coops

Almost the only new (not 'classics') manual cars sold in Thailand are Toyotas for use as a taxi - by the time they're up for sale a worn out clutch would be just one item in a long list of worn out parts... (unless you're looking at a pickup)

What models have you seen?

What a fabulous topic this is.

We need more of this kind of thing on Thaivisa.

"Choosing a Kobe beef steak in Sizzler"

"Best truffles in 7-11?"

" Which Nana bar to find the love of my life?" or "Best housing/apartment to settle down and retire in around Nana"

I've used Sonos for very many years now to play my FLAC (and mp3) collection from an Apple time capsule before and now the Synology NAS.

Buying the sonos allows any amp/receiver with bulletproof reliability, ipad/iphone app for control, multi room capabilities (same music in different rooms or different music in different rooms without issues) and reads playlists from iTunes.

With the Sonos you could also go for active speakers with built in amps (at a price).

Siam Paragon would be a good place to start, the department store has Yamaha etc, should have Marantz and maybe Denon which would be mid rangeish I would think.

High end, low end, medium price? etc etc....

Paragon has a wide range of gear from high end (Meridian, Linn and other shops) as well as the usual brands in the department store also.

There are some more esoteric shops at Fortune Town also, and there used to be a range of more upper to middle range hifi gear at I think it was Amarin Plaza - another used to be an older mall opposite Central World next to0 BIg C now I think.

B&W are in the Gaysorn mall, along with Bang & Olufsen.

Fortune Town is a good choice - MRT access, and I got my Synology NAS there ( have also seen Drobo and QNAP i think) - last drive I got there was a 6Tb WD Red.

as well as the 2wd Diesel oprion, the major change for the better is the new audio head unit - anything would be an improvement on the old one.

Painting a titanium bike frame is.... odd.

Brushed titanium for me... or if i had to a nitrided finish., and disc brakes ;-).

Litespeed Ti bikes are available in Thailand at Cycam... anyone know of anywhere else in Bangkok?

get the Minix - they support it and issue updates, works fine with kodi, plex and all the rest.

If you buy it at Fortune, they should throw in the airmouse for 'free' - much better than the in box infrared remote.

vpn

That 'Leelbox' does look and sound very similar to the Minix range of boxes - but one of the general problems with all these different semi-generic brands is what kind of support if any you may get in the future for any issues.

When I got the Minix it had issues - but am glad to say they actually made updates to fix them all (and in fact the minix 'community' had their own fixes - 'custom roms' - to overcome issues meanwhile...)

In other words - I wouldn't try to save $50 ordering that from Amazon, only to have Thai customs stiff you for some ridiculous tax for the box... go to Fortune town. The shop(s) with these boxes will have a few brands as well as Minix. I can say the Minix plays every format i've tried and also has no issues with subtitles.

See a doctor.

I would recommend Bangkok General - can not remember the Doctor's name offhand - but the MOST IMPORTANT thing is this :-

If you DO need surgery - then the LATEST method is called a 'stapled hemorroidectomy'. The 'standard -ectomy would involve removal of some/part of the hemorroids (and the phrase 'open wounds' is not something you want to read or hear about... think about it. Cutting in the area of a sphincter means stitches afterwards are a big problem ;-) )

A stapled hemorroidectomy, despite its name' does NOT involve cutting the hemorrids - which is a very good thing indeed as your hemorroids form the liquid and gas seal.... ! And you want to keep them at all costs if possible!

The stapled surgery, involves pushing hemorroids back inside and removing excess skin INTERNALLY - so not only is your sphincter ok, but the wounds are up inside the anal cavity.

A night or two in hospital and back home to recover.

Just to alarm you further... this is NOT carried out under general anaesthetic... but under a spinal block /epidural type of anaesthetic.

I got my Minix x8-h at Fortune town - recommend buying it there in person, and you should get the Minix air mouse free with it also. (You could sk to ensure the Plus is updated to the latest Minix firmware - check on the Minix website otherwise also)

Minix has updated things and now works very well for many, many months - there's no need (that i can think of) for any of the custom ROM's anymore.

Personally I use Plex on it (and still have Serenity as a Plex client backup as it worked well when the Minix and Plex were a bit buggy), but also have tried Kodi which works fine.

(ps I found the wireless reception a bit poor on the Minix, compared to the old WD TV box alongside it back then, so changed to power line ethernet)

Not sure for a 5,000 baht budget (? - you mention maybe getting a new TV, so did you mean 15,000 or 50,000 baht budget?) - but for sure TV sound is generally very poor, hence the popularity for add-on soundbars or full 5.1 systems.... the Yamaha soundbars are very highly regarded, would be worth the investment and obviosly can be carried over if you change TV's...

this looks like it may be the cheapest in their range, about 17,000 baht (seems to be a discontinued model in the US)

http://th.yamaha.com/th/products/audio-visual/hometheater-systems/digital-sound-projector/ysp-1400_w/?mode=model

Can't check due to it being in Thai - but Yamaha souindbars are fairly easy to find in Emporium or Paragon etc so you could look around and ask what models are available, Paragon might have widest range.

It's best is if your soundbar takes the HDMI from the cable box and any other source, and then outputs ONE hdmi to the TV - ie it'll need about 3x HDMI inputs and one HDMI output with "ARC" which allows any sounds from TV to feedback to the soundbar (so if it's a smart TV and you're watching youtube or netflix on the TV;s internet connection the sound will be played through the soundbar also through that one hdmi connection). This is preferable to the older method of an optical output from TV to your soundbar... (there's an ugly mess of what TV ooutputs surround sound or DTS audio from it's audio output channel, so bets avoided altogether with the HDMI into the soundbar for it to play all audio and pass through the video to the TV)

If you still have to queue up to check in your bag, I don't see much use for them.

And they still need to employ people to explain how to use the systems, and hope there's not an issue... then drag your bags(s) over to queue at another counter where someone else has to recheck the tags etc to make sure you haven't made an error. awful things...

and 'Express'? Two to FIVE minutes.... so a whopping 12 people or up to maybe 30 per hour per terminal... if they're lucky.

Bah, humbug.

the motorways are another cockup... the easypass system ( say on the motorway/expressways around bangkok) do NOT work on the motorway to Pattaya, Nakhon Nayok and others because they are an 'M PASS'... which appears to be the exact same lump of plastic you stick on your windscreen.

Genius.

Am I being too optimistic that there will be less of the bussing it to and from the flight with AirAsia at DMK?

Thai AirAsia are great but the bus does annoy the heck out of me. Not their fault, though.

it is entirely Air Asia's fault/choice, or it used to be.... They save money by not using the air bridges.

Hopefully Nok air won't have to use any buses now they've moved to Term 2 (some of their flights would occasionally have to board onto buses out to the plane)

I would like to see them try and use an air bridge for the Buriram flight!

well, i did mean from Bangkok.... There's no air bridges at Nakhon Si Thammarat either ;-)

but, no buses... just a short walk from plane stairs to the terminal.

flyng to nakhon today... terminal 2 looks new... new floors... until you get through the security, then you go from new tile flooring to carpeting from the 1990's.. the ceilings look all freshly lit and new suspended ceiling... so maybe the carpets coming up later... not sure it can be removed by now, mind you.

There's some warnings now after checking in a bag, to wait and ensure it is cleared... otherwise you name will be called - yup, the first A4 printed and sellotaped notices have already started appearing...

Am I being too optimistic that there will be less of the bussing it to and from the flight with AirAsia at DMK?

Thai AirAsia are great but the bus does annoy the heck out of me. Not their fault, though.

it is entirely Air Asia's fault/choice, or it used to be.... They save money by not using the air bridges.

Hopefully Nok air won't have to use any buses now they've moved to Term 2 (some of their flights would occasionally have to board onto buses out to the plane)

Today I went to the new shopping center opposite the Emporium at Prom Phong Station, Emquartier. It's really nice and I found things to be a little cheaper in their gourmet food store to be a little cheaper than my favorite store at Chidlom. Anyway, I went into an optical shop there and was quoted a price of 23,625 for their best quality transitions progressive lenses which will be made by Seiko in Japan so the lead time is three weeks. The shop will guarantee my satisfaction with the lenses for one year and I don't pay until they are delivered. This is competitive with the price that I paid in Japan a few years ago for lenses with the wrong prescription written by my optician in California. With my recent cheap lenses made by Hoya purchased about two weeks ago, my vision is absolutely clear so I know that the prescription is correct. Now I just need a wider bifocal. Incidentally, I have purchased several pairs of lenses from Top Charoen in the past and none of them worked out. Seiko is reputed to be a little higher quality than Hoya and the Seiko transitions are Type VII, the lastest quick-changing model. Now I just need to find some frames since all of the ones in this particular optical shop are too small for me. It's nice to find a shop whose prices are relatively reasonable although the cost is about the same that I would pay in the US or Japan.

Which opticians? I've heard good things about the Seiko Prgoressive lenses, so am interested in which shop supports them.

it's not really a 'bifocal' area in a progressive lens - think the opticians would call it the 'corridor' as to the width of the relatively ideal zone around which thngs will tend to blur - and then vertically thngs will transition from a distance prescription down to the reading ( 'add' ) prescription...

Now someone with good distance vision, can indeed get by with cheapo off the rack readng glasses, but this has nothing to do with someone needing vision correction at all distances...

again, the better and newer designs will usually give a wider reading and intermediate zone... but which really suits an individual come down to something of an art and an experienced optician makes a difference - could search for 'optiboard' which is full of opticians for more info and see how complicated and diverse the whole progressive area is....

Also,,,, you can get computer/reading progressives - these do away with trying to also give you perfect distance vision, so are cheaper and also much mich wider reading and area for computer/office use - worth considering if you spend a lot of time at a desk or for very long spells of reading.

Progressive lenses are not bifocals... and due to the complexity of them, the newer designs can be very expensive.

You would need to have very careful measurements and marks made on the blank lenses while wearing the frames, so the centre and psoition of all the transtions will be where they are designed to be - if the optical shop doesn't bother with this step, whether manual or a computerised/photgraphic type system, you should cancel your order and find a different optician.

I still use Torrents occasinally, but majority is by Usenet sources - i also have a Synology NAS setup with Sickrage to download my shows automatically - at my desired quality and with matching srt subtitle.

The Synology ( and Sickrage ) works well with both torrents and usenet.

here's auseful review - reading arpund you'll notice most markets with the cx600 will be 50" only... whereas thailand s a 55" so the follwoing is a decent idea about it, along the lines of the cx650 in other markets

http://flatpanelshd.com/review.php?subaction=showfull&id=1432025534

i recently bought that model

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/850754-buying-a-new-tv/page-2

it's good - the models above are a big step up in price, and not really necessary yet - will happily see me through until Panasonic release a flat OLED screen in Thailand (or LG).

very nice screen - like all tv's have a read about the default settings which tend to give a crap oversaturated, over compensated setup to impress in the shop...

I used the thx tuneup app and an ipad, and it's more than good enough and big enough at 55".

i mention a sony 800 model in that link which is cheaper, and also gets goos reviews for its screen quality which is what matters. it is 'only' hd not the 4k, but as i mention 4k really only means better software and so on for now as 4k media is ome way off anyway - and a decent 1080p download is more than excellent already...

i use a Minix x8-h android box for all smart functions like Plex or Kodi - so that side of things, the tv's own smart functions are less important - the Panasonic does seem to find my NAS drive etc ok, but haven't bothered to really use that side of it.

got mine at emporium for around that 50,000 baht , a wedge of free gift vouchers, a free wall mount rack (seems quite a decent one , will use for another tv later on), and obviously ( in Thailand) free delivery, unpack and bolt up to the stand i have at home. ( Comparing prices to the uk or even more absurd to the US, makes as much sense as whingeing about car prices compared to the US - yes, taxes will up the price a bit but delivery and service makes up some of the difference, and the price is what it is.)

Perhaps the o/p was being shown one of the Toshiba's with built in Android - that ought to make the apps available more extensive by far? I saw one in a shop but still went for Samsung based on price and visual experience. Will plug my own Android box in it.

Thanks. I think that was what she was talking about. She said the Samsung had "OS" but the Toshiba had some other form of connection, perhaps android. I'm not sure that would make much difference.

What does an android box do and where do you get one?

Fortune town is where you'll easily find them (no surprise there) - and i'd recommend Minix x8-h Plus (I've got the X8).

It's Android (or you can get a Windows version Minix Z64 (?), so any google play apps can be installed.. all the usual. youtub, apps to cast from your ipad or samsung to the TV and so on.

It is designed to be able to stream HD video (4k in fact, not that that is of any use in thailand yet) either wirelessly or ethernet or from an attached USB drive.

It runs Kodi, which used to be called XBMC,

I choose to use Plex instead - this streams all my tv shows and fims from an upstairs NAS drive (which runs the Plex server) without any need for transcoding, handles subttitles, updates watched status and there are apps for ipads etc so you can watch either or both.... and can be setup to steam to you over the internet if you're away from home.

It is then only a small step to fall down the rabbit hole that is "Sickbeard" , usenet servers and other joyful things.

Google will let you know what these are so useful for.

All my shows update automagically complete with subtitles for the wife, is the short version.

I'd be surprised if Yamazaki isn't available at a Fuji Supermarket, on Soi Promphong. Certainly have some Japanese whiskeys there and a good range of sake.

Pretty sure even Villa market at J Avenue on Thong Lor has Japanese whisky - it does have Monkey shoulder which is a very nice blend with Balvenie as one of the components (now the double wood is all gone...).

I'd certainly recommend Sonos.

I'm not familiar with the 'all in one' speaker Sonos options, but the Play 5 gets good review for its sound - and the Sonos system is excellent, and best controlled from an ipad or iphone etc.

I've been using Sonos since I got it in Singapore probably 10+ years ago - and the connect box and network box has been faultless.

Streams sll my music from a NAS drive (previously used an Apple Time capsule) and shares playlists etc with iTunes server.

Couple of places in bangkok now to get hold of Sonos.