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strabel23
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Posts posted by strabel23
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IMO, you should abandon the idea of living in the countryside. Not becoz of its merits/demerits but the wife will be bored out of her skull in one week. When out of town, one is far too dependent on car to find ANYTHING. Oh, maybe a noodle shop down the road but if i know the Filipina ladies they NEED heavy duty socializing, esp on Sunday.
Depends on what you want. For some living in the heart of the tourist area can become a little annoying at times with noise pollution, congestion, parking and obnoxious tourists being the major complaints. Sure Philipinos like to have their social gatherings, and so that will have to be a consideration, but for me if I had a Filipina for a wife I would prefer to keep her away from the Philipino community. Why, because once she establishes connections with the rest of the Philipino community it will be harder for her to tear herself away from her group to mingle with the general expat community and having her friends around all the time can become a little nerve racking for a guy that is looking for a little peace and quiet in retirement.
Having said that living only just 10 kilometres out of the downtown core you will find secure gated communities with cheap rent and sporting amenities within from swimming pools and gyms to tennis and badminton courts. Sure you will need transportation but you will probably need it anyway unless you want to be lugging your groceries home all the time and sweating in the hot sun.
Some come here to live as cheap as they can. Others come here because they can afford more luxuries than back home. Just depends on your preferred life style I guess. Just my 2 cents.
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If you're planning not to do this again why do you need to know where the camera is???
I think you mean to say is that you are not planning to do this again in the vicinity of a radar video trap Lol.
It's nice to see that you are adapting to the customs of your adopted country Lol.
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Like you're planning to do this again?
Planning to NOT do it again which is why I wanted to know where the camera was
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You want to divorce her or you are afraid she will divorce you if you go on a holiday without her?
Plan your trip and tell her where you are going. If you are gone for 1 or 2 days or weeks it is not going to be grounds for her to divorce you and at any rate she probably wouldn't be that stupid to kill the golden goose. Thai husbands go away for work or whatever all the time. She might be upset at first but after a while she'll get used to it.
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"If he passed you on the right your responsible, cause you shouldn't turn right before the road is clear."
Are you joking? The motorcycle tried to pass him on the right, which he shouldn't have done if the driver had his directionals on. Perhaps if the OP checked in his side view mirror more carefully before turning, it could have been avoided but most likely the motorcycle was driving quickly and wasn't careful.
Only the police can say who is at fault but my guess it is the motorcycle. As long as the OP has a Thai driver's license, insurance in his name and no witness challenges his side, he should likely be free of blame. However to make things simple police usually make it 50/50 blame unless one person confesses to wrong doing.
I am glad that you and your son wasn't hurt. I wouldn't do it any different but never loose your temper at the scene of an accident.
Good luck and get a lawyer
Happens to me all the time. I'm in the turning lane with my turn signals on waiting to make my turn and some idiot motorcycle doesn't seem to be able to clue in that he's going to get hit if he tries to pass me while I'm turning. I am watching the oncoming traffic as most people would be to look for an opportunity to turn and in another country there wouldn't be some fool thinking he can go through me. Luckily I know how the Thai drive and so always try to remember to glance in my mirror before I turn out. There's been a couple close calls though just the same. Most likely you will still get blamed as this is Thailand and the best you can hope for is 50/50 responsibility. After all he drove into you. Having said that I ran into a truck once that made a right hand turn from the curb lane without signalling while I was in the passing lane just about to over take them. It turned out the owner of the truck was a cop who showed up later very disturbed looking. They were at fault 100% and had to pay for the repairs to my truck which were substantial. Lol.
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It is against the law to ride a MC in my home country without having both hands on the handle grips ever since I can remember which is more than 40 years ago. I wouldn't be surprised if Thailand had a similar law but like everything else is seldom enforced. It should be enforced and anyone smoking or talking on a cell phone should be fined. After all it is a distraction and everyone knows driving in Thailand requires 100% attention at all times.
Having said that my own son tried driving his scooter while holding a coke in one hand. Short story he crashed his bike but luckily he was driving slow and only the bike and his ego were hurt. He could have hurt someone else in the process. Why is it so hard for people to understand that without 2 hands on the wheel or handle grips they are an unsafe driver period.
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There's one on the Maejo University Campus just ask around for directions.
https://m.facebook.com/MAEJOGYM?refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FMAEJOGYM
Checked it out but it's a little smaller than I had in mind and I don't think I would feel comfortable working out with mostly teenagers and early 20's. I'm hoping to find a gym that's a little more hard core with decent equipment. I realize I'll probably have to head into town to find what I want. Maybe the 700 year stadium.
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If you're looking for a nice quiet and very secure neighborhood with beautiful yards and nicely spaced out houses of a modern design then Land and House Park Maejo is what you're looking for. Nantawan moo bahn there are a few houses available for rent. Another plus is besides the club house which has a giant swimming pool, tennis and indoor badminton courts, snooker room, exercise room and there is a separate swimming pool only available for this specific Moo Bahn. There are some expats living here but most keep to themselves. About a 20 min. drive to the moat area. What is your budget?
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Anyone know of any weight lifting gyms in or near Maejo or Sansai?
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I recently bought an air-conditioner at the Homepro located in the Big C mall on the Super Hwy.
The sales tag stated a 3% discount for the product. When paying for the product at the till we were told we only get the 3% discount if we use a credit card. I asked them if I pay in cash will I get a discount and they said no again. This is confusing because as far as I know when a customer uses a credit card there is a charge for using this service payable by the business accepting the credit card. So why would they offer a discount to the customer if it is going to cost them money?
I then pulled out a 5% discount card I had received when I bought a house from Land & House good for any purchases made at HomePro. I was then told I couldn't use this card on any products that already are discounted. Since I didn't receive the discount how could they not honor the card?
I did a price comparison with 2 other companies before deciding to buy from HomePro and my decision was not based entirely on the price but also on the features and quality of the air conditioner but I did take into consideration the 3% discount which I ended up not getting. At this point I decided to just go ahead with my purchase as I didn't want to run around comparing features and prices all over again.
All in all I am very disappointed with HomePro and in the future I will not shop there again unless I have to.
Can anyone enlighten me as to the rationale behind this pricing decision?
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Idiot Thai drivers that would rather crash into you than let you into the flow of traffic and the hot season.
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Quote: " The exchange rate for Canadian dollar has never been lower. "
1993 exchange rate fluctuated between 19 and 20 bht. until 1997.
Considering where the Cdn. exchange rate is now and where it has been goods have been selling at a discount price for a long time now even when taking inflation into consideration.
Prepare for more downside.
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Can't understand why anyone would spend years in University at a cost of upwards of $100,000 and then want to teach in Thailand for a salary of approx. $1,000.00.
With your education level and years of experience why is it that you are not working in your home country and earning a salary commensurate with your education and experience? You must be either a glutton for punishment or have no ambitions in your home country to come looking for a teaching position here. It's not as fantastic as you might imagine to live and teach here.
You will be lucky to find 4 students out of a class of 40 that will even have any desire or inclination to actually learn English.
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TSF, on 13 Dec 2014 - 09:20, said:
I've had a couple of BMs send me PMs asking for more details about accident insurance in Thailand, so as it seems there's an interest in this matter I've decided to paste my reply into this main thread for everyone's benefit.
My accident cover is with Bangkok Insurance Public Company Limited. I took the cover out about 8 years ago and have never made a claim (thank God) the annual cost is 2,640 bt and has never been increased in the 8 years I've had it.
The cover is for 100,000 Bt, not much if you had an accident and were taken to one of those expensive Bangkok hospitals, but adequate if you went to a regional/government hospital.
I have no idea how it stacks up against other companies. But I believe these basic accident covers are all very similar. My TGF told me she had one for a few years, and I've heard about similar policies being offered by banks.
It's not a fantastic policy but better than nothing at all. It's good to know that if I ever had an accident then I'm covered for 100,000 Bt in medical treatment & medicines.
I also seem to remember the company telling me the policy covers me for other ASEAN countries as well.
Doesn't cover motorcycle accidents, I was informed.
Wouldn't your motorcycle insurance cover your medical expenses if you were involved in a motorcycle accident? Surely it would if the accident caused injuries to the other party and you were to blame?
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Instead of stepping up enforcement and punishing the violators for drinking and driving they choose to try to deny everyone the traditional New Years and Holiday cheer that has been an integral part of the Holiday season for hundreds of years.
Not allowing a New Years Eve cheer with friends and family is for some people akin to denying Christmas presents for children.
It would be nice if some of the powers to be would realize that not having beach umbrellas and/or beds and cancelling New Years cheer to tourists is going to put people off of coming to Thailand for holidays and possibly do irreparable damage to the tourist industry. Seems like the Government are shooting themselves in the foot with recent tourist related incidents.
It would be nice to see the Police set up road blocks and impound the vehicles for 30 days, as an example, for anyone caught with being impaired. That would be at least a step in the right direction.
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"I unwound my window and asked why he did not give me space to enter the lane I was so obviously headed in and he replied "This is not your country"."
Seriously?
Well I was peeved and wanted to say something different buy I bit my tongue and this was what came out. There was a male passenger in the front seat and he just smiled at me.
Usually I would not have done or said anything and just put up with it but this guy was so obstinate in his attempt to get in front of me that I lost my composure.
I thought your were trying to get in front of him, no?
So do you think if your were Thail he would have let you in?
I think not.
Read my post again. I was in front of him in the first place but he was trying to squeeze by me to get in front of me while waiting for the light to turn green. If I had not partially pulled into the right hand turning lane to indicate that I wanted to turn right then I would probably not have been able to turn at the intersection as Thai driving style is not the most courteous in the world. I don't think my nationality had anything to do with it. He was just an ignorant driver and I hope he gets shown the same consideration the next time he gets caught in a similar situation as myself.
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"Why is it that when you meet or talk with a Thai they are usually docile in nature, avoid confrontation and/or only smile when faced with a contentious situation?" because they don't understand a simple word of your language, bur they are happy to say yes, yes like some one understand.
I speak Thai. Not fluent but functional Thai enough to get my point across and be understood.
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"I unwound my window and asked why he did not give me space to enter the lane I was so obviously headed in and he replied "This is not your country"."
Seriously?
Well I was peeved and wanted to say something different buy I bit my tongue and this was what came out. There was a male passenger in the front seat and he just smiled at me.
Usually I would not have done or said anything and just put up with it but this guy was so obstinate in his attempt to get in front of me that I lost my composure.
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The truck driver could have just been a rude driver & not to defend his actions
but could the situation be seen as you jumping the que?
I see this fight daily when picking my wife up from work...There is especially this one very congested Intersection.
I am turning left there & there is a left turn only lane so should be an easy move since no light to turn left &
90% of the cars are going straight to an area with many Moo Bahns
But .....I end up waiting with all the cars that want to go straight because so many Que jumpers go into the left turn only lane
& then after getting as close as they can to the front just full stop & wait for the light to go green before forcing themselves into
the right lane to cross intersection.
This really sucks because this left turn only lane is a quite long...say 200 meters...but it is jammed with que jumpers
It has a dual effect too because it stops those that want to go left & also when light goes green causes so much confusion
with folks fighting to get in & those in the proper lane upset that they are jumping the que trying to not let them in ...that it is a good
amount of green light time wasted for everyone
Again not defending actions & there could be a lot more courtesy/safety in driving here.
Not a Que jumper as I have explained in another post and have also experienced what you have described on a daily basis. I was there first but he just didn't want to let me get ahead of him if he could help it. I have on the other hand shown courtesy to other drivers in similar circumstances but I guess it was too much to expect to be treated with the same courtesy here in Thailand. The other drivers comment about this is not your country suggested to me that he was referring to the style of driving meaning that in Thailand don't expect courtesy from other drivers while here in Thailand as in my home country because in Thailand we don't show common courtesy?
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I am not smart enough to apply a root cause to driving habits in my neck of the woods in Thailand, but do find them to be very different. Drivers are very aggressive and seem to dislike using the brakes.
While driving in the U.S., for me at least, is a pleasant experience with a cup of coffee and the music going, while over here I find driving and traveling to be very stressful. I must always have my head on a swivel to watch out for people passing on the right and left and coming the wrong way on cross streets. When waiting at an intersection for the light to change, if I hesitate just a bit the car behind me often will attempt to shoot around me.
I am always amazed at cars and scooters traveling down the shoulders of highways going the wrong direction. My wife and I have a system where she keeps an eye out for cars and scooters coming the wrong way when we are attempting to turn onto a road.
Sometimes we travel with friends or family members and I am more scared during those trips than if I drive. I prefer to be the driver.
The other thing that takes some getting used to, for me at least, is the lack of care towards pedestrians. Trying to get across the streets in the local city, even at the intersections is a dangerous task. Pedestrians over here seem to be treated by drivers with little or no respect or concern.
The other evening we had parked and were walking to take part in a Father's Day event. There were a group of six or eight of us trying to get across the street, in full view of the traffic cop. He continued to direct traffic while completely ignoring us. We finally managed to scurry across the street.
But for me, I chalk it up to a different country and culture. It is probably the main difference that hits me and makes me appreciate driving, walking and traffic habits in general when we make our periodic returns to the U.S.
My sentiments exactly. I would venture to say that it is doubtful if anyone of the commentators could disagree with your experiences.
In analyzing the Thai psyche I think most people's experience is from a consumer perspective. Most of our dealings or contacts are as a customer and so we experience attitudes and behaviors as a consumer and the Thai are usually fairly good at looking after a customer. Just look at how many employees are available to assist you when you walk into a HomePro center or similar enterprise or a hotel or guest house where there are plenty of smiling faces to go around even if the service is not all that efficient.
Once you are in your vehicle and driving down the Hwy. all that changes. Now you are just another person and become just another competitor for space on the road and the true nature of a Thai emerges. This translates into various circumstances even as a pedestrian walking across the street. If the Thai are not in the receiving end of a financial transaction there seems to be a markable difference in the level of courtesy, politeness and just common-sense good nature.
Just to correct an earlier assumption the other driver was not driving a lorry but was driving a standard pick-up truck as was I.
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He did it because that's the way he always drives, he's an everyday moron.
The 'not your country' excuse is just that because there's no way he would have known there was a foreigner driving in your vehicle until you opened the window.
If you were Thai I wonder what his excuse would have been.
One thing Thailand is good at is "making up stories" lets be honest,LYING, the more ridiculous the better, and they have no boundaries on them either.
I refuse to give way to their bullying, Ive been hit twice in the car and i refuse to move over when the aresholes decide to overtake coming the other way with their lights flashing. The result last time was the moron swerved all over the road and rolled his pick up and made my year.
I then got chastised my some member on here for "attempted murder"
I dont care about the car of mine getting damaged anymore..........
The Thai driver also could not know if you had permanent residency and it WAS your country.
Thais I find VERY selfish, dont blather on about that being a generalisation, it seems these are "ok" in TVF if they are "nice" generalisations but not if negative. "ALL Thais are happy n smiling" is acceptable but "all Thais are lazy is not"
Take the title of the post as an example.
Often Ive found when I give a signal the driver will immediately speed up to block access to the lane I have requested to enter even though traffic is slow moving.Nothing would be gained by blocking yet they do it often.
Another funny one is stopping to let a vehicle out...............they just cant believe it and really go into a paralytic state as NO ONE does that here, must upset their me first routine completely.
" Quote"...Often Ive found when I give a signal the driver will immediately speed up to block access to the lane I have requested to enter even though traffic is slow moving.Nothing would be gained by blocking yet they do it often.
Exactly my everyday experience also. That and when I am in the passing lane following a vehicle in front of me, with the intent on passing, another vehicle will pull up behind me almost right on my bumper as if to tell me get out of my way I want to pass you ignoring the fact that I am also waiting to pass the vehicle in front of me.
Sometimes I feel like braking suddenly to teach them a lesson but decide that it would be a waste of my effort as the majority of thai drive in this manner and don't seem to comprehend the folly of their actions.
I'm not trying to bash Thais but rather just trying to figure them out. I know a fair amount of Thai people and have no dislike toward them and value their friendship. Just trying to understand their thought process.
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The OP did admit that he was in the wrong lane and pulled out, ignoring everyone else who was in the correct lane, and then had the audacity to wind down the window to confront the poor lorry driver. You can't have your cake and eat it, my friend.
Not so. I was trying to get out of the lane that I was in to avoid holding back anyone else wanting to drive straight through when the light suddenly changed to a red light. The vehicles behind me had not yet approached my position and when they did they had to wait for the light to turn green anyway.
The poor lorry driver you so eloquently refer to was one of the vehicles that had not yet approached my position and had to wait also for the light to turn green before being able to proceed. All he had to do was to hold back a little to allow me to complete my lane change but was more interested in advancing one vehicle length instead of being courteous and in the process nudged his vehicle forward so as to be in so close contact to my vehicle that our mirrors touched.
By the tone of your post I can see that I certainly wouldn't want to be driving close to you if it should ever happen one day. I guess it's too much to expect some common courtesy nowadays from fellow drivers as the rush to get to wherever one might be going rises above being a considerate driver knowing that we all have come across similar experiences and appreciate some slack especially when being new to the area and driving on an unfamiliar road.
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Why is it that when you meet or talk with a Thai they are usually docile in nature, avoid confrontation and/or only smile when faced with a contentious situation?
Put them behind the wheel of a vehicle and all of a sudden they become very aggressive, confrontational and show no courtesy or consideration?
I can't count how many times I've been walking down the side walk only to have a motorcycle pull up and stop and park right in my path without the slightest hesitation or regard.
In traffic I'm cut off every time unless I literally hug the bumper of the vehicle I'm following and even so they edge closer and closer to my vehicle as if trying to say if you don't let me in I'm going to hit you.
Today I was approaching the corner and realizing I was in the wrong lane for making a right hand turn I gently pulled partly into the turning lane at the last moment as the light had just turned red. Another truck came up from behind and instead of just waiting for the light to turn green and allow me to enter the lane he proceeded to pull up as close as he possibly could to the rear of the vehicle in front so as to not allow me to enter the turning lane. So close that our mirrors touched. I unwound my window and asked why he did not give me space to enter the lane I was so obviously headed in and he replied "This is not your country". How can Thai become so inconsiderate whenever they get behind the wheel of a vehicle and be so rude at the same time which is usually not the case when you meet or talk with them in public?
Investing 5 million baht in CM
in Chiang Mai
Posted
Thailand's economy expected to be in very bad shape in the coming year. not a good time? What are your sources?
IMF has stated Thailand's GDP will rise in the coming year.