Airalee

Russia! price increases. Covid! price increases Supply Chains! price increases. You ain’t seen nothing yet.

Another nice feature with Orbitz is that after you enter your initial search (Mine search was RT BKK to LAX), if you click on the dates, a pop up window opens where it shows the cheapest fares for all the upcoming dates. Pic below for an example. I use an IPad so can’t say how it works for PCs or other hardware, browsers etc.

Yup….without orbitz, which I have also booked through when their prices were substantially lower than the airline website (yes…this can happen) I would be completely lost. I have flown so many different airlines, some which I never would have known of or thought to consider had I not seen them listed on Orbitz.

You can use websites like Orbitz to plan the trip and get a listing of the options and then book directly through the airline. Much easier to see it all in one place than go from website to website of the individual airlines.

I like orbitz because I can fiddle with different dates and then all the options are presented in an easy to see format which includes total flight time, length of layovers etc. Asking for individual anecdotes doesn’t really compare to having all the data right in front of you. You can also input your parameters such as economy vs business class. How many legs to the flight etc.

Orbitz.com Easy.

So true. Just a year ago, the global steel surplus was supposedly a cause for concern. Global steel markets are plagued by chronic excess capacity. Measured by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), global excess capacity is 5.8 times the productive capacity of the entire U.S. steel industry. Massive overcapacity driven by subsidies and other anti-competitive policies can only be disposed of by these producers flooding U.S. and other markets with exports, posing material harm to U.S. steel producers and risking the U.S. industry’s ability to maintain operations, grow, and invest in areas essential to national defense, critical infrastructure, and broader economic welfare. https://www.epi.org/publication/why-global-steel-surpluses-warrant-u-s-section-232-import-measures/ Russia and Ukraine combined produce only 5% of the worlds steel. Yeah…that warrants a 25% increase in costs. *$&&# scam. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_steel_production

The problem with going to one person for the design and then another person for the product and then maybe a third outfit for the install of cabinets, and then another for the countertops and yet another for the appliances is that usually, the overall design is based upon semi-custom fixtures. You’re not going to be able to take a design from design studio X and bring it to design studio Y and ask them to replicate it because X sells brand X and Y sells brand Y. I chose a one stop shop because if one of the suppliers did substandard work, or there was a problem, there was only ONE person that I would need to go to with my complaints. If I had too many different contractors trying to puzzle it all together, I would have ended up with the blame game between contractors/designers/manufacturers etc. and multiple headaches. Nobody tried to “upsell” me when I bought my kitchen. I knew of all the different options and it was all very transparent. The showroom had prices clearly listed and it was all relatively (note…I say relatively) hassle free. The studio also sold the appliances and buying through them actually turned out to be less expensive than buying the appliances from the usual appliance centers. Finally, any designer is going to want to know the measurements of a kitchen before they start putting something together. It’s a fairly involved process and a lot of the time, you’ll have to work within certain limitations with regards to what can be placed where due to plumbing locations. The headaches with a remodel can be numerous and personally, I’d prefer to just have one outfit handle it all from start to finish. It was still an enormous headache, but it would have been a much bigger headache and much more expensive (as then, it becomes a custom install vs semi-custom) if I was trying to piece it all together as you are talking about. Personally, I would recommend going to all the different outfits, understanding what quality level will fit within your budget, and then having one place do everything from start to finish.

It’s usually not done on an hourly rate charge. The design cost is baked into the price of whatever the project might be. Don’t expect that you can go from place to place and have them put hours into creating a design for you if you’re just kicking tires. That’s just the way it is. Know what you want and then be prepared to pay. My kitchen design studio dragged their feet until I came back into the store with a 250k cash deposit sat down at the reps desk and said…”ok…here’s the money, when will you have the design completed? Money talks. Edited to add… if you hire an independent kitchen/bathroom designer/architect that will be for a much higher end remodel because the kitchen places will have their own software that the architect won’t have. An architect will be for more one-off custom type installations. And those don’t come cheap.

All it takes is one wrong one ????

In the beginning, they all seem like “good girls”. Going to temple means nothing. Many, due to their abusive (and neglectful) upbringings end up with personality disorders such as Borderline Personality Disorder or Narcissistic Personality Disorder. It’s textbook. Unfortunately, there is no therapy nor medication for it. They are essentially soulless. The relationships follow the same patterns and I have known many guys (myself included) who have fallen prey to their (initially) charming wiles. First, there is the “Lovebombing” stage. This is what you fall in love with and you also see a reflection of yourself in them. It feels great. The sex is great. They’re bubbly, fun and attentive. Unfortunately, it’s all fake. Next, the cracks start to show. Their insecurities become apparent. They might make mention of the “honeymoon phase” coming to an end. “Do you love me?” and other similar statements become commonplace. Then comes the gaslighting, confabulation, (unnecessary) lies, accusations (which are most likely projections of what they are actually guilty of). After that, the devaluation/dismissal stage. The silent treatment that they are so well known for is part of this stage. They no longer feign interest in the things you are interested in. At this point, they are regressing into their real state. It’s a definite mind-bender and leaves you confused. Finally, the discard phase. When you start to withdraw from the relationship, they sense it. You are no longer providing whatever benefit they were usually after. Here, of course, it is usually money/fun/travel/security. They might start “breadcrumbing” you (showing little bits of love/attention/affection) in order to reel you back in and even possibly apologize for their misdeeds/transgressions, but it will be a very vague non-specific apology. “I’m sorry for everything” is what they will say. They will never own up to specific things. At this point, they are usually already looking for their next source of “Narcissistic supply” and are probably back on Tinder/Thaicupid/Thaifriendly…..hidden from you of course. They may also accuse you of cheating at this time. (Projection) Finally, when they have found their next unwitting target, they bail….if you haven’t already bailed first. If that new source of supply doesn’t work out, they may try to return to you (this is called “hoovering” in narcissist relationship lingo). Don’t fall for it. The only thing to do is go “no contact” and leave them in the rear view mirror. Mind you, they’re not all bad. Some people have very successful loving relationships. But, when they are bad, they’re hell.

+100 After much research, I came to the conclusion that mine had NPD also. She showed all the red flags but I was too naive/stupid to see them for what they truly were. I have a feeling that there are many expats with Thai girlfriends/wives that are suffering in silence.

Yes. And that is why I first stated that… And being that the OP was asking about Samui, I said…

Sure it is. Been that way since the dawn of time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_profiteering

We plebes weren’t able to buy any Russian stocks, corporate debt etc. when it was at the bottom (I tried). That privilege was only for the major investment houses such as Goldman Sachs & J.P. Morgan. I’m sure they made a fortune. But isn’t that what wars are all about? https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-03/wall-street-is-already-pouncing-on-russia-s-cheap-corporate-debt

No chance of recovery? It’s almost there.

You are the one who seems to be having a problem with math. When the Ruble goes from 150 to 85, that is a large strengthening. Much more than 30%. It’s really quite simple. The “dip” in the ruble is not a 1 day event but rather an ongoing issue. It reached a bottom and now has recovered most of its value.

I can’t imagine what kind of reliability you expect when buying a car that only costs ฿140,000. Looking online at Hondas, it looks like that will get you an 18 year old Jazz with 200-300,000 km. What kind of warranty would/could you expect at that price?

A “tad”? Last year it was 73ish to the USD. Lost about 1/2 and went to 150 less than a month ago. Now it’s back at 85. So, it’s actually more than a 30% rise off the lows…in fact, it’s close to a double. Here’s the inverse chart to show it a little more clearly. https://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=RUB&to=USD&view=1M

Actually, it has. https://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=USD&to=RUB&view=1M

Vaccination requirements are based upon what your travel destination requires, not the airline. as of October of last year, Samui states that if not vaccinated…. “The new requirements will be that any visitor arriving who has not had two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine will have to present a negative result from a Covid-19 antigen test that was taken within seven days of their arrival. Fully vaccinated visitors will not need to show any test results. All visitors regardless of vaccination status will have to register online to get the Samui health pass, and will need to download the Mor Chana app in order to use hotels and other tourism services on the island.” Source… https://thethaiger.com/news/samui/koh-samui-to-ease-domestic-entry-restrictions

There’s not much to choose from in Thailand if you want a 5 or 6speed (sporty) car. There are a handful of Mazda MX5 NA, NB and NC in manual transmission in Thailand (near your price range) but they don’t come up for sale very often and when they do, they go quickly. There are Toyota FRS’s (called the GT86 here) but unfortunately they’re automatics. https://www.one2car.com/en/for-sale/toyota-86-gt-bangkok-metropolitan-kanchanaphisek/8469174 Lexus IS250/300h are pretty cheap and probably the best value but again…automatic.

You’re not making any sense within the original context of my first post. Many times here on the forum, you have stated that as the BOT cut interest rates, your mortgage payment fell. When the BOT raises rates, what will happen to your mortgage payment?

I’m not talking about people buying homes but those who already have them. The banks will raise the interest rates and if the people can’t pay, the banks will foreclose. It works out great for the banks as mortgage interest is front end loaded so after 10 years or so, more money is going towards principal. That helps out the debtor more than the bank. When the bank repossess and then resells the home, the cycle starts again. The price of the home may come down but the bank will make it up with higher interest rates. Lather, rinse, repeat. The bank always wins.

Not always. Here, everybody who has a mortgage has a variable rate. There are no 30 year fixed rate mortgages as there are in the US. Their mortgage is the largest chunk of the personal debt. With inflation, as interest rates rise (the banks always win) the mortgage payment can increase substantially. If incomes don’t rise in a commensurate manner, the borrower is certainly not better off. For government debt, sure. They can just raise taxes to cover it…..leaving people with even less money to pay for their mortgages.