soi3eddie

20 hours ago, mr mr said:

i give it a few days before the ai system has this reponse to thai driving....

 

555 The blue screen of death now that brings back memories.

As for using AI and cameras to catch helmetless riders, they will need quality cameras and facial recognition to identify the faces, Many bikes don't even have licence plates or plates are tucked up under the seat so as to be unreadable.

I was in Chiang Mai at end of Setember and got pulled over 3 times in 2 days at checkpoints for motorcycle licence checks. I've never had that here in Bangkok.

On 11/26/2020 at 1:42 AM, paulbrow said:

Cost of all modes are relatively inexpensive. However, I've sat in ground transport and moved at a rate of about 1 km/hour way too many times. The BIG advantage of the rail transport is time saved.  In my years here I've learned time is apparently of no concern or cost to locals. If you're late you're late! Nobody cares... You could charge virtually any price and I'd take the rail simply to save massive amounts of time. Time is much more valuable to me the saving 5 baht on transport costs.

Time often has little or no value to many Thais. Even some foreigners will travel longer just to save a few Baht. BTS is not neccessarily cheap and if two or more travelling then a Taxi/Grab/Bolt fare can work out cheaper.

Many airlines will now give 24-48 hours after booking to cancel erroneous bookings with no fees. Some airlines will also allow obvious and simple typo changes for no fee. The original reason for no name changes was to stop the buying of tickets at low prices and then selling the ticket onwards to a different person later to make a profit.

I agree that if a simple typo then any airline should be required to make the change. Most check-in or airport staff are not authorised to use discretion and are obliged to follow "rules" to the letter. No thinking or common sense involved. I wonder whether the OP escalated this to the airline duty manager at the time? Has the OP subsequently contact the airline's head office or customer support? I personally wouldn't blame a specific airline for this but it is mostly an industry standard.

3 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Quote: 

PS: because of her very high position in Thai government she wants to divorce like coming Monday. Because she must report her status and everything at the end of this month.

 

She is being amenable ie not making life hard for him, why rock the boat?

My ex was amenable until I got a new partner then all hell broke lose and she did her best to make my life a misery. If he is divorced but still on a marriage visa/extension then he is in a precarious position until he gets a new visa type. I wouldn't take the chance. Also, if she is in Thai government at a high position it would only take her one phone call to immigration... I don't see why she is such a hurry to divorce. Simply report now that she is still married to satisfy her employers and once divorced, update her status.

I went to Chinatown in Bangkok on Friday night. Expected it to be quieter than in normal times. OMG! It was gridlocked with long queues for tables at restaurants. Was lucky to find my favourite place had only a short queue. Thanon Yaowarat was as jammed with pedestrian traffic as it would be if the borders were wide open. I suspect many Bangkokians stayed in the city. 

54 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

The Thai started with nothing and have 51% of the company. What are you moaning about, how much do you have?

Not moaning about anything. The difference was stark and it appears that both sides have done very well. 

Just saw this earlier on the guardian. The Austrian guy seems to have done better than the Thais. Wealth of 27bn usd vs 5bn usd. With the latest dividends there's plenty of dosh for some new motor cars. 

Tell her she can have the divorce on the expiry date of your visa/extension of stay. No need to hurry. If she wants out so fast will she compensate you for your trouble? This then gives you plenty of time to get your affairs in order. 

"Money is made on buying a property and not selling it". If bought at a good (discounted) price then on future sale it is likely much easier to sell.

If bought in a "good" location - easy access to transport, shopping, dining, entertainment or parks etc. with parking then the old saying of location, location, location holds ever true. These are all value propositions and will likely result in an easier sale in 10 years time. Being close to the BTS/MRT is very important but less desirable if it means 1 hour on a train from central areas such as Siam or Silom. Walking 20 minutes from a station is no fun in the heat or the rain and motorcycle taxis take time and add costs too. Buying somewhere that is desirable to both Thais and Foreigners makes perfect sense for an easier and faster sale. Layout of property, facilities and potential nuisances (noise, neighbours or pollution) are important considerations.

For some people, ownership is important as it gives security and a happier life and the freedom to decorate and modify their home as they wish. No chance of being kicked out or ripped off by a greedy landord. On the other side, renting suits many people who don't have to "invest" millions of Baht but may have lower rent payments and can leave at short notice. Newer units have much smaller room sizes than older units. Older units likely have bigger rooms but may need renovations and updating. It's a personal choice whether to buy or rent and each of us have a preference depending on circumstances. As for sale then from what I've seen, the real estate websites here (HipFlat, DDProperty etc.) often have poorly listed properties with lack of pictures, limited description and sometimes even no price. If advertised well by the owner and motivated agents at the right price, in more normal times, I see no reason why a sale should take any longer than 9 months. Be sure to buy where there is foreign quota so as not to rule out overseas buyers. As mentioned in another post, Thai buyers that need to borrow for a resale unit will find it harder to secure a mortgage and at rates less attractive than newbuild.

My experience; I bought my 2 bed/2 bath 78sqm BKK freehold Condo in 2009 for 6 million Baht. On 5th floor of just 8 floors only 280 metres from BTS Sanampao (20 minutes from leaving my unit to arrival at Siam BTS) with parking and a rooftop pool overlooking neighbours gardens. Only 3 foreign owners here out of 90 units with most owners being professional type Thais (still can't see why so many of them feel the need for their Benz's when so close to BTS). A well managed project with good team of staff - security, engineers and cleaners). Initially bought just as an overseas "holiday home" which I furnished comfortably for me and my family. For a few years it was rented on TripAdvisor which worked well back then. Now I just use it for myself (after divorce) and have been here all through Covid which is definitely better than being in the UK (where I own two properties but choose to live in a rented flat). Thailand feels like home and I wouldn't want it any other way right now. Would I ever sell the BKK Condo? Unlikely, I will leave it to my half Thai son as inheritance.

I find that Anker brand products are well made and reliable. I have several USB chargers and bluetooth speakers. Their range of USB hubs looks good too. USB hubs is something I have had issues with as they never seem to have enough power for running external drives. Both Anker and Ugreen brands are good though you will likely still have to power the hub. 

23 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

yes she can. you will be married. 

 

don't do it, step back from the ledge, you have your whole life ahead of you. 

 

Sound advice. Just don't do it! Enjoy your life with less stress. If you're worrying about this now then once hooked just think what could happen with no freedom. No upside for men in marriage.

On 11/21/2020 at 1:23 AM, rooster59 said:

Tourists will be able to book air tickets, hotels and get their visas sorted just by going to the TAT website.

They make it sound so easy and all for just 2,000 tourists per month. Too many different organisations, departments and companies got interests to make this work. Forgot to mention Covid insurance, overseas embassy approval for CoE and Covid test 72 hours before departure. Or do they know something is changing? Doubt it, so pie in the sky for sure.   

21 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Unless the ampher knows you are an owner occupier they will send a bill, they are not mind readers. 

Its up to you to tell the ampher that you are an owner occupier.

My local ampher in Pattaya did audits late last year to verify if people were owner occupiers, a paper turned up in the mail and if you ticked the owner and occupier box, and sent it back, a bill isn't sent out. I belive they also asked condo offices for lists of owner occupiers. ideally an ampher would also check ownership against blue/yellow book registrations before sending a bill.

 

Thanks. I have a yellow book and was wondering why I wasn't billed. There were notices in our building to pay by a certain date (end of August I think). Spoke to the building manager and she showed me a list of our units with those owned and occupied highlighted so I guess she was in communication with the Amphur on this matter. When I got the yellow book they gave me back the blue book so I have both for my condo.

On 11/19/2020 at 4:15 AM, stretch5163 said:

Its Great that they are doing this but why are these people or have these people waited so long to decide they need repatriation. I mean this pandemic has only been going on from March.....lol now it November and they suddenly decide its time to go.

I suspect for many it's not actually a permanent "repatriation" but part of their annual life or coming back for family reasons.

9 minutes ago, Old Croc said:

 

Some people enjoy viewing low flying aircraft.

 

 

Some low flying aircraft enjoy viewing people...

6 hours ago, johng said:

What could possibly go wrong ?

It's even worse than a roundabout !

Surely they could have designed a roundabout somewhere into the new scheme too?

If it's simply a matter of having an Australian bank account then surely the Transferwise Borderless Account would work wouldn't it? It would have the Australian Bank account number to be paid into. Then it's an easy process and good rates to transfer your Aussie money to anywehere in the world. They will even give you a debit card on the account too if needed. You can open the account online from anywhere in the world by uploading the ID documents required. You may need and Australian address but would expect that you have friends or family living in Aus (if you no longer maintain an address there). I opened TW Borderless online from Thailand with UK GBP as main currency. They will even give me an Aussie account if I choose. Accounts also in EUR, USD, NZ, SGD and others are available). Give it a try as there's no application fee or account maintenance charges (I only pay when transferring money to different currencies).    

Why do SRT even bother charging for train tickets? Probably cheaper to save tech and ticket office staff costs and just let passengers travel for free. I did Bangkok to Pattaya in August for the grand cost of 31 Baht for nearly 4 hours on the train.

6 hours ago, Pib said:

It's offered by both merchants and ATMs.   Not uncommon to see a DCC markup as high as 5.9% now.

 

DCC bad for the customer, good for the bank/merchant. 

True. NEVER accept currency conversion by the ATM or A Retailer. You will pay much more than letting your card issuer bank do the conversion.

This may be spreading. Just dropped off GF at Ekkamai to get the bus to Pattaya (big bus 119 Baht). There was a new table of prices in the ticket booth window saying something about baggage fees at 20 Baht for a 20kg bag to go in the hold. Only had 5 minutes and hand carry so grabbed ticket and took her directly to the bus so no pic of fares. Would be interesting to see if all land transport carriers now start charging for bags. My guess is that they will.