buddhalady

On 1/31/2020 at 12:41 PM, toofarnorth said:

Nearly all the above talk about how their villages/towns in the UK have changed.  Is this what is asked or are we talking about LoS ?

Where I live ( Los ) between Chaing Rai and the northern border a lot of changes have taken place.  Tesco Lotus opened about 12 years ago when we arrived from Hua-Hin. There was 1 place for a coffee up on AH2 , now there must be 10 places around here for a cappuccino.  Our soi was dust with 2 other house at the end , now the soi is concrete and there are 2 more houses here.

Several old wooden houses were knocked down 3 years ago , now we have M J Market which is a night bazzar.  The Friday walking street was , a couple of years ago 10 stalls is now the lencth of the town.  The place is certainly on the move.

Plymouth , Devon ...not been back to since leaving in 2005 , can't say if Jews , Arabs or Greeks run the place.

Sounds as though it's good up where you are. What's the property market like ? - I'm seriously considering leaving CM even although I live outside the city in a rural area.

Tried to get to you earlier - got lost - no surprise there - then had a mini-emergency with my oldest dog who has heart disease. Spent most of yesterday at CMU small animal hospital - sorted now, thank heaven.

However, I think you made the right decision to keep them all as they've always been together. It's bad enough when dogs are abandoned by their former owners, splitting them up as well is traumatic for them. Wish you all the best!

Think I got the location, but can easily get lost in a two metre square! Tomorrow I have to wait in for True Visions to fix their whatever - had no tele for 2 nights - would Monday be OK for a visit?

I might be able to take one - Where's Mae Hia? I'm in Sansai.....

51 minutes ago, Denim said:

If it's any consolation my old car ( 1992 ) that I was deeply in love with was away for repairs for nearly 7 weeks !!

 

My usually good mechanic was stumped by an electric fault he could not find so he gave it to an electrics expert who also could not find the fault. When it was finally repaired after 6.5 weeks I sold it straight away. Had I sold it before the problem I would have been 20,000 baht better off but that's life.

 

I then bought a second hand Toyota Vios for 150,000. Brilliant. No problems for 2 years. It is the most common saloon car on the roads so repairs are easier and spares plentiful.

 

What you have to do now is just politely pester the mechanic every day until he gets fed up and the repair is done. If it is ok I would get rid of it asap and get something newer , less exotic and unless your legs are not too strong , go for a manual transmission as mechanics here find them easier to work on , especially away from the big cities.

 

 

My legs are just fine, thanks, and it's the first time I've ever heard Vitaras called 'exotic'!!! As regards transmissions, for me it's far safer to drive over here with the gearbox doing the work I'd have to do whilst keeping a very close eye on the usual road show!

41 minutes ago, cmsally said:

Automatic gears seem to be one of the hardest things to fix.

If it is not completely clear then you need to get someone to call to see what the situation is. Have they ordered parts etc etc

If you post the location of the mechanic it is just possible that someone here has used them before and maybe able to get further info.

'Someone to call' was my first idea, unfortunately there are few farangs left in this neck of the woods, and none understand cars. Several have used the garage in the past, as have I, but not since the old guy who ran it died. I understood from the mechanic (?)  I spoke with that he would send it away to an 'expert' - quite frankly, I don;'t think he'd have bothered cleaning it himself. The garage itself is always packed with Thai-owned cars, which is why, when I heard the owner had died, I decided to give it a try with this issues - should have taken it down to the main agent. Live and learn.

The garage is off 118 to the left somewhere behind the big resort. Not sure if anyone up here reads TVF!

6 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Sounds like a hole-in-the-wall 'mechanic' or a guy who's handy with a spanner to me. Sounds honest though as he hasn't pulled it apart himself but the OP hasn't been able to confirm if the transmission has even left the building yet, only that is has been cleaned?

 

With a car that is 'very old', maybe a 'new' transmission is a better option. Thing is, the older the car, the harder to scavenge a working transmission from a wreckers yard. They are probably well out of production as well.

 

Hopefully someone may assist here with a recommendation for another garage. Inevitably they will also be scavenging for a replacement as nobody does refurbishment let alone rebuilds of near obsolete ones. Then there will be at least 2 garages looking for a new transmission for the OP.

 

One could incentivize the original mechanic with a 50% deposit on the quoted 20k, refundable if he totally strikes out. It may get him looking a bit harder.

 

However, the best option is to get something new(er). Maybe get the mechanic exploring that avenue as well?

The garage was well regarded whilst it's original owner oversaw everything, but he died recently and his sons (i believe) took over. I'd sent the car in several times for various basic repairs, no probs, fast service - obviously things have changed. As regards the Vitara, there are a few of the same model around town, it's considered collectible now, or so I'm told!

Apart from this, it has no other major issues and runs like a dream, making the devil I know a better option than another one I don't know. As regards my finances, they're adequate for my needs  - vets' bills come first, everything else comes last and I also don't want to be scammed into buying a secondhand disaster rather than fixing up the one I already have!

A research session online showed me the car's present problems were relatively common even a few years after its release and relatively straightforward to fix . Everything else is fine, don;t see the sense in just dumping it because I obviously made the wrong choice of garage. The problem was only on cold start-up - no trouble at all with the gears once the engine was warm. Someone suggested it was a 'selector' issue - whatever that is.... not the rest of the thing! I quite understand the need to send it to a specialist for repair, but why didn't the garage send it during the first two weeks? Again they managed to get the thing out, if it's been fixed as well as cleaned why didn't the garage simply reassemble it? My theory is that they didn't know how and don;t want to a dimit this or get someone in who does. Isn't this called 'Thainess'???

My car, an automatic and very old Suzuki Vitara with a brilliant engine, began having problems to do with transmission – wouldn’t engage after start-up from cold but once running OK gave no problems until the next cold startup. Took it to a local garage I’d used before, they told me the gearbox would have to go to a specialist for repair. Gave 10-13 days estimate time. I agreed.

Didn’t hear from them in the meantime, so checked in on the 14^th day only to find the car stuck in the back of the lot with its filthy gearbox still attached to a mini-crane. Obviously, it hadn’t been taken anywhere for repair. I spoke to the mechanic(?) – who has acceptable English – told him I desperately need the car as I’m living well outside of town in a village and two of my four dogs are chronically sick and need regular vet visits in CM. He seemed to understand, and said it would be ready in another week. Another family member then showed me a calculator displaying 20,000 baht, I agreed.

Subsequently, a week passed with no contact. Again, I went to the garage and found the now clean gearbox standing next to the car. Spoke to the same guy who said – another week. The week is now up, as are two extra days, and have heard nothing more.

I’ve been managing to get shopping, etc, with the help of the owner of the local shop, as even my local market and 7/11 are 30 minutes’ walk away. Grabcar and help from a neighbour have taken care of Big C shopping for special dog food etc, but Grabcar aren’t happy about less-than healthy dogs in their vehicles, so my two little ones have missed several checkups and, due to the unusual heat, all four are now in need of urgent veterinary attention.

It’s a month now, I have no idea what to do next, and am scared to go back as I might well lose my jai yen-yen! For very good reason, I’m seriously angry and very upset about this. I’m widowed, retired and have lived here for 13 years – my doggy family is my life.

Any suggestions would be helpful, maybe I could involve the main agent on highway 118, as they serviced the car for seven years before I arrived here and bought it. I would appreciate if the mods left this in the CM forum as it’s CM relevant.

15 hours ago, Mark1066 said:

Compassion for all, except older white men who prefer to use G4T or its successor than to spend all day at Promenada - is that what you agree with?

Mark, I would strongly recommend older white men as well as older white women as well as those of varied human hues to use a visa agent, as I've done for five years. No hassle, and , I believe, essential if there's an ongoing health problem as was the case with my late husband.

14 hours ago, scottiejohn said:

Probably a spelling error!

It was certainly nothing to with her immoral crusade against CM Immigration.  She may well be canonised outwith Immigration.  That is not my concern.

And what has religion got to do with this anyway.  As I and many others have said before we all have our OWN choices. Please leave us to them without the preaching 

Also please do not try and bestow your beliefs to us under this topic. (especially with your avatar).  Lets  get back on topic, if at all possible.  (I know I'm not a MOD - or make believe - but please do it before they shut it down!)

Scottiejohn - I don't have any formal 'religious beliefs', nor was I 'preaching'. My avatar is ******-all to do with you as it was suggested to me 10 years ago by a friend who died shortly after that,  and I decided to keep it on as a memory of his kindness and compassion. He would have strongly disapproved of the tone of your post -- one of his favourite sayings was 'keep your prejudices under wraps until you've dealt with them'.

The post you object to was entered as a reply to a question about my use of the word 'compassion' .  So sorry you didn't quite get the point.

Back on topic -  as I said in my first post, whatever anyone's personal feelings about Nancy and her attempts to help expats, at least she tried. I also believe her POTY election may well have been  one result of her efforts and involvement.

As regards a recent comment about using embassies or consulates when help is needed,  this may well be true for US expatriates, but it definitely isn't for those from the other side of the pond! 

1 hour ago, scottiejohn said:

Do you mean compassion in general or just about compassion for one person?  There is a big difference between the two!

 

Seem to remember the majority of world religions recommend  compassion for ALL as a good thing. I agree.

Not much of it on here, I see,  although the general view must have been different when Nancy was voted POTY....

Satisfy my curiosity, guys - what's changed? Couldn't be the new TVF world view, by any chance, could it?

26 minutes ago, cyberfarang said:

First she began a crusade against the Promenada immigration department, then she declared war on the G4T agency while at the same time promoting to us the private agencies. I believe this done more harm then good. 

 

Speaking for myself, although I consider Chiang Mai expats have received a rough deal where immigration is concerned, I found the G4T agency fast track system very convenient and so too the new agency that has taken it`s place, whatever it calls it`s self now. 

 

It should be up to every individual which method to use without some self appointed defender claiming to act on our behalf and interfering. 

As far as I understand what was going down at imm when Nancy was involved, a number of older expats were very unsure as to their alternatives - and very worried they might make a mistake which would land them in trouble.  Although I don't, even now, consider myself as 'older', I'd have appreciated assistance from a clued-in expat at the time my late husband had immigration problems.

I find the lack of anything remotely resembling compassion on this forum nowadays extremely disturbing.

Sansai/Doi Saket area - almost daily rain for ages, often very heavy, plus regular thunderstorms. Been here for 11 years, not seen anything like this before. Carefully planned and tended garden now a total washout, plants and trees doing very strange things, huge weeds everywhere, not worth redoing it, I suspect. Can't use chemicals on the weeds as I have dogs, but sprayed-on vinegar helps a bit. It's like the UK's summers, just warmer - very depressing.

2 hours ago, dick dasterdly said:

Its 'cos you're missing the point - there are far more EU people in the UK than UK 'expats' in the EU.

 

So its easy to surmise that an agreement will be reached on this issue.

I' m not missing the point - not my style....but what I should have included in my post is that the majority of Brits in Europe are there for retirement , just as are the majority of British expats in Thailand.

In contrast, the majority of the four million plus EU expats in the UK are working professionals and should be able to retain their positions post-Brexit if their input is considered essential by their employers.  If I remember correctly, long-stayers such as those married to British citizens will be offered permanent residency based on a five-year or more stay once the EU divorce is finalised. If, or course, it ever is.....

The above does not apply to British retirees who've chosen for financial reasons to live in warmer, more welcoming countries and have based their final years' plans on staying there, protected by the reciprocal European Health card. Given the state of the UK right now, I can't see any retirees welcoming the fact they're about to be kicked out of their chosen country and forced to return to a country where they can no longer afford to rent or buy a property or afford private health insurance as a protection against the failing NHS .

Same may well apply to Brit expats here some way down the line....

I find it sad that no-one on this thread has mentioned the post-Brexit plight of Brit expats who chose to live in France, Spain or other EU member states rather than Thailand or another SE Asian country.

If nothing else, I’d have expected some concern for those who might lose everything and be forced back to a country they deliberately left, in the same manner as did those of us now living here. Expected ….yes, but I’d forgotten this is the Thai Visa forum, famed for its lack of compassion and empathy.

My mistake.

Re the Sansai market - a stallholder whose English is very good told me the local authority  inspected the front section of the market and determined it needed work done , so the entire market was ,moved to the back section. Apparently, when it's finished they'll be moved back again.

The original building was in two sections, both of which were intended to be full, but it never had enough stallholders to even fill the front section. The streetside stalls fronting the main market and selling cooked food, clothes etc, were still there when I visited last Friday. The main market's only ever been open  Mondays and Fridays from around 3.30 - 4 p.m., and I still can't park at the front on either day due to its popularity with local and passing trade.

Given the average of 96.34 cases per100,000 persons in the five most affected districts and an overall average of 40.77 per 100,000 in the province, seems like catching it is unlikely. Yes, it’s very unpleasant if you do – I’ve had it twice over 10 years – but the likelihood of dying is infinitesimal.

I note one major CM hospital is advertising a special promotion of dengue vaccine including medicine (for what? If you’ve already got it you don’t need the vaccine, and yes, I do know there are several varieties) at 9,000 baht…. I’ve read the vaccine only gives 60 per cent protection against contracting the disease – a 40 per cent likelihood of infection rather cancels out any benefits as mozzies don’t tell you before they bite which strain they’re carrying!

Add the above to a sensationalist Western news article today about a Brit tourist who fell down a waterfall, was rescued three days later with a broken leg and kneecap ripped off and smashed beyond repair. He’s now been quoted around four million baht for an operation and is still seriously ill from an infection. The original hospital he was taken to demanded 56000 baht a night to treat him.

Thailand as an affordable medical tourism destination? Maybe not…can’t see basic travel insurance covering that kind of cash.  

In all the time I've been here, I've only had debit cards, with very occasional ATM problems with the overseas-based banks, but never with the Kasikorn card. Anything except everyday groceries is paid by debit card - this is the first time in 11 years I've had this problem with a Thailand -issued  bank card.

As regards swiping the card, I'm assuming this was done as the card was taken, then returned to me, as is normal with this agent, whose desk is at a visa agency where I always pay by card.

It's not just overseas cards that have problems, it seems. A week ago I paid my annual car insurance with my Kasikorn Bank debit card, then went to an ATM and withdrew 5,000 bht cash. No problems ....WRONG! Six days later I get an email from the insurance agent to say the bank has refused my card, thus leaving me unknowingly without car insurance. The balance in that bank account is seven figures and, just to make it worse, I had a tyre blow-out yesterday which, luckily, didn't result in my hitting anything or anyone. I dread to think what would have happened if I'd caused an accident, then found out I wasn't insured.

Still haven't heard from my agent as to the insurance company's attempts to re-enter my card details. The agency's office is a round trip of around 40kms - not happy, especially as I'm still not insured  through no fault of my own,. Used the same card yesterday for new tyres - no problem.

48 minutes ago, transam said:

Think you don't live here and don't understand the Thai mindset....?

Moved here in June, 2006 - have been here ever since - I understand the Thai mindset far better than the mindset of the average expat TVF poster.

Most replies sadly typical of this forum nowadays, not a single heart between the lot of you. Shame no-one thought to point out the parents just might not be able to afford an effective helmet – at least the good-hearted policeman knew his community financial problems well enough not to slap on a fine.

Smedly – ‘ashamed to be human’ – why is making the kids do an embarrassing something they don’t want to do sending the wrong message? Maybe the kids were out of ‘face’ as well as out of breath after the exercises and might well pressure their parents to somehow get them helmets?

Last point – why don’t you guys have a whip-round, buy helmets and send them on to the police station with instructions to forward them to the young offenders? Unlike the majority of the above posts, that wouldn’t be a waste of time and money.