Kaoboi Bebobp

6 minutes ago, Jack Mountain said:

Market day! But you knew that ;-)

It's the reason I never go to Benjamit on Tuesday and Fridays.  I remember also that the hot season has been quite busy the last few years. I think the airfares from the UK and Europe are more affordable this time of the year.

That is a strange location for a fire. I think that's the interior parking floor.  At that time of the day, there's hardly anyone there anyway, especially on those floors, since shops don't open till 10 or 11 am. 

I've travelled the BTS for 13 years. I've never seen lineups for outbound trains at Prom Pong like I have this year and the last. From roughly 9:30 to 11 pm, I have had to wait 1-3 trains before being able to get on for Phra Khanong. Yes, many people were getting off work but they always have from Emporium and surrounding area. I don't think it's because of Em Quartier entirely. There are more people using the BTS from all directions, I think. When Udom Suk opened, it was a good station to catch the train as it was empty. Now, many shuttle buses drop off riders there and it has become very busy. Now the new extension stations will encourage even more ridership. I believe the BTS Suk line will become rather unbearable. Guess it beats walking or taking a taxi or cheap BMT bus.

1 hour ago, 55Jay said:

Recall going to our local BigC when we first moved over 4 years ago.  Wasn't impressed so we gave it a miss for years until roughly 6 months ago, wandered in and saw the bakery was offering uncut loaves of sourdough, rye and other nice looking grainy bread.  Wow!  Make it a point to swing by there now.  We just got a Foodland in the new Terminal 21 Mall and agree, the bakery is just ok. 

Which T21 are you talking about? They're building one in Pattaya. But if you mean Bangkok at Asok BTS Station, I have to ask: Is there a Foodland there now? That's pretty close to the Suk Soi 16 Foodland. 

Anyway, I agree, the Big C Rama 4 bakery is pretty good, better than crappy Foodland's or Villa's.

 I've picked up mushy packages of frozen fries or veg that clearly had thawed and are being re-frozen. One way of telling is seeing through the package's view window all the heavy "snow" inside the "frozen" packet of fries. Having thawed and water moisture formed inside, it refreezes as snow crystals. It also occurs when you open the pack, which lets humid air inside, close it up and put it back in the freezer. 

Yet another reason why I give construction sites as wide a berth as I can. A couple of months ago out here in Phra Khanong a tall hole-boring machine keeled over and fell onto the BTS stairway, breaking the railings and smacking the roof a good one. It completely destroyed a fat communications box on the street too. I was, fortunately, across the street just after it happened.

Look how many times the side doors at Big C Extra are left open, letting humid, hot air inside and challenging the already poor air con in the food court. Then Thais stand around fanning themselves inside because it's hot. They just can't seem to make the mental connection, even after decades of exposure to air con environments. 

I have about a dozen examples of repair guys leaving an absolute mess on the floor. One time I came back from Canada to see tracked-in dirt and air con cleaning debris all over the washroom floor where they cleaned the filters. This was on arrival after 24 hours of travel. I had to mop up the apartment floor and washroom floor before I could even think of unpacking because it was so dirty. This was one time I took up this subject with the manager who was very apologetic about it and she sent cleaners in next time they cleaned the a/c unit.  

They just don't get it. 

1 hour ago, randymarsh said:

Anyone suggesting this is cultural and therefore should just be accepted is laughable.  These are go go bars targeted at farang.   

 

Anyway I will leave it.  I'm just surprised it can happen in even the most high profile of places.  

Randy,  you think you've got the high ground. We have no ground at all in this country. Some 20 or so people have told you the same thing in different words, people who have been here for, in some cases, decades.  We do not condone it with our replies but it's NONE of our business. More important, there's nothing we can do about this issue or any other issue. Point blank. Full stop. We are guests here and are not welcome to insinuate ourselves into  local affairs. But I'm glad to see you "will leave it."  It's the better path by far.

15 hours ago, balo said:

Its a hit or a miss really .  I prefer the coffee I make at home. 

 

Same here, really. I drink 90% of my coffee at home but sometimes a takeout coffee makes for a nice change only if it's any good.

12 hours ago, balo said:

We had one in Big C Xtra 2-3 years ago , next to the food court , but the owner moved out .

The new owner took over and didn't know how to make a decent espresso or latte so the business went down like a rock.   I tried one cup and never again . 

 

Was the one before called Yes Coffee? It was very decent. Now, it's crap under the new owner. 

OP,  keep your head down and move along. Clearly you are new to this part of the world. What you report can be added to hundreds of daily occurrences of uncertain and questionable activities of connected locals. Do not poke hornets' nests. 

OK, good report. Got an americano there years ago and it was pretty awful. Will try it again. Although, as noted, it's always very busy, which is a good sign, However, for me, the best coffee is at Black Canyon. A bit pricey (55 or 65 baht, can't remember) but it's very rich and is good till the last drop.

Motorbike or car? As for motorbikes, there are shops open late along Noen Pub Wan, from the railway bypass road east to where-ever.

16 hours ago, LongTimeLurker said:

Problem is knowing what the bus timetable is, especially if you have a flight to carch.

 

Having to go to Morchit I went to the Pattaya North bus station to ask the bus timings and the response was "maybe every 15 minutes, maybe every hour, not sure"

 

They don't have a timetable.

The bus terminal departures are based on demand. I do know the Mo Chit bus is not nearly as frequent as the Ekamai bus. A way around this is to take the Ekamai bus, get off at Udom Suk BTS station and take the train all the way to Mo Chit station and then a taxi to DMK. Takes about 40-45 minutes to Mo Chit station from Udom Suk. 

5 hours ago, DMC1 said:

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I'm sure the pedestrian footbridge (refurbished) is already in place, but not open yet. Somebody mentioned to me the other day that they'd seen it there. I don't normally drive down that section (join near Boonthavorn) so can't be sure.

I used the new pedestrian bridge from NPW to the beachside of Suk months ago. So I'm not sure which bridge is being talked about that will cause the intersection delay. 

My NPW apartment manager told me the Klang-Suk intersection would open in February. This was back in November after I had moved out of Pattaya to Bangkok because I couldn't stand the exasperating and risky crossover for shopping any more. But I thought I'd move back to NPW this coming summer when all's ready. So now you're telling me it's going to be the autumn, ref 6-8 months for pedestrian bridge? 

On 2/28/2017 at 4:36 PM, Brer Fox said:

Yes is the short answer. I have lived in both countries for the past ten or so years but mostly nowadays in Vietnam for personal preferences, (modest older style condo in Bang Kapi, BKK 6,000 THB/mth and a large villa house 4 beds, 3 bath, not far from Hanoi 15,000 THB/mth) I would say overall the cost of living in Vietnam is at least 50% cheaper than Thailand. Good hotel in Hanoi for 800 THB/night. The only thing that might be more expensive than Thailand would be home leasing and even then it would not seriously more.

Food at the local markets is next to nothing. e.g. tomatoes 30 THB/kg, large cauliflower 45 THB, apples 100 THB/kg, pork and chicken is dirt cheap, lean beef mince at BigC 200 THB/kg. 

As for visas; Thailand is a nightmare while Vietnam is dream. Just got my marriage exemption visa for five years - US$10. First renewal due at the local office after 6 months and thereafter every 12 months. Very little paperwork to get the visa and no going in and out for extensions/annual renewals and no providing of evidence of money in the bank or income. Twelve month, no strings multiple entry visas can be had through an agent for about US200-250. Employment visas easy.

Entertainment is an personal thing. There are no Pattayas or Nanas or Walking Streets (that I know of anyway) but plenty of excellent restaurants and bars. In my opinion Vietnam is basically violence free and a much safer country to live in (no face loss problems like Thailand) and certainly no guns or knives. Any local causing trouble/assault on foreigners is in deep, deep trouble. Never any hassles from the police or authorities who are always very respectful. A very friendly people. 

Well said and detailed. I would only slightly dispute the 12-month visa cost by saying your prices are a little bit low. Depending on one's contacts, of course, but mine say I should be able to get a 12-month visa for about $300-$400US. I shall be trying to prove that this spring when I move from Bangkok to the southeastern coast of Vietnam. 

I love being there and in fact, just got back today from a very relaxing research trip. Have been there many times (lived in the Delta for 6 months once) and agree with all your observations. An example of how things should work, three new brew pubs have opened up in Saigon the last 18 months or so. Was in East-West Brewery the other night. Most of its craft beers were 150 baht a pint. The most expensive, 220 baht. Need I say they were superb? Some of the Saigon craft beers can now be found in southern cities. This is how business should be done.

To the main point: Even if the Thai junta government hides some of the alcohol price increases, there will be some -- yet again -- at the retail level. And there will be more in the future.  For me it will be goodbye Thailand, for many financial and cultural reasons. I'm not alone. Another Bangkok friend will be moving to the same small coastal city as we follow another one who left last year for the same spot. In fact, my circle of long-time BKK friends keeps shrinking slowly but surely as they go back home (where it's cheaper!) or move to neighbouring countries.

I left Bangkok Feb. 24 for SGN on a 2 pm flight.

There was a lineup at the top of the escalators leading down to the passport control area. Stood there for 10 minutes. Finally got down and waited and waited. Was able to edge into a long long lineup.

There were 5 two-person kiosks. One was completely empty. One had two officers, the other three only had one officer each. So there were five empty chairs out of 10 in the high travel season. A 50% turnout. No one there to tidy up the lineups either. Thai Immigration was obviously really short of staff. Full stop.

Arriving at SGN airport with a visa already in my passport, Viet immigration  were quick and there was not one empty passport check counter. 

I have AIS Fibre (or Fiber). It's my landlord's, actually. So I don't know the specs but it's been surprisingly fast and reliable. It's the happiest experience with internet in Thailand that I've had. 

Good idea but wishful thinking. The big problem is the quality of workers. Interpret that as you wish. For several years now, Vietnam has been inundated by new factories and expansions of other work, some of it having come from Thailand. Billions of dollars (not dong) are being spent there. One reason is the lower cost of labour, true. The winning reasons are the quality of work and workers. VN has a much higher educational standard, and better and motivated workers. 

The junta's first order of business should be to fix the educational system.

There may be some slowdowns as a result of the rupture of a major undersea cable linking SEA and the States. The cursed Asia America Gateway broke again on the weekend, second time this year. It broke 3-4 times last year. No word on repairs yet but it sometimes takes a week to 10 days due to sea conditions, etc.

12 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

I go from Pattaya to Udom Suk, normally one of the first buses to leave.  I always get there in 2 hours or less.  No stops on the way.  Coming back is a different matter as I normally leave sometime after lunch, so traffic is a bit worse, and I leave from Ekkamai..  The only time I've had a 3 hour trip was when they diverted for various stops.  But yes, in the afternoon, 2.5-3 hours is the norm.  Stops included.  I've done this trip many times also. 

 

I've taken bus trips in many countries around the world.  For a "developed" country like Thailand, public transport here is an embarrassment. 

Yeah, almost everything on the Pats-BKK buses is broken: air vent valves, seat backs, seatbelts, chair adjusters, bottle holders, stowage webbing, shade curtains, footrests, window glass . . . We can be thankful that the air con usually works.

They were open last night. Today is a holiday for government workers.

Bearing BTS station is almost at the Bangkok-Samut Prakan border. Take the BTS, about 45 baht max. Then grab a taxi downstairs at Bearing and avoid the whole bloody Suk turtle crawl.

On 1/24/2017 at 9:26 PM, Sheryl said:

Most of the internet cafes do this (through some sort of computer program) but the connection isn't great. Dirt cheap though.

 

Some  mobile providers offer not bad rates for intl calls provided you use their gateway rather than dialing 001.  Mobitel/Celcard use the gateway 177; Metfone is 168.

 

About $0.10 a minute to most countries.

These VOIP gateways are pretty good and inexpensive. It was actually cheaper to call Canada than next-door Vietnam. LOL