Vegemite

[

Sorry forgot to mention price... We paid around 300- 350 baht from memory......

Will be travelling to Roi Et next month and looking for some accommodation. I was there late last year and stayed at a place I think, called the Petcharat Hotel, it had a big swimming pool and was reasonably priced at around 600 Baht per night. I have tried in vain to look for a website to enable me to book, can anyone provide me contact details for this place or any other ideas for alternate accommodation.

Regards

John

We stayed at a great place in March this year called " Poon Petch Sport Club co. ltd. "

Phone 0-4351-6391-4 Mobile 09-2731003

52 Robmueng st.

Across the road from The Roi Et City Hotel and just a few doors away from The White Elephant.

It is an apartment building. The rooms are clean with a/c and balcony and the service and food are excellent. It has a resturant and bar and was brand new when we stayed there. A swimming pool was about to be built out the back. Security outside at night.

I got a decent Farang breakfast at one of the outdoor shops next door but we ate at Poon Petch.

If you like to be left alone and do your own thing this is the place.

Forgot to mention hot shower and real toilet. Fridge if you want but will have to tell them.

Highly recomended.

Since when is a sub 250cc a LARGE BIKE ?

In my book large bikes are 1000cc+.

A 400cc is an entry-level bike.

Anything smaller is a runaround.

Well said and thank God somebody thinks the same as me.

I tried asking some questions about this a while back but nobody would give an answer.

The topic just went back to Waves and Dreams. It was quite sad really.

Can anyone tell me why these little things are so popular in Thailand?

What are the rules/laws regarding motorbike size. Is it 200cc max?

If so, how do some people get around it.

Vegemite

Little bikes are so popular because that's almost all there is, they are cheap & excellent value for money for most people's needs - riding around town / the village.

Local bike manufacture is restricted to 200cc capacity. There are some bigger bikes being made, but these are for export only & supposedly not for the local market.

To get around not having a small bike, you need to buy a big one.

The best way to do this is to buy from a big bike dealer / shop & there are heaps of them if you can be bothered to look around. Just buy any Thai bike magazine & you will adverts for big bikes for sale at many big bike shops.

It is not practical to import your own bike.

1. You need an Import Permit, from the Ministry of Commerce to import an assembled vehicle (car or motorbike). I think that motorcycles over 150-200cc (not sure of the exact capacity) are classified in with motorcars / vehicles and so are subject to whatever laws apply to cars. But the important bit is that you first need the import permit, before you can even consider importing an assembled bike.

2. Then the full Customs duty is 213% of the value of the vehicle. I think that Customs have a list of the bike values & if your invoice does not “match up” then they apply their own market value. So there is no easy cheats way out – you have to pay, & heavily.

3. Then once you get your bike in your have to get it licensed & I think that there is a hefty fee for the initial rego compliance test. After that it’s only a few hundred baht a year, plus insurance.

4. Unassembled bikes – these come in by the container load as 2nd hand parts & are only subject to 30-40% customs duties. These are the bikes that you usually see on the roads of Thailand without a number plate. Without the plate they are technically illegal & if you’re in Bkk / Pattaya / Phuket, the police tend to give you a hard time. Elsewhere up-country it does not seem to be such a problem, but you normally can’t leave the country on an unregistered motorcycle.

5. Any licenced big bikes you see could be either legally imported (BMW) with full duties paid or registered grey imports – previously unassembled ones. Cost for this grey import rego is anything from 50,000 baht up, depending on whom you are dealing with. Most of the books are recycled books with the bike having engine & frame numbers re-stamped to match up with an old book / bike that was previously registered. Now there are dealers who claim their books are not recycled, how they managed this I don’t know but the crunch always comes when you either need to renew your bike rego or transfer the place of registration &/or ownership. Most of the time it works, but there are cases where it the renewal / transfer does not get approved. Sometimes this is because the bike might registered as 20 or 30 years old but it is only a few years old, the number of cylinders or capacity are wrong. These are all little traps you need to watch out for when buying a registered bike. If you never sell the bike or change the place of registration you might never have a problem, but if you’re buying, then check it all closely if you are going to change the place of registration from one province to another, as your local officials might like to be official & pay attention to what you’ve supposedly got.

6. Now the big bike import system is so well organized that you can almost get any bike you want within a couple of months. You just need to have the balls to plonk down your deposit money with a reliable / reputable big bike shop, & wait your turn for the bike & rego to turn up.

And that about sums it all up I think.

Oh yeah if you’ve lost touch & been away from BIG bikes for awhile:

The Triumph Rocket III = 2294cc triple engine. Torque, 147lb-ft at 2,500 rpm. 240 section rear tyre.

Take a look at http://www.triumph.co.uk/uk/263.aspx

Other big bikes in 2006 are

BMW: 1200cc K1200

HONDA: VTX 1800cc cruiser, GL1800cc tourer (with reverse electric drive & air bag), ST1300cc tourer

KAWASAKI: Vulcan 2000cc cruiser, ZX1400cc sport bike,

SUZUKI: 1300cc Hayabusha sport bike, M109R 1800cc cruiser,

YAMAHA: 1700 cc Roadstar cruiser, 1700cc M1T-01

“torque sports”, 1300cc Royal Star tourer. 1300cc FJR sport tourer , 1200cc V-Max.

HARLEY: 1450cc various machines

And my bike is a Honda 750 Africa Twin, “perfect” for touring the roads of North Thailand and Laos.

For all you guys out there wondering - the perfect bike is the one you enjoy riding the most and that will be totally different for different riders on different roads. You all please yourself now, but don’t slag each other off. Enjoy what you do & be happy riding your machine!

Last but not least, I dont think it's worth importing your own bike. Buy locally.

Go here for Full Customs Import info

Well said and thankyou very much.

Well said and thank God somebody thinks the same as me.

I tried asking some questions about this a while back but nobody would give an answer.

The topic just went back to Waves and Dreams. It was quite sad really.

Can anyone tell me why these little things are so popular in Thailand?

What are the rules/laws regarding motorbike size. Is it 200cc max?

If so, how do some people get around it.

For a few thousand people in this country of 62,500,000 people, a proper bike is over 600cc. For the rest of the 62 million of us here, 200cc is a big bike. This is Thailand. Now, maybe back home, a 2,300 Triumph is a small bike, and everybody rides Harleys with 400 cubic inch V-8's.

These little Waves and Dreams are very popular here, because motorcycles are like large bicycles with engines, used for families, shopping,commuting, etc., - things that farang seldom do in our home countries. You can ride anything that you can get legally licensed, and you can keep riding it while you can still get parts and reliable service. It is not safe, however, to ride anywhere in Thailand. Probably ten times more dangerous than wherever we're from. Many funerals are the result of motorbike accidents. I wish I had a new, factory waranteed, 400cc new Japanese bike. But you can't get them here, so I ride a 150.

Maybe you have been there to long. I dont think Triumph have ever made a 2300cc motorbike or Harley a V8. Mind you, I could be wrong and I did have a Triumph 2500 car years ago. So anything is possible I suppose.

Must keep my eye out for some of these things on the road.

You still didnt answer my question about the laws in Thailand regarding engine size.

I rode some of these small bikes, c/o the family, around Issan earlier this year and really enjoyed it. Why doesnt anybody use dirt bikes they would be ideal?

I find the step through type bikes are quite dangerous. Just feet, bum and hands controlling the things and your legs just flapping around in the breaze.

Thanks for the reply.

Since when is a sub 250cc a LARGE BIKE ?

In my book large bikes are 1000cc+.

A 400cc is an entry-level bike.

Anything smaller is a runaround.

Well said and thank God somebody thinks the same as me.

I tried asking some questions about this a while back but nobody would give an answer.

The topic just went back to Waves and Dreams. It was quite sad really.

Can anyone tell me why these little things are so popular in Thailand?

What are the rules/laws regarding motorbike size. Is it 200cc max?

If so, how do some people get around it.

I think the south is a far better place for rubber and palm oil trees. The rainfall in our area (Loei) is just not consistant enough without irrigation. Less than half a kilometer from where we have ten rai a farmer planted a large field with rubber trees just last year. The last I looked at them at least 80 percent had died from lack of rain. The local farmers say that the weather patterns have changed and it now seems like WAY too much at one time or more often than not, not enough.

I had planned on putting in a large pond but have been pretty well convinced that the chance of having a big dry hole was too high for me to try.

Why doesnt anyone put down a bore and pump it out of the ground?

In a visit to upcountry this year I asked " them that know " if it could be done and was told it could but that it cost a lot.

Water could be found at about 50 meters so I was told. Doesnt seem to deep to me.

Mind you if the numbers for depth are anything like the numbers for time, it could be 150 meters.

Whao this hits close to home, being from NZ, and having so few of us living here is going to make this big news in NZ.

Agree with the above, sounds like he was protecting his gf from advances of her "friend".

It's sad in Thailand when we begin to see these farang murders on almost a daily basis.

Respects to his freinds and family.

It is headline news now in N.Z..

Shame really.

New Zealand and Thailand have had a " thing " going for decades and at the moment, all Thai Airways seats are full from Auckland to Bangkok.

I want to buy a larger bike. Im getting older and can't handle much more than an hour on my 110cc scooter. Ive looked around a bit, and the Honda Phantom (200cc), looks sharp and comfortable. The price in Khon Kaen is 85,000 baht. I can afford no more than 100,000 baht, so a Harley is out of the question.

I would like to get some ideas from those who have bigger bikes. What do others ride, is the Phantom a good bike, comfortable on long trips, a good deal for the money, etc.?

Hello,

I have had many British twins from the early '70s on and still have a 650cc that I did up and it goes great.

But what I want to know is;

Why does everybody that wants a motorbike in Thailand get so excited about these little machines?

200cc for gods sake!

I read a post onTV recently where they were argueing the pros and cons of Honda Waves and dreams. Give me a break.

My old 650cc is very small these days ( and very old ) where I come from.

I was riding a Honda Wave in Isaan recently and a Kawasaki Serpico ( they said it was a mans bike ) but these bikes are just transport not pleasure.

I posted in the motoring forum about this but nobody replied.

Is it a face thing?

I have an interest in upcountry Thailand and want a motorbike to look around on when we are up there. Why doesnt anyone use a dirt bike up there, maybe 250cc up.

Sorry to be a fly in the ointment but I will probably retire up there and I really need to know.

Thanks.

If I can just give a little advice to you;

If you have never had any experience riding motorbikes before please dont learn to ride one in Bangkok.

Learning to ride in any city will be dangerous for sure but BKK is taking it to the limit.

One taxi driver in BKK told me that at least one person DIES every day on a motorbike in that city.

One dead bike rider doesnt sound to bad but there will be many more with broken body parts and sometimes the broken bits will not be repairable, brains come to mind.

If you are lucky enough to have a boring old compound fracture of your leg, you could be out of action for months ( I had to have bone grafts and was off work for 10 months )

In the country areas of Thailand, riding a motorbike is a real pleasure.

Good luck to you and your insurance company.

This is total rollocks for us here, we have had a trickle of water for a week already and it is now expected to last another week, I initially thought it was something to do with corruption but now I've read this everything is clear (except the water)

Can anyone explain why they have to 'turn the water down'?? Do'nt they use resevoirs or am I having a silly moment??

Where is here?

Traveling through Esaan, as i have been doing for over 35yrs, i decided to do my visa at the relatively new checkpoint at Chom Chong. Pleasant enough experience with unusually nice immigration staff. On route back to Bangkok passed another new addition to this area; just before entering Prasat on the left there's a new bar called " Dirty Dan's " nice guy with a lovely wife who is at present with child. I had a real good cup of coffee and a natter, try it next time you're on the" Run ". Stayed overnite' as we often do, in Surin at a very good new hotel called the Majesti near to the bus station; that evening i asked a tuk tuk driver to show us some farang bars and after visiting some usual over priced and laim farang places we finished up in a bar near the exit road to Buri Ram, again quite a new place but offering good food/ drink at realistic prices for Thailand. They had a " killer Pool " game going on as apparently they do every Friday and we met about 10-12 guys who have formed there own motor cycle club, some have modern bikes but also we were amazed at some of the old Triumphs and BSA's that have been renovated by young Thai enthusiasts, BRILLIANT ! Even if your not into motorcycles this was one of the friendliest, fun farang bars we have found on this trip, run by a fellow Dave and his wife Oiy

It really interests me to hear about the old british bikes.

I have had quite a number of them, Triumphs and BSA.

Still have a BSA Thunderbolt.

I would love to know more. I wonder how they handle the heat.

We will be upcountry within the year and maybe we can swing through Surin on the way south.

Will be desperate for some farang food by then and maybe will check out the F.C.

All the best.

Sorry just looked again.

How are you?

I dont now about the internet up there, sorry, but I would like to know how your friend Hugh is doing.

Has his bone graft mended?

I had a couple of bone grafts when I was 20 Y.O. and know how bad it can be.

All c/o a motorbike crash.

P.S. I have a connection up your way and was up there in Feb. Wappipathum.

All the best.

Thanks for your reply.

I know that a lot of people travel big distances on these bikes my wifes son is one of them, Ubon to Mahasarakham no problem. But from my limited experience they are used every day for just getting around the local area.

I have had quite a few motorbikes over the years. One or two dirt bikes and the rest road bikes ( I started on a Vespa - please keep it to yourself ) and am of the firm opinion the a petrol tank between your legs just gives you so much more control, especially when things arent going quite according to plan like taking evasive action for some reason.

Trail/dirt bikes are so easy to ride almost anywhere and I looked at them in a different way after visiting upcountry Thailand.

All the best.

In a recent visit into the bowels of upcountry isarn to the wifes tiny village, I had the chance to use 2 of the small c.c. motorbikes that the locals get around on every day. One was a Honda Wave step through ( scrub cutter ) and the other was a Kawasaki Serpico 2 stroke with a real tank, they said it was a mans bike.

In the area that I rode these things the road was allways changing. Tar/bitumen then fine stones then some sort of sand and a plenty of pot holes. Through small nieghbouring villages and around and across ( it was the dry season ) a few rice rields.

The land was flat as a pancake and I enjoyed riding a gret deal and I would have liked to do more.

What I cant understand is; why didnt I see a single dirt bike as these would just be ideal for these conditions. Does anybody know why???

The locals do not go great distances on these bikes so open road speed does not even enter into it.

In the wet season a dirt bike would be easy to use.

Why??

Hey guys, currently living in Thailand and i'm looking for a teaching job.

Any of you guys willing to meet up with me and give me an insight into what its like?

Tips.

Pros/Cons?

Its ok reading it on a forum, but it better face to face right

I'm 27 Male from England.

Promise i wont bore you too much and i'll buy you a few beers

Cheers.

Looks like teachers in Thailand dont like to drink and/or talk to adults.

Sad really!

Neither....there not motorbikes...they're scooters / mopeds / step throughs or whatever...but not motorbikes

CBR 150 is the entry level motorbike from Honda. Proper wheels, brakes but a bit small if your a tall chappy.

I don't think you'll find fuel consumption is much differant among all these machines though.

I would agree with PeaceBlondie in that the extra power, manouverability and far superior braking system of the CBR makes it a safer machine.

Chanchao being a slower bike doesn't mean its safer it just means you hit things at a slower speed after your drum brakes have overheated and no longer work whereas on your CBR you'd have pulled a stoppie looked cool and stopped safely even if you were travelling faster

That said I drive a car here not a bike...mainly coz non of the bigger machines are not officially imported. I really miss my lime green 2000 model Triumph Speed Triple 955i......that would be great to ride around BKK on and good for a blast into the countryside too

I dont blame you.

My last trip to Issan I rode 2 of these little things. One was a step through ( scrub cutter ) and the other was a Kawasaki Serpico, 2 stroke but at least it had a tank between the legs for a bit more control.

I rode the Honda step through 20 kms to the nearest town. I rode the Kawasaki through some of the villages and on a variety of road surfaces. I had a lot more cotrol on this one.

What I want to know is, why didnt I see or why dont the upcountry Thais use trail ( dirt ) bikes. They can handle any road surfaces and they are very east to ride. Can anyone tell me??

Also a farang told me that because of the laws in Thailand nobody can own a bike over 150 cc so some bussinesses import bigger motorbikes in parts, assemble them in Thailand , register them as new and bobs your uncle ( everything is O.K. )

Is this true??

Hi folks

I'm looking for more info about the Rayong city. I havn't been there myself nor is my thai wife. She's from BKK but we decided not to live there. Right now we're in the process of moving to thailand, and still thinking on Rayong or Hua Hin. We can pick any city in thailand to live....but we think Rayong seems to be a nice city for us - on the beach with less bars scene...hence I also will be writing a few technical textbooks during our time there. But so far google came up nothing or very minimal info on the city. So far we have just one photo of the down town. Does anybody out there has some photo of Rayong or know the city quite well? We need more info about the resturants, thai night market locations and how many, and shopping especially for home improvement items. We're planing to be there for just 5 yrs then back to the US.

Thanks in advance

BKK family

Just checked again.

Go to Google and hit " images " above the search box.

Then hit " advanced image search " on the right of the search box.

A lot of rubbish but a lot of pics and info.

Hi folks

I'm looking for more info about the Rayong city. I havn't been there myself nor is my thai wife. She's from BKK but we decided not to live there. Right now we're in the process of moving to thailand, and still thinking on Rayong or Hua Hin. We can pick any city in thailand to live....but we think Rayong seems to be a nice city for us - on the beach with less bars scene...hence I also will be writing a few technical textbooks during our time there. But so far google came up nothing or very minimal info on the city. So far we have just one photo of the down town. Does anybody out there has some photo of Rayong or know the city quite well? We need more info about the resturants, thai night market locations and how many, and shopping especially for home improvement items. We're planing to be there for just 5 yrs then back to the US.

Thanks in advance

BKK family

Hi,

I was planning to get to Rayong Feb this year but got stuck upcountry. Probably next year. The wife has a sister there.

I had trouble finding info as well but found this www.discoverythailand.com

Not a lot there.

I think that I used Google images search and then advanced search and got quite a lot.

Will check.

All the best.

I will be in Bangkok for three days, but am free one of the days (Wednesday May 24th). I was looking for a personal tour guide who can show me around Bangkok.

Hello,

I can probably find you someone local.

They wont have 100% english but good enough to get by.

Send me a P.M. if you want..

P.s. I only know decent Thais and no hookers.

All the best.

Prefer something with more than three floors, as I have sweet blood for mosquitoes... have motorcycle so no need for central location if cheaper outside the city

Check out gt-rider.com

I did a google search the other day " motorcycle thailand " and got a lot of info.

It is well known that air is one of the best insulator. It works well in Europe, so why not in Thailand? However, you have to be careful about the "heat bridges" like lintels, doors and windows and ceiling. I have built an house using "SIPOREX material"with a professional architect advising me: you can loose all the advantages of insulation if you are not consistent and forget an appropriate treatment for details like lintels...

Regards

Thanks for your reply.

The man that I was speaking to new what he was talking about and said that the system worked very well in Thailand. He had designed several houses for Thai conditions.

As far as lintels over windows and doors go, if the walls are not load bearing as is a typical Thai style concrete floor and column house, the lintels dont need to be substantial as they are only supporting the cladding. The roof as I understand is supported, basically, by the columns.

Where I live, if a brick cladding is used you only need an angle iron to support the bricks above the openings but the structural walls are timber and hence have lintels to suit.

Thanks for your input ( what is SIPOREX )

All the best.

hi, i will be in roi-et the weekend of 6th may and need to know of any bars,hotels that have ubc and will be showing the english football.

thanks for anyone's help.

Check out the White Elephant bar.

You can google search this place.

It is across the road from the Roi Et City Hotel. Easy to find.

I think it is German/Thai run but could be wrong ( his name is Klause ).

There were a lot of farang there when we visited in February and I felt comfortable.

Great place Roi Et.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

All the best.

when in Thailand I make my own food...the wife eats next door at Mama's...usually about 6-8 folks hunkered down on the floor in the traditional way. I stay clear because of the cooking and food smells...some of it smells like human excrement...

in a pinch I get one of the kids to get me some khao phat moo...the lady that does the cooking at the stall knows how I like it (no egg and no nam plaa)...

I must be different than others on this thread...authentic thai cuisine shouldn't be fed to animals...if you can afford something fancy at a restaurant or a high end food stall then OK, but that ain't thai food...my wife calls it 'chinese food'. If it don't stink like <deleted> or is inedible like in a handful of chiles per mouthful it ain't thai food...

lemme tell you about the fire drill that resulted in our apartment block in Abu Dhabi when my wife made 'gaeng som'...it should be banned by international standard...

I dont blame you at all.

In a recent trip to " upcountry " I could eat almost nothing.

Ants eggs, baby frogs and raw beef just dont do it for me.

My wife calles Bangkok food, Thai food and she doesnt like it very much.

The food that she likes is, although far from Laos, closer to lao food than Bangkok food.

She doesnt really know how to cook a lot of Thai food but I eat it every day.

To her credit though she makes the best tom yum goong that I have tried.

Just as an aside, the prawns that I tried in Thailand pale into in insignificance compared to the ones we can get in the south pacific. They were allways to soft and not very fresh by my standards.

This was a real let down for me as I love the things.

Is there anywhere you can find good prawns or am I just a bit spoilt living down here.

Recently on a bus to Bangkok from upcountry I spoke briefly with a bloke from Belgium.

He had built his house using 2 walls with a cavity between them.

Basically the same as a standard Thai house using colums and a concrete floor.

He said that he had no need for air conditioning or insulation as there was a constant flow of air through the cavity.

" The same as in Belgium" he said.

Does anyone have any info on this system?

Hope I got the country right. Belgium I mean.

Thanks.