crazygreg44

your bill is not complete. You forgot to include that a farang running free will eventually end up in a barstool, and spending a fortune worth in booze. Don't tell me that living in LOS will make him any more disciplined than he used to be. A Thai wife who keeps reminding you that starting to drink at 8 in the morning will do you no good, is like a lottery ticket won !

i am of course now waiting for all the bashers to point that you don't need a Thai wife for all this wisdom. Yet you have to still give me a good explanation for all these free-of-time-and-wife hangers on who crowd the bars in world famous thai destinations . . . .

I bake my own bread in a 3500 BHT shelftop oven, sometimes I add dried tomatoes, onions or olives to the dough. Saves me from worrying what the hell went into those oversweetened buns and "quality" cheese loaden "baconized" doughnuts they sell in "bakeries" . . . which mostly work from buying joint venture from CP ( Charoen Pokphand) corporation, a multi food processor famous for handing out "healthy" food to the common thai public.

You eat what you are.

Never mind looking closer into it if you think it tastes good. The majority does as well.

what a big dream, turning the wheel backwards and make OIL again from all the plastic waste !! How would somebody experienced in polycyclic chemistry ever try to think of it ?

camping on Phu Hin Rong Kla hill to experience minus 10 degree Celsius

. . . . . are they sure they measured MINUS 10 ???????? Hard to believe !!!! Or is plus 10 degrees Celsius already deep in the minus for Thai people ?

that says all . . .if Kathmandu, that has the charm of a chinese toilet, is number five before Hua Hin, what do you further expect ?

taxes: about 4000 BHT per year

top insurance: around 15,000 BHT per year

inspections: cheap . . labour is really inexpensive in Thailand . . one inspection evey 5000 km around 1200 BHT

diesel per litre 36 BHT . . check your Pajero specs . .should use 7-8 litre of Diesel per 100 km

unexpected ? flat tires, deep potholes that can derange the steering, killing dogs and stopping for them in order to be scammed of a large sum of money.

Costs for labour are actually very low, like getting car care, washing inside out, 150 - 200 BHT, as there are no drive through carwash.

retired ? Just hope you are aware of the skills it needs to compete with THAI traffic. It is a completeley awkward experience for some. . . Thaisdrive a bit different from what you might used to

why not PERRIER. . . but the OP asked for THAI water . . .

my folk here drink from rainwater. They collect it in concrete drums, then transfer it to 20 liter CLAY-drums. Clay will purify the water just enough so it is safe to use for drinking. Being rainwater source, it is safe. Unless they don't let their dogs slurp from it as it can get infested by tape worms.

I would drink rain water that went through a clay drum without hesitations. However i prefer the mountain mineral water to anything else, as long as I can obtain it from the store.

You might experinece muscular spasms after a long period drinking the pissed-through cheap waters that are sold everywhere. It means that you are in fact drinking de-mineralized water. Be aware that it drains essential mineral supplements from your body.

I wasn't thinking about this today in 7-11, a choice of 10+ different water bottles. Water is water, I go for the cheapest

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poor puppy

why do firemen park their own cars in front of the firetrain's garages ? Why will you never find a table or a chair that isn't dancing on three legs instead of being firmly fixed to the base by all four legs ?

because I have enjoyed a few nice ladies back in my home country, and it has become routine. So for me an Asian lady is a challenge and makes my life having gone round , i tried my luck here and there and I can't say I had a boring life.

Ladies in every country like to talk about the same topics, there is not much of a surprise come when you are a bit older. You can suck really interesting stuff from a good book and the daily worldly news, without having a relationship go spiraling downward. A nice Asian lady is the cream on top of my morning coffee.

... and do you really want to talk it out every day with your old lady ? I wonder if the OP ever was married or engaged. Otherwise he would know that silence is gold . . .

seeing that you want to solder copper straps into sockets, why not try to do it with a small gas torch, using for solder flux Borax or Zincoxide. Could be the more convenient tool to use than holding a soldering iron onto the straps for a minute until the heat has dispersed evenly. Gas flame also melts the zinc rods quicker.

i took over her share in farting , long ago. The today's onions and peas in my Khao Pad have helped along

at home where i grew up, people kept a chain on the inside of the door.

you could open to a solicitor, but he couldn't open any further by himself as the chain would stop him.

That's the way one should treat intrusions made up as business opportunities.

Always apply a chain, and then start thinking about it the hard way before you allow someone to put his foot into the open door.

thanks a lot for all the advice folks.

I run a subforum search as suggested and found a thread that said, my Thai driver's license in fact is an ASEAN license, so there's no need of an International Driver's License.

Some suggested driving your own car can be fun, one third would not recommend it, and another third recommended going the easiest way and hire minibus and laotian driver, for the peace of mind on a self guided tour.

Since there is some paperwork to obtain plus the insurance involved, weighing it out against the hiring option I'd say I like the idea. I did it many years ago way up from Vientiane to Vang Vieng as a round trip, and i found the minibus experience relaxing. You arrive at sightseeing spots freshly and uncharred.

Again , kudos to everyone . . .

Hey man, what are ya abating with ? Get back home to Canada as quick as you can, have your leg cared for, saved, your health condition surveyed and improved if possible.

You live only once , man.

If I was in your situation, I would learn flying ! Not over the balcony, but sure as shit homewards !!

Why do you wait ?? Have big trust into the Thai court system ? Do ya really believe in what some twinkle advocat told you ?

I just travelled on airport coach to Jomtien. It did not have seatbelts. So this is just typical of the Land of bullshit and lies"

out of 10 buses, 8 have no seat belts at all. You are absolutely right in your observation. More than that, if you find seatbelts, then they are only the flight-type : they wrap around your waist only. There is nothing to protect your chest from crashing into the seat in front of you, your head spinning forward at the same speed the bus impacts. Rescuers will probably find your waist still attached to the spine and seat belt, however your head has ripped off a meter away from you sitting lonely inside someone else's lap

not to forget, a lot of American Jewelry stores sell jewelry made in Thailand declared "their own design" so they can classify it as "Made in USA".

The design 's drawing might be the idea of an american jeweller, but from the wax model to the cast to the setting of stones, it is most obviously made in Thailand.

The biggest names in trade inside the USA buy in Thailand. Have you ever seen the hordes of agents on the Bangkok Gems Show ?

For OLGA, I appreciate there is very very good advice for you here by some posters. To have appraisers check your diamond and determine its value, no better advice as given in here.

I wish you good luck in trading the ring.

The family and me are planning a trip via Chong Mek to the Si Phan Don ( 4000 Islands on the Mekong).

My question is, does one still need 25 / 35 (?) US Dollars for the Laos tourist visa ? Or can you pay in Thai Baht ? I got 6$ in two bills on me, and it's quite complicated to get Baht exchanged for US Dollars here in the dear province of Kantharalak. They gotta order them from the Bangkok branch !

Also, can I drive a car (my Thailand registered pickup) in Laos with my Thai driver's license, or do I need an international driver's license ?

Not that it is overly important to do the trip by own car . .as I expect many minibuses and their drivers waiting for business across the Chong Mek border. Could actually be more relaxing to use a local driver.

I am looking forward to replies.

encountered a truck which drifted suddenly into its lane

Driving here, I would lose control & sanity if a Bangkok truck didn't drift into my lane.

it did already, in the darkest of a dark night, a truck without lights with the driver asleep behind the wheel.

It went into my path straight on, determined to cut me into pieces.

Up to now, I just cannot believe I got out of this incident alive and shaking !!!!!!

If you have an apartment in Bangkok and have spent 5 Months there you are hardly a tourist. Try that in any western country with tourist visa rules and you would be denied also. my country , Australia, come to mind. 90 day tourist visa for you , no problem. leave the country for a day or so and re-apply, no way you will get another one.

All these ways of staying in Thailand without actually having the right visa annoy the hell out of me i.e. ED visa with no intention of actually studying. If you do not have the correct requirements for a long term visa i.e. retirement with suitable funds. married to a Thai with suitable funds or working here legitimately then you don't belong here other than for a genuine holiday. I have lived in Thailand for 6 years and work here. I never have a problem renewing my yearly visa as I submit the correct paperwork and meet the requirements.

If you don't have the funds or the meet Thailand's visa requirements legally then you should not be here as people trying on all these scams to stay here just make life more difficult for foreigners that live here legally.

and what visa do you get if your 45 ( under 50),, sold nyour business, very well off and retired,,,, sense you seem to know everything about everyone else.

stay 6 months in Thailand and six more months in Cambodia. If you can't get a legal stay then bite the fruit. There are alternatives , and i am not talking about ho to circumvene Thai Immigration rules ! Good luck !!

Nakhon Chai Air buses have seatbelts !!! However, they do not have seatbelt extensions for oversized fat Farang !

No seatbelts, or broken seatbelts. This is normal in Thailand's buses. A life is worth nothing here. Remember, putting on a seat belt means , you do not trust on the Thai people and the Thai Way ! So forget about seat belts !