newnative

That used to be the case but I wonder for how much longer US stores can follow a policy like that. My brother-in-law manages a drug store in the US. The local police have told him to not call for thefts under $150--they will not respond or investigate. People stealing less than $150 worth of merchandise and then returning the next day, without a receipt, and expecting a full refund--how long can a store tolerate that and remain in business? I might add that his store is in one of the wealthiest counties in the US--Fairfax County, Virginia, a suburb of DC. Even in the face of the 'woke' mentality in the US, several CEOs of major retailers, including Home Depot, have felt the pressing need to speak out and let the public know what has become an increasingly major problem for them--stealing by their customers. Wal-Mart has left some markets altogether, unable to make a profit, largely due to this problem. Walgreens has had to redesign some of its stores in some locations to put almost all the merchandise out of reach of the customers--I imagine there will be more of this in the future for some retailers in the US.

I think you are correct and most of the 2 bedrooms are around that size or smaller. We owned a 2 bedroom in the corner stack facing west and north that was 62 sqm. I think there might have been a few larger 2 bedrooms on the top floors. There is also a smaller 2 bedroom unit that is 53 sqm.

This from someone who's every utterance is a lie. Guess the truth hurts, Donnie.

Well, that's progressed pretty much like just about everyone predicted. Shameful.

Agree.

Annual vow to crackdown on corruption. Dovetails nicely with my also useless, never-going-to-happen annual vow to lose 10 pounds.

My lord, they are still trying to find an engine for that bucket of bolts? Once again, I am offering for free, no charge, my used lawn mower engine that I have stored somewhere in the back shed. Should power the sub at a stately .05 knots, ideal for naval festivals, the only time the sub will be used.

Thanks, Sheryl!

Anybody know a good place to have fillers done in Pattaya? Thanks!

In our earlier years in Pattaya, my partner and I lived in View Talay 48 sqm studios--in VT3, 5C, 5D, and 7. Except for VT3, with each one, we separated the open space into 3 zones--kitchen/entrance/bathroom, separated by a short partition wall, living and dining area in the middle, and a private bedroom area at the rear, by the large balcony, separated by a frosted window wall. We debated having the bedroom area in the middle but it just worked better at the back, both for privacy and function, with the dining area closer to the kitchen. I know some people like one big space, which can also work well, but we preferred some separations, so we could move from one room to another room and not feel like we were living our life in just one room. The separations also made the space appear bigger. I remember our neighbor at VT7, in the exact same 48 sqm, seeing our condo and he swore it was bigger than his open plan. He finally had to do some measurements to see the space was the same. It looked bigger because the eye was not taking in all the space, all at once. Instead, the separations made for more to discover, and a more interesting living environment, I felt. People will sometimes make the mistake, with small spaces, of buying small-size furniture. For example, a small 2-seat loveseat with no arms and a couple of tiny chairs instead of a bigger sofa. With our VT projects, we put in a large corner sofa in the living room--the biggest we could fit--and designed the space, including the dividing wall, around it. It was unexpected to see such a large piece in a 'studio' but it worked well, and was more comfortable to sit on than a small loveseat. Ditto for the bedroom. Even though the space was not large, we wanted a king bed, with bedside tables, and space to walk around both sides of the bed--no shoving the bed against the wall, which I hate. When we bought our Bangkok getaway condo we thought we could live in 24 sqm, since we would only be using it for around a week at a time. We designed it in sort of the same way as the VT projects, with a separated bedroom space. But, it proved to be too small for two and we bought a bigger 1 bedroom, instead. Might have been ok for one person if they weren't home much. The nice thing about the newer projects is the terrific amenities they come with. So, even if you are in a small space, you can escape to the pool, the gym, the snooker room, the sky lounge, the sky garden, the outdoor ping pong, the golf simulation, the library, the jogging path, etc., etc. Some photos of one of the VT projects, in case anyone might be interested in what I was trying to describe.

Total joke. Of course he didn't appear. Who would, with the case expiring in a few days? Don't they have anything better to do with their time, having wasted so much of it that the case is now expiring?

Toooooooooo late.

You should learn to look at the big picture, rather than be laser-focused on a small brushstroke applied back in 2016. If you read more, yourself, you'd know that in 2019, over 60% of the nearly 11 million Chinese visitors to Thailand were independent travelers, not in tour groups, be they budget tours or otherwise. So, about 6.6 million independent Chinese tourists that year, a far bigger figure than any other country. 6.6 million not in your so-called zero dollar tours from years ago. 6.6 million spending their money anywhere they wanted in Thailand. Just to be clear, the remaining 4.4 million in tour groups also contributed greatly to the Thai economy. Whether they were traveling independently or with groups, Chinese tourists dropped 543 billion baht in Thailand in 2019. No other country came remotely close. To even get into that ballpark, you would have to add the revenue from all the countries of Europe, which gives you 461 billion baht and change. You can certainly choose to focus on a small segment that garnered some publicity years ago, but it doesn't reflect the importance of the Chinese tour market to Thailand. As I said in my earlier post, it explains Thailand's actions in trying to boost the Chinese tourist numbers. You can find the 2019 revenue figures here: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1140714/thailand-value-of-tourist-spending-by-region-of-origin/

You're welcome. And, good luck with your condo shopping.

There are a number of good, big agencies in town. Coastal, East Coast, Gecko, Alan Bolton, PBRE, Prestige, FazWaz, Rightmove, Cornerstone, Pattaya Realty, and others. I've only had good experiences with the real estate agencies in Pattaya. I would start with Hipflat. Thailand does not have an MLS service but a number of agencies will list their properties for sale on Hipflat, as well as their websites. You can search areas of town, such as Jomtien or central Pattaya, for condo projects in those areas. You can also search by condo project name to see listings for sale. The information is sometimes out of date but you can get an idea of what's for sale in a project, some information on the project, and pricing. If you see a listing you like, you can contact the agency with the listing--and also check the agency's website for perhaps more information on the unit, such as whether it is in foreign quota.

2019 tourist revenue from China: 543 billion baht. They 'like the numbers'.

Or, thinking without the benefit of any actual information regarding international tourist revenue.

You, and the posters from the 'many previous posts' you 'recall', might ask yourselves the musical question, why, if Chinese visitors to Thailand contribute so little to the 'overall economy', then why is Thailand so hellbent on trying to get them to return in large numbers? Why bother with new visa schemes to try to entice them? Easy answer. Thailand would love to get back to 2019 China visitor numbers, nearly 11 million. That year, Chinese visitors spent 534 billion baht in Thailand. That includes those in tour groups and those traveling independently. By far the most of any country.

You don't need to 'whisper' it; of course his sentence will be reduced. The only question is by how much. Likely, a lot.

Translation: More tourists means we have to work harder so we are against more tourists.

Work.

Yes, that's what scares me--the cursed Electoral College. He was very badly beaten in the popular vote in 2020--by 7 million votes-- but could have still won the election had he strongly embraced early voting and vote-by-mail, as Biden did, and won some of the close states he lost. He might have 'found' 12,000 more voters, in Georgia, for example, and gotten their votes in before election day, had he embraced early voting. Instead, he lost Georgia by about 12,000 votes and ended up breaking the law after the election by coercing Georgia officials to 'find' him those 12,000 votes. Toooo late. Hopefully, Donnie will be just as brainless in 2024, should he be the nominee, but can we count on him being that major league stupid twice?

But, no ban on straight pornographic books; apparently still ok in the schools. Seems anti-gay--both you and DeSantis.

Well, it's pretty darn simple. When you are in a cult you lose the ability to distinguish fact from fiction. That's what it all boils down to, in the end. Given massive, factual, proven left, right and sideways information, facts, Trump cultists are unable to see a fact as a fact. Instead, they will believe the Big Lie, and all the other many lies spouted by their cult leader, Trump, because they have lost this ability. They are fond of posting first with a false statement, followed by a brain-no-longer-processing question, as the above poster has, because that's all they have left; they've lost the ability to determine fact from fiction.

Hope he is found guilty, since he is, and rots in prison for the rest of his life. Despicable human--I can see how he and Trump found each other. Maybe they can be cellmates.