petedk

I have lived in Bangkok for 15 years and at the moment I take 2 or more taxis a day, so I have had plenty of experience with the drivers.

Most are good but there are many (and I mean many) who refuse to take me to the destination I want. Ok I just wait for the next one.

Some try asking 200 Baht for a 50 baht trip, and one even wanted a blow job!

Today, however, I have just experienced the worst.

I wanted to go from Bangkok Hospital to Thong Lor (near Camillian Hospital). It's not far but I had two or three big boxes. I thought about taking a motorbike but didn't like the idea of holding the big boxes.

I asked the security woman to get me a taxi to Thong Lor. He drove in but when he saw me he said he wouldn't go. I asked why. (In Thai) and he said the traffic was too bad (15.15 in the afternoon). I told him rubbish and that the traffic was ok. He then asked for 300 Baht. The security woman was taken back too and I saw her write something in her book. I said I would complain but he sped off before I even got his number.

A few minutes later I got another taxi. Cost ... 45 Baht . Time .. about 5 minutes

She forgot, (or didn't know), one of the golden rules of travelling.

If you are approached by a local when in a foreign country, they are probably up to no good.

Why is that a golden rule?

I have met many nice, friendly locals on my travels.

I am surprised that this hasn't been mentioned on this forum as I have read about it in The Bangkok post and seen it on BBC World News.

Thai scientists have spent 1 million dollars inventing a robot that can taste the authenticity of Thai food.

This has been done to "guarantee " the good taste of thai food in other countries.

The machine will go on sale at 18,000 dollars each.

No it is not April 1 yet!

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30110282

Boonthavorn , its pricey but has better stuff than most diy sheds

7/11 great for filling up with junk food

Tesco, well its a UK company and the rules were if we buy/build we have to be within 5 miles of one

You mean it WAS a British company.

From what I gather Tesco Is pulling out (or already has) and CP aim to take over.

so they have to go to a short time hotel "

I see a business opportunity here.

Are there any laws determining the distance of short time hotels from universities?

A friend of mine claimed that his Line had been hacked and that the hacker was sending messages to all contacts offering them some kind of voucher to iTunes.

He even went to the police to report the hacking. Could this be the virus?

Somehow I doubt it, because he uses iPhone.

"Have suggested the government improve laws".

What do they mean by improve?

Just enforce the existings laws would be easier.

They can make as many laws as they want but if they aren't enforced then there's no point.

There is a restaurant about 20 metres from our university gate and it openly sells alcohol to students, yet 150 metres away is a completely "dry" 7/11.

To the OP

So you would pay 100 Baht for a 60 baht trip and you moan at the 200 baht?

That's a tip of 66%. No wonder taxi drivers love foreigners.

Nuff said.

1 million baht per person because they are not Thai nationals.

Just keep their passports . They won't go anywhere, but we often see the rich Thais skipping bail.

I often buy 500 gm minced beef at two different supermarkets

One is a BIG Chain store and when I cook the beef a lot of it disappears . Beef from the other Food supermarket yields much more when cooked.

I can also see that beef from the first mentioned is very very wet. I am sure they pump it with water.

Just go to Thong Lor and see the motorcycle queue near the BTS or the one at Klong Saen Saeb.

Both have guys sitting at a "discrete" distance watching what is going on and to prevent drivers from other gangs from picking up passengers.

Do I have to ask why?

Well, today is Thursday.

Let's see what the OP has to say after his visit to the police.

I am surprised they don't form a " hub of selfies"

My deepest sympathy and I really hope you live longer than the prognosis.

I often think about this ( I am now 61 and in pretty much the same relationship as you are). My wife is almost the same age as me so I think I would take her to my home and spend time together with my kid and then if time and health permits bring them here for a while.

Don't give up. Try to talk with as many doctors and healthcare people (even alternative therapies) as possible .

I take my hat off to Thai Visa and all those involved in this case.

Sadly, these things happen sometimes in Thailand . I personally know of three similar cases and one of them ended the wrong way.

I am really glad that this ended happily and now I know that should I have any serious problems, I wouldn't hesitate to post here for help (even though I have a wonderful loving Thai girlfriend).

Thanks to everyone for helping this poor guy.

Well, I want HBO and all that, Discovery, all the normal stuff. I don't mind paying for it but it didn't seem like those packages were all too legal.

Yeah, well I'm actually getting fiber soon in the Philippines so I'm hoping that it would be useful but I'm not going to hold my breath. If it sucks, I'll just use it here in Thailand.

Hi JThai, ilikeHD will not work outside Thailand, you could try these

sites cucirca.eu stream-tv.me watchseries.it solarmovies.is, they

work well for me and are free.

The Internet in Thailand does go up and down, the kids been off

school does not help,playing games and facebook all day.

Just had a letter from TOT today, which i use, offering to up the

bandwidth for the same price,I don't know if they just pull numbers

from the air*,or if you actually will get a better service? maybe for

the first month,then it starts dropping down. * or somewhere else

beginning with an A.

regards worgeordie

PS if using the first 3 sites above, use either vidbull,gorillavid,sockshare or firedrive to stream from.

cucirca.eu stream-tv.me watchseries.it solarmovies.is maybe free but they require you to register a credit card.

Why do they do that? I don't trust them.

elliottm, on 04 Nov 2014 - 14:57, said:

May I ask a question about use of the bum gun and how you gargle without using your hand. I've tried the gun and then paper but end up using more having to dry first then clean. Any direction appreciated.

It was tongue in cheek expression. If you hold the bum gun to far away it splashes and has no effect at cleaning. Hold it to close and I feel I'm going to start gargling soon, as I do with the Listerine. (Gargle that is, not wash my backside).

I have one western, one squat toilet at home. I use either to urinate, but only the western to defecate. I take a shower after the latter.

On a trip, I carry a pack of the moistened baby wipes. Cleans without leaving your backside wet through or feeling chapped.

Thanks Faz, do you manage to clean with the gun entirely without using your hand?

Surely that depends on the pressure of the water.

Some nearly blast the hemorrhoids away while others hardly have enough pressure to wet the bum. Tip: Always check the pressure first!

Dealing with these companies is frustrating to no end. I've yet to contact anyone at any of em that can communicate in English to the point that I would trust any transaction between us is going to go down the way I think it will. Save yourself the headache and recruit a Thai friend to set everything up for you.

I disagree with you about their English skills.

I call True quite often and fine that the staff at the call center speak excellent English.

I am at my wits end with True.

I posted earlier about the Ultra High Speed Cable Internet not working. There were all sorts of excuses. Undersea cable break, new surveillance system and God knows what.

Recently True seemed to work better in the mornings , although at night it came to a standstill.

I just tried a speed test again and received a speed of 0.83Mbps. (I pay for 16 Mbps). I tried to call True only to be met with a recording talking about a maintenance. (I actually hung up before the message finished).

Is this going to go on forever?

What decent alternatives are there to True?

It is risk takers like Branson and all those before him that made it possible for ordinary folk like us to benefit. The idea that he is just attention seeking is a ridiculous comment. He is innovating and pushing boundaries. People like him and his team don't give up and thank God for that.

Branson is an entrepreneur, and a very successful one to boot. I have no qualms with that, but he has a tendency to overpromote himself. I never saw Bill Gates dressed up as a high heeled trolley dolly complete with wig and make-up, did you?

At least he had the guts to carry out his promise.

He had a bet with Tony Fernandes about which team would finish highest in the 2010 Formula 1 Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi.

Do you think Fernandes would have kept his part of the bargain if he lost?

Anyway, back to topic. This is a sad development and together with the rocket, that exploded, while carrying supplies to the space station is a serious setback for private space travel. I think NASA were relying on private enterprises to take over a lot of the space travel, but it takes time and a lot of money for the companies to reach that stage.

I wish Virgin all the best as Richard Branson has always been one of my idols since he started Virgin Records.

Be happy to be out in a day.

There have been reports from other immigration offices, where people had to come back a couple of days later.

Likely for the same reason.

For Bangkok this surprises me.

They should really have more than one competent/authorized officer.

I am at Chaeng Wattana now (15.12) and have been here since 9.30 this morning to renew my visa.

Judging by the number being served I'll be here for another hour at least.

So they are not that fast here.