So you can't have elephant rides or play with them on the beach anymore?

So how is 500lb of daily feed goingb to be paid for?

What happens to the elephants here now?

Do you want to see "elephants steaks"on the menu boards?

Be careful what you wish for

If I recall

at the time, the difference between an RS which had to have a sunroof

and the EL without sunroof was about a B100,000 and I felt paying extra for something which we have already found a problem and actually never used, in previous cars NZ was not a good idea.

By the way, we reluctantly agreed to some coating which had to be a applied 4 times, 6 months apart. It has actually been very effective and definitely keeps the car sparkling and rarely does dirt accumulate. Our car is pearl white colour.

Hi Niltava

We picked up our HRV- EL in February 23.

Would have bought an RS but I won't buy a sunroof vehicle after having owned one. Can't see the point, the brightness coming in from the roof doesn't help my vision and one more thing to cause problems, rust etc. 

But we are delighted with our HRV-EL.

Lovely to drive with excellent vision and good handling.

Heaps of power even in Econ mode and Sport mode really sets you back in your seat.

I thought the electric mode was a bit of a gimmick but my son had an ICE HRV in NZ and I really liked the driving position, handling etc and as the HRV in Thailand only came in Hybrid, I just went along with it and ordered it.

The economy is outstanding, petrol wise and I live in Patong so it is all stop start traffic etc.

Fun sitting at a standstill in traffic enjoying the aircon and not having the petrol engine running.

Done about 10,500km absolutely trouble free of course (it is a Honda)

I have enjoyed this EL so much I bought and picked up a ZRV in NZ in January and that is even better but not yet available in Thailand I understand. 

About 8.15am this morning a foreign looking guy and a girl, who may have been Thai, were rolling around in the small waves on Patong Beach this morning. Looked like a bit more than a heavy grope session. Certainly looked out of place at that time of the morning and there was a group of people including young kids about 70m away and others as well.

A couple of Thai guys and myself had stopped and one of the Thai guys walked down and from the gestures, told them to stop with lots of pointing to other people on the beach etc. After a bit of back chat, they stopped and started to get out with the girl trying to adjust her clothes.

It was the inappropiate time and place.

i have no problem with sex, nudity and it would have been a boring life without trying sex on a beach, but this was not acceptable even to my very liberal views.

22 hours ago, Lacessit said:

There has been a 12% increase in crime, type unspecified. According to Google, New Zealand is quite low on the crime list, generally regarded as one of the safest countries.

Please post a link to support your claim there has been a huge increase in gun crime in New Zealand.

Unfortunately there are no up to date statistics on firearms crime in NZ and it is a very deliberate policy of the previous government to understate crime. 

However there are plenty of reports from last year, and when I was back there last month, there were daily occurrences of gangs using firearms. An armed carjacking within 200 meters of Govt house in Auckland went almost unnoticed in my suburb.

Compare that with when I left school when most houses had guns and there was only a few murders in a whole year by any means.

Try this article from last August.

String of fatal shootings sees NZ reach half its annual gun deaths in 17 days

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/300947528/string-of-fatal-shootings-sees-nz-reach-half-its-annual-gun-deaths-in-17-days

15 hours ago, StreetCowboy said:

when there is an active terrorist insurrection funded by donors from the the USA, it is challenging to prevent violence.  Were shooting incidents more common in Northern Ireland at that time (per capita) where there was an ongoing terrorist situation, or in the USA?

 

Not the issue.

The issue was that despite extremely tight laws and penalties, random vehicle searches etc, gun crime in Northern Ireland was higher than any where we could find reliable figures for.

As a matter of interest NZ changed its gun laws after an Australian terrorist who did not meet criteria for legal ownership tragically killed 51 people in Christchurch.

Since the laws were changed there has been a huge increase in gun crime despite legal owners like myself surrendering, in my case valuable target rifles, as our govt told us it would reduce gun crime.

What a load of rubbish and tragically police and civilians have died and been injured as more and more criminals carry guns in NZ and use them.

Unfortunately we can compare with our NZ experience.

Bangkok Phuket Hospital was excellent for my 2 nights in January.

My wife just attended a top private hospital in Auckland NZ, Mercy Ascot, and being a clean freak she thought the Bangkok Hospital was a better standard of cleanliness. To be fair, Mercy Ascot is an old hospital and there are wide staff shortages in NZ.

Cruise ship arrivals for those who are interested.

Great being on the beach and watching them arrive around the southern headland and coming in to berth.

Not so pleasant with all the passengers on shore but heck, we have Patong everyday and these poor passengers only get it for one day.

• Spectrum Of The Seas

  4.819 passengers

  28 Oct 2023 - 08:00
• Spectrum Of The Seas

  4.819 passengers

  04 Nov 2023 - 08:00
• Spectrum Of The Seas

  4.819 passengers

  11 Nov 2023 - 08:00
• Resilient Lady

  2.860 passengers

  16 Nov 2023 - 09:00
• Crystal Symphony

  1.040 passengers

  18 Nov 2023 - 08:00
• Spectrum Of The Seas

  4.819 passengers

  18 Nov 2023 - 08:00
• Celebrity Edge

  3.373 passengers

  23 Nov 2023 - 10:00
• Spectrum Of The Seas

  4.819 passengers

  25 Nov 2023 - 08:00
• Celebrity Millennium

  2.590 passengers

  02 Dec 2023 - 07:00
• Spectrum Of The Seas

  4.819 passengers

  02 Dec 2023 - 08:00
• Spectrum Of The Seas

  4.819 passengers

  10 Dec 2023 - 07:00
• AIDAbella

  2.500 passengers

  11 Dec 2023 - 08:00
• ms Westerdam

  2.362 passengers

  11 Dec 2023 - 08:00
• Norwegian Jewel

  2.866 passengers

  13 Dec 2023 - 07:00
• Spectrum Of The Seas

  4.819 passengers

  14 Dec 2023 - 08:00
• Seven Seas Navigator

  557 passengers

  19 Dec 2023 - 08:00
• Celebrity Millennium

  2.590 passengers

  19 Dec 2023 - 08:00
• Seabourn Encore

  638 passengers

  20 Dec 2023 - 08:00
• Spectrum Of The Seas

  4.819 passengers

  22 Dec 2023 - 07:00
• Celebrity Millennium

  2.590 passengers

  25 Dec 2023 - 07:00

5 busloads of mainly chinese tourists disgorging onto the pavement outside the Best Western at 6.45am this morning. 

The pontoons are now set up in the bay so it appears the cruise ships will restart in the next few days.

At least Jung Ceylon is nearly completely open so that will soak up some of their time.

The local businesses certainly need more custom and I hope they get it.

The large number of bored looking girls outside massage parlours, empty bars and restaurants all need a boost.

The great thing about Patong is we can hop in the car and be away from the tourists in 5 minutes.

If you haven't been on the newish concrete road on the left, at the top of Patong Hill going towards Kathu, you need to go up there.

Great scenic shots looking down on our little town and the bay, world class. Then carry on over the top of the hill and keep right and you will end up back on the main road or turn left at the sharp corner at the bottom of the hill, drive through the elephant camp, turn right and come out at the back of Kathu.

Very pleasant drive, albeit a bit steep in parts.

On 7/30/2023 at 6:13 PM, Guderian said:

 

Sorry, double posted

On 7/30/2023 at 6:13 PM, Guderian said:

Glad to hear a positive review! From what the salesman told me, the only differences between the RS and EL are:

 

17" instead of 18" alloys

manual seat adjustment controls

no sunroof (hurrah!)

no fancy chrome front grille

no wireless phone recharging pad (that doesn't bother me at all)

 

Is that really the lot or did he miss anything out?

 

The other thing is that he claimed apart from these relatively minor things, the body and engine are exactly the same. So in principle, if I wanted to spend the money, I could replace the 17" alloys with 18". Is that right?

Yes that looks like the differences.

The 17" wheels ride better than I thought and that is around the crap roads in Phuket.

I'm back in NZ for a few weeks and are taking a ZRV out for a test drive this afternoon. Available in ICE or Hybrid. I'll look at the Hybrid model. There is a 6 month wait if I decide to get one.

To confess I really don't know the difference between the HRV and ZRV but I only have a few days left so I booked a drive yesterday.

I'll report back later

Picked up our EL HRV Hybrid without the sunroof in February 23

Delighted with it but would have happily bought the RS except for the stupid sunroof.

The EL is very comfortable to drive, the switch between battery and ICE is seamless and we are getting incredible economy. In the crazy Patong traffic I feel very smug sitting quietly burning no petrol.

11 hours ago, BritManToo said:

By locals ..... you mean all citizens of your country?

By locals I mean local city residents who are in the rate paying area for the council

that runs the zoo. 

Las Vegas locals enjoy great discounts from casinos, shows etc because the businesses know they want the full time residents to support and attend the venues etc. Good business sense.

9 minutes ago, grs90 said:

But do they charge someone living locally extra just because they are foreign, even if they have lived locally for years?

Not at this stage

but NZ govt is trying to bring in Co Government which will effectively means one race will be getting advantages and prices over all others. 

Not a big deal really

The locals should get it cheaper, happens in Las Vegas too.

Our local Zoo has differential pricing as locals subsidise the zoo in their rates.

The biggest change is for New Zealanders living outside of Auckland who will now pay the same price as international visitors with ticket prices jumping from the current $24 to $35/adult and $20/child 

Aucklanders who purchase tickets on the day of their visit will now pay $29/adult and $16.50/child 

All the info above is accurate and the process is not difficult.

Just a word of caution, have a friend who converted from a retirement visa to a married visa last year and the extra paperwork, photos etc has annoyed him so much he is converting back to an ordinary retirement visa next application. He has been married and lived with his lovely wife for 15 years plus, so very stable relationship.

A simple traffic police stop near the police box in the middle of the road before going up the hill

for every truck would have a couple of useful functions.

Many of the trucks are coming long distance and the police have a chance to look for obvious signs of tiredness and other impairment. (Just the same as they often check me on the Rawai/Patong road)

They would also check for the correct class of driving licence for the truck.

They could also remind the driver of the horrific number of traffic deaths on Patong Hill and instruct him to use lower ratio box and low gears to not only go up, but also to descend the hill until they are past the Wat at the bottom.

Was watching a Thai man shift crocodiles in a pond at a farm in Phuket.

He was standing on a 150mm wide plank across the middle of the pool and herding them with a long pole. The crocodiles in this pool were 2m to 2.5m long so fairly sizeable and there were 50+ crocodiles still in the pool.

He was facing the deep end of the pool and suddenly from behind him,a crocodile lunged out of the pool and tried to grab him by the leg. It bit his gumboot but he managed to shake it off and retain his balance all in the fraction of a second. He got off that damn plank very quick.

The crocs in the pool were all excited and he would never have made it out alive if he had gone in.

I'm not sure if he was shaking but we both were. A very scary experience just to watch let alone be on the plank.

The biggest problem with Sleep Apnoea, as I understand it from my personal tests is not so much the breathing issue but what happens when you stop breathing or even worse, choking.

Looking at my heart monitoring in the hospital it showed what happens.

The body immediately reacts to lack of oxygen and goes into full recovery mode and pumps adrenalin right through your body. The effect on your heart is huge and a strain on your heart.

The problem with Sleep Apnoea, in my case, my oxygen was stopping several times in a matter of

minutes so it doesn't take a rocket science to realise that that strain on my heart meant I was not going to last as long as I possibly could and should.

The machine also means I don't go to sleep talking on the phone (even with the most boring of calls)

don't go to sleep at traffic lights ( not really a problem as the guy behind helps by honking and waking me up) but the real benefit is my wife is not lying there waiting for me to choke every night, and a wife with no sleep is not that great.

So I view a CPAP machine pretty positively.