nkped

Never boarded one there but I think they load up in front of the high rise building at the market.

The baht buses do run from and to Thappraya. They load up 30-40 meters from Thappraya.

There have been other differences in the requirements for retirement visas and retirement extensions for some time, police clearances and medical certificates for visas but not extensions. That said, the logic of the insurance requirement would apply to all of us. I took the option of the certificate of foreign insurance as a moderately good sign. I had seen suggestions that it would have to be Thai insurance across the board. Of course, it may not help if/when I actually have to ask Blue Cross/Blue Shield to execute the form.

Received an e-mail from the U.S. Embassy about the widely reported requirement for health insurance for certain long stay visas. It doesn't say anything about extensions which is at least a good sign. Knowing a bit about the mind set, if the Thai police order didn't mention extensions, they were not going to say anything either way. Since it specifies O-A and O-X visas, I looked at the original transitional in-country visa I got as the first step to the retirement extension. It was an O.

I believe that Jomtien gets a lot of business, at least on weekends, from Bangkok Thais. Went to one of the open air sea food restaurants. Food was good, the parking lot was large and full.

I have conceded that tones defeat me with rare exceptions. Earlier this year, I knew I was going to need to get a ride to the the Thara Patong Hotel in Phuket so I found it on Google Maps. The screen showed the name in Thai. I told the driver Thara Patong and I got the WTF is this farang talking about. Then I showed him my phone, he says "Thara Patong" and off we go.

There is utility to knowing a bit such as turn right, turn left as well as telling time and days of the week. Same with some familiarity with the alphabet. I won't attempt to write out anything in Thai but if I enter something in English in Google Translate, I can sometimes tell whether what comes out in Thai is what I want. Mentioned to the GFE provider that she can understand my limited vocabulary and that other people in Pattaya might as well. If I said the same thing in Isaan, it would probably be alai na or what. She agreed.

I used to think that the one hour baht bus ride between Naklua and Jomtien Beach was a major attraction for the Russians.

At a catered event, watched a Jewish friend push slices of pork to the side of the plate but eat the rest of whatever it was. Intent matters.

Earlier this year, the kind young lady at the BB office at Soi 7 was quite familiar with the direct deposit form and happy to sign it.

My experience with bcbs and Bangkok Hospital is that they bill directly for inpatient care. Outpatient, you pay and file a claim on line. Works reasonably well, but with the demise of the internet cafe, you definitely need your own computer and scanner.

If I remember correctly, the RAF flew the Nimrod, the military version of the Comet, until fairly recently.

Forty years ago Hawaiian was flying DC-9s between the islands. On the other hand, it was Aloha which proved you could fly a 737 open cockpit. Aloha #243

Flew on a 717 once, with Bangkok Air, I think. If so, they didn't keep them. Still had the new airplane smell.

I'll start. The security guard who thinks he is helping me back into a parking space by blowing his whistle and waiving his arm.🤬