richard_smith237

Lol. New to Thailand? Thai do whatever they want and let you think they did whatever you want to think they did. "Did you do it?" Yes. "But it's not done." No time yet. "You just said it was done." Correct. "So, which is it?" Already told you (bawk laeo). No Thai was ever afraid of wearing or not wearing a mask. Unlike some who seem terrified of masks. This is part of the enigma.... I think it can be agreed without the pathetic tit for tat when using ‘all or no-one’.... few wore masks before Covid, many do after Covid.... Why ???.... Are they doing what they are told ??? IF so, why don’t they all do what they are told and wear a helmet ??? It seems each issue is dealt with differently here... Mask wearing, everyone does, so everyone does - its almost a self-perpetuating level of conformity. As far as helmet wearing.. .many don’t because many don’t... thats also self perpetuating conformity. In main built up areas more people wear helmets (i.e. Silom, Sukhumvit etc) but outside those areas helmet wear drops way off... but mask wearing doesn’t.... An enigma indeed...

You went out on a limb alright... .... The ‘you obviously don’t live here’ type of response from the same un-orignal ‘if you don’t like it...’ response.... There is nothing in any of TR’s comments which highlight a lack of familiarity with living in Thailand... your comment is just an unintelligent attempt at ‘point scoring’.... Debate the debate instead of attacking the person to attempt to score a point...

Bangkok actually has a very good flood defence system in place. It is well protected against floods from ‘outside of the city’... The issue is of course, money and litter... the equipment needs maintenance, drains clog up with litter. But there is a greater facet at play - The actually amount of water falling within Bangkok in a very short period of time. The average annual rain fall of Amsterdam is 850mm in a year. Bangkok received 132mm in one night (22-July) - drainage is completely different undertaking, the amount of water is almost an impossibility to handle when the city is on or slightly below sea level. Combined with a high tide, drainage to where ???? KL has an amazing scheme - The Smart Tunnel (Strom Management and Road Tunnel) which is closed in periods of high storm flow and the tunnel is used to take excess water before it is later pumped out once rains and storm run-off subside. So... no, don’t ask the dutch.. Ask the Malaysians, they are next door, they have experience in dealing with volume of water which is not encountered Europe.

This username answering this question...

The issue remains.... endemic corruption... Any inspector can be paid off. Until there is a complete cultural shift towards a greater acceptable for the need for proactive safety and making owners fully accountable, there will not be any improvement, there will be no change. As always, these announcements are simply knee-jerk reactions... proactiveness is not a thing in Thailand, proactiveness is considered as people making trouble. Just look at pedestrian crossings... 7 months ago a Dr was killed crossing a pedestrian crossing. There was huge media attention (if you’re not familiar with this story you’ve been hiding under a rock).... there were announcements, lots of talk, lots of criticisms, crossings were moved, crossings were painted... a couple of pedestrian bridges were built.... ..... And now ???.... nothing, cross the road and its the same as it ever was, drivers do not want to stop at a pedestrian crossing to allow a pedestrian to cross.

Getting upset on a forum about an automatic car... What a child.. ???? I’d respond to content of your post, steep hills etc... but I really have no interest in entering a discussion with a fool...

Fair point... but its hardly terrain an automatic is unable to handle, particularly as all automatics can be ‘locked in gear’... Thus: IF the Op was asking for a 4x4 which may better to drive such hills in the wet etc, then that would be understandable. But, the Op is simply asking for Manual over an Auto.... terrain was not mentioned... its just a simple preference... An Auto or Manual makes no difference in Samui... Its not as if he’s going off-roading or racing...

And in a ‘tit for tat’ response South Koreans who are frequent and repeat visitors face a hard time at Immigration when entering Thailand..... ... this has been going on for years... South Korea deporting Thai’s suspected of illegal work. Thailand deporting (or refusing entry) to South Koreans suspected of illegally working as tour guides and within the tourist industry.

Maybe a valid point..... I’ve noticed recently that I have a tighter chest, then when I’m away from Bangkok that’s noticeably less.... The difference is subtle enough not to really notice until I think about the effects... ..Thus, I may actually start wearing a mask on my motorcycle... I hate them as they make my face shield steam up... but perhaps there is a better way around that.

You could have wrote that far more efficiently... “give me a farm girl any day” !!!

I think you’re quite right Ryan... masks were clearly worn by some motorcyclists before Covid-19. Those who are suggesting ‘no one wore masks’ are perhaps using more of a colloquialism of language rather than making a definitive statement and meant make wearing was far less common... The reality is... perhaps about 10% of motorcyclists work masks which is a vast difference to those wearing masks now. Now, what really surprises me from those photos is the extent of ‘helmet wearing’ !!! - there must have been a well publicised recent crack-down !!!

Don't you think its dumfounding that a person may choose to wear a mask for health benefits to avoid sucking in fumes yet complete ignore the far greater safety risk and not wear a helmet ?... the logic seems quite upside down to most people commenting.

Agreed... but its also the juxtaposition of mask wearing for health vs no helmet highlighting a complete disregard for safety which stands out to many of us... Not wearing a helmet is one thing and stupid enough, but then showing consciousness towards ones health & Safety by wearing a mask and then still not wearing a helmet is somewhat dumfounding....

At a guess, what percentage of motorcyclists wore masks in Bangkok’s traffic pre-covid ? I’d guess that it was less than 10%... and post covid its now about 90% who wear masks. The pre-covid images of Bangkok’s streets don’t highlight a great deal of mask wearing, not much in fact.

are you overweight bob or just a bigger fellow ? Come on... Bob’s an adonis in every sense of the word... ... after all, he once went to a go-go bar and there was this girl with an old guy who’d fallen asleep, the girl went home with Bob.... Bob's got game, Bos’s a player and and you can’t be a player like Bob if you’re overweight !!!.... Swimmer bod I reckon... 6ft 3... and shoulders like a Captain America !...

You really want to believe that....Many wear a mask while on a motorbike because of the exhaust from the cars, busses, trucks, and the bad air quality itself. Sure they should be wearing a helmet but many never have. Have you ever ridden a motorbike through the traffic here in Bangkok and choked on the exhaust. Sure you still may choke but the mask itself takes the brunt by collecting the black soot. I know I wear one when I ride my Motorbike, and when I get home or to my destination have to wash my face to get the soot off of it that the mask did not stop.....you guys are just incredible to believe what you do...... I’m not so sure that motorcyclist wear mask to protect themselves from the traffic fumes, in pre-covid times there weren’t so many motorcyclists wearing masks. ..... I think people are still wearing masks because everyone else is still wearing masks - thats about it and it doesn’t need much more thought than that. Wearing facemarks, vs not wearing a helmet is one which baffles me.

She's gone out shopping for him... Paying for it all herself of course !!!

How are things in Hobbiton ???

Bob Smith..... you irresistible devil you... you’re going to have to tell your little squeeze to calm down and stop ripping off your clothes... these fits of passion are clearly costing your wardrobe...

The only concern I’d have about taking a sleeping tablet on a flight in Eco is the risk of developing a DVT.... Taking a Xanax or something similar lying on a flat bed takes the edge off and allows for a better uninterrupted sleep - these tablets don’t knock you out etc.. You still get up and go to the toilet if you need to etc... but they just mean you sleep through the minor disturbances, the noise, the bump of turbulence etc...

???? ???? ???? .... some people just can’t get over themselves... The last time you or anyone you know was involved in one of those frequent inflight emergencies did all those who have taken sleeping pills make it so dangerous for others ? You can guarantee that on pretty much every night flight you have taken there are scores of people who have popped a sleeping or other ‘relaxing’ aid to allow them to drop off more easily. Would you also ban booze on a flight, because people who’ve had a few may also impact the heightened risk of there being an inflight emergency every time you travel ? (rhetorical). You’ve gone down the path of sanctimonious over-reaction for something which is insignificant - its just a sleeping aid, not a general anaesthetic.

FaceBook Market Place...

IF its just a hire car on samui for a few days the whole idea of specifically seeking out a manual is somewhat out there on the fringes of being neurotic... Its just a hire car on flat roads - its hardly renting out an exotic to take on the Nurburgring !!!

It was only a matter of time... A poster utterly ‘dripping’ with sanctimonious self-righteousness....

They must have been looking to make a quick buck. Valium or the generics is available easily from most pharmacies. It was a well known scam / extortion attempt by the BiB a number of years back. The would check all the foreigners taking the bus to Pattaya. They’e go through all their baggage looking for Viagra... upon finding a little blue-pill or anything which looked like it, they’d struck gold... “Oh... very bad......” There used to be plenty of stories on here of guys getting caught. It was as well know as the BiB stopping tourist walking in the Asoke area... checking for anything and everything in the hope they could find something and make money. Fortunately, these stories have disappeared now...