newnative

So true. And, more parking does not actually faciliate vehicles, it's just more parking, which hinders the flow of vehicles, whether it's a main road like North Pattaya or all the numerous narrow sois that are difficult to navigate with parking allowed on both sides.

Wake up, America.

Deport him immediately, if not sooner, and ban him for a long period.

How does ensuring that Supreme Court justices--hello, Clarence!--aren't being bought off threaten democracy?

Unfortunately, it will likely get worse. The north Pattaya/Naklua/Wongamat area is the most booming area of Pattaya these days, spurred by the opening of T21. Centre Point Space and the new Akara Hotel both opened, to join a number of other new hotels, both large and smaller, in the area. A massive third Centre Point resort is going up on a large piece of land by Cape Dara. And, just down the street, a very large condo project is planned, to join the other big new one, Arom Wongamat. Many old businesses by Dolphin Circle have been torn down to make a very large land plot for something new called Again Pattaya. Sansiri has a low-rise condo project going up of mostly studio units tucked away on one of the side streets. Older developments, such as Centara Grand and Holiday Inn, are renovating. To get to all of this, North Pattaya and Naklua Roads are often way too traffic-clogged. Both are at the point where they need to eliminate parking. North Pattaya Road, especially. Large sections of it already have no parking, so only a hundred cars or so can park on it, anyway. Madness to allow a relatively few cars to park while leaving thousands of other cars in gridlock trying to get to their destinations. Making it all no parking instantly adds a third lane in each direction with no construction needed.

Only lots and lots of very bad publicity will have any chance of changing things.

Could be it's you. Judging from your posts, they probably view you as a drunk-all-the-time layabout not worth bothering with. My Thai in-laws go out of their way to thank me anytime I do something for them. Course, I'm sober and wearing clothing . . .

Well, good to know since he lost by over 7 million votes in 2020. I guess he is doubling down on his 2020 strategy--the larger the number he loses by, the louder he will claim, once again, the Big Lie of voter fraud.

I'm curious what year before 2019 saw 4 million Russian travelers to Thailand. 2019 was 1.5M, 2018 was 1.7M. 2017 and 2016 were around 1.4M. Stopped checking after that as none of the years I checked were coming close to 4 million Russian tourists.

It's a tossup as to what was worse in Trump's presidency, his non-existent domestic achievements or his terrible foreign policy. I would opt for the latter, which Biden has had to clean up. In any case, his failures, both domestically and internationally, combined to drop him right to the very bottom, the worst president in history.

Interesting, thanks!

Pretty good numbers for the year so far. For those who claim that western tourists to Thailand have steeply fallen, the numbers seem to indictate more of a maintaining pattern. UK had 994,000 visitors to Thailand in 2019's banner year. They are at 540,000 so far, with 5 months left and high season yet to come. Ditto for Germany, 857,000/482,000 and France, 740,000/420,000. They may not reach 2019's numbers but shouldn't be too far off. USA had 1,168,000 in 2019 and is at 575,000 so far this year. Also might get fairly close to 2019's numbers.

Thanks!

An addition. Just remembered that years ago someone told me that VT5A and 5B were to be built on the land next to 5C and 5D. Have no idea if this is true or not. A hotel was built there, instead, by the VT company.

I got 80/100. Missed the question on suburbanization. Thought the interstate transportation system promoted it more than Levittown.

I just completed this quiz. My Score 80/100 My Time 116 seconds  

Excellent proposals and long overdue.

That is a mystery--maybe someone on the Forum knows. My only guess is they already had VT3A and VT3B, and a 5 and a 3 can sometimes be confused in handwriting. And, memory--"Did he say to meet at 3A or 5A?" So, possibly they chose 5C and 5D as a better way to distinguish the 4 large buildings. They would skip 4 as an unlucky number.

VT6 and VT7 empty shells were more expensive than the other View Talays from the get-go. I think they were more expensive due to their direct beachfront locations, a slightly more upscale design, better doors, more elevators, underground parking, etc. I don't know that much about View Talay Residences, as we always wanted highrise seaview. I do know that the projects have fewer units and they offer more than just small studios. They are scattered all over Pattaya, from Jomtien to Wong Amat.

Absolutely agree. Cliche or not, you do only go around once in life so why spend your priceless time in someone else's space. Cheers to you for getting exactly what you want. My spouse and I always do the same thing as you; even if we think we might be selling at some point, we always design for ourselves. It sounds like you put a lot of thought into your design and have created something special, with quality materials. You might be surprised that there will be buyers who will gravitate to that, who also want something special, and not the same as everything else.

Just a couple corrections. Later VT condos, 3 thru 7, were also empty shells, as was VT8 initially--I think they later finished some of them or had packages to finish them. I know because my spouse and I renovated empty shell studio units at all of them except VT6 and VT8--we looked at studio shells at both but decided not to buy. VT3 was the first VT project to have 48sqm studios, not VT5. The View Talay company did, at one point, finish some of the studios at VT3--we were living there at the time. I think they were planning to rent them out but I don't know what became of that idea. VT5C and VT5D both have their own pools, they do not share a pool. They are also independent of each other and have their own Juristic offices. There is not a VT4 because the number 4 is unlucky in Chinese culture. You are correct that with empty shells you get thousands of different-looking condos. Someone years ago remarked that the View Talays were like boxes of chocolates, you never knew what you'd get when you opened the door. When we lived at VT7 we peeked in at a condo renovation project on the top floor. I think it was at least 4 studio condos plus a corner unit that had all been put together to make one massive condo. You could easily do things like that starting with empty shells. You are also correct that for years View Talay condo owners and renters have had to put up with renovation noise, as the empty shells were finished. Renovation noise can be found in newer projects, too, though. My spouse and I tore out a brand new kitchen at Centric Sea because we didn't like the cabinets or the kitchen layout. My spouse and I loved the VT empty shell concept--being able to do whatever we wanted to an unfinishedspace. However, most buyers didn't want to do all the work and they wanted a completed condo, including furniture in some cases. Newer developers, such as Riviera, came along and offered just that, very successfully.

The first condo my spouse and I bought when we moved to Pattaya from the Rayong beach area in 2010 was at VT3B. We also owned and lived for periods of about a year at VT5C, VT5D, and VT7. The VT3 condo was a very large corner unit 1 bedroom and the others were 48sqm studios. VT8 was developed by, I believe, another family member and is a separate project and had its own separate sales office on-site. At one time it had a hotel component; I don't know if that is still the case. We didn't see much difference between VT5C and D. One was closer to the ocean, the other closer to the street. We had better seaviews with the 5C units we owned. All the condos we bought were empty shells, without even a finished floor. We liked the blank slate to do what we wanted. I think our favorite renovations were the VT3 and the VT7. I think the View Talay company learned a few things with each project. By the time they got to VT7, they had likely heard a number of complaints about the ratio of elevators to the number of units and entrance doors that weren't the best quality. So, VT7 has a few more elevators and the condo doors are much better Scorpion-type doors. The project had a slightly more upscale feel to it, with its materials, different design, and more unit size choices. But, as with the others, little in the way of amenities other than a pool. We liked the great location of the VT5s and VT7 but our favorite was VT3. It's beachfront and has a very nice, quieter location. it's a smaller project than the others with more of a residential feel. The only drawback for us, as mentioned, was the lack of public transportation, but we did have a car.

No Google in NZ? Pew Research, April 2024, pegged it at 63% support for Trump from white voters without a 4-year degree. This group is likely feeling the most marginalized and the most apprehensive about a rapidly changing world and their place in it. They have gravitated to Trump, in the false hope that he cares about them and is interested in bettering their lot. Why they would think a rich, spoiled Republican with the mantra me! me! me! would have their best interests at heart is beyond me. During his term as the worst president in history, he only managed to pass a big, fat tax cut for himself and his fellow billionaires. Sadly for the 63%, in one of Trump's only recorded instances of being truthful, he admitted he has no interest in them and only wants their vote. Every time I read that the crocodile tears just flow. It's my turn, somebody pass the kleenex.

No, actual FACTS. Which, I know, Trumpets detest. In both the 2020 and the 2016 elections, the voters, to use your term, 'liked' both Clinton and Biden more than Trump, by 2.8 million and 7 million votes. You claim that Biden was 'appointed' President by the EC, and the Trump voters, in your words, 'simply didn't count'. The implication being that Trump won the popular vote but his votes 'didn't count' and the Electoral College, in your words, 'appointed' Biden president. As I pointed out in my earlier post, you have it completely backwards. The reality is, the FACT is, in both elections the popular vote was won by the Democrat candidate, not Trump. The reality is, the FACT is, that Trump was the one who was 'appointed' president by the EC in 2016, over the wishes of the actual voters. If there ever was a glaring case for votes 'not counting', it was the voters who 'liked' Clinton more than Trump, to the tune of 2.8 million. Ditto for the 2000 election, when the actual voters 'liked' Gore more than Bush but Bush was 'appointed' president by the EC, with an assist from the Supreme Court. Had Trump won the popular vote in either 2016 or 2020, and the Democrat candidate won the EC, then, yes, you would have a claim of the voters 'liking' Trump but the EC 'appointing' the Democrat. Not the case. Trump lost the popular vote very badly in both elections. Not 'liked'--sorry. The reality is, the FACT is, that if only the popular vote was considered, Trump would have never been 'appointed' as president in 2016 and the US would have been spared the worst president in history. Yet another reason to ditch the EC.

Huh? 'Only the voters like Trumps, and they simply don't count.' ??? I think you got it backwards. The voters 'liked' Biden more than Trump in the 2020 election by more than 7 MILLION. In 2016, the voters also 'liked' Clinton more--by 2.8 MILLION. In that 2016 election, you are totally right, the actual voters 'didn't count'. But, Trump was the one who was, in your words, 'appointed by the EC', even though the actual voters wanted Clinton, by 2.8 million votes. Trump has never even won 50% of the vote so, clearly, the majority of the voters don't 'like' the worst President in the history of the US.