JensenZ

On 6/19/2021 at 1:33 PM, bert bloggs said:

Actually i just wrote that headline to get you looking at the post,i dont mean it in a bad way ,but covid has allowed the authorities to upgrade the pipe system for water and for the water supplies to not run out,i dread to think what it would have been like in normal times,what are your thoughts?

It would have been nice if they could have resurfaced the roads properly. As it is, they have made the roads more dangerous, where many of the drain grids have actually become shallow potholes. Now many of the roads have become obstacle courses for motorcyclists, causing them to swerve left and right more than they ever have.

On 6/6/2021 at 6:53 AM, Jeffr2 said:

If you want a return to normalcy, it can't be avoided.  This virus will be with us forever.

There will never be a return to our previous normalcy. The new normal is not looking good, when the whole world freaks out over viruses that have always been with us and always will be with us, forever. No one dies from the flu no more - they can only die from covid 19. If you don't die from covid-19, you might live forever. The first panic over the covid-19 virus in Australia was caused by mainly 80 - 90 years old dying. People who are 80 - 90 should not die. It's a bit like a stampede. The original cause for the stampede is not as deadly as the stampede itself.

10 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I think it's fair to assume  based on previous news releases that the phase referred to above does NOT include high risk expat residents here.

 

Assuming that assumption is true, how does that make high risk expats feel to be excluded based on their nationality in this way?

 

It makes me feel good as I don't want a jab if it can be avoided.

On 5/28/2021 at 7:06 AM, Tarteso said:

Enjoy the trip, see you next fall…. At Bangkok Hilton.

Do you think he can get a fair trial in Thailand? (a country which changes their constitution and laws regularly after military coups by whomever takes control - recently 2007 and 2014). Does he even need a trial? You don't think so.       

1 hour ago, Ralf001 said:

8am -10pm.

Has it changed? 2 weeks ago it was 8am to 9pm. I'm heading there shortly and will check.

19 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

If that is the Royal Garden Hotel mall it is the exception to what I'm going to say as it predated all the new malls, but IMO any mall doing badly that was built after Central deserve their failure as there were already too many malls.

That's a very short-sighted assessment of the pre-covid era. When malls are built, they are looking to the future and growth of the tourism industry, not expecting it to fail. Do you think new mall developments should not compete with existing malls for market share? There are ups and downs in tourism industry, but they look long term. Your "too many malls" comment makes no sense either. Central Mall is the most successful of them, and that came AFTER Garden Plaza and Central Marina, both which predated it by many years. It came after and destroyed them. If most cities held your ideas, there would never be any advancement at all. Speculation is what makes the modern world tick. Competition is a good thing.

On 4/17/2021 at 10:03 AM, Kerryd said:

Think about it. The guy had it for 2 years, since it was a puppy, and it turned on him (for whatever reason) and mauled him to death.

I doubt you could ever trust it to not do the same thing again if "triggered".

Another death in the future is a high probability. Maybe next time a baby or child. That dog has tasted human blood and has no qualms about showing who is in charge.

1 hour ago, Pilotman said:

I like the heat, it can be invigorating and keeps you young and active,

The heat does exactly the opposite, making you slow and inactive. It's pure physics - the closer the external temperature gets to 37C, the harder your body has work to prevent it from overheating, and thus sapping energy. Thailand is way above the temperature for optimal physical performance, nearly all year.

It will vary by a few days depending on where you live, but the sun is directly over Pattaya on April 24, and Bangkok on April 26, making these the theoretically hottest days of they year given no cloud clover.

I've found most of April so far cooler than previous years on average due to the number of rainy and overcast days (Pattaya).

I use air-conditioning if it's too hot and expect higher electricity bills at this time of year. So far my room temperature hasn't gone above 30C, so still relatively cool (for April). I consider it quite strange that people retiring in Thailand, would complain about the heat.

On 3/30/2021 at 8:11 AM, KannikaP said:

Configured by whom?

You have to ask that? A package by Dell or other manufacturers. I get HP configured packages and generally, for anyone that doesn't want to mess around building their own computer, is a better option IMO. 

Another option for the OP is to go to IC City and get them to build a computer for you. You can have one made up and ready to go in less than an hour.

OP, make sure you get a SSD to drive the Operating system and use your HDs for backup storage.

On 3/28/2021 at 12:36 AM, Eindhoven said:

 

It's 24hrs.

Foodland at Pattaya Klang is open 24 hours. I shopped there at 3am a couple of weeks ago.

On 3/16/2021 at 7:38 PM, lopburi3 said:

Even fewer players now that Tesco is gone also might be a factor?  

The biggest factor is probably turnover. Due to lower turnover during covid, they can't sell items before Use by date.... so they have to pass on the costs to the consumers. Consumers have 2 choices... suck up the additional cost or do without. None of it is essential, and if they can't sell it, or sell it at a loss, they will stop importing it.

Casino should wise up and offer English labels on their products so people who don't read French might be able to know what the products are. 

On 3/11/2021 at 1:20 PM, PatOngo said:

Ah, they charged you the skin tax! (White)! Did you get the free lunch for 1000THB?

Are you suggesting that black. brown and Asian expats don't pay the fee? My wife has the same colour skin as the Immigration police, so according to your theory, she doesn't pay for a certificate of residence?

On 3/5/2021 at 11:39 AM, NanLaew said:

Does anyone have a PO box at the original Pattaya post office on Soi 13/2 (Soi Paisanee) between Beach and Second? Just before Covid hit last March, I heard they were temporarily suspending them while they relocated the boxes for easier 24-hour access "from the street". I did a quick look at Google Earth street imagery dated August 2020 and the post office's frontage doesn't look that different. Interested if anyone who already has a PO Box there can comment if and when there were any changes.

 

Thanks!

NL

I would recommend you get a mail box at Pattaya Self Storage on Thappraya Road Soi 13. The nice ladies there email me when mail arrives. They even place it at the security desk after hours for me to pick up at any time. You can also use it as a de facto address. It's the best mail service I've ever had. I never have to worry about being carded and making long trips to the Naklua or Na Jomtien mail centers to pick up parcels. 

On 3/5/2021 at 11:43 PM, georgegeorgia said:

I have to admit I hate doing legs 

I had a personal trainer for a few weeks ... He taught me squats ..lunges etc...too painful...I sacked him !

The only leg work worth doing is cardio leg work. Squats will lead to back,  hip and knee injuries... as a dedicated squatter into my late 50's, I can say I've never felt better since I gave them up. After all these years of doing dedicated leg work (1976 - 2019) I achieved nothing and finally I can walk pain free.

2 hours ago, rastlin said:

A tourist boom awaits Thailand as soon as they get rid of that dratted quarantine.

Lets hope it happens soon!

 It has never been better without hundreds of tourist buses jamming all the roads in Pattaya. I'm not looking forward to the boom. 

On 2/23/2021 at 5:39 AM, GinBoy2 said:

Well it is true that throughout the capitalist world power is always concentrated in a few large corporations.

Thailand is somewhat strange in the fact that power is concentrated in companies that can be counted on one hand

Most of the world's biggest companies are global and Thailand does it share to keep these companies big...

eg. Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon and Alibaba are all from the top-10 list.

On 2/16/2021 at 11:16 AM, Bkk Brian said:

C.P. monopolizing Thailand one leap at a time. Even have a healthy stake in the Chinese covid vaccine business with its first shipments to Thailand due now.

Welcome to Thailand, the world of monopolies and dictatorships... however life in most Western countries is not much better or possibly even worse.  

10 hours ago, SheungWan said:

Once a vaccine is made generally available, then the question will be whether visa renewal or even 90 day check-in is linked to such. And also requirements for air travel. 

Yes, that is a problem - and there's also doubt about whether or not vaccinated people can still transmit it even if they don't get sick.

On 2/17/2021 at 7:41 PM, richard_smith237 said:

Hope he made his review on TripAdvisor and they come to the rescue... 

 

Trip Advisor paid for the legal costs of the ‘other guy’ who recently made the headlines after leaving going on somewhat of a vendetta against a hotel in Koh Chang - the guy had to publicly apologise and TripAdvisor had to agree to remove their reviews but had the last laugh circumnavigating the agreement with a ‘Message from Trip Advisor’ on the hotels TripAdvisor Site... 

 

The defamation laws in Thailand do nothing other than drag the country down - no good whatsoever comes of them the only serve the wealthy and powerful in their abhorrent business practices. 

There is quite a big difference between the 2 cases. The Koh Chang complaint was about behavior with no tangible evidence. It's pretty hard to argue that there wasn't an insect in his food, that the mattress isn't near rotten and the place isn't infested with insects of all types, as he has ample photographic proof to back up his assertions. His expose is in the public interest and benefit. The hotel doesn't have a defamation case IMO. It's all bluff - they won't proceed. He should also have reported it to the Health Ministry.

5 hours ago, cyril sneer said:

+ tourist areas are all dead, which is why most came in the first place

And the reason why I'm enjoying it more than ever.

16 hours ago, HashBrownHarry said:

Yes, i also handed over 2000 baht, seems to be normal here, no idea why though.

 

It's strange as it's spoken about openly in the Imm office and in no way tried to be hidden.

 

 

The reason why would depend on whether or not they offer you an official receipt for the 2000 baht. I'm guessing it was not offered, making it an unofficial charge and a decent lunch for the officers.

22 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

Taweesin said adding that the government is also concerned about the economic costs of more restrictions.

They claim they are concerned, but what are they doing to assist the businesses they have bankrupted since the first lockdown. At least many foreign governments are printing money to try to assist their people. Thailand maintains a strong baht as they refuse to do so.

Pattaya has been totally destroyed, so this lockdown will ensure they cleanup any businesses that survived the first lockdown.

21 hours ago, Clarkey611 said:

What is the nationality of the family of 4 that arrived in Thailand from the UK? Could it be Thai? 

Is it even true? The general narrative, since the start has been to blame it on foreigners.