123ace

For great Thai seafood, try the restaurants in Ban Amphur. We prefer Precha's and Toey. Right on the water. Precha's is PACKED on the weekends...

I don't live near there but I second the Precha Seafood recommendation The beach near Precha's is ok as well and never crowded during the week.

I sometimes hop on my bike and cruise down Sukumvit (towards Sattahip) turning left turn on the road leading to Silverlake, then left again on Route 331( Correct number?) cruising back towards East Pattaya, ending up for a beer at the 9999 beer, convenience store, restaurant. The countryside is refreshing and it seems as if you were 100s of kilometers from the hustle and bustle of Pattaya

Another nice ride is if you take the left turn before the Silverlake turn. This takes you into a large temple/park area (can't remember the name). Just keep straight on until you are in the centre of the temple area, where there's often a few tourist buses around. Bear to the right (signposted for route 331). This road takes you past the monks houses, through a forested area and eventually onto the 331. The roads are excellent and very quiet.

Dont tell everyone !!!!! its a nice quiet area that i like to go cycling !!!! lots of small roads to explore

This is where I do my cycling every weekend and the exact same thoughts passed through my mind - less cars please!

I have seen huge wild boars on this stretch with massive tusks as well as 100's of monkeys and snakes...

You need to name the building, however based on the age I woudl say that with river views the lowest price may be THB 40,000. - and if the buidling is well maintained etc then up to THB 65,000. - It may be a bit higher if the kitchen, toilets etc have had a full recent modernisation, but if its all 20 years old then the price will be way down on CBD numbers.

Yes abit worrying especially because the economist magazine thinks the baht is undervaled. I moved a large portion of my savings out of US dollars and into thai baht (equities actually) in January.

It seems clear that the dollar will see a major decline, as such the THB will improve sharply possibly below even 25 (the historical benchmark pre 97 anyway). Thereafter exports will crash as goods will be over priced and the exporters will no doubt refuse to drop prices in a timely manner (as is their way) and a sharp drop in profits will be seen due to reduced demand and follwed by a crash in the currency to remain competitive. wait and see..

Wait a few years more. The tech is relatively new and this country is seen (excsue the pun) as having a large volume of airborne irritants (ask yourself - can you smell stuff in the air? and I don't mean flowers!). An expert (the guy that invented the tech) stopped me from doing this about 10 years ago, so now maybe its ok now, but its a conveyor belt service selling health care services, and once you have shaved the cornea there is a lack of surface volume integrity in the event of a future eye infecetion. Red eye infecetions were very common here 10+ years ago.

Live with it, wear glassess, that's what I did.

20 years of sports car driving here and have been stopped for speeding, not speeding at all and even when stationary (twice!). Illegal red number plates (twice - daytime - this is the most annoying scam, I mean offence) Fines have varied from THB 100 - 1,000. -

It happens, you don't have to be doing anything wong. I have had a drunk cop spitting at me in anger (speeding that time - but he was whisky breath - and I was spittle whisky face...), but mostly very poilte and very friendly.

Tip 1 - feign inabilty to speak english (and obviously not Thai) - they may give up for alternative easier targets....

Tip 2 - Pertend to call a big shot friend (or call a big shot friend)

Tip 3 - don't speed & driving a boring car

<P>So you order arrived wrong, you had communciation issues.... big deal. If the owner / manager was not in the premsies at the time as was likley the case then no discount can proably be provided. If you are asking the order taker to pay you back (which is what would happen) then you are just wasting your time and their time pal.</P>

Any negative adjustment in interest rates or new negative influence on this sub-sector of the market would lead to a very significant decline with far reaching consequences.

It's ok to dabble in condo speculating, but does it seem remotely likley that population growth alone is fuelling this demand? obviously not. As foreign tenants are declining the rental return method is boderline obselete.

Its a casino.

Been there, experienced it, its real, may not be in the civil and commercial act, but that's unimportant really.

You may find it an issue if you built on the path / road. Be assured if the locals know that you exist etc this will escalate.

Let them dream - its keeps prices cheap.

If one person has used this as a regular way to get to work historicaly it may be seen as a public right of way and can be forced to be retained irrespective of who owns the land.If your GF purchased it with the road there (as she did) then she should not be looking to remove it just becasue she wants to. Perhaps it will become the proverbial 'hostage strip' of land...The road / path exists for a reason. Find out what that reason was before making a decision

If North Korea can have nuclear energy, why not Thailand? I don't think Thailand is less advance than North Korea.

Is this a joke?

I have experinced the exact same problem with road bike wheels (3 times in immediate succession), I have not been able to assess the source, but suspect it is due to poor fit (by me) of the inner tube and over inflating.

Have you gone through the "proper" channels... posting in forums will not get you results.

Departments such as "Department of Lands", "BMA", "Consumer Protection", etc... you may need a transaltor as filling forms will all be in Thai.

The advice of "...can't get along on the committee and you are not happy then sell and leave and buy somewhere else." may be a bit extreme.. I would suggest the proper channels first. Unloading a condo/home isn't like selling a car.

A word of warning, going through government channels will be slow without constant follow-ups, if you can't speak or read Thai then get a translator.

I should have added that ok you can sell and move, or more reasonably not seek to be on the committee and learn to live with the issues that you are not happy with. In my experience uptight farangs will not make headway with well born Thai's and by getting in to spats over details will not lead to a happy life.

My suggestion is to set up a charity supported by those interested and offer money for sea worn glass particles measuered by the kilo weight etc (avoidng them just breaking bottles and selling it to you). This would provide an opportuity for the hordes of useless to earn some money by doing some good.

To expect the municipal office to get on it and clean up consistently is naive at the extreme.

Ripley, foreigners do not have and could not have a work permit to be on a committee as there is no salary paid and it is not work. It's that simple.<BR><BR>Condo law indicates the basis for a committee member and Juristic person, foreigners are allowed for both.<BR><BR>For other work, such as gardening or house painting, even in your own home, this can be an issue as the foreigner is depriving a local out of work. Sitting on a committee is not depriving a local out of work as it is not  a salary paying postion.<BR><BR>And yes, in real high end condo's in Bangkok (and I don't mean the high profile recent / modern buildings) there is a severe caste sytem with the high end locals dominating things their way on the committee, and foreigners are not that welcome unless the com is dominted by foreigners - when its the other way around foreigners are tolerated and often looked down upon. <BR>

I typed in "'Thai 'Condo Act" & found an interesting conversation (Topic: "Thai condo act 2008" on this very subject. Might want to check it out because it discusses Thai Law regarding condo volunteer work & includes some personal anecdotes.

fair enough, but be assured a work permit is not required as it is not a paid employment role and the condo act specifically states a non-Thai may perform these duties. Some (many) foreigners behave like total jerks on committee's and they annoy the local members, which often leads to results / actions that may appear confusing or contary to the act.

May advice is if you can't get along on the committee and you are not happy then sell and leave and buy somewhere else.

You should drop this issue at this point as you will not get advice significantly more to your likley that is accurate.

The differences between owning a condo in Bangkok or the UK, but the tenant market is likley to remain far more robust and improving in the UK compared with Bangkok (as local English people rent mid and high end apartments whereas Thai are virtually non existent as tentants in the mid - high end here) . Capital values in both locations are dubious and will remain so for the next 2 - 3 years.<BR><BR>In repsonse to an earlier post regarding finacing in the UK. At present the buy to let morgtgage scene is hard as Bank's are not lending, so you may need more than 50%. For bangkok you will need 100% cash anyway.

Ripley, foreigners do not have and could not have a work permit to be on a committee as there is no salary paid and it is not work. It's that simple.<BR><BR>Condo law indicates the basis for a committee member and Juristic person, foreigners are allowed for both.<BR><BR>For other work, such as gardening or house painting, even in your own home, this can be an issue as the foreigner is depriving a local out of work. Sitting on a committee is not depriving a local out of work as it is not  a salary paying postion.<BR><BR>And yes, in real high end condo's in Bangkok (and I don't mean the high profile recent / modern buildings) there is a severe caste sytem with the high end locals dominating things their way on the committee, and foreigners are not that welcome unless the com is dominted by foreigners - when its the other way around foreigners are tolerated and often looked down upon. <BR>

It's in Pattaya. A good bar and Kim the Manager/Owner is a great landlord. Go check it out.

As featured in the recent book ' Live Fire' !!

The upper Bangkok condo market is still moving at a brisk rate.

Anyone who bought when this thread was started would have made a nice profit by now

Any bets one which way the market will move from here?

Sideways till late 2011

Sideways at best, certainly no increases, the risk is that the upper / mid bracket breaks and it pulls the top down with it. rents will almost certainly remain flat with th epotential risk of reducing as the tenant pool is sharply in decline, so there is no positive outlook in real terms.

Quality children starts with responsible parents.

How many chidren are being abandoned into the care of grandparents or other relatives, and how many husbands walk out of their pregnant wives?

Arjan is spending too much time with his books and computer and lacking fieldwork.

and you are spending too much time in bars and have no clue about Thai society...

if u know a little bit more about thai society outside bars then you would know that thai parents are way more responsible than many other western ones...

Ajarn Mark, sorry but you are way off on this and Trogers is quite accurate. I have seen what he describes very frequently in my full 20 years here as a business professional. There are bad parents everywhere in the world obviously, but don't just support the locals on priciple please. Your sweeping statement denies 100% that there is an issue here and seems to border on condoning chronic abuse that is evident to everyone. This is not a comparison test and you should open your eyes, or perhaps go to a bar!

I watch it at O'reilly's on Silom - but it means endless bloody pints of lager which buggers up the Rama 9 riding at the weekend....

The long stay tourists that with a few yeras in country see themselves as all knowing...

The Pattaya market is really not relevant as the Thai condo rush never started in pattaya (as in developements by mass market Thai developers aimed at the local market). In Pattaya, it has been an excessive volume of new supply from mostly foreign developers with very limted exposure to the local banks by the developers or purchasers, so Pattaya will likely just plod along as is, i.e. slow and steady with some downward pressure but not likley a crash.<BR><BR>

The signs are the condo market will in fact see a correction (reduced asking and transcated values psm) in the short to medium term. With 100% financing now available for some developments and a local reseach body suggesting that condo developers in Bangkok slow down or delay new launches due to the oversupply developing in the mid market condo sector.<BR><BR>

Without wanting to get in to too much detail (so I won't),but i would not buy in this building. It was certainly affected by the 97 crisis, however the problems with this builidng appear to run deeper than that.

Simply put, this buidling was never going to really work and the '97 crisis had little imapct on the eventual outcome. This is evident in how it has failed to really perform in the market in the 13 years following the criss, yet dozens of other buidlings have been concieved, launched and have successfully sold during this period.

Whilst I may think the design is utterly unoriginal and just followed the designers pet design theme at that time, others may appreciate its 'mock Grecko - Roman - Sino' theme. It's sister buiding over the river remains a shocking eyesore with little hope of gaining traction.