mistabent

Hi David, this is Brent from The Outside Inn. As NiwPix says, we do rent bikes and although it's often with our own guests, we're happy to rent to anyone. Not sure what kind of bike you're looking for, but what we offer are single speed classic Japanese bikes. Nothing elaborate, but solid stylish bikes that are great for in and around town. Probably not ideal if you're looking for a touring bike. We'll give you the same deal we give our guests- the weekly rate is just 350 baht per week. Just let us know if we can help. PM is fine or Google The Outside Inn Ubon for all our contact info. Cheers, Brent

Apples and oranges guys. Anyway, I'm not here to sell Christmas ham for Lotus. Just sharing info for those who may be interested. Cheers,

Just a heads up for anyone looking for ham. We have a big order of ham that was special ordered for us at Lotus for Christmas. Just found out today that there will be approximately 3 kgs that will arrive with our order that nobody has claimed yet. Typically they won't order it for you unless you're getting 8-10 kgs or more, so this is a chance to get a smaller portion. It's not cheap at 600 Baht per kg, but we had the same ham last year and it was really excellent. It arrives at Lotus I think Tuesday, or possibly Wednesday. If interested stop by the Lotus in Ubon or give them a call to reserve it. Not sure if they're willing to split up the 3 kg, but guessing they probably would.

Bought an HJC CL-17 helmet at Paddock 3 days ago. 4200B. It's a great helmet (for the price range). Was my first time in the shop and first time in any shop in Bangkok so can't comment on how it compares to other places. Lots of helmets. Fair amount of jackets and accessories also. Overall a very good experience. You can check their website before going for stock and prices.

Sure they're way off, but what's the problem? I see this only as a positive. If you're not selling then it doesn't matter. If you are selling (or will someday), market price is market price. It will sell for market price (ie whatever someone is willing to pay for it, tax accessed value is irrelevant). So that doesn't change. But now there will be super low transfer taxes. So what's the problem if it's under accessed? I wish all my property was under valued for tax purposes.

I somehow forgot one...

TC Kitchen.  I've had there pies and fish & chips several times and both are great.  Lance makes some really good bread too.  Located next to Lai Thong hotel.

Great info from Julian above.  I'll add just a couple more...

Y Loft-  New restaurant just opened in May, located behind the McDonalds in Ubon Sqaure (near Big C).  Varied menu with lots of Italian, American, and European food.  I've been there 3 or 4 times and all entrees I've had have been good to excellent, depending on the dish.  Sangria is excellent.  Cocktails- some are great and some are over-sweetened & under-boozed as is often the case in Thailand.

Risotto- The other Italian option in town.  Not as well known as Spago, but its been around a long time and has a loyal following.  They just moved to a new location on some soi (don't remember which one) off of Chaiyakong Rd (Hwy 24).  They have been closed for the build out at the new location- not sure if they're open yet or not.

Oshin- New, high-end Japanese restaurant located in the city, about 0.5 km from Thung Si Muang park.  Ate here once, food was pretty good but a questionable value as quite expensive for what you get.  They have rolls like you find in Sushi restaurants in the States and other countries (ie Dragon Roll, Volcano Roll, etc.) though they're just OK compared to home, not great, and pricey at over 300 B a roll.  Portions are fairly small too.  Had some eel that was really good, but 500 baht for a very small appetizer portion.  They have sashimi kobe steaks for prices of 6000 B & more (200 grams)- didn't try those.  Expect to spend at least 1000B per person here to get full, and possibly be underwhelmed for the amount you spent.

Cheers,  Brent

Hi bhthai,

Good for you! I think it's great you're putting this much thought and intention into your next trip to Thailand, and I wish you all the best. Given the right attitude and perspective, I think you're in for a great experience. I'm in my early 30's now and live in Ubon, but first came to live in Thailand in my early 20's- living and working in a small village about 30 minutes outside of Khon Kaen. If you come through Ubon, either to use as a base or just on a visit, come by and say hi. You'll find me at The Outside Inn (you can google it or you'll find a link to our website in my profile). I'd be happy to chat with you about my years here in Isaan, especially as my first few years were quite similar to your situation (younger, live in rural Isaan, here single and not really looking, learn the language, study the culture, etc.). Also, there's a great group of younger expats from all over the world living in and around Ubon. I can think of about 3 dozen friends in their 20's & 30's around here, most of them teachers, but some doing other things. Fun, good people who know the area well and could make a good network of friends for you- even though you're coming here to see and learn about Thailand and Thai's, there are times when its really good to take a break and have the friendship and support of other expats as well. Feel free to contact me anytime and/or stop by when you're in Ubon. Best, Brent

Hi Chris. As I understand it, you're actually putting a deposit down on the meter and you would in theory get this back in the future when you close the account and return the meter. I don't remember it being that much. The electric company will have a printed list with the required deposit/costs for different size meters. I think I found the list online once as well but can't find the site at the moment. It's been awhile since we did this so I forget the actual numbers, but it's something around 5000 - 8000 Baht for a 15(45) meter (ie 45 amp meter that's most commonly used now). Because of all the guest rooms & heating units we had to go with a giant three phase connection (3x100amp, 300 amp total), so it was quit a bit more than the basic 45 a one, but the smaller meters aren't so bad.

Hi Max333,

This is Brent from The Outside Inn. Thanks to you for thinking of us and to others for mentioning us. You are correct, we're unfortunately only able to have a maximum of one or two rooms available for monthly rentals due to our small size, and they've been filled by the same two guys since we've opened. However, we do offer 10% off for anyone staying a week or more, so that would get you down to 585 Baht for one of our Deluxe AC Rooms w/ king bed including full breakfast every morning (eggs to order or french toast, yogurt, fruit, toast, unlimited brewed coffee, fruit juice, etc.). Just wanted to make sure you knew of our discount for longer stays. Feel free to email (on our website) if you'd like to talk more. Regardless of where you stay, stop by and say hi sometime! Would be great to see you and catch up.

Best,

Brent

First I've ever heard of a Phantom 300, and a google search doesn't bring anything up at all. Can you point us to some resources / where you heard about a new Phantom?

Hi Wantan, yes, the bike I'm talking about is the subject of the thread, the RKV 200. Thanks for your thoughts and I fully get your point, though while I know its easy and common to blame things on Thai culture or the Thai way, I think that may be a bit of stretch here. A non-working bike is a non-working bike. The cause is either poor maintenance, an incompetent mechanic that morning, or some design or mechanical flaw inherent with the bike itself. As I say above, I certainly don't assume the later based on this one small experience and given all the owners comments, but it's one of those three causes and none of us yet know the true story with this particular bike. So to just assume the problem is just about saving face and "Thai's being Thai's" and not entertain the possibility that the bike may have some reliability issues would be a little naive at this point, in my own view anyway. Regardless, I'll give it another shot today and hopefully will be able to go for a ride this time. Cheers.

I've been following this thread with interest, particularly the input from the owners who all seem to have had positive experiences. That, in fact, is the only reason I'm entertaining the idea of the Keeway, as most owners of low cost brands (mostly Chinese makers, but also Tiger, etc.) for the most part are unhappy a few weeks/months in. So yesterday I went to the SYM/Keeway dealer here in Ubon. Sat on the bike, checked it out, and while they didn't have a bike I could test yesterday they were getting a used bike in today that I could take out. So I show up today, not ready to buy, but thinking if it rides as well as I hope it will I may be 50/50 on purchasing one sometime. Well, disappointingly, and somewhat comically, the bike they have for me won't run for more than 2 seconds without dying. The say the mechanic (who wasn't there) serviced it that morning and took out for a ride with no issue. The other mechanic gives it a quick one over, looking for an obvious problem, but doesn't see anything. Now, even the most reliable bike in the world can be made not to run a hundred different ways by an incompetent mechanic or some faulty part, so this doesn't in certainty mean the bike's unreliable, but it's not a great sign. A perhaps even more enlightening thing happen as I was leaving. Jokingly and light heartedly, I asked the sales lady, so is this going to happen to my bike in a few months if I buy one? Her answer (the SALES lady!) was, well this isn't a Honda, and it doesn't cost as much as a Honda, so you shouldn't expect Honda reliability. And I respond, of course I don't expect the same quality as a more expensive Honda, but shouldn't I at least be able to expect it to start? She smiled and did a shoulder shrug. Now, a sales person who's no good at selling a bike doesn't mean the bike's no good, but it was a little surprising that she didn't try to defend the bike or say this was a freak occurrence or anything- her response effectively said (rightly or wrongly) that this is what should be expected with this bike. I still want to see what it rides like, so I'll give them a call tomorrow and if the test bike is running I'll give it another shot, but I won't hold my breathe. Again, this experience doesn't discredit the good experiences owners seem to be having and it could be nothing more than a poorly adjusted carb and a bad sales person, but it's not a great introduction to the brand for me.

End of an era John! Hate to see you go, though I'm sure Peppers is in good hands. We had the pleasure of meeting and chatting awhile with Julian & Bee a few days ago. No doubt they will continue the tradition of good food and friendly, welcoming owners at Peppers. Wishing you all the best John on your next adventure, and lots of success to Julian, Bee, and Uriel.

~Brent

My former student just sent me this...

The cbr, 204k

The cb, 199k

The CBX, 209...

Not a big gap to the kawasaki then...

wow.. so you can buy it cheaper in he USA THEN... FAIL THE CBR500 is $5995 MRP (xe.com puts that at 185000baht

I very well may be proven wrong in the next couple of days, but I would be surprised to see prices that high. It certainly doesn't follow the pattern Honda has established with the CBR 250 and CRF, which are priced notably below US prices (which makes sense given no across-the-world shipping and lower distribution/dealer markup costs in Thailand ie Honda makes as much money selling a bike here for less than it does over there). Based on how they've priced their 250's, my guess is the three models will span the 160,000 to 180,000 baht range. Perhaps just wishful thinking, but unless there's some additional tax or duty that would affect the 500's and not the 250's, this would be my guess. The 200k to 210k range listed above doesn't make for a very strong value case against the Kawasaki 650's, and value is the name of the game with Honda's new generation 250 and 500's.

I'm late to this party, but I can confirm that the Hi-Tek unit first referenced in Post # 22 is a legitimate RCBO and the price was the correct price. It varies slightly by store, but most places I've seen in Ubon have the 30A 15mA model at 212B. After talking to an experienced Thai sparky friend, I ended up buying a very similar 32A RCBO made by Haco for 370B. I was told that this brand was sturdier and longer lasting and I agree that in the store it appeared to be tougher, made from higher quality plastics, and with a sturdier switch, but only time will tell with both brands. I've also seen the same thing made by Safe-T-Cut 32A 15 mA priced at 390B (a small RCBO just like the one pictured above, not to be confused with their much larger and more expensive whole house models).

Good stuff Family. Thanks for taking the time for the write-up and for following through with your updates. Reviews like this are invaluable when it's a new bike (and especially a newish brand) to the market. Ride safe,