Toolong

If it was me in the same situation, I think I would not be able to resist feeling compelled to - at the very least - go back to the apparent cowboy outfit , and as politely but straight-forwardly as possible, just state your concerns, showing - if necessary - the pictures your other party showed you & what they refer to. If they don't exactly react in the most contrite way, mai pen lai, but let it go. Smile, walk away....and 'take the high road'.......so to speak. 

No big confrontation required at all. 

You'll feel better for having done it and your bike's future maintenance better assured by never going back to that particular 'authorized' dealer. 

'......the land will always be in her name.'

Sorry to be dim, perhaps.....but who's the 'her'? You mother in law or your wife? Who's the 'both'? (Sorry, just ambiguous.) If it's your wife and the place is in her name, then can't she simply bequeath it in her will to whomever she chooses, thus potentially precluding 'nasty' family getting their hands on it via next-of-kin default?

If the 'her' is the MiL, then it's complicated, yes.

Just two things occurs to me, PattayaGuy......and that's that if YOU'RE thinking about this, then to be sure your wife's family will be thinking about it, or have long done so, too. 

And also.....with genuine respect to your good wife, does she 100% share your own views on this? Will she totally back all efforts on your part to stop house eventually going to her kin? 

Like Wanderer555 advised, I'd 'go slowly and seek professional assistance'.....if that assistance is required. 

And good luck. I can certainly empathize with you in your situation. 

'......advising the owner to maintain a separation between his political views and personal life'. 

Of course, that's how you would like it to be..., right, Pornthip. Along with the other senators with their pieces of silver long deposited it their fat bank accounts. Oh, dear, this so unThai......to question the moral superiority of the Thai elite! Why should you be blamed for your sins in this 'personal' context?

Pornthip, since your elite-puppy Suthep led the (your) elite coup against Yingluck's govt in 2014.........it became, for me anyway.....ALL personal. If I, as a falang, feel that, why shouldn't a Thai restaurant owner, an actual Thai.....wherever in the world.......feel what I feel....x10 ? 

Own it. Own your complicity in this shambles, you fake 'Kon dee'. 

9 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

Something that's not worth a lot ????

Could be......but I was thinking more like, 'Why worry?' ????

'It don't amount to a hill o' beans anyway!'

5 hours ago, dingdongrb said:

Let's just say that I've heard stories about some of the things that have occurred at that particular facility. Nothing was ever proven, nor did I desire to seek out the truth. It could be just employees (my friends) ranting about their employer. 

 

I guess I threw that tidbit out there and probably should have not.

 

However the one thing that I do know for a fact is that facility allowed the employees to drink on the job. Yes, they had taps (kegs) of beer setup for consumption at the employee's breakroom (canteen/cafeteria). Employees were allowed to partake but not to overindulge. That was all back in the 80s and was put to a stop when an employee neglected the benefit and there was a serious auto accident.

 

As far as US beers, I've had many, and yes, they were all good in my younger days when beer was beer and I wasn't going for taste/flavor. But from about the late 80s & early 90s my preference was a good microbrew. (Too many to name.)

 

Budweiser is just a typical 'blahhh beer' to me much like others such as:

 

PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon)

Miller

Coors

Busch

Schlitz

Michelob

 

The best thing about Budweiser (Anheuser Busch) is the Clydesdales...and they have always (until recently) had some great TV commercials.

 

Great reply. Thanks, dingdongrb.

Very interesting comments.

Re the Budweiser factory policy on sipping suds on site: I hope it doesn't reflect too badly on me to say this, but I kind of liked reading that and thinking a bit nostalgically about it, although it sounds wildly crazy these days to have such a policy. I'm old enough to remember those days and gotta admit I miss the different, more-relaxed vibe then. (Example: did 5 months in traction in UK hospital in 1981. Was permitted to booze my heart out, smoking was fine, non-stop and wards & corridors always had a blue haze of baccy smoke floating around the ceiling areas! How that was once perfectly acceptable, it is impossible to imagine now. Oh, for the bad old days!)

Yes, microbrews are the way to go if you want to enjoy the better things in life more. ????

PS: If I ever encounter a 'Clydesdale' in TH, I'll try it out. 

1 hour ago, dingdongrb said:

Having grown up on Bud and living just miles from one of their largest breweries where many friends work I know that it's definitely a chit beer. Coors is only a slight step better (IMO).

 

May I ask, what method do you use to verify the accuracy of the alcohol content?

With respect, dingdong, having lived near a Bud brewery & having mates who worked there hardly fully explains why it's a 'chit beer', unless you missed something out. 

I'm really, genuinely interested to know. I'm not 'trolling' you or anything....honestly ????.

I've never tried other US beer brands (unless Corona is US made) so I don't have the advantage of being able to compare. 

Anyway, I have a kind of 'back-up' policy (so to speak) of only drinking one can of Bud if I'm drinking say,  3 or 4 cans. The others are definitely superior brands, so compensate for any deficiency inherent in the Bud, which is always my first can!

Re judging alc content? I admit I just assume it would be as per stated. Maybe I'm being naive. Maybe Budweiser QC ain't as good as I imagine. ????????

8 hours ago, dingdongrb said:

Budweiser (aka Buttwipper) is chit beer.

So a lot of people say, but I'd politely disagree. I find the taste more than satisfactory tbh, and while the price is only a few baht more than Singha per can, you get the full 500ml + a reliable 5% alc content every time. 

Glad to see your post, Kannika. Thought I was the only one wise to this stuff. By stuff I mean this kind of low-down, sneaky 'kee-gong' scamming going on to squeeze every satang of profit they can. ('They' being the big brewery monopoly boys in TH.)

First got a whiff of their games when (about 10 years ago) it suddenly went from 330ml to 320ml & 640ml to 620ml & 500ml to 490ml..............just like that. Overnight. Excuse? Brewers don't wanna raise prices, so keep the price stable but reduce capacity. Nonsense.....prices went up anyway......and profits went higher still. 

So, being a bitter & twisted saddo.....but also a man of principle, I switched to foreign brews, like Asahi or Budweiser (it ain't bad!!). Put my intake back at proper levels, ie, 330ml or 500ml per can. A bit pricier but then....I figured I was worth it! ????

Will end this with a helpful (I hope) tip, KannikaP...... and anyone else out there who drinks their beers from.....bottles. Tip is this: try cans. Taste is measureably better imo. (It IS different anyway, definitely, but 'better' is for you to judge of course.....and yes, I know.....if you're drinking outside somewhere, it's all bottled, so it's for those folks like me who drink at home a lot. )

Cheers. 

Indecisive, vague ambiguity in others can just be so darned annoying for me so I generally resist using hackneyed phrases like 'it depends', as a sure-fire....but - for my sins - I really can't respond to this query without using it to offer my honest viewpoint.

(Yeah....boring comment, I know ????, sorry.)

But will add this: to paraphrase the old nursery rhyme line......when Thais are good, they're very, very good, but when they're bad, they're wicked. 

(Sums up my own experience actually, married twice to Thais. Former spouse: totally wicked.

Latter: couldn't wish for better.)

A bit tangential, forgive me, but based on personal situation I find myself in after recent purchase of (a relatively modest amount) Thai gold bar bullion, I'm wondering how others who also make such purchases of physical gold keep it & keep it secure. Some may think it wisest to pay for a bank locker.....others may have 10 ton safes, etc., but some, like me, may prefer to.....well, let's say.......'make their own arrangements'.....so to speak.....in a manner once very familiar to our human ancestors!

Of course I'm NOT expecting anyone to reveal anything at all about their own circumstances that would reveal too much or allow even the tiniest modicum of risk.....simply to answer my query (you might even think I'm out of order in asking.....I get that!) so perhaps I'll distill it into a single safe-enough, unintrusive question: do you think the bank lockers rentable in Thai banks are an ok deal, security-wise? Which, apart from the fairly reasonable cost of renting, present no greater risk of loss in a potential failure/collapse of the bank itself? 

Or not? 

I also drink 4 small cans of beer per daily intake (well, actually...these days have gone more for 3 of the larger 490ml cans, which is slightly more than 4 small) but have 2 consecutive days off to give the liver a break. 

Plus I eat well and get exercise. Personally, I weigh it on balance as 'moderate' enough, while allowing me the immense satisfaction of mellowing out for a few hours at the end of the day. 

(Btw....the 2 evenings off are tough, but it's a 'sacrifice' I'm prepared to bear.....just!????)

Don't spend it, brother.........end it. 

And as you back away, never to return, do it Thai style, with a deep wai and a winning smile. 

What's best for you is yet to come, somewhere down the road.

Bon chance! 

With respect to your wife ( and yourself), I would advise you to......as much as possible......let her take care of this. (Or she & other family members, if thereabouts and they are on her/your side) Doing so is NOT shirking any responsibility you may (or maybe not) think you have to be the alpha male & so on. (I don't mean that disparagingly! ????)

Back off and keep cool. Hold that frustration until the right time to move.....IF you have make that move. And only then. Otherwise, you could start a conflict that in TH, never ends well.

I'm curious to know exactly what was drunk. Considering the potency of some cheaper, 'lower-deck' booze here, the question of how much was drunk is not always needful or helpful in seeing how such a terribly sad event occurred.....as it was so obviously 'too much' to even bother considering that. 

I know I have personally been (long ago) rendered completely off-my-f****ng-head on even small amounts of 'lao khao'-type booze. Sometimes with horrible consequences. (Looking baçk, dunno how I escaped potentially catastrophic outcomes....though I stress I thankfully never went violently berserk......though came pretty close.) 

Condemn the guy yes......he deserves no mercy.....but his wife's dead (who he may have loved dearly), any kids now orphans, families devastated....he now may as well be better off dead, with the weight of guilt that'll bring him down over years of torment. 

My dear old Ma used to say we all walk a thin old line between perfectly fine & normal.....and utter, sudden nightmare......every day. Some know it, some don't. But outcomes are the same. 

The guy was most likely drinking bad booze. Cheap stuff. The 'opium of the masses'. Provided by those (CP et al) who require their labour without concern for their actual welfare as people. 

So sorry to read this news item. 

'...I listen to depressing songs that actually cheer me up...'

Yes, I can kind of get that. I remember reading a quote from Bob Dylan about how many mistook playing & listening to blues music (I mean real old time blues) as be a way of getting INTO the blues, when ironically, on the part of those actually singing it and digging it, it was a way of getting OUT of the blues.

But that aside......for reasons of personal nostalgia mostly (basically at a time when life seemed happy), I'd go for Stevie Wonder's 'I just called to say I love you'....or that Lionel Ritchie and The Commodores track that talked about 'Easy like Sunday Morning....' stuff. 

I wonder if those AN members in TH and familiar with recent political gangsterism here have, like me, wondered sadly at how the (very) apparent collapse of democracy in the west only serves the interests of those utterly opposed to it here. Those whose will have tragically prevailed. 

The so-called 'models of democracy' in the west were models only in the alternative sense of being dressed-up mannequins. 

I enjoyed reading this post, GG. It's lavishly nostalgic, on your part and mine too, for times to which I can - though a tad younger than yourself I think - relate quite a bit. ????

Of distinction for me is the (unexpected & humorously & strangely challenging!) notion of one recollecting INsignificant experiences in old Asia, rather than significant ones. 

Well, I've got plenty of those. But none I could tell as well as you do. 

4 hours ago, Srikcir said:

It is ironic.

Wissanu was one of the "legal scholars" who helped lay the juristic foundations for authoritarian rule in Thailand, exponent of a "legal-military alliance for illiberal constitutionism" and proponent of theories that legalized coups d'etat "by reference the continuity of the Thai state as embodied by the king.  (ref. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wissanu_Krea-ngam  )

 

Now the former legal advisor and spokesman to the NCPO coup leadership and subsequent legal advisor/ spokesman throughout the Prayut regime adjudicates legal demands for a convicted political leader while Wissanu got royal amensty along with the entire NCPO coup leadership for essentially treason under the 2007 Constitution. 

 

Thank you PTP for the very hypocrisy you allegedly fought against.

 

 

Beautifully laid out...????.....in more words than I would have had the stamina to type!

Seriously.......you've nailed it, re Wissanu. The guy is certainly high up there in my ranking of most descipable junta hustlers.

Good call. I thank you. ????????

The final sentence of this Daily News piece is curious.....and amongst other things......bristles with a kind of menacing vibe (imo). ????????????

Something 'lost in translation' here? Author's own views ambiguously expressed?

Dark days in the LOS, by golly. To be more specific about why I think so would be too unwise. 

10 hours ago, RayWright said:

Tops in Central Festival had it about 3 months ago, so bought 4 to keep me going, it's all they had at the time. 1000THB, or £22:50 in old money, not to bad as use to pay £17 pre Covid.

Have commented to Lotus in that they have no vermouth of any sort. Met with the traditional "no have".

Have searched when last in BKK for Nolly Prat, but no such luck. Off to HK in Oct, so will bring back a couple. The old colonial outposts are always a source for good booze.

Perfect mix is with T10 and Smirnoff Blue, Ian Fleming's original recipe used Gordon's Yellow. 

Off to mix a third round, and try and remember in the morning what happened in Monza.

Sustainable, top-end cocktail supply lines being, of course, the imperative, by whatever means! Chok dee & bottoms up!