Drivers License renewal in Sakon Nakhon

Documents needed for renewal:

• drivers license
• document from Immigration Office (bring photograph when applying)
• copy of passport all pertinent pages
• doctor's certificate
• copy of housebook (main page)*
• copy of house owner's  identification card*

The earlier you arrive, the earlier you leave with your license in hand.  
I was missing two documents* and had to rush home.  By the time I returned I was last in the group.

I was sent upstairs to join a group.  There were two groups, one with a video, a second with an instructor talking nonstop.  I sat in the wrong group, the talker.  Didn't understand a word.

A monitor arrived after an hour and handed me my paperwork to proceed for the photographing and issuing of the license.

With only one camera in operation the waiting time was nearly two hours.  Remember I had the last number in the group.  To make it even more time consuming, there were two groups with identical numbers. My number 36 therefore was realistically 72.

If I would have had  all documents during my first visit I expect I would have been under number 20

I had left the house at 07:30 and arrived home at 12:12

สกลนคร Sakon Nakhon

Wanderlust

At least someone was smart enough to kill the root.  The weight would eventually bring it all down.

Meanwhile I am spending a few hours a day sorting through photo albums.  I store my albums at Facebook and Google Photos.  First I have to check both places to avoid uploading duplicates.  A few have slipped through.  Crop and edit all photos before uploading them.  A few of my albums I'll keep private as some of the subjects shown together are no longer friends.  There are also plenty photos  which require heavy editing to avoid embarrassment .

At the moment I still have to sort through 18,000 photos. There are 175,740 photos in my Google Photo albums

I'm cleaning my computers just in case !! I may get the "Wanderlust," and when that happens I will travel extremely light

สกลนคร Sakon Nakhon

Considering alternatives: Reason 2 Baht

When I arrived in February of 2003 I was getting 42.7094 per dollar. 

I am getting 12,722 baht less per month now 

สกลนคร Sakon Nakhon

190912 Considering alternatives: Reason 1 MEDICAL

The latest 100% price increase of medical medication and treatment has me seriously considering packing my bags. It's quite racists and the reasons given are "lame."

Under the new prices expats would pay 30,000 baht for an MRI at hospitals.
Compared US prices at clinics is half that

Insurance companies are quoting prices which has nothing to do with insurance requirements the government recently imposed (40,000 baht outpatient, 400,000 baht inpatient). 

I can not see paying 167,542 per year for insurance when I spent that amount for medical services over a 18 year period.

A few articles declare how great Thai medical services are. These are mostly tourism related magazines.  Last hospitalization and tests I had were totally unneeded.

Had a lower abdominal pain.  Hospitalized, first test color liquid up my retum, complete with butplug for an exray.  Next test camera down my throat and up my rectum, negative results.  Day after release from hospital I realized it was a muscle strain.

Recently sought out hospital outpatient advice as I had passed out a number of times causing injuries.  No suggestions.  I finally found the cause by reading the side effects of blood pressure medicine they had prescribed.

Even after emphasizing that antibiotics no longer are effective on me, I've received dozens of prescriptions for antibiotics. (Don't laugh, it's real) Solved a six year long ear infection by sticking an onion into my ear for a few days.

Medical appointments are a joke. A hundred people may have a 9am appointment and can expect waiting hours before being seen. Such mass appointments often cause mistakes being made. 


Example of health insurance quote

สกลนคร Sakon Nakhon

Twelfe servings stew

starring frozen peas
Diced onions and garlic first sauteed then simmered in gravy
Fresh and canned mushrooms  first sauteed then simmered in coconut milk Not pictured carrots  red bell peppers white radish seasoning 1k stew meat 2 packs of marinated beef (stick removed)

I enjoy cooking in large quantities so I don't have o cook every day. 12 portions stew in the freezer.  There are also alternate meals. I won't be having stew three times a day.

When I do such cooking I've had more than three meals for the day, tasting

สกลนคร Sakon Nakhon

190621 do you think (new) visa regulations will affect you?

Income requirements have really not changed.  
What did change is method of proof of income. For many years local embassies used to issue sworn income statements. Many of those statements were false.
The procedure now is a letter from your bank showing the deposit history. It's simpler and less expensive and harder to falsify.

The health insurance requirement is a wait and see.  It will be instituted 1 July. Some say it does not concern retirement extensions, others say it does. After 1 July there should be news stories regarding the yes or no.

The requirement is for 400,000 Baht medical insurance (roughly US$ 13,000)
So far every insurance offer has been for 1 Million $US coverage at a cost of US$3,00 per year.

I have yet to find a policy with the Thai limit required.  It should be a lot less expensive.  If I can not find that I'll make plans to return to the US..

Seeing immigration  rules updates on a frequent basis is highly unnerving.  Frequently these news stories do not tell the whole story and often are misleading. This unnerving is sufficient enough to consider packing up and move em out.

สกลนคร Sakon Nakhon

190518 Find expat establishments in the sidebar links

With some recent and ongoing occurrences at a number of expat frequented bars and restaurants I will no longer publish articles promoting such establishments in this blog.  

I will continue to maintain links to websites of these establishments in the sidebar 


สกลนคร Sakon Nakhon

My favorite pasttime

Got interested in photography during the first year in the US Army, 1963 while stationed in Karlsruhe, Germany. Photography was a fairly expensive hobby.  To reduce the expense I learned to develop my own B&W.

With the onset of mobile phones with cameras, the cost is no longer a big factor. With facial recognition I can now sort pictures by individuals and create a slice of individual memories.
Instead of a darkroom with chemicals, processing and editing can be done on computers.

I shoot my pictures and save them in poster size. This enables me to crop pictures drastically and still have good picture quality

 

สกลนคร Sakon Nakhon

Staying indoors: air quality unhealthy for sensitive group

Continuing with my bronchitis. For a day I felt things improving.  That was Wednesday afternoon at the football game. 
Thursday morning was the worst.
I started my Friday with chicken soup and pills to keep my nose from dripping and pills to suppress the coughing.

That's an animation I hope it's not accurate?


สกลนคร Sakon Nakhon

Where I was

from Oct 1979 to 30 July 2002, retired age 58

Weekly top ten visitors

Been keeping track of where the visitors to this blog come from.  Occasionally there's a new surprise
สกลนคร Sakon Nakhon