dddave

What tire brands sold in Thailand are considered to be the most durable and reliable? Conversely, which have you learned to avoid? I have a new (to me) sub-compact hatchback using 205-R16 tires that probably have 6-9 months of use to go so time to start educating myself. Easy usage around town. Rarely exceed 90 on the highway. In the Pattaya area, any dealers that stand out for service?

Doesn't show that at all. He faked his ID in 1997, long before birth & death records were fully computerized and put on comprehensive databases. Today, nearly impossible to get a passport that will pass modern biometric and AI reinforced Immigration checkpoints. Most passports have hidden verification codes. About the only way is to go to a very corrupt nation and buy citizenship and a Passport. The days of searching graveyards for the headstones of dead kids are long gone. The fact they were able to finally identify and nail this guy shows how far the technology has advanced.

Read the article again. It specifies how much each idiot was paid.

Unfortunately, the people caught are just dumb mules, so desperate for small money or to get out of debt that they ignore the risks. They were probably assured that customs "Has been taken care of: Don't worry, we have a person inside. You won't be stopped." Duh. Interesting that a Brit was caught entering the UK from Thailand a few days ago with over 35kg of weed. I wonder how he got through Thai scanning with that much in a huge bag.

I hope if he survives he gets no pain medication whatsoever as he lays handcuffed to a hospital bed with his broken bones. Let him live with the consequences of his idiocy

Two suitcases that size and weight are almost certain to be checked as customs is always looking for cigarette smugglers off of Thailand flights. Ten years ago, a Brit neighbor of mine used to finance his trips to Thailand smuggling ciggies back to the UK. He had a friend with a tobacco shop who would always buy his whole load. He finally got busted twice in a row and had to pay a pretty big fine. No Jail time, though.

CANDIA Butter is an excellent French butter sold at Makro. It has a more pronounced buttery flavor than Anchor in my opinion. I had both in my fridge and did a side by side taste comparison: Candia by 2 lengths. Both ORCHID and ALLOWRIE sell "blended" butter alongside regular butter. You need to check the label carefully, always about 40% less expensive.

This is actually common. In the 1970s I drove for a taxi company in Brookline, Ma, a wealthy suburb of Boston. We used to get called to mansion of a VERY FAMOUS sports team owner. A maid would bring out a shopping bag full of clothing and we would take the bag to one of several high-end clothing stores, like "Sak's 5th Ave". We would give the bag to the store manager. The bag contained items shoplifted by the man's wife. It was a special arrangement. Store security would follow her around, taking note of whatever she stole. The store would notify the husband who would direct the maid to gather-up the stolen goods and give them to us. This would happen regularly, about once a month. They aren't millionaires, they're BILLIONAIRES!

Great example of "What goes around, comes around." Corrupt, amoral cop done in by other corrupt, amoral cops. Family wants sympathy. Hopefully they'll get as much sympathy as "Joe" gave to his victims. Karma at it's best.

Somebody chickened-out! Maybe asked by "a friend" to take a "lost" suitcase back home and decided to check the contents. More likely somebody decided it just wasn't worth it. Whoever arranged it is going to be very unhappy.

I was driving in that area Sunday on 331. There were a number of cyclists on the highway. The road shoulder isn't consistent and I'm always ready for a bike to swerve into the driving lane. Some cyclists take an aggressive approach and go down the middle of the travel lave, asserting their right as much as motor vehicles. While that may work in Europe, not such a great idea in Thailand. The road to the Buddha Mountain has a dedicated bicycle lane. The speeding motorcyclist's and moto drivers love it.

Nice flying. My nephew is a member of a similar US Coast Guard Helicopter crew in Alaska. He's sent a few amazing videos of rescues in pretty rough and cold waters.

Oh PLEASE!!! Can't we put this trope to rest? It's been TEN YEARS!!!!

Twenty years ago, Pai was like a 100 year step back into time, truly rural and undeveloped. Now it seems to have become Khao Sarn Rd, North: meeting point for "Heads" of all ilk: pot-heads, meth-heads, smack-heads and the pond scum that lives off of them.

Every day on every trip I make, I see Thais (and foreigners) reading and texting as they drive. They get immersed in he text and totally loose awareness of the road situation. SPLAT!!!

An American neighbor in my apartment building was caught "shoplifting" in a local supermarket. Of course, he claimed he had put it is his pocket so he could carry other goods and "forgot". Dumb The store demanded he pay 10 times the items value to avoid prosecution. That is apparently common practice at many stores. He was also banned from the store which meant every time I went, I would have a list of things he needed. I was not sad to see him return to the USA.

Things can get out of hand very quickly. Those with long memories will remember the "Soap Opera" incident in the early 2000's. At that time, Cambodian TV mostly rebroadcast Thai shows and "La Korn", Thai soap operas dubbed into Khmer. In one such soap, a central character declared Angkor Wat belonged to Thailand and should be taken back. Dictat...uh..President Hun Sen went nuts, going on radio and calling for mass demonstrations against Thai "Imperialism" Naturally, it got out of hand. The Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh was sacked as were several major Thai owned Hotels. Borders were closed and remained so for over a year. The economic impact on Cambodia was immediate. Thailand was their biggest customer and also source for electrical power in many border provinces. Cambodia had to pay to rebuild the embassy, compensate the hotel owners and other effected businesses and agree to trade concessions favorable to Thailand to finally get the border re-opened. All this over a line of dialog in a soap opera.

Before I was allowed to participate in a kayaking excursion in Canada I was required to demonstrate roll-over recovery skills and re-entering the kayak. This should be required for all open water as well as river rentals.

Nothing whatsoever to do with Pattaya...This accident was in Chai Nat.

2 years ago a friend was hit by a car at the Pratumnak lights and later died. The dashcam of the British driver that hit him clearly showed him running the red light and striking my friend within the pedestrian crossing. The driver tried to blame my friend for not looking but his own dashcam ratted him out. BTW. Something to know. The police seized the drivers dashcam at the scene of the accident. I don't know if they can do that in most western countries but though he protested, the police just took it.

I was just thinking a roof mounted , 360 degree camera would not be a bad idea here considering the number of T-Bones that happen, especially at U-Turns.

I was able to register my Thai mobile number on my US based Schwab account. When Schwab wants to send me a verification number, I get option boxes to select either my US number or my Thailand mobile number. Best customer service of any financial institution I've ever dealt with

Off road tires are deadly on pavement, both for quads and motorcycles. There is far less contact surface so poor traction made worse by the harder rubber compound usually used in off-road tires.

It seems 93 were killed in London Bus incidents in this time period. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/london-bus-safety-93-people-killed-collisions-falls-tfl-campaigners-b1211236.html

Totally disagree. How about you name your many other viable options to call landline phones? My SKYPE connections were usually very clear and stable. Irreplaceable for calling phone numbers such as bank CS and government agencies which do not have online messaging apps as calling options. Looks like soon, the only option will be non-human AI customer service for almost everything.