MESmith

Spotted some storks in the rice fields on my morning bike ride. Don't often see them, usually just egrets. Are storks resident year round?

btw, the last couple of days, the weather seems to have changed. Feels more autumnal but without the cold.

But on some days of the month to watch a movie have a nice place to sit for a cup of coffee at Tom & Tom ( all over Korea with free wifi and comfy seating) it's a nice alternative to Starbucks.

I am not 100% sure but I think that is the name of the coffee shop near Rimping mini-mart. Could there be more than one? Any way, I happened to be at Rimping a few weeks ago. I stopped for coffee before leaving. There were about 3 coffee shops and I just went with the one with tables outside. I ordered a plain coffee "Americano" is the newest designer name for plain coffee these days. I was a little taken back when I was charged about 80-85 THB for a coffee. That may be a first in Thailand. After I sat down the girl came out with a red plastic thing that at first I thought was a coaster of some sort. After what seemed like more than 10 minutes (I was the only customer) the coaster turned into a pager and began flashing lights and vibrating. I just sat there thinking 'this must be a system for the servers to know which table to bring the coffee to.' After what seemed like another 5 minutes, the thing vibrated off the table, fell on the ground and died. Still no one came with the coffee. I stood up and looked inside where the 5 people behind the counter were all looking at me. Still no one came. I had to go inside and get my own coffee (with powdered milk) for 85 Baht! Instead of serving the coffee they only came outside to retrieve the broken pager. AND the coffee was nothing special. Give this place a miss!

You then made the mistake of walking inside. You should have left

Our local M&P quickie mart raised their prices by about 4 or 5 baht per 330ml can last Tuesday or Wednesday but they never had a shortage of stock. But on the other hand, out nearest 711 is out of stock except for the ethanol-benzene blends such as Cheers.

The local shops are probably selling old stock at the "new tax rate", making a nice profit in the process. What is left in 7-11, tesco, makro et al is at the old price.

Not so sure about that. The one mom & shop closest to us just started selling Heineken in cans today. Before they never stocked it (only had Leo, Singha & Chiang) so I'm guessing that they must have gotten in a new shipment.

But let's assume that it;s true that the small shops are selling old stock at the new prices. Why would only they and not 711, Tesco Lotus & Makro be doing that?

Because it's dishonest & cheating their beloved customers. The new tax applies to new supplies from brewery or wholesaler. Makro, Tesco etc are being honest. The small Heineken cans were probably all that was left at Makro for them to buy at the old price. I've seen well out of date beer at local shops at new tax rate before. Their turnover of Heineken is probably very low, but if it's all that's left at the old price, they'll buy it & sell it on at the new tax rate. But the govt wont get any more.

Oh to be a "baht millionaire"

I agree with you on tying up 2m baht.

Our local M&P quickie mart raised their prices by about 4 or 5 baht per 330ml can last Tuesday or Wednesday but they never had a shortage of stock. But on the other hand, out nearest 711 is out of stock except for the ethanol-benzene blends such as Cheers.

The local shops are probably selling old stock at the "new tax rate", making a nice profit in the process. What is left in 7-11, tesco, makro et al is at the old price.

Do you think they'll be offering nibbles to potential buyers? A sliver would do

Used to love to watch the Pied Harriers soaring over the paddies every cold season but haven't seen them for years now.

Saw a couple last cold season out past San Kamphaeng.

Seen a kingfisher in our garden this week. Bright turquoise with reddish breast. Comes every year. Are they migratory?

Picked up a case of Federbrau at Tesco Superhighway today & 12 large cans of Chang Export at Big C Extra. That was all they had. Plenty of large Hoegaarden @ 259 baht per large bottle.

The tax increase was over 2 weeks ago, hence everything was probably bought up to sell at the new price. That doesn't explain why the big shops haven't restocked.

or is it the AMOUNT of oil we consume that will do us in? If we could agree upon which is the very healthiest of oils for cooking, won't a diet of French fries, fried chicken, Thai-style omelets, fried fish, deep-fried whatever, etc., etc., etc., still be less healthy than someone eating steamed veggies, boiled fish, grilled chicken, etc., with just a spoonful of WD-40 in their salad dressing? Just how crazy do we have to get with our diets? If our medical checkup tests are in the 'normal' range, and we're feeling healthy and fit, do we really need to completely revamp our eating style?

Worcestershire sauce makes for a healthier substitute

Wonder if he's a TV member......

What vintage is it?

Just back from Makro, superhighway. Very little left in stock, nothing I fancied. if you like Tiger Beer, you'll be happy.

Always handy to have one for changing into one's TV persona clothes

All you (price) complainers are the lucky ones.... Since the tax changes, there is NO beer for sale here at all! Apparently, until next Tuesday (when the new supplies arrive),

No problem, went to MAKRO the day after the tax rise was announced

My latest near miss was a "tattooed whitey" with "tgf" on the back of his dream or like, driving the wrong way in Big C car park (yes, they have arrows to show which way to drive) concentrating on his smart phone screen rather than the way ahead. The hatred in his face as he screamed abuse through my side window (closed) was hilarious. He didn't have a helmet on, what a <deleted>. Actually, I tell a lie, as that was over a week ago. Every day I have near misses with the locals. But I know how to drive here, expect the unexpected and react accordingly.

Hang on, just recall an even more recent incident with a foreigner, this time a resident one on his big motorbike, pulls along side me at a crossroads on the railway crossing, on my right, occupying the wrong side of the road. As I cross the road, he turns left. Again no helmet in morning rush hour.

Fill them with sand/earth and use them for re-inforcement in concrete slabs.....

doing at lot at the mo...chickens/duck sheds,mushroom plants,palm oil processing,new garages...better than bamboo..

Hope we're back on to the topic of empty bottles

Any recommendations for recycling wifeys? Only joking

To answer your question and approximately.........areas do vary.

1 Leo box full of empties is 10-12 baht.

Cardboard is 7 baht a kilo

Plastic is 10 baht a kilo

2 ali cans is 1 baht.

That seems pretty high compared to prices here. A 12pack box of Chang Classic - 5 B - with the cardboard box and all the lids (which the pay a premium for..)

Looks like the OP was getting about fair market.

Looks like you're getting ripped off. I get more than 12 baht a case of empty Chang Lights, Export or Draught at my local. No caps. Empty bottles w/o box pays much less.

The lady in our village charged me 120 baht for 2 bottles of Leo with some ice.....<deleted>.

Round the corner , 100 baht.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

And, I bet she bought them before the tax went up

Maybe can do a deal and use all this Rubber ?

They can make a very long hose pipe to siphon off the flood water

There'll be an even larger presence of Chilean wine once this is put in place...

yes they have good wine Lets hope it is included.

I imagine there'll be a "special tax" for wines.....

I hope he fastened his seatbelt. Wouldn't want all those medals flying around the cabin in case of turbulence......

And before anyone asks how to get to the hospital…..the last person who asked me that was pushed under a songthaew.

Which leads me to ask whether there'll be free shuttle buses for those living in the centre of the city without their own transport

Maybe he commutes, but never has the bus fare