dddave

Back in 2004, I bought a 33% share of a Nana Plaza bar from an American friend. When He and I and a silent partner sat down to go over the financials, I was surprised to see no entry along the likes of "Public Relations" or any other euphemism for under the table payments. "Who takes care of the police?", I asked. "Nobody." was the surprising response. Neither he nor any of the other Nana Plaza bar owners he knew had ever been asked for a regular bribe from either the police or local politicians. "Narit", the local cop who's beat was Nana Plaza would stop by from time to time, accept a drink or two, play some pool, flirt with the girls he knew but the only brown envelope he ever got was at Christmas time when everybody from the sweepers to the ice guy got the same. Hard to believe but true.

A friend of a friend recently sold his small beer bar, noting one of the causes being frequent extortion attempts by local Brits and Northern Euro gangs. He said a month didn't go by without 2 or 3 "tough guy's" coming into the bar, demanding "insurance" payments. He decided to call it quits when one of the thugs showed him pictures of his house. He had opened the bar just after covid when rents were very low, just for fun, as a place to socialize with friends. Raising rent was part of his decision but the threats sealed the deal. He also noted that almost every night there would be some sort of incident, pushing, sometimes punches thrown. He blames it all on the rapidly increasing use of drugs by expats which didn't seem to be an issue 10+ years ago. He figures with the relaxed pot laws, more younger Brits come here and try to support themselves selling pot, meth and ice which always leads to forming gangs. "Running a bar isn't much fun anymore." he said.

One thing not yet taken into account, the exponential increase in car rental agencies all over Pattaya. You really can't drive 1/2Km on any major Pattaya area soi and not pass a rental agency, many of which seem to be controlled by Russians. The price of rentals has also dropped dramatically. B1000/day used to be the norm, now B500 and sometimes less for older cars is common. On a busy weekend, I wouldn't be surprised if several thousand rentals were part of the traffic.

One man having multiple wives has forever been legal and accepted in many cultures so why not the opposite? There are some ethnic tribes in China where the women share multiple husbands and paternity isn't an issue. The women raise the kids, the men playing no role whatsoever.

I had the same experience with an earlier series D-5000 Nikon. Nikon Service wouldn't touch it. The shops at Mega Plaza checked it out and gave me a quote but it was more than half the value of the camera so not worth it. It's sad that most of todays hi-tech cameras, costing thousands for even entry level models are basically disposable. That the interior components are all modules of some sort that themselves cost thousands. I dearly regret giving away my Olympus OM-1/OM-2 cameras and lenses which had served me without issue for 25 years.

A forum targeted to Swedish Expats in Thailand would probably give you the info you request. Perhaps this Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/swebkk/

Chit Lom is in the heart of the business/retail area and among the priciest areas in Bangkok. If you are looking for anything other than a Thai style 30 s/m room with a toilet, B20,000 isn't going to cut it. In that area. even tiny 29s/m studios go for close to 30K, not to mention a 2 month security deposit. You will probably have to go 5 BTS stops in either direction to get what you are looking for.

Long gone.

Mega Plaza in Chinatown, 4th floor has many camera shops with vintage Nikon and other brands and repair facilities. Sam Yot MRT station.

Yes. For whatever reason, the online rep. at Medisafe can get a bit testy when pressed. Perhaps somewhat overwhelmed. I suggest you just make an order. Eventually he will send you an invoice with the prices and you can then choose to reject it if you feel too high.

A very easy, large and reasonably priced pharmacy very close to the Phra Khanong BTS: SIAM PHARMACY. Exit the BTS by Exit-1, at street level, walk against the direction of traffic about 100 meters. It will be on your right. I regularly order & receive atorvastatin (Clovas, Lipvas) from Medisafe Pharmacy online via Facebook Messenger. I pay by bank transfer. My meds always in stock and best price I've found. The total monthly costs of my meds from a hospital pharmacy was about B12,000/mo. Same meds ordered from Medisafe are about B4000/mo. Most are generics while hospital are from original distributors, though a few were generics. https://medisafepharma.com/

So what? I'm into my 5th year in the South building and have never had a negative interaction with any Russian. Most are families and couples who just want to go about their business.

The ageing JOMTIEN BEACH CONDOMINIUM complex (aka: RIMHAD) on Jomtien Beach Rd has a large selection of restaurants and services on the ground floor of the South building. The "A" buildings fronting on Jomtien 2nd Rd. also have some outlets. Both complexes have a large pool but no poolside service. Basic units are 29 s/m studios, many doubled-up into 1 & 2 BR units.

There is a small hospital complex on the access road to Wat Wan Sang Wararam, I believe called "Wat Sang Wararam Hospital" very close to Ban Amphur, near the big Chinese museum Viharn Sern. A friend used their services earlier this past year for a severe infection and was impressed with his treatment there.

Thai is a language of classifiers, whether eggs, paper or people, Thais classify everything. "Farang" is really no more than a classifier in Thai eyes. The word: "farang's" etymology has long been disputed, whether it evolved from "Frank" or the word for papaya or several other possibilities, it is not seen by Thais as rude or judgmental. We've long seen such words as "Gringo", "Gwello", "Yankee" as disparaging and that is pretty accurate but "farang" is not in that same league.

I have a similar cheap office chair, I assume "bonded" leather. I've use it daily since prior to Covid, about 5 years at my computer desk and it has actually held up quite well, no noticeable leather deterioration. I use extra cushions both bottom and back so that probably prevents some wear but the arm-rests have held up well and they are used constantly. I'd post pictures but I'm a bit embarrassed, I ordered the chair in beige but received pink. The GF at the time liked it so I kept it. She's gone now but not the chair.

At 7am today, I could not see Koh Larn from my Jomtien Beach condo balcony. That means very dense pollution.

On the advice of Sheryl, I consulted with Dr Wicharn for a nerve pain issue I was having. Great Doctor. Excellent communicator and listener with fluent English. Good to see his clinic having such success. Well earned.

Thanks very much for the very helpful responses.

Is it still possible to receive US Social Security benefits directly into Bangkok Bank or any other Thai bank account? An elderly friend living in Thailand is quite frail and travel to the US not really possible. His US bank that receives his SSI has notified him that starting February, any change in phone number must be done in person. His phone of record is his sister's phone and address in the US and she is quite ill and not expected to live much longer. He could possibly face cut-off of his access to his account after she passes and her phone is discontinued. Ideally, his SSI could be transferred to the US Bangkok Bank and then made available in Thailand. I remember this was possible several years ago but do not know if still a possibility. IRRC, people had to withdraw the money in cash and redeposit it or something odd like that. Is this service still available to US citizens? I know this is asked a lot. Are there phone services wherein a person can get a US phone number that will forward calls to a mobile phone in Thailand?

Seizing a yacht of this size and value must be like holding a tiger by the tail. Just berthing and maintaining the thing is a huge undertaking. Yachts can't just be parked under a tarp like a Lamborghini. They deteriorate like fresh fruit and need constant ongoing upkeep. With assets frozen, who pays the huge day to day costs? Maybe not such a great idea, after all.

Easy? Not really. To re-open a smaller section of a place of that magnitude with in house systems geared to the entire structure would be really difficult. Just staffing a place that large is not easy. Established hotels are reporting difficulty staffing so re-starting and trying to retrieve legacy staff would be a challenge. A place that large has to operate at a certain level of capacity to make money, not easy in an older, out of date building. Pure speculation on my part so don't quote me but founder led institutions like this tend to have a huge debt load. Certainly 3 years of no occupancy during Covid must have caused a financial disaster for a place this size. I would guess that the heirs are faced with a huge cash crisis. Before assets can be distributed to heirs , debt usually has to be resolved. I'd guess the heirs don't have the cash needed to resolve the outstanding debt. The only wat to raise that kind of money is to sell the property but that place will be a tough sell because it will probably cost more to renovate to modern standards than to build new. A true "White Elephant"

I didn't realize it was empty. I had noticed a lot less Russians gathered in large groups waiting for the Baht Buses on Sukhumvit nearby. Not an unusual situation to see properties abandoned and deteriorating while heirs fight it out in court which can be unending. One possibility is that it accumulated a huge amount of debt that nobody knows how to pay off. I always think of that huge residential development: custom townhouses with boat access and two condo towers in Bang KraChong off the tollway by the big powerplant. 90% completed when the bank crisis hit 30 years ago. Still sitting empty, never occupied though still minimally maintained. Still tied up in multiple overlaying lawsuits, original players all dead and numerous family factions dueling it out in endless court filings.

MonoRail was officially shelved last week pending the election of a new government which will mean going back to square one as the list of contract and land-taking beneficiaries will no doubt change as well. And then, after a year or two, the new Government could possibly be declared illegal: another re-set. One thing certain; not in my lifetime.

Thailand's draconian defamation laws make naming and shaming, even when justified, a very dangerous and potentially costly thing to do.