smccolley

Pics or it didn't happen!

13 hours ago, Kerryd said:

 

 

The driver (Ali) was from Calgary. How much experience she may have had driving in slippery conditions we'll never know, but as we pretty much all know, few people drive here like they would at home any ways. Also, I've found many of the curves on Thai roads seem to get "sharper" as you get into them. Like the overpass leading to Highway 7 from Sukhumvit (where so many accidents occur). I've found a few others while riding the bike around the country like that as well. Something you'd rarely encounter in Canada.

 

Note: A friend of the other girl (Nezi) has apparently flown to Phuket to help her. So far she has posted a generic pic of some books she says she is reading to her and a generic post about the great hospital staff. No pics of her friend or anything else but a bunch of links to items apparently being auctioned off to raise money. The GoFundMe has passed $56,000 so far (of the $75,000 goal).

I grew up in Calgary and took my first driving test there in a blizzard. On the other hand I had to teach my brother how to drive in the snow even though he had a license (in Calgary). 

Snow driving doesn't directly equate to rain, and nothing equate to driving a small wheelbase vehicle, only experience...Just ask my friend who's foot was amputated when his jeep rolled on a hill.

Just now, Andrew Dwyer said:

But are you gonna go traditional with pigs ears, trotters and the skin , or go modern with calabresa sausage and pork ?


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Well, I'll never find good calabresa here, but no way I am going for the nasty bits, so I will try a few cuts of pork and beef.

11 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Now if you were cooking feijoada I would have invited myself over for a taste


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That is actually next on my list. I want to get the beans right first. I did bring all the spices over from Rio to get the meat just right (they pretty much just use salt) , and I will practice on that. I should have it right next month after my next trip to Rio.

6 minutes ago, grollies said:

What is feijo?

Black beans usually. I just got back from 40 days in Rio and I need to keep my cooking skills up. It tasted just like I had when I was there, only with more chilies :) 

Sushi, Sashimi and Gyoza at Zen for lunch.

Brazilian feijo and arroz (beans and rice) that I made for dinner.

Just happy to be home and cook again...

Loud exhaust is a 1000 baht fine for everyone. My thai brother in law has had his bike seized twice and each time it was 1000 baht fine and towing/storage fees for excessively loud pipes.

That being said, his pipes were excessively loud...

I have a long haul flight scheduled on Lufthansa on Wednesday evening. How could I tell if my flight will be impacted?

Since living in Thailand I have gotten a loan from Thanachart bank to both purchase a used truck and get a loan on a used truck. The truck was in my name and at the time I did not have a work permit. Interest rates were fine and no hassle on the paperwork. I'd ask a few banks before thinking it was impossible.

I have had my Colorado for 11 years now and really hate bringing it to the Pattaya dealer. I always feel like I am getting the shaft there, but for more serious maintenance intervals I don't know where else to take it...

Any suggestions?

8 minutes ago, SiSePuede419 said:

One minor missing detail: how much does it cost?

 

I thought I read in the Bangkok post the visa will be 10k Baht

19 minutes ago, LivinLOS said:

 

 

Retirement classes is employment prohibited I would believe.. 

Well, I read it again and they don't really say anything about retirement, just age...

I wonder how this would work as I am on an extension of stay based on marriage, but working here and have a work permit. I meet the income and insurance levels... it sure would be nice to skip the annual hassle, even though my company now does all the paperwork.

I am in Brazil this month, so I am eating BEEF! File Minion, Picanha, Contrafile and calabresa sausages with black beans and rice at chirrascarias and chirrascos all over Rio. Washing it all down with oceans of caiphirinias.

I will worry about losing weight later...

I have a similar problem with my feet - broken medial sesamoid bones in both feet and a sesamoidectomy on my right foot and I found that only new balance fit right. I ended up buying them while on a business trip to Canada. They were still well over 100 USD but they had a two for one sale, making them really reasonable.

I think the only way someone with real foot problems (and big feet) can find a good fit is to try them on, and that might just mean a trip to another country...

There are so many worse countries for cars. You can buy them and run them hard here. 

For a truly bad place to have a car, try the Maldives. The only island with more than a handful of cars is Male. There it takes about 20 minutes to drive around the entire island, and most roads are only wide enough for scooters. My friends went to the university island and there is only 1 car on it! You can never get out of first gear anywhere because of traffic. No idea how much cars cost, but the president has a couple nice mercedes. Not sure why since he takes a boat to work like everyone else...

Now - what were you saying about Thailand?

Why not take the kids to a morgue, show them 2-3 bodies that had motorcycle head injuries and tell them "This will be you or your parents if you don't wear helmets!"

I'll be the kids won't get on another bike until they get a helmet - and one for the parents!

Sort of thing happens all the time when I work in Mumbai.  My solution is to use a driver, then train him that the first stop is a beer store. After that the only question is - is this a 1, 2 or 3 beer drive back...

My last driver commented one night as I was drinking beer, smoking and jamming on some tunes that when I ride in his car it is a bar car, his other passengers use it as a mobile office.

One thing to consider folks. It is well known that fast food makes you fat. For a recent example look at Mexico. They drank so many soft drinks because they were cheap. An surprise surprise they were getting fat and developing diabetes! The government raised the price significantly and the consumption went down correspondingly. That is not a bad thing.

So if you make fast food expensive, less people will eat it and less people will get fat! I don't see that as a bad thing at all.

I have been getting an extension of stay for marriage at Jomtien office every year for at least 8 years. They have never once talked to the neighbors...

Up in my wife's village there is a 30-something farmer who, during the day, seems normal enough. He works as hard as any of them. But when it gets dark he starts drinking and begins speaking in an unknown language. He seems to really want to talk to me in particular, but he does it to everyone. Any reply you make is met with a knowing smile and more gibberish. The town folks say he has been like that for many years....

50 minutes ago, pgrahmm said:

 

 

All have been read the first time....If it's been awhile since getting to the bookstore I'll grab one for  second reading....

 

Right now on a David Baldacci....The Collectors.....

My wife has her's numbered/in order, & cataloged on shelves....

 

Mine live on the floor in the gym/karaoke room....

When I moved here I left over 5000 volumes - hard and soft backed - and now rely on the Kindle. I still have around 17,000 Kindle books to go through, that is about 50 years at my pace...

Just read all the Jack Reacher books (11 or 12 of them). Working on all of Harry Harrison's books - his Stainless Steel Rat series is great mind candy. Ian M Banks is the next in line, he is great. Always recommend Wilbur Smith - everything he wrote about Western-African interactions is gold! Dick Francis is another author on steeplechase racing detectives I could not live without! Gregory McGuire did a huge series on Oz, a must read!James Blish series on world space travel is worth a read or two. I have recently gone through the Game of Thrones series - twice - and it was worth it. All the classic sci-fi authors deserve a look, Asimov, Burroughs, Clark, Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard - those I have read at least twice. Steven R. Donaldson for more fantasy.  Andy McNabb or Vince Flynn for shootem-ups.  All Tom Clancy's novels on the Jack Ryan Series are great... I could go on and on. I travel a lot and try to read every day, I can usually get through 250-300 books a year, mostly mind candy since work is tough and I need a break... 

I think a better question for the poll would be - does your Thai partner play the lottery? I think the result would be closer to 100%

43 minutes ago, chrissables said:

You are criticizing the motorbike rider? Speed and helmet, when the pickup caused his death?

As in every country, a motorcycle has to be extra vigilant. This is no different from what the MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation sponsored by the AMA) taught us in every single class in the US. Does it really matter if the motorcyclist was not at fault?? He is quite dead RIP.

Anyone on a motorbike of any size in any country has to use extra caution, because cars always seem to appear in front of us.