richard_smith237

I look in the mirror these days and no long have the physique I had a few years ago... .... Its not self respect that prevents me from going shirtless, quite the opposite !!!! Jokes aside - I think your point is spot on... Its about self respect and respect for ones surroundings... this carries for not just how we dress, but also how we behave and interact.

I'm glad you were able to get the cover you needed for your daughter to ensure her care and medication. --------- This is very slightly off topic - but important to an Insurance thread nonetheless. My wife and I had decent insurance cover with Bupa, this also covered my Wife's pregnancy, and the first 90 days of our Sons life. But, I wanted better cover, just in case our son was born with any congenital issues, or had issues at birth that might last longer than the initial 90 days. It took a lot of back and forth with the insurance company to line up cover for our child before he was born. I found it surprising how difficult it was to secure this cover - the insurance company covered everything, but only up to 90 days after birth and then IF something was 'not right' we would be footing all the bill (in private care) and unable to secure insurance due to pre-existing conditions. The discussion went of for weeks, until finally it was accepted that full cover would be secured for a child who would be born at some point in the following month, gender and name as yet unknown - Ultimately, we were able to 'lock in cover' to follow on from the 90 day parental overlap to avoid any possible future pre-existing conditions clauses. I'm surprised this is not a more commonly discussed point considering how many foreigners have children in Thailand. That said, given that in most cases the child is also Thai, there would be cover on the Thai system.

The whole reason I prefer to be the one doing the driving is because of the risk... Think about it - you trust someone with the education of a 12 year old driving you around ??? At least you can't fall off a taxi - moto-taxi's I completely avoid.

Its also illegal to ride without a helmet !!!...

In Bangkok, Chiang Mai etc... Of course - shirtless is so clearly out of place... on a chilled beach-Island... less so.. The same can be said of the South of France, topless women on the beach, but step off the sand and its bikini on, on the frontage its ok for men to be shirtless... Step back a block and being shirtless is a big no-no... considered low class... The same can be said in these areas in Thailand... Beach fronts etc sure, shirtless is ok.. Riding a motorcycle on island roads, its stupid, but not so culturally insensitive... drinking or eating outdoors at a beach bar - not a big deal at all... In an AC restaurant, no !!... going to the Bank, the supermarket etc.. no, of course not... Yet a beach-front 7-11 maybe not so insensitive... I think there is a 'line' in the sand, but that line varies depending upon how close a person is to the sand...

It was me who asked that - fair response !! thumbs up. I'm not sure if the incident was your fault or not or if any other vehicle was involved... IF the fault of another driver, did you get another car from their insurance to use ??? The reason I ask... my Brother in Law just had his car smashed into (while it was parked) - 100% the other drivers fault, fully insured etc.. but my Brother in Laws car will be off the road for some time... (I'm guessing a month, but given your story it could be longer)... I suggest he contacts the other insurance company and demands a car to use in the mean time as he needs it for work - but he doesn't want to press. Meanwhile my motorcycle was off the road (within warranty) and it took a month for a spare part and I had a 'loaner' for a month (which I hardly used as I ride a lot less these days but it was still convenient to have). Thus - bringing this back to topic - when getting a new car, perhaps its worth investigating insurance and making sure a loaner (vehicle) is provided if the car is damaged and is stuck in the garage.

Not quite true... The DLT checks only occur once the vehicle is 7 years old - so anything 'younger' could be in quite a state of disrepair. Additionally, the checks made at the DLT are rudimentary at best... A number of years back, I saw them only checking emissions... they didn't check brakes or headlights lights, wipers etc... they did check the chassis number !...

I think he means 'utter co<k womble'...

You must have been overwhelmed with excitement when you discovered that clip !!!...

And while all of that is true… If one simply asks: In which country are the greatest number of honour killings reported? The answer is, predictably, Pakistan. Thus, while it is fair to acknowledge that honour killings occur across various cultures and religions worldwide, the reality remains that some countries, such as Pakistan, are disproportionately associated with these abhorrent acts. Deeply entrenched patriarchal norms and cultural practices are often culturally justified under the guise of Islam and perpetuate these heinous crimes.

OK... So AXA refused you cover for both Health Insurance and Travel Insurance because you are on statins. ... therefor your assumption is that all others will refuse you cover - I see. Is this AXA Thailand or AXA International ? Statins wouldn’t cause me to have an accident would they ? That was the point I was making - your comment made no sense.

You're going to have to think better and try harder than that....

What do you mean? Nothing - he's trying to obfuscate the discussion... Of course there is 'Health Insurance'... He may call it something else such as 'Medical Insurance'...

OK... so someone else pays for it. When someone gets you a beer, I suppose you think its free ! Thats good - I wonder how non working foreigners can get on this system... Take a local job for xx months / years... get on the system. Retire - and remain enrolled on the system - though I'm not sure what other history is required (I'm sure its not this simple).

When UBER was still around, I ordered an UBER Black and was picked up in a BMW M3.. ... the driver spoke perfect English, said he likes driving and was doing this for fun !!!!! I've recently been picked up in a Lexus RX300, driver again spoke excellent English, kids at a good private school etc... He was driving for fun !!! It seems there are a handful of such drivers around...

He attacked them with his face ?? "He attacked First"... ok, so I'm sure something is lost in translation, but this reads that they are admitting they attacked him in retaliation after he (the bed ridden patient) attacked first. So much wrong here - there is very little that can cause such bruises on a face like that, other than getting punched in the face... ... The Son needs to move his father out of this facility and into another place if available. The Police do need to investigate thoroughly... and social media needs to makes sure this happens.

You made no effort to elaborate... Thai Social Security... you were being deliberately obtuse, you could have been referring to social security in your home country for all we know (many posters pretend they are in Thailand). And... Private Health Insurance - its not free (so thats misleading information)... Your company Pays for it ! My Health Insurance with Cigna is also paid for by my company - If I were to pay for it, the yearly premium would be approximately 300,000 to 350,000 baht per year. -------------- Going back to Thai Social Security - I think it would be an excellent development IF long term foreigners here were able to pay into the Thai Social Security System and secure the same cover you have. What happens when you retire ???... Will you still be able to get heath care from through the Thai Social Security system ????

There you go - that wasn't so hard was it.. You pay 750 baht per month towards Thai social security. Which is the maximum cap... Your employer will also pay 750 baht per month. Treatment can only be secured a the 'primary selected' Government Hospital Selected (or a Private institution which participates in the Social Security scheme) - unless emergency treatment or medically referred. I'm sure others who work here have similar cover - but this isn't 'health insurance'.

Why would he mention French... he's an anti-British bigot... not and anti-French bigot... If there reports were of a person speaking French fluently... there would be nothing to trigger his boring rhetoric.

If thats a photo of the victim in the Op - thats terrible reporting.

What about ice ??... ok ok, not in Thailand.... Oil all over the road then. There are situations whereby we can easily lose control of a vehicle due to and unexpected surface. I recall driving over in Chantaburi / Sa Keaw area... the road had recently been resurface, not with asphalt, but concrete.... but astonishingly, some genius has made the road extremely smooth, not the usual rough concrete. ... It was raining and I hit that stretch of road at a fair speed... Then saw the signs (in Thai - slippery surface) - it was slick, but fortunately very little traffic - I was scared to touch the brakes and just slowed down gently, I could feel how slippery the surface is. In this case - due to the road works, I suspect the road surface may have had gravel and debris all over it... which first caused the rider to come off... then caused the car to lose control and skid.

Motorcyclist lost control after hitting road works. Driver, approaching quickly, also lost control at the same point and rolled into the motorcyclist. It would seem car hit the same road works causing the loss of control... perhaps unmarked road works, which is not uncommon here at all... mess from the road works, gravel on the road etc leading to skidding...

Easy - if the driver was driving using "crossed arms" to turn the wheel. I have seen this many times in Northern Thailand. Can lose control. Crossed arms causing loss of control ???... I'm often surprised at some of the stretches of the imagination used on here to explain various behaviours - and this one is right up there !!!

When not at a beach, I see more Thai folk without shirts on... usually its the very poor older Thai's guys, so everyone gives them a pass... On a 'beach-Island' such as Koh Pangnan or somewhere like Koh Samet, I don't think its poor form or 'disrespectful of Thai culture' at all to be shirtless... but, of course, going into a Bank in those area's is of course impolite. Also, going shirtless in many cities and towns is of course polite. BUT... it seems with this example, a few people are trying to shoe-horn in their faux-outrage so they can feel offended on behalf of the Thai's... Its a bit pathetic !!!

You're more than welcome to if you have any comment to make (as you have here). I'll pass comment on subjects or other comments as I see fit... and your comments were, IMO, wrong and nasty. Sure... but your comment was simply astonishing... blaming the victim here - I don't know how its possible to even think like that - it seems you suggest the Moto-rider was in the right to beat up a woman. For someone who works as a rig safety guy and is respected by a whole crew, its astonishing that you present such a logic disconnect... the response is so surprising, its difficult to understand why someone would think like you have. Neither have I - but, I also avoid them... I know people who've had issues with these guys, plenty of them are unstable, just like taxi drivers - and I know decent guys who've been attacked by both taxi and moto-riders. The simple way to deal with these guys is to never show even the slightest negative reaction to anything they do - and why do we have to behave like that ???/..... its because we know they can go from zero to incendiary in the blinking of an eye, especially when they are fuelled up. I agree with you that the Russian woman 'might' have been out of order.... her tone or words could have been strong enough to generate anger... but does that justify a beating ???? ... so, I'd ask you based on your earlier response - is there anything that justifies a man beating up a woman ? or in this case, the moto-taxi stopping and beating up the woman ? What if this were a Thai woman or a woman from another nationality? would you opinion remain the same ?