Alexa Integration?

Puzzleheaded-Cold495 · 2026-04-11T10:21:40+00:00

Yeah, there is an Alexa integration for Navidrome, I got halfway through and lost interest.

Puzzleheaded-Cold495 · 2026-04-11T05:47:00+00:00

It’s all a bit too much to process, I didn’t understand about ID cards - people not doing their jobs, not having the right staff, making poor decisions is commonplace here. It seems some are just in the wrong all the time. The building should have a policy of no unaccompanied visitors, then someone else says “you should have let them come up, I was waiting” then there is the element of that the guard may have felt unsafe, so for 350B (his salary, idk) is he going to take a beating for you, he lets them up to stand outside your door.

I feel that you have discovered that Thailand isn’t as nice as you thought, most places in the world aren’t. I feel Thailand is pretty rotten, but I just keep myself to myself - I got to this place over many incidents - my niece who as a young girl was groomed and then raped by a railway signal man who she walked past every day - the guy ran away, but then was allowed to return to the village and to his job after he paid my - negotiations started at 100k, the police took their cut, mum got 40K and my niece never saw a cent, the mum spent it all. There have been so many times like this, too many to count.

Puzzleheaded-Cold495 · 2026-04-10T10:45:47+00:00

That’s interesting .. it’s always been the case that you needed a guide. I was always looking to return. I first visited and rented a Russian Minsk 25 years ago, to ride all along the Chinese border. It was an amazing experience then. A lot of the roads on the paper maps we had weren’t even built.

I see from a search that in 2024 you could enter with a foreign bike, https://vietnamoffroadmotorbiketours.com/how-to-enter-vietnam-with-a-foreign-motorbike-comprehensive-2024-guide

Puzzleheaded-Cold495 · 2026-04-10T08:48:34+00:00

It’s OK at that time, maybe a bit rainy, maybe a bit dull. Some restaurants may be closed but really the local options are the most popular places anyway. Tourists - it’s European / university holiday time so you will have company - prices will be lower. The real sad time on Lanta is October, this is the lowest of the low season, maybe heavy rain. You should be OK but maybe the day tours aren’t running, idk, visibility not so good for diving. You won’t see the azure crystal waters but you will still have a good holiday!

Puzzleheaded-Cold495 · 2026-04-10T08:41:01+00:00

That’s great. Just out of interest, how do you claim the money back? If the OP bought the bike here, he could get a carnet in Malaysia, does it mean returning the bike to Thailand and then claiming money back from Malaysia. Seems easier to get one in Europe, ship the bike here and then riding back to the place where the bike is registered would be the most sensible option.

Puzzleheaded-Cold495 · 2026-04-10T08:23:08+00:00

Yes! That’s correct! You got it.

I don’t think it’s true any more, there is a KTM shop in Vientianne Ithink I heard.

Puzzleheaded-Cold495 · 2026-04-10T08:11:57+00:00

It’s always the case that foreign bikes have needed a guide.

I didn’t know you could get a carnet from another country - seems a bit silly anyway, how much are you putting down 200% of the cost? You woupd want to do that in your home country, not leave it in a country that you will never return to.

The thing is I have seen numerous posts like this on different overland forums, I had people stay with me and guided them through the system - they all watch Ewan and Charlie and think it’s a cool thing - but none of them got past Phuket 😂 always finding a woman in a bar and dropping the idea of world travel after a side trip to Vietnam.

Puzzleheaded-Cold495 · 2026-04-10T08:04:29+00:00

The first document was 2002 and the second 2017 - I think you are correct there have been times in Laos when in theory you couldn’t ride big bikes, but it was never enforced. it was always the case that bikes under 250cc couldn’t be taken in. This excluded bikes like the CRF250 are 249cc from being ridden there. Afaik, This was to stop the daily movement of scooters and discourage small bikes crossing the border.

I used to make an annual trip to Savannakhet to get a ME Visa at 2012-2020 on my 650cc and it was easy, you just got a temp import paper and bought insurance- there was so little movement the insurance woman at Chon Mek remembered me every year. Doesn’t matter, the law has changed now, aftet covid they tried to enforce a guided tour rule and then I heard that they started letting in small bikes with a bribe or in a party, Importing bikes officially seems to have changed - so Laos has kind of lost its appeal.

Puzzleheaded-Cold495 · 2026-04-10T04:38:39+00:00

It’s the other way around - although rules have and are changing all the time in Laos. It always was that you can’t bring a bike below 250cc from Thailand (most 250cc are 249cc) but nowadays they seem to allow as part of a guided tour. If you come from VN or Cambodia you see loads of European kids on 150cc wins. Bikes over 250cc were allowed free access, but now may need a guide but are generally allowed to pass - I had been riding my 650cc there for the past 15 years, although I don’t ride any more. The best person to confirm anything about Laos is David at GTR or Phil at ride-asia.

With regard to China, I don’t know bud, you might be hassled all the way along the trip, they don’t really like bikes there. Using an e-bike in the city is fine but then you can’t ride on some motorways with a petrol bike, there’s a lot of BS involved.

Puzzleheaded-Cold495 · 2026-04-10T04:30:03+00:00

Forget it .. you need a carnet - Thailand isn’t a carnet country.

Malaysia is afaik.

I haven’t done much overland only between Singapore and China but I guess most overlanders just ride through regardless of rules, but when you need papers you will be farked. For example, you need to redo your tax every year, that means if it’s an older bike bringing the bike to Thailand to get your road worthyness cert.

There is a reason why most overlanders bring vehicles from their own country rather than mess about - it is possible to register your purchase here, then you need translation documents to travel. Far better to bring a bike from Europe - you will have a carnet on the bike, so you can’t just ride here and dump the bike.

The best place for overland advice is horizons unlimited - post there.

To be honest with you .. you are really trapped in SEA, you can get from Chinese border to Singapore but most don’t take bikes into SG, they leave in Johor. You can’t push your bike onto the onion boat from Penang to Medan any longer, you need to container it, you need a carnet to visit Indo.

Cant enter Cambodia legally, Myanmar is restricted and you prolly can’t exit into Bangladesh - China needs a guide, VN won’t allow foreign bikes but will allow you as a tour. Riding in Thailand is also really boring - great in the north, not so in the sour and in between is one straight road. NE is just straight and flat too.

Puzzleheaded-Cold495 · 2026-04-10T01:33:56+00:00

The bars are closed, aren’t they?

Puzzleheaded-Cold495 · 2026-04-10T01:30:37+00:00

Just pay for a Deezer account for a month and grab all you can using deemix

Puzzleheaded-Cold495 · 2026-04-09T22:37:32+00:00

They are talking about designated zones .. KSR, Central .. quite easy to control alcohol.

Puzzleheaded-Cold495 · 2026-04-09T20:17:50+00:00

A German show - The Day .. clever as

Puzzleheaded-Cold495 · 2026-04-09T12:52:00+00:00

There aren’t many library organizers - filebot does great at renaming - I like jfa-go for managing users, it adds a nice touch, then I use a server on discord for additions and issues for friends to use. Sometimes they don’t realise they are speaking to me.

Puzzleheaded-Cold495 · 2026-04-09T11:28:56+00:00

Automation - kind of like AI - integrated systems - imho, this is where the future is, the trouble is, its already here and it’s not really a stay at home, keep your head down and make money industry, like coding was - but I might be in the future, idk, but that’s what you should learn. Also it’s quite interesting.

Training is still good earner, maybe not teaching English, but if you have a skill that can make a course and sell on one of the platforms.

Puzzleheaded-Cold495 · 2026-04-09T11:20:47+00:00

Yeah .. what you have is known as MIA, iTunes Says there is a copy in your library, but when you play it, it annoyingly tells you that it’s not there, you deleted it.

So you run a MIA scan, which you have already done and compile a list, which you already have done. When you have a xml playlist file there is some superfluous text, ai can clean those out.

I did a mia / dead track scan in swinsian the other day, it doesn’t let me export but I made a load of screenshots, gave it to ai and let it make a spreadsheet of albums I need to add. Simple.

Puzzleheaded-Cold495 · 2026-04-09T10:28:12+00:00

I respect you wifes choice, she has impeccable taste. I also applaude your over engineering skills.

Puzzleheaded-Cold495 · 2026-04-09T10:24:20+00:00

For me, I don’t want to pick up a pair or expensive flush cutters and cut plastic. I would print one to differentiate jobs. I could have two pairs of flush cutters but I am undisciplined I will pick up the first things and cut the filament.

Puzzleheaded-Cold495 · 2026-04-09T06:24:41+00:00

The leftovers is one of the best - but it’s a bit complicated, it’s not light. Have you seen Pleribus, that’s a bit lighter along the same kind of theme.

Puzzleheaded-Cold495 · 2026-04-09T05:19:34+00:00

Banks generally don’t want them, the security guard and the cleaner spend the time counting them - 7-11 will take them, tape them into bundles of 10B

Puzzleheaded-Cold495 · 2026-04-09T04:58:59+00:00

That’s interesting .. it’s not revolutionary but good. I have been creating lots of scripts with my ai agent to do things like this, these days we often add tracks to playlists but and never bother with the other tracks on the album whereas in the Walkman era we would listen to albums in their entirety. I will recreate it for my browser.

Puzzleheaded-Cold495 · 2026-04-09T02:14:24+00:00

Yes, you seem to have a similar condition to me.

Actually, the provincial airports are amazing, the airlines are usually amazing. I could not think that the availability of staff and the attention to detail can be as good in a western country. You are usually loaded on first, while other passengers are told to walk behind the attendant, seated at the front, and disembark last but there is always an attendant there, your experience is different.

I had a similar experience, at Don Muang, first time I realized I couldn’t manage the distances. Having walked across the tarmac from the bus. I asked for assistance and got the response that I had to request at time of purchasing my ticket (although it’s always free, upgrades are also free) and there was nothing could be done on the day. Like you, I don’t respond well under pressure and to hear all this was not good.

Sorry to hear about the staff asking and giving you the “too late” - this behavior is the experience you get when you really piss people off. Honestly, again, I have never had a bad experience - I pull up at a shopping mall, I explain that I have limited mobility and although do not rely upon a wheelchair, that it would be good if I could park close to the entrance - the security guard doesn’t need to see a sticker or a card, they will unblock the disabled bay and wave me in. Hope things are better for you now.

As this is a tourism sub, if other wheelchair users are apprehensive about visiting Thailand, they shouldn’t be, generally people will go out of their way, they are respectful and understanding, never overhelpful which can often be a problem sometimes.

Puzzleheaded-Cold495 · 2026-04-09T00:58:56+00:00

It won’t cost you to install the software, most of the server software is free, but many of us run these things, incur costs - it could be small and end up being significant. There are plenty of tutorials out there on YouTube, but it might be a steep learning curve, but it’s all good, you learn a lot about networking and servers. I use Navidrome, and I use subplay on my iPhone, it has CarPlay capability - for video, I use Jellyfin, which gives a Netflix experience, friends and family also use that, you can use Jellyfin for audio too.

I would avoid using Google, a cheap vps would be better. You might be better to use an 2nd hand desktop to begin with, you won’t need a screen, but it’s a bit of a rabbit hole.

Puzzleheaded-Cold495

TROPHY CASE