JensenZ

I eat a lot of Chinese carrots etc. The point I was attempting to make is that you cannot detect Chinese fruit and vegetables by looking at them - they look good, and you can't detect them by taste - they taste good. Chinese carrots taste better than most Australian carrots I've bought. The fruit also tastes good. The way to detect Chinese is by price - they are much cheaper. Do you think that Chinese produce is more contaminated than Thai produce? If so, where is your proof? It's the competition on price that is upsetting Thai farmers and distributors.

Some Amphur offices are very uncooperative when foreigners are involved. Due to this problem, I skipped the Banglamung Amphur Office and did mine in Laksi, Bangkok, with the help of an agent. One hour - all done.

I know a bit about uncontested divorce at the Amphur office, in Laksi, Bangkok as I did one last year, but this is useless advice for the OP as he needs to protect his property and rights and they have children. The OP needs to get a good lawyer in Thailand and obtain a judicial divorce. He also needs to be sure that the divorce is legal under UK Divorce laws. To the OP, if you're going to be in Pattaya I can recommend a good family lawyer.

For anyone interested - you can purchase a hard-bound copy of the latest update of The Civil and Commercial Code Thai-English, on Lazada for about 600 baht. It's nearly 1000 pages, so when you don't need to read it, it makes a very good paperweight. The exact location of Usufruct law: Book IV (Property), Chapter III (Co-Ownership), Title VII (Usufruct), Sections 1417 - 1428.

Big C is a huge seller of Chinese produce. You probably don't notice as there is nothing poor about the condition. Obviously, pesticides keep produce looking good - which is the point of using them. Pesticides don't ruin the taste.

Only if you are stupid and rent long-term. Keep it business-like, and don't get involved - rent by the hour. It's always better value for money.

The carrying part is not as valid as many scooters, my Yamaha Mio, for example, has a huge space in the front to carry shopping. I can carry 6 packs of water or a full shopping cart of groceries. I can carry a lot more than I could carry on my old Honda Wave. I agree that in the hilly mountainous areas, gears will be an advantage. I've never used on in a hilly region. There are some steep hills in Pattaya, and I've never had a problem getting up them with a passenger and groceries and I weigh around 100 kg. In the city, they are much safer as your front and back breaks at the ready in both hands, and you don't have to mess around with gears, so your reaction time is much faster. Still, many Thai people are using Honda Waves, and often they get in the way as they are busy clunking between gears. I don't care how skilled a person is, they are going to be caught in the wrong gear at some point, and that's risky in fast-flowing traffic. Having owned both, I would never go back. The Wave is much noisier too IMO. Noise will vary with models, but usually, it's hard to hear if the engine is on at idle for most auto scooters. I owned the Wave for 2 years and hated it.

It's a problem for a few decades as a declining younger generation has a lot more older people to support. Once the excess older generations have expired, everything will be fine. In the end, it will balance out. People spend too much time in the cyber universe these days rather than in the real world. Readily available pornography has a negative effect on men wanting to meet females in real life too. This has become quite clear in countries like Japan where are large percentage of men in their 20s and 30s are still virgins. They either have no interest in meeting real partners or they are afraid to. I've found that Thai females are very aggressive these days, so it might be a similar problem in Thailand.

Here we go again - we get a few of your scared types in every thread about motorcycles.

I owned one (Honda Wave) about 20 years ago in the Philippines. Riding one of those vs modern automatic scooters is like going back to the horse and buggy. What's up? Why do you want one?

And in related news... "Despite efforts to rectify violations, the Supreme Administrative Court’s decision ultimately led to its demolition."... meaning it has already been demolished????

The laws of physics are well understood here too. I've watched many steel fixers on a construction site walking over the rebar lattices they are tying together in light sandals. Of course, if you don't stand on an upward-pointed rebar, you don't get one through your foot or another part of your body if you lose balance and fall. Simple physics - watch where you're walking and don't ever lose balance.

You can nag her to death - she won't change. She'll just keep on getting fatter. You didn't say anything about age, as it makes a big difference to how fast you pile on fat. It is possible that she's not happy in the relationship and food has become a way to overcome the stress of it. A lot of people eat for comfort. The problem could be you. Maybe you're too demanding? Another possibility could be that she is seeing someone on the side who prefers some meat on the bones and she's catering to his (or her) preferences. Not everyone likes their partners skinny.

Visa agents in Pattaya will get you a Bangkok Bank account without problems. Everything is easier in Pattaya.

I just noticed that when you log into KBank banking in browser, if you click on "business accounts", it lists the accounts as Savings Accounts.

My KBank accounts are listed as "Business Accounts" in online banking. There is no mention of what type of accounts they are in the KBank phone app. They are savings accounts. This is stated on the info page of your passbook at the bottom left: branch and savings account. This could be written in Thai if it was opened a long time ago. In my first passbook from 14 years ago, it is written in Thai. In my more recent passbook of an account opened a few years ago, it is written in English.

It's already a sewer.

It's impossible to pin down a Russian by looks alone. I'm 0% Russian but often get approached by them in Pattaya. Sometimes they ask if I speak Russian.

Notwithstanding your ever-present condescending attitude and air of superiority on this forum - you do your thing and I'll do mine. It's my retirement, so I don't need an education from people like you on how I should proceed. No one is giving out gold stars for their level of Thai cultural integration. Maybe it's a problem where you live, but I chose Pattaya as a place to retire where I could be me. That's very easy to do in Pattaya. One reason why Thailand is such a desirable place to retire - the Thai people are very flexible and welcoming to people of other cultures. It might be surprising to some that most of the criticism comes from other expats. On the subject of wai-ing. Most of the interaction I have with Thai people is when I'm handing over money. They might wai, I say thank you - mostly in English... and everyone is happy. I don't have a Thai family or a Thai partner, so in that case, I expect much more cultural integration would be necessary.

Perhaps you don't know that "Hottentot" was used extensively by South African White people in the 60s and 70s when this movie came out as a general derogatory term for all black, dark-skinned, and even mixed race people, similar to "Kaffir". I know this as I was a white person growing up in South Africa in the 70s, during the height of Apartheid. It was the Dutch who started using this term due to the sound of the native language of the Khoekhoe people. It's easy to sit here and think it's crazy, but maybe we should consult South African black people to hear their opinions. I don't believe children's movies should insult any particular race or nationality unless it's a historical documentary. Try using the term in South Africa, and you'll discover that the term is not trivial.

The Samsung Service Center in Pattaya is on Pattaya Nua, on the left heading toward the bus station. They offered to replace my screen while I waited, in under an hour.

I wouldn't take a phone back to the shop where I bought it. I'd take it to the Samsung Service Center. It's the same with Apple... take it to Apple Care. If you go into an Apple reseller store (Studio 7), they send you to Apple Care. They don't offer to send it on your behalf to Apple Care for repairs. It's the same at official Samsung dealers. All the official dealers can do is replace the phone if it is defective within 7 days. It's your misunderstanding about how things work here that got you into this mess. I had a screen that developed a thick line and needed to be replaced - Samsung Note 20 Ultra - I took it to the Samsung service center and they offered to replace the screen while I waited. That was about 8000 baht. I traded the phone for a new model instead.

I disagree that it is "quite easy". I've done quite a few myself and found that the performance of the cable can be compromised if it is not done perfectly - which is difficult. If you don't get it perfect, it can still work, but with lower performance. Now I only use pre-made cables, usually on Lazada or Ali-Express.

How can a Korean (Asian) be racist toward a Thai (Asian). Has the definition of "racist" changed?

I think your expectations of the length of time you should sleep are too high. It differs with each individual, but I believe 8 hours of sleep is far too much. Who came up with this idea that 8 hours is necessary? Sure, if you always sleep a certain number of hours, then you're going to want to sleep that many hours as it becomes a (bad) habit. I'm ok with between 4 and 6 hours, averaging about 5. If I get sleepy during the day (which is rare) I will add a timed nap of one hour to rejuvenate. Over a year, I've been awake for 46 more days than an 8-hour sleeper. Factoring in 8 hours of sleep, that's 61 extra days a year. I exercise every day too, so I'm not getting around half asleep.