richard_smith237

I am extremely lucky that I don’t have to face that situation. What would I, could I do... I don’t know... I suspect if we are 100% honest with ourselves none of us know exactly what we’d do in many such situations until we are faced with that very situation. I would like to think I could protest against my government.... in the UK we have that luxury, in Russia such actions come with serious consequences. So... playing the ‘what if’ game.... I wonder if I’d do a runner just as some of the Russians have... or would I be conscripted and ‘shoot to miss’... another possibility... But do we really know what we would do ??? I don’t think so... and I wouldn’t want to claim any false morality with ‘what I would do’ BS from behind a keyboard... All I can say is that I understand the Russians who have escaped and come to Thailand and condemn those who still support the actions of their government.

My tax disc fell out so like you i keep a colour copy but at home to use as a replacement, going to transport office for a replacement is a PITA so I'm not doing that again I have heard of the tax ‘squares’ getting stollen from the bikes... So, I put a ‘colour photo copy’ in the tax ‘square’ holder... and keep the real tax ‘square’ under the seat with insurance and photo-copy of the green book.... (the only issue, the sun has discoloured / bleached the photo copy so I’ll have to do another !).

I reckon BS on that as yer average Thai policeman would not know what he's looking at if he was to see your passport and he wouldn't want to embarrass himself in trying to prove there's a problem with it. . Calling me a liar - I see...

It astonishes me the extent to which people leave expensive $1000 items laying around in the open... My Wife is terrible for it in Bangkok... we’ll be in a pub or a restaurant with friends.. occupied, talking.. She’ll get up and go to the bathroom, leave her phone on the table / handbag on the back of her chair where people are walking past... its so easy for someone to just walk past and take it without any of us noticing... Thailand does provide that element or impression of ‘safety’.... which may or may not be a false impression.... In London we are on high-alert !

Sadly... I do... Brother in Law - Mugged and Rolex watch robbed off him in London (when he was younger). ExGF - LV handbag snatched in central london ExGF - Phone stolen out of handbag London is a hotbed of theft and pick-pocketing... muggings in other areas in the night. I’ve had two pick pocketing attempt made on me in Prague and Barcelona. In Bangkok... 20 years of know of 3 thefts. Friends Wife - Bag snatched on Thonglor - Motorbike rode past, pillion snatched the bag Ex GF - Bag snatched (same way as above). Friends Wife - Phone stollen out of ‘open’ handbag in shopping mall. IMO - there is a higher risk of bag snatches and pick-pocketing in London than there is in Bangkok. But, in Bangkok we are also walking around the streets far less so that makes a big difference. In all cities we have to be extremely vigilant... i.e. when walking with Wife, her handbag is on her elbow positioned between us... not on the her outside etc (or, don’t take a handbag at all).

Anyway... Apologies if your feelings were hurt... I’ll make no further response to your comments in this thread as you seem to interpret everything as a personal attack and lack the emotional tools to discuss without getting upset or offended. All the best..

Don’t play the victim... I haven’t accused you of not having principles... But, the example you used to ‘claim the moral high ground’ was not something which played out... you never did face conscription.... And yet you get so butt hurt when your moral example is brought into question and think nothing of questioning someone else’s morals ??? [do you have any?]... hypocritical much ?

.... these forums always have the ‘wannabe lawyer’ regurgitating such utter ‘can’t paint your own house’ nonsense, believing the utter tosh told to them by the Ex SAS guy they spoke to in the beer bar..... .... guys so dumb they don’t know they are dumb...

I still have a Double-Espresso (with plenty of sugar) before I play football... Even though I’m older now - I’m still playing 2-3x per week... A coffee definitely adds a ‘little sharpener’ to my performance... which, is just a fun but competitive kick-about, but its improved with a little edge caffeine gives me, especially when playing with and against younger, faster, sharper lads in the 20’s and 30’s.... (perhaps placebo, perhaps real.... I think the effect is real !). Health benefits - certainly a ’sharpener’ for sports.

Is it really unexpected that Starbucks came last ??? ???? But also look at what came first.... a single Origin Guatemalan coffee... so people do have taste !!! The issue I find with excellent coffee... It's so good I want more and too much is clearly not good for you. I also prefer Arabica beans to Robusta. Arabica has less caffeine and is generally smoother whereas Robusta has approximately 30-50 more caffeine and is generally less smooth and more bitter.... Thus from a health perspective - its better to drink a couple of strong Arabica’s, which are more also more enjoyable (for me at least), than a couple of strong Robusta’s which may have too much caffeine in them and lead to caffeine headaches. Thus: I’d rather have a ‘couple’ of something I enjoy more... than something which is strong that I enjoy slightly less... This also leads to.... Decaf - when enjoying the taste of quality coffee so much, is it worth simply having decaf to avoid the potential of caffeine headaches if having too many coffees ?

Principled enough to know when and when not to be a hypocrite... You are pinning your example on a scenario that never came to fruition... “I would have...” ... but you didn’t, so it doesn’t mean anything... the comment is just ‘pie in the sky’... You had the luxury of being in the US... Russia is still very different. Would YOU stand by your principles in Russia ?? protest ?? how would you avoid conscription into a war you completely disagree with in Russia ???? Me ???... I’m not ashamed to say I’d get out of dodge... I don’t blame the Russians who are coming to Thailand for doing so.

Most likely they would. I always travel with my Passport (to keep it accessible within a decent time frame) - but I use my Pink ID for airline (domestic) and hotel check-in... this always works (but really shouldn’t outside of province of issue, nevertheless, it works).... so, I assume that hotels would be perfectly fine accepting a PhotoCopy of your passport upon check-in. As for Banks.. I think mileage may vary... some will, but some Bank Managers are utter jobs-worths and can make things awkward (in the past (pre-pink ID days) a photo on the phone or a Driving Licence was not accepted (in the situations I’ve experienced. Note: others say their Thai DL has worked in Banks).

Extension stamp. Not really.... Only commissioned officers can ask for your ID - a Passport (or copy of usually suffices). Only Immigration Offices can ask for your Visa Status and they hardly roam the streets. Thus: A copy of your Passport, or a ‘shrunk to credit card size’ laminated copy of your Passport should more than suffice for ‘most’ situations. A photo of your lasted stamp / visa on your phone should also be more than adequate. The caveat being: Unless you come across an extremely difficult and awkward Policeman (non-commissioned) who wants to see your passport and only your passport will do - then arguing with them that as they are not commissioned its not legal for them to ask, is going to be somewhat tricky !!!... but lets face it, that last scenario is extremely unlikely.

Perfect comments from behind the safety of a computer-screen. What would you do if you were facing prison for being drafted into a war you disagreed with ??? You’d stand by your moralistic principles, refuse and publicly protest, right ???? You wouldn’t try and get out of the country to avoid jail and spending your ‘blood money’ elsewhere making a hypocrite of yourself, would you ???

How many stats have you made up in this thread alone ???......

The thread is about health benefits of quitting coffee... not whether 7-11 has good coffee... ???? see what I did there ??????

Why are you getting angry with everyone on these ‘visa’ threads ?

I guess he means ‘proper visa’ as opposed to some form of exemption... i.e. an Visa exemption stamp is not really a proper visa in the same way a Tourist Visa is... And yes, after the initial hiccups with potential overstay risk etc in 2020 the Thai government came up with a sensible and consideration option.... But, this has also allowed people to ‘game the system’.... ... as they say, don’t hate the player, hate the game... In this case the Op was nearly caught short Immigration have also done him another favour by offering him sound advice.... Further sound advice is to get a ‘real visa’ / 'proper visa’.... and actual visa... because after staying so long on the exemptions eye-brows are going to be raised if he tries to enter without one.

Looks like a goid idea ... NOT Same Name and date of birth. You must be from Clownland where this trick work ???? He simply didn’t read the Op...

Another oversimplification of something you don’t understand... things like texture, depth, complexity... milk changes that... An espresso is already a very strong in flavour, so yes, its diluted somewhat but not to the extent that milk makes one coffee unrecognisable from another.... and most certainly not to the extent that milk makes a latte made with instant unrecognisable from that made with fresh ground coffee. ... unless of course you can’t tell the difference anyway and think ‘its just coffee - its all the same’... in which case, go ahead.. make instant and dilute it with milk or do whatever you are going to do with it, its doesn’t matter to you at all because you can’t tell the difference....

Ok... now you are bringing ‘latte’ into it... ... Are you now arguing that a Latte made with instant is 90% as good as a Latte made with decent fresh-ground coffee because of the milk the difference can’t be tasted ???? I can tell you it most definitely can be tasted... I can taste the difference between a Latte I make and a Latte my Wife make’s from the same beans, same amount, same grind setting, same espresso machine.. Why ??.... because my Wife tamps too hard, the flow though the coffee is slow, its over-extracted and is slightly bitter.... Espresso - 19gms of coffee... (tamped by myself) 38-40gms of ‘drink’ extracted over 30 seconds - with pre-infusion.... ... then of course is achieving the correct texture of milk.... If you’re not sure about any of that - 7-11 instant will be fine...

Agreed.... Price / quality increase is not linear, neither is price an accurate indicator of quality.

Yet in blind taste tests people will often choose cheaper stuff. This has been proven with wine, beer and whisky too. So that means a lot of it is marketing. It proves that a lot of people don’t have taste.... many people will become familiar with cheap stuff and its that familiarity they choose - they don’t ‘know’ what quality is because its alien to them. Many wouldn’t know a Macallan from a Red-label or a fruit wine from a Barolo... that doesn’t speak of the whiskey or the wine but of simple ignorance. And its the same with coffee.... IF someone can’t tell the difference between an instant coffee and a good fresh coffee that highlights ignorance rather than quality - there’s nothing wrong with that unless throwing forward ridiculous statements such as instant is 90% as good as fresh-ground coffee...

Its clear you don’t know what you are talking about - its pointless having a discussion on taste with you... we’ll just go round in circles with your dumbed down oversimplification which highlights that you don’t know what you don’t know.... IF someone is the type of person who’d argue... why get a BWM in Bangkok when a taxi can take you anywhere you want?... they are perhaps the same type of person who is happy with fruit wine and instant coffee..... That may not be you, but there are parallels... While quality is subjective - the difference between instant and a coffee properly made from freshly ground beans is night and day... ... And when I mean properly made, I mean correct grind size, amounts, brew-ratios and timing, extraction times, pre-infusion... etc etc... all different with different brewing techniques from French-Press to Filter, to Moka Pot, to Espresso to Turkish..... Different origins, different roast.. Its complex... a poor cup of coffee can be made when getting some of the above wrong... If you don’t want to understand and prefer to argue any of the above - its better to stick to instant... life is blissful for the ignorant.

Take is easy... she hasn’t argued with the ‘experts’... . She’s asked for advice and provided as much information as she knows...