MESmith

I agree Amway is the best ....and the fairest

Have you been to all the others? btw I thought Amway sold cosmetics & that kind of stuff

i thought the 2.35% I got on a 400,000 baht loan for the truck was reasonable. Could've paid cash, but then would've had to sell stock that's currently making way more than that. And I don't know why anyone's questioning if Pikey did the math. It's all there in black & white when you sign up for the loan. If anyone asks how much the truck cost, I tell them the brochure price as listed by Ford. Yes it'll cost more with interest, but then again I'd lose income from that money if paying cash.

Maybe the contents were swiped on return to the home country?

Google map 18.750076,99.009977

From recent topic

Do they still have the Wall of Death motorbike riders?

I used my visa debit card.

So how do we keep our junk out of the landfill?

Pardon the pun, but can't most metal parts or old tyres etc be "recycled"?

Chiang Mai.....'Of Mice and Men?'

The rice fields out my way starting to resemble the Dust Bowl

"Old bicycle parts?" I'm still riding them

What cooler temperature?

This year is dam_n hot.

Loverly up in MHS. And very clear skies. Shame to have to come home

Drove through the Pai valley today on the way home from MHS. Horrendous traffic. Tail backs on the main road caused by people trying to park at the "must see" view points. As others have stated, avoid over holiday periods, avoid during the dry season, enjoy during the rainy season. I presume there are still quiet parts to the valley where the sheep don't go?

And someone needs to teach the bkk drivers that when going up hill, you need to give the engine a bit more gas......

Very clear today

Not from the lookout above Doi Pui. Odd, looking west all is clear and to east it is a brown haze. I hear often the burning is the why it so bad here but if there was no burning it would still be awful because of the inversion during the dry season. The inversion obviously wouldn't even be an issue if weren't for the 10% of the autos and 2 stroke cycles that are causing 90% of the pollution on the roads.

Most of us live near roads and as bad as the burning is, the traffic is much worse. I refuse to drive my car anymore because of the time it takes to travel a kilometer. Hence I get a reminder just how bad the roads are when on my bike or motorcycle and wonder if the drivers spewing crap even care they are killing people.

The only way to stop people from driving unhealthy cars is to fine them. Helll, I don't care if the police pocket the money. In the end the disgusting 10% of cars causing the problems will be gone.

Maybe the brown haze to the east of Doi Pui is from the burn offs in the rice fields. Have you seen the amount of crap one field burn puts into the air? They've been very intense for a couple of weeks or so. to the west is mainly forest. Yet to be burned.

could be and I'm not a polution expert but the brown haze hovered over the city. IMO, how would it not with all the traffic and pollutants that some of them spew. Stand by any road with even a little traffic and the smell isn't pleasant. The burning is awful and needs to stop but, again IMO, the main problem are the 10% of vehicles that are just ridiculously throwing shitt out of their pipes. Throw in the inversion during the dry season and it gets messy fast. Phoenix, Arizona has the same problem with inversion and its cars are extremely clean compared to here.

I think people might just be missing the real culprit. All big cities in developing countries have pollution issues. Many much worse than CM and burning fields isn't the reason in these other cities. Slow moving traffic and no controls in place to take polluting cars off the roads. The roads are packed the last 10 days and the pollution is much worse.

I agree that dirty polluting trucks need removing. I don't see any solution to the increase in car ownership here. That will not change, we have to live with it. Stopping the burning can be done, but only if local govt wants to. Some people say that ploughing the rice straw into the soil reduces production. Maybe it does, but the loss in income to farmers needs to be offset against the cost of poor health. The govt could help by collecting all the rice straw & composting it commercially. Same with fruit tree cuttings & garden waste. collect it all, chip it, compost it, give it back to farmers & gardeners. Wont happen.....

The same time frame the roads have been packed, there have been MASSIVE field burns close to where I live.

i agree with tfc.... been here 4 yrs and it varies from year to year... hard to tell how its going to be... last year was the worst for us..and we still survived... next year... who knows?

How do you know you survived? Your life may have been shortened, without you knowing it......

Oh great more cars on the road that people cannot really afford, no wonder the traffic in Bangkok has gotten worse! Too bad they did not put the money into the mass transit which would've had long term benefit for everyone along with less cars on the road contributing to the pollution and traffic. But I guess that would've made too much sense!

There's more to Thailand than Bangkok

Very clear today

Not from the lookout above Doi Pui. Odd, looking west all is clear and to east it is a brown haze. I hear often the burning is the why it so bad here but if there was no burning it would still be awful because of the inversion during the dry season. The inversion obviously wouldn't even be an issue if weren't for the 10% of the autos and 2 stroke cycles that are causing 90% of the pollution on the roads.

Most of us live near roads and as bad as the burning is, the traffic is much worse. I refuse to drive my car anymore because of the time it takes to travel a kilometer. Hence I get a reminder just how bad the roads are when on my bike or motorcycle and wonder if the drivers spewing crap even care they are killing people.

The only way to stop people from driving unhealthy cars is to fine them. Helll, I don't care if the police pocket the money. In the end the disgusting 10% of cars causing the problems will be gone.

Maybe the brown haze to the east of Doi Pui is from the burn offs in the rice fields. Have you seen the amount of crap one field burn puts into the air? They've been very intense for a couple of weeks or so. to the west is mainly forest. Yet to be burned.

Very clear today

Doi Pui overlooking the city would be a start. Keep going up past The Phuping Palace to the check point below the summit. That at around 1540m I think. Mon Jam is about 1300m.

To the east, head out past Mae Kamphong to the top of the road before it drops down towards Jae Son (or Chae Son) NP. Highest point on the road about 1500m.

In the same area, hwy 1252 reaches around 1500m.

this plan spurred incremental demand and stimulated a local industry and the thai economy in a year when the rest of the world was sucking wind.

it was a revenue neutral short term boost to the economy which worked.

obviously an unpopular failed populist policy of the pt government

Just out of curiosity do you know how much the taxation department makes per car. If it is less than the 100,000 baht tax rebate given to the buyers then it is just another loss making project to keep the punters happy.

100,000 bt is the max refund. It varies with the model of car. I believe my wife will receive 86,000 baht.

You are correct about the ratings of the 3M Crystalline being opposite from most. I have C70 on the windshield and C40 on the sides and back. I love it. It’s noticeably cooler than the much darker Lamina I had on the old unit and visibility is much, much better. That said, if you want privacy, the Crystalline is probably not your best choice as it is easier to see through.

I have it on my new dmax 4-door, and it was 15K for the windshield, the four doors and the back window. It was another 4K for all the windows on the canopy after I had it installed.

Thanks very much for that report, just what I was looking for. I'm sold on the crystalline for sure now as I'm more interested in the light/heat reflectiveness than the privacy issue.

The AC in the new Ranger is excellent. cools the truck very quickly after being parked in the sun.

Does it mean,that you don't have any(!) tint/film on your truck windows?

Got the freebie from Ford. Don't see a need for the pricey, better quality film. Truck cools very quickly after being parked in the sun.

You are correct about the ratings of the 3M Crystalline being opposite from most. I have C70 on the windshield and C40 on the sides and back. I love it. It’s noticeably cooler than the much darker Lamina I had on the old unit and visibility is much, much better. That said, if you want privacy, the Crystalline is probably not your best choice as it is easier to see through.

I have it on my new dmax 4-door, and it was 15K for the windshield, the four doors and the back window. It was another 4K for all the windows on the canopy after I had it installed.

Thanks very much for that report, just what I was looking for. I'm sold on the crystalline for sure now as I'm more interested in the light/heat reflectiveness than the privacy issue.

The AC in the new Ranger is excellent. cools the truck very quickly after being parked in the sun.

Try DIY hardware superstores. They have piles of them.

luckily we chose the northeast loop, as traffic was minimal and we had a nice cruise up the mountain and back around to the San Kapheng hotsprings [which was a little crowded] and an easy return home....

I hate traffic, especially with a truckload of kids!!

Which way did you go around, & can you avoid paying to go through Jae Son NP?

Really busy in town today. I think the car might be staying in the garage till after New Year!

Really busy on superhighway near Saraphi, this afternoon. A lot of vehicles heading towards the city

And a lot of fresh "white graffiti" on the 500m run up to the traffic lights

40% all round. Didn't want it any darker or people wouldn't see me snarling at them

You can't even see Doi Sutep today. Usually it's not this bad until, march.....any idea why it's different this year?

Foggy / misty this morning out in the rice fields. Maybe just haze?

Was out cycling Mae On area today. Air felt OK, & I'm sensitive to the smoke