Gsxrnz

Yep, a good effort.

A chap once said to me it's amazing what the Thais can get on a scooter, and he joked the only thing he hadn't seen on the back of one was a full size fridge.

Bugger me, but the very next day I was passed by two blokes on a scooter - the pillion was facing backwards and hanging on to a sack barrow. Strapped on the sack barrow was a double size commercial beer cooler.

The whole concept f the EU was flawed from the beginning.

Ted Heath was a criminal in more ways than one.

Whats a "3 pip copper"... ?

One with 3 pips on his lapel so not an also ran dogs body.

Thanks for the explanation, Unfortunately Iam non the wiser as that makes no sense either.

Is it UK slang ?

Would be Captain in British military, but no idea what rank in Thai police.

Makes no difference anyway. My security guard is a Wing Commander.

People are more open minded here !! What planet are you on ?? !!

Thai people are just as racist as the rest of the world.

We are farangs, whether we are married to a family member or not.

Family talk about the farang even when speaking about you with your Thai wife.

Totally incorrect.

If your dog bites you and shits in the corner, you failed to train it properly.

If your Thai family treat you with disrespect and one-up-man-ship, you didn't train educate them properly.

If one passes me without dipping their head they get a swift reminder. They wouldn't dare refer to me as Farang, always Khun John.

Anyway, you probably hear Farang from them and think they're talking about you, when in fact they're discussing the potato crop.

The OP is renting a house, so likely to have a more considerate landlord than someone that rents out numerous condos. Or worse, an agent that rents out numerous condos.

My experience with 5 different landlords has been excellent. Had a/c replaced 4 times. Once because the neighbour complained that the compressor was noisy - no problem says the landlord.

Had a fridge, washing machine and TV replaced because the line was struck by lightning.

Even told one landlord that I would rent his house but the lounge furniture was crap, the TV was an old box thingy, the fridge was too small, and there was no a/c downstairs. No problem - you go pick the furniture you want up to 30k, I have new a/c, fridge, and TV installed. True to his word, two days later all was done.

Burglar alarm not working - fixed in a day.

Septic tank emptied every 6 months. Water pumps fixed and replaced on three occasions. A/c serviced regularly. They even got a bloke in with a special long handled fitting to replace some blown light bulbs in a high atrium ceiling.

Oh - it helps if you have a reputation for paying the rent on time and looking after the place. Thai land owners like that, as opposed to chasing late payers or those that lower the value/appearance of their property.

My advice to the OP - simply call your landlord and tell him the problem. Don't go in all guns blazing, the problem will be sorted. If not, vote with your feet - although even Thais are now doing the math on 10k to fix the a/c compared to 6 months of no rental income if you move out before they find another tenant. They are beginning to understand the buyer's market.

Good. I hope it happens. The world needs the reset button.

The dinosaurs never amounted to anything.

Mammals just made a huge mess.

Let the insectoids have a go. I'm pretty sure they always felt it was all theirs in the first place.

Not all mamals made a mess, only our species i.e. the "homo sapiens" ...before homo sapiens arrived the Neanderthaler lived on our planet already 250.000 years

The Neanderthals never actually died out... there are quite a few of them (Neanderthals) on their annual holidays in Pattaya at the moment.

Cleaning should only be done intermittently, depending on the riding conditions. It shouldn't be done every time you lubricate it.

Don't use oil. Oil just attracts grit and it sticks like the proverbial. Use a "wax" type spray on, and do it after the ride. The reason you do it after, is do it before, and it will flick off in the first 500m.

Don't over lubricate.

Don't be tempted to over tighten the chain as that is the best way to stretch it. Slightly looser than spec is better than slightly tighter than spec. Make sure you understand the static sag and adjust the chain with the suspension loaded - don't ever set it on the rear stand alone.

R.I.P fellow Kiwi.

Whatever the circumstances (and this thread is full of unnecessary conjecture, typical of those that post such diatribe), it's a young age to pass away.

I can only hope his family has the good fortune not to read this thread - but if they do I offer my condolences.

As to the posts that have been deleted - it's my observation that perhaps there weren't enough of them.

Jeez!! Talk about a thread gone crazy. Here's my 2,000,000 Bahts worth.

I'm a minimalist in Thai - Thais seem to prefer it that way.

Just as in English, you could ask the question posed in many ways. I keep it simple.

If it looks like they "might" be open, I say the obligatory Sa-wat-dee kap pee/nong/long/ba or whatever. Then assuming it's a nong. I'll say "nong, nong.....bird reu yang". Simple translation "Open or not?"

If it looks like they're closed, do the same hello etc. and then say "bid reu yang". Simple translation "closed or not?"

Add/leave out the Kap/Ka as seems appropriate.

You can't go too far wrong with bird/bid reu yang - especially if you look at your watch while asking the question. Only 4 words to ask 2 questions. You can screw the tones totally and they'll understand you without exception.

OP - Maybe now you should ask the question "If they're closed/open, how do you ask them what time they open/close".

Then we can have a thousand post thread about how to tell the time in Thai.

But there again, I'm a minimalist - I'll ask them in standard 24 Hour fashion rather than asking for an answer in the Thai format.

Feed him under the bike - he won't pee where he's fed.

Surely, they will know which boat was involved in the accident because it will be the one that tipped over, leaked like a sieve, or got rammed by the other boat.

Another well thought out idea that will solve absolutely zilch.

Being a frugal character, I'd whip down to the local bike repair lean-to and get an old bike inner tube for free.

I mean, it's not as if you want to keep the chain warm or anything.

Let's see. 25,000,000 tourists at 360B = 9,000,000,000 baht.

So after all the commissions, fees, overcharging, backhanders, bribes, inflated over pricing, that 9 Billion baht will end up as another 2,000 Baht plastic statue at Swampy departure lounge.

Sorted.

Most are dumb as rocks...Especially if you've watched the long steady progression/regression of people you know.....

Of course → They all think they are functionally brilliant......

Ain't that the truth!!

The Dumb and Stupid I know live in a world where they are both Mastermind champions on their home planet, yet they have trouble remembering their own names. Tragic.

So I was going to wait until tomorrow to get some carb cleaner before I started to work on it. But I figured what the heck I'll try giving the carb a few whacks while the throttle is open. That did the trick, it's all good now.

Thanks for all the posts.

"a few whacks ...open."

Before or after starting?

////Also my father's theory of son raising.////

Throttle open with engine running. Wife opened the throttle and it tapped with a wooden dowel and a hammer.

Yep, a good ol' whack can solve many things, pleased the simple solution worked for you.

Enoch Powell should/could have been the saviour of the UK if his forecasts of social change through open immigration were accepted at the time.

How right he was.

I know two blokes around here that smoke regularly. They weren't nicknamed Dumb and Stupid without just cause.

For clarity, Dumb is the shorter of the two.

@gsxrnz

Yes I can trust the them. And thanks for the suggestion. that could work. We are still trying other banks now.

But its so weird to have to do that. I mean, I don't even care to have my name on the bank account. I don't need to. But the bank says I have to, its a requirement because of the amount of shares I hold......but then they tell me I can only be added with a work permit.

It's actually not such a strange request. It also happens in the real world.

I recently set up a holding company in NZ with existing shareholders of other companies we are all partners in. The bank knows us all well, but even though the new company only had two of us as directors, they still required the signatures of all shareholders to authorise the bank account and assign/accept liability of the two directors as signatories.

It's called covering their arse and very common in banking.

In Thailand of course you have the added complexity of work permits etc etc.

If you try and point out the stupidity of their decision you'll only make it worse.

You have to be expedient if you want to beat them at their own game. Just do as I suggested. Change the shareholdings, get your Thai partner/s go to a different bank and open an account, re-jig the shareholdings.

Sorted.

Pass the appropriate resolutions to get you off the shareholder list.

Go to a different bank and open an account.

Issue the 40% shares in your name.

I'm assuming you can trust the other shareholders and director/s implicitly?

Latest from Facebook.....the Orkney Islands Curling Team are trying to track her down for try-outs.

If every car dealership had every model, in every variation of spec, and in every colour, they would probably have to stock 200 cars/trucks at any one time. That ain't gonna happen, and I don't mean just in Thailand.

It's fairly normal the world over that if the specific model/spec/colour you want isn't in stock, it must be ordered. The chances are if you have specific requirements, they'll have to order it. The time it takes to fill that order will depend on many things, but one to three weeks I'd suggest is average.

As to test drives - if you were blindfolded and rode as the passenger in equivalent manufacturers models, it's doubtful anybody would know what they are in.

New cars drive/handle/feel/smell like new cars. If anybody is making comparisons on handling, turning circles, HP, cabin space, boot space, accessories, etc ad infinium, then the best place is the internet.

A test drive of anything is practically a waste of time of the buyer and the dealer. You can't really test a car until you've bought it - so read reviews/comparisons and place your order.

Even back home, I'm sure most dealerships can sense a tyre-kicker. And I'm equally sure the same is true in Thailand, be the tyre-kicker a local or a foreigner.

On a different note, went to the Toyota dealer in Na Jomtien to get some work done on my aging vigo. Great reception, good English from the chick - she understood the need to check the idler pulley when changing a timing belt, and knew what a tie-rod end was. And pricing!! Couldn't believe it.

To flush the radiator, replace the full front suspension, bleed the brakes, replace the tie-rod ends, replace the fan belt, replace the timing belt and idler pulley and pressure piston, and replace all suspension bushes is only 20,000 Baht. Might be a few more if they have to replace the fan belt idler pulley and service the water pump. Cheap as chips.

I don't know where your from but in the UK every major car dealership has at least one model of every car of the manufacturers albeit in various specs.They will have other models available on site but not on show. They also have a computerised list of the current cars available or when they will be released by the factory.

Ok the manufacturers might have a different way of supplying the cars which means they do not have to pay for the car until it is sold.

Yesterday as I quoted the showrooms had 1/2 cars and loads of sales girls playing on their mobiles.

Discount is not normally available for cash in the UK, like here they want you to take finance, extended warranties etc, there isn't normally much profit in just selling a new car.

Test drive, it will give you a feel how the car handles, steering,acceleration, cornering braking etc, paying thousands for some thing without testing it is a no no for me. Surely it's in the manufacturers interest to provide a car or two which in the UK are normally sold on as 'demonstrators'

Is there a shortage of new cars in Thailand or do they have pay up front for them meaning they don't want thousands of baht sitting in their showroom.

As my avatar states "New Zealand Kiwi", I'll leave you to guess where I hale from.

My experience of driving and buying new cars is that all new cars of comparable configurations drive more or less exactly the same. They sort of have to, because otherwise they wouldn't sell.

Sure the Top Gear team were able to push vehicles to the limit and were able to reveal comparative deficiencies amongst manufacturers/models.

So unless a dealer lets you take their demo to a race track so you can thrash it to the limit, a 10klm test drive will tell you absolutely nothing about performance. You're not going to find that the transmission kickdown is slow/fast, or that the brakes start to fade under pressure, unless you really stress the car - that's why it's better to let the experts do this and read their findings.

If a car has a quirk, they will find it. Blind spots, under/over steer, spongy brakes, poor cornering, good/bad suspension, etc etc. I've bought many new cars just based on specs and reviews. I've usually owned earlier models so know roughly what to expect. I drove my friends nuts when I'd alternate Ford/Holden/Mitsi/Toyota every three years. No brand loyalty.

I'm not here to integrate into Thai culture. I hope that's OK with y'all.

Now I'm scared that if I smile too much, I'll wake up in the morning and find I've turned into a Thai.

Well, surrounded by so many Russians in Jomtien, a culture where smiling at strangers is considered a sign of mental retardation, my inner Russian has emerged.

Jingthing:

You adopt the best aspects of a different culture, not the worst.

That's your value judgment about the Russian attitude towards smiling when you have nothing real to smile about.

Um....I think Gecko was referring to adopting the best aspects of the Thai culture - it was you that brought the Russians into it.

It's the Thais business to sort out their problems, and I'm sure the vast majority of them agree.

You must have misunderstood the OP.

The point was to exchange smiles with Thais, interact with them and reap the rewards. The same goes for foreigners (to which I have expressed my opinions already).

But despite a vague reference to unhappy business times contributing to pressure on businesses, the post definitely wasn't about the Thai economy or business problems, nor who should fix them. It was about using a smile to make someone's day.

So back on topic, what are your views on smiling?

I like your post and am in general agreement. I find giving a grin to a Thai always gets one in return, and if you're in a service situation such as a restaurant, repair shop or similar, it generally breaks down the barrier and you tend to get better service and less of the "mai mee".

However, doing the same with foreigners presents me with some difficulties. If they look, sound, act normal then I'm the first to say a Gidday or Owzitgoin.

Bbut some of the slobs on their two week millionaire vacation that have the manners, language, dress, and behaviour of a Bogan or Chav will still only illicit a contemptuous smirk from me.