mgjackson69

I would guess that such a machine would be extremely expensive. Maae and Paaw would never buy it, and if you bought it for them, they would fuss up a storm.

Better for you to go hire a few somchais to help them do it the manual way. You give their backs some relief and help out a few villagers also.

Good karma for you.

So, whenever you post a question, you only want exact answers to your question? No opinions, no questions for clarification, etc etc?

Is that how you hold conversations in person also?

It must be very stimulating conversing with you

Oxymoran, Thai/tools...

Exactly so...but then, why would they need good tools, they cannot and/or will not use them anyway.

Assuming that you bought the iPhone through AT&T in USA....unless you have unlocked it, it will not work with any carrier in Thailand, or anywhere else for that matter.

If you bought the phone somewhere else, then I have no idea whether it is SIM-locked or not.

This one from a couple of years ago...

- People throw water from the back of pickup trucks during Songkran - SKJ-Reaction: Impose a lower speed-limit on pickup trucks for the Songkran period

...like back home in the great nation of TEXAS.

JR, shame on you

That is the Republic of Texas

Add a bit of detail, so it shows the man/woman looking down at his/her crotch...perfect!

If you want the "island experience" + USA bennies I would suggest that you take a look at Guam.

There are not a lot of jobs there, I hear...but from what I saw, if you are willing to work, you should be able to find something to do.

- You eat with a fork in the right hand, tablespoon in the left

- You have moved a family member and her younger son to a different village (BKK -> Satun area) and 5 other family members had to ride along

I have the Hutch AirCard, it is dog-slow.

Granted, the card is a couple of years old, the newer gear may be better.

No matter, I will be dropping the Hutch service and using GPRS/EDGE (True and/or AIS) as soon as I get my new phone unlocked.

Yes, this is normal cat behavior...normal for dogs also.

As "slutty" as a cat in heat may act, they can be somewhat choosy, same with dogs.

Often with a pack of dogs, the group will act to prevent certain animals from mating...I have not observed this in cats.

I did not see anywhere that the OP asked for anyone's opinions on spaying/neutering. The benefits of doing such are well known, and I agree that animals not kept specifically for breeding should be spayed or neutered.

But that was *not* what the OP asked.

I'm So Miserable Without You (It's Almost Like Having You Here)

A Bottle in Front of Me is Better Than....uhhhmm...A Doctor Cuttin' on the Front of My Noggin

I have been driving here for about 4 years now with my USA (Nebraska) operators license + the aformentioned AAA-issued IDP. Also for the last year I have had Thai operators license for private vehicle and motorcycle.

When I have had reason to show my USA ID to the local constabulary, most times they have not asked for anything else (ID-wise). Twice I have been asked to show "international", which I had with me and showed it, no problem.

One stop was that place in Silom where they are set up every night...I pulled a dumbass and U-turned almost right on top of it... som nom nah on me for that one. Anyway, the officer asked for my ID. I showed him my USA operators license and he started making talk about,"hmmmm, no license". He seemed a bit disappointed when I opened the seat of the motorbike and pulled out the IDP. I still had to pay for the U-turn though...at that one, they have the infamous "cashier table" set up right there.

My advice would be to either get the Thai license, or get the IDP, or both. That way you are certainly covered.

As another posted, you can get the IPD "remotely". Link here -> http://www.aaa.com/vacation/idbp.html

Do not get the "International Drivers License" sold on many internet sites and right here in the City of Angels from many vendors on Khao San Road. They are not a legal drivers license.

I saw the Nokia 3110 Classic for sale in Tesco-Lotus for a pretty low price....< 3000 THB I believe

Swap one of the 150s with your cousin for the 400...seems like he would still need a motorcycle anyway

I am going to stick with a tachometer here. Every bike I ever had, except the 1957 scooter, had a tach. If you do not know what the bike sounds like when it is going 8K and 10K, you have no idea where top power is, and might over-rev. I hate sentences like this, but "Real motorcycles and sports cars have tachometers." Even my roommate's 85 horsepower, auto transmission Hyundai Excel had a tach.

That disproves your statement right there...I would hardly call a Hyundai Excel a "sports car"

"Real riders/drivers do not need a tach to tell them where the "sweet spot" is"

That is a very ambitious lineup of models for a Thai company which is not well known in Thailand. Good luck to them, especially considering the increased competition.

Checking here, http://www.globelicsindia2006.org/Patarapo...tarakumnerd.pdf

I found that the Thai retail motorcycle market for 2003 amounted to

Honda 72%

Suzuki 13%

Yamaha 10%

Tiger 3%

Kawasaki 2%

I found no mention of JRD, Platinum, Ducati, Moto-Guzzi, or Harley knock-offs. Tiger and Kawasaki each had a miniscule share of the total market, but by now it may be slightly different. Not that I have seen more than a few Tigers in the last few years (or many Kawas other than the obvious KSR110). So, for Tiger to say they are going to field about 15 models this year, strains credulity. I am often mistaken, of course.

That is quite a change, as four years ago Honda had 90%+ of the market.

For whatever reason, Thais do look at Thai brands as inferior. Plus, Thais in general are followers, not leaders. So if Somchai buys a Honda, Sakchai is likely to buy a Honda also, probably the same model and color.

I bought a Tiger Smart 125 3 years ago (at the suggestion of my Thai wife, strangely enough). I have ridden the snot out of it in BKK and environs, plus taken a few trips between BKK and Korat. The only thing that I have had to do is adjust the clutch (early on, perhaps at 1000 km) and service. Everything else has been normal wear (for me, this includes bent rims). I went through several rear tubes and one tire before I realized that my tire-management routine (i.e. checking pressures) needed to be modified from what I did in USA (the tires actually hold pressure there, for many months).

Would I buy another Tiger motorcycle? Probably so...the 250 Boxer sounds interesting.

Hi

I haven't ridden a Boxer but i think they must be reliable and fast - or why would the POLICE use them? And they sure use a lot of them.

Best regards.....

Thanh

The police would use them because someone greased the wheels and landed a contract to supply motorcycles to the police.

Governments do not typically buy what is "best"...they buy what is cheapest, or buy from someone who is connected.

Think about the US Government back in the late '70s/early '80s...there were lots of bureaucrats driving around in Chrysler K-cars...enough said.

My wife says "almost same pueng (bee)". From talking with her, it is a type of wasp, but she does not have the specific name.

> "...From Isan's desperately poor, rice farming villages, where hunger is the norm,..."

Maybe I am going to the "better" places in Isaan, but I have not seen anyone who does not have food. In many instances they do not have much by our Western standards, but not many are hungry.

The girls do not go to "the big city" to work to buy food...they go to be able to buy all of the things that they think everyone needs, from watching those dumbass Thai soap operas and the other garbage on television.

Bangkok is better than some places, worse than others in this regard.

If you look like a victim, act like a victim, sooner or later you will be a victim.

Just a few observations to add:

1) A previous poster mentioned about "until recently it was unacceptable to be away from the home village" (I am paraphrasing a bit). I can say that very nearly every time that I have been stopped, one of the first questions is "bpai nai" (where are you going?). I would attribute this in part to the aforementioned, and in part due to the fact that Thais seem to be "nosy"...when my wife gets a call from a friend or family member, she immediately goes into a spiel about where we are, what are we doing, etc etc etc...followed by what we have eaten today

2) My pickup truck has the "bed lid that raises to make a canopy". I was stopped on the tollway in BKK for having some passengers back there....after driving from Korat with no issues. I had to pay a fine (I think 400 THB) and put everyone into the cab until we were off the tollway...Din Daeng to Dao Khanong (roughly) with 11 people in the cab of a 4-door Vigo. As the driver, I had plenty of space, but nobody else did...

3) A few weeks ago the wife and I were headed from Chok Chai into Korat to do my application for extension of stay. Thus, we were both nicely dressed for the interview (I have found that good grooming helps when dealing with almost everyone...I never fly in "shorts, singlet, and sandals" either). Two BIB were working on 224 and waved me over. As soon as I rolled the window down, the wife and I both said "Sawasdee khrap/ka". The officer took one look and immediately waved us on.

I have no idea what that one was about, as I was certainly over the speed limit, as usual. The wife and I settled on (a) they were looking for someone in particular, or at least not looking for a farang, or ( they better-than-average mode of dress made a favorable impression. I did not stick around to ask.

When will you all get your heads around the fact that 30,000 baht is a huge amount of money for a Thai, even a lowly cop. That amount is insane, and when one of you pays it, everyone pays it because now it's the status quo. However, serves you bloody right for driving pissed out of your heads. Som nom na.

Oh yeah, now how exactly would someone do that. "Look here you lowly cop. I'm not paying that amount...." Guess what, the balls in the cops court. Yes, if you have a Thai friend or lawyer they maybe able to negotiate but if you don't and don't speak the language I think his options were limited.

So saying he has begun a status quo is unfair.

And who said he was pissed out of his head? Another do gooder who knows everything.

Aw c'mon. Tell your 'friend' to not pay that silly amount, help out his fellow farang, and take one for the team.

Nope...he did what every one of us will do when it is down to it...take care of number one.

I agree, the story is common.

I would venture that the actual occurrence of such is a bit less common.

"....and brah brah brah"

Two years from now, nothing will have changed...except maybe the Police Chief will have his helicopters, which will be grounded due to lack of maintenance.