In the jungle

Anyone familiar with the terrain between Chumphon and Ranong would quickly conclude that it is unsuited to rail transport.

6 hours ago, IgboChief said:

 

Bonus:

- you are not put under consideration and have to go a second time for the final visa stamp

- you do not need to bring neighbors or wives

- in the morning their baguettes are great

You must be a mind reader. 

When I mentioned that I like the trips to Laos I was thinking specifically of coffee and baguettes.  There is a great little restaurant next door to the hotel I stay at that does both very well. 

1 hour ago, MangoKorat said:

The money might not be an issue for most folks - especially if they will accept the income method. The issue for some may be - if they require it to be in a Thai bank account.

I agree.

One of the reasons why I have used Savannakhet until now is because I did not want 400K or 800K sitting in a Thai bank diminishing in value.

Even with this new financial requirement Savannakhet is still the option I prefer over marriage extension or retirement extension in country.  Ideally they will accept 400K in a foreign bank consistent with other Thai Embassies and Consulates but, as of now, that is insufficiently clear.

2 hours ago, MangoKorat said:

Can I ask, was the subject of the money being in a foreign (non Thai) bank account discussed?  I'm just trying to find out if they are wanting the money to be in a Thai account.  If they are, they are out of order given the visa type.

I am also interested in the answer to that question.

If they are consistent with other Thai Consulates and Embassies worldwide the answer would be that they will accept statements from any country provided they show the required amount.

As an example the last time I applied for an E visa in London the statement I provided was from an offshore bank.  The application was granted.  

Average price for our farm this year to date is 5.73 Baht.  Best price is 6.2 Baht.

3 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

I thought the thread was about Savannakhet,....certainly the post I was replying to was.

It is a relevant post to this thread because many people do not much care whether they go to Sav or HCMC.  Their objective is to get the visa they want.

9 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I "know" one of the richest guys from Myanmar. He likes to spend time in the bars in Soi Cowboy - since years. 

But if he would have to answer some official survey, I am not so sure that that would be what he would tell them. ???? 

It's the temples obviously.

Just now, JBChiangRai said:

And I thought you had no sense of humour 

Sure I have and in this thread I discovered you do too. 

"Flood the zone with excrement" (I paraphrase to avoid censorship)

That infamous quote is by far right activist and convicted criminal Steve Bannon.  He advocated it as a technique for dealing with opposing voices particularly on the internet.  You just drown out the  opposition's opinions under the weight of column inches and repeated posts.  What you say does not have to be true or rational there just has to be an overwhelming amount of content.

That is the technique you see deployed here by what I will charitably call EV enthusiasts.  Just take a look at who are the most frequent posters.

2 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

40 years ago, I got my first and only new manual transmission a Mercedes  190E, I think it was about US$1,000 more for an automatic gearbox, about another 7%. It was a company car and the automatic was too expensive for my grade.

 

The international group I worked for also owned Inchcape, a Mercedes dealership.
 

Automatics are considered a luxury in the UK and rarely specified on small cars.

Automatics are for people who can't drive.

18 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

All these talk about how an EV might perform at Le Mans and so on is just plain pointless and irrelevant to this thread. The average car buyer doesn’t care how well his or her car will perform at Le Mans and probably won’t be able to afford such a car anyway. Similarly with MT or AT transmission. Most daily drivers would prefer AT especially when having to drive during peak hours and in traffic jams, coupled with the fact that a lot of them won’t know how to drive a MT car.

 

More than 80% of cars sold in Europe are manual transmission.  There is a good reason for that.

1 hour ago, Bandersnatch said:

You couldn’t be more wrong. My new EV has a structural battery pack which great torsional rigidity. The weight is set down low under the car with perfect weight distribution. 

 

 

 

Did you ever wonder why race cars are always built to the minimum allowable weight?

30 minutes ago, BKKBike09 said:

Volkswagen DSG auto box (I have a (now very old) Scirocco) gives that experience - in fact you could argue better than manual because you don't need to lift off at all when shifting and the shift is quicker than a manual change. Now if only they'd made the Scirocco AWD or RWD.

 

I've also got a BYD Atto. Handles like a boat on the stock rubber / suspension, but it's a very relaxing car to drive if not hammering it. If you can charge at home and your journeys are typically less than 300 km round trips, EVs are great. But certainly not suitable as a blanket replacement for ICE, at least not until charging takes 15 min or less and chargers are literally everywhere. Which is going to take a long time. Where all that power will come from is another thorny issue.

 

Porsche have argued endlessly. supported by hard facts that their equivalent auto box for the 911 is superior to a manual transmission but people still demand the manual and the manual commands a premium on the used market. 

I have a soft spot for the Scirocco.  I had a second gen which I bought brand new in 1986.

3 hours ago, Lacessit said:

A manual Celerio would be superior to the Neta in higher speed overtaking, as the Neta is a single speed gear. An automatic Celerio, CVT gearbox, probably less efficient.

I'm just wondering how many people still drive manuals, pretty sure millennials would not have a clue unless they were driving older trucks or farm equipment.

I like the fact manuals and torque box automatics give an alternative escape route if brakes fail. I am uncomfortable with CVT's for the same reason.

I have only owned cars with manual transmissions.  The Celerio manual is 2.5 seconds quicker 0-100 kph than the CVT variant.  It is quicker 0-100 than any Suzuki Swift model available today.  The peformance is, of course, due to light weight rather than because it is massively powerful and the manual variant of the Celerio is 45kg lighter than the CVT. 

The fact that it has a manual transmission is a key reason why I bought it and manuals are fun.  I want to be engaged in the process of driving as you are with a manual. 

I like manual transmissions because they give the most direct relationship between application of throttle and what is delivered at the driven wheels.  With any type of automatic gearbox you do not have that.

I was not budget constrained in buying the Celerio.  I bought it because I liked it.  I have two other cars which are considerably more expensive and, of course, they are also manual.

EVs also give you a direct relationship between application of throttle and what is delivered at the wheels though in many cases the manufacturer has chosen to put electronic interference between the throttle and the driven wheels.  But EVs currently fall down in another of my purchasing criteria which is light weight.  I have owned very few cars over 1000kg and many have been considerably lighter.

Most EVs do a very good job of disguising their weight by weight distribution but ultimately weight compromises their dynamic properties.  That isn't a matter of subjective opinion.  It is physics.   

23 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

I can see why you’ll think that, but I suggest you have a look at the fastest cars around the Nurburgring, they are generally stunningly fast.

That is why I said most EVs.  There are notable exceptions at the expensive end of the market.

There is a good video put up today by Rory at Autotrader comparing the Taycan, Tesla Model S track and the Audi Taycan equivalent.  The Taycan and Tesla are such exceptions.  Not sure about the Audi which seems a bit luxo-barge biased to do well in stock form at the Nurburgring.

And of course Nurburgring is only seven or eight minutes, as opposed to the 24 hours of Le Mans.

And note the part in the video where he says you need to cool the battery of the Tesla for 20 minutes to get full performance for 2.3 seconds.

"The touted  bogeyman negatives over electrical supply generated by petrochem with regard  to  carbon emissions  can be shown to favour energy efficiency even when taking into account losses in transmission vs ice efficiency. Add to that the reduction in urban background noise pollution, environmental distribution of exhaust toxins"

The problem with that point is that to a significant extent EVs constitute the rich in urban areas exporting their pollution to the poor who live near the power stations.

20 minutes ago, RanongCat said:

I do not own one and probably never will simply because my current ICE vehicle performs well that despite age will outlast my safe driving days.

That said if I were younger and in the market I think I would  lean towards electric simply because of performance. Range in terms of urban travel is really of no consequence and for that simple reason alone has practical appeal.

The touted  bogeyman negatives over electrical supply generated by petrochem with regard  to  carbon emissions  can be shown to favour energy efficiency even when taking into account losses in transmission vs ice efficiency. Add to that the reduction in urban background noise pollution, environmental distribution of exhaust toxins . Even deadhead boy racers with the inevitable acquisition of high performance electric m/bikescould attempt ritual suicide in relative silence  marked only by the Ambulance siren announcement of a reduction in that redundant sector of society.

Unfortunately there  does seem to be a discrepancy in recognition of the limited infrastructure that is becoming apparent not only in Thailand.

A major issue  for  many SEA countries is that beneficial infrastructure is compromised by a lack of cohesive development planning. Thus it is often easy to witness commercial/industrial enterprises  operating  next door to food prep or restaurants sometimes situated  on the  footpath directly  outside.

Shock horror to those from a society/culture where such is prohibited yet quietly fascinated by such lack of inhibition for entrepreneurs !

Such is the situation with "electrification" of transports  in Thailand  now.

Even to the degree of nasty  irritating cheap little unlicenced electric buggies and two wheelers inviting  road rage  as Granny or a  firkin  5 year old cruises down the  road at 15 kph to the  7/11 to get 20 bht more 1 /2 call for Granma scamming some farang on tiktok  etc !

More genuinely seriously is the  advent of Thailand produced all electric vehicles.  A legitimate industry  providing  employment and an associated need for cognizant skills at  several levels.

That this industry is  rising in development and impact has/is generated already partisan opinion is quite revealing about  "modern" society. Especially when EV negativity is quietly but  primarily funded by petrochem industries.

What need for Petrol heads  to complain?  Crude oil  is far from depletion so your  ridiculous  dragster  can continue to  compete  with a factory  std Tesla  for  quite a while  yet !

 

 

Most EVs are a bit of a one trick pony in terms of performance.  Good at traffic light drag racing but compromised in other respects by weight.

They are not going to win Le Mans anytime soon.

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

To be fair, I doubt I would want to be driving a Celerio at top speed.

I haven't tried.  I have probably done around 120kph max indicated in the Celerio.  I wouldn't want to drive any car at 160kph on Thai roads.

One of the problems with the Neta is that it only does 120kph max.  That is just not enough margin of safety for overtaking.

5 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

Maybe the ZS or HS PHEV.

 

The dedicated BEV platformed MG4 doesn’t have any noticeable roll with a sports suspension and 50/50 weight distribution.

The MG4 is very impressive at the Thai price.

Tesla model 3 is too but Thai price is daft.

1 minute ago, JBChiangRai said:

Maybe the ZS or HS PHEV.

 

The dedicated BEV platformed MG4 doesn’t have any noticeable roll with a sports suspension and 50/50 weight distribution.

I think it was one of those two.  I don't know the MG range well enough to know the difference between them.  I infer from your post that they are based on what was originally an ICE chassis.

Just now, JBChiangRai said:

It may not have been an EV.

 

The MG EP+ is a bit boat like, great for passengers on a long journey, but not a driver’s car to hurry along twisty roads.

 

I think there is a big difference in cars that are engineered for battery technology, rather than ICE cars that have been converted to BEV.

It was an EV.  I was quite impressed by the acceleration.

7 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Why do you quote the more expensive automatic model?

A Celerio manual is a great little 4 door, I'm seeing them everywhere, not surprising at 320kbht..

Mine was 312K out the door.  12 months comprehensive insurance and vehicle recovery.  Free service labour costs for three years.