Kerryd

That would make sense (the various stages) as they are apparently pumping a lot of bands/acts through each weekend. Too many for a single stage. I recall the festival they had last year (same day as Loy Kratong I think) and we were on North Pattaya Beach. Didn't even know there was a stage and music happening until we were driving home and made the turn (from Beach Rd onto Central Pattaya Rd). The stage and speakers were all aimed towards South Pattaya and at the north end of the beach you couldn't hear a thing. I can also imagine that no one will know which acts will appear on which stage, until after they have performed ! Hope the rain holds off. I recall last year it rained (remember the bikini run on the beach which ended up being rather damp). Which reminds me..........

Too many requests for "Disco Inferno" ? However, with the quality of electrical work around here, I'm surprised a dozen houses/businesses don't go up in smoke èveryday.

Main stage is normally on the beach across from the Central Pattaya Road/Beach Rd intetsection.

Same same (but the same) ! Can't seem to do it for the water bill though. And, as I recently found out, if you go to a store/7-11 eight days after the bill was issued, they can't process it so you have to make a trip to the Water Authority office to pay in person. They have an app, if you have a banking app on your phone (so the 2 apps can get together and do things with your money). After 20 minutes of the nice young lady at the PWA trying to set it up on my phone only to have me tell her I don't have any banking apps, she pointed me to a walk-up window 20 meters away - which is what I wanted to do right at the beginning any ways.

Last time I stayed at a hotel in Koh Chang, the pillows were so awesome I was tempted to steal a couple. Best I've ever slept on but I have no idea about brand or where to buy. I've bought pillows from Big C and other places. Some turn out to be filled with bits of torn foam and clothe. Others are some kind of foam that compresses in the middle and never regains it's shape. I prefer something that can be washed though. Even though I change the pillowcases every week (or more often if it's warmer), I notice the pillow starts showing "sweat stains" after a couple months so I toss it into the washer with a healthy dose of laundry soap and a cup of bleach (kill all those little mites living in there). Can't really do that with feather pillows though (they need to be dry-cleaned, just like feather sleeping bags) and proper dry cleaners are a rare thing around here (at least in Pattaya).

Every active company has to file an annual "balance sheet" as well as renew the company registration. Usually this is done by which ever firm set up the company for you. Assuming they know how to get a hold of you of course. Twice a year my lawyers contact me to let me know which bill is due. The amount they charge depends on the firm. Doesn't matter if the company has no assets or does no business. Closing a company can be a major pain in the "assets". I just so happen to have the list of things my law office says needs to be done to close a company with no assets. Meeting Report Company Update Company Closure Final Balance sheet. Assuming no assets, about 46,000 baht all told, depending on who does it for you (different places charge different rates). If there's property to be transferred (say a house/condo into the wife's name for example) add another 10,000 for the transfer (and another 10,000 for a legal lease so you don't end up getting kicked out and homeless the next day). Plus taxes and fees for "selling" the house to the spouse, more fees if there's no "cheque" showing that someone paid (whatever amount) for the property. Basically, for a property valued around 1.2 million, I was told I'd be looking at about 166,000 baht to "sell" the house, do all the paperwork and then close the company. (The land office determines what the property value is and that's what the tax is based on, regardless of how much you actually sell it for, even if it's just a "paper" transaction.)

I can almost hear the kitchen knife being sharpened..........

That ship is actually just a couple hundred meters from where the ferry docks in Sattahip. I was going to take some photos of it the day I took the photos of the Blue Dolphin ferry but they had the gates (leading to the carrier) closed so I didn't bother.

However, if they are "outside" of territorial waters, then indeed there should be Immigration concerns as well. Despite there being no stop-overs (in "foreign" waters/ports) during the journey. Can you imagine the mess that would make ? I don't recall any such issues with the other ferries, like the one that used to run from Pattaya to Hua Hin. Got to wonder why there are so many problems with this venture.

Doublepseak for "We only want tourists that will go shopping in the malls then return to their hotel rooms for the remainder of their holiday. All others need not apply or fly here."

Went last year. It was entertaining, but hotter than ****. I only watched 3 of the "races" after spending the morning wandering around taking pics and watching the parade and other festivities. They were taking 25-30 minutes to run each race (which lasts about 20 seconds) and I didn't want to spend all afternoon waiting to watch a couple more races. I wanted to go this year but couldn't find out when it was being held. Last year it was on 1 Oct. This year I found a travel website that said it was on the 19th (or 20th). I even tried searching in Thai and on the Chon Buri gov't websites with no luck. Seems it's the day before the full moon in October (the end of Buddhist Lent). There's a lot of similar festivals around the country that no one seems to know about - until after they are over of course.

How the **** was it thwarted by Customs if you are sailing from one Thai port to another, all in Thai territorial waters ? Customs shouldn't be involved at all. What next, Immigration queues on each side ?

The "Woke" (or more accurately "Joke") generation seems to be limited primarily to North American, Caucasian populations. The rest of the world hasn't had their IQ dumbed down enough to participate in the ideas that the "Jokers" want to force on everyone.

Going out on a limb and saying that he probably came from Macau which was a Portuguese colony for centuries (up until 1974). No different than all the Filipinos with Spanish names really. Or all the Englishmen with Indian names. The days of people in different countries only having "local" names ended oh, about 200+ years ago.

Probably the highest in the last 3 years at least. I recall the 2 years before covid (2018/19) we had reduced water pressure and some outages because the rainy seasons didn't do much to fill the reservoirs. Not too many outages in the last part of 2020 as there wasn't as much demand on the system with no tourists and fewer people. Pressure still seems to be lower than before though. I remember going around Mabprachan last Dec/Jan, when it should have been almost full (from the 2020 rainy season), and noting how much "land" was visible and how we still had months to go before the (2021) rainy season. (I thought they should have been out there dredging out the reservoirs a couple years ago to increase the capacity. Especially as the water levels were so low and with half the normal population using what water there was.) There seems to be a 3/4 year cycle to it. Every few years it's the same thing. Less rain for a couple years, reservoirs/dams at their lowest levels, farmers told not to plant second crops. Then it's a couple years of "flood, flood, FLOOD !" as the same reservoirs/dams are full and the ground is saturated from constant rain. If it holds true, we will probably have another year or two like this and then back to "drought" conditions again (right around when there will be max tourism again of course). This current rain isn't too bad. It was a steady downpour but not a "monsoon". We probably got as much rain in two days as we'd normally get in 2 hours so the system may have been able to handle it better. The way they are going with the work on the railway bypass though, these rains may turn that whole thing into one large drainage canal. Seems almost every place they've dug, laid pipe, covered and paved over has washed out or collapsed as the rains have washed away the loose sand they've used as backfill. You really don't want to drive/ride in the left lane of the bypass (southbound) between Nern Plerb Wan and Khao Talo anymore.

Also in the article: "Also unfortunately for the driver, Good Samaritans followed her and blocked her attempt to flee with their vehicles not far from the scene. She was taken to the Pattaya City Police Station. She did not agree to give her name to police or reporters and was described as “uncooperative” by police, denying all charges at the time of the incident. She was described as a Thai woman roughly 25-30 years old." Apparently the police are looking into the restaurant she claims to have been drinking in as well as why she and the 2 on the motorbike were out during curfew. Naturally, we will likely never hear the outcome of any of this.

From the PR Pattaya Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Prpattayacity/photos/a.259451210732297/4935642313113140/???? (Google translation - don't blame me for grammar/spelling/punctuation errors. - Like how it translates what I think is "performers" into "army".) Pattaya City, together with the Chonburi Provincial Administrative Organization, is scheduled to organize the Pattaya Music Festival (PATTAYA MUSIC FESTIVAL 2021). Come and join in the fun with the army, singers and musicians over 50 artists every Friday and Saturday for a total of 4 weeks starting from November 5 – December 11, 2021 Week 1, 5 - 6 November 2021, 3 stages at Pattaya Beach, North Pattaya Stage Central Pattaya Stage and South Pattaya Stage Week 2, November 12 - 13, 2021 Number 1 Stage at Jomtien Beach Saturday November 13, 2021 Pattaya City added a stage at Koh Larn, Nuan Beach, hosting famous artists. Make fun for the people of Koh Lan. have seen as well Week 3, 3rd - 4th December 2021, 1 stage at Lan Pho Na Kluea Park Week 4, 10th - 11th December 2021, 1 stage at Pattaya Beach, Central Pattaya Beach Stage For the army, singers and musicians, more than 50 artists will be present at the concert each week. Please be patient on Friday, October 15, 2021. There will be a press conference on the Pattaya Music Festival 2021 at the airport terminal in front of Terminal 21 Pattaya shopping center. In the event, there will be a mini concert of artists Thanon Chamroen and Som Ma. Re can't miss it Don't forget to wear a mask social distance To prevent infection with the COVID-19 virus.

I guess the thing to do is not tell them you've already had a shot of something. Not sure if they even check to see if they've already jabbed you with something else. I suspect they don't know as they sent me an SMS about getting a Pfizer shot even though they'd jabbed me with a shot of AZ 3 weeks earlier. (But as I was honest and told them when I was at Central Festival, they turned me away from getting a Pfizer shot.)

He wasn't "telling you" - he was replying to another poster that said they were getting their 2nd jab in August 2022 (i.e. next year). (He probably meant October 2021.)

"Yesterday (October 9th), the Bali Hai Construction Company on behalf of the Bali Hai Company Limited, which has previously claimed to be bankrupt due to all the lawsuits surrounding the building, has officially filed a request for re-construction permission from the Pattaya City despite the demolition order" https://thepattayanews.com/2021/10/10/owners-of-the-controversial-waterfront-condo-on-bali-hai-pier-ask-for-an-opportunity-to-resume-construction-vs-demolish-the-building/ Another article about the bankruptcy: http://thai-property-embargo.blogspot.com/2017/05/how-many-looser-after-waterfront.html And from the law office handling many of the lawsuits against the Bali Hai project: https://magnacarta.co.th/waterfront-rehabilitation-case-2/

I had an AZ jab in August and told my next one would be in Oct. Then they did the Pfizer registration. I got an SMS and went to Central Festival at the appointed time, only to be told that as I'd already had a shot of something else, they wouldn't give me a Pfizer shot. Now it's almost 3 months later and I'm still waiting to get a 2nd shot (of anything). Registered (with BHP again) for the Moderna (sometime early next year). Also registered with a different hospital chain for a Moderna shot that was supposed to happen this month. Meanwhile most of my Thai friends have had their 2 initial shots (usually Sinovac) and a third booster shot (AZ I think) already. At this rate, I'll be the last person in Thailand to be fully vaccinated despite all my efforts (and cash paid). I was expecting to be fully jabbed by now with 2-3 different vaccines. I'll ask the doc at BHP again when I go see him tomorrow morning.

One of the "cited" reasons for construction to be halted was that the contractor (and/or developer) decided to cut costs by making the fire stairs significantly smaller than had been approved in the original plans. If they were cutting costs there, where else were they also cutting costs ? Low grade steel maybe ? Low grade cement, wiring, fixtures ? And yes, there was some funny business when it was first approved. They didn't have enough land to build it without encroaching on public land (i.e. the waterfront). They got around that when the city announced they were going to expand Bali Hai, thus pushing the "waterfront" further out and making the land the condo building was going to use "legal". Once the building plans, on what was to be "legal" land, were approved and construction started, the planned Bali Hai expansion was "postponed indefinitely". Oops ! Too late. The condo building had already started ! (Over 6 years later and that planned expansion still hasn't happened and probably never will. Probably was never actually "planned" in the first place.) Still a lot of lawsuits going on and even a dispute about who actually owns the land. It seems there are 7 land titles for the 2 rai of land involved. (One story says the "courts" deemed the land titles had been granted illegally.) The developers have already declared bankruptcy after their "restructure plan" failed back in 2017. Can't see how they could start working it again, especially without major construction alterations to bring the fire escapes (and elevators) to where they were supposed to be in the beginning. Knocking a few floors off the top won't miraculously change the size of the fire escapes, or the impact of the building on the skyline. Got to love when the former Mayor says they originally objected to the height of the building but were over ruled by the "building board" ? Say what ? Who the **** do the "building board" report to if not city council and the Mayor ?

Most of my Thai friends have already had their 3rd shot (2 sinos and an AZ I think it is). Most either went to Pattaya City hospital and waited in queue just like everyone else, or they went to the stadium on Soi Chaiyapruek and waited in queue - just like everyone else. I wasn't aware that the BHP crew in Central Festival was doing walk-ins at all, let alone for Thais, as they've only been doing foreigners who were registered with BHP before. Maybe they decided to start giving Sino shots to locals as well (without announcing it apparently).

Ah yeah, that's right. One step over the border and you are screwed (again). I'm trying to get him to go the Non-O route. As he gets a wee bit more "mature" he may want to spend a bit more time where it's warm anyways. (Where he lives now, the daytime highs are 5-60 and it drops to -2/-40 at night already !) Unfortunately, he listens too much to assorted "barstool anchors" and, even though he's never had to pay a "bribe" to anyone, thinks that everyone (here) is waiting to pounce on him and demand bribes (for things like applying for an Extension) or will steal his money minutes after he deposits it in a bank. (Because "someone" knows a guy who has a friend that heard a guy talking about his ex-girlfriend's brother that went to school with someone that knew a guy who claimed he had to pay a bribe to get out of a traffic ticket he got for not wearing a helmet and not having a license.) And that is all the "proof" some people need apparently to believe it's all true.

Apparently both "Flippers" are already fully booked for next week (was just checking) and for the 1st week of November.