Kaoboi Bebobp

One of the motivating factors for leaving Pattaya/Bangkok was the frequent scratchy, irritated throat and the rare shortness of breath. When you can virtually see and smell the air you're breathing walking along Central Road Pattaya or Sukhumvit in Bangkok, it just may be bad for you. My Bangkok floor fan was coated black and had to be cleaned monthly. Another bad sign.

Since moving to the southern coast of Vietnam two months ago, where the air is clean and fresh, I am back to walking longer distances of 3-5 km a day, whereas in Thailand, I found myself shortening my walks and thus my exposure to the foul air.

It's interesting the Vietnamese are adopting electric bicycles and scooters, especially the school students. Also, I have yet to experience here the black air of the foul diesel-belching tourist buses and intercity trucks that crowd Pattaya and Bangkok roads. 

Great stuff, Moonseeker. It so happens I will be back in town soon and first thing I need to do is renew my 5-year motorcycle licence. BD expired in April. Of course, I will need a certificate of residence. 

Despite all the wonderful detail  ?  you left out the cost. Is it still 500 baht per licence?

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Thailand’s own studies confirmed that marijuana can be used to treat three illnesses, namely nausea and loss of appetite for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, epilepsy in children and multiple sclerosis.

"Thailand's own studies" show medical marijuana can treat the same three afflictions that multiple North American studies show medical marijuana can treat. What a co-incidence! 

It's strictly US dollars only. If you're in Thailand, I'd buy some US dollars at the private exchange companies such as Vasu, Superrich or Yenjit. If you withdraw US dollars from a Thai bank account in Cambodia, you will get hosed. I had to do it in an emergency one time. The charges and exchange rate were appalling. 

For VoA, most airlines hand out the visa application onboard the flight. Fill it out then and there. When you disembark, get your passport, one visa photo and application in hand. Specifically tell the officer at the VoA desk you want a tourist visa, $30. Go to the adjoining scrum and wait till your name is called out. It's then you hand in the cash (US$ only) and get your passport. Check the visa expiry date. And head to passport control. 

Hmmm, I can't remember whether you need an exit flight ticket in hand. I've only had long-term visas in the past. 

Many seemed to have overlooked Bangkok's ranking and only remembered the headline. BKK ranked a lowly 62nd out of 80 in-demand cities in  terms of initial costs. So there are 61 other cities cheaper to move to. At least that's the way I read this feature. But one can never be sure about anything in Bangkok  newspaper reports.

14 minutes ago, Badrabbit said:

Makes sense, reason I asked is that the shop put 25psi(rear) standard Tire 36psi.

Sent from my SM-G610F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

What? They didn't bloat them to 55 psi? LOL.

Anyway, just checked a few sites. Most owners of this tire model are running 36 front AND rear. Then I would adjust them from there. You'll probably lower the front pressure and maybe keep the rears as they are. Guys of the heavy persuasion are pumping the rears up to 42. Check your bike handbook for operating weight and tire pressures.

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

Perhaps. Nearly all of the agreements that Thailand signs, when it comes to trade, are ignored. With impunity, arrogance, insularity, and a bizarre sense that Thailand is the definitive center of the known universe. 

TH and OZ do have a so-called "free trade" agreement.

The following is not about wine but ask how Australia feels about having its gold mine shut down by junta order without any discussions or negotiations, and no official replies to Kingsgate Consolidated's requests for talks. Thailand utterly ignored the injured party, which is now pursuing other remedies. Chances? Zip. 

Now, back to your regularly scheduled topic . . . wine prices. 

I feel sorry for the person who had to write this article with a straight face. Come to think of it, that applies to almost every news article published in Thailand. How could one do this day in and day out. Would take several double whiskies after work. Or maybe before.

Jenny, above in post 13, has it very much right.

A certain amount of bike skills training can help the nervous rider. Up to a point. The rest is experience. 

Cochrane, take the bike onto a back soi that has lots of open viewing space so you don't  cut someone off or run into someone else. Ride gently at first, gradually adding gear shifting, up and down, and slalom riding. Do this repeatedly. Then add in some braking exercises. Speed up, brake and slow down, adding speed and firmer braking -- separately front brake and back brake, then combined. Throw in some threshold braking, which you might call emergency braking. You bear down on the brakes (simultaneously, front and back) just above lockup. Learn to feel where this point is.  Do it repeatedly. Give yourself lots of stopping space. 

All the time you are doing this, check your mirrors, read the space around you with your peripheral vision.  If you're not always looking, you are wasting your time. You have to gain a feel for the bike and the space around you.

Then put the bike away and sit at a roadside cafe and watch what Thai riders do. Shocking, I know but you have to build the local traffic behaviour patterns into your head. 

Put some of these things into practice on the road but go slowly. You have to read every movement on the road around you and put those into the mental pattern. Try to anticipate everything. 

The riskiest stuff happens behind you. Teen boys rushing up behind you and passing with cm between you, guys on 650 cc bikes overtaking you, moto taxi guys rushing up the centreline ducking and diving, mini-truck drivers barreling down the hard shoulder while you're waiting to clear traffic to a u-turn, and kids flying down Sukhumwit with black clothes and no headlight at night. Then there's mid-age mothers with daughters or sons turning right out of a soi and onto the road without looking. All of this has happened to me.

Pattaya is truly the scariest motoring environment. I would rather fly down a rally stage, or race door to door on a track,  as I have done, than mix it with these bumpkins. 

Add: If I didn't make this clear enough, vision is everything. 100% all the time. And I still don't think you will avoid an accident in a country with the highest per capita road fatality rate.

I guess her Canadian husband, Mr Lowman, now knows where his wife is. Probably ex-wife since she's sunk so low as to be working Poipet while on drugs. Since she's only 25, they can't have been together that long, three years maybe. 

Although there is a hint that she might be of mixed parentage. A sad case, anyway.

3 hours ago, morrobay said:

New development ?? What the heck are you talking about ?? https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293916-d9773655-Reviews-Ekamai_Bus_Terminal-Bangkok.html

The official window is in the middle image on the right.for the official bus that leaves from the slip in the station. For the past 15 years that I know of !   It is the most express bus. IE after leaving the express way it may make a few stops along Sukimvite and unfortunately sometimes will exit for stops at Lam Chabang. But by far better than the local busses that the touts snag unsuspecting tourists in the front of station.

This is correct, to a T. One year I took the bus every day for 7 weeks in and out of Bangkok. My total return trips probably run close to 200, including many this year. There was sometimes a diversion north on Suk from Hwy 36 for a u-turn and drop-off, but that was rare. The only stops for the Roong Reuang (Pattaya-Bangkok bus) were only occasionally Laem Chabang and sometimes at Nakluea, then straight south on Suk to the u-turn to go to the back of the Pattaya Bus Terminal. 

The Pattaya window at Ekamai is the only "almost express" bus service to Pattaya.

On 2018-05-07 at 10:01 AM, retoohs said:

Am I best to change Kiwi dollars into USD in BKK or will I get the same rate in Seim Reap? Cheers

Can't say as I've ever seen an NZ exchange rate posted on gold shop boards but since SR is such a tourist draw, there might be no problem. But the rate is listed on the Canadia Bank online ForEx board. I might change some NZ$ into US$ in Bangkok at either Yasu or Superrich.

On 2018-05-07 at 1:55 PM, grkt said:

hello, do you know if we can use Thai debit card ATM cards in Cambodia to withdraw usd ? thanks a lot.

I did once in a minor emergency, but got raped on exchange rate and ATM charges. Take Thai baht and change it around the Central Market. But don't go waving around the money. First, ask the THB-USD or THB-KHRiel rate at the several sidewalk exchange services. Gold shops also change money and post their rates on a board. Calculate what you should get first by consulting a Cambodian bank's online rate board (Canadia Bank, ABA Bank) and then poll the sidewalk changers. 

58 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

I think I would be inclined to favour brands that concentrate on cooling equipment, rather than ones that make every appliance known to man including TVs, cookers, kettles etc. But my own air-con is a Hitachi and I'm still happy with it after 6 or so years, so maybe that proves me wrong.

This is my approach. Yet, I've found Panasonics and Mitsubishis to be very strong, quiet and reliable. I've also been satisfied with Daikin.  I've found Samsung and LG weak. Experience in four tropical countries. 

I'm glad I don't live in BKK anymore but have a lot of sympathy for the thousands who fight every day to get a ride into work. The BTS system map in the carriages shows EIGHT more stations coming online this year in the extreme south/east end beyond Sam Rong. Oh my! Anyone know if they are awaiting more carriages?

In the early evening recently, the arriving train was so crowded on the inbound side at Thong Lor, I had to wait for another train, first time that's ever happened. Every time I visit Bangkok, the BTS and MRT seem to be more and more crowded. I just noticed today they've removed MRT seats to get more people in the cars. 

So this is what I can look forward too when I get back to Thailand on the weekend? Bring it on. After my first 10 days in Canada featuring straight sub-zero afternoons, I am ready for the sweats. I don't mind the multiple layers of clothing. But the air, as always in winter, is so dry here my skin requires constant moisturizing cream. This is what I suffer for a taste of real beer. 

Not a terrorist. CBC traces his history, which seems to have led to his flipping after being rejected by the ladies. 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-van-attack-driver-profile-alek-minassian-1.4632435

If you are a beer drinker, you could do no better in SEA than hang out in HCMC. The last few years has seen brew pub openings of Pasteur Street Brewing, East-West, Winking Seal, Phat Rooster, Heart of Darkness. All their own bars, easily locatable on Google Maps. All very affordable, too, unlike Thailand. 

Otherwise, as Tutsiwarrior says, Vung Tau worth a visit for the 2-hour boat ride leaving from Ben Nha Rong pier. Nice, clean seaside city with tree-lined streets and parks on the ocean, and lots of girly bars, it being an oil and gas port. Some good restos such as Offshore, Don Quijote, Blue Corner, Kosak, Ly's, Outback Cafe, etc.

I lived there for 6 months last year.

AccuWeather says it's supposed to drop to 21C at about 0600 tomorrow morning.

https://www.accuweather.com/en/th/pattaya/317584/hourly-weather-forecast/317584

Nope. It's very strange. However, it was a delightful evening sitting on a patio on Arunothai and Soi Yume.

Back home off Yume, it's warmer in my room (28C) than outside (26C). Thanks to my fancy outdoor/indoor electronic temp setup.