richard_smith237

Thanks lomatopo, those were my exact same thoughts! However, I am reluctant to throw them away because a number of them are pretty new and I did pay quite a bit for them... so I figured I'll store them away until I can find a good tailor that can do such alterations at a reasonable price.

So do let me know if any of you have any specifc recommendations, thanks!

In the bottom of Emporium, parking lot level, is probably the best shop in town for alterations. Level 3 I think, at the back near the lifts, cant remember the name.

I'm also looking for shirt alterations. bkkjames, is this shop you described in Emporium an 'over the counter shop' i.e. where do they measure you up for the alteration etc ?

I need a couple of shirts 'slimmed' - taken in at the back to prevent them bunching up at the front when wearing a suit....

Road education in General - Thats for Pedestrians, Motorcyclists and Cars.

I see people walking down the Soi in the middle of the road total oblivious to a car coming up behind them (don't they care for their own safety).

Just yesterday while turning left I had to slam on by brakes (and nearly got rear ended) as a motorbike driving down the pavement shot across the road.

Sorry so say this - but I have very little regard for motorcyclists when they behave like this. The lack of regard many have for their own safety frightens me out of my skin.

That said I guess there are many safe and conscientious drivers and riders out there but we only tend to remember the bad ones the following day.

I suspect your tune would change if a drunk driver rammed into you head on

It was actually a sober driver that rammed into me head-on four years ago. If she had been drunk, maybe the outcome would have been better for me afterwards, rather than the mai-pen-rai, he's a foreigner, too bad, should not have come to Thailand to have the accident? Either way, the front end of a car at 100km/h hurts just as much no matter what the driver has in their blood.

Surely you can't be serious with that comment?

Being drunk increases the chances of someone being involved in an accident. With more drunk drivers on the road statistically you are at greater risk of getting involved in the type of accident you have just described.

Not true, there is no statistics on how much successful drunk driving goes on, the ratio could be the same as sober driving.

Don't common sense and research tell us that alcohol impairs our ability to function? Surely we or anyone else are at higher risk of being involved in an accident after consuming alcohol.

It's unmeasurable how many accidents are avoided through being sober, but if it were measurable, I'm sure it would be less.

Drink driving is just one aspect. Personally I would like to see far greater driver education - Driving carelessly, dangerously and antisocially is a pet peeve and I would like to see this dealt with more seriously here as I believe this itself probably causes more accidents than alcohol (but again is unmeasurable).

SeanMoran: That sounds like a terrible accident, it also sounds as though you were treated very unfairly. Fortunately all of those people I know are treated fairly when it comes to accidents etc.

But once again it goes to show that driver education and penalties for those driving carelessly might help avoid situations that you faced.

I'm not sure how far along the road to recovery you are, however, I wish you a full recovery nonetheless.

When it rains it seems that the traffic is slowed down by a factor of 4…

i.e. a normal 15 min journey takes me more than an hour. Earlier today after heavy rain my normal 15 minute drive from Emporium (at 6pm) took more than an hour….

My thoughts on this are…..

There is a switch that people over here seem to turn on when they get into a car. I call it ‘F$%k You’ mode.

Not only don’t drivers give way, but I get the feeling that there is some subconscious form of competition where against all conscious logic letting people go or giving way to someone just doesn’t happen.

Driving at Rush hour this subconscious level seems to be exacerbated by further competition of more cars on the road and thus people become even less inclined to give way and more inclined to block.

As the traffic gets worse, acts of general kindness in giving way seem more rare than in times of traffic flow.

Then the rain comes and the drivers subconscious upgrades from ‘F$%k You’ mode to ‘F$%k You even more’ mode…. And the traffic pretty much comes to a total standstill.

To me it seems a case of Mob Rule… The mob’s (us drivers’) own worst enemy is the Mob (the rest of us drivers).

The individual has the intelligence, but that is overcome by the fear that they will be the only ones to let people go and hence their journey will be slower than everyone else’s.

I believe that TV adverts and some driver education could help a lot and the benefits of people spending less time on the road and more time at home or in the office are self evident.

Regardless of the above – In simple terms when it rains traffic is a Right Royal Biyatch…

Your thoughts ? What causes the terrible traffic when we get a bit of water ?

first. gorgeous thais dont know how to cook!

2nd 100,000 a month?

3rd its not that hot......

First - Yes they do, and some very well... Roast Lamb, hmmmmm

2nd - 100k per month is not a lot and just provides a hand to mouth existence with a few luxuries (i.e. dining out, wine, car, nice apt etc).

3rd - Its not that hot, but is very humid even this time of year.

I suspect your tune would change if a drunk driver rammed into you head on

It was actually a sober driver that rammed into me head-on four years ago. If she had been drunk, maybe the outcome would have been better for me afterwards, rather than the mai-pen-rai, he's a foreigner, too bad, should not have come to Thailand to have the accident? Either way, the front end of a car at 100km/h hurts just as much no matter what the driver has in their blood.

Surely you can't be serious with that comment?

Being drunk increases the chances of someone being involved in an accident. With more drunk drivers on the road statistically you are at greater risk of getting involved in the type of accident you have just described.

For some reason I thought my tax was due up in November - So, at the end of October when I was pulled up for my tax being 2 months out of date I knew the cop was on the make hoping I'd just pay and go. It was quite amusing and I laughed, played along and argued cheerily that no way was it out of date.

It turned out that my Tax was indeed two months out of date ! it cost me B100 to the Police Offer and my thanks for spotting it as I really didn't know it was out of date.

I got my tax updated the following day (Valid for 12 months from the original expiry date).

It is my understanding that IF your tax is out of date and you are driving TO the department of land transport then you will not get fined. However, articulating this little grey area of the law to a Policeman hungry for his bribe maybe easier said than done.

A few days ago my Girlfriends cousin got pulled over for going through a traffic light as it turned yellow.

She ended up in a blazing row with the BIB claiming they were just on the make for a bribe and that going through on yellow is not an offense.

The wouldn't give her a ticket - they just demanded the 'fine'...

Its my understanding that you should 'stop on yellow unless unsafe to do so'....

(which in thailand means never cos the bikes and cars behind you are so close you'll get rear ended if you surprise them and stop on yellow !)

The Jammers may be used by the professional car thief.

Not many private cars use a GPS tracker (it seems no one on this forum does), so I would assume that any potential opportunistic car thief will not have a jammer.

The idea of having a GPS tracker is to track the car in normal use (by the driver).

Additionally it would be to locate the car should for whatever reason the driver decided to attempt to steel it.

The fact that GPS Jammers exist is not reason enough not to get a GPS tracker which IMO is still a useful precaution.

Anyone have any further info ?

Not for the Banglampu area...

But I have had veneers and teeth whitening a few years back at Tantrakit dentists in the All Seasons Shopping next to the Conrad hotel.

After and excellent and professional service I'll head there again this month and take a member of visiting family.

Teeth Whitening as common as it is should be at a good standard at any reputable hospital or private dentist practice.

It serves it's purpose when I am in a rush - I eat which ever is most convenient or nearest.

i.e. in a shopping mall then its KFC or McD. or Burger king. If its out and about, on the street somewhere then some street BBQ satay sticks etc does the trick.

We could all live without fast food, but its also a convenience many of us sometimes use when time dictates.

With regards to health and environmental issues - much of that is down to government and market forces...

i.e. in the UK we can get a relatively decent Salad from McDonnalds, I've yet to find that here.

Regarding litter, many of the containers are cardboard and more environmentally friendly than the old polystyrene boxes, biodegradable bags are available in the plastics market but the government does not push this. More can always be done to educate these companies and the consumers but generally it has to come from higher up.

I use TOT 4MB package at B890 per month (which includes free phone calls up to B890). I purchased a separate wireless modem, everything works fairly well.

I expected more from the speed. My GF says her 4MB true internet is better and streaming movies (utube etc) is seamless whereas with TOT there are constant pauses while streaming.

the http://bangkok.speedtest.thaivisa.com/ speed test (from Thai Visa.com) gave me the following results...

It seems slow today...

Download Speed: 564 kbps (70.5 KB/sec transfer rate)

Upload Speed: 141 kbps (17.6 KB/sec transfer rate)

Latency: 667 ms

3 January 2010 17:17:52 GMT+07:00

I love em.

However, if I wore them without socks my feet would sweat, and then every step step I took I would do a kinda foot fart.

And crocs with socks look wrong.

So Birkenstocks for me from now on.

Tom.

Foot Fart !!! LOL ....

Its Birkenstocks for me too....

It's immoral but possible. It just takes someone in the correct department to enter someone's ID / Passport or details as 'Black listed'.

The only way to tell is to enter the country.

I just looked at getting belongings insurance for my condo and met with a company...

The level of cover I require comes at high cost. I have figured its just easier to replace items myself than pay high premiums for something that may or may not happen only to find out there are clauses which excluded that specific event (i.e. theft by a maid).

I have BUPA medical insurance and they have direct settlement with many of the hospitals - although thats not yet been tested.

It’s worth a try to apply for the Thai Licence.

I applied a month or so ago.

I had the type B Visa, the Letter of Residence from my Embassy, the Medical certification, British driving licence and International Permit.

The Department of Land Transport processed me rather quickly. I’m sure they didn’t pay attention to the photocopies of my visa page and wanted a copy of my British licence only (not interested in the Int’l licence).

I would suggest to the OP to get his letter of residence, get his medical certification, and go down to the Department of Land transport and make the application.

I obtained a letter of Residence from my Embassy and a quick medical at the nearest hospital.

Does anyone have any experience with a GPS tracker for their car in Thailand?

I'm interested in getting one for my car that can....

a ) Place its location from my mobile phone and laptop.

b ) Override the ignition system shut off the engine should the driver stray suspiciously out of Bangkok.

c ) Be concealed.

Does anyone have advice regarding models, installation, use (tied into the car battery etc) ?

The Cold is a virus... it needs to be present in the air to catch it. So regardless of the temperature if there is no cold virus present you will not catch a cold.

There maybe optimum environmental conditions for the survival of airborne viruses.

I am not Thai, never will be Thai. I have lived here 20 years and am about as adapted as you can get (better be or you go crazy, and since I am only marginally insane, I guess I've done alright) and yet I still understand that I am not a Thai person and that I will always be my husband's foreign wife.

Either you live with it or you leave. But banging your head against the brick wall is only going to give you a headache and won't have an effect on the wall whatsoever.

Couldn't agree more. Unless you can change your appearance to look like a Thai, you'll never be accepted / treated as a Thai. I'm fortunate enough to speak Thai pretty well - to the extent that if a Thai person can't see me, they quite often think I'm Thai. Then they see me, or ask for my name if it's a phone call, and suddenly I'm a falang who can phuut Thai chat maak.

But so what? Why would anyone want to be treated like your average Thai anyway?

Foreigners sometimes get a raw deal here - again, so what. Westerners still get treated better than most Thais, and most of the time when we don't get treated as well as we'd like, we're still usually getting treated no worse than the 'average Thai', whoever he or she may be.

20 years ago I used to work with one of the sons of Dr Puey Ungphakorn. Dr Puey's wife was a Brit, and the kids looked pretty Western, particularly Peter, the guy I worked with. It didn't matter at all that he was Thai, spoke Thai fluently and without any accent, and was the son of a very prominent academic and bureaucrat - almost every Thai who didn't know him assumed he was a foreigner. I asked Peter once if it bothered him: he told me that he'd stopped worrying about it long ago and just accepted that was the way things were.

So, to repeat the advice below, either you live with it or you leave.

Happy 2010 ...

IMO this pretty much sums up most issues quite nicely...

I also like the 'stage 3' comment further up the page... its the healthiest state of mind to be in over here. I have always seem more similarities than differences over here in Thailand - but thats because like anywhere else - there a good people and bad people, its simply luck of the draw who you get. And for us Westerners sometimes it works to our advantage and sometimes it works against us.

At a funeral a few months back I was quite astonished at the lack of regard shown for the deceased, according to my Western values those paying their respects should have acted in a more solum and respectful manner.

Instead people were talking, smiling exchanging in light chat, taking phone calls - this was through the speeches. What was more astonishing is that these were members of Parliament !

So, if the senior line up of a nation behaves like this, how is the rest of the nation supposed to act ?

It is becoming apparent that amongst 'some' posturing and deliberately acting carelessly is a show of power, the rest of the nation appears to try copy this 'couldn't give a F$%K' attitude. Luckily there are many who refuse to follow this and hold onto traditional values of respect and good manners.

But they didn't act according to your western values, did they? Shouldn't that be your main point?

I've been to a dozen funerals in Thailand and saw the same things you did. You've got to take off your Western-tinted glasses when you attend these things, if you want to keep your sanity and judgmental attitudes in check.

As to the last bold phrase in your post, I would ask "whose values?"

In my experience here there is far more overlap in values than difference. Culture is often used as an excuse for poor manners and the values of common decency and respect are universal.

What I also see is that these values are disregarded by choice. If the funeral was for someone of 'higher' than those attending then I'm sure their behavior would have been quite different.

At a funeral a few months back I was quite astonished at the lack of regard shown for the deceased, according to my Western values those paying their respects should have acted in a more solum and respectful manner.

Instead people were talking, smiling exchanging in light chat, taking phone calls - this was through the speeches. What was more astonishing is that these were members of Parliament !

So, if the senior line up of a nation behaves like this, how is the rest of the nation supposed to act ?

It is becoming apparent that amongst 'some' posturing and deliberately acting carelessly is a show of power, the rest of the nation appears to try copy this 'couldn't give a F$%K' attitude. Luckily there are many who refuse to follow this and hold onto traditional values of respect and good manners.

Just had a condo finished and one of the things I insisted on was a water heater out of the way (under the sink area), rather than using those shower type heaters. From this I'll also be very very vigilant when in hotels etc that have this type of heater.

It seems there are too many electrocutions in Thailand that are so easily avoidable. I hope things start to change for the better soon, this developing country still requires a significant amount of HSE development and actions need to be proactive rather than reactive.

Such a shame and so avoidable. RIP.

I read here many times... "there's one born every minute"....

But here we are witnessing gestation too... gripping stuff...

Deal with your insurance company. Tell them where it happened and leave it to them to deal with the car wash.

Tell as many of your friends as possible about the location / name of car wash, post it here.

A similar thing happened to me when I asked Emporium car wash to steam clean my interior roof lining - The roof lining of my car was falling off 2 days later - it cost me B18,000 for a new lining - but that was kind of my own fault. Now I only get a car wash to wash the outside and vacuum the carpets.

I had a neighbor playing loud music, screaming at his GF and also at the TV. This was after living in a place quite peacefully for 5 years.

I moved out after 3 letters of complaint to the management.

I finally received a letter from the owner apologizing for his late reply and his staff's inaction, and that after having been living there for 5 years with no other complaints they would take this seriously and look at asking the offending party to move out should he make any further excessive noise (for the benefit of the next person who takes the apartment).

I would suggest that the best thing to do in this circumstance is to take a bottle of wine and the pads and ask if they could apply them, and explain why.

If that doesn't work the only realistic option is to move and take your chances in another condo.

It seems as though there are a lot of threads recently about noisy neighbors... luckily this one is simply down to building design and not ignorant neighbors.