Grusa

Our pool, which is huge, 30+years old and at ground level, was "renovated" just over a year ago. It was closed for nearly six months. All the grout had been eaten away by chemical imbalance, it was forever turning green - the manager blamed Russian visitors using sun cream! Much of the pipework for the filter system was irretrievably blocked or broken. None of that was replaced, nor was the antiquated wiring for the pool lights. The tiles could not be replicated, so they were taken from the jacuzzi, which was completely re-done. The whole thing was re-grouted.

Now, one year on, the grout is disappearing, the pool keeps going green, and a supplementary pump and filter has to be used every second day. Tiles are coming loose, and we do not have an effective vacuum line, or a hose and pole long enough to reach the bottom. The bottom drain does not work. Half the lights do not work. Air keeps bubbling up from the few working return ports.

There was no effective oversight of the project, the budget, the work and the planning were never put to the residents. A tribe of monkeys could have done a better, cheaper, job in half the time. Any competent westerner could have told them that major plumbing work was needed, and should be properly done while the pool was empty!

20 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

Same with gangs everywhere.  Why do they have drive by shootings instead of one on one gentleman's duels.  Times changed right after Camelot and that King Arthur and Lancelot thing.  

I envisage 12foot lances on motosais. No helmet.

Can it be done in English?

2 hours ago, ezzra said:

Everytime you get a procedure done at the hospital you will receive this laundry list of charges the will make you scratch your head what were they for, the government with all it's good intentions can not stop the hospitals who are private business and are there to make as much money as quickly as possible, to add some items to the end bill to cover any government restrictions i'm sure...

A few years ago I suffered two crushed vertebrae, treated by surgery at a well known international hospital in Patts. I have no complaints at all about the treatment, apart from physio which was less than incompetent.

At the end, the bill was indeed a laundry list, detailing every wipe, needle, pill, pair of gloves, etc. etc., totalling about 300,000 baht. I was self-financing. The bill was in fact very cheap compared to UK or USA private medicine.

After going through the bill with a fine tooth comb, it was trimmed by 20,000 baht:-  physio sessions which never took place, disposables which were not used, meals not ordered or eaten, procedures not carried out, etc.

Without some in-depth medical knowledge it is almost impossible to check one of these statements, especially if traumatised post-surgery. 

Always ask for a full printed statement before paying, always check it in detail, or ask someone with appropriate knowledge to do so, never buy any medication from the hospital unless it is a controlled drug, and not even then If you can help it. 

2 hours ago, Kasset Tak said:

I guess that they have either left their brains at home or are too busy being on their phones to pay attention on what is happening around them.

You can't leave at home assets you have never possessed!

It is my perception, as a driver of both car and motorbike, that the standard of driving, never good, has deteriorated drastically over the last year or so. Not particularly relevant to this thread, it seems to me that many car drivers do so as if they were still on two wheels.

There are so many elephants in this particular room being ignored, I will be arrested, tortured, fined, and deported if I even hint at them, and anyone who reads about them will be shot.

You have been warned.

14 hours ago, kuma said:

I like this approach. When I renewed my visa in March (Jomtien) I was given a one page document advising I needed to bring an up to date bank book with the unmarried minimum requirement (800,000 THB) for my first 90 day reporting period. For te remainder of the 90 day reports, I will have to show a bank book updated with a minimum 400,000 THB minimum balance, which must be back up to 800,000 THB 60 days prior to seeking to renew my one year retirement visa next year.

I believe this was the process outlined, not sure if/how it is being enforced nationally. I expect Jomtien would be one of the tougher offices in terms of compliance.

My experience at Jomtien, when collecting extension was made to sign a copy of the rules with a specific date to show an updated passbook. It so happened that that date was within 7 days of the 90day report falling due, however I hve since exited and returned so the dates no longer match. I will play safe and turn up with the book on the date ordered.... but which desk to go to?

I understand that ducks are partial to an occasional snack.

It might be helpful if all the new pipes, drains, etc., actually  went somewhere. Water flows downhill, the sea is as low as it gets. What is a pipe along the beach going to achieve? No affordable number of pumps will shift the produce of even a minor cloudburst, it's still going to find it's way to, you guessed it, The Beach.

Anything that stops people wasting time and intellect (?) on so called smartphones can only be a good thing.

Not to mention the waste of money.

Sent from my quasi-illegal, much maligned, about to be ostracised, Huawei smart pad thingy. Oh shit, here comes the flashbang!

The answer is very simple. Britain needs to step in and colonise the place. Look at what a good job British politicians do, historically and presently 

(Sarcasm/cynicism alert)????

10 hours ago, BestB said:

I think it’s a moral dilemma which is right or wrong from western values and point of you.

 

how would you feel if he paid nothing but was jailed ? 

 

How would the family feel if he was jailed and they got nothing ?

 

how is putting him in jail helps the family or achieves anything ?

 

He has paid out a lot of money , what it is to him I feel is irrelevant but for the family , it is huge money. 

 

Not saying what is morally right or wrong but perhaps having him pay for family and kids is a better option than to jail him.

Jail + civil and criminal damages would be appropriate. 

6 hours ago, webfact said:

an object, similar to an ancient cannon, was found near Koh Racha Noi off Phuket’s southern coast.

Was it a paedophile? (Oh sorry, thats canon). (Joke in poor taste....sorry).

A lot of fishy stories this morning.

There's something fishy about this story...........

"Left turn waiting light" with a red bent arrow, or a blue bent arrow, or no arrow, or an arrow with Thai script only, or none.

Everyone turns left on red anyway, apart from the morons who sneak up to the head of the queue to go straight ahead, then fall asleep on their phone. And of course the super moron who cuts across four lanes to do an illegal u-turn.

2 hours ago, GreenerGrass said:

I wonder what kind of notifications were put into place to notify swimmers of the extreme danger's of swimming in that sea. It's absolutley disgusting the fact that it is promoted as a family friendly resort. Build build build with no forward planning for getting rid of the waste is criminal behaviour!!!

I live in a Mubaan in NaJomtien, with a beautiful pool right beside the beach. We get many (illegal) Russian tourist families coming. They would rather swim with the turds in the sea than use the pool! .... even though they have been told.

I thought drug related  offenses never benefited from amnesties, here? I know a guy sentenced to thirty years for smuggling heroin by paramotor, he had Royal connections.......no sign of him getting out early!

12 hours ago, Pattaya46 said:

I struggle to understand all the figures given in this article ??

Mainly:

Surely that is fully incorrect. I would bet tens or hundreds thousands at max, no?

That's enough to vote in a majority government!

7 hours ago, SpokaneAl said:

My wife and I rented a condo in Jomtien for two weeks in January. We have rented another in Hua Hin for two weeks next January. Certainly have no interest in staying longer nor buying. Does that make us bad people?

Yes.

18 hours ago, wgdanson said:

Why would anyone want to get a train from Swampy/Don Muang, to U-Tapau?

I would. I live near U-tapao, very handy.

On 5/12/2019 at 10:04 AM, spidermike007 said:

Always about saving face. Face is no doubt, the greatest form of weakness, a human can engage in. Many will say it is societal, cultural, etc. No matter. It is the absolute and complete lack of the ability to introspect, and look within for the source of any problem, shortcoming, conflict, or issue. It is the polar opposite of spirituality, and therefore an absolute scourge on Buddha, and all of the precepts he taught. By practicing face, you are denying your spiritual heritage. You are refusing to man up. To take responsibility for your actions. If a man or a woman cannot, and will not take responsibility for their actions, the problems they create, the mistakes they make, and the issues they involve themselves in, what are they? Are they still an adult? Are they a complete individual, if they allow themselves to be limited by such infinitely small social convention? 

 

Who cares what people think of you? For those of us with high self esteem, it just does not matter. Sure, close friends and family. But strangers on the street? Who gives a rat's butt about this? It means nothing what they think, nor what they say about you. They count for nothing. They are just people, and people you do not know, nor will ever see again. Face is rife with self doubt, and by subscribing to this weakness, and man or woman is made a far lesser person. For those of us with high self esteem, we know who we are. What others think, what society thinks, what a guy or gal thinks, means less than zero.

 

Real men or women, simply own a situation, and take responsibility for their errors or mistakes. Small men, social deviants, or emotional adolescents deflect, obfuscate, attempt to confuse, and do everything in their power to deny that they made a mistake, or that they are responsible in any way, or on any level. They make up narratives about fake news, or alternative facts. Anything to avoid looking within, for the source of the problem. Anything.

Post of the week, if not the year.