nam-thip

What happens these days when you inform a UK medical health insurance company you have 'high blood pressure' will they refuse you or load it accirdingly? When i was a tourist to LOS i could only get cover for 90 days at a time and not a full six months. Maybe things have changed as i'm talking 15 years ago? I'm with BUPA Thailand, no OPD, this year at aged 63 it cost me 34,000 baht.

At present the UK pension is payable through having 30 years worth of stamps to your credit but in the year 2015 that will no longer be the case. At the moment certain (low income) individuals can claim additional pension payments through means testing which can take a single person from the basic state pension of £97 to a maximum of £132. According to the government means testing costs millions and doing away with it will help pay for the increase. No matter how many times i read the government statement on pension reforms and newspaper articles relating to the subject the only way i can see a UK naional qualifying is by residing in the UK.

Good question and one worth making an enquiry on for those that reach retirement age around the time it's introduced.

'Decent' state pension rise planned The state pension is to rise to around £140 a week, far more than at present, it has been reported. The proposal, to be detailed in a Green Paper before the end of the year, would particularly benefit women, the Daily Mail has said. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) confirmed there would be proposals for reform later this year and said the aim was to provide a "decent" pension. The plan would end the indignity of means testing and, according to coalition sources, pay for itself, largely by reducing bureaucracy, the newspaper reported. The present basic state pension is paid at £97.65 for a single person and £156.15 for a couple with a means-tested top-up for the poorest to give every pensioner a minimum income. A new 'single tier' pension which would replace all existing payments would give an income of £7,280 per year or £14,560 for a pensioner couple, if paid at £140 a week, the newspaper said. The move would be particularly good for women, who often fail to qualify for the full basic pension because they have stopped working to bring up children, and lack sufficient National Insurance contributions. Instead it would be based on ‘residency in Britain’, it said. The new pension would come in towards the end of this Parliament, in 2015. A DWP spokeswoman said: "The Chancellor has confirmed that the Government will improve the quality and accessibility of pensions in the Spending Review period. "We will be bringing forward proposals for reform in a Green Paper later this year. Our aim will be a simple, decent state pension for future pensioners, which is easy to understand, efficient to deliver and affordable."

I think the reason they lasted that long was because they had a one year lease on a well known disco/night club that just happened to be owned by the head mafia guy. They were kept well under control until their departure.

I flew to the UK with Etihad last year and had no problems in changing my return flight date. I changed my flight date over the telephone and collected a new ticket at the flight desk at Manchester airport on the day of departure and paid a £15 fee.

We’ve got to start somewhere so I bought a few 'copy' blue ray discs on the third floor of Tuckom just to see what the quality was like and it turned out to be hit and miss as is the case with your bog standard DVD’s. One blue ray copy was unwatchable and was returned without hassle. The others i bought were fine apart from a couple of blips like frame freezing. The cost of a blue ray 'copy' disc was 150 baht. The so–called real deal blue ray disc I viewed with suspicion as the colors on the cover’s didn’t look right to me and looked as if they’d been run off on a cheap printer and when there were a few discs of the same title stacked together the cover colors varied. The cost of the so-called genuine blue ray disc was 550 baht. I bought the movie The Hurt Locker in the UK for £11 whilst the same blue ray disc in Tuckom sells at 550 baht which at today’s exchange rate it costs about the same.

It’s not that easy to tread on Thai turf. Many years ago when living in Phuket an outfit from London calling themselves the Yardies with their ‘head office’ located somewhere in the Caribbean tried to get a foothold on the night club scene in Patong. A few times I caught sight of three black guys with more gold around their necks than Mr. T. They thought they could operate their business without any local rules but within a year they where run out of town by the Thai mafia.

Just to add that as a pensioner I’ve lived in Thailand for 14 years and anyone thinking of doing the same let me say that to live a comfortable life here without any worries you need a pension of ‘at least’ £20..000 per year. And that’s after TAX!! Any less than that and you’ll find yourself drinking Leo at 45 baht outside the mini-marts. Coming to Thailand for two weeks with a year’s worth of savings in your pocket is not reality............................Been there, done it!! Make no mistake to live a comfortable life in LOS does not come cheap and as one of your so-called cheap Charlie’s I spend somewhere in the region of 80-100.000 baht per month. My rented house (I refuse to buy one in LOS) costs me 20.000 baht per month. Daughter at school sees of 50.000 baht a year. Thai wives don’t come cheap. Food, Insurances, transport costs, clothing, holidays, etc, etc, and it all comes out of the one pocket. It soon adds up. When you live amongst it, the P4P scene soon becomes a bore as does the bullshit that goes with it.

Just looked at my UBC guide to highlight the program and it's on at 10pm and not 11pm as stated.

I do know of someone who might be interested but a bit more info would help. Is it live in or out? Is it full or part time? Salary?

Check out SB furniture store south of Tesco/Lotus on the Sukhumvit. It's the last shop before you turn into Tesco/Lotus coming from the Sattahip direction. I've not been in the store for some time but i bought mine there which cost around 5.500 baht some 6 years ago. It's cloth covered with adjustable height and tilt. At that time there were better quality ones available, but at a price!! I recently had the seat re-covered with good quality soft foam which is something you could consider on the chair you now use. I sometimes spend the best part of a day at the computer and the seat i purchased in SB furniture is fine for my needs.

This is a better copy.

This is the application form for a Thai licence renewal. I'm not sure if you can print it off from my download?

Renewing my 5-year motorbike licence. Wednesday September 22nd 2010 Here is a list of what you need to change your expired 5-year licence to a new 5-year licence. 1. Completed application form, which you collect at the entrance to the licencing centre (1 for car, 1 for motorbike). 2. Resident Certificate from immigration (200 baht at Chonburi/Pattaya immigration). 3. Your old licence. 4. Your passport. 5. Medical Certificate from any clinic (100 baht). 6. Photo copy of passport picture page (signed). 7. Photo copy of page with your most recent entry stamp with your current “Stay to” date (signed). 8. Photo copy of your 1-year visa (signed). Note: You cannot get a 5-year license on a tourist visa; they will only give you another 1-year licence. 9. 655 baht for the 5-year car license 10. 405 baht for the 5-year motorbike license. It will be two of everything if you’re applying for both licences at the same time. After checking my application papers at the entrance desk the medical certificate and photo copy of my 1-year visa were handed back and a ticket number issued. You then go upstairs and watch the TV screen for you number to be called. My 5-year motorbike licence expired in early July whilst I was in the UK and the fact it was over two months expired didn’t seem to make any difference at the centre. In addition the address on my old licence was not the same as my new address and I thought for that I would incur a fine but I didn’t. To renew a 5-year licence you will have to take the colour and reaction tests which takes about an hour as it’s somewhat disorganized, TIT. I argued with the lady that I only wanted to renew my 5-year licence and was the test really necessary but she was having none of it saying anyone renewing a 5-year licence and in possession of a 5-year licence will be subjected to the vision and reaction test. Out of curiosity I sat close to her desk and sure enough farang or Thai you was told you had to do the vision and reaction tests. Thinking back I remembered when I renewed my 5-year car licence I had to do the same. I entered the building at 9am and was all done and dusted by 10.30am. On the plus side my licence runs to my birthday in July 2016 which is 5 years and 10 months. Those going from a 1-year tempory licence to their first 5-year licence where not subjected to the tests. After completing the vision and reaction tests first timers were given a book to read then sent into a classroom to sit answering questions on a computer. Hope this info helps someone.

Does anyone know of a decent cleaning company in Pattaya that can clean my three piece suite which is covered in cloth and not leather. I need a company with a proper cleaning machine and not one that sprays the suite then hoover’s over the cloth with a wet & dry hoover.

I take the following medication for hypertension. Lodoz Tab (2.5/6.25) 1 per day after breakfast Hyzaar Tab 50Mg 1 per day after breakfast My three monthly trips to the Bangkok/Pattaya hospital costs me 6,640 baht and is made up as follows. So much for paying 33.000 baht per year to BUPA? Physician evaluation 1.000 baht Package medication 0.150 baht 3-monhs medication 5.490 baht Total 6.640 baht I have my own heart monitor and take weekly readings which I document then hand over to the hospitals Physician at each three monthly appointment. He takes a brief look, states the readings look fine then writes out a prescription for a three month supply for which I’m charged 1000 baht. My medication has been the same for the past two years so do I really need to pay 1000 baht for someone to write out a prescription then a further 150 baht to place the tablets in a small bag? not forgetting the ‘mark up’ at the hospital for medication. Knowing the local pharmacist to where i live works out of the Bangkok/Pattaya hospital I got the misses to speak with her to see if she could supply me with my next three months tablet supply. No problem there and her quote came to 4.080 baht which is a saving of 1.410 baht and if you add the prescription writing charges and packaging I’m better off to the tune of 2.560 baht. No prescription was required at my local Pharmacy.

Travel insurance and dangerous activities. Hiring a motorbike in Pattaya is done so by producing your passport which has F....k all to do with the legality of riding the bike. The standard Thai insurance offered with a rental bike is piss poor at best and covers little in the event of an accident. The Thai insurance also does not cover theft hence the reason why some unscrupulous hirer's secretly recover the bike during the rental period without your knowledge and claim the cost of theft from you the hirer when you report it as being stolen. When hiring a bike invest in a decent lock and don't put your trust in the lock that comes with the bike. Remember……………………….you are not the only one with keys to that same bike lock. As far as I’m aware when taking out travel insurance in your home country you have to inform the insurers that you intend to ride a motorbike and check what sort of cover does the insurance give you. Dangerous activities whilst on holiday are usually add-ons to travel insurances and if you don't check your level of cover you might have no cover at all other than that offered with the hire bike. A replacement bike assuming the one you hire is new will set you back 40-50.000 baht for starters. Medical bills don’t come cheap either as Thai’s injured in an accident with a farang insist on being treated at the best hospitals available which doesn’t come cheap. Hirer beware!!

Thanks for that information skippy_nl, had i known i could go for a renewal a full three months ahead of the due date i would have done so. It just goes to show that after 14 years of living in thailand i'm still learning.

I’m currently in the UK arriving on the 5th May and won’t head back to my home in Thailand until the end of August. My 5-year Thai motorbike licence expires on my birthday which is on the 3rd July meaning I'll have to take myself along to the licensing centre in Pattaya for renewal. Any info or suggestions on renewing a licence which will have expired 2-months after its due date and what I need to take with me. Will they issue me with another 5-year motorbike licence or drop me back to 1-year? My retirement visa also expires in July but I intend applying to Hull for an ‘O’ visa ahead of my return. I’m happy to let my visa expire as it’s due at the wrong time of year which is in early July with me making annual trips back to the UK for the past three years and holding out until one month ahead of the renewal date which to me was unsuitable. This time through the Hull Thai consulars office I’ll obtain a visa with a renewal date more suited to my annual trip back to the UK. Thanks guys.

Not a good time to buy property in Thailand with many expat’s having left and the 6 months a year regulars no longer coming. Rental income is falling with too many available properties and too few expats or long term tourists. The estate where i live on the Darkside (East Pattaya) almost every single property was leased out for the duration of the high season but the market is now that flat most of them stay empty all year round. I've lived in the area for six years and the same houses that were up for sale six years ago are still for sale so if you do buy be prepared for a long haul if you decide to sell. And if you lease through an agent, be careful as there are a few horror stories floating around. Don't forget that on rental income you’re supposed to pay tax at what i think is 12%. Fall foul of an angry tenant and he could shop you to the taxman. Town-house rentals vary depending on the condition of the property and quality of furniture. Low end where i live: 6.500 baht per month Top end: 10-12000 baht per month but few achieve 12000 baht. It's a risky move in my opinion and not one i would wish to take in today’s market.

There's a shop on Thepprasit road that sells the sort of equipment your looking for. As you turn into Thepprasit road from the Sukhumvit road the shop's about halfway down on your right hand side. When you pass the Honda motorbike shop on your left it's a couple of hundred metres on your right.

That's old news and was reported in the local rags some time ago.

Another 'White Elephant' for sale

I agree wholeheartedly with with what torrenova has to say in that many Thai’s are ham fisted fck up merchants. Taxi driver today, airline pilot tomorrow, and DIY expert every day of the week. I’ve yet to meet a Thai who will openly admit that he doesn’t have the necessary skill or ability to do any job asked. Don’t wait for the fck up to happen acquire a few skills yourself as it’s cheaper in the long term and more rewarding. The last DIY (taxi driver guy) my misses used was when I was overseas who came with no tools and asked if he could borrow my drill, some spanners and a hammer. To this day two of my spanners are still missing. And never forget.............You pay for any mistakes they make.