Meerkat
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Posts posted by Meerkat
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Having had both a plasma and an LCD, there are pro's and cons of each, which have fairly accurately been explained here already. The TV station logo didn't cause burn-in, but I still managed to blow the ###### thing up!
I hadn't got the maid to clean the grilles where the cooling fans bring air in and they got clogged up (perish the thought that I'd clean them myself!). The thing just conked out and engineers from Fujitsu and a local repair shop here in HK both said that It'd be cheaper to just chuck the thing away as the repair cost would be over 75% of the price of a new one. Er...so I just left it hanging on the wall when I moved apartments...
The Fujitsu engineer said that he sees it quite often where the TV is mounted against a wall, as the grilles aren't easy to access. For future reference, he said that they provide an annual service (can't remember how much, but in hindsight comparatively cheap!), where they open it up and give it a thorough "scrub". Needless to say, nobody thought to tell me that when I dropped the original HKD 40k (THB 200k) on the thing!
Reduced to LCD in the bedroom now (and I don't like the quality at all compared to the plasma), but will get around to getting another biggie when the new house in LOS is finished.
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We used Toyota in Saphan Mai - very close to the airport. Have to say that they were very good (unlike the dealer on the Rangsit Nakhon Nayok rd near Klong3 who were useless). They got me my Fortuner in 4 weeks, and the white plates came 3 weeks later. No discounting, but she did chuck in a stack of extras for free. Has also rung us up at least 3 times since purchase just to check that we were happy.
Just a word to support your comment in the mail a few above I explained about Toyota Dealers now being the family code word for bad Thai service ...the dealer you mentioned was where we started that tradition they look great ,new ,clean etc but are stupid , inefficient , rude , inconsiderate, snooty, , on 8 trips with appointments and without we found ..sorry no stock ( with no offer of order or time scale for delivery ) sorry no brochure, sorry no a/c working in the showroom , sorry no sales staff around , sorry no water , sorry no price list , sorry car is there to look at but no key , or early Sunday morning appointment sorry key is here but no car can you wait 2 hours .... sorry we cannot get that model impossible , do not try anywhere you will not get one ( I did from Rama 3 and 4 days from order... finance arranged , options fitted , car delivered ..... .I then drove it to the above mentioned dealer just to park it infront of the show room ...it gives me a childish sense of satisfaction and pleasure . By the way I have never lost my cool , never screamed shouted or played the irate farang, on these occasions .
Has any one tried to order parts from Toyota by part number ...????..thats fun . Is yours the only Toyota dealer recommended ? any other good ones ???
You mean the one on Rangsit Nakon Nayok rd? Yeah, they were bloody useless - it was like they had absolutely no interest in garnering another sale. Having been treated very courteously by the Honda dealer up the road (we also have a Jazz), I was shocked and we voted with our feet.
Thankfully Saphan Mai got it right. Have also ordered a couple of extras from them using Toyota part numbers with no problems whatsoever. For future ref, the rep we used there was called Mem. It was quite refreshing as well that she didn't give us any false hopes about delivery dates.
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As titled. I've tried searching the web for a SatNav system for my Fortuner, but without success. Is SatNav available in LOS, and if so, can anyone recommend a system (Thai & English)? If there's nothing out there, I might try and construct my own using a laptop and plug-in GPS antenna but obviously that would mean drawing the map from scratch so not a perfect solution...
Cheers all.
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I'd love to do that drive, preferably in a group so we don't get rumbled. Let us know how the trip went Guy and also the road conditions, you know I don't like to get my 'Tuner scratched up!!
I'd be up for it too. Maybe a 'Tuner Tour! I haven't taken mine anywhere more exotic than Koh Chang so far...
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On the surface, that seems like a VERY good price. If you decide not to buy, please let me know. I would be interested. If you do buy, perhaps you are interested in spliting a plot?
Well we're hoping he'll see the light and drop the price again, but we might just snap it up anyway - been a bit side-tracked recently getting our new house in BKK fitted out. Land in the region goes for around 100-150k per rai, so his price isn't really that reasonable. Doubly so when you take into account that property prices are due to stagnate (at best) over the next year or two, what with slowing growth and rapidly rising interest rates. Re splitting - afraid I've got 4 mates here in HK that have expressed an interest, so will probably not be opening it wider than that. Do check out land yourself though; there are masses of tracts of land for sale up there. Be careful too - we were about to buy a lovely 20 rai plot until we found out that a bloody great motorway (to Chon Buri) is to be built less than 100m from the boundary!
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30 for me too. Remember that it's basically a truck though, so you'll never get a Bently-like ride whatever you put in the tyres...
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Meekat: I wonder why you can buy the land in Thailand? R u a Thai person?
No but the Mrs Meerkat is. She's the one with the money anyway...
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Hearing now that DM will be used for LCCs.
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We used Toyota in Saphan Mai - very close to the airport. Have to say that they were very good (unlike the dealer on the Rangsit Nakhon Nayok rd near Klong3 who were useless). They got me my Fortuner in 4 weeks, and the white plates came 3 weeks later. No discounting, but she did chuck in a stack of extras for free. Has also rung us up at least 3 times since purchase just to check that we were happy.
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Seeing as you look like you're picking Macau (and if you haven't gone yet!), let me give you a few pointers. I share my time between HK and BKK, but am a member of the Macau Golf Club, so find myself there avery couple of weeks!
Hotels.
There are only two choices as far as I'm concerned! The Mandarin Oriental and the Westin. They are at opposite ends of the territory. Macau consists a peninsula and two islands, Taipa and Coloane. The MO is on the peninsula, in the town-proper. The Westin is on Coloane (known locally as the lung of Macau), and is set in a much more rural setting. The airport is on Taipa, bang in the middle of both! Bear in mind that wherever you stay, Macau is tiny, and a cab from one end to the other won't cost you much more than MOP100 (about USD12) and take you half an hour or so. Personally I'd go with the Westin. The rooms are fantastic, all with balconies overlooking the beach or the ocean and the facilities are very good.
Visit.
The old town. Macau has done an infinitely better job of preserving it's mixture of european and asian history than HK has. Beautiful old colonial buildings have been tastefully preserved and it's a wonderful place to stroll around. There's also an excellent museum.
Casinos. If that's your thing, then you're in luck. Most of them are awful though, not at all like the plush casinos in Vegas for instance. Bar one. The US owned Sands casino, next to the MO, has got it right.
Motor Racing. The weekend around the 21st of Nov I think this year. Like Monaco but better - 2 days of street racing around the town. Amazing!
Food.
Macanese food is an awesome melange of Portugese, African, Indian and Chinese (basically from bits of the old Portugese trading empire). My favourite restaurant is A Lorcha near the Maritime museum in town. If you stay at the Westin, take a stroll along the Hac Sa ("Black Sand" in Cantonese) beach to Fernando's, a local institution run by a couple of Portugese brothers. Bear in mind that you cannot book or pay with plastic in the latter. Both very good value.
Oh, and if you have the chance, and the sky is clear, you could do a lot worse than taking the chopper over to HK (15mins, MOP1800 - yeah, not cheap) at dusk to see the harbour lit up in all its glory! You can always take the 1hr (HKD250 in Superclass) ferry back.
Let me know if you need anymore info.
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Currently averaging about 11-11.5 with the diesel, mostly out of town driving. Only had it a few weeks and loving it. Only two minor things I'd change would be making the rear seats removable and an automatic side-mirror retractor thingy (I'm techniacally minded as you can tell!) for when parked.
Was tempted to put in a DVD to keep Mrs-Meerkat-to-be and the Meerkitten happy on longer trips, but just bought a new ultralight laptop so just plug that into the power outlet instead, so they can watch movies and play games. Haven't had a bleat of "Are we there yet?" since!
Not as neat as an integrated system of course...Actually one thing that does annoy me is the Toyota dealers' habit of putting 40 psi in the tyres instead of the handbook-recommended 30 psi. I've read in one of these fora that they do it to increase fuel efficiency! It's ridiculous - not only does it make the ride less comfortable, it increases the risk of a debris burst (of course under-inflating them will increase the risk of a blow-out from increased temperatures). But the really worrying thing is that the maximum recommended tyre pressure printed on the tyre is around 34-36 (can't check - I'm in my other home at the moment, HK). Inflating a tyre over a manufacturer recommended maximum is asking for trouble - those limits are made for a reason.
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Anyone know the breakdown of how flights will be split between the two airports? I've heard that DM may become a purely domestic airport, but I've also heard that DM will keep regional (SE Asian) flights. Both from unreliable sources!
The fewer flights into DM the better - we have a house near the approach path (yeah, I know - wasn't me that chose the plot!).
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We're looking at buying some land in Khao Yai. We spent a long weekend up there a few months ago at the Kirimaya resort - simply awesome! Will be where we have our wedding banquet next year. Agree that there's not a lot to do, but as a chilling out area close to BKK it can't be beat. As a golfer, I'm happy there too! Took us only 1:35 to drive to Rangsit Khlong 3 where our house is, so perfect for a weekend getaway.
The plot we want is 42 rai. Would have got it by now but the seller raised the price from 140k to 170k per rai. In a time of rising interest rates, I can't really see his logic, so we're playing hard to get. Not entirely sure what to do with all that land - the missus reckons I should build myself a par 3 to practise on!
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Always the Sheraton Grande Suk, or the Westin opposite if the SGS is full. Easy transport links - on the sky train and underground, and 10 minutes drive (er...usually!) to the airport tollway.
Show Us Your Ride!
in Thailand Motor Discussion
Posted
Ye gods - exactly the same combination for us too. Except they're both blue...the monk chose the colour (and the delivery date!)...