newnative

Clueless.

Absolutely. It bears remembering that 60% or more of Chinese tourists to Thailand are F.I.T tourists, traveling independently, and not in tourist groups. Like you, our new housing project of about 28 homes, some not yet finished or occupied, has at least 3 well-off Chinese families so far. We know one Chinese family that sends their two daughters to private school--and they told us a good education for them was one of the reasons they moved to Thailand. Pattaya gets tour groups but it also gets its share of F.I.T Chinese tourists, who stay at new hotels like Centre Point Space and very nice resorts like Centara Grand in Wongamat, and others. They may not be as readily visible as those following a waving tour guide flag but they are there.

I'm curious as to how I can become a 'NON-PAYING' tourist. Sounds terrific! Travel anywhere for free. What's not to like. First, how do I get there for free? Mind you, I'm not really big on walking long distances. And, hitchhiking? Daddy said never hitchhike. Once I get to the country I am visiting, how do I sleep in a hotel for free? I'm not one of those fresh air, sleep on the sidewalk guys. Just knowing how to do that will be worth patiently waiting for your answer. My goodness, if it's free I could just live in hotels for the rest of my life! You hold the key, guy. Share! Now, about eating for free while I am visiting for, say, a week. How does that work? Should I pack a second suitcase full of food? I have to say lugging around a second heavy suitcase of food doesn't sound that appetizing. Hopefully, you can tell me how to eat for free. Maybe just use the free room service at the free hotel I'm staying at? Thanks a bunch!

More bad news for Boeing. But, on the bright side, I see a potential Gilligan's Island/Lost in Space tv show. The two that are stranded left for an 8-day 'cruise' to the space station and now have been lost in space for months, hoping for a rescue. While they wait, fun, laughs and antics for the whole family. ABC this Fall.

'normal safeguards' Talk about utter nonsense. Since 1973, there have been 196 exonerations of prisoners on death row in the United States. So much for 'safeguards'

I am against the death penalty because: 1. I value life and the death penalty devalues it. And, 2. There have been cases of people sentenced to death being found innocent. Yes, these cases are rare but even just one rules out having the death penalty, in my opinion. I prefer life in prison without the possibility of parole.

My spouse and I came to the same conclusion--and we currently own a 2018 CR-V which we like. We looked at the new one and it just did not look new enough for us--as I said in another post, the current model should have been the 2020 model. Or 2021 at the very latest. 2021 or 2022 should have been a blank sheet of paper design. Here it is 2024 and still same old, same old. I don't know why Honda has been so slow with the CR-V. They've radically changed the Civic and other models several times while keeping the same current CR-V shape since even before our model year. The new model looks very dated with its styling--especially compared with the new Chinese models arriving--and we were not that impressed with its interior. Plus, no plug-in hybrid and very expensive. And, we hated the black wheels--along with the black grill. Just too much black. Although the Amish in my native Pennsylvania probably love it. Had we bought a new CR-V, we would have selected the top model, at around 1.729MB. Instead, we have booked a BYD Sealion 6 PHEV for a little over 1MB, saving nearly 700,000 baht. The MG HS on discount looks like a terrific bargain.

He's flip-flopped so many times at this point I don't think anybody, including Trump, knows what he thinks, if he is still capable of thinking, about the abortion issue. Whatever, it's a definite loser for the Republican ticket. Just saw a poll where Americans are 70% in favor of abortion being legal in almost all cases.

'...currently in discussions...' So, nothing nailed down yet, if ever. Thanks for the info, though.

According to the judge handling the case it was rape by the legal definition. I'll go with what he says--he's the legal expert.

Trump just get more whacko every time he opens his mouth.

As an American, all the pension or social security money I am sending over is shielded from Thai taxes by the dual taxation agreement. I plan to do nothing unless I am absolutely required to do something. Right now, there is nothing required that I know of, and that includes filing a Thai tax return.

My sister, an accountant, used to work for a chocolate company that had Trump for a client. She said he was the absolute worst for paying bills that he owed to the company. It was always a long struggle to get paid, involving a lot of work and numerous billing letters, etc. Just one more example of the hundreds and hundreds out there. Obviously, nothing has changed for the Grifter of the Highest Order.

At least when he loses this time we won't have to pry him out of the White House kicking and screaming like a spoiled rotten baby.

Total scam. They left out a zero on the price of the houses. 50MB, not 5MB.

I thought it was great to have a joint interview, to introduce both of them to the voters. Shows how desperate the Republicans are to criticize a joint interview when Weird and Weirder, AKA Trump and Vance, also had a joint interview.

Yes, 2024 has been great so far, which is all the more reason that you should be well ahead of your 2021 level. To give another example, in addition to my stock portfolio, I have a modest TIAA-CREF account. Back in 2021, the account value was around $34, 500. Today, it's a little over $47,000, after taking a mandatory withdraw. So, $34,500 when Biden started his presidency and now at $47,000. I didn't bother to check a third mutual fund account I have with American Century but I know the current 2024 figure is higher than in 2021. As I said in my original post, instead of blaming Biden for the performance of your 401k, I think the blame lies with whomever is managing it.

Maybe instead of blaming Biden for the poor performance of your 401k you should lay the blame on whomever is managing your account--because they are doing a lousy job if your 401k has not increased in value the last couple of years. I don't have a 401k but I do have a stock portfolio of about 40 stocks and Schwab tells me it has increased 16% in the last two years; and I'm no financial wiz. How did your 401k do the last 2 years? That should be a good gauge, with things getting back to normal after covid.

If they are expecting 23,000 Koreans during Chuseok, why does the headline say 2 million?

Great information. Thanks for posting.

You're right. Makes no sense.

She's only saying that because the PT party is being investigated by the EC for illegally allowing her father to run it--which, of course, he is. It's all just a farce.

Yes, every time there's a thread on renting vs. buying, someone usually comes along and points out that if you had just rented in Thailand and if you had invested the X baht that you would have spent on buying property in Thailand, you could have made more money. Several points are usually not mentioned, or glossed over. The first is the big IF in the above statement. IF you had invested . . . You have to first have the discipline to actually do the investing, and not blow the money on wine, women, and song. I wonder how many do neither--don't buy property or invest in anything else. If you've bought a place, you at least haven't squandered your money and you always have a roof over your head. You'll save on rent, which also could be invested, or spent on wine, women, and song. And, you still have an investment, your home. Second, the above investment vs. owning argument seems to ignore that, yes, you are allowed to do both. It's not an either or proposition. You can both own a home and make other investments at the same time. Some might even say it's wise to not have all your eggs in one basket.

If he does bow out he's even dumber than I thought. He doesn't debate so he has absolutely nothing to lose--and huge exposure to spout his lies and regurgitate his stump speech--maybe even win over a few brain-dead undecideds. How easy could it get? No prep needed at all. He just has to do the same thing he did with Biden. He'll show up,

I don't believe for a minute that 90% will be Thai gamblers--certainly not if the casino is in Pattaya.