Eneukman

Not totally sure about this but any coronary disease is likely to be ruled out unless you can prove that the blood pressure wasn't to blame. My blood pressure was 200/150 when I was diagnosed (had to ask the doc to check it) but was quickly brought under control and is now normal. I have a wrist monitor that I bought in Boots and earlier this afternoon it was something like 117/78 with a pulse rate of 61. It's not a good idea to check it after having a hot shower though or immediately after coming back up from an hour's swim. Alan

I signed up to the Ex-Pats Scheme last year but it only covers you until you're 65. I think they will cover you afer 65 but you have to pay a higher premium NOW. When the renewal premium is due (May), I'll enquire about whether they would be willing to set up a scheme that would cover pre-existing conditions, subject to a minimum number of people signing up. The cover would obvuiously be considerably more expensive but for those with diabetes or who like me have high blood pressure, it might be worth while. Alan

Same here - and if it was a st, she'd probably be long gone by 2.00 am. Ermmmm ............... Some of us live here Alan

Thanks - I've bookmarked this site to look at later. Alan

Like it Alan

I've only flown with them short haul Bangkok to KL and KL to Langkawi and return. Can't really recall too much about the service or the food so it couldn't have been too bad. I wasn't too bothered about the food in any case as I'd had breakfast before going to the airport. Obviously service is more important on long haul than it is on short haul. Alan

I've downloaded the TVU Player though most of the channels seem to be crap. Some just won't load (probably down to TOT) though Nickleodeon and Star Sports seemed to be OK. The volume on my laptop is crap but it's OK when I use headphones. I'll read your original post again in the morning when I'm a bit more sober. Alan

One major problem I would have is TOT's fucking shit awful broadband service. It's been down at least once a day this week and I'm currently downloading a file at a mere 8kbs on a (supposed) 512/256 modem. Alan

I'll try and look in if it's repeated as I may not make it this Monday. Alan

I'll try and look in for a few drinks at some point (maybe not Monday) to check out your new line up, Shane. Alan

Thanks for that Shane, I'll check her out next time I'm in. Alan

Also, on my laptop, I have discovered that hitting the key immediately below the escape "Esc" key, toggles between English and Thai. I like this option - ชอบมาก. The only problem is that I have to increase the font size orI can't read it!!!!! Alan

I used the domestic terminal last week and found the bare metal ceilings along with the ducts that I assume carried power cables etc gave the place a very cold feeling. Once I reached the gate, it was much better though I wonder how it would feel with the Sun beating through all the glass panels in the ceiling. As for the toilets, several of the taps appeared to be out of order and one was already very shaky. Coming back, it was a long walk to reach the baggage collection point though I still got there before the cases started coming off. Next was the problem in finding my pre-booked taxi. In the end he came to where I was standing, which was much easier. There were plenty of offers of transport to Pattaya if I hadn't had anything booked though. Alan

Jer-eee, 75,000 baht per month is certainly feasible though obviously you cannot go out mongering every night on that. One factor that is often overlooked is an allowance for side trips within Thailand, the occasional holiday elsewhere in the area and visits back to your home country. I have a 2 room condo and my water bills vary from 240 to 320 or so baht. This includes a 50 baht service charge per month per room. My bedroom only has a ceiling fan, which is on every night for anything between 9 and 10 hours. The electric bill for the bedroom (and bathroom with hot water heater for the shower) comes to around 250 baht per month. The living room bill varies from around 600 baht to a bit over 1,000 baht depending on how long I spend on the internet and how much I use the aircon. Alan

Correction - It takes forever to get ANYWHERE. Coming in from View Talay on Hogmanay last year (and Christmas Eve), I had to wait 20 minutes to get on a baht bus in Jomtien. And getting back to Jomtien at night could also be difficult. There were NO buses parked up on Pratamnak Road at the junction with South Pattaya Road. Fortunately, a bus came along just as I arrived so I jumped in quick before any bastard could try and try and hire it for themselves. Alan

Found why the formulae I had inserted weren't doing the calculations automatically. In Tools - Options - Calculation, there is an automatic and manual option. The default setting is automatic but for some unknown reason, this changed to manual in this particular file. I have no idea how this happened as the only reason I ever go into this particular area is to change the precison option to "Precision as displayed". In this particular file, this isn't required so I have never had the need to even go into the Options drop down box. The change was also made on the back up file I started using a few days ago so I can only imagine that there is one of those short-cuts that Microsoft keep secret that I'm unknowingly finding. Alan

If you've just turned 65, you could find it very difficult to get health insurance cover in Thailand from scratch. It's less of a problem if you've been with a company for a number of years. Still, check out the company Gary suggested as they may be able to help. In a similar vein, does anyone know of a company that offers cover that doesn't exclude existing health complaints - e.g. high blood pressure? Mine is under control so long as I take the pills every day. The premium would obviously be higher but I could live with that. Alan

February to April sees the high season winding down. Weather wise, I would recommend earlier in that 3 month period rather than later. April also sees the Songkran Festival, which in Pattaya lasts from 13th to 19th April inclusive. Some people love it, others like me hate it. Many expats leave Thailand for the duration! The humidity levels start to rise again in March so if it was me, I'd come in February. In November, it is just hot but come March and April it is hot and humid. Before I retired here, I used to come in November on holiday and in my opinion, November is probably the best time to come. Alan

Let's be honest now, how many of you back up your critical data on a regular basis? Fortunately, I do so roughly every 2 weeks or so and last did so last week. Last night, I went to update an excel file, which contains a number of formulae to save me having to tell the PC what computations I want it to do every time. Now, for some strange reason last night, the totals didn't change when I changed one figure. I could re-enter the formula but when I changed one of the figures, the total stayed the same. This particular workbook has a number of worksheets - mainly historical data - and whenever I tried entering a formula on a different worksheet, it worked the first time but refused to change the total whenever I changed one figure. There's no virus in the file and the file itself is encrypted. Any thoughts as to what has happened here? Fortunately, the damage caused was minimal as it was a simple matter of copying over the back up file and changing a few figures. The formulae it contains seem to be working OK. A pain in the back side but it could easily have been much worse. Alan

Basically correct, Owen. The UK state pension is the same as the US Social Security. My works pension is the same as your company pension. The term company pension is also used in the UK. The only difference is that most companies don't have a company health plan due to the existene of the National Health Service. Some companies do, however, arrange private health coverage for senior staff - though some contribution to the cost of this has to be paid by the employee. When I retired, I had the option of taking a reduced pension at the age of 50 or leaving it and getting a higher pension at 60. I elected to take a reduced pension - I might not live to be 60!!!!! Also, I wa given the chance of taking a tax free lump sum. I took up this offer (further reducing my pension) but rekoned that I could make more in the longer term by investing this sum on the stock market. Alan

If you live in Thailand, your UK state pension will not be increased each year, which is a major annoyance for those affected by this rule. I don't get my state pension for the best part of 14 years so it doesn't affect me at the moment. My works pension is increased in line with inflation. This year's increase was all of 2.3% or less than half the rate of inflation in Thailand. Fortunately, my works pension only makes up around a third of my total income. Alan

My understanding of the position is that trips before 1st October will not be taken into account so you shouldn't have a problem on your next two trips. However, if an Immigration officer is having a bad day, then TiT! If you are planning on making several visits during the next 12 months, play it safe and get a multi-entry non-Immigrant O visa in your home country. This entitles you to stay for up to 90 days at a time and allows you to come and go during the validity period of your visa. You have to enter Thailand within 90 days of the visa being issued. Alan

Welcome, Richard. Remember to join the Members' area of the board where you'll find a lot of more interesting material. Alan

I have a couple of surge protectors, essential if you're going to be using your lap top and I can use either round or flat. Alan