richard_smith237

I'm curious about this comment SF... What level of skill-set could the motorcyclist have utilised to prevent the pickup from attempting to pass on a blind bend and then taking him out ? I don't see that the motorcyclist was positioned poorly. IF on the outside of the the lane (right most side) the motorcyclist would have been too close to the centre line and risk being hit by cars coming the other way cutting the corner. IF on the inside of his lane the (left most side) the motorcyclist would not be able to see around the bend as well. By positioning them-self in the centre, the motorcyclist is in the best position. The only way to avoid this is not to be on the road in the first place.

He wasn't... the motorcyclist was in the middle of his lane, just like the other riders ahead of him.

After reading your above comment I had to watch the video to ensure I'm not going off my rocker !... You're definitely a big 'something' anyway... (jest). I can't see how the motorcyclist was possibly at fault - he was positioned in the centre of the lane and gave himself a better view around the corner, his positioning was correct. The utter idiot in the pickup had no right whatsoever to attempt any passing manoeuvre on a straight road with oncoming traffic like that... to do so on a blind bend is simply mind-boggling. No amount of defensive riding can protect you when someone is driving like this. The pickup driver needs his head smashed in and his licence removed.

I wouldn't worry about it... A copy of a passport is needed for most things in this country... There are 100's of copies of my passport floating around various banks, government offices etc...

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Been there are few times over the past couple of years (my passport and sons). I can't remember it being an issue at all. I think they just ask you not to use your phone...

Stopped off in Ireland before setting sail for USA Who cares... 4k all to do with the Rugby WC....

Agreed... there was no need to set the groups so early... The same could be achieved setting the groups just a year prior to the event based on rankings at that time. This WC has been favourable to an under-performing English side.... I just hope they can reignite the magic they found against the Puma's in their first game.

By whom ??.. any solid link to confirm this ?? Not criticising your info... just looking for facts that I cant find... everything I'm reading states diesel.

'Some' of them are highly objectionable.... just over the brow of a hill or just round a bend.... forcing 3 lanes (or two) of fast moving traffic to suddenly slow to queuing...

Yes, that's also my experience. Odd really seeing as both Agoda and Booking.com and a few others are owned by the same outfit Its not odd... we have not yet learned how to adjust the settings on the web page. The info from this thread has already pointed out that we can change the settings on Agoda so that it shows the full price after tax...

Awesome clarity, that !!! To whom are you referring ?

Agree.... its often of no surprise whatsoever that some of the beaten bitter men posting on this forum are 'beaten and bitter.'.. they parade their misogyny with a sense pride and seem to have no concept that is is likely their underlying broken attitudes which placed them in the situation they find themselves in, in the first place....

On the Agoda Website - you can select your preferred currency (at the top of page), in that pop-up you can select: - Base price per night - Total price per night On the Agoda App its slightly different with three options, select preferred currency (at the top of page)... options are: - Total Stay (includes taxes fees) - Average Price Per night (includes taxes fees) - Base price per night (room rate only) (I never knew about this until this thread).

Same here, no proprietary, grossly overpriced Apple product for me. How has this turned into an apple bash ???.... sites don't price based on the brand of device you are using... thats just some nutty paranoia...

Realistically - its all a bit of a mishmash... no one site or one single method or booking is consistently better priced than the other... Agoda is good for browsing, narrowing down your choice and getting an idea of the price range etc... once the search has been narrowed down, sometimes the same hotel / same deal can be found on another site (or direct if calling) for a better price...

Because one more donut shop is going to make a load more fat and unintelligent people, right ?

The comment is somewhat 'throwaway' without an explanation. We had a less than wholly positive experience a couple of years ago with an Agoda booking. We'd booked a nice hotel in late 2020... shortly before our stay the hotel e-mailed us that the pool and restaurant would be closed (due to covid regulations) - Pool and restaurant were operational at time of booking. The booking was non refundable. I cancelled the booking and asked for a refund, which was at first rejected by the property (info passed on from Agoda). I argued 'change of contract' as alterations where made to the facilities which were available at the time of booking. Agoda agreed to the refund and offered 'Agoda-cash'... I rejected and pointed out that I didn't make the purchase with Agoda cash and thus expect the refund directly to method of payment. Agoda agreed and refunded... But, it was an unnecessary hassle and something that should have been resolved, instantly, professionally and without the back and forth which just irritated a customer. That is just one semi-negative experience on an otherwise very handy platform that delivers for the customer every time (nearly).

The linked article over-eggs it somewhat... It happened at 9pm yesterday evening... has the child even seen a playground since then ????

Poor child... I hope she makes a full recovery and is young enough for the trauma of this incident not to stick. Escalators are dangers and need to be treated with greater respect than many 'every-day' things we encounter - sometimes this is forgotten with the naive complacency. I wonder what type of footwear the child was wearing.... Footware such as crocks and soft rubber flipflops etc are lethal in such settings. We don't own crocks (both wife and I think they are hideous things) and we never wear flip-flops in the city or at a mall etc... (flip flops are for the beach or going going to the pool etc). Also, from a very young age our son was 'taught' about using the escalator and travelator - to stand in the middle of the step, pay attention and 'step off it'.... all common sense.... Not wishing to victim blame here, but I wonder how careful the parents were with their child on the escalator. As another poster mentioned, how often do we see kids sitting on an escalator or with their feet close to the edge etc and parent do nothing?

The DUI checkpoints and the Helmet check points are of course a good thing, IF they actually work... But they don't.... the Police just take a fine and allow the rider / driver to continue - this is not safety, its just money. We don't see the police riding / driving around and pulling people over for no helmet... we see helmetless riders at traffic lights infront of a police booth and the police do nothing. We see drivers who appear drunk, can't stay in their lanes and drive erratically... Police officers behind them or passing them etc on a motorcycle do nothing. We see riders and drivers jump lights in front of the police who do nothing. We see polluting busses / trucks belching out smoke and the Police do nothing because they have the 'sticker' which shows they have paid the bribe. Once we get down to the nuts and bolts of it - policing in Thailand has nothing to do with policing and everything to do with supplementing their otherwise meagre income - this behavior is so ingrained, the BiB act with overwhelming entitlement. over, they get paid. ------------- In over 20 years, only one time have I known a moving vehicle to be pulled over by a Policeman (in a car or bike) - we were travelling in from the Suvarnabumi Airport in an AOT minivan.... A policeman on a motorcycle pulled the van over - I wanted the driver to exit the motorway at the next junction instead of stopping precariously on the side of the road... he wouldn't.... I was furious them (both policeman and driver) placing my family and I in such a precarious position. The reason for the stop... (something I've never heard before) - Minivan taxi's are not permitted in the right most lane of the motorway (complete BS IMO) - the Policeman demanded 200 baht from the driver.... IMO... this was outrageous lack of safety awareness and appeared to be disgusting corruption.

Because it has, for about the past 15-20 yrs. YMMV Check points stop everyone... i.e. there's a general checkpoint in the road, you are in a queue of cars and they either wave you through, or pull you to the side for further checks. There are also 'some' check points that have speed checks earlier up the road.. but, most 'checkpoints' are not for that... they are for Tax, licence, drugs, DUI checks etc... And whether you are 'legal' or not has no influence on whether the Police officers pulls you in for further checks... What does have influence is: a) Your tax is clearly within date. b) The Police officer can see clearly into your vehicle. c) The Police officer does not see anything untoward in your behavior etc d) Presence of a dash-cam can also influence this. e) other factors influencing the Police officers profiling. Note: IMO, in over 20 years driving here, being a foreigner in a car actually has a positive influence on this outcome the vast majority of the time, the BiB are simply not interested in foreigners in cars (IMO)..... But, in area's outside of Bangkok with lots of foreigners (Patong / Pattaya) it would appear that the police are more brazen and seem more inclined to pull over foreigners on motorcycles.

That could well be it... dash-cams keeping them honest perhaps so they have to look for other things... tax being the obvious one... and DUI.... ... But, if they really cared about DUI they'd be breathalysing every person involved in an accident as a matter of fixed policy and fines would be significantly higher, they' also charge 'fleeing the scene' with a greater penalty than DUI.

On the subject of traffic check-points themselves. In and around Bangkok at least, there are much less than there used to be. Never an issue though, I never once felt that 'foreigners' were being specifically targeted... I have always just been waved through, sometimes asked where I'm going, but thats about it.