TravelerEastWest

Personally, I have had two Pfizer shots and one Moderna and one more Moderna booster scheduled - but I am still in a high risk group - that won't change. Hopefully, if I get COVID it will not be too bad because of my vaccines but it is still quite possible that I will end up in the hospital or dead as will millions of others in a high risk group. Note many of those in the high risk groups are elderly and have grandchildren who can infect them which is why we need to be super careful - life is certainly not normal at this point in time...

Exactly. The elderly and other high risk groups are still in danger. Sad taht so many are not concerned...

"the SSA and/or Thai bank again regarding their monthly SS payment as both the SSA and Thai bank can sometimes be frustrating to deal with." So true... but at least with Thai banks I can stop by and ask them to fix the problem and they usually do although you need to be patient. I needed a company registration certificate for a bank statement and I did not want to go down to teh government office and wait in line to get it - the local bank manger went online and got it for me. Which was great as I didn't know it was possible. But with the PI SS office - very slow and they really don't care... My SS total is very small around $900 a month so I will experiment with direct deposit - but in the future I may switch to an American bank and send the money once a year... Thanks again for your help!

More great information - thank you! For me I am not concerned about international coding or special accounts. My fee to transfer from Schwab is a flat $25 plus Bangkok bank fees. I think I will let the payments start with IDD as the paperwork is in process (very slow...) and my SS payments are small as I took out my retirement income as a lump sum when I moved to Thailand from a State plan. Later I may switch to depositing o my US bank and then transfer once a year using a swift wire transfer. Interestingly, my wife gets a small SS payment while my kids are in high school (to care for them) and they also each get a small monthly payment. When the kids finish high school the extra payments will stop. I mention this as these payments are also being sent direct deposit but are a small mo they amount so probably not worthwhile to setup something different...

Pib, What a detailed post - good job! Thank you. I filled out the form for method 2 by printing the form and then sending via email a photo which was accepted in the Philippines but has not yet been approved in Maryland. It looks like it will actually arrive in Thai baht not in dollars to be converted by Bangkok Bank. Will the exchange rate be better if I deposit to my American bank account and transfer the money myself? If using direct deposit is there a transfer fee? (If not I probably will stay with direct deposit - speed is not important)

A few months ago I went through the PI US Social security office (slow process not yet finished) and I asked for US dollars to be sent to my Bangkok bank normal savings account. seems like all will be well sooner or later. My question is would it be better to have the SS payments sent to my US checking account and then have the US dollars sent to my Thai Bangkok Bank account (as dollars)? The difference would be my transfer costs - would they be lower one way or another or very similar? I think my exchange rate would be about the same - as Bangkok bank would do the change from USD to THB in both cases. A thought, if I waited 6 months or a year to send the money from my US bank (instead of having the US SS office send the money) maybe I could save some transfer money? I pay about $25 to send a wire to Thailand. Exchange rates would still be about the same?

Yes Chargeback time

In the past kids were not needed but my Thai wife was needed. However, you never know... I have been extended my marriage visa for 15 years now and I have never had a home visit but others say it happens... I think having two kids is why I haven't had a visit?

Great answer!

Agreed!

Agreed!

I can see and accept a small extra charge becasue of communication ease and probable higher quality construction but not a multiple as in your example unless they are using completely different materials of a much higher grade?

"What a childish response. 39% is 39%. Very high number of people who dont eat meat often. I dont care whether they are 100% vegan or not. Your argument is trivial nonsense." Sorry that you don't like facts and you have a defensive reaction by stating that the facts are childish - your whole argument is flawed with old, out dated and incorrect information. If you simply admitted that you are completely wrong and moved on more people would listen to you... Apparently you have no idea what a vegan is. Leaving aside for the moment the ethical aspects of their lifestyle they don't eat eggs or dairy ever and very few in India fit that description end of story certainly not 39% of the population. In two years I never met even one vegan, but that was a while ago and I am sure there are a few more now... As for CNN I like it for breaking news but my health information is mainly from reading books by Phds and MDs who are at the cutting edge of research. Occasionally YouTube videos by the same. Do you have a better suggestion for breaking news? If so please let us know. As time goes on more and more people are adapting a whole plant based low fat diet and reversing heart disease etc. Of course the number of people with this diet is very small but over time it should grow. No one on a meat diet reverses heart disease as you probably know.

So you are 100% wrong, 39% are not vegans. I understand that you are embarrassed by your errors but if you admit your mistakes readers on this forum will take you more seriously. Most of what you say is shall we politely say somewhere between wrong and biased/questionable. i refer you back to the beginning of this post and the OP's post about reasonable eating. It was a good article very balanced. You can eat a diet with healthy meat and fish and be OK but stay away from smoking, junk food and be sure to exercise. I think you will be better still if you eat a whole plant based diet low in fat but I don't need for you or anyone else to do the same. Again I wish you well...

As I said you have no idea what you are talking about - I repeat vegans are rare in India. Rarely eating meat is not a vegetarian and certainly not a vegan. When you make large mistakes like this it quickly casts a shadow on everything that you say... I understand those who want to eat grass fed beef, wild salmon etc it is there choice; but not healthier than eating a whole food low fat plant based diet. I am starting to think that you are not serious and only a troll...

You are simply wrong as is most of your information. In this case I have lived in India and know for a fact that vegans are rare... Also I checked half a dozen websites (not CNN in this case) in case things have changed and all agreed vegans are rare in India. I do like CNN for international coverage and I am sure they on occasion make mistakes as do all news organizations. Also all news organizations have a bias so perhaps that is what you really don't like? Do you prefer Fox news? As for myself I watch a variety of news sources ranging from Fox news to CNN to NPR and the BBC partially to get different points of view but more so to get additional information... I am sure you are happy with your world view and diet - which is good for you... I wish you all the best.

Very few people in India are vegans - not sure where you got your information from. probably around a third of Indians are vegetarians but also eat lots of oil and processed foods. Vegetarians that eat processed food, junk food high in oil, fat and sugar are not so healthy... same as meat eaters. See the earlier part of this thread. Overall a whole plant based diet that is low in fat and free from oil, sugar and salt has been shown in many studies to be best for your health. I understand that you are happy with your views - good luck to you.

I understand your point of view on CNN and meat you are clear - I don't agree and I wish you well... I like CNN's world current events coverage I was aware that some are strongly against them.

Strange, I thought they tend to eat small pieces of meat chopped up into food not too far off from a mediterranean diet... Also I have heard the reason they live long is not becasue of their meat consumption but: "A number of factors contribute to long life, ranging from the economy and social welfare, to tough government measures to curb smoking."

Easy to buy on Amazon, sometimes available from Shoppe or Lazada

I could not use the old system - I think because my entry card was very old (more than ten years ago) and not in the computer system. But the new system works great not only does it work smoothly but it sends me an email reminder when the next 90 day report is due. I use a Mac desktop with Chrome.

Try on a desktop computer...

We have no fleas or ticks at all and our dogs are outside everyday and never come in the house- we live in Mae Rim which should be the same as Chiang Mai the solution is to use a high quality flea collar which are expensive and imported...

For my abs I do 300 leg lots (100 each leg and 100 both legs), 100 bicycles, 100 crunches, 200 side leg lifts (100 each side - lay on my side and lift my legs). Daily I feel good and not sore. My 16 year old daughter does intense 45 minute workouts from YouTube - music and fast exercise with only a little rest. She wants me to follow her but I can't keep up not yet anyway... Later I will add a few more sets of ab exercises. My whole family likes the new pull up dip station - they all are doing better than me... but I have will power and will keep going! Off to go walk my dogs now...

HN Is Hospital Number on your Bangkok hospital card. OPD/Ward is the department you go to