richard_smith237

Damn... 6 hours ?? you can't be serious, surely ? I only ever get to the Airport 2 hours before the flight... (quite often less than that - about 1.5 hrs)... In and out so frequently... at least 8x departures per year... never even came close to missing a flight. ------ With regards to the Op ?... Why on earth booking anything 'just in case' you miss a flight ? IF in the event a flight was missed - it takes moments to book one of the many many hotels nearby the airport on Booking.com... ... This idea was never on any radar at all... certainly not something anyone would consider consider, at least I would have thought so until I read this thread.

one2car.com is usually a decent resource for such things... This shows the Toyota Commuter is readily available in Thailand. https://www.one2car.com/en/cars-for-sale/toyota/commuter

I assume you live in Davos ?

No hypocrisy, at all, the P4P industry is also illegal. Of course its hypocrisy... undeniably its puritanical hypocrisy at its finest. If the authorities are truly committed to cracking down on such activities, they should start by shutting down major hubs like Nana, Patpong, Soi Cowboy, Chokchai 4, Walking Street, Bangla Road, and countless other similar areas nationwide, along with the myriad of massage venues that operate openly. Until they take decisive action against these well-known establishments, singling out smaller-scale enterprises is blatantly hypocritical. However, the authorities are fully aware that these hotspots are significant tourist attractions and play a crucial role in boosting the economy. It’s no secret that they deliberately “turn a blind eye” to these activities - and for good reason. The economic impact of such areas is undeniable. Yet, targeting independent individuals, models and photographers, who exercise self-empowerment by being in control of their own work and earnings is not only hypocritical but also unjust. These individuals exemplify autonomy and self-reliance, and the selective enforcement against them reeks of inconsistency and misplaced priorities.

"If the van's a rockin' don't come knockin' !!!".... For what purpose do you want a 'van'... I'm assuming you mean something like a 'Ford Transit Van'... The common alternative is the Pickup with the 'box cover'.... I suspect more constructive responses might surface if you mentioned the purpose... (i.e. adaptation to a camper van, or to regularly carry large items etc)...

Bangkok doesn't suffer 'bad' air pollution year round.... its suffers seasonal poor levels of pollution over the cooler / drier months... (December an Jan) - the rest of the time its not 'too bad'.... and at times its better than other Western Major capitals.

Strange usually they send out reminders in advance Not if we only have the Por-ror-bor... But, if someone has a broker and buys 1st Class every year, then yep, a good broker will send out a reminder.

Who are those 'two main people' ????

Yes it's ball park 2k but the 6k 1st class is sensible for a new bike plus includes decent amount of personal accident medical cover Yep a decent option (1st Class) - the issue I have with the motorcycle is 'forgetting'... As in, every year, the tax runs out and I don't notice... so the insurance is also out... Its just something that seems never to register in my priorities. We get spoiled here - With the car we have an insurance broker who e-mails a month in advance with the renewal premium (so she deals with the 1st Class car insurance, Por-ror-bor every year). .... It allows us to become lazy and thats what happened with the bike, I never thought about the tax until I did... (often after expiry). Thus - it was only when I had a more expensive bike that I bothered with 'proper' insurance - since then, its just been the Por-Ror-Bor... (I think my latest bike came with 1 year free 1st Class insurance - then I switched to regular Por-ror-bor).

Compassionate thoughts GG... I'm assuming you are not in the same location otherwise you'd have arranged to meet up - still, it was nice of you to offer some advice and communication which probably meant a lot to him. With regards to the question on family. I'm from a very tightly nit family - being away has always been difficult and whenever possible, I have always travelled home twice per year.... Parents still alive, Sisters with their families still in the area - we communicate all the time and also have a good 'family group chat going'... ... That said - I don't regret being away, though I do have regrets that my Son will never be as tight with his cousins as he has not grown up with them, though there is still a clear strong bond that only family can achieve. I also have very tight friendship groups back in the UK, as I do here and over the years I've been very fortunate to see that 'group' overlap on many occasions and see 'both words' come together on various trips and holidays - its been very special to see the very close friends I've made in over twenty years of being here get on very well with the very close friends I grew up with and was at school with. Though I like to spend much of my time 'out of the way' and alone (mostly late at night once everyone else is asleep !)... to be truly alone would be horrific...

Sorry - I haven't... It was something I had with a Motorcycle about 10 years ago. Since then, I've either had 1st Class insurance with better bikes, or now that I'm back on scooter-type machine I just have the Por-ror-bor.

At home I have a large bolt driven into the concrete drive with a chain bike lock attached - I use this when we are away on trips etc - but inside a moobaan the likelihood of getting bike stolen is very slim. I think the greatest risk is when parked on the street for long durations etc. I think in shopping malls etc its a lot safer - thus vigilance or at least common sense as to where the bike is parked is also a major factor. In reality - not since my first bike here have I ever given the risk of theft any real thought.

If I'm not mistaken dedicated theft insurance is less than that - I recall it being around 1500 baht per year (for a new 150,000 baht scooter-motorcycle).

Crikey, most thieves would go to the next scooter. He's not wanting to lock up his BMW or Ducati, just a cheap scooter. From the perspective of an 'opportunist thief' just nicking any bike - then that might work. Otherwise, if your bike is 'better' than the surrounding bikes, being newer, a better model, upgraded trim etc etc... then as already pointed out a few times, these 'brake locks' can be overcome in seconds with simple snip of the hydraulic line.

Since none of the comments you listed have surely followed, will you settle for "I think I saw the one in the gold dress on Thai Friendly a few months back?" Absolutely... original and much more amusing that the repeated and predicable...

Lines? Sorry I stopped doing coke back in the 80s. Did you get help, or did you think up that golden droplet of wit and brilliance all by yourself ?

I'm just here for the... 'Too much plastic'... 'Looks like a ladyboy'... 'Too much whitening'... 'Give me an Issan farm girl any day'... comments that will surely follow...

Why oh why oh why would she overtake there with another truck coming towards her.... ...such senselessness trying to squeeze through between two trucks with a total absense of thought towards her own safety - what a horrific way to go, but really 100% self inflicted.

Thats a poor example - possibly from a cheap Chinese bike. Nearly all motorcycles now have hydraulic brakes and will not have any cable at all. The hydraulic brake mechanism relies on a lever, a hinge and and plunger - the point you made remains valid, it doesn't make much to cut the hydraulic line and release the brake.

Look at the photo's above... This actually looks like a dedicated motorcycle lane rather than a 'shoulder'... Cars are also using this narrower lane. It seems to be somewhat of a free-for all. So.. I'm not convinced that its actually illegal to ride a motorcycle on this part of the road in at this location. It actually appears to me as though local authorities have applied their own idea of what a road should be and added this lane for some misguided safety of motorcyclists.

To appear younger to employers who are looking to discard older employees for younger and cheaper workers. Happens a lot in the west. An employer will know your age and how much you cost - appearance from an age perspective is somewhat irrelevant. That said - I wouldn't walk into an interview with a beard, but neither would I walk into an interview with the hair-style I had 6 months ago... so appearances matter, but the appearance itself more so than apparent age (IMO of course).

Not sure what you mean, because bikes don't have brake cables anymore for the past few decades. They are hydraulic. The hydraulic line then - same thing basically... Cut it and the brake is ineffective. Best steps: 1) theft insurance 2) Bike Chain and heavy duty padlock (which may also extend to something solid) 3) Visual deterrent (brake like as you have) If thrives are 'opportunistic' they'll leave anything that looks like hassle and move onto the next one. If a thief is intent on steeling your bike - you can only slow them down. Ultimately, if thieves have time and are intent on taking your bike, they will - thats where insurance comes in.

awwww...... sawryyyyy... was more than two lines too much for you ??

Not really, not at all... it would be extremely easy to catch out the taxi driver not using the meter - there's a big light that turns off at the front of the taxi when the meter is in use. Just send policemen (not in uniform) to take any taxi in the Sukhumvit area after 9pm... they'd get a very high hit rate. They don't bother and thats why Taxi drivers get away with this behavior. The same would occur for the dash-cams, the BiB simply wouldn't bother with it. The sam occurs already when *everyone knows that many taxi's carry weapons. Regarding dash-cams - it would be easy for taxi's to have the cam on, without an SD card etc - very quickly the scammers would fine away around the issue and get away with it because the BiB can't be bothered. I like what they do in China - they could do the same thing here - check for Meters, check for weapons - there is nothing stopping the BiB from doing this - Perhaps other than the fact that the taxi drivers would start crying that they are being targeted unfairly etc... (*no LL, I don't have a link to prove that).

Someone has managed to get hold of your credit card details and is trying to use it. Its just that simple... and its not uncommon at all - we use our card for most transactions (from Lazada, to Airlines, shopping malls, supermarkets, restaurants etc).. Invariably we'll get stung once a year. Wife calls up CitiBank (now UOB) and tell the transaction is fraudulent - they'll cancel it and issue another card (different number) and thats it. Usually the scam 'transaction' attempt is a smaller amount at first - to see if the card is working, they they'll attempt something larger which will flag. I've had this happen to my UK and Thai Cards - scammers are everywhere and its just par for the course now. The only explanation I can see: You've used your card somewhere and the info has leaked.