davidgtr

Well the AFL Aussie Rules finals are starting this weekend, so has anyone got any tips for the best or new places to go watch the games & maybe have an ice cold beer & a steak sandwich?

Parts of ancient wall in Chiang Mai collapse

Chiang Mai _ Parts of the 700-year-old wall in downtown Chiang Mai collapsed yesterday after heavy downpours. The ancient Chang Phuak Gate, or Gate of the White Elephant, partially collapsed. It forms part of a long ancient wall in the centre of Chiang Mai, surrounded by a moat.

more at the Bangkok Post

Yeah the headlines sound a bit dramatic dont they

-" Parts of the 700-year-old wall in downtown Chiang Mai collapsed yesterday after heavy downpours. The ancient Chang Phuak Gate, or Gate of the White Elephant, partially collapsed. It forms part of a long ancient wall in the centre of Chiang Mai, surrounded by a moat"

- but if you check out the photo I snapped in the rain yesterday it probably is not as bad as the headines make it out to be. But then again....

What I find amusing is the collapse of the retaining wall / footpath along the outside of the north side of the moat. I wonder if any of this has to do with the new paving they've done, plus all the new trees they keep digging holes for & planting along the moat. Do they really need holes & trees every 10 metres?

Hi

Don't mean to worry you guys but, Fang (150 clicks north of you) has been raining hard for 3 days now, and you always seem to end up with our water, not sure but I guess our wash off comes your way. Chiangdao I know gets our wash off and last year it was flooded a lot worse than ChangKlan and the surrounding area of Ping.

I guess I will see for myself if your flooded, coming in to town at the weekend......

Sol

Doesnt the water from just south of Chai Prakarn drain into the Fang river, which flows into the Kok river which flows into the Mekong river?

Not yet. What venues do they play?

Ive seen them Tues & Thurs nights at the Jai Yen on Moon Muang Road. Not bad & a lot of fun, but I think they play in a couple of other odd places here & there.

Who else has listened to the two Johns playing as "The Bluze Bop Brothers" and reckons that they are ok for bluesy music in Chiang Mai. Italian John really is an awesome blues guitarist isn't he?

I have to say that it is about time we had someone trying to play blues music in Chiang Mai.

There was the motorcycle personality who married one of the Escape girls -- and ironcally got injured in a car on is way to visit her parents.

Is the girl in question named "Chicken" -- that one had more game plans than a Superbowl coach...

Noooooo. That one was Ann. They all had numerous game plans according to my mate the Mysterious Aussie.

There he goes again, that Mysterious Aussie with all the inside info. And right again. How does he do it? Any other sort of mere male could not get that sort of info. Could it be that the Mysterious Aussie is a bit of a lady boy to get the inside info? And was that why he so graciously backed off on some of his criticisms regarding O Malleys - no more make up lip gloss gossip sessions with the girls before work? Either way, he's good isnt he and seems to get around on both sides of fence?

The Mysterious Aussie was telling me that they had to buy 20 extra boxes of tissues every month that she was working at The Escape due to the volume of tears that were being shed all over the bar by a certain CM personality.........vroom vroom.

If my memory is correct it more than likely had something to do with the low quality tissues the owners provided more than anything. I honestly can't imagine any biker losing his marbles over any woman so easily.......but then again gin & tonic was the drink of the day (& night.)

Thanks for the info.......

I have decided to improvise........ will go up to Chaeng Saen, find a Scorpion Tail boat and see how far south (Down river) he will go, then find another Scorpion tail and continue the trip.

While an orgainized trip is easier, they are to structured to my liking. When I see something interesting, i might want to stop, regardless of the location.

As to the Visa issue, IF we stay on the Thai side of the river their should be no problem, but I will be checking with immigration prior to the journey for their input.

It's a bit of a fantasy to think you can just jump in a boat at Chiang Saen & sail down the 'Khong all the way to Vientiane.

From Chiang Saen you can hire a Thai boat & go to Chiang Khong.

After Chiang Khong you will most likely need to hire another boat & continue down as far as Wiang Kaen (& a bit more if you're lucky) but stay on the Thai side.

Not far after Wiang Kaen you are only in Laos, so will need (1) a Lao boat and (2)a Laos visa. A slight complication.

The Lao visa you can get in Houei Xai for US$30, & boat you can hire anywhere in Laos in any port, but Houei Xai would make sense as this is where you get the visa.

Navigation down the 'Khong is not easy, and after you've done the Chiang Saen -Chiang Khong sector you might realize how treacherous & difficult it is.

For this reason most skippers only travel the sections of the river that they know, so to go from HX - Vte you would more than likely several boats, unless you get an adventurous skipper (who wants to risk his boat & pax / cargo.)

You can hire boats in Houei Xai & travel down to Pak Beng & Luang Prabang.

Ive done this several times - hired a boat & put some motorbikes on board & sailed down the 'Khong to either Pak Beng or Luang Prabang.

Cost for Houei Xai - Luang Prabang one day, runs out to about 20 thousand with bikes on board. You can seat up to 40 people & fit 10 big bikes on board, but not both at the same time.

After LPQ I think that you would need to hire another boat(s) to navigate from LPQ to Pak Lai / Vte.

1/3 of the way from Houei Xai to Pak Beng you need to check in at the Pak Tha police checkpoint.

All boat skippers carrying pax & cargo are required to check in here.

Going up stream from Houei Xai to Xieng Kok you need to 2 boats, as they only service their respective sections of the river. Here I think it is more because of the boat association (union) rules for each section.

Now to be honest 2 days on the 'Khong is enough in one go.

After a few hrs / days looking at river banks & distant hills / mountains can get a bit boring, especially if you're in an uncovered long tailed boat out in the sun & rain.

For me the most beautiful section of the 'Khong is between Houei Xai & Pak beng. Pak Beng - LPQ is ok too, but not quite as good.

As a general rule I would not recommend April as a good time to go- smoke filed skies & hidden mountains = no real enjoyment after a few hours of burning watery eyes.

Best time (for me) to go is from about mid January on, when the river is lower, but the weather not yet hot, smoke & fires. With the river level low you can see all the amazing rocks & cliffs along the way. Wet season & high water level you dont see all the rocks.

If you want to see some pix & trip reports on sailing on the Khong with motorbikes check out

Losing My Laos Cherry

Mekong Boat & Bike Trip

Hope this is a help.

David,

Thanks for the information.

My timing on this is because of some friends coming to visit next April, and as to the duration, well 2-3 days at a time is all I would plan anyway. My ass is a little to old for much more than that.

I was just looking for something to do, aside from the "REGULAR" touristy stuff that is available..... Me, I would just as soon take them to Jomtien Beach and turn them loose!

If that's the case hire your own boat, go downstream to Luang Prabang & fly back to Chiang Mai.

You wont regret it.

I have my own "personal" boat & skipper that I like to use, but in your case contact Simon at SP Ghouse in Chiang Khong & see what he can set up for you. Simon has regular 1 day cruises to Luang Prabang, but he will know how to hire a boat & go with your own group of mates, and that for me is the only way to go. Not in the backpacker mob.

Thanks for the info.......

I have decided to improvise........ will go up to Chaeng Saen, find a Scorpion Tail boat and see how far south (Down river) he will go, then find another Scorpion tail and continue the trip.

While an orgainized trip is easier, they are to structured to my liking. When I see something interesting, i might want to stop, regardless of the location.

As to the Visa issue, IF we stay on the Thai side of the river their should be no problem, but I will be checking with immigration prior to the journey for their input.

It's a bit of a fantasy to think you can just jump in a boat at Chiang Saen & sail down the 'Khong all the way to Vientiane.

From Chiang Saen you can hire a Thai boat & go to Chiang Khong.

After Chiang Khong you will most likely need to hire another boat & continue down as far as Wiang Kaen (& a bit more if you're lucky) but stay on the Thai side.

Not far after Wiang Kaen you are only in Laos, so will need (1) a Lao boat and (2)a Laos visa. A slight complication.

The Lao visa you can get in Houei Xai for US$30, & boat you can hire anywhere in Laos in any port, but Houei Xai would make sense as this is where you get the visa.

Navigation down the 'Khong is not easy, and after you've done the Chiang Saen -Chiang Khong sector you might realize how treacherous & difficult it is.

For this reason most skippers only travel the sections of the river that they know, so to go from HX - Vte you would more than likely several boats, unless you get an adventurous skipper (who wants to risk his boat & pax / cargo.)

You can hire boats in Houei Xai & travel down to Pak Beng & Luang Prabang.

Ive done this several times - hired a boat & put some motorbikes on board & sailed down the 'Khong to either Pak Beng or Luang Prabang.

Cost for Houei Xai - Luang Prabang one day, runs out to about 20 thousand with bikes on board. You can seat up to 40 people & fit 10 big bikes on board, but not both at the same time.

After LPQ I think that you would need to hire another boat(s) to navigate from LPQ to Pak Lai / Vte.

1/3 of the way from Houei Xai to Pak Beng you need to check in at the Pak Tha police checkpoint.

All boat skippers carrying pax & cargo are required to check in here.

Going up stream from Houei Xai to Xieng Kok you need to 2 boats, as they only service their respective sections of the river. Here I think it is more because of the boat association (union) rules for each section.

Now to be honest 2 days on the 'Khong is enough in one go.

After a few hrs / days looking at river banks & distant hills / mountains can get a bit boring, especially if you're in an uncovered long tailed boat out in the sun & rain.

For me the most beautiful section of the 'Khong is between Houei Xai & Pak beng. Pak Beng - LPQ is ok too, but not quite as good.

As a general rule I would not recommend April as a good time to go- smoke filed skies & hidden mountains = no real enjoyment after a few hours of burning watery eyes.

Best time (for me) to go is from about mid January on, when the river is lower, but the weather not yet hot, smoke & fires. With the river level low you can see all the amazing rocks & cliffs along the way. Wet season & high water level you dont see all the rocks.

If you want to see some pix & trip reports on sailing on the Khong with motorbikes check out

Losing My Laos Cherry

Mekong Boat & Bike Trip

Hope this is a help.

Following the flood assessment, the Prime Minister stated that it should not be a problem as Ping River will be expanded by 90 meters.

Does that mean no more floods? Expanded by 90 metres exactly where? Through Gonzo's place? Don't sell your boats just yet!!

Well it looks like that part of the provincial police HQs on the river at Pa Daet is having to go. Naughty police encroaching on the river like that with their riverside staff quarters & buildings. I didnt think they'd do things like that in Thailand. I wonder who made all the money on the construction deal when it was done though?

Does anyone have more details on this, such as which company she was rafting with?

Heard that it was Pai Adventure - that is Alec's mob, & NOT Guy Gorias' Thai Adventure.

Its pretty hard to believe that this sort of damage would just happen in 24 hours.

Most info seems to suggest that rubber deterioration happens very slowly over a long period (years?) of time, and generally is not worth worrying about. Although there must be exceptions to the rule.

I'm just over in Cambodia at the moment, planning to head back to Bangkok soon. I've been thinking about buying a dirt bike (250cc) in Thailand for a while, but I've noticed they're a lot cheaper over here.

I was wondering how difficult the paperwork would be or what else I'd need in order to cross back through the Thai border and make the bike legal in Thailand?

Thanks in advance.

It should not be difficult to get back in with the bike on a temporary import paper, which will allow you to keep the bike in the country for a limited amount of time.

More than likely the customs at the border will give you a one month temp import, after which the bike has to go back out or you ask your local customs office to give you a bike import extension. A max of 3 months temp import at a time is possible, with extensions out to 6 months, but you seldom get these.

Your best bet is to buy local - in Thailand.

If it was that easy to just slip across the border to the country next door & buy a cheap bike, ride it back & keep it, then hundreds if not thousands of Thais would be doing it. But this is most definitely not happening. Check out the GT Rider site board for more info on crossing borders.

Regardless of any of your viewpoints, Id say that the Red Lion & O Malleys owners must be lapping up the free publicity. Their name's out there, getting into people's minds, & maybe enticing some people to check out their establishments & see what all the fuss is about.

Some of the comments about the staff, service & tipping may or may not be valid (everyone is entitled to an opinion), but it will be a reminder to the staff (& management) to stay on their toes & look after their customers (or you might get bad mouthed.)

Cripes Blinkey Bill, you certainly do know a lot about that Mysterious Aussie "Gentleman". You almost made my eyes water with that wonderful history of the Escape, but not even a mention of that superb wench "Giab" - who could you forget that fine treacherous woman? (Not me.)

Wasn't she involved with a rather well-known motorcycle celebrity?

Nah, he was trying to maintain his involvement with her. One of his more painful accidents in life. The bingle with the orange crush bus near Uttaradit was easier, less costly & less stressful. Now if only he'd been besotted with the Red Lion or O Malleys life would have been safer, less costly, but somewhat more boring.

Back on the topic of good pubs - what about the Drunken Flower on Nimmehemin Road?

I thought this thread was only about 2 pubs.

The Red Lion & O'Mally's

Is that right?

Those 2 Pubs, the Red Lion & O'Malleys - dont personally particularly like either of them & never go there. But each to his own, whatever turns you on.....

And the way this thread has developed it's better "here."

Now I am totally confused. Is this "Mysterious Aussie" the same Australian gentleman that I was enquiring about earlier? The one that was in partnership with Eddie the Irishman at the Escape some time ago? I have forgotten his name but I do remember he had a daughter back then who was 5 or 6 years old, I suppose she would be about 14 to 15 now. He used to ride a large japanese motorcycle.

I don't think he was in partnership with Eddie, who had fled the scene a couple of ownership changes earlier, as I recall, allegedly before some Chinese mafia types from whom he borrowed money got ahold of him.

This large Aussie gentleman (and that he is when not too drunk) bought in later. Is he still taking photos in Indonesia?

I liked Eddie, a friend and a true roll model..... Why he taught me all about the new math..... that there were 5 halfs in a whole....

The other big guy from the Escape Eddie story, the big pie man from Cornball , someplace in UK. Where is he these days? Last I heard he was teaching farming in India or somewhere.

always do that for the big guys...

Eddie from Nothern Ireland was a crook but a very likeable one, jailhouse tattoos and a few scars from bullet wounds. Amoungst other scams he used to run a few illegal clubs in the UK.

At The Escape he was in partnership first with a youngish, gullible Swiss guy. Eddie conned him out of a lot of money by promising to market a 'Skin Whitening Cream' that was developed by his family back in Switzerland. Eddie didn't market the product at all but just kept talking, which he did very well and taking money from the guy.

Then the big "Mysterious Aussie" bought in for a year or 2. During this time whilst the "Mysterious Aussie" was away on business Eddie "borrowed" a considerable sum of money from a very good hearted Kiwi but unbeknowns to him Eddie had no intention of paying back the money. Eddie was having trouble with the law due to a number of illegal ops that he was involved in and did a runner to Pattaya where he is now. So the Kiwi, by default became a partner, he never had any intention of buying or being involved in the Escape. He was another of Eddies many victims.

The "Mysterious Aussie" managed to sell the Escape to a French Canadian businessman (a great guy who sadly has since passed away), he purchased it for his Thai wife and her sister. They weren't interested in running the place.

Then along came Jeremy the Sabai Pie man who had been a faithful customer for a number of years. He did his best to keep the place running and somehow he eventually managed to sell the place to American Bill (some say Bill was amongst some other buyers, but who cares).

Bill moved the business across the road and ran it into the ground. I remember being in the new location once when the cook (not good old Cookie who now works at the Maddog) was chasing the waitress amoungst the tables with a big knife. Not good for business. In the end The Escape had no customers and was closed permanently. The place is no longer........The Escape is history.

As for Eddie, he is in Pattaya and was quite ill needing heart surgery. I find this hard to believe because the rogue doesn't have a heart.

The Swiss guy is long gone. The 'Skin Whitening Cream' never got sold.

The Kiwi is still doing what he always did. Making holes in the ground and doing it very well.

The "Mysterious Aussie" is married to an Indonesian Princess and is living in West Java. He told me that he once visited Eddie in Pattaya with the intention of beating the shit out of him but couldn't do it because Eddie is such a likeable little turd. He is seen regularly in Chiang Mai.

The French Canadian businessman is still dead and his wife and their daughter are living in Canada.

Jeremy is working as a consultant in Vietnam and comes back to CM regularly. His wife still supplies Chiang Mai with the famous Sabai Pie pastries.

Bill is gone.................

Cripes Blinkey Bill, you certainly do know a lot about that Mysterious Aussie "Gentleman". You almost made my eyes water with that wonderful history of the Escape, but not even a mention of that superb wench "Giab" - who could you forget that fine treacherous woman? (Not me.)

Now you seem so knowledgeable, so to hel_l with the Red Lion / O'Malleys title, do you know anything about MaeJo Man getting thumped in the Bar Beer centre one night (& reciprocating rather well?)

Mae Rim's under water..

Chiang Mai flood: hundreds of homes inundated

CHIANG MAI, July 31 (TNA) - Incessant rains have triggered a flood inundating hundreds of dwellings in the northern province of Chiang Mai.

Run-off from Doi Suthep, the mountain that overlooks the former northern capital, caused flooding some 30-50 centimetres deep in Mae Rim district, forcing villagers to move their belongings to higher ground.

Floodwater in some areas in the provincial seat is as high as 60 centimetres, causing traffic jams near Chiang Mai Rajabhat University.

The Meteorological Department issued a flash flood warning effective July 31 through August 2 in at-risk areas in the north and the northeast. The department forecast heavy rain due to a low pressure ridge over the north and the upper part of the northeast.

The southwestern monsoon covers the Andaman sea, the Gulf of Thailand, and the southern region. Waves up to three-metres high are expected in the Andaman Sea and the upper part of the Gulf of Thailand. (TNA)-E004

JRingo

<deleted> after reading all this wouldn't you be safer sleeping in a bamboo hut somewhere - else; and not in a dangerous earthquake zone like North Thailand?

But then again I suspect that anywhere could be a problem with your perspective. There are so many nasty things, especially a killer earthquake, which could get you in the end that it must be a real worry getting out of bed in the morning. When’s the earthquake going to hit? Are we prepared for it?

As for me I'll stick to riding my motorbike & hope that the end does not come.

Meanwhile floods, bird flu, and terrorist bullets don’t worry me, it’s just the thought of JRingo’s earthquake & the demise of Chiang Mai that scares me......

Since when is a sub 250cc a LARGE BIKE ?

In my book large bikes are 1000cc+.

A 400cc is an entry-level bike.

Anything smaller is a runaround.

Well said and thank God somebody thinks the same as me.

I tried asking some questions about this a while back but nobody would give an answer.

The topic just went back to Waves and Dreams. It was quite sad really.

Can anyone tell me why these little things are so popular in Thailand?

What are the rules/laws regarding motorbike size. Is it 200cc max?

If so, how do some people get around it.

Vegemite

Little bikes are so popular because that's almost all there is, they are cheap & excellent value for money for most people's needs - riding around town / the village.

Local bike manufacture is restricted to 200cc capacity. There are some bigger bikes being made, but these are for export only & supposedly not for the local market.

To get around not having a small bike, you need to buy a big one.

The best way to do this is to buy from a big bike dealer / shop & there are heaps of them if you can be bothered to look around. Just buy any Thai bike magazine & you will adverts for big bikes for sale at many big bike shops.

It is not practical to import your own bike.

1. You need an Import Permit, from the Ministry of Commerce to import an assembled vehicle (car or motorbike). I think that motorcycles over 150-200cc (not sure of the exact capacity) are classified in with motorcars / vehicles and so are subject to whatever laws apply to cars. But the important bit is that you first need the import permit, before you can even consider importing an assembled bike.

2. Then the full Customs duty is 213% of the value of the vehicle. I think that Customs have a list of the bike values & if your invoice does not “match up” then they apply their own market value. So there is no easy cheats way out – you have to pay, & heavily.

3. Then once you get your bike in your have to get it licensed & I think that there is a hefty fee for the initial rego compliance test. After that it’s only a few hundred baht a year, plus insurance.

4. Unassembled bikes – these come in by the container load as 2nd hand parts & are only subject to 30-40% customs duties. These are the bikes that you usually see on the roads of Thailand without a number plate. Without the plate they are technically illegal & if you’re in Bkk / Pattaya / Phuket, the police tend to give you a hard time. Elsewhere up-country it does not seem to be such a problem, but you normally can’t leave the country on an unregistered motorcycle.

5. Any licenced big bikes you see could be either legally imported (BMW) with full duties paid or registered grey imports – previously unassembled ones. Cost for this grey import rego is anything from 50,000 baht up, depending on whom you are dealing with. Most of the books are recycled books with the bike having engine & frame numbers re-stamped to match up with an old book / bike that was previously registered. Now there are dealers who claim their books are not recycled, how they managed this I don’t know but the crunch always comes when you either need to renew your bike rego or transfer the place of registration &/or ownership. Most of the time it works, but there are cases where it the renewal / transfer does not get approved. Sometimes this is because the bike might registered as 20 or 30 years old but it is only a few years old, the number of cylinders or capacity are wrong. These are all little traps you need to watch out for when buying a registered bike. If you never sell the bike or change the place of registration you might never have a problem, but if you’re buying, then check it all closely if you are going to change the place of registration from one province to another, as your local officials might like to be official & pay attention to what you’ve supposedly got.

6. Now the big bike import system is so well organized that you can almost get any bike you want within a couple of months. You just need to have the balls to plonk down your deposit money with a reliable / reputable big bike shop, & wait your turn for the bike & rego to turn up.

And that about sums it all up I think.

Oh yeah if you’ve lost touch & been away from BIG bikes for awhile:

The Triumph Rocket III = 2294cc triple engine. Torque, 147lb-ft at 2,500 rpm. 240 section rear tyre.

Take a look at http://www.triumph.co.uk/uk/263.aspx

Other big bikes in 2006 are

BMW: 1200cc K1200

HONDA: VTX 1800cc cruiser, GL1800cc tourer (with reverse electric drive & air bag), ST1300cc tourer

KAWASAKI: Vulcan 2000cc cruiser, ZX1400cc sport bike,

SUZUKI: 1300cc Hayabusha sport bike, M109R 1800cc cruiser,

YAMAHA: 1700 cc Roadstar cruiser, 1700cc M1T-01

“torque sports”, 1300cc Royal Star tourer. 1300cc FJR sport tourer , 1200cc V-Max.

HARLEY: 1450cc various machines

And my bike is a Honda 750 Africa Twin, “perfect” for touring the roads of North Thailand and Laos.

For all you guys out there wondering - the perfect bike is the one you enjoy riding the most and that will be totally different for different riders on different roads. You all please yourself now, but don’t slag each other off. Enjoy what you do & be happy riding your machine!

Last but not least, I dont think it's worth importing your own bike. Buy locally.

Go here for Full Customs Import info

great post Dave....should be a sticky on this motor forum

PS you left out one of the best sport/touring bikes currently available........Honda CBR 1100XX Blackbird

Thanks for the compliments you guys. I honestly thought most of it was already general knowledge amongst the biking community, but perhaps some of you have not been around long enough to be able to get a real handle on the big bike scene in the Kingdom.

One bit that I did forget is temporary import of your own bike, which is an option only if you're far too devoted to your old faithful machine back home, like wasting time and don’t mind doing motorcycle visa runs.

Now to temporarily import your bike you have 3 options

(1) Fly it to Don Muang

(2) Ship it in to Klong Toey & risk losing it (very scary thought)

(3) Ship it to either Sing or Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia & ride it up

Of the three above (1) is ok if you’ve got money to burn & fly your bike in. Option (2) shipping to Klong Toey can be very treacherous, but of late I know that a few RTW bikers have been shipping their bikes into Klong Toey & actually getting them cleared ok. Previously – a few years ago – I thought this would have been impossible; the Customs were (& still are) so crooked that quite a few bikes never got cleared or simply went missing!

The Singapore option is also expensive & difficult if your bike is more than 10 years old. So I reckon that shipping to KL is not bad, if you "foolishly" insist on bringing over your own bike. I say foolish because it costs time & money, & I believe if you are serious then buy a local bike with a plate. Overall I dont think the price of a bike with a plate is a great deal different to Europe or Oz. In the USofA bikes are probably cheaper. So at the end of the day, after you include time & money involved in shipping & riding your bike over, the price will be roughly the same; but if you buy a local bike then you’ve at least got one that's legally in the country for as long as you want. So for me buy local!

I could write a lot more on it, but would rather just direct you to the good ol

GT Rider site for more info

Take a look at these

Bike Import

Crossing Borders

Klong Toey Customs

Buying a Bike

Agreed, the Samurai Gangs are not new & have been around for many years.

Recently

Chiang Mai Mail: Vol. III No. 11 - Saturday March 13 - March 19 2004

http://www.chiangmai-mail.com/073/news.shtml#hd20

Chiang Mai police apprehend Samurai gang members

Fancy swordsmanship not enough to get away

Nopniwat Krailerg

Phuping Police have arrested two members of the teenage Samurai Gang. They were on the trail of three of the young miscreants, but one is still at large. The gang had followed a victim to his home in Sai Lom Joy village, where they injured a man and stole his motorcycle and possessions.

Two Samurai Gang members, Daeng and Ake, shown here with some of the haul and their samurai sword, were charged at Phuping Police station.

Pol Col Prachuab Wongsook, superintendent of Phuping Station, commanded the investigation team, led by Pol Capt Jaran Kampa, investigation police deputy inspector, to examine the crime scene and hunt for the criminals.

After questioning the witness, police officers knew that the criminals were named Daeng and Ake. One hour later, policemen arrested Thawatchai, or Daeng, at Udomlert Court behind Chiang Mai University, and Nisithi, or Ake, at his rented house on Santitham Road. The officers impounded the stolen motorcycle, a 2 foot long samurai sword and the unregistered motorcycle they used when carrying out the robbery.

The two teenage criminals confessed that they took up crime to pay for their football gambling habit. They followed their victim looking for the opportunity to rob him.

When they reached the village, they realized the place was deserted, so they called the victim to stop and threatened him with the sword. The frightened victim handed over his possessions and ran, leaving his motorcycle for the criminals.

Pol Capt Jaran said that the teen gangsters had been committing crimes two to three times a month, but police had stepped up surveillance and were routinely stopping youngsters on unregistered motorcycles.

Also a copy gang in Chiang Khong

Chiang Mai Mail: Vol. II No. 20 Saturday 17 May - 23 May 2003

http://www.chiangmai-mail.com/030/news.shtml

Samurai gang attacks students in Chiang Rai

Parents complain to local MP of police inaction

A gang wielding samurai swords last month attacked 4 students in Chiang Rai, and so far, justice has yet to be served. All the victims were seriously injured, with one victim requiring 200 stitches, another had the tendon severed in the right leg and 2 boys received facial and arm wounds.

Paradol Chaimangua, Nuttawit Hattasorn and their parents lodged a complaint with Buason Prachamon, Chiang Rai Member of Parliament that the victims had already notified the police about the slashing but there was no apparent progress.

The 4 students are studying in Boonrueng Wittayakhom School, Chiang Khong district, Chiang Rai. On April 4, they were in Wat Ban Ton Plong’s celebration and had an altercation with the Samurai group.

The report of the incident was given to the police of Tambon Boonrueng, Police Station of Chiang Khong district; however, there is neither progress in investigation nor any punishment of the criminals.

If I remember rightly the Bkk Post or the Nation ran a feature on them a year or two. There was some nice elderly Thai lady looking after the wayward kids at her house or some sort of "gang HQs" south of town near Nong Hoi / Pa Daet / Saraphi, I think it was. For awhile I think there also copy gangs in Lampang & elsewhere in the North. It seemed to be a fashion fad until the police rightly jumped on them all. I that the gossip amongst the local Thais at the moment is that gang violence has been seriously rising the last few weeks / months.

But Blinkey Bill still doesn't scare me (while he's sober.)

Since when is a sub 250cc a LARGE BIKE ?

In my book large bikes are 1000cc+.

A 400cc is an entry-level bike.

Anything smaller is a runaround.

Well said and thank God somebody thinks the same as me.

I tried asking some questions about this a while back but nobody would give an answer.

The topic just went back to Waves and Dreams. It was quite sad really.

Can anyone tell me why these little things are so popular in Thailand?

What are the rules/laws regarding motorbike size. Is it 200cc max?

If so, how do some people get around it.

Vegemite

Little bikes are so popular because that's almost all there is, they are cheap & excellent value for money for most people's needs - riding around town / the village.

Local bike manufacture is restricted to 200cc capacity. There are some bigger bikes being made, but these are for export only & supposedly not for the local market.

To get around not having a small bike, you need to buy a big one.

The best way to do this is to buy from a big bike dealer / shop & there are heaps of them if you can be bothered to look around. Just buy any Thai bike magazine & you will adverts for big bikes for sale at many big bike shops.

It is not practical to import your own bike.

1. You need an Import Permit, from the Ministry of Commerce to import an assembled vehicle (car or motorbike). I think that motorcycles over 150-200cc (not sure of the exact capacity) are classified in with motorcars / vehicles and so are subject to whatever laws apply to cars. But the important bit is that you first need the import permit, before you can even consider importing an assembled bike.

2. Then the full Customs duty is 213% of the value of the vehicle. I think that Customs have a list of the bike values & if your invoice does not “match up” then they apply their own market value. So there is no easy cheats way out – you have to pay, & heavily.

3. Then once you get your bike in your have to get it licensed & I think that there is a hefty fee for the initial rego compliance test. After that it’s only a few hundred baht a year, plus insurance.

4. Unassembled bikes – these come in by the container load as 2nd hand parts & are only subject to 30-40% customs duties. These are the bikes that you usually see on the roads of Thailand without a number plate. Without the plate they are technically illegal & if you’re in Bkk / Pattaya / Phuket, the police tend to give you a hard time. Elsewhere up-country it does not seem to be such a problem, but you normally can’t leave the country on an unregistered motorcycle.

5. Any licenced big bikes you see could be either legally imported (BMW) with full duties paid or registered grey imports – previously unassembled ones. Cost for this grey import rego is anything from 50,000 baht up, depending on whom you are dealing with. Most of the books are recycled books with the bike having engine & frame numbers re-stamped to match up with an old book / bike that was previously registered. Now there are dealers who claim their books are not recycled, how they managed this I don’t know but the crunch always comes when you either need to renew your bike rego or transfer the place of registration &/or ownership. Most of the time it works, but there are cases where it the renewal / transfer does not get approved. Sometimes this is because the bike might registered as 20 or 30 years old but it is only a few years old, the number of cylinders or capacity are wrong. These are all little traps you need to watch out for when buying a registered bike. If you never sell the bike or change the place of registration you might never have a problem, but if you’re buying, then check it all closely if you are going to change the place of registration from one province to another, as your local officials might like to be official & pay attention to what you’ve supposedly got.

6. Now the big bike import system is so well organized that you can almost get any bike you want within a couple of months. You just need to have the balls to plonk down your deposit money with a reliable / reputable big bike shop, & wait your turn for the bike & rego to turn up.

And that about sums it all up I think.

Oh yeah if you’ve lost touch & been away from BIG bikes for awhile:

The Triumph Rocket III = 2294cc triple engine. Torque, 147lb-ft at 2,500 rpm. 240 section rear tyre.

Take a look at http://www.triumph.co.uk/uk/263.aspx

Other big bikes in 2006 are

BMW: 1200cc K1200

HONDA: VTX 1800cc cruiser, GL1800cc tourer (with reverse electric drive & air bag), ST1300cc tourer

KAWASAKI: Vulcan 2000cc cruiser, ZX1400cc sport bike,

SUZUKI: 1300cc Hayabusha sport bike, M109R 1800cc cruiser,

YAMAHA: 1700 cc Roadstar cruiser, 1700cc M1T-01

“torque sports”, 1300cc Royal Star tourer. 1300cc FJR sport tourer , 1200cc V-Max.

HARLEY: 1450cc various machines

And my bike is a Honda 750 Africa Twin, “perfect” for touring the roads of North Thailand and Laos.

For all you guys out there wondering - the perfect bike is the one you enjoy riding the most and that will be totally different for different riders on different roads. You all please yourself now, but don’t slag each other off. Enjoy what you do & be happy riding your machine!

Last but not least, I dont think it's worth importing your own bike. Buy locally.

Go here for Full Customs Import info

A couple of real village signs spotted on the road from Nong Khai - Chiang Mai last week.

I would like to do a bit of travelling with family in Laos & Cambodia, whilst boss lady has both Thai & UK passports my stepson has neither. What is situation for Thais travelling to these countries without passports?

Thanks TBWG

Without a passport I think that "locals" can get in for 2 nights 3 days on a border pass, but are restricted to the"immediate" border area.

But why not get a passport for the stepson? It should not be too difficult or slow nowadays. At a guess about 10 days if all the paper work & docs are in order.

Get the real thing.

Come on, tell me this isn't the perfect bike for downtown and up country.

You asked for it: it is NOT the perfect bike for riding up country North Thailand / N Laos on steep tight twisting mountain roads. Now you've been told.

But it might be ok for cruising downtown on flat straight roads at low speed. Up to you...