Hanuman2547

I worked in Bangkok for 12 years and thought that I would retire there full time.  I've been involved with Thais and Thailand for almost 40 years.  No way would I do that now.  Too many visa hassles to deal with, health insurance requirements, money sitting in a Thai bank making almost nothing in interest, too many documents to submit to get a retirement visa, etc.  Now I'm thinking that I will spend 3-6 months a year in Thailand over the northern winter.  If Thailand becomes too problematic I might just do 90 days in Thailand and another 60-90 days in another country such as Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, or Malaysia.  I will spend about six months in my home country over the late spring, summer, and early Fall.  

I know a number of westerners in Thailand that have obtained Thai citizenship and also are runners.  I assume that they would be allowed to enter the event after showing their Thai ID card?

Farang are only banned from entering the run.  They are not banned from attending the run and breathing all over everyone else.  Of course you could always just show up at the event and "bandit" the race, i.e. just run the race without registering.  One or two people, they might attempt to pull them off the course.  A couple hundred "bandits" and they won't be able to do anything.

On 7/31/2020 at 10:31 PM, WaveHunter said:

Mmm!  I would love to own a Tarmac ????  Maybe when i win the lottery LOL!  I saw a terrific review of the new S-Works Tarmac SL7 on a great YouTube channel called NorCal Cycling...what a COOL bike!!! :

 

 

Right now I ride an old Cannondale MTB with rigid suspension and honestly I love it; very old school!  The CAAD aluminum frame is really nice IMO, but I rode a friend's carbon road bike and it was like riding a Ferrari on two wheels.  The difference in stiffness was SO noticeable, and it just felt so agile; actually too agile but I'm sure I'd get used to that. 

 

So, I'm really leaning towards a carbon bike now and the Kaze Kansai is a surprisingly affordable carbon bike so I think I'm going to pull the trigger on it, rather than the Bianchi aluminum Impulso.

S-Works is a little too rich for me!  Mine is just a regular Specialized.  Carbon frames are really nice.  The carbon rim wheel set is really nice too.  I've had no issues with mine at all.  Since I bought it back in March 2019 I have put 5,800 kilometres on it.  

58 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I think it's not only a question of the overall weight. 2kg reduced weight on the bike makes a bigger difference for riding than 2kg reduced body weight.

A 2kg lighter bike is a big difference.  However, if you can drop 5kg off of the rider (me!) it really helps your performance especially when climbing.  

It seems like a good bike and Bianchi is a good brand.  Don't know what your budget is but in the US it retails for $1500.  I suspect in Thailand the price is a bit more.  Compact 50/34 up front and a rear cassette of 11-28 which is pretty good for all around riding.  I do get that Doi Suthep is a little bit different so a rear cassette change is probably a good idea.  Aluminum frame and a carbon fork is ok.  I've done a lot of rides on that set up.  I've rode on steel, aluminum, and carbon and now I'm spoiled and I really like the carbon frames.  I'm currently riding a 2019 Specialized Tarmac Disc and love it.  A year ago I rode a one day 250km, 3000m+ of climbing event in the US on it and felt fine.  Even up the 18km long 900m climb that begins at the 160km mark.  The bike is stock with a 52/36 crank up front and a 11-30 cassette in the rear.  

The only bike I have taken up Doi Suthep on is a 2002 steel framed Lemond Zurich triple which was pretty common back then.  52/42/30 up front and a 12-25 cassette.  Great bike for doing Doi Suthep.  

17 hours ago, AndrewMciver said:

The gentrification of Soi 11 is utterly depressing. 

 

Agreed!

On ‎7‎/‎28‎/‎2020 at 12:24 PM, thecyclist said:

Rama 9 park is great, but it's just too much of a hassle to get to for anyone living 'downtown'. Also for evening joggers it closes too early. Most parks close at 9 pm but Rama 9 does at 7.(unless they changed it, haven't been there in a while.) 

You are correct about the hours.  Rama 9 park opens at 5:00am and closes at 7:00pm  Nong Bon opens at 5:00am and closes at 6:30pm.  

Kind of late now.  When you first hooked up with her the son was just 15.  You jumped into the game knowing this so it's kind of hard to flip the script.  Is he going to go away for university/trade school/etc.?   

11 hours ago, peterrabbit said:

If She is fluent in both written and spoken English then, She will always get a good Job and be very employable. A Thai university degree isn't worth anything outside of Thailand as its NOT recognised by most western countries.

A lot of truth in that.  However, it will get you into graduate school in a western country where you will now be able to expand you career prospects both in Thailand and abroad.  

Lived in Bangkok for 12 years.  Never had a problem with books rotting due to the heat and humidity.  Almost all were kept in an open bookcase.  Only ran the A/C at night.  

I used to run a lot at Lumpini back in the 90's and early 00's.  Sometimes while running the outer "normal" path you come close to the busy roads but at least you are a little bit away from the road.  The best time to run is in the morning due to less traffic all night and into the early morning.  I generally ran between 5:30am and 6:30am when there is less heat and pollution.  I've also ran in the late afternoon.  Trying to finish before the National Anthem is played.  I used to run between Lumpini and the Tobacco Monopoly and the Queen Sirikit Centre as well.  Even ran that route well before the Green path was built.

Another good area to run with a lot less traffic, and wider more open spaces, is at the Rama IX park and also at Nong Bon which is right next to the park.  Nong Bon offers more shade but there are also a lot of cyclists (including me) that ride there.  

3 hours ago, steven100 said:

ah ....  good to wake up to some good news for a change. These BLM protesters need to be charged especially the vandals and those who damage property, the rest for spreading disease from not using social distancing. 

There are other groups that have infiltrated the BLM protests and have incited the riots.  Antifa is one and the are other anarchist groups that have come in.  This was readily apparent when the Capitol Hill area of Seattle was renamed the "Chop zone".  

On 7/23/2020 at 1:53 AM, GoldCoastFarang said:

I stayed mostly at The Federal Hotel ( now demolished) when in BKK and enjoyed the restaurant at the front. The area had lots of character which we loved....6 times back to Bangkok.

 

Great little hotel with a lot of history.  Had an ok pool for what you are paying.  Plus if you had a car you had a place to park it.  Lot's of cheap eats right around the area too for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

20 years ago in April 2000 I went trekking in Nepal for a month.  While I was in Nepal I decided not to shave.  When I got back to Bangkok I had a nice little full beard going on.  I kept it for about 3-4 more months and then I shaved it off.  After I shaved it off I got a lot of compliments from the females for not having a beard anymore.  

On 7/18/2020 at 10:11 PM, Sujo said:

Australia is also a racist country. US obviously is, dont know about canada.

90% of the Canadian population lives within 160km of the US/Canadian border.  Basically Canada is just a suburb of the US and share a lot of the same values.  In the pre-Covid 19 days on Sundays you would see all the Canadian cars headed back to Canada after shopping.  Things to buy?  Fill the tank as petrol is a lot more expensive in Canada and buy your two carton limit of cigarettes even if you don't smoke.  

A friend of mine was just there and left two days ago.  He reported that it was a good trip.  A lot of places were closed but he had no trouble finding a place to stay or places to eat.

I might add that this was all pre-internet days back in the very early 80's

Met my Thai wife the old fashioned way.  In a statistics class in the USA where she was a graduate student.  

The current President of the US is a man that is unfit for office due to a number of reasons.  That he turns a blind eye to overt racism is just against all tenets of basic human rights.  That alone should have him ousted from office this November when the election takes place.  Will America re-elect this racist President?

After my Thai wife finished graduate school in the USA we moved to Bangkok for what was going to be a two year working visit.  12 years later we returned to the USA.  When we arrived in Bangkok our two luk krung boys spoke very little Thai.  They learned quickly and attended two very good Thai schools.  As far as safety goes.  The biggest issues have already been discussed here, noise, pollution, traffic, accidents, etc.  They did well in school and made lots of friends.  When we relocated to the USA they were now 16 & 14.  They did continued to do well in school.  Both went on to university and graduated in Business and the other in Economics.  They are in their early 30's now and have successful careers in their fields.  My older son did confide in me a few years ago that when the traffic was bad he and his brother would take a motorcycle taxi from their school on one end of Sathorn up to their Mom's office on the other end of Sathorn.  Luckily nothing ever happened and they used to split the taxi money!  The were around 14 & 12 at the time.  

In the USA you can go to any AAA office and you can get an IDP there.  You'll need two passport size photos but they can do that right there.  The permit is good for 12 months from the day it is issued.  It is valid in all countries that have an agreement to honor the IDP.  

Originally I thought that I would retire in Thailand full-time after working there for 12 years.  Now, not a chance.  Most likely I will spend somewhere between 4-6 months a year.  The rest of the time will be spent in my home country.  Not a lot of things that I wish I had brought from home to Thailand all those years ago.  Many more things are available in Thailand now compared to 35 years ago.