Estrada

Too many problems with BMWs, Mercedes and most saloon cars. They all have low wheel bases and the CRV is more suitable for negotiating the floods and potholes in Bangkok and Thailand as a whole. I upgraded to a Honda CRV 5 years ago and have been very happy with it.

The light had already counted down to zero and you had to wait 41 seconds, so you should not have jumped the lights.

A friend who was a democrat Senator as well as in the current government told me after Yingluck won the last election that the party proposed to replace Abhisit as leader before the next election. Therefore it is wrong to accuse the Junta as a faction of the Democrat party already wishes to replace him as they feel that they cannot win with him as leader.

Actually, the great floods occurred in October 2010 and again in October 2011 onwards. Since then Bangkok has been flooding during heavy rains but are described as "water that must be drained" rather than flood waters. Bangkok has flooded regularly since they moved the capital here from Ayutthaya in the 17th Century. Severe floods occur approximately every 4 years so we are due to receive severe floods in Bangkok this year or next. This is only early September so it too early to predict that there will be no widespread flooding in Bangkok this year. A number of >6metre dia drainage tunnels are being constructed which should be completed by the end of 2019 - 2020.

3 hours ago, canopus1969 said:

Muslims again - disgusting religion 

Stop the hatred..... In the mainly Evangelical United States, child marriages are still allowed in all but two state D                v elaware and New Jersey, but only since May 2018. In New Hampshire, girls aged as young as 13 are still allowed to marry until 1st January 2019! 32 US jurisdictions allow girls to marry as young as 14 depending on the jurisdiction.   

Before the Brexit referendum I informed the Brexiteers here that the pound would crash. In fact it crashed by 21% and I reminded them. They said do not worry it will recover within 3 weeks. Since then I have been losing 21.5% to 26% of my pension compared with the GBP immediately before the referendum was announced to be held. And we have not even left the EU yet! If we leave the GBP will fall by another 10%+ meaning that I will be losing 36% of my pension payments.

It is for security, a friend was recently charged for some on line gaming site which he does not use. BBL caught the culprit on the second attempt due to the location of the transaction and flagging it as suspicious as he could not be in two locations at the same time. They will also block transactions from locations you are unlikely to frequent such as Russia, Romania etc. Citibank computers etc analyse your location before approving your transaction when travelling abroad using location. For instance, fly to UK, hotel in London. Purchases in London, drive to Nottingham, purchases in Nottingham area. Drive to Kent, purchases in Kent. Drive to Heathrow, purchase in Duty Free, fly to Bangkok. If there are any purchases attempted using your card at a location that is impossible to match your travel pattern, they will block and contact you. 

Lumpini Park has been used by Freelancers for the last 36 years that I know of. They stand on the road alongside the park in full view of the Lumpini Police Station. Can I get the B100,000?

It amazes me that after nearly 3 Billion passenger trips on the BTS since 1999 and a one in 3 Billion accident, they are now calling on the BTS to provide toilets. There have never been toilets on public buses or vans within Bangkok either. The BTS is linked conveniently to many shopping malls, hotels and other facilities that are easy to get to from the stations. If I have a problem I just get off at the nearest convenient station. The BTS has staff toilets which can be used in emergency if you ask a security guard. The provision of public toilets within the station areas are a security risk. In any case it is the BMA's responsibility to provide public toilets close to the stations but not within, where necessary. Years ago they provided some of the high-tech cylindrical automatic toilets but they became unpopular due to the doors opening automatically before the customer had time to do his business!

Western Digital introduced the first TV Box many years ago and a few years later they were banned. A few years ago there were many shops selling TV boxes but they disappeared in the lead up to the World Cup. The only shop still selling the MXQ Pro TV Box in Seacon is the discount shop run by Indians in the lower IT section. After the world cup, an additional shop has started selling TV boxes again.

I have known Anthony Bamford, now Lord Bamford of JCB since 1974. He gave GBP 673,000 to the Brexit Campaign to boost his profits and line his pockets, not for the benefit for the people of the UK. One of the 3 Pro-Brexit funds which included, Vote Leave and Beleave campaign even has a link to an operative at the Russian Embassy in the latest findings. The Brexit vote was unfair as the majority of British people did not vote for leave as so many were not able to vote. Voting should have been compulsory, including Brits living and working overseas and a 60% Majority for Brexit would have been clearly acceptable so that it can truly be said that the result of the referendum was the decision of the British people. The referendum was only advisory with Parliament to decide they went ahead and now there is a mess. There should be another referendum based on the true facts without the lies from Nigel Farage, Donald Trump and Boris Johnson. The outcome of the second referendum with a 60/40 majority requirement, should be given to Parliament who should decide what is best for the UK  

Take off those dark glasses, available in Tesco and Tops in singles B13 or packs of 3 or 6 (B66/6). There may have been a run in some small stores as they had a "ROV" Gamer Competition with a tear off coupon on each pack.

I still get discount vouchers around once a month from TESCO but not so many since they switched to issuing discount coupons on their till receipts.

I use BBL and the limit is B20K per withdrawal and 2 withdrawals per day are allowed = B40K/Day. Higher limits are available up to B100K depending on which ATM card they have given you. Just remember that the daily limit is to protect you and them from losing money when your card is stolen or cloned.

And Trump thought that he would dominate all the news at the NATO meeting next week. Now the NATO members will be talking about concerns with Russia and Putin, using dangerous chemical weapons on British citizens and the need for more sanctions against Russia and Putin.

Perhaps they will now change the sign at the entrance to the cave complex that currently tells the public that it dangerous to enter the cave after the rainy season which starts in July.

The leaders of the main political parties have been planning for an election in May 2019 since 2017. The PM has been kicking the ball down the road since 2017. According to his latest statement, the election will be after the Coronation which is likely to be around May 5th (the previous coronation day), therefore you can expect the election later in May 2019.

I have been doing my 90 day report by mail for 8 years now. I usually do it 15 days before but last time they misread May 28th as May 23rd but just stamped it in red "next time, please send it 15days before the due date" and returned it with no penalty except the next report date is given as August 22nd when it should have been August 27th. Similarly, on occasions I have forgotten to send the previous receipt of notification twice but they just stamp it in red " next time send the previous receipt of notification". The idea of sending the notification 15 days before due is purely to allow delays with the post. Mine took 9 days to reach Chaengwattana last time, according to Immigration who recorded as arriving on May 22nd. As long as the report reaches them before the due date they cannot complain, hence the red stamp.

Please note that if you try to hand over the report by hand at Immigration to avoid queuing, they will refuse to accept it and direct you to the Post Office downstairs! 

1 hour ago, Falcon said:

It’s legal to own guns here , both for foreigners and Thais, you just need the correct license which isn’t difficult to get. We own a couple of guns kept in the house, unless we are going out to the shooting range of course. Obtaining a concealed carry license is very difficult, even for Thais.

 

There will be many anti gun people here jumping all over this saying how a gun in Thailand isn’t necessary, etc. but, in reality, thailand is not that safe and, in my view, better to keep a legal gun in the house at all times just ‘in case’.

It has been illegal for foreigners to own or carry guns in Thailand since October 2017. If the police catch you with guns you will face up to 10 years in prison and up to a B20,000 fine.

Problem is that you may have accidently enrolled for this via BBL ATM. These days when place your card in the ATM, a pop up screen in Thai appears asking you to enrol in the SMS Account Alert, with the only clear English words being "PROCEED with transaction". The first time it appeared, I stopped the transaction and then asked my BBL Bank Manager if I am forced to enrol in this scheme using the ATM, and she told me that if I click proceed then I am not enrolled in this scheme.  If I chose the other menu, I would be enrolled. In any case I already have this service which I have had for years and in fact other fees using Internet banking are either free of fees or at a reduced fee of only B10. I can now pay my Citibank Credit Cards via internet banking from my BBL account for free, instead of B50/month, saving B600/year. However, for existing users, we may get charged after December 31st 2018.

SMS Account Alert

12 minutes ago, themerg said:

Unlike milk in the USA, Thai milk uses the 280 degrees Farenheit pasteurization process. This process allows for mixing of milks from different farms and for a much longer shelf life of months as in the Wikipedia article.

I am from Albany, NY, USA and I will be lucky to keep milk for a week.

I think the milk in the USA is allowed the lower temperature process by bribes due to the cost of the better process, and keeping milk for longer times is a definite profits killer. Business in the USA is about profits to the shareholders, not for the buying public. If it smells good and tastes good, drink. A costless way to make milk last a little bit longer is to shake for 30 seconds daily. Milk spoils by settling.

 

He was referring to Omega which is UHT, not Pasteurised milk. Thai UHT milk uses 135C (your 280Deg F). we have both UHT and Pasteurised milk manufactured to international standards. UHT milk is no good for making cappuccino.