SDM0712

If it's your company run is as you want. If anyone doesn't like it DCM*

SDM

* Don't comeback Monday

withdrew 300K from the ATM?? I am only allowed to withdrawl 20K per day.

right, is that even possible? i guess its more quality thai journalism.

Yes it's possible in Thailand. Can withdraw at the ATM all the money you have in your account.

SDM

PS for would-be kidnappers, I ain't got no money, these are just what my banks would let me do if I had.

27 pages.

What a marketing genius Clarkson really is.

Just like the Prescot 'One Eyed Idiot' remark. and the apology, I'm sorry for calling him one eyed, it was wrong of me.

In truth I have watched watched almost every episode of Top Gear and have lost count of the amount of times I have looked at the screen in disbelief telling myself that I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I still can't believe the Americans let him back in after that special !

Time for a Gin & Tonic, brilliant.

SDM

Thankfully i never ever did wear one again and continued riding ..open face helmet when i had to and sans helmet whenever/wherever i could ....

When I first starting wearing full face helmets I felt very claustrophobic, and I also felt that my field of vision was limited. But my reality is that although obviously I don't have the same field of vision as with nothing at all, I have what I need. The other reason is that above 70 kph I can't see with the wind in my eyes. I suppose the acid test is how much you like having a face. I'm not pretty, but I quite like having one. The thought of sliding down the tarmac on my face persuaded me a long time ago to only use full face. I must admit though it is nice riding with nothing, and stupid too.

SDM

Difficult to justify spending 20,000 baht on a helmet just for riding around on a one month holiday.......

I think 7,000 will get a decent helmet, but I agree it is frustrating to justify. Statistically of course you have more of a chance of having an accident the more you ride, but that doesn't mean that you will not have a devastating accident within 5 minutes of getting on a bike on the very first day. Also where do you stop ? Without boots you could tear a foot off. Spine protector, does what it says. Gloves, broken hands are no fun, armored jacket? Armored jeans/trousers ? You would look crazy on a scooter with all that but a 80 kph crash can make you as dead as a 180 kph one. And no I am not suggesting for one moment you get all that gear, but do get a decent full face helmet.

What kind of bike will you be on ? A scooter or real bike ?

SDM

Just a rented scooter. In the past I've ridden around in flip flops which is really stupid so I'll definitely invest in some decent footwear. I won't be travelling anywhere near 80 kph, just 40 kph to get me from one beach to the next, or to Tesco and back.

It might be stupid, but we all do it. If I'm just popping down to 7/11, or anywhere less then a couple of kilometres my normal attire is a t-shirt, shorts, pair of Crocs Flip Flops. I don't go above 70 kph because I can't see with the wind, and that's on my Ninja 650. However if I go "off island" I normally look like something out of Robocop because on the empty roads we do get a bit silly.

SDM

PS. Don't tell anyone.

These two peckerwoods epitomize the syndrome.

A two man puke fest

SDM

Difficult to justify spending 20,000 baht on a helmet just for riding around on a one month holiday.......

I think 7,000 will get a decent helmet, but I agree it is frustrating to justify. Statistically of course you have more of a chance of having an accident the more you ride, but that doesn't mean that you will not have a devastating accident within 5 minutes of getting on a bike on the very first day. Also where do you stop ? Without boots you could tear a foot off. Spine protector, does what it says. Gloves, broken hands are no fun, armored jacket? Armored jeans/trousers ? You would look crazy on a scooter with all that but a 80 kph crash can make you as dead as a 180 kph one. And no I am not suggesting for one moment you get all that gear, but do get a decent full face helmet.

What kind of bike will you be on ? A scooter or real bike ?

SDM

Didn't they decide that they had got the wrong river and they had actually built a bridge over the River Cock ?

SDM

Don't be ridiculous,Brits are PERFECTLY aware of this term in its racist form. to suggest that Clarkson, a writer and TV presenter wouldn't be aware of the word is just nonsense.

Don't tell us what we are aware of. I am a well educated and travelled Englishman. I have never heard of it. I have spoken to my friends at home who have watched the episode and they have never heard of it.

SDM

And still ignorant. Sorry.

Not for Mojorison, because I have nothing to say to someone who makes such a sweeping and, to quote him "ignorant" statement without basis, but today I have spoken to several people at home, who quite honestly cannot understand the fuss, and none have ever heard of this term. The guys on this forum from Australia, NZ and the US may very well doubt this, and since we supposedly have the right of free speech (as long as we don't upset anyone) you are entitled and quite welcome to your opinions. But it is a fact that over in Blighty this word is not in common use as a rascist term. In fact unlike NZ and Australia most of our racism is aimed at South Asians and Africans rather than SE Asians, which probably why it's not a common term in England. For some reason our cousins from NZ, Australia and the US here cannot accept that we do not use this word in the same way they do.

As a point of interest I met an Australian client today and I told him about the Top Gear episode. He was amazed at two things, firstly that the BBC allowed this program to be aired like this and secondly that I had never heard the term used in this way.

It's a big world and just because some peoples bastardize the meaning of some English words doesn't mean that the corrupted definitions are universally known or accepted.

SDM

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i'm planning to drive in Burma in the is next year or so. So I watched the show to get some idea o=f what it might be like. I certainly didn't realise that the VERY FIRST UK people to be allowed to drive through Burma were going to take such a flippant attitude to the country and i wonder what damage they've done for future visitors.

I expect a lot of government officials will get to watch this show to see how their respective countries are portrayed by the BBC - this isn't going to help future visitors to the country one bit.

Perhaps so, but anyone familiar with Top Gear would have been expecting exactly this.

i'm planning to drive in Burma in the is next year or so. So I watched the show to get some idea o=f what it might be like. I certainly didn't realise that the VERY FIRST UK people to be allowed to drive through Burma were going to take such a flippant attitude to the country and i wonder what damage they've done for future visitors

Probably the same amount of damage he did when he mocked southern rednecks and their old beater cars in the US.

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I don't see a single point here that in anyway justifies the use of the word.

SDM

Don't be ridiculous,Brits are PERFECTLY aware of this term in its racist form. to suggest that Clarkson, a writer and TV presenter wouldn't be aware of the word is just nonsense.

Don't tell us what we are aware of. I am a well educated and travelled Englishman. I have never heard of it. I have spoken to my friends at home who have watched the episode and they have never heard of it.

SDM

Surprised so many haven't heard the term or more so that so many haven't watched pulp fiction?

Christopher walkin - He'd be damned if any slopes were gonna put their greasy yella hands on his boy's birthright........

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I like to think of myself as quite a well travelled Brit but I also have never heard, or thought I had never heard this term. I correct myself because I do remember the Walkin line in Pulp Fiction, but only because I have seen the movie many times. However I had always ignored the comment because I didn't understand it and just put it down to some American slang. Now I think about it it's of course obvious.

I think it's clear that this term is not in common use by Brits. We have a quite varied available rascist vocabulary, but the word "slope" is not in it. It's clearly a term that our Aussie & American cousins are very familiar with though, probably because of the US involvement in Vietnam/Korea and the Aussies are closers to Asia than we.

I'm a great fan of Jeremy Clarkson because he says whatever he wants and if people chose to be offended by it that is up to them. Personally I think it was not his intend to be rascist here because he doesn't do subtle. This is the man who, on national TV, had Hitler and then Jesus on a bike a few weeks ago, during the BA cabin crew strike a few years ago accused them of being all "homosexuals driving Audi TTs", when listing the the daily activities of a truck driver included, and this is verbatim " kill a prostitute", he refers to the French as " garlic munchers", and as a general term for anyone who doesn't agree with him as "homosexual". A man who on his Vietnam special had a Harley Davidson painted in Stars and Stripes and blearing out " Born in the USA".

My point is, he doesn't care what people think of him and if he was going to be rascist he wouldn't have used a term that few if any people watching BBC2 would every heard of.

SDM

Disclaimer, the opinions mentioned in this post are not mine.

Seedy, there's a lot of truth in that too.

SDM

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[quote name="kingstonkid" post="7571011" timestamp="

........... is there anywhere to go on the island that is not heavy commercialized. I know there used to be the ability to get dropped off on ;quiet islands for a day. Is that possible.

I would really like to take a day and just relax on the beach no sales no great crowds.....

With that brief I suggest you avoid Patong. I personally would suggest the beaches at Nay Yang, Nai Thon, Paradise & Tri Trang. Hire a car or bike rather the take a taxi, I'm sure all us Phuketians can give you any directions you need. Nai Harn is also quite nice.

There are some nice islands, try Raya island, or Kao Yai Yai, avoid Pee Pee (spelling deliberate) that you can do a day trip on via public ferry.

SDM

PS After a few years of Songran here I stay inside. They like to enjoy the festival here and the visiting farangs like to show that they can buy the biggest guns and generally go a bit crazy.

bloke down our way limits his speed to 28kph and feels happy to use an old cullinder on his head...

Never had a problem.

He's very wise to limit his speed but is assuming he hits a stationary object.

He must look quite funny though.

SDM

PS, Great nick, this is the exact term I use to my colleagues to describe someone that is, what they say they are, with no BS, ie someone we want to deal with.

We cannot escape "what if", but what we can do is ride in a manner that if something does go wrong we are as prepared as possible. SDM

Your missing the point about being ''competent'' i think.or maybe the meaning of .

I could ride all day one handed if i want to and when conditions allow this..

Naturally/logically when braking hard or accelerating hard i would simply use two hands again...

That's what being competent is IMO..

I'm not missing the point at all.

Let's say, for example you are riding " all day one handed" because you "want to" and "conditions allow this". You say are a competent rider, and in my example this is a lovely dry day, the road is smooth, there is no other traffic on the road, the birds are singing, the grass has just been cut, and you are doing a sensible 60 kph. Now let's imagine disaster strikes and a dog runs out in the road, not giving you time to "simply use two hands again" . Being a competent motorcyclist you will have been taught that we either do an emergency stop or accelerate at full power and drive over the animal, and we must decide in a split second. If you do either, whist riding one handed, you will end up coming off and hitting the tarmac at a speed fast enough to kill you, there is no other alternative. This is nothing to do with your competence as a rider, if involves the laws of physics I mentioned in my last post.

Of course it might not be a dog, it could be a pothole, a car/bike pulling out in your path from the side unexpectly, there are hundreds of reasons to have to stop unexpectly and might not give you time to "use two hands again"

SDM

Out of interest, what do they say of you call ? Is it anything of use ?

SDM

Me? Rather dead than vegetated ..

Up to the individuals choice of course.

It's an interesting view, one I have hard mentioned several times by the wives of bikers. I think, not 100% sure, that I agree with you. But shouldn't we make the best efforts to be neither killed or "vegetated".

I know people who have survived 140/160 kph crashes without even a scratch because they were wearing full protection.

SDM

" I'll be riding maximum 40 km an hour, slower in dangerous situations.."

Buy as expensive as you can afford. A 40 kph impact is enough to kill you. Assuming most of the other traffic might also be doing 40 kph having a head on collision is easily enough to kill you with a combined speed of 80 kph.

SDM

PS When you try the helmet on before buying you should have to force it down on your head, and try to twist your head in the helmet. It should pull your face around with it. The foam will give after a week or so and mould to the shape of your head. A lose helmet really is no good, better than nothing but if you are going to buy a helmet you may as well get one that "fits". Also get full face, assuming a frontal collision or with the tarmac you will want more than your brain to survive undamaged.

Also the cheap plastic helmets people use here are only marginally better than no helmet at all.

SDM

With regard to one hand if you are at a constant speed no problem. But if you are accelerating or have to break hard you will almost certainly come off. All depends on speed.

SDM

"as expats we don't like the people offering the transport services and we don't want to be in their vehicles" - true. WHY?

"many of us would rather risk life and limb then give these guys any money at all" - true. WHY?

I have put my reasons for "why" forward. What are yours?

SDM