Able

Plenty of rain in khon Kaen city this afternoon but passed the main Ubolratana reservoir, a little way NW of the city, this morning and it was still pretty low. So we still have some catching up to do.  

Thai airlines reward program is poor compared with the likes of Qatar, Emerates, Etihad etc. 

The last few years I did a minimum of 8 international business class flights and a further 16 domestic 'premium' class flights per year and still didn't get close to a gold card. 

Got loads of emails telling me my miles were about to expire though .......

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

Why not revoke their licences if found on the pavements, now they pay the fine & go straight back to work!!

Licences? …….. They have licences? ……. Nice.

Here in Khon Kaen licences seem to be nothing more than an optional extra, if you're a local that is.

But on a more serious note. Just take the bikes or set up a payment desk like they do with the traffic stops up here. No payment no leaving.

Good advice given up above.

Avoid 2 road. It's not only boring it's in need of repair in a lot of stretches which makes for an uncomfortable ride.

The route taking you up via Phetchabun is well recommended. Remember that It's rainy season and you are very likely to get wet whatever route you take.

As suggested, stay over for the night and take a couple of days for the journey if you have the time available. Phetchabun is a stunning area to ride through, take your time an enjoy the views.

2 road is boring as anything on an MT10, I avoid it like the plague.

19 hours ago, quandow said:

They don't always work. My UK friend had his CAR rear ended by a THAI  on her MOTORBIKE. Absolutely her fault, the whole thing was captured by the rear camera. He had to pay her 25k baht right then and there. Needless to say he was furious and had to scramble to come up with that kind of cash instantly. Kangaroo court at its finest!

Either an erroneous statement or a seriously wrong move by your UK friend.

Contact insurance company straight away straight away. Let them sort it out. That's what we pay for.

I love the vast majority of Thai food but that pile of grotty blanched bones with green chilies looks about as appetizing as a washed up flip-flop.

Thanks but no thanks gents.

I'm looking at the option of the new Non Immigrant O-X 5year long stay visa (the 10 year visa with 5 year + 5 year extension option).

The UK Royal Thai embassy website gives a comprehensive list of requirements that seem manageable and the website says:

"Foreigners who enter Thailand with other type of Visa/Visa Exemption may contact the immigration Bureau and Apply for Non-O-X visa"

Which suggests I can enter Thailand on a 30 day visa exempt and go through the process at the immigration Bureau within Thailand. Thus potentially saving an unnecessary trip to the UK to renew my Non Immigrant Type 'O' which will expire before I next travel. 

Has anyone tried this who can share their experience and advise on the process?

I.E. Is the website accurate, can it be done entering with a visa exempt? Would I need to carry out the process in BKK or could I do so in Khon Kaen, closer to home?

Are there any hidden requirements like Yellow Book, Pink ID card etc? Anyone priced up the insurance costs yet?

All advice welcome.

Thanks

The UK government website says 30 years:

Quote:

To get the full basic State Pension you need a total of 30 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions or credits.

It also provides access to process to effectively back pay missing payments during the past 6 years if you, like me, are a few years short of the 30 year requirement.

Khon Kaen has western style taxi services available so if there are no taxis at the bus station you can just call one up.

Not sure about forum rules on such things so I've sent you the telephone number in a private message.

All the taxis are metered and we have used them many times with no bad stories to report. Reasonably priced too.

On the construction sites in India the guys put down Carbolic Acid to keep the snakes away.

Cobras are a serious problem, especially when the monsoon season arrives and the snakes are forced up out of their underground lairs.

The site areas we have that are treated with Carbolic Acid certainly have significantly lower snake bite incident rates than untreated areas.

Don't put it where your dogs can get to it though, I'm told it's pretty poisonous.

19 hours ago, phantomfiddler said:

Thai drivers just do not seem to be looking directly in front of them when they are driving. He was probably texting or otherwise occupied, and according to statistics the main cause of road deaths nowadays is the I-Phone !

Amazing Sherlock. Deducing the cause of this tragedy and managing to bring the Apple I-Phone into the picture as a main contributor to fatal accidents with such limited information to go on.

Once again I am truly awed by the Thai Visa detective corps.

Ordered a 3.2 wildtrak last week in Khon Kaen.

1,000 Baht was all they wanted up front.

Waiting time around 1 month.

As a Toyota owner for the past 8 years we had been waiting for the much anticipated new Hilux Revo.

Not at all impressed with the Revo, which is a shame as we have been happy with our Vigo for many years. The Ranger outclassed it in every way so will take a chance on Ford.

Hope you enjoy yours when you get it.

Actually the nearest export market for LHD is Laos . There's a nice big ford showroom in Vientiane . There's Caucasian guy works in there as well.. Depending on your distance from Vientiane , might be worth a trip there .

Love this forum for the knowledge you guys hold, all much appreciated good advice.

Will try the Ausie forums for the part numbers and the Vientiane idea sounds like a brilliant plan 'B' if it turns into the normal farce at this end. Not far for us to travel so just need to make contact with the Vientiane Ford showroom now.

Thanks Guys,

Able.

Does anybody know if Ford Thailand manufactures the Wildtrak 3.2 for export to a left hand drive country?

We have been asking the local dealer to see if it is possible to fit an electric passenger seat. In the standard model the passenger seat is manual adjustment and cannot be raised (so we are told), whereas the driver seat is supposed to be an 8 way adjustable electric model. The premise being that if they produce a left hand drive model here they could fit a left hand drive drivers seat as a passenger seat in the Thai model.

Unfortunately we can see the sales peoples eyes glazing over at such logic, the following statements clearly show that despite the nodding and smiles that have no idea of what we are asking for.

The good lady is not the tallest in the world, it would be nice to have a seat she could use without the usual giant cushion and aftermarket lower back support.

Or if we cannot fit a Ford seat has anyone managed to find an after market improvement to the passenger seat here in Thailand?

Thanks in advance,

Able.

Are we supposed to check the number of every single bill we get from an ATM to make sure it's not the one quoted ?

You should always get a paper receipt when you withdraw cash from an ATM and keep it in your wallet as proof that you withdrew the cash from an ATM.

With all due respect a cash withdrawal slip from an ATM is utterly worthless. There is no traceability, I.E. there is nothing to prove that any notes in your possession have came from the ATM.

^{At least it will improve the tourism figures when they all come back}

As was said before, it's not based on race. I know for a fact that Korean and Japanese sometimes have to pay more then us white folk. Why? Cause Thais think they can afford it, and cause the business thinks they can get away with it. There is really no point getting angry about it, you will only build up that negative energy inside yourself, nobody else will care and you might even start approaching Thais differently. My point here, it's not PERSONAL. I see it as a game, and try my best to get the Thai price, I use my DL, or sometimes my student card (if something states a discount price for students). I do speak a fair bit of Thai and I can read the Thai prices, that also helped a few times. And honestly, if you cannot read Thai, if you cannot speak Thai well enough to politely ask to be treated as a Thai person, you do not deserve the Thai price. Yet then again, remember all of this is not personal, so don't let it get to you. And I fully agree with anybody who says vote with your feet, just walk away if they refuse to give you the Thai price.

Couldn't have said it better, completely agree.

Always found A.I.S. to be effective,one encounters the odd blind spot where a signal cannot be reached however in my experience over the years this is indeed a very rare occurrence and often weather related or due to a terrain problem. True service is indeed a bit Iffy as is DTAC.

My advice for what it is worth is go for A.I.S..

Agreed,

A.I.S. has been fine for us over the past few years. Can fail during really heavy storms but otherwise we haven't had any reception issues.

Chicken Pakora, Vindaloo and Garlic Naan.

Salivating just thinking about it.

The picture of the table that the man hit appears to have some interesting items. From what I can see, they look suspicious.

Looks like hercule poirot has logged in at long last.

No doubt with the omnipotent knowledge displayed by some on TV we will all soon be astounded by the amount of irrefutable evidence of this poor gentleman’s demise that can be discerned from an out of focus picture of a coffee table.

Poor old boy, a sad event whatever the cause. R.I.P.

Sadly there are a lot of so called "first world" countries that would love to be looking at 2.4% growth in 2014.

Let us hope this political mess gets sorted out this year and the economy can get back to a decent growth rate.

From the UK.

Been based in Thailand for most of the last 15 years, though always working overseas.

Moved to Khon Kaen a couple of years back and love the place, happy to settle here long term.

And unlike a lot of TV members I still love Thailand, guess that's a lucky way to be.