Stevemercer

It's likely he gagged her with the playing card placed over her mouth (perhaps as a lesson). However, in her struggles, the playing card ended up down her throat and strangled her.

Out here in the countryside there is no such things as lady drinks or bar fines. True, there are no go go bars either. Most serious drinking is at karaoke bars where the girls drink from your beer (if you let them). Any assignments are direct one-on-one negotiations. Some karaoke places charge a customer 100 Baht to sit all night with a girl, but these places are generally a rip-off. Most girls' incomes are from tips. Thinking about it, maybe all the really attractive and more confident girls go to Pattaya, Bangkok or Phuket, where they can make real money!

I can't say this has really happened to me in the 10 years I have been living in Thailand. Or maybe it has, from time to time, and I haven't been fussed by it. I do remember the odd monk cutting in the hospital line. Normally I'm watching like a hawk when waiting at the hospital/doctor/airport/gov't office etc., but, if anything, I might get pushed ahead in the line.

I still think the main problem with electric vehicles will be the electricitydemand and distribution for recharging as the uptake of new EVs grows. A fast charger uses as much electricity as 100 houses. Ten fast charger use the electricity of 1000 houses. Imagine the demand if 1000 fast chargers (100,000 houses) in a city were suddenly switched on. I doubt if any electricity system in any city in any country would be able to cope.

It's possible that, with all the scammers about, the buyer is reluctant to give you his bank details (he may not be experienced in internet purchases). As others have said, normal practice would be to make the refund once the item has been returned. So you would need these details at some point. When returned, you can make an educated guess as to whether the item was damaged in shipping or by the buyer. If he refuses/can't return the item, maybe he has onsold the item or is trying to scam you. Maybe you could ask him how he wants the refund made to him? Does he want a replacement? Is he close enough to arrange a meeting to exchange/refund cash? Does he want a bank cheque?

I'm going through a root canal/crown treatment for my upper canine tooth at the moment. 4,000 Baht for the root canal (2 dental visits) and 6,000 Baht for the (cheapest) metal/enamel covered crown (1 dental visit). The back teeth/molars are much larger and more expensive (6,000 Baht plus 8,000 Baht). I did initially try another dentist who quoted 30,000 Baht for the same tooth (obviously a farang price).

I don't know about the seeds, but the plant will easily and quickly spread from foot long lengths of stem thrown in water. Typical stocked fish will eat it when in the water, or as the water rises during the wet season. I let it grow around my ponds because it is easily harvested and my land tortoises and iguanas love it. It is easy to grow as you can just pull it up. It dies off when the roots get dry (e.g. the pond water lowers during the dry season. It also adds a bit of structure to the water which is good for shrimp, pond insects, snails and small fish. Like all water plants, it will also help clarify and settle the water column.

Morning Glory (pak boong) grows everywhere around ponds and woud be good. The leaves and flowers are often eaten by Thais as well as vegetarian fish species/land animals. You should be able to find it growing locally near water and pull up a few buckets to throw in the shallow water at the edge of your pond. It grows quickly.

Anutin is part of the establishment. More forward to the past (or back to the future).

Here in Isan farmers seem to be planting less and less sugar cane every year. Many grow cassava (export crop for cattle feed) which has a steady demand and stable price. Having said that, any shortages in Thailand will be due to refiners getting a better price overseas. Some Asian countries have stopped sugar exports to keep domestic markets supplied (undesirable from the producers perspective since they effectively get a lower price leading to even less cane being grown in the subsequent year).

At Suvarnabhumi International Airport there are 2 McDonalds once you are past security. One was more central and charged typical western/airport prices. The other was a bit of a walk, but was half the price. Obviously I go to this one. But last time (December 2023) the price had gone up so they were both the same. Is this still the case?

Can you afford the payments and sin sod? If you cannot that is one thing. I guess it is another thing if you can afford the demands, but refuse to do so on principle. I don't thing we farang can come live in Thailand and refuse to accept Thai cultural practices that we disagree with (having being brought up in a different culture who are we to say what is correct or not correct). So it is always going to boil down to a compromise. Your agreement to pay 2000 Baht a month is a compromise. But I think, having agreed to it, you should just pay it without any conditions - just make the payment, regular as clockwork, with the attitude that it is their money to do with what they want. If you choose a Buddha ceremony with the family, of course sin sod will need to be paid. That is accepted cultural practice. But you can reach a compromise. Maybe 'loan' the money and jewelry for show purposes on the day, and then return it. There are brokers who can arrange this. Let the parents and relatives save face and have their day in the sun. But, in my view, you should pay for the ceremony and a gift of 50,000 Baht to the parents. Maybe your girlfriend is different, but I meet many Thai ladies with committed farang boyfriends who, nevertheless, refuse to marry them (even the non-legal Buddha ceremony). These ladies so often feel unsure of their boyfriends (because they won't marry them) which makes them insecure and can cause problems (even if they never admit it to their boyfriends).

Same in our area, but, thankfully, everything seems to be back to normal now. Our (young) male dog turned into a soi dog and didn't come home for nearly a week. I sometimes saw him hanging with the street bro's and fighting for mating rights. He came back yesterday. I didn't have to feed him for nearly a week and saved a few hundred Baht on dog food. He looks a bit crestfallen and I think he probably lucked out.

I've had a King Song 18 inch electric wheel for abut 5 years. It takes about a week to get competent. The hardest part is learning to mount and dismount the thing. I practised pushing a shopping cart in an empty car park. I still use it to go to the shops and show off to the locals. I came off a few times in the learning stage, but you can usually keep on your feet at training speeds. I seldom go more than 3 or 4 kms these days. When going on holidays it's easy to put in the boot and then use at our destination (instead of a scooter). Mine goes up to about 40 km/hr and has a range of about 70 km.

No. My Thai is crap, but Thai people usually say how good my Thai is. I assume they are being polite or want to make a positive impression. It's the same when Thai's speak English. I always encourage them.

I like peace, quiet and darkness when I sleep. My wife likes chaos, noise and light when she sleeps (TV on, phone on and lights on). The compromise is pretty obvious.

I agree. EV and battery technologies are still at least 5 years off plateauing. Every year will see higher capacity batteries and efficiency gains. I think a 100kw/h battery will be standard within 2 years and will have comparable range to a typical IC car. That's when I might think about jumping onboard.

If you are playing Thai music it should be ok. It's usually only western music that police ask to turn down.

Most years it doesn't get cool until after Christmas.

Yes. I think the future model will be 'buy the car, but lease the battery' because no one will want to exchange a new battery they have just brought. In theory, leasing the battery would mean a much lower upfront cost for a new car and no worries about the battery becasue you don't own it and can conveniently exchange it in 5 minutes. The leasing costs would probably equate to the price of a new battery over its average life (10 years). The 'battery exchange' companies will obviously need the infrastructure to fast recharge the batteries and to certify them to an acceptable standard for range purposes. The companies will also be able to feed back into the electricity grid using their stores of EV batteries. They will obviously sell power back into the grid during peak times, when prices are high, and recharge batteries off-peak.

Yesh, no immigration arrival hall seems to like people fiddling with their phones while waiting in line. I was recently in Australia (waiting to use an arrival's kiosk) and got singled out for special treatment (I didn't notice the signs saying 'No mobile reception').

Well, there are bigger problems on the horizon as the uptake of EVs increases. Imagine living in a Condo with 50% EV uptake. The Condo will need a massive upgrade in electricity infrastructure to accomodate peak loads if everyone wants to charge at the same time. This assumes the Condo allows residents to install charges at their parking bays. Imagine the driving population of Bangok trying to recharge their cars in the evening when they get home. The current grid could not cope, that's for sure. After every power outage the recharger would need to be manually reset (using current generation chargers). Back to the Condo, sooner or later someone will overcharge and the car battery will catch fire, maybe damaging nearby vehicles. Condo management's response will be to prohibit owner charging. Where will everyone recharge: out in the street? As EV ownership rises, what about people with no off street parking? Where will they park and recharge. Buy shares in companies researching 5 minute battery exchanges. China already has automated battery exchanges for standardised bicycle and motorbike batteries. Cars will have to follow suit eventually. Alternatively, buy shares in companies looking to establish commercial car parks with charging, for overnight parking, including insurance and security checks.

All the toll roads currently have cash booths. You just have to read the signs to work out which bank of booths. A tip I would pass on is NEVER use the left most toll booth lines. Sometimes there are police when you exit the booth who will pull you up and scam you out of 500 - 1000 Baht by pretending they have a photo of you speeding from a previous speed camera. If you use the middle/right hand banks there is usually nowhere for the police to lurk. Always use the toll roads to get through Bangkok. Never descend to the local roads unless you are familar with them and know exactly where to go. Otherwise you will get lost, stuck in traffic jams, get frustrated and loose an hour or more.

I was recently in Australia visiting my Mum (92 year old living alone) and she received a scam call on her landline at least once a day. Some were very realistic (e.g, pretending to be from her energy or electricity provider - quoting the right address/account number - saying there had been a mistaken double charge to her bank account and seeking credit card details to refund the payment).

I'm from Australia and moved to Thailand aged 55. My Dad in Australia lived to 98 and my Mum is still alive and healthy at 93. While I hope I've inherited good genetics, I think moving to Thailand will take a few years off my life. Thailand is tropical with all sorts of molds, insects and infections attacking the body. I guess I average half a dozen bites a day which must take a toll and add to disease risks over time. The air is probably dirtier than Australia which, again, adds health risks over time. Living conditions are probably less hygenic. The risk of accident (traffic etc) is also higher. So often I will pick up a fungus, a cut will get infected, or I have a cough, and it can take an age to cure in Thailand. Go back to Australia and the complaint will clear up in a few days. I'm not complaining. I think it is just a cost of living in Thailand. I doubt that the average farang will have a longer life by moving to Thailand, but they may have a happier life.