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Posts posted by Gsxrnz
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Well, dunno about being robbed but most computer part prices are available on ebay. Maybe he replaced the heat sink as well?
The prices I quoted were ex China so they're bound to be copies. Maybe he fitted a genuine Acer part which is bound to cost more - being Thailand, unlikely it was genuine, but you never know.
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Always ask for a price first, then go to three places and compare prices.
The quotes to replace the screen on my iphone ranged from 500 to 2,000 baht.
The prices on ebay for a CPU cooling fan for an Acer are around the 200-500 Baht level.
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The plan will be to turn the status quo of disorganised chaos into "organised" chaos for the day. Yeah, I wish them luck with that.
Maybe they should just turn off all the traffic lights for the day and see what happens It couldn't be any worse could it?
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JT - I can't help wondering what your day consists of and how you've managed to seemingly let the so-called Russian invasion affect you. On a personal note, I find the Russians to be quite diverse in their looks, attitudes, and demeanour.
Because quite frankly, I was on Jomtien beach yesterday afternoon and early evening with my wife, and I didn't see or feel what you did. I had a bloody good time just doing next to nothing and watching the sun go down.
It is Russian invasion, maybe invasion is wrong word, but no one can argue that they now dominate Pattaya and Jomtien. Just as they dominate resort towns in Turkey, Alnya and Atalya. In Egypt Sarm el Sheik was over taken by Russians 4 years ago.
There are hardly European tourists in Pattaya area now, compered to just 4-5 years ago.
To me this no big deal, in some ways I like it. But I can see how many expats, who moved here 10, even just 5 years ago now find themselves in completely different town.
Russians are gloomy, they never smile to strangers, smiling is considered weakness, if in Russia a guy smiles at another guy, a stranger, in Russian mans mind it can mean only one thing.
But they are very friendly to each other in all Russian restaurants, in baht buses strangers always start frindly convo, usuallt talking about where they are staying and what they payed for their 2 weeks holyday. Then they start talking about what an awful place this is, and rude ThAis are towards them. I listen these convos in baht buses every day
Jomtien has changed so much, the scene is very different from few years ago.
It can be still a pleasant place to visit once or twice a week, you enjoyed your day there, but it something entirely different if you live in Jomtien, day after day, 12 months of the year. I did stay there once almost for 2 years. Not any more. I can't, and I don't.
Valgehiir - I do live in Jomtien permanently and have done for three years, so yes I've seen the changes you talk about.
I guess the point I was making to JT was that if you fill your life with activities and friends, things that depressed or concerned you (as in JT with the Russians) can be a non event. I take a certain pleasure in honking the scooter horn at them if they do crazy things walking on the road, or making sure they don't get past me at the 7/11, and observing their bluntness with the Thais and their reaction to it.
Life is a game if you want it to be and I suspect JT struggles with that concept.
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I almost always tip 500 baht. If the caddy is particularly bad or annoying, maybe 300.
I also always split any winnings with the caddy... we usually play a 100 baht near-pin contest on all par 3's, carrying over if no one wins a given hole. When I win that, I give half to the caddy.
Note... sometimes we also play the Par 3 near-pin game and let the caddy of the winner have all the cash. We explain it to them up front... it's amazing how interested and serious they get when they know they stand to win some cash! It's fun.
300 is the going rate in Pattaya, especially if you play all year round. My caddy is thankful that I play all year and she has never let me down yet and turned me out for a tourist that may tip more. I got a T-Shirt for Christmas from her and obviously gave her an extra tip to cover that and then extra for Christmas.
As to giving them extra for winning a bet with your partner, you can guarantee that your caddies are also betting amongst themselves. They may be just betting on the value of your winnings but most caddies spend their spare time gambling dominoes and cards in the caddy shack, so they'll be having side bets and showing real interest in your performance - not a bad thing really.
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JT - I can't help wondering what your day consists of and how you've managed to seemingly let the so-called Russian invasion affect you. On a personal note, I find the Russians to be quite diverse in their looks, attitudes, and demeanour. I wonder what you think about the Scandinavians?
Back to my point - what do you do all day? Do you have a varied and diverse group of friends? Do you make it a mission to meet and talk to somebody new every day? Do you play a sport or belong to a social group? Do you have a watering hole where when you walk in, "everybody knows your name"? Do you go to your mate/s place and play cards, have a beer, whinge about the Russians, play chess or poker?
If Jomtien is depressing you as much as you claim then I assure you that it's doubtful a relocation to Pattaya will solve your problems. maybe you need to look a little more internally for the root cause of the issue.
Because quite frankly, I was on Jomtien beach yesterday afternoon and early evening with my wife, and I didn't see or feel what you did. I had a bloody good time just doing next to nothing and watching the sun go down.
Sat on the chairs amongst dozens of Thai families enjoying their New Years festival, yeah there were lots of Russians and other nationalities too.
Watched the kids swimming, read a few pages of a novel, watched the world go by with a Singha in my hand. Ordered food that took a lifetime to come but hey.....like I had somewhere else to be? The food was fairly average but I'm not a foodie as such - if my wife has som-tum she's happy anyway.
We strolled along the road and looked at people - most seemed to be having a reasonable time. I didn't see anybody with a gun to their head. Perhaps the worst thing about it was the stench from the accumulated garbage in several spots.
Then went to a bar for a few drinks and shoot some pool with friends - arranged a game of poker for tonight and golf on Friday.
Today I'm at home doing a bit of catchup work but still had time to get into Patts for breakfast at Len Kee with the missus, go to my favourite golf shop and buy a new cap and pair of gloves ( as well as ogle the new Taylormade driver, but the good devil on my right shoulder overcame the bad devil on the other shoulder), and I didn't buy it.....maybe next week. Learned a few bits of Thai from her and taught her a few bits of complex English grammar, picked up the daughter from school, and I would have washed the truck but the tank is near dry due to the crap water supply.
So JT. Get your own form of transport, bike, scooter, 3-wheeler, mobility scooter, pushbike, whatever. FILL your life with things to do, places to go, people to see, laughs to have, fun to have, lots of smiles.....get the picture.
Hey, why don't you learn Russian and then you'll have a whole new continent of people you can talk to.
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Replace "Russian" with blacks and we'd all be bigots.
And for any of those that can read Russian, check out their forums, be amazed at what they think of "Foreigners" here...
The point is that Jomtien has become extremely dreary and also it is now dominated by Russians. The former is my subjective impression while the latter is a fact.
People crying bigotry, you make me laugh. Is it bigotry to have subjective impression of a travel destination? That's daft. Read some great travel writers like Paul Theroux and maybe get educated.
You've got to be able to talk about stuff. To talk about the feeling in today's Jomtien without mentioning the Russian domination would be an exercise in absurdity. If they were bringing massive festiveness to the region and I could feel that, would it be bigotry to say that?
No more that saying blacks are good at basketball.
Or that white men can't jump.
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And during the same time frame the politicians, heads of government departments and related underlings probably defrauded the Thai people of ten times that value.
It would have been 20 times that value but half their offices were shut down.
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Mine resolved to actually get out and drive. She's got her 5 year car license (cornflakes version) but couldn't drive a nail into a piece of wood.
Five minutes ago she took off in the truck to "practice" with the parting words "see you in one hour darling". I refuse to go with her as the last 15 minute stint aged me by 5 years and I used to be blond, but now a sort of executive grey.
If you intend travelling in the Boonkanjana/Jomtien 2nd Road/Chayapruik/Sukhumvit block in the next hour, be careful out there.
I will post future warnings as necessary - don't say I didn't warn everybody!
Update: She and the truck are home in one piece after an uneventful journey. She even bought a dozen slabs of drinking water while she was out, so it wasn't even a total waste of diesel.
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Mine resolved to actually get out and drive. She's got her 5 year car license (cornflakes version) but couldn't drive a nail into a piece of wood.
Five minutes ago she took off in the truck to "practice" with the parting words "see you in one hour darling". I refuse to go with her as the last 15 minute stint aged me by 5 years and I used to be blond, but now a sort of executive grey.
If you intend travelling in the Boonkanjana/Jomtien 2nd Road/Chayapruik/Sukhumvit block in the next hour, be careful out there.
I will post future warnings as necessary - don't say I didn't warn everybody!
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Oh goody!!!!!
It only took one day into the New Year for a Baht Bus thread to start.
Do I hear a bum-gun thread starting in the background?
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It's all the kids with their government supplied tablets doing their thing on Farcebook this year.
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"We need to give our elected representatives an incentive to favour the public interest over their own"
That statement sums it up really.
In Thai politics (and some would say in Thai society as a whole), there is no accountability whatsoever. Blatant thieving from the public purse is not only sanctioned, it's actively encouraged - primarily because everybody is feeding from the trough and here is literally nobody who wants any form of clean up.
Politicians and public servants are given carte blanche to line their pockets. After all, that's why they seek a position of power - and writing a new Charter, a new Constitution, new laws, blah blah blah will do absolutely nothing to stop it continuing. The only ones that have the power and authority to stop it all happening are the ones that are lining their pockets. The chances of this happening are about as high as me winning the PGA Tour.
I've said it many times on TVisa, the man or woman that will eventually lead Thailand out of the political mire has not yet been born. Thailand will have to suffer through a further generation (or two) before any real progress can be made.
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I would never harm women like that, because they are the gender of my mother".
Not so sure about that.
What - are you doubting his mother was a female or that he would hit a woman?
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OP - you obviously fail to realise that Whinging Old Pricks (aka Grumpy Old Men) only exist because when they were younger, they were Whinging Little Pricks.
If the shoe fits an' all that.
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I know an old bloke (72 in body, 22 in heart and spirit) that recently decked a young bloke of about 30 for giving him some unwarranted lip. We had to drag him off to stop him booting the boot in with his winkle-pickers.
Would the OP like to buy him a beer and hear his views on life, the universe, and everything?
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I'm suffering through the same noise from Atlantis and I'm on 2nd Road. As I write this I think they are murdering a cat on stage. Still, makes a change from the deep bass they produced all day.
They should be packing up their big sound system tomorrow as it's back to work day.
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Neeranam - you have to accept that we English speakers enjoy the luxury of having the international language. We find it normal for foreigners of all races to speak English. You and I would not be in the least surprised to hear an Eskimo (I know that's now a politically incorrect term now, but I'm old school), speak English.
But I'd suggest to you that we would both be a little surprised to hear an Eskimo speak Thai. A Thai would be no more shocked at hearing an Eskimo speak Thai as hearing you speak Thai. Probably less so, because an Eskimo does look slightly Asian.
Note: Absolutely no racial slurs are implied in the above.
Yes, I agree with your observations. I do understand WHY this happens. The main question is what do we do when it happens. Smile and say nothing?
Smile and talk to them so they actually "get" that you know more than the standard 10 phrases that most Europeans know. Tell them your name is Kuhn John. If you hear yourself being referred to in the 3rd person farang, politely remind them of your title and name. Obviously accept the Pi, Loong, or whatever. Be careful that you understand how they use farang - I don't find it offensive in itself, unless I'm referred to as farang when my name or title should be used instead. If they said something like "more farang are visiting Thailand these days", no problem.
Play some games - if they ask your wife to ask you something, answer in English and let her translate. Then, in Thai, ask your wife three questions about the guest, and watch them cringe. The clever ones catch on and talk to you directly. The stupid ones answer your wife....funny as a fight!!
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Neeranam - you have to accept that we English speakers enjoy the luxury of having the international language. We find it normal for foreigners of all races to speak English. You and I would not be in the least surprised to hear an Eskimo (I know that's now a politically incorrect term now, but I'm old school), speak English.
But I'd suggest to you that we would both be a little surprised to hear an Eskimo speak Thai. A Thai would be no more shocked at hearing an Eskimo speak Thai as hearing you speak Thai. Probably less so, because an Eskimo does look slightly Asian.
And compare the reaction that the French give to the English if an Englishman speaks French? I think we as native English speakers have a very unique conception of others speaking our language and find it difficult to comprehend surprise in other nationalities when their (obscure/unique/single country) language is spoken by a European.
Note: Absolutely no racial slurs are implied in the above.
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Thai is a language only spoken in one country (Laos being a minor exception). Thailand has had minimal exposure to foreign languages outside the tourist areas. Thais never see foreigners on TV speaking Thai. They never see programmes, news articles, or sports events from foreign sources spoken or narrated in Thai by foreigners.
There are very few (if any) 2nd generation foreigners in Thailand that were born here and speak Thai as a first language (and I don't mean Leuk Kruengs). I say this to compare to most western countries that have dozens of nationalities that are 2nd or 10th generation and English is their first language.
Thailand is therefore a very non-cosmopolitan (read: essentially closed to the West until the Vietnam war) type country and its people are naïve in the ways of the outside world with regard to interracial communications and customs.
I believe that the vast majority of Thais (the educated class excepted) would find it relatively inconceivable that a foreigner would therefore want to learn Thai, or even be capable of learning Thai.
Back home in NZ I find nothing unusual in seeing Chinese, Africans, Dutch, Thais speaking pure Kiwi English - they're Kiwis after all, and were born in New Zealand. But how many children are born and live in Thailand that are pure Dutch, African, New Zealand (or whatever race) descent? I suspect my right hand would have sufficient fingers to count them.
Now.....if I was being served by a Thai in Central Festival or the local Thai market, and he/she addressed me in 100% pure unadulterated Kiwi English, complete with slang and inflection, well, it would blow my socks off.
EG, If they said "Sorry sport, yus'll have to hang around here for a few secs till the boss shows up 'cos the sodding computers thrown a wobbly and I can't open the till. Anyway, see them Aussies get creamed at the Cakebox last night....?"
So in the case of the OP, it's probably largely understandable that his neighbours (who presumably are unworldly to a large extent) get a shock/surprise when a white foreigner speaks Thai. To them, it's almost like an African meeting Livingstone in the jungle and Livingstone spoke perfect Swahili or whatever - the African would be as shocked as hell.
I've come across it and my Thai is very limited. I'm guilty of telling some of them (the ones that are a little rude with it, not just surprised) that Thai is now being taught in all the European schools and in 10 years Thailand will be flooded with Europeans that speak Thai.......and they believe me, bless them.
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I used to carry a hammer in my Ford Zephyr MKII so when the gear linkages at the bottom end of the steering column locked up (daily), a simple task to raise the bonnet, smack them and be on your way.
Had a smart arse boss with a new Ford Escort and would do a wheelie in the gravel as he left the yard, showering our bikes. We took it upon ourselves to put it on blocks and dig holes under the rear (driving) wheels and thinly disguise it so all looked normal. Boss does his usual, jumps in the car and boots it but the wheels just spun in place and he went nowhere. We all buggered off but the night watchman told us the next day it took him two hours to unblock the car and get going. It didn't help matters that we nicked his jack as well.
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The officer did everything right. Hopefully these tourists kicked out of the country.
Absolutely right! When the video went "viral", the "cop in question" was called in by his supervisor and was going to be disciplined or fired. Later, the girl in the video went in and explained what really happened. She was trying to take a photo of the policeman and he didn't want her to do so. He was "fanning away" -so to speak - the phone-cam and, on the video, it "looks" like he smacked her. All of this was on the local news here in Pattaya earlier today.
That's exactly what happened. You can see the phone in her hand as she steps backward and raises it to frame the shot. The BIB walks swiftly up to her and swats it out of her hand. Not that I'm saying it was OK for him to do that, but he sure as hell didn't strike her across the face.
But hey, why let the facts get in the way of a good story.
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True Vision is high for their program content it appears.
You got that right! And it's not as though watching Thai soap operas in HD improves the viewers experience.
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Three bedroom, three bathroom house. No pool. Pattaya/Jomtien.
Electric circa 5,000B in the hot season running an average of 1 1/2 A/C units 24/7. Paid 3,500B last bin and expect it to be around 2,500B this month as it's been very cool and the A/C's are not being used.
Water is about 500-600B per month.
True Visions is about 1,500B and 10MB internet from Sophon is about 600B (can't remember exactly as I always pay for 3 months to save the hassle and I can't find the bin).
A long depressing New Years Day walk on Jomtien Beach Road
in Pattaya
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Is this an auction JT?
Ok, Let's Go!!
I bid![:) smile.png](//forum.thaivisa.com/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png)
10,000100,000 Baht and you can borrow my truck to move your stuff - I'll even help you.