Lacessit

IMO the mainland Chinese are learning quite a lot from the Russia-Ukraine war, and it is giving them pause.

Not on the west coast of Taiwan, either. I am told on good authority there is so much sulphur dioxide coming across from mainland China all metal fittings on buildings are corroded.

It's a sign of chronic infection of some kind. I doubt it is leukemia, there would be other parameters affected, and the rest of the readings are in the normal range.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monocytosis

When EV's start getting more than 50% of the market, I will start sitting up and taking notice. I will take even more notice when legislators decree any vehicle older than 15 0r 20 years must be taken off the road. Thailand's EV market penetration is predicted to be nearly 9% by the end of the year, Japan seems to be stuck on 3%. Possibly that is due to the difference in public transport infrastructure.

I remember getting my motorbike license in Australia at age 68. A comprehensive written and practical test, with a very strong emphasis on threat assessment. When I got my Thai scooter license, it consisted of a medical certificate, and being able to identify the colors of a traffic light. I agree some Thai drivers are quite skilled; however, they drive too fast when they shouldn't, and many think rear vision mirrors are for squeezing pimples and applying makeup. I have flown an light aircraft for about an hour. I am quite sure I could not land one.

I don't know if Mae Tang has kayaks, it does have rafting. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g293917-d617148-r188338500-Siam_River_Adventures-Chiang_Mai.html

While I agree with you, you are talking about 4 litres of V6 against 1.5 litres of Vios. The V6 is barely breaking a sweat. Not that the Vios has much more to do, 100 km/hr at 2100 rpm.

You make some valid points. I am quite confident I am a far more skilled driver than the vast majority of drivers here, and that comment is not just based on my driving record. I have driven in all kinds of conditions, flooded dirt roads, corrugations that would shake your teeth out, even some snow in New Zealand. I've done quite a lot of off-road driving on rural properties as well. About 50 years ago, I got my first company car. One had to pass a defensive driving course before being given the keys.

Of course you are joking when you get called out over a particularly stupid post, it's a pattern of yours. IMO the TEAL independents are shaking up the major parties quite convincingly, either major party has to factor them into any legislation they bring to Parliament. It would not surprise me to learn the TEALS are pressuring Labor to drop the Stage 3 tax cuts. Talking of tax, I am wondering what happens if your predicted 32.5% tax on overseas pensioners comes to be, along with the Thai government's new tax laws for expats. The legal eagles will have a field day determining what to do with the existing DTA.

I don't think of it as gold, more as sand-colored. Obviously the Vios would not fare well in crash tests against newer cars. The point is to drive so one does not have to put crash-worthiness to the test. In over 60 years of driving, I have yet to hit anyone with a vehicle. My accidents in Australia have invariably been from someone rear-ending me, or T-boning me when I have had right of way. Thailand is not the only country with incompetent and drunk drivers. The Vios does not have ABS or airbags. No stability control, GPS or adaptive cruise control. IMO we are getting too dependent on all the fruit salad. I have driven it for about 8 years here without an accident, so I must be doing something right. BTW, parking in the shade under a tree is an invitation for the tree itself or birds to ruin paintwork.

Did you not see the shadow of a banana tree reflected in the bonnet of the Toyota? What is desperate about my posts? Noted you were not prepared to argue the point about black cars getting dirtier quicker. Just because I think differently to you. does not mean I am wrong or antiquated. I daresay I am smarter than people who buy new, expensive cars to impress friends, relatives and neighbors. FYI. the Vios is coming up to 200,000 km on the odometer, has been all over northern Thailand, and has never let me down. Toyota must hate that model, they just keep on going.

As another poster has noted, not all cars have thermostatically-controlled fans. Heat is the enemy of polymers and batteries. It's why the guarantee on most batteries here is only one year. A dark car parked in the sun is going to absorb more heat than a light colored vehicle. Look up the Stefan-Boltzmann law. Perhaps you do not understand the principle of accumulation. Breakdown of organic components does not occur overnight, it takes years. I am saying a dark-colored car will be forking out money on replacement plastics and batteries sooner than a white one. Maybe the difference is small, but it will be there. Basic chemistry says so. Reliability for manufacturers consists of getting their vehicles past the warranty period, after that they don't give a sh!t what happens to them, particularly in terms of appearance. Any paint chemist will tell you dark-colored paints are much harder to keep stable than light-colored ones in service, red is the worst, followed by black. The photo is my Toyota Vios, now 18 yo. Show me an 18 yo black vehicle with paint anywhere near as good.

So do the snipers.

Most cars ( with the exception of the old Volkswagen Beetle ) have a coolant system with a radiator designed to remove heat by convection. This is accomplished by air flow when the vehicle moving. When the car stops, assuming it has had a run sufficient to get to operating temperature, said air flow ceases. The heat under the bonnet then has to dissipate via radiation and conduction. Components such as polymers and batteries cook for a while, as the engine block obeys the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Lifting the bonnet assists trapped heat in escaping. All my cars have been light-colored, apart from a 1973 Ford Fairmont. That car was a heat sink. You may find my ideas strange, they seem to work in terms of the longevity of the vehicles I have bought. I find people who drive black cars hilarious too. Apart from the heat aspect, they show road dirt far more quickly than a light-colored car. They need washing once a week. Manufacturers will make cars in any color where there is demand. They don't discriminate between intelligent car buyers, and d!ckheads.

I prefer pad siew gai, pat goong, and pad Thai Goong. Suki seems to be the plat du jour at MK restaurants. I hate sitting in clouds of steam.

The OP states the guy sustained severe head injuries. I don't know if that is possible if one is wearing a proper helmet. While the truck driver is a coward, it is possible the deceased contributed to his own death.

If the landlord has offered to void the contract and return deposits, I would be out the door as fast as my feet could take me. The landlord's "wet mop" attitude to the management IMO will change rapidly when he is stuck with a condo no one will rent. And still charged annual condo fees. It's not the tenant's job to take legal action. It's the landlord's.

Modern AC does not cool the engine sitting under the bonnet. Said engine has various polymeric connections as well as metallic components. There's not many plastics that are immune to heat degradation. Silicones and PTFE, maybe. I don't know if it is significant; however, I would rather have my engine sitting under a light-colored bonnet, than a black one, if it is always parked outside. Some Thais raise the bonnet lid after a long run, to assist the engine in cooling down. So do I.

They should have been able to issue you with a new card on the spot. That's ridiculous.

I would be closing the account, and telling the branch manager why. Obviously SCB is not into customer service.

Back in the 1980's, I could still do all my own maintenance on my vehicles. I wouldn't mind going back there sometimes. The OP asked how to get around his problem with a sunroofed car, so he is obviously not a fan. Personally, I think people that buy cars with sunroofs are pretentious ( Rhymes with anchors )

I refuse to have any truck with payment by phone, way too vulnerable on security. I guess it will take a massive theft in the billions for customers to kick back.

I would only ever use an ATM here outside a bank, in business hours. Which is once in a blue moon, as I usually take my passport and passbook inside to withdraw cash. Easy to skim a card at an ATM, tough to do it with a savings passbook. Color me paranoid. The ATM machines certainly are not rising in Australia, banks are shutting them down hand over fist.

5 days of the year it rains? You're obviously nowhere near Chiang Rai.