Grandpollo

Good one. See how many have been charged with walking patients to charity or public hospitals. Lots.

Not much of an excuse for self diagnosis to be honest but you have a good point. Especially with Americans which I infer from his location and the lack of access to health care for so many there. But what's all this "potential respiratory issues"? If an MD has said this is a risk then the MD should have written a scrip for a safe supply (of whatever antibiotic) . And Azithromycin might not be the drug of choice anyway. The problem with Azithromycin is that it's become legendary on travel boards (more the other Pattaya one) as this "kills everything" "Z-pack" which is complete nonsense of course and thus people don't get better, risk D. Difficile infection, spreading quite treatable bacterial diseases particularly STDs and making bacterial resistance more of a risk for all. It treats Chlamydia though, so 2 pills is a fair thing to have IF (and that's a big if) someone is actually diagnosed with it.

Not without a culture. If your physician agrees you should have them why not just get some from a pharmacy? Walmart would have generic for $5 of $10 for 30 days and they would be genuine and stored properly unlike what you might end up with in Pattaya. Usually when people won't ask the doctor it's because the doctor has said don't take them.

Keep in mind travel insurance might not cover motorcycle or scooter incidents and won't for sure if someone is unlicensed. Even in a school setting they would be racing to the "no" button.

And for 99.9% of self diagnosed infections like all STDs except Chlamydia it is probably a dumb thing to self prescribe anyway. (Won't work for Gonorrhea nor Syphilis for example). The "Z-Pack" is bought by people who know zilch about antibiotics. Increases the risk of possibly fatal C. Difficle infections though, so there's that.

I flew trans Pacific out of Hong Kong in first class when Cathay still had it and was the only passenger . 5 empty pods, so they made one up as a bedroom for me and told me that all 7 appetizers and all 7 main courses were catered so I could eat quite a lot if I wanted to not that I did. They told me to go ahead and leave my toiletries case in the lavatory as there were two and only me.

I use a human travel agent with the (big) company that did our corporate travel before I retired. They have a human 24/7 emergency number which I have had to use a couple times and they performed excellently. I change/cancel/alter flights quite a lot so I cannot imagine trying to do that online (e.g. Expedia) just to save a small agency fee which an online agency might have embedded in the fare anyway. I am always booking refundable fares so price doesn't enter the equation much. Service with the travel agent beats online with airlines where I only do online for points redemption and even then I don't mind the fee to do things on the phone. Airline fares are the same whether online with the airline or an agent anyway other than rare occasions, where consolidators offer fares but I would never patronize them or any agency outside where I live because there is no insurance for agency insolvency, fraud etc. And consolidator fares come with more conditions than you can shake a stick at. Hotels are almost always with the hotel site or more often by calling the reservation lines, because they offer best price guarantees anyway, and often more services like free better wifi and upgrades e.g. with Marriott/SPG/Radisson. Other than when I direct book with smaller hotels I know like RG or ones in Latin America where I deal with the owners. I would not use an agent or online with RG because they will pay a commission which could be as high as 25%.

Because a 25% discount sounds inviting until you find out what 100% was. (NB getting 33% more is a 25% not 33% discount). Other than for married people I can't see sending roses to bar girls in Pattaya. Is the last week of June a significant date?

You get a few ants, this machine helps raise them until you have many, then you find an area with gold deposits and they go dig it for you. They are quite strong for their size.

Trebuchet, and a supply of hay bales and kerosene.

https://www.pattayaunlimited.com/pattaya-train-station-and-timetable/ Weekdays one trip each way, slow but you can't argue the price at $1. For third class which maybe means you help shovel coal. Top fare is 140 Baht (First class, no shovel) so if you have 4 hours to kill, it's a cheap option.

Hepatitis B is spread by sex and drugs (and maybe rock and roll). A is spread by feces/bad hygiene of which there's plenty. The Hep A shot takes effect somewhat quickly. Vaccines are not scare mongering from anyone FFS. If you have a liver and like to be alive, the Hepatitis vaccinations are pretty valuable. 8 weeks prior , you can get some immunity from the first Hep B shot. More than not having it whatsoever. You might be able to get it at lower cost if you go to a public health clinic in your city, maybe pretend you're gay and go to those clinics. Make sure your normal vaccinations are current, e.g. tetanus and such. For Hep A you can whip up to Bangkok and get a shot for much less than 55 quid at Mahidol University Hospital Travel Clinic near Victory Monument BTS and there's no shortage. Mahidol is probably the best and least expensive travel vaccine clinic I have ever seen. English no problem, online booking of your appointment, and A/C. I received rabies post exposure vaccines there and on my last trip in June, got Yellow Fever done at 1/3 the cost of where I live.

Naproxen is sold as the brand Aleve, is generic everywhere, and should be OTC. Where you live, too. Paying for prescription naproxen sounds expensive. Tylex is a name brand for codeine and acetaminophen so the controlled substance rules already discussed here would apply. Frankly if MM says Tramadol is OTC in Pattaya take it with a generic acetaminophen at roughly the same dose (Tylex is 30 mg codeine and the opioid equivalency is about equal). Might be less constipated as well. Tramadol should be avoided if you are on SSRI antidepressants like Prozac. Even though it's Schedule IV in the US vs. schedule II like opioids I'd not take it back to the USA without a prescription.

You might mention what is cheap to you.

Literally no or little change with this. The Chinese are more active in trying to eradicate the tours, than the Thais since China gets stuck paying for repatriation of the abandoned mooks who got duped. Bangkok is ass deep in this problem still.

No, OpenOffice from OpenOffice.org (formerly Sun Microsystems, then Oracle) is OpenOffice. It's an actual name. Can't beat the price, for sure, being it's zilch. Hasn't been updated in a while but most people should find it adequate. Apparently LibreOffice has sort of usurped it with at least some open source activity so that's worth a free shot. If you have a Mac, iWork is free post 2013 but I think it's quite awkward to use despite Apple's saying of course it's easy.

Newish looking almost right across from the RG , while looking across the street, right to the right of the Family Mart. The other tenants in the building seem to come and go and have Arabic writing about whatever they do. Used to be a beauty salon in there opposite end of the one-eyed dog laundry. Now who knows. Same dog, one fewer eye the flea bitten mongrel. Still yappy yapp yap when you show up with your dainties.

I just left on Sunday and I can confirm the mattresses are harder than rocks. Diamonds maybe. 1,500 Bht daily all in taxes included. Next visit I may change because my back was killing me after 20 days. This time of year was fine for the buses, frequent and empty. I board heading back to RG just past Soi VC rather than sit in the queue at 2nd Road. Enough empty buses not interested in the queue happen by faster than the overloaded wait and sit model. The rooms are more like suites because they are suites. If you like Family Mart no need to cross the street because there is one right next door (and still across the street) and much bigger. You have to step over their cat either in front of the door when it's shady out and inside the door when it's sunny. Mangy short haired orange and white thing that likes a scratch on the head. Both laundry services across the street are open and the one up the hill from Family Mart now has stairs vs. sort of chucking your laundry to the lady inside. The one directly across' dog has lost one eye. Good for him the mangy beast bit me in 2013.

China government is trying to crack down on the zero dollar tours, clearly not working. Literally hundreds of Chinese on Walking Street early evenings following the flag bearer, buying nothing, taking selfies, hurrying along gawking. I am at the RG and the hill has at times anywhere from 14-20 buses both sides that park there after dropping off the tourists for their non-spending tourism, then they all gear just after nightfall and go down to collect them and disappear. I guess they stay in Jomtien? There are enough buses for close to 1000 people. QV is indeed open for drinks and food daily as I enjoy a pre-5 or 6 p.m. draft Stowford each day when I can. Also after 2 there are chickies in the Soi 6 bars with the shutters anywhere from closed to 1/2 down to open and they are catcalling to handsome men, so I have to think some activity is happening before 6.

Quote: "NO NOKIA! NO NOKIA Only 4G! 4G!" Seriously, then I am in Family Mart and a guy with a Nokia adds minutes at the till. Lightbulb goes on - not only 4G phones in use here, farang. Trip to Tukcom sees 1000's of cheap ass plain SMS/call only phones still on sale (though loads of cheap ass Android phones, as low as 499Baht , hence I figure there are data free SIM cards. And there are. No 49 baht fees daily etc. I am adding 3BB Wifi for 99 Baht unlimited, lets you use wifi iPad etc., with 3BB wifi that emanates from Family Marts. There are 4 3BB wifi SSIDs available from Residence Garden alone. My Mr.T driver recommended a fairly OK looking phone and plan from TrueMove for 1000Baht phone, SIM inclusive, some no name Chinese brand. I paid 900 Baht in 2011 for my shitty little Nokia, now little Android phones are not much more. I could have gotten one of those and just paid for internet as well. Wifi should work well given the number of family marts here.

Anything as a start would reduce the mooch factor. I am surprised that the residency 1 year retiree program hasn't mandated that already. Ecuador which aims for retirees far better than Thailand includes access to social security and health as part of their desire to attract ex-pats. If Thailand won't, since ther retiree program is more of a tolerate expats until they don't want to program, then to limit state risk they should have thought of proof of medical before. Say you start with the tourists. Packages from China should include medical along with the bus and follow the flag guy fees and costs.

Struck out at the airport - if you don't want internet and 4G they act like Zaphod Beeblebrox arrived, with three heads. Sanity prevailed at Tukcom at the DTAC booth where the guy ahead of me got SIM cards for two vintage phones and I had no issue getting one for my older one, SMS and voice only, no data. Phone works fine on 900/1800 even though it is 2011 vintage.

Works in Cuba. They have pretty good public medical coverage and no shortage of sick mooches arriving so they mandate medical insurance proof on arrival and if you have none or can't prove it you have to buy theirs at a modest price. Thailand could do the same thing easy enough. The airlines have nothing to do with it. You either have it on arrival or buy it (or get the boot if you want to act like a complete cloth eared git about it, one would think - the Cubans are not too unwilling to toss out the protesters).

Baic text/call for Thailand is still 900/1800 Mhz bands. With a simple phone there's no data and no data cost. 3G/4G for data all seems at 2100 Mhz but for plain calling the original frequencies are still there for pretty well all of Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe. Japan is odd man out, always hasbeen and they make it near impossible for non-residents to easily get cell service. http://www.worldtimezone.com/gsm.html I will be at Swampy in about 5 hours so I will attempt to get an AIS talk/text card for my ancient Nokia.

Just not worth the wait and crowds for the sake of less than ten bucks using a taxi.