Jonathan Swift

1 hour ago, Regyai said:

As a UK national there are a few anomalies with motorcycles and travel insurance

 

If the families assertion re a 50cc maxima is to be believed then that a 'new to me' policy restriction but it likely refers to the UK full car licence which allows a sub 50cc 'moped'. So if he like most adults had a licence to drive a car, by default he would in the UK be OK for a moped too.

 

This leads to anomaly #1 in that UK car licences show the little motorcycle graphic (for 50cc mopeds) and it consequently also appears on the respective IDP. By virtue of this countless UK folks in Thailand are riding motorcycles (in excess of 50cc) with these documents. A ticking timebomb as come the day...no travel insurance cover!

 

Many UK travel insurances give absolutely NO cover for motorcycles

 

Some policies throw in cover for sub 125cc Motorcycles

 

Travel insurance with cover  for > 125cc (which many newer Thai 'twist n gos' now are) is as rare as hens teeth - I know of only one.

 

None of the insurers (AFAIK) extend personal liability cover for riding motorcycles

 

So even if you are in the favoured position of having a policy with sub 125cc cover, and possessing the relevant UK motor bike 'rating' that covers that size cc / equipped yourself with an IDP, suitable 'sissy-lid'  & found a 125cc rental - you still bear any liability incurred, and will fall foul of any alcohol or substance induced impairment clauses.

As an experienced motorcycle rider of many decades, safety begins and ends with the driver. 99% of accidents are avoidable. It's quite sad that so many riders here give little or no thought to basic riding skills, only to having fun and partying. 

16 hours ago, aussienam said:

"Susan said that Richardson’s insurance didn’t pay out because anyone who rents a motorbike above 50cc must have completed a bike competency test in the UK, which he didn’t know because the shop that rented him the bike only asked for his money and driving license."

 

So, from this logic, he therefore assumed that because a motorbike rental shop rents him a bike, he is covered by his travel insurance and the rental shop knows about a UK bike competency test requirement! 

Responsibility for this mess rests on the shoulders of this young man, who now faces partial blindness and other issues. 

 

And yet I see every day here in Pattaya, foreigners of all ages riding around with no helmet, thinking (or blissfully ignorant/careless) they will be fine and nothing will happen to them.  Many also speeding, drunk as well. I won't be forking out cash to help fund a repatriation or hospital costs to these people, with their brains half hanging out their head, guts ripped open, crumpled broken bodies bleeding all over the road.  Bad luck.  

 

Why do I get the feeling that you don't "fork out cash" to very many people, needy or not? I guess being dumb or ignorant and making mistakes is a crime punishable by death. Me, if someone is in need, I don't judge them for their mistakes if they are otherwise not inherently bad people. There are plenty of truly bad people in the world worthy of scorn. 

This happens everywhere, not just in Thailand, in spite of "official" policies. There was a guy Jeffrey Epstein who, in spite of being a billionaire, was neglected just long enough in a NY jail for the exact thing to happen. So get off your high horses people, Thailand is making slow progress in many areas, it exceeds the rest of the world in many other areas, and I imagine that it's in the country's best interest to look into its policing practices, and I'm betting they will. This kind of thing is liable to hurt tourism. Ya think? Meanwhile here's a guy in the prime of his youth, one night of drunkenness and bad behavior, and in a drunken fog ends it all. He will never have a chance to learn and rise above the misbehavior of his youth. May he rest in peace. Remember, he's the one who committed suicide, he was not abused in any way, the police were negligent in not taking precautions, but were not directly responsible. Now there is nothing to be done except hope the police will learn, and that any dereliction of duty is properly addressed and publicized. 

9 hours ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

i once stayed in apt bldg that i knew the staff messed with my bike..when i asked to see the CCTV the owner flat out refused to show me...

thai for thai...   just another tourist "accident"

I've never had any problems accessing CCTV footage anywhere. Maybe they just didn't like you. 

13 hours ago, ozimoron said:

I was in Bangkok last week and noticed that most people were wearing masks everywhere.

Many wore masks before covid, but yes, that's a good thing

She's lucky she's still alive.

Reasons why girls shouldn't go to strangers' apartments alone at night # 5,267

11 hours ago, Geoffggi said:

The headline is a little misleading, it appears she was not abducted but went willingly with the Chinese gent who then detained & robbed her providing her version of events is true.

The writer being Thai, maybe she doesn't know the fine distinction between English terms, perhaps she thought that getting tied up was akin to kidnapping or abduction. In the US we would call that unlawful imprisonment, even when no one has actually been imprisoned, only prevented from moving freely fits that definition. 

5 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Totally different circumstances. The whole world knows how the USA treated those people. But checks here are on people having a night out while on vacation, not because they might have sneaked across borders. Being Thai, they imagine that the world is queuing up to settle in their paradise, when in fact the situation is the opposite, with Thais trying to illegally stay in other countries to enjoy a higher income and better lifestyle. Foreigners do not want to come illegally to Thailand so they can suffer a lower standard of living. Except from neighbouring countries, but those people are often not the target of the authorities.

Well I see that you're here to argue, but I'm not going to it to you. Nor am I going to go any further into the subject. I've got more important things to do and more positive things to think about. 

29 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

The problem isn't that they're not motivated to do their own research so much as they are motivated not to do their own research.

Oh, I thought maybe it was just laziness

The property owner must know he coul

1 hour ago, Dazinoz said:

My ex lived in an apartment block. She had an AC in her room. On one visit she told me they had been going to the rooms with Acs and cleaning them. I asked had they done the outside unit. She didn't know. A little later we were heading out and one of the maintenance team was walking past. I asked my ex to ask the girl did they also clean the outdoor units. They chatted awhile in Thai and the maintenance girl walked off. I asked my ex what did she say. Answer was no need to as there is nothing but a fan in the outdoor unit. And this from the "AC maintenance team". TiT

 

Having said that most of the threads on AC cleaning on here is most people put all the emphasis on cleaning the indoor unit filters and neglecting the outdoor. I did a video of me cleaning the condenser of the outdoor unit and posted previously but if someone would like to see why you need to clean outdoor unit I can repost.

I guess I'm lucky in my apartment building, Ratchaprarop Tower Mansion, where there are notices on every floor stressing that AC should be cleaned regularly, and they have technicians on the premises that will do it free

10 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Time to go solar then. No excuse in a country with so much sunlight for not doing so.

I'll bet his rooms all have airconditioners, and solar would work for them during the day.

 

Of course he could go for the option that many resorts used when I was staying on beaches and only have power in the evening, and cold water showers.

Every country basically has the same sunlight, climate is not sunlight. This is a tropical climate. Any country that has clear skies can effectively use solar. But you're right about going solar. But to the credit of the Thais, Chulalongkorn University has an experimental solar project that is quite impressive, and there are some other examples. But  the power industry needs to get on board and it's the government's job to encourage and subsidize the changeover. The US had and still has government subsidies for homes switching to solar. In the meantime, yes, private businesses need to begin to switch over. Government should help subsidize them as well, since this directly affects the tourism industry. 

6 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

A nice idea, but I can't imagine many Thai people stopping to think about how a foreigner might feel about being pelted with water before doing so.  It would be interesting to see a Thailand where it happened though.  "Maybe we should think about how foreign people feel about things that to us seem fun but to them might feel like assault."  It might make the place a bit boring and less cheerful.

 

An annoying thing to happen, but not a proportionate response from the Turk.

 

Perhaps both Thais and foreigners alike need to be reminded of what will happen in the festival and how different people will feel differently about it.

I've found that most of the time when they see I'm a farang they hold back and just let fly with a very small squirt. I didn't get "doused" once while I was out and about.  So quite a few actually do think about it. But also, it's also fair for them to imagine we are better people and can take a joke. last time I checked getting a little wet is not fatal

2 hours ago, hotchilli said:

20 year old Merc driver... nail the idiot.

Makkasan - that's where I live, on Ratchaprarop. 

6 hours ago, Tookta said:

Online, you can report up to 14 days before due date. If you apply on the actual due date it's too late. Also you cannot apply up to 7 days after due date like you can if you were to go to immigration in person.

And where do you get YOUR information? From experience? No, you didn't. You should know better than to give wrong information to people. Look it up before you speak. I've been filing online for at least 2 years.  I just this month did my 90 day extension online on the exact due date and it was accepted and confirmed without problem. Given that, I seriously doubt that there is any problem doing this online within the 7 day grace period. It would serve no useful purpose for immigration to impose such a burden when the whole point of online reporting is to ease the burden and workload. But to anyone reading this, ask immigration, don't ask anyone here, you'll get as many different answers as there are members. And most will not be reliable, because most people really don't understand how the bureaucracy works. Attached emails are: The notice of due date sent to me on the due date; The receipt for my application online filed ON THE DUE DATE, and my notice of successful processing. 

1 hour ago, actonion said:

Enjoy all the perks a retirement visa has to  offer ?.................. What perks ?

I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you. How about this for one: Renew once a year, not reapply,  without having to worry about visa runs or other complications. 

7 hours ago, Bim Smith said:

"You can complete the 90-day reporting within 14 days before or up to seven days after".

 

Has anyone tried online reporting. I want to try it for the first time next month and always thought it was 7 days before due date and 7 days after. Can anyone confirm? Thank you 

This story was negligent in not including that as well as the link to online reporting. Yes, I do online every time and it is easy. If I were you I would assume it to be 7 before and seven after. I miscalculated and I did mine on the very day it was due and had immediate confirmation. The big advantage is that once you've done it you will get email reminders of the next due date. 

1 minute ago, bignok said:

Explain the 1730 warming period and the 2016 to 2023 cooling period.

I'm not going to do your own work for you. Do you own research. You'll need a college course. You don't want to learn anyway, you'd rather argue. 

For those of you inclined to argue, and who also find words a bit of a struggle, here are a couple pictures that might do the trick. But this is science now, and if you don't believe in science, just never mind. The first one is a global chart, the second one with the black background is for Southeast Asia. 

You're asking a Thai Visa forum "what if global warming is here" when  you won't get anything useful in response. This is not a forum of experts and scientists.  Anyone at this point in time who has doubts about this is so far out of the information loop or so deeply in denial that no amount of information will likely be of any use. I'm no expert, but my opinion would be that it is difficult to say whether unusually hot weather in Thailand right now is directly caused by climate change. Statistically, given the average global rise in temperature, it is likely. But averages are of limited use, since some areas see a higher rise than others. But if you WANT to answer your questions, go to where the answers actually exist. Search generally on climate change Southeast Asia, You might try including the year 2023, You can compare seasonal temperatures going back 10-20 years using graphs, you can research the damage from tropical storms over the last 20 years and see whether they've gotten worse, you can search on general climate disruptions and catastrophes, Tsunamis, Hurricanes, over the last 20 years, THAT is the only way you will get reliable information - to research it yourself and draw your own conclusions. One factor that confuses people and is often used to deny climate change is the disruption of normal wind and ocean currents that occurs with overall warming. This has precipitated record high snowfalls in otherwise more temperate areas of the US. So then the deniers point and say "see! it's colder, not warmer". meanwhile the polar icecaps are melting at a record rate to the extent that polar bears are in danger of dying out through loss of habitat. The overall disruption of weather patterns is likely to become a catastrophe in and of itself. Here is one specific research report. Remember that a rise of a single degree on average may not sound like much, but the impact overall is huge. This is only one source out of many. If you want your questions answered accurately you will need to do some work. Try Youtube, maybe a visual explanation will be easier for you, but be sure of who you're watching because there are a lot of tinfoil hat climate deniers with youtube channels. I've attached a graph for the global trend, and the black one is southeast asia. here's the link. https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/climate2030_southeast_asia_pacific_islands.pdf

3 minutes ago, bignok said:

So the current cooling is natural. Therefore all the warming by definition isnt caused by humans as warming happened pre 1900.

 

So there is no crisis, just money grab.

here's your natural cooling, I used a picture because it seems like big scientific words might only serve to confuse you. But if you ARE ambitious, here's a link to get you started. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change_in_Thailand 

here's a general wikipedia link. But remember, this is only a start, if you want to know about this it will take some serious learning:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change_in_Thailand