JimsKnight

Hey gang, have the 95 octane fuel stations gone very low on the ground or are they still around?

I'm concerned with the dreaded carb. rot setting in if I start using the fuel with the 10/20% ethanol mix.

Anyone been have problems????

To my knowledge you can pay the road tax at any Land Transport office in Thailand as long as you have the book for the vehicle

Cheers Long

Queen of currencies set to skydive?

nostalgia: once upon a time there was a currency. it was strong and dominant based on the sweat of "<deleted>" and blacks slave labouring in a bunch of colonies. then suddenly the Queen of currencies abdicated (by forces unknown). deprived of her silk dresses she now stands nekkid and forlorn trying to cover her pubic hair with both hands

Spoken like a true boxhead

Heh, I used the term Queen of currencies cause there was a point in 2007 pre-credit crunch that the £ was so strong that some swiss institutes were switching to the £ and a newspaper article (somewhat forlornly) announced the catch phrase.

All the talk of 35 baht to the £ is a bit insane. People need to remember that back in the day pre '97 you could get a massive amount of things for your baht back then. Especially as fuel was sub 10 baht a litre and bachelor living was cheap as chips.

Might be in Bangkok when the tax runs out on the bike.

Just wondering if the local tax office is ok with taxing a bike which has already been registered in Chiang Mai?

Thoughts and comments appreciated..

JK

Words of wisdom from Hesiod:

From her is the race of women and female kind:

of her is the deadly race and tribe of women who

live amongst mortal men to their great trouble,

no help meets in hateful poverty, but only in wealth.

Heed it and skedaddle!

For me central bkk is overrated these days.

The best fun is in the outer areas where 10,000 baht will get you a veritable palace of an apartment per month with all the trimings.

Yeah, somehow I think the 'Almighty baht' believers will be laughing on the other side of their face once the full wave of the financial crisis hits home....

Anyone use a Tomtom in Thailand.

I'll likely be biking about the mean streets of Bangkok and really don't need the hassle factor of start/stopping for map consultation and the like.

Is software available for download / purchase locally for Bangkok?

Cheers.

Done about 130 MPH in my mondeo up north in England once.

It was kinda cool.

On the autobahn about 130 MPH in a MK1 Golf GTI a few times. Then the engine a gasket! Another story entirely...

Pay your dues early, not later.

Cause you will pay your dues, one way or another...

If they stay low, they *should* trickle down.

The other part is if demand drops, if people use less fuel, this can also have a benefit.

Mrs Wolfie just sent me a very worried message, she works in an office in the Sanam Pao area (near the BTS, next to the Channel 5 office) on a high floor (30-ish) and can see the military base opposite...

... shes just said to me they have moved 23 tanks into the area where they usually land helicopters and are making preparations for something...

is there anything special happening today that anyone knows of? Military parade or something... or should we start worrying about what happened the last time the tanks were rolled out?

Probably just keeping the tankies occupied until the end of the month when it's payday

If there was such a problem with smokers why do they have to pass laws to stop making in pubs, clubs, bars, and restaurants??? Because the proprietors of those establishment know THEY WILL LOSE BUSINESS! And why should the government have control over what private businessmen/women their establishements? As long as the employees know that it is a smoking establishment and agree to work their and there is a sign saying "Smokers Welcome" what would be the problem?

Oh I forgot, you have to impose your values on me.

If there was a wave of non-smokers clamoring for non-smoking restaurants, bars, clubs, or pubs don't you think that some savvy businessman would have opened non-smoking establishments catering to the anti smoking NAZIs? Huh? They don't because they would go out of business. Everywhere these stupid laws pass, the private businessmen lose and a substancial number of them go out of business.

We already have given you the planes, public buildings of all kinds, shopping centers, etc. What is wrong with smoking in a bar or designated smoking area? Huh? Now you don't want us to have a proper ashtray when we are in the designated outdoor smoking area, well <deleted> me! Do you have to impose your opinion of how I and a lot of other smokers live? Sounds like fascism to me.

When I am being courteous, and I am very courteous about my smoking (I don't even smoke around my wife or family), and I go find a quiet spot with no one around and no "no smoking" signs it seems that some smoke NAZI seeks me out from nowhere and does the fake coughing bit. I make sure and blow smoke directly into their self righteous faces. <deleted> <deleted>.

Flame me all you want. I know cigarettes are going to kill me. Just like the sweets, alcohol, and cholesterol are going to kill you.

STAY OUT OF MY BUSINESS AND I WILL STAY OUT OF YOURS!

I know, its only recently this 'new wave' of nanny state do-gooders have been pssing on anyones chips who enjoy a good smoke.

Before any of you think about casting the first stone at cigarette smokers go and get all the asbestos lined brakepads removed from every car and truck in Thailand. THEN come back and whine at the smokers. Some of you seem to think you're immortal demi-gods who live forever. Got a message for ya, no-one gets out alive.

The most harmful thing is the pollution from the traffic. Government scientists seem to think tests done on lab rats and chronic smoking chimmney folk account for all lung cancer and disease. Folks, it doesn't. People get old and the immune system fails and excess 'living' is what does for you most of the time.

I've seen the demon drink kill more than smoking has.

You can smoke at the wheel and still drive but not always with a bottle of vodka clouding your brain

The Oil and Gas industry

Certainly keeps my rocket ship fueled up

Latest update!

Well my escape pod never made it. Despite being processed and on its way to the Halifax it never even arrived.

I re-checked my Icesave account and my worst fears were confirmed there was the money all back in the cage like an escaped POW caught at the swiss border!

The transaction history says:

6 Oct 08 - £35k out. PROCESSED

Then two days later

8 Oct 08 - £35k in. CORRECTION!

I guess CORRECTION is the new term for stealing money in the banking world!

So it seems they've issued BACs recalls on moneys being withdrawn even before they officially 'closed' the bank.

Well guys, I guess I'm joining the long queue for the government compensation. Much as it galls me to do.

In hindsight I should of chosen a CHAPS payment and it would of missed the recall, but at the time I figured it wasn't going under till later in the week.

Glad I only had a portion of my cash with them!

Now its the waiting game, Friday is the day when they announce the bail-out plan details.

Uncharted waters I'm in now!

Gary is spot on. PPP (pi.. poor planing) is hard to feel sorry for. These individuals are in a position due to a decision they made in the past. We can always shift blame to another individual or event, but we as mature, self supporting individuals need to accept that we made the decision which led to our present perdicument. Keep a rat hole account which will bale you out of Dodge.

Couldnt put it better myself. It's not a question of mocking them; it's a question of not feeling sympathy for mature adults failing to be responsible for their own poor decision-making and planning. If people decided to leave the relative security of their western country to come here (for whatever reason they like) without adequate financial back-up or the werewithal to earn a living here, well I'm sorry but I feel no sympathy at all.

I think a more evolved individual would place sympathy on any particular situation according to circumstance, However, I must say that if the likes of your good self were to find yourself absoulutley potless then i would celebrate with glee. If their was any universal justice then you would have your much vaunted wealth withethe Bank of Iceland

Like me!

Roll on Friday!

Geekatron,

I'm not worrying man, just getting a tricky subject out in the open for open forum discussion.

Maijo,

When I said 'wealthy' don't confuse that with 'western' wealthy. Her family are middle class, not hi-so.

To be with hi-so normally entails a 6 figure bank balance (£££). At the moment I'm not quite there yet

Guess I'll leave if it comes to the crunch, who blinks first? Me, or the babe?

I always have one hand on the reins anyway.

We are suited to one another and this phase will likely pass if it gets brought up in conversation.

There have been no raging arguments or plates flying on this one.

LOL. The wonderwoman remark is quite funny.

Might get me tubes tied just as insurance

There will be no shitstorm my friend. Human beings are not animals who HAVE to bear offspring. Animals have offspring as they are creatures of habit and act on impulse with no human factor.

Also we have the free will to do what we want and the whole socialistic / conformist attitude when it comes to having kids doesn't cut it in the 21st century IMO. You choose either A or B out of whether YOU want to do it, not because some social norm dictates to you you HAVE to have kids.

I don't get the whole 'but I want kids cause I'm a woman' attitude. It's a bit selfish against the mans side of the argument. What about his needs, his independence.

I think if a Thai girl wants a farang relationship she's gotta accept some of us are not of the thai mindset when it comes to having kids out of duty.

She's known from the outset I'm not a kids kinda guy so just be cool with it man

I'm 30 and she is 27, she works and is a university graduate from a wealthy family!

She's her own women when it comes to the family pressuring her for kids (thank God!).

No kids (either of us) from a previous relationship.

She is currently undecided on the kids question. But I know it may arise in the future.

Sorry if the poll is skewed but I've presented a broad brush for the sake of brevity from a red-blooded mans perspective.

A sounding board of different answers is welcome though

Guys,

Do any of you out there get hassle from your thai woman to start a family.

For me I'm not into the whole 'having kids' deal. It's not my thing. I don't know fully why myself but it is what it is.

I guess I'm not a 'kid-kinda-guy'.

I channel all my energy into the partner, make sure she is alright and happy and feel that really is best than dividing my energy for 20 odd years with a child which needs a ton of care and extra help.

Yes I'm selfish when it comes to this subject, but that doesn't make me a bad person or selfish when it comes to others.

My take is that having children is not THE issue, people have too many and the population is overcrowded as it is. I feel if less people have kids it will benefit us in the long term resources wise as well.

I know in the east that childless couples are not the done thing but times are changing on this. Besides which the sudden global crisis and increased cost of everything just adds fuel to the fire.

Now I'm guessing, unless TV is now full of married family guys who are kid crazy that there must be some other guys in the same boat. I.E not wanting kids but wanting a companion girl / wife etc.

So what is your angle on this? Do you play it off and ignore her suggestions? Do you accept that the womanly instinct is to be obeyed? Or do you just stick your heels in and go your separate ways if it comes to a divisionary point?

I'm not in this boat yet, but I'm coming to the crossroads so to speak.

Thoughts and comments appreciated.

The poll I've added should cover the mindsets and stances typically out there.

'What goes around, comes around.'

So true.

Cheers for the updates Learjet man and co.

I've still not got the escape pod from Icesave.

It definately got clear before the portculis came clunking down though.

According to Halifax (where the money is headed to) it should land in the account tomorrow.

It is good news about the government bailing out Icesave folk. I think they are even going to bailout over the £50k mark for the big money folk too.

The drawback is that this could take a long time. At least it's light at the end of the tunnel.

It is, tragedy and it struck in a way no-one expected.

It is Alexander-esque in a subliminal kind of way.

I know the BIB like to carry firearms off-duty but this must surely ring home the hazards of carrying them while drunk.

There is no THE most interesting poster, there are quite a few.

Just because someone has the most posts / views doesn't mean (in my eyes) that they may be the most interesting, it could be they're just an extrovert type who likes to post like a machine gun.

I think Nignoy, Rambo, The Dude and Highonthai are the most interesting characters on TV. They don't say much, but when they do it's usually interesting and worth a good chat about, less is more kinda vibe.

They are single dudes on the move like me and love the adventure side of Thailand and not the static farm-mentality style. The guy with a semi-submersible drilling rig also is fairly interesting.

Some of the machine gun posters that are interesting are the dude with Stalin signing all the death warrents, Peace blondie as well cause he knows his shit when it comes to biking matters and doesn't mind sharing his knowledge.

Last but by no means least is The Discotronic Dr of Disaster (Dr Naam) also is noteworthy too!