Coss

Good day Cav! Long time Lao care, well they do their best, but anyone who can afford it immediately crosses the friendship bridge to Thailand and Udon Thani - mainly. Though there are Thai and Other, private hospitals in Vientiane (small I would imagine), that can be accessed with money or insurance In terms of cost in Lao hospitals, the care is free to citizens, I don’t think non-citizens will get served unless they are at death’s door, or can pay, perhaps as a precursor to a fast car ride to Udon Thani. Medicines cost at the local pharmacy. Most Expats have BUPA or similar insurance, allowing for flights to Bangkok. No idea on cost of this. My situation is: last decade, stroke/cancer/brain surgery and recuperations, meant that I was/am tied to the NZ system which is good and free to citizens. I’m back in Laos without insurance, in a gap of my ongoing treatments (Keytruda - wonderful stuff). A friend who died here not so long ago and I decided (when it looked like I was here permanently) that if we were to suffer the “really gonna die”, problems in Laos, that we were old enough and ugly enough to go quietly. For both of us, the flying around SEA whilst in death throes, sounded like a poor outcome. And for him, he went quietly at his place on the banks of the Mekong with his family in attendance. You may remember Dumsoda, his Cancer meant a lot of back and forth to Bangkok from Nong Khai, I don’t know the funding of this. So probably not much help on your original question, but some clarity from my view.

I found today that I have two Jack Fruit trees next to house, vis:

Whilst in Sukhumvit, my hostelry, on the room’s televisual extravaganza, showed me entertainment of bulls fighting (each other not matadors) and cock fighting. I thought I’d been transported back to the dark ages. * note: Stable Lodge Hotel, no have laundry service, go up road, otherwise still good.

I post this here in the hope that Thai and Lao culture is similar enough, that the following is recognised and will draw some comment or advice. Buy land Laos, circa 2011. Coss pay. Build small house approx 12K USD - wife n family pay. Good. Big house built but not finished - maybe 90%, wife n family pay. Big marriage, subsequent adventure to middle earth, unfortunate health inspired delays for a decade. House about 98% done finicky fussing around the edges to be complete. Coss returns from middle earth to enjoy and participate in large house blessing monkery, but wait, Coss - cannot sleep here until Monks have their way with house. Have to sleep in Diplomat’s McMansion nearby. OK Sabai sabai. 10 days to go. But I tricked them, I snuck in and used the W.C. Without telling them. So monks have no way of conveying this to the ether, and theretofore Coss has avoided bad luck. Wot’yer think? Y

Whilst concurring with the right honorable (‘merican spelling) Bubi, I did happen to notice the following: In American Conflagration (fires in California) there is this - VW combi with a story Being in Laos as I am, I could not help but notice that this van had been miraculously transported to Vientiane and whilst the paint had somewhat darkened on cooling, has been converted to a coffee shop. Also my uncle’s series III Landrover has been nicked from Twizel in NZ and placed here, to house a generator for powering the coffee shop. All of this is taking place on the shore of “Lake Thatluang” which 12 years ago was a charming small lake surrounded by swamp, but had been converted into Civic pride with footpaths, picnic margins, coconut palms etc. Built on swamp you say? Massive Chinese enterprise, now cracked, gashed, subsiding footpaths and road, wholesale dead coconut palms, need I go on… In centre of the lake is large foundational structure which I am told was going to be skyscraper apartments, but now is concrete bits slowly decaying into lake. But that’s OK because it’s all a special economic zone and Chinese folk can live in these apartments, built on land/swamp nearby. I drove past here last night and counted three lights on in apartments, all the rest preferring to sit in dark.

One’s newbie teeth only made it to 4th floor

I went there on Wednesday and asked if I could buy one of the prettier dentists a new BMW. As it happened they said that they all had plenty of cars but would be happy to look in my mouth. This visit was occasioned by my 2nd wife making me use a herbal toothpaste for 20 years. Being unable to read the ingredients of same, I had assumed that the contents would have contained fluoride. Mistake, as my teeth started to become weak, chip and fall out, I used the google translate photo thingy to find that there was no fluoride in the herbal nonsense. I started using fluoride toothpaste and the remaining teeth became harder, but damage needed to be repaired. 21k bht and most of a day later and I walked out with the remaining gnashers in spiffing condition. Well pleased I am. Nice lady dentists crawling my head all day, luverly. Of note: nice handy map has 2 hotels nearby noted that have been renamed. The Avani Atrium Hotel is now the Grand Mercure Bangkok Atrium. and Siam Hotel is another name like Ladbrook or Lancaster or some such. I wandered about a bit before detective work helped me to find the nice lady dentists.

iPhone 12. Misty effect was achieved by slowly chilling the phone in the aircon whilst eating thence taking it outside into humid warm air to mist the lenses for the photo. Cheaper than Vaseline. 😜

Shame I’m gone in 12 hrs. I woulda enjoyed a meet. Platonically of course. Edit - I read “ate here” as “are here” - olden folk eyes.

“Halal” we think that saying some words to the sheep or what ever “Halal” is is strange too. But we’ll export it to any one and I wager that you’ll get it cheaper than us locals, certainly it’s cheaper in Emporium in BKK than MIddle Earth.

I’ve now got a new fave. Japanese cheap and cheerful, not haute cuisine, just bloody good food. Pretty much opposite Soi 8, so from Soi 8 entrance, left and up to to the skytrain station and then down the other side. 1 minute walk for an old fella All sorts of lovely bits and bobs, salted Beef tongue, grilled Sanma, etc. The Asahi Dry on tap is particularly welcome after the heat. Photography aficionados can describe to me how I achieved this shot, incl waitresses. No post processing, or filters involved

Glad he got found, there’s a place in Laos in what used to be called the golden triangle, that we don’t talk about on account of it could get you into trouble. It appears to be similar or linked to the goings on reported above. I once thought about ambling there as a tourist and was warned off.

Down here our wifebeaters are black singlets

Why no mussels?

Nothing eerie about Joe Rogan, just another Trump but without the luck.

The wisdom of the masses, and its progeny, popularity=truth, are about to (in decades or more) meet the strongman's goons, who will be cracking down on the inane and popular discourse of the villagers in the town square.

Well as you've opened the comparison. I want to ask little Donnie: "As the system is so corrupt and the deep state have stolen the election, with the obvious outcome that they've chosen you, Little Donnie as the President, does this define Donald J.Trump, as an integral part of the corrupt, deep state, swamp, who are killing the USA?" Coss comment: "why yes it does".

As a very infrequent consumer of airline services, I'm about to embark on the following giant tin budgies: China Airlines, Scoot, Lao Airlines, Qantas. Should any aspect of these, be worthy of comment, I'll report. Otherwise, it's just seats that are slightly too small and other travellers who, though adult, are begging to be admonished for poor behaviour.

All four once-exiled sons of the king of Thailand have been allowed to return to their home country for the first time in nearly 30 years, a development expected to be closely watched as the rich 72-year-old monarch is yet to officially endorse an heir. Two of the princes had previously travelled to the country, but images on social media of the arrival on Friday of the eldest and youngest sons from the king’s doomed second marriage marks a new twist in a fascinating but secretive succession drama. Its outcome will shape the fate of a multibillion-dollar property and business empire, a country of 70 million people and a beloved tourist destination that has often been ruptured by political upheaval and violence. When Maha Vajiralongkorn, now King Rama X, was a crown prince, he divorced his second wife and cut his four eldest sons out of his life. In 1997, he wrote to the boys’ English boarding schools, saying the teens had decided to live with their mother and despite his “natural fatherly inclination to secure their future happiness” he would “suspend all contacts with the children for any purpose whatsoever”. He would not be paying their tuition and even name-dropped Queen Elizabeth II as a source of support. The boys had their diplomatic passports snipped, were turned into refugees and were granted asylum in the US by the Clinton administration. Suddenly, they are back in the picture. Two princes had previously returned, testing the waters; one has a job in Bangkok while the other is establishing himself as a public figure. On Friday, the other two joined one of their brothers in walking through Suvarnabhumi airport and into the Bangkok sunshine. Three of the Thai king’s sons, Vatchrawee, Vacharaesorn and Juthavachara Vivacharawongse, are back in the country. They were exiled in the late 1990s. Their first stop, according to social media, was a temple to pay tribute to their ancestors in the Chakri dynasty. They later ate noodles. Vajiralongkorn is a 72-year-old international man of controversy with massive personal wealth but no clear heir. His first child, a daughter with his first wife, suffered a massive brain injury in December 2022 from which she is not expected to recover. His younger daughter is a fashion designer who holds a top military rank. The princesses are not considered candidates for the throne, although there is speculation they could act as guiding hands to their youngest half-brother. At 19, Prince Dipangkorn has spent much of his life out of the public eye and there are questions over his ability to take the throne. This leaves the four exiles, or Team America as they have been called by some on social media. Born between 1979 and 1985, they were born to Vajiralongkorn’s second wife, an actress. The brothers were stripped of their titles after the divorce and given a new name, Vivacharawongse, but their status in the royal line of succession has always been murky. The eldest, Juthavachara, has a career in aviation. The youngest, Vatchrawee, has business degrees and a career in finance. They are the latest to return. The second son, Vacharaesorn, was the first to return and has been the one most open about his desire to return to public life; while his words are modest, he poses as if performing royal duties. “I came here privately. No one told me to come. I am not representing anyone. I don’t want to compete for anything … I have no resources, no power. I don’t have aspirations beyond providing value in my own capacity,” Vacharaesorn, a lawyer, told the Bangkok Post last year. The third brother, Chakriwat, is a doctor who has battled chronic illness but lately found work at a Bangkok hospital. Sources close to the family, forbidden from speaking openly because of the country’s notorious lese-majesty laws that can impose 15-year jail terms for criticism of senior royals, point out the four brothers each have their own complicated relationship with their father and their homeland. What they do have in common, these sources say, is their desire to protect their mother. Law and societal conventions prevent open discussion of the monarchy and the succession drama that will play out as Vajiralongkorn ages, but the very fact of the princes’ return suggests a shift within the palace. Those around the king may be positioning themselves for the future. Other factors may be at play: The king’s mother is in her 90s and has long been ill, and with his eldest daughter not expected to recover there is a need to project a sense that the family is strong and has a future. The family needs options, although none of them is a perfect choice. Vacharaesorn has been in the tabloids for his US family and business dealings, but has deflected questions. “I have made a life for myself in my 27 years in the United States,” he told the Bangkok Post. “Although my private life is still subject to scrutiny and speculation, it is a private matter with no relevance to any of my activities in Thailand. “As a private citizen, I am entitled to a modicum of peace and privacy in my personal life.” That will change should he take up a more public role. https://www.stuff.co.nz/world-news/360539724/former-exiles-return-succession-drama-swirls-around-worlds-richest-throne

They're superb!

all real photos? special... they... are...

To put a few thoughts to pixel over a G&T. American Health care has at it's core a private profit motive. We like to think that Government should bill the tax take, for things it does (military, law making, justice system etc) and only derive enough profit, to cover maintenance and upgrades, paint the court house, that sort of thing. The health system (broadly) in NZ and Australia, is funded, more or less, to take care of the health of the people. There is private health insurance, but that's all about queue jumping and better rooms. It's the same doctors either way. We know a bit about introducing the private profit motive to a government function. I was 17 when it happened to electricity in NZ. Prior to 1977-ish the NZ electricity system was a national grid and the government sent you a bill. The Boss of all of this was a grey civil servant in a grey office with a grey formica desk in the capital. You see rain is free and 90%+ of our electricity is hydro. Then they sold it all off and now there are competing corporations, who charge the earth and then some for the electricity. I wish I'd had a few million back then I would have been in on the ground floor.

capitalism - profit over people - Insurance companies do not make money by paying out claims... They make better money by not paying... I just saw a figure that states that, the top 500 richest have over 10 Trillion dollars (world, not just U.S.A) - that's $ 1,235.78. for every person on the planet. Jeez, NZ had more suicides than 500 (619) Would we miss 500 people?