josephbloggs

4 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

Sorry, did misinterpret your post. 

Sometimes I get a bit annoyed with other posters who don't have a clue what they are talking about but think they are intelligent.

Yes, so do I. It really annoys me, especially when I have experience in what they are talking about and they don't.

No worries, mistakes happen. Cheers.

23 hours ago, hotchilli said:

I was thinking the same thing, and the plan for heavy rainfall?

Wow, I'm sure they hadn't thought of that - quick, give them a ring before it's too late!

1 hour ago, FritsSikkink said:

You are a troll. Learn something about doing business in Thailand first.

Calm down Frits. Go and read my posts and you will see I run a BOI company and I am posting facts that align with yours. No idea where that random attack came from, it was really quite shocking.

13 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

How do you think they got their BOI approved work permits?

Don't feed the troll.

2 hours ago, Celsius said:

Ok.... I stand corrected about BOI.

 

....which is an investment visa and has nothing to do with real companies operating in Thailand.

Errrr, what?? What are you talking about, you are making no sense at all. The BOI is an "investment visa" and "nothing to do with real companies operating in Thailand"??  Do you even know what the BOI is and what it does? It is not a visa.  Seriously, why keep going?

"I stand corrected but then I'm going to say something immediately afterwards which means I clearly don't."

Quote

Every single company needs 4 Thai staff to 1 foreigner.

 

No exceptions, 

....and there you go again, repeating the same falsehood after I just gave you the most clear information and examples, and after you said you stand corrected. Wow, just wow.

59 minutes ago, JackGats said:

This is what I get when I try to upgrade a Star Alliance flight with Royal Orchid miles. When I wrote to them about it they replied with all sorts of arguments about classes and unavailability.

 

 

 

It's almost impossible. I have bought the most expensive flex tickets but no upgrades online. When I call them to ask they say my class of ticket is not eligible. I have tried so many flights that I have pretty much given up. I understand not letting super saver tickets upgrade, but the most expensive flex tickets? Still can't.

Maybe as someone else suggested I should next time book another Star Alliance airline if they fly to the same destination and try that, but not many choices unless I am flying to Singapore, and then who cares about upgrading a two hour flight.

I have hundreds of thousands of miles but can't use them. Tried flying to Japan - nope, not available on any date. UK, nope not on any date.

I am not a Thai Airways basher, I generally like flying with them (regionally), but their Royal Orchid points program is really really poor.

5 hours ago, tomkenet said:

My candidates for first electric car is ex30 and seal (AWD versions) because I am excited about the power and amazing acceleration they have. The handling performance probably will not reach the power performance though .

I'm with you there, ex30 is my first choice but Seal AWD is really interesting too - very similar performance figures, but I think the Volvo looks cooler. The MG4 seems a little slow but everyone says it is a lot of fun to drive so will give it a go as nothing to lose and I have an open mind.  I do want speed and some luxury touches though so think the xe30 ticks most boxes.

Spent a few days with an electric XC40, also a C40 and the performance is addictive. The xe30 takes it up a couple of notches - I know someone who has driven one and they say it is phenomenal. Switching to a 170bhp mg4 that is slower than my petrol XC40 doesn't sound appealing but JBChiangRai's review has made me at least consider trying it as it does sound like it's fun to drive and outright acceleration isn't everything (although for me it is a large percentage).

I have no interest in Teslas. 

12 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

Flying to Manchester from Bangkok this Wednesday with Qatar as usual. A380 to Doha at the front of the aircraft, I am in economy but with legroom seat and then in business class to Manchester from Doha.

 

Looking forward to it.

 

I gave up with Thai a long time ago, I was a fan of EVA at one time but since I now prefer Qatar, followed by Etihad and Emirates.

 

You can't beat the Middle Eastern airlines at the moment, although all flights to the UK from Bangkok at the moment tend to be eye watering with the prices, except for Lufthansa and Austrian airlines who I have never flown with.

Agree, have just come back from the UK on Emirates. Would never consider Thai for long haul as they are so far behind the middle eastern carriers. Poor IFE is a major factor. 
 

I like them as a regional carrier though. If I’m flying to Singapore, Manila, Malaysia, Jakarta or anywhere less than a four hour flight I will choose Thai. Usually new planes (A350, 787), decent service, decent food - better than most regional competitors. But long haul? No way. Not even a consideration. 

1 hour ago, Burma Bill said:

Interesting - ditching Boeing 737s in favour of AirBus 320s?

Nope, not ditching anything.   Neither TG or Thai Smile fly 737s. They only have A320/321 in their narrow body fleet. 
 

If I’m flying short haul on any airline their aircraft type is a deal breaker. Airbus A320/1 or I find another airline. 

32 minutes ago, Adumbration said:

The demise of the friendlyness and service by Thai Airways is just a mirror of the whole country in general.

 

TA has gone to the dogs...but so to has hospitality and service in Thailand.

 

LOS is now the land of snarls.

Maybe only to you. To me and most other people This are still incredibly smiley, fun, and friendly. 

1 hour ago, JBChiangRai said:

This is an honest account of my experience with EV’s.

 

My first experience was with a Mercedes E350e back in 2018.

 

I loved the silent e-drive but grossly underpowered and often ran out of electrons, real world e-range was 19km.

 

I ordered a Porsche Taycan in 2020 and got one June 2021. A fantastic car and my first impressions were why would anyone want so much power? Within a few weeks I was using all that power and loved the car. It had to be trailered under warranty back to the authorised dealer in Bangkok twice for air conditioning failures.

 

When MG offered the incentive on the MG EP+ I ordered one for my eldest daughter, I knew I would save a lot of money with her going to another province for University.

 

It came when she was at Uni and I used it for a week and was so impressed I ordered one for myself.  I normally do about 5,000km per year which is important for depreciation on a Porsche and I was now doing nearly treble that visiting my daughters at Uni every fortnight.

 

Ordering an MG EP+ was simply to keep the miles off the Porsche.

 

I was invited to the launch of the MG4 and still couldn’t get a delivery date on my EP+ but could get an MG4 instantly.  I took the MG4 but struggled with whether it was really worth almost 25% more than the EP+.  Similar performance, smaller car but rear wheel drive.

 

I started using the MG4 for the drive to Chiang Mai to see my daughters and began to love the car and especially its  suspension and handling.  It’s not without its faults, sometimes pulling away from the line it loses traction and the electronics kick in before full power again and this can be repeated 3 times up to 40-50 km/hr.  The car is overpowered for the tyres and that is in the dry!  I began to love the MG4 driving it spiritedly.  The closest I can compare it to is a VW Golf GTI. If you’ve driven a hot hatch you will know how much fun they are - for the driver anyway.

 

I found I was mostly choosing my MG4 over the Porsche and instead of being my alternate ride once a fortnight, it had become my daily ride.

 

Don’t misunderstand me, the Porsche is a far superior car, but it’s 10x the price and maybe only 2x the fun.

 

I had ordered an MG Cyberster for Q3/Q4 2024 and decided to sell my Porsche at it’s 2nd birthday June 2023. I like the MG4 enough to daily drive it until then and a Porsche out of warranty is like playing Russian Roulette with your bank account.  Porsche’s have 12-18 month delivery times and are one of the slowest depreciating cars you can buy if you keep the miles off. I lost 10% in 2 years.

 

Driving the MG4 still puts a smile on my face every time I get in it.  They got so much right with the car.

 

EV’s are getting Hypercar fast and the struggle I think will be to get the handling and braking right.  I did read MG used an F1 guy to get the handling right on the Cyberster, I am hopeful.

 

 

Yeah, but but but fake British heritage etc.

Really interesting post, thank you. I have been waiting for the XE30 before making my choice to go electric but am now definitely going to try an MG4. I might book a test drive for next week and will report back.

Can't wait to hear how the Cyberster is whenever you receive it. I am guessing you've put a deposit down without knowing the final price? Have they given any indication?

On 8/29/2023 at 6:43 PM, LS24 said:

Is there a home made pizza thread buried at AN?

I started a thread to review a wood fired pizza oven I bought. It could become a home made pizza thread I suppose.

I've since refined things and now only use buffalo mozeralla which takes it up a level. Going to fire it up at the weekend as just got back from the UK with another 20kg of oak chips.

41 minutes ago, nglodnig said:

Let's hope they build a large Immigration Hall to process the 5,000 passengers all wanting to get off at the same time. Shouldn't take more than a day to process them with one desk open (as usual)

Cruise ship passengers don't do immigration locally, it is all done in advance. So nice bash attempt, but sorry.

On 8/19/2023 at 7:19 AM, supersomchai said:

Just when more European cities 

start to ban cruise ships (Amsterdam and Venice).

Pattaya stays ahead of the curve ?????

 

Why should Pattaya ban them? It can handle American air carrier fleets, a cruise ship here and three shouldn't be a problem.

Pattaya is nothing like Amsterdam or Venice.