Hugh Cow

I wonder how many of the arresting officers feel like hypocrites when arresting fellow police on corruption charges. In fairness it's a world wide problem. I remember a joke about Australian state police. Quite a few years ago the Victorian police were getting a reputation for shooting first. The New South Wales police were well known for the high level of corruption. After planning a joint raid on the NSW/ Victorian border the head of the Victorian police contingent says. We promise not to kill anyone as long as you don't steal anything. Then there was the corrupt Queensland police that went all the way up to the Police Commissioner Terry Lewis who was actually knighted by the Queen. In England you have police arresting people for comments on social media. The police sadly are a necessary evil.  They enforce government laws right or wrong. There needs to be some sort of citizens committee overseeing the police.

I am constantly amazed on my small visits to Pattaya once every other month how that many bars can survive. Of course I realise many dont. It would be interesting to know what the survival rate is.

1 hour ago, kwak250 said:

At the moment we are looking at building a new house which will be similar to our usage currently.

 We are using around 40-50kwh a day

What would an approximate cost be and how many panels would be needed with a suitable battery?

We have 2 inverters running 24/7 (at the moment )

When it is not so crazy hot we probably only use 25kwh per day maximum

We will have a swimming pool which will also use more energy but will keep using the meter when needed

Many thanks just trying to price everything up

If Crossy's figures are in the ball park I cant see how it is worth it. allowing for 6 months@ 50kwh and 6 months at 25 kwh That should be about 70K baht per annum on mains power. That's 6 years pay back time for the parts alone. For starters I'd ditch the battery. Maybe fit one later when the price goes down unless you have worries about low voltage or power disruptions. I am putting an 11k/w system in (no battery) when my house is completed around July.

I do have the advantage of my wife's cousin owning a solar panel company and he directly imports so I get the system at import cost with free installation. I will post on savings etc in the future when completed but that wont help you now. I believe there is a 2 baht per kwh feed in tariff which can be handy if you spend extended periods away from the house.

Thanks Ray. The reason I liked Cathay was the 64kg baggage plus 10 kg cabin luggage making 74 kg I can take to Thailand. I believe that's the most of any airline. I think Singapore is 50kg plus cabin luggage. Needless to say I am taking a lot to Thailand as I am moving their semi permanently. I will look at Scoot for other trips though thanks.

AS Thai Airways no longer fly direct from Brisbane to Bangkok, I'm thinking of flying Brisbane to Bangkok on Cathay pacific Business Class. Can anyone tell me what Business Class is like on Cathay Pacific as I've not flown with them for years. Also what is Hong Kong Airport like to transit through? Is it relatively easy? Lately I've flown via Manila on Philippine Airlines and find it very quick and easy. My other alternative if not Philippine Airlines is Singapore Airlines. Not sure if this is the right place for this post.

18 hours ago, bradiston said:

Leading to a possibly off topic comment, but out of curiosity, how would the Chinese pay for it, assuming, probably erroneously, they don't have the money here?

 

I ask as I have a potential buyer from China but we can find no way of sending 1m RMB to Thailand to change into THB. Any pointers anyone?

I believe its done through Hong Kong.

9 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

Are you going to have enough assets over for it to matter?

 

One thing most people fail to calculate is the increased expenses as you get older. you can start with retirement home costs and medical.

 

One big red flag is people bringing up topics about what to do with assets and property when they pass. under the surface in my experience what that typically means is not disposition arrangements, but anxiety about running out of money.

Hopefully I have estimated my needs including health insurance etc. I realise there is always the unexpected in which case my children may get less inheritance.

Thanks to Daz Grain Arick and others for their help and comments. I agree with many of those comments and always intended to leave most of my money in Oz. As to the house I am aware that the money on a house is not an investment but I see it as part of the legacy to my good lady wife should i beat her to the pearly gates. It is my "gift" to a woman who has stuck by me and been a wonderful partner over many years. 

24 minutes ago, arick said:

Don't !! And don't move your in a much more beautiful place 

Thank you and yes I love where I live in QLD but It is time for me to move on with my life. I can and will come back from time to time. 

17 hours ago, Celsius said:

Off topic, so don't get triggered.

 

I always wondered how people would use their furniture in new surroundings. It literally makes zero sense moving furniture to a 3rd world tropical country, especially to a place like Bangkok unless you live in one of those 100 million baht climate controlled villas.

I have many things that have a sentimental value that i wish to take. My lounge furniture is not one of them. I haved many hand carved items and nick nacks i wish to have in the new house that I will be building on my return. I am just deciding on how much to take depending on whether I have a PCL or FCL. I do know when you get to 5 plus cubic metres its probably better to get an FCL. I have been involved in importing equipment from Oz to Thailand in the distant pass and was just after a good reliable shipping agent. 

I am looking at moving my household furniture etc from Brisbane to Bangkok. I want to do door to door so I need a shipping agent to do either a full or partial container load door to door. I want a reliable company that will organise handle the shipping and paperwork. Is their any good reccommendations out there? Any experience with companies used that were good will be appreciated.

On 9/8/2023 at 12:02 PM, p414 said:

Thanks to everyone for your comments...This is an L.G. fridge freezer..I have had many fridhes and 2 still in the house.... This L.G [ no frost] got really hot  almost too hot to touch...Homepro gave me the number to call the 'L.G. 'specialists' to check my fridge..Their call out fee is/was 700 baht yes 700   .they came with some kind of thermometer and said there is nothing wrong with the compressor or anything...It is open back at the bottom and the compressor is usually very hot.I have installed a small fan at the rear to blow air on the compressor when it is too hot..I would never buy another L.G.

I will buy phones TVs etc from Korean companies but absolutely nothing else especially A/C and white goods. My background/qualifications are in Aircon and refrigeration.

On 9/6/2023 at 3:12 PM, Kenny202 said:

Why give advice like this if u don't know? Unless a commercial unit fridges and freezers don't have fans or "coolers" whatever you meant by that? Tge freezer itself is a cooler. The heat  is with drawn from the freezer / contents via gas compressed through the pipes out to the back of the unit. We have 2 freezers and what u describe is normal

By fridge/freezer I assume he is talking about a domestic fridge that incorporates a freezer at the top, bottom if drawer style or side by side as opposed to a separate domestic fridge and a separate freezer. most fridge/freezers are all generally "frost free" unless quit old or comparatively small. In nearly all cases the compressor is located at the back at the base of the fridge.

Many of these fridge/freezers incorporate fans to circulate the cold air and most have an aircooled condenser (like small car radiator) located near the compressor to remove the heat absorbed from the cooling coils (evaporators) plus the heat of compression caused by the circulating compressor. The fan draws air through the condenser and discharges it from the bottom of the fridge and therefore needs a space at the back from the wall (approx 75mm) and preferably at least 50mm gap around the top and sides to disipate the hot air and prevent overheating. Overtime lint builds up on the condenser coil and fan blades and reduces the airflow causing overheating. If the gap is sufficient, turn off the fridge check for dust/lint and gently clean the fan and condenserwith a soft brush and then vacuum. Restart the fridge.

NB after turning off fridge wait 20 minutes before restarting to prevent damage to the compressor motor unless you know the fridge has an auto start delay.

On 9/4/2023 at 2:34 PM, Woof999 said:

The lower classes and the less educated (often the same social groups) from the UK often still have the means to holiday half way around the world. You compared Brits with Swedes. The UK has almost 7x the population compared to Sweden, with Sweden being roughly the same distance from Thailand. All else being equal, you'd expect almost 7x the trouble.

 

I expect the same could be said of, for example, the US lower classes, which far outnumber those from most other western countries. However, rather than causing trouble half way around the world, they are likely doing it back at home, or in Mexico, or maybe in Washington on a random early day in January.

Americans have already dealt with their anger issues by shooting a few people in their local community before leaving for Thailand.????

1 minute ago, FruitPudding said:

It was actually Brit bashing. Read the OP

 

Yeah, you are probably right. We do deserve to get attacked by a group of men, teeth knocked out, cerebral hemorrhage etc etc for being drunk and disorderly

 

NOT, ???? only an absolute neanderthal would think that way.

 

 

 

 

Noone "deserves" that for just walking into a seven, buying something and quietly leaves minding his own business and had he done so he would have probably staggered home to sleep it off with just a hangover. But he didnt and aparently was still being aggressive to the ambulance attendants trying to help him. Dont know where you live but In my world there are consequences for drunken idiots who mouth off. If you cant handle your alcohol then dont drink and being drunk at 5am says he cant.

"A mans got to know his limitations" dirty Harry.

1 hour ago, JeffersLos said:

 

Did his teerak get a split lip or is that a menthol stick up her hooter?

Whilst I have met many affable Brits I would happily have a beer with, Patts does tend to attract a lot of the lower end brain dead morons from Britania.  That said I have met loud mouthed idiots from my own country that I wouldn't give the time of day.

Clothes maketh the man and anyone who knows Thais would know you are judged to some degree on how you dress and dressing like a homeless drunk tramp at 5.10 am and most Thais will look down on you devoid of any respect for the lower end pissed up moron you are. Being a loud mouth to boot to a group of young blokes drinking alcohol shows a level of stupidity that has been suitably rewarded.

On 8/17/2023 at 6:24 PM, Felton Jarvis said:

I haven’t seen a single post that meets that criteria. “Corruption” is more than just a small bribe to get an otherwise legal document. Sometimes hundreds of thousands of baht change hands to get things “handled”. Many procedures are deliberately made more difficult in order to extract “tea money”.

I dont disagree with you but I doubt anybody on T/V will be able to fix the problem.

On 8/14/2023 at 8:57 AM, pomchop said:

Ever notice how people that hire these agents to hand out bribes also often complain about corruption in Thailand?

Ever notice those holier than thou expats are not above paying a "fine" to make a "problem" go away?

After wondering how many bars were in the Pattaya area I tried to find out. The best estimate I could find said there were over 2,500 bars in Pattaya but with a disclaimer saying nobody really knows. It's inevitable some are continuously opening and closing. Im sure many of us have had a fantasy of owning a small successful bar in Pattaya in our more drunken moments. For any dreamer out there you could open a bar populated with girls and lady boys and call it Pot Luck. Feel free to use my brilliant idea, no thanks neccessary.

16 hours ago, proton said:

Could you give the contact for the Mitsu service, PM if you don't want to put it in public thanks. Had them before from Suk area but 4 turn up!

Mitsubishi Electric A/C service Ph No 027637000.

On 5/18/2022 at 10:38 AM, swm59nj said:

 I’m wondering who you can trust.  The air conditioner in my bedroom has been not cooling properly.  It is almost two years old.  it is a major brand in Thailand which I won’t mention.  And they were contacted and sent their technicians to diagnose and repair it.

They come here a number of times again tomorrow.  Still not working properly.  Will not maintain temperature running long term.

 First time technicians said nothing wrong after only turning it on for about 15 minutes.   A week later chief technician comes out.  An engineer from the company recommends changing circuit board and temperature sensor.  Still not running properly.  Two weeks later a manager comes .  Checks system for leaks.  Says no leaks but refrigerant is low and replaced it. Still not running properly. A  week later another tech comes out.  Says evaporator unit  is leaking and needs to be replaced . They replaced evaporator.  But still not running properly especially long term. So tomorrow manager comes back with an engineer.

They only charged for one service call and the sensor and circuit board but nothing else.  It’s like a comedy show.

 

 

 

 

Has it ever worked properly? If you send me the make and model, room dimensions including window size unless just standard and any heat loads in room if any, plus wall construction and direction faced and I will check size. (I am a retired HVACR engineer).

My wife's Brother owns a very reputable A/C service company and is an official  panasonic/ mitsubishi service agent in BKK. Some A/C models have specific known faults and he may be able to advise. It is hard to analyse from afar but will give it a go of you pm me with detail. No charge of course.

Cash will be around for many years to come. I always keep cash on me. All you need is a glitch in the banks software, a virus, the internet down, or a power outage and you are in trouble. Not many businesses are going to let you pay later when the problem is fixed. Bangkok bank had a problem with its app only last weekend.

Admittedly a bit tongue in cheek but i did try a tropical pizza in an RSL in Redcliffe that had banana on and it was surprisingly good. I cant remember the other toppings.