Doudou

My car dealer (K motors) took almost two months. . . and that's with me calling and harassing them every week. I say, we shouldn't fine the driver; we should fine the dealers!

Did they get rid of that crazy no driving at night law or is it still in place? AFAIK, most people (myself included) want to get the white plate ASAP because of being harassed by cops at night. I had been stopped over 20 times in 2 months and ticketed once (no questions asked, he just wrote the ticket).

Unfortunately not, I was fined B500 last week on motorway 7. Like an idiot I gave him my driving licence and he kept it and I had to drive back the next day to this motorway police station in the middle of fields (it is located about 20km away from the airport coming from BKK). I was not a happy to say the least.

This rule regarding night driving is so stupid.

BTY, one of the reason that some people like to keep red plates on their car is that when you resale the car, the new owner becomes the first owner since no name was entered in the owner book. So the value of the car is higher.

I agree with the contents of your first "para" i.e. when stopped on a far distant M/way one should try to do a "private" deal with cop in order to drive on freely thereafter with no forced return to the local police station.

The last "para" however is different, of course the avoidance of the first ownership would increase the cars value if put up for sale, but the purchase procedures are such that it is not feasible since, after completing the purchase the papers are sent to the local "admin" and the buyers details are entered on the vehicles official 'data', the booklet is then sent to the showroom together with the white plates in a time span of say 3 wks to 2 mths approx:

The showroom then contacts the buyer and ask to collect, some buyers want to delay this in order to keep the red plates for prestige reason etc, nevertheless, the cars official "doc's" (the booklet) carry the name of the first buyer, no matter how long he/she drives with the red plates, thus re-selling the car without the registration of the first buyer is not possible, unless this takes place before the "reg" papers reach the local admin, i.e. 2 wks approx.

I don't know how they do it, but a BMW dealer told me that some of his customers are doing it, and I have seen cars in my condo that kept red plates even after several months (I far as I can remember, those where all luxury cars). Also on the Thai BMW website, you can see several second hands with red plates for sale. I just checked now and you have a 2008 525i with 21,500km with red plates for sale.

My car dealer (K motors) took almost two months. . . and that's with me calling and harassing them every week. I say, we shouldn't fine the driver; we should fine the dealers!

Did they get rid of that crazy no driving at night law or is it still in place? AFAIK, most people (myself included) want to get the white plate ASAP because of being harassed by cops at night. I had been stopped over 20 times in 2 months and ticketed once (no questions asked, he just wrote the ticket).

Unfortunately not, I was fined B500 last week on motorway 7. Like an idiot I gave him my driving licence and he kept it and I had to drive back the next day to this motorway police station in the middle of fields (it is located about 20km away from the airport coming from BKK). I was not a happy to say the least.

This rule regarding night driving is so stupid.

BTY, one of the reason that some people like to keep red plates on their car is that when you resale the car, the new owner becomes the first owner since no name was entered in the owner book. So the value of the car is higher.

This is unbelievable! How many years are these clowns going to talk about the same thing. Don't they ever learn?

3G has a different business model: you charge by MB not by time used. Why is it so hard for Thai politicians to understand? Just change the way agencies charge between each other.

Clearly banana republic sees the internet as a cash cow not as a business enabler.

Why is it so hard to have dept heads actually know something about the dept they are in charge off?

Cambodians are very peaceful and wise because they (the ultra nationalists) make their small stuff in Phnom Penh.

The Thais are crazy because they (the ultra nationalists, Yellow Shirts) make their provocation at the border TO CREATE A WAR.

Cambodian police should prevent incident to arise. Thai army obviously helps, sometimes, the Yellow to CREATE A WAR.

Cambodia does not have the military capacity to fight a war against any of their neighbours; and their military are too busy enriching themselves to bother.

Much the same could be said about their Thai counterparts. Though the Thai military on paper is much stronger than the Cambodians, I am unaware of ANY successful campaign carried out by Thais in the last century. What makes you think that they want to spoil their perfect record?

If you are unaware you only have yourself to blame. in 1940-1941 Thailand went to war with France (well Indochina) after France became occupied by Germany. Thailand won new territories from Laos and Cambodia. The Victory monument in Bangkok was build to commemorate this success.

Well, while I don't have an experience in the extremes as mentioned in this thread (thanks for sharing BTY), I do have a story that could have resulted in losing my car.

2 years ago had a Toyota Wish for sell with 100,000 km. Got an offer by a lady for 800,000 Bahts (purchased new for 1.2mio). She was a bit of a pain do deal with as she was late to see the car and sounded always very busy and pushy. However she did seem keen to buy the car. This lady said that she worked in a tent. For info, this is where second hand cars get traded in Thailand. I thought it was quite a high price for a car she intended to resell to someone else. My condition for the transaction was either by cash or cashier check. She said multiple times that this was not a problem.

On the morning the exchange was to take place, she say by phone that all is ok as her boss has already signed the check. Since cashier's check are signed by banks, that did not make sense. Upon insisting she said that no they did not have the cashier's check and that her boss had left for the weekend (it was Saturday) we would have to wait for the following week, while insisting on the great deal we where making and that she had the check in hand and all was fine. We did not give in, and told her it was cash or cashier's check or nothing! We never heard from her again.

A few weeks later we heard on the news that a gang had been arrested for signing fake checks for buying cars and they had quite a long list of victims.

The car was sold a month later for 750,000 bahts cash. A good price anyway.

This is thanks to China and their great idea to build dams...

Exactly...!

Sorry guys, but not correct.

What flows in, must flow out. Dams merely slow down the river current, or speed it up, depending on the water release rate.

Severe drought means low flow into river, hence the low water level towards the end of the dry season.

Sorry jombom but not correct.

Dams reduce the flow in two ways:

- first by the need to fill up the lake formed by the dam.

- second by the water evaporation due to the increased exposed surface. The larger the lake, the greater the loss.

We have a Thai employee that goes to Cambodia often. He doesn't have problems.

I was told that you can only cross the border if the car has been fully paid. i.e the tittle has been transfered from the finance company to you.

Assuming that there is not more to the story, I am seriously considering not visiting Thailand anymore. I do NOT condone theft, even petty theft, but this appears to be extremely harsh, especially for a country that has all sorts of hard-core criminals walking around free.

Another nail in the coffin that is Thailand tourism

I suspect she was drunk, was abusive to the police, etc. People often forget they are guests in this country, and should treat it and the people with utmost courtesy. I am amazed at the garbage attitude many farangs have toward Thailand. I think they should get out.

I love it here, when in need of help, I've never been turned away. The Thai's have always been honest to a fault, and courteous also. We just need to remember it is easier to catch flies with honey than vinegar.

Tourist are 'guests' in this country? do you make your guests pay to stay at your house? That is a ridiculous over-used line. They are customers who have chosen Thailand out of a multitude of other countries to enjoy some vacations. Not every foreigner care to spend the time to learn local customs. Thailand is a major tourist destination, and as such it is expected that foreigners will sometime behave as they would in their country. Phuket as a tourist hot spot should train its police force to deal with 'unusual' farangs. Obviously they do not, leading to crazy situations like the one facing Ms Smoel.

<snip>

Time to burn it !

(with the pope inside maybe ?)

;-)

:D

And why is there always someone that has questionable brain power to find it funny??

Why don't you use your superior brain power and explain us what good does the pope do.

From what I understand it's not Cambodian territory, it's a disputed area, Thais have as much rights to enter there as Cambodians who have been sqauatting there for years and even erected a temple.

Cambodian government has been regularly flaming up this issue, it looks like they want international community recognition of de-fact sovereignty over this disputed land.

Obviously you don't understand then.

The temple was erected long before the French created the maps defining the border. That border had been a fuzzy one for generations before. The French attributed the temple to their side (since they occupied modern day Cambodia) with reasons since the temple is clearly Khmer.

The disputed land is the buffer zone around the temple, and is only about 4km2. The temple itself is in Cambodian territory and not in disputed land.

Unfortunately, neither side has been wise enough to see that by exploiting this area jointly they would both benefit more.

I've been stopped a few times in the last 4 years. I usually speed, so I know why the MiB are waving down. I always smile and remain polite. Last time a couple of months ago. The MiB was pointing at the 100kph line on the speedometer and telling me not to drive at 140. I thanked him smiled again, and gave him 100. He asked for 200, but I said no no that's enough. And he waved me good bye.

Also I never give my driving license, always say I left it at home. I don't want them to keep it, so once I got a 400 fine for driving without the license but they did not cumulate the speeding offence.

When I started driving in Thailand, I had no clue about not driving at night with red plate (a tea money rule if there ever was one). So every week I got stopped on the motorway arround bkk just after tolls. One cop after talking for a few minutes (with me not having a clue what he was talking about) he left his glove on the door. So I took the glove, put a 100 bill inside, and gave it back to him. Then I could go...

Nope, can't be bothered to listen to their nonsense.

That was always the case when we were kids - my mum would never answer the door. Nowadays, I usually tell them to p_ss off.

never , or only when a JW rang... and why be so rude to people and to something you probably know nothing about

just because they choose their unique way, it an excuse to act like an ingrate?

would you say that to a monk?

respect please- did your mother teach you that?

Monks respect other's privacy. They don't go around force-feeding their nonsense to others. I've lived in the USA and been woken up on Saturday morning by JWs. I already can't stand people who proselytize on public space, so when they wake me up to sell me invisible friends, they deserve a good verbal beating.

Many airports are equipped with trolleys that are compatible with escalators (and yes these are the same as in shopping center). Geneva for example. You don't even need to hold the trolley while on it, even with heavy luggage (I tried with about 50kg). The trolleys at Suvarnabhumi where designed to go on escalators too, as you can see with the plastic steps under and the grill in front. The problem is that the company that was chosen to build them had no prior experience. So they are a bit unsafe on the escalators because the plastic is slippery with metal. Rubber would have been the correct choice, except that rubber is more expensive. I did try to go up and had no problems (at least you can hold a bit), but didn't care to try going down.

The problem with the the travelators is different, the wheel are supposed to lock the trolleys in place (like at Paragon) in the grooves of the travelators. However, since this is not working well, the brakes should take over, but... oops, the brakes are not working well either, so you need good shoes with rubber soles so that you don't slip with the trolley. I have seen numerous ladies with high heels having problems on travelators.

So, what we have is a poor design of the trolleys and not a behavior problems on the part of the users. This topic was talked about briefly in Bangkok Post shortly after the opening.

I had a similar situation a couple years ago, my GF and I where going to England for a few days. Embassy asked for photos of us, which we provided on a second visit, and the visa was issued promptly.

a Month ago, my boss's wife wanted to bring along a Thai friend to keep her company while in the UK. That friend is also an employee of our company. Although a explanatory letter was provided and ample funds where available. The embassy's goons insisted that I sign a documents indicating that the friend was going to work as a maid in the UK and that she was a house employee here (she's in fact a secretary). I wrote a fax to explain the situation again. But since they have not yet learned how to read they still wanted me to lie in writing. I did not sign, so they refused her application. I know this seems strange, but it is that simple. The people at the UK embassy in Bangkok are rude, can't read, ask you to lie on applications, and use a random process to grant their visas.

Needless to say, we are in the process to lodge a complaint at the foreign office in London.

Sorry steveromagnino but this is NOT in line with international practice. In order to restrict parking space and ask people to use public transport, you first need to have public transport that covers a big part of town. What do you do if you live next to a BTS station, but your office is far from one (which is my case)?

I lived this a few years back in Lausanne Switzerland. Parking spaces have be suppressed to reduce traffic. Result: people spending more time driving around to find a space, so traffic got worst.

There is a better idea that could be implemented easier. Park and rides. BTS lines are being extended. It would be easy to add large parkings (free for the day) on Tomburi side. It should also be possible to do the same in the On Nut area.

Luca, all this voodoo BS is actually against the Buddha's teaching.  One of the issue in Thailand, is that so many are ready to believe in anything.  Just look at the mania with amulets.  Like in many developing economies (like Brazil) spirits and voodoo is often on people's mind.  Particularly to people with low education level.

I would suggest that you go with your GF to a respected temple, and try to get her to talk one of the important monks.  Since these beliefs are not compatible with Buddhism, then you have a high chance to let her and her family see the light.

All you cheap charlies trying to do illegal shit just to save a few baht for your next holiday to thailand...just to waste again on several one night stands.

I heard of a guy, thought he was smarter than everyone else, brought in several from the US and they all got confiscated.....good deal I say.

I take it that paying 100% surcharge on items makes you smart?  And I didn't think that wanting an iPhone at official price makes you cheap.  So either you have money to burn or being smart just have different meaning for you.

Little problem shipping iPhone from Switzerland with DHL.

The declared item was MP3 player (which it is too).  before custom, DHL calls me to ask details, is it an iPhone they ask? (I wonder how they could know at this point unless they x-ray stuff)  no it is an iPod Touch (looks the same) I say.  I email the page from Apple with picture of the iPod Touch at their request.  A few days of delay, more phone calls, then they tell me that we need an import declaration.  I told them that the iPod Touch is now for sell in Thailand, and since this is a approved product in Thailand I should not need the declaration.  The lady says in that case ok, it will be out of custom today.  It was out the same day, and delivered the next morning.  All well???  not quite.  The package was empty! The original packaging was replaced with a different one (still with DHL logo but different kind) and in the package was all the forms, including the email I sent them with the picture of the iPod Touch, and some cotton... cotton?  yes for padding to make someone believe that there was something inside.  The original item was put in a special envelope with plastic air bubles and more rigid support on the side, and was missing.  Oh! I almost forgot.  I also have the custom bill.  Nice touch no?

Beside the lack of the object of desire, everyone I spoke to at DHL was very nice (before and after the event).  I am in touch with a supervisor, and they will come home tomorrow to take pictures of the received envelope.  Not much hope though.

It has nothing to do with FRUITS, apples and oranges...but FRUCTUS in latin meaning MONEY.

Sebastian H Brousseau, LLB, BSc,

Lawyer (Quebec, Canada).

For Isaan Lawyers.

i wonder where canadian lawyers are taught latin. perhaps in a protestant sunday school? and is their "opinion" that the latin word "pecunia" means potatoes?

ad perpetuam rei memoriam!

Naam's post piqued my curiosity. So I googled and found the following:

Latin fructus, "fruits"

obviously not when you are a québécois lawyer using québécois latin where "fructus" (singular) means "fruits" (plural) and is used for "money".

i'ts ridiculous (and quite an old story) how some lawyers try to keep on bullsh*tting even when clear evidence was submitted that they are wrong. but &lt;deleted&gt;!

Using fruit to talk about money is a common expression in French as it is in English.  Words can have different meaning in different context.  So you are right that fructus is fruits, but, put in context you are wrong.  The verb 'fructifier' in French (same root as fructus) means to grow your capital, 'usufruit' from the latin 'usufruct' is used to mean the right of use of a property or to profit from it (rent or interest on capital).  There no need to be dismissive of others who are only trying to share their knowledge with the rest.

There is also the solution of buying an ultrasonic anti-barking device. A quick internet search will give you several online shops. I've never tried them but did consider doing so when I moved in because the neighbours two large german shepperd where barking at anything. They are much quieter now.

They very often bark at me when they see me, and recently I came close to them (I do like dogs, and these are quite nice) with the palm of my hand down. They where really barking loader as I was approaching, but as i was just behind the fence, they stopped altogether! They turned their back and sat down. It looked to me as if they saw i was not afraid, and simply gave up; big mouths and no balls!

For the anti-barking device, I think you need a line-of-sight. High frequencies don't travel well around corners.

2 weeks ago I bought a new laptop: Toshiba Satelite M200, 1.83GHz, 512MB Ram with Vista Home. Only installed office and Skype on it. The computer was so slow as to be unusable. Even just after booting, opening folder took 2-3 seconds for the window to refresh. And this even after diactivating all visual goodies. So I took the computer back and had XP installed on it instead. What a difference!!! Some may say that 512MB is not enough for Vista, but there are no excuses for a computer to be slow right after booting, in the configuration it was purchased. Vista is bad. Funny that after every update of the OS windows are slower and MACs are faster.

If that were true then macs would be about 1,000 times quicker than a PC by now.

512mb is not enough to run Vista properly, its not actually much memory at all - Did the computer come with Vista installed (legally), I'd be surprised if you just threw way the OS and bought a new one (XP) at 5,000 baht - rather than just simply buying extra memory for half that cost.

It is true that at each new major OS version, more parts of the MacOS are optimized for the processor it is running on.  Particularly since the switch to Intel processor.  And I never said that at each update the OS would be several times faster, just that it is indeed faster because better written. 

512mb may not be enought to run Vista. But the laptop was new and came with Vista Home pre-installed.  Beside you don't need to have 512mb to open folders!  when an OS is just booted it is not yet using cashed memory, so why should it be so slow?  That's is why I didn't not buy extra memory, and prefered to pay someone 750B to install XP instead.  

2 weeks ago I bought a new laptop: Toshiba Satelite M200, 1.83GHz, 512MB Ram with Vista Home.  Only installed office and Skype on it.  The computer was so slow as to be unusable.  Even just after booting, opening folder took 2-3 seconds for the window to refresh.  And this even after diactivating all visual goodies.  So I took the computer back and had XP installed on it instead.  What a difference!!!  Some may say that 512MB is not enough for Vista, but there are no excuses for a computer to be slow right after booting, in the configuration it was purchased.  Vista is bad.  Funny that after every update of the OS windows are slower and MACs are faster.

YouTube was back... last week.  Since Monday, I can't get it.  I tried with:

True Internet in Bangkok, TOT Gold in Chantaburi, and CAT Leased line in Chantaburi.

In all cases, I did a traceroute, and the last IP address is one managed by CAT.  So the block comes from them.

Why can't they let this be?  It is getting really old to be treated like children.   

Looking forward to real elections...