BKKBike09

Hopefully also a subliminal message in this photo that it's safe to ditch the masks now.

Ah - I thought that was sent to you (meaning your name on the list). They don't give much notice for the interview; in my case, the MOI (actually, DOPA) rang me on a Thursday and said I was to go the following Tuesday. I ended up postponing it twice because of work commitments (me the first time, my wife the second time). So it went from June to September.

This letter (dated 12 April) appears to be inviting the recipient and spouse to attend the interview TOMORROW 21 April at 1400 in the Ngamwongwan Conference Room on 3rd floor of the Nonthaburi Provincial Office.

Phrakhanong.

In Bangkok you often have no choice as to whether you drive in flooded streets. It just needs a heavy downpour and in an hour or two, bingo. If you're already in the car, not many options. There's an argument for not driving at all when there's likely to be heavy rain, but then you're reliant on public transport. And leaving your car at home might not stop it getting flooded anyway ...

It's also going to be interesting to see how the myriad of EVs that have hit the roads in Bangkok in the past 6 months are going to fare in the rainy season. My soi frequently gets flooded to +30 cm or more. That was never fun in a low-slung car like a Scirocco. I did ponder on this quite hard before buying the Atto and am still quite apprehensive. We shall see ...

Yep, BEV instant torque is hard to beat. I also agree fully with your comment about having to drive one to appreciate the lack of noise, vibration and harshness, and how relaxing that it. Commuting to work in the Atto in BKK is much more pleasant than in my Scirocco (which does about 2-4 km/l in heavy traffic). However ... I still think that 'on the road' charging is an issue and will probably get worse, not better, over the next 1-2 years as more and more EVs compete for chargers. Just going by my experience charging my Atto in Pattaya. DC chargers are few and far between and there's invariably someone else using them if you just roll up. I know PTT has a booking system, but that can mean at least 60-90 minutes of the day gone (time to drive to/from charger + charging time). The problem on a journey from say BKK to Chiang Mai or Phuket by road will be that everyone will start with 100% charge and then want to stop for a break/charge at roughly the same time / distance. So certain charger locations will always be much more in demand than others. EVs still can't compete with ICE in terms of convenience of fueling and I'm not sure that's going to change much in the near future (next 5 years).

That's not very clear (at least to me). I'd say it basically says: "Next month I will summarise and submit for the interview. [That] should be May 2023. Up to the province to fix the date and notify" But not really clear whether he means province will fix the date for interview, or date for submission of the documents. I don't understand though why the police would wait to be asked to submit the documents? I did everything in Bangkok so no experience of a provincial application. Good luck!

Actually that test just shows someone tested positive; unless they do a DNA analysis to see if it matches his DNA, then who knows. Maybe one of his mates showed it to him and said "you have Covid" and he died of shock? If the police etc will automatically assume that a positive Covid test next to a corpse means "death by Covid", then seems like a positive test could be a useful way of covering up a death from other causes.

I can say with certainty - having lived in the city for decades - that, prior to Covid, it was extremely rare to see Thais in Bangkok wearing masks. Actually, mask wearing because of air pollution did increase somewhat in the immediate years before Covid. I suspect because of the advent of AQI apps, making data on air pollution easier to come by. But numbers were still very, very low. It's easy to prove, too, through resources like Google image search.

PTT in Pattaya. Green one is mine (I actually only went to put air in the tyres but couldn't resist the photo op).

Actually what this genius was reported as saying - according to the Thai language original - was "even though the Covid 19 situation has improved, masks are a must to protect against Covid 19 when in groups or doing risky activities". It then goes on about how people should take their elderly relatives to receive their 37th (okay, I made the number up) booster to improve their immunity. Fools.

You realise it doesn't have any internal staircases? That's kinda odd (not to mentioned inconvenient) for a 3-storey shophouse ...

Indeed. This is a better picture. Hard to claim "I thought it was documents" ... Surprised he didn't have some fawning lower-level apparatchik with him to do the literal 'heavy lifting'. I didn't think pooyai ever carried their own bags. I wonder if he'll be charged with 3,200 counts of bribery, one for each note?

If the seats are made of fake leather like the Atto ("vegan leather", as it's marketed by BYD in Europe), then a quick wipe and they clean up well. Staff on the booth told me they expect it on sale here end 2023 but pricing will likely be high. Nice looking car though inside and out (albeit another one with a pale interior that will showcase any dirt).

Exactly. Need to get a lab analysis done to know what it is. The OP's picture looks exactly like an MRSA infection my daughter picked up at her school (two other kids picked one up shortly before her). Lab analysis determined what antibiotics would work. Cleared up but took two weeks of heavy duty antibiotics. If it's a bacterial infection then trying to squeeze out the pus is a bad idea - pushes infection deeper into the tissue. Need to get it lanced and properly cleaned (if that's what it is). I thought my daughter had been bitten on the calf by an insect of some sort. Looked exactly like an insect bite to start.

That is suspicious in itself. The reg book for the red plate should reflect the vehicle currently using that plate.

Article says "According to the law, employees can refuse any communication with their bosses outside working hours unless agreed otherwise in advance." So employment contract just needs to state "employees may need to acknowledge/respond to work related communications outside specified working hours".

In Thailand, something can be true and accurate and still considered defamation. Plus put it on social media and that's a Computer Crime Act violation thrown in for good measure. Which is why defamation and CCA are both frequently weaponised by people with money.

This being Thailand, that's a good way to land yourself a defamation suit. Better to complain to a) Mazda corporate office in BKK and if not luck then b) Office of Consumer Protection Board. Complaints to a) need to be made in writing and dated.

Seal and Tang look pretty nice and are well appointed inside. Dolphin is small and TBH, for me, nothing special. I did come away feeling that, in general, BYD interior quality for Atto is a level higher than MG ZS / EP / 4. The MGs have a lot of hard plastic. Of course Atto is more expensive, and THB 150-250K more is a fair amount of money to spend extra over an MG. MG4 is a nice looking car but it is small - fitting four large adults in it would be a squeeze. Hyundai Ioniq 5 is a really good looking car inside and out. But it will be expensive when launched here (they said EOY). I expect likely THB 2.5 M+. Looked at the Volvo XC40 Recharge: very well built (in China) but THB 2.7 million is a stupid price for it. It is also loses out to Atto / Ioniq in that it's clearly not a 'ground up' build but a re-purposed ICE model. So there's a massive transmission tunnel in the rear cabin, not a flat floor. I think that's very poor for a vehicle at this price. That's where dedicated EV platforms like BYD steal a march on some competitors. The BYD stand has (tucked away at the back, strangely), a model showing the integrated battery / drive train / controller set up - which shows how a flat floor achieved. . My personal view is that Atto 3 with the 60kwh battery at THB 1.2 million is pretty hard to beat, right now, in the mid-sized pure EV sector in Thailand.

Curious that the UK versions don't have adjustable floor in the boot: "There's no variable boot floor, which is a shame because there's space for one, the boot floor is set high, level with the load lip, and there's a huge compartment beneath in which the bags for cables float around".

Good point. I might go there today. I can wave the Thai language owners manual at them because in there it says there are Dynamic / Standard modes. I asked dealership why it said this and their response was that manual was translated from the English (so I guess Oz/NZ) version and some features "no have in Thailand" (also including heated seats/, which I quite like).

If worst came to worst and I had to use it on front of car I'd consider It is a pain that Atto always insists range is 480 km @ 100%. In Australia/NZ there is the option to set 'Dynamic Range' where "estimated driving range is displayed based on the available battery power and current average power consumption". Much more sensible. But the Thai cars don't offer this option. I'm sure it must be easy enough to enable as it's only a software feature. This is what overseas owners' manual says: Driving Range Display • To improve driving experience, the vehicle features a function to select the "Driving Range Display Mode", which is "Standard" by default. • Set the mode in "Multimedia → New Energy → Energy Management → Driving Range Display Mode". • Standard mode: The driving range is displayed based on the result of the comprehensive working condition test. • Dynamic mode: The estimated driving range is displayed based on the available battery power and current average power consumption. • The set driving range display mode will be memorized by the system. • When the vehicle is powered off and then on, the display mode set last time will be maintained. REMINDER •When the "Dynamic" driving range display mode is set: » The range displayed when the battery is fully charged varies based on the energy consumption of the previous trip. » The driving range actually displayed will be adjusted based on the state of the vehicle’s air conditioner, the driving mode (ECO, NORMAL, SPORT, etc.) selected, and the driver's driving habits, so as to match the vehicle's actual driving range. I've asked in dealership whether they can enable and they said no. But maybe that will change if enough people complain. I've experimented (in Bangkok, not when I'm miles from a charger) seeing what happens when SOC gets low. When it hits 50 km predicted range remaining at around 10%, a caution comes up on the dash stating that vehicle needs to be charged. Analagous to low fuel warning light in an ICE.

I did not.