josephbloggs

All flash mobs are organised PR stunts, this one is no different.

When has anyone ever been extorted by an IO on arrival at the airport? You must have a link?

I did think that. Someone complaining about the quality / taste of the cheapest nastiest boxed red wine....

Sorry can't help you, but I just learned what pickleball is. Never heard of it before. Looks like big table tennis.

They switch regularly here too.

I think Thailand generally handled Covid pretty well and protected its people - back in 2020, 2021. It certainly did much better than the UK and US. But really, Covid is done now, we need to move on. Who cares about every single variant, just get on with your life now.

Nice, I think it is excellent that a Thai player is entering the market, however quirky it may be. Good luck to them, I hope they do well! At the Volvo event I was at last weekend the president of EA Anywhere gave a little talk. I think the Thai EV market is really going to develop quickly over the next 2-3 years. I just wish the government would give some support and tax breaks. And of the two cars they announced (but didn't give details of) one is definitely the EX90. A brand new model with all new safety features and an all new interior. The safety aspects sound really impressive. You can Google it as there are a couple of images of it. I think Volvo are designing the coolest cars at the moment but I am not convinced by the EX90, it seems a bit "squinty". Anyway Google it and you can be your own judge. Safety: https://www.volvocars.com/en-th/safety-in-mind/innovations/ There is a link to the CEO presenting the safety features in there. Worth watching. Interior with recycled stuff: https://www.carscoops.com/2022/10/volvo-teases-ex90-cabin-says-itll-be-one-of-the-most-pleasant-car-interiors-on-the-market/ Exciting times really.

Ok, I stand corrected on that, thanks. I didn't check it against plugshare.

No, I borrowed it.

I forgot to add, in terms of charging. A fast public DC charger gets you 70% charge in 30-40 minutes. I charged for 30 minutes at Holiday Inn Hua Hin where I was staying and that got me home with a spare range of 130kms. I am currently charging it at home just plugged in to a normal socket and it is charging at a rate of 10-11kms of range every hour. Pretty slow. However this is not my car so I don't have a wall box. If you buy one Volvo will install a wall box at home (as do most manufacturers I think) and that should give you 50-60kms of range per hour. You can connect the charger and go to bed but tell it when to actually start and stop charging, either by time of day or by charging percentage. I do this on the touchscreen but there is an app that links to your car. I didn't get to try this as to pair it for the first time you need to have all sets of keys in the car and I only have one key. I am sure the charging speeds would be similar for all brand EVs but just posting it here for interest. The only annoying thing is that there are different brands of public chargers which all have a different app to use and to register for. EA Anywhere, PTT EV Station Pluz, and PEA Volta are the three I came across. But Google knows them all and where they are. And I guess once you have set up the apps there is nothing to worry about, just rock up and use one.

So tomorrow I give back the electric XC40 and get my petrol one back. I don't want to swap back! The all electric XC40 is a fantastic car. The performance is insane and so much fun to drive. The range is also very good, I got 400kms from a charge. I left home with 90% and drove nearly 300kms (Bangkok to Hua Hin with some excursions and events along the way) and I had 25% charge left when I got there with a remaining range of 130kms it told me. A 30 minute fast charge got me to 85% which was enough to drive home and I currently have 130kms range remaining again. This is with four people in the car + luggage. For the money I don't think anything can touch it for the spec. The interior is really solid and well built with nice materials, the infotainment touchscreen is big and easy to use. There is a 600W 13 speaker Harmon / Kardon sound system with subwoofer. The interior is almost identical to my petrol XC40 (which is a nice place to be) except they now have full Google integration. On my petrol car the navigation is Volvo's own, but in these new versions Google maps is integrated in to the car and all the voice commands for everything in the car are handled by Google. If I am navigating in my current car I use Google on my phone as it is better than Volvo navigation, but now it is all the same thing - a big improvement. Another improvement is this car is data connected (mine isn't) and Volvo give you four years for free. So you can download apps, you can have Spotify integrated, you get over-the-air updates, technicians can log in to check faults remotely etc. Just say "Hey Google" at any time and tell it what you want; whether that is directions, whether to ask it how much range you have left, or to tell it to turn up the AC. Oh, and the map always has an icon you can press which will show you where the chargers are around you, what type, and in many cases (if the charges are internet connected) how many are in use and how many are free at the time. Super! One thing I liked is that when you ask Google to navigate somewhere it will also tell you how much battery you will have left when you get there and how much you would have left were you to drive back again. This is a nice touch. I must admit I did have range anxiety but I guess if you own the car you come to trust what it says. On all my drives in it the battery charge it said I would have left when I arrived was always correct, even on a 300km journey. So I think over time you wouldn't have that range anxiety, but for me as a noob it was always in the back of my mind (what if it is wrong?). Also there are chargers everywhere these days. And if you buy an electric Volvo they give you 25,000 baht credit with EA Everywhere which would last you a long long time - if I remember rightly a two hour charge costs 120 baht. My friend spent more (3m baht) on an Audi Q3 top of the range but it isn't nearly as well specced as the Volvo. No premium sound system, no data, much less tech and safety systems. But it does look very cool, I love it, especially on 20 inch rims. The active and passive safety systems on the Volvo are second to none as you'd expect I guess. As an example in my current XC40 I was driving down Sukhumvit around 9pm in the rain. I indicated to change lanes and started to move. Half way across the lanes suddenly alarms went off and the car physically and forcefully moved me back in to my lane with the dashboard saying "collision avoidance action taken" (or words to that effect). A fraction of a second after it pulled me back a motorbike with no lights on went flying by on my right at high speed. Undoubtedly the technology saved his life. The car can park itself, get out of parking spaces by itself, it can follow in traffic including steering, coming to a stop in traffic and moving off again. There is a mode (which I think Nissan pioneered) called "one pedal drive". I hated it at first but once I had sussed out how to use it properly I am now a convert. I drove all the way back from HH without touching the brake pedal once, it is very relaxing. I have no affiliation to Volvo. I have never bought two cars consecutively from the same manufacturer - I like to bounce around and have owned seven different brands. But my next car will be electric, and it will be a Volvo. I was so impressed with everything about it and spending three days with it gave me a great picture of what ownership would look like. As mentioned in a different post they announced last night there are two new electric models coming next year which they said will be game changing so I am going to wait and see what they are before I make my choice. In summary, it's brill. I am ready to switch as it can easily fit my lifestyle (mostly driving around Bangkok with the occasional trip away). If you regularly do very long journeys I would go with hybrid. I am going to jump in it now for a final blast before I return it tomorrow. I am really going to miss this thing.

Jeeez, so much paranoid racist nonsense in this thread.

There's the brand new Volvo C40 electric. Similar price and spec and a really good looking car. https://www.volvocars.com/en-th/cars/c40-electric/ I am at a Volvo event in Hua Hin right now (an electric / hybrid rally from Bangkok - over 100 cars) and there was one C40, a really stunning looking thing. Last night they also announced there are two brand new all electric vehicles coming to market soon but details are scarce, we'll have to wait and see. They'll also be electrifying the rest of the fleet in the coming months and years so V60, the rest of the XCs and S cars. I think Volvo is the one to watch in this space, I think they are years ahead of the other mainstream brands. They are already sold out for the rest of this year though. Driving back to Bangkok in my (borrowed) electric XC40 today then will post my review.

Thank you for that. I did use the search function but didn't get any results. I was interested in anyone's experience as I am considering buying one, however I just borrowed one from a friend for a few days and replied to the post you directed me to.Will report back next week with a full review.

Awesome. I have a petrol XC40 T5 and do love it, but have today borrowed an electric version from my friend for a few days while he is out of town. So far I am seriously impressed and yes, sage green looks great. It took a bit of getting used to initially in how it drives but I am sold. The technology is cool, range is great (400kms apparently), and it's fun being silent. It is fast as hell too, so much fun off the line, 0-60 in 4.7 seconds. If I still feel this way after a few days of use - including a long trip out of town that will necessitate a recharge before I return - I think I will pull the trigger myself and trade up. Will report back next week if anyone is interested.

Excellent, seems I should pay a visit to soi 81.

If private companies can make a return by selling advertising they will buy it. Why would they decide not to make money because someone else can buy it instead? The TV companies will not be planning to buy it as an act of charity. .If they decide they can't make a return then the SAT can step in. What's wrong with that?

Wow, you really do seem to have the worst luck. But good of you to share openly. Now over to the bashers....

You're so right. And what about the people who aren't going to Samui? What use is this ferry service to them?? Absolutely no use at all. Have they considered that in their business plan? I know thousands of people who aren't going to Samui, what a missed opportunity. If only you worked for them with your business brain it would cater for those people who aren't going to Samui, everyone would get a room (for free probably), beer would be 30 baht a pint, it would only take an hour, and the sun would shine all the way. By the way, I know you keep banging on that they dare to say it is "transport" but you do realise a boat is a kind of transport? You can offer transport and an onboard experience. Who'd have thought?

Sorry, headlines - by their very nature - are tasking things out of context.

This is the same man who promised to make Thailand gun free within five years..........then did absolutely nothing. He has absolutely no shame. Despicable waste of oxygen, and this site gleefully publishes any self serving rubbish he decides to spout. Why does nobody ever challenge him on this <deleted>? I would love to see him squirm.

That photo is from the ASEAN summit in 2018 in Singapore.

Or any American president? America is responsible for just as much atrocity if not more.

Completely untrue. Why post something as fact if you have absolutely no clue what you are talking about? Fishing for likes? Thankfully the officials know a lot more than you. Swine Flu is actually more stable in frozen meat. "CSFV can survive for variable periods in meat, with survival more likely at cold temperatures. This virus is most stable in frozen meat. Viable CSFV has been recovered from frozen pork stored for more than four years." https://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/pdf/classical-swine-fever-csf-inactivation-in-meat

I think that's more to do with Bangkok having extremely localised weather patterns. It can be torrential in Phrakhanong but completely dry in Thonglor. It always amazes me how localised these storms are. (Of course you do get the occasional monster that covers the entire city, but usually they are extremely localised)