nonthaburial

Interesting conversation as I am expected to change work places from BKK to Amata and Laem cCa Bang shortly and was looking at moving home to either Sri Racha or Bang Saen. have searched the web for decent looking property but as usual the better rentals are by word of mouth.

So you Sri Racha experts, any advice onwhat I could get down there for about 15-20k a month

People who mix politics and religion and sport with politics is skating on very thin self righteous ice. Fine dont watch it on TV, deprive the bar owner of his income ! But rest assured I will enjoy every minute of this great SPORTING event.

Am I right in thinking that this engine is not too powerful, something like 800cc ? If this is correct then is there Air Con fitted ?? If again yes try running a distance without AC on and see if the noise diminishes and does it affect the temperature of the engine

Wheel bearings do not need to be changed as sets, just change the one that is giving problems. A good test is to hold the tyre top and rock the wheel forward and back, a lot of movement will indicate bearing is either knackered OR requires adjustment. I think the quote given is high. However if this is a 4x4 then the final drive at the affected wheel might be the problem which then could be more expensive to rectify.

as for the engine pinking, have you noticed a higher engine temperature. Could be a cylinder head gasket on the way out or it could be as you suggest, timing etc etc. Your temperature gauge should indicate the seriousness of the problem. Does the car over run when ignition turned off ??

Its hard to give a full comment util more facts are known

BEWARE, going south on the Chonburi highway, past the airport in the vicinity of KMIT the Highway police have set up a smoke test point. Nothing wrong with that, in fact I applaud it BUT their location choice is mind boggling.

They have selected the area which is on the blind downhill side of a slope on the road and until you crest the slope they cannot be seen. Unfortunately as they are intent on stopping the heavy diesel powered vehicles the two sometimes three inner lanes are totally blocked by stopped trucks, leaving only two lanes for those not being stopped. and when traffic is flowing at 120 KPH carnage is definately on the cards.

really is very dangerous so beware

After reading gerds stock list I am suddenly bored with cheese

the Fortuner appears to be getting more than its fair share of bad press just lately. Mobi has had a life threatening experience due to failures, previous reports out of phuket described what appeared to be brake failure and another report suggested that the spare wheel would not fit one or other of the wheels if so required.

If I were Mobi, I would get this damaged vehicle towed to the nearest Toyota agent and dump it on their front step, taking media persons with it of course. remember the lady in BKK who smashed her windshield in front of the media as she could get no satisfaction from the manufacturer ( I think again this was Toyota). After that incident Toyota bent over backwards to replace her car.

Cheese, quick soak mushy peas, shiphams pastes, weetabix, chocolate, packet soups, etc etc

some good replied here as well as the expected few.Interesting hat no one has suggested that he pays off his mortgage OR is that taken s read

Of course he should pay off his mortgage.

BTW, a 15 Million Baht house is quite something for Manila, that's some US $ 475.000....

LaoPo

Totally agree with you LaoPo, however I have been to the house and it is magnificent with marble flooring and all wood in the Filipino version of teak, all about 400 Sq M in size,

As for the quoted value, this was evaluated by the bank from whom the mortgage came from and was for insurance purposes. However even if it was valued at 15m, due to the financial situation in the country not many would be able to afford it

RG i used to think it would be great not to work but it really does get very boring unless you have a good hobby. I keep working so do many others as they would keel over if they didnt!

Thats also my friends attitude. Insists on keeping active.

I fail to understand why so many responses suggest he is a cheap charlie and a hoarder. He is most definately not, my whole point was that after so many years of working to survive he is now cash flush which I think has come as rather a surprise to him.

He told me last night that he will pay off his mortgage today !

some good replied here as well as the expected few.Interesting hat no one has suggested that he pays off his mortgage OR is that taken s read

Had a long interesting chat last night to a very good friend based in the Philippines. This is his dilemma.

Being over 60 he still holds a job and in fact subject to health expects to continue working for another 10years. his monthly salary is equivalent to 140,000 Baht per month. He is married to a Thai lady and they have a 23 year old son who is working.

He has a lovely house in Manila that is valued at 15 million Baht, however he has a mortgage of 747,000 Baht to be paid.

He has never been a free spender, doesnt visit bars or take part in such activities that drains the bank balance.He has lived very carefully and he says apart from his mortgage owes no debts.

Now after attaining the age of 60 last year his UK pension kicked in, he had a lump sum of GBP12,000 plus a monthly pension of almost GBP 400, which he has not touched and sits in the bank.

Earlier this year, sadly, his Father died and he was left GBP50,000 payable immediately (after probate) with the chances of another large sum if his 80 year old Mother should pass on.

So in his words " The money is starting to stack up in his account" and he has no idea what to sensibly do with it.

Never being in that position I couldnt answer him, but I am sure people on here would have advice.

Thanks for your replies, all noted. my major questions stemmed around the labour laws and interpretations. Hence my walking on eggs attitude.

for example, by not agreeing to a new contract, is that classified as a resignation ?? . I personally think not, which could then be suggested that I have completed all my contracts satisfactorily and upon reaching the age of 60 I wish to retire.

And it is my belief that an amount as stipulated in the labour laws may be payable. Of course I may be wrong

After working for a Thai company in a senior position for the last six years, my contract is up for renewal in July. I have had it hinted that the company wish to renew my contract again for another year.

However, I have decided not to renew. but the company does know this yet.

In my contract it states that either party can terminate at any time without reason as long as a three month warning is given.

Taking into account that by law ( ) I would be entitled to one months salary for every year worked, which of course would be a nice little farewell present, which I dont want to jeopardise. So the questions are,

If I have no intention of renewing my contract, should I give a three months notice warning ?? OR when the time to resign comes can I just inform them that I do not wish to renew and thank you for a memorable six years ??

I feel that due to circumstances I must approach this properly and legally and dont want to give the company any excuses to walk away from their legal responsibilities.

Interesting question. I have lived/worked in Asia for over 30 years. Over these years I have been fortunate to have visited all of asia for periods of time commissioning vehicles and training officers etc. Over these years I have accumulated enough airline boarding card to wallpaper a fair sized house.

I found that after a few visits the novelty of the "specialities"available in such a lot of the area wears off veryy quickly.

I have now lived and worked in Bangkok for 6 years and for the whole period my routine has been work then go home. Does that make me a recluse ? I really cannot answer but what I do know is that since working here I have never had any interest in the bar scene or the nightlife.

But what I do know is that by living like this I dont feel I am missing anything and my financial side has benefitted

realising on these forums just how desperate some people are, I would imagine that quite a few would be interested. You stated that you yourself do not need to work but many people do require the income

For timings, aitcraft size A330/A340 and for the relative calm of terminal 2 in Manila which is exclusive to Philippine Airlines then PR is my choice.

Lets not forget Cebu Pacific is almost a budget carrier, small aircraft and from what I hear not particularly good at time keeping

For non Thai/English speakers, these type of forms are a nightmare. Last year I returned from a China trip surrounded on the flight by a elderly Chinese tour group, who, for reasons I dont understand, did not have a tour leader.

When the immigration forms were handed out, the old lady next to me looked at it, then promptly ripped it up and put it in the seat back. I called the flight attendant and asked her for another one, then after getting this ladies passport I filled in the form for her. Within minutes I had 35 passports sitting in my lap !!!!

The last 90 minutes of the flight went very quickly.

Interesting terminology

"CriticallyDamaged" and "rear landing gear"

There are NO direct flights Manila - UK. Last month I flew KLM via Amsterdam about 41,000 Baht. Your other choices are Emirates via dubai, Qatar via Doha, Etihad via Abu Dhabi, Cathay via HK etc etc But as the worlds biggest exporter of labour, flights are often full and ticket prices high

Flown that route on a number of occasions, yes flight had a lot of Africans on board each time. Seems as if they go to guangzhou as buyers and check out the trade exhibitions etc, hence their bulky luggage. Why they should fly back via BKK I cannot answer.

I believe that it will relocate to Chaeng Wattana, for those not aware of the area, its close to Laksi and not that far from Don Muang. It seems as if most Government agencies will move to this area over the coming few years

I am sure I am not alone, but everyday for the last 3 months, I have been commuting to Amata from BKK and used the motorway all the time. To say the standard of driving on that VERY FAST road is poor would be a lie, its horrendous.

Every man and his dog are quite happy to use all lanes available including the hard shoulder. Just to see the wrecks at the service centre is enough to sober one up quickly. but it appears some people dont take any notice of mangled cars etc.

I could go on and on but what the heck nothing will change, and just for the record, I have seen Farangs driving badly, not just Thais

Can anyone explain how they conduct the colour blindness test

To be honest, I really did not think that the tackle was that bad, however the result was horrendous.

If the same tackle was made again, and the receiving player got up and continued then the chances are we would say that the tackle was ok.

Yes it was obvious that the injury was a sickener, just from the reactions by the other players, but did you notice, how, after receiving the red card Martin did not immediately leave the field but tried to apologise to Eduardo.

I would like to think this was a pure accident. If it wasnt, and we will never know, then Martin should be locked up