jcon

What's the news with CPALL today? I haven't logged into this forum for quite some time.

Bought @41 just now, ask questions later I guess?

I'm leaving the country very soon and having a guy do tiles in my last and smallest condo before I sell it. Of all of the guys I've had do flooring, he is the best considering his price. I've had slate, teak, granite, polished concrete in my other homes/condos, but it turns out that this guy laying the cheapest tile I could find at Boonthaworn (I paid 63baht per 60x60cm tiles), in my cheapest property, looks pretty darn good. I would recommend him to anybody, and I'm picky. He was initially lazy, and asked for all kinds of money for this and that, but after I got on his ass for being lazy and not doing what I paid him to do (I had advanced him 70% of the money already, nice guy that I was), he finally got going.

Of course I have to be there every single day to make sure, which is a pain in the ass as I have to leave within days... Anyway, he could have taken my money and walked and said ''find somebody else,'' especially after the verbal abuse I gave him, but he is a stand up guy and did the job. He also uses one of those diamond-cutter things that you lay on the floor to slice tile instead of those god-awful grinders which cause so much dust and noise you have no idea... He's worked in Jordan laying tile for 2 years, and while a bit slow, he really takes pride in his work and it shows. His rate is about 250-300 baht/sqm which is better than paying some Somchai 200bht/m2 do just stick some glue to a tile and lay it.... I would recommend him to anybody (especially for ''cheaper'' jobs, and possibly even for a more expensive home - his work is better than what I've seen ''professional contractors'' do in 7-8million baht homes. PM me if you want his info - he only speaks Thai, so hopefully you have somebody Thai there to speak to him. He's also kind of deaf so speak loudly.....

Call it a total of 20k for your job. 10k for tiles and 10k for labor which will include some demo/removal and sand and cement and gas and what-not. Don't skimp on labor like this, it shows. 1000baht/m2 tile + shitty tile guy = crap work. Cheap tile + great tile guy = pretty darn good. For disclosure this is just a small condo I'm selling before I leave, if it were my home I'd be much more particular with the tile and overseeing the work (as I have for my other houses), but for what you're looking for, this is a great guy - and I had fired 3 guys prior to him for crappy work so I'm still picky even though it's a cheap condo.... I feel bad for yelling at him now!

p.s. To address your question about laminate - termites... termites... termites... Thailand is full of them and it's wet here and etc. etc. etc. Sure some people do well with it but from all the laminate floors I've seen, they don't last. Like I said, I've had slate, teak, granite, and polished cement - never laminate, and for good reason IMO.

Hi all,

The title says it all. I was just wondering if anybody has had any experience with the Valentine One radar detector (most likely in their home country as many do not use (or need!) radar detectors here in Thailand).....

The Valentine One seems like it has been around forever and always seems to be up near the top of any tests - just wondering if anybody has had one and if they could share their experience it would be great.

I know that this may not *really* be Thailand-related, but I would hope we can get a bit of leeway in the motor forum as we don't cause much trouble here

Some brands perfrom better than others, and the more expensive the vehicle, the faster the depreciation.

e.g. a base Model AT VIOS will lose ~20% in the first two years, the top model S will lose 25%, a base 2.0L Camry will lose 25%, the top model V6 40+% etc.

When your Cayenne is down to 300,000 give me a shout will ya, my very, very good cyber friend.

Can't imagine I'd keep it for more than 2 or 3 years, at which point it'll still be worth 4.5-5.0M (if TH doesn't go to a carbon based excise tax system - if they do that I'll make money) - I'll pass on the details for the next owner though - if they keep it for another 20 years or so it might hit that kind of money

Pics, MRO, pics! Is it stock?

More over, my cost of energy/petrol is much lower now than a few years ago due to using gold, and silver as a unit of exchange rather than GBP...

filling up my car doesn't cost me a single Penny Satang due to an ingenious method i developed a few years ago. if you send me 100 Baht by e-mail attachment i will reveal the secret in this thread. but you have to promise not to tell anybody!

You installed a Mr. Fusion on your car too?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HYoq6vIVXc

What's a MIRA ....any pics ?

LaoPo

5 years that photo took in coming. Impressive.

Time does not exist in the motor forum

btw awesome gas-lid lock on that thing, eh? Forward-thinkers, I tell you, forward-thinkers.

I have been struggling to work out the connection between higher interest rates and bringing down inflation. Yes, I have read the theory that if credit is more expensive then less will be borrowed and so less money will be sloshing around looking for LED TV's to buy, and so the prices should fall.

I cannot buy into this.

because you are not willing to do some homework studying facts instead of developing your own theories.

That's right 12DrinkMore. Naam never stops to go back to first principles and work out if his "facts" are actually facts or simply religious convictions by modern day economic priests.

Sadly, this lack of willingness to reconsider many of these "facts" are exactly what is driving the global collapse. Raising interest rates will not help inflation when the inflation is being driven by high energy prices and scarce resources. All you will do is allow other countries to consume more at your expense. Paradoxically, the best thing you can do right now is to lower your rates and encourage your citizens to consume all you can before someone else does. Prices will go up anyway. This is a race to the bottom.

Oh, there are political solutions that might work to mitigate collapse, but without a global political will to implement it, individual countries have no choice but to join the race to the bottom.

Traditional economic "facts" are going to be consigned to the dustbin of history the same way those "facts" about alchemy were rightfully discarded.

greg, I believe your economic theory is flawed. That's pretty much the only ''fact'' I gathered from your post.

I've been to Koh Maan Nork.

It was nice, but definitely rather quiet. There are a sh1t-ton of tookgaes on that island so consider yourself warned. They actually take the tookgaes off the island at night and toss them either on the other side of the island or on one of the other islands I don't recall.

More than 3 days on the island and the food menu starts to revolve into the same stuff over and over.

They also grow some weed in the island too if that's your thing

Fun once, but I probably wouldn't go there again.

BTW thank for the comment and the warning

really? Fresh sea food nope.!!! I am a vegetarian. Hum... got bored!

from your nice experience... i should find out more info.....

didn't they have lots of activities to do while you were in the island.?

We had rented out the entire island (plus the little one) for what was supposed to be 3 days. It turned into 7. I believe there was some snorkeling - but that was about it. It rained like crazy (which is why we had to stay longer).

It was one of the best times I've had in Thailand and it is still talked about to this day - but that had nothing to do with the island itself....

If you go with your girlfriend (probably best for a new girlfriend, as you will have lots of time) then it's fine. Otherwise, like I said, I wouldn't do it again. If you've been to all of the other islands in Thailand then it's worth going to just to say you went. Look up at the ceiling (thatch roof) when you're in the restaurant and if you are there for multiple days one of those tookgaes WILL fall onto somebody's table, it's inevitable.... stay in the villas/bungalows nearest to the beach and there won't be as many tookgaes as the ones further in. I'm not kidding, I'm not talking about the one tookgae that hides behind your safe or above the shower in Koh xxxx, Thailand - there are TONS of them on Koh Man Nork.

I've been to Koh Maan Nork.

It was nice, but definitely rather quiet. There are a sh1t-ton of tookgaes on that island so consider yourself warned. They actually take the tookgaes off the island at night and toss them either on the other side of the island or on one of the other islands I don't recall.

More than 3 days on the island and the food menu starts to revolve into the same stuff over and over.

They also grow some weed in the island too if that's your thing

Fun once, but I probably wouldn't go there again.

OP didn't you ask this question already in another thread?

Siam Kempinski was recommended by lazygourmet and I agree, since it's so close to Paragon.

That new Hansar Hotel looks cool with that monolithic white lighting thingy. It's behind-ish the 4 Seasons.

I wouldn't stay in the Mandarin Oriental or the Shangri La, just because they are on the river which IMO is over-rated.

If it's the detached housing community in Sukhumvit 24, then that's not a bad deal. You could offer 135k (10% discount) and pay in 3-month installments to make it sound like a better deal.

I would not recommend going with the 5-year contract.

Just my opinion, but I think it would be better to live on the odd-side of Sukhumvit in that area - say 31/33/etc. You can get through all of the back-soi shortcuts much easier, and most of the good stuff is on that side of Sukhumvit (residential and otherwise).

For those of you lamenting the rents, you must not know that the rent mentioned is just fine for a detached house in that area. I have a friend who just rented out her townhouse in Sukhumvit 33 for just under 100K/month (and it's just a townhouse).

Thanks for the info and your sensible reply - appreciated. Last time I was in BKK i looked at that side indeed some nice properties there. I have colleague who lives in Prime mansion on 31 next door to abhisit but the security and the possibility of political flair up in that soi put's me off that particular one. He commented when the red shirts were in full swing he could not even get to his condo for 8 hours!

I also looked at la raffeine in sukhumvit 39 very nice but alas 180k+ is just too expensive

The reason for the 5 year contract is 1. I hate moving 2. The kids are just enrolled in patana for the longterm as well - so some stability we looked out that way but struggling to find anything of quality.

I like sukhumit 24 and 26 now that kvillage is open, 24 seems to have a nice safe feel to it perhaps unfounded but very nice soi - estate agents have been showing us places asoke down - but don't think i want to consider anything down that way.

Thanks all for the input once again. Should hear later this morning on my "Cheapo" offer of 110k. fingers crossed.

Point taken about the political stuff in 31, but there are so many influential people and businesses that need access (production houses, etc) that anything that occurs around there should be short-lived. I think the extra security is a good thing over in the 31/33 area.

With kids I wouldn't recommend the Prime Mansion nor the Raffine (sp). You want a proper house with a yard, etc.

Suk 24 does have a lot of nice condos, but I think it will just contribute to the traffic in that soi (especially if you're talking about a 5-year time frame). About the Tops, yeah it's gone, but I think something else will replace it and there is always the Gourmet Market in the Emporium which is fine. I just don't like Suk 24 for a few reasons, one of which is that it is a shortcut, so that plus all of the additional condos that have gone up recently just make for a bad traffic situation.

Since your kids will be going to BPS, how about considering a bit further down Suk (Thonglor/Ekamai)?

I have a friend who had her house for rent in the Baan Issara project on Rama 9, and I think she would rent for about 150k-ish. I'm not sure if she has a tenant in there right now, but if you are genuinely interested, you can PM me. I don't know about her being ok with the 3 kids, though.... she's a young single woman edit: she was a young single woman when she bought/decorated so the house is set up in a kind of ''fashionable way'' which might not be the best for kids. But like I said, PM if interested.

I still say stay on the odd-side, but that's just my opinion. You will probably get better deals on the even-side, that said. Good luck.

I didn't want to start a new thread so I pulled up this older one....

Besides what was talked about on this thread about not ''zero-ing out'' etc.... is it possible that some petrol stations (big ones, in Bangkok) are under-filling or misrepresenting the number of litres of petrol actually filled?

I ask because while I normally use a Caltex near my house for benzene 95, I sometimes use a PTT that has benzene 91 for my other car and on more than one occasion I've noticed that I get much less (or what seems like much less) petrol than I get at say, the ESSO up the street. I haven't done any precise measurements, but does this stuff still happen?

p.s. I don't think it's a change in my driving habits that causes the increase in fuel usage. And I suppose I could fill up an entire tank and see, but for that I usually go with the benzene 95 around the corner. I this particular PTT when I'm either lazy or the Caltex is too full.

If it's the detached housing community in Sukhumvit 24, then that's not a bad deal. You could offer 135k (10% discount) and pay in 3-month installments to make it sound like a better deal.

I would not recommend going with the 5-year contract.

Just my opinion, but I think it would be better to live on the odd-side of Sukhumvit in that area - say 31/33/etc. You can get through all of the back-soi shortcuts much easier, and most of the good stuff is on that side of Sukhumvit (residential and otherwise).

For those of you lamenting the rents, you must not know that the rent mentioned is just fine for a detached house in that area. I have a friend who just rented out her townhouse in Sukhumvit 33 for just under 100K/month (and it's just a townhouse).

Cpt Fantastic you are dead-on for a new poster. Way to go, and best of luck with the driving. It's easy, just follow the good advice in the thread and you'll be just fine. Thailand is actually a fun place to drive, believe it or not!!!

Happy driving!

p.s. If your Merc is an S-Class, drive that beast around all over the place and pay no heed to the naysayers! Just sort out your insurance (~1500 USD/year depending on the year) and you will have a great time on the roads. Highway 1 toward Lampang is particularly fun (and if you want more adventure, take the road from Chiang Rai to Fang, up near the norther border... beautiful and a very nice road.... Best of luck.

I'm 25% sure I met a TV member tonight on Thonglor........

Not my favorite club, Demo, but hey she was pretty and what can you do......

Anyway, my vote for a nice bar/ is Blue Velvet on Thonglor Soi 5.... music on weekends is old-school mixed with new stuff and is a super-cool atmosphere IMO...... #1 on my list for the past year or so.....

These Merrells won't rot or slip

and no need for sox!

No……………'GungaDin' come on now, you trying to tell me you couldn't enhance the slick 'lines' of these puppy's with a nice pair of grey polyester suite ankle sock, (pulled up tight)………………….and to nail the 'look', weld this combo onto a scrawny pinkish lower limb, (completing the 'farang about town look with ginger hair, mossy bites and freckles) Go get em tiger!

+ faux-leather belt-clip phone-holder and the ladies will swoon.

stylin'

Good info guys/gal, thanks! I can imagine the bite would not be pretty because I got a look at the jaws on the thing and they were pretty huge.

Told the neighbor kids to ''check out what's in this box'' and they freaked!

I've never seen one before and I wouldn't be sad if I never saw one again.

A visitor to sbk's home: "What's that chip in the granite from?"

sbk: "Oh just a mark from my machete when I hacked off the head of a centipede."

I'd take a 7 over a 3 any day of the week.

what about an "8"?

Touché, Naam, touché!!!!

I''ve seen your "8" but surely getting in and out makes for a tight squeeze?

Naams 8 is lovely, but I need a rear seat, and a trunk for my 55kg rottweiler. so older seven or new 5 is ok

LOL - somewhere out there in cyberspace a young lady is nodding her head in agreement..........

There was a low-mileage black 320d (I think it was a 320d) convertible for sale though a forum sponsor (though it seems that they are not sponsors anymore). It was in Pattaya IIRC. That's an option, used. The hard-top verts are nice, and definitely have more character than your average 3-series snoozer.

I don't remember the price, maybe 3 million-ish.

Somebody mentioned fleet sales, what about the 7-series sedans that the AOT uses for airport limo service? That could be a good deal, but I don't know about mileage and maintenance on those. The 7-series depreciates much faster, so if you buy used you can get one heck of a car for the price you'd pay for a newer 3. I'd take a 7 over a 3 any day of the week.

what about an "8"?

Touché, Naam, touché!!!!

I''ve seen your "8" but surely getting in and out makes for a tight squeeze?

WarpSpeed - get a life. Once upon a time you made your first post here, too.

Yeah, but unlike you I didn't start it out with a clearly trolling post or maybe you should avail yourself of the smiley buttons to illustrate your intent since facial expressions don't show on a one dimensional forum and no one knows you here unless you're someone's plant of course.. You cover it now after the fact but we both know that was the real intent behind those comments and I called you on it.. So why don't you get a life, I have one that's very full and I never had to make any post on a Thai forum to have others tell me how to drive here after "decades of driving professionally" paraphrasing of course..

JFYI Many of those who you thanked also answered tongue in cheek but don't expect them to acknowledge the fact, more likely to contest it to further try to shove crow in my face.. They just did it the sneaky Thai way, tactical avoidance where as I'm up front and blunt and that's my charm to those who know me best, they know they get straight no BS answers from me.. The ones who didn't are just too thick to have noticed the troll attempt on your part..

On the other hand I've also been the ONLY person in a long line of people giving a member (especially new ones) support while the entire motoring forum is taking the piss continually harassing so much so that some have left, one of those posters has pretty much stopped posting in this part of the forum now due to it, just take a look at threads by this member who is but one example, here's one to start with and see who the true antagonists in it are.. In fact look at my own threads to see the same treatment I just know the ignorance of the ones antagonizing and give back just as good or ignore them altogether..

http://www.thaivisa....e__hl__kenny999

However they remain in contact with me through PM's and even emails, hmmmmmmm I'm such the jerk?

ahahahahahhaahahahahhahahahahahahahhaha

Oh no!!! Warpy foaming at the mouth again! When will it stop? **Will somebody please think of the childrennnn!!!!***

Paging Sheryl: Please bring your DSM-IV, paranoid schizophrenia being displayed in the motor forum!!!!!!!

edit: To the OP, you can get 1st class insurance but you will have to pay for the whole year, as kata (I think) mentioned.

yup and nasty critters they are. I am surprised spray worked tbh, I usually just chop their heads off with the machete and then keep the wriggling body pinned with the machete and the wriggling head pinned iwth something else until the stop moving.

A machete?!? You're hardcore sbk The closest thing I have is a Swiss Army Knife and some car wrenches. I did give it a smack with a heavy mail packet and stunned it, then shuffled through the cupboards for some chemical (I was looking for bleach, because I didn't think I had bug spray ) - I found a big can of the Baygon stuff and chased it around (they're not that fast) and whacked it again and when it curled up I sprayed the head for a long time. Then the body. You can kind of see how wet it is from the spray-down.

p.s. It's still alive/moving in the cardboard box.... that was like a half-hour ago when I drowned it in that spray. It's now in the box on my car hood outside (saving it for the neighbor's kids to check out), I want to sleep but I wonder if it will come back for revenge!!!! The jaws on that thing are huge.

edit: that was 50 mins ago, not a half-hour!!!! This thing is the Chuck Norris of centipedes.

I don't even have ants in my house - really. There is rarely even a mosquito - my house is a no-insect zone...... or so I thought.

Then tonight I'm sitting here and I see this beast run across the floor:

I gassed it with some bug spray (gassed myself along with it) and grabbed the closest things to me (UBC remote and some large mail) for a size reference:

Picked it up in a cardboard box I had within reach and now it lays dead:

What the heck???? What is this thing, Giant Centipede???? In the house?????????????? Would it have kicked my cat's ass (poisonous)??? That thing was huge........ and put up a serious fight against the spray, the freaking dinosaur. Never seen anything like it.

steering rack = "rack poomalai"

Most mechanics will know this if you say it.

Since you have an Altis, I'd say you can just roll into a B-Quik or other service center and they will be able to find the problem. As you know, the Altis represents some 95%+ of taxis in Thailand so I'm sure they've seen this problem before and could fix it in short order. Once they lift the car a pull on the wheel will show whether or not there is play there and then from there they should be able to find exactly where it is occurring.

(I'm not a mechanic, but that's where I'd start if I were you)

JERKS. HERE.

Thank God the poor guy didn't say that a RHD car was 1.999877 seconds faster around a track............

Welcome to the forum, OP.

You will see there there are jerks here, just as on the roads....

Simple tips: plan/know your route, and then from then on pretty much follow the car in front of you without crashing into it during short quick stops and what not. Driving in Thailand isn't that hard, I think a monkey could probably do it. Watch out for motorcycles and pedestrians sneaking up on your left side when making a left turn. Curb height can be anywhere from a few inches to a foot+ so be aware of that when making corners in parking structures, etc.

If you are out of BKK (I don't think you mentioned where you would be) then be aware of U-turns and cars/trucks/motorcycles/fruit wagons/lottery bicycles/etc. coming out of them, or people driving down the wrong side of the road. It's not as bad as people make it sound, just be aware - you've driven in large cities before, so you'll be fine).

Use the truck for a week to get used to stuff then drive the Merc from then on. My dad is in his 70s and when he's in Bangkok he drives Like A Boss, so I don't see why anybody else cannot do it. Have fun and good luck.