Robin

I have a simple rule; never trust any Thai electrics that you have not wired and checked yourself. In particular, do not trust simple on/off wiring. Just because the light is off does not mean the supply is off, or safe. Thai eletricians have no qualms about witching the neutral (return) supply. "What's wrong with that, the light still switches off" "This is done Thai style, not as in Farang places" Second rule is not to trust wiring colour codes in Thailand. Wires come in many colours and even given a "correct" blue/brown/ Green-yellow coloured cables, there is no reason to believe that the wires are connected correctly. Buy a Neon Tester and check every time you work on some-one else's wiring. I am amazed that there are so many Thai Electricians still living.

Not surprising that there is a move to disband the MFP. A danger to the establishment, allowg the general populace to have a say in their government. Government of the People, by the People , for the people? In Thailand? Too many vested interests.

Tyre blow-outs do not happen with tyres in good condition and properly inflated; Tyres in Thailand sometimes (often) used until bald or worse, or treads recut on a bald carcase. Saving money in the best Thai tradition. if it was good enough to pass the annual inspection, then it will be good enough for the rest of the year. Controlling the bus after a blow-out is much down to the skill of the driver, so should we be surpised at this result?

I am a cate person, so even after a break-in I would not have a guard dog, and cats are no use. They cna hear and sense intruders, but not frighten them away. I fitted our house and wife's beauty shop with security cameras and outside with lights, motion sensors and an alarm, made sure that plenty of neighbours knew what we had done. Lights and alarm set off twice by false alarm (cat?) Literally woke half the village and after that everybody, including potential thieves, knew we had an alarm. No more break-ins. original installation cost more than a dog, but now cheap to run. if we do get another break-in the security camera recording gives the police some evidence to identify the intruder. In our village, it seemed that 'everybody' knew who has doing the break-ins, but had no evidence for the RTP to act on.

Unfortunately cats can be caught by dogs and killed. Not every cat can escape, but will normally die fighting. wife and I have tried o save various local cats, not only our own. In every case th cat will have sever trauma where the dog has bitten it, often round the back area. If a dead cat has no visible trauma or other marks, most likely to have been poisoned or shot or killed with single blow from a Thai. Many Thais especially youths will take delight in killing a cat or other small animal. Perhaps it makes them feel superior?

I am not a diary farmer, but I have had experience of Thai 'Vets.' It seems that in Thailand anyone can set up as a "vet" No qualifications needed. Can be more frequent in rural areas where there are more animals needing treatment and less money to pay for treatment. Said vet can purchase medications from local chemist and administer to any poor animal. My contact with qualified Vets is that they usually have a surgery to work from , as well as visiting patients, and surgery will normally have their qualification on display. Fake vet will often have worked as 'helper' to a real vet, so will have some idea of treatments, and be able to get medications. Only way to sort out these charlatans is by asking questions, either of the faker, or a real, local, vet, who will probbly know who they are. Difficult for O/P who is not in Thailand. Pity the poor calf, being dosed by local quack and 'experts' on T/V. Many animals survive the treatment and thus the Quack gets the credit. This could equally apply to Thai electricians or mechanics. TIT.

Do not even think about this. UK health services (NHS) are broken even for UK residents who have been paying their NI insurance contributions. Dr. and nurses threatening to strike, so even less services than usual. If he had had his accident in UK he might still be waiting for admission to A&E for any treatment. If he manages to get back to UK he will be at the back of a very long queue.

I used to work in offshore, based in UK/Thailand. Most agencies I worked through used to offer lower day rates for SE Asia personnel, compared to UK/US based, as clients preferred these, despite higher mob. costs. Reason given was generally the lower quality of personnel available in SE Asia. My own experience was that I got more work, and made more money, when operating ex-UK, than I did trying to operate ex-SE Asia. Fact of life, I am afraid, unless you have a reputation based on previous work. SE Asia became a refuse for too many offshore alcoholics who could not make it in other parts of the World

IIRC The Fish & Chip shop in SUK 25 used to sell 'Red snapper' as fried fish. Very tasty . i think this was also called Pla Nin Daeng. Wife get similar pla nin from local fish farm and serves it steamed or fried, (no batter) Firm white flesh with good taste. Much missed F&C shop, (above,) also offered 'north sea haddock' presumably imported.

Buffalo Sauce? A new one on me, I am from UK. Any hints as to a Thai substitute?

Is this thread only for posting pictures or can we ask questions about suppliers of Western Food?

Your wife might have asked BIL to 'look after' the building site while you are away, so if you make her change thsi, she will lose face in the family, so no way is she going o change. Just the ay it is in Thailand. Also BIL will sas he did not intend the fire to get out of hand and burn the fence. it was the fault of the wind/fire. remember that no Thai is ever responsible for anything he does, nor can he think ahead and consider ay consequences of something not going to his plans. For most Thai females, any Thai man knows far more than any Farang. Being Thai trumps any qualification from outside Thailand. Sorry, but if you didn't know all this, you have trouble ahead. Any money you spend in Thailand, particularly on buildings, will always stay in Thailand.

This is Thailand. If his father is rich he has a right to do what he wants with any poor person. he has learned his behaviour from Thai Soaps on Ch7.

When using standard VIP over-night bus from Chiang Rai or Phayao, it was normally stopped a a police check point early in the journey. Police would walk through the bus looking at passengers ID cards. As I was normally the only farang on the bus, I might be ignored, or asked for passport. Normally I would pretend not to understand Thai, or say the my passport was packed in my bag, (in luggage compartment,) never any problem and never taken any further. But.... I believe that Thai law requires farangs to always carry their passport. I always had a valid Visa to be in Thailand, so never worried about such checks. I suspect that many up-country police do no speak English, so would want to avoid confrontation with Farang.

Depends on the source of the water from the tap. In my village, tap water is river water filtered through a column of sand. Filtering is to remove mud and silt only, and often no very effective at that. Tap water is often 'muddy' and cloudy. Periodically, water i shut off and the filter tower reverse flushed to remove filtered sediment. After water is cloudy, mucky for a day. AFIK here is no treatment to remove bacteria or other nasties. hence tap water is only considered fit for washing. I have always cleaned my teeth using tap water with no ill effects. I have always assumed that all tap water is similarly obtained from filtered rive or ground water, so no guarantee that it is bacteria free. I believe that bottled drinking water is tap water passed through a microfilter and this is assumed o remove bacteria. Some local Thai tried to interest me in a business filtering tap/river water to get drinking water, but I was not convinced. From experience with marine water makers, (reverse osmosis) I know that the filters are delicate and expensive, and i would not trust a local Thai business to maintain the correctly. Also are the bottles that the water is sold in sterilised before use? I have a large tank of rain-water for drinking, and the rain-water is filtered before it goes in the tank, and tank is cleaned out every year. No ill effects from drinking this water. Another point is that many users have a pump to get more water pressure, which can put a negative pressure, (suction) in the incoming water supply pipe, and suck in contaminates from any crack /leak in the pipe. No, i would never drink Thailand's tap water

UK Pensions Office is the same. Desperately hoping that all pensioners will die quickly. They provide a 'life certificate' that a Thai Doctor can sign, with hospital stamp. My Dr in local hospital in Thailand did this and stamped with official stamp. Certificate is in English and DR can read English, so no translation needed. Might not e he same for Germany, but worth seeing if you can get a similar form. General warning; make sure the relevant docs, asking if you are still alive, are sent to you in Thailand, or keep checking that your pension is being paid. In UK DWP stops paying your pension as soon as they think you might be dead.

In the days before metered taxis, it could be interesting to agree a fare with the driver, when you could see that he had no idea where your destination was, and let him drive round pretending to know where he was going. I saw lot of interesting places in Bangkok that way Similarly, i would sometimes get a bus to the 'end of the route,' just to see where that was. Easy when fares were 1.5 and 2.5 B.

Too many useless Wannabees in Thailand. My first criteria for any worker is; Does he have all the tools he needs to do the job? If so a good chance he might be able to do the job properly, as he might have done something similar before. If he starts off by trying to borrow your tools, or asking you to buy tools for the job, Beware!! Ask about locally for any recommendations. My experience is that any worker who is any good will be appreciate locally and therefore busy and in demand. if he says he can start tomorrow, do not bother, if next month, better. If he is busy now, try to see the job he is working on.

it is (presumably) his money he is spending, and his life. So he can do what he wants. Ever thought that he might be enjoying what he is doing? Possibly make sure he knows the law, and reality about owning property in Thailand. i.e. You cannot and the house will always be his wife's. Any money he puts into that stays with her

So, what were the charges against he "Actress"? Appearing to be drunk? Having Vaping equipment in her hand-bag? I do not see that she has been charged with any offence, so what excuse do RTP have for taking her to police station and 'fining' her 27,000 baht Why was she made to kneel and apologise to them? What was thee reason her taxi was stopped. I do not see anything except RTP harassment and intimidation following false arrest. This is getting too big to be just brushed aside and a few RTP transferred.

CCTV in Thailand has a long history of unreliability when needed to prove anything against RTP, so do not expect anything different in his case. What was her supposed crime? Telling the RTP where to get off with their road block? She comes from a free country where the police behave correctly and she made the mistake of expecting Thailand o be the same

Road tax should not be a problem as it is for the car to be on the road, not for the owner, but insurance could be difficult. My experience of UK insurance companies is that they do not want to insure anyone who is not UK national, resident in UK. (I was refused insurance because I lived 9 months of year in Thailand and was not classified as UK resident. Finally got insured after appeal and proving that i was UK national, born in UK of parents born in UK. 'Short term' insurance is also expensive, so it might be cheaper/easier for you to insure your car for a year with friends as named drivers . Check the small print.

Do not worry, I have been doing this for years. if you are not in Thailand when the 90 day report is due, then you do not need to report. 90 day period starts when you re-enter Thailand again..

keep checkin on Expedia or similar. Some flight might be released

Pity the Thai people if these two are the best that can be offered to lead the Country.