Kaoboi Bebobp

15 hours ago, TunnelRat69 said:

I was just in Saigon for a week or so, place is jumping with tourists in Pham Ngu Lao and Bui Vein, hundreds packed in that small area.

I was just there in late July. Either side of Nguyen Hue pedestrian mall in D1, all the streets with restaurants and coffee shops  were jammed with tourists, walking in 3s, 4s and bigger groups. At night, I've never seen it so crowded, and I've been to SGN probably 15 times over the last 8 years.

I really don't think Pattaya's as busy as it used to be, high or low season. A long-time visitor from my country and I met on 2nd Road one day last January. The place is dead, he immediately declared, after several days of visiting. 

19 months later . . . Yingluck Shinawatra named vice-president of Nicaragua

32 months later . . . RTP receives English translation of Interpol request for Yingluck

36 months later . . . NCPO approves Interpol request form

39 months, 1 day later . . . Thailand request arrives in Interpol

Interpol officer prints out request and carefully reads it. Chuckles. Officer picks up paper, extends right hand and spikes it. Bursts out laughing. Tells story during lunch. Everyone busts a gut. Asia desk officer, with tears streaming down his face, says just "Red Bull" and everybody heaves with laughter. Best lunch ever. 

4 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

I find the hot season tougher and tougher to take every year. Not being able to go out for a walk during the day without coming back a sweaty mess is no fun.

 

We're back to leaving every year from mid April or so until July or so. And considering making it even longer.

Regarding weather  and its impact on retired life. . .

It's the same for me the last three-four years. I don't know whether it's me as I get older or it's actually getting more hot/humid.

For contrast, I'm located in deep southern Vietnam at the moment, where it really is more humid. I find when I'm back in the Pattaya area or even Bangkok, it's a bit less of a challenge to walk. 

To the OP, I do find the Pattaya/Chonburi province area less hot and humid. Come April-May though, I'm always out of here (yes, the Songkran mania has something to do with it) and back in the northern home country -- with great relief. Also the rainy season in Bangkok and to a certain extent in Pattaya is very annoying. There were times in Bangkok during say August through October where I and friends would not go out knowing it was going to pour, making it difficult to wade into the street and get a taxi home. 

Might try Best Supermarket at 2nd Road and Pattaya Klang. Or the large drinks shop on Klang, just before the Foodland on the same side, coming from Soi Yume/Big C Extra.

Very promising. Opening of the Klang-Suk junction and a speed-up of Central Road power line installation. Surely, Ti(not)T? 

Very good. So I assume the lights are functioning now and controlling cross-traffic into and out of Klang? Does it look like drivers can use the northbound u-turn and turn into the southbound lanes? My destination would be NPW. 

If it's open, surely someone has driven by or -- heart be still! -- through the tunnel by now. But way more important is crossing over the tunnel to make a Klang-NPW run or vice versa. Report, please.

That nearly fits with the 9 pm given to poster Stud858 by a policeman earlier in the day. 

LOL. Here we are fussing over a highway junction and the rest of the world looks for Yingluk.  

44 minutes ago, Juan B Tong said:

What/who is AFP?    

 

Who writes and edits this?   Wouldn't pass English composition 101 for sure!

It's the English service of Agence France-Presse, which provides very thorough coverage of Southeast Asia.  Other news outlets outside SEA are using the AFP story, including The Guardian and BBC. 

New 2018 date aside (ha!), has anyone passed by the junction and saw any balloons and flags, so to speak?

I will only buy frames/glasses at home in Canada now. I stopped buying them in Thailand years ago when I found (a) lens quality in Thailand was not as advanced as in Canada,  (b)  frames and lenses in Thailand were 50% to 100% more expensive than in Canada. Of course, progressive lenses are expensive anywhere. 

The report did restrict its survey list to 32 countries. But yes, Vietnam is super-cheap. 15 baht (Saigon Red) at happy hour, running to 40 baht (25,000 dong) as a general bar price for Saigon, 333, Tiger, etc. 

I can buy a 330 ml bottle of Singha in a government liquor store in my province (in Canada) for 54 baht, about the same as in a Pattaya bar. Kind of shows you the heavy impact of taxes on price in Thailand.  

On 8/19/2017 at 6:23 PM, TunnelRat69 said:

I got the one year multiple entry/exit Tourist Visa - every time I come in they stamp my is for three months, but never stay that long - get it at Vietnamese Embassy in Bangkok  $140.00 USD.

 

Vietnam has some strange tax laws, there was a time you had to declare money in foreign banks and salaries from overseas - they would tax you on money you didn;t even have in Vietnam  - if you are not actually planning to start a business, I would opt for the one year ME Visa.

You must be American, yes? That one-year Tourist visa is only available to Americans through a reciprocity deal. I know for a fact, the VN embassy in Bangkok won't give me a one-year Tourist visa (I'm Cdn). Only a business visa works for the rest of us. No reporting, nothing to do. Mine's a 6-month multi entry. Paid a total of $290US.

1 hour ago, KhunBENQ said:

I might look like a baby girl, but on such wide roads I rarely do normal right turns with the scooter.

I slow down and keep to left, stop and wait for clear lane or a real huge gap.

Spent a few extra seconds and might save my health/life.

Actually, I've done this a few times myself, especially turning south from Khao Noi to go to the u-turn. I must remember to make this a habit.

Thanks for the map. I will do a trial run sometime soon.  

I would say a motorcycle mirror check of traffic running at highway speeds is rarely comforting. You can't really gauge speeds of on-rushing vehicles. Plus there's all the lane switching and overtaking. It's a lousy situation, almost calling for speed bumps.

My recent return to the Dark Side area meant I had to run the Sukhumvit gauntlet. I needed to go to the DLT twice, meaning running all the way north on Suk to Hwy 36. Filtering from the curb lane 4 lanes over to the Hwy 36 exit scared the crap out of me because of the cars and mini-trucks speeding northbound. It's enough to scare you away from ever using Suk. I will try to find a safer if longer route next spring when I renew my licence. 

Trouble seems to follow me. I moved back to the Dark Side end of July and road traffic is even more of a disaster. Now I've been thinking of moving from the (virtually) isolated Dark Side to the beach side, behind Big C Extra on Klang. If I have any future moving plans, I'll warn you all so you can get out of town. 

Then there will be a new trick of terminating a worker at 19 years, x months so the employer doesn't have to pay out extra. I don't know what a long-time workers gets after say, 14 years, but cheap employers will find a way to pay as little as possible. Nothing, is better.

It just gets better and better. You wait. Someone in the PEA on Friday or Monday will announce that it will delay the cable dig (because some higher-up told them on the QT  there's a big announcement on the 25th to open up the junction, much to the surprise of the PEA. LOL). 

In 2014, I made many visits with Dr Jessada of Pattaya International. It's not cheap but I felt I got good information and diagnoses. 

53 minutes ago, Baxer said:

No,they don't. They start about 5 am..

My (ex)  GF had a soup cart there every day except market days. I helped her close up every night. The crews (man and woman) started winching up the overhead tarps down at the corner where Country Road restaurant was located on the nights before market day. Maybe it was a two-stage process. Anyway, thanks for your informative comment. 

The crews set up the overhead tarps the night before. Vendors are pretty much set up by 0900 hr, with some stragglers. Some vendors begin gradually packing up after 1500. It's best to shop between 1000 hr and 1500. 

I wonder if the PEA is doing the work now because they know something about the Klang-Suk junction, namely it won't open for many more months. 

7 hours ago, tontraveller said:

Indeed ,that pharmacy is much cheaper, esspecially when you use a lot of medicin..

You can call them, they have one English speaking staff..Very good service and can be trusted..

Just ask for quotation.

The name is S.C Pharmacy located on Rama4  in the section between Silom  and Suriwongse road 

Actually, it's SC Drugs, just past the Crown Plaza Hotel. I got the name from an earlier thread that discussed this issue thoroughly. I've been going there for a couple of years. Much cheaper, in some cases, hugely cheaper, when buying my BP pills, compared to anywhere else. I go to Bangkok quite often so I don't do the mail service. There are other drug stores on that stretch. 

I have never seen a lineup like that outside the Immigration ramp. That's 13 years of flying in and out, the last 7 years about 5-8 times a year. The last time, late July, I walked the almost 1 km from gate to passport control and people were spilling down the ramp. I put on the jets and headed for the next ramp about 500 m around the next corner. Almost empty.

Still, I see empty chairs at the two-person passport control counters all the time, both on departure and arrival. It's rare to see both chairs occupied these days. I have a feeling many officers don't last long because the work is too hard and sustained. Plus, I believe many candidates simply don't have the head for visas and maybe don't have the cash to buy the job, too.

31 minutes ago, soisanuk said:

ExpatDraco:

Unless Immigration becomes aware that they are staying with you - probably doesn't matter. But, if your guest goes to Immigration for a service, e.g., extending their permission to stay by 30 days at the time they are staying with you, then the failure to file the TM.30 within 24 hours of their arrival at your residence could result in you (as possessor) being fined.

Fine runs up to 10,000 baht for House Master.