OneMoreFarang

But maybe he is not as smart as he thinks he is. From an experienced businessman I would have expected that he familiarizes himself with his new company. What exactly is going on? And then: What do I want to change? And then not: Just do it. Instead: Think about if it will work in the way you think it will work. Do you have the resources? Will people accept what you want? Talk with other people. Simulate. Think again. And if then, after looking long enough at the details, you still want to do it, then do it. It seems he is just shooting from the hip and somehow hoping all will be fine. Probably he can afford it if things go bad before maybe they will get better. But why does he not think a little harder before he just does something?

Thanks for all your comments. I appreciate it. After I read all the comments, I am not convinced I would ever use it. I am buying a modular kitchen with mostly 60cm wide cabinets. That allows me to easily insert a built-in microwave if I want to add one later for whatever reason. Electricity is also no problem. There are enough outlets. Thanks!

Of course they are. Does anybody expect that any of the leaders like to stay in cheap hotels? Maybe with a special price just for APEC delegates?

Define "proper protest". And how many of those leaders will notice and how many will care?

And what does all of that have to do with APEC - Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation? Sure, there are problems in Thailand, since forever. And they should be solved. But I don't think any (disrupting) protests at APEC time will change that. Thais should vote for competent and honest politicians. That would make a huge difference. But it seems that is not what most Thais want to do. They prefer to vote again and again for the same corrupt politicians and then they are somehow surprised when they have a corrupt and incompetent government. Protests won't change that.

I appreciate all your answers. As far as I see (until now) the only "killer application" for a microwave is defrosting. All the other things can also be easily done with (induction) hobs and oven. Especially induction hobs heat up very quickly and can be precisely adjusted.

Let's say you buy a unit for 5 million and you have to pay all fees, let's say (to make it easy) 500k. Or you buy the same unit for 5.5 million and the seller pays all the fees. What's the difference? In both cases you pay in total 5.5 million. I recently bought a unit and the seller suggested he pays all the fees. I liked that idea because it gave me a clear fixed price. But at the end of the day, it's obvious that my money was used to pay for all those fees.

And even if they know exactly the unit and the building and lots of other details, I don't think there ever is something like a clear value. What is the value based on? As far as I see the current value is what people are willing to pay for it now. If your neighbor sold exactly the same unit for price X that doesn't mean the price of your unit is price X - especially if nobody is interested to pay that price.

People have to relax somewhere. ????

Let them protest somewhere where they don't interrupt everything. That week will be bad traffic for everybody even under best conditions. We really don't need any protesters to make it worse.

I never used a microwave in my life, and I don't think I ever missed one. Now I will buy a whole new kitchen, with oven, induction hobs, big refrigerator, etc. I could add a microwave. Should I? Why? I guess the following matters: I live with my gf, no kids, in the middle of Bangkok, and we usually go shopping at the fresh market and supermarket (24h, Foodland) almost every day. We don't buy much in advance because we want fresh products, and we don't know today what we want to eat tomorrow. We never buy frozen meat or any other frozen things. We can buy them fresh, so why should we buy them frozen. Should I add a (build in) microwave to my kitchen? Why? P.S.: My Thai gf is a great cook. She also never used a microwave in her life.

Or better visit them. http://www.redbaronbangkok.com/

If you are willing to spend some money then invite a couple of mama-sans to drinks and give them a devent tip. Explain to them what you/your friend is looking for (if you like including sexual preferences, etc.). If you do it right and keep the mama-sans happy they will bring you the perfect girls.

Which part is racist? Would you accept any woman any age, any size, etc.?

I will try to answer some of your questions: About the lower price: The land office will set a higher price if they think it is too low. About the assistance from the property agent: Some know exactly what they do and are helpful, others know nothing. Personally I hired someone experienced who I trust to make sure things are fine. About your door and other repairs. If you buy it you own it. You can change it and pay for it. There are often condominium rules about certain, from outside visible, things. I.e. if you want to change the windows the condominium management has to agree. Probably similar to the front door, etc. About holes in the walls: There is no easy answer. If a wall is part of the structure and reinforced concrete you need a hammer (i.e. Bosch, Hilti) - a normal drill won't do the job. But some walls are (hollow) bricks or light bricks and the drilling might be a lot easier. About electrical work: Some units are horrible, with cables in cement in the walls, and crazy colors which don't make any sense. If you are lucky there are pipes and it is possible to change/add cables. IMHO the most important rule is: Don't make any assumption. If there are i.e. green and blue and red cables maybe they are used for this, and maybe 1/2m away they are used for something else. Don't expect any logic! Codos have rules when people can work (which days, time), when it's allowed to make noise, which lift(s) can be used at what time, etc. Drilling in tiles can be done, with special drills. About cost, let's say for paint: If you buy the paint and hire a guy who does the work by himself then that should be the cheapest option. If you hire a contractor then he will hire a painter and you pay more. Material and quality of work is always an issue. If you hire Somchai and he did a bad job don't expect from him that he does it again. And don't expect from him to buy new paint for you, etc. If you have a good constructor then he is responsible for the job. If a painter does a bad job the contractor should/will hire another person to do it again without any extra cost for you. About all your questions about your building: I suggest ask the management or maybe a foreigner who is part of the committee. I think most important for you: Only because others did ABC in building D all this might be different in your building. And for buying property and extra costs there are, as far as I know, no fixed rules. It's up to you what you agree with the seller. Don't assume to do it the "usual way". There is no such thing.

Yes, they have a lot of those girls. To the few people who are not familiar with AKB48, the following picture is from their concert in Tokyo. It looks like a doolhouse, but those are all real girls in that "box"

If I ever visit Japan that is surely on my list. And Angeles city? I never met anybody who also knows Thailand who prefers that place.

What are all those police officer doing in normal times?

Says @bob smith, the guy who hired a girl and didn't want to pay her and then wrote about in this forum. Yeah, sure.

The chip on my shoulder? Which one? I am not a fan of football or soccer or any other sport. And I am especially no fan of sitting in front of a TV and watching other people do sport. If anybody likes sport, fine, play it! And if you want to watch it then watch it - and pay for it. I also pay if I go to the cinema. I think that is just fair. I don't demand that all movies, or the movies which I like, should be paid by the taxpayer.

From time to time we have news stories about fights. Sometimes guards are involved and often a group of people beat up a single person. Did you ever witness anything like that? Are you concerned it could happen to you? Personally, I saw this happening a couple of times. And it was never unprovoked. People didn't want to pay their bill, or they though they can call Thais bad names, or maybe take pictures in forbidden areas, etc. It seems in most of these cases the fights could have been avoided by paying the bill, apologizing, and not behaving like an idiot. Personally, I would be careful going into areas with drunk guys who look for trouble. But that applies to countries all over the world. I don't behave like an idiot and consequently I don't get attacked. How about you? Did anybody in Thailand ever attack you for no reason? Did you see fights for no reason? P.S.: If someone thinks they can just walk out without paying their bill then for me that is just plain stupid and asking for trouble. If people like that get beat up, then they deserve it - IMHO.

Sure I prefer to be in places where they keep the rubble out. How exactly they do that is no my concern. And, IMHO, guards who are not provoked don't beat anybody up.

I understand what you say. But I think putting cute Thai girls in Maid uniforms, and play with them, is much easier.

How do you know? I know from business who were suddenly successful and received lots of payments per PayPal which PayPal put under consideration - not sure if that is the term they used. I.e. maybe a shop sold things for 10k per month and suddenly for 100k and PayPal pauses this (to make sure there is no illegal activity involved). I imagine an online business with officially thousands of customers could be a good opportunity for money laundering. But then again, I never did such thing in my life so I don't know how good or bad such a business would be suitable.

Then let the people play that game - not watch it.