Guitar God

The Mitsu G.T. 2.0. is a regular in stock car from Mitsu, not a Gray Import bout the same price as the Civic. Well worth you looking at one imo. As for test drives in Holiday /Tourist areas they get Afternoon Millionairs pissing them about. Sure there are warts on my Honda noise wise, but nothing AC/DC cant overcome.

Which model? On their site I only see the Attrage, Mirage and Lancer.

The trouble with threads like this is that they're often posted with a "Look at me, I'm the best, I once dressed smartly and all of you in your shorts and flip flops are letting the side down" slant. and they quickly descend into "I'm a better class of expat than you" knob waving contests.....

Okay...now you've got me all self-conscious about the bad hair day I had yesterday, and the Yam chin kai juice spot on my shirt...

They can dress me up, but they can't take me out...

To each his own....not everyone is a Sex Tourist, some expats have GF's , wives and families and enjoy a full relationship, that's 'gaining the plot, not losing it.

Does having a Thai wife or gf, when you couldn't get one as young, or as attractive, or at all, in your home country make you not a "sex tourist".

When the only thing you bring to the table is your money.

Nice dream, but in no way reality.

The woman I used to date when I lived in Europe, was just as attractive as my Thai girlfriend (shhh), has her masters degree, pleasant, popular and 3 years younger. Some people prefer it here because of the weather (aside from the 14 degree days in Ubon recently), I'm one.

I opened a personal account at Bangkok bank on a tourist visa with 10k, but they needed 100k in a deposit account that just sits there until I close the account to get a credit card.

Kasikorn opened a buisness account with 1000 B , so did Thanachart bank. Kasikorn in BKK didn't want to open a personal account without a WP, same bank, different branch said no problem.

Jitar- The brochure I have says "New" Mazda 3. I don't know what the "Old" one looked like though.

Ace of Pop- We're liking the Civic, never had a Honda (automobile) before but they have a good reputation. You wrote "GT 2.0" but I thought "GT3000", I'd keep that one for myself.

The proof is in the pudding, I hope I can drive the Civic and the Mazda to compare, I'll make sure to leave my dork clothes at home. They only problem I ever had getting a test drive in was with a Z-28 IROC HO . They had a "buy it first then drive it policy", so I did. That wasn't in Thailand though. I swear, this place is like a foreign country sometimes...

Thanks for all the insightful comments so far. Based on what I've read, and after seeing the cars and doing a little research I'm leaning towards the Mazda or maybe the Civic.

My other car's a 5.5L so fuel economy isn't normally at the top of my list. The Civic is interesting but the City looks a little small. It will probably come down to a test drive, they do let you test drive cars here, don't they?

Well, this innocent and seemingly uncontroversial thread degraded into an insult-filled argument rather quickly.

I don't go to bars or get away from my work or girlfriend to socialize much. Is that how conversations between foreigners in Thailand usually go in person, or is this strictly a cyber phenomenon ?

I owned a Thai holding company for almost a year before I moved here, no problems with immigration and it made a 3 month B visa simple to get.

When you register your company that might be a good time to consider having your lawyer change the share distribution to 49% you, 48% her and 3% him. Or preferencial shares for you so you have control of the company, which I'm assuming you've financed 100% of.

Nothing anti-Thai intended but the 49%-51% I'm sure is due to Thai laws. Had you started a company in your home country and paid for all of the costs I'm sure you'd own 100% of the shares. My suggestion gets you as close to that here as possible.

I need to buy a car, I've looked at Toyota Vios G/AT 1.5L (700k) and a Mazda 3 Spirit 2.0L (825k). I personally preferred the Mazda 3 but I've heard that in Thailand, parts and service for the Mazda could be more problematic, and used Toyota's are easier to sell.

Toyota is coming out with a new Corolla Altis in Jan 2014 but I haven't seen any specs, photos or prices yet. The 2013 model 1.8 E/AT was priced similar to the Mazda 3 at 830K. There's also the Honda Civic 1.8S/AT in the same price range as the Mazda 3 and Altis 1.8 E/AT

Any suggestions?

I grew up in a place where I delivered newspapers as a kid at 4 am in 50 cm of snow when it was -20 C and I was cold in Ubon last week.

It didn't help that all I had with me was shorts and shortsleeve shirts.

It was 14C outside and maybe 15C inside. If I was alone it wouldn't be an issue but when your Thai girlfriend says "nou" when it's below 25, it's worth the 800 baht for an improvised heater.

I've flown over 130,000 miles this year so far and the cheapest in-flight Internet service I've seen was $9.95 per flight on Delta. Never saw free internet, not even in business/1st class. The connections were okay but the didn't allow VoIP. 45 satang/minute seems reasonable if the speed is decent.

I get to listen to a lot of Thai TV and my impression is that the dramas are 20% talking, 5% music, 25% women screaming, 48% yelling and arguing and 2 % silence.

The comedies are 50% talking, 25% yelling and 25% cartoon sound effects.

No wonder many Thai/ Farang couples have 2 TV rooms.

The protests at the goverment buildings by thanon Chaeng Wattana have been "Impact-ing" my business there since they started. I'm sure I'm not the only one, except maybe the entrepreneur down the street who sells rocks.

I've put over 100k miles on bikes over 1000cc without an accident in over 35 years. I had an accident in Greece on a rented 125cc scooter due to brake failure. I happily putt around at or around the speed limit, leave enough space in front of me and stay out of cars way and blind spots. Defensive driving saves my ass at least once a week from drivers who "didn't see me".

I hit a fence during a race 37 years ago at over 125mph, I straigntened the mirrors and put the tank back on and drove it home. A friend put his bike down while going the speed limit and it hit a guard rail post and his bike looked like it went thorough a wood chipper.

Other than the fact that from the damage done, it appears he was probably driving too fast, there doesn't seem to be enough evidence from the report to condem him or classify him as a threat to society who's better off dead. IMHO

I wonder who makes these, and what they're thinking?

Whoever "stylishkitty" was, they've deactivated their FB account. Suspicious.

CCTV footage showed her leaving the bar alone and entering the hotel alone? If she was being assulted, the only other explanation would be that is was by a ghost. There are a lot of them here, at least according to most of my Thai friends.

I wouldn't expect much from the toxicology reports either as there are substances that could be ingested that would intensify intoxication that are difficult to detect, even a few hours after ingestion.

I suspect she consumed more than she realized and that, coupled with heat or drinking on an empty stomach, she felt ill, went back to her hotel, went out on the balcony for some fresh air, passed out and fell. The assult may be a false memory caused by the trauma and her condition prior ot the fall.

Other than that, she was very lucky to have sustained such minor injuries.

Yes, permit, not visa. I had a 3 month visa, it just didn't get stamped when I arrived. Now I also have a multiple reentry permit valid for the time the visa is.

Yeppers. I wasn't looking for nor expecting any extension of the 3 month B visa. Just the ability to leave and re-enter during the thee month period the 3 month visa was valid for. The officer not stamping the 3 month visa correctly upon entry didn't extend anything, they modified the tourist visa stamp at the ministry and backdate stamped my 3 mo visa. It would have been easier if it was done correctly at Suvarnabhumi in the first place but at least is all sorted now.

Lesson learned is, always check your stamp before you leave the immigration window.

I had the same problem. I when to the ministry of immigration with my lawyer and first got the 1 month tourist stamp corrected and my 3 month non-I B visa stamped with my original arrival date. Then had new photos taken and went back to the same number queue and paid for and received a multiple entry visa, just in case I need to travel prior to receiving my 1 year visa. It took under two hours, just finished before all the protesters were due to arrive...

You got a Multiple Re-Entry Permit, this means that if/when you leave Thailand during the duration of your current 90 day non 'b' stamp that this 'Admitted Until' date will be preserved on your new entry stamp when you re-enter Thailand at any times up this date.

It's not a multiple entry visa, it and does not get you any more time on re-entry, it just allows you to re-enter Thailand whilst preserving the 'Admitted Until' date.

An acceptable reason for sin sod if when the parents are loosing a daughter who has helped them cook, clean, work on the family farm, family business, help with chores, fill in for them when they're sick etc.

When my father was growing up, he had chores to do before school, after school and on the weekend during planting and harvest times. Sometimes he'd stay home and miss school when work needed to be done. It's not that Thais take advantage of their children as unpaid laborers, or sell them off as property. Children in many cultures are expected to help their families if need be.

Many Thai parents have made sacrifices to raise their children so they can grow up to have a better life than they did.

My gf loves her parents dearly and feels she owes them a huge debt of gratitude. I feel the same way about my (western) parents.

Instead of spending their extra baht on gold or cars or liquor or luxury items, my Thai girlfriend's parents scrimped and saved from their meager income to put 3 daughters through college so they could have a college degree and get a good-paying job to have a better life so they wouldn't have to resort to some of the unsavory acts some other women have done in order to survive.

After their daughters have married and moved out to start lives on their own, their elderly parents are left with the same amount of work to do to scrape by, yet with six less hands to help. All at a time when they are less able to work to provide for themselves.

It's not like they have a comfortable pension or a fat bank account to rely on so they can kick back and enjoy their golden years.

A reasonable sinsod for compensation for the loss of assistance and companionship seems reasonable to me.

My lawyer got it sorted. I changed it to a multiple entry while we were there. It took less than 2 hours. Next time I'm double checking my stamp before I say thanks and leave the immigration officer's window.

The consulate where I applied said I could only get a single entry visa, my lawyer said I could pay for a multiple entry visa while I was there, I'm glad he advised that.

I had the same problem. I when to the ministry of immigration with my lawyer and first got the 1 month tourist stamp corrected and my 3 month non-I B visa stamped with my original arrival date. Then had new photos taken and went back to the same number queue and paid for and received a multiple entry visa, just in case I need to travel prior to receiving my 1 year visa. It took under two hours, just finished before all the protesters were due to arrive...

Lady taxi drivers, maybe that's the solution. 555

It would add to the cost buy at least you'd arrive at your destination without all the frustration.

Good thing the ladies aren't so picky.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

I can understand if they're ending their shift soon and don't want to drive the opposite direction, or spend time stuck in traffic when they could be making more money driving a customer to a less congested location. It's what Kurnell posted that makes no sense to me, nor money for then.

"See that building 2km straight ahead of you, on the road your're currently driving down? I'd like to go there. ". Ummmmmmmm, no". " I'll give you 100฿. " haha, no". " Enjoy deadheading, have a good day".

Yesterday I solved my problem of getting back home through an area of heavy traffic due to the protests by asking him what it would take to change his mind, it wasn't much for a comfortable 1 hour drive.

I like Muddyleopads approach too.