Formaleins

I suspect that the decimal place might be in the wrong place, especially since most of them need a calculator to subtract 1 from 100.

Do I detect sarcasm? The Indians appear to all pitch in a few Baht and then about 20 of them bang the girls like a barn door in the wind. Horses for courses I guess. The Chinese tourists band together and pitch in their cash and about 20 of them share a plate of fried rice or similar, either way, a lot of people are getting "sloppy seconds"

There is an abundance of tea in Thailand, any variety you like, not always available in bags, often loose. Twinings sell a load of tea, loose and bagged, but you need a mortgage. Yorkshire Tea (Lazada - 240 bags for about 700 Baht) Try the loose stuff, much better taste and much better value. English Tea like Typhoo, PG Tips are usually available (picked from the grassy slopes surrounding Oldham and Chorley) There are some really good Jasmine Teas around, try Tenju or Jonesgroup.

You've have made my day! Very rarely do I get to laugh out loud at this time of the morning, Thanks!

Do you recall the name "John Bobbit?"

Hua Mum Market, sounds familiar.

So it is still alive? Jesus, who does this sort of thing? What do they charge? There are a few feral hounds around me that would look good in cement. - Nah, that is just sick and twisted. Not very pleasant people really, is this the tourists Thailand is attracting?

"Flocking" no less, absolutely amazing, flocks of Indian tourists flying into Pattaya, defecating like seagulls on the beach. Probably peck your eyes out and tear off your ears given the chance. - Make sure to wash any fecal residue off your car paint as it is acidic.

I really cannot get my head around this. Why are they so in favour of charging a fee to enter the country, it is pathetic. Are they really that desperate that they need to claw 300 Baht out of every visitor. As usual, it is the short term "solution" to the entire tourist industry. Do they really think that by charging everyone 300 Baht a pop they are going to solve the economic woes? Are they really as dumb as they make out? They used to do it a few years back, with their ridiculous 500 Baht departure tax - see where that got them. Why not have a sliding scale that runs from 10 Baht for the real scum tourists and charge up to 1 million Baht for the Arabs.... Nothing these departments do makes any sense to a "normal functioning brain" but somewhere deep inside those empty cobweb strewn vaults that contain the sludge they call a brain, must surely have a plan worked out, or is it the usual knee jerk, suck it and see approach. Never mind, tomorrow is another day in paradise.

"However, numerous foreign residents view it as yet another poorly executed scheme that could ultimately be counterproductive" A poorly executed scheme? Surely not, not here in Thailand.

I'd just get some decent adhesive, I think there is a brand called Weber, this worked well for us.

Take it to the nearest TRO office, get the bike inspected, pay the money and in two days, you will be up to date with your tax and they will issue you new insurance, the tax is something like 1 baht or similar per day , not expensive and no fines. The TRO will get your tax disc for you, just collect it in a couple of days. Also, there is no need to wait until your car or bike is a certain age (I believe 7 years for a car) you do NOT need to go to the transport offices, just your handiest TRO.

I have a real problem sleeping, which got a lot worse after giving up the beer. You could try smoking a very small amount of weed, it helped me somewhat, but a local chemist gave me a pack of pills called "Nite Cap" it is an OTC med, and one or two of these (10mg) from a company called Millimed - these have worked great for me, however, I DO NOT get a full nights sleep, but the sleep I do get, maybe 3 or 4 hours over a night, is good sleep!

A Taxi from Laos to Chiang Mai? That wouldn't draw attention to his financial status would it?

Any confirmation on nationality as Thai people "would never do this"