FarangBuddha

^ Phl thanks for reporting back

This is just another example of how much damage drinking and driving can do. Not just for the person themselves but also the persons who are involved (either directly or indirect).

Phl, I sincerely wish you will get your Rental Bike back without too much hassle.

If the police kept/sold the bikes, might keep the lessees from renting to drunks!

^^

That's the beauty of their sophisticated mathematics and calendar system.

The 25,800 years refers to the time the solar system takes to re-align to the universe in cycles.

Or something like that. It does so again at end 2012.

We can multiply days of a year by any number and they could too - and we live a short life also.

Sounds like complete mumbo-jumbo non-sense...you need to stop reading Chopra and watching Oprah. Leave the science to scientist please.

The Mayan, Egyptians, Babylonians and others studied the solar system very early on to a point that they understood the 25,800 year cycle. Not sure if that helps.

What's the 25800 year cycle...is it something I should be worried about? Query: How did they come to understand a 25800 year cycle of anything when their civilizations lasted only a few thousand years at the longest.

Tycho Brahe, Edwin Hubble, Neils Bohr as well. Not sure if you are focusing on astronomy, cosmology, or astro-physics?

Seems like James Maxwell, Michael Faraday, and A. Einstein should be included in there somewhere as well

You op has peaked my interest...to see there really are some "thinking" people in Pattaya...I may just have to stop in and check-out your store...though unfortunately, I don't do dead-tree books anymore. Perchance do you have a coffee c afe attached as well?

I also agree that the transport charges for a taxi to the darkside costing 500baht is rediculous considering you can hire a bahtbus for an evening for about 1000baht - take a taxi to BKK Airport for 900baht - hire a minibus for 2000baht a day...

Who has ever been quoted such a price? On the occasion when I have had car trouble and had to get back to the Farside, the most its even been has been B 200...usually B 60-100.

At most beer-bars at least, one can just sleep it off at the bar and drive home sometime the next day...if you have a car, sleep it off in there...keep you, others, and your finances safe

It really sucks to have to drive a car in endless traffic jam but,

does anyone have a cheap car for sale ?

Yeah, it's so much more convenient being stinking drunk on a motorbike!

Sad, they thought they could go to the Police for help.

Over 90% discount...i'd call that pretty helpful!

But share the general sentiments re the touts...there goes the Macao market.

As to why they came...cheaper than the basement of the Lisboa

Nice way to ring in the New Year...NOT!

Good...let the tourists have their fun...Pattaya lives or dies on its tourists...and with it being the hottest days of the year so far...i'm sure it feels really great. As for me, I just get out in the morning for my coffee, shopping, or exercise routine and back home by noon (in a car)...easy peasy

Easy to say now. Last three days!

On the Farside, it never really gets too crazy, except for the 19th, and then I have the option to stay in for the day or venture out to view the miles long wet t-shirt contest!

Good...let the tourists have their fun...Pattaya lives or dies on its tourists...and with it being the hottest days of the year so far...i'm sure it feels really great. As for me, I just get out in the morning for my coffee, shopping, or exercise routine and back home by noon (in a car)...easy peasy

Question: What is a 90-day renewal?

I was surprised to see Tune Hotel select the parcel of land smack in the middle of loud, open bars that remain open until 3...3am. I guess the newbie that was looking for land to build the chain hotel didn't know much.

Tune Hotel is the budget hotel brand of Air Asia so I'm pretty sure they know what they're doing. Again, you get what you pay for...it's my understanding that at Tune one has to pay for air-conditioning, bathroom toiletries, sheets, and towels, T-V time, etc. if one wants them...it's all ala carte. Interesting concept really...one doesn't have to pay for stuff/services one doesn't want or use.

Number one rule in Thailand...don't do business with any farang businessmen as they are all a bunch of scammers, cons on the run from the law, and assorted other tossers. Don't trust any of them...much safer dealing with legitimate Thai businessmen and companies...and at least some semblence of legal recourse if things don't go as planned.

I resent that remark, though I'm not a business person at the moment and one reason it would be so hard to get anything going because of this twisted misperception..

Unfortunately not a misperception and it's unfortunate for foreigners who may want to do honest business in Thailand but your forebearers have poisoned the well...but don't despair completely, there are always plenty of newbies hitting town who actually think it's safer to do business with their fellow farangs.

3) The conditions are poor, the lack of communication and access to lawyers was worse. There is even a very old sign up on the inside of the watch house in english explaining you get a phone call ... but that was not offered. There was no mention of rights, there was no ability to exercise or enforce rights (hence I think it would have been better if I could have got hold of a lawyer).

Funny how the right-wing nuts in the USA are always complaining about the ACLU.

wheww...thanks for the heads-up! Whereas it is possible to get a Baht bus in town to back home where I live, it is more or less impossible to get into town without your own ride. Around the darkside is no public transport whatsoever so no chance to go to a pub and get home unless you drive by yourself...

I would imagine it would still be wise to just leave one's car/bike in town for the nite and retrieve it the next day. Of course, there is also the option of just sleeping it off in town as short-time hotels/rooms are available all around town (some of the Thai market ones quite plush...uhem or so I have heard) for a few hundred baht for a few hours to 500-600 for the nite.

Quite an ordeal.

I only drink at home, but these rubber boots, do they have a size eleven?

As to bribes, if the breatho units are new toys they probably have to generate some legitimate income for a while to cover the purchase costs..

I wonder how often they check the calibration on these units...I mean, it wouldn't be in their interest to have it set a little low now would it?

Wow...thanks for the report and sounds great to me. Hopefully the word will get around in the farang and Thai drunk-driving communities and they will think twice, thrice, or even move times before they get behind the wheels of a vehicle when they are drunk. A B 200-300 songtow or B 50 moto fare seems like the way to go for this tee-totler!

One question: Where was Neils when you needed him?

Maybe make contact with the beauty schools on Klang and Tai...that you have an opening. Of course, new graduates will have little to no experience.

Sounds to me like you got what you paid for.

I haven't even noticed it was Songkran week...but i have a car and live on the Farside...two solutions there for you mate

BTW, whilst the styling of the Trailblazer seems popular with most, I tend to agree with your comments. To me it looks like it was designed by two committees, and the two never talked or even sat in the same room. The back of the car does not seem to match with the front three quarters, or maybe it is just me.

It's not just you

Pattaya has a hazmat truck...so if I drop and break a CF light bulb I know who to bulbs...I feel safer already.

Now you know how the Russians fund their long stays in Pattaya. Sounds like they had a card skimmer attached to the machine along with a camera to capture your pin. Your bank probably locked down the card after the two withdrawals in Russia. I guess it takes a few days to transmit your card information to Russia and make the cloned card. Was your card one of the new ones with a chip inside? The best thing you can do to protect yourself is continuing using an ATM in a branch, check the card slot and keyboard if it can be detached or looks weird and cover your hand when entering your pin so even you can't see it.

There was no card skimmer on the ATM. I use this machine all the time and I'm very careful to check for one. I always cover my hand when I enter my PIN, so even if they had a camera, my number could not be seen. The bank did not lock down the card until I notified them; they were not even aware of the Moscow transactions.

dont be so sure there is no skimmer check this out they are very clever now

also key boards to ready the pin

A little frighting how real those look and how they are attached to the ATM machines!

As many have posted in the past re this topic, the best defense is to use ATMs at an actual bank branch and avoid free-standing ones on the street, service stations, and in shopping areas as I would imagine the bank machines are serviced more frequently by bank staff so any tampering would be detected earlier and thieves may not even attempt to hack these machines in the first place. Also, as these devices don't actually connect into the inards of the ATM, I assume they just spit-out the card back to the user after being skimmed while the ATM continues to display the "welcome" message; it would not even display any sort of bank or ATM card error message. Obviously this would be strange and should immediately prompt one to seek out the assistance of bank staff (use during opening hours) to ensure that the machine hasn't been tampered with.

Of course, this requires planning when obtaining funds from an ATM and one sacrifices the ability to get cash anywhere at any time but for some, the added peace of mind may be worthwhile.

If you are the paranoid type you could do all your banking at the teller window and decline to have an ATM card linked to your account. Also, keep all your teller-window transaction records so if there is anything amiss, it would have to have been an inside job.