richard_smith237

No, I wouldn’t stop my wife from doing anything she wanted to do unless I felt doing so was unrealistically unsafe. IF my Wife were planning on taking such a trip via motorcycle I’d speak out and voice my concern. Of course, the Ops Wife is not going via motorcycle, but the Op has significantly overthought the risk which is why I presented stats earlier on in the thread to highlight to the Op that the risk is not as significant as he thinks. As you wrote, perhaps the Op simply doesn’t want his Wife to go, perhaps he doesn’t quite understand the ‘work culture’ here in Thailand... Or perhaps he is genuinely concerned for his wife’s safety having significantly misunderstood the level of risk. Either way, he’s taken quite a beating on this thread, perhaps unfairly.

This thread has been a complete ‘pile-on’.... The Op has been verbally bullied because he cares deeply for his wife and wants to protect her. Quite admirable sentiment even if the logic is somewhat misplaced.

How selfish is that? Why is that selfish ?? ... Some people are clearly trying too hard to admonish the Op for effectively being incredibly caring but failing to word his concerns in a manner most can relate to. The Op clearly loves his wife... he saying that if something happens to his wife his life is over....

Racist much ??.... I doubt you’ve ever even been to Japan...

It not the dogs fault. PittBull is not a breed. Something triggered the dog. Blame the owners. My pittie wouldn’t hurt a fly. etc etc... The indefensible simply cannot be defended... Too many of these dogs are dangerous.

The last double was 1962... (West Germany won in 1974). “France will be the first country to retain the World Cup title in 60 years"...

You first need to evaluate whether or not your concern is realistic. Look at the actual statistics to evaluate risk as it applies to you / your Wife. In this case - look at the accident / fatality statistics with motorcycles removed because motorcycle fatalities heavily distort bigger picture. You will see that the risk accosted with 4 wheeled vehicles is closer to the risk you are familiar with in your home country. ------ I do the same when evaluating motorcycling risk... People suggest motorcycling is ‘deadly’ here. It is, but up to a certain extent and the road fatality stats do not apply to every motorcyclist equally.... i.e. Remove those who’ve died riding while drunk, at night, speeding, without a helmet, racing , in the rain etc.... and we can see a more statistical risk in a more realistic light as it applies to our specific circumstance.

I agree... the risk is minute... he [the Op] needs to ensure his concern is realistic and valid before he starts putting his foot down. Thats unfair... just because the Op [and many posters] have married a Thai person, it doesn't mean we should blindly accept everything that goes without any input. Being married means sharing concerns amongst many other facets of married life. For example: When I met my Wife she would drink and drive, that quickly came to a stop. She’d wear a seatbelt in one car, because it ‘beeped’.. but her folks also had another car which she’d drive, slightly older, it didn’t beeb... I put a stop to that too and insisted she always wear a seatbelt. Minor points, but ‘fresh eyes’ do see ‘different things... it would be wrong of us not to speak up for the sole reason this is a different country or we are married to someone of a different nationality. Of course, we need to ensure our concerns are realistic. In this case it's clear the Ops concern is exaggerated and his Wife is at no greater risk than those going on a road trip in Europe or the USA.

I think his concern is valid.... IF they were travelling by motorcycle many more would be supportive of the Op’s opinion... It could be argued that his [The Ops concern] is not about trying to control her [His Wife] but is trying to protect her because he loves her - think that concern is fair enough. The issue is perhaps that the concern is misplaced when factually and statistically evaluating risk.

Careful.. with comments like that you’ll have fools telling you what the topic isn’t about !!!!...

Don’t be dumb... any topic such as this naturally migrates....

Consider the stats in perspective. A huge proportion of road deaths in Thailand is motorcyclists - most of those young, drunk, no helmets etc... 75% of the road fatalities are motorcycles... so you can remove that from the aggregate stat. The UK has 2.9 road fatalities per 100,000 population. Of that 20% are motorcyclists - thus, remove motorcyclists and we have a figure of.... UK: 2.3 road deaths per 100,000 of population (excluding motorcycles) The average for Europe is 9.3 road fatalities per 100,000 population. Of that 18.4% are motorcyclists - thus, remove motorcyclists and we have a figure of.... Europe: 7.6 road deaths per 100,000 of population (excluding motorcycles) The US has 12.4 road fatalities per 100,000 population. Of that 14% are motorcyclists - thus, remove motorcyclists and we have a figure of.... US: 10.6 road deaths per 100,000 of population (excluding motorcycles) Thailand has (an estimated) 32.7 road fatalities per 100,000 population. Of that 75% are motorcyclists - thus, remove motorcyclists and we have a figure of.... Thailand: 8.25 road deaths per 100,000 of population (excluding motorcycles) Statistically, it's safer in Thailand on 4 wheels than being driven around the USA and similar to Europe. Thus: The lesson - evaluate facts... or in this case look at things rationally and recognise that your Wife is at no greater risk in Thailand than she is in the US or much of Europe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate

You are not being rational though.... You are being somewhat neurotic..... You’ve over egged the risk factor. Ask your wife to make sure she’s wearing a seatbelt. But, ultimately, if this level of risk is eating away at you... then crossing a road here must give you pause for great concern, as would building standards, gun-crime, food hygiene etc etc...

One would wonder why you live in Thailand at all.... risk is everywhere. Yes, there are risks and yes you are correct to be aware of these risks. But also, place these risks with a frame of healthy balance.

Lazada has an easy returns policy... but if the shop itself is difficult it can take a little longer. I ordered a ‘The North Face’ Bag... fake item arrived. I filed the return as ‘fake’... Shop argued it wasn’t fake. I pointed out I already have another of the same bag (direct from a the North Face Shop), their item was definitely fake.. the shop stopped responding and accepted the return (on the lazada site) - I printed the return label and returned the item. Another shop tried to scam me - I ordered an SMP saddle... the shop sent two old phone cases !!!... That took longer to deal with, but ultimately Lazada forced the refund. The annoying thing - both these shops are still in business - Lazada offers the protection of a refund, but not the protection from getting your time wasted. I ordered 2 jumpers... I had to travel away, by the time I returned I was a couple of days outside of the return policy - The jumpers were way too small.. even allowing for size difference (I ordered 2XL). Shop wouldn’t accept the return.. my fault.. but hardly customer friendly. I’ll give them to my nephews and never use that shop again (which probably operates under numerous different names anyway).

I think the vast majority of people agree... BUT... there is also a discussion to be had, is there any point wearing a mask any more? Is mask wearing effective at all ? or are people wearing masks because everyone else is? I don’t think people want to be expected to wear masks in public in 5 years from now unless its proven as being absolutely necessary.... So, where is the line, at which point do we stop wearing masks in Public ?... OR.. will Thailands population still be wearing a mask in 5 years when other countries are not, simply because no one in society wants to be the one to stand out from the crowd by not wearing a mask ?

We're discussing mask wearing and you are going on about robots and porno ????? When unwell with a cold, the Japanese wear a mask to protect others... thats widely known. Regardless of all other issues, this facet of society is one the rest of us would do well to immediate. If we have a cold, we should wear a mask when out in public - its not a difficult concept.

Because no medical authorities are recommending that, unlike masks. OR because a Hazmat suit is completely impractical... Medical authorities would see us continuing to isolate, but that is not practical.... Masks are not so effective, but thats about as much advice as they can give because it's not so impractical - but is mask wearing really that effective in the current ’social climate’ where everything is open ?

Yep... given the extent of transmission, I’m inclined to agree. I think more people are wearing Masks in Thailand right now than in Japan. We have friends there - photos (Facebook etc) show many people not wearing masks... it looks about 50/50 when out in the streets... Agreed... I think when something is so contagious, just like common cold, its pretty much impossible to prevent without extreme measures.

Is the Camera specifically pointed at front of the Ops house, such that it ONLY records imagery from the Ops property. OR... if the Camera pointed at the owners property and also films some of the front of the Ops Property ?? There’s a difference... In the first example the Op may understandably feel strange about this. In the second example the Op is over-reacting... whats the big deal ??? It's not illegal IF most of the Image is of the owners property. ------- I wonder if this is one of those ‘merican’ cases where someone is looking for any slight so they can complain about their rights being infringed upon ???... If its just a security camera covering someones own property and inadvertently catching someone else’s property in the background, whats the big deal ?

?? So you can care less... So you care about football a more than other things ?? Or... you ‘couldn’t care less’... (its not possible to care any less than you already do)... I think this is an ‘American vs English English’ difference of the phrase - ‘could care less’ never made much sense to me... Anyway... IF you ‘couldn’t care any less [than you already do]’.... How is there ‘any hope at all for anything’... you don’t care at all.. and can’t care any less... right ? Would be nice to see a great take home the one trophy which has eluded him..... I’m completely on the fence on this one... and would like to see the team which plays the best football win. I just hope the game is not spoiled by some poor refereeing. The standards of referring has been atrocious at this WC (IMO) - that Ref in the Netherlands-Argentina match should never be permitted to step foot on a pitch again... The Ref in the England France Match was just as poor and inconsistent.

The same can be said for certain area’s of Thailand full stop... We perhaps chose the area’s we visit not only for what it offers, but for the type of person who'd be hanging around there... I avoided certain Bar’s when watching football because of the obvious ’t!theads’ who’d be attracted to such places.. The same can be said of certain other bars which attract some ‘knobs’ on their road to rediscovery as gods-gift... But.. I’m not sure the ‘weed’ specifically attracts any demographic over another... those ‘types’ you mention are perhaps visiting Thailand anyway... You’re noticing it more because Thailand has opened up again.. not because they can buy weed.

I nearly bought a Giant a while back, but I wanted a 29”er... they just didn’t have stock in that size and the 27.5” er’s were very limited. I ended up getting a Scott which I’m quite happy with (was about 25,000 baht) That said - I’m not sure of ‘stiffness’ etc... I don’t ride it hard enough to make a noticeable difference.

Why type of car was it that you escaped from while it was underwater ???