WhatsNext

Went to jomtien immigration yesterday even though i didn't get a letter in December when i extended my visa. They did take all my papers, asked for a missing copy from the bankbook statement,  stapled it together and put it on a pile. Didn't get any receipt just a thank you. Not sure what would happen if you don't report, i am guessing absolutely nothing.

Thai red tape , more paper in a warehouse somewhere that no one will ever look at again. 

Let me get this straight, you now have to come back twice per 3 months, 1x to show your bankbook and 1x to do the 90 days reporting ? If your 90 days does not coincide with your 90 days for the bank...

2 hours ago, sunnyboy2018 said:

I find Thailand is much safer than many other countries I have lived in and driven in. There is something very odd about the way these stats are rolled out without context. For me driving in Saudi and Libya was much more dangerous. Saudi was particularly frightening. But in Thailand driving is easy, mellow and safe so for me there is a disconnect between personal experience and the oft reported 'carnage ' stats. Can anybody explain?

If you are in a car this is actually true, check out the World Health Organisation statistics. You'll find that Thailand is about as safe as Canada, as long as you are travelling in a car that is.

The moment you sit on a motorbike, everything chages however and thailand turns into a death roulette. 

Apart from that, nobody honks their horn, point a middle finger at you or otherwise shows signs of roadrage, that is untill they do and pull out an AK47 or a hatchet.

Enjoy thailand till it enjoys you.

On 10/30/2019 at 1:42 AM, smccolley said:

That being said, the density of antennas for 5G will be orders of magnitude more than 4G since those frequencies can't penetrate much of anything, so there will be an antenna on every piece of street furniture to get a proper signal.

 

Based on that fact, 5G will only be available in the densest population centers in the world for the foreseeable future - think stadiums and shopping malls, later rolling out to the CBD districts. Anyone living in a residential area should be "safe" from 5G for a long time.

Exactly this, most people are totally unaware of the cost and complexity of setting up a 5g network, it's order of a magnitude more expensive than the current system. It's strangely enough also being touted as something entirely NEW, which it isn't, it's just the same internet but faster.

You have it at home already if you have a high speed connection, does it make the web substantially different ? No, its just speed. 

Those nice predictions are just that, predictions and lets not forget they just project the current trend into the future. However and happily so, NO currency did every appreciate forever, what goes up must go down. 

One political instability later and the baht is 35 to the USD.

I game so i have a desktop pc, a laptop for when i travel and a smartphone "of course"

Before i moved permanently to thailand, i sold my setup and bought a new one in JIB here.

The costs were minimal, but that was a year back when the baht was still 37 to the Euro.

Everyone is thinking too small and in a too limited time frame : There are plenty of planets, no worries.

Time for some real info in this topic i would say : The MG Extender is a SAIC Maxus T70 pickup truck, which in turn is a updated T60.

This truck has been on sale for some time in Australia as well as in several other international markets.

It's the first chinese truck to get a 5 star Ncap safety rating and you can read a review of it here : https://www.caradvice.com.au/598929/2018-ldv-t60-review/

It's a review of the T60, the T70 (or MG extender as it's called here) only has Thai reviews. I would be in the market for the Extender if the price was about 100/200k below the main competitors but it's not and.. as consumers are wary of anything new, i would chose a Toyota, Mazda, Ford, Isuzu or Chevrolet instead for resale value alone.

However it's not a Chinese piece of <deleted> like the Landwind as is suggested here in this topic. 

6 minutes ago, BestB said:

so they try to sell it privately at higher price based on what dealer told them which happens to be below average private sale asking price but more than dealers offer.

I was thinking that myself a bit considering the number of Russians with 5/6 year old cars which seem to be ex lease or finance gone wrong. All 3 didn't want to go down much more on price and mentioned they had other cars if i wanted something cheaper.

Seriously doubt they have a company using company cars and selling them off. Do think they try to flip cars as a source of income. Now only to find that dealer which sells 5 year old Nissan Almera's for 200k..  (with more body extensions than a body builder)

Alternatively getting a base Yaris Ativ new for 459k with way more safety and 3 year warranty

I have been looking for a used car and find a few on the facebook group for used cars in pattaya. Seen 3 sofar and all by Russians, the cars seem reasonable, the book shows 3 owners (bank, thai, company) and the prices are below usual.

Since i know cars i can see they are accident free, but on all 3 the tires were almost done, the brakepads as well, and no documented service history. Milage 30-50k for a 5 year old which seems dubious but doesnt have to be.

Also kitted out with as much "go faster plastic" as possible

When asked it's the same story from 3 different people, "we have a company and replace the cars when they are about 5 years old"

All 3 came to show me the car at my place, were friendly and funny enough all 3 came as a couple with the girl speaking reasonably english and a large smiling Russian bloke who doesn't. 

Anyone know whats going on or is it really legit.

Don't understand all the nonsense about the 800k, it''s nothing new it's just enforced now and rightfully so, many of us stay here without medical insurance or sufficient funds in case of an emergency. 800k in the bank is a reasonable amount to require, its not like you have to PAY it, you just have to HAVE it.

Try emigrating to Australia as a non Australian for retirement and be amazed that your visa application alone cost 12.999 Aussie dollars. Nevermind the 750k Aus that you need to invest in a government fund just to get your visa..

20 hours ago, stubby52 said:

I have a 2012 PCX and can still get around 40k for it but at the local bike shops i saw several 2yr old aerox could be had for about the same

Of course, the aerox is 63k new and the PCX, although the RRP is 83, is 93k ! 

You will lose about 20k on a 2 year old Aerox and about 30k on a 2 year old PCX

And as a side question to the Aerox owners : Do you sit with open legs on the thing, or how do you store your knees ?

18 hours ago, Pungdo said:

Part of the problem is the almost total lack of pool safety fences in Thailand, typical safety last thinking that is the standard here.

Or anywhere else in the world that is not part of the US, pool fences are a very US thing. Never seen one in Europe anywhere, and we have a very low number of drownings. Teaching kids to swim is way more productive than placing 3 million fences.

6 hours ago, tlandtday said:

 Upgrade the seats.

Anyone know a place where they can upgrade the padding to softer / thicker ?

Just very recently bought and Nmax 155, and yes the shocks are extremely stiff, certainly compared to the rental grand filano i had before.

Went back to the store and they advised against softer shocks as the "rear wheel is really heavy and massive, so the shocks of the nmax have to be hard". They advised a custom saddle if i wanted a softer ride.

I too was under the impression that the shop had over inflated the tires and checked them myself, but it was spot on. 

The 2/3 year olds for sale online are 90% ex rentals with a fake number of kilometers. The bike with the most buyers remorse seems to be the Aerox by far, judging from the number of them on sale from private persons. Makes sense as anyone who has legs cant sit on the thing.

Shame i am too tall and look silly on the filano, otherwise i would have bought that one. The pcx is out of the question because overpriced and no ABS

On 7/28/2019 at 10:23 AM, MrJ said:

how much was the Nmax? I paid 77k more than 3 years ago

The 2018 "new" mat black model with gold wheels list price was 81.500, i got mine with a huge discount of 500 baht ... So 81.000 

With a free jacket and a choice of rice cooker or electric sukiyaki pan ! 555

It shows how <deleted> up the market is in Pattaya with really only Mityon as a dealer. However... even with the strong baht the Nmax is still only 2/3 of the price that it is in Germany.

The bike is nice, stable, fast, and feels great with a passenger, looks cool too in black. On the negative side : The suspension is too hard for my taste and the gas too responsive. It's hard to ride it smooth in traffic like you can with a filano. 

Took a third party 1st class insurance including theft cover for 5.300 per year and declined mityons 2 years theft cover only for 2700

Phoned around bangkok as well, nothing.. so finally got myself an Yamaha Nmax, with 500 baht discount and a free electric pan.

Yay for thailand's "competition"

Then again shouldnt complain even with the high baht the bike is not even 2/3 of the price in germany. 

Yes the Baht is too strong, yes there are some ripoffs around, but :

Deluxe 1 bedroom condo on the sea in jomtien / pratamnak 20/30k per month

Eat at the foodcourt in Terminal 21 : 35/40 baht

Buy a jeans 2 t-shirts and some shoes at the market : 1000 baht

Get a girl at home for sex if you would like : 1000 baht

Yamaha Nmax, even with the high baht two-thirds of the price in Germany

Power, water and gasoline much much less expensive than in Europe

So yes please the baht back to 38 for the euro, but with 34.5 it's not as if everything suddenly is 10x as much

11 hours ago, BestB said:

Try Watchara Yamaha on Sukumvit road, this is where i got mine, but it was years ago.

Was there already but they don't sell it. 

The only offer i got in pattaya was from Mityon with a 3/4 month wait for some reason

Called yamaha support and they said it was discontinued for thailand due to lack of interest. Ill give up and get an nmax/filano/whatever with 2 wheels

On 7/23/2019 at 12:27 AM, Kinnock said:

 One had 2 new 125's at a "very good price"

The other dealer was on Rama 4, and they said they could get a 155 in 3 days. 

Thanks for this, good i didn't buy a 2 wheeler yet, i will phone around and hopefully find one.

Today i think a 155 fully black model passed me somewhere in Pattaya with a Thai girl on it as driver, a first !

The 125 will be fine for me as well, as the bike i had rented was a fake 155, and i was happy with the performance, it's no rocket but neither am i ????

Finally found one in soi 13/3 labelled as 155 with nice paintwork but after checking the model number it turned out to be a 125 of 5 years old. Nice trick ! Tried it, liked it, tried buying at several Pattaya dealers but none have any and of course i mean the new 155 model. 

Mityon said they had a black and a white black one but have to wait 4 months for whatever reason. Really nice bike, impossible to buy it seems. Tried to sell me everything else on 2 wheel, but i really do like the 3 wheeler...

Second hand found several 5 year old ex rentals for around 40k, but not interested in buying the 125cc with god knows how many badly driving kilometers without any warranty.