TheScribe

My partner wants me to buy a bike for her teenage son. I'm not keen on that for a number of reasons, one of them being the legality of his riding at a young age. How old do you have to be to ride a motorcycle in Thailand?  (And, unfortunately I also have to ask, is the law enforced to any serious degree?)

Anyone know which cars sold in Thailand have cabin air filters? As far as I know, my 2009 Mazda 3 does not, but recent Toyota Vios models do.

I'm asking this because a day's driving in Chiang Mai city gives me a cough, and I would like to change to something with better cabin air quality.

Just treated myself to a litre bottle of Ballantine's Finest - a modest but drinkable Scotch.

As usual, the Thai Govt. managed to spoil the fun - tried to get the screw top off but there's a horrible mass of sticky gluey sh*te holding down the stupid tax sticker.   After a fight, I got the sticker off but the glue gets on my fingers every time I go for a refill. Its OK that I pay the tax, but why the sticky yucky fingers all evening?

Also, the bottle's got one of those effing mega-stupid restrictors - as if I'm only a baby and can't judge how much I'm pouring into a glass! Tip the bottle over your glass and get two drops; shake the bottle vigorously for a proper drink and get a double-double-and-a-shot.

Are most Thais stupid as children because they EXPECT their Govt. to treat them as children??

Solutions? Anyone tried steaming or dissolving off the glue sh*te?  Can you pull the restrictor out with hefty pliers?  

Knowledgeable advice much appreciated.  Thanks.

I'm going to Switzerland and the UK next week - I'm taking my new MacBook Pro and an old Nokia. I have pre-pay SIMs for both counties just for calls, but I'm strongly tempted to buy an iPhone (synching contacts from the MacBook would save a lot of aggravation).

32GB iPhone 4 in Switzerland is CHF 899 = THB 30,300.
8GB iPhone 3G[s] is CHF 629 = THB 21,200 ( and no micro-SIM issues)

Does this seem a good idea? Will it be possible to buy a reasonable deal for the phone from AIS or True when I get back to Thailand?

China Eastern are now flying a daily return CNX to Kunming (arriving KMG at 11:00 pm).  
However, I cannot find info or prices on the Web.

Anyone used this service?  Do they have an office at CNX or a preferred travel agent in town?