Kinnock

Chonburi is more than just Pattaya ..... I'm Bangkok based, but some of my favourite restaurants and cafes are in Chonburi. Ang Sila has great seafront seafood restaurants and the excellent Taab cafe in the mangroves. Bangsaen has Scala diner - top chef, good live music, and BMC - best burgers in the area. Plus there's unique venues such as Thasai Skimboard Cafe which has seating in a river, and Hidden Lab coffee based in an unrestored old building. But I suspect none of these popular places will be in the Michelin Guide, as they don't need to pay for publicity

The time of day when you upload large files may be a factor? I have a similar package from AIS and I have regular 8 hour video conferences with Europe, and every call at around 18:00 the video link freezes. I suspect the throttling occurs at peak use times in Thailand.

I can recommend Mazars, their office is in Sathorn. Good lawyers and tax accountants and a good mix of Thai and foreign experts.

You'll still need an agent even if you have your own container. Booking space on a ship, customs documents etc. Most shipping agents will not be interested in a single container, but maybe K-Line (based in Thailand at Laem Chabang) can help, as they deal in single containers for specialist automotive industry suppliers? The relocation companies can help, and if you book a full container it's faster and simpler a part container load. Just avoid Crown Relocation .... from my experience they are slow, unreliable and expensive. I've heard good comments about Asian Tigers, but no direct experience.

Nope .... no foreigners involved

The idea that making something like this a crime (again) will somehow make the world a better place, is laughable. Decriminalisation of things like gambling, prostitution and recreational drugs creates opportunities for control and order. Making them illegal just creates opportunities for corruption and disorder. But this assumes a country has an effective police and justice system, and not many countries can provide that.

I think that's Vampires not falang men?

I noticed on their Lazada shop they also have i3 and i5 versions with up 1TB SSD .... but these don't seem to ship with Windows. I've also been looking at mini pc's, but they all seen to built in a garage rather than branded products .... is this the norm for minis?

Minimum of 3. Morning before work, evening after work, before bed. Plus 1 after a run or bike ride. The Missus can get away with one or two a day .... but she doesn't seem to sweat.

Not true. We bought a plot with an old house on it - and demolished the old house to build ours. It's very different hacking down a forest to plant a few dead banana trees to con the revenue department. But I've seen enough of your posts to know you just say things to start an argument.

The water guns make tissue in the toilets unnecessary. What surprises me now is the dinner table tissue dispenser in the toilet.

I guess you've no direct experience of how the UK police ignore cases of burglary, the 90% plus stats for unsolved crimes in UK, the no go areas in Midlands cities and the contrast to the super strict enforcement of minor traffic offences. https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1797053/justice-system-police-unsolved-crime-rate But don't let that influence your thoughtless knee jerk post.

UK Police are not first responders. You'd be lucky if they ever respond, unless you drive at 23 mph in the endless 20 mph zones. I agree that ambulance and fire services deserve a better wage level, but UK police should be paid less based on their value and performance.

Weight, cost, pollution and stop/start cycle. Diesel engines are heavier than petrol, add in the weight of the batteries and you get one very heavy vehicle. They also cost more to make and the suspension and drive train will cost more to cope with the weight. One reason for hybrids is pollution reduction, this is negated by a diesel. The ICE engine in a hybrid stops and starts regularly. The high compression and longer warm up time of a diesel is not ideal for this use case. With locomotives, weight is much less of an issue, and they tend to run continuously day and night, hence diesel electric is a good option.

Sounds ideal for the way we use our car. We make regular trips from Bangkok to Chonbur for business, then make less frequent, longer 'road trips' to the North and South. So it sounds like the shorter journeys could be all electric? I liked the look of the interior of the Haval when I sat in one at the Motorshow. If I lived in US or UK I would worry about future sanctions if I bought a Chinese car, but have no worries about that in Thailand. And I think some GWM production is now in Thailand? How's the interior finishes stood up to daily use?

Yes, unfortunately it's all about money. There was a large wooded area opposite our house, many birds, some impressively large bats - a nice splash of green. All hacked down to plant a few dead banana trees so the owner can pretend it's agricultural land and save a few Baht in tax.

I support the principle that old men can dictate what female students should wear. But I prefer those short black skirts and starched white shirts to a burka.

There are many wonderful, devoted, caring and faithful wives in Thailand ...... but sorry to say, yours is not one of those. Press reset and start again. It will be painful at first, but the rewards if you find a good one are worth the effort. And on the other hand .... being single in Thailand is pretty good too!

I could charge at my house, and do the shorter trips on electric power alone. For longer trips I can use the IC engine - so no need for charging stations. Have not replaced my ICE SUV yet, as the only plug in hybrid that's not an over-priced import is the Mitsubishi Outlander, which is an old design. Waiting for a locally built option.

And, using the same logic, legalise prostitution? But this utopian view of legalising the grey economies for their benefits, assumes the existence of an effective police force to control the negative aspects the activities.

Well yes ..... and I think there's a consensus amongst the learned forum members on that .... No!

..... Because some of us have had the same predicament, so we can share learnings based on experience. He's not asking some random guys on the Internet .... this is supposed to be a forum about life in Thailand (and about Trump .... and EV's) 😃

Noooooo! In my experience the extended family of a Thai wife are allergic to help. First issue is that they do not understand basic accounting traps such as compound interest or penalties for not paying every month. So within a year they will have more unsurmountable debt and will be back with hands out. Second issue is that they think you are rich, so anything you do will never be enough. They will resent you for the help and resent you more for not giving them 2 million .... each. Direct help for your wife on the condition she never borrows again .... OK. Help for the never-ending woes of the family. No!

I've taken a Kicks for a drive, and was impressed. Lively performance, especially from a standstill, quiet, comfortable, spacious interior. Interior quality is much improved on the latest model too. I also like that it does not have a rubber band CVT transmission, which is a weak point if you do high mileage. The very similar Yaris Cross has all the complexity of an ICE and a hybrid, but I guess this is only an issue if you plan to keep it a long time. Depreciation will be lower with the Toyota though. Ideal for me would be a plug in hybrid with a decent battery range that's made in Thailand, so I didn't buy a Kicks as it can't run on battery alone.

Yes, a plug in hybrid sounds like the ideal option considering current state of charging stations. But I think there's very few options on the market? If you don't want to pay import duty, isn't the Mitsubishi Outlander the only option?