richard_smith237

So many different opinions on coffee... For value vs taste I'd go with this comment above... (and grinding your own recently roasted beans). For perspective - I have a handful of coffee brewing options and use them all.... Breville Barista Pro Espresso machine, french press, hand held Picopresso (for camping and travelling), Bialetti Moka-pot, Nespresso (older one & wife still uses it for decaf) & a newer Nespresso Vertuoso. The Nespresso Vertuo.... is a recent purchase for use at work, its simply so convenient and makes very good coffee. I still prefer my Espresso Machine *(when properly dialed into the specific bean & roast). IMO - Don't bother with the Dolce Gusto, my mother has one in the UK and not very good at all... though its better than instant (I bought a Moka pot for there so I dont have to use the Dolce Gusto). So.. Op.. You want a Pod Machine - Hands down best option IMO, Nespresso Vertuo (machines cost about 8000 baht).

Anyone heard from Bob Smith today ??? 🤭

(In our Mazda) I was passing another car at speed on the expressway & the safety features kicked in & slammed on the brakes as I was approaching the car in front & switching to the right most lane. Scared the living daylight out of me & the car following nearly hit us & that driver was rightly furious. It’s a valid comment to wonder why the safety features of that modern EV didn’t kick in… not so much as a flicker of a brake light in the video.

Indeed.. Drivers in Russia & Thailand are the most commonly shown in those ‘bad driving’ videos.

That video is horrific & clearly shows the deceased motorcyclist being mown down at speed. I hope the Russisn woman was breathalyzed… Not s sniff if her slowing & attempting to avoiding impact - had she fallen asleep ?

Wrong… It’s called ‘Rugby Football’…. … be educated ! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_football

Not in Japan, they are more civilised Very true.... I visit Japan a lot and the degree of social consideration and conformity there is exceptionally high. What the Op has described I witness regularly... Particularly in the Middle East... It could be a goverment office waiting room, or the airport departure lounge and there's always one guy (*its always a guy) who's watching a video on their phone without any consideration for anyone else. I've seen the same thing in Thailand... in a hospital waiting room etc. The worse place I've seen such ignorance is on a plane.. a guy sits there watching a video on his phone... those around him have look of incredulity on their face... 'w.tf...How can this person not know he is disturbing others' !!! My father in-law does it at our house... MiL & FiL pop round regularly, he sits there watching stuff on his phone and I have to nudge the wife to get him to turn it down.... he has no idea of the disturbance to anyone else.

So much wrong about this post... from being completely devoid of fact, to being jumped up grass, to some ridiculous hyperbolic exaggeration... ... the mind boggles at what is really going on in some people's mind.

Not just in Thailand… Ignorant ahold are all around us… … it’s usually a fat lobby pig of a guy who behaves like this…

I wonder how Gottfid & GOAT are going to shoehorn a Brit-bash out of this thread !!! Personally, in over two decades I’ve not had a negative experience with Immigration in Thailand… I don’t expect the immi officers on arrival to be overtly welcoming, neither do I expect them to be impolite - simple indifference is the experience & I’m fine with that. I world like better longevity options & less hoop jumping for long termers… Its easier for my Wife to get a British passport than I a Thai passport (impossible for me as I don’t work here).

I’ve got the.. 1) Vitrinox Rescue tool (in the car) 2) The regular multi-tool jobby that comes to the beach with me etc 3) The 8cm Ranger in the UK - which I use for camping each year. I like them & can see the attraction of them. I’m not sure I’d get to use one regularly, especially in the city. The latter gets used the most when cooking on a fire or camping stove !!

Why ???… A vegetarian’s farts are worse !!!

Nice looking knives.. I even got a digital door lock so I don’t have to carry around a key !!! traveling so much, I’m sure if it became habit to carry the knife I’d end up getting it confiscated at airport security. Di you guys who carry your knife daily, use it daily ?

Why would an adult want to have one of these things ??? Small Willy syndrome ???

On of the reasons I don’t ride at night (in the dark). But… idiots in their phones.. or drunk / or both… Higher probability of drunks at night. PPL driving while on their phones is a real issue.

I don’t think it would be an issue as your statement would have your name on them - although obvious editing could create flags. But, what are you scared of ? Someone adding money to your account ? There are enough brick walls with these visa processes without putting up your own.

Isn't that the point of a keychain SAK? It has like 7-15 functions other than just a knife, obviously useful on a daily basis. Thats kind of the point of my question - carrying around extra items.. - I carry a very slim wallet & phone.. that’s it. Adding a knife to that is extra weight & extra bulk in the pockets… To cart around my multi-function pen knife on a daily basis vs potential for needing to use it seems slim IMO… I’d probably lose the thing too….

But you never know when you might need it. Especially for the vital task of opening a bottle of Leo...555. Need a bottle opened ? Ask a Thai… I’ve never seen such an industrious culture when it comes to opening a beer !!!

The difficulty is that the OP is overseas, so taking action is difficult. He first needs to get someone to send him an SMS & see if the issue was a his service provider or Bank.

Given the replies it’s clear a lot of guys do carry pocket knife’s / utility knives around…. When I go the the beach etc I take a Swiss-Army (Vitrinox) knife, which can be useful (in the beach bag) but carrying one around on a daily basis seems a little excessive - is it really that useful on a daily basis ? Regarding the video HarrySeaman posted… We also claret a knife in the Centre console… It’s to cut the seat belt in an emergency & break the widow.

Do you have the True iService app ? You can chat with them on that. Could your service have become inactive ? As suggested, ensure others can send you an SMS. Also, ensure the usual setting are on. & Turn on WiFi calling (that’s how I revive SMS while overseas). Obviously ensure SIM is on and on.

The utter carelessness on the roads continues- just like the Thai’s I’ve become numb to it.. If only there were a way to resolve such as effective training, effective policing & and effective follow up legal system….

The vet thing is simply mind-boggling for a society that 'supposedly' cares so much for living things... the juxtaposition between the 'face' and reality when it comes to treatment of animals here is worthy of study !

Nearly... Depending on which side of 1 year he has overstayed - the ban is 1 year or 3 years.

About 10 years ago while in Malaysia I turned my phone on (with Thai Sim) for 5 mins and received about 20x Multimedia message (in Thai) from MCOT news... when I returned to Thailand I was charged about 6000 baht for those messages (exact figure I can't remember). I contacted AIS complaining that they had no right to charge me, I'd never signed up for a news service and it was up to them not to forward messages which I have not signed up for - I was pleasantly surprised they rescinded the charges of those Multi-media messages. No one should be charged for receiving something they have no control over.