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507
2025 SSA Form 7162 - "Hello, are you dead yet?" forms.
Guess I'll need to check my mail. -
0
Padang Besar border 'bounce' report August 2025
FWIW, here's some info on Padang Besar (PB) as it stands in August. For reasons I won't bother to explain, I have just had to do an urgent, cheap, out-in of almost any description from near BKK against the background of the big holiday weekend, no Cambodia and frightening reports of savage, snarling IOs demanding demanding baksheesh for immediate return. Lao was an option but looked like 2x20 hours in a minivan for B4K -plus, not to mention the visa. Malaysia is attractive because no visa required but no planes to Penang and KL was B3K each way when I looked plus an overnight to avoid paying the stormtroopers. PB doesn't quite select itself, but nearly. The two trains south were full, of course, so I booked a bus….. (I am surprised at how good the online booking systems are – specially by comparison with SRT!). There are many website mentions of the general chaos surrounding train passage through PB and its immigration. Trains are never on time, especially the two “shuttles” per day from Hat Yai which are said to be overcrowded. They stop way short of the border, unlike the two international services where at least there is some organisation to move passengers through the border. To Hat Yai, then. 16 bleddy hours. From HY it gets easier, contrary to many websites' info. The main HY bus station is on the east side of town (very close to Central Festival). Bus from airport also comes in here. Ignore any touts or services offering “border for B300”; minibus to the border is B70 (from ticket counter 24), runs roughly hourly – in practice, as soon as one fills; I waited literally one minute – and takes 40-60 minutes. Minibus will drop you right at Thai Immigration building. No need to stay on until the small van station in PB's Thai town. No queue at all in IO (at 2pm on a holiday). Two minutes' amiable chat with officer before stamping out. She asked if I was returning immediately but I said no, “you don't like that, do you?” She just nodded. Now walk across truck park (ignore a few nitwits suggesting you need a motorcycle taxi) to Malaysia, around 6 minutes. Option to visit the laughably expensive duty-free en route. Malaysian IO (don't forget, they too now have the silly pre-trip form to fill) also no queue. One-minute chat; stamp; out. I chose to stay overnight to avoid reported demands for B2000 for an immediate return. I would like to like PB, but it's a nothing place, though there are some cheap and passable cabins to stay. Kangar, 35km away on a frequent local bus from near the border office, is a better bet and from there one could go to Butterworth if contemplating a more expansive round trip. But best is the idea of Malaysian trains (clean, modern, cheap) from PB to somewhere like Alor Setar or Ipoh for a couple of days. NB: PB is essentially dry; I did a very thorough search for you all and found one sole location with a fridge of Tiger/Carlsberg (RM19/large bottle) at: https://maps.app.goo.gl/3ABWaR8N85d6SunX9 . Next day, repeat. 1015 MAL border, no queue, immediate stamp. Walk to TH; again no queue. IO on desk said: “British? Go to that room to the side. VIP room.” This worried me as I have not heard the like since the end of the Soviet Union. Officers (two of them) told me to sit down (and, oddly, made it clear it was an order). But then merely asked where I had been in Malaysia. And stamped me for 60 days exempt. No questions at all about my previous visas etc. Out. From this building go immediately across the dual-carriageway and there is a shack selling B70 tickets back to HY. “Ten minutes”, said the lad, but it was 6. Back to HY bus station 3.5 hours early, which was hardly their fault. There are tables and chairs within Central to sit and relax. Summary: Nothing's perfect, and a bus to HY is not a picnic, but HY-PB-HY is so simple I may investigate a BKK-HY flight next time as the actual border bit is as easy as any I have ever experienced. -
29
Important announcement regarding Aseannow xmas party.
Translates to sniffing a trannies arse -
111
Hospital checking visa
I deal with 2 different hospitals 1 is near a convent and the other is in Rangsit The one near the convent never asks for PP, and frankly, I never carry it when I go there. The other in Rangist asks for passport just to make it easier to get my name and info on their system. I have forgottento bring it a couple of times and they just looked it up. simple. If your friend is on a 30 day exampt thenthey are going to be looking for money up front and unfortunatley lumping your friend in with all teh dodgers. Just because you have insurance and can provide a number does ot mean that the insurance carrier is going to make full or any payment. People think that they are fuly covered and I can tellyoufrom experince that you are not. Insurance providers have a set fee they pay for meds and for hosiptal admissions and they will not pay anything above it. They also have a set list of things that are covered. The top hospitals here charge way above the allowed rates for meds so someone is on the hook for the extra. I had surgery when I first got here with a document supplied by the Cdn Governement advising that they would pay for all charges. hopital still wanted the money up front and I had to get reimbursed. -
0
Spuds better than French Fries
Guess I'll open a Spudshack franchise. "Potatoes have long had a bad rap for being high in carbohydrates. A new study backs that concern—at least in part. That weekly french fry habit could be setting you up for diabetes decades down the road. Research found that eating french fries just three times per week may significantly raise Type 2 diabetes risk—but surprisingly, other potato preparations showed no increased risk at all." https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/french-fries-versus-baked-potatoes-one-raises-diabetes-risk-20-percent-the-other-doesnt-5897553 -
23
New laptop - compact, light and not expensive
I'm an ASUS fanboy since forever. Broadly the same reasons as you noted as my employer were looking for a reasonably rugged laptop for field work without paying top-dollar for a mil spec machine like Toshiba. I only had one that disappointed, bought while I was working in the US, but the global warranty allowed their Bangkok service center to replace the mobo at no cost. I bought a 14" core i7 ZenBook about 3 years ago in the UK for about £770. Upgraded the SSD to 1Tb, but I overlooked that the RAM was solder-in and non-expandable. Unless it cacks, it will probably be my last laptop. I just replaced the battery though as I was lucky to get 45 minutes unplugged. Now back at several hours of battery life. My 'new' desktop is a refurbished Lenovo M700 core i5 ThinkCentre that I bought for about 3000 baht last year. I spent another 5000 baht on SDD, RAM and Wi-Fi upgrades. Really solid performance.
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