SteveK

5 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

If you search a bit, you'll find it could be very useful. There are many global companies around Bangkok.

I must be looking in the wrong places. Though I'm not looking for work, it would be nice to know there are options should my position change in the future. 

A quick look on my Lazada order page shows about 20% of my orders not arriving also. Isn't it the same company?

Sometimes you get an email, sometimes you don't.

After almost 2 months of daily riding, I have definitely become a bit more used to riding in the heat. Still, I try to avoid riding between 10am and 4pm. The wife is starting to disapprove of my bike riding because I'm darker than her now.

14 minutes ago, Stocky said:

Even if the pubs were open, 3 quid a pint in London, you'll be lucky!

More like 6 quid a pint last time I was there.

5 hours ago, mfd101 said:

I wonder how they will fill up their 8-hour day.

Som tam and Line.

2 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Thanks, looks nice, maybe...

Do you have one or do you have first hand experience with one?

 

Had one in the UK.

If you can afford it, get a Zojirushi, the Rolls Royce of rice cookers. Perfect rice every time plus will last a lifetime.

2 hours ago, StevieAus said:

You might ask the same question about the sold called beef produced in Thailand, together with the other meats sitting on counters in fresh food markets surrounded by flies.

I have been eating imported Aussie beef for years with no ill effects, had some tenderloin a couple of nights ago bought from Makro full of flavor and very tender.

I've had some steaks from Makro that were pretty decent, but nothing amazing and the quality seems to vary a lot. Had several that were tough as old boots. I've more or less given up on eating decent steaks here. The Thai beef is very poor quality, but even so, a good chef will tell you that these cuts can still be used to make delicious dishes, it just takes a bit of time.

I've done slow cooked beef and red wine casserole, slow cooked beef madras, Cornish pasties, beef fajitas (tenderised the beef with sodium bicarbonate), lasagne, beef koftas and loads more with Thai beef. Anything that you can cook for a long time, or is heavily spiced is fine for Thai beef. Marinading works well too, especially with a lot of lime juice or vinegar to help soften the meat. A pressure cooker is also extremely helpful if you want to make tender beef dishes from poor quality bits of meat.

I get the beef either from an old lady at the market who charges 150 baht for 500g, or some little stalls on the main road outside Ubon which say 

เนื้อวัวสด.

It's going to cost you more than the bike is worth.

10 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Not being asked to do this in Chiang Rai.

If the OP gives a pseudonym with the correct phone number, he could be in bother. He is traceable by the phone SIM, and farangs have their passport numbers registered.

Never gave out my name when getting my Thai sim.

1 minute ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Maybe the guy who owns the motorcycle just wants to make sure this incident does not cost him any money. Ask for 80k and then accept 40k or something like that.

He lend out a working bike and he wants a working undamaged bike back, or compensation. That's not surprising.

Obviously it's not nice to try to extort money. But I think it's also understandable that the business owner does not want to lose money. And I am pretty sure the same would happen all over the world. Nobody wants to lose money!

He's not losing anything. He agreed to accept the other guy's bike to cover his losses.

What a surprise. Despite the (almost certainly padded) bill being settled by the person at fault giving their bike, the guy is still trying to screw you. He has an opportunity to make some cash and can't resist it.

At this point, it would seem you are going to have to pay someone, be it a lawyer, the embassy for a travel document, or the dirtbag himself. I would be tempted to go to the police station and see if an officer will go to his shop with you to get the passport back, failing that you'll just have to go for the cheapest option. But unless you are promising tea money I doubt they will be interested.

This is exactly the kind of stuff that makes people never want to go back to Thailand ever again. The guy's debt has been settled so this is extortion plain and simple. It's the best part of £2000, i.e. a huge amount to lose whilst on holiday. If it were me I would go for any option that involves not giving him a penny (report passport lost in next province and get emergency travel document). 

2 hours ago, kingdong said:

Can forsee a lot of ex pats returning to their home countries with their tails between their legs and their worldly possessions in a carrier bag of the baht remains so high.

Which means Thailand will be losing the ex-pats, the tourists and will have no export market. Yet the baht still won't go down.

I bought 3 kilos of Aussie ground beef yesterday at Makro. Well, 1.5kg of beef and 1.5kg of water. If this beef is better quality I would love to give it a try.