BKKBike09

If you're not busy and it's only small spots, an old credit card, a hairdryer and elbow grease will work too.

How come your child is in an advanced maths programme anyway? And how well is he/she doing in the programme? IMHO people are either good at maths or not; tutoring helps with the basic stuff, but once it becomes more advanced it's hard to keep up. You don't say where you live or what your financial circumstances are but - as has been suggested - maybe look at other school options. If you're in Bangkok I'd look at some of the bi-lingual schools or a private Thai school, particularly say a Buddhist teachings based one like Thawsi (which is an excellent school). Your wife can save face with family and friends by telling them that your child is now at X or Y private school etc. The getting up early and going to bed late is par for the course. Personally I think subjecting small kids to a daily 2-hour school run is horrendous, but many parents accept it. Another option is to insist that your child take up an extracurricular activity that isn't learning-based. These days, having good grades from a good school isn't all that counts (although I have to concede that in Thailand it is still seen as very important, even if the person has no ability to think critically). Seems to me that your wife has latched on to a simplistic 'child is good at maths so must do maths'. But if it turns out that your child is good at ice skating or painting or whatever, she may well turn her focus to success in that.

If the casino (integrated resort) plans get off the ground and Pattaya is selected as a location, it will get a massive boost. Bangkok Airways is taking the lead on developing UTP and in fact recently (May) announced they're putting another USD 135 million into the development company. (https://weblink.set.or.th/dat/news/202305/1219NWS250520231853130099E.pdf) The Bangkok Airways owners (Prasarttong-Osoth family) are hugely influential so I'd suspect that they have the inside track on a lot of things. But right now, yes, UTP is pretty dead. I fly regularly in their airspace and you can almost hear the tumbleweed on the Approach freq. They've still got the decaying TG A-340's parked there, as well as a couple of A-380s and B747s.

How do you know she's at work all day? Serious question, not trolling. And during the day where is your son? Kindergarten? Could you look after him on your own and work at the same time? While you may be able to leave the apartment and take your son with you, you won't be able to leave Thailand without the consent of the mother. What's your immigration status? If it was me, I'd consult a lawyer about options. I'd also go to local police station and file a report about the abuse / violence. At the very least there is then a formal record of your allegations/concerns. Good luck.

Some random thoughts after 6 months / 7500 km of BYD Atto 3 ownership (the 'Extended Range' one). Generally-speaking I like the car and would recommend to anyone looking to buy an EV that doesn't cost too much and has reasonable performance and range. Build quality and materials are good and nothing has broken yet / started rattling / leaking etc. Around town (Bangkok) it's way more comfortable and relaxing to drive than my other car (a Scirocco). Only need to charge every week or so and I would say the published range estimate of 420 km is not unrealistic for urban driving. On the highway it's still comfortable and relaxing but wallows in corners and doesn't track very well on poor highway surfaces. I'm hoping it will be improved with better tyres and a suspension upgrade. However the instant torque is great for overtaking. At sustained speeds of 110-120 kmh the range goes down considerably. I just made a quick trip to Jomtien and back: started with 95% battery and got home showing 15% and range 78km. Trip was total 300 km so basically 40% battery to do 150 km. My sense of usable range for Atto 3 Extended Range at reasonable highway speeds (110-120) is 350 km; this also tallies with the average battery consumption figure of around 17-18 kwh/100km on the highway. Around town it's around 14-15. It's important to note that the range displayed is the 'theoretical' range, not real-time adjusted based on actual use. In some markets there's an option to select a real-time estimate, but not here. Dumb. I nearly alway leave the drive mode in Sport; I've tried highway trips using Normal and Eco and don't think it makes much difference to range/consumption. I would be nervous trying to do this (a 300 km trip) in the 100K cheaper 50kw Atto. I don't really see the point of buying this model: the more battery capacity in an EV the better. Plus I expect second-hand demand will be heavily focused on the bigger battery model, especially in a couple of years when even 60 kw will seem like 'entry-level'.

Come now. Who said this was about The Orange One? What about Bush vs Gore in 2000, an election that Gore likely won, but which had the Supreme Court decide (just) that it was Bush. Back on topic - looking more and more like Pita is going to be left out in the cold, so baht may weaken further.

"critically low blood pressure" followed by an appendectomy - perforated appendix that had been leaking for some time, hence post op sepsis?

Some mistake here, surely? SHE won't drive her Merc, her driver (ie conscript) will.

Remember that many people who don't die from Covid also don't post.

Personal choice. I wouldn't bother if I was healthy and under 50. My personal experience: healthy mid 50s; 2 AZ shots in 2021 (one in UK, one here); caught Delta September that year 3 months after second shot. Very mild (no cough, runny nose, low grade fever for 2 days). Had another AZ shot in November that year only so I could get 2 doses on my UK record, so only had to show one vax document for travel (remember those days ...) Caught it again three weeks ago (positive ATK tests couple of days apart). Even milder than first time.

No prescription required. I didn't find any of the topical gels (Voltaren, Reparil, various local brands) made any difference to pain/swelling from an MCL knee injury. Voltaren tablets however ... 1 tablet completely removed all pain and discomfort for about 24 hours. But as noted in other posts not recommended for long-term use. I still get some discomfort. Usually I just do stretching exercises and use cold or hot compress, but if it's really sore then maybe a tablet. That said, an ibuprofen still works quite well, if not quite as well as a voltaren tablet.

I've still got the Atlas Batman tyres on my Atto. Have done about 4000 km since I got it in January. They're okay, but I don't have much confidence in them as far as overall grip is concerned. It's very easy to make them chirp with a heavy foot below 50 or so kmh. You can hustle the Atto along quite nicely but the stock tyres and suspension are not intended for aggressive driving. I'm waiting to upgrade the suspension before doing anything about the tyres. I've not noticed them being particularly noisy.

Maybe because it's hot season across much of SE Asia so more people gravitate to aircon environments? In Europe it's spring so more people spend more time outside? Plus people do tend to spend more time in big family groups in SE Asia.

On this specific point - not a representative sample but 10 years ago I bought a small one-bed condo in a 'good' soi in the Ekamai area. In 10 years I'd say it's 'officially' gone up in value maybe 30-35%; it cost 100,000 / sqm when I bought it. If I sold it now I'd be happy with 20-25%. But I suspect I might have to wait a long time to sell.

All comes down to budget and long-term plans. If you can afford to spend a million USD to buy a luxury riverside condo, that will probably appreciate and also - crucially - be easy to sell. Loads of wealthy Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Burmese looking to offshore cash in Bangkok property. But they want high-end. Houses can make even more money because of the underlying land value, but of course more challenging for foreigners to own. If your budget is USD 200,000, you'll be able to buy very easily. But it could be hard work to sell. If that (or less) is your budget, then I would advise finding somewhere to rent that would sell for your budget, try living there for a year, and then offer to buy if you really like it. Never forget that there is little to no planning / enforcement here. Last thing you want is to buy your dream condo and then, a year later, have the view blocked by another building erected next door. Beware condo buildings in streets with large family houses. Once the parents die, the kids invariably sell the property because they want the money. That's when a new condo on the location becomes distinctly possible. Lang Suan in the 1990s used to be virtually empty of condos; it was all private houses. Now look at it. I would generally suggest buying in older buildings: older buildings usually offer much better value in terms of cost / sqm and are often better built. Surrounding area may also have been developed already. However management of older buildings is sometimes pretty poor, and if the common fund has been run down, there's often no money for cosmetic or more major work to common areas. Buying in Europe to rent would probably be an easier way to keep quick(ish) access to the capital investment. Of course buying to rent these days comes with high interest rates for mortgages unless you're all in for cash. And in case of UK, a slew of impending legislation that makes being a landlord much less attractive.

If you're buying for the long-term, the short-term price fluctuations shouldn't factor into your thinking. Question is: if you buy gold now, where do you think price will be in 5 or 10 years? That said, unless you're buying a significant quantity (say USD 50K), gain (or loss) won't be "retirement here I come money", so ... Personally I think gold (and, though it pains me to say it, bitcoin and ether), could well see a lot of growth over the next 2-3 years as alternatives to the USD. There's just too much debt in US / Europe fuelled by the lowest interest rates for a generation. Then throw in governments printing money for covid relief programmes. Inflation takes off so central banks try to control that by raising rates aggressively ... which then feeds back into all that debt on, say, 10-year repayment terms due 2023/2024 etc. Plus you've now got China pushing more and more direct G2G trade in yuan, circumventing the USD. If you do buy some physical gold, be prepared for the disappointment that a, say, 10 baht gold bar (which will cost you about USD 10K) is underwhelmingly small.

Yes. It's comic. Wear your mask outside, where risk is essentially zero, but then doff it in a crowded a/c restaurant while you chinwag and chow down with your buddies, which is right up there in the risk stakes. Kind of like wearing a life jacket on the beach but then taking it off to go swimming because it's 'inconvenient'. I can't speak for other people. Nor am I obsessive. I just think it's daft for people to wear face masks outside. I also feel that masking young children is an abhorrent practice in any situation.

Come now, I'm surprised you haven't cited this "study" which claims that unvaccinated people are much more likely to have car crashes than the vaccinated. "... the authors theorize that people who resist public health recommendations might also “neglect basic road safety guidelines.” Why would they ignore the rules of the road? Distrust of the government, a belief in freedom, misconceptions of daily risks, “faith in natural protection,” “antipathy toward regulation,” poverty, misinformation, a lack of resources, and personal beliefs are potential reasons proposed by the authors. The findings are significant enough that primary care doctors should consider counseling unvaccinated patients on traffic safety—and insurance companies might base changes to insurance policies on vaccination data, the authors suggest. First responders may also consider taking precautions to protect themselves from COVID when responding to traffic crashes, the authors added, as it’s more likely that a driver is unvaccinated than vaccinated. “The findings suggest that unvaccinated adults need to be careful indoors with other people and outside with surrounding traffic,” the authors concluded." https://fortune.com/well/2022/12/13/covid-unvaccinated-greater-risk-car-crash-traffic-accident-new-study-says-canada-government-records-pfizer-moderna/ Thankfully, not everyone laps this tosh up: "A new Canadian study is being ridiculed online after concluding COVID vaccine hesitancy is associated with increased traffic incidents." https://cbsaustin.com/news/nation-world/study-mocked-for-linking-covid-vaccine-hesitancy-to-traffic-accidents-the-american-journal-of-medicine

Which is the right way to do it, if you're concerned that Thai Immigration will see that you - as a naturalised Thai - are still using your UK passport. Since you'll have your UK passport with you at check in at UK you can show that to the airline if they ask. But if the airline shares passenger info with Thai Immigration then it will show you traveling on Thai passport. Which is why it's always best, on arrival at Suvarnabhumi, to use the e-gates to avoid someone looking through your UK-visa free Thai passport. Incidentally, as a Brit, you are entitled to not renew your UK passport when it expires and instead get a Right Of Abode sticker in your Thai Passport. If you don't intend to travel much other than between Thailand and UK, it's an option to consider.

I'll happily stand corrected. Would seem odd not to have a shade.

The BYD people just told me that they're upping the insurance cover on the THB 1.2 million model from THB 1 million to THB 1.1 million. They came and did the usual pencil rubbing of the VIN so I guess it's true. Good news.

The Atto has a sunroof and - most importantly - a sliding sunshade. I read somewhere that the Volvo EV's don't have sunshades. That's not uncommon with some fancier vehicles but it's not good in Thailand. I wouldn't buy a car here which has sunroof without a shade.

Frankly I'd buy a new one, and not FujiXerox. I had a FujiXerox colour laser printer: fuser drum developed problems after about two years. FX service were useless (said I had to take it to them and it would take a couple of weeks to 'assess' and then a couple more weeks to fix). Found a printer repair place (this is in BKK). Spent 5K getting it fixed (printer cost 13K, a new colour laser printer of same spec was about 18K). It broke again 3 months later (something else). I ditched it and bought an HP Smart Tank. Cheap and so far (about a year) has worked well. Print quality not quite laser but good enough for my needs.

Thai Flying Club at Bang Phra - elderly but airworthy C172. http://www.thaiflyingclub.com BFA Flying Club in Pattaya don't operate C172; mostly ultralight / microlight / paramotor - all of which are 2-seat, not 4-seat. https://www.bfaflyingclub.com

I say good on both of them. Phones and social media are a toxic combination for many adults, let alone kids. Doing pretty much anything is better than just aimlessly staring at a phone.