newnative

'Those of you who drive a car in Pattaya . . .' Why limit it to just Pattaya drivers? Nobody else drives in Thailand and can contribute to the discussion?

Things might be different in rural areas but if you live in Bangkok medical care can certainly end up not being 'free' for Thais, especially if the care involves operations, intensive care, cancer treatment, or medical services in high demand using limited equipment. My Thai spouse's mother had 2 million baht in medical expenses before she passed away in Bangkok. If 'free' care was available, he and his siblings would certainly have availed themselves of it, rather than forking over the 2MB. It doesn't do any good if a government medical service is free but unavailable--because it's fully booked at the government hospital or all the available weekly slots for a medical service are already taken at the government hospital.

I agree. It goes with living in a condo. It doesn't really matter the age of the condo--construction can be going on at any time, in new projects and older ones. With one of the new condos my spouse and I bought, we didn't like the kitchen layout, nor the small refrigerator, the electric hob rather than induction, and the cheap counters, backsplash, and kitchen cabinets. Even though the kitchen was brand new, we removed everything, changed the layout to work better, and had new and much better everything installed. With some projects, we were doing the renovations, for others we have lived in, others were renovating their units. Sometimes it was both. I think most owners go with the flow, knowing they might need to be doing work on their condos at some point and hope their neighbors will be understanding. For the OP, there are just two choices that I can see, put up with it or move.

He's complaining about construction noise at 10am, from his latest post. That's a normal time for construction--9am to 5pm. Most condo projects restrict construction to those times and some prohibit it during the Christmas-New Years holidays.

Airport Rail Link, too. I remember the first time my spouse and I took the ARL as newbies. We had luggage so we decided to line up at one of the train entrance arrows far from everyone else. Train guy came over and set us straight as to the shortness of the train The longer trains should have been added years ago. The government supposedly wants more people on the trains and out of their cars--but has done nothing to accommodate the many more riders the system has gained in the years since its been open.

I feel safer here than anywhere I lived in the US--and also safer than most of the countries I have visited. Many rather petty crimes that would not even be covered in the West are given overwrought publicity here--which leads to the false impression your wife has. I'm starting my 15th year here and have never been the victim of any crime. I would not let the crime situation here stop you from coming.

Chaos.

My first car was a Fiat, bought used around 1968. I was in high school and we were living on Okinawa, Dad working for the US Army. It was a horrible car. The hood of the engine compartment had vents. Every time it rained hard, something in the engine got wet and the car would not start. When rain threatened, I had to run out and open the engine compartment and cover the engine with plastic. Of course, I daren't drive it in the rain, for fear of being stranded somewhere. There were other problems but, luckily, repairs weren't too expensive. A very unreliable car, and proof of the correctness of the meaning of FIAT--Fix It Again Tony.

Agree. And, it's burning being done all over. I am on the Darkside outside of Pattaya and almost every morning my terrace has black soot on it from the burning in my area. We smell the burning most evenings, sometimes so bad we have to stay inside with the windows closed and the aircon on. Absolutely nothing is being done anywhere by anyone to curtail this. Just blah, blah, blah talk and useless things like free Metro for a week in Bangkok--like that's going to do anything, in Bangkok or anywhere else.

Yes, it was awful on Sunday--never seen it so packed. Horrible. 45% increase in usage but no increase in the frequency of the trains and no increase in the number of cars per train.

Totally agree. Spouse and I were on the MRT yesterday, Sunday, and it was a miserable, horrible experience. I've never seen the trains so packed. Facebook told me today that the MRT had 451,000 more riders yesterday--I think they were all crammed into the car we were on. Ridership on all the lines was up by huge numbers. I can't even think what hell it must have been trying to take the Airport Rail Link out to the airport with luggage--that train ride is awful even in normal times with the huge increase in the local riders now using it--and sometimes only 3 -car trains. The powers in charge make it free but did they consult with the operators first? Did they add extra cars to the trains? No, same 4 cars that are inadequate to passenger rider numbers even during normal, paying non-rush hour times. Did they make the trains come at more frequent intervals? No, it was still the same long wait between trains. It's madness that they are still using 4-car trains. Our condo is next to the Phetchaburi MRT. This area, including the Rama 9 area, has seen huge growth in both condos built and people working here. Just one new condo, One 9 Five, has 2000 units. Multiply that by all the other new condo projects, throwing new riders on to the trains. Plus, new office buildings, including a very large one next to our condo. If they want to get people to give up their cars, they need to make riding public transportation a pleasant experience, not a nightmare. We are visiting from Pattaya this week and will be using our car or taking taxis--and I'm sure we will not be the only ones. So much for reducing pollution.

Speaking Thai should not be a requirement to get a long-term visa.

Well, that's actually good that the majority of Thais are opposed to casinos. Makes it easier for the government to restrict entry to the casinos to foreign passport holders only. Neatly solves the problem of those braying that the casinos will only be harmful to Thais and put them further in debt. And, also neatly solves the problem of the already established, powerful gambling forces losing their revenue--Thais will continue to gamble with them since they will be barred from the casinos. That was easy.

Neither.

Nothing 'high horse' about being realistic and telling it like it is.

'Don't leave it too late however...' Leave what 'too late'? Seeing all the countries I want to see? Reading all the books I want to read? Viewing every new tv show and new movie I want to see? Discovering my next favorite restaurant ? Watching how the youngest family members turn out when they grow into adults in 10 or 15 years? Or any of the other myriad things that interest me? Being a realist, I know there's not enough time to do everything I want to do. No matter what, some things will be left 'too late'. Do I read one of the literary classics I never got around to or the new Jonathan Kellerman? If I die tomorrow, they both will have been 'left too late'. That's the way of the world. My time is finite, not the things I want to do and see. But, I'm here now to read the new book by one of my favorite writers, happy that I am still here to enjoy it, and hopefully, the next five or ten or twenty he writes. I'm here now to plan with my spouse our next trip abroad, happy that I am still here to travel to faraway places, and hopefully there will be many more faraway places to visit while I still can. I'm here now to socialize with family and friends and enjoy their company, happy that we are all still here. Knowing I'm just penciled in, as we all are, I'm treasuring each day.

'...why would one want to?' Huh? Maybe because they still tremendously enjoy living. My joy in living certainly didn't end when one day I was 69 and then the next day I turned 70. BZZZZ! Time's up! You're 70, it's over for you! I don't think so. I'm still having loads of fun, still savoring every single day. Life's still an adventure and I'm still full of curiosity, with many more countries I still want to visit and things I still want to do. I feel sorry for your defeatist attitude.

That's not 'bold action'. Far from it. That's just pretending to do something. Make a little publicity while not having to actually do anything. While not having to actually make some bold decisions, some tough decisions. Easy peasy. Free transit, for a week. Count 'em. Ok, that's done. Meanwhile, what's it going to be like riding the subway--with its way too inadequate packed 3 and 4-car trains when riding isn't free? Spouse and I only ride non-rush hour and even then it's way overcrowded. How are you going to get people to give up their cars when public transportation is a miserable experience at rush hour?

Nobody knows how many years, months, weeks or days they have left. My Dad lived to 95, Mom to 101. Dad also used to say, "We're all just penciled in." Unfortunately, so true. None of us is here in permanent ink. As I said in my previous post, I'm doing the things I enjoy, for as long as I can do them. That includes working on projects but certainly other things as well, such as travel, trying to keep fit with swimming and exercise, visits with family, reading mystery and other writers I like, socializing with friends, watching movies and favorite tv series, trying new restaurants, and, yes, fitting in Asean Now to see what latest outrage has us Pattaya residents 'shocked', 'enraged', 'terrified', etc., and the city once again in 'chaos'.

Boo hoo.

Sure, but other things, as well. Like, in the last 4 years, renovating and selling 2 houses, after living in each, for a time. Then building 2 more houses from scratch, selling the first one after living in it for a time, and now living in the latest one. We had never built a house before but I think it's a good idea to challenge yourself a bit from time to time. Could we do this? Build a house? I still vividly remember, in 2010 as new arrivals to Pattaya, opening the door for the first time to a View Talay 3 condo shell. I was shocked. No kitchen. No air con. No window treatments. Minimal lighting. Bare bones bathroom. Not even a finished floor--just rough, dirty concrete that I first thought was dirt! In America we had just done minor fix-ups with our condos, nothing difficult. Could we do this? Renovate a condo from a bare shell? Turns out we could. And, we proceeded to successfully do 7 or 8 of them, scattered around VT3, 5C, 5D, and 7. Plus, a number of other ones at other condo projects. Always interesting and challenging. Always learning something. We found we liked building the first house, it increased in value, so we decided to do another one. Not for everyone, I'm well-aware, but it's something I enjoy doing, even with the sometimes headaches involved. That's the thing--do what you enjoy doing, if you still can, whatever the age you are. I like to keep busy, at any age, including my current age--just turned 73. We always say our last project is our last project but, so far, another one keeps coming along.

Yes, just a number. And, I don't let my number stop me from doing what I want to do, what I like to do, if I am able to do it.

Yes, really.

Total non-answer from the government spokesman. At least go through the motions . . .

Two words "NO ENFORCEMENT" !!!