dddave

I'm curious as to how long wraps can last under the tropical sun before cracking and color shift? Does one have to cover the car when parked for long periods?

Maharaj Govt. Hospital in Korat by chance? I had excellent treatment there for a staff infection in my foot. Another hospital wanted to amputate, Maharaj doctors went the extra mile to save it.

Nothing wrong with a touch of humor in the news...beats the normal litany of motorbike fatalities and misbehaving farangs.

Officially. Pattaya's Songkran festivities do not start until the day after Bangkok and the rest of the country conclude but we all know how that's going to go. Saturday April 13..for both places. Really confusing when it will end as various government agencies have announced an "extended" Songkran but I have yet to see any official dates published in the Royal Gazette...The final authority

I've lived in Jomtien more than 2 years and I can't think of any popular and proper hotel style "Breakfast Buffets" among local restaurants. Full English seems to be the order of the day at most restaurants and pubs, a source of endless discussion and agitation on local FB forums. I'm sure some of the more upscale hotels around NaJomtien such as the Movenpick have an impressive breakfast spread as does the venerable Royal Cliff hotel off Pratumnak Hill.

The lowest price progressives I could find in Bangkok: cheap frames and non-brand lenses were B15,000 at a shop in Pratunam 5 years ago. Vision testing in local shops is not trustworthy as well in that there are no licensing or training standards...any shop employee gives vision tests. I get my vision tested at Rutnin eye Hospital every 3 years, now about B2000. If you go, be sure to request a "VISION TEST" and not an "EYE EXAM" as an eye exam is a physical eye examination and usually does not include a vision test or prescription. Make sure your prescription includes your "pupilary distance" (PD) required for progressive lenses. As BritMan2 suggested, Zenni Optical (Yes, Chinese and very excellent service and quality) My last pair 3 years ago (plain frame) were less than $80 delivered to Bangkok. If you are new to progressives, be aware there will be a perhaps week long acclimation period with distorted perspectives but stick with it and your eyes will quickly self-adjust.

Really helpful. Thanks.

Has anybody been able to order any items on Lazada Philippines from a Thailand location, pay with debit card for delivery to a Philippine address? If wrong forum, please re-direct. The only Philippine forum seems to be the visa forum only for Immigration related questions.

I purchased a Chinese made Hisense 70" TV 3 years ago, B19,000, used daily and never a single issue. Just more mindless ragging on anything Chinese. No doubt, there is a lot of Chinese garbage out there, a fair amount of garbage from everywhere else as well. A close eye on most products from wherever your home country is will undoubtedly reveal mostly Chinese components. For sure, I could have paid 75,000+ Baht on a Sony or LG and perhaps better build quality but guess what? Go to their specific forums on the internet and you will find dissatisfied owners as well.

Around 2004, A friend and his Thai wife lived not far from the Atlanta Hotel. Their apartment was being painted and they needed to vacate for a night so they figured the close-by Atlanta would be a good choice. Even when they explained they were man and wife, they were still flat out refused a room. The clerk demanded they produce a copy of their marriage license.

I sat next to Mr. Trink on the Bangkok to Pattaya bus one day. He had a large hardcover copy of Salman Rushdie's "Satanic Verses" of which he was to write a review for the Bangkok Post. We chatted a bit about certain Nana Plaza characters we were both familiar with as I had briefly owned a piece of a bar there. He then politely said that he needed to get as much of the book read as possible and buried his nose into his reading.

Well, he did manage to get the dating website name in and spell it correctly. You know the old saying, "All publicity is good publicity as long as they get the name right."

I got tired of replacing glasses every 3 years because of hazing caused by cleaning. Even using the softest cloths, eventually there would be hazing. I started washing my glasses during my morning shower, soaking the lenses and just using suds from my shampoo and my fingers to clean the lenses. After the shower, I carefully blot them dry with a soft towel. My current pair is now in their 4th year with no hazing at all, still crystal clear.

There are virtually no licensing or certification standards for the technicians in most optical shops. Many use a computerized system that I found was highly inaccurate. If you are seeking an accurate prescription for something as complicated as progressive lenses, pay for a pro. If in Bangkok, Rutnin Eye Hospital is the best but be aware. If you request an "Eye Examination", at Rutnin that is a thorough examination of the eye itself by an Ophthalmologist and DOES NOT include a vision test. You must specifically ask for a VISION TEST and if wanting progressive lenses, make sure the prescription includes your PD (pupillary distance) I have been a Zenni customer for 7 years now and have had nothing but good service from them. Just beware of the "Add-Ons" when ordering. Read up on them. Most are pretty worthless.

The fill-up stop is new and is really annoying. I suspect the bus company has an interest in the nearly useless food shop. Adds 25 minutes to the trip.

Go back and read his last line.😉

I just read a current news item about 24 tons of pork, illegally imported from Brazil, being buried in a deep hole and covered over with soil. I led me to wondering about what actually happens to that large a mass of meat as it putrefies under ground. I'm aware, large animals die every day but the carcasses are usually stripped away pretty quickly by scavengers and insects. Usually nothing but bones in short order. It's this large a mass of flesh in one place that intrigues me. Without oxygen just slowly rot? Turn into some kind of putrid liquid? I would think it would be a threat to water supplies nearby. Any knowledgeable thoughts?

My Dad was on one in a Florida condo. He later said it was one of the worst mistakes of his life. He died of ALS 6 years after and strongly believed that stress from being on the condo board contributed to his condition. You end up being hated by everybody. You can't walk to your car without some disgruntled owner chasing you down and haranguing on and on

I'd suggest you ask this in a less biased forum, not overly populated with those that bash everything without knowing anything about it. The REDDIT Thailand forum would be a good start. https://www.reddit.com/r/Thailand/

You bash another for Thai bashing but you seem to have no difficulty assigning blame without a single shred of evidence about what actually happened.

I was originally prescribed Valsartan at the time of my by-pass surgery 7 years ago. When Valsartan became temporarily unavailable in Thailand 5 years ago, I switched to Losartan and never switched back to Valsartan. My BP has been pretty stable in the 115-125/70-80 range. My reading told me that the main difference between the two was that Losartan had a lower duration than Valsartan, actually less than 24 hours. It was often suggested to be taken twice daily but I never did that. Your thoughts, Sheryl on the differences between the two?

I considered that since I was posting in a specific Health & Medicine forum, that those able to answer my inquiry would know exactly to what I was referring. I do admit the acronyms of the hypertension world are just about as arcane as those of the IT industry what with ARBs, CCBs, ACEs and Beta Blockers, to barely scratch the surface. Also, I'm lazy and didn't want to type Angio Retention Blocker twice.

Most motorbike rental agencies rent to tourists with little motorbike driving experience and most have never even driven a standard shift car. Add that complexity to what is already a driver unsure of themselves and the chances of disaster go up exponentially. There is really no rental market for standard motorbikes.

Which Angio Retention Blockers are most easily available in Thailand? Any inexpensive local generics? Google didn't provide a lot of local information.

I was also going to suggest OP open a Charles Schwab account next time in US. He could continue to pay bills automatically with his CU account but transfer funds to the CS account for Thailand use. I've never had my CS card eaten by an ATM here but mine did expire last year. They expressed me a new card in 4 days. CS customer service is the best anywhere.