LittleBear57

The excuse will be transportation costs.

Ah! The game played by the working class for the working class. I remember paying 2 bob to stand on the Kop. I don't bother much these days.

Only have to look over the borders Myanmar and Cambodia to a lesser degree. He should go however but as been said he like Putin will change the rules to hang on to power. And of course the Army will always back him up.

I meant Koh Samet has no elephants.

Whilst I love Koh Chang now is not the time to visit. Trat is one of the wettest provinces in Thailand and Koh Chang has high enough mountains to hold the clouds and make the rain last longer. I would suggest waiting until November or going to Koh Samet which gets much less rainfall. The island is low lying and storms blow through quite quickly. It's not the same but has good snorkelling and kayaks I'm sure can be rented. No elephants though.

When I last returned to UK (pre pandemic) I shopped around found the Arab airlines were charging way too much and prices were different at different times and days. BA gave the same price for every flight and it was competitive. Only issue was I had to fly to Heathrow. Anyway I hope they will return soon to Bangkok to help keep pricing competitive.

The beaches are both lovely, went to koh Lippe earlier this year whilst it was still relatively quiet and that beach was very quiet and relaxing. It would definitely make my Thai top 10 along with Maya Bay which I would rate higher if they were both pretty empty. No mention of my favourite Railay or any of the amazing island beaches around Krabi. Each to their own.

Had a similar thing about a year ago. Missus got a couple of kilo's of rambutan and they were priced as beef. Huge difference which we picked up straight away and now I check the description of everything weighed. Also got potatoes priced up as oranges too.

Sorry don't have anything but there are properties for rent on most estates for the condos too they will be let by individuals. I recommend popping down and taking a good look around. East of Sukhumvit has most of the estates and rental houses, west of Sukhumvit and around the village has the condos. Not planning on visiting the village as driving is difficult at the moment. Broken thumb.

Can't help with the buying of a condo in Jomtiem, but if you decide to rent why pay 15,000 a month when you can rent a two or three bed house for less in Bang Saray area. There are also some cheap condos here for sale but not certain of the price but well worth a look if you want to buy. Bang Saray is about 17km south of Jomtiem with plenty of expats. If you are interested about buying condos there let me know and I will check prices for you.

We already have driving licences and pink ID cards and as said above visa stamps in passports. It's just excuses to get more cash from foreigners whether they live in Thailand or not. I keep my visits to National parks to a minimum these days.

it's the same around here nothing ever gets finished, start a bit but never finish. The whole of Sukhumvit road from Sattahip northwards is absolute chaos.

It had an inverter they just sold it on and denied all knowlege.

You don't liberate by totally destroying a country and murdering it's inhabitants. I hope someone liberates Putin.

Paragraph ! and 3 common occurrences here I've found. I just say I don't want it at the till if it's a different price. What did really annoy me and I've never used the shop since was when we were buying our new house we saw an air con unit with a large discount. Samsung 11000BTU with inverter, which I wanted. Shop said no problem they would store it for me and I could collect it when I moved in. Except of course when I collected it, it wasn't the same item, Samsung yes, but no inverter and the shop denied all knowledge said it never was an inverter. It certainly was but I had to take it as they would not refund my money.

I too had no issues with Immigration at Pattaya, they were efficient and the young lad who gathered the relevant docs for me was polite and friendly. Best it has been for me in 14 years.

Will it be tanks next I wonder. Submarines and fighter aircraft are not defensive weapons is Thailand planning an invasion.

Somewhere on the 36 between Pattaya and Rayong would be a good place. Lots of people earning good money in industry as well as expats in this area.

Just returned from Koh Lipe and am wondering if we have to go to Jomtiem immigration to report back (TM 30)? Our passport details were taken and sent to Satun immigration saying we were there for five nights. Is this normal as I didn't do this in Mae Sot and Khao Yai when I visited?

If you are on a non imm visa extension can you get a re-entry permit and do you need to get all the insurance requirements for re entry I already have some insurance but not outpatient care except for accident. Hope you won't lose your visa, but I'm totally out of touch on this.

And are still being slaughtered.

Good the system worked for you I will try it next time, I too have never been able to use the old system. I did my 90 days at Jomtiem yesterday and they have a new system and do not let you into the office. Had to queue in the sun for about 10 mins while I waited for the woman to take my passport and place in a box. However after that I could sit behind her in a covered area but there wasn't enough seats for every one. Every now and again she takes the box with the passports into the office for updating and brings back ones she took earlier. Sat and waited for about 45 mins before mine was returned. I would like to congratulate immigration for making a very easy, quick and unnecessary process drag on for a hour in unpleasant conditions. You have starred again. It might help if you actually employed a person to actually carry passports etc. in and out of the building. Got to do my visa ext. early next month God knows how difficult they will make that.

All this will do, if anything, is it will drive the small sellers off the street and do nothing to the middlemen who do little and make the most profit.

Whilst I truly hope you are right, Uncle Joe Stalin was around far too long and he killed millions of his own people. Mad dog will be difficult to be rid of, I fear. On the effect on Thai tourism we should see Russians leaving in their droves soon and non coming in to replace them. Simple fact is the drop in value of the Rouble.

I remember a pickup driving off the road on to a hard shoulder in Thailand killing two foreigners cycling. The reason was I dropped my hat and bent down to pick it up. My wife and I were too close to a pick up truck last year when out cycling. Heard it's engine screaming and it came flying out of a side road straight onto Sukhumvit Rd where we were cycling, missed everything amazingly and got stuck in the ditch in the central reservation opposite the Navy base near Bang Saray. God knows what he was doing, full revs low gear not braking, on drugs or drunk perhaps but early morning. The standard of driving here in Thailand is simply appalling and nothing ever changes. How many Thais would pass a driving test in Europe or North America. RIP to the unfortunate cyclist.