connda

That's the right look. I checked the specs and they only come in small and medium. Back to the problem that I'll need a larger bike. Nice looking bike though.

What really grinds your gears in Pattaya Not a thing. Was there in 1986 and loved it. Came back in 2007 and spent one night and left. Never been back. Pattaya and Phuket are two places on my list of "Cities in Thailand I Never Expect To Visit Again." For those who like those places? More power to ya. Each to their own. But really? Why? Over-crowded tourist-traps. I'm sorta hoping for another pandemic as Chiang Mai was nice between 2020 up until 2024. Now I try to avoid it when I don't have business to attend to there. I can do without the tourists. <laughs>

Look at the form of the bike (essentially what it looks like as an example). That's what I'm looking for. I have no interest in electric bikes - zero.

You couldn't pay me to go to Phuket.

Buffalo Excrement. 🐂💩

Wait until Peua Thai hands out 1/2 a Trillion THB in vote-buying money. Then watch the price of food and other goods accelerate to 20% to 50% of their current prices. Thais think it's bad now. Wait for a year after the "Thanks For Voting Us Into Office" money starts to deflate the THB as the money supply sky-rockets. "It's digital money!!!" It doesn't make any difference. That's 1/2 a Trillion THB injected into the Thai economy in a short period of time. It's highly inflationary. Got Gold?

I've lived in Bangkok, Korat, and Chiang Mai. Now live in rural Lamphun. So my suggestion is rural Thailand. I've got about a rai of fenced (walled) land, a main house, and a guest house. Beautiful jungle-like garden. Great scenery with mountains on all sides. Fruits and veggies that I don't grow myself out here are dirt cheap. it's quiet. What's not to love unless you've got an alcohol problem and consider Thai hookers to be great companions. Did that too for awhile, but it's not a long-term life-style choice unless you plan for a short life-span. Settling down is good. Settling down in rural Thailand? Even better! Rural Thailand. Get some!

The serious inflation is going to start on her watch. This legalized vote-buying is going to be highly inflationary.

Trump likes KFC so I'll never eat KFC again!!! And the store has MAGA red and white colors! Ewwwwww! <just kidding> Personally I just don't like KFC fast-food, or fast-food in general. Too many better choices in Thailand.

I'd rather eat 5-Star Chicken or Gai Op sold by road-side vendors.

Rural Thailand.

Back in the day and over the last 40 years I've had a number of different bicycles from 10 speeds to 21 speed on and offroad bikes. Nowadays I just want a comfortable bicycle with a minimal number of gears for riding on relatively flat roads. I want my arms higher than by seat, in other words I do not want be be bent over (I could care less about aerodynamics) but yet a need to be able to get a full extension with my legs without feeling like I'm cramped up - I used to ride 26 inch frames which felt good. My last bicycle had a smaller frame and I eventually sold it because it was simply too uncomfortable to ride. Someone suggested a "City Bike" so I looked one up. This look about right, but the price is utterly stupid. The first bike pictured is a $1500 bike. <laughs> But this is the "form" of the bike that I think would work well. I had AI generate the second picture for reference. Does anyone know where I can buy something like this for 10K THB or under. I'd be buying it in Chiang Mai but I'm open to suggestions for make/models. As a note: I really dislike going into bicycle shops as I'm too often feeling pushed by the staff to buy a bike that isn't what I'm looking for. That's exactly how I ended up with my last bicycle which I ended up hating. Part of the problem is they would not allow me to ride it before buying. Anyway - open to suggestions.

My thoughts exactly. If they can say, "man stole taxi because he was high" then they can use that as the rationale to ban cannibis. If they found that the "man was drunk and stole a taxi" well, they're never going to ban alcohol - ever. But they could using the same rationale.

Think of the wonders of living in a remote agrarian society. No high schoool No university No worries about "fitting in" No worries about kids "wandering off into the darkness" except literally wandering off into the darkness of a jungle. No worries about "career prospects" Just working the fields with a little hunting and gathering from sun-up till sun-down. Much better!

Let me see. Hummm - 23,886 posts. Nope. No "social anxiety" problems here.

The Standard Deduction in the US for married filing jointly is $29,200. The exemption in Thailand that I worked out is about $16,200 or significantly less. If you're making $29,200 a year in the US you're in poverty really and exempt from taxes. But let's say Thailand can tax all of it. You'd be on the hook for 13,000 USD or about 450K THB. So Thailand would get you for about 25,000 THB in taxes when the US wouldn't even tax you. Not quite fair 'eh? I've read the DTA for the US but didn't notice a clause regarding tax allowance such as the US Standard Deduction or even itemized deductions for that matter. Do you know specifically where in the DTA this is stated? "If you receive less than your home countries tax allowance then you will not have to pay tax, that is double taxing, and against the DTA Double Taxing Authority international agreements."

They could try him in-absentia but they won't. The kid is like Tony - they are Teflon to the Thai judiciary system.

The Left: Kamala Harris Won!!! The RIght: Donald Trump Won!!! Me: The United States Public Lost

You'll know by 2025. Until then it is useless speculation and fear-mongering. Kick back, grab a beer, and chill. Worry about it IF if happens.

J.D.Vance declines to criticize Tucker Carlson over his friendly chat with Holocaust Denier This is they type of sh*t that Communist do. "You must publicly denounce this person and that person for doing this action and that action. FYI - You can burn American flags in the US; you can deny the Holocaust in the US. It's call the First Amendment protections of freedom of speech and expression. Force denunciations of what the Status Quo is maligning is the road to Communism and totalitarianism. Anyone who promotes that Vance must denounce anything protected by the First Amendment is essentially a supporter of Communism as well as authoritarianism - ya'll are now personal friends with Mao and Stalin it seems. Of course many of the American expats here want to see the US turned into a quasi-Communist or authoritarian country. How'd that work out for the Soviet Union?

WTF is a "mini-heart gesture." And really - who cares.

Everyone gets a trial except for <drum roll> Vorayuth Yoovidhya <slide whistle, cymbal crash - canned laughter>. Nope, he'll just wait out the Statutes of Limitation and come waltzing back to Thailand in a manner that will make Tony's luxury hospital penthouse stay look like actual prison time - which of course the kid will completely avoid. He'll be as free as a bird as cops are imprisoned...well, as they should be. But again - two-tiered justice. Red Notice. Bunk. You can check Interpol Red Notices and he ain't got one. Nope, the elite take care of one of their own. Only commoners get thrown under the bus.

Same in Chiang Mai. The lawyer I've used in the past has upscaled and doesn't seem to want to do mundane things like this anymore. So looking for a new law firm in the Chiang Mai area which could draw one up. Both my wife and I created detailed Living Wills that are witnessed and notarized by the lawyer who drew it up (in Thai), but I overlooked a HealthCare Power of Attorney.

Do you know of any Thai legal agencies that can draw one up?