BKKBike09

Are those actually power cables? Typically the really messy cabling is for phone / TV / Internet. The dozens of different companies offering these services often piggyback onto the MEA / PEA power pylons. Usually they also don't pay for this, so they just string their cables wherever they can. Same applies to using footbridges etc. Obviously some leakage from somewhere but presumably not a full dose of 11kV ...

Says 14-18 February. "The fun and attractive balloon events with 8 shapes 12 normal balloons and 8 model balloons plus 11 pilot’s nationalities from all over the world" http://chiangraiballoonfiesta.com/2024/index.html

Thanks. As per my response to Retardius, I've suggested he open a suitable thread for debate on this topic. Back on topic: as a BYD owner, I was also intrigued to be told by a dealer today that the 'free' servicing only applies if you service within one month of the specified interval. My Atto is up for the 12-month service now. They suggested doing it today but I said better to fix the crash damage and then do it. Since some body parts have to come from China it's going to take 2-3 weeks to fix once the work starts. I asked how much the service would cost if no longer free and was told a couple of thousand baht, so I said no problem to pay if necessary.

Since this is the 'Would you buy a BYD' thread, I think not. Why don't you start a suitable thread and then we can have it, champ.

My attitude is based on substantive professional experience of how the Chinese State operates.

City / urban use often includes expressway driving, where speeds are much higher. You can be the safest and most defensive driver around but if the guy behind you is half asleep and doesn't see that there's a queue at the off-ramp, and the cars ahead are slowing to a stop ... Speaking after some dozy tw@t rear-ended my Atto a week ago in the circumstances above. That however resulted in ATTO - 1: Innova - 0; his car cracked its radiator. The bulbous rear end of the Atto is probably a good thing. It took a beating but - fingers crossed - it's just panel damage. Car still drives fine and not throwing any warning messages etc.

My father was highly resistant to buying a Japanese car in the 1970s. But then he had served in WW2 and we had a good family friend who spent 3 years in a Japanese POW camp. In his case it wasn't resistance to change: he just didn't feel comfortable buying Japanese. That did change. I bought a BYD. With some misgivings about its Chinese origins, which I still have. The Chinese state is not a benign actor. It/the CCP is also very competent at indirect influence through channels such as funding of foreign-language media outlets, funding of academic institutions and posts etc. Personally I don't think anyone serving in a sensitive government or private sector role should buy a Chinese made car, whether EV or ICE, given the connectivity modern vehicles now have. Of course the electronics on any modern vehicle can be a vulnerability, but why make it any easier?

As others have said, she needs to be 18 to get a car DL and therefore be lnsurable. Anyway, since the insurance is based on the car, not the driver, better for you to register and insure in your name, but for 'all drivers'. Unless the insurance companies change the system, even if it gets totalled it won't affect your premiums for any other cars you own.

Some years back (6 or 7) one of my Thai staff wanted to buy a car, in her name, for her parents. She was in her mid 20s but did not have a DL. Once the dealer (I think it was Nissan, somewhere in Chumphon) found out she didn't have a DL, they wouldn't sell her the car. Go figure.

Well ... 150/152 Aerobat is. But not as much fun as a Citabria. Cage that gyro!

I wonder what the origins of that gun was.............. Probably an Interior Ministry or similar welfare programme weapon. Guy was reportedly a sub-district chief and it's the South, so he'd certainly be eligible. P365 through those programmes runs about THB 25-30,000.

Were the 15 hapless traffickers taking it in turns to shoot?

Ah, you got me there. THB 10K on Maintenance = 'stuff under the bonnet'. They did 160,000 km on the original Batman tyres + 1 set of brand name tyres (can't recall what) - so perhaps we should be citing this as evidence of how much better EVs are than ICE in terms of tyre wear ...

Given you're a stickler for detail .. actually a Pol Lt Col who is Deputy Chief of the Investigation Division at Patong Police Station. https://www.dailynews.co.th/news/2993854/

Back to EVs in Thailand - I noticed there are some YT vids about a BYD Atto 3 that's been driven now for > 160,000 km in a little over 6 months, as a test conducted by Revere Automotive. Basically it appears to have been driven pretty much continuously 24/7, apart from charging and rest breaks (they had 3 shifts of drivers a day). According to this vid (all in Thai) the battery lost about 6% of its capacity over this period. Since it would have been mostly / only DC charged, and it's generally quite hot here, that doesn't seem much of a deterioration. The cost of electricity over thr 160,000 km was less than THB 1 / km; maintenance came in at under THB 10,000. Of course this is a very short time period, so not a guide as to how the car would hold up over say 10 years, but equally if the battery isn't being only DC charged and also not being given much of a break in terms of charge/discharge, it may imply that the battery will maintain a good SOH for a long period of time. PS - I hope that girl in the back seat didn't have to sit there for the whole 160,000 km ...

Actually a lighter weight and smaller battery would be fine, if the technology gives greater range potential per kw/h and it charges fast. A - say - 40 kw/h battery that can do 300 km and charge 20-80% in 5 mins would be great. The whole 'range anxiety' thing does get a bit overblown; for me, the issue is not 'anxiety' but more the practical side of not being able to just jump in the car and head off on a long journey. If my ICE only has a quarter tank it's very easy to just pop in to a filling station. If my EV only has 25% SOC, I have no option but to go out and find a free fast charger, and then sit around for 40 mins or so once at the charger. Home charging is great overnight but no help in this situation.

I think he buckled his trunnions driving over some of that cheese.

That would be a good system. I suspect that - as EVs become more and more popular - the resale value of mass market used vehicles will drop like a stone. Being an EV owner (a BYD Atto) I hope I'm wrong, of course, but seems to me that battery/charging technology is developing so fast that - as with phones and computers - the base price may not change much but the spec will change hugely. Atto cost me THB 1.2 million for a 60kw/h battery that gives around 400 km real world range and can charge at just under 90 kwh. If I want to sell when it's three years old, I'd say a guesstimate for market value of a 1.2 million ICE at that point would be around 7-800K. Question will be if I ask that for my EV, what will be a prospective buyer's options in terms of a new EV market for that sort of price - probably quite a few cars with bigger batteries, more range and faster charging. We shall see.

Did you copy that Puntid? I'm hoping she'll include this quote from the valiant Captain, who conclusively battled to wrangle the dramatic plane to a thrilling landing: "Because I was inverted".

Especially after being in a hold over Dhaka for an hour ... and then also looking like they briefly thought about Chittagong before diverting to BKK. They declared the emergency as soon as they crossed into Thai airspace. Almost looks like they may have been originally looking to divert in DMK but then went for SVB. Would be interesting to know the full story - especially why they didn't divert to Kolkata which I think has ILS Cat IIIA/B not quite 'land in the blind' but pretty close).

UpBit had my vote until I told them I needed to change my nationality to Thai from foreign (I opened account before I got Thai nationality) ... not possible. Have to either re-verify with original foreign passport, or close account completely and start from scratch. I'm doing the latter. The re-verification process is a PITA. I haven't "requested an identity update" - that's all on them forcing it on long-standing customers who've already been through all their KYC and have local bank account linked etc. Thank you for choosing Upbit Thailand. Since you have requested an identity update via the Upbit system, we would like to inform you about documents required in the re-verification process that should be prepared before you confirm your account demotion. To do re-verification, we need to demote your account which means you have to upload all additional documents in the system referring to these criteria below: Criteria no. 1: Non-Thai Nationality Residing in Thailand (2 Documents) Please send one of the following documents : Household registration (Yellow house book -- Thor.Ror. 13) with a 13-digit identification number Work permit issued by the Thai government Non-Immigrant visa or Smart Visa And one of the following documents : ID issued by the governmental authority of the customer's country e.g. an identification card, a driving license ID via SWIFT authentication or notarized ID Employment certification together with the ID card or a company affidavit of the employer (for those who work in Thailand) Resident permit in Thailand Educational certificate issued by an education institution in Thailand

Actually I don't think said poster is consumed by fear and panic, but rather by an evangelistic zeal to 'spread the word' and, through (in his eyes) calm reason and a bucketful of stats, show the misguided majority just how foolish they (we) are. He made me chuckle the other day when one of the interminable posts included some guff about the introduction of 20 mph speed limits in Wales and how this wasn't working very well. Apparently certain personality types were questioning the 'obvious benefits' of the reduction because these people are obviously selfish and mis-guided - just like some people and how they regard Covid 'protections'!

The possibility of passing on infection to others, and those who are simply nervous of getting infected...... Those who are simply nervous of getting infected should take agency for their own protection, then, especially as they are now very much in the minority.

This should be pinned at the top of every covid thread so that the mask and needle brigade can be kept in check and brought back to reality. All too often they outsource any critical thinking to "fact checkers" with a political agenda. My agenda is very simple: autonomy. You can add to that this gem from the CDC. Don't get me wrong - I find the whole topic of Covid rather tedious these days, but it does amuse when folk cherry pick data. The chart and stat doom merchant cited bits from this very same CDC study that implied vaccination was very effective in 'protecting' etc. I found the reality to be quite astonishing: "Among adults aged ≥18 years without immunocompromising conditions, bivalent booster vaccine effectiveness (VE) against COVID-19–associated hospitalization declined from 62% at 7–59 days postvaccination to 24% at 120–179 days compared with VE among unvaccinated adults. Among immunocompromised adults, lower bivalent booster VE was observed." https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7221a3.htm So ... basically, for healthy adults, by 4 months post vaccination the average level of protection against hospitalisation is just 24% "better" than for someone unvaccinated of the same age. It's a meaningless figure anyway because it lumps together everyone above the age of 18. People under the age of 50 are, as every study shows, in any case at lower risk of serious outcomes. If a healthy 25 year old has a 1:5,000 or whatever risk of hospitalisation, a 24% increase to that risk is minimal. And if you're immunocompromised, according to this CDC study vaccine effectiveness is even worse! In order to maintain a reasonable level of protection it implies the need for a vaccination every few months. That's madness, especially when there is still no clear understanding of what long-term repeated Covid vaccinations may do to the immune system. It's astonishing how quickly people can normalise behaviours they would have laughed at previously. Of course in Thailand peer pressure and fear of being seen as 'not a good person' plays a big part in the continued masking.

Add considerate, 'Considerate' of what, exactly?