impulse

Who's advocating that they do it without permission?

I'm always amazed they don't use the empty lots where they just tore down a building and it'll be years, even decades, before they start construction on the next one. I see so many of them from the BTS, even on the busiest roads. Can't see them from the sidewalk because they install a tin fence. Seems like it would be cheap to go in, pave the lot with 50cm x 50cm pavers that can be removed in a year or so and install a few teardown pay toilets (a'la Chatuchuk 5 baht dealies). Set up removeable tents and folding seats and you've got a street market. Even if the vendors have to move every few years when the projects kick off... I'd think the payout would be months for the little work and reusable fixtures.

I like the place, and Jomtien would be on my list of retirement spots (I took the oath long ago so I don't care about Pattaya's better nightlife). But Pattaya gets enough bad press that I think it slows down the inrush. So far. I certainly don't want it going viral. Imagine Taylor Swift buying her 32nd spare condo there...

A quick visit to the local seafood market will show the world what happened to that dead reef. I was always gobsmacked what I could find. And amused when I read they arrested divers for even touching the same critters you can cook for dinner. Sold in the wide open.

I don't know that this is good news... The Eagles were right. "You call someplace paradise, Kiss it goodbye" https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/eagles/thelastresort-1976.html

Meanwhile, Spring Break in Panama City, Florida... But I don't know that I'd want to have to deal with all the condoms in the waste system. Or the VD clinics back at Uni. And here's South Padre, in Texas. Closer to home for me... Oh, to be young and dumb again. 50 or 60 years ago, I'd have driven all day and all night for this.

I hear fake Rolexes are popular. Post back and let us know how you did at Swiss customs. On a more helpful note, are you looking for commercial or more personal suggestion? Gifts for relatives, or stuff to resell?

The conspiracy wingnuts among us believe that could open the door to a mileage quota, with the intent being to reduce the miles we're allowed to travel via private vehicle. WEF stuff. Of course, that goes beyond the EV/ ICE debate. I'm just afraid they're deliberately not addressing the vehicle use taxes for road maintenance until they get to some EV takeup percentage, then they'll spring something that completely changes the equation. I freely admit that I enjoyed the low taxes on diesel in Thailand, though I was not the intended beneficiary. I was a glommer-onner.

Has anyone in Thai officialdom addressed how they'll handle the drop in road fuel taxes as more drivers go electric? Someone's gotta pay for road maintenance.

Over the years, I've had great luck with Samsonite suitcases and (especially) briefcases. But I wonder if they've hopped on the corporate bandwagon and a) started "taking cost out of the product" and/or b) launching a line of low cost garbage to leverage the name recognition for the mass market. For the past 20 years, my luggage has gradually gotten cheaper and more disposable, and I can't say I regret that decision. And, the older I get, the more of my luggage has wheels. Right now, I'm traveling with a BigC wheeled suitcase that I bought for some unplanned goodies that caught my eye, an American Tourister wheeled carry on (excellent and has lasted 15+ years of heavy use) and a Decathlon backpack for my laptop. After about 10 CN-TH trips with the BigC cheapo, if I have to bin it, I'd still be happy with the purchase. But it still looks new and the wheels are still quiet. Same with the Decathlon backpack. Excellent value. Rant over... Where are the Samsonites currently made? Staying up here in China, that's not a China bash. They are very capable of making excellent stuff here, if you pay attention to quality that you buy.

I'm not convinced that the percentage of slobs is any higher in Thailand than back home. The difference is that, back home, we spend a huge amount of money to pick up after them. And to have trash bins everywhere, along with employees to empty those bins. On my neighborhood beach in Galveston, there's a crew every morning to clean up after the slobs, and another crew with a big truck to empty the 55 gallon bins every 50 yards or so. That's expensive. I don't see anyone griping that they're not paying enough in Thailand on their real estate taxes to afford those cleanup efforts. For most of us, the cost would not be an issue. For the average Thai working for 300 or 500 baht a day, it would be a huge burden to fund those efforts. Personally, I'd advocate prison labor (though that's expensive too, keeping up with them) or (better yet) catching the slobs and making their penalty include a month or so of picking up their own trash. Be they Thai or foreigner... Edit: To be clear, I agree there's a lot more litterers in Thailand. Heck, I've been tempted myself after carrying a water bottle or a plastic bag around for half an hour because there are no bins. Anywhere. But I don't think Thai people are any more likely to be slobs than back home. We have our share, even in Texas. I see it every morning that I get out before the excellent beach cleanup crews. And I can't imagine the cumulative effect if the cleanup guys quit showing up for a few months.

It's a great place but you can't afford to to live there... The problem is the idiots fleeing the high cost and not seeing the connection between the policies they voted for and the high cost they're fleeing. The connection between "compassionate" soft on crime policies and runaway crime. The connection between "compassionate freebees" and unproductive residents.

Sadly, even the Dems are bailing those crapholes and moving to Texas and Florida, then trying to duplicate the conditions they just fled.

Please post back if you find a supplement store in Bangkok that charges less than 2-3 times what the stuff sells for "back home". It's sad to pull up Walmart or Amazon for a price check, and find out the price in Thailand is several multiples of what it should be. But that's what I've generally found.

Have they extended the BTS or MRT to the Impact? It was always a PITA to get to an exhibition there. Much easier to get to BITEC and QSNCC.

Gotta wonder how it all ties in with the unrest in the South of Thailand, which my coworkers down there have explained to me (rightly or wrongly, I don't know) that it's largely about the Bangkok folk taking control of land and telling the locals what they're allowed and not allowed to do any more. Basically negating land ownership that goes back decades, if not centuries.

There's several months between the election and the inauguration. If Biden loses, don't you know there will be a stampede of people who want to get in before the rules change... Right wingers are predicting millions in just a few months.

One year would be a short payout if you already have an AC and are considering about $150 for a dehumidifier. If you're looking at the tiny $25 dehumidifiers, I found them almost adequate to keep a small closet dry. Waste of money in a full sized room. A lot depends on your tolerance for sleeping temperature. I know guys who are happy with a fan. and no AC at all. But that's not me. For me, I use the AC when I'm home and the dehumidifier when I'm going to be gone more than a day. Sometimes, for weeks on end. This trip, 10 months so far. I'd suggest you look at the efficiency labels on most appliances nowadays, which tell you the expected operating cost. That's probably as good as anything to predict the difference between them, and to estimate a payout. It will also depend on your circumstances.

I agree, but be careful of the semantics. My Non B visa expired for many years. I had "extensions of stay". Then the question became, did the WP depend on having a valid extension, or did the extension depend on having a valid WP?

That legislation that the Repubs failed to approve allowed for 5,000 illegals a day before shutting down the border. And still left it to the president to decide whether to even enforce the laws, which he has proven that he won't. That's 1.8 million unvetted illegals a year. It was a non-starter. All Biden has to do is to reimplement the rules that Trump imposed (and kept the net illegal migration less than zero his final year). No zillions of dollars needed. No new legislation. Just the stroke of a pen to undo what he did in his first few weeks in office... https://justthenews.com/sites/default/files/2023-12/iceAnnualReportFY2023.pdf

United whose DEI policy is to hire and train at least 50% women and people of color? Good luck finding 50% engineers. In my graduating class (1982), there were about 250 of us, with 3 women and half a dozen black guys. It's gotten more diverse since then, but you still can't hire 50% black and female engineers without scraping the bottom of the barrel to meet that quota. If it's even possible at all. There's just not enough of them enrolled. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/united-sets-new-diversity-goal-50-of-students-at-new-pilot-training-academy-to-be-women-and-people-of-color-301262479.html Personally, I'd prefer my pilot to be the most qualified candidate, regardless of box ticking. The same with the guy (gal?) who installed the wheels at the last maintenance interval.

That's my fear. Voters are telling him he has to close the border. But as soon as the election is over, win, lose or draw, he'll re-open the floodgates.

That's tragic. I hope they come back and publish the results of the toxicology analysis. That sounds like more than alcohol. If it is drug induced, it should be a cautionary tale to prevent a repeat.

Though I suspect the issues go way beyond what an AN blurb and the linked articles can reasonably cover, it would be interesting to know the details on both sides. While I'm generally in favor of preserving natural beauty for future generations, I've also seen instances of gross commercialization and tourist traps set aside for a select few to make all the money. On the flipside, the locals may replace their livelihoods (and then some) if they're included in the planning and get preferential treatment when it comes to setting up businesses to cater to the visitors.

Did they revoke the existing permits, or grandfather them in? And if they did revoke them, did they visit the holders and inform them that they had to turn in their guns? Apparently, the Swiss guy visited the target range on occasion, I assume recently? I can't imagine the local cops didn't know... My inkling is that the rule change left a lot of unanswered questions, but that's just a guess. But it's based on a lot of ambiguous Thai rules.