Dellboy218

Looks normal for Thailand. NO GROUND.

Thats a Siemens Euro plug, earth strips are on the reccesses either side.

After trying a couple of the ultrasonic dog/cat scarers I have come to the conclusion that all the local dogs are deaf! Their effect is marginal with the biggest effect appearing to be due to you quickly pointing 'something' in their general direction.

Meanwhile Deputy Prime Minister Phongthep Thepkanjana said, "We understand that the protest leaders are trying hard to force the government to use violence in order to increase their support fortheir own benefit.

Absolutely! It's a tactic straight out of the UDD copy book.

And fortunately the current governemment is showing more restraint. So far.

Agreed. PM Yingluck is handling the situation extremely well. The police must begin to protect government buildings - that is what they are supposed to do. The protesters don't have any right to repeatedly occupy government buildings. Right on, YL...you go, girl!!!

Which is precisely what the protesters want. Thank you for putting your views so precisely.

I know this might sound silly, but when was the last time you cleaned the laser? Just a thought.

Bird spikes these days tend to be made of a plastic with a strip of them glued or screwed in position to prevent the birds form roosting. We have a spike on each of our helipad landing lights for that same reason. Owls as mentioned and other birds of prey models apparently work for a time, I believe you can get a solar powered owl with a moving head! Rentokil apparently came up with a Capsicum paste that is painted on where the bids roost. Apparently once they get some on their bum they try and find friendlier roosting spots. Or of course you can get a good gas powered BB (thats tiny plastic/ceramic balls) pistol which is legal. That worked for me, the pigeons still have not roosted on the bedroom window ledge a year on!

I had a SPY alarm sent from the UK about 18 months or so ago with the intention of having it fitted to my BMW. Unfortunately I was warned off by those that fix these bikes that this could cause problems on the electrics. So I have, still in its box, a radar type alarm with a couple of remotes that are supposedly able to kill the engine from some distance away (3km?) and let you know if its being tampered with. I am away working at present but If you ever became interested I expect I could come up with further information.

It wasn't that long ago I saw tiger skins for sale at Tachilek maybe 5 years back? I haven't noticed them recently though I am sure they are available. I'm guessing that they are farmed somewhere these days rather than wild tigers. I'm sure there is still a thriving business for tiger parts in CM especially with the influx of Chinese visitors.

Indeed there was, in fact around that time a TV documentary was made about suppliers in Tachilek. In what looked like a series of lock up garages various cat pelts were available but apparently a tiger pelt had to be put on order as it would take a couple of weeks to obtain!

@Dellboy218

If you don't bother about the price, then why bother about converting to cheaper fuel? Completely contradictory.

Certainly you can buy some foreign, particular European made cars that have a fantastic fuel economy. I guess you could also get a Tesla that doesn't need any fuel. But what no money can buy you is a good TDI of any local made car (BMW may be the exemption, not sure). Just some fake hybrids that can barely drive 2km on battery.

Anyway, as the Thais say, it's up to you

Perhaps you should read the posts again. Conversions and costs never came into the posts. Can you beat 1000B to Bangkok? Yes you can. Can you buy a decent TDI here? You said you cannot get them here, I merely pointed out that you can which apparently you now agree with. I have no idea about locally made TDI's, but then that was never mentioned in the first place. Whether any vehicle is viable or financially effective is entirely a personal matter. I don't know whether you would call the Toyota hybrids ''fake'' doubtless Toyota would be only too pleased to answer that.

This might help to explain http://www.gt-rider.com/motorcycles-in-thailand/motorcycle-insurance-cover You will probably find that 1st class insurance is not available for smaller bikes. No idea about 2nd class, ask for a quote!

Skoda, BMW, Mercedes, VW

That's indeed very good advise for a car in Thailand. So you suggest to pay a premium beforehand instead of giving the government the tax money for the fuel later on. Well thought out

Who mentioned anything about price. The original comment was about cost per mile. A good TDI can beat it. Your comment was that a good TDI cannot be obtained in Thailand. Yes they can. Whether it is financially viable to buy one is another matter. You could also argue that unlike some, the fuel is available everywhere and unlikely to fluctuate much because of political pressures. So yes, I have thought it out as I read the comment in the first place.

A good TDI can! A medium family TDI car, can average over 70mpg these days or about 25kpl.

Thing is, you can't buy a "good TDI" in Thailand. Nothing even close to it.

Skoda, BMW, Mercedes, VW

CNG requires a high pressure tank, it's heavy and you have to queue with all the taxis. Range is not impressive too. LPG requires only a light tank, you can easily reach 400km with it and it's still very cheap (14.25B, in Bangkok even cheaper 12.50B), CNG is slightly lower priced.

There are 2 tank models, one in the usual "gas bottle" like we know from Taxis in the trunk, the other is shaped like a reserve wheel and fits into its place, so you keep the full trunk space. Preferred one.

The LPG systems are on the other hand very very simple, they sell you here only the low end stuff which injects or rather sucks the gas into the engine after the air filter, before the fuel injection. Thus your engine's computer has no control over it, the performance is not equally distributed over the load and you may get some warning lights flashing (O2 sensor). Expect some 10l or kg how they count it consumption. Still makes it very cheap. We have an Optra, that goes from Bangkok to Chiang Mai for just 1000B. Can't beat that .

A good TDI can! A medium family TDI car, can average over 70mpg these days or about 25kpl.

You can buy a simple 220-110v transformer in Amorn electronics, (Amorn is in Ikon square, Hangdong Road Big C and Big C extra) however you may run into problems with the difference in the mains frequency, it probably will not like it. I understand the cheaper converters produce something more akin to a square wave instead of a sine wave and that too can cause problems. It may be easier to go into Robinsons at Airport Plaza on the very top floor and buy a trimmer for here. Amorn also sell cheap hair trimmers or at least the one in Hangdong Road Big C had some the other day.

Edit:

This may be of interest to you: http://www.edaboard.com/thread225815.html One Person on this site contacted Wahl over the same problem you have, Wahl's response was they will not work with a converter, buy one of our battery models!

I have just drive that route today and the road is in a poor condition, with patches of very rough ground especially between the Pong Dueat turn off and the check point at the top of the hill before getting to Pai. In one area they are resurfacing a short stretch road. Be careful!

Got any lights on that fancy bike? Thats a good start.

If you are going to be carrying a lot I would consider renting a pickup and driver for the morning/afternoon/day. It would certainly be more convenient.

Does the shower head reach the sink. Thats the easy option.

Why would you care about a random stranger on the road?

Are you really saying that just to make a 'smart' comment otherwise you had better hope the rest of humanity is of a different mind when you need help.

Thanks for the info guys, Thailand has a recipical agreement with the US. Where my licence is issued. Just have to pay a few baht to get a Thai licence. no testing involved, as I have forgot morse code many years ago.

Shame on you!

73

G4BMR

I thought that too. How can you forget morse code? It's like riding a bike. All you need is a bit of practice.

Who'd you sail with? I did BP Tanker/ Sea Containers/ Fyffes/ P&O Bulk Division.

PM'd you with the list

Saw a kid bicycling down the main drag in Det Udom...........playing a guitar!

Thanks for the info guys, Thailand has a recipical agreement with the US. Where my licence is issued. Just have to pay a few baht to get a Thai licence. no testing involved, as I have forgot morse code many years ago.

Shame on you!

73

G4BMR

I've done the River Side cruise many, many times and never been disappointed. You arrive 7 - 7:30 pm, order from the menu and they shove off by 8 pm. There is a modest additional charge over the menu prices. It's a very good value. The cruise is about 90 minutes. No narration, though, so it helps to bring a local to explain what you're seeing.

It's especially good for Loi Krathong. I expect they're booked for Loy Krathong evening (Nov 17), but the couple days before and after are just about as good. Still many lanterns and there are lighted floats on the river, kind of like floating parade floats. It's possible for a small group to get in just by showing up at 7 pm and waiting on "stand-by", even on Loy Krathong night for people who made reservations but fail to come. Just smile, be patient and don't act all upset if everyone actually does show up.

5 years ago my wife invited me - by surprise - for a romantic dinner on the boat on Loi Krathong, and it was a horror for all participants, Thais too. During the entire cruise the boat was the target for any kind and size of explosives fired from both watersides as well as let drop from the bridges. Even though we're not squeamish natures at all we were more than happy when the cruise was over and we didn't suffer more serious injuries than our over-strained ear-drums.

Sorry for objecting, Nancy, but I strongly discourage from doing it during Loi Krathong.

I would agree, its a few years since I have done that but it was like being in the middle of WWIII, take a tin hat and a flak jacket!

Somewhat worryingly the liquid of a well known aerosol anti mosquito spray for the skin also works exceedingly well!

Brush on Waterproofing liquid available at Global, probably the same available at Home Pro. Makes the material feel like like its been 'starched' though. Worked well on cotton umbrellas.

Air Asia have flown direct between Chiang Mai and Ubon at odd times. May be worth asking them if they are likely to in the future. The odd time the family visit here they have travelled NCA which has taken 17-18 hours. I have been driving that route for over 20 years and on average it has taken me 12-13 hours to travel the 1000+ a bit Km to a town 50km the other side of Ubon, that is without pushing hard. The roads have improved a lot so it is a more relaxing (boring?) drive than it used to be.

There is one a bit further along the road, V&N Auto on the left hand side heading into town about 100 odd yards before Tesco traffic lights. Look for some roadside trees! Had a couple of small jobs done there, no problems