newnative

It wasn't a case of being told anything. Our previous house came with the product I described in my earlier post. As I said, it would not have been my choice. Of course, the product they used was not Corian, Caesarstone, or any other name brand manufactured stone. I know these products are durable. The previous house was our first experience with this type of product and we found it to be unsatisfactory in comparison to granite. Again, not a name brand, quality western product. I prefer the variety and natural look of granite and we have used granite in our numerous renovations here, including the house we just finished. We also like to give work to independent granite companies rather than the chains. We have found there is a good choice of granite here and, surprisingly, the granite we used on our current house wasn't much different in price to the manufactured product on our previous house. I suspect the builder used the manufactured stone in the project for a uniform, neutral look and, perhaps, it was easier to get a lot of it that looked the same at a reasonable price for the houses as it was used in all the kitchens, the bath vanities, and some other countertops. Attached, a photo of a kitchen we did using natural stone. This particular pattern I think is my personal favorite of all the ones we have done. Getting this one-of-a-kind and very interesting look is where granite shines, for me. In this case, it's almost like looking at a painting. Of course, that's just my taste and others may prefer a different look.

At 73, I still enjoy fireworks. But, I don't enjoy the hassle of getting there to see them and then fighting the crowds coming home afterwards. As I said in another thread, spouse and I were spoiled when we lived at Northshore condo and we could just ride the elevator down to the 6th floor and watch fireworks events from a great vantage point on the pool deck. Now on the Darkside, we will be avoiding the Pattaya fireworks this year and will be spending New Years with family visiting.

Throw him in jail and let him make license plates to earn some money towards the money he owes to his victims.

I would put money on this being the biggest crowd the US has ever seen . . . in Trump's mind.

Spouse and I were among the 'idiots' who owned at Northshore. Our condo faced north and I don't remember the noise from events being bad--and the sliding doors were good quality. Perhaps it's more of a problem with units facing south towards where the event stages are usually set up. I think if you choose a location like Northshore's you know going in there will be some noise. In any case, It was a fun place to live and we still miss riding down on the elevator New Year's Eve to watch the fireworks from deck chairs on the 6th floor pool deck. And, also the International Fireworks. It doesn't get much easier than that. Also fun to walk across the street to the beach for events and not have to drive and worry about finding a parking place. We'd probably still be there but we decided we wanted a lot more space for both ourselves and family visits so we relocated to the Darkside.

Very much liked all 5 of yours and I will try to do all 5 myself, with the goal of appreciating and enjoying every day.

Yes, but not a normal landing.

Agree. Hard to watch the video because the plane landed ok--it did not break up on impact. Likely far more would have survived, since the fuselage was intact after landing, had the runway not had the concrete wall at the end. Which seems like madness to me since the runway was short to begin with and there could be the possibility that sometime a plane might overshoot the end of the short runway. That sometime happened.

The foundation need not worry. All they ever do is talk, talk, talk--which they have been doing for years--with likely more ahead. But, I for one, would like the planned 'entertainment' to be more than 'luxury hotels and shopping centres'.

Our experience with granite is just the opposite. The real granite we have used, at least 15 or more times, has not had a problem with staining or discoloring. Our last house, however, came with a man-made product, which we would not have chosen. It stained fairly easily. It didn't help that it was mostly creamy-white with a bit of gray veining. We prefer granite with a darker shade and more interesting pattern. If it ever did stain it would likely not show or be hard to spot.

Dad lived to 95, Mom to 101. Dad was sharps a tack right to the end, Mom had dementia, increasingly bad, the last 15 or so years of her life. I'm shooting for Dad's age--but only if I keep my wits.

Tamp down the drama and faux outrage. Post away. And, I assume I am allowed to do the same--which is all I was doing. I found it interesting that one poster commenting had not been to Pattaya in more than 10 years and the other had a 1-day visit 12 years ago. I did urge both posters to 'continue to comment to their heart's desire'. I look forward to their keen insights on the Pattaya of today.

Well, that's two. And, yes, please both of you stay away. Pattaya is busy enough. And, meanwhile, you can continue to comment on all things Pattaya to your heart's content--with your 'one day/night' visit 12 years ago you are certainly as informed and up-to-date on Pattaya as most of the posters here.

Haven't been there in sometime but when we went the meals were great and the service wonderfully unhurried.

Housing would likely be cheaper. One thing that is topsy-turvy in Thailand compared to America is the prices of condos vs. houses. When I lived in the US, I could never afford a single-family home in the area I was at. Heck, I couldn't even afford a townhouse. I could only afford a 1 bedroom condo. Compare that to Thailand. The last condo my spouse and I owned in Pattaya was a 1 bedroom 79 sqm unit. We sold that several years ago and netted 9MB, which we used to buy our first house. Recently, we finished construction on a 4 bedroom, 5 bath house with pool and 2-car garage near Lake Mabprachan. Total cost, including land, house, 3x9 pool, landscaping, built-ins, loose furniture, appliances, including 2 kitchens, electronics, drapes, and everything else came to 8.4MB. Topsy-turvy.

You see this all the time on the Darkside of Pattaya, too. There is a housing boom and tons of home construction going on all over. Lots of pick-up trucks carrying the workers in the back--sometimes so many that they are standing, with nothing much to hold on to.

Boo hoo

I agree. Dr. Somchai is excellent. I investigated lasik in the US about 15 years ago and was told with my vision I would still need to use glasses either for distance or close-up. Passed on doing it. Came to Thailand in 2010 and spouse and I both had lasik around 2012 with Dr. Somchai. He was able to do my lasik so I had good vision both for distance and close-up. No glasses needed at all. Twelve years later, our vision had deteriorated a bit so we did the Supersight and we're both very happy with the results. Spouse's Supersight was around 250,000 baht and mine was more because I needed a different kind of lens, if I'm remembering correctly.

Spouse and I had Supersight surgery done at Bangkok Hospital Pattaya earlier this year. Very pleased with the result and the whole process, which involved an overnight stay in a private room at the hospital and good follow-up care. My insurance paid for my procedure, which would have cost me 300,000 baht for both eyes.

"We are fully prepared to ensure everyone’s safety during the Christmas and new year celebrations." What about the rest of the year? The only cops I ever see--and spouse and I are out and about a lot--are the 2 cops by Central Festival Mall. Where are all these 420 officers? Not on the streets, that's for sure.

I am in Pattaya. Spouse and I eat out fairly often and we have not noticed any deterioration at the restaurants we go to regularly. Yesterday we had a delicious lunch with four friends at one of our favorite restaurants here on The Darkside. We don't eat at too many chain restaurants but those we do eat at, such as Miyazaki and Fuji, have maintained quality and food portions. Luckily, living in Pattaya there is a wide variety and number of restaurants to choose from. If one goes downhill, we can stop going to it and there are plenty of others to choose from.

I don't think anyone is blaming the victim. Rather, they are questioning his choice, at his advanced age, to be out by himself at midnight in an area apparently without many people around. I would not do that anywhere in the World, and that includes Pattaya and the small city where I lived in the US. Someone will be along, I'm sure, to say that people should be able to walk around alone at midnight and be perfectly safe. Yes, they should. In a perfect World. Which this is not. And, since it's not, a prudent person acts accordingly.

Yes--we've done the new train--which I didn't mind. What I didn't like at Dubai was both a bus and a train.

I agree--you need to allow plenty of time between flights. Spouse and I will try to avoid Dubai airport in the future. Emirates has just gotten too big, we think. On our last flight, even though Emirates is the big cheese at the airport and should get slots close to the terminal, we had to deplane using outside stairs--welcome to the 1960s--and I guess in the middle of nowhere. I say that because we then had to take a very long bus ride--standing the whole time. I thought that would put us at the terminal but, no. We then had to get on a train to get us the rest of the way. Finally at the terminal, it was still a long walk to our gate for the next flight. Every time we use other airports it make us appreciate Suvarnabhumi and how well it works. Our recent trip earlier this month was a breeze going through the security checks and Immigration.

Now, on to Pattaya and let's win there.