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

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How much damage does mass tourism cause

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190915 Memo to Pete

Across the street from Rak Sakon Nakhon Hospital

Season ended last week so the shop won't be open for regular hours. 

I recommend you arrange an appointment 

or

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Top countries to retire in

Depends on who is preparing the list. 

 International Living’s Annual Global Retirement Index dated January 1, 2019

1. Panama
2. Costa Rica
3. Mexico
4. Ecuador
5. Malasia
6. Columbia
7. Portugal
8. Peru
9. Thailand
10. Spain

Makes you think when you see a publication which ranks Thailand within the top three: are they getting some special privileges in return?

Looking through some previous years, Forbes listed Thailand as number seven in 2017. 
Thailand did not make the Forbes top ten list in 2016. That Forbes report also indicated "Currently, about 400,000 American retirees live abroad ...  that number is “expected to increase over the next 10 years as more baby boomers retire.”

"Top 10 hell" did not list Thailand in their top ten in 2010

Opinion:
Some recent developments may have caused Thailand to disappear from many 2020 favorite lists

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 

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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

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Occasional scattered showers

for the moment weather is arriving from the NW

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Critical time in Thailand

There's truth and opinion to this presentation. 
Makes you wish you had a crystal ball.

Fast paced but scoreless

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