2 Questions I Need Some Help With

[Klaasvaak]

Dear All,

I would like to ask you to help me with 2 questions i have for my holiday to Samui in the up comming summer.

I would like to rent a motorbike because we are not really staying in the busy part of Samui.

But i’m looking for a good rental company how will provides good helmets with them.

They also should accept a copy of the passport as i’m not gonna give my original.

Second question is that i would like to buy a whitegold ring on samui, but i would like to know which shops i can trust.

I know there are some scams going on in thailand and i would like to spend my money on real material.

I hope you can help me with the above!

Thanks in advance.

Klaas

[MSingh]

Answer 1 ) I don't know any Rental Companies personally that supply Helmets let alone good one's..

Answer 2 ) Keep your money in your Pocket..

[BigC]

1) helmets yes. copy passport No? maybe if u left a cash deposit the same amount as the brand new bike then yes. though the rental companys good or bad have to protect themselves,

2) as for gols shops. nearly all of them are ok. the best 1 is near the post office in chaweng. it has written on the window the price for 1 baht of gold for that day. They charge extra for the disign.the price on the shop window is the price of the gold bar. then u can ask them for a gurentee card.

if u r still suspicous u can take your gold to another shop. next to the police station in lamui and ask them if it is real.

gold is good out here 99.6 % and can be easily porned should u run out of money. u can even porn half of your ring. say u need 2000 baht and cannot get money out of the bank. u can put you ring in the shop. they give u 2000 baht and a receipt. then u buy the same gold back for 2000 baht plus commission which is not much.

just don't buy from a street seller or from a stall. have to go to a proper shop with the price on the window. think it is aroun 18 000 baht for 1 baht at the moment. which is very high.

personally i like gold cause u can use it like a credit card. the thais do aswell. if i have a big chain and i need money i can porn it. when i have money i can buy it back.

hope that helps.

as for motor bikes. don't know of anyone that would rent without passport unless u know the owners. as for helmets if the shop does not provide them u can buy them in tescos for about 50 baht.

remember if a deal sounds to good to be true it normally is

example i know someone that rented a bike with no deposit. u know why?

cause the bike had already been stolen and was re-rented out lol.

if u want to rent a car from an international complay like avis and budget u can use credit card as deposit. they take 20 000 baht then refund it when u give the car back. u can book them via internet.

[Klaasvaak]

Thanks for the good explanation Big C, but there is no chance in hel_l that i would give up my passport to rent a motorbike. In Hua hin they only required a copy of the passport what is in my opinion fare enough.

And paying a deposit on i motorbike i can understand but it's still tricky.

Hope maybe someone else no any renters ho will accept a copy of the passport,

[BigC]

Thanks for the good explanation Big C, but there is no chance in hel_l that i would give up my passport to rent a motorbike. In Hua hin they only required a copy of the passport what is in my opinion fare enough.

And paying a deposit on i motorbike i can understand but it's still tricky.

Hope maybe someone else no any renters ho will accept a copy of the passport,

if u stay at a hotel that also rents out bikes. then job done. they already have your passport and security that u cannot crash and run off.

[Klaasvaak]

Yes, that would be handy but unfortunately we are not staying at a big hotel.

But maybe i can contact the hotel to ask if they can arrange something.

I already ride like 60.000 km a year in a car so a motorbike for a few weeks would be nice!

[BigC]

i understand from both points of view. the rentee and the renter but basically if u want to pay more then u can probably get a motor bike but they will charge u more.

u have to understand i have seen many peoplle have bike crashes in the past then leave the bike and run cause they do not want to pay 50 k up for a new bike.

on the other hand people do not want to pay for damage that they haven't done. Those crooks are the people that mess up the rental industry. it is always a tricky business cause everyone believes they are in the right.

basically if there is a mark on the bike as long as the rentee explains that before you rent that they will charge you more than a shop because they are a business and they do need to make money and explane there policies clearly then there should not be a problem.

exaple i went out on the go kart track with my pals. had a big pile up and got a big bill but we all accepted it because they are a business and if we small up there stuff then they want it all back plus u have to remember when the bike or car is getting fixed it cannot be out earning money.

problem is the cow boys that are just out to rip you off.

normallly i take photos of the bike when i rent it. to prove that the bike is in the same condition as i rented and take pictures of all the marks to prove they were already there.

[NHJ]

contact me by PM, i take only a copy of passeport and a cash deposit. the bikes are automatic yamaha mio for 2000/month, the helmets i have are as good as helmet for bycicles but after all they have been bought here so it"s regular.

[Klaasvaak]

i understand from both points of view.....

In all country's there are people ho want to rip you off, and there are always people ho let i happen.

And ofcourse i can understand the point of view of the renter,there are also people ho rent but do not take care of the material the rent.

It's a shame it have to be this way nowdays.

I still have a few weeks to arrange and discuss with people before i leave to thailand luckely.

[goldfinger]

white gold ring cannot be 96% as yellow gold is.

they need a certain percentage of white materials(f.e. palladium/rhodium) to mix together with the yellow gold.

so at 750/1000 you will find white gold-usually western design

[BigC]

white gold ring cannot be 96% as yellow gold is.

they need a certain percentage of white materials(f.e. palladium/rhodium) to mix together with the yellow gold.

so at 750/1000 you will find white gold-usually western design

yep sorry i forgot u mentioned white gold. yep u r wrote gold finger. is your finger white gold or yellow or swiss. which is 100 per cent

[BigC]

i understand from both points of view.....

In all country's there are people ho want to rip you off, and there are always people ho let i happen.

And ofcourse i can understand the point of view of the renter,there are also people ho rent but do not take care of the material the rent.

It's a shame it have to be this way nowdays.

I still have a few weeks to arrange and discuss with people before i leave to thailand luckely.

best to go with companies that other people have used and reckomended. be carefull on these roads though there are so many drunken idoits about. 1 sore one bloke just sitting ther waiting to turn right. doing nothinng wrong. then a truck wasn't looking when straight through the poor bloke. helmets are a defeinate on this place. speally with private hospital bills. don't want to be paying for this holiday for the rest of your life. helmets make a hudge differnece. between a bruse on the leg or. blood clot to the brain and a bruse on the leg

[everydaysthesame]

buy your own helmet when you get here. honda garage in maenam has suprisingly good ones for around 1000 baht.

[koheesti]

Another bike rental warning - I was staying next to a guy (Thai-American) who rented a bike from some Thais across from the resort then a few days later it disappeared from in front of the resort. He's convinced that the people he rented it from had a 2nd key, took it, then forced him into paying about 30k baht. I've heard of this scam before. So if you're looking to rate based on a cheap price then you're probably more likely to get screwed.

[Klaasvaak]

thanks for the help guys, i have arranged a rental with the hotel we are staying.

and for the bike scam, i will be bringing my own lock with me, nothing fancy but enough to hold down a first take away with second key or easy to break steeringlock.