jaideeguy

Having lived in Hilo, Hawaii for many years.......Hilo went thru 2 major Tsunamis [1960 was the one i witnessed] and finally got 'wired' to the Pacific Tsunami Warning System and i remember the early days when the new alarm sirens went off at the slightest earth movements anywhere in the Pacific. the people [over]reacted at first when they were working out the bugs......running inland asap, but soon got used to them and now they go to prime [high] viewing places to watch the wave come in.

i might add that most of the deaths from the 1960 and 1947 tsunamis were from people going down to collect stranded fish that were left by the receding ocean, then got slammed.

the moral of this is 'don't live near the ocean'.....it'll get you!!!

Yea, some of the blame can be put on the mechanics.....especially the untightened nut in the diferential, but the other leaks were on the virgin engine straight from the factory. my last auto here was a 3 yr old Nissan NV and i drove it virtually trouble free for 4 yrs. my only complaint was the size. my family grew to big. so i decided to upgrade to a new chev 4dr4X4 and have been into the mechanic almost once a month.

nice to hear that others arn't having the same problems with leaking fluids. maybe i just have a 'manao' [lemon]........

as you all should know, a chev here is an isuzu with a different 'dress'

My new,7 months old chev colorado has been into the dealer service center 5 times now with various fluid leaks.

the first [after 2 months] was a top end oil leak that could have been critical if i hadn't noticed a stain on my garage floor...... went into the dealer and they fixed it.

then [month 4] noticed another leak in the air compressor of fluid...the dealer fixed it- no charge.

then at month 5, another leak in the differential, due to the mechanic not fully tightning the nut after replacing fluids at the 10k check-up.

seems to me that i have more leaks than expected on a new truck!! i'm at 12k now and wondering whenand where the next leak will be.

are there any consumer protection laws here?? in amerika, we have a 'lemon law' that protects consumers that get stuck with a problematic vehicle, which is common everywhere. but i know i'm not in amerika any more and am on my own over here in LOS.

anyone else out there having fluid leaks with chev/isuzu 3.0 lt motors?? please share your experiences with me.......

thanx.....

(Thats good advice, shes buying from the local pooyai, she bought some adjoining rai two years past from another local. We get a rice crop and a bean crop off the land and as an investment the return from the crops grown (by others) isn't too bad. Plus theres the value of land appreciation for the long term.)

Most of what you say is true, except i would like to add that when it comes to land purchases here in LOS....YOU CAN'T TRUST ANYONE!! even[and maybe especially] the pooyai ban, village head, kamnan or any other official. i can say this thru personal experience when i bought 4 beautiful rai with no decent access, but was promised by both the pooyai and kamnan [who were working together to separate the falang and his bhatt].

My own fault for trusting....and the worse part about my situation is that as far as i know.......i have no recourse!! anyone know of a realtor's board of ethics??

I love this place and the people, but when there is the smell of big bhatt in the air, the sharks come out in the most [seemingly] honest people.

and in the 8 yrs i've been here, i've heard too many other 'horror stories' about land purchases both with falang and thais as well. they stab their own in the back when it comes to bhatt!!

Just keep your eyes open, try to find a decent lawyer to check details, and TRUST NO ONE!!

It will be too bad if this becomes a reality as i catagorize the sight of a 'penguin with a mini' as one of Thailand's most beautiful offerings. like a sunset over the ocean, or a waterfall in the jungle. and the absolutely most beautiful sight that Thai has to offer is one of those 'penguins in a mini' sitting side saddle on a motorcycle [viewed from panty level]. LOVE IT AND WILL MISS IT........and hope it doesn't come to pass.

Having lived here for 10+ yrs allows me to make the following statement that may 'piss off' the 'pissed'. 

let's face it......Thailand does have an alcohol problem!~! and most [that i have met] expats as well.  i can say this as an xperienced bar man that has settled down and can now look at the 'scene' with different eyes.  i had my fun and don't regret it, but it does make me a little ashamed to see falangs making asses out of theirselves and it makes me feel sorry for all the insanity that goes with alcohol abuse with the thais as well.  drunk driving, fights, stupidity, boredom and general bad behavoir. 

so, i am in favor of any measures that will seriously reduce alcohol abuse.  I'm not sure if these token measures will have any effect as the thais will always be able to find a drink around any corner. TIT [for better and worse]!!!

MODERATION is the only solution, but that is contrary to the Thai culture [as well as the expat [drinking] culture].

my 2 bhatt!!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have always drunk in moderation, and have rarely been drunk. However I would not like to force other s to do as I do. For everyone should have the freedom of choice. Education, as to the dangers of excess consumption of alcohol is the only way forward.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Couldn't agree with you more marquess, but where and who does the educating?? drunk expats are already educated and most thais get their education in the baan or on tv, where excessive drinking is tolerated. Moderation is the key!!

Having lived here for 10+ yrs allows me to make the following statement that may 'piss off' the 'pissed'.

let's face it......Thailand does have an alcohol problem!~! and most [that i have met] expats as well. i can say this as an xperienced bar man that has settled down and can now look at the 'scene' with different eyes. i had my fun and don't regret it, but it does make me a little ashamed to see falangs making asses out of theirselves and it makes me feel sorry for all the insanity that goes with alcohol abuse with the thais as well. drunk driving, fights, stupidity, boredom and general bad behavoir.

so, i am in favor of any measures that will seriously reduce alcohol abuse. I'm not sure if these token measures will have any effect as the thais will always be able to find a drink around any corner. TIT [for better and worse]!!!

MODERATION is the only solution, but that is contrary to the Thai culture [as well as the expat [drinking] culture].

my 2 bhatt!!!

Totally stupid...............AMAZING THAILAND DOES IT AGAIN!!!!! They open a zoo, defination of zoo follows......

zoo [zoo]

(plural zoos)

n

1. park displaying live animals in enclosures: a park where live wild animals from different parts of the world are kept in cages or enclosures for people to come and see, and where they are bred and studied by scientists

2. chaotic place: a place characterized as being full of noisy obstreperous people creating confusion and disorder (informal)

[Mid-19th century. Shortening of zoological garden .]

Microsoft® Encarta® Reference Library 2004. © 1993-2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

maybe the 2nd defination is more correct for this administration........

i guess that a 'night safari' means that you eat the animals that you view [or disturb while viewing?] ...

SHOOT THE CAPTIVE BEASTS AT NIGHT, WHILE THEY ARE BLINDED BY THE FLOOD LIGHTS!!! THEN COOK 'EM AND EAT 'EM!!!

definately bad judgement and hopefully will get the international bad press that they deserve.

Amazingly stupid .........they should be offering boiled government officials on the menu instead of endangered animals!!

to put things simple and straight, this link is what i get on dynasat... http://www.lyngsat.com/packages/dream.html

it's good for now and hopefully forever, but we all know that nothing [good] lasts forever!!!

I will say this about the satt dish that i have called 'dynasat'.....it's as good as ubc, but free [or a 1 time charge that pays for it's self in less than a year] . ripps off the aguila satt over the philippines and i would say that english programming is as good or better than the big UBC and you don't get those annoying 'red screens of death' that ubc lost me with. i figure over the years of paying ubc that i could have bought 4 dishes. have had my dynasat for 6 mo now and it was down for a couple of weeks when they re-scrambled the signal and it does seem a little more sensitive to storms, but for the price, you can't go wrong.

same-same ask for DR Kurokot, the owner administrator. she has treated me and many friends. cost is a little more than a thai butcher dentist, but well worth it. very slick operation!!

another way to cool down your house is to install that fiberglass insulation that is sandwiched by two layers of aluminium foil. i did that on an addition and could feel the difference of the radiant heat by just taking a 1 mtr step under it. home pro carries it and sometimes on sale. forget how much, but it was worth it........

and don't forget to take into account that it's almost winter and weather is cooling. now time to think about heaters!!

I had figured that to be the case after 6 yrs in CM and finding te best selection to be at the nightbazaar's bootleg cd's........actually a decet selection from the 'sharks'. but i was just hopig for some little hidden nook that specialized i falang cds. i guess i'll have to continue to rely on friends comming over with fresh music. that way, i apprecate it more...........

Anyone out there can recomend the best source of falang music cds in chiang mai?? tower reords would be too much to ask, but any other shops that would have a decent selection of 'non mainstream' music. i've been living i the CM area for 6 yrs now and the best selection i've found is the night bizaar bootleggers.

thaivisa better watch out or they could be blocked by 'big brother' for just being the 'devil's advocate'.

LOS is fast becomming a police/military state and we better watch out or they may next crackdown on the 'users' of certain websites.

Maybe it's time for another revolt??

I don’t hear too much about rape in Thailand seeing is there is so much sex available. It seems a bit on the moot side to me.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Perhaps you can't speak Thai or have no real interactions with Thai people. I am amazed by the amount of rape depicted on public television during prime time hours in Thailand. Rape is a serious problem in Thailand. Worse than any country that I have been to. Rape is not taken seriously by the police so young woman are considered to be at fault. This is not just bar girls. THis is school girls, daughters, nieces, etc. The availability of sex does not decrease rape. It increases it. Thailand needs to seriously address this issue. You don't hear about it because Thai people don't consider rape on the same level as other crimes. Watch a TV series some night and count the number of attempted and committed rapes.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

yea,so much rape....... forced sex, identured, or just simple renting [or selling]

out their daughters, wive. thai's have so little respect for their women and, it's apallng to watch their soaps, with violence, rapes, murder, infidelity. those are the role models of normal thai society??

"Reality check…..if you want to remove the ‘images’ that may provoke rape, start with the tabloids, fashion and teen magazines that titillate me ever time I pass a magazine rack in full public view….. with all those sexy girls just begging to get raped. "

Get my point Jaideeguy??????????  What a shit statement to make. Raped??????? Have sex with maybe...... but raped....... get a grip

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

and to make it perfectly clear..... i'm not a rapist, i've never raped a woman. in fact, i've been the victim of a rape. and i don't condone it.

i was just tryig to make an example of the stupidity of implying that rape is caused by 'internet images' and not ackowledging that inticing images are everywere as well as the 'real thing', here in LOS.

"Reality check…..if you want to remove the ‘images’ that may provoke rape, start with the tabloids, fashion and teen magazines that titillate me ever time I pass a magazine rack in full public view….. with all those sexy girls just begging to get raped. "

Get my point Jaideeguy??????????  What a shit statement to make. Raped??????? Have sex with maybe...... but raped....... get a grip

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I stand corrected.... do't mean to imply that i'm a rapist, but IF i were, then those titalating half dressed sexy girls on te front covers of all the mags in full public view would be a good place to censor if that's what your intet is. the problem with cesorship is always were do you start it and stop it??

DRIVEN TO RAPE!!!!!

What is all this BS?? Who, in their right minds are thinking that if you remove the ‘images’, you will suppress the ‘urges’?? Pornography can be a healthy outlet for the ‘would be’ rapist and/or child molesters. What this govmt is doing is suppressing not only freedoms, but therapeutic solution to the many social problems that exist here in LOS. How many stories have you heard about fathers/uncles raping daughters/nieces ? This is a social plobrem that has existed in Thai culture long before the ‘evil internet’ came with the evil falang ways!!

I see this as one step closer to a dictatorship and expect book burnings to follow. Obviously, the admin has latched onto some recent high profile rapes or has gotten pressure from some some foreign funding ‘do gooding [religious?]‘ NGO s and thinks that by removing the images, it will cure the plobrem.

Reality check…..if you want to remove the ‘images’ that may provoke rape, start with the tabloids, fashion and teen magazines that titillate me ever time I pass a magazine rack in full public view….. with all those sexy girls just begging to get raped.

If I was a rapest, I would be ‘DRIVEN TO RAPE’ by that.

So, just leave me to wank it if I can find a decent site that hasn’t been censored by the ‘Thai cyber cops’.

just wondering.....was it the real viagra or kamegra [one of those indian knockoff's that seem to do the job]?? and also wondering if anyone out there has had any adverse effects from the cheap indian knockoffs?

and FYI.....i couldn't think of a better way to go than to be 'in the saddle' and have a quick and painless way to go. much better than a slow painful, humiliating death, so maybe he was a lucky guy!!

Not sure if this is the appropriate topic to post this on, so i'll go ahead and post it anyway, since it doesn't seem to fall into any other categories.

I'm a retired american living here in LOS and have some friends comming to visit and they want to bring me some cordless tools that aren't available here [at a decent price]. total cost will be $250.

anyone have any suggestions or experience in dealing with the customs and duties. what would be the worse case $ scenario and is there any way to avoid paying customs??

i did check out the thai customs website, but came away more confused than i was before. my own personal experiences has led me to beleive that it is the 'luck of the draw' when it comes to a compasionate customs officer and that there is no firm rules.

thanks in advance for any feedback.....

And..... don't forget Chevrolet!! i just made the rounds in CM and considered the big 3....Toyota, Isuzu, and Nissan, but decided on Chev as they are simply an Isuzu, but in a different dress. both come from the same factory in Rayong, same frame, motor, etc. but Chev is made for the export market and has a few more features, like safety, suspension, interior dress etc. and i would recomend their excellent english speaking sales lady 'Pel' . so far......good service and preformance from both the truck and the dealership.

phuket and ko chang are like comparing apples and [rotten] oranges. to make it short, ko chang is like phuket may have been 20 yrs ago and has no night life, so BYOB [bring your own babe] if that's what you are looking for.

having said that, i did see lots of euro-sluts if that's your taste.

ko chang is much more of a family place

Will be visiting Phuket for the first time in the first week of sept and am planning to rent a car and drive south one day then north another day just to check out the sites, any recomendations or suggestions. Long time resident of Chiang Mai, looking for a change of scene. may look at realestate outside of phuket area where it is still 'thai' and not touristic [price wise] any recomendations there??