seajae

sorry but you are wrong, where I grew up summer temps were in the high 90's/low 100's(F), I would ride over 3 miles to get to school, some friends rode even further, weekends we would ride 10 to 15 miles to go fishing or out to the bush, city centre was 4 plus miles, we would even walk it at times or take the bus, winters were extreme cold temps with pouring rain/frosts and we still did it. Thai kids are basically lazy, they do not want to do anything too physical plus they want to be able to do what ever they like. Thai parenting is a big part of the problem as many thai parents dont really care what their kids do, there was no way our parents would let us ride motor bikes in the streets/to school etc let alone be out at all hours of the night like here. Parenting needs a huge upgrade in Thailand as a lot of what happens is due to it being extremely poor which is a part of being a third world country, education levels are very bad and I cannot see any of it improving any time soon. Thailand for me is a great place to live but I accept the faults and live my own life away from all the BS and will not candy coat what happens here, Unfortunately these 2 deaths will do nothing to improve anything nor will the drunk drivers action as the police simply refuse to do their work properly and patrol roads etc because they get no extra financial reward for it, they even refuse to come out to do their jobs of a night unless you pay them, policing & parenting have a lot to answer for here.

she needs to read exactly what her father has told her too, she lacks the intelligence to use her own mind, failed uni but passed after her father paid the uni to do so, same with her brother, the thaksins are all full of $hit and do whatever is needed to make more money and run the country

when I was their age I would ride my push bike everywhere and at early hours of the morning to do a paper run, would ride several miles to do it as well as to go to school all on my bike. Thai kids dont ride push bikes because they are too lazy, scooters/motor bikes are easier and more fun for them, you only have to look at how thais will double park/park on the wrong side of the road to see they are to lazy too walk more than they have too, kids pick it up from their parents. If they rode push bikes there would be a lot less road deaths and hooning, this has nothing to do with poverty, it does with older families but the kids dont want to have to do anything physical plus the parents dont care

I brought in a whole aged rib eye from Australia, had it in a cooler bag with a few sheets of frozen cubes wrapped around it and inside my large bag, no one stopped me, also brought in honey and creamed honey as well as a few other bits & pieces. Now though I am able to get it from local shops so I only look at getting things not available here.

again we see a drunk driver killing 2 girls, when will Thailand make the police actually get out on the roads 24 hours a day to stop the carnage, the thai police force is totally pathetic at best, they are only interested in scabbing money in fake stops. You also have to ask what two 14 year old girls were doing out in the early hours of the morning riding around illegally on a motor cycle, way too common in Thailand, parents dont care what their kids do as long as they stay out of their way, just maybe decent parenting in Thailand would stop a lot of the young deaths but police action would certainly be the best thing that could happen, in this case they would have stopped the drunk driver as well as the under age riders

of course they cannot go against their biggest backer, they do not want to lose all the finacial benefits thaksin supplies to them for doing his bidding, Thailand politics and courts are a total joke, they do as their masters tell them

what people need to realize is that quite often the inspectors are either paid off to look the other way or are threatened with violence against family members if they do not pass it, we have seen first hand this happening with the consultant in charge of work her company was getting done, he was informed his wife and childrens lives were at risk if the work was not passed. This is Thailand, they get away with it due to all the corruption here, my wifes friends husband was shot & killed after winning a govt contract, her company has to pay a govt office money every month or they will face major financial loss, all govt offices associated with the company want kick backs to keep things going smoothly, graft/corruption is involved in virtually everything done here, its how a third world country opperates

I have it sent from Australia every so often, couldnt care about not getting it here as I dont have it often, just pointing out its better than both , dim sims on the other hand are a total rip off here, bag of 30 is $10 in Australia, $50 plus here, that is a rip off, same with other frozen food, 500% mark up plus is total BS. Mark ups for foreign food etc is very high here as the importers know we will pay it, some things are actually cheaper if you buy them from Australia and have the seller post them to you

never liked vegemite or marmite, promite is better than both

by the time everyone has taken their cut there is not enough left to do it properly as sp[ecified. The road/footpath near our other house has been undergoing repairs for 5 years after the contractor never finished what they started and cut corners, they never piped the drains and water would flood out of them during rain because the drains were only for show anf only boxed at the entry. Roads collapsed, where they cut through side steets they never repaired them and only filled them with sand, foot paths just stopped in the middle of no where, the road leading to the bridge has dropped around 30cm/12" because they only used red dirt fill under it and now just has an angled section to get on and off the brdge. All this is done with govt supervision and the contractor just pockets the money, its how it works in Thailand, contracts are sold off once they are won and this continues till there is not enough money to actually do what is required, graft in Thailand is alive and doing very well.

more likely to busy on her phone like many thai drivers, blacked out sounds like a load of BS

Have to wonder if thaksin will be part of the ownership along with others of his cronies

On a road near our other house there is a white line painted on the road that intersects with the main road but the idiot workers have placed the stop sign facing the main road that has right of way instead of the side road that has to stop. I have seen this on a few roads around the area showing that the workers or the ones controlling them lack the ability to understand what they are doing and placing the signs wrongly or where they think they should be and not where they should be. so placing a sign that far up a pole would be normal thinking for some of the workers

When I flew to the US several years ago as a guest speaker at a convention I had my tickets etc, had asked if anything else was needed and told no, Upon arriving at check in I was asled for my esta, I told them I was not told about it but they said without I could not fly and directed me to an internet lounge where I could apply for one online. Up until that stage I was not informed it was necessary by anyone and I had asked the US consulate and they didnt tell me it was needed. I can see a lot of problems with this knowing how bad Thailand is at online services and lack of response when asking questions, they will certainly need to improve on their current abilities to make it work properly and to not have so many system breakdowns as they do currently

just had ours done this week, we usually do them every 6 months unless we start to get dripping water from them(caused by lots of dust in the air) then we get them cleaned straight away. We have found good cleaners and they do a really top job, they also fit air conditioners as well so are up on what needs to be done, they actually removed an air con from our other house and fitted it into our daughters new bangalow we have had built next to out house and patched the holes etc where it came from in the other house. We have had a couple of dud cleaners over the years so when you find a good one you stick with them

we buy khao shong super rich in bags of 100 sticks, have tried most of the others and find this one has a great taste and is creamy, I use 2 sticks in a mug and add some milk

I get the one that produces it to leave it a bit "wet" so has more moisture and is easier to eat/chew, still tastes great and is kept in the fridge in a paper bag, grab a piece or 2 every so often, did the same in Australia

thanks guys, will folow through with your advice, thanks Charlie

we had similar a month or so ago, a girl rocked up on a motor bike with several packages on it and told me she had a cod for some thai snacks(dried squid, chips etc), as my wife usually does get this sort of thing I paid the 400 or so baht and took it inside, When my wife got home from work she said she had not ordered it at all, she worked out the actual price to buy and it was around 200 baht less so it was a definite rip off.

If not the right forum can mods change it, We are building a bungalow/cabin next to out house for our daughter, it is one large room with a seperate bathroom/toilet, our house is not that big either(1 bedroom, kitchen area, lounge area and bathroom) but we need to get the water pressure right, We currently have a 150 hitachi auto pump that is enough to do 1 shower, 1 toilet, hand basin, kitchen sink, the washing machine outdoor sink plus water the garden. The new cabin has a shower, toilet & hand basin that are already hooked up and we have noticed the water pressure has dropped a bit so we take it we need a bigger pump. I thought a 250 would do but sales staff are telling us to go even bigger, the current pump is directly behind the new cabin and around 10 metres from our house, would like some opinions on the correct size we need, Also we have started getting very small black spots in our water, water has been very good for over two years since we had the well done(40 metres) , water has always been extremely clean and drinkable but the black spots(soft and not in big amounts) need to be filtered out so we need a filter between the well pump and the tanks then one between the tanks and the house pump , because there is only a small amount of black spots I thought a smaller with a clear removable cover filter would suffice especially as we would be installing one either side of the tanks, one that can be cleaned once a week or so costing a few thousand baht but again the sales people are saying we need a very large filter(standing 1.5 metres) costing 15,000 baht which I think is definite over kill. I am hoping some of the people in the know regarding water pumps/filters etc can advise as this is definitely not something I am up on and I am aware sales staff like to sell more than is needed. Thanks guys

I have nerve damage caused by a spinal injury, I usually have to sit to pee now as I have no sensation when it starts or stops and I have to sit for a while to ensure my bladder is empty. I can pee standing up but risk walking away before I finish, not having the usual sensation means a lot of it is guess work but sitting to pee is far safer for me. While I do have a prostate problem so far it has not caused more problems for me apart from making me get up a couple of times during the night, urologist has me on ulchocine 10 & prostasin 2 for the protate but I think it is time to get it changed as it doesnt work as well as it used to.

just checked, to transfer $1000 US to Thailand costs $6.83, sometimes it does take longer for them to transfer but I think it is a problem with the banks, I do not trust western union as thay have always ripped you off in the exchange same as paypal, Wise is a hell of a lot more trustworthy as far as I am concerned.

we rely on ground water for our trees, during the dry season we have to use our dam as well as truck in water, in wet season as long as it is not heavy rain constantly it is fine, when we get constant heavy rain the land becomes water logged, ground water levels move up & down depending rain and use by farmers etc , here it can vary around 3 plus metres, looking at the charts it appears to be not correct in our area

my trade was a painter & decorator after an apprenticeship, then several years in the armed forces but after that a workplace injury meant I could no longer do my trade so studied/got a diploma in writing & photography as something I could do without physical work. I was also was heavily involved in growing and creating new varieties of plumeria/frangipani and recognized around the worldas an expert in the field, I have been flown to the US & Australia to do talks etc but basically I am retired from all physical work and considered disabled but keep up with helping people with their trees etc online to keep my mind active

a soft green will go with the cupboards and darker timber, it is also a cool colour which helps, I am currently painting our daughters new cabin on our land all white(she wants it), it is basically one larger roon with a bathroom, We will use curtains & furniture to off set it as all white can be too in your face, colour was my trade for many years so I am able to picture what areas will look like when finished but personal preferences need to be taken into consideration, maybe do a feature wall or two to break the pure white up, can make a big difference and easier than repainting the whole room. .