I knew this would happen

You obviously do no night driving

The night time is definately the most dangerous time to be on the road. Maybe there are a few accidents in the moring due to the dense tarrifc, but less serious.

But most fatal accidents i can remember where in the night or evening times.

More deg waen, more racing, no lights, drunkards going home, windows tints that make you blind........I feel less safe when the sun is going down

"They are all foreigners"

Glad we have pointed this out

"high-ranking and prominent persons"

Always thought that this is the task of Thai Airways....... maybe shareing first class with other "peasants" is not good enough anymore

I really don't know why everyone is up in arms about this. It is standard practice in so many countries. As for 5 star hotels not requesting passports. Every hotel I have ever stayed at in Thailand has taken corpus of my passport and her id. No big deal really!

People are not outraged by hotels practices,everyone knows about that.

The problem is families; One guy reported having been fined for living with his wife for 8 years in their house, because she -his wife- did not reported him to immigration.

And people living here long term and ALREADY reporting every 90 days to declare their address

-Arrival card

-90 day report

-annual visa extension with the same old boring stuff

-report your new location after you´re more than 24hrs in another province

-report yourself living in your own house with your wife who is a Thai citizen

Madness!

These people are full of **** and should be treated like **** all over the world too.

I walked into a hotel last Saturday about lunchtime in hua hin

They DID ask me for my passport but i didn't have it with me so I told them I forgot it

I got to stay there anyway without even having to show Id, that's the thing, all the rules in the world are useless unless someone is going to enforce them... Consistently

That´s the only good thing, usually they forget about most rules that actually exist or are flexible with them. The problem is that you never know if it will always be like this. Just looking at the written facts is a real downer though.

I really don't know why everyone is up in arms about this. It is standard practice in so many countries. As for 5 star hotels not requesting passports. Every hotel I have ever stayed at in Thailand has taken corpus of my passport and her id. No big deal really!

People are not outraged by hotels practices,everyone knows about that.

The problem is families; One guy reported having been fined for living with his wife for 8 years in their house, because she -his wife- did not reported him to immigration.

And people living here long term and ALREADY reporting every 90 days to declare their address

-Arrival card

-90 day report

-annual visa extension with the same old boring stuff

-report your new location after you´re more than 24hrs in another province

-report yourself living in your own house with your wife who is a Thai citizen

Madness!

These people are full of **** and should be treated like **** all over the world too.

I do not know if they have a button or if they just always run about 30% faster than they should. You can see it on the kilometers on the meter when you know the distance to where you are going. Or maybe I am just unlucky and often get a rigged meter.

one way to tell is the KM expressway markers , compare 1 KM to his meter 1KM and see if they match......

A smartphone may help too, much more convenient. Google maps or any navgigation app tells you the distance traveled and also counts down the distance.

The bigger problem is: What can you do? Reporting the crooks doesn´t seem to have much effects after all. We have reported 3 guys to the DLT, but will that really change a lot?

And confronting the driver directly might not be the best solution too, maybe it´s your lucky day and you end up with some maniac high on drugs. Chances might be slim, but too much stuff has happend here.

When I plan to drink and know in advance when and where I will be going, Grab TaxiPpremium or UBER is my choice. 9 of 10 cars are clean and comfy with great drivers. Even had an older lady once, was like beeing driven home by mom

Our hotel is only 4000B a night, 4 **** directly at the Sapporo station. Seems quite new. I think this is ok, not totally overpriced compared to BKK. There were other options in 'ok' hotels for 1700-2000Baht, but I'm having holidays Going to have a good dinner with wine/beer ususlly ends up at 1500-2000Baht, we don't spent less at restaurants in Bangkok. Cheaper and good options are availabele, food prices seem reasonable. Maybe there is Japanese racism too (sadly its everywhere) but then it is much better hidden than the Thai one these days and thats a real relief. Working in Japan might be totally different and could be unpleasant sometimes due to the extremly strict rules in this society, maybe a real downside. A Japanese guy asked us why we choose Japan. He couldn't understand why someone from Europe might be interested in a place where they cannot take long holidays and have to work like robots. He then said: Germany must be the same, he couldn't believe when I said: compared to the Japanese we are lazy and rude. 14days vacation are offensive he said We used to take 4 weeks off in Germany lol. The amount of respect the Japanese show for each other is great, it might be partly fake because it is ingrained into them since birth but still it's nice. I really like it, but I have to admit that some might just find it boring here. Maybe I'm just fed off from smog, rudeness and chaos in BKK.

Used my Iphone, might have even more error than usual lol

Is Thailand a failure? Never been to Japan but from what my friends have told me I'd say it's the other way around. Unless you measure success by technological development rather than happiness.

Japan is the biggest disappointment I have experienced in all my travels. I was so excited to go to Tokyo,but had a horrible time. The people are racist and rude. Nothing is easy to find for transportation and food.

The work ethic there is insane and they are almost impossible to do business with. Japanese people are not happy overall. They actually have a term to describe working yourself to death. I am much happier to be here in Thailand working. I don't think I could stay in Japan long term.

japanese racist and rude? I thought the popular notion was that they are very polite.

We are in Sapporo right now, everyone is extremely friendly and helpful. Lots of smiles, everyone makes us feel welcome and they are trying their best without expecting anything. Just like Thailand used to be.......long ago...... This part of Japan really impressed me and we will come back for sure. Tokyo might be different, but how could it be different when it is such a mega city?

Right now we are considering to spent more time in Japan and leave Thailand to the Thais.

OP, this is a new one on me as well.

For posters who say time between services is equally as critical as miles/kms driven, I say bullpucky.

The important thing is that the 30K "service" is more thorough than the 20K mile so you will be getting more.

However, they cannot have it both ways, the 30K mile service requires "replace engine air filter" and "replace cabin air filter".

It does not say "inspect and replace if necessary".

Hold them to it.

Hmm yes and no, if you don´t use your car a lot and have a very low mileage your fluids, belts and whatever is on your car will still continue to age. Maybe not as much and fast as when you do a 100 miles everyday but it happens anyway. Somehow Toyota warranty has to cover all different kinds of drivers and then it might seem for some that their car doesn´t require service yet while another has covered a lot more miles and is in need of an oil change already. The schedule is based on the worst case scenario I´d say. As a customer you have to follow their rules as long as you are in the warranty time. Maybe not all of it make sense yes. Maybe the cabin air filter is still fine, maybe not. A good dealer might apply some common sense to what they change and what not and the service plan would still be done according to the rules.

After that you´re on your own and can do as you please, though continued following of the Toyota service plan will make them more open to future "good will" actions if something goes wrong after the warranty period.

Hmmm....No.

I knew there would be that guy who would have to try and lecture...and you are that guy.

Please tell me how many years the warranty is on this Tundra in Thailand. Is it not three years? If that Tundra sat in a garage for three years and was never driven, the belts would not have dried up and fallen off. The fluids would not have lost their ability to perform--well, the windshield wiper solvent might have evaporated some. The motor oil would even still be good. OK, the battery would be dead and need replacing. Have you never stored vehicles? The events that you are talking about are more like 5+ years.

And the OP had his last service less than a year ago and the vehicle is less than two years old so those worst case scenarios you talk about would not have possibly happened short of a manufacturing defect.

And I did not say the OP would not have to follow Toyota rules in the warranty time, in fact, I stated clearly that he should insist the rules be followed and the rules call for a replacement of engine and cabin filter and that is not left up to the determination of a visual inspection. It is called out for specifically in the maintenance schedule service for 30K miles. This dealership does not get to pick and choose what it will honor.

LOL, service your Tuna or leave it, I don´t care

Your post really didn´t sound like it´s a good idea to follow Toyota´s advise. You said time is not as critical as distance travelled, I agree with that! Where did I deny that?

But at the end it´s Toyota´s recommendation, not mine and not yours.

OP, this is a new one on me as well.

For posters who say time between services is equally as critical as miles/kms driven, I say bullpucky.

The important thing is that the 30K "service" is more thorough than the 20K mile so you will be getting more.

However, they cannot have it both ways, the 30K mile service requires "replace engine air filter" and "replace cabin air filter".

It does not say "inspect and replace if necessary".

Hold them to it.

Hmm yes and no, if you don´t use your car a lot and have a very low mileage your fluids, belts and whatever is on your car will still continue to age. Maybe not as much and fast as when you do a 100 miles everyday but it happens anyway. Somehow Toyota warranty has to cover all different kinds of drivers and then it might seem for some that their car doesn´t require service yet while another has covered a lot more miles and is in need of an oil change already. The schedule is based on the worst case scenario I´d say. As a customer you have to follow their rules as long as you are in the warranty time. Maybe not all of it make sense yes. Maybe the cabin air filter is still fine, maybe not. A good dealer might apply some common sense to what they change and what not and the service plan would still be done according to the rules.

After that you´re on your own and can do as you please, though continued following of the Toyota service plan will make them more open to future "good will" actions if something goes wrong after the warranty period.

Perfectly normal, as you said: The service schedule is based on a kilometer OR time limit, whatever comes first counts. In your case it would have been time for a service before you reached the 20.000 km as 12 month had passed already. Your warranty and free service work is only valid if you have the car serviced according to the conditions of Toyota. So in therory they could refuse to help you when something is broken because you didn´t follow their maintenance advise, but it seems like the dealer wants to help you out and put everything in order again.

What might be a little confuesing for many of us are the very tight service schedule most car brands have in Thailand. In Germany I could drive 2 years between recommended services, hereiI´m at the dealer almost every 6 month just as stated on the Toyota website. Guess it must be the climate and thougher conditions in general for the vehicles here.

There is no need to impair your vision any more .3M keeps out the heat.Isnt that what the Old Cheap Stuff was for ? , or was it just a Fashion Statement for Boy Racers. Its really nice to drive with the clear stuff, passengers are the first to comment How nice it is to see better.Upto You.

So what your saying is that it should be banned because you don't like it.

Using that train of thought all pickup's should be banned and all cars that are not Honda should also be banned because you don't like them either.

Maybe not banned, but there are cars which seem to have a 1000% super pitch black tint Make it illegal to sell and use anything higher than x %. The Thai law seems to exist anyway, maybe the could make a crackdown

60 on the front and 80 on the rest is perfectly fine.

If you say so...............

Not all of are old people with failing vision.

I had my first black window tint in LOS when I was 27, so no failing vision. It was free stuff from the dealer, so I´ve no idea what it was exactly. I just told them to not make it very dark. It was awful at night, it was even worse when it was raining, since then I don´t have any tint at all. Yes, maybe there is some good stuff that might compensate almost all sunlight without disturbing a lot at night, but I prefer to see 100% of what´s going on. My car is parked inside all day anyway and Ray Bans suit me well I don´t miss tinted windows very much, maybe there are some days with brutal midday heat and sun which make me think about at tint but for 3 years I managed to live without it.

If you guys can convince me that there is something that doesn´t disturb at night (at all) I´ll try it 3M clear?

Yucks! Another German...what to expect!

???

big deal , he,s doing no different than what thai beggers do

That beggars usually don´t seem to like food donations is nothing new, but this guy still is a prick.

Pretending to have some serious medical condition and beeing unable to return home is a little different than spedning your 200B bait on cheap lau khaow.

He who is without sin please cast the first stone. How about a little compassion for the guy?

Are you serious? look around there are 1,000's of Thais , Cambodians Burmese etc in far worse physical condition living in hovels and a lot of orphanages that would love a 50,000 baht donation.

This guy has scammed well meaning people and is now abusing their good will... or maybe,hopefully, you are just being sarcastic

Well and someday someone really needs help and noone cares anymore because of people like him. Arrest, check his leg, let him rot for a few weeks in some detention center and then send him home. Maybe he hasn´t broken the law, but for sure he´s no tourist, so why not get him that way?

I really hope he didn´t actually say that Thais and all others were stupid to give him anything, hope that´s lost in translation

Rich farang cheat poor thai. Typical. Nothing unusual about that.

Yes, we like your Thai money and will never stop to invent new scams to get it

I understand food better in Thai language than English description.

I asked in Thai what was some food.

He described in English and I was confused.

I asked in Thai if food was green curry pork.

He said something in English and I was still confused.

Finally a lady spoke Thai to me.

I said thank you (in Thai)and I asked for the food I wanted.

She smiled

Everyone was happy.

I asked in Thai about

How true, I love Thai food and when the menu is in english, it´s hard to guess what dish it could be, specially when there are a lot of variations. Food is always one of the first ways to discover a language and even the culture/country. But that´s the same everywhere, it´s kinda hard or confuseing to describe a local food in another language, even more when they are worlds apart.

Why would Thai people (except for a few criminals) mind when you can speak their language? At home we´re also ranting about "the immigrants" not being able to speak our language.

It goes like this... when you speak/reply in Thai, first you see this hesitant, kinda lost look on their faces:

what just did this farang said? was that Thai he was speaking to me? and after 2-3 seconds... yes, it

was Thai he was speaking to me, now.. what did he said ? yeah, I can actually understand what he

said to me, WOW, this farang can speak Thai.... and just like that, with shock and awe look on their

faces they proceed to reply to you.... still marveling at our ability to master their language...

But they reply to you in English. So you answer back in Thai, then they come back at you a second time in English ... and so on. Back and forth. I encourage it - it's deliciously wicked when you observe other people listening in. They get a bemused look on their faces and don't know what the heck is going on.

Yes that happens quite often and I´m having trouble to understand the reason. Sometimes it might be poor Thai skills, but it also happens to people who are very good in Thai.

Guess it has something to do with the expectation that not many foreigners will learn and speak Thai. Like the brain is on autopilot when seeing a foreigner and always dictates: english, english, english.

I´ve made the same experience with english speakers that could speak german very well, I suddenly fell back talking in english for no reason

Why even start such a topic. Someone will always feel offended and "racial science" is thin ice

That´s definately the case. When you live in a place where you get stuck in a traffic jam very often or when there is a lot of traffic, then an auto gear box will take away lots of stress while you´re driving. It´s just a lot more convenient. I really hate automatic cars, driving a stick shifter is so much more fun. But for Thailand it´s a wise choice to go auto.

-Almost every car in Thailand does have an auto gearbox as standard equipment, only the base models are available as a manual. Most cars even are not available as a manual at all. Most cars and pickups will give you the auto gearbox already when you upgrade just one trim level. They are alomost forcing you to buy an auto or you are stuck with the most basic models. There are exceptions like the Toyota GT 86, but I wonder how many will opt. for the manual (which is so much better)

-It will be more easy to resell, more people are interested in an auto gearbox. As a wild guess I´d say 75% of the driver´s or more wouldn´t like or get along with a stick anyway.

-Fuel efficency, you still may lose a little power and a few km of range, but that is nothing compared to the huge increase in comfort. The overall economy won´t sufffer in any noticeable way.

-Why go against the market and the local preferences?

Not sure your post even borders on accuracy, have shopped for many cars and trucks all offer manual or automatic, automatic usually costs between 50000 and 75000 more than a manual and worth every baht.

Yes, you are right. My fault! Seems like I have missed the tenor of this thread. It seems like all others were saying: Automatic? Nope, manual ist he way to go in LOS. Thais love it and the car makers have adjusted their program accordingly offering most cars and top models as a stick shift

The OP wants a City: There is an S manual and an S AT, the rest (V, V+, SV, SV+) are all automatic! And this is the case with almost every car on sale here! The Yaris isn´t even available as a manual and the Jazz again only in the S trim. Some exceptions exist, I agree, but if you really like to buy a manual car your options are quite limited in this car market.

Automatic is much easier to drive for any new driver.

Additionally its much easier to drive in heavier traffic.

IMO: These days manual shift is for driving enthusiasts in sportier cars.... If all you are doing is going from A to B then the additional effort of changing gear yourself is really unnecessary.

Automatic in a track day car = Silly... Manual in a City Car = Silly...

In the traffic jam in BKK an automatic is really better......

That´s definately the case. When you live in a place where you get stuck in a traffic jam very often or when there is a lot of traffic, then an auto gear box will take away lots of stress while you´re driving. It´s just a lot more convenient. I really hate automatic cars, driving a stick shifter is so much more fun. But for Thailand it´s a wise choice to go auto.

-Almost every car in Thailand does have an auto gearbox as standard equipment, only the base models are available as a manual. Most cars even are not available as a manual at all. Most cars and pickups will give you the auto gearbox already when you upgrade just one trim level. They are alomost forcing you to buy an auto or you are stuck with the most basic models. There are exceptions like the Toyota GT 86, but I wonder how many will opt. for the manual (which is so much better)

-It will be more easy to resell, more people are interested in an auto gearbox. As a wild guess I´d say 75% of the driver´s or more wouldn´t like or get along with a stick anyway.

-Fuel efficency, you still may lose a little power and a few km of range, but that is nothing compared to the huge increase in comfort. The overall economy won´t sufffer in any noticeable way.

-Why go against the market and the local preferences?

Pilot Super Sport ,and Sport 3 are for Hi performance vehicles. Your7700 Bht isnt in the same class, bout the same price as a quality Mich truck Tyre here..What Cars it for.?.

You might want to read the reviews AOP. This is a high performance tire with a Y speed rating. Certainly someone had to test and certify the tire, not just some made up sales jargon as would be the norm here in the land of made up specs/tales.

Only downside I see to this tire is it wears out quickly, but I don't drive that much, but when I do, I do.

But this downpoint doesn´t matter that much as it seems not so good to keep tyres in LOS as long as we would do in EU/US. I always used Michelin Alpin as my winter tyres as everything else just wore so fast and I loved them for their durability.

New tyres every 2-3 years is better than having the "best" tyre for 5-7 years in LOS? Michelins aren´t the best in wet conditions anyway and when they get older this doesn´t improve

Part of a current article in Consumer Reports magazine regarding Chinese Tire Brands sold in the USA. Maxis is a brand from Taiwan, not the PRC.

Tires are a global commodity, and many of the major brand names that Consumer Reports tests are manufactured in China. But those tires are designed and manufactured to quality standards dictated by the original manufacturers. Chinese tire brands don’t have that oversight, and some may not have the marketing foresight to design products well-suited to the specific requirements of the U.S. consumer. While we can’t address specific tire build quality, our all-weather tests show that these tires simply don’t measure-up to most of the well-known brands. The tested tires from Geostar, Sunny, and Pegasus finished at the bottom of our ratings.

The Geostar GS716 was the most well-rounded of the three, offering excellent dry braking, very good handling, and average tread life. But wet stopping performance was just average, and snow traction and stopping on ice was only fair. At $114 in our 265/70 R17 test size, the Geostar tire might appeal to a cost-conscious buyer. Better known brand-name tires average about $150. The cost savings is attractive, but we’d caution you to not gloss over the performance shortfalls, as the Geostar mustered only an 18th place finish out of 20 models tested. The cheaper Sunny SN3606 ($89) and Pegasus Advanta SUV ($95) came in a dismal 19th and 20th, respectively. These tires stop reasonably well on pavement and offer impressive hydroplaning resistance, but they have poor snow traction and just fair ability to stop on icy roads. Both models have a stiff and noisy ride, plus they wear quickly, too.

Aside from the performance lows, if value is a high priority, consider that the Pegasus cost about half as much as a top-scoring tire, the Michelin LTX M/S2. But keep in mind that the Michelin will last almost three times longer. Factor in the cost of buying two additional sets of tires, plus mounting and balancing, and you could save hundreds of dollars, not to mention get a better all-weather performing tire, if you choose the Michelin.

It is true that there are some trash tyres out there which even couldn´t hold a Tuk Tuk on track. But many Korean, Taiwanese and even Japanese (long ago) started as underdogs and were rated as crap. But now these tyres are brand names and can keep up with their western counterparts. I had some Hankook on my BMW´s and they did very well. Years ago my rubber dealer just had a blank stare at me when I ordered a set of these Now look how far Hankook has come, Hankook Ventus Evo 2 is usually in the top 5. Hankook is from Korea, so is Nexen. I think Koreans know what they are doing. Their newest N´Fera looks very promising, I think this company is developing forwards very well.

I NEVER try any tyre at random luck, as I already posted, I only buy stuff that has been tested in Germany by reputable institutions. And when even they agree that some cheaper tyre is good, I will give it a try. ADAC (german motorist association) and Autobild Sportscar magazine both tested this tyre with good results, and they are usually a little biased towards brands, specially our own ones come out at the top. Oh and they too run horror stories of dangerous chinese cheap tyres that can kill you, but Nexen are not there anymore.

These trucks without ABS are quite dangerous.

It's not just ABS.. Try just going forward in an unladen 200HP RWD truck on a wet road

Or try flooring it in a roundabout, corner, curve.

My ESP kicked in far more often in my RWD car than I´ll like to admit.