newnative

In the Thai hierarchy, we slot in right above the Thai guy pushing the 4-wheel cart along the road collecting trash to recycle and we're directly below the Thai guy on the 3-wheel motorcycle selling whatever.

Watched the video and my first thought was where were the police? The Thai man kicking the Brit should be chaged with attempted murder, or murder if the man dies. Security personnel need proper training.

Totally agree. The OP makes it sound like all the 'reserved' tables are sitting empty for long periods of time. That is not the case for the vast majority. Typically, it is like I described. You go in, find a free table, put something on it to indicate it is being used, go get your food, and then return to the table in a matter of minutes. Eat your food and leave. Sometimes, instead of leaving an item on the table, you leave a person at a chair. Same difference. The table is in use. Look for a free table for yourself or eat elsewhere.

I don't see anything wrong with the practice. It's not really reserving a table--that's something that's done in advance. "I'd like to reserve a table for 6 people for 7pm this evening." What you describe is a table in use. My spouse and I will sometimes shop at Lotus's or Big C and have lunch at the food court before we shop. We have our grocery shopping bags with us and we drop them at a free table while we go and get our food and bring it back to the table. What's the difference between doing that or if one of us sits at the table while the other one goes and brings back the food? We sometimes do that as well--both at food courts and fast food joints. In both cases, the table is in use--look for a free table or eat elsewhere if they are all in use.

Pathetic.

Good riddance.

Lie # 4,874,931,476 for those of you not keeping track. As always, no charge for this helpful service.

No, I don't have any percentages for you. But, I would say inflation has not been bad at all here. I hardly give it a thought. I've been here 14 years and price increases have been very reasonable over the years, in my opinion, and for what I buy. Meanwhile, the dollar to baht was around 31 when I arrived and today is 36.6. And, as another poster has said, the COLAs on my pension and Social Security have easily exceeded the low inflation. I would be worse off in the US, my home country.

Yes, a condo bought in foreign quota can be resold to a Thai, or to a foreigner, who would likely keep it in foreign quota.

Very poorly written inaccurate article. Maybe take a second stab at it.

There is no 'Thai quota'. Thais can own 100% of a condo project. Foreign buyers are limited to 49% of a project's saleable area, in foreign quota. If foreign quota is full, a foreigner can still purchase a condo in company name. I would say definitey buy in foreign quota, if it is still available. There's less hassle with paperwork, no company set-up, etc., and your condo will be easier to sell down the road to another foreigner if it is held in foreign quota.

I do not know of any high quality vinyl sofas. Since you can afford it, I would go either with another leather sofa or with a cloth sofa with covers that can be washed, with perhaps a spare cover set kept in reserve. I think leather ages better than vinyl. IKEA probably offers the biggest selection of cloth sofas with removable covers that can be washed. In Pattaya, I would check Index, of course, but also Boonthavorn Lifestyle furniture on the second floor. Both Index and Lifestyle have some good sales now and then. I think Chic Republic has been selling furniture by Ashley, as well as some other brands. At the front of the Home Pro on Sukhumvit there is a Jas furniture store as you enter the store. They have a fairly good selection of sofas, mostly recliners, both manual and electric, with some different covering materials available and a wide assortment of colors--including vinyl and leather in different grades. Jas also may be a good option to check as you can customize your choice somewhat. My spouse and I almost bought a sofa from them before we found a bargain at Lifestyle in Bangkok. If you can get to Bangkok, the Boonthavorn store up the street from Rama 9 mall has a big complex of 3 or 4 stores and the furniture store there is large and on 3 floors with a bigger selection than Pattaya. There's no substitute for actually sitting on a chair or sofa to check comfort. I would never buy anything without first trying it out, so you can check the back height and pitch, the seat depth, and the comfort level of the cushions. Good luck with your search.

Quite happy here, thanks.

I prefer to live in a medium size city such as Pattaya, which has all the things and services I need, but be not too far from a big city. Bangkok is a nice distance away--about 1.5 hours by car. Not too close or too far.

When I came to Thailand in 2010 I brought one large and one medium suitcase with me. They had clothes and some small collectibles that I did not want to leave behind. And some rolled-up art works, photos, etc.. I also shipped two antique Korean chests, which I filled with other collectibles and some small pictures, and I shipped two Japanese folding art screens, which I have had since the early 1970s. In hindsight, I should have shipped a bit more of the art work I left behind when I was doing the shipment. I also should have bought two even bigger suitcases than the ones I used and shipped more one-of-a-kind stuff I had. Good advice by an earlier poster to not bring much in the way of clothes--I brought far too much and I would have had more space for more important things.

Not just historians--anyone with a working brain.

Utter nonsense from the serial whiner.

Buh bye bye

'...Pattaya terrorised...'. Asean Now, the hub of hype.

Good. Keep at it.

Boo hoo

Sadly, for America, the latter.

I totally love it. I think the artist did an excellent job. So refreshing to see a portrait done differently from the usual run-of-the-mill. Great that it is sparking comment--good art will do that.

Not 'Bangkok chaos'. Please, hold the hype already. There were no injuries because nobody was in the pickup truck. Woman driver's statement makes no sense when you see the video. Truck was parked and her car pushed it over the edge. Last sentence was cringe-worthy.

Yikes. First Yellowtail and now his clone.