Damrongsak

Chrome plating can be put on various metallic substrates. It can be very durable or not, depending on the quality of the plating. Stainless steel (which is not really "stainless") is steel with a significant percentage of Chromium in the mix. There are many alloys and corrosion resistance varies a LOT. Alloy 304 is pretty common, 316 is used in corrosive marine environments, etc. I don't know if anyone makes fully "stainless" fixtures or if that's just a trade name for what the finish looks like. That is, shiny chrome plating vs. "brushed chrome" or some such. Could be the same cheap Zinc inside. Or, if your lucky, brass inside. I hate doing plumbing repairs! Here in the US, I recently replaced 3 bathroom sink faucets that were about 25 years old. @#%$!!!. One more to go, but I decided to come to Thailand for two months instead. At least here, you only have to deal with cold water faucets, not hot and cold.

45 years ago I'd buy some Valium when I took the overnight bus to BKK. Lots of other stuff was available, I'm sure.

I just came back to our house in Loei 10 days ago, about 1 km from city center. I'll be here about 60 days with a side trip to Vietnam. Trimmed off a few droopy palm leaves in the yard, talked to a couple of my wife's 40 or so bantam chickens, chat with relatives. Loei Town is not much more exciting than it was in 1978. Highlights of the day are going to the market at 5:30 in the morning and buying beer off-hours. At any rate, there are some really nice houses here. Close in but off the beaten path.

It's like giving someone a knife that they like. You have to sell it for 5 Baht or bad luck.

My wife has been cutting my hair for 45 years. Prior to that I never paid for a haircut. I did send her to a fancy school in BKK. She's an accomplished seamstress and hair cutter.

Magroot is the fruit of the Kaffir lime. Used in shampoo and whatnot. Bai magroot are the leaves, used in cooking. Bai = leaf.

The suggested retail price of a CT125 here in the States is about 150,000 Baht. K-Speed did a cool mod version:

No doubt shark fin soup. And the RD NEST sign is probably Bird Nest soup.

Reminds me of the French restaurant scene in European Vacation where they get served frozen dinners.

A couple reviews: https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/toyo-at-3-all-terrain-tire-review/ https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/toyo-at3/

More or less... around $800-$900 each. each.

My old 4x4 Toyota truck has 15 inch rims, so there are fewer selections these days. Goodrich was one contender. I just recently bought Toyo Open Country A/T 3 since I couldn't get the same Bridgestones that were on it. $166 per tire here in the US ( plus mounting) for P235/75 R15 108T. (IIRC the Bridgestones were more than that well over 10 years ago.)

Yep. 2/3 of my money is savings and investments. I get a bit from US Social Security, which I could live on in Thailand, being a cheap SOB. But I reserve the $80K/year for when I'm in a rest home. Getting care in the USA when one is old isn't cheap.

I liked that area around Yaowarat/Pahurat, but that was years back. I used to buy little fried pastries from an old Indian (Sikh?) street vendor. Went back maybe 15 or so years later and he was still in the same place, but with an assistant. The old man had managed to visit relatives in the U.S. I thought that was cool.

I'm not racist, just practical. The only things that bother me are things like "driving while Asian" and the like (like my Thai wife). Woof! ???? I don't buy into all this "racist" stuff. It's cultural, and one can go anywhere and find local "cultures" that bug the <deleted> out of you.

13 Amps on a 16 gauge extension cord wire is getting up there. 16 gauge is like "lamp cord" to my way of thinking. I personally wouldn't use on 120V if I had a 1625 Watt load except if that load was somewhat intermittent and/or the ambient temperature was low. But if you are using it on 220V instead of 120V then the amperage for a given wattage would be about half so would probably be OK. Hopefully the 120V cord has a higher insulation rating (say, 300V) for safety sake. And cheap "lamp cord" probably has a low temperature rating. In the USA, 14 gauge wire is commonly used for 15 Amp/120V lighting circuits and typical outlets, but that's solid wire. Multi-strand cords take a bit of beating and I prefer to de-rate them a bit. Folks, listen to Crossy. He's a "sparky". (I only worked in the electrical utility industry for 10 years or so selling electric meter test equipment. I learned a couple things.)

Is that anything like Thai "classifier" words? Those are pretty slippery in my experience. There's a whole bunch of them.

That is great!

Mango sap - mean stuff: "... the sap is highly acidic and contains an oily compound called urushiol – the same substance that’s in poison ivy. ..." https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/eat/mango-sap-hidden-danger-in-popular-summer-fruit/news-story/fcdb5fdd08d57dcb6ffce0b118532ae4 https://gardendrum.com/2015/09/15/the-dangers-of-mango-sap/

Ah, but pandering to those with some college education seems better than giving $ to the unwashed masses, vote-wise. I'd prefer that they subsidize those studying science, medicine, engineering and the like. We need those folks.

Yeah, seems like rubbing alcohol or mineral spirits are more recommended.

WD40 is pretty much white spirit and a wee bit of oil. Nice for cleaning greasy stuff but not a good lubricant.

That could work. I'm assuming this is more of a tree sap, not "juice". It's possible that something like strong rubbing alcohol or some type of vegetable oil could act as a solvent and dissolve it. Worst case, maybe Acetone or nail polish remover. Always test in an inconspicuous place.