KhaoYai

Been using agents for 20 years. Its not ideal but I've never really had a problem and things have gone wrong in that time. I've never had any of the table tennis you suggest - the biggest problem is that you might have to discuss the problem with the agent and if its urgent, that means by phone so there's cost and time issues. However, that's just about been eliminated since Apps like Whatsapp became available. I won't book with an agent that won't give me a Whatsapp number. In any case, unless its a booking problem or something that requires a date or flight change, the airline shouldn't be asking people to contact the agent. I always check the airline price before I book though and if the difference is less than £50, I go with the airline - most of them, certainly Etihad, have a Bangkok number to call. although at the moment it diverts to Abu Dhabi - no cost to me though.

Well yes, I suppose we are but it seems there's a common thread running through all/most countries - houses/land is not affordable for a significant portion of the population. The ridiculous prices in some areas of Thailand at the moment don't appear to have any foundation but the affect on buyers will be the same. Thai's seem to have a different way of looking at land prices - as you've noted already. They also have a completely different way of viewing a location. If someone announced a new motorway near my UK house, the value would fall through the floor - in Thailand the opposite happens.

Well it hasn't worked in Thailand. The Thai land law is supposed to be there to protect the Thai population from an overheated market caused by foreign buyers. I suspect that its actually there to protect Thai developers. Whatever, it hasn't worked for much of the population - how do you buy a house on 10,000 per month? Its the same the world over, those at the bottom of the income scale are being priced out - not by foreigners, by the market itself. Its fast becoming a really big problem in the UK for example - I remember having to save £2000 for the deposit for my first house. It wasn't easy but it was very do-able. Now kids are having to find £50 - 60K + and they just can't do it. Its not the deposit that's the problem now - its the amount they can afford/are allowed to borrow. I borrowed 10% of an average priced terrace house (£20k). The same house today is worth £200k so a 10% deposit would be difficult but very do-able for my daughter as it was for me. The problem is that house prices have risen and salaries haven't kept up - by a long chalk. There is no way she can either borrow £180,000 or be allowed to. I suspect that its the same problem in Thailand - social division - the have's and the have not's.

Land prices and actual values are 2 completely different things. The moment the new M6 motorway was announced in my area, land shot up in price. Some plots have sold but most remain unsold 4 years later. Once Thai's get a price in their head, that's it and they ain't budging. There's a small plot at the side of my house, just enough to build a 2/3 bed house with a very small garden. I wanted to buy it as a garden so got a Thai friend to ask if the owner would sell it without mentioning me - she wants 1.5 million! She'll be keeping it then. There's no point in even trying to negotiate when someone's asking 5 times what something's worth. I know of one local guy who was asking a crazy price for some land. He stuck to his guns even though he was threatened with foreclosure as he'd used the land as collateral for a loan. The bank foreclosed and I guess he lost a lot. The Thai land/house market is very different to that of the Western countries, I doubt anyone is an expert on it - it doesn't seem to follow any logic.

I'm not saying that sealed flights are available to Chiang Mai at the moment but I thought that it was possible to quarantine in other areas provided its on a dedicated sealed flight - as per the TAT info. That's the case with Samui is it not? You arrive in BKK and transfer to a dedicated 'sealed' flight to Samui? - I haven't paid particular attention to that aspect but I seem to remember reading something like that. Another confusing thing - they say that you can transfer to an SHA+ hotel anywhere by car as long as the car is arranged by the hotel and the hotel is within 2 hours of your arrival airport. Why then are there SHA+ hotels in Nakhon Ratchasima? I defy anyone to get there from Suvarnabhumi within 2 hours.

Probably because of the pre departure PCR test. In my opinion, if they wanted to keep any restrictions, they should have kept that and scrapped the rest.

News today/yesterday that proves Russain propaganda. 14 April. Russian ship sinks. 14 April. Ukraine says it was hit by 2 of their Neptune missiles. 14 April. Russia denies it was attacked, says it was a fire and explosion. 15 April. Russia fires missiles attacking a Ukrainian anti ship missile factory.

Those here that clearly support Putin - even though that support is often veiled should possibly consider that thousands of people on both sides have died, thousands more have been injured and entire cities have been destroyed as a direct result of Putin's actions and there can be no justification for any of that. Any threat to Russia from the Ukraine existed only in the mind of one man although through his control of the media and clamping down of any form of opposition/dissent, he has spread lies and propaganda so much that the majority of Russians appear to believe that Ukraine posed a threat. How anybody living in the free world with an independent press/media can support Putin is beyond me - I hope one day they feel ashamed of their thoughts. I very much doubt they would retain their inexplicable views if one of their family was killed or raped by Russian forces. Yes we have freedom of speech and people are entited to an opinion but rational people form their views after condsidering the facts - don't they? In this case the facts are irrefutable. Nobody can deny that Putin invaded Ukraine and that for that reason alone, he is ulitimately responsible for all the deaths, injuries and destruction. Its not a question of an alternative viewpoint or opinion, its a question of cold, hard, undeniable facts. Putin is not particulary bright, his utlimate aim is clearly to take control of Ukraine although its most likely that he is going to have to try to do that incrementally. If he thinks he will ever be able to control the Ukranian people after the attrocities he has commited in areas like Bucha and Boradyanka, he's even more insane than I thought.

Many things that sane people consider wrong, are of no consequence to a luntaic.

I agree but your terminology almost threw me there. Not sure what I would call his reasons but certainly not 'excellent'.

I agree, Kasikorn wouldn't even change my e-mail address without me going into the branch.

If you have a Thai friend that you can trust (really trust) - buy a house in their name and register a Usufruct agreement on the title before you even think about getting married. In the event of a break-up, your wife can't touch it because of course, you don't own it. House? What house?

What? Is that correct? Surely that's illegal?

Don't mention the war! And don't mention that Moskva, the Russian flagship has sunk in The Black Sea due to a mysterious fire that caused ammunition to explode. Nothing to do of course, with the 2 Neptune missiles Ukrainian forces fired at it. I wonder if Putin wishes he could go back 2 months and continue his 'military excercises'. Some superpower!

Please explain how your comments relate to this discussion? The last thing we need here is another conspiracy theorist.

I hope that is taken account of and just as European countries are moving away from Russian fuel permanently - a similar move away from Chinese products takes place. That is very difficult though - the Chinese have taken so many markets that it is now difficult, sometimes impossible, to find alternatives. India also needs to be very careful of what they do in terms of trading with Russia.

Poor weaponry explains some of Russia's failures so far but it also appears that many Russian soldiers don't want to be there - it is understandable that they may have very little motivation. They must have been horrified at the lines of Russian tanks etc. that were destroyed as they retreated from Northern Ukraine. The Ukrainians on the other hand are defending their country and therefore have far greater motivation. That said, I hope the Russian soldiers that have committed attrocities rot in hell but I suspect they are a minority. The bulk of the Russian forces will no doubt be regular guys - some conscripted and for those, I feel very, very sorry. Forced to fight a totally unjustified war against people that just 2 months ago, many of then considered to be their brothers - some of them will have relatives in Ukraine. Forced by a man that is sitting pretty in his palace without any fears whatsoever whilst they die. Having failed in the North, it now seems that Putin is determined to take control of the Southeast of Ukraine by throwing more bodies at it. The Ukranian forces now face a much bigger fight against a man that cannot be seen to lose and I have no doubt that he won't care how many lives that costs. How they will fare is anyone's guess - they have surprised everyone so far. I just hope the free world gives them what they need to at least stand a chance.

A strange viewpoint - Hitler didn't kill millions on day 1 - the killing took place over time. Putins actions to date have many similarities with Hitler's and he clearly has no regard for human life. If he's allowed to continue, there is every chance that he will be responsible for many thousands more deaths. Don't forget to add the untold numbers he's killed in other conflicts.

You know very well that such a diagnosis does not exist. There are however, many factors in Putin's behaviour that support my assertion - here's just a few: 1. Putin is reported to spend an increasing amount of time alone. He won't even allow his own government members near him. Take a look at the photos and videos of his meetings with those people and several World leaders that have held meeting with him recently - I didn't even know that tables that long were available ????. 2. There are enough independent reports from various news sources to establish that many of the reports of attrocities by retreating Russian troops are true - even Al Jazeera, not known for its support of the West has reported them. Those attrocities have taken place over several days so Putin must have known they were taking place - there was time to give an order to stop at least some of them. I believe therefore that such attrocities are part of Putin's strategy aimed at spreading terror throughout the Ukranian population. 3. The premise of the invasion in the first place. Ukraine has not carried out any actions against Russia, it was no threat to Russia other than the perceived threat in Putin's head. He has started a war for no good reason - a war that has killed thousands of people - including his own troops. Are the above actions those of a sane man?

China may not be one of the World's 'good guys' but I think they have a little more sense than Putin - their economy is of paramount importance to them. They support Putin but only to a point.

Amazing - you seriously think we should cow tow to Russia? At what point do you think the free world should react? Never? Allow Russia to take whatever land it wants? And all this because of an 'I'm all right Jack' attitude

Whilst I fully appreciate that you are with the 'sane' members here - that's actually wrong. NATO has moved both weaponry and troops into several member countries close to Ukraine and Russia - however, the question has to be asked........why? Clearly they have done that in response to Russian threats and aggression. What a lot of people don't seem to realise is that the threat of expansionism or some form of conflict around Russia's Western borders did not begin in 2022. Its been going on for a number of years - NATO has had forces on standby in those areas for several years. The UK for example has had a substantial presence in Georgia for quite some time and British commanders have regularly issued warnings of potential Russian aggression.

They were not particularly with him immediately but they did want change. You cannot seriously believe that the entire German nation supported concentration camps and gas chambers. They were inderstandably resentful over the harshness of the Treaty of Versailles and as such were easy to persuade but I doubt they had any idea what was to come. Do you think they would have supported him if he'd said at the outset that he intended gassing millions of Jews? What he did was to spread disinformation and create hatred of the Jews through lies and propaganda - sound familiar?

Well they've never really been much good at making anything - ever driven a Lada? The reasons are probably communism in the past and corruption now. There have been almost daily reports of Russian vehicles breaking down - it must be very demoralising for the Russian troops. So I agree, the efficacy of Russia's weaponry is seriously questionable. Talking of Russian troops - Putin could have a major problem when this conflict ends. Given the reports that some conscripts thought they were on a 'training excercise' and others didn't even know they were in Ukraine, one has to wonder how Putin will be able to keep thousands of non-regular troops quiet and prevent them from informing the Russian public what has actually been going on. There is a way he could do that and blame it on Ukraine but heaven forbid.

So what do you think should be done about Putin's lunatic expansionism? Sacrifice the people of Ukraine in favour of the 'greater good'? Who has the moral right to do that? Do you seriously think that Putin will stop at Ukraine? Do you believe his premise that Ukraine was a threat to Russia's security? Putin has been able to do exactly what he wants for years because nobody has been prepared to stop him - all because of the nuclear threat. He is a Soviet and clearly regrets the fall of the USSR. Democracy in Russia is nothing but a sham as is Putin's claim that Ukraine joining NATO would be a threat to his country. Nobody has threatened Russia or is likely to as long as they remain peaceful - that threat exists only in Putin's alternative reality. What a sad state of affairs that in the 21st century there are conflicts all over the world where states, religious sects or armed groups seek to impose their will on weaker neighbours or populations and no-one stops it. And human beings are the intelligent species? I completely agree with Zelensky that the UN needs major reform and that Russia for one, has no place at the UN table. A cheap quip aimed at receiving a clap? Of course I 'grasp' that. I live within 3 miles (2 in a straight line) of a US 'listening station'/comminications centre and intelligence base in the UK - I'm pretty sure that's high on Putin's target list. So in your world, we should continue running scared of Russia? Let Putin decide the world order? Fantasy? - remember what another expansionist lunatic did in 1939? We are not dealing with a sane man who has been wronged in some way - we are dealing with a paranoid schizophrenic who has attacked a neighbour for no good reason. No way would I ever wish for a nuclear war where millions die but neither do I think its OK to sacrifice the few for the many - especially when I believe this is just the aggressor's first step. I don't think I or anyone else has the right to play god. If it requires a nuclear war to stop Putin - so be it. However, I don't think it would actually come to that - Putin has been playing a threat game and so far he's winning. Pressing the nuclear button would assure the end of Russia but not necessarily other countries/continents. Russia may have many more nuclear weapons than any other country but not collectively. Its also a fact that free world countries have much better missile defence systems. He's a maniac but I doubt he's suicidal.