JimsKnight

Barack Obama on TV surrounded by a horde of black clad 'civilian' troops announcing a New World Order maybe ?

Probably nothing out of the ordinary, just an eventual recovery some time in 2011...

Well said Grant.

I've not gone as wild on the drink and women as I used to.

1 wild night a month and the usual in-between scene in the bars with the girls.

Switching to a smaller city away from any of the tourist areas works wonders I find

Thai food has increased by about 5 baht from a few years back, no great threat there.

Fuels cheap again but that also means work (I work in oil and gas) is also scarce so its swings and roundabouts.

I tour a lot more on my bike to take advantage of the cheap gas.

Thai bars and kareokes are the order of the day now, they are (usually) cheaper and more fun than beer bars too

Coming from Chiangmai to spend some time and new year eve in Hua-Hin, would anyone recommend a cool place (outside of the hotel scene) where reasonable food and ambiance could be found. Thank you

you could try el murphys they have a live band on most nights and very good food at decent prices,near the bintabaht

Billy's Bar up near the Hilton also Rocks most nights

Red-line trailblazing down towards Hua Hin

Merry Christmas CBR brothers

Here's a Christmas Present for you all that I shot last month

Pretty nice machine, hate the colour scheme though.

Does it come with a tachometer?

I've seen some Tigers with just a tiny fuel gauge on top of the speedo and that was it.

I'm 50/50 on whether to dance to the ninja or the Boxer right now...

bought an offroad with no number plate,it had an invoice in my girlfriends name,

brought it round to the insurence broker,asked him could he insure it,

he read the invoive,said it had no engine capacity or engine number on it

and that he'd have to ring head office,

head office said yes because it had a frame number,

so he asked me what cc it was,

then i asked for third party insurence and every one seemed to think i was "kriat".

he'd never done it for a motorbike before,

things got a bit complicated after that,translation being the major problem,

anyway,he sold me 2 policies,one for 600 baht which i presume is compulsory insurence,

another for 1600 baht which is"dee thee sut",the best they had but nobody can explain to me what it is,

it's in my girlfriends name but i'm insured to drive even if i don't have a licence,

according to him,

and you cannot insure a motorbike for theft in thailand,

as i SAID EVERYTHING GOT BIZARE,EVERYONE THOUGHT I WAS BEING NEUROTIC WANTING THIRD PARY,

then the insurence policy came in the post,it said honda dream instead of honda TFR,

then i found out the engine cc might be 225 instead of 250 as i told him

eehhmm.............does anyone know,1-am i insured with no licence,i have an irish licence for a car.

2-can you insure a motorbike for theft

3-does it matter about the cc being 25cc less than i told him and dream being on the form instead of TFR.

i love this country,it's just like ireland 20 years ago,

thanks in advance for any info

You can insure a bike against theft, 1st class insurance usually covers this.

Yes it may seem bizarre and strange, but this is Thailand and far removed from Europes regulatory bs and smothering ways

Its a lump of metal at the end of the day and registration papers don't really change that

Well we've got he new PM in and he seems pretty decent compared to Thaksin, angry man Somchai and that geeky crony guy.

So has anyone listened to what his policies are?

I saw on Thai TV him speaking for ages and what-not but with no english translation its interesting to speculate and wonder on whats next

Less strict visa laws?

Friendlier business and work permits for farang?

A more free-wheeling approach to the bars and entertainment zones in Bangkok and beyond?

etc etc.

What a tool, first you don't mess with drugs in thailand.... second if you are going to mess with drugs, you don't cary 3kilios through international airports.... Not only does he have to get through the Thai side, he would have had to get through customs on the other end.... Airports have drug sniffing dogs...

I am sorry but this guy sounds like a jackass, once he is caught he thinks about his daughter, how about being a father first not a herion smugler....

What a tool "do you know what I mean man"

Another Warren Fellows goes into Bang Kwan, kiss your humanity good-bye there.

Like most of the captured dope runners he'll most likely be a decoy mule grassed-up by his own side...

We get the loudspeaker most mornings at 5.30. Our house is in the middle of two Phu Yai Baans so we get two different speaches and music at the same time.

My Wife tells me that where she lived once they had the bell every hour all night. so that people would know the time.

They also are from the nightwatchman who clink and clack to let the inhabitants they are out patrolling

But in all seriousness village life sucks for peace and quiet, unless you are lucky and away from the noisy folk and objects.

Taking a coach trip is bad enough with the moronic TV shows and sketches they pump out at 100 decibels! Earplugs can't even drown out the din

It's kind of exhilarating in a way, this stuff doesn't happen much and when it does, boy is TS gonna hit TF

But I think going into Condo buying is pretty crazy.

People need to realise that when things are desperate and a depression happens the CRIME rate goes shooting up as well! As foreigners we'll need to be especially careful if this meltdown continues.

Pretty good man, sure looks a lot better than my pics on the Drag racing last year.

Did you shoot any video though?

Video maketh the day my friend

Whereabouts in Chiang Mai was it held?

Was it at 1000 year stadium?

UK the same as Thailand? Really?

Maybe, but:

UK = Rule of Law, propert rights, enforcement of contracts...

UK = Civilian control of Armed Forces

UK = Independent judiciary

UK = Professional police force (I don't think they accept bribes as often as the Thai police do)

I'm not a betting man, but if I were and forced to choose between the UK or Thai economy, gee wiz, I might bet on the Brits

Yes, but 'professional' doesn't always mean 'best'. (think police state and control of population). Give me the laissez-faire BIB anyday!

'Civilian control' isn't always a good thing, just look at some of the recent blunders the Labour government have made. The military covenant (the government of the day promising to look after soldiers etc) has been broken six-ways til sunday and more!

By that same token at least the Royalty in LOS still actually does something openly rather than kow-tow like British Royalty does (most of the time).

Yes the UK has a 'few' adventages, but believe me these are being erased slowly but surely alas.

The £ is going down, but its part of the PTBs plan so we're just along for the ride folks...

It happened many years ago, an action of mis-spent youth and a skateboard resulting in a deadened tooth nerve and a world of hurt for a few days.

Years later it came loose and the tooth was pulled.

The result - A huge gap in my mouth and a lisp! Not what I exactly planned for in lifes rich tapestry.

However the all helpful doc wistfully made up a fake denture and in it went. This was back in Europe but I always felt the need to completly make up for the lost tooth with a full-on implant.

You know the ones, Liam Gallagher had one done when a brawl resulted in him loosing his front tooth, less than a week later he had a titanium implant drilled into his mouth and a shiny new tooth where it's unfortunate predeccessor was.

They are pretty established on the dental scene and most places have them, even in the provincial cities.

Well today I started on the road to getting my very own replacement tooth. Back home the cost would be in the region of 130,000 to 180,000 baht for an implant. But here in Thailand the price is a more reasonable 60,000 to 100,000 baht.

I took the plunge, spoke to the Doc, asked him a bunch of questions, settled on a (rough) price and got booked in.

I make sure I get assurances that if there are any major complications he'll fix them free of charge, just in case.

First came some X-rays, no big deal there, then came the nitty gritty a few days later.

Now getting an impant is no simple process like a filling, but not overly complex either. The (upper) jaw bone may or may not be sufficent to take the implant directly, in which case a bone graft will be required. This sounds pretty drastic but its typically only a small amount (a gram or so in weight). This will add a few thousand baht to the cost. The other factor is time.

Thats right you have to have plenty of time on your hands to get an impant, once the implant is in place the Dentist has to wait 6 months before inserting the replacement tooth into the implant. So the typical 2 weeker tourist will maybe struggle if they are gunning for an implant.

However, shorter courses of treatment are available, but this will cost you more as the Dentist has to use a different type of implant (more sophisticated I guess). For me I opted for the, get-it-done-in-four-months option. This added another few thousand baht to the price.

Well today was D-Day for going under the knife and drill at the surgery.

On walking-in the hospitality factor was laid on, water was brought out but after a short period it was into the surgery proper to meet Dr Drill!

Dr Drill was, as I expected, Chinese Thai. He looked professional and clean-cut and after brief formalities it was down to business.

First came this green cover-thing that obscured most of my vison, at first I didn't really like this as I like to look and see whats going on but I suppose its a comfort-aide for the patient and prevents stuff getting on you etc.

Then came three injections, these didn't really hurt, except the last one in the roof of the mouth. I'm guessing they use ultra-fine needles that don't pierce the skin as much as the wider ones, or maybe I just got lucky?

The local anaesthetic took seconds to take hold, much faster than back home. After rinsing out the Dentist wasted no time, out came the knife and he started cutting back the gum to reveal the bone. This was the most disturbing part, for it took several deep cuts and was pretty crazy. I've had teeth drilled and root canal surgery done, but having the gum deliberately cut back and mildly feeling it was pretty new and radical for me. This was certainly going under the knife alright!

The anaesthetic (still working in) took care of 80% of the pain though and I only felt it a little bit. Dr Drill seems more Willy Wonka than sweeney todd and kept asking if I was alright, did it hurt etc etc.

After a minute of the knife treatment came the grinding part, which took an age. Then the bone graft was applied. This is important as there is a risk of the bone rejected it, hopefully not in my case though...

Then came the drilling for the implant. After a while I settled in, I was a bit apprehensive but not too worried. After this the Implant was inserted and the cut gum was stitched up and I was told to rinse out.

X-rays were taken and I got to take my first look at my new friend...

It looks pretty cool, in a bionic kind-of way I guess, but it is was it is and the titanium means it will anchor a new tooth in rock solid.

Several more appointments with Dr Drill were made to check up on the implants progress, although the implants enjoy a 95 - 97% success rate the implant still needs to be checked for the next 4 months. So its the waiting game now folks. My old denture tooth wouldn't fit in the recess due to the implant. No problem though as Dr Drill lived up to his name and ground the plastic denture down until it fit again!

As personal touch Dr Drill gives me his home phone number, the Willy Wonka treatment continues! Wondering if a golden ticket awaits on my next visit I take it, hoping I don't end up a screaming wreck when the pain-killers wear off or should the implant fail.

This is the cocktail of painkillers, anti-inflammiterys and anti-biotics I've got to take! dam_n, they never mentioned this when I was making my decision to get the implant

They also gave me the name of a powerful antibiotic (as they've run out) from the local pharmacy.

I paid half the 70,000 baht and left the clinic.

So I roll on down there, the numb effects causing a slight drool effect! Like after a filling but more so as he's injected me 3 times!

Shockingly, when i get to the pharmacy the extra antibiotics cost me 1,080 baht! I was a bit miffed but it's not like I can argue really.

But the next time I see Dr Drill I consider buzzing him on this and see if he can weave a discount, afterall, .

So now it's wait out the music to see what next week brings...

PS. The pain for the next 4 hours is nearly unbearable (mostly from the third injection) and the bleeding (from an injection, not the cutting!), while not bad, still is enough to annoy, but the extra painkillers I take help wonderfully though

An interesting article on the recently introduced helmet law in Vietnam:

Hanoi

A law enforcing crash helmet use for Vietnamese motorcyclists has saved more than 1,000 lives and prevented over 2,000 serious injuries in a year, the World Health Organisation said today. But the WHO stressed that the law must be enforced for under- 16s, many of whom now ride as passengers without helmets because of a widespread and misguided belief that helmets can damage their necks." Thanks to the introduction of mandatory helmet laws there are more people alive today to enjoy time with their family and look forward to Tet ( Lunar New Year) celebrations," said WHO country chief Jean-Marc Olive ."The alternative does not bear thinking about," he added in a statement, released one year after the helmet law started to be enforced with fines." There is no simpler message - helmets save lives."

Attention must now be turned to the vast numbers of Vietnamese children who do not wear helmets when they are passengers on a motorcycle. "WHO said National Traffic Safety Committee statistics showed that road traffic deaths had fallen by more than 1,400 and serious injuries by over 2,200, by the end of October 2008 compared to the same period a year earlier. New regulations now also give police the power to fine motorcycle riders and passengers who do not correctly fasten their helmets and those who wear helmets that do not meet national safety standards, said WHO.

The UN health agency said it was working with Vietnam on a law to penalise adults who allow children to ride on motorcycles without helmets.

The authorities in Thailand would do well to emulate these actions.

Yeah, just what we need, more control and over-regulation telling people what to do.

Let the people chose themselves what they do with their lives not some tin-pot beaurocrat.

We have quite enough of that back in Euro-land thank-you very much

The Hua Hin Biker Week Video is here:

http://www.livevideo.com/video/OnTheRoadTh...biker-week.aspx

And here:

http://www.ontheroadthailand.com/HuaHinBikeWeek.htm

PS youtube link to follow (once I've uploaded it).

Here's the video:

Well, I raise my glass to the new PM, I lived here under the Dems before Toxin and it was pretty rosey then boys

Lived in Thailand during the TRT bs, not that rosey.

Now the Dems have re-taken power things should get a little more comfortable for us.

Think nightlife closing times and immigration laws

Personally I would tell them to mind their own business.

That is precisely the wrong attitude and one that will get you untold grief and the opportunity to come on this forum complaining about the police, the procedures, the coffee and just about everything. No matter how much you'd like to tell them that you have to remember these people in these times have the power and capability to <deleted> you upside down, inside out and back to front.

The best approach is to politely answer their questions exactly as asked, offer them no additional information and remain calm.

Yes you might consider this approach to be demeaning and an affront to your manhood but, given that the alternative might be a missed flight and a night in custody, it's worth putting up and shutting up.

Especially airport police - they have far reaching extra powers.

As a teenager I made the mistake of telling Gatwick police to fuk off and mind their own business... silly me... learning experience. You have no rights at British airports, local bylaws take them away!

That's pretty much how it is at international airports, you're in limbo and the magna carta laws (uk) are meaningless there.

I haven't been grilled yet but I've seen how fully armed with sub-machine guns, sidearms and taser pistols the police are very much para-militaries these days.

Police state is very much the way the PTB are going so expect more questions bs from the boys in blue.

Just play it like a game and answer their questions, get creative and start waffling about noi's buffalo farm in Nakhon Nowhere etc etc and watch how they'll soon lose interest

as is... life - live, the clear demands on why having foreign husband should make it clear to everyone "recruiting" form this "walk of life", it's a deal, for her to climb the social ladder and build a better life, NOT necessarily love!

Yep, same old same old. Nothing new here... Move along, nothing to see here folks

The Hua Hin Biker Week Video is here:

http://www.livevideo.com/video/OnTheRoadTh...biker-week.aspx

And here:

http://www.ontheroadthailand.com/HuaHinBikeWeek.htm

PS youtube link to follow (once I've uploaded it).

Contact the Dutch Beggar in Siam Square, he's looking for side-kicks I hear!

Not sure, they don't show up on the Thai Bike club roster I've got on-line so maybe they are local to either Hua Hin or Cha-am?

Good thread and post PB you may be onto something...

Ok folks,

The video is now posted and ready to rock!

It's 8 minutes long and has a bit for most of the biker crowd in it I think

Hope you enjoy

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Hua-Hin-Bike...er-t229726.html