Asiantravel

2 hours ago, F4UCorsair said:

There's never a shortage of doomsayers....they thrive on negativity, house prices are about to crash, the markets are about to collapse, we'll all be living on rabbit stew, etc.

I've been investing for a long time, and the value just keeps increasing, with 'corrections' along the way.

and there is never a shortage of those who are too scared to even debate the issue which of course delights the policymakers because it gives them a feeling they can get away with anything short term

10 minutes ago, giddyup said:

You are asking for something to happen that clearly didn't. Too many ifs in these responses.

well I have to disagree with you because his initial bad action set off a chain of events which resulted in tragedy.

and your argument so far in no way justifies your somewhat bizarre call to try to apportion part of the blame to this innocent lady

4 hours ago, giddyup said:

She has to be held partly responsible for not making sure that A it was safe to cross in that location, and B the road was absolutely clear. It's not like it was impossible for a speeding Thai driver to come around that bend.

I don't understand your logic at all.

if he had done the right thing and stopped to report the first 2 collisions people (including the police) would most likely have identified his distressed state of mind and may have even stopped him temporarily from driving any further. At the very least he would have had the opportunity to calm down.

1 hour ago, IMA_FARANG said:

As others pointed out there are a number of valid ways to do it.

I arrived in Thailand 5 years ago on a Non O multi-entry visa then and have extended it each year annually in Bangkok.

In my particular case I get my Social Security pension sent to my Bangkok Bank  account by direct deposit from the U.S. each month.

It takes some paperwork to set up a direct deposit that way initially but once you have it running  the money arrives in your Bangkok Bank  account  on the 4th of each month.

I've been doing  it that way for over 4 years now, and it works fine  for me.

I am a U.S. Army Vietnam veteran if that means anything, but not retied military.

 

 

 

I'm confused because you so often write about your experiences about  getting tourist visas in these threads?so why then do you have to bother at all with getting these if you have been extending every year and" doing  it that way for over 4 years now " ?

3 minutes ago, hobobo said:

So you'd prefer a death trap ferry?

well there is at least considerably less chance of being involved in a collision

Bloomberg recently reported the Thai economy will expand 3.3 percent a year which is the weakest among eight developing Southeast Asian nations

without simply resorting to the usual doom and gloom labelling, would anyone care to rationally debate why the following theory about what exactly is happening could be wrong?

Quote

 

The next business cycle recession will be unending and is very likely to run years into decades and perhaps a century or more.  A declining population already indebted with record debt and zero interest rates will consume less...meaning overcapacity and excess inventories will never be fully cleared before the next downturn...and on and on and on.

But the absence of a growing consumer base isn't just a US issue...this is a global problem.  The annual growth of the 0-64yr/old population of the combined OECD nations (most the EU, US, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Japan, S. Korea, Australia / New Zealand) plus China, Brazil, and Russia show the growth that has driven nearly all economic growth has come to an end...and begins declining from here on.  And when importers are shrinking, exporters have no one to export to...and on and on and on.  A recent article helps to detail the depopulation we are now facing...not simply a demographic issue that so many believe

 

https://econimica.blogspot.com/2017/06/why-next-recession-will-morph-into.html

24 minutes ago, jippytum said:

Better to use the VIP bus from Pattaya bus station only 24 seats on the bus cost 389 baht

which bus are you talking about specifically?

" Local taxi scammer asked for 1500BHT "

quite ridiculous isn't it when you consider that is more than the cost of most air Asia flights within this region?

incidentally there is an air Asia mini van service from outside Central Festival shopping centre but I'm not sure of the departure time

10 hours ago, hawker9000 said:

People will have their reasons.  But I agree that if you don't have some pressing reason to hightail it back, Vientiane isn't a bad place to spend an evening or two and doing so takes all the stress out of the visa trip.

yes there there are some decent coffee shops and restaurants to explore there now

4 minutes ago, OJAS said:

OMG the prospect of even more manically-driven minivans thundering their way along Highway 3 in my neck of the woods fills me with dread!

exactly!

7 minutes ago, starky said:

It's good to have a car once on koh Chang however I have  always found.

you are joking! 

I like to stay in Bailan and I enjoy the exercise of walking to Bangbao which is the next village. why do I need a car?

in fact I would prefer to stay off the roads as much as possible once there because of the way those kamikaze white songthaew drivers (and even some other vehicles) speed around blind bends and hills as well as the inexperienced and delusional tourists who think they have quickly mastered the art of speeding around on a motorbike in that environment 

3 hours ago, starky said:

Hire a car? Drive yourself? 

well that's hardly a financially practical solution is it?

hire a car and then let it sit there for days until you want to come back?

49 minutes ago, fforest1 said:

They changed the sailing times from Pattaya to Hua Hin..

Departure time was at 10AM,now its 2PM.....

 

There have been many reports of very low ridership...

So I think they keep changing times to see when the most passengers want to go..

If they cut the expensive 1250 baht one way price in half I think they would have a lot more customers and make more money......

 

 

thanks for solving the mystery

2 PM doesn't sound to me like a very practical time to make that journey?

19 minutes ago, whatawonderfulday said:

I am surprised that the usual posters who praised this ferry service and defended the issue I had raised in an earlier post many weeks ago have not yet come to defend the low ridership, if indeed it is the case.  Indeed that was the justification for ordering 2 more ferries.  Of course it is a pseudo government partnership so perhaps there were more other compelling reasons to a lot of money for 2 more ?

they now have ROYAL  1,2,3 and 4 and it was my understanding that they intended to use one of the two extra vessels between Sathahip and Koh Chang.

that would be great because there is no longer any other way of travelling from Pattaya to Koh Chang other than a death trap minivan

sounds to me like another victim of the deathtrap minivans

the three daily 99 buses which ran from Bangkok to Trat via Pattaya have stopped entirely so you can only go on a minivan now

have the Redcar drivers approved this plan?

I usually cycle past Bali Hai lighthouse and up Pratumnak hill every day about the same time as the ferry is passing the lighthouse but I've noticed over the last few days it hasn't gone and it's sitting alongside the other two similar vessels which have been there for weeks now.

and it was such a beautiful day with perfect sea conditions.

Maybe it was their intention all along not to offer this service during the low season but I notice the staff still seem to be carrying out maintenance duties.

does anyone know what has happened?

4 hours ago, Jip99 said:

 

 

They might be wise not to be too cocky about their "victory".........

 

 

 

.. In my experience, revenge is a dish best served cold...

it's a very similar situation up in Chiang Mai with the red songthaew Mafia objecting to and spoiling many good ideas to improve local transportation. Good grief how can an Army supposedly in charge of the country throw their arms up in the air and say they cannot get the better of these people? 

" The military signaled defeat "

"with a 10-rai parking lot "

what? more parking area and I thought it was meant to be  landscaped

presumably this additional parking is for those who don't want to pay the fees at the automated car park or to risk never seeing their car again

20 minutes ago, johnmcc6 said:

There seems to be tons of money for infrastructure, new highways everywhere, submarines and new trains. You can hardly drive anywhere without seeing big condo or resort building. Houses going up like mushrooms. I hear the Hangdong 500 bed hospital has been approved ready for construction start when canal road is completed. So is it a bubble about to burst ? Or is it an economy doing quite well ? Buggered if I know??

You be the judge of where things are most likely to go based on this data (and bear in mind China is included in this)

the Bali consulate used to be one of the few if not the only place in this region where you could get a triple entry tourist Visa

here is an interesting website to help navigate away from the most dangerous provinces

https://www.farang-deaths.com/

2 hours ago, JamJar said:

 

Helps if you can read Norwegian. Then one can more easily do their due diligence. 

An example: https://www.h-avis.no/haugesund/naringsliv/nyheter/taper-en-halv-million/s/2-2.921-1.5671794

you don't need to read Norwegian because you can simply translate the link using Google

one of the editors of that publication Gaute-Håkon Bleivik sent me this hyperlink last year with a lot more information.

http://www.h-avis.no/sok/?q=kurt+svendheim

32 minutes ago, little mary sunshine said:

If for the next 6 months the BIB would get off their ass,

Have three cops at each crossing issuing B1000 fines

for cars, motorbikes, buses, baht buses that do not

yield to pedestrians....drivers would observe the laws,

Pedestrians would be safe and the city would make

lots of money in fines.

 

 

plus they could switch on the pedestrian crossing lights

they are all off and you can't tell me there is a malfunction with every one of them

and even if there was a malfunction there is such a thing as a repair man