SammyJ

You say they will all do the "full test"--what does that consist of? Might you go from an outside machine one stares into independently to a backroom where you can stare at an eye chart, but i have never seen here any shopping mall glass shop have a certified optometrist or the types of testing equipment utilized by professional, certified, trained, optometrists at CM Ram, Vision Center or ones i have seen back in the US.

"I bought these progressive specs from one of the BIG high street retailers in CM" wow, I didn't know CM had such retailers--to which shops and where?

Yes, i have used the one at CM Ram and she was good--Vision Center also, but as you said, they will do the testing for free but expect you to purchase glasses.

exactly right!

What type of testing did they do--are you talking about the shops which have the machine that you look into for a brief period of time and then it spits out a "prescription"? there are few actual trained optometrists who have the proper equipment and are trained how to use it---i know one is at CM Ram--it was the only testing i have seen done that resembled professional testing back in the US, by a certified optometrist.

Wow, if this bothers you about living in Thailand, then you are in store for some real upsets. You don't understand that Thais, for the overwhelming majority, do not use "toilet paper", but their "bum sprays" and what you see is not considered "toilet" anything, but only paper tissue, to be used to clean like paper towels, etc--and the rolls, for some restaurants, are cheaper and easier to use than supplying bundles of paper napkins.

correct--and they seem efficient while being demonstrated in Makro or Home Pro, but the store is already air conditioned and has low humidity--once the air cooler is run at home, it is nothing more than an expensive fan--like was stated in an earlier reply--the true portable air cons--require outside venting, and a collection of the water which normally is drained outside--and are expensive to run and very noisy as the small compressor inside the machine which is inside your house (split air con, most common here, the compressor, of course, is outside ur house )--the others that use ice or cold water--not too efficient in a warm humid house--they are simply increasing the humidity within your house, making it usually more uncomfortable, and a constant replacing of the ice or cool water.

google black spot--it may not be what you have, but i had it a lot on my roses--I discovered that it came from watering too early in the morning and getting the leaves wet, when there wasn't yet sufficient sun, or heat, to dry the water quickly, and it let to a fungus, called black spot--common in roses and some other leafy plants could try to spray, but the answer was to trim off the infected leaves as quickly as possible so that it couldn't spread more easily.

Keep looking--are you sure you have a LAN cable? I have never seen a notebook that does not have a LAN outlet or more than one.

He is not saying you will get 20% for wifi---I have same true home internet--when true techs come to test or set up, they connect their laptop to router with a LAN line--the advertised speeds are for wired connections,not wifi--variables if using a various VPS, or how many devices in a home on utilizing wifi at the same time--I usually get 650 to 750, or even 800 on rare occasions on my my True Wifi (i have the 1000 download) and sometimes as low as 500 to 600, which is plenty to watch movies, etc--True fiber has local what they call "nodes" i think ==and when i signed up there was a mix of 8 homes allowed per node--when i first signed up, they told me there were only 2 other on my nearest node--but over the last two years, it has filled up and if all users are on at the same time, it is possible that the "peak usage" they mentioned is correct--if also, within the household, they are multiple devices utilizing the wifi at the same time--it was suggested you connect a LAN line to a notebook, for example, and then run a speed test--within Thailand--ping bkk, and then ping an outside Thailand site and compare speeds--as that is how a True tech would test it--then if those speeds are good, then you know it is internal wifi issue, not ur fiber connection.

I think that saltwater pools are the only way to go. But, if he liked the other pool and it was convenient, to be upset by a 500 baht charge for a membership--which is for what length of time?

Which hotels offer "full towel service"? I have read hotels offering membership to their gyms--which might include use of the hotel's swimming pool, but I imagine that can be quite expensive--but maybe someone has experience with it?

Correct--minimum 65,000 international transfer per month, not an average--from what i understand, if you miss even a single month, there is a problem. Additionally, there is more paperwork/bank documents to gather ahead of applying for the next extension.

"immigration on arrival"--it won't even get to that concern. No visa, no arrival.

Having a job and some sort of assets are just a few of the factors considered. Also, with just those few factors--what kind of job would be looked at, and having worked for how long, what is the salary, and what documentation can be provided to prove the salary--assets--land? Do many Thai girlfriends have land or homes/condos in their name? Also, what is often considered are family ties here in Thailand that would compel a return,what previous travel has the applicant done outside Thailand, and funds in a bank account (that haven't just been deposited to help with the visa). It can be done but it is not an easy task for the average Thai.