newnative

More lunacy from the raging lunatic.

Or, maybe just stay away altogether if it's such a 'horrible hole'.

Head & Shoulders Anti-Hairfall.

Not long ago, I posted on some thread that 70 is the absolute worst of the dreaded birthdays ending in zero. I think anybody who has reached 70 is well-aware of the limited time they have left--and we don't need reminding, thank you very much. Unless you have a terminal illness, nobody knows how many years they have left--and that includes the OP with his 'you-have-less-than-10-years'. Maybe, maybe not. My Mom lived to 101 and my Dad to 95. Mom had Alzheimer's but Dad was sharp as a tack and active right till the end. What that bodes for me is anyone's guess. However many years I have left, I want to make the most of them. I hated being robbed of two years of international travel by covid--and hope to make some of it up by trying to see more of the places I want to visit while I am still healthy and relatively spry. Facebook reminds me periodically that time is flying--and seemingly flying at a faster speed the older I get. The other day, it reminded me that it was 4 years ago that my partner and I started our renovation of the last condo we owned before moving on to houses. I would have guessed 2 or 3 years--I have a terrible sense of time and always guess low. Yesterday, we sold the second renovated house we have done and we moved into a new house that is just being finished--a project that has taken since February, when the foundation was laid. Being involved, for the first time, with a new house construction from start to finish has been interesting, fun, and--often--hard work and challenging. But, ultimately rewarding to see it all finally come together. However, I think we are both ready to hit the 'pause button' on these projects and hit 'fast forward' on more traveling and doing other things. One thing I am certain of is Thailand has provided me and my partner an interesting, rewarding, and enjoyable time since we arrived in 2010--which does not seem very long ago. It was a good decision for both of us to move here.

While an embassy can't interfere in legal cases, I think it has the right to get involved, if it so chooses. From the US Embassy website: If arrested or detained: visit you in detention, advocate for your rights under Thai law, ensure access to the prison’s healthcare system, and assist with communication with your family or loved one 'Advocate' is a rather broad term, perhaps intentionally. So, at least with an American, the Embassy can step in and 'advocate' on your behalf--which could involve 'advocating' a compromise. The French website says French consulates 'intervene' when a French citizen is arrested to insure their rights are respected. 'Intervene' is also not too specific but, in both instances, it seems like there is some leeway in what can be attempted to assist a citizen. Having said all that, after some dealings I've had with the American Embassy, I would expect the assistance to be the bare minimum. Although a case drawing wide publicity might, perhaps, spur a more helpful response.

I think if you read the more complete story--although, still sketchy--rather than the AN synopsis, you get a somewhat fuller picture and the police actions make more sense. There are two separate issues. First, the assault charge against the French woman. The woman slapped the Thai man, which she admits doing, and he filed an assault charge. With her confession, the police charged her with the assault and confiscated her passport to prevent her from leaving the country before the case is heard. Makes sense to me. Assaulting someone can have consequences. She will have the opportunity to explain her actions, and perhaps win her case, when it comes to trial. The second issue is the alleged assault on her son. There is no CCTV evidence and, apparently, no witnesses other than her son. So, essentially, it's one person's word, a foreigner, against another person's word, a Thai citizen. And, the son is no longer in Thailand to provide evidence or testimony. A prosecutor might very well decide to not go forward with such a lack of evidence. The action, or inaction, of the French Embassy is the mystery to me--although we may not have all the details. They have a French citizen in trouble and it seems they could be doing more in the way of support. An embassy representative might also be able to step in and perhaps negotiate a resolution where charges against the woman are dropped if she drops her charges and agrees to leave the country. She admits she has no job and no financial resources and, while it may not be the justice she wants, it may be the best she can hope for at this point.

At least someone is questioning his lengthy stay in the hospital and, hopefully, that will include looking into his accommodations there.

Terrible optics from a totally clueless tourism minister.

Reading a good book. A relaxed, well-paced dinner out with friends and good conversation. Watching and listening to the ocean surf with an ice cold beer. Swimming naked in a private pool. Getting a room arrangement just right. Finding something wonderful while antiquing or flea marketing. Getting a good haircut. Discovering a new favorite restaurant. Finding an empty seat next to you on a 12-hour flight in Economy.

Maybe he and the former billionaire can get together and do lunch.

My point is it will likely be a much easier road in Thailand than in the US--mainly because decent housing, usually the biggest monthly expense, is so much cheaper here. That huge savings simply leaves much more of the monthly budget available for other living expenses. In the example I used, it left $41 to spend a day here vs $5 and some change in the US. (Or, 1,476 baht vs. around 203 baht.) As a number of posts have pointed out on this thread, one can live a fairly comfortable life on 60,000 baht in Thailand.

A 'quick win' is not going to do it. And, it sounds like some made up, useless claptrap from TAT. No, it's going to take some long, hard, carefully thought out and planned, top to bottom work; not something that can be accomplished in an instant. That 4-letter word 'work' has reared its ugly head so likely a no-go all the way around. Quick start, quick no-win.

No fool like an old fool. Perhaps there's more to the story than the Thaiger article but, if not, I'm not seeing a crime. He freely bought her all the things mentioned, freely paid the hospital bills, freely paid her large sums monthly, freely gave her other large sums of money, etc. Freely started the business mentioned. Now he wants his gifts back. Good luck with that. The real crime is how he could have blown a billion baht so stupidly and been so unaware of his dwindling fortune. Now, with apparently just 10 million baht left, he comes to his senses. Welcome to the real world, guy! Welcome to Cattle Class when you fly. Welcome to normal housing, normal restaurants, normal shopping, normal everything. You're 70. 10 MB doled out at 50,000 baht a month will buy you 16.6 years, which will get you close to 87 years old--if you survive that long, which I find doubtful as you seem to lack enough sense to cross a street safely. You'll still have a larger monthly income than many Thais. I suggest you learn your quite hard-learned--and quite long--lesson and practice some fiscal discipline--or you may find yourself sleeping in whatever car you have left.

Maybe try Centre Point Space and see if it is getting any families. Or, Amari has built a big, new wing with big suites that was built with families in mind. I think there's a kids menu and some scheduled activities for children. In Jomtien, you might try a project closer to the beach, such as Atlantis or Lumpini Park Beach. You might also try Wong Amat, which has been popular with families. My partner and I use the gym at the biggest Wong Amat resort several times a week and there are always kids around, although the majority appear to be Asian, which falls in with the changing tourist demographic I mentioned. But, we usually see some 'genuines' here and there.

Guess I touched a nerve. Your post stood out because of its incorrect--and from your current post--out-of-date information. 40 million people visited Thailand in 2019. According to you, they were all the same and they all visited just for sex. I'm not finding the humor in that, just someone being condescending and cutting--along with incorrect. You haven't been to Pattaya in 17 years but you've talked to some people. Hmm. Apparently that allows you to make more pronouncements in this post claiming that there are 'very few foreign children' and 'what family facilities it does have are rarely used by genuine foreign family holidaymakers'. I wonder what exactly you mean by 'genuine'? Shorthand for white westerners? I guess foreign Asian families wouldn't qualify as 'genuine' or figure in the numbers--certainly 'Thais' don't, according to your statement. In any event, how could you have possibly verified either of those statements since it has been 17 years since you spent any significant time here? I have no idea what Pattaya was like 17 years ago but it has changed tremendously in the 12 years I have lived here. I have never said what you have me saying, that Pattaya is a 'eutopia of a family holiday destination', but it has definitely been changing, especially in the past few years, to a beach resort that has more on offer to families than when you were last here. A large number of massive projects have been built in my 12 years here--and they continue to be built--everything from dozens of large highrise condo projects to Central Festival, Terminal 21, lots of housing estates, expanded retail, Columbia Pictures Aquaverse theme park, Ramayana water park, and a number of nice, new hotels. On the horizon, Icon Siam and Aquatique. The latest massive new hotel, Centre Point Space, is definitely geared to kids. But, forewarned, a lot of those kids might be Asian. Something that was not here 17 years ago is the advent of huge, lowrise 1000 unit condo resorts, most with a theme or based on famous places. So we have Seven Seas, Espana, The Maldives, Atlantis, The Orient, Grand Florida, and a number of others. Pre-covid, they were popular with families, who could book a condo with a kitchen to stay at, rather than a hotel room, using Airbnb. Most of these projects are in Jomtien, away from the bar areas--as is a lot of the new development. It's ludicrous to think that today's booming Pattaya is all thanks to sexpats, past and present. Terminal 21, and all the other new projects, got built because Pattaya is attracting a growing and diverse visitor demographic, plus locals, to support the new businesses. Terminal 21, and Central Festival, both have hundreds of stores, with many geared to women. Sexpats are not keeping these stores, and the malls, open. Ditto for many of the hotels. But, of course, they contribute and are an important part of the visitor demographics. The reason Centre Point Space has more Asian tourist kids rather than your 'genuine' kids is simply down to changing Thailand tourist demographics. We all know the 10.9 million Chinese visitors in 2019. But, what is often overlooked is the visitor total from other Asian countries: over 16 million. US and UK combined, a little over 2 million. Your 'genuine' visitor kids among the 2 million perhaps got lost in the Asian visitor total of 26.9 million that year. Maybe another visit is due and perhaps this time venture out from the bar areas to get a truer picture.

And, once again, how's his life going to be any better on $1,666 a month (60,000 baht) in, say, the US?

Well, here's perhaps a first. Every single sentence in your post is incorrect--starting with the first sentence wrongly declaring their was 'humour' in your other post and ending with your last, utterly ridiculous false claim that most visitors to Thailand are the same. By the way, Pattaya has at least 4 beaches and lots of 'family facilities'. There were nearly 40 million visitors to Thailand, pre-covid, and your '9.5 million visitors' to Pattaya is not exactly your claim of 'nearly half' of the 40 million visitors. That would be 20 million.

Curious. Is the friend you visit in Pattaya also unhappy? If so, I wonder why he continues to live here. Also curious as to where you are going in Pattaya that you only encounter 'unhappy looking people'. If you go to the center city areas when you visit, I hope you realize that you are seeing more international tourists and other local visitors than actual Pattaya expat residents. A bit like forming an impression of Las Vegas residents after a visit to the Strip. The vast majority of Pattaya expat residents do not live in the center city tourist area. They are in Jomtien and Na Jomtien. Pratamnak and Cosy Beach. Bang Saray. Naklua and Wong Amat. Central Pattaya, for example, has just 34 condo projects, according to Hipflat. Jomtien alone, of the other areas I mentioned, has 166, but they all have more than the central area. For an expat, Pattaya offers a huge variety of housing choices, at all price points. With housing being a major budget item, that's a really big plus. In addition to the condo projects, there are hundreds of housing estates in Pattaya, many on the Darkside--that's the area east of Sukhumvit. Most have expat residents. Some, like Silk Road estate, have plenty. They're living normal, ordinary lives. Once or twice a week they may go into town to do the week's shopping at Big C Extra or visit one of the malls. I wonder how many of these folk you have run into--and did they all look unhappy? I'm one of those living on the Darkside with my spouse and we're not unhappy so that's 2 in the happy column. Yaa us! In regard to your comments regarding cooking yourself, eating Thai food, not drinking, partying, etc., you don't have to live elsewhere to do, or not do, any of that. Pattaya offers plenty of food shopping choices, from Makro to Villa Market, to Big C, Foodland, and Tesco, plus a number of other non-chains. And, dozens of fresh markets scattered all over. If you don't want to cook, Pattaya probably has the most choice of different types of restaurants, at a variety of price points, found outside of Bangkok, Chiang Mai, or Phuket. Next visit, perhaps vary a bit where you go--you might just run into some happy folk living here.

Quite. I, myself, was, perhaps, not as near to the incident as the Crown Prince of Johor, being in Pattaya at the time, but I was certainly much closer than anyone in, say, Chiang Mai, and it was truly just as frightening to me as it was to the Crown Prince in his hotel, wherever it might have been. And also, like the Crown Prince, it was the 'worst thing' that has ever happened to me. Although, not being born a Crown Prince of Johor could possibly be worse, now that I think of it. Or, not. Advantages and disadvantages to carefully weigh, with royalty. But, I digress. Like you, I would have immediately taken cover under the sofa but my diet has not been as successful as one might have wanted, so squeezing under the sofa was a non-starter. Fortunately, my security team sprang into action and they were able to quickly surround me. Then, the team was able to get me to the safety of a nearby Dunkin Donuts, where I sheltered in place--saying to hell with the diet!--while my crack team set up a protection zone. Kudos on your medal, by the way. Well done, indeed! I expect we'll both be drinking and dining for free for the next month or so on our harrowing tales.

I'm wondering what 'comfortable life', 'Thai style', 'western', or otherwise, he would be leading in the west on 60,000 baht, or around $1,666 a month. Likely something bigger than the 'studio apartment' you mentioned, in the US would cost at least $1,500 a month in a decent project, not including your 'utilities, cell phone/internet'. But, even including them in the $1500, that leaves just $166, or about $5.35 a day, to spend on everything else. Is that going to be a 'comfortable life'? I think not. In comparison, he could move to Pattaya and rent a small 1 bedroom condo at, say, Centric Sea, a decent project, for around 11,000 baht a month. Maybe another 3,000 baht for 'utilities, cell phone/internet'. Good location, easy walk to either Central Festival Mall or Terminal 21, with lots of reasonable restaurant choices, shops, banks, movies in English, etc. That leaves him with 46,000 baht a month, or 1,483 baht a day. About $41. Will he be living like a king? No. But, he'll have a roof over his head, free gyms, swimming pools, and several sky lounges to use. Plus, more walking around money each day--$41 vs. $5.35. I've said it before, if you have a tight budget in many cases you're better off here than in the west. Obviously, on a small budget you're not going to be living large in either place. But, with limited funds I'd rather be in Thailand than just about any western country. I'd rather have $41 in my pocket in Thailand each day to spend than $5 and change in the US.

Everybody wants their 15 minutes.

An isolated shooting incident by a mentally ill teen 'risks governmental stability'? What rot. Possibly a temporary blip on tourism but that's about it.

American here. No intention of ever moving back to the US. Many little reasons but they all boil down to simply living a much better life here.

My answer would be no, due to the tax treaty in place prohibiting double taxation. Your SS and pension are under the US tax system and, as such, have gone through the taxation process in the US--the first taxation. The fact that the amount of tax owed is zero should have no bearing. Ditto if you owe $5 or $20 or any amount. For Thailand to demand that the income go through a second taxation, Thailand's, with different tax schedules, should be prohibited by the treaty. I know, 'should' being the operative word, several times.

I'm shocked this is even a story worth printing. Everybody want their 15 minutes.