moogradod

How true. Swiss, French, Italian varieties and thats it. Waitrose sells as well a good Brie and a (for Thailand at least) good Parmesano Reggiano (18 months aged, better I have not seen here). But these come for sure not from Britain. The Parmegiano is even protected. And Thailand sells a sort of cream cheese that is palatable ! I mix it with whipping cream and add Sour Cherries. Quite palatable. As far as British, New Zeeland, Australian, Danish etc. "cheese" is concerned, no way for me.

I found PrimeAsia on the net and I will contact them as you propose. Thanks for the valuable guidance. Choosing the frame and glass definitely can only be made if I know the price for different configurations. As I have not the slightest knowledge about security glass my only requirement is "burglar proof" and "heat protection" as a goody. I will use your specs as a first guidance for them to issue a first quotation. I have roughly measured the size of the windows to enable a quotation. I just need a ball park figure. But is it true that these windows are then at least 21 mm thick ? (4mm Plain + 4mm Heat Stop + 8mm Argon + 5mm Plain and on top 5XPVB although this might be quite thin). Two of the doors must be slideable, this makes it at least 42 mm thickness plus a portion of the frames. Hope this can be installed at all. Sounds as well very very expensive. But I will try. Best security solution so far on top of the Surveillance Cameras I will install and the manually enabled siren (120dB) and this all adds to the value of the building tremendously. Not many home owners might have that. This then makes the doors the most vulnerable part (The main entrance and a backdoor). Thank you again, you have really helped me a lot with your advice.

Thank you very much. I will contact TGSG (I see the telephone number in your picture) and they will most probably be able to say who I have to contact at PrimeAsia (wherever or whoever that is). I will tell them the number of windows incl. m2 for each and ask for a quotation. But somehow they must organize the Inoutic profiles as well and the builder has to install this all - not to talk of the disassembly. It is by chance that I have a friend here in our Condo Building who owns a company in Switzerland who makes "profiles" - maybe he can give further advice. This seems to be a rather complicated endeavor all in all, but I see you get as well heat protection. This all sounds very much desirable to me. Thanks again.

Phantastic. I will take up this advice, too. Thai doors - incredibly easy to open. A feast for any burglar ! We have a sophisticated electronic lock at the front door, but one crowbar and it is open in less than a minute.

I thank you for this very valuable advice. I am very much interested what product you exactly use. Could you please tell me (post or PM) what the Brand Name is and if this info above is enough if I go to a glass shop (no idea where I could find this in Pattaya yet). And maybe any idea of how much it is per m2 ? And then the installation of course. Need probably the exchange of the whole wooden frame including the glass. This sounds extremely good, so it is for sure expensive, but it seems worth it. Please tell me as much as I need to know to order the same for our windows. And thank you very much for that !! We bought a house completely finished, but one by one we have to extend it, install various things like blinds, now the whole security issue, the aircons do not really cool as I want it, we discovered that my Stepdaughter is allergic to grass - had to exchange the whole lawn with artificial grass (which is in the end a phantastic move - no maintenance and it is very beautiful).

Thank you very much for your feedback to which I can agree almost in every aspect - exept for the battery operation and the must-have cloud storage. No DVR. But in our case we are four people and 2 children and it is rare that everybody is away for a prolonged period of time. I have had excellent experiences with the ARLO system. I had a buglary myself in Switzerland in my condo before. But at the time I was alone and they explored when I left for work for sure. Then it is a 5 minutes job or nothing. Thats how they behave over there. I do not know in Thailand. I then put in a security door with multiple locks plus a protection for the lock besides having of course security level keys. I have not seen any of that available in Thailand. Our current door in a quite high end condo is 70 year old technology. WIth the new door in Switzerland there was no way for a burglar to break in easily if at all without using explosives. The door was something around CHF 3'800.-- alone which equates to roughly THB 144K. But our house now has huge windows as well. They cannot be protected with steel bars unless our house would look like a prison. But if I think more about it ....... We have now blinds on the outside to prevent too much sun inside the house. Will think about it and I still have some months time. The house is surrounded with medium high walls. I play with the idea to put some protection on them using high voltage. I have seen that someone in the vicinity used electrified barbed wire. Not nice looking again. I definitely want a loud siren, too. Obviously you enable that one manually from the phone. Very good idea. This would as well eliminate false siren alarms in the middle of the night for you would decide with your judgement to enable it or not. Is it enough to connect the Tapo to the router and then have some app on the phone ? I would be interested to know how you enable the siren exactly, for I might do the same. And to find a siren could not be too difficult I hope. Well given the necessary compatibility with the Tapo maybe yes. No, I will not depend solely on surveillance. Soon we will have some neighbors nearby and maybe I can find an arrangement with them too that would benefit both of us.

Seems indeed possible. Amazing. But even more amazing is the fact that procedures make it possible to fully overturn a valid election in a legal or at least acceptable way - just because the results do not fit someones agenda. And the extremely most posssible amazing thing will be that this could happen without any consequence thereafter. Some notes in some newspaper (even less likely given what I read on a daily base) or on social media (a lot of uproar and noise without real significance) and at the most some insignificant smaller demonstrations. And the big players know it. Is it not hopeless to introduce any positive change now and even in the future when any election result (=the will of the people) will be always ignored or straightened out as long as it does not "fit" the powers that be ?

I think it is a big difference if you set up a system for a moo baan or just your residence with a moderate number of cameras, not to talk of legal issues as well. You have some very good points. Of course wireless cameras are theoretically hackable. And the hub (I have as well a Synology NAS with surveillance application that runs on Linux) might be as well. But then again my main IT-systems would be most probably very difficult to hack. They are heavily protected. Mobiles I only need for immediate alarms and the phones do not contain anything sensitive. And it would take a big amount of criminal energy only to see me having dinner. But does this not as well depend all very much on the components you choose ? I doubt the Cloud Storage with Nord (Nord Locker) takes away your rights to your own videos. It is fully encrypted end to end. And ARLO for example has sophisticated log-in protection. You mention Ali Express for your components. I suppose these are mostly of Chinese origin. Well.....or do you mind to share the components which you intend to use ? I am interested to know since you have set up a bigger system. Currently my favourite would be TP-Link Tapo, but it seems their only system is for 2 cameras only and cannot be extended. I would need but only 5 cameras. And I am willing to take all (very theoretically potential) risks with battery operated models.

Currently we do not have any immediate neighbors, but soon we will. They are actually part of my security concept without even knowing (yet) ????. Of course your idea of a seperate siren is very good. Anyway there is no system (cameras, hub, siren) on the market (exept ARLO) that does fulfill all requirements. So it will be a seperate siren for me, too. It is to P off the burglar, not the neighbours. May I ask what siren you use ? And what cameras ? If ever possible I would like to stick to my idea of rechargeable battery operated types since I have very good experience with ARLO. But since ARLO does not work from Thailand (Cloud Storage not allowed) my second choice would have been TP Link Tapo, but they only have a set of 2 cameras. Acccording to a review on Amazon non extendable although they offer a Cloud Storage plan for up to 5 cameras. A supplier on Lazada which I contacted does not answer to this question. I would want 5 cameras. Any idea ? Any hint would really help for in the very worst case I would need to contact a local company to do it for me (wired I suppose then) This would probable be expensive and give me less control.

Surge Protection is anyway advisable for all critical components, this includes for example as well the modem. I have 2 APC Uninterrupted Power Supplies for my IT Infrastructure. The cameras - if battery driven are anyway excluded then. Another argument for battery operation. And I would like to suggest to think about cloud storage for the videos instead of DVR. For obvious reasons.

Spot on. This was my main hospital for some decades. They removed my prostate with robot assisted (Da Vinci) surgery. Apart from that I think that the Charité in Berlin has as well a good reputation. But as Sheryl says: Depends on the issue. I have heard that some of the best heart specialists are located in Spain - just to name one example.

IF you can find a decent surveillance camera system, DIY is very easy and cheap. The best camera system on the market today is ARLO IMHO. Unfortunately, they do not support remote storage in the cloud from Thailand (must be some legal issue, I think). Cloud Storage is vital IMHO for what good does it do to you if the event videos are recorded on a local recorder if this very recorder will then be taken away by the burglar and with it any evidence. I propose the following requirements: 1. Base Station which does support the number of WiFi cameras you need (in my case 5) 2. Outdoor and Indoor possible 3. Cloud Storage (7 day max is enough) of videos accessible from any desktop. You may download the videos as needed. 4. Intelligent event detection (distinguishing a dog from a person) 5. Immediate alarm to several mobile phones in case of an event 6. Night view 7. Very loud siren at least 100db, more is better 8. Strong Base Station which may support the cameras even through walls for a whole 1 storey house, possibly with a WiFi repeater acceptable for 2 storey. 9. Cameras with rechargeable batteries with long operating life per charge (several months) 10. Installation both possible standing on a shelf and on a wall 11. Indoor cameras as small as possible to avoid easy detection at first sight Of course you can give an order to a reputable company as listed above. Then you might perhaps not need independent cameras (WiFi and Battery) for the cabling will be done by the company and you get a turnkey solution, which is nice as well. Without cabling it all comes down to a configuration issue, which you might be able to do yourself easily. In either case it is worth considering some of the other requirements. I am in the process of building my own system as well. Maybe I would even consider the companies that you recommend here if I do not find something on the market that I could install myself easily and which fulfill my requirements. So far I did not succeed, but it seems I come close.

The point is that those cameras might be rechargeable battery operated. One charge lasts several months.

At least their food is good as long as it is not original street food upcountry.

There are good and bad behaving people of all nationalities. But to say per average a European visitor is behaving "inferior" to a Chinese is simply outright wrong. I have seen Chinese spitting on the floor just where you wanted to get your breakfast (buffet) at a 4-star hotel. I have never seen that from an European. They rather shout than speak - even at a table of 4. And I doubt they were all deaf. And they do various strange disgusting things of which you might have read in the press. And (some of the) Indians walk around the streets like they were at home in Kolkatta or Mumbai. Dangerous and careless. But of course there are as well well behaving Chinese, as there are nice Russians (Yes, I know one) and people from India.

And then there are so called pharmacists who have the tendency not to check anything, but are obviously allowed to sell you quite potent drugs without prescription. How could they check for they do not have your history (some have it to a certain extent for you might buy most of the medicaments at the same pharmacy). But they do not ask you as well. Only sell - being antibiotics their all can do favourite. Beware.

They should grab what they can (if they can at all despite winning the election). Then we will see what positive change it will bring with it. But the more I hear and read about it I would not hold my breath. And for the procedures: As someone said in a previous post somewhere: "Not from the democratics handbook". Much more questionable than what I read about the US. And this is "questionable" enough. What a sad world this is today. Or was it always like this and I did not notice ?

True to a certain degree. But not always overpriced (much) although it happens for sure as well (in one case I did a comparison - it was almost the same), but they might not prescibe Generica which would save you HUGE amounts of money if they would exist.

Thank you. I do not know where I had my mind. I just had a look at our local VILLA yesterday and there it was: Blue Mountain Coffee Beans. About 750 THB compared to the other brands at below 170 THB to the left and right on the shelf for the same quantity. But as you say - it is a PITA to figure out which brand is the best and it would be so very valuable if one could depend on someones experience and expertise. The Special Edition Nespresso was quite good but as well 3 times the price than their normal capsules. Something for a special occasion. In Tokyo every better Coffee Shop offers Blue Mountain. I never saw it in a Coffee Shop here.

I can only confirm this feeling. I am actually quite convinced that it is absolutely true for some hospitals. I even suspect a general policy in some cases behind it. Our doctors do tend to make appointments for regular "control checkups" in a short timeframe, although the history shows (for example blood values) that nothing new is to be expected. It is not the Thai way, but I am not shy to ask why they think such a follow-up is necessary in certain situations and what they would do if the values would be higher or lower. I would then either propose a date more in the future or decline and say that I would contact them if I felt worse. I saved a lot of money this way in cases where my condition had become much better or completely disappeared without their continuous control. I have as well found that some doctors might not be educated to the max. I am no doctor but I have a very good friend in Switzerland who is. When I ask him and confront my Thai doctor then with what he said or proposed it could well change the treatment. In some cases it has worked out like this. My stepdaughter is pregnant and she changed to the Chonburi (Government) hospital which had a very profound positive impact of the (then much lower) cost. Bottom line: I became much more sensitive to some doctors advice and avoid the hospital if I believe that it is not really necessary. All well within certain risk limits of course.

We used such a carbonator in Switzerland - and one of the well known and reputed brands. Here is my experience in reference to your post. 1. I doubt that it is cheaper than ready made Sparkling Water in bottles. It is not only the machine, it is the CO2 cylinder that needs to be replaced. Same Business Model than a PC printer where the buying cost does not matter, but the cost of the ink cartridges. Same as Nespresso where it is not the Coffee Machine but the Coffee Capsules that generate the profit. And in Thailand you may add the cost of the Mineral Water since here Tap-Water is not suitable. In Switzerland you may at least use Tap-Water which is at times better than the water sold in bottles. 2. You will not achieve a longer lasting CO2 content so that you may store what you produced. First of all you wont even achieve the same carbonation from the very beginning than it is present in small bottles that can buy in a supermarket. So if you prefer really carbonated water a carbonator is not it. 3. Add flavours: Same for ready made water and home carbonated water. One drawback as well It is not recommended to use juices such as Orange Juice as the base of your carbonation with a carbonator. 4. Very small probability but nevertheless present: A high pressure CO2 cylinder may be dangerous. It has happend that they did (although it is quite rare) explode. My conclusion is that a carbonator is by far inferior in every aspect to a ready-made Soda from the supermarket. We use Singha-Soda water and it is perfect. The only (tiny) argument that could have some weight is that you do not have to carry around heavy water bottles, but this may be only valid if you have no own car. And a 7/11 or Family Mart is always just around the corner here. Almost wherever you are. Depends if you are in Thailand or not.

Thank you ! Could have had a short look at Lazada myself, but somehow I had the impression that I did that already before. You proved me wrong. They even have various kinds .... unfortunately. The torture of the selection (in German we say: ("Die Qual der Wahl") and who knows how fresh the beans are ......

Thanks. Unfortunately I am in Pattaya, but I had a short sneak preview at the website. It is all in Thai, but I have a Thai Wife who likes Coffee as well. What do you mean with "House" Blue Coffee. It must come from Jamaica or am I wrong ?

Thank you. Lotus's - the exclusive Gourmet Shop ? ???? OK, jokes aside - this Blue Mountain is a real superior coffee and it is expensive, too. They had it for some time as a limited edition of Nespresso. But I have experienced that now multiple times: They promote a superb coffee only to take it out of the offering soon after. I would even buy a filter coffee machine incl. grinder if I could get the Coffee Beans.

I did not know what IBS is, so I googled it. And it is very much probable that I have exactly that. I do Colonoscopies regularily at a renown hospital in Pattaya, but my Gastroenterologist does not really help apart from taking away polyps if they find some (which is normal for me) and recommendations of a ridiculous diet which is impossible for me to adhere to. I would starve. The procedure itself was really painful the last time - it should not be. But a very easy to manage (no anesthesist necessary, a nurse with some experience is enough - have done it in Switzerland) Propofol Infusion would take away any pain completely. Exept the pain in the wallet. They demand a fortune for that, a multiple of the colonoscopy itself. So I would be happy to see some recommendations for an alternative hospital / specialist. If we all PM Sheryl she would maybe not be so happy. I guess many have that kind of ailment.