Mason45

You only have to look at the wiring/cables etc in sois, just imagine what it was like in the ceiling. The first property I purchased in Thailand was a moderately priced town house on the outskirts of Bangkok. So I decided to get it renovated before we moved in. When the ceiling was exposed I ordered the total ripping out of the wiring and had the guy replace it to my standards, I'm a qualified plumber and I worked on many building sites. So I have a good idea how the wiring should be done, especially in confined spaces. Some sparkys even remove fuses and put them in their pockets so that no one switches on the power while they are working.

My Thai brother in law is a bit like that. Firstly he's a good guy but Lao Kaow totally destroys him when he goes on a binge. He doesn't hurt anyone but he makes a complete dick head of himself. He's good at anything to do with building construction. He's done many jobs for locals and has never been paid. He is now 65 yo but has no one to take care of him. He did have a wife and 2 kids but they moved out years ago. When my wife told me that one of her other brothers has just become a monk I told her he should inquire if there's another vacancy at the wat. The answer was yes, so after some intensive coaxing he's now a monk. He's a quite small guy but after knowing him for 24 years I've never seen him looking better. We became good friends over the years so I visit him every time I drive to Korat. When we meet I bow to him and call him Phra ****** he absolutely pisses himself laughing but he looks really well. So once again it took a rational farang to solve a problem for a family of 10 siblings.

It's no better in Naklua Road, the major hotels have no parking areas for tour buses. The tour buses are parked opposite double yellow lines on one side and red and white painted kerb sides on their other side. Many times the tour buses are parked on the wrong side of the road forcing the passengers to leave the buses and re enter from the middle of the road. So that forces the tourists to stand in large groups plus the mandatory street vendors totally blocking the footpath. It will only get worse as there appears to be 2 new hotels about to be built next to the new hotel Akara, Around 6.30 am when I leave for my morning walk Naklua Road is very quiet, by 8.00 am it's total bedlam. Of course the main culprits are morons on motor bikes. When a person attempts to cross Naklua Road, their definitely risking their lives. Pedestrian lights at the new Best Super Market would probably help. That can also have it's pit falls as how many times do the cars stop for the red light only to have motor bikes speed down the left side of the stationary vehicles. Which is a blind spot for pedestrians. I've seen 4-5 accidents that would not have happened if the no parking signs had've been adhered to.

I know first hand how Thai's in general move kids on but keep on having more. My wife was one of those kids, she was one of 10 and her father never had a paid job in his entire life. It's a regular occurrence up north but it rarely happens with Thai Chinese who are better educated and have money to support their families, especially when it comes to the kids education.

Even if this guy is apprehended will the evidence stand up in court?

Every time I cross the train line there it goes through my mind what if the train comes. The roads either side of the crossing are the major cause of traffic problems there. Maybe traffic lights on both sides would solve this problem. At the moment it's total chaos as the law of the jungle takes over the rules of the road.

Are you sure you didn't rear end the Bolt lady. 555 just trying to be funny.

I got hit last week going for my daily walk in Soi 16/2 Naklua. A car came speeding behind me, there was a tour bus coming the other way. Of course the car driver didn't slow down. I was fortunate as the mirror got me and I felt it give way. If it had have been the actual car that got me I would've been in real trouble as there was a concrete light pole one meter away. A guy who goes cycling every morning stopped and asked me if I was ok. He told me he's been knocked off his bike 4 times this year in the same area.

What's racist about what I said? It's certainly not a cure but if people kept their eyes on the road, it would help in reducing the road toll. As for changing the Thai mindset, that needs to start within families and that's simply not going to happen. In most countries there is always police presence, so where do the BIB's get to every day. Last Saturday I drove from Pattaya to Korat and I returned on Sunday, I never seen a police car or a road block all the way there or on my return.

Over the years one thing I've noticed is when Thais are driving and they start talking to the passenger opposite them they take their eyes off the road. That's dangerous in itself but when doing so they never reduce their speed. Another thing people here must know is Thais have a mindset of the own. Policing, road signs even road trauma commercials on all forms of media won't change the way they think.

I spend time between my house in Bangkok and my condo in Pattaya. When I leave either property for an extended period I shut down the power and water before I leave.

My wife said she was happy with her Thai husband but he died in a motor bike accident when he was 30 yo. She has 2 daughters in their late 40's so thankfully there's never been any kids involved.

Firstly there's 2 types of Thai ladies that work in bars. There's the younger ones who are out for sex, drugs and party's and of course money. Then there's the ones 35 yo plus such as my wife who are looking for a long term relationship and a future they never had in previous relationships with Thai men. To some Thai women a bar is the best chance to meet a farang. Of course it doesn't always workout but most do. I've been married to my wife for 24 years and we're still together. My wife has 2 sisters, one married to an English guy and the other sister married to an Austrian. These two marriages are a few years less than mine. May I add they come from a very poor Isaan area, their father had 10 kids and never had a job in his entire life.

I stopped paying health insurance several years ago. Now as I'm 80 yo I gave my wife special instructions. The main thing is should I be diagnosed with a life threatening disease tell the doctor to hit me with pain killers and let me die in peace. Why pay exorbitant fees to get treated and die several months later. I still walk 90 minutes daily at a brisk pace and I'm careful what I eat, to me that is my health insurance.

The first thing they should do is to totally replace the Pattaya pavers with concrete and make the footpaths stable. Pavers aren't suited in Pattaya given the unstable soil.

Of course these proposed holidays will add to the carnage on Thai roads.

I used to visit a friend there, the houses were very cheap but after visiting him several times I thought who in their right mind would want to live there. It was like a bit of an up market shanty town surrounded by marshes and wetlands caused by tides and rain. His soi was always flooded and the mosquitoes were rife at night.Thankfully he moved to Bangkapi and visiting him now is far more pleasant.

When I'm back in my Minburi home I drive past there regularly along Suwithawong Road to do my shopping. It appears to be a very peaceful place and one wouldn't know it's a prison except for signage on the main gates. I had refurbishing done by a father and son several years ago. The son told my wife he had spent time there and he always feared the gang related violence there. It's same old story of Thai " hard men " needing 6 armed guys to fix up one.

I have a house in Nong Chok Bangkok and I also have a condo just off Naklua Road. I have a set rule when I hit Pattaya. I park my car in the condo car park and when I go out I use baht buses or walk, I only drive once every week to go to the supermarket to buy supplies and booze, any lighter shopping I walk. I've been going to Pattaya for the past 24 years and hasn't it changed. Ok there's plenty of farang scumbags here but they're out numbered but the trash from up north, that hit Pattaya for a job but never go to work once they they get on the booze with their jungle bunny mates.

Hi there, I needed to renew my one year visa yesterday using the agent I've used for the past 10 years. When I attended the agents office I was informed that now I have to wait at the Bangkok Bank for around 4 hours before the transaction can proceed. I thought that this was rather strange as I've never had to do this before. The agent stated that if I have a Bangkok Bank app then this waiting time is drastically reduced. So I downloaded the Bangkok Bank app, it opens but I can't proceed as it states that there's another app on my phone which is preventing me from proceeding. I live in the Naklua area and I haven't got a clue where the nearest Bangkok Bank is as all the banks in Naklua road down towards the Dolphin roundabout end have closed down in recent years. I have time on my side as I won't require the app until this time next year. Thanks.

I don't really care who wins but how can anyone who claims to be sane vote for Trump. If he wins how long will it be before he shoots himself in the foot when his big mouth takes total control oh his brain. If there was any other any Republican nominee I would probably vote for them. Trumps favorite motto : Make Americans Gullible Again.

There was an incident at my condo about 2 months ago. A large guy believed to be a Korean was going right off his head. He was in coherent obviously on drugs and tried to hurt anyone who tried to reason with him. The office manager asked me what can she do. I told her to keep away from him and ring the cops. About 45 minutes later a very young cop arrived on a motor bike and the Korean guy started throwing punches at him. He called for back up and the dirty herd arrived and gang tackled the Korean guy to the floor.He was duly cuffed and taken away in a pick up truck. Why did they send the young cop alone he could've been seriously injured or worse.

Many years ago I bought my first property in Thailand, it was in Bangkapi Bangkok. A cop lived a few doors down from me. He told me to be careful as there was an intruder in our area. The following day he told me he seen the intruder the previous night and when he tried to arrest him the intruder took off. Around one week later he told me the intruder is around again. So that night he stayed awake all night tooled up for the challenge. I was woken that night by several shots so I knew where they were coming from. I was on my early morning walk next day, I counted 4 bullet holes in the cops car, there was no sign of a body, blood stains or the cop.

MAGA obliterate the 2 T's namely Tucker and Trump.

I've been living in Thailand for the past 24 years. On the first trip I got that sick I was passing water for nearly 2 weeks. Since then I only eat Thai food cooked by my wife or eateries that I know that agree with me. As for soi and market foods give them a big miss as you have no idea how old they are or how long it's been out in the sun. Thais think we're all tourists and many don't care if their food isn't up to scratch as think that they'll never see us again.