MTH

The police are not checking for licence or registration, they are checking for those 100 baht notes that have been missing, 4 of them have been missing for many years. They will stop motorbikes until this 400 baht has been recovered! They could care less if you have a licence or not, but tips will be gladly accepted!

Looks like you’re trying to be funny, or maybe trolling, but have you ever been pulled over in Pattaya??? Usually just presenting my license is enough, but a few times I’ve been asked for proof of tax and registration.

As Timekeeper says, you got your numbers mixed up a bit. If you’re looking for a good dermatologist see Dr. Anna at BKK Pty hospital.

If you’re concerned about money, tell her you don’t have insurance and want to buy any medication at an independent pharmacy.

Should cost you no more than what you’d think the nurse fee would be for weight, fever and blood pressure check.

Whats the 200b for ?

Maybe reading the initial post would shed some light on your question.

A question on the timing of the renewal; Do I have to wait until my license has expired or can I do this just before as well?

You can do it before it expires. Whatever day you do it will be one year from then. Do NOT wait until it has expired.

Not sure if the OP is holding a 1 or a 5 year license, either way you can go before or after expiry, no problem. (Previously you actually had to let your 1 year license expire before you could get the 5 year one, this has now changed.)

If you’re currently holding a 5 year license, letting it expire by a day or more before applying, will grant you a new license that’s valid for close to 6 years.

The 5 year licenses expires on your birthday, has nothing to do with application date.

This is correct. Was told 2 days by Supervisor at CM Motor Vehicle, that you could come as early as 60 days prior to expiration.

And, whether you are issued renewal of 1 year or 5 year, depends on your Visa. If you have the 1-year Ext. of Stay, she said

you get the 5-year renewal.

Rules do differ a bit between the LTOs.

In Pattaya you don’t need a 1-year extension of stay to get the 5-year renewal, a 90-day permission to stay is good enough here.

I'm still experimenting on how to get a nice smoky flavor in there without precooking anything. Liquid smoke might work but I haven't seen it here anywhere here.

Maybe this pepper would work for you then. Picked it up at south Tesco Lotus.

I've been to Rim Palapin 3 times. Food has been OK, one time really good. It's hit and miss. I prefer Preecha's, but it's plastic chairs and table cloth and not nearly as nice of a view. But consistently good food.

Rim Palapin is also a lot more money.

What day of the week did you eat there? Maybe they had a different chef? Many restaurants do that on the off days. My last trip was on a Friday night. Place was packed, service was OK, food was actually quite good.

It was today, so a Sunday. Maybe their regular chef has Sundays off, as that seem to be a common day off for those lucky enough to get a day off each week.

I too really like Preecha, can’t think of ever having a bad meal there. But as you nicely put it, not quite the ambiance for an anniversary dinner.

I also like that restaurant at Silverlake. Great caesar salad. Weekends are packed though.

I love CDA, but have not been to Mata Hari or Mantra. My neighbors love Mantra. Sounds a bit too expensive for me!

Another great place is Rim Palapin, Ban Amphur. We were there a few months ago and the food was great. Obviously the views are fantastic also. Reservations are highly recommended there.

Been to Rimpa Lapin before, but only for drinks, just reading about it made me want to visit for a meal. So we went today for a late lunch.

Have to say that except for the view, it was a terrible experience. I ordered yellow chicken curry, (gaeng gari gai), and my girl red curry with fish, (paneang blah).

My dish and our rice arrived after maybe 15-20 minutes, quite expected as they weren’t that busy. So both of us stated sharing it.

The yellow curry was ok in taste, have had both worse and better. What really spoiled the dish though, was that they had precooked the chicken, most likely fried it in oil before introducing it to the curry, so instead of moist chicken pieces, they were crisp and dry.

After we had almost finished the yellow curry, my girl asked where her food was and received a short reply from the waitress: “you have to wait”.

Guess that pissed her off a bit, so when her dish finally arrived, maybe 20-25 minutes later, she said didn’t want it any longer and got it boxed up for takeaway instead.

Not a very pleasant experience, but hopefully it was a one off on the service, and if I end up going again, I’ll stay away from the yellow curry.

Ok well heres my opinion on Mantra.

Decor no one in pattaya beats it however the food was not as good as I expected it would be.

They let me in with shorts, when the wife and lady were speaking she said its only downstairs they dont allow people with shorts in but they allow people upstairs to wear them.

Had to wait 30 mins in the bar area to get seated, thats ok, couple of cocktails, lovely nuts and olive platter given free I thought we were onto a winner.

Get upstairs I see the wine menu, Monkey Bay I think it is, sauvignon blanc from marlbrough my favourite region, I am sure I have seen this in most supermarkets for 400-500 baht, 2000 baht! LAZO chardonnay a similar price, you know I dont mind buying expensive wine but not supermarket wine thats overpriced and rubbish. I ended up paying 2500 for another wine from NZ that in my home country costs 350 baht. Its ok I understand the tax, just wish that the white wines they went out of their way a bit and had a better selection thats not from the supermarkets.

I ordered some sort of platter, I wanted the ahi tuna but it came with a mix of other things, grilled eggplant tower, foire grois, parmesean souffle and parma ham and melon. I detest foire grois but I wanted the ahi tuna so I went with this. I hardly touched the parmesean souffle wasnt nice at all. Parma ham and melon well its a combination thats always a winner however the parma ham was not the best I have had around here, La bocca and the ham from EATALY etc much better. Although I hate how foire grois is made I still gave it one bite, tasty but I felt guilty eating it. Eggplant tower pretty bland.

I was kind of annoyed pre starter at the lack of food. At Cafe Des Amis you get breads and Amuse Bouche that keeps you happy until you get your food. Looking after a young baby all day we dont get much time to eat so we were hungry by the time we got here and after already having 2 cocktails and a glass of wine my wife said she felt drunk and didnt want to drink any more, it also spoiled the rest of her meal really. In Cafe Des Amis at least you have some bread to soak up the alcohol and Amuse Bouche to keep you happy taste wise.

Main course I went for the lamb shank, their menu is just far too big it took me about 15 mins to even decide what I wanted and even then I wasnt sure. My wife got the lamb chops as she gets nearly every time in CDA. The main came almost instantly after our starter, no time to breathe just there you go theres more food.

For mine - lamb, tender however it felt small, everything was jammed onto the plate and covered in gravy unlike in CDA where you get to put your own gravy on and laid out on a plate not all jammed together. Veg was undercooked, infact raw, carrots were like rocks as was the broccoli. Mash was ok but nothing amazing, I cook better myself.

Wifes Lamb chops, tough and chewey, nice sear and seasoning but the quality just wasnt up there, again veg undercooked, mash wasnt up to much either.

When your paying 70baht for a small bottle of water you expect it to be at least something better than a 10baht bottle of minerele, 700% profits, where is that in gordon ramsays how to do business book? Its not the fact I am paying 70baht its the fact they are lazy and dont bother choosing a better brand name of water to match their high quality ingredients, same with their wine, a big let down.

Lovely place, just feel let down on the food and wine after so many good times at CDA I feel guilty I have gone there now, at almost double the price also. 7500 baht for 2 + I gave 10% tip.

At least I gave it a try but next week its back to CDA or La Bocca

Where is La Bocca ?

Google tells me it’s here, haven’t been yet, but been tempted by other reviews on the forum.

Moo Gata is not quite the same as Korean BBQ, it’s the Thai style BBQ.

So depending on which one you want, there are a few good Moo Gata places mentioned already, like Ninja at the entrance to Duck Square from South Pattaya Road and the one opposite the Shell station also on South Pattaya Road.

Another one in that area is on Third Road, left hand side just before the flyover to Bali Hai, don’t remember the name, but think they have two pigs at either side of the entrance to the parking lot.

I think the one mentioned in Central 5th floor is a Korean BBQ.

Yeah and I meant if it was only "somewhat" easier in USA then it must still be very easy. Smiley or not.

I should have reread your post instead of telling you to reread mine

But yes it’s actually very easy to get a DL in the US compared to most European countries.

And over here it's ridiculously easy, and I guess that's what I should have said in the first place.

My USA driver's license is for car only. My international Driver's license simply mirrors my USA driver's license and just basically states that I have a US Driver's license. Does that mean I can't legally drive a motor bike or even small scoooter in Thailand? I am pretty sure that many of the Americans I see in Thailand do not have a motorcycle license. That is a separate feature and requires a separate test than the car license in the USA.

If your US license is for car only, without a motorcycle endorsement, then you’re not legally licensed to drive a motorbike or scooter in Thailand.

It’s the same over here as in the US, there are separate tests for car and bike. However somewhat easier to pass here

Somewhat easier? I heard it's easy to get a DL in USA but I didn't realize it was that easy. In most European countries you'd sit through theory for the best part of a a year, then spend upwards of 20 hours practice before they even let you do the test, and even then many people need several attempts to pass. In the theory part you'd have to memorize things like 12 places where you're not allowed to stop. Many are obvious when you see them, but remember all of them by heart is difficult. For the practical test they'd get you on any number of small technicalities, for example touching the ground with your foot for balance while driving slowly.

Here you basically do a 5 minute round on a simple closed track and it practically requires you to fall off the bike to fail.

I think you need to wake up and reread my post, I said it was easier here, here of course meaning Thailand.

Smiley was added for somewhat...

My USA driver's license is for car only. My international Driver's license simply mirrors my USA driver's license and just basically states that I have a US Driver's license. Does that mean I can't legally drive a motor bike or even small scoooter in Thailand? I am pretty sure that many of the Americans I see in Thailand do not have a motorcycle license. That is a separate feature and requires a separate test than the car license in the USA.

If your US license is for car only, without a motorcycle endorsement, then you’re not legally licensed to drive a motorbike or scooter in Thailand.

It’s the same over here as in the US, there are separate tests for car and bike. However somewhat easier to pass here

it might come down but not at a velocity to cause damage, no more dangerous than a small stone falling from 2-300 feet, if this bullet did actually come through the room as described I suspect it was fired down from a nearby high building

Exactly what I was thinkings.. I saw Mythbusters cover this very scenario in one of their episodes - they established that the terminal falling velocity of a bullet shot into the air will never reach lethal velocity. The air resistance of the falling bullet keeps it slow enough that only mass makes a difference on impact and the mass of the falling bullet is not very high.

Either the roof was paper thin, or the bullet was fired down from above.

There are studies showing that a falling bullet can reach terminal velocity of over 150 m/s, so yes, it’s quite dangerous.

Mythbusters, well talking about TV shows, there was a CSI episode a few years ago, when a woman died in a similar scenario

Wat I find bizarre is that even a colander on your head is accepted as a helmet.

What I find bizarre is how the muslims seem to be expected from this law if wearing a head covering.

Agreed, it’s bizarre and even more bizarre is that it’s actually in accordance with the law:

Section 122 (500B)

[The rider and passenger of a motorcycle shall wear a motorcycle helmet.

The provisions under this Section is not forced for monks, novices, ascetics, persons of

other religion which require wearing of a turban, or any persons under Ministerial

Regulation.]

Since when do muslims wear turbans ?

I don’t know, 7th century maybe?

BTW, maybe you should realize that this is an English translation of the law, a more proper translation could very well be headgear or head covering.

what I find bizaar is that you dont have to strap your helmet in Thailand, the police missed a big windfall when that law was written

Wat I find bizarre is that even a colander on your head is accepted as a helmet.

What I find bizarre is how the muslims seem to be expected from this law if wearing a head covering.

Agreed, it’s bizarre and even more bizarre is that it’s actually in accordance with the law:

Section 122 (500B)

[The rider and passenger of a motorcycle shall wear a motorcycle helmet.

The provisions under this Section is not forced for monks, novices, ascetics, persons of

other religion which require wearing of a turban, or any persons under Ministerial

Regulation.]

what I find bizaar is that you dont have to strap your helmet in Thailand, the police missed a big windfall when that law was written

They fine for this in Bangkok all the time.

I think you need a motorcycle license. Not just a car DL. If you don't have this endorsement on your DL, you could get a ticket.

I feel sorry for all the visitors getting tickets down where I live. That police station on Suk and Huay Yai road does a bang up biz.

They do fine for no strap in Pattaya as well. Would be very surprised if this isn’t written into the law, as wans states.

Yes, you do need a motorcycle license. However many times the police that stops you, won’t be able to figure out from a foreign license what vehicles you are allowed to operate. So you could get away from a fine, but would be in bad shape if you’re involved in an accident.

Last time I was stopped, they asked for tax and registration as well as the license.

You can get a 1 year IDP from the Department of Land Transport in Chonburi. ....

or from the DLT in Pattaya, near the International School of the Regents.

No you can’t, unless something has just recently changed.

Center condo, close to south end of Soi Buakhow. Free to use pool, not sure how crowded it is for doing laps though.

How much did you guys pay for your chairs? I paid 5k for the one that now askew, don't know if they are designed for a 95kg person but I would have thought so.

I wonder what kind of office chair a +200 kg person is using?

Paid about 2400 for my cloth covered high back wheel based office chair at Tukcom in Sriracha. This was before they opened the south Pattaya location, so probably around 7-8 years ago, still rolling strong

That's an amazing run. May I ask how much do you weight and if you use the chair a lot?

I’d say on average I use the chair 5 hours a day. Me weighing in at less than 75 kg could of course be a reason why it lasted this long.

That’s a nice looking chair you linked to at IKEA, I saw a similar looking chair at Home Pro about a month ago, but the IKEA one looks a bit sturdier.

How much did you guys pay for your chairs? I paid 5k for the one that now askew, don't know if they are designed for a 95kg person but I would have thought so.

I wonder what kind of office chair a +200 kg person is using?

Paid about 2400 for my cloth covered high back wheel based office chair at Tukcom in Sriracha. This was before they opened the south Pattaya location, so probably around 7-8 years ago, still rolling strong

I usually park at the east most pier, AFAICR around 40 Baht per day. (GPS 12.628623,101.44321). Safe, as in that they do have a security guard on site, and so far I’ve not had any problems.

However last time I went that lot was full, so ended up parking pretty much across the street, think the charged me 80 per day there.

Last few times I’ve stayed at Samed Villa Resort, great semi quiet place south of white sand beach, but still within short walking distance if you want to head up to white sand.

Newer bungalows, good breakfast buffet and pleasant staff.

If you are going from 1 year to 5 year it must have expired as I understand you cannot renew before this.

This has changed, you can now renew about a month in advance. No personal experience, but been reading it on the board.

If you are renewing both licences surely you only need one resident cert from imigration and at most a copy, can anyone confirm this

Yes one original and one copy is fine. Did this last time.

I am about to renew my 1 year temporary driving license.

Will I get a 5 year license with a 90 days non immigrant O visa, or do I need a retirement extention?

The place I will use is Pattaya/Banglamung.

J!!!

You should have no problem getting a 5 year license in Pattaya on a 90 non-imm O.

I’ve renewed my 5 year licenses there twice on 90 day permission to stay, once on a B-visa and once an O.

A question on the timing of the renewal; Do I have to wait until my license has expired or can I do this just before as well?

You can do it before it expires. Whatever day you do it will be one year from then. Do NOT wait until it has expired.

Not sure if the OP is holding a 1 or a 5 year license, either way you can go before or after expiry, no problem. (Previously you actually had to let your 1 year license expire before you could get the 5 year one, this has now changed.)

If you’re currently holding a 5 year license, letting it expire by a day or more before applying, will grant you a new license that’s valid for close to 6 years.

The 5 year licenses expires on your birthday, has nothing to do with application date.

Count me in +1.

Thanks.