newnative

I've just topped up my Elder MRT pass, as well. I don't know what the problem is with the OP. He should be able to still use the card until there is nothing left on it. I may have used my pink card when I originally got the card, which might explain why I was still able to top it up. Like you, I don't know if I am still getting the discount but the card still works.

Never a problem in 15 years living here. Much safer than where I lived in the US, which was a supposedly 'safe' area with supposedly low crime.

I suggest the Darkside of Pattaya. Lots of housing projects to choose from. Spouse and I like the Lake Mabprachan area. Nice walking/bike trail around the lake, lots of restaurants, markets, banking, golf courses, most of your everyday shopping needs met. From our home, we can be at Terminal 21, the big box stores, Tesco or Big C, and Bangkok Pattaya Hospital in 15 minutes or less. All that Pattaya has is there when we need it--about every car brand, services, Immigration, etc.--but we live away from the tourists. And, Bangkok is less than 2 hours away.

I was going to answer 'No' but came up with two things for me. 1. More free time than when I was younger and working, sometimes two jobs. 2. More money to do things in the more free time I have.

Same with my recent trip to Europe. Very easy and fast going out and returning.

They are in shopping malls.

Spouse and I have a Pattaya house and a Bangkok condo. We like visiting Bangkok and staying for short periods but we prefer Pattaya for year-round living. In Pattaya we can afford to own a 4-bedroom pool villa, all on one floor. Two car garage with electric charger. Fairly large land plot. Something like that in Bangkok would cost much more. We like having a large space to live in with a nice pool, a home gym, and guest bedrooms for visits by family members. Pattaya offers a wide variety of housing at all price points, in a number of different neighborhoods, so there is a lot to choose from, either to rent or buy. From our home location, we can be at all the major shopping, movie theaters, and several different hospitals in 15 minutes or less, with an easy drive to them. Bangkok is more of a chore to get around in. Traffic is much worse than Pattaya. We do take the subway most of the time but it's crowded--and getting more crowded--and it limits what you can carry back with you, such as groceries. Pattaya works very well for us with our everyday living. As we grow older, this will continue to be the case and we have space in our home for live-in care should we ever need it. If we were 20 years younger we might be doing the reverse--living in Bangkok with a Pattaya getaway condo. But, for us at our retirement ages, Pattaya is the better fit.

Maybe not 'the best post this year' but, as a fellow Darksider, your terrific post has my vote as by far the best of this thread.

Rubbish. Nobody was 'shocked'. And, the reason nobody was shocked was the fact that robberies of tourists happen all over the world. I am just back from Europe and our tour guide repeatedly warned us to beware of being robbed--this as we visited this tourist city and that tourist city. Whether you are in Pattaya or Paris, tourists are targeted to be robbed. And, they get robbed. Again, not an important news story anywhere in the world except, apparently, with Asean Now--and if there's a Pattaya angle. Pattaya is a large tourist city--among the 20 most visited in the world. Of course it will have robberies. This was a total non-story. It was only made a top of the page feature story because it happened in Pattaya. Had it happened in Bangkok or any other city in Thailand it's doubtful it would have been featured--or likely even covered at all--in AN. That same news feed had the death of a tourist by a wild elephant in one of Thailand's national parks. That tragic story was completely buried way down in the news feed, not featured. Actually, it was ranked even below a story about used condoms being found--also in Pattaya. So petty theft and used condoms found are deemed of more importance than a death--but only if they happen in Pattaya. Worse, the horrible death was referred to as an 'incident'. Surely the killing of a tourist by an elephant should have been the more important story. Tragic death vs. petty theft--a real no-brainer. But, not with AN. Sadly for the dead tourist, it did not happen in Pattaya so her death was deemed to be an incident and less important news than a stolen gold chain--in Pattaya.

I suspect it's not just GB. I'm recently returned from 9 days visiting Germany, Austria, and several other countries. Wore my sunglasses--briefly--once. The rest of the time the weather was cold, dreary, dark, and gray. In the morning it was barely getting light around 8am and in the afternoon it was dark before 4pm. Most of the time it was so dark and dreary the drivers had their lights on during the 'day'. Spouse and I kept saying to each other that we could see why so many Europeans come to Thailand to check that the sun's still there.

'...sent shockwaves through the city.' Give me a break. I, for one, am not that easily shocked. For the umpteenth time, hold the ridiculous hype. Total non-story. Guy was robbed. Big deal. Happens everywhere; not a news story anywhere but AN.

Get a job and work some more, like most people do. Retire when you can afford to retire and support yourself on your savings pension, if any, and SS-type programs.

I am in Europe now visiting some countries I have never been to. I'm not finding Europe to be cheap. But, as always, the focus should be on the big ticket budget items when deciding if a place is expensive or inexpensive to live in. For me, as a US citizen, Thailand is cheaper for me. With better weather. Brrrrr!

I am gay. I was born gay. I knew I was gay before I even knew what gay was. I did not choose to be gay, I just am. Just as I did not choose to be mixed-handed--I do some things with my left hand and some things with my right hand, without even thinking about it. I eat and write with my left hand but do most other things with my right hand--like using scissors. But, with eating, I use a knife with my right hand if I am cutting food but my left hand if I'm spreading something like butter on a roll. If I am painting a wall, I use my right hand with a paint roller but can use either hand with a paint brush. If I am writing on a blackboard, I use my right hand, rather than the left, even though I write on paper with my left. I can use my left or right hand with badminton but the right is a little better; neither is great. I went into some detail with my mixed-handedness to use that as an example of things that make up the human body and behavior. I did not 'learn' to be gay, just as I did not learn all these weird combinations and variations of how I use which hand to do things. As I did not choose to be gay, neither did I choose my strange mixed-handed business. With both, just born that way. Don't know why but do know it just is.

Awfully thin gruel.

The self-service was a breeze when I went thru it on Tuesday for my trip to Europe. Put the passport face down on the photo page, wait about 3 or 4 seconds, your photo comes up on the screen, the doors open, and off you go. This was after the carry-on luggage scanning was also a breeze--no lines and that went fast, too.

In my experience agencies have worked together to get a property sold and they split the commission. That just happened with the last house we sold this past summer. This is the norm in the US--where you mostly have a listing agent who puts the property on the MLS and splits the commission with an agent who brings the buyer. Of course, if the listing agent finds a buyer himself, he gets the whole commission.

I think most of the large agencies all still have offices, and certainly websites. I would not rely only on FB to find a property to buy, or to sell. FB did not bring us any of the Chinese buyers we have had, and likely not any of the Russian buyers.

It's bad in Bangkok, too, and also nothing done about it.

Good question.

I've been doing it for years on-line but I go to Europe tonight so next one apparently will have to be done in-person at Jomtien.

Why not, indeed.

Nothing wrong with that. Many tourists only visit a city once because they have a long list of other cities they want to visit. I've been to Venice once and enjoyed the visit but have no plans to ever visit again. Ditto for Beijing, Sydney, Hong Kong, Singapore, Milan, Barcelona, Lisbon, Kyoto, Madrid, Hanoi, Rome, etc., etc., etc.

If I'm not mistaken, though, it's been years since you've been to Pattaya. Was Terminal 21 built the last time you were here? How about Centre Point Space? Universal Studios Aquaverse amusement park? Ramayana Water Park? Dolphinarium? The new Go-Kart amusement that recently opened? Ripley's new Horror Hospital? Frost Magical Ice of Siam? You are correct that family friendly attractions have been built in North Pattaya, starting with T21. Amari built a whole new family wing catering to families. T21, itself, has a family friendly Centre Point hotel on top of it. That was so successful the company built Centre Point Space, also geared to families, right across the street. CP Space has also been so successful that they are now building the massive Centre Point 3 family resort on a huge tract of land by Cape Dara, also family-oriented. You may not have seen many 'little busters' years ago but, obviously, they are here now. And, the numbers are growing; hence, the need for CP3. Centara Resort, the grandaddy of Pattaya's family resorts, is undergoing a massive renovation, perhaps with an eye to the new competition going up down the street. Another large tract of land across from T21 by Dolphin Circle has also been cleared for new development. From your perch in New Zealand it's likely hard to keep up with all the new development going on. Heck, I live in Pattaya and it's hard for me to keep up--even though I am out and about a lot. Not too long ago a couple of my Bangkok relatives clued me in to a huge new 2-story coffee and dessert emporium that had opened on Sukhumvit. I do know that yet another water-themed amusement park opened recently but the name escapes me. In any case, Pattaya now has a lot on offer, both for visitors and the growing numbers of full and part-time residents moving into all the new condo projects and housing estates being built.

Utter nonsense.