ZXM

That banana has a brown spot. You would think they could have gotten some fresher fruit. It was very off-putting.

I'm new to driving a motorbike (what a country to start in huh!) but here's my two cents/what i've been doing.

- Steer clear of all public transportation vehicles. That includes tuk-tuks, red/yellow/white trucks, buses, taxis, mini-vans, etc. If you see one either get far in front of it or stay far behind it. Do not ride beside it. Usually these drivers are the worst.

- At the least wear a helmet at all times (even short distances). It amazes me the amount of people I see driving/riding a motorcycle here in Thailand sans helmet. What really gets me is the family of 4, dad driving with kid standing between his legs holding on to the handle bars while mom is toting a baby on the back, all without helmets. I just shake my head when I see that.

- Pay attention to what's in front of you, to the sides of you, behind you 100% of the time. Seriously I have a headache every time I get off my motorbike considering how much brain power I've just exerted from simply paying attention. It's tiring.

- Stay to the left. There's always going to be some arsehol_e who flies by mere inches away from your motorbike. Give them as much room as possible.

- Always be prepared to stop/swerve at a moments notice. Cars/trucks/motorbikes love to pull out of side sois without looking or pull just the front part of their car out and then stop. In fact if you are riding on a road with lots of side sois or where cars have parked on the street you should probably ignore the last rule and stay farther away from the left side or drive slower than usual.

- While it's important to try and follow some of the local driving habits so you don't get plowed over, there are some you definitely should ignore. Always use turn signals, don't use the city streets as your own personal race track, do look in every direction that you possibly can before turning, changing lanes, or pulling out into traffic, don't drive the wrong way on a one-way street, do go slowly if you are going to pass between cars at red lights.

- Insure the hell out of yourself and your motorbike. Sorry but the compulsory government insurance doesn't cut it. At the least you should have a private motorbike and health insurance policy to cover yourself/3rd party if you're in an accident.

Sounds like you should make her a 100% outdoor cat then. If mine starts peeing all over everything except the litter box that's exactly what I'm going to do. He's had all his shots and been neutered already,

At least they didn't poison it. Better to have a dirty pussy than a dead pussy.

You can get a yogurt maker here.

http://www.verasu.com/search.php?keyword=yogurt&idPage=0

Online ordering and in Thailand.

When I topped up the gas for the very first time, I asked the PTT gas station attendent if she had Benzine 95. She said yes and I really didn't pay attention I just let her fill it up. Went back today for my second top up (same station, same pump) and asked for Benzine 95. She said "don't have, only have Benzine Gasohol 95". Well that's confusing I thought, why are they calling it Benzine Gasohol 95? Looking back on it now, when I topped up the first time the pump sticker was orange, same color as it was today, so I'm pretty sure I got Gasohol 95 the first time around instead of Benzine 95 like I wanted.

Oh well, bike's been running fine anyway, but I would like to try Benzine 95 at least once to see if I can feel any noticeable difference in the way she drives. Guess it will have to be next top up then if I can find a station that actually has it.

Woke up this morning and walked into the living room. It smelled like cat piss. I looked all around but didn't see anything. Started trying to follow my nose until I came upon my computer bag (a very nice computer bag I might add). It's a black bag so you can't really see when it's wet or dry, but after smelling it it was certain that my cat had decided to piss all over it at some point in the night. Don't know why really, his litter box wasn't dirty or anything.

After a few harsh words and a few hours later, I found myself at the pet shop purchasing a 2,400 baht cat tree (the biggest one they had) for him to play on.

God i'm pussy whipped (quite literally).

Thanks a lot for your help!

I really want a scooter, for doing trips, like to Pattaya, and grocery shopping, not to cruise around town. It's like a back up mode of transportation.

I was thinking of living in Pattaya, I lived in Phuket for a few months loved it. but I need a big city, and with Pattaya being only a hour or so away. I believe I could get away with weekend trips. What are the job possibilities in Pattaya?

Well driving a motorbike in Phuket is not the same as driving a motorbike in Bangkok. But when you get here i'm sure you will figure that out and if you still feel brave/confident enough then have at it. One last thing to mention though, most insurance policies become null and void if you are driving without a license (illegally). If you really want to drive one in Bangkok, I suggest you do it legally, which means getting your motorcycle license (easy, you can do it on a tourist visa no problem, unless you already have a motorcycle license in your home country then you don't have to worry about getting one here) and getting the proper insurance to cover for accidents/medical/3rd party liability/death/dismemberment/etc.

Jobs in Pattaya? Don't really know, ask over in the Pattaya forum and you might get some good (or bad) ideas.

Saw some red ones in Honda dealer in Bang Bua Thong today.

Yeah just saw the new sales flyer with the red one. It looks nice.

Good bike imo. Love the modded ones at bike show.

the Zoomer -X was probably the most promoted bike at the entire motorshow

probably those mods cost double or triple the bike price but it does look amazing

If that was Honda's idea from the beginning (to get people to mod up this bike) then it certainly worked on me. I spent more than I care to mention on the official Honda accessories, but dang if my Zoomer doesn't look stylish.

How easy will it be for me to find a job?

Where is the best place to rent a short term apartment for when I arrive?

Are there any get togethers you all do?

I've been living in Moscow, and a few other countries, what should I except from Bangkok?

1. If you are young and look nice and presentable it will be easy to get a job teaching. If you have qualifications then even easier.

2. Try to rent a room near the BTS (skytrain) or MRT (underground subway). It will be easier for you to get around the city that way as a newbie. Once you've lived here long enough to figure out the bus, motorcycle, boat system then you can venture out in search of cheaper places.

3. Haha, i've never seen large groups of foreigners hanging out together unless they've actually come here together on vacation. If you want the company of other foreigners go to Khao Sarn Road or something, that is if you don't mind hanging out with backpackers/university students on holiday.

4. Expect the unexpected. Leave all preconceived notions behind on how things should be done and just go with the flow.

Good luck and welcome to the City of Angels (or devils, depending on how you look at it).

Is there a large Russian community in Bangkok?

Anyone know the average price to rent a scooter per month?

1. Not really. If you want to hang out with fellow Russians then your best bet would be to move to either Pattaya or Phuket. There's a ton of them there.

2. About 2,000 to 3,500 baht a month, depending on if you want a manual or automatic and the brand/age of the motorbike. But word of advice, driving a scooter in Bangkok is dangerous, especially for people who aren't used to the way Thai people drive. Plus you would need a motorcycle license and insurance if you wanted to "legally" drive on the road, and if you get caught in an accident without those two things then be prepared to cough up a substantial amount of money. The public transportation system in Bangkok is good enough and really goes everywhere you would need to go. If you move down to Pattaya or Phuket then a motorcycle rental might be a better option as the public transport is not so developed there, plus some of them rip off foreigners. Two words of advice, never get into a taxi who refuses to turn the meter on, and if you are going to take a motorcycle taxi or tuk-tuk negotiate the price before you accept the ride (actually you could avoid tuk-tuks altogether, they always charge foreigners more).

Don't they do Visa on Arrival for Myanmar?

Before you start going around bad mouthing said clinic/surgeon, remember this. Several years ago in Bangkok there was a woman who underwent plastic surgery at a VERY popular clinic. The results were not as expected and she started complaining about it to family, friends, the media, etc. Not sure if she got an attorney involved as i'm too lazy to look up the story on Google, but I'm sure you can find reference to it if you want to search yourself (maybe some here remember hearing about it).

Long story short, she was murdered and everyone pretty much knew who was responsible for it. Clinic is still open, surgeon is still working (i'm guessing), woman is dead. Something to think about before you make a decision about what to do next.

Yeah like I knew this person once, who was like murdered for like looking the wrong way at someone. It can like happen you know.

Joke all you want, but the story is true. It was all over the media a few years back. Look it up. And anyone who lives here knows that you don't go pissing off the higher ups (aka those with tons and tons of money, which plastic surgeons have a lot of).

Although I don't take Xanax, it really makes me angry when governments ban substances that clearly have medicinal benefits. Case in point? Marijuana. It's been shown time and again to have pain relieving benefits for people suffering from some of the most painful/debilitating diseases. Another example? Ecstasy (or actually MDMA). Studies have shown it works wonders for combat veterans, domestic violence victims, or anyone else suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Last example? Ketamine. A rather obscure drug, but I just read a study where they actually found that Ketamine worked almost instantly to relieve major depressive disorder vs. traditional anti-depressant medications which can take between 2-4 weeks to start working. A much better option for that person who's on the ledge about to jump.

Now if you'll excuse me I have severe allergies and congestion, need to pop out and pick up some actifed. Oh wait...

Before you start going around bad mouthing said clinic/surgeon, remember this. Several years ago in Bangkok there was a woman who underwent plastic surgery at a VERY popular clinic. The results were not as expected and she started complaining about it to family, friends, the media, etc. Not sure if she got an attorney involved as i'm too lazy to look up the story on Google, but I'm sure you can find reference to it if you want to search yourself (maybe some here remember hearing about it).

Long story short, she was murdered and everyone pretty much knew who was responsible for it. Clinic is still open, surgeon is still working (i'm guessing), woman is dead. Something to think about before you make a decision about what to do next.

Yay, more crap pizza joints to choose from now.

How easy will it be for me to find a job?

Where is the best place to rent a short term apartment for when I arrive?

Are there any get togethers you all do?

I've been living in Moscow, and a few other countries, what should I except from Bangkok?

1. If you are young and look nice and presentable it will be easy to get a job teaching. If you have qualifications then even easier.

2. Try to rent a room near the BTS (skytrain) or MRT (underground subway). It will be easier for you to get around the city that way as a newbie. Once you've lived here long enough to figure out the bus, motorcycle, boat system then you can venture out in search of cheaper places.

3. Haha, i've never seen large groups of foreigners hanging out together unless they've actually come here together on vacation. If you want the company of other foreigners go to Khao Sarn Road or something, that is if you don't mind hanging out with backpackers/university students on holiday.

4. Expect the unexpected. Leave all preconceived notions behind on how things should be done and just go with the flow.

Good luck and welcome to the City of Angels (or devils, depending on how you look at it).

As mentioned, I would check your rental agreement to see if there is any provision regarding the sale of the house. It's quite possible whoever made the contract snuck that clause in there somewhere and you didn't see it. If that's the case then you really don't have any legal leg to stand on. But if there is nothing in the contract regarding the sale of the house then as said legally you have a right to stay in the house until the lease is up. Question is do you really want to invest the time, money, and energy to go down that road.

Also as mentioned, you should speak with the new owner of the house and explain your situation. Perhaps they will let you finish out your lease. Perhaps they might even change their mind about moving in and decide having an investment property is lucrative and let you stay indefinitely.

Regarding demanding money from the former owner for all the "work" you've put into the house, sorry but you're SOL on that one. The simple fact is, it's a rental property. You don't own it. Any investment you make into the house stays behind the day you move out. Like I said, you can demand 100% of your security deposit back, and it's possible you can guilt/coerce the former owner into paying your moving cost since they are breaking the lease and forcing you to move out. But that's about all you can really ask for.

Bottom line, these are the risks you take when you rent a property. Don't like it? Then buy...

Normally I would say a lease agreement would be binding, but considering this is Thailand, not so much.

Two things I would make sure of though

1) You should get 100% of your security deposit back since the owner is breaking the lease agreement.

2) See if you can negotiate with the owner to pay your moving costs since he is breaking the lease agreement and throwing you out. If he resists try mentioning the fact you have a legal contract and would "hate to talk to an attorney". Even if you're bluffing, it might be enough to get him to pay the moving costs.

So many problems with local hires it seems.

Here's a thought, if your business is one that deals primarily with tourists (foreigners), why not hire a foreigner. If your business is one that deals primarily with thais, why not hire a foreigner who is fluent in Thai language (they do exist). I'm sure there are a lot of foreigners in this country who find it quite depressing that the only job they're deemed capable of doing is teaching English.

And bail bond is only 100,000 Baht, which could be not enough in bad accidents for foreigners.

A few people in this thread have said 100,000 baht is not enough for bail bond for foreigners. So i'd like to ask has any foreigner in here had to pay more than 100,000 bail bond for causing an accident while driving a little 110cc scooter, or are we simply going with the logic that the higher the coverage the better?

I got the combi-brake version (all-black) as I think it was worth the extra 3K

I totally didn't catch that. I got the yellow one as I thought they all came with the same brake system. Just looked at their website again and now I see in small print the black model is the only one that has the 3-Pots Hydraulic Combined Brake System. D*mn it.

So what brake system did I end up with then??? Now I want to know.

EDIT: Second Question

Anyone know where to get the yellow Honda Zoomer-X helmet? Everywhere I've checked has been out of stock with no idea when they will get anymore in...

So manual says can use Gasohol 95 and 91, and Benzine 91. Thing is, Benzine 91 isn't going to be around that much longer. So can I use Benzine 95 even though it doesn't say on the manual? Just have reservations about using Gasohol because I've heard it's not as good as Benzine and can cause damage to the engine/parts.

Suggestions welcomed.