Richb2004v2

The weather is a lot like the Uk actually. For 10 months of the year it is so hot and humid everyone tries to stay in the AC (ie inside) then they pray for two months of cool weather so they can sit outside. Some times they don't get it and the whole year is uncomfortable, a bit like the Uk. When they get the two months of cool they go on and on about how great it is, and when they don't they moan about how terrible it is. It's a home from home in reverse. Personally I don't know which is worse.

I'm assuming that you find that most households in Thailand have A/C? This extension is probably in the great minority.

Although I was referring to the expat community I guess you are right that many Thai homes don't have air con. I can only imagine how uncomfortable that must be. Probably a lot like living in the Uk without heating.

I live out in the sticks and have an a/c in each of the 2 bedrooms upstairs.

They are only on for a few days of the year when my wife's family come up from Bangkok.

My son who is 6 uses it a little but complains that he is cold and shuts it off.

The rest of us use fans and while it gets warm at times we can always have a shower to cool down and feel more refreshed.

And no it actually isn't uncomfortable at all really. It is 35 outside and 30 indoors and I am sitting here in a pair of shorts with the fan on the first setting quite comfortably waiting for this afternoons thunderstorm and heavy rains.

Don't you perspire? I find on some days, like today, I'm dripping before I even start my breakfast, and I'm not a particularly sweatie person.

Each to their own of course, but the house does not compare well to the pictures of the Canadian houses, for possibly a similar price. It just looks typically Thai to me, in that it's all show but not that comfortable looking. Only my preference though. If that's your bag then good for you.

the only thing that looks Thai is a Buddha sculpture (origin Burma) which i bought at an auction in Hong Kong 29 years ago. by the way, you seem to try hard proving that you possess a wealth of no idea as far as comfortable homes are concerned.

do you really believe you can judge the comfort of a home by looking at a photo which shows how the living room is furnished?

I didn't mean the Thai sculptures. The house is very nice, it just doesn't look like the kind of house you could walk into sit down and relax in. It looks like the High-so house sets seen on Thai soaps every night. It screams opulence but little else to me. As I say it's very Thai. However you live in it so must be comfortable and that's what counts. It's just not for me. I don't have a wealth of experience in houses, but like most people I know what I like, and think I can spot genuine quality vs Thai quality.

Each to their own of course, but the house does not compare well to the pictures of the Canadian houses, for possibly a similar price. It just looks typically Thai to me, in that it's all show but not that comfortable looking. Only my preference though. If that's your bag then good for you.

I've done a search already and not found much other than mention of Tonys Gym.

I just moved to east Pattaya, which I think is referred to as 'the darkside' for whatever reason. I am on Kao Noi and have tried two gyms already. One is Tonys which is a small 24 hour gym with terrible equipment and the other is 'Universe Gym' on Sukhumvit. 'Universe gym' seems ok and good enough for me if I can't find anything else, but before committing (although it's only 800 baht per month) I wondered if there were any better gyms or others worth trying in this area?

Thanks

A south African once said to me 'better to be a king in the land of kaffirs than a kaffir in the land of kings'. In my naivety I agreed with him. After 7 years in Thailand I realize he was talking nonsense, but probably made himself feel better.

Ghetto castles is a great term I've never heard.

"Ah but that kinda defeats the purpose of posting on an internet board."

You don't get to say what my purpose is. What I write is clearly greek to you so spelling wouldn't matter anyway. I enjoy knowing that my writing makes some uncomfortable.

I don't 'get it', man.

Too heavy, dude.

I'll read this latter.

Prices in thailand are stupid and i dont understand why people even accept to overpay so much.

all house between 12-20million baht, 5mins from montreal, canada one of the nicest city in the world and i think the city with the most restaurant per person in the world. right next to a regional park with hundred of km's of bike/walk/cross country ski trails, that also extend to every major street in the city and surrounding cities. Right next to a top notch hospital. No traffic, no noise, no crappy skycrappers.

http://www.remax-que...fromsearch=true

http://www.remax-que...fromsearch=true

http://www.remax-que...fromsearch=true

http://www.remax-que...fromsearch=true

http://www.remax-que...fromsearch=true <- this one is 20mil. would be 100mil in thailand. It's basically on the main street in the old town, right next to local music park, old chapel, old style pubs and high class restaurants.. all festivals are there.

All of them have insanely nice construction standards.

There are some fantastic houses there, that look well worth the money, and at comparable prices to the badly built efforts offered in Thailand. I doubt there are any houses in Thailand as well built and as high quality as those. I doubt there are any tin shed estates close by either, or bunches of cables hanging along the road.

Prices in thailand are stupid and i dont understand why people even accept to overpay so much.

how true! people must be indeed stupid because they pay these stupid prices. intelligent people live in Montreal, enjoy the highest number of restaurants per capita but can't afford a posh restaurant very often because the Québecois taxman takes 48.22% income tax out of their pockets and adds a 14.97% sales tax on goods and services (as opposed to the Thai taxman who takes ZERO income tax and charges a modest 7% VAT).

next intelligent suggestion please

I personally think that the Thai taxman should start taking some income tax and put the money to good use in improving the country. I think you would have a hard time convincing an impartial party to choose Pattaya over Montreal.

10 - 12 million is a lot of money in any country to ensure a decent standard. That kind of money would buy a great house in the uk, or probably anywhere in Europe.

wrong assumption Rich! 12 million Baht = 270,000 €URos will buy you a nice rowhouse in good suburb of Hamburg, Frankfurt or Düsseldorf and in a real posh München area you might get a big double garage for that price if you are lucky (i exaggerate a wee bit )

no exaggeration is that we couldn't have afforded to build our Thai home anywhere in Germany. an (expert) friend of mine estimated in 2006 the building cost (ex land) at approximately 1.8-2.2 m €UR.

Sorry, my calculation was well out there. I guess in that case 12 million baht won't get you that much in the Uk, but it will still get a decent house in most areas other than central Cities.

Your house looks very nice, but I still wouldn't pay 270,000 Euros for what at the end of the day is still in a developing country, with it's noise, smells, litter, inefficiencies, ultra corruption, abundant slums and general chaos. They don't say 'location, location, location' for nothing. The 270k house in Germany of England would likely be largely minus the undesirable attributes I mention. No matter how nice the 'estate' the house is on once outside the compound gates you are back into the real Thailand. However, if you spend your time inside away from the chaos then all is probably fine.

Anyway, my original point was that the majority of new estates do go down hill very quickly. So far I haven't seen anything with my own eyes to make me think otherwise. Even on a 10 million plus estate I'd have to see it to believe it as I just can't imagine an estate full of Thais all keeping everything neat and tidy even if they had the money to do it.

The weather is a lot like the Uk actually. For 10 months of the year it is so hot and humid everyone tries to stay in the AC (ie inside) then they pray for two months of cool weather so they can sit outside. Some times they don't get it and the whole year is uncomfortable, a bit like the Uk. When they get the two months of cool they go on and on about how great it is, and when they don't they moan about how terrible it is. It's a home from home in reverse. Personally I don't know which is worse.

I'm assuming that you find that most households in Thailand have A/C? This extension is probably in the great minority.

Although I was referring to the expat community I guess you are right that many Thai homes don't have air con. I can only imagine how uncomfortable that must be. Probably a lot like living in the Uk without heating.

10 - 12 million is a lot of money in any country to ensure a decent standard. That kind of money would buy a great house in the uk, or probably anywhere in Europe. I've been looking at houses for a third to half that price in the Uk and all were in streets and areas cleaner and better kept than any I've seen in Thailand, other than maybe the ones you talk of. It doesn't seem quite right that in a developing country like Thailand you need to spent 500k pounds to enjoy a decent standard. Than again, maybe it does. I wonder what proportion of Thais live in houses priced 10 - 20 million?

i know of at least a dozen that exist in Pattaya/Jomtien. that you have not seen one "in all honesty" might be the case. simple reason: most of these (gated) communities cannot be entered without a resident's prior approval conveyed to the gatehouse.

If you don't mind, can I ask how much roughly it costs to buy a house on one of these estates? The estates I've been looking at probably max out at around 10 million baht. I would be really interested in these high end places as I've never seen one.

No need to take it personally. If you say the hookers you hire enjoy your company then I guess I agree with you. What exactly makes you think that I don't have a chance to be with beautiful women? You are verifiable proof that just about anybody with over 1,000 Baht can be with pretty girls. What makes your chances so much better than mine to be able to take home a bar girl?

Even your comment about the Philippines says a lot about your motives. If it was basically safer you would go there to do the same thing as Thailand. As I said earlier I have really no problem with whatever it is you do in Thailand. You go there for the girls, so what's the problem? As another poster pointed out there isn't anything unusual or unique about that.

I also didn't call you any names in my post either. If you are so cool with what you are up to then why all the hostility?

Kind of funny you have to accuse me of being a bigot and a liar, then ask if I am stupid or blind? All I did was point out that it seems most of your reasons for being in Thailand seem to revolve around cheap prices of everything including women. This information comes from the things you say in many of your posts.

You seem so proud of what you are doing until anybody comments on it. You didn't really refute anything I said so we can just leave it at that.

You are the one that said my friends only enjoy my company because of the money, and you don't even know who my friends are. You also intimated that cheap hookers are the only reason why I am in Thailand. If you took the time to read my thread on why I love Thailand you might get a better perspective of why I spend my winters in Thailand. Obviously you haven't done so. The thread is in the very same General forum as this topic. The thread has gone on for 3 pages and hasn't yet touched the subject of women... but it might.

You are the one that insisted the hookers you hire enjoy your company.I have no idea if they do or not. I know they must act like it if they want a job tomorrow however. I don't think that you are only here for cheap hookers, you seem to like fishing and photography as well. Notice how your beach pics including 'the top 10 beaches' thread include some bar girls though?

I wonder if there was no fishing or photography but still cheap women would Ian still be here, or if there was no cheap women but still photography and fishing would the same apply? That's the question. Cheap women can color the judgment of many a man towards just how great Thailand is me thinks.

Don't get me wrong there are plenty of nice single houses on estates but there are no estates with consistently nice houses throughout that are older than 5 years.

we started building 6 years ago and live since 5 years in a gated community where the first homes were built more than 10 years ago. there's no decay, no unkempt gardens, no homes which need paint.

most probably you are looking at "estates" clustered with shacks and huts with 120-150m² living area, built on 80-100 Wah² lots. take a look at "estates" where the minimum lot size is one Rai and the "small" homes have living areas starting at 500m² and then repeat your claim.

Naam in all honesty you may live in such an estate but in all my time in Thailand I have never seen one like you state.

Me too. Other than the now decaying one I spoke of.

The weather is a lot like the Uk actually. For 10 months of the year it is so hot and humid everyone tries to stay in the AC (ie inside) then they pray for two months of cool weather so they can sit outside. Some times they don't get it and the whole year is uncomfortable, a bit like the Uk. When they get the two months of cool they go on and on about how great it is, and when they don't they moan about how terrible it is. It's a home from home in reverse. Personally I don't know which is worse.

Don't get me wrong there are plenty of nice single houses on estates but there are no estates with consistently nice houses throughout that are older than 5 years.

we started building 6 years ago and live since 5 years in a gated community where the first homes were built more than 10 years ago. there's no decay, no unkempt gardens, no homes which need paint.

most probably you are looking at "estates" clustered with shacks and huts with 120-150m² living area, built on 80-100 Wah² lots. take a look at "estates" where the minimum lot size is one Rai and the "small" homes have living areas starting at 500m² and then repeat your claim.

I've not been to an estates with shacks or huts on them. Just because an estate has houses priced between 3 to 6 million baht isn't reason enough to accept that within a short time it will be a decaying mess. How much need to spent to ensure a spot on this uniquely pristine 'development' that you talk of? Even if what you say is true I can't imagine that you are not more than a stones throw from some form of semi-slum.

The only estates that I felt were immaculate and desirable locations are the ones that I have since discovered to have decayed immensely.

Yesterday we drove quite far out of our way for an hour or so in an area we have never been before and didn't see a single estate that looked anything other than typical. I can only imagine that these estates with huge houses in neat surroundings must be well hidden from view.

I have a Celestron Nexstar that I bought second hand. The light pollution is very bad though where I live even though I'm not in a big city. Light from industry does not help though. I'm looking forward to getting back to the Uk though where it will be easier to get out into the countryside with a scope (although colder).

I'm not that much of a beach man but I've seen many truly filthy beaches here in Thailand. I thought that the beaches of California were really great and much better than anything in Thailand. Still the Thais don't mind relaxing on garbage strewn beaches so no big deal. The ones in the tourist spots are probably much better.

It's a bit like the underage kids riding motorcycles. They can not be prosecuted because they are too young. No one has thought to simply change the law. That would be beyond their thinking capacity. More importantly there would be no money in it for anyone concerned. The same for the child porn vendors. Why spent time fixing the problem when at the end of the day no one will profit from it.

A couple of years ago during the ASEAN meet in Pattaya their was a clamp down on DVD vendors. Only one of the dozens remained open on beach road. It had child porn openly on display. Figure that out. Cultural probably.

I can't imagine that being easy. Would you be able to run the concept past the bank manager with a straight face?

A friend at work started taking the cream in the form of stick on pads. They were called Tersogel and he got them via prescription. He has been using them for at least year now and applies the pads every day as far as I know. He said that once you start though you can not stop, although that seems a little strange to me. He is around 56 years old. He claims the improvement is significant.

What part of Thailand are you referring to, Bkk, Pattaya, South, Chiang Mai or?

Pattaya, Ban Chang (where I live) and Bangkok. I can't imagine anywhere else being much different since I've visited a lot of estates and driven down many soi over the past week, and none of them were cheap, at least to begin with.

Rather limiting yourself to the Patters-Bangers region, yes?

I guess so, but are other regions so different? Is neglect a feature only of the particular areas I've visited? I don't think that the Rayong and Pattaya area is below average as far as wealth goes. I have unfortunate friends in Bangkok that have experienced the same situation: buying or building fine houses on new estates 6 - 7 years ago only now to be stuck on what are really sink estates. I've experienced the same with condos and even Hotels that we've returned to after a couple of years only to find they have entirely changed. I really seems that in Thailand new is good, but anything else is more often than not much less than good. Only my observation though.

I have a 6 inch reflector that I bought from the Uk. Sadly by the time I got it here the star finder feature had packed in. I looked into getting it fixed but without success. Without it I can only look at the moon and the planets. However I never get tired of looking at the moon with it and even looking at the moons of Jupiter is interesting.