Damrongsak

They are clever ... DAMN THEM.

Make a transportable bike crushing machine and use it. Hey, how about fitting and "giving" a halfway decent helmet to everyone who passes their license test? Just pad the license fee. That might get a wee bit larger percentage of the riders to wear them. As for the unlicensed ...

Here's an idea: How about visa exempt BUT one has to notify Thailand when they plan to come a certain time ahead. That might reduce the number of crooks who have to get out of town fast. In addition, the authorities could perhaps do random background checks on a few, just because. Sort of an informal visa but without charge.

The cops and their tracking dog are hot on their trail.

My brother had a TL125. Lots of history and pics here: https://onlytrial.com/

I had an old Montesa 250 that I got running - money pit. And I had a 1967/68 Chevy pickup truck.

Never had one but I took a year off from college and went to a motorcycle mechanics school back around 1973. The Honda 750 was pretty new at the time. But I wasn't interested in big bikes.

I had plenty of cleaning to do and a couple projects to finish. She came in at Dulles airport (IAD) near Washington, DC. It took her 2 hours to get through immigration, etc. When I came back in early November it took me 2.5 hours. Ridiculous.

I'm familiar with the Lac insects and the resin they excrete - we call it Shellac in it's purified form. It's a natural polymer of sorts. I use it to glue the handles onto the Thai farmer machetes. There are many Youtube videos about it, especially from India. I have several twigs with the lac still on them. Stick Lac.

They would be worried about Lac insects or rice or whatever they depend upon for a living.

Just rambling in the pub: My wife and I went to Thailand in early September last year. I stayed about 2 months, she stayed about 6 months. After 45 years of marriage it was a welcome relief. ???? She's been back for a couple days now ... sleeping 4 hours at a time several times a day. It's a rough journey to the USA when you get into your mid to late sixties. I teased her about coming back to the U.S. and the quiet nights without kids on motorcycles with no mufflers running around and her 50 pet chickens crowing all the time. Never mind the yapping relatives. I did some good house cleaning so I'm not completely in the dog house. Anyway, wish me luck ... I could use it.

Because they never brake? Full speed ahead!

When I lived in Loei, a woman down the street would sit on her front porch topless during hot weather. ... That was in 1978 and she was probably 75 years old.

Here you go, some tips for getting around quickly if you want to be at the head of the pack. Not sure if it scales down to 125/150 cc bikes or not.

I guess one of those would be OK, IF you lived where there were lots of Chinese replacement parts and mechanics who would replace them for virtually nothing. Buy two and rotate them to the shop every other month. There may be certain models of certain brands that are generally OK, but you need to know before you spend $$$.

In my case I had an aortic aneurism about 10 years ago. Would have killed me if I hadn't had it operated on. Since it runs in the family, my Mother paid for my brother and I to get an ultrasound screening. Sure enough I had a pretty big one. They can rupture and kill you in minutes. They are usually asymptomatic until they get really big or rupture.

There's a song about that. Priceless.

Just sign it again in blue ink.

Let me guess ... "Evening in a Cat House" ? (My uncle used to say he used Evening in a Barn Yard aftershave.)

My wife's siblings have done well for the most part, but they work at it. A couple are/were self-employed. My younger bro-in-law had a little motorcycle repair shop. We got him into the U.S. where for years he was a cook at a Thai restaurant. Last year he wandered into a Honda motorcycle dealership and walked out with a job. He's now their most experienced mechanic except for the computer diagnostics. (Disclaimer: I don't get paid for this endorsement. But he does fix our cars, mows the lawn, cleans the gutters, rakes leaves and trims trees for free. Nice "kid" - I've known him since he was about 12 years old. )

My wife grew up in Loei. She's been told by a Lao lady that she speaks with a Luang Prabang accent, as does her friend from Petchabun. Apparently there are a couple different Lao accents in Loei. Maybe ages ago people got drunk up in Luang Prabang, fell into the Mekong and washed up on the bank in Loei where the river turns east.

All I have is a lowly iPhone 6s+. And it's a free hand-me-down from my wife's niece who had to have something newer and fancier. Oh, the shame. I'm the third owner of my iPad Air 2 which is an upgrade from an even older one ... I was the 4th owner of that one.

Yes, he had humble beginnings. Still full of it ...

Buy a motorbike and hang out in the Motorcycles in Thailand forum.

https://www.suzukimotosales.co.th/en/bikes/raider-j/