@Shannon *******

I'll send you a DM.

I just plugged your stats (76 yo, BC resident) into the website I use to buy travel insurance for my mom, and there's a 6 month policy for as low as $136/month for $2 million evac/$50K medical/$5K deductible/$2,500 pre-existing (lowest coverage possible). Same price up to 79 yo. Costs additional $100/month for ages 80 - 89. No coverage 90+. I would personally recommend the 2M evac/100K medical/$500 deductible/$10k pre-existing for $250/month if it were my own mother. I think this is a good option to snowbird in Thailand for 6 months at a time. Let me know if you'd like me to send you the links and quotes. I've used this underwriter before, and they're very responsive to paying claims fully. I've been in Bali for the past few years and always start with a 6 month travel policy from the US, because coverage is more comprehensive and claims easier to process with travel insurance. Then I top up with a month to month expat policy like World Nomads for 3 months or so, before going back annually for specialists doctor visits, imaging, and prescriptions on my US policy. Good luck!

My mom has me register her with the State Dept, whenever she travels. You get alerts for travel warnings, conflicts, and I never thought about the dying part, but for assistance in case something happens.

I am Vietnamese, and from my perspective it has everything to do with the appearance of wealth. If you are tan, that means you work in the fields and are poor. But this is also like in "Gone with the Wind," when after the war, Rhett Butler is disappointed to notice that Scarlett's hands are weathered from working in the fields herself.

And at times, being overweight is also a sign of wealth, as you can afford to eat well. Also, many Asians have hyper-pigmentation, so many of their skin products and sun screen has whitening agents in them. A lot of Asians are also doing upper blepharoplasty to remove the excess fold of skin to widen their eyes, and that of course, has to do with looking more caucasian. I flew Korean Airlines to Bali last year, and all of the flight attendants had the most beautiful dewy skin. Of course, the Koreans have top notch skincare products. And it was funny, how all of the Koreans and Chinese were using umbrellas to shield them from the sun, and were all covered up.

Being American, I'm anti-carb. I kept telling the Indonesians to stop putting the rice and noodles on my plate, and they wouldn't do it. I was surprised because in Chinese culture, it's offensive if the host puts rice on your plate, as it's a filler, and means you can't afford to fill your guests with meat and seafood.

@Baz *********

I had to get a PCR for an upcoming procedure, as anesthesiologists can refuse service without one now in certain states. Once I started looking, there were tons of places to get a test, and very easy to get an appt within the next 2-3 days. I was quoted that it usually took 2-3 days for results, but could be up to 5 days. I got my results in 3 days. I think lab turnaround time is dependent on where you live, as I feel all tests are being processed by designated labs, so it's dependent on number of tests and capacity. I have heard of people getting the rapid test, and turnaround time was 20 mins.

@Andrew *******

Woah! PCR test is free in the US