dddave

Lotus's is now totally Thai owned and managed and is being run the Thai way. Renting out concessions that finance their own inventory and labor are the easiest way to go. Also, the owners are the same holding company that owns Big-C. Why should they compete with themselves. Lotus's will be allowed to shrink while more products will be sold at Big-C.

An acquaintance ordered an e-bike from a Chinese seller, the seller to arrange the shipping. Turned into a nightmare of freight, handling, docking, warehouse charges, missing documents, the list goes on. End result was no e-bike, big bucks down the drain, massive frustration.

The downside of using a phone rather than a portable wifi device is the phone must be plugged-in to keep the battery going and it can also get very hot, depending on the phone's processor capabilities. It can also make taking calls and texting while using the hotspot inconvenient. A friend who was in Thailand for a little more than 2 months tried using his phone but for the above reasons, switched to a portable wifi device and found it easier to use. He also said there were less drop-outs with the wifi device. Sorry, I don't recall the brand or model of the device he bought. Something pretty cheap from Lazada I think.

Forty years ago, US Public Broadcasting and the producer, Ken Burns produced an exhaustive television documentary series on the US Civil War. Much of their research and the entirety of the narration was sourced from mostly unpublished diaries and letters written by soldiers and their families on both sides of the conflict. Computer analysis of these documents revealed that in that era (1860-1865) the average person had a working written English vocabulary of between 40,000 to 60,000 words. By the 1980s, the average American adult had a working vocabulary of between 15,000 to 25,000 words. Note that this number was determined before the advent and subsequent dominance of email and texting.

TM-30 itself might be sufficient as it's essentially a residence verification.

Pattaya

In another current thread, I wrote about my deceased friend's brother coming to Thailand to settle his affairs. He needed a Bangkok Bank account but was on a 45 day visa exempt entry and staying in hotels. No go at Bangkok Bank when he tried. He went to an agent I know. She "leased" him a cheap b4000 condo for one month that he will actually never set foot into. That enabled her to do a TM 30 and thus get a residency certificate. Took it all to Bangkok Bank and got his account.

About 40 years ago, in Cambridge Massachusetts on New Years Eve, a co-worker of mine intervened when he witnessed a man beating a woman on the street. He never made it to the new year. Not only did the man attack him, the woman he had been assaulting also piled on. They bashed his head repeatedly against a curbstone, He was DOA at the hospital. Both the man and woman somehow were able to claim self-defense, got plea deal for involuntary manslaughter and walked.

"I'm smart! I won't live around Sukhumvit with the rest of the ex-pats, I'll just get a little place around Chatuchak...they'll never think to look for me there."

I've had an earlier version of the BMax B2 for about 2 years that I use for internet and streaming on my TV. Mine came with Win 10 Pro, 8gb ram and only a 64GB eMMC boot drive. There was a slot for a SATA 3 SSD and I installed a 512GB unit. The BMax was about B6500 at that time, In the first year, windows crashed several times. The final time with the BSOD and could not be revived. The consensus of various Windows gurus was that the version was a corrupt copy installed by the manufacturer. I had to do a clean install of a legitimate new copy of Win 10 and it has functioned pretty well since then. I changed the boot drive to the 512GB SSD and that improved things considerably. The only issue I currently have is that HDMI ports often require a bit of fiddling to get them to connect to the TV. I also have a Intel NUC mini Windows computer that has a very similar form factor running on my main living room TV. It also runs Windows 10. It has been trouble free since day one. Base cost was about B6000 but boosting memory and adding an SSD brought the cost up to about B9K.

I have been a member of this forum and it's predecessors since 2004 with thousands of posts and comments. Why am I classified as a "Rookie"?

If you are considering buying a cheapo Android box, I suggest you watch this YT video from "Linus Tech Tips" (LTT) LTT is one of the most popular tech blogs though he has been accused of mixing paid promo with content, as have many media vloggers. That aside, I think this is a warning regarding built-in malware worth watching. He gets kind of technical at times but the idea comes across.

Before you depart write down the phone number of your hotel or put it in your mobile contacts. If the driver does not know the location, you can call and they will explain the location in Thai to the driver.

You don't have to go to CW! You can get a re-entry permit at passport control when you depart. Open 24/7 at all major Thai airports.

It actually depends on where you opened your account. To get the one year statement can take 5 working days if requested from a Bangkok Bank branch in another province from the branch where you opened your account. Timing can be crucial because when applying for your extension at immigration, the statement can not be more than a certain number of days old. Sorry, I do not recall the exact number of days, I think 3 but not sure.

My left eye is much weaker than my right, totally different lens, never a problem for Zenni in my experience with them.

In Boston, a truly ugly and intimidating 19th century jail (The Charles Street Jail) was converted into a luxury hotel 10 years ago. Check out "The Liberty Hotel" https://libertyhotel.com/hotel/history/

A number of years ago on this forum ("Thai Visa" at the time) a young man signed onto the forum from IDC where he was being held for some violation. I don't recall just what his situation was but he was frantically posting, looking for advice and help. He described at length the conditions in IDC and indeed, it seemed a harrowing experience. I remember him saying some fellow detainees had been there for years, caught in a horrible limbo, no money for a ticket out, no prospect for release, no appeal available.

Why online? The progressive lens glasses I'm wearing now as I type this cost me $90 including delivery from Zenni. The lowest quote for the same lenses from optical dealers in Thailand I ever found was more than B15,000. I've been getting progressive lenses from Zenni for more than 5 years, probably more than 10 pair of glasses including reading, computer and sunglasses. I also have a very difficult prescription. Never a problem with any glasses from Zenni. This is very distressing news.

Many expats prefer to buy a used vehicle directly from another expat, assuming correctly or not, that the vehicle has been maintained to a higher standard. Interest has already been shown here and I'm sure you will get many more bites if you post on local expat FB groups.

Eye-opening chart! Thanks for posting it.

I will plead guilty to having my Debit Card details stored on a number of sites: Lazada, Booking.com and a few more. I assumed these sites were secure. So, not a good idea? Enter details with each sale? How does one clean stored card details out of the PC? (Windows 10, Chrome)

I tried to do this and gave up. PEA office is way over on the Dark Side. After a couple of back & forths, I decided it was just much easier to pay it at 7/11. PEA is technologically in the dark ages. Website and app totally useless.

Fond memories of my 78 CB400 "Hawk". I had been riding a 60's 305 "Dream" and the "Hawk" was such a far superior bike in so many ways. It was perfect for the twisty New England back roads: New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, not so great on hi-ways, really got buffeted around by cross winds. Great bike that I'd love to have in Thailand.