galoubet

A Thai friend looks after her 10 year old granddaughter whose Thai mother and farang father have both abandoned her (although the father does send a little money from Europe on occasion).

The granddaughter is a Thai national. She has a Thai name (forename, family name and nickname). She speaks only Thai. She has a Thai ID card and a Thai passport. None of these cuts any ice with the officials at Thai monuments and parks where she is charged farang rates.

Why? Because she looks like a farang.

Work that one out!

I explained that in post #212

So your anecdote is more important than mine? Forgive me for posting.

A Thai friend looks after her 10 year old granddaughter whose Thai mother and farang father have both abandoned her (although the father does send a little money from Europe on occasion).

The granddaughter is a Thai national. She has a Thai name (forename, family name and nickname). She speaks only Thai. She has a Thai ID card and a Thai passport. None of these cuts any ice with the officials at Thai monuments and parks where she is charged farang rates.

Why? Because she looks like a farang.

Work that one out!

....on the same subject

Anyone know if it's ok to take a rice cooker out of Thailand (Not to U.S.)

It was expensive and It would be in 'Hold' luggage

?

Thanks

I've "exported" 3 Thai rice cookers to the UK, a large ceiling fan, woks, kitchen knives, crockery, a stone charcoal stove, a heavy metal gas stove, mossie racquets, etc., etc.

Most went in the hold without any problems (although the ceiling fan was checked a few times because of the density of the motor). I carried the rice cookers as hand luggage.

The ceiling fan is still working well in my conservatory but the rice cookers are little used I'm afraid.

The kitchen knives ("kom-kom") are the best and sharpest knives ever.

Can't see why you should have any problems.

I met นายปสันน์ เทพรักษ์ the Thai ambassador to the UK today at the Chelsea Flower Show in London. Thailand has a big stand in the pavilion chock-a-block with orchids and was frankly rather gaudy and over the top, but that's Thailand for you.

I found Mr Pasan to be a very pleasant jovial man with, as you might expect, impeccable English. A true diplomat. (As was I; I told him his presentation was very beautiful)

It was an almost biblical meeting as I thought he was just one of the exhibitors until he was introduced by the real exhibitor whose chat together I interrupted.

We didn't discuss politics or today's events in Thailand. We talked about flowers.

I use Splash Pro to play all my vids including MKVs. There is a (free) Splash Lite but the Pro version, for a small one off payment, is really worthwhile.

I fly mine in Kanchanaburi. I have a Garmin Virb action camera slung underneath, the same camera I use on my motorbike.

I came across this situation in Kanchanaburi early this morning. Fortunately I had my motorbike helmet cam on to record the events.

The level crossing barriers were down and the lights flashing but that doesn't seem influence Thai driving behaviour. I believe there may have been a fault at the crossing but until the crossing official (armed with his radio) gave the all clear who could tell? And from my experience even when the barriers are working and a train is approaching Thais still try to get across the tracks.

Uploaded at YouTube http://youtu.be/67g53yolskY

I was there in February 2000 (not much help to you I know). A Thai friend had some contacts high up in the army so we got a Thai army major as a guide. Quite an enjoyable experience! Haven't been back since.

I picked up my passport and double entry tourist visa from London yesterday. It's the 7th Thai visa in my passport and they are all beautifully in sequence starting (almost) at the front. The only exception is a Chinese visa which they stuck on the last page!

Contact my good friend Colin on his website

http://www.captainslash.com/ Go to the "About" page and scroll down to the bottom to send a message.

He's travelled all over Thailand on motorbikes he's bought and sold. He only comes on a tourist visa.

He arrived in Thailand yesterday (29th) and is spending 2 months in Thailand and 3 months in Malaysia. He knows all about crossing the border on a motorbike.

Hope this helps.

This morning I went to the Thai Embassy in Queen's Gate, London for my usual double-entry tourist visa for my annual 5 months' winter stay in LOS. Very unusually there were very few farangs applying for visas. Never seen so few in over 30 years.

Two things have changed since my last visit in 2012. Firstly the visa office opens and closes 30 minutes earlier (now 0900 - 1200). Secondly the visa is ready for collection on the following day. Before it's always been a 48 hours' turnaround.

No sympathy from me. I have seen a motorcyclist drive his bike straight into the back of a parked car before now. Concentration slips for a few moments and you are going too fast to stop. Ride a motorcycle at your own risk...

Whatever you may think of motorcyclists or any other person a young man has died in an accident. It's a tragic waste of a life. To have no sympathy for his grieving family is a sad reflection.

Have a look at this old safety video from the UK that demonstrates the need for everyone in a vehicle to wear a seat belt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9enJnGYJWGo

Glad to see it. It's up to people to decide if they use them.

That's all very well but the idea of seat belts is to protect everyone on the bus (or minivan, car or aircraft). And to do so everyone must wear one. You may be wearing a seat belt (and feeling rather smug and safe) but if the guy behind you isn't then, in a crash, he becomes a high speed projectile heading straight for your head with his head.

Quote: "Consular officials are verifying the circumstances of the accident. So far, we only know that there several people were injured and that some of them have been taken to a hospital, probably the Kanchanaburi Memorial Hospital."

Quote: "The accident involving a Pegas Touristic bus occurred at around noon local time (9:00 am Moscow Time)."

I'm surprised if they were taken to Kan Memorial Hospital. It's a tiny hospital and doesn't have very good facilities, especially A&E. I went there with an ankle injury a few years ago and found the hospital to be like a UK one back in the 1950s. It was grubby with poor service.

I see Pegas buses a lot, often parked up by a restaurant on the Sai Yok road just past the Kaengsian bridge.

Just been playing with my Garmin maps (2013.20) and Google Earth and it appears that the route 1090 (I assume this is the road you mean?) runs out shortly after the village of Mae Lamung (N15.84087 E98.85223). The road disappears into a narrow track only suitable for a dirt bike. You can see it all on Google Street View as the Google cars penetrated this remote location right to the end of the road.

Have a look at my friend Captain Slash's website http://www.captainslash.com/

He's ridden all the routes around Mae Sot and Kan and has made the trip between the two several times. His reports include photos and road surface info together with maps and GPS coords.

Try the Felix River Kwai Resort. It's one of the better hotels in Kanchanaburi town, has a lovely tropical garden and large pool, and the river flows by right behind it. To get into town (on the opposite bank), they provide a free river shuttle boat.

The kwae yai river is running high and fast just now and is a dirty brown colour!

If someone wishes to fly without a visa an airline can , and some do, require to see a flight out of the country within 30 days.

As a matter of information the are many airlines flying out of the UK most of them are foreign!

But visas don't carry any information on the length of stay. They simply give you permission to enter the country. The length of stay is determined by the immigration officer at Bangkok. So suppose I have a single entry visa I may or may not be given a full 60 days. And then I can renew it if I wish for a further 30 days. How is an airline meant to know all this information when you don't even know it yourself?

I've flown reguarly to Thailand over the past 30 years and have never (knowingly) had a visa checked. I fly from Heathrow, always direct, generally with EVA but occasionally BA or Thai. What's so special about me, Heathrow or the airlines that I don't have visa checks?

Wait ! No "retirement visas" are issued in Thailand so I suspect the OP is referring to an extension of stay.

Perhaps we should ask if the OP has a re-entry permit ?

If he has a re-entry permit there will be no problem with the airline.

This is all bananas. Why would a UK airline check you had a valid visa for Thailand when you don't need a visa to enter Thailand (as you get one free for 30 days when you arrive in Bangkok). Airlines might check your visa status if you are flying to a country that requires a visa (eg. India or China). But this doesn't apply to Thailand.

zzSleepyJohn Quote: "I believe UK check-in desks have a responsibility to make sure their outgoing passengers either have a valid Thai visa or a return ticket that will bring them back within the visa-free period. I kind of have both, but they don't exactly coincide date-wise. Do you think this would matter or am I worrying unnecessarily?"

Never heard that one before. I fly out to Thailand on 4 months+ stays every year. When I check in, all the airline does is verify my ticket with my passport photo page. They never check the visa pages. And even if they did what would it tell them? So I shouldn't worry about that. I don't.

How about this one? Photographed in my garden in Kan earlier this year. Probably around 3 to 4cm long. They build fantastic inverted "ali-baba" nest structures out of dirt and saliva. Most intriguing to watch.

Not sure if this was the same species that stung me on the arm from a busy nest in some bushes though. But the sting was something else. Hurt much more than a conventional wasp sting and my arm was swollen for days. If you need to get rid of your "friends" I suggest you get someone else to do it for you. If a whole swarm attack you (I was 20m away from the nest) you could be in deep trouble.

Your front and rear tyres will never wear out at the same rate especially if you like accelerating hard so I'd stick with the tyres you prefer (if those are the Pirellis). Replace the front tyre now, the rear when it wears out and both tyres should be near their end at the same time when you can choose to replace them together with whichever brand you prefer.

I run Bridgestone 021 tyres on my BMW R1150R roadster in the UK and they wear out pretty quick but grip very well especially when leant over. On my R1200C cruiser in Thailand I have Michelin Commanders that have a very long life and grip surprisingly well. The Michelins are pretty hopeless in the wet (but I rarely venture onto wet roads). The Bridgestones are good wet tyres. Never tried Pirellis.

Always wise to reduce your speed to get out of a 'tight spot.'

In general I would agree with you. If there are idiots close by it's best to let them go ahead and play by themselves. But in one incident I can remember being most thankful for my bike's turn of speed. I was returning at night from a bike meet in Chonburi when some guys in a pickup thought it would be fun to run me off the road. I tried the "go slow" method but they just waited for me to catch up. So in the end I just opened up the throttle and left them behind. It meant riding faster than I would normally do given the conditions. The whole episode was very scary.