moonoi

Hmmm looks rather similar to the design of the terminal 2E at Paris-CDG that suffered a catastrophic failure in its structure causing an entire section of the building to collapse killing 4 people

Well its a posh taxi with fake wood trim thrown in. What more do you need to know?

Reliable but dull Shame they don't sell the 3 or 5 door Corrolla out here, looks far better and drives nicer too.

Also remember that the Altis is a 5 year old design (not sure when it came out in Thailand but thats when that body shape was released in Europe) so its due for replacement probably in the next year or so.....hence the current facelift model to try and shift the older model out the door.

Have you looked at the new Ford Focus? In terms of value for money (trim level/spec) it blows the Altis out of the water and there are plenty of service centres around......also looks nice in 4 or 5 door guise. Floorplan is shared with the Mazda3 and Volvo S40 and the engines are quite pokey too.

Thanks for the comments so far....still have to work out how many BTU unit I need for my rooms.....one of them is huge with 3 meter + ceilings so guess I'll need a big one for that

If you give me the exact dimensions of your room I can ask my technician what his recommended BTU is.

You can estimate the size here: http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/equipment/english/page83.cfm?attr=4

"A general rule is that 5,000 to 6,000 Btu/hr. models cool rooms 100 to 300 square feet; 7,000 to 8,200 Btu/hr. models cool rooms 250 to 550 square feet; and 9,800 to 12,500 Btu/hr. models cool rooms 350 to 950 square feet. Room construction, climate, and other factors also affect your choice."

Cheers Tywais, I'll check the plans when I get home tonight and give you the dimensions then

Hi Tywais, sorry for the delay getting the infomation....had a few internet connectivity issues!!

The areas of my rooms are as follows:

Family Area - 14.4 sq m

Bedroom 1 - 15.3 sq m

Bedroom 2 - 13.8 sq m

Bedroom 3 - 20 sq m

Living Area - 14.4 sq m

Dining Area - 14.4 sq m

The living and dining areas have no partition but the dining area is higher up (4 stairs), there is also an opening to the 2nd floor (so you can look from the family area down to the dining ares) so not sure how this affects the unit power.

BTW Erwin1011 using your method seems to give units that are too powerful I think....16000 BTU unit for a 20 sq m room sounds over the top to me!

You have to use an International Driving Permit (IDP) alongside your UK license when applying over here, or at least that's what I had to do in Chiang Mai. There will be stamps against each entitlement on the IDP - ie car, bike, truck, etc - and if the AA/RAC stamp you as having passed your bike test, then all you'll have to do here is the reaction/sight tests and no theory/practical, although they're nothing to worry about anyway. To get the IDP, I simply sent my license off to the AA along with a copy of my passport, but I think you have to sign in person down at the post office now - about £4 for a one-year IDP. Also, tick the option that you will be visiting Thailand when you apply. This little book then shows the Thai's that you have passed the necessary tests in your home country and together with the IDP will give the necessary collateral. The UK license won't count on it's own.

So, to answer your question, you won't be able to get a Thai bike license and avoid the theory/practical tests as the standard UK 50cc entitlement carries no weight here, or not when I applied anyway.

Note: - there is a way around this. As mentioned before, these little stamps the AA or RAC put on the IDP are nothing spectacular and wouldn't take much to copy. It's only a year thing anyway. A friend also applied for his bike license the same time as me and he doesn't have a UK bike license, although somebody accidentally stamped his IDP saying that he had one, so the Thais carried on and gave him a license even after checking his UK one saving him a lot of time and effort.

Interestingly enough when I went to get my car and motorcycle licence from chatuchak even though I had my IDP they were not interested to see it. They only wanted my uk license, maybe they are aware of people trying to get a m/c by having a false stamp in the IDP? Lucky for me I passed the uk m/c test (before they changed the rules so I only had to pass on a 125cc and got unlimited license) so no problem.

Besides the IDP isn't valid without the original license so even if you did have the endorsement in IDP but your home country license doesn't....it stills means your driving without a license...best hope you don't have an accident........

Thanks for the comments so far....still have to work out how many BTU unit I need for my rooms.....one of them is huge with 3 meter + ceilings so guess I'll need a big one for that

If you give me the exact dimensions of your room I can ask my technician what his recommended BTU is.

You can estimate the size here: http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/equipment/english/page83.cfm?attr=4

"A general rule is that 5,000 to 6,000 Btu/hr. models cool rooms 100 to 300 square feet; 7,000 to 8,200 Btu/hr. models cool rooms 250 to 550 square feet; and 9,800 to 12,500 Btu/hr. models cool rooms 350 to 950 square feet. Room construction, climate, and other factors also affect your choice."

Cheers Tywais, I'll check the plans when I get home tonight and give you the dimensions then

Hmmm so sounds like LG isn't a good bet then.

I think maybe I will pop down the local shop and take a look at Toshiba as well.

My current rented property has a Saijo Denki unit which I despise, noisy and not very efficient even after being serviced and cleaned.

Thanks for the comments so far....still have to work out how many BTU unit I need for my rooms.....one of them is huge with 3 meter + ceilings so guess I'll need a big one for that

Hi

I just bought a new townhouse in one of the Plus CityPark developments built by Sansiri.

The house doesn't come with any aircon installed, although they have buried all the pipes that are needed into the walls etc.

Now I know nothing about aircon units and would appreciate some advice. I would like to know if there is any real differance between the brands. I want to buy LG Neo Plasma (the black cool looking very slim unit), but it seems my collegues in the office and my gfs' father don't rate them (Korean crap was one phrase that was used). So are they really that bad, or is it better to go for Panasonic, Daikin or Mitsubishi....there all in the same price range, just personally I think the LG unit looks better.

Thanks in advance

mn

In my company, we got the information about 19-Apr being a day off at the same time as being told that 12-Jun and 13-Jun are a day off. The email said that the government had just declared all 3 of them as public holidays. Strangely, 17-Apr wasn't listed as a day off before that so it looks like an extra day for us

With regards to the 17th April, my company is the same was never designated as a holiday for this year. My gf tells me that the only people that have today off are those that work in part-gov/private owned enterprises such as TOT.........still nothings ever clear here so could be wrong

Anyway her dad has the day off while she and her mum has to go to work......

Well it seems my HR department / company knew a long time ago about this...I recieved this on 23rd December 2005:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

URGENT - 3 January is no longer a public holiday - April 19 is instead

Dear all

The Bank of Thailand have recently announced that the public holiday that was originally planned for 3 January has now been replaced by a holiday on 19 April for the Senate Election Day.

As our company supports the financial markets, we therefore need follow this arrangement so the 3 January will no longer be a public holiday and this will be replaced by a holiday on 19 April.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Kind regards

HR Team

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How strange that some organisations are giving differant reasons for April 19th

EDIT: You'll also find back in January in the Pinned thread about ThaiVisa 2006 downloadable calendar (edit again it used to be pinned but it seems not anymore) I asked if this day should be changed, but it seemed that most people still got the 3rd off.......

I can take a few weeks to a few months to get your white plates, the dealer will get it sorted for you.

I picked up my Mazda 3 at the beginning of last december. Just got my white plates on Monday....almost 5 months. Still waiting to get my 2000baht deposit back from them

You should check up on them, when I originally purchased the car they asked if I wanted a specific number for the plate...I said no. Then I enquire 2 months ago as to the status and they came back to me to say "Sorry we haven't done anything yet, we're waiting for you to give us a number for the plate"

The Honda I owned previously only took 1 month to get the white plate.

Have to say as much as I love my Mazda3 the service from the dealers is terrible, I'll never buy Mazda in Thailand again simply because of this Honda on the other hand were even better than the dealers in the UK!!!! Very suprised, called me to check everything was ok at 1 month and 6 months. Always called back when they said they would, even if they didn't have the information yet. Can't say if thats the same at all Honda branches though thats just my experience. I bought it from Sathorn Honda Branch. My Mazda from Mazda City (Lumpini), crap service...they don't know what they're doing or much about there own products and never ever return calls!!!!

Hope you have better luck than me!

My car come from Mazda Limpini as well, tried to call them today, no one to talk to...Songkran madness. Will wait till Monday..

Oh dear! Hope you do have better luck than me then! When I popped in this afternoon they didn't look too busy....yet my cheque still hadn't been issued

I can take a few weeks to a few months to get your white plates, the dealer will get it sorted for you.

I picked up my Mazda 3 at the beginning of last december. Just got my white plates on Monday....almost 5 months. Still waiting to get my 2000baht deposit back from them

You should check up on them, when I originally purchased the car they asked if I wanted a specific number for the plate...I said no. Then I enquire 2 months ago as to the status and they came back to me to say "Sorry we haven't done anything yet, we're waiting for you to give us a number for the plate"

The Honda I owned previously only took 1 month to get the white plate.

Have to say as much as I love my Mazda3 the service from the dealers is terrible, I'll never buy Mazda in Thailand again simply because of this Honda on the other hand were even better than the dealers in the UK!!!! Very suprised, called me to check everything was ok at 1 month and 6 months. Always called back when they said they would, even if they didn't have the information yet. Can't say if thats the same at all Honda branches though thats just my experience. I bought it from Sathorn Honda Branch. My Mazda from Mazda City (Lumpini), crap service...they don't know what they're doing or much about there own products and never ever return calls!!!!

Hope you have better luck than me!

I think that as "farang" in Thailand we have every right to express our opinions, especially those of us who are here (hopefully) permanently with Thai wife/family etc.

Personally I have spoken many times to my gf about the situation (and I don't pretend to know everything btw) never taking sides (I can't say I'm pro taksin, but I am in favour of democratic process so I don't agree with the way he was forced out). Just before April 2nd she thanked me for what I had told her, she had never before considered the reasons for voting TRT, she did because her parents did, and only knew of the "good" things TRT (note that when I discussed with her I tried to make a distinction between TRT and Taksin something Mr Taksin should pay attention too as well I think ) had done for Thailand. I told her the reasons for PADs' stand and why the opposition parties felt it necessary not to contest the election. In the end she decided to go for a No Vote, she didn't believe anyone could do a better job than TRT, however she felt Taksin was not a fit leader for TRT and for Thailand. I didn't force her to do this I merely told her the other side of the argument...she made the decision herself.

I personally don't care about what is benefcial to me in Thailand. First and foremost is what is right for Thailand and the Thai people. That doesn't mean I don't moan and complain about certain things here, it just means I know my place in society....if I want to have a voice, then I have to become a Thai citizen, something that I intend to do however difficult it maybe (and I think I do have a right to complain about the unfair treatment men vs women farang get in obtaining citizenship* !!!!!) and something I know my gf and her parents would really like. Just have to learn thai first...believe me I'm trying, but its not easy

Sorry for rambling on hope what I said makes sense!

*in case you were wondering what I mean, I'm refering to the fact that women don't have to be able to speak Thai fluently to obtain citizenship through marriage, but men do

I can get a house in Thailand easy from my future father inlaw easy as he is a big time developer, but i just dont know what job i can do over there apart from owning my own business, but if that goes sour i dont wanna be no english teacher.

There must be a job somewhere for us foreigners with decent pay.

what about working at a bar??

I would like to be a policeman but i dont like studying.

Don't like studying, Don't "wanna be no english teacher", and want to work in a bar to make decent pay?

Ummmm..Good luck youngman! You're going to need it.

thanks.

Well i guess studying for a policeman wont be hard. Plus I can make good money if I really want to from it

Except that I believe you have to be a Thai national to be a policeman here......not like New Zealand who have just "imported" 100 British coppers bringing a "collective 1000 years of policing experience to NZ"

EDIT: I forgot to add that I work in IT for an international company pay isn't western standard but is more than enough for me to own my own house (through my gf of course and yes I am aware of the risks), a nice shiny new car and still have plenty of change left at the end of each month

The puppetmaster speaks, so much for the new spirit of democracy.

Oh, rubbish.

What do you expect to happen here? Why in the world would the party that has one every election for years by huge numbers (and the leader of that party) NOT choose the next PM? If not them, who? Surely not the losers of all those elections by huge numbers. And certainly not those two senile loudmouths who are the self-appointed leaders of the PAD and who haven't been elected to anything.

By the way, I noticed that Economist's cover story this week is about Thailand and what they call the replacement of democracy here by minority mob rule. Funny that I never saw any mention of that cover story in either the Post or the Nation, and you know how both those papers love to exaggerate any mention at all of Thailand in the world press. I guess maybe nobody has seen it.......

I think you misunderstood PanzerJohns' meaning.

Of course PAD or whatever they are calling themselves now don't have any right to choose, it is for the party membership. And that is the point, Thaksin shouldn't be the one who dictates who the next PM will be for TRT, the TRT membership should be able to choose who they want to lead them.

A wonderful turn of language here.

How do you steal a house??

Sounds like the Thai mentality that foreigners will buy up their land

and "steal" it.

I get your point, however it is a correct terminology

Ahh the wonderful idiosyncrasys of the english language

Not if you speak the Queen's English.

Housebreakers or Burglars would be correct in the UK,

it depends on the time of day, one is in daylight and the other at night,

but cannot remember which is which.

Well I'm from up North, not the home counties Never heard the term housebreaker before......

A wonderful turn of language here.

How do you steal a house??

Sounds like the Thai mentality that foreigners will buy up their land

and "steal" it.

I get your point, however it is a correct terminology

Ahh the wonderful idiosyncrasys of the english language

You are entering the zone of $$$$$$$$$$$$s and back handers here courtesy of the Thai Traffic Police. Save the pain and get an International !!!!!!!!! nuff said.

Dealing with the police is no differant with or without an IDP

But I wouldn't worry about them its very rare that you get pulled anyway

A friend of mine just rented a car no problem without an IDP

I of course have a thai license.......so much easier and cheaper

Koratsteve...where do you find 97 Octane in Thailand? I've driven all over thailand and never seen a forecourt selling 97 anything.

What I have found is 91 Octane petrol, 91 Octance Gasohol, 95 Octane petrol and 95 Octance Gasohol. The only problems I've found with Gasohol (95) is that as it doesn't create as much energy I get around 50km less milage out of my car.....its works out to be cheaper to buy 95 Octance petrol at the more expensive pump price never heard of a vehicle failing to start because of it....normally the only problem associated with gasohol (apart from crappy milage) is it can course some vehicles fuels systems to degrade (the alcohol desolves seals, pipes etc)

Some places still don't sell Gasohol though.....and I've only seen 91 Gasohol at Lemon Green stations. The other places I use are PTT,Shell,Jet and Esso.

EDIT: It is true that last year the gov send it would phase out 95 petrol in favour of gashol...although like all things here is been very quiet regarding this recently......

What day is it today?

Yes exactly what was running through my mind as I read the story

Very good though George.....almost believable

Thanks for the Sat morning chuckle

Well it would be wierd to you, just as us changing feels very strange. Even after three years I'm constantly turning on the windshield wipers, when I want to use the turn sigmnals, they are just the opposite on a right hand drive car

Actually thats not strictly speaking true. Its only Japanese cars (and cars that a originally designed in a country that drives on the left) that have the turn signals reversed.

So to avoid turning on those wipers instead of the turn signals I suggest you only rent a BMW or Mercedes

I'm from Finland, but grew up in the UK (Stockport nr Manchester)

Have UK and Finnish nationality

Used to live in Paris (France not Texas ) before relocating here to Bangkok

I never want to go back to living in the UK.......its too boring and I can't stand the current gov, actually tempted to give up my British nationality I dislike them so much

For me its a good trend as I'm paid locally and transfer my savings back to europe

I'm sure theres many others like me who are also quite happy with the situation as is

Interesting then that in our office building, all our elevators have POV TV with news from iTV still reporting the original story today and not the denial by Thaksin or the government.........

Yeah my agreement is the same as well. My car is a Mazda so I'd say its normal here.

One thing though my agreement gives me a discount if I pay up in the first 2 years (Only pay the interest on the amount until the point I pay it off, as opposed to some where even if you pay it early you still have to pay the interest over the total loan term)

Have to be the RX8 for me

or if I had kids then the Evo 9 so I can entertain the family too........

BMW is a bit boring for me...only interested in the M5...but thats way out of the price range specified here

And why bother putting the Benz in the list, its an ugly underpowered sack of jelly driven by hairdressers and old people with flat caps and a pipe