License plate numbers in Thailand
I've had a thing for car license plates all my life. Call it an anomaly, something everyone is entitled to have some, right? It started when I was a very small boy and to this day I can't take my eyes off the license plate numbers of cars I encounter or pass.
Almelo (NL)
I lived close to a main road – there were no bypasses yet – and I regularly sat on the sidewalk to write down the numbers of passing cars. That was easy, because there wasn't much traffic yet and they often had to stop for railway barriers. The cars still had provincial numbers, so it was already special if a car passed by with a license plate that did not start with the letter E of Overijssel. If I was lucky, a column of English soldiers would pass by, coming from Germany on their way home, because then I would get chewing gum or even an unopened can from their rations.
First car
My first car, a canary yellow Ford Escort, for which I paid the handsome sum of $8.400 in cash, was numbered 16-33-XA. Do you remember the license plate number of your first car? I kept the license plates of the following cars for a long time, but unfortunately that list has been lost. I don't even remember the number of my last car before I moved to Thailand, a Saab 95.
(Diego Fiore / Shutterstock.com)
Germany
The provincial indications soon disappeared in the Netherlands in the early XNUMXs, but the geographical indications on cars in Germany are still present. In my working life there were periods when I drove a lot through Germany by car and I can say that I could say where almost all cars with a German license plate came from. France also still has those provincial designations, I knew some of them, but not as well as Germany.
Thailand
In Thailand you can also see where a car comes from, because the province is mentioned on the license plate. I can't read Thai, but I do recognize Pattaya and on weekends I also see the many cars from Bangkok. I don't know the letters for the numbers, but I do pay attention to special combinations. If it's a very low number – say 1 – then you know that the number has been bought by the owner. You can also submit a request for other special numbers for a fee.
Auction of license plate numbers
I came to this topic because of a report in the Phuket Gazette reporting that another auction of “lucky” number plates had taken place in Phuket. More than 300 numbers were auctioned by the Phuket Land Transport Office, raising a total of over 22 million Baht. “The highest bid was 1.111.111 Baht for the number Gor Ror 9999 and the lowest price of 6060 Baht was paid for Kor Ror 23.000,” said PLTO Deputy Chief Nanthapong Cherdchu.
“All in all, the annual license plate auctions, which have already been held 11 times, totaled just over 195 million baht. The proceeds will be used for wheelchairs and prosthetics for people who are seriously injured and who cannot afford the aids themselves,” he added.
I take the man at his word!
– Reposted message –
Nice article again Gringo.
I myself have nothing to do with cars and car license plates, but during the many thousands of kilometers that I have now driven on Thai roads, I have used the license plates to practice reading Thai letters. First by recognizing the individual letters in the license plates, using my wife who sits firmly next to me as a check, and now I'm ready to read many of the province names as well. Not all yet, but a lot. By the way, the license plates of cars from Pattaya state Chonbury (ชลบุรี), the name of the province to which Pattaya belongs.
Regards,
Michel
Nice story Gringo, I don't care so much about license plates, but more about what's in between, also here, where I live in the Isaan now, it's still my hobby and hobby, Cars, my last one in the Netherlands was one, and that was really funny! A Subaru Impreza 555.
Speaking of license plates, I lived in Germany for a while, in Bad Bentheim, I think you are familiar with it, I had my fixed license plate there for 16 years, they call it a "Wünschkennzeichen" the first three capital letters started with ... quiz question!, the rest consisted of 2 letters and 3 numbers of your choice.
Then something else!, you also write about Almelo, in the time when I didn't have a driver's license yet, I went to school in Almelo on the moped in good weather, that school building was then called Huize Castello, from halfway Losser / Oldenzaal, to Weerselo, then left via the Almelo-Nordhorn canal, I always found a beautiful route to drive.
Good luck with your writing, I love reading your stories.
Answer to Quiz Question: NOH.
Oh, almost forgot about the moped, that was a Puch with a high handlebar.
License plates of commercial vehicles in TH ALSO show the number of the province. There are also special series + colors for buses - even further subdivided, trucks - private or from govmt. Army, Navy, Royal huis etc have their own series, usually with the numbers in Thai.
Quite popular in those markets that sell old knick-knacks (oh, excuse me antiques), like rotfai in BKK, are license plates from all over the world and old serials from TH.
Lovers of Thai license plates can enjoy themselves here:
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http://www.samuitimes.com/thai-number-plates-explained
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With regard to the red plates with black letters that you sometimes see on (new) cars (trade plates, say trade license plates), I have always understood that they must be replaced by normal ones within a few months, but that the Thai often take longer to do so. continue to drive than is allowed, in order to be able to show that they are driving a new car. There must be a grain of truth in that, but how it is exactly is not clear to me from the article in the link. It also appears to be a way of avoiding taxes. That already sounds a lot less amazing.
Without kidding, recently saw a car with a Belgian license plate: BUA 555. Probably a Belgian who is tired of his Thai wife or girlfriend? Thought this was very funny to see. In Thai you write bua as เบื่อ. The 555 is known to everyone what this stands for, I think.
Our registration number on the moped '3636' - or two times 9 - did not bring us much luck.
That whole moped was recently stolen. Unfortunately…
Dear editors, last February the car of the year 2016 would be chosen from 5 nominees.
Question: has a winner already been announced? m.vr. gr.
See: http://www.ford.co.th/en/about/newsroom?article=1249201319885
Nostalgia…..
Can definitely remember the registration number of my first car, XK-71-24
Well, car, a Fiat 500 from year 1958, such a 2-cylinder stew pot with doors that open forward, a linen roof that could open all the way to the back and a direction indicator that was operated by a plastic handle in the middle of the dashboard . Rarely driven such an unreliable vehicle. In the winter, the battery was placed next to the heater in the (vain) hope that it would start the next morning. Luckily it was light enough that I could lift the cart by the rear bumper to get it into the shed to park. Because of that open roof I once drove home with 7 (naval) men from Den Helder, no idea how they fit in. However, there was a "cruise control" in the form of "hand throttle", a metal rod on a cable with which the gas could be fixed. Handy if you wanted to sit on the back of the driver's seat with your head sticking out of the sunroof…..
I have an orange license plate with number ชลบุรี 233
Does anyone know what vehicle this plate is from?
Chonburi – Small trailers, road rollers, tractors and agricultural vehicles
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Thailand
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thais_kenteken
I also have a thing for license plates, my first was CXG 300, for my Australian Holden Prime Minister. My last (until now) is a Dacia NB 521 T. I still have all 16(!) intermediate license plates, Renault, Chrysler, Simca and Fiat on the plates of the trailers. Hang neatly nailed to the beams in the shed.
Just think and yes, first car dd27tk, celica liftback, 2nd jl21hl vw golf, 3rd kp33np tradesat
4th pv86rf mazda and then it becomes more difficult in terms of license plate. Actually missing 2 more, another Mazda and a Chrysler. It's actually incomprehensible that it's still in your head after so many years.
My last now here is 70lssv, this buddy I've had for 18 years now, a skoda octavia RS
But back in the car, we (with brother and sister) also looked at license plates, a game to claim as many cars as possible with your name letters in them.