billd766

Funny topic. I'm not sure WHEN in life a man is supposed to stop admiring the ladies, but I'm still doing it and I'm 71.

However, it's not polite to stare, and yet there are subtle ways of getting around that. Of course, It's not polite to look elsewhere when someone is talking to you either... unless of course, the person is very boring and you'd rather be anywhere else than where you are. At that point I just make some excuse and leave.

I have to admit that there are certainly a lot of slim, attractive ladies in Thailand. Some have the greatest legs anywhere. Of course, a lot depends on where you are living. A place like Pattaya is full of lovely young women who have come there intentionally looking for "jobs". It's not so prevalent in other cities.

I am a bit younger than you (at 66) and I have known my wife for 17 years and we have been married for 10 of them.

She tells me that I AM allowed to look and talk but NOT to touch.

I live out in the sticks and the number of beautiful girls out here are not so many, however when I sit outside in the mornings or when I walk around the markets the girls legs and long hair attract me the most.

There are some very nice looking ones and most of the time I get a smile back.

I just tried again with the same results.

It just says done at the bottom but there is no download.

I am using Firefox so that may be a problem though there aren't many pages like that for me.

Unfortunately neither of the first 2 links work but the link to your site does.

To reiterate

The headache is because exchange rates have increased the amount of English cash I need to use to top up the Thai account to 800,000

And in reply to comment about living here I have been here 17 years and resent the comment about moving on

People with lots of money should refrain from glib comments about lack of funds

JGV

I agree with you.

When I planned my retirement about 15 years ago I, like almost everybody in Thailand didn't imagine that the exchange rates would have dropped to the current level and even back in 2007 some 3 years ago the rate never really went below 68 baht to the GBP.

10 year trend 2000 to 2004.xls

10 year trend 2005 to 2010.xls

However in the past 3 years the West's economy has crashed badly and the Thai economy is doing fairly well.

I have been living in Thailand for about the same amount of time as you and I consider Thailand as my home where my wife and son are.

We live in her house on her land and I don't regret for one instant divorcing my UK wife and marrying my Thai wife.

While Thailand is not the hardest country to get a visa and live reasonably well most countries are suffering from a poor exchange rate and whilst one poster suggests that if I don't have enough money I should reconsider being in Thailand, my thought is why?

I can live well in Thailand and the problem is that the money I had thought would be available for other things is not there at the moment.

And for that poster it is not necessarily newcomers to Thailand who are suffering the most, it is the people who have been here a very long time and are well established here with their families and friends who through no fault of their own are suffering.

I have been both well off and poor and now I am somewhere around the middle but not quite as comfortable as I had planned many tears ago.

When I got my Yellow Book the guy handling the paper work showed me 'The Bible'. That is the Amphurs very own book of rules detailing the issuing of just about every document under the Thai sun. He said that every Amphur had one so even though he had never issued a Yellow Book to a farang before he just followed the process detailed in The Book and in a short space of time I was handed my house book free of charge.

So much depends on where you live.

My Amphur has the book of rules though AFAIK according to my wife they have never issued one up here.

They had me running down and up to BKK and after about 6 weeks it was approved.

I had gone to the UK embassy and used an agency for the translations and the stuff for the MFA which they then posted to me at home.

I had to do that twice as I asked him through my wife exactly what he wanted and that's what I got but it wasn't enough for him.

You need this and this and this he said.

My instant reply was I got what YOU asked for with a silent (asshol_e) and my wife is now looking daggers at me for upsetting the guy.

So a couple of weeks later I went back to BKK and did it again.

I gave the Amphur the originals and copies and as he was going to give me the book I asked for the originals.

Cannot he said, we have to keep.

You didn't keep my passport of Thai driving licence so if you really want the originals you must pay me 10,000 baht for my costs or I keep everything and you keep the yellow book. I didn't tell him I was going to BKK anyway for something else.

So saying I picked up all my paperwork and he was on the phone to his boss.

OK, no problem he said.

So I got my yellow book but it was hard work.

My Phantom is about the same age as yours and I have about 30,000 km on the clock and I don't have that sort of noise.

Mine is regularly serviced every 4,000 km with intermediate oil changes at 2,000km by the local Honda guys.

I don't think there is that much to worry about though I haven't touched the inside of engines for years.

Best of luck.

Have IRC tyres renewed on my Phantom recently front and back and no problems .Do not find them slippy ,but then the Phantom is hardly a racer .

True that the Phantom is not exactly a rocketship but having had 2 sets of IRC I thought it was time for a change.

I found this information yesterday while looking through Google (thanks to VocalNeal for starting me off.

Phantom tyres

If you surf for BKK Riders you will find a website. Look under shops you will find Mr. Pairoj. He will ship tires all over Thailand.

Mine is not Phantom and I have Dunlop.

From Vocalneal

http://www.bkkriders.com/shops/index.html

Big Bendum

(Ek Pai Boon)Mr. Pairoj has a large stock of specialist bike tires. He can supply, change and balance tires for you. 481 Santiphab Road

Tel: 02-222-7535

Email: [email protected]

Dunlop tyres

Front 100/80 - 17

Rear 140/80 – 15

About 4,500 baht the pair

Slightly bigger and maybe better

http://www.competizioni-moto.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=57

Charlie 0890038886

Charlie is a woman from Oz

Pirelli Diddy? Demon

Front 3.00 -17 equivalent to 90/90 – 17 cost 1670 baht

Rear 130/90 -15 cost 1910 baht

Showpow has moved to Onnut 46/2. Pat or Charlie. Closed Sunday.

G'day Bill<BR><BR>went through the same saga last year, Metzler were recommended also Michelin and Dunlop, due to the difficulty of ordering though in deepest darkest Phetchabun. I ended up with stock IRC's.<BR><BR>Seemingly the Metzlers are soft and sticky and tend to wear quicker than the mahogany of IRC.<BR><BR>Happy Trails Matey<BR><BR>Chris

Afternoon Sport

I will have a look online and see what is available then see what the guy down in Lat Yao that I went to last year can do.

I must get up and see you sometime soon.

Afternoon Matey

Likewise, I must get down to see you sometime also, hopefully in the next couple of weeks, I'll give you a buzz soon

Cheers and good luck with the tyre hunt. Please keep me posted as Phitsanulok is pretty well off for bike shops and ordering them should be pretty easy, my stock IRC's are about one year old still plenty of tread on them but I figure I'd like to get a grippier tyre.

Cheers Oppo

Chris

Grippier??? You mean like treacle sticking to a blanket.

Have a look at a new tyre thread on a different forum.

Off topic I hear that Gillette will be getting a lot more razor blades now the Ark is gone.

i have gotten it to 153- but that was hard work and open road (lots of time) i have always thought it was because I am a fat bastard... Yes, the bike will vary in speed depending on heavy you are... Think it should do 160 with a Thai on top...

Speedo feels very real, and 80 on the cbr feels faster than 80 on the pcx or car...

I feel now that my front breake feels a bit weak- will stop by tomorrow to get it sorted out...

Actually it's not the weight that makes farang slower on the bike; it's the build. Weight affects acceleration, build affects top speed.

Dave... in that case Dave. Me and you are bolloxed for top speed on the CBR250

Having seen Dave I have no chance of breaking the land speed record for a CBR 250 then.

When I die I will be sure to log on from the other side and tell TV about it.

G'day Bill<BR><BR>went through the same saga last year, Metzler were recommended also Michelin and Dunlop, due to the difficulty of ordering though in deepest darkest Phetchabun. I ended up with stock IRC's.<BR><BR>Seemingly the Metzlers are soft and sticky and tend to wear quicker than the mahogany of IRC.<BR><BR>Happy Trails Matey<BR><BR>Chris

Afternoon Sport

I will have a look online and see what is available then see what the guy down in Lat Yao that I went to last year can do.

I must get up and see you sometime soon.

Let me guess the tire recommendations for the Honda Phantom TA200 did not upgraded since 2007. The problem is that in the tire market a lot changed, buying recommended Metzler tires from a shop from Ratchada Rd., be carefull this tires could actual be 3-years old.............

Thanks Richard but BKK is about 400 km away and I am hoping for somewhere local.

However saying that the guy I went to last year didn't have what I wanted so he ordered them in for me and he is only 75 km down the road.

I found this in Makro yesterday at 890 baht.

There was also an electric slicer but I don't want to pay 17,900 baht for that.

I found this in Makro yesterday at 890 baht.

I went to the Honda main dealer in Khampaeng Phet this morning and inquired about a 250 with ABS.

They found the lady I normally speak to and she told me that they had none and also if I wanted one I should order it.

I explained that I wouldn't order one until I had actually seen one.

I asked the price and she found some other guy who quoted me 140,000 baht.

I explained that apHonda's price was 115,000 and he repeated his 140,000 and there we left it.

For 7,000 baht more I could buy the Kawasaki 250 (but no ABS).

Was in Phuket town today to get a red 250 non ABS. 110k :lol:

try to find time to see some more dealers tomorrow, as more than 101k is silly

The big garage on Yawarat quoted 105k but was closed on the day i had planned to get it. Went over to Phang Nga and paid 110k. Maybe silly but i love the bike enough to not regret it and had arranged to sell old one etc.

I left the shop and I won't bother to go there again. 28.75% over the "normal" price. That's one hell of a premium.

I went to the Honda main dealer in Khampaeng Phet this morning and inquired about a 250 with ABS.

They found the lady I normally speak to and she told me that they had none and also if I wanted one I should order it.

I explained that I wouldn't order one until I had actually seen one.

I asked the price and she found some other guy who quoted me 140,000 baht.

I explained that apHonda's price was 115,000 and he repeated his 140,000 and there we left it.

For 7,000 baht more I could buy the Kawasaki 250 (but no ABS).

Hi Guys

My Phantom will be needing new tyres in a few weeks time and I have no idea what to get this time.

The originals were stock IRC and I replaced them at 15,000 with an updated set of IRC Wild Flare WF920F tyres and they will have lasted about the same distance.

The front tyre is 90/90-17 49P and the rear is 130-90 x 15 M/C 66P.

Both are tubeless.

I use the bike as a daily runner and in most weathers except snow and ice.

What would be the best brand to buy this time?

Hmm, beware Big Brother. If you are out of the uk longer than 3 months no National health, can also affect your state pension.

jb1

The Department of Work and Pensions already know I live in Thailand full time but my friend who I stayed with in the UK years ago had a letter addressed to me from the doctor I used to go to to say that I was still on his list.

Theoretically I could go back to the UK and see that doctor and get NHS treatment.

I am probably on his list for 2 reasons

1 I never came off it or told them

2 He gets paid by the NHS for every patient on his books.

As far as I'm aware there really isn't any way of producing a reliable chart over a meaningful period of time, let alone predicting from it. 3 reasons, the baht was pegged at a very artificial rate for a number of years, the Thai baht underwent an atypical plummet a good decade ago, and the pound has done similar now. Anybody who thinks that it is possible to drawn a nice straight line through that lot is indeed a candidate for the loony bin.>>>>

Where he may no doubt share lodgings with anyone in the 32 baht to the pound camp. Correct me if I'm wrong but this would predict near parity with the dollar!!! This could compromise Thailand's price competitiveness just a smidgen.

I'll guess at 45-50 bt to the pound over the next year. The currency under most pressure IMHO willl be the Euro.

I agree that using historical charts of a currency pair is not going to be a useful tool in forecasting future rates, although not entirely for the reasons you state.

To state the blindingly obvious, the exchange rate between a pair of currencies is dependent on the relative flow in and out of them. This is influenced by trade, investment, speculation and political interference.

1. Trade, anybody seen any UK made produce in the shops recently? Apart from a few food items in Tesco I haven't.

2. Investment, Thailand is hiking interest rates. BKK will give you 2.25%. The UK is not likely to raise interest rates for a long time. Investment money is flowing into Asia because it is cheaper and easier to manufacture in Asia than in the west.

3. Speculation, the general speculative flow is into Asian currencies and countries.

4. Political interference, QE, zero interest rates, massive debt and huge obstacles to small businesses in the UK has to be set against the strong Thai banking sector, little government interference in industry and small start ups (anybody can open up a street food stall and sell stuff anywhere; try that in the UK), and huge foreign currency reserves built up to hold down the THB. This cannot continue indefinitely, with the BoT taking the losses, the THB has to appreciate against western currencies.

The UK government is also not interested in expats and their problems. They are trying to boost exports and increase local demand by ensuring the currency does not appreciate.

I have to agree with MJP, we are now heading to the next slot down, and 43-46 looks about right. If the UK does not pull its socks and interest rates up, then the next move is a band beneath that.

It can't be doing much for those of you on fixed pensions - and the outlook is no brighter.

Errr no it doesn't do too much certainly not for me anyway.

I will be going up to Makro tomorrow buy in Khampaeng Phet and I have seen a couple of hand mincers but didn't check the price.

I also make bacon and what I would like is a hand slicer but all I can find in Makro are the electric ones at around 17,000 baht which is a waste for something that I won't use that often.

The only 2 responses I get when asking are mai mee or mai ko jai.

You fail at logic.

Yes, but no logic path reaches a successful end on this subject, but mine has less kinks in it and fewer people die.

Now, answer the question, anyone. (but I'm more interested in Tawps answer)

No "right" to carry a gun is worth a child's life.

EVER

If you take or carry or use a gun to defend yourself (from what) always remember that there is somebody somewhere faster or stronger than you or has a bigger gun or a lot of friends who also have guns.

I have no answer to criminals who carry weapons except that they would mostly be stolen and unlicensed in the first place.

I did several years ago and every couple of years they ask me to update them.

I used to get a daily email from them during the troubles with their advice and contact details.

More like 40 years behind, places like Uganda in 70's and more lately Zimbabwe comes to mind...

All of the private telcos would go for "3G" or LTE or anything else in a heartbeat if they would be allowed to do so. Unfortunately they are still blocked from frequencies for basic 3G just to keep TOT and CAT alive and bringing the money into the pockets of a few. This been going on for 10 years or so, it was something like 2002 or 2003 when they first were going to auction frequencies for 3G "by the end of the year"...

@MJo -

Well, yes and no. HSPA ("3G") is available everywhere in Bangkok proper, either through True or DTAC. HSPA is also available on the west coast of Phuket through True and DTAC, and the speeds are quite respectable - I've personally clocked 5 Mbps international download from the Sandwich Shoppe in Cherng Talay. See www.phuketinternetspeed.com

True and DTAC are NOT blocked from having HSPA/3G. This news item (at the top of the thread) says exactly the opposite: True is buying bandwidth to further develop their HSPA network in the 25 provinces surrounding Bangkok. What's been blocked, repeatedly, stupidly, is the auction of 2.1 GHz spectrum for HSPA (or LTE). But that doesn't keep any of the major players - True, DTAC, AIS - or even some previously-unknown companies from renting bandwidth at 850 MHz from CAT or TOT. In fact, TOT's CEO was recently fired, apparently because he was dragging his feet on sub-letting 850 MHz bandwidth to these other companies, specifically for HSPA/3G.

It's a complicated situation. I gave a talk at the International Business Association of Phuket last month about it, and explaining the details took up most of the hour. It's gotten more complicated since then - the people in charge at CAT and TOT know what they're doing, and they're trying hard to maximize their income. That's not unusual when a government-run telco starts losing its monopoly - precisely the situation we're seeing right now.

Thailand has HSPA ("3G"). It just doesn't have HSPA at 2.1 GHz. And the HSPA that it does have doesn't extend to the whole country. But, hey, you could say that about almost any other country - including the US. Remarkably, from what I've seen, HSPA speeds in Thailand are as good as those in the US. Hard to believe, but true - and independently verifiable.

The big question, to my mind, is whether any of the telcos have the cojones to leapfrog to LTE (or HSPA+) and drop HSPA entirely.

FWIW, there are technical reasons why HSPA (and LTE) at 850 MHz is actually BETTER than HSPA at 2.1 GHz.

While I can accept (sort of) the HSPA speeds are as good as the USA at the moment, could that be because there are only a limited number of customers using the system.

The nearest I can get to HSPA is nearly 50 km so it is academic to me but IF or WHEN 3G comes out in full force those speeds will go down the tubes when perhaps an extra 10 or 20 million customers go online unless the fibre optic backbone in the whole country is expanded and very quickly as well.

Will the companies not need very much bigger international gateways also?

I read that there are a few providers who already promise high up and download speeds which fall off as more users come on line.

Any network is only as good as its backbone.

It is similar to using a 6 inch pipe to pour water down from 10 outlets. If you add another 90 outlets it still cannot flow any faster down that pipe. You need a bigger pipe.

I am retired now but I spent my last 20 years building mobile networks in many countries including AIS, DTAC and BFKT/Hutch here in Thailand.

As far as I'm aware there really isn't any way of producing a reliable chart over a meaningful period of time, let alone predicting from it. 3 reasons, the baht was pegged at a very artificial rate for a number of years, the Thai baht underwent an atypical plummet a good decade ago, and the pound has done similar now. Anybody who thinks that it is possible to drawn a nice straight line through that lot is indeed a candidate for the loony bin.>>>>

Where he may no doubt share lodgings with anyone in the 32 baht to the pound camp. Correct me if I'm wrong but this would predict near parity with the dollar!!! This could compromise Thailand's price competitiveness just a smidgen.

I'll guess at 45-50 bt to the pound over the next year. The currency under most pressure IMHO willl be the Euro.

The charts I put up were taken from the Bangkok Bank from 2000 to 2006 and from 2007 to 2010 from the Kasikorn Bank on a Monday to Friday check of the exchange rates on the sites.

All I did was to take each year in turn and put them onto an Excel spreadsheet and a graph at the top. I then did a monthly average for each year and opened a new spreadsheet with a graph. The original one I did had all of the years but it was so unwieldy I split it into two.

I don't have the knowledge or skills (should that be luck) to do any forward predictions.

I have only hopes that if we are lucky the GBP will not go lower and if really lucky it could (pretty please) get back up to 50 Baht this year.

Here are 2 spreadsheets for 2000 to 2004 and 2005 to 2010 showing the exchange rates on a monthly average.

10 year trend 2000 to 2004.xls

10 year trend 2005 to 2010.xls