There has been an update to this post dated 22 Apr 2017 so you will find it at the end of this section.
I am not writing this post as a “how to” entry for the blog. In my stories I mostly just pass on my experiences based on actual events and there will be aspects that might apply to others and some that won’t. There were other things happening around the purchase to make it an interesting few days rather than a bland list of do’s and don’ts.
The decision to replace the Mazda 2 we bought over three years ago in Chiang Mai has been on the cards for a little while now. It was now seven years old and although it has been a terrific vehicle for us I wanted to do some longer trips later in the year and big is better once you get off the main roads in Thailand. A four door pick-up would give us greater versatility and give me extra status in the village (only joking).
Our Mazda 2. A brilliant little car. Zippy, a super responsive auto box, huge boot and really comfortable.
The choice came down to a Ford Wildtrack or the Nissan NP300 and the latter won out because I got an exceptional trade-in for the Mazda from Nissan in Udon Thani and generally I preferred the looks inside and out. Both cars are highly rated by the reviewers, with the Ford mostly ending up as the best pick. However some of this is based on off-road driving and having just spent a million baht on a new car the last thing I want to be doing is taking it anywhere which might dirty the wheels! I am sure that 90% of people who buy these trucks almost never take them off the bitumen.
To pay for the pick-up I would be putting in more than 2/3rds and financing the remainder. Dealer arranged interest rates are extremely low here and I wanted to preserve my retirement capital. I only share the financing details because some aspects of this post revolve around that.
So let me step you through the process as it applied to us. We called into Siam Nissan in Udon Thani (recommended) on the way back from a day trip we made to Nong Khai for my stepdaughter’s holiday treat, which will be the subject of a post shortly. As always having a Thai speaker is essential because the staff have almost no English and how you’d get through the process without a translator is a mystery. They had a NP300 Sportech, the model I wanted, on show and the trade-in valuation and repayment options were all done on the spot. I didn’t make a decision then as Gaun needed to be fully agreeable to a financial decision this size. Having done the figures and got Gaun’s OK over a couple of beers later in the week we decided to go ahead and drove back to the dealer on Monday this week to order the car.
Siam Nissan on highway 2 just inside the ringroad.
Now if you are buying a car outright, as I did with the Mazda, then a farang can have it in his/her name without any mention of the Thai partner. BUT if you have finance then the loan is in joint names or just in the Thai name, even though the income is most likely yours, and the car has to be in the Thai partner’s name. Now this may vary so double check. If the farang is 60 years old or over then the car HAS to be in the Thai name – you have no right of ownership. Now many farang would have a stroke at hearing this but, although it wasn’t my preferred position, I trust Gaun and if that’s how it had to be then that’s how it would end up.
Funnily it didn’t end up like this because during the discussions with the bank representative, all in Thai of course so I had no idea what was going on, Gaun pushed to have the car in my name and because I had a 2/3rds equity in the Nissan they finally agreed. So for all those skeptics out there pushing the “Thai women are only in a relationship for the money” here’s a situation where Gaun could have had a one million baht asset in her name but instead she didn’t take that easy option. The bank could have still made the offer to put it in my name and if Gaun didn’t let me know I would be none the wiser. Thank you Gaun.
That was the good news. Getting a loan and the car just in my name is not an easy process. The only bank that will look at it is Kasikorn and the paperwork involved is horrendous. I have individually signed well over 200 documents, most of them duplicates, and all of the official ones in Thai so who knows what they were.The loan has to be approved in Bangkok and so far it has taken four days and counting. The dealer also arranged for another bank to give pre-approval in case the Kasikorn loan fell through. This one was in Gaun’s name as would be the truck. Approval took one hour!
This is day two of signing documents. In this case three copies of EVERY page (even the blank ones) of my passport. 27 signatures times three.
So Day 1 – Monday, has us signing paperwork, the people who were buying the Mazda came over to look at it and the bank representative arrived to complete their paperwork. It all took five hours. My best tip for anything that you think will be a straightforward process in Thailand is BRING A BOOK. While we were there the pick-up itself arrived in the showroom so there seemed to be confidence that all would be well with the financing.
Day 2 was on Wednesday. Although the finance hadn’t been approved Nissan were happy to give us the car, which isn’t something you’d see too often in Australia. I thought all the remaining paperwork would all be a done in the hour and I would pay the rest of my contribution and we’d be off. Yuan, Lud and Peng wanted to come along for the big event and we were going to a temple afterwards as it was Peng’s birthday. Well. By the time it was all done another four hours had passed and the temple was no longer on the agenda!
The Nissan sales staff bought Peng a cake and everyone gathered around to sing her happy birthday. A nice touch.
Peng enjoyed the attention and the cake. The guy in the blue shirt was the main salesman. Very easy to deal with.
Our car was once again driven into the showroom and Peng was quick to get the first photo.
Pick-ups (utes in Aussie-speak) have come a long way in specifications over the years. This one has a 2.5 litre twin turbo diesel engine, keyless entry and push button start, dual climate control, a large entertainment screen with sat nav, LED lights and the list just keeps on. Just what you need to get to the building site!
If buying a new car in Thailand you will find that comprehensive insurance is often included in the price for the first year. Registration is a two part process. The car can be sold with no plates, but I think you run the risk of the police having some problems with that although you do see a few new cars driving without plates. The best option is to pay a 4,000 baht deposit and get what’s called red plates, which stay with the car until the permanent ones are ready, which takes a number of weeks. The oddity of red plates is that when you get them you also get a book. If you travel to a different province then you have to record your trip in the book, something we did straight away as we were buying the car in Udon Thani province and driving it across the “border” to Nong Bua Lamphu province! If the police stop you and you haven’t got this book up to date and if you are out of the car’s “home” province then you will be fined. Obviously once the real plates come in none of this applies.
The key staff gather for a group photo with the happy new owners. Note the red plates.
And one photo with just family. The Thai lottery happens on the 1st and 16th of each month. Combinations of 1139 are going to be featured in the family’s selection for April.
Finance still unapproved (although the backup was in place by now) the keys were handed over and off we went. Being Peng’s birthday she had asked for a Isaan buffet at a place in Si Bun Ruang. Normally we would have taken two cars but now in true Thai style everyone piled into the pick-up. Seven people with plenty of space to spare. I have finally become a local.
Celebrating Peng’s birthday and a large addition to the family.
The pick-up in the background.
Having bought a new car the next step is to get it blessed. Thailand is a very superstitious place especially in country Isaan. I am totally happy with this as having driven here for four years I realise that you need all the help you can get seen or unseen. In our case we wanted a monk called Dit to do the blessing. He’s a lovely man and a friend of Yuan as they went to school together. They both left at the same time aged twelve, Yuan to the farm and Dit to become a monk something they are both still doing thirty years later. He has started building his own wat on family land just down the road from the family farm.
Gaun and Yuan preparing flowers for the blessing ceremony.
A garland for the steering wheel.
The object of all this attention parked at the farm. The wheels did end up getting dirty 🙁
Me handing the items for the ceremony over to Dit at his wat.
Now that’s a smile that would convert you to Buddhism.
A paste is mixed and used to draw symbols on the bonnet. These two youngsters are family of Dit shortly to become monkettes or mini-monks as I call them for the long summer school holidays, which is happening now.
The cymbols being drawn closely observed.
And then more blessing happening inside the car.
All of this stays in place for three days. We have just had a big rainstorm and the outside markings all washed off this afternoon but I am sure they have done their job.
All done. A well blessed Nissan.
Elsewhere:
Extensions happening at the wat.
This temple is in the Thai forest wat tradition and therefore you will find most of them use a lot of timber in their construction. Timber is donated by other more advanced forest wats who have trees and also by people who want to gain merit.
Beautiful hardwood.
You get an idea of the size from Lud in the background.
This will be an impressive building when finished. I am a big fan of timber and in a country where concrete and steel are the main construction materials tempes like this one make for a welcome contrast.
Another monk getting his hands dirty fixing a roof. It’s not all chanting and meditation.
So our new family member has been christened Chang, which means elephant in Thai. It is in reference to its size, which is substantial when compared to the Mazda and also elephants are considered good luck in Thailand. I hope we have as many safe and comfortable trips exploring Thailand as we did in our little Mazda. Plenty to keep this blog active for a while yet.
Update 22 Apr 2017:
I thought I would write this update as we have now had the pick-up for a month and there are a few things I would like to share.
Firstly eight days after applying we had word that the loan from Kasikorn Bank had been approved in my name as is the car. Gaun received two additional phone calls from Kasikorn Bangkok after I signed all that paperwork. The first call seemed to cover aspects that we had already supplied in vast and repetitive detail. The second wanted to get my address in Australia! Seeing I had sold my house there four years ago I didn’t see the point but you just have to go with the flow. All good news in the end. Funnily the news of my success came from Nissan not Kasikorn. It has been almost three weeks since then and I haven’t heard any more! No paperwork, no repayment advice nothing. An Australian bank would be pretty quick in getting you to start paying them but that seems to be less of a priority here. I am loosing absolutely NO sleep over it 🙂
Secondly how is the Nissan performing? Shortly after we got it a friend arrived from Australia and we set out on a 500 km road trip to Chiang Khan and Nong Khai, which will be covered in a blog post shortly. This gave me a chance to evaluate the truck on a trip that had varied road surfaces with a few steep climbs.
My first impressions were overall pretty good. After the Mazda it was a big change in size. This is a large piece of metal and it always feels that way. I enjoy the higher seating position and the lazy diesel power. This is a vehicle that feels slow but when you look at the speedometer it is actually travelling faster than expected. Although the change between the high revving petrol engine of the Mazda, which was an enthusiastic performer, and the low revving diesel is a total contrast the Nissan’s twin turbo does the job and this is a safe overtaker with plenty of grunt. We had a couple of very steep climbs (short runs) on our road trip where Thais had left their non-diesel vehicles at a lower level and although the Mazda would have made it it would have struggled. The power of the Nissan made it easily with heaps of reserve.
Inside this is a very comfortable place to be with seats that work well over an extended trip and big easy to read white on black instruments. At night the Mazda had red panel lighting, which may make the marketing department happy but for ease of reading was absolutely hopeless. Even school kids know that red on black is the worst combination for clarity but Mazda must have missed that class. The dual climate control air con is very efficient and has no trouble quickly cooling the car and keeping it at the set temperature. For those of you with Thai partners you will know that they have a different temperature setting than you. In the Mazda I was happy in short sleeves while Gaun had a blanket! In the Nissan we can both set our preferred temperature and everyone’s happy. Just to note that Nissan is the only (I think that’s right) pick-up with air vents to the rear seat passengers and that’s a real bonus.
The extra space inside is welcome and the cockpit looks nothing like a pick-up. It is really pretty upmarket and I think looks flash. The sound system is OK but nothing special. The sat nav is a revelation after my current Garmin portable version, which produces nothing on anything you search for. I have entered several addresses on the Nissan version and nearly fell out of the car when they came up with the places I was looking for. The rest is Garmin standard so pretty good except for the usual Thai odd directions sometimes taking you into backstreets for no obvious reason before rejoining the main road.
The reversing camera is pretty good except where the sun strikes the screen. In western versions you also have the reversing audio warnings but these are an optional extra here. I am getting these plus ones for the front fitted (you have no idea what’s happening low down in front) next week. There are so many unexpected objects in Thai streets that it seems like a good investment. I had them put on the Mazda after I reversed into a low concrete plant pot in Chiang Mai, which luckily only dented the rear bumper and it was able to be pushed out again.
My main concern was that the Nissan had a really firm ride. I was expecting it to be harsher than the Mazda (pick-up v’s sedan) but I wasn’t expecting it to be so unforgiving on choppy roads. It was only after our road trip that I thought about tyre pressure and when I checked they were all pumped to 42 psi while the recommended was 35 psi, except if fully loaded when the rears should be 41 psi. Reducing the pressure made a huge difference and the vehicle now rides surprisingly well and is acceptably comfortable even for an ex-sedan owner. Phew.
Fuel consumption seems to be sitting on around 8.1 litres per 100 km or 35 mpg in the old imperial terms (29 mpg US). As this is around what I was getting with the Mazda I am happy with that. The running cost difference is that the Mazda used E20 petrol (Ethanol) while obviously the Nissan is diesel, which is more expensive. Still the difference isn’t too dramatic although filling a 80 litre tank does make the eyes water slightly when paying the bill the double range between fills is a bonus.
If I think of anything else I will add it in further updates.
Thanks for reading.
Hi Tony, Can I ask a clarification?
I had read that non residents couldn’t own/register a car, so I guess this is not true?
I plan to buy a used-low mileage vehicle, and would want it owned and registered in my name.
Brian
Again sorry for the lateness of my reply due to the blog being off-line.
No, it’s not true from my experience. I not only have a vehicle registered in my name but the loan I have is also in my name, which is very unusual. It is harder to get but can be done.
Great blog.
Thanks for sharing
And thanks for leaving a comment Glyn.
Tony,
An update on the actual purchase of my Toyota Hilux Pickup.
I ended up buying a new Toyota Hilux Revo Double Cab 4×2 Pre Runner “E”. Summary of all that means:
Double Cab; 4 proper doors, 5 seats with 5 seat belts (decided on this because I heard that in the future people will not be allowed to sit in the tray and rear passenger seat belts will be compulsory).
4×2; means that it has only rear wheels driven. I could not justify the extra 60,000 bt for 4 wheel drive as the vehicle will be driven mainly to the city, supermarkets, taking equipment and chemicals and workers to the farm.
PreRunner; means that the suspension is a bit higher (like yours) that is useful for ground clearance on the farm and on the flooded roads.
E: is trim level. I opted for this level of trim as wanted the chrome grill and alloy wheels and trim level.
I live in Udonthani province so sent the Thai secretary to play one dealer against the other. They offered little discount. I also discovered that most of the sales people earn their money on commission based on a share of the profit on the sale.
I then concluded that maybe a dealership in Bangkok would be better; higher sales volume of vehicles and therefore operate on smaller margins.
We then found Toyota Buzz. A company with 4 Toyota Dealerships in Bangkok.
Here are the figures for you:
Toyota Hilux Revo (2017 model “A3”)
Double Cab
Pre-Runner 2×4 2.4 E Actual
“Super White” Bangkok
1st November 2017 bt
List Price 839,000
Less: Super White Paint (not metallic) 7,000
832,000
Less: Discount 9.62% 80,000
752,000
Less: No film on glass 3,000
749,000
1 Insurance (full cover on vehicle) free
2 Insurance 646
4 Number Plate ( Bangkok) 7,000
As per Sales Lady 756,646
PC 350 -0K006 Bed Liner – Type A – Premium 5,750
PC 210 – 0K006 Floor Mats ( 1,000 bt) free
5,750
Less 20% discount 0
5,750
Total Cost 762,396
Add: Red Plate (refunded with new number) 3,000
765,396
Deposit 5,000
Balance 760,396
So I actually managed to get a good discount.
This price included free full cover insurance for one year that is worth about 16,000 bt.
I think that I might have got such a large discount because one month later; Toyota revised the front grill on the 2018 model (only change made) to make it more like the Ford Ranger.
I sent the sister of the Thai secretary to place the order on a Saturday that they had a free raffle ticket for anyone that put a deposit down at the garage. I won first prize, a 50″ Samsung TV. I arrived from the UK, met the Thai secretary and collected the vehicle and TV on the 1st November, stayed the night and then drove back to Udonthani the following day.
That is my experience of buying a vehicle in Thailand.
I have to credit Toyota company and Toyota Buzz with the service so far.
Useful information for others John. Thanks. Safe driving.
Tony
Hi Tony,
I am enjoying reading your posts and learning about your experience in Thailand.
I have seen somewhere here an information about sending money from Australia to Thailand. I have sent money not a long time ago from ANZ Bank to Bangkok Bank and after my new experience with different company Transfer Wise just last week I have realized that I lost a lot of money by doing transfer with ANZ because they charge $18.00 for transaction plus their exchange rate is very low. With Transfer Wise which is now also avaliable in Australia I sent AU$1006.00 including transfer fee and debit card fee of 0.6%. Total fee around $14.50. The current exchange rate is 25.6507 bath for a dollar and Transfer Wise gave me 25.455 bath when ANZ was offering only 24,000.
Savings are 1,455 bath and lower fees. The saving would be substantial if the transferred amount would be higher like $50,000.
Savings around 75,000 Bath. Please check the Transfer Wise and save more.
Best Regards,
Mark
Thanks for that Mark. I still use the on-line Commonwealth Bank international transfer, which has a flat A$22.00 transfer fee. I transfer in Aussie dollars and let Bangkok Bank at the Thai end do the exchange at this end, which is a much better rate than the one Commonwealth offers. For my small(ish) monthly super pension transfers this is fine as the variation in exchange rates doesn’t make too much difference and I get the money usually the next day but for larger amounts there are certainly other non-bank alternatives around that might give you the edge.
Cheers. Tony
My wife and i live about 85k nth west of Udon and we to bought the NP300 4 door auto. We think it’s a great car especially when you are in the real country except i stayed with 2 wheel drive. We also used SIAM and got a very good deal except we had to buy outright as i could not get finance even though i had enough income and as Kanyanatta had no income they would not cover her. 15months on im glad we don’t have the repayments every month and it worked out $12,000 cheaper than the same in Aust.Like yourself had the car blessed. Roads around the village however are deplorable. For pot holes they just put a blob of concrete on it without smoothing it out. The road in front of our house is dirt for about 2 k. With all the rain its becoming almost impassable. Kay sent a letter and pictures to a department in Bangkok and we actually got people from there to come out to inspect and claim they will have it fixed in 6 months.Been like that for 14 year
All the best Phil and Kasy
Hi Phil.
Good to hear from you and your opinion about the Nissan.
We plan to knock the repayments off pretty quickly as my stepdaughter is starting university in a couple of years and I don’t know what costs will be involved with that so want to keep my income as flexible as possible.
We are very lucky in that we are just off a recognised highway (the 228), which has had a lot of new work on it recently and the surface was always pretty good. Once you get into the rural roads the surface can be pretty atrocious especially if chewed up by the big sugar trucks. I had given up on our backroad direct route into Si Bun Ruang, which didn’t even rate a blob of concrete, but they have just resurfaced it so we are good to go for a little while. Good luck with you local road.
Thanks again for your comment.
Best regards to you both.
Tony
That Nissan NP300 Pick Up Truck looks really nice.
I have been looking at buying a Pick Up when I move to Thailand soon and hence interested in your experience.
I am going to also buy new because you just don’t know the history of the vehicles and the difference when you work out the warranty when buying new makes sense. I also intend to keep this vehicle 10 years and maintain it properly unlike thais that generally do nothing until it comes to a grinding halt.
Your 1,000,000 bt Nissan is out of my league.
I am going to go for a Toyota Hilux on the basis of their reputation as being unbustable and getting spare parts as they seem to be the most common.
I would think that you worked out that it was actually cheaper to buy the Nissan NP300 pick up than a comparative sized car due to the higher taxes on cars in Thailand.
With the conditions of some of the roads and not needing the top speed to go faster than 160 kms/hr (just not safe even on dual carriage ways in Thailand with U turns) the pick up truck really makes sense.
For me the pick up truck makes even more sense for taking workers to the farm and for carrying chemicals and materials to the farm.
I shall be going for the Star Cab model. That is the one with the smaller rear doors that open the wrong way (suicide doors) because I shall need more space in the luggage bay. The rear seat is a longbench seat so should be able to get 4 sitting on that bench for short trips. With the talked about regulations of people not being allowed to sit in the luggage bay area might be important in the future; saying that, there is talk of compulsory seat wearing of rear seat belts which the Thai StarCab doesn’t have in the rear but the fixing points are in it for the continental market.
The Toyota Star Cab 2WD Pre-Runner (higher ride position like your Nisan) with a 2.4 Diesel is RRP 749,000 bt. The 4WD version is RRP 799,000 bt.
Do you have any idea what kind of discount for cash purchase you can get at a Toyotal dealership in Thailand?
I am sure that most of your driving is on normal tarmac roads as my driving will be.
Is your Nissan permanent 4WD or can you switch it to only 2WD mode?
And if so; have you ever used the 4WD. I am trying to decide should I buy 2 WD or pay the extra 50,000 bt for the 4WD. 4WD has more components to go wrong.
Caught me at the computer on another hot day John.
I understand your decision to go Toyota and you plan a more varied range of uses than mine will have. Gaun won’t let me use it even for taking garden rubbish to the farm and we are still borrowing my brother-in-law’s truck! I plan to do some more extensive exploring of Thailand and the size plus the lazy power of the diesel makes that more comfortable. The tray will be used if we come across plants or decoration items on our travels. It will never have a hard life.
I was inclined towards the Nissan whatever but I got a super trade-in, which sold the deal. Toyota offered me 100,000 baht for my Mazda while Nissan paid me 300,000 baht. Seeing I bought the car second hand in Chiang Mai for 370,000 three years ago and added over 60,000 km I thought that was too good to knock back.
I have heard from a couple of farang who have tried the discount for cash ask here and they have got absolutely nowhere. The price seems to be more fixed than certainly it is in Australia where there is often some give. Let me know how you go. You might strike it lucky.
I went for the 2WD. I have been driving here for four years now and have never been in a situation where 4WD was required. I am not a real backwoods explorer and I have to say having spent 1 million plus on a vehicle the last thing I would want to do it take it real off-roading.
The main negative to the Nissan if you read all the reports/YouTube etc is that the version with coil springs doesn’t handle heavy loads well. This wasn’t a problem in my case the as it will never be used in that capacity and also the Thai version is still leaf springs or certainly the Sportech is even though an equivalent model in the west would be coil.
I will be interested to hear how it all goes.
Best regards.
Tony
Thank you for that information.
300,000 bt was certainly a good price for a 7 year old Mazda 2. I cannot believe the prices of cars in Thailand because of taxes and that is the reaosn it makes sense for any family to buy a pick up as opposed to a car. I was looking at a Mazda 3 ( 2,000cc) and they are 900,000 bt.
Looks like you did do your research.
I did watch a YouTube of the Nissan NP300 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3FkW5UgKE8
and it would seem that, for you, on normal roads the coil springs are a better drive.
There are a lot of Toyota dealers in Udonthani province so shall try to play one against the other for a discount or at least some freabies like luggage inner protector etc.
I can relate to most of this…my lovely wife Nok was adamant the car was put in my name Mitsubishi didn’t dare argue with her we put 50% down and the rest over 3 months which ment no bank loan the owner of the garage drew up a contract all happy…Red plates until the last payment is made… with the book you have mentioned.the buying of the car is like nothing I have ever experienced in my entire life they were even phoning us at 07.00hrs in the morning… My wife kept saying keep calm all will be ok.
We still have to go back to the dealership for a few extras I have ordered..then the car like yours will be blessed by Nok’s cousin who is deputy head monk in the village Wat. I had only ever driven an auto once in my life so the left leg needs to be tied up lol…the dealer was so concerned for me the sales lady sat with me and Nok all the way home and they sent someone to collect her…great experience….sometimes frustrating but in the end everyone is happy…thanks for your blog..so helpful.
Well done on another milestone to settling in here Ken. I watch new expats (although I am pretty new myself) cross things off the to-do list as I have done until all that is left to do is mostly sit back and enjoy. The car purchase process is uniquely Thai I would think and although the paperwork is excessive as always the people make it a pleasant experience if you relax into it all and move to Thai-time.
Safe driving and I look forward to reading about the next tick on your list.
Tony
Tony,
Interesting that you managed to buy the vehicle in your name and with finance in your name.
You said that the interest rate was low so decided to put on finance; What was the interest rate or amount borowed and monthly payments and number of months?
If you take out fully comprehensive insurance on the vehicle, does that relate to the vehicle, the registered owne or to named drivers?
Hi John. We have been away on a three day road trip with a friend so I am catching up with correspondence.
Confirmation of approval of the car and finance in my name came through on Tuesday, eight days after application. The interest rate is about 5% and the repayments around 6,800 baht a month, which includes a loan protection insurance for the bank, over 5 years, on about 360,000 borrowed.
The free insurance that comes with the deal is on the car only. I will change it to AXA next year, which quoted 14,000 pa.
Tony
Thank you for replying to my question.
6,800bt x 5 yrs x 12 months => 408,000 bt on 360,000 bt loan is certainly cheap in Thailand.
14,000 bt (though a lot for a Thai) seems cheap for the chances of an accident in Thailand.
I gather that is like Fully Comprehensive in the UK?
Hi John. Sorry for the delayed response.
Yes. It is the same as comprehensive insurance in our worlds of UK or Australia. I find myself often getting caught out on thinking “Thai” with some costs after living here for a while. 14,000 baht in Australian insurance terms is very cheap but my first reaction is to think that it is expensive! Mind you I do that with food too. We get a great noodle meal for 25 baht in the village and when someone wants 40 baht in Udon I go “wow” that’s too much and walk away 🙂
Hi Tony,
We went through a similar process last year when we bought a Yamaha 125 motorcycle and also a Toyota Vios we had the same treatment as yourselves at the showrooms and also a blessing of both vehicles at the temple in our case the car was blessed with markings on the sun visor but on the motorcycle these were marked on the outside as well as I can only describe as a thick rope tied onto the steering wheel spindle and also the steering on the bike a bit disconcerting at first but nothing has seized as yet! Like you I have found Isaan people very superstitious.
As always another good read
Nobby & Nond
Now you just need a cowboy hat and a gun rack behind the seat and you will fit right into southern USofA…..
Seriously, the elephant looks great.
Both can be arranged I am sure. These pickups are babies compared to some of the ones I have seen in the US. This is quite big enough for me. Gaun is slightly overwhelmed about driving it both for size and cost reasons but I hope to get her to try. I am pleased you like Chang as it will be at your service when you visit.
Buying a new vehicle – what an interesting experience!
Hope you all have many safe and fun travels in Chang….
We are missing terrible weather hitting further south from us. There’s been awful damage and many people in trouble.
Love to you all
Pippa & Andrew
It was a very Thai experience in that although it seemed to take forever it was all very relaxed and friendly. You just have to settle in to going with the flow.
We are planning a trip to Chiang Mai for some specialised shopping later in the year. Maybe we can time it for when you and Andrew will be there.
I am pleased to hear you are missing out on the floods and damage. The climate in Australia seems to be more extreme these days although cyclones are nothing new.
Thanks for the comment and lovely to hear from you.
All the very best.
Tony and Gaun.
Hi Tony
It would be lovely to see you both again!
We are arriving 15 Dec and will be staying until mid Feb. We will see the flower festival again…. We are spending 4 nites at Chiang Dao end of Jan.
Enjoyed your photos of Mutmee Guesthouse. We have also stayed there and loved it.
Love to you both
Pippa
The best time of the year to be in the north. Lovely weather. We will organise our dates around your visit if that’s OK and say hello. We want to pick up a few more garden pots from a place on the way to Chiang Rai, some more exotic plants from Chiang Mai (Isaan has lots of cheap plants but they tend to be limited in choice) and stay overnight in Chiang Dao – at The Nest, to enjoy their restaurant. Is that where you stay? Last time we were in Chiang Dao Gaun found a lady selling bulbs that she wants more of in the carpark just outside the caves.
Songkran is in full swing here with moo ban parties booked in to visit over the next few days. The kids are all set up in the village and the water fights are underway. Great fun.
Hi to Andrew.
Hi Tony
That sounds great! Yes – we have booked Nest 2, arriving 22 Jan for 4 nites. Will look forward to a special dinner with you both – remember the restaurants are closed on Thursday nite.
I was wondering what your specialised shopping was. Didn’t think of plants!
Cheers
Pippa
Congratulations guys, how exciting. Please send our belated birthday wishes to Peng,
Will do Sam.
Nice looking ute and another great informative Blog thanks Tony. Many happy and safe km to you Gaun and Peng. Cheers Ian
Thanks a lot as always Ian. We now have plenty of room for your bike, airplane and any other hobby equipment you might bring over 🙂
Hi Tony and Gaun
Congrats on your new pickup. I have driven mine for over a year now and I have no complaints with my NP300. Great car.
Hey Terry. Great to hear from you. Yes, we finally got there now that the budget has settled down. I hope the mangos are growing well and life is as good as it was when we saw you last year. Please give our very best regards to Ning.