CygnusX1

I don’t think you need to read too closely between the lines to see that possible fraudulent use was his friends’ main concern! It’s not hard, at least in Australia, to find a credit card that has no extra fees or charges for overseas use, and which uses a very fair exchange rate. I have two of them.

If they’re really concerned about credit card fraud, they could use a prepaid credit card. That way, at worst, they can only lose the amount they preloaded on the card. Would cost a bit extra in fees, and they should check the exchange rate used, best to buy a card that can be loaded with Thai baht. I’d take the risk and just use my usual credit card, regularly checking the card online, just as you should at home, where you can also be the victim of fraudulent card use.

I bought my condo a few years ago from East Coast Real Estate in Jomtien, office close to VT2. They were highly professional, and handled everything, including the legal side - I was no doubt stupid for not doing that part through an independent lawyer, but I still seem to own the place! Highly recommended, but don’t know if they’re more expensive or not.

If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck…

Nobody’s getting worked up about other peoples’ choice to wear face masks, they’re just getting worked up about mandatory face masks. I’m posting from Australia, where about 10% are wearing them inside (and about the same percentage outside!) and have no problems with that. I think it would be great if the fearful continue to wear properly fitted N95 masks and visors.

A country that’s presided over the greatest era of peace and prosperity the world’s ever known. Our best defence against the Russia-China axis of evil. See how far you’d get making similar accusations against your government if you had the misfortune to be a citizen of Communist China.

My point was that the woke who hate the West and Western culture are themselves Westerners, and benefit from Western freedoms. Most coups and wars are happening in non-Western countries, and are caused by local issues, not by Western interference. Agree with your point on the problem of manufacturing industries being replaced by service economies. At least Thailand still has a strong manufacturing industry. Biden will be peacefully replaced soon, unlike the dictators in Russia and China.

No, I think the problem is that Western nations with the most freedoms and human rights are constantly attacked from within by woke leftists.

Yes, to all the anti-Westerners “America’s the cause of all the world’s ills” out there, would you really want to live in a world in which Russia or China was the dominant power?

I stayed at the Palm Beach Hotel a few years ago, but this is the first time I’ve found out about its history. Great swimming pool, would stay there again if I didn’t own a condo in Jomtien. I always ask for a hotel room on the highest floor available as I love a view, the more fearful people wanting low floor rooms the better for me!

Nope, not a lot to do in Australia, it’s why I used to spend most of the year overseas!

Sorry, I know you’re a face mask worshipper, but I’d far prefer to be living in a place like the UK or Australia where you don’t have to cover your face in public like some unfortunate woman in a fundamentalist Islamic country. If that means I have a slightly higher risk of being infected with a virus that has virtually no chance of killing me, so be it. If others want to wear N95 masks, good luck to them. I’ve had 3 shots of quality vaccines, again my choice, and I’ll be getting a fourth, but I’m totally opposed to forcing others to get vaccinated. The only parts of Sydney that are underwater are those areas that have always been susceptible to floods, and that I remember being flooded from my childhood long ago.

There’s more to life than minimising risk. I’d far prefer to be living in the UK than Thailand at this time (or in Australia where I am now).

Alan Joyce, the CEO of Qantas, disagrees with you. Do a web search “Qantas Joyce masks”

When I bought my condo in Jomtien, the seller was in Canada. I let the agent handle everything, just had a lawyer quickly review the contract. Arranging to have my electricity bills auto debited to my bank account was far more complicated. I was no doubt stupid, but I still seem to own the place.

I like your VIP car to the dingy Mochit bus terminal, would have made a good scene in a movie, but no BMW for me, needed the 2 million baht Elite for that. I’m still having nightmares about my trip to Immigration in the Golden Cart. As an Australian, about the worst thing you can be is “up yourself”, and I felt so far up myself that I wasn’t sure if I’d ever see daylight again.

Sorry to extend this off-topic, but I think you have things partly the wrong way round. You’re correct in that the P and T in Pattaya are aspirated, but native English speakers find aspirated initial P’s and T’s easy and natural to pronounce, it’s the unaspirated initial P’s and T’s in the Thai language that are hard. The common mistake foreigners make is actually to heavily stress the second syllable, which is natural in English, whereas in Thai the stress is more even. Check the pronunciation by Thai speakers on the excellent Forvo website.

Maybe with Claude Lelouch at the wheel (web search “Claude Lelouche rendezvous”, not sure if I’m allowed to post a link).

Around 3 years ago I paid a million baht for an Elite visa. Was met just off the plane by a stunningly attractive lady, who drove me to immigration in a golden cart, honking at commoners to get out of our way. I then made my way to the far end of the terminal, where I purchased my usual bus ticket to Jomtien, and waited with the commoners for the best part of an hour for the next available bus.

It’s keeping me out as well, probably for good, as I suspect the masks will be staying forever indoors and on public transport. The Thai Pass would have only been a minor irritation, and the insurance a negligible amount of money.