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.

1 hour ago, orang37 said:

Of course, I am aware of those travel sites. I am hoping to hear specific experiences, and recommendations, in the last few years

 

If there is are specific reasons you recommend Orbitz, please respond.

 

thanks, ~o:37;

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.

15 hours ago, blazes said:

Ukraine will be the go-to excuse for all kinds of "inflation" rip-offs in the coming year or two.

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.

58 minutes ago, rumak said:

you sir...... have some experience and insight into what are very common transition points in many relationships involving  "true love seeking farangs"  who are blinded by that Thai smile and "up to you"  come on.   

Except for the minority of guys posting here who believe they are real catches and women will love them unconditionally and their love will grow and blossom ......... I think most guys (even younger ones)  are quick to 'fall in love"  and then destined to go through the phases that ensue.    

Not very many happy Hollywood endings.    But in older years some guys will use their experience to choose someone who might be compatible and long (er)  lasting.  

Others,  just repeat their mistakes

All it takes is one wrong one ????

2 hours ago, Puccini said:

Thailand is such a beautiful country in which to travel. It has over 70 provinces and apparently every province can create its own health pass which arriving travellers must obtain, and from a post in another topic I read a few minutes ago village headpersons (pu yai ban) make their own rules requiring home isolation of arriving people for for a number of days.

Yes.  And that is why I first stated that…

5 hours ago, Airalee said:

Vaccination requirements are based upon what your travel destination requires, not the airline.

And being that the OP was asking about Samui, I said…

5 hours ago, Airalee said:

 

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

 

15 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

"But isn’t that what wars are all about?"

                 ^^^^No^^^^

Sure it is.  Been that way since the dawn of time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_profiteering

2 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

I'll leave you with your famous last words and check back in 6 weeks time when the effects of the sanctions kick in and the economy is crippled. In the meantime feel free to buy the top...????

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

18 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

He's just another one clutching at straws..........???? Russian ruble has no chance of recovery in the longterm

No chance of recovery?  It’s almost there.

6 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Now your mixing apples and oranges. The discussion is since the war began not one year ago. Try and stay on track 

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.

5 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Ok it bumped up a tad, but not regaining the drop it took since the sanctions went into effect. from 150 down to below 83 then back up to 90 and back down to the low 80's in the past day...... as your graph shows is not much of a rise let alone the 30% that the poster I responded to indicated.....

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
 

On 4/2/2022 at 6:00 PM, ThailandRyan said:

the rouble has not risen,

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

On 3/24/2022 at 7:27 AM, Max Williams said:

Oh ya, that's the other thing. I'd love a good old fashion 5 or 6 speed. More fun to drive and where I'm at I don't have to worry about traffic. I'm a DIYer. I've been interested in the Mazdas but I've never worked on one. 

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.

3 hours ago, BritManToo said:

You're wrong,

MANY foreclosed properties are no use to the bank.

The value of the homes drops because there are no buyers that can afford to buy.

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?

13 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Disagree,

The banks can't raise the interest rates beyond their customers ability to pay.

This is true for the prices of any product on sale.

 

When pork went up, we stopped eating it, same as all the locals.

Now the price has gone down, we're thinking of buying it again.

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.

4 hours ago, BusyB said:

Inflation is cool for debt - just depends on the currency ...

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.