I paid my bill and was out the door in only a couple of minutes. Very efficient and fast service, much better than Ram. The price was also much lower than I thought it was going to be.

What's the minimum age?

The minimum age is 40 for now until they build up enough business then it will go up to 50, However, they will still continue to treat former patients between the ages of 40 and 50 once they raise the age to 50.

I got sick with the runs a week ago and because I had been reading this topic here I thought I would go to the new geriatric hospital in chiang mai. The doctors and nurses spoke English for those of you that need that. They had to put me on an IV and kept me there for three days. I asked for a private room, had xrays, stool and blood tests, saw three different doctors and my bill only came to 12,600 baht. That also included all my take home medications. The price is very good compared to Ram or BKK. I noticed all the staff had Chiang Mai University badges on and seemed very confidant. My follow up doctors visit this week was 400 baht.

About the TM-30: It must be filed within 24 hours of your arrival at your hotel, apartment or house when you have just returned to Thailand. In some cases, people do not go directly to their home but stay in a hotel in Thailand on the way to their home. So the only 24 hours you have to worry about is from the time you reached your home. Again, this is not your responsibility but the owner of the hotel, apartment or house. If that is not your wife or girlfriend, all you need to do is notify the owner you had been out of the country and just returned, it will be up to them to file the TM-30. You will need to provide the landlord with a copy of your passport including your visa and entry pages.

I worked part time as a self employed Posterior Prognosticator. I preformed this service mostly for women who had a need to know about their life and what their future may be. I would hold seminars, mostly for ladies groups and my fee was only $10.00, each reading only took about 15 to 20 minutes. They would line up for their turn and I did an average of three or four an hour for two to three hours at a time. The money was not all that great but it was the most fun job I ever had. As far as I know there were only two of us in America at the time that knew how to do this and do it well.

It was an all expense paid, three year trip to Asia. The first country being Vietnam. It was very exciting and I still have dreams about it.

I hope the missing North Korean sub is the same one that sank the South Korean Navy vessel a few years ago. Justice

You're not very well read I take it. The investigation you refer to was carried out by experts from USA, Canada, U.K., Japan, Australia, and on and on. They could not reach a conclusion as to how all the people died at that hotel. Ex-Mayor? How do you know?

Everyone knows who owned the Doomtown Inn and to whom he was related.

There were cover ups galore related to the cluster of deaths in that hotel.

Still, at least it's now a weed garden unless something's changed since I last walked past it.

It was a total o six dead and two almost dead that recovered from a certain hotel. All the deaths occurred between Jan. 11 2011 and Feb. 2011. The other two that survived were roommates with Sara who died. At first they could not find the cause of death and were adamant that is was not the hotels fault. Then when they found out the bug spraying was done by and outside company then for a day or so the Health Department had thought they were poisoned by the chemicals used to get rid of a bed bug infestation. Later, when it was found that the owners of the bug spray company were closely related to the owners of the hotel that theory was dropped. The beds were removed from the hotel and burned prior to the investigation by U.S., Canada, and Japan so their investigations had to rely on toxicology test taken by the Thais in most cases. It should also be known that the suspected chemical is absorbed through the skin which explains why the three girls from NZ in a room together started to get better once hospitalized but then became ill again the day they checked back into their room. Ending in the death of Sara and massive surgery on one of the other girls. The chemical used will dissipate in even a dead body after 24 hours and that could be the reason for there being a lack of evidence in the bodies. During the same time frame there was also at least one other death of an American who was staying at a different accommodation in the Old City, same type of death.

Here is a link to a Youtube video that covers everything that lead to WWll and everything that happened in the West and the East. This link is to the first of the 13 episodes covering the whole thing. Very interesting to watch and if you watch it with her you can explain some of the details as it plays.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mFG0Du_DKU

I started taking my social security at age 62. When I turned 65 I was automatically enrolled into Medicare and they started to deduct $104.90 a month from my SS checks. The following month I returned to the States to take advantage of this and have a total knee replacement done. However, a month before the surgery I opted to convert my Medicare over to a AARP Medicare program that cost the same as Medicare but provided better benefits including prescription medications (with a deductible or copay). Knee surgery went well and my total copay was under $600.00 for everything including follow up doctor visits and therapy. I have since flown back to the State twice, once for the other knee and once for a pacemaker replacement. So my plan is to keep my Medicare under the AARP insurance program and go to the States when I need something major. I might add I keep enough money on hand to cover an emergency hospital stay here and for tickets to the States if needed. In the long run I feel I come out ahead and that the $104.90 a month is well worth it.

While driving from Chiang Mai to Lampang a little over a week ago, I past 10 of these Chinese RVs as well as four smaller conversion RV vans heading south. Now I know where they were headed. Having owned several RVs when I lived in the States, I know the sewage tanks on them is very limited and needs to be dumped ever two or three days. I can't help but to think of the potential health hazard this is as we already know that Chinese tourist are pretty much uncaring about polluting the environment.

However, in this day and age I would think that some enterprising Thai business people would be quick to jump on the opportunity to set up facilities for these RVs. Campgrounds for RVs are not that difficult to set up and dumping stations set up on the major highways could make some money as well.

The reasoning behind placing equipment in Norway for a Marine expeditionary force is for a counter attack on Russia should they decide to invade any of the NATO Baltic countries. There are two reasons for this: 1. A counter attack away from the Baltic area would draw some of the attacking forces away from NATO Baltic countries thus, thinning out those attacking forces and making it easier for NATO forces to defend them. 2. The area of Norway that borders with Russia is very close to one of the most important Russian seaports and to the Murmansk military base. Capturing this area of Russia would cripple Russia's ability to carry on a protracted war.

And America doesn't need gun control......!!!

There is strong gun control in place in that state, the suspect should not have been able to legally have a gun because of his record. But being a criminal he obtained one. No need to change the law, just need better enforcement of it.