Travel to DALLAS, TX

After I (had just) got my driver's license, I was sooooo eager to get a car, obviously a used one (the cheapest price for a new car is around $15,000 ~ 490,000฿, while an average price for a good conditioned, used one is around $7,000 ~ 490,000฿)

Actually, I did research about used cars and new cars for a while, but couldn't do anything as I had no license!!! NOW IS MY TIME TO DO SHOP THEM HA HA HA

After I research the car price over the Internet, I found that, in the big city, I will, definitely, get a better car than those in my town, with the same rate. Spending a lot of time researching, Mon and I had Dallas as a conclusion for a shopping place. Moreover, we can go meeting Nunn (Mon's gig) at Denton (neighboring city).

OK, come back to the details of traveling to Dallas.

For your information, let me talk about Greyhound, the public ground transportation of US-คล้ายๆ บ.ข.ส. ประเทศไทยแหละ. Please remember that, in US, if you made a reservation pretty long time before the trip (e.g. 1 week), you will get some significantly discount. In my case, Mon chose to pay for the ticket one week before the trip, we got only $58 instead of $90.

I arrived the bus station a little bit early, and it surprise me. The greyhound bus station in my city was farrrrr more different than those in my imaginations (I imagined more than one :p). Take a look at the picture T_T



Moreover, it was 6 hours to travel with greyhound to Dallas (เมื่อยตูด อย่างแรง). Before we arrived Shreveport, the little Latin boy was so annoying. He kept crying and shouting (สาดดด เด๋วตบกลิ้ง ไอ้เด็กเวร). We take a long break (about 30 min.) at Shreveport, LA.


Shreveport greyhound bus station had a very interesting guard (see picture)

And then after we continue traveling, the other white children started playing and yelling!!! (and when they didn't had something they want, they'll start crying T_T)





By the way, we arrived Dallas safely :) - around 5-6 PM.

After we arrived Dallas, we go to "Enterprise" (the car-rental company), rent a car and drive to Super 8 Hotel. Here is a tip for anyone who didn't own any GPS (Global Positioning System, an expensive device being used for telling about 'WHERE YOU ARE' in the world and can give you the road direction to the place you want to go), you can use Google maps. It is very helpful.

Next day, we started to finding cars in our list...

Fortunately, the hotel provided high-speed internet (around 6 Mbps). I can use high-speed internet at my room, send a copy of google map to my mail and used share printer at the (very small) lobby to get map printed. By the way, with our bad luck and the suck of the traffic sign system here, we always get lost!!!

In the morning, we would like to go to a Mitsubishi dealer, but ended up with another Mitsubishi dealer. When I asked the dealer that is this the address I am seeking, he lied to me "yes, of course". Oh man... And he took me to test a car - Mitsubishi Galant, year 2000.

He tried almost everything to sold me that car. I tried to tell him that I just want more time to think about it.... At the first time, he tried to sold it to me at $9,500. I told him that I can't afford it... Hey tried to give me a monthly payment option (with some interest rate, as we knew). I never agree with this kind of option (why we had to pay more???). I confirmed him that I had only $7,000 to spend, and it is cash. Then he left me for a while ... and come back to told me that I was so lucky, with cash pay at that time, the deal can be closed with only $7,000. HOLY SHIT!!! $9,500 to $7,000 man.... Don't have to think about how much profit they made from selling used car. I drove that car and felt something bad about the suspension. After we check the car history from CarFax.com, we saw a lot of suspension repair/check/replace list... No doubt, this car might have suspension problem.

Finally, we can get out from that tricky dealer safely (phewwww)

We spent almost 2 hours with this dealer T_T (I tried to get out since 1 hr after we finished test driving)

After that, we had to go to meet another private car owner at Mesquite Mall. We had lunch at the A&W there.

When we met this private car owner (we trade privately, no dealer to make profits), we found that the Honda Accord Special Edition '97 is in a very good shape. Especially when comparing to its price - $4,900.

Monn (the Honda professional) said the engine is in a good shape, I felt the suspension is good also. Only some scratch on the exterior body, interior still very good.

We love this car, even it is old (10 yrs) but the condition is still good and we can save a lot of money (we don't have to spend all $7,000 budget, right?). We tried to bargain to $4,500 but the deal was closed at $4,700. It's OK :)

So lucky, we got a car in 1 day :) then we can return the rented car to Enterprise earlier, and paid only for 1 day rental, hippy :) - save more money.

After that day, we spent time to travel around Dallas and its vicinity, with Nunn.

Please see pics @ my web album, I already give stories with picture there.

So tired... so long story ...

Wanna talked a little bit more details, but I can't hold it any more T_T

Thanks for reading everyone

Regards,
Fug U Man

Say hello to my BLOG and my driver's license :)

First of all, greeting my new blog. Everything in this blog, written by me, will be English, except for something that English can't give a right expression (e.g. เช็ดเข้เอ๊ยยยย)

Hoping that my friends gonna forgive me in changing blog address (again) and not writing in Thai.

OK, back to my story.

I'd just got a driver's license for a couple days, very proud of it (T_T).

Yes, I just said I am so proud of it.

First of all, let me told you how important driver's license is. The driver's license is an important photo ID card. Almost every where accept driver's license as a personal id card (แม่งใช้กันแทนบัตรประชาชนเลยครับ). And, of course, I can't drive any car without this license.

It's importance didn't make me sooooo proud of it, not at all. The hardness of getting this card did.

Before I was eligible to have a test, by Louisiana Law, I had to have a basic driving course certificate. This class cost me $35.00 (กรวยเอ๊ย แพงสาดดดด), plus I had to pass the after class examination (no less than 80%), or I lose my $35.00 for nothing (สาดดดด). Luckily, I passed this test and got a certificate. It seems like this test didn't give me any benefit (except for certificate to get a real test), but, by the way, it taught me quite a lot about basic law and rules of driving in US (แต่กรูก็อ่านเองได้สาดดดด หนังสือที่ DMV-Department of Motor Vehicle- เค้าก็แจกฟรี)

OK, that's the first step to get my driver's license. I had that kind of class last month, but didn't have enough free time (and also my friends, who had to took me to the DMV). Then, before going to have a test, I had to review all of content in the book, almost like I never had that class before. The difference is the teacher in that class will emphasize SOMETHING that might be in the real test (พูดตรงๆ แม่งบอกข้อสอบ).

And I took the paper test in the morning. The test was easy, and I could communicate (both listening and speaking) quite well this day (my communication ability is not steady, depending on .... I don't know ว่ะ แม่งแล้วแต่วัน) then I had some confident that the road test is gonna be not hard. It is quite easy to drive here. Almost everything is the same as it was in Thailand, just follow the direction of traffic signs (speed limits, etc.), except for the left-hand side driver and the right-of-way (ประเทศไทยชิดซ้าย ที่นี่ชิดขวา). Mon and I passed the paper test easily.

In the afternoon, I came back to have a road test. I didn't know what happen to me. At that time, I started to got bad communication. (Ohhhhhh sardddd).

Before I drove a car (borrow from my Thai friend here--thanks to you P' Kan--but the real owner is P' Kan's Korean friend), I had to demonstrate the basic car system, e.g. turn light, head light, and horn. My nervousness started to make me got worse communication (T_T). Luckily I can make a right guess about what she (the tester) said.

Then, I started to drive. The tester told me the way (which I had already learned from P' Kan, and from history, the route had never been changed), and I just drove as she said.

The speed limit was changed in some part of the road test, the tester waned me twice about the speed limit. I just follow the car in front of me, and not try to make a traffic jam. After she warned me, I slow down, and the traffic behind me started to be jammed.

In one little street (คำว่า street นี่มันซอยแล้วนะ สำหรับ US) I saw a stop sign (pretty close) and the tester told me to stop. She just said "stop". I thought she want me to stop at the stop sign (like warn me, as she did when she saw me drive over the speed limit), so I didn't pull over (แปลว่าจอดรถ). Then, she started to use a hard voice, I still didn't get her. Finally, she scold, "STOP THE VEHICLE COMPLETELY". กรวยเอ๊ยยยยย, I scream in my head, ใครจะไปรู้ป้ามึงฟะ ว่ามึงจะให้กูหยุดตรงนี้เนี่ย (before the stop sign about 10-20 feet). All I could say (at that time) was "sorry ma'am" (โวยวายเดี๋ยวมันไม่ให้กูผ่าน). Then she gently order me to back up (แปลว่าถอยหลังนะจ๊ะ), stop again and went forward.

After the hardest time (for me) in the test, everything was just fine :)

I had been warned about speed limit and changing lane without blind-spot checking, and passed the road test (WAHAHAHAHAHA).

Sooooo stress, man...

And I got my driver's license, just right after the road test (take a picture and got the card, sooo fast).

Ahhhh... just alleviate me one step....

Now I have to consider about buying a car, hard time again.....

The plan is we (Mon and I) will go to Dallas (near Denton, where Nunn'd just arrived) and get a car. There are a lot of good car there, and their prices are much more cheaper than in Ruston.

I'll post the car buying experience again when I got one.

Thanks to whomever be patient and keep reading until this line :)

FUG U MAN