just_another_guy

Sorry for double posts

The wrapping machines are open 24/7 at swampy.

AOT tourist information number is 1672.

They speak good English

I couldn't find my original question about baggage wrapping machines and the operating hours---(lost or losing my mind).

Anyway, they are available 24/7 at swampy.

I happened across the AOT site and they have a number listed for information for tourists. 

Good English and were quick to inform the machines are open 24/7.

call:1672

Maybe someone else can post this in the other thread where i had asked the question earlier.

cheers

Searched the web and viewed 3 VDO's listed...no where can I find the business hours.

Are these wrapping machines available 24 hours at swampy BKK?

I would guess since it's an international airport that the service is available 24/7.

Thanks

Yes sir ree,

Thanks for the Idea.

That's what I'll do this week-end.

I may also stop being such a cheap Charlie and see what one of those curtain shops you see around town charges, to install the whole thing for me.

I searched the forum and shows Chiang Mai having a couple of places that carry Bamboo roll up shades.

Does anyone know of such a shop in CR?

I checked HomePro and that other large Thai hardware store at the intersection of 1020 and Main Hwy---and didn't see them.

I need about a 2 meter size.

I'd even settle for a shop that carries and would install for me a bamboo shade as I am really to old to be doing the DIY stuff.

Another option would be install tint to the windows. But the problem is I'd have to close both sliding glass windows which would make the screens useless as the windows would have to be shut in the day time to block the sun.

Another option is get the guy who drives around in his pick-up to install an awning, but that would semi-block the beautiful view of the mountains.

Decisions Decisions

Thanks in advance

Jobin

A lot of good info here in these posts. I too am an old fart and just purchased a new laptop here in Thailand. My old laptop was a HP Netbook from 5 years ago and had it plugged into a big monitor. Works great--but didn't have the stuff the new models have.

Once I decided to buy a new Laptop (two weeks ago) here are the things I wanted included---- that my old HP didn't have.

1> a HDMI port

2> A DVD player

3> at least 4 Gig of memory

4> at least 1000 GB HDD

After looking a several models from different companies I decided on the Acer E5-471G-39-1R. Paid just under 500 USD but had to buy the MS windows disk extra. I chose Windows 7 HOME PRO for no reason other than I have heard some complaints about windows 8 an 8.1.

And DON'T buy a copy of windows for your new computer. Buy the original from MS. (just my opinion)

Nearly 20 years ago in the states, one of my first PC computers was an Acer. Nothing but trouble they (Acer) finally made good and mailed me a new computer. I swore I'd never buy Acer again. But 20 years on and talking with a few Thai folks here, they seem to think Acer is pretty good and is why I purchased another Acer.

Personally, I think now-a-days any major brand is going serve you well as long as you get it with at least the four items I listed above.

One thing I forgot to look for was a back lit keyboard which would seem nice to have if you are typing at night. Overall....so far I am happy with my purchase.

Good luck with whatever you decide and let us know what you decided to buy.

JohnG

Thanks for that link....I never saw it before. I guess it depends who you talk to. I was at the old office and was told....cannot make Residence Certificate....

Being old and senile isn't easy...

Just a quick update.

I just received an email from the U.S. Embassy who will in fact issue a Certificate of Residency----they refer to it as an Affidavit of Residence. With the Affidavit of Residence in hand, I hope there will not be additional HOOPS we need to jump through to change ownership of vehicles in Thailand.

I don't know if other Embassies will provide this service, but the U.S. Embassy does----at this time.

edit: Typical Typos

Thank you Bpuumike----that might be the perfect work-around for others like me who wish to register a vehicle or in some cases wanting to get a driver’s license for the first time.

I think the U.S. Embassy will be in Pattaya next month so I am going to pop down to Pattaya and first try to get a Certificate of Residence (C of R) from the Jomtiem Immigration office (since no one knows if this refusal is Chiang Mai specific) and if that doesn’t work I'll ask my Embassy to issue me a (C of R) which will require the normal notary charge I’m sure----but if the Land-Transport office accepts it in lieu of Immigration’s (C of R) form----then, well, Bob’s your uncle.

edit: typos

The rules have changed again it seems—as of June 25, 2014.

Normally when you transfer ownership of a vehicle i.e. you purchase a vehicle and wish to put it in your name and/or when you apply for a drivers license for a car or motorcycle, one must first obtain/complete a certificate of residence (C of R) at your local immigration office and then proceed to the transportation office to apply for a license or change ownership of a vehicle (register the vehicle in your name).

This was not new to me as I have been through this hoop several times before in the last 10 years.

Today I went to the Chiang Mai Immigration office to obtain a Certificate of Residence (C of R) so I can transfer a motorcycle to my name ---- SURPRIZE SURPRIZE, the nice Immigration officer tells me as of June 25, 2014 they are no longer issuing a Certificate of Residence (Cof R) to Farangs!!!!!!

He told my Thai friend that the order has come down (from the top) that until further notice the C of R will not be issued to Farangs. He said that he does not know how long this will be in effect but without the (C of R) Farangs will no longer be able to change the title of a vehicle to your name and furthermore he said Farangs will no longer be able to obtain a first time drivers license because a (C of R) is required for first time applicants of a drivers license.

When I suggested to my friend that a small donation may help grease the procedure, my friend said that donations are no longer accepted since the new Sheriff rode into town.

The good news is that a (C of R) is NOT required to renew a Thai Drivers License. The officer further said that the new rule concerning the (C of R) does not apply to Thai Nationals---only Farangs.

I am curious if anyone else can share their experience since June 25, 2014 concerning obtaining a Certification of Residence from other Immigration offices in the Country. Can anyone can provide a work-a-round to this (in my opinion) silly rule? It’s a catch 22 situation for sure.

Oh, and according to my Thai friend, the officer has no idea why this order has been implicated.

edited for senior typo moments

What is the diesel/litre price in Thailand now?

about 30 baht per liter

http://www.shell.co.th/en/products-services/on-the-road/fuels/shell-fuel-prices.html

I would never use a travel agent in Pattaya, just asking for trouble. Book yourself over the web.

I agree with Chris2004. Don’t bother with Travel Agents in Pattaya. Either buy on-line or at the airline office. There are no safe guards that I know of and it isn’t fun to find out at “check-in” that your “printed ticket from the Travel Agent” is fake.

It’s been 8 or 9 years ago but there was/is a travel agency that claimed to have 21 offices in the Pattaya area---I don’t remember the actual name of the company.

I booked a ticket for Thai air (paid cash) and they gave me the printed ticket and even included the fancy Thai purple envelope. Arrived at the check-in counter at Thai Air a few days later and was told this ticket is no good.

Several phone calls later I finally get the lady who sold me the ticket and she says “sorry but you farang and have money so you can just buy another ticket at the airport and when you come back to Pattaya, we will send your money to your bank account."

Needless to say it was over three weeks before they deposited my money into my bank account but not before I called the manager 2 times at 3 in the morning waking her up------ before she got so angry she finally deposited my “stolen money” into my bank account.

Luckly this was a domestic flight and I was back in Pattaya within 4 days. I cannot imagine if this had been on a return flight overseas and finding out the ticket issued by the travel agent was fake.

CAVEAT EMPTOR

I remember a long long time ago I heard someone say that any landing you can walk away from is a good landing. I also remember reading that a safe landing is nothing more than a seriously controlled crash.

Sounds a lot like current American national politics as of late. Kind of like the T-shirt...SAME SAME BUT DIFFERENT-----or should it be different but same same.

Unfortunately most of the "probiotic food" bought in supermarkets has been pasteurized and are therefore not probiotic anymore as this will kill the bacteria but it will probably taste the same.

If they make it on the premises, like the German sausage factory, it's probably good.

For the real stuff you can easily make it yourself, only takes a few days. There are plenty of recipes and instructions on the web.

ZZZ, I cannot agree with you more. This health food tangled web subject is something folks need to research a little before spending your money.

Specifically the processed and/or pasteurization of so called health foods can be very confusing. Not sure about all the items Jingthing was referring to, but kefer is easily made at home.

I am not suggesting health foods labeled as "natural" are not what they imply, but I do know that homemade items (made in your home) are cheaper and most likely better for you---as usual I stand to be corrected.

cheers

Jayman...we posted at the same time....thanks for those links

Well not totally. I have a duel tub washer, one side/tub washes and then you manually transfer the clothes to the "spinner" tub to extract the majority of the water.

The beast is over four years old and has made the trip back and forth to Issan twice, so it has been banged around some in the back of the pick-up.

The last six months I have noticed a "squeal" from the spinner once it gets up to speed (bearing(s)??? but a hard slam/shake stops the squealing for a few spinning cycles---but then the squealing starts again---a few more shakes and it corrects itself.

Today the spinner just stopped spinning right in the middle of a load of clothes.

Yes, it has served me well and yes, I could just take the easy way out and buy a new one ----But I enjoy playing around with stuff like this and thought maybe someone could suggest some ideas besides buying a new one.

***** Okay----from here on I will get a little technical so no need to read unless you enjoy fixing things like I do *****

The machine has three knobs...one controls the timing/power of the wash cycle, the middle knob controls the type of wash (gentle or normal) and the drain function. The third (right hand knob) is the timer/power control for the spinner tub.

My first thought and action was to remove the top front panel and check the wires....all looks good to me.

Second step was to removed the back panel (rear of the machine) and check for loose wires--all looks OK except......

----The knob that controls the timer/power function of the spinner tub, has a small cable (like piano wire) that connects to the bottom of the spinner shaft and controls the clutch. What it actually does is stops the spinner tub very quickly when you open the top lid....kind of a safety feature as the spinner does rotate fairly fast once it gets up to speed.

What happens is when you close the top lid to the spinner tub, the wire dis-engages the clutch allowing the spinner shaft to rotate and the electrical relay switch closes turning on the motor to the spinner.

This piano wire was rusted badly and was not connected to the clutch when I first opened and looked into the rear panel. So I figured---easy to fix....as the clutch was engaged and not allowing the shaft to rotate and was why the spinner tub wasn't spinning.

I by-passed this safety feature by connecting a wire to the clutch (dis-engaging the clutch) closed the top lid and plugged in the power cord, turned the timer switch on fully expecting the spinner tub to spin...... NOTHING HAPPENED.

I know I should check the electric current to make sure power is getting to the motor, but I don't feel comfortable playing around with live electric current.

The shaft to the spinner tub turns manually by hand one way, but going the opposite direction it is very stiff and difficult to turn...is this a sign of the bearing(s) being worn out?

QUESTION: Is there an easy way to check an electrical motor without actually removing the motor and applying power to it?

Without any further ideas from you fine folks here, my next step will be to just give up and take it to Numchai and see what he can do.

And yes, believe it or not, I actually enjoy fooling around with projects like this----but I have reached my level of competence at this point and open for suggestions except for buying a new washer----that will be my last resort.

Cheers

PS: I could post a photo of the inside back of the machine if that would help anyone who cares to pursue this further.

Friendship has them as well, all the way back in the left freezer section....But they as well as Foodland & Villa do run out of stock at times.

Quite right, FoodLand used to stock it. Was there Thursday night (late) and completely out of stock....but had plenty of the Thai brands.

Great info and a good idea to have, here in Thailand...

Just one question.

If one is not mechanically inclined, where do you get it installed? Or is it a stickm' type thing that you stick on the dash and plugs into the cigarette lighter?

Largest water pump in the world....

http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2009-08/saving-new-orleans-worlds-largest-water-pump

I'd like to encourage you to delete your vote and vote again and if you are living in say...Udon AND you are willing to go a bit out of your way, would a location in Nong Khai or Khon Kaen be ok for you?

Raro, members living in Udon Thani really would not be going out of their way going to Nong Khai as it is the next province north and only a 35 minute drive. Maybe you meant Ubon Rachathani instead of Udon Thani?

Personally for me and the dragon, free alcohol or any alcohol for that matter is more of a negative for attending because we don't drink---not that drinkers are bad---we just prefer to be in alcohol free environments.

Exceptions of course apply and if it is held more than an hours drive from Nakhon Rachasima (Khorat) then most likely we will just read about the TV party on line.

Cheers

Ha

I think you got some words wrong....Now I'll have to go dig out the ol' blue eyes CD.

Ba Hum Bug... 3 days like most other provinces in Thailand.

And if it was up to me, I'd have several teams of police and immigration officers who would witness all the farang morons suffering from small penis syndrome (SPS) who insist on pumping high pressure water from their over sized pump guns (another SPS symptom) arrest them...have a court hearing on the spot...convicted and be politely escorted out of the country. But with an option of paying 30,000 baht to the pot hole street department fund and a promise not to display any more symptoms of SPS.

I bet that would solve the idiot farangs who find it funny to injure people. Now what to to with the Thais? Well that is a whole different kettle of fish.

For those of us who enjoy the retired life in Thailand and sometimes enjoy doing little tasks like cooking or gardening or washing our own vehicles--I finally found a small coin operated do-it-yourself shop located off 3rd road.

As you are heading east just before the signal to soi 17 or soi VC...not sure the name at that intersection, but a 7/11 on the corner and soi is just before that 7/11 ---maybe about 500 meters or so.

As you are traveling east from Pattaya Tai on 3rd road, it is the soi just before the next signal. You have to be careful as turning left onto this small soi, you almost have to make a left U-turn to enter the soi. In a car I'd say impossible...but with a motorcycle...no prob.

Take that soi down about 800 meters and you will see the red and white steel barriers (on wheels) on your right. Of course you can come in from the other direction, but I haven't done so----yet.

There is just enough room for your motorcycle to fit between the barriers.

Two washing stations at a whopping 10 baht per session----as I recall the cycle lasted about 10 minutes.

Yes, In my past life I used services to save time--was always to busy working and dealing with life challenges.

But now I have time do what I want, when I want including cooking, gardening and washing my own vehicles myself---and you know what? I actually enjoy doing it myself---------(most of the time).

Cheers....