Kinnock

I'm looking for a new 4x4 SUV, and the Thai built Forrester looks good value at 1.1M to 1.4M THB depending on spec. There's a new model due in 2025, but it will be imported from Japan, as Subaru are stopping production in Thailand- and so the new model may cost over 2M THB. I can't decide if that means the current Forrester is a bargain, or to be avoided?

Excellent post. I'm sure there was a little more to the wife selection process than that, but I like the principle.

Your viewpoint makes perfect sense if you view women as a disposable commodity. But if you see the relationship as a partnership where you are fully committed to supporting each other, then it's very different. However, this approach requires finding Miss Right ..... and conversely she needs to find Mr Right. I know the ideal partner for a long term relationship does exists, but if you're lucky enough to find one, she will expect the commitment to be two-way.

Yeah .... left Bangkok in a speedboat, arrived in Phuket 15 minutes later 😀. I stayed in the hotel used for the speedboat arrival scene, the manager told me they had several goes at the run up the beach .... those speedboats must be quite tough.

Unless you're paying for a woman to be with you, a relationship is a two-way partnership. If you're not committed, what are you bringing to the table except your wallet? Marriage is just a formal confirmation of your commitment to support each other, and most women who don't only want your cash will expect this level of commitment. If all you require from a woman is sex, with no emotional bond, no real caring or passion, then just pay. If you want more, you need to invest more than cash.

Recommend you try several cameras in the shop, as the controls and handling are very different. I'm not keen on the Sony A7 controls, as I was used to film cameras .... they are also quite heavy and lenses are expensive .... but the image quality is excellent. For 'full frame' sensor I prefer Lumix S series over Sony myself. Although the Fuji X-T series suits me better - APS-C so bodies and lenses are a bit smaller, manual controls very much like film camera. Latest X-T have IBIS and improved auto focus. Only issue with Fuji is the mobile phone App, which is unreliable. Micro 4/3 is even smaller and lighter, but image quality in low light not quite as good, and if you like the nice blurred background in portraits, Micro 4/3 is not ideal as you need special (very wide aperture) lenses to get the effect. You need to like the way it handles and understand the interface clearly, so try in the shop before buying.

Avoid Carrier ..... they stink, literally. A house and a 2 bed condo fitted with new Carrier X Inverters 2-3 years ago, and more than half of them have a bad 'swamp gas' smell on start up. The contractor who fitted them came back three times to check them and clean them, I've had them cleaned 4 times since then - and they still stink. Was told it's due to the 'catalytic self cleaning coating' but that may be bull.

Lack of investment in sports facilities at ground level - so Thailand's success is by the elite wealthy with the minor exception of sports supported by gambling money.

Holding tight to the bike is the problem. When riding a bike as a rider or passenger, you're supposed to use your natural balance, relax and let the bike move with the road. It's easy if you don't hold tight. Grab the bike in the two-hands-behind-your-back holding the hand rail death grip like most falangs I see on motorcycle taxis, and you become a dead weight being thrown around by every bump in the road and resisting the breaking and acceleration by gripping even tighter and tensing your upper body. It's also horrible for the rider when you do this .... it's like strapping a fridge on the back of your bike. Just relax .... the little bikes used as taxis don't have the power to throw you off the back. I just have one hand lightly resting on the handrail so I can hold it if the rider brakes suddenly, and by relaxing you don't get that 'being thrown around' feeling that makes you hold tighter.

Agree .... but only if you're writing in your own language. I needed to write an email to our local 'Tessabahn' about a serious issue, but my written Thai is weak. I wrote in English, then asked Chat GPT 4.0 to translate to polite yet precise Thai in the style of an official government memo. I sent it to a Thai friend for review - and she thought it was good enough to send.

...... AW - Artificial Woke.

I'm sure AI has a valuable place in our lives, and I use it at work for data analysis, but what is mentioned in the OP is the large language models (LLM) that utilise the web plus the ability to construct sentences to create human sounding phrases. If you can write coherently in the required language, and are knowledgeable on the subject, LLM's add little value. If you know nothing and can't string a sentence together, they are helpful. Personally, I'd rather read something written by HI (Human intelligence) that computer generated bull &#!£.

I don't know if it was a real case or not .... but all these so-called 'under-cover investigations' and secret recordings have an element of fakery about them. They all need some preparation and setting up, and the media is only interested in coverage and entertainment, so I never take political stories at face value. The online arguments are just people coming from their opposing preconceptions, but we'll know the truth in a few weeks .... which will be post the election anyway.

I'd say Thailand taxis and ride hailing is not as risky as Mexico or India but not as safe as Singapore ..... so probably similar to your home country. Our 'work night out routine' is to either travel in pairs, or for someone to walk with any solo females to the car, and that person photographs the car and plate as she takes the ride. Grab is preferable to Bolt. There's also the newer taxis with (allegedly) CCTV and the panic alarm button (over the left rear door). They have a green rather than the usual red light in the windscreen.

I applied 2 months before I reached 66, and it took a total 7 months to receive the first payment plus the missed payments. So ideally you should apply well in advance of reaching the qualifying age.

I mentioned in a thread last year that Anutin would become the PM and the responses suggested I was crazy. Not looking quite so crazy now.

This thread, and the others about Thai Women, look to me as incompatible with the forum rule about not discriminating or posting slurs, degrading or overly negative comments on the basis of race, gender etc. Recycling old clichés about bargirls and claiming they are relevant for 51% of Thai people seems to be the main content of this forum recently. Are so many members really 'unlucky in love' .... or is it just posting heresay?

Yet another misogynistic thread from a serial loser who's total experience of woman is bargorls.

Ladyboy Sausages

Somtam with raw crab. Raw/live shrimps The cooked/prepared "Kanom Cheen' and 'Ahahn Damsan' dishes you often see in food courts and street markets, where it's cooked in the morning and served all day from unheated, fly-blown displays. Only eat this when it's first put on display, never at the end if the day. Khao Soi Ghai if wearing a white shirt. Anything a Thai person says is "quite spicy'. Pizza with tomato sauce (it's just wrong).

Europe can't afford a war. America and Russia can't afford to not have a war .... they are both militaristic cultures with overwhelming economic issues that needs a big distraction to avoid the harsh realities. So when Ukraine has finally been ground to ashes, another country will enter the meat grinder. Meanwhile Europe will become poorer and China (the true victor in the Cold War) will get stronger.

Sounds right. And that will increase inflation as almost everything we buy is hauled by diesel trucks. Food inflation will be amplified as farming also needs diesel even before the products are transported. But if it helps to buy another submarine or luxury watch, all's well.

I guess you didn't do chemistry at school? The diesel fuel combines with oxygen from the air - so increasing the weight. But the 'carbon tax' is still a scam to raise more submarine engine funds.

1 and 2 for me. I try to keep myself healthy, so may live for many years post retirement. I also need to know that my (24 years younger than me) wife has a good living standard after I've gone, plus want my daughter to have a good start on the house buying ladder. So don't spend much on myself.