Richb2004v2

Seriously, a flight price query without dates is just useless.

I don't really have a date. My search was based on maybe returning to the Uk for work. I looked two months in advance on the sites I mentioned and didn't see a price drop.

However, thanks to suggestions here I have already seen that Jet Air can do a return for 30k which is much better.

Thanks for the help.

I read somewhere that the modern way that Thais build is, with a 30yrs life span for buildings? So no need to maintain?

jb1

I'd say that without maintenance a house here would begin to look very jaded after 10 years, but probably less. There are houses on my Soi that have been up around 5 years and now look a bit worse for wear.

The worst I've seen is when they build a pond in the garden and within two months is is neglected and full of stagnant water never to be touched again. That really adds to the aesthetics of the property.

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.

We went to Tuk Com today to inquire. There were many different devices on offer. Many of them were 3G and the seller was keen for me to buy one as it's the best. Luckily I asked him does Pattaya have 3G everywhere to which he answered 'Pattaya does not have 3G'. Great!

In the end a different shop almost convinced me that a Happy Sim with a device called, I think, Miatai (or something). It was 1000 baht for the device and the sim. I didn't get it as I figured I would maybe try to ask a neighbor when we move in.

I will check at the True shop too.

I will be in Chok Chai 7/8 over the railway line near Siam Country Club (I think).

After moaning about my estate for the past couple of years I know see that compared to all others I've visited this one is the best.

It's hard for me to understand the Thai attitude to houses and where they live. They seem not to be at all concerned about the things that deter westerners. Noise and mess are seemingly not important. It amazes me when I see a huge new house built next door to a slum or a noisy intersection. I guess it's a huge advantage to be able to ignore these things. To them the western way is probably very strange.

I guess I'm somewhat of an anomaly. I only live in Thailand 5 months of the year. The remaining 7 months I live in Canada where many of my friends and family live. That suits me perfectly because I'm single and enjoy being single. I live two parallel lives that are not remotely alike, other than I practise my few hobbies wherever I am. Knowing what I know now I don't think I would be happy living full time in either country. When I'm in Thailand I miss certain things about Canada and when I'm in Canada I miss a lot of what I love about Thailand. Fortunately, I have the time and funds to go and come as I please. I also happen to be a positive person who mostly ignores the bad stuff I have no control over and I only look on the bright side of life. I might complain from time to time, but only because I know things could be better. Why worry about what I can't change?

Thailand is warm when Canada is cold. I can ride around on my motorbike for 5 months wearing nothing more than shorts, a cotton shirt and sandals... and I seldom ever need a jacket. I stay in a Thai hotel that costs me the same as my telephone, TV and internet package costs me in Canada. I can eat on the street for little more than 3 or 4 dollars a day. I can spend a week at a tropical beach for about $150. I can take a return flight from Chiang Mai to Bangkok for about $150. I can travel for 5 hours on a bus for under $10. And, if I want the company of a pretty, young woman all I have to do is dial a number on my cel phone. I have Thai friends and farang friends. I can even find a little fishing if that is what I want. What's not to like?

In Canada, well, what's not to like... except the winter weather. I have an unlimited amount of country to explore and fish and hunt. What I don't have is intimate female companionship, and that comes at a far higher cost than Thailand... and the quality is not nearly so good for men of my age.

you are not an anomaly, you are a sex tourist.

Come on. Ian is here for the temples for 5 months of the year. It's what makes the place so enjoyable for him. You must know that. I think it's the temples that I've been missing all this time and that would probably make all the difference.

"What are you trying to say?"

I just said it. If you don't get it than I can't explain it. It aint in your head, it's in your heart.

You are saying that Thais are further back along the evolutionary ladder than you are. That they are more closely related to our past hominid ancestors, and therefore probably less well developed or intelligent. Is that it?

Where in Gods name did Trisailer say anything like that??? What Part of his statement led you to that conclusion??

I see this as a chance to get closer to my own humanity. We are related to these folks. We all come from the same black mother on the plains of Africa 70,000 years ago so it's like reconnecting to relatives that I haven't seen for awhile.

There.

The relatives he hasn't seen for a while read as 'people from the past' to me. What else could he mean.

So far I tried the sites of Emirates, KLM and AirAsia. I need to fly from Thailand to the north east of England ideally, but London will do. I will try the suggested site.

Thanks.

I've not bought a ticket to the Uk for quite a while, in either direction, but now need to head back on my own pocket. I expected to pay around 500-600 pounds. What a shock! Does anyone know of any cheap airlines or options?

Thanks, and sorry if this has been asked a million times.

I can't believe that no-one here has mentioned it but your best bet is to speak to your soon to be neighbours.

There are bound to be a few within wifi range and all you need is one willing to share their connection.

As long as you aren't going to be eating the bandwidth downloading movies etc you may well talk someone into it.

Fast speeds and no contract far outweighs mobile broadband or 8 months wasted money.

The girl that was in one of the houses near the one we are renting was using one of the dongle things, which is why I asked about it.

Hate to break the news....but it will never be 'your' Thailand and Thailand does NOT care about its trees..... absolutely not.....

Just the facts........nice pics though regardless.

Ha ha. That's more like it. Nice one.

On our estate (mainly Thai ,houses 4.5 to 12 million) we look after it ourselves pay a yearly fee and all the grass is cut ect ,bins emptied and fences painted regularaly , however there are two streets who opted out and they are rough ,everyone around us sweeps the main road every single day ,its a treat to see the place.

It sounds like you have a nice environment. How long have you been there?

We visited a few more estates today. One of them used to be fantastic 5 to 10 years ago, with big roads and European/American style houses and cul-de-sacs. Now the grass is 5 feet high in places and half the houses are in a poor state. The Clubhouse that we used to use is empty and derelict too. Some of the houses were still nice but far outnumbered by others dropping to bits.

do you have a picture of her ?

This is the only one I can find. It's a little old, but she looks the same.

"What are you trying to say?"

I just said it. If you don't get it than I can't explain it. It aint in your head, it's in your heart.

You are saying that Thais are further back along the evolutionary ladder than you are. That they are more closely related to our past hominid ancestors, and therefore probably less well developed or intelligent. Is that it?

I see this as a chance to get closer to my own humanity. We are related to these folks. We all come from the same black mother on the plains of Africa 70,000 years ago so it's like reconnecting to relatives that I haven't seen for awhile.

What are you trying to say?

It's a great system where if you get in a 'jam' with the police you have to rely on a brother with connections. What a great way to garner respect for these intelligent people, and not project a negative image.

Part of the frustration may be due to observation that Thailand could be so much better at little expense. At least thats my feeling.

Recently we spent a day or so driving around housing estates looking for a house to rent. I was really surprised to find that without exception every housing estate older than a couple of years was run down and in some degree of decay. Regardless of the rental being from 15,000 baht to 70,000 baht if the estate was not new or nearly new they were a bit of a mess. On housing estates with different phases of build the gradual decay was obvious. It seems that the standard course is to build the first estate over a couple of years, then build 'Generic estate II' then 'Generic estate III' and so on, all the while neglecting the older estates entirely. The older estates get more of a mess, the rental price drops and so do the sale price I guess. We revisited some estates that I thought were perfect a few years ago only to find even they had many eyesores on them and were now far from impressive. On every estate the grass was overgrown and much paint was needed. Even an 'exclusive' estate with huge houses priced from 50,000 per month up, set in tropical gardens, was really not great and not well maintained. I didn't come across a single estate that looked like a good long term prospect. I can't believe that for 800 uk pounds per month in Thailand we still only found below par housing in anything other than brand new areas.

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.

It seems to me that in Thailand houses (or estates) are like cars, in that they really need replacing every 4 or 5 years. I wonder if that is what wealthy Thais do, or do they just ignore whats around them?

What is the video all about? A Thai cop counting bits of paper?

Maybe I will be as well just getting a land line. I can't imagine it cost too much and I expect there to be many half decent providers in Pattaya.

I find it very hard to even believe that he said this. Surely not.

I'm moving into a rented house shortly in Pattaya and wonder what is the best way to get a connection. I'm only going to be there for 4 months so wonder if it is worth getting a landline with broadband set up. How good are those dongle card things and how do they work? I have two laptops, so would I need two of them?

This may be better in the Pattaya forum.

We are moving to a small house in Pattaya before leaving Thailand in a few months and need to find a good home for our cat. We have had her for over 6 years and she has never been any bother at all. She spends her time 50/50 between inside and out. She is in great condition if a little over weight, and has been neutered (or is it spaded?) and had all other necessary injections. She is also used to small children.All she needs is somewhere to lay down in the shade half the day and some gardens to wander around in. I hate the idea of leaving her to anything but a caring home.

Thanks.

We paid a deposit on a small but new 2 bedroomed townhouse today. It's 13,000 per month for 4 month lease, fully furnished. Everything we looked at was fairly disappointing, even the properties for over 45,000 baht were not great. Any house or estate over a few years old seem to be in varying states of decay.

We will take a look around east Pattaya tomorrow and see what we can find.

Thanks