josephbloggs

I believe anyone with an e-passport that enters after the 15th can leave with the new automatic gates as the incoming IO adds your fingerprints and passport scan to the system so it can recognise you on the way out and cross check your visa status etc. It remains to be seen if people who are already in the country on long term visas can use the e-gates when they leave or not. It would be great if the first person who tries it can post here. Don't think I'm leaving the country for the next 3-4 weeks at least. Logically I think we should be able to use them as our fingerprint and biometric passports are already in the system, but that's just a guess.

To be fair most of the people posting against EVs do not own one and have not even tried one. BD does own them, posts about them, knows about them. I think it's fair to say he speaks from personal experience and knowledge, and yes, he does know more than most (myself definitely included). On any subject we generally listen to people with first hand knowledge or experience, on EVs people tend to shut them out as they are not interesting in hearing the "other side". If an anti EV poster would care to take one for a test drive and then come back and post their findings I would be impressed. But instead they just make up stupid stuff to justify their blind hatred. I have said it before but I consider myself a "petrol head". Always been in to cars, engines, noises. I spent a lot of money modding a Subaru Impreza to 500+ bhp and it was the loudest thing ever and I loved it, I loved everything about it, especially the noise it made (burbling flat four, turbo waste gate, blow off valve whooshing). I never thought I would like an EV: soulless, no character, "washing machine", impractical etc. That is until I tried one. Absolutely not impractical (for my needs), the infrastructure in Thailand is impressive, and the experience of driving is fantastic. You don't miss the noise, you become addicted to the instant performance and the peace and quiet. My current car is a 260bhp turbo that is refined and does 0-60mph in 6.2 seconds. Pretty nippy by most standards. But getting back in to it after three days with an EV it felt like I was going back a few decades: it felt sluggish, noisy, unrefined, and old fashioned. Guess what, I approached EVs with an open (albeit skeptical) mine, and I totally changed my outlook. Not speaking for BD but I am sure he finds it frustrating that people with closed minds keep posting false information so he corrects them. I say try an EV, go for a test drive, get in it with an open mind, then if you still don't like it come back here and post your reasons - neither BD nor anyone would have any issue with that. A good open minded debate is very welcome and anyone who can engage in one will be respected.

Either a super budget airline or a TG flight that is transitioning from international to domestic, or vice versa: they have to park on remote stands. It is not "boondoggle to keep the busses running".

Absolute nonsense. They already said when the new satellite terminal fully opens there'll be enough capacity to not need bus gates anymore. (I think they'll still need them for flights that have landed internationally and will next fly domestically - and vice versa)

Guess what, an EV is probably not right for your mum and dad, or you. That is totally fine, I don't know how many times I (and others) have said EVs are not suitable for everyone. There are rational reasons why they might not be suited to a particular person's needs or lifestyle, no one disputes that. But people get annoyed when anti-EV posters make up ludicrous reasons to justify their mindset: "what if my boss calls me to drive immediately 300kms to a meeting, what happens when the motorway is unexpectedly closed and you are diverted tens of kilometres through deserted forest, what if you rent one but the previous renter smashed up the battery pack, what if you stop at a charger and there is no mobile phone signal" etc. Those kind of posts are rightly responded to and ridiculed. BTW where do your parents live that they get regular storms that take out electricity for 2-3 days, rural Africa?

So you think Carabao - which has built up a billion dollar drinks brand and has invested hundreds of millions in to this one - just makes up a drink in a new category and dumps it on the market without any research? Seriously? If you want to compete in the Thai mass market an extra 10 baht a bottle would kill your business immediately. I love the posters on here thinking they know better than the people who have built billion dollar companies. Why not send them an email and tell them of your ideas, I am sure they would appreciate it.

What's your problem? He looks completely impartial to me.

In any 7-Eleven I've ever been in (in Bangkok at least) they always say out loud what note you have given them. If I have handed over a thousand they will say, in Thai, "you've given me one thousand" and then count the change back, every single time. I have to say 7-Eleven staff are amongst the best trained in Thailand and I have never once been scammed in 28 years, in fact quite the opposite; when I have accidentally given too much they point it out and hand back the extra. Not saying there isn't a rogue 7-Eleven cashier somewhere but it doesn't gel with my experience, their training, or the fact that all cashier areas are covered by CCTV so there is zero chance of them getting away with it if you ask to see the CCTV.

What? Who is pushing what here? Hopefully it is too bland to even make the list. Yuck.

I have a car that doesn't open from my phone but I have a fob that needs to be in my pocket or on my person. What if I lose my fob? Up 5hit creek without a paddle! What is the difference exactly? Except in my case I need to carry two things in my pocket (fob and phone) instead of one.

Bore off with this rubbish. Absolutely untrue and just repeated by bitters on here who know nothing. How many times have you had the above happen to you? Never. I have been in a pretty big accident. Not my fauly but the Thai guy tried to blame me. The police listened to both accounts and took my side. My friend had a motorbike smash a couple of weeks ago. The police listened to both accounts and took his side. Serious, I wish people would stop posting absolute <deleted> without evidence. Have they, have they really?? I've been here 28 years and have never heard it. But you say they've said this often, so please provide a link. If you don't have a link then just crawl back in your box, be quiet, and stop posting paranoid anti-Thai rubbish.

Yep. My petrol car does around 480 km on a full tank. (50 litre tank) A smelly rattly Fortuner does maybe 800kms at the absolute maximum. If the poster can do 1,000kms it will be a really nasty diesel box of some sort and who would want to drive more than 100kms in one of those. Is he really driving 1,000kms without stopping? That is ludicrous really. No matter what I am driving after 300kms I need a break. After 300kms in a Fortuner I would have a headache so would need a longer stop.

I really sympathise with the OP as it is a horrible position to be in and he is obviously a caring and compassionate man that wants to do the right thing to alleviate the suffering of his dog no matter how difficult or upsetting it might be to do. Full sympathy and I wish you the best. However, please be careful. Euthanising a dog yourself is a criminal offence in Thailand even if you are doing it for the best of reasons, and no doubt that you are. So, not being preachy, just informing you of something to be mindful of. It would certainly make me think twice, as if someone sees it or is upset by it and informs authorities you could be in a whole lot of trouble - criminal trouble, not civil trouble.

I also don't understand it. I have a petrol turbo car (have always has petrol cars) and I love it. I also really like and admire EVs. I don't understand why the two sentiments have to be mutually exclusive, but for the anti-EV posters it is almost a hate position and they dream up fantasy scenarios why they don't work which just shows a closed mind. They may not be right for you, but why can't you admire the technology and benefits they bring to other people? Do diesel lovers hate petrol cars? No. Do petrol lovers have hate for diesel drivers? Nope. But mention EVs and it gets a certain section of ICE people getting quite upset, I don't get it - it is just another propulsion method at the end of the day, albeit a cleaner and quieter one. And I think your point about people who have been in yours really liking them and wanting one is telling. I too was very skectical and, as a petrol head, thought I would never enjoy an EV.........until I tried one. Sadly the most vehemently anti-EV poster will never likely try one, again showing a closed mind.

Here: https://www.dtctravel.com/ Run by an English guy called Tom, I have known him for years. He can help you with anything. Sorted out a complete itinerary in Japan for me when I knew absolutely nothing about the country, and also he sorted me a three week trip to Brazil a few years ago - recommended places to go I had never heard of and they were wonderful, and everything sorted for us. I can definitely recommend him. Edit: Of course he also has Thai staff if your family prefer to talk to someone in Thai.

I'm not aware of any EV that has visible battery packs you can take a picture of. They are encased and protected and often built into to the chassis of the car, for obvious reasons. Do you really think they are hanging off the outside of the vehicle? Do you ask to take photos of the fuel tank when you rent a car because, you know, the previous renter might have damaged it and there could be a dangerous fuel leak? (Hint: fuel tanks are also generally not visible as they also don't hang off the sides of the car)

It's not me, I don't really like sherry.

Wow, this forum never ceases to amaze me. The pettiness, the bitterness, the stinginess. You have one body. If you need it all massaging in an hour they need to get a move on. If you want the same body massaging in two hours then they need to go slower, don't they? Throwing down money and storming out is pretty pathetic and pitiful. And people like you complain the Thais are not smiley and friendly - it's because they dread to see you walk through the door.

I was hardly frothing at the mouth, but apologies if I mixed up my replies.

My point was that if a car has been smashed enough to damage the battery the rental company would not be handing it out to the next driver as the car would be so severely damaged as to be unusable. So your argument that EVs are bad because you might rent one and you don't know what the previous renter did to the battery is just nonsensical. You are inventing ridiculously far fetched scenarios each time.

See my post above. Thank you, and you're welcome.

Ah, so they faked it. You really have an extremely closed mind. Here's the Euro NCAP video of their test. Is this staged too?

Guess what, if you have a job where your boss can call you on a whim to drive 300kms straight to a meeting then an EV is probably not right for you. No one is saying they are perfect for everyone. Personally I'd consider a new job but that's just me. How often does that happen by the way? Is it about as often as a motorway being unexpectedly closed and you being diverted tens of kilometres through deserted forests? Or does it happen more frequently than never?

Here's a video of an EV being smashed up. And then you see the battery is removed in perfect condition, placed in another car, and it works perfectly. If the previous driver of the rental had smashed the car badly enough to damage the battery I am pretty sure the rental company would notice it. Do you think these batteries are on the outside of the car and made of cheese? Surprised you (or any of the others) haven't trotted out the "but what if it rains and the road floods" yet. Come on, you're missing a trick!

Surely you're just dreaming up hypothetical scenarios that have nothing to do with the topic in hand. I could rent a car with a faulty gearbox, or with timing issues, a loose clutch. That has nothing to do with anything. And I believe the battery swap is a subscription so you are changing them after every charge is depleted and it takes the same amount of time as filling up with petrol. You don't keep the battery they give you.