malt25

I bought a "pot" at the place in Central before this one. It didn't work either. DO they sell 120 kettles in the stores here?

Me thinks there's a good chance that you are related to your avatar. Or are you just trying to wind everyone up ?

Getting stabbed in the capital can be painful. He's lucky it wasn't a stab to the heart or another vital organ. Hope he recovers soon.

Gold necklace, at least 1 baht.....

Pearl necklace might be better.

News, a MUST visit on every trip I make to Pattaya.

If you Google Bangkok charities you'll find several places to leave your bag.

Just my 2 cents worth.

There's all wheel drive & 4 wheel drive. All wheel drive is constant, like Subaru. Four wheel drive in most SUV. You have to select 4x4, you always have 4x4 with all wheel drive.

On wet roads all wheel or four wheel drive is somewhat of an advantage. Most sensible drivers adjust their driving to suit the prevailing conditions, so unless you are in a real hurry, you don't need any sort of 4x4. Yes, I know, I'll get conflicting opinions from some purists.

I've driven the length & breadth of Australia, beach, deserts, mountains. Bad tracks & no tracks, total wilderness. From memory have only ever needed 4x4 on 2 occasions. The main advantage of most 4x4 vehicles is the extra ground clearance. If you are sensible & use some caution there's few places you can't reach with a 2wd vehicle. As mentioned, ground clearance is the big advantage of 4x4.

So, unless you are tempted to explore the unexplored, driving where you were never meant to drive, have sufficient baht not to have to think about economics, you really don't need a 4 x 4.

To all the 4 x 4 experts out there.. I've owned & driven numerous Mitsubishi, Toyota & Nissan 4 x 4's All great vehicles. But in most instances you just don't need them.

Cheers..... Mal.

I don't understand how you and some other respondents to this post can belittle the importance of 4WD, as well as the increased likeliehood of breakdown and the extra expense.

My experience in driving 2WD pickups and sedans in the deserts of Southern California and Arizona and Utah has been than any vehicle is likely to get stuck out there in the boondocks and especially so if you are not very careful where you point your front wheels. Places where it rains very little in a year, if at all, there are lots of sandy areas, even on the dirt roads, that will catch your 2WD pickup, no matter what kind of tires you have. And if it has rained recently - though the sky is plain blue at present - there are puddles here and there where clayey soil has held the rainwater. So your tires spin and get clogged with clay and become clogged with clay in a minute. Then you sit and spin. You find out your 2WD is really 1-wheel drive, unless you have positraction - so the off-side wheel doesn't turn while the spinning wheel just digs in. It works much the same in snow.

I drive as sensibly, carefully as most people and I have gotten stuck in seemingly safe places and have blasted through flooded areas sometimes where momentum perhaps, with the weight of a small trailer behind the truck, helped push me through.

I remember in Borrego Springs, California, that rich kids from the city would come out to the desert in 4WD vehicles and party and - get stuck. Because they don't know how to drive off-road, and their expensive pickups are not the same as tanks.

And I feel like others who have mentioned the extra expense for 4WD and more parts to break and more chips to fail.

The Reason it matters to me is I have 20 acres of dirt in remote Utah - where people go because that is where they live - and they get stuck there - sometimes have to leave the truck and walk the remaining distance to the home and walk back to the truck in the morining after the water has maybe evaporated - or in the night, after the slush has frozen so they can drive over it - and I have ordinary Dodge pickup. When I start building there I will be driving in and out a lot and hauling materials. In the past I have driven off the dirt track over bushes to go around puddles in the low spots.

So, what i would like to know is what type of 4WD/AWD rig do you advise?

(Besides go back to Thailand and ride a motor scooter).

Everybody their choice, but this is Thailand.

I chose a 2wd when I changed rides, previous one was 4wd. Since I hardly ever really felt the need for 4ed. Yes, I have missed it, maybe 3 times in 3+ years. IMO not worth the extra expense.

Yes, this IS Thailand. OP was asking about buying a vehicle here. Unless you are an enthusiast, weekend warrior, why would you even consider a 4x4 ? All wheel drive, maybe.

I'd guess about 98% of all 4x4's in Thailand never go off road. It's more of a status thing. Fortuna & Pajero & the like are all great vehicles. Size, seating capacity, towing ability & so on. If they were offered in rear wheel drive only, with appropriate price reduction, they'd be better value.

Why would people want to unless they have time to waste, for me I would not have the time to do this so I would rather get there in a matter of hours by plane

Sight seeing. Adventure. Meet all sort of people. See the world. + + + + + + + + +.

But you do come across as somewhat boring.

Just my 2 cents worth.

There's all wheel drive & 4 wheel drive. All wheel drive is constant, like Subaru. Four wheel drive in most SUV. You have to select 4x4, you always have 4x4 with all wheel drive.

On wet roads all wheel or four wheel drive is somewhat of an advantage. Most sensible drivers adjust their driving to suit the prevailing conditions, so unless you are in a real hurry, you don't need any sort of 4x4. Yes, I know, I'll get conflicting opinions from some purists.

I've driven the length & breadth of Australia, beach, deserts, mountains. Bad tracks & no tracks, total wilderness. From memory have only ever needed 4x4 on 2 occasions. The main advantage of most 4x4 vehicles is the extra ground clearance. If you are sensible & use some caution there's few places you can't reach with a 2wd vehicle. As mentioned, ground clearance is the big advantage of 4x4.

So, unless you are tempted to explore the unexplored, driving where you were never meant to drive, have sufficient baht not to have to think about economics, you really don't need a 4 x 4.

To all the 4 x 4 experts out there.. I've owned & driven numerous Mitsubishi, Toyota & Nissan 4 x 4's All great vehicles. But in most instances you just don't need them.

Cheers..... Mal.

Maybe it wasn't originally a roundabout. Maybe just an area of land where the clock tower was built & over years of some development in the area it just turned into a roundabout. Maybe the traffic lights were there long before. It might have just been an intersection & overtime developed into a roundabout.

That's my roundabout way of trying to suggest what might have occurred.

I think it's roundabout time I was getting around to having a beer.

Cheers..... Mal.

If yours has round fog lights, you could replace them with projectors, then fit HID xenon bulbs in those, without fear of blinding other drivers.

If yours has the oblong shape fog lights, about the only thing you can do is fit brighter bulbs or HID xenon, but the light pattern will not be correct and it's going to bother other drivers.

Thanks for that. I have the oblong type.

Thanks for your concern, but if you can't provide the requested info not much point in a reply.

With little to NO enforcement of speeding, 4 on a motorcycle, 12 + in the back of a pickup, no helmets, riding & driving on the wrong side of the road, & just about every other road rule, I'll take my chances with an upgrade to the fog lights.

But thanks anyway.

Hi all.

I have a 2012 Mazda 3 hatch. Great little car.

I find the fog lights pretty much hopeless. Any ideas for up grade. Not so interested in fog light functionality, more driving light.

All suggestions appreciated.

Thanks..... Mal.

Few things happened to me:

- Bought brand new pickup and asked if the wheels were balanced and aligned. They said they did already. Brand service station. Later felt that not everything was 100% and when taking it to XXXXX km service asked them to do the check again. They answered they don't have the wheel alignment machine (<deleted>?). Took it to another garage that did with the result that one wheel had been so badly worn out on one side that I had to buy a new one. Dangerous and unforgivable service that I paid for. Took the wheel to the boss of that brand shop as a gift. Slammed it direct to his desk with compliments.

How does that work..

If it was brand new you would have purchased it from a dealership and it would have been balanced and aligned at the factory.

What does "Brand service station" have to do with it ?.

Ok, see how this sounds.

Brand service station, I would assume is the Dealer service Department.

Factory balance & alignment is very basic. From leaving the factory most vehicles pass through many hands. In & out of storage. On & off transport, possibly several times before reaching the delivering dealer.

All dealers are required to perform a pre-delivery inspection & service. Unfortunately this is part of the "on road costs" passed onto the customer, in most instances. So, if the delivering dealer didn't have the appropriate equipment to perform the prescribed per-delivery service, it is quite possible that the vehicle was out of specs, alignment & balance wise, at time of delivery.

Would suggest that this poster didn't have to replace the wheel, but may have had to replace the tire.

Cheers..... Mal.

I think the actual law is... Child's feet should be able to reach the passenger foot pegs. There's also a law about helmets & riding side saddle. But like all other road rules... everyone ignores em & 99% of the time police never enforce. That is unless they are a bit short of beer money.

If that's your son riding with you.... you won't have a problem.

Cheers..... Mal.

Hi Mrs Chris.

Treat it as a l-o-n-g holiday, an adventure if you like.

I was 66 when I cut all ties with Aussie & moved over here. Should have made the move 10 years earlier.

Cheers..... Mal.

NO, but best of luck !

Huh ????

Hi Chris.

You can renew your Aussie drivers license online. From Thailand call, 61734050985. Nice lady will issue you with an authorization code. Once you have the code you can renew license on line. Oh, the code is only good for 24 hours. You can request as many codes as you like if you don't use within the 24 hour period.

Re private health insurance. Most health funds will "suspend" your policy if you are out of the country for any time. Produce your return boarding pass & policy will be reinstated from that date.

I'd highly recommend getting a Thai drivers, rider license as soon as possible. If I can obtain both, anyone can. Valuable ID document & much easier to have on your person than passport. Don't take too much notice of all the negatives about driving over here. I purchased a car in Bangkok the day after arriving & in the past 18 months have clocked up over 25,000 K. It's all about attitude & a bit of confidence.

Hope this is of some help. PM me if there's anything else I can offer.

Cheers..... Mal.

"Air Force officer slightly wounded"

Is slightly wounded anything like being slightly pregnant ?

He was either wounded or he wasn't. Maybe he was only slightly injured.

Or am I being too picky ?

7700 baht for a revised dieselpump, nuzzles and also a new waterpump which is hard to reach.

Welcome to Thailand.

And then still complaint of course.

This would have costed 80.000 where i come from. With warranty of course.

Welcome to Thailand is a real good one. Made me feel much better and even the Diesel pump started laughing. Been here for 14 + now.....

Yes, it's a lot more money in other countries, because labor is so expensive. But Thailand is a developing country and a mechanic might have 300 baht a day.

Do you have a car in Thailand? I don't think that you know what the problems here are.

The mechanics here went through an education, completely different to one in a more civilized country.They don't know much about their job.

The electric/electronic/ seems to be at fault, but they don't know how to check those things out. I bought a mechanic who fixed my big bike a voltmeter, but even after explaining how to use it, he went back to his method to hold a wire on ground to see if there's electricity.

Just watched a guy who picked up a school bus, also overhauled Diesel pump last Saturday. The driver couldn't start the engine, because air was in the system. A mechanic had to pump the air out and they let the guy leave the place.

Only a matter of time when he'll be back..........

My Diesel pump is out again, the same guy who made a shitty job on Saturday's doing the same job now again.Of course with an unknown outcome.

Sorry for my boring experience. I really apologize to bother people like you with my problems.

"Sorry for my boring experience. I really apologize to bother people like you with my problems."

Apology not accepted, it's not genuine.

You sound like a good mate for the bloke that damaged the sump of his BIG bike in a shopping center car park.

Ok, you stated your problem. You get a bit of sympathy & a few flames. That's what happens on a public forum.

Why go on, & on, & on about it. It's only getting you more worked up. Take a long walk. Take a cold shower. Have a few beers. Have a nookie. Any / all of these will make you feel much better.

That will be 500 baht consultation fee.

Next patient please.

"Does any one know where this kind of blatant misuse of public property can be done?"

Sounds to me like you have already discovered exactly where said misuse can be done.

A newbie with cobra & MIL problems. Me thinks you are going to be a problem for most TVF members.

Me thinks your avatar pretty well sums up you & your attitude.

I also get "you don't have permission.." on that link. My guess is that it has been closed and removed by a moderator.

Yeah, I get the no permission as well.

Ah well, no big deal.

Thanks.

Thanks for the reply.

Is that you mean ? " http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/851216-money-saving-tip-for-thailand-travelers-replacement-for-sevens-tea-eggs/ "

Cheers..... Mal.