Gazza

Hands up those of us that don't play dumb when stopped by the police?

Or to put it another way.....How many of us are stupid enough to say something like; "Yes officer, I know I was doing 180kph in a 90 zone. I like driving at 180 and even if you give me a ticket it still isn't going to deter me from speeding in the future".

Isn't our usual (playing dumb) replies one of the following lines;

"Sorry officer, but I don't live around here."

"I thought it was allowed to do that."

"Mai Kow Chai, Khap"

"Huh?"

"But the British Embassy said that I could ride at 120kph through a village and knockdown up to 3 little old ladies on Thursday afternoons between 3 - 4pm."

"Can I pay the fine here and now?"

"Sorry officer, but I don't understand. I'm trying to get to such-and-such a place."

"Mai Ruu."

Freedom, escape and most of all, just plain pleasure.

Yep! and I'll something else. Camaraderie.

About a year ago I was riding up to Mae Sot from BKK and somewhere around Kamphaeng Phet I waved to an oncoming rider on a large cruiser, as I would usually do.

Later that evening, my GF asked me who it was that I had waved to. I didn't know what she was talking about at first and couldn't recall waving to anyone, but then I suddenly remembered and just told her that I didn't know who it was. She asked me why I waved to him then.

"It's just something that we do." I replied. "If I saw someone with a big bike that had a problem I would stop and help them. Same if they saw me if I had a probelm, they would stop and help me. Anyone with a big bike are just same a friend."

Luckily I didn't have to try and further explain to her about 'The Wave' and why other motorists, and young Thai m/cer's too, don't acknowledge each other.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...034&hl=ban+jaan

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...854&hl=ban+jaan

A few more links. I do remember the topic on the survey of farang-Thai marriages in Issan that you're looking for but still can't find it. Maybe a few keywords from the articles in the above links may dig up something. Searching is a bit on the slow side on 56k.

I'm an owner of a Quest, it's the biggest load of rubbish on 2 wheels I've ever had, same price as a Japanese bike but much lower quality. Service? Forget it, I've dealt with 4 dealers, Chiang Mai, Lampang and 2 here in Bangkok. Careless, mostly no JRD training, often cause more problems than they fix, and little in the way of problem solving skills. No other garage will touch it, no other garage will buy it, not even in part exchange, so I'm forced to keep using the idiots in their pretty red and white shirts.

Mine is 15 months old, been constantly in and out cos things break, fall off or stop working. It's not just the odd problem either, mine hasn't gone more than a month without something going wrong. Ignore the fancy ABS, it doesn't work. My bike has just come back, after a month in the garage, cos of a charging problem, it didn't! It's been back for the same problem 8, yes 8, times. I'm saying this with fingers crossed, but after 200km it SEEMS to be ok now, but I've had that before, just when I think they've finally managed to fix it, it bites me in the bum again.

Maybe I've bought a lemon, maybe it's a Friday afternoon/Monday morning bike, I don't know. What I do know is that I will never ever spend 1 single baht on anything remotely connected to JRD, and that includes their p*xy allow wheels.

Now I've got that off my chest I suppose I should feel better, but I still have to ride the ###### thing. I have to go to the post office today, will I get there, or back, without the battery going flat again, or yet another new problem rearing it's ugly head? G*d knows.

Oh yes, since it came back the speedo moves up and down jerkily (is that a word?), once it gets above about 50kmh it's ok. That probem wasn't there when they collected it last month, I've checked and greased both ends of the cable but all seems ok there. Surely it can't be a worn speedo head after just 8300 kmh!

So, apart from all those problems, you're basically a happy customer?

Mr Gazza

Customer Relations Dept.,

JRD Motor Co., Ltd.

GH = Guest House

Try this link.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3907581.stm

There's been a couple of threads in the forum about this village but I can't find them in my files at the moment.

From what I heard from someone who had been there, the village does not resemble a swiss village.

It's only named that because of all the Thai villa type houses that've been built by Swiss guys.

Thetyim offers good advice, travel around Thailand first before settling anywhere. Maybe before deciding on somewhere, stay in a GH first for a few weeks before furnishing a rented place. That way, you'll be able to pack up and move onto somewhere else more easily should you change your mind.

When I first lived in my wifes village I was in a 'Wow! I could live here the rest of my life' phase.

Lucky for me that I didn't have the money at the time to buy land and a house because after about a year I realised it really wasn't somewhere that I wanted to spend the rest of my life at.

After 18 months there I then moved and lived in a GH in BKK for about a year and a half. But with city life not being ideal for raising a family, I rented and later bought a townhouse on the outskirts of BKK. I'm now in a village which offers me a nice fusion of city and village life. Partly surrounded by fields and have easy access to the city for business or pleasure. And for my children they have good schools/universitys close by and hopefully employment nearby in the future too.

My area doesn't suffer from flooding either except a stretch of road here and there but has never been under 2 or 3 feet of water as in some other places in Thailand. So check out flooding issues of potential places to live.

For myself, and something that you'll have to take into consideration, visa runs are only a day away at Aranyaprathet/Poipet but I have the option of varying my runs to other places too, either in the South, North or North-East.

Over the years since settling into my home I've travelled to various other places in Thailand and thought 'Wow! I wish I could live here the rest of my life'......until I go somewhere else and think 'Wow!..........'.

I get these 'blues' every now and then. At first I suppose it was homesickness. I missed seeing neices and nephews growing up, missed meals that bloated me, being able to walk long distances with ease etc, etc.

Now, I no longer really miss things too much, but would still love to go back home after an abscence of over 15. If not only to see how my town has changed and to walk around my childhood haunts and stir up old memories, but most of all............to be able to return to Thailand and re-appreciate what she has to offer.

You need to get out (of Thailand) more.

I think my house is haunted by the spirit of a worker who fell from the roof and onto the hardwood stairs below in my house.

Because a few nights ago I went to sleep leaving a half empty bottle of Thai whiskey on the bedside cabinet. But the following morning................it was completely empty. Also something must have hit me on the head during the night as my head was throbbing. Probably the same entity that hit me also left a load of sickly ectoplasm residue all down the front of my t-shirt.

Something I remember from around '91 is going to a coffee shop in Nakhon Phanom for breakfast.

While reading the menu I was asked if I would like a lady. I replied 'No thanks. I'll have the AFB with a cup of tea instead'.

But not so long ago I went to a hotel coffee shop in Phitsanulok for some company and the place was deserted. When I asked the hotel doorman why there was so many girls entering or leaving the hotel, I was told that if I wanted one of them he could phone to them for me.

I guess the 'times-they-are-a-changing' or 'have-already-a-changed'.

There's only two rules that I know of;

Rule #1. There are no rules.

Rule #2. Don't forget Rule #1.

Covering up the body is a must; many of the motorcycle taxi guys are covered from head to toe despite the tropical climate. Full leather would be tough but I think serious bikers use "alligator" pads which they slide in between their backs and their jackets to protect them from road rash should they take a fall.

Funny thing about serious bikers.....I've noticed some wearing leathers and kitted up with armor padding etc on long rides. But the same guys will ride around town or a beach resort on their step-thrus in nothing but t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops and a helmet in the basket.

Aren't we all more at risk around town than out and about upcountry?

For me personally, I have more close calls in and around BKK than I do when out on the open roads.

What good is having padded or armored clothing hanging in the wardrobe at home when you've been thrown from a 'nifty 150' around town doing 25kph and you hit the edge of the kerb? Or plough into the back of a taxi that has suddenly braked to pick up a passenger? Or when Somchai in his pick up pulls out in front of you from a side soi? Or, or, or,........

Don't get me wrong, I'm not having a 'go' at anyone as I know we all have our preferences for bikes, riding, dressing etc., but this is something that I've noticed over the years.

Sniff kiss? My wife does this to me quite alot and only in private. But I did not know the significance of it until reading this post.

I guess she really likes me

Or maybe she's sniffing for another girls scent.

3 times now I've been pulled over by plod for riding in the outside lane of 4 lanes, no no mustn't do it, naughty boy etc. Maybe because I acted the dumb farang (easy for me to do!) I've never been 'fined' for it, just bollocked and sent on my way.

I got pulled over on Phaholyothin in Saphan Mai for riding in the outside lane. I was partly hidden by the car in front of me so I put on my right indicators. When asked why I was in the right hand lane I simply told him I wanted to do a u-turn up ahead and told him I wanted to go to Tesco Lotus that I had just passed.

He allowed me to go on my way.

I'm sure that about a year ago they revoked the law that prevented m/cs from riding in the outside lanes.

But a few months back I got pulled up by a cop on a bike for riding on the highway under the tollway instead of the using the frontage road. I tried to explain to him that it's now possible to do so but he seemed adamant that I was in the wrong. I gave him 100b instead of the 1000b that he asked for but I rode off perplexed not knowing if indeed I had read the news article correctly or not.

I once got stopped by a cop for riding along a 50 metre stretch of road against the traffic. He told me sternly that I should be using the sidewalk. I actually started to argue with him saying that sidewalks are for walking and roads are.......then decided to 'shut the fukc up' before I talked myself into a ticket.

A friend of my wife is a Mercedes dealer here in Bangkok. She was at our apartment today and I told her about the SLK20AMG that I saw on the street. She just laughed and said that it was very common for Thai car owners to rebadge their cars. She said that most of the 500S cars are really 280S cars sporting a 5 for a 2. In this case the owner just turned his older SLK200 into a 20SLKAMG with a little bit of glue.

Thai youths put Harley Davidson stickers on the tanks of their Phantoms or Bosses. Not sure who they're trying to fool.

Something that is pretty vague to me from the early '90s is that I'm almost sure I remember taxi drivers offering me a free trip to wherever I wanted to go in Bkk......providing that they could stop at the TAT Duty Free place on Ploenchit to fill up with cheaper fuel. Does anyone remember that?

I remember a lot more smiling faces at that time too, as Mattnich said. There also seemed to be more touts as well but that was probably because I looked like a newbie to Thailand, as indeed I was.

Seeing Thai girls with anything more than a handful was rare compared to now (or maybe now I'm starting to look for that in girls, I donno ).

I used to have a lot of young Thai men walk alongside of me on tippy-toes to emulate my tallness (I'm a whopping 5' 10") for the amusement of their friends. That doesn't seem to happen anymore and sometimes now, I feel dwarfed by the tallness of some Thai men. Are Thai men becoming taller from eating too much farang food?

- Malaysia was the only country open for visa runs. So living in a village across the river from Laos was very disheartening.

- There were only 350 7-11s in the mid nineties in all of Thailand, most were in bkk, and a few only in other major cities.

- Ciggies were 12b. Rices meals were 10-12b a dish.

- I remember when M-150 used to be a nipper and called M-100. Both have always been 10b though.

Anyone remember the infamous Thai Song Greet hotel at Hualumpong, The Atlanta (Soi 2), the Malaysia Hotel and the Blue Fox Coffee Shop in Soi Ngarm Du Phlee? All early hangouts of backpackers.

I'm in my 16th year here and now feel like a newbie after reading some of the great posts here.

The Blue Fox Coffee Shop opp the Malaysia Hotel was a bit of a dive but offered something different from carpeted and neon-lit places elsewhere. Sadly, the Blue Fox where Charles Sobhraj got some of his victims from, is now a 7-11.

Question for the guys and girls who have been here a long time:

Was Thailand ever tidier? Or has the land always been covered with rubbish, building waste and half built houses?

Thailand has some stunning countryside but the Thai seem happy to turn it into a shithole

Up until around '92 or '93 streets were very littered with plastic food bags. I think a BKK governor started a an anti-litter campaign which proved successful.

The crash of '97 saw a lot of building projects suddenly halt and as for building waste on fields and roadsides........have you ever seen a builder's 'skip' in Thailand?

I guess if you just don’t get it then it probably not worth trying to explain it to you

Actually, I think that is precisely the reason why you should try to explain it to me. My wife says Im a pretty good listener. Give it a shot!

Ever wondered why dogs like to stick their heads out of car windows?

Before it went in the speedo worked fine, now it dances around up to 50 kmh then it becomes steady again. I've checked both ends of the cable, everything looks to be in order and screwed up properly. Surely it can't be a worn speedo head, not after just 8,000km?

I'm baffled.

The only thing that I can think of is that when it jumps to 50kph, maybe that is the correct speed that you're actually doing. And that perhaps when it drops or levels out at something lower, it's because something is worn or not connected properly like the worm drive, thereby causing it to mostly give out a false reading.

Maybe something causes it to intermittenly engage properly to give an accurate reading of 50kph?

At what speed does the needle jump from when it shoots up to 50?

Mods - I feel that the OP was posted only in part. I was looking for the recognition in respect of the fattest ginger bloke on the forum. I had been in training and everything, and even revised for a blood test.

In light of this startling omission, I have no option but to assume that somewhere among the mods is a distinctinctly gingerist - or worse, hairist - trend. If this is a policy, I shall have no alternative but to act. Just remember Dr King, Gandhi, the Kennedys - they all stood up for what was right.

And in case anyone gets any ideas - in the event of my assassination, papers are lodged with my lawyers that will blow the lid off TV. You have been warned.

Watch out for shadowy figures on ricey knolls.

... those jelly fruit cones...

Aaargh

Those aren't allowed in our place/car! Do not dare to open one in this Topic

I agree with the 'Aaargh' bit.

I persuaded my son not to buy them one time and he chose instead one of those 10baht packets of wine gum type sweets. Six little wine gum sweets looking temptingly and salivatingly chewable sitting neatly in a little shallow, circular plastic tray but are............sealed over with a clear cellophane cover that doesn't peel off, pull off, tear off, nor do they magically open with divine intervention from the Gods I've been shouting to, nor does hair stuck on my fingers from pulling it out of my head provide a better grip to open them.....arrrrrghh! I give up.

Just thinking about them has me pounding out every keystroke as I type. And talking of strokes, that what I'm gonna get one of these days but not before I get my hands on the guy who.........oh, nevermind. I guess I'll just keep resorting to using a pair of scissors.

I don't like it when my wife gives me an emphatic 'NO!' whenever I bring up the subject of having a threesome.

Jeez, and I simply only ask out of curiosity.

I only really get bored when I get stuck at home all day. Doesn't matter that I'm surrounded by the likes of cable, pc, game console, bedroom games, videos, jobs that need to be done around the house or on the bikes etc., etc.

I like to get out everyday on the bike for a few hours around mid-day just to get me out of the house. Similar to what Clumsy says, being out gives me a change of scenery, a chance of meeting someone new, the chance to ride down some sois just to simply see where they end up, look for short cuts from A to B that could help me avoid a future traffic jam, I get to visit a female friend (she's a mere friend that's all. Honest. ), ride through backroad villages, (yes, even in Bangkok) etc.,etc.

If I go for a visa run somewhere then I'll use a different destination and route each time, stay in a different hotel, sometimes use a different mode of transport getting there and back etc.

Basically, I try to vary things as much as possible before I start feeling like I'm heading into some kind of a rut.

Ajahn, my mistake. The figures should have read 220 for fossil oil, 210 semi-syn and 200 for full syn.

Sometimes my memory is.....errm........

Lenn, it doesn't sound like a lemon to me. Lemons are usually when vehicles are bought new and they consistently have problems with one or more components and spend far too much time in the workshop.

If the problem arose as a result of an accident then I doubt any warranty would cover it unless the accident was caused by a component failure while under warranty. As for warrantys being tranferrable to second owners perhaps you could try contacting the Isuzu dealer or head office. The HO should have someone with a good command of English and should be able to put you straight with warranty issues.