Maha Sarakham

My wife likes to joke that Thai people have the strongest Facebook army in the world, which very well may be the case.  However, she also admits that social media posting is about the extent of protest many Thais will ever engage in.  It's too risky to engage in real world political revolution with so many laws that forbid criticizing the monarchy and a militarized government keen on shutting them down before they even begin. 

Very few Thai people have that much of an enduring interest in politics, outside of the students who feel they are being robbed of their futures.

1 hour ago, Fex Bluse said:

Nobody will ever compete with 7-11 as CP owns almost the entire food chain. It's impossible to compete with CP in Thailand. 

That's what my wife says, she does all her banking through 7-11 now too.  They do literally everything, just need a 7-11 themed gogo next.

It seems that Samui is so dead, that there isn't even anyone left to post about it!  *tumbleweed rolls by*

12 hours ago, quake said:

Don't do it. its just one big disappointment after another. 

And yet, there are many people that still love it there and have no intentions of ever leaving.

Really just depends on the person and your expectations going in.

2 minutes ago, JeffersLos said:

Yeah, like Mahasarakham with a beach. 

Pretty much!  There is a reason I don't live there ????

That town is almost scary looking, no one around at all.

Saw an article that 17,000 Thais came in to Samui and Tao over the holiday weekend.  Guess that's something?

I think it's pretty obvious tourism isn't going to recover anytime soon with the total panic that ensued from a single case in Rayong.  This is the path Thailand has chosen, for better or for worse.

I'm more interested in how the loss of investor confidence (economy & government both) might affect the baht.  My wife keeps reading in her Thai FB groups about a 'Tom Yum Goong 2.0' scenario, where the THB drops to a 1 to 50 ratio again.  I don't think it will get THAT bad, but I've been saving some money to move over to THB in the event it does get closer to 40 again.

My wife was just asked if she wanted to purchase some land near her parents village, 100k per rai.  The problem is it's a 120 km drive to Khon Kaen, which I'm not a fan of.

That cheap land is out there, but as stated above, prepare for a long haul trek to get anywhere.  Not for me personally.  I'll pay a little bit more for convenience.

4 hours ago, anon7854 said:

People seem to forget that getting on the island is an extra 10000 baht / tourist (yeah I know there is a cheaper 7 hour option but no sane tourist would take that) . 

Even on a tourist budget, that stings when its multiplied for couples & families.  

How does the Old Town look in Chiang Mai?  Nimman and Maya?  Night Markets?

Just curious, I miss Chiang Mai and wish we were there, but I hope it doesn't lose a lot of its restaurants as a result of this pandemic.  

1 hour ago, MikeyIdea said:

This is going to increase anti foreign sentiment. 

The most concerning aspect of it in my eyes.

On 7/9/2020 at 11:09 AM, Tropicalevo said:

My feeling is that Samui is open but Chaweng is closed.

May very well be the case, but I think a lot of visitors feel that Samui = Chaweng.  I've personally never been a fan of the area, I preferred the Choeng Mon to Maenam area better.

9 hours ago, LivinLOS said:

We have some land in Chiang Mai and will likely be building on it.. Only reason might not is prices have risen so much I do consider flipping it for a smaller island property to lock those gains in.

Things to think of. 

1) The new land tax, undeveloped land is due for taxation at 0.3% per annum, rising each year 0.3% until it is 3% in 9 years time. 

 

2) I would avoid rice land or anything close to it (thats East Hang Dong almost round to doi saket / Mae Jo.. Multiple reasons but the primary one being insects / bugs in the evening, drove me crazy at a beutiful place I had in San Kampeang. Secondary would the cost of infill on rice land rising a lot and adding to any development costs, what seems like a bargain ends up not being. 

3) Urban sprawl creep is happening so fast. a few years ago I thought Nahm Phrae was too far out, now if anything I would consider further. 

4) A strange combination is visible around me in that everything is for sale, but almost all of it at what I feel are insane prices. How people ask more for bare rough farmland 45 mins outside of Chiang Mai than I can find seaview Samui land, with the potential to develop million USD value properties on it, baffles me. OK sure there are some lower priced bargains, if you want to live up a dirt road, with no hope of fiber internet, and no special appeals. Strangely larger chunks of this is probably the land to bank, and I cant see the stuff they ask silly money for doubling in a few more years, however this stuff might. 

For my taste, rolling hills, greenery, non rice land, thats still got decent road access and not an hour from town. Nahm Phrae, Ban Pong, Mae On, the back edges of Doi Saket and Mae Joe, and the perennial MAe Rim Mae Sa etc Though that depends on your needs to get into town often or not. 

Happy to discuss further if you like, I am always out sniffing around and finding bits for sale. Same good some crazy..  

So much good information in one post, thank you sir.

4 hours ago, jackdd said:

Rent for a year or two and then decide if you want to spend the rest of your life in Chiang Mai.

May end up doing that at some point, but the goal was to try and lock in some land at a lower price than it will be in the future.  As LivinLOS stated, land is getting nutso expensive up in this area because it's a very popular escape for Thais in the winter months.

I have no problems in the US.  I also don't live in Chicago.  These things may be related ???? 

Floating night market sounds like fun, I'd like to see it at least once.

Saw this comment from someone on Bangkok Post, don't know how accurate it is but it sounds like the situation is quickly getting worse.

Quote

I’m on Samui right now, helping a friend. From what I see about half of all the businesses have closed, gone bankrupt. What the story doesn’t mention are the 300 out of the 600 hotels that have closed permanently. There are lines of hundreds of local people to get free food. How on earth is letting maybe 200 tourists per day come here going to save this? And that’s if they can get 200 tourists to wait for their test result for 2 hrs at the airport and then quarantine. Samui is in serious deep trouble for a long time to come.

Saw rooms here for $40 USD or about 1200 THB around December time frame.  Pretty amazing, doubt they'll be much to celebrate this year though.

I once considered getting the Thailand Elite Visa as a frequent visitor, but now I am married to a Thai national.  Didn't really expect it to happen, but when you find one of the good ones you hold on to it for as long as possible.

It does make me wonder however, what the actual benefit of the Elite Visa is.  It seems like it's basically a renewable 'reduced-fuss' Visa.  I'm not sure that's really worth the money they are asking for it...

Just follow the Thai Embassy Washington DC website.  They have the most current requirements for applying for travel.