Dellie

Yeah sure. That's why there has been a mass exodus of westerners from the country the last couple of years. They left because they were too darn happy!

People just sit on property here and never budge on the price. Always been that way. The cost of ownership is too low to force a healthy market.

Do not let her go with your son, he will stay somewhere you don't know, with some cousin, uncle etc...

You will never see him again.

You/She will have to go court where the child is living.

In Europe they will give custody to the mother in 95% cases.

In Thailand they do give opposite if father is western, but the mother can draw the process up to ten years.

What a stupid generalization. Europe consist of many different countries with different legal systems. To say the mother gets custody in 95% of the cases is simply incorrect. Where Im from shared custody is always prefferred by authorities if it is possible.

"It is the nature of the universe to make all things equal in the end"

In my life experiences it is a most definite YES. When a person does something bad to another or against nature it will come back on then a hundred times as much.

"What goes around, comes around"

You have very limited experience then. I know several people (foreigners aswell as Thais) whom have committed countless atrocities in their lifetime but are now living fat and happy in their golden years. Karma might work for poor small time crooks but it definately doesn't for the wealthy elite.

beauty in the eye of the beholder etc, but that is one ugly pig of a motor, that interior with the single clock!. Of course Swedish friend servicing is cheaper here, how much pay a day do you think Somchai is on in the workshop compared to his oppo in Abba land?.

That's what Im saying. Im trying to put things in perspective here. Anyone who thinks servicing in Thailand is actually expensive must be on a piss poor pension or have a local very low rate job.

Folk who say car builds in LOS are inferior to other parts of the world also need to think again. Strange how cars built here are also exported, Australia for instance..

I think what most people worry about with cars manufactured in Thailand is how corrupt the country is and that makes people in the west doubt the quality control performed here.

Generally speaking Thailand is able to manufacture high quality products - hence it being such a huge manufacturing base for finished goods in Asia.

A lot of manufacturing quality comes from process more than anything. Those processes have historically come from overseas companies/managers.

Yes you are missing my point. I know they can make quality stuff here but to the average person in Europe when they hear made in Thailand they will imidiately think "cheap crap" because of the bad reputation and stigma there is on the country when it comes to anything outside tourism. I can garuantee you not one of my old friends back in Scandinavia would buy a Toyota they knew was manufactured in Thailand. They would want one made in Japan. Im not saying it's right. Im just saying that's the way it is.

Folk who say car builds in LOS are inferior to other parts of the world also need to think again. Strange how cars built here are also exported, Australia for instance..

I think what most people worry about with cars manufactured in Thailand is how corrupt the country is and that makes people in the west doubt the quality control performed here.

I think that most of us who actually live in LOS know the roads are crap because you never know when a pot hole will appear, especially in Isaan.

These days I find the roads are quite good, especially now that they've started surfacing them with asphalt. Potholes seem to only appear during the rainy seasons. F.ex the the stretch from Korat to Khon Kaen is very good.

But there is no way you can dismiss a pot hole showing up anywhere in LOS. They do not put 'foundations' into the roads for longevity, am sure LOS does not have access to supplies of the stuff to incorporate foundations to a road build..

I think the last time I saw a pothole in the middle of a major road was after the 2011 floods. I'm fairly relaxed when driving on the highways, the back roads are getting better as well. That wasn't the case in 2007 when I started driving around here. It's most definitely getting better.

But yes, doesn't hurt to be vigilant, there are other threats such as a lane suddenly being closed without any warning sign due to some construction, an adhoc intersection in a place no sane person would put it, or even a police checkpoint in the middle of nowhere.

As for premium cars and potholes, the mags on them aren't made of iron man suit material, they'll break just the same, as will the suspension break. The only benefit might be better frame construction and airbag system.

Uhm there are still several major roads in Issaan that have gigantic holes in them. The one going to Amnat Charoen for example. Can't remember the number. Drove there just a few months ago and it was still horrible.

Bought this one for my wife 18 months ago in Pattaya. Perfect car, got a couple freebies, but servicing at the dealership is very expensive, therefore we use our local mechanic for service.

The car develops a 165 hp with a 2 liter engine. Fuel consumption is similar to a Toyota Vios, about 5 to 7 liter (mixed traffic).

That's odd because i have found dealer servicing here to be incredibly cheap (admittedly Mitsubishi and Ford not Mazda). My first few services have only been 1-2,000 baht. I remember in the UK over 10 years ago paying 15,000 for a simple dealer service.

BTW the Mazda 3 looks a great car.

Agreed. Servicing here is dirt cheap compared to where Im from. Even on premium brands. The first service on my Audi A8 when that model was first launched in Sweden was the equivilant of 56 000 baht. I know my sister still payed atleast 60 000 baht last year on the first service of her mercedes aswell. Ofcourse there the labour is what's expensive. Not parts and fluids.

And just like cartoon network waterpark it's too expensive for Thailand imo. Guess they are banking on alot of tourists. They charge the same as a waterpark in western Europe where water, parts and labour are way more expensive. I don't see this being anything but a once a year thing for the average working Thai.

RAYONG, 2 May 2016 (NNT) – Rayong remains the province with the highest income per capita, with income at almost one million baht per person, despite signs of recession in the province's economic outlook.

Chonburi will not be much less, so also many locals can afford to go there.

Pretty useless statistic as it doesn't show how evenly that wealth is actually distributed. It could mean for example a few people earn say 29 million and the majority earn 200 000 each. Income per capita is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.

And just like cartoon network waterpark it's too expensive for Thailand imo. Guess they are banking on alot of tourists. They charge the same as a waterpark in western Europe where water, parts and labour are way more expensive. I don't see this being anything but a once a year thing for the average working Thai.

Hm is it by the Central group?

Big C and Central are owned by the same family but are two seperate companies

Yes it is owned by Central Pattana, and yes it was called Central Festival prior to the opening of the Central on beach road, and no Big C is not owned by the same group.

Previously Big C was owned by a French company, and now by Thaibev, but about 20 years ago Big C was founded by Central Pattana.

Didn't know it changed hands. Thought it was always owned by the same people. What french company, Carrefour?

There were plenty of Big Cs that co existed with Carrefour during the time they were in Thailand.

Hm is it by the Central group?

Big C and Central are owned by the same family but are two seperate companies

This is the place he is referring to

Oh haha yeah that is not a Central shopping mall just a normal big c. Got confused by the topic in the OP.

Uhm Im confused. Is there another Central Festival Im not aware of. Isn't Central in Pattaya Klang?

It isn't a small percentage, it's 95% of all Thai girls foreigners are able to meet.

Among the foreigners I know with Thai girls, 100%, despite 75% claiming they aren't.

Good luck with the 'loyal and caring'

Not sure about them being 'the best quality' but they are certainly easy and cheap.

That says more about you and the people you choose to associate yourself with than it does anything about Thai/foreigner relationships. Me and my wife both have tons of friends who are mixed couples and not a single one of those women was ever a bargirl or anything even close to it. Then again none of my friends are 60 year old bald guys in Chang shirts and sandals either.

The 30 baht health insurance DOES cover accidents if that's the one you mean. There is no free health insurance. There is the 30 baht one that Taksin introduced and there is the social insurance (prakkan sankom) you get from working and paying tax.

Well I renewed mine about a year ago at that office. Everything u listed is correct except for Visa copy. They didn't ask for that when I renewed atleast. They asked to see my passport which holds the visa but I don't remember them taking a copy.

Wow that truck driver is lucky he crashed into such nice people. When a similar thing happened to us (drunk van driver drove into us while we were standing still at red light) my wife was on him in 2 seconds and I ultimately had to separate them by lifting them both up and holding them in the air until the police arrived. It was quite a day...

Have you been able to view the car in person? Lexus has been the vehicle of choice for sales scams in a number of countries now but I don't know if it has become a Thai problem yet.

It's often a seller in a middle eastern country selling a late model car at a too good to be true price. People fall for it and buy online because the price is low enough to make up for any possible mechanical problems. Lexus and Audi are the main cars used. The reason given for the low price is often a change in employment e.g. transferred to another country at short notice.

I have seen and driven the car. It is being sold by a friends friend. It is a NX300h f-sport at about 700 000 under market value so obvoiusly Im kinda looking for the other shoe to drop.

Well yeah if it had a blue book it would be easy to see how many owners hehe. It is a grey import but the price is so low it might just be worth it to gamble.

So in developed countries it is normally easy to check a cars history. How many owners it has had, has it ever been in an accident etc, etc. Anyone know if this kind of info is available for public view from the department of land and transportation here?

Considering a used lexus 2015 model. The price just seems to good to be true so Im a bit on the fence.

i used to go to lipe. but i feel its irresponsible for me to add to the overcrowding thier. its a small island u usedd to be able to walk around it in half an hour. but now the new resorts have built cement walls so i dont think that it is possible. when is thailand going to open up one the other islands in the national park for destruction (development).

There is allready talk of re developing koh adang and developing koh kham. Sad to see yet another natural paradise be destroyed.

If you dont want crowds then Koh Kradan is the only option of those 2. Koh Lipe is far from the calm paradise it once was. It has exploded and there are now tons of hotels and ALOT of people at any time of the year. Been going every year for 10 years but will probably go elsewhere in the future. Just too busy now.

I think Rayong is fine. Not sure I would have chosen it at 22 though. It's a pretty sleepy town unless you like very lo-so entertainment.