superal

As is the case in the local gov; hospital near where I live , up in Issan near Surin . In fact there is a 3 tier structure for fees . 1/ Local Thais 2/ Non Thai Aseans 3/ Foreigners/ non Thai . I was admitted as an inpatient for 4 days last year and was presented with an itemised bill every early morning . The bill was a long list which charged for every nursing activity e.g. the administration of giving me pills . Also last year at the same hospital I had an eye check up along with 7 Thai patients . We went around the eye test machines as a group which took under 1 hour . My bill was 2400 baht . The Thais paid 350 baht. With regards to the queuing system in Thai Gov; hospitals , it is quite the norm to go to the hospital at 07 00 am to register and get a ticket . If I go there at say 09 30 and get a ticket , I go back home and return about 14 00 hrs . The patient waiting areas are normally full up with the patient and their families making finding a seat not easy . Having said that I attended the private Bangkok Hospital in Korat at a given appointment time but so did another 10 patients for the same appointment time . Thai hospitals cannot manage appointment bookings for some reason or are they too lazy ? If I have a more trivial medical need I go to a local doctors private surgery in town . ( there are several with senior doctors from the gov; hospital ) . Rarely long queues and a better class of doctor as opposed to the fresh out of medical school junior gov; hospital doctor .

Proper motorbike riders dress accordingly as you describe . As well as helmet and body wear items , also important are gloves , even for the moped rider because the damage to the hand skin can be bad if coming off the bike and your hands scraping the road . I remember some rockers in the UK used to have studded leather gloves on the back of the hand glove in order that in the event of coming off the bike , the gloves would glide along the road with little resistance . I have pals who belong to motorbike clubs that organise away trips and popular they are too . Not so many in Thailand ( I believe Pattaya has a good club ) but mostly in the UK

You can be the top motorcyclist riding in Thailand but what you cannot control are the ignorant Thai road users who only care about themselves and no consideration to other road users . In the rainy season there are potholes hidden under puddles , causes many accidents for motorbikes . Poorly driven heavy goods trucks , often do not give a flying fxxx about other road users especially motorbikes . Many drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs at any time of the day . I agree there are some beautiful country roads and sights to see in Thailand and driving at a moderate speed along with appropriate safety attire will keep you in good stead . Good luck .

You have been lucky never to have had an accident on your bikes . I have a UK pal who is a police motorbike cop and highly trained . Had 2 accidents , both not his fault ( cars pulling out of side roads without looking or slowing down). I have noticed that in Thailand there are quite a few expats who are revisiting their youth by riding motor bikes . Their reaction times and riding skills will have been reduced as they hit their later years . Just crazy because Thailand is the worst country in the world for road accidents . Also many tourists will not be aware of the dangers on Thailand roads . I know of 3 local expats who were killed riding mopeds in Thailand . Never worth the risk and that goes also to riding on motorbike taxis .

Indeed there was some light rain in the night but no trace of it in the morning . Power cuts are a bummer and occur quite often and always at an inconvenient time . When the cuts are prolonged , I get in the car for a run around with the air-con working . How some folk live without air-con up here in Issan is mind boggling . Yesterday my lady told me that within the next 3 or 4 weeks the temperature may hit 50 c in parts of Thailand , according to some Thai news channel . Roll on the real rainy season when I sit outside in the early evening with an ice cold beer watching the lightning and storms. . ps , We have probably met at sometime as you are very close to me .

Made me laugh Sherlock ? Find your post hard to believe but because it is in Thailand , I do believe . Thanks

Yes me too same same in Prasat . Problem being is that your town and mine do not have weather stations and have to rely on Buriram or Surin weather forecasts . Those towns 40 km away and as we know , the rainy weather is often localised . I have been fishing on a lake and a friend who was 50 meters away was getting soaked by heavy rain and his umbrella sucked up to the sky by a typhoon type wind . All the time I am in the sun with no rain or wind

Pal looking for hotel in Pattaya . Room electric is not included and is on a seperate meter . The hotel charges 25 baht per unit . That would be a hefty bill when checking out if you are unaware of electricity charges in Thailand .

When a school ( in my town ) provides motorbike sheds for their under aged , non licenced pupils motor bikes , it kinda makes you understand why there are so many fatalities on Thailand roads. Apathy , traffic laws ignored and little if any enforcement of road safety / laws .

But they do . Many times I have seen motor cyclists wearing face masks and sometimes they wear a crash helmet too .

So 28.53% of accidents were caused by drunk drivers , therefore 71.47% were caused by sober drivers . So are sober drivers more likely to have accidents . Thai logic applied .

I have been told that a process called " Velveting " can make any cheap cut of beef into a tender succulent meat . It is a process used by many Chinese restaurants .

Was there a ban on travelling in the back of a pick-up a few years ago but then rescinded . It is a way of life up here in Issan especially with the farmers and poorer folk who travel around in unroadworthy old pickups . Plus of course the under aged motor cyclists and non helmet wearers , the complete disregard and ignorance of the road user laws because as you say there is no enforcement only spot checks for tea money . Ironically I was stopped by a bib because he said my lady was not wearing a seatbelt and at the same time there were a few pickups going past , all with passengers in the back . He was not concerned . It's all about the haves & have nots and to serve the money people and keep down those without , thus low education and high annual death rate on the Thai roads . No effort to make changes to improve fatality rates . Collateral damage ?

Then there is the small box to tick that states you have read and understood the " Terms & Conditions " . Talk about reading War & Peace . I have been put off signing agreements because of the Ts & Cs which could be easily used against a claim .

Totally agree with your comments . In a public space the local council should be under a duty of care to the public . The stairs are there to be used and therefore should be maintained along with adequate lighting ( auto solar power lighting is all the rage now ,cheap and easy to install ) . However unsafe features can be found all over Thailand especially on pavements , cowboy electrical installations , balconies ect ect . Maintenance is not in the Thai dictionary and it seems that apathy and laziness rules here . There should be an international list of countries safety standards , status and record that may be overseen by a non- bias panel . If there was such a list I think Thailand would be low in the league . It would appear that some of the comments are from members who have truly adapted to the Thai standards and forgotten their own countries higher standards .

Your extensive post mentions motorbike taxis which are used by holiday tourists and even long stayers to a large degree . 9 times out of 10 the passenger will not have a crash helmet because we are only going on a short ride to another bar as an example . Straight away the passenger is not insured and the taxi motorbike will almost certainly be uninsured for passengers . Many passengers will have had a few drinks and the insurance company will use this to avoid any pay out , under their intoxicated clause / under the influence of alcohol .

Up here in Surin province the police stopped the refilling of gas bottles for a month for some unknown reason . The effect was that replacement bottled gas was difficult to find but a new bottle with gas already inside was available at 2950 baht . I watched some Thais gathering old wood to make fires for cooking .

They may have motor bike insurance at best but for passengers insurance , not a chance . On two occasions I have been in a situation where I asked the taxi bike owner about passenger insurance and both times they said no , cos not needed for their taxi licence . Also in doubt would be a farang here on holiday , who had an accident whilst a motorbike taxi passenger , and tried to make a claim on their holiday insurance . 9 times out of 10 the passenger has no helmet , nor dressed to be on a motorbike . I avoid them like the plague .

1475 baht including delivery but now out of stock from Lazada . What do you expect to pay ?

Yes , I did my order from PipingRock about 9 months ago using the Lazada shopping site . Took about 10 days to arrive up here in Issan .

I think most of us will share Roosters frustrations with Thai drivers behavior and inconsideration to other road users , however it is all down to the government's lack of driver education plus lack of enforcement of the traffic/ driving regulations . Here in Thailand cars and motor bikes are bought with the same mentality as buying a TV . There is little if any driving tuition , along with complete disregard of the laws for road use . Many vehicles neither insured , tested or taxed and only the police road blocks will find them ( many road users dodge the blocks or pay an unofficial penalty and then carry on as before ) . Can only speak about my experience in the UK where the driving test is both a written exam and driving a car with an examiner plus a free booklet called the Highway Code . The roads are patrolled by police and the laws enforced with " driving without due care and attention to other road users " is punishable by a fine and points on your licence . Year on year Thailand has horrific road fatalities , yet the government do nothing to stop it . Apathy rules I am sorry to say .

1 hour ago, Cricky said: I agree with you and it has to be said that most of Pattaya is not wheelchair friendly . There is little if any consideration for the disabled especially with the majority of uneven pavements with big drops at both ends . They are bad enough for the normal pedestrian and not to mention crossing busier roads .

Totally agree . Having more flights from provincial airports and not going through Bangkok every time , would be a blessing .

So true and in my location often tractors have no lights but some have a bunch of cd discs , tied with string , on the back as a reflector . Diving at night in Thailand , especially in the rural areas , is scary . Guessing that at least 50% of vehicles have defective lights or none at all . Couple of years ago my car was having the annual government inspection and I was watching and noticed that one headlight bulb had failed but the car still passed , they said because the other headlight was OK , . You could not make it up

I believe his Jewish grandfather was persecuted by the Nazi