London Lowf

There's a breathalyser checkpoint virtually every night on the Kamala-Patong road but they recognise me now and wave me through.

Yes, the Captain America. I didn't want it but they had it in the showroom and it was a three-six month delivery for a standard paint job. I was paying B6,000/month to rent an ADV150 and so it made financial sense to buy this kiddie version!

I paid the quoted showroom price and that included almost* everything - delivery from Thalang to Kamala for me, my existing hire bike and the new bike, red plate, registration, some kind of insurance and substitution of the white plate when it was ready - *although they did cheekily charge me B100 for the holder. I got a Honda branded cover thrown in as well as a naff "Marvel" jacket.

There you go - a farang tax! The red plates are owned by the dealer (like "trade plates" in the UK) and will be taken off and used for another bike when your permanent plate is issued. Too late now, but I used Honda Thalang ("Nok") to buy an ADV last June and would totally recommend them. Cash plus passport plus CoR issued by Phuket immigration - I'm not sure if Patong issue them?

The driving in this country never ceases to amaze me - a couple of hours ago a pick-up slowly reversed into me while I was sitting behind him on my scooter at a red light - it wasn't a roll-back on a hill, so what on earth was he doing? Luckily my front wheel was strong enough to stop him and he had to move forward as it became jammed under his rear bumper. No harm done! A few days ago a bike taxi rammed me up the rear while slowly filtering along a packed Rat-U-Tit on the appraoch to Bangla. Again, no harm done. I still visit Bangla five nights a week but sometimes I wonder why? Part of it is the fact that it seems impossible to know in advance whether the bars in my base town (Kamala) are going to close at midnight or the usual 2am. I've been staying in Kamala for about six years but the late night bar scene has never recovered since Covid - I often used to stop off regularly on my way home from beers at Bangla at about 1am for a couple of Sang Soms and games of pool but the centre of Kamala seems to start dying after about 11pm so I'm not sure where all the night owl expats go these days - maybe to Patong, like me? I'm surprised that Patong is still so busy - I went home for Xmas and New Year partly to avoid the worse of peak season, but the traffic and parking is still horrendous and walking along Bangla at 11pm-1am is an assault course. Most of the bars seem to be doing very well although the newly refurbished Tiger seems to be a bit of a failure, no doubt partly due to B140 beers! I always have a peek and have never seen any of the bars busy, even the ones right at the front. One thing that I am noticing is that, although the bars may be doing okay in terms of turnover, the girls are not getting the tips and ladydrinks like pre-Covid. There are still a few guys that are happy to pay to sit surrounded by three or four overweight and unattractive (to me) girls but there are many like me who are no longer interested in that game - in the past I would pay for the company of a young and attractive girl but there are so few around these days and it all gets a bit tiresome after a few years. Also, there seem to be more people paying by phone/card and so that must also kill the tip jar. In the last week or so a couple of the regular girls that I used to exchange pleasantries with have packed up and gone back home. Based on my observations I would guess that even the few attractive bargirls are very rarely getting picked up for a takeaway - I think that the freelancers have completely taken over that market although they do get many last-minute cold feet ("what, I also have to pay B500/B1,000 for a stinking slum room for half an hour?") which wouldn't happen if a bar-fine had already been invested. To sum up my impressions - Patong seems to have more than recovered from Covid and is generally in good health although the type of customer has evolved - more couples and families, and they spend their money in different ways to single guys like me.

Well, hopefully the "official" sellers of e-cigs and duty-free contraband on Bangla will continue as they have been for many years - I would imagine that these interlopers were shopped by the usual concerned citizens?

Well, they seemingly got away with a full-on party during the Covid lockdown and so this is barely worth a moment's worry for them!

Well, my return flight is in exactly 90 days and so I will obviously be getting an extension - hopefully! I wasn't aware of the 180-day rule, if indeed there is such a thing. I would have thought that, if it was a problem, then my e-visa application would have snagged. As you say, these things are notoriously inconsistent. I truly believe that I am a genuine and valuable tourist - the fact that I detest cold weather and am retired and flush is the reason for the long visits and I am not trying to beat any system (like border-bouncers, some agent users) but I'll have to reconsider my future plans.

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll give them a try. Yes, I fondly remember Durban Poison - and also Malawi Cobs (disgused as a cob of corn) and I'm sure they also sold something called Thai Sticks back then. The point is, it was all good. You didn't waste loads of time and mobey on rubbish purchases whilst trying to track down the decent stuff but hey, TIT!

I flew into Phuket last Tuesday with a TR60 visa and, after queueing for over an hour, the IO gave me a hard time - a young lady with a very soft voice and so I could barely hear a word. At one point she shuffled off to the far end of the hall, presumably to speak with a supervisor. After about fifteen minutes she asked if I had a return ticket - not needed for a TR60 entry I thought - and finally stamped me in but typed a lot into her computer and so I guess that I may have problems again. History? In 2023 I visited Jan 15th to Mar 29th on a TR60 plus extension. Jun 1st to Jul 30th on a TR60. Oct 3rd to Dec 17th on a TR60 plus extension. I am a regular long-term visitor but I am not aware that I am breaking any rules. I am comfortably retired and not a scruffy backpacker or cheap Charlie and would have thought that I am exactly the kind of tourist that Thailand is trying to attract. Since I need to remain based in the UK for medical needs, a long-term visa is not really suitable for me. Did I just catch the IO on a bad day?

I lived and worked in South Africa for four years and smoked whatever my maid could get hold of - it cost peanuts and was always a brilliant high to enhance whatever you were doing. The stuff here is extremely disappointing and I've tried OG Kush, Watermelon Zkittlez and Chilli Charlotte - no munchies, music doesn't sound any better, just a slightly pleasant way to nod off at the end of the day. My next purchase will be a single gram from the kiosk in my local Big C to try out - I'm not going to invest in 10g of junk online again and then have to wait in all day as they only do COD.

I think that dying as a result of a road traffic accident is classified as "natural causes" in Thailand. Is it any less natural than succumbing to cancer after smoking, or cardio-vasular disease after a lifetime of junk food?

A link within that link does, and includes:- At the time of writing, it isn’t possible to get a visa for tourism purposes with a validity of longer than 30 days, and Vietnam does not offer a retirement visa. Some people manage to stay longer by leaving the country at the end of their 30 days, then returning with a new e-visa. However, the days of easy visa runs are over, and not everyone receives approval for a second 30-day e-visa. It is unlikely that you could remain in Vietnam, even by making monthly visa runs, for more than a few months." I have no opinion on the accuracy, but it was last updated August 2022.

Yes indeed - if I had to drive a car rather than ride a bike then I would not even consider Phuket as a destination.

So, the "experts" seem to agree - screeching brakes on a public Thai bus while descending a steep hill is absolutely nothing to worry about! Quite frankly, I'll think that I'll stick with my technical ignorance.

I did say "falling" rather than "fell" meaning to convey the idea of the caliper coming loose and being wedged against the disc. But, as you correctly pointed out, a highly unlikely event.

So, you are very obviously Thai

You have hit the nail on the head!

No, that causes a much gentler noise. When I say screech I am not exaggerating - brakes only make that noise when the pads and warning strips are completely shot or thed caliper is falling off. Trust me, I know about this stuff

I was following a Smart bus on the Kamala-Surin road earlier today and the sound of the brakes screeching was truly ear-splitting. Don't the drivers/owners in Thailand understand that this is a warning sign? The pads have probably worn away completely or else there is some other major fault with the brake system. I despair of these people!

As said, many of the girls on those websites are gold diggers but bear in mind that many of the guys are just looking for sex with a much younger girl, either short or long time - a match made in heaven. I gave up all the ladydrink/bar fine nonsense many years ago and now use a website and each trip I manage to find a gem. I guess that guys like me are the root of the OP's problem?

Don't leave the bar so early?

Guilty as charged!

As far as I can tell, a lot of supermarket "fresh" chicken is frozen - my local Big C sometimes puts it on display too early and it is still a solid lump. I've always found it odd that, in Thailand, breast fillets are virtually given away while the rubbish cuts are more prized.

Thanks for the suggestion. In return, I suggest you give XMAS_EVET10 from the Syro album a try - if you can listen a few times then play it at half speed to truly appreciate the complexity and creativity.