Mark1066

That's not been my experience. When I was threatened by 4 or 5 young Thai guys in a rural karaoke bar, the owner prevented them from running into the kitchen to get some knives and a local who lived in my village (but did not know me) offered to help. It's wrong to assume that all Thai people behave in the same way. It's even worse to say what you said: "people in this part of the world.....are cowards". That's just plain, unabashed racism, which disgusts me almost as much as this incident.

If you "took advantage" of that 60-day extension for each entry, you'd end up visiting immigration 3-4 times a year instead of once - what would be the point in that?

If it's a Lion Air flight then imagining it is as close as you're going to get.

Before flying with Lion Air, I'd do some research on their safety record. This is an airline that was once banned from operating anywhere in the EU, due to its poor safety performance (along with other Indonesian airlines).

I had some sympathy for you before you made this comment. If that's what you really think of the Thai government, you should leave and go elsewhere. The fewer Russians in Thailand, the better as far as I'm concerned.

I don't see how that's in any way relevant to my experiences unless of course you are calling me a liar? If you have been in Thailand for 10+ years I cannot believe that you don't know different immigration offices operate in different ways. Or perhaps you are just being obtuse for the sake of it.

One thing I have noticed is it makes some very unusual noises for a fridge but it performs really well. Very good air circulation - a whole lot better than the fridge it replaced, in which my salad items used to go wet and soggy within a day or two.

I'm not sure I'd feel any safer buying fan-operated goods that are made in Thailand. My 4 Xiaomi purifiers have yet to catch on fire but that's a very small sample size of course. And no, I would not buy them again but that's due to my views on China's behaviour on the global stage and not their ability to make air purifiers.

A certain type of Thai lady may regard a gold wedding ring as an investment. But not all of them, by a long shot. (Whoops - didn't see the date of this post before replying to it!)

Maybe that's where he went wrong? I expect your milk would go off quite quickly if you left it in the microwave all day.

So why comment on them if you have no experience? More hearsay is the last thing we need on the Internet. My anecdotal evidence is of little use, coming from a sample size of one, but it's better than nothing.

That was the shop I was talking to - not sure what you mean? (And just an FYI: I didn't just kick off the conversation by demanding that they didn't use Kerry. That message was sent after receiving several ambiguous answers to previous messages.)

This was what I was told and it wasn't a special Lazada deal.

So they just lie I guess? In either case, it makes them an unappealing option for me now.

I specifically asked several sellers if they could avoid using Kerry and was told the shipper was assigned by Lazada so that's not been my experience. And the same with Shopee. I believe you can elect to opt out of that arrangement as a vendor so perhaps the ones I spoke to were just unwilling to do so (I do realise the nature of both platforms). I never had a problem with Kerry in the past but there were hundreds of complaints a few months ago so I know I wasn't the only one at the time. When I spoke to one of their drivers, he told me they simply didn't have enough staff at the moment. Pity that didn't stop them from continuing to accept the same level of business as before. What really p***ed me off was waiting in all day Sunday as their tracking status said it was out for delivery on that day, then to be told they don't deliver at weekends in CM when I asked what had happened to my delivery (which was a lie as I have received weekend deliveries from them before).

Okay thanks. Not sure what you mean by 'one tick wonder'? The loaves I've made with the machine she bought have been fine overall (apart from one with too much water/oil in the recipe that tasted more like a crumpet than a loaf of bread) but the space limitations / orientation of the loaf are a little annoying. If you make a larger loaf, it gets taller rather than longer, which is not what I want.

My Samsung fridge has been running flawlessly since I bought it about 5 years ago. What's your personal experience with their fridges?

Lazada has just as many fakes as Shopee in my experience. My biggest problem with both platforms in recent months was the fact they continued to force people to use Kerry Express, even as the service was falling apart. 11 days from Bangkok to Chiang Mai is inexcusable, as were the lies I was told when I eventually managed to get in touch with someone from the company.

Okay, so a dough kneader/mixer and convection oven sounds like the best solution? (My wife bought my bread maker so I didn't look into those options. I was more worried about the domestic role reversal implications at the time. ????)

What's posh about having a maid in a country where they're so inexpensive? I admit the terminology is a bit 'Upstairs Downstairs' - maybe a home help would sound better?

I'd buy both. A convection oven isn't going to knead dough for you but a bread maker will. And if you prefer, you can use the bread maker just to knead, then put the dough in your oven. A good choice if you're making larger loaves or you don't like the hole you get in the bottom of the loaf with a bread maker.

What I used to find really annoying was the constant and completely unnecessary changes to requirements, which were never advertised anywhere that I could find. Things like having to complete the forms in black ink one year then blue ink the next or demanding photos with white backgrounds one year and light blues ones the next. All designed merely to frustrate and obstruct applicants who already had to wait hours in a queue just to be seen.

I didn't think personal attacks were acceptable on this forum? It's really a shame you can't have a discussion without resorting to insults but something has obviously got your goat. I don't see why you should resent other men getting pleasure from using a straight razor. It's harmless, it's relaxing and, for me personally, has turned what used to be a chore into an enjoyable hobby (and saves money as well). If it's beyond your abilities and you need a nice, safe alternative, that's fine but if you want to call me stupid again, I suggest we arrange to meet and you can try doing it in person.

Ok'd by a Thai? Sorry, I'm honestly not trying to be combative but that's not something I'd worry about at all. I just feel bad paying someone 60 baht to ride for 30-45 minutes in the evening (and probably another half an hour empty on the way back) so I tip them an extra 20 baht. I'm aware it's probably futile because the premise (of helping people make a decent living wage by tipping) only works if everyone else does it too but it's a personal decision and I feel better doing what makes me comfortable, not what Thai people think I should do.

Having once spent a short time as a pizza delivery boy in the UK, I found it was not possible to make a living wage without customers' tips. Because of that, I tip food delivery drivers here. So do some Thai people I know.