MESmith

What about the night safari? NP land?

My wife recently got 1600 bt fine at Chiang Mai immigration for late tm30 report!!

those monster trucks, and Fortuner SUV things, should be outlawed in the soi. go back to alabama, smith.

Funny guy

Teach us how to do that smith. Btw, you on bike or car?

A large pickup truck.

Huh..?

Normally you make a lot of sense, but when did they start making large pick ups in Thailand?

well it's large compared to most city cars. Just a regular sized 4 door hi-rider pickup, but no problem driving around city lanes.

Since switching from a big bike to a family car I can say the worst piece of road is the stretch from the Canal road to Maya on Huay Kaew heading into town. Have spent more than 20 minutes there multiple times. It seems the lights are always down, and the other traffic at the intersection always gets priority. Not as much of an issue if you have a scooter or a bike.

As a family, we live around traffic. We avoid most trips from 3:30 to 6:30. Coming from a small city, its kind of annoying but we have both lived in million plus cities and CM is still pretty reasonable.

Avoiding HK road is one of the first things you learn when driving in CM

Kind of hard to do when you live on a soi of HK. Have a great night!

Rgs,

SM

And you can't find a way around back sois avoiding HK road? I used to live in a condo behind Phucome Hotel. I never drove down HK road & that was back in 2003.

Since switching from a big bike to a family car I can say the worst piece of road is the stretch from the Canal road to Maya on Huay Kaew heading into town. Have spent more than 20 minutes there multiple times. It seems the lights are always down, and the other traffic at the intersection always gets priority. Not as much of an issue if you have a scooter or a bike.

As a family, we live around traffic. We avoid most trips from 3:30 to 6:30. Coming from a small city, its kind of annoying but we have both lived in million plus cities and CM is still pretty reasonable.

Avoiding HK road is one of the first things you learn when driving in CM

I have a carryboy softlid on my pickup. Just roll it up when I need to use the truck as a pickup

As a former MGB GT owner, these new cars are not "MG"s.

100mph in a 17 yr old MGB GT on the M1. Lucky all 3 lanes were empty of traffic

Tried the "new Chang" today. OMG how to bring a large corporation down. How do they think buyers will prefer this to Chang Export, Draught or Federbrau! Tasted like the by product from a chemical plant

Competition must be peeing their pants in anticipation of their market dominance!

Teach us how to do that smith. Btw, you on bike or car?

A large pickup truck.

Can't teach folk "the knowledge". Comes from experience. See a gap, go for it

When you know where the bottlenecks are, you avoid them & arrive at your destination relaxed & in good time.

I don't have any problems with CM traffic. Drive daily. I do avoid known bottlenecks at peak travel times. 1317 is a breeze to drive on. At least when I drive on it.

Richard, have you been in the cave? Does your explanation explain the smooth surfaces? I understand limestone will tend to be smooth, but also the shape, it makes it look like there was a big bubble in there or something....

No, I've not been in the Cave - hence my explanation was more general.

If the surfaces are more rounded, you also mentioned a 'big bubble' shape to the cave its likely that the cave held water for many many years.

I am ready to be shot down in flames but rounded cavities in limestone are often (I thought always) formed by boulders that get transported down stream and get trapped, so just whirl around and around forming a nice round shape. Only happens during floods of course. Gas bubble? That was a joke question, right?

Why would it be a joke?

And for further explanation this "cave" is actually more like a hollow mountain. It starts well above ground, and I am doubting there was ever much water at certain levels of it.

Do you really think the cave was always above ground level? Always a mountain? We're talking geology, not real estate developments

btw the first reply was spot on, very funny

Speeding, drunk, texting, anything other than responsible motoring. What is the drivers story? Accel pedal stuck?

Brake failure, of course

A new meaning to "roll cage"

Ebay?

I still reckon that's a bad translation - no center diff = forced loss of traction on a grippy surface, it's just physics.

What year/month is it? - with that we can easily find the Aussie manual, with proper/checked English I guess

Weeeeeell, as someone that has driven the thing for 8 years, I can tell you in H4 on a dry road it is a no no, on a wet road it is great, l believe cos the water under tyre acts "like" a lubricant...Best way I can describe it.. The ride is Aug 2007..

Sorry to say, but the Aussie version still says the same thing: https://toyotamanuals.com.au/docs/hilux-owners-manual-jul-07-feb-08/

I hope your luck continues mate

Lucky I have a Thai version eh..........

Maybe the 4WD doesn't actually work, hence no "buggered" truck

Sitting around bars is not some thing I want to do or have to do. As I mentioned earlier I have a wife and no need for another one. The one I have is just

fine.

Yes it is funny how many long time expats get all bent out of shape when the drinking scene is diminished.

Me too, not bothered about beer or bars, have a wife, don't need anyone else for sex,

But sometimes it's just nice to go out and have hookers rub themselves against you and tell you how hansum and irresistible you are..

When you're married with kids, just getting out is nice. Anything extra is a bonus

Follow-up (September 3, 2015): I just got my new 90-day slip!! It went right down to the wire! I was getting ready to go to Promenada tomorrow (Friday) in the wee hours of the morning, since Monday was the last day I could do it before having to pay the fine.

So the whole process took 15 days. I'm five miles south of Mae Rim. I sent it via ThaiPost.

NOTE: My last slip was valid till Sep 1. My 90-day permission was extended till Nov 17. So I lost 2 weeks by mailing it two weeks before.

ONE MORE NOTE: In back of my new 90-day slip is the full passport picture page of a British citizen. The passport expired Dec 2014.

I told you so...

I don't know why but I too, always get papers from Immigration printed on the back of a British citizen's passport (photocopy)???

You don't expect them keep all those photocopies

Wouldn't it be easiest for 4th ring road to follow the major irrigation canals? Govt already owns the land. oops, my bad, no chance to make loads of dosh that way

Boycott the agents!

Probably the existing 4 lanes, plus frontage roads.

On Monday I sent 2 x 90 day reports to immigration by EMS. I live out of the city in Maerim. Today we got a phone call from immigration that they no longer accept 90 day reports by mail. We had until 3pm today to come to immigration with the passports to get this month's 90 day cleared. There will be no more. No rumour, no speculation just straightforward fact.unless there is a change of policy that is it. Of course, the business that charges 500 Baht to do one 90 day report might benefit and I can only wonder who owns that business.

Did you mail it to Airport office or Promenada?

Pave the whole freaking valley over. Sounds about right!

The purpose of the post was to give an indication of approx. timings,

I arrived approx. 55 minutes early, I did not write down or time every action to the minute APPROX

My total time spent 8 hours APPROX

How long were you delayed for your appointment?