antony77

We always found it a problem traveling with our dogs and wondered why there were so few places that accepted them. We realized that there was a good demand for dog friendly accommodation. So we built a nice two bedroom guest house on our property and provided a small garden and  Fenced it off carefully. We advertised it on Thai Visa and set up a website. It has been a huge sucess financially and always plenty of bookings.
Our investment was about I million. But there is nothing stopping you renting a small guest house and do the same. But you must have a fenced off area for the dogs to play and live in an attractive place.
I am posting this because we like to travel with our dogs and would like to see more places like ours. Perhaps some TV members will consider this

My UK passport expires next year but my NZ  passport has another 9 years. Can I transfer my retirement visa extension in my UK passport to my NZ passport

We need to move somewhere nearer a good hospital due to our ages. We live 4 hours from Bangkok
which is getting a bit too tiring for us to go there for check ups and treatment and even the nearest Hospital
in case of emergency is an hour away. The other problem is that our beautiful unspoiled beach is a bit quiet  and getting live- in servants is impossible (they find it too boring). There are very few restaurants and we are tired of cooking. We think Phuket would be ideal because there is a good Hospital there. In fact a branch of the same hospital in Bangkok?
We do not want to buy property since we have no dependents. Ideally we want to rent a  large bungalow in a resort, on or near the beach. We would not then not have to worry about servants since presumably the bungalow would be serviced by the resort and we could eat in the resort restaurant when we do not want to cook. We would want a bit of privacy and we would want to bring our two very small dogs .
Alternatively we could rent a bungalow where there are a lot of restaurants within walking distance but would then need to employ a live in maid. Are reliable live in maids available in Phuket? and how much would we need to pay them.
Which ever accommodation we decide on we can accept a one year lease. With the present state of the property market (rentals) we feel that we should be able to get a good deal. Even resorts give very good deal on a long term lease so that at least they are not empty during the off season.
Our budget could be up to 35,000 a month so anyone there in Phuket who can advise us. We do not want to use an estate agent especially a "Farang" one. We have been ripped off a couple of times by them when we sold our properties.


.

I have been diagnosed with cataracts in both eyes and have contacted several hospitals in Bangkok but can find none that can offer me treatment that I can afford. All were about Bt75,000  per eye
However the "eye Doctor " who has his eye clinic next to Lotus (Village Market) in Hua Hin has offered to do the operation at BT35,000 per eye and assured me he as all the latest equipment and facilities at his clinic. He speaks excellent English He also showed me the latest IOL lens. He said he can do the operation cheaply since he did not have all the overheads of a hospital. Can anyone please comment on this offer and does anyone have experience with him. As I live near Hua Hin it would be far more convenient to have it done there.

Beware websites  like tourist Health and travel health offering health services in Thailand. They try to give the impression that they are part of hospital websites. And if you ask them for a quote they will add a huge mark up as commission, double in some cases.. They probably have arrangements with some private hospitals. Do not use them but go straight to the actual Hospital website. Sometimes they include the Hospital name on their web address so beware.