newnative

Good. Hope the irresponsible, dumb idea is dead.

Exactly the double standard I was pointing out. Excuses made for Charles, Megan thrown under the bus. If the Palace wanted to, they could have protected her, as they fiercely do other members of the Firm, such as Kate. But, in this case, the ridiculous allegations were leaked by the Palace, itself, right before the Oprah Winfrey interview, timed to cause maximum damage to her. The staff abuse story was leaked and came out in the newspaper March 4, 2021; the Oprah interview aired March 7, 2021.

Welcome to Thailand.

A week ago my partner and I arrived on an international flight around noon. Most of the booths were open and there were only a few people in each line--I was through in just a few minutes. By the time we got to Baggage Claim it was just a short wait for our suitcases. Very easy.

Good grief. That old prattle? What nonsense--trumped up, marginal charges served up by the Palace to show Megan in a bad light. Worse case, she was a demanding boss expecting competence in her staff--always greatly admired in a man but treated with scorn and condemned if it's a woman. Look at King Charles and his bad behavior to his staff in public--if that's what he's like with the cameras on, what's he like in private with no cameras rolling? He gets a pass; Megan is condemned, with no Palace support at all. Well, no, since the Palace leaked the negative story in the first place. If the staff job is too demanding for you to handle, if you can't take criticism when you screw up, or if you don't like your boss, don't whine, quit and find something else to do. And, maybe next time act professionally and honor the nondisclosure clause in your employment contract. The incident did serve to show the beginning of the end for H&M. They had become way too popular--junior royals must not outshine senior royals, it's as simple as that. In short order, out come the negative stories, many from the Palace itself, starting with this one--which the Palace should have squashed from the get go--and would have if it was a senior royal. And, so began negative story after negative story on anything and everything--most of which could have also been spun positively: How dare she so blatantly flaunt her pregnancy by cradling her baby bump! The absolute nerve! Or: How Adorable! Look how she is gently, naturally cradling her baby bump! So loving! Seriously, you know you're in deep kimchi when something as trivial as that becomes a big, negative story. Add hundreds more, most made up or seen only negatively, and that was that. Everything from her baby shower to assisting with the publishing of a cookbook was portrayed in the worst light possible. As an American, I hadn't been following things that closely but the H&M series has been a real eye-opener. It's interesting that very little in the H&M series has been disputed by the Palace--which they would if they could, as they have quickly done in the past. The one time they did try to dispute--on whether the Palace was contacted for comment--turned into a train wreck. First, they said the Palace had not been contacted, then backtracked and said the Palace had been contacted but they didn't know who it was, and, finally, they came clean and said, yes, the Palace had been contacted by the producers. Makes you wonder what sort of boobs are working there. In any case, caught in an embarrassing lie on that one. Not the first time and surely not the last.

Yet another good example of what H&M had, and have to put up with. No wonder they left that backbiting palace cesspool.

He still alive? Seriously, they need some new, younger blood instead of the same old, same old. Emphasis on old.

Poor sailors and apparently even worse rescuers.

Escorted back to his room. What a joke. He should have been locked up to sober up and then charged with drunk driving, endangering the safety of others, and likely driving without a proper motorcycle license. At least he didn't maim or kill anyone but he easily could have driving so drunk he literally passed out while driving. Unbelievable that drunk driving and road safety are given such short shrift.

Smart move for him to have the vote--allows him to step away from the train wreck he has made of Twitter while saying the voters wanted him to leave, rather than leaving on his own and thereby admitting he has been a disaster.

Watched the video. The waves don't look that bad at all. Likely another reason the ship sunk.

It's a start.

Same size condo at The Edge is 3.5 million baht--and up. So, an extra 3 million baht for a more gilded box . Some want the gild, others can do without. Obviously, small condos are not for everyone but for some they are just the ticket. That's one of the things I like about Pattaya, the very wide variety of housing in all types and at all price points, both to rent or buy.

Some good comments already. I would check to see if foreign quota is available as that is a big plus if it is. If it isn't, you have to set up a company to buy in company name and there is paperwork, with expenses, that needs to be filed every year. People go through the hassle of company ownership so they can buy houses and nice condos in desirable projects, such as Northshore, where foreign quota is full. I don't think this condo would be worth the hassle of company ownership, at least not for me. If it is available in foreign quota, it looks to be a good buy for what it is--a basic roof over your head. I agree that you could make something of it as it looks to be a clean, blank canvas in good shape. It appears to not have a kitchen; you could have a basic one installed pretty cheaply. My partner and I always buy because we like to be able to make changes to a place and make it our own--and we like knowing we will always have a roof over our head come what may. You mention that you usually rent condos for 18 to 20,000 baht a month. If that is the case, you have been staying in projects far nicer than this one, with likely far more amenities. My big question is whether you will be happy in this project, compared to what you have been staying at in the past. Only you can answer that. If the answer is yes, I would check the projects financials and check out the project itself to see how it is being maintained. If they pass muster, I say go for it.

From the article, her Amex card did not have travel insurance, which she thought it did, and her other insurance was 'invalid'--it's unclear what the invalidity was. If her boyfriend was driving illegally with no motorcycle license, it may have invalidated her insurance. My health insurance has an exclusion for 'illegal acts'. In any case, it's more about the safety of everyone, not just the unqualified, unlicensed tourists killing or injuring themselves on unfamiliar motorcycles driving unfamiliar roads and conditions. A friend of mine was nearly killed by a woman tourist with no experience with motorcycles, no motorcycle license, and no insurance who should never have been allowed to illegally rent a motorcycle in the first place.

Well, this is one potential tourist not going and I doubt I am the only one.

We had Chinese buyers all through covid so they never really dried up but we'll definitely be seeing more of them.

Yes, likely the same inexperience as her and the same bad outcome.

So her likely equally inexperienced and probably unlicensed in motorcycles boyfriend was driving, with no experience or familiarity with the road conditions here. Same bad outcome and doesn't change my view.

Sorry, no sympathy. She had no business driving a motorcycle. Likely she had no motorcycle license or training. I've said it before, tourists should not be allowed to rent motorcycles. At the very least, rentals should be limited to those who can produce a valid motorcycle license from their home country, as well as insurance.

Yes, all so predictable. Somebody dies from negligence by the city and soon after out parades the deputy mayor and assorted flunkies to 'inspect'. Followed by a useless statement for relevant parties to make sure everything is hunky dory. And, that's that.

You, and the 'shady Indian guy', were breaking the law renting a condo for less than a month. Next time book a hotel for NYE--that's what they're there for.

Of course the cartoon was deeply racist--and not a bit funny. This is a good example of what H&M were, and are, dealing with. No wonder they fled. There are many glaring examples of how Megan was treated in the Press compared to Kate--I think 25 examples or more. Kate would do one thing--like cradling her baby bump--and it would be praised, while Megan doing the same thing was ridiculed. Many examples of the relentless and often racist coverage, most of it untrue or distorted. And, when called out, the response is always similar to yours--well, it 'wasn't done as an act of racism'. Whether intentional or not, there it is--H&M's child depicted as a monkey. Pity the Palace did as poorly with H&M as they did with Princess Diana, allowing the death of H&M's reputations by a thousand cuts, many by the Press, many by the Palace, itself.

As most have said, terrible idea. Basically, a small, cheap band-aid proposed for a large, gaping gunshot wound. Does nothing to improve the traffic bottlenecks at many of the major intersections, such as Sukumvit-North Pattaya Road. The two remaining not constructed underpasses of the three originally proposed for Sukumvit need to be done--they should be priority 1, starting with the one under Sukumvit-North Pattaya. Old, decrepit, City Hall needs to be bulldozed and a large parking garage constructed there, with the main station for a surface trolley car system. City Hall does not need to be in that prime location. Park your car there and hop on the trolley if you are going to the beach or other areas in central Pattaya. Parking needs to be eliminated entirely on Beach Road and Second Road, freeing up space for the trolley to run, and to add traffic lanes and tour bus drop-off lanes. Other parking garages in other areas, also linked to the trolley, need to be constructed, as well. Where the trolley runs, street parking needs to be eliminated. With its huge and continuing growth, the city needs to be thinking long-range, years into the future rather than coming up with these pitiful, little, short-term, unworkable ideas that are doomed to fail and do nothing to address the severe traffic problems Pattaya is already experiencing--and, with Thailand only at around one-fourth of 2019's international tourist numbers.

Yaa.