3STTW

I also watched the Al Jazz report later this evening, looks like it's curtains for Evergrande. I think the CCP will let this happen to curtail the ridiculous property speculation which is fueling the massive wealth disparity in China (you thought US was bad!).

Problem is, the CCP now has to deal with the banking debt problem, so let's see how that pans out. A lot of people foresee a huge monetary shock throughout the global financial system - I tend to agree - but this isn't news and the markets seem to have been gearing up for a massive reset.

As an investor, I'm getting ready to cash out, if there is going to be a big reset, I want ready money to be back in the market while the fires are still burning.

Next week will be interesting.

You could take a look at Trinx, I got a X1 and it's the mutt's nuts. Magnesium alloy frame and Shimano Altus hardware, I paid about THB9k in 2018.

http://www.trinx.com/index.php?ac=article&at=read&did=2046

I'm fairly sure they have distributors across TH but I got mine from a shop opposite the Bang Saray turn-off on the Pattaya - Sattahip road.

To OP; thanks for posting this. I too had a really good experience buying a house here.

The trick is to find good people who actually know what they're talking about - NOT the bitten bar stooges who've tried to fudge the system and got burnt.

My only advice I have for you is learn how to service your pool yourself. Most of these 'maintenance' guys don't have a clue what they're doing and will end up costing you a fortune in broken or badly maintained equipment. I ended up spending about THB100k to renew everything - and I bought a robot. Now I spend about 10 mins a week adjusting the pH, adding salt and back-washing the filter, easy as it can be.

I'm going to come out in favor of DHL, I had one bad experience with them and I took that up with their HQ in Germany - everything got sorted out and the cost of shipping was refunded in full.

Since then, I found them prompt, fair and responsive. Yes, they can be a bit expensive but if you want something on a certain deadline, they pull the stops out. I always prepay the tax through their web app and everything is smooth as silk.

I'm fairly sure that most of the major couriers in TH are not actual branches of their respective companies; they're agents who are licensed to operate on their behalf. As such, you can expect the same type of shenanigans that get with any other local cowboy.

FedEx have been okay-ish, if a little slow and they tend to punt out their deliveries to third-party drivers for the last leg.

UPS on the other hand are in a different league, the local defamation laws preclude me from going into details but, if you ever get a call from UPS saying there's a problem with your shipment, tell them to send it back.

22 minutes ago, canthai55 said:

https://www.wapcar.my/news/top-rank-what-are-the-safest-cars-according-to-asean-ncap-7451

That's a load of cr*p! Not a single Ford mentioned - even when the Ranger scores higher than the Hilux.

The Perodua Myvi is an <deleted> deathtrap.

Have you had the engine bay cleaned recently?

Buddy of mine has a 1YO Yaris and they went through the main fuse box harness with the pressure washer, same symptoms as yours. Took Toyota 2 weeks to fix it.

Same thing happened to another colleague with Ranger but it only affected the lights. Thing looked like a one-armed bandit going down the road.

Yep, I got rejected too. But when I click on the attached link I get the accepted page. <deleted>.

I drove from Rayong to Chaengwattana last week without stopping (okay I have an M-Pass) but, literally, my first stop was a parking spot outside immigration.

No road blocks. No checkpoints and the expressways were empty.

Today I learned there are International Standards for using tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons.

I've got similar problems to the OP. I think it's largely dependent on the type of grass you have, mine is Bermuda couch and apparently the local shops/dealers have no idea how to care for it. I've bought various powders and solutions only to find that they are disastrous for the growth.

Now I just cut it and water it with a very mild solution of the general blue pellet fertilizer along with some Trisan fungicide (I used to get a lot of puff-ball mushrooms) once a month. It ain't perfect but is has better coverage and greener color than before. But I do still have a problem with clover in one shady corner.

As stated above, I know that soil pH is important but I'm still trying to find a reliable pH meter, any recommendations would be welcome.

I had the very same issue last month, I ordered a 3/8" drive 16mm spark plug socket. As I'd specified "local" and the shipping time was 3 - 5 days, I checked the order after about a week and it said "packed", but I also noted the details had changed - it said 3/8" 16mm socket with small grey text underneath saying Size: 14mm.

Anyhoo, it eventually turned up 3 weeks later and, of course, it was a 14mm socket - which is about as much use as Anne Frank's drumkit.

In a way, this deviousness doesn't surprise me; given that Lazada is owned by Alibaba, it was only a matter of time before they found a way to give Chinese sellers more of an edge over the locals.

It just leaves you with a sour taste in the mouth and 100x more cautious about using Lazada again.

I was taking a dump when I read this and I was laughing so hard my missus was banging on the door "Are you okay???"

There seems to be growing consternation in the international media and questions of whether these people have any idea what they're doing. Even the normally supportive reports from Al Jazeera have a growing sense of "<deleted>?" about them.

These guys need to wake up and realize the global spotlight is shining upon them and get reconnected with the reality of the situation.

There was talk of a full lockdown earlier this week - and it may still happen - so yes, my beer and wine collection is fully maxed out right now!

Depends who makes up the 51% Thai ownership. Do you know them or are they lawyer appointed? You can protect yourself in a number of ways but if you don't, you're asking for trouble.

Remember that the lawyer's nonchalance is predicated on the fact that you don't know what you're doing, so take a step back and make sure you know exactly what's going on.

Get a lawyer. For a fixed fee they will do all the paperwork and translation, and they will make all the arrangements with the Amphur. I did this and the whole process was a breeze. The only headache was my wife's paperwork (she's non-Thai) but that was due to the authorities in her home country.

Furthermore, the lawyer can prepare a 'pre-nup' affidavit stating that the wife-to-be will have no material claim on any of his property or possessions accrued prior to the marriage, including pensions, savings, et al. Under Thai law, the pre-nup must be signed (by both parties) on the same day as the marriage registration, so make sure it's done first!

Thanks very much mate, this is all very useful information. We're going to get some seeds going at the weekend and take your advice: try and create a preventative soil mix rather than trying to cure the problem after the fact. We have the components, it's just a matter of taking a bit of time to do it right.

I think they will definitely try to get this year's high season in - that's why they're shooting for September opening.

That's going to very bad news for the people who are unable to get vaccinated; anyone who lives in Chonburi is only maybe one or two connections away from someone who works in tourism/hospitality, and that makes for a very explosive situation.

The bigwigs seem to be ignoring the fact that fully vaccinated people are entirely capable of carrying and transmitting the virus. With next week's lockdown, expect the BKK folk to arrive in their tens of thousands - yet another massive transmission vector.

Crikey, it gets worse! Obviously the wifey at the garden shop isn't too interested in organic horticulture.

Okay, so I'm going to try the EM on the lawns and see if that improves their condition.

I bought 3x 50gm pots of the Trisan from Lazibaba, is there any advantage to adding this to the EM solution to kill off the mushroom spores - or should I just stick with the EM for now and let the microbes do the work?

On another note, we're going to start some tomato plants at the weekend, our previous efforts have been plagued by leaf miners and the plants have been very sickly from 6" of growth upwards. This time around we're using some German potting soil and keeping the pots off the ground, mix in some Perlite and add some neem compost which just arrived. Apparently, the neem compost helps the plant fight off the leaf miners and we also have a neem-based liquid which can dilute and use as a pesticide spray.

My darling wife said "best of luck with that!" having had several failed attempts with tomatoes, okra, squash and so on. If we can just find the right formula for soil, feed and pesticide, it would be a real achievement and would make her very happy! So any advice would be thoroughly appreciated.

@drtreelove Apologies for the late reply, I got stranded with the aseannow change-over.

All your advice is much appreciated and makes me feel wholly inadequate to own a garden!

Anyhoo, I went to the garden centre at the w/e and showed her some pics of the lawn fungus crust and she gave me some stuff called Captan (phthalimide), apparently it's the same fungus that attacks rice and and can be prevented using said powder.

I'm going to rake out the remaining crust and treat it with the Captan and maybe 3 days later get some blue fertiliser on it. If that doesn't solve the problem, we're getting a new deck!

We also got some EM from HomePro and the missus is going to try that on the front lawns which are healthy - if a little yellow. Again, these are couch grass and haven't suffered like the one at the rear of the house.

5 minutes ago, itsari said:

Why not go to the  small claims court  in the UK as your friend has assets in the UK that you could possibly recover your money from if successful with your claim .

It won't work; no transaction took place in the UK. Aside form which, there doesn't seem to be any paper trail or legally binding contract.