Fat is a type of crazy

I have stayed at Paradise Resort, Santhiya Tree, KC Grande, Sylvan, and Kacha. Bhumiyama and Nest Sense nice in Lonely Beach. Nice cheapies too like Little Eden Blue Lagoon etc. The one you stayed could have been Mercure maybe. It is a bit distant and not that nice unless you pick the best rooms as I found. Bad beach. Santhiya Tree had a shuttle every two hours. It says every hour but not sure low season. It's a bit over a kilometre to walk to town so not so bad. They all should have parking. Can't remember spots being at Kacha but they say they have parking.

Would not recommend. Out of town so hard to get food and a bit run down. Not right on the beach. Past its prime I think.

I am not aware of a Novotel on Koh Chang. I see a Novetel Marina and Koh Si Chang so you might have the wrong spot. Been booking my trip so can offer some tips. Sylvan which is formally Seaview Hotel is nice. That is the hotel which put the guy in jail for the bad review - probably why they changed their name. It's $86 Australian and it has a really beautiful forest setting, private lovely beach though a few rocks, excellent buffet breakfast up high with a panoramic view. Rooms on the beach are the best within budget with full sea views. Only down side is to get to town at Kae Bai you have to take a taxi but it's 50 baht per person and takes 5 minutes. You can walk along the beach at low tide. Other picks for a little bit more are Santhiya Tree - they have these amazing new rooms with wood throughout and your own private pool for under $100 Australian including big buffet breakfast. Beautiful beach and big pool. It is 5 minutes from town too but regular shuttles. For in town at White Sand Beach KC Grande is nice. Hillside rooms are on budget but I don't like the atmosphere. Beach side rooms $20 over budget. Kacha is a half step down from KC Grande but still excellent as noted and much cheaper and decent breakfast, nice pools, on best beach. Dewa is nice but possibly a little bit past it's prime - next to Emerald Cove mentioned above. Has a sister hotel AWA that is nice and modern too but a few minutes walk to the beach. Gajapuri resort is nice in Kae Bai and Paradise resort is in Khlong Prao too but for some reason the latter is showing high prices now.

Exactly. Can get bus from Bangkok airport to hotel in Koh Chang 900 return. One way Trat airport to hotel 650 baht. Not impressed but on holiday so cop it.

Big sale Bangkok Airways now. Good fares Bangkok to Trat for them.

Because I am normally on a shorter holiday I am staying at hotels with buffet breakfast etc to keep the girlfriend happy but for a long term stay Blue Lagoon on Klong Prou and Little Eden on Lonely Beach are fun. Both in natural settings but maybe a bit basic for longer stays. There is a few similar ones on Lonely Beach. The Op might know. I have seen Kacha in White Sand Beach lately as low as $37 a night and that includes a buffet breakfast with two nice pools right on White Sand Beach with a night market there at night. It's now $50 but it goes up and down. Australian dollars.

Correct. I need a getaway from Melbourne winter. See the girlfriend. Have nice swims. Bigger waves are fun. Sometimes lucky and rain on and off. Good last year at that time.

I am going in August. Do you have comments on good taxis at a good price to and from Bangkok. I assume the main ferry is the only one and the other has not come back. Some good deals on hotels now.

If you are deemed a non resident you generally don't have to pay tax in Australia on a range of foreign income types so I think it can be advantage for those people, at all income levels, to be deemed a non resident assuming they are paying a lower rate of tax in the other country.

Good point. It seems then that for a single person the tax for a non resident would knock out the offset at about the $7000 income mark i.e. tax rate of 32.5 cents and maximum offset for a single person of $2230. Less for couples. This assumes for a single that total income is less than $50119 to get some benefit or $32279 to get whole benefit based on shading rules. Could be other factors I don't know about so calculations may be off. Getting advice sounds like a good idea if this becomes a thing. Seniors and pensioners tax offset | Australian Taxation Office (ato.gov.au)

Was there a month ago. It is nice.. a bit too pretty but nice atmosphere and fun Sunday market.

All the best. Hard when your wife holds the cards in a sense and appears to be so recklessly indifferent to the consequences for those around her. Once trust is gone I think it never fully comes back. Nothing you could have done by the sound of it. I hope you find a way to extricate you and yours from this situation.

I suppose the issue is whether it is a little bit of imagination or exaggeration and, if not, why it would concern you a lot given it appears these are strangers, who pass by, rather than friends or associates. If someone acts in a certain way I find it amusing or interesting rather than taking it personally. Comparing it to overt prejudice, such as against black people of the past, makes me question how seriously you are taking this as it is a fairly outrageous comparison i.e. people's minor reactions rather than actions that actually limit your actual life. I think if you can make yourself happy - exercise, a happy lady, friends, activities, whatever - this stuff won't be a big deal. But then I am a tourist who doesn't live here long term.

In Australia so many ads have a pretty black curly haired young girl. They appear in much much higher ratios than in the actual population but I think advertisers have decided a pretty black young curly haired girl ticks all the boxes of inclusion, fun, beauty and desireableness. I don't mind because it's all good and I tape free to air and fast forward the ads.

That would annoy me too. Maybe a couple of fake exaggerated coughs as the smoke comes up or actually talk to them in a friendly manner and see if they don't mind staying inside. Or if it becomes too tiresome involve the Body Corporate.

I like vege burgers for sandwiches e.g. sweet potato, cauliflower, or whatever, for lunch and there are many types now available. The ones that try and be like meat, e.g. hydrolysed soy based fake meat burgers, are not nice. I suppose if this is pretty much meat and tasted fine then why not and save a cow and help the world and all that.

Sang it as kids. If you really wondered then you may know or be interested in the story about Men at Works HUGE No 1 hit Down Under in the 80's and how 20 years later an Australian quiz show noted the similarity in one bit to this song and how the owner of the rights to this song sued Men at Work and got some payment.

The seven deadly sins may seem like a relic from the past but they are a reasonable guide to where indulgence can exceed proprietary common sense and a healthy sense of self. If someone wants nice stuff fair enough but at some point it, in my opinion, becomes an indulgence which can be detrimental to your well being. The line between seeing quality and having good taste, that crosses into self indulgent ugliness, may not be clear but it is there I think. So I think it is not jealousy or envy or virtue signalling necessarily to see a $100,000 handbag as a sign that the owner has a poor sense of self.

I have an HP i7 16GB 512 GB. One year and a bit old. Fast. Not too fancy not too cheap for what I need. Works for work where I have a lot of applications.

No. Was going to add Not saying this applies to you or similar.

A bit of truth in that. However one of Trumps tricks, taken from the wannabe fascist playbook , is to say everyone is flawed and bad and corrupt as each other. The simple minded see flaws in both sides and come to the same conclusion, and conclude Trump is ok because even though he does some bad things at least he speaks for us and hates the things we hate, when in fact a clear minded appraisal indicates it is clearly not the case.

I think she is hideously unlucky that she had a bad accident in these circumstances however if she was heavily intoxicated, as against a few drinks, the insurance company has a point. Covermore actually has a good reputation in Australia and I have personal experience of a friend having a claim in Thailand as it happens and they were nothing but helpful and paid up.

Agoda are a good site with much cheaper prices than the opposition. Booked a hotel in Bangkok $125 on Agoda and $200 on hotels.com same conditions. Many similar examples if you search first through tripadvisor or similar site and then pick Agoda rather than booking direct. There is one issue. When you pay you have the choice to pay now or pay close to the date of travel. If purchased in Australian dollars they advise they convert to US dollars when booked and then charge you in Australian dollars later so the price may be a bit different if the exchange rate changes. What they don't make clear is they add a 5 per cent fee too. So if paying may be better to pay now. If you cancel they will still transfer the funds back fairly shortly.

For the last 20 years or so I have tended to have one small bottle of beer a day. One or two days a week have none. Every now and then have two small or one big bottle if I'm in an excitable mood or such. I wouldn't be good at sitting in a bar in Pattaya. It would make me sad.

In most cases in Australia, and google suggests in America, if you do not declare all your income you have to pay it with penalty and interest. Only extreme fraud, where it is obvious the taxpayer knew what they are doing, may be prosecuted such that jail time could result. The Trump appointed attorney who has looked for 5 years for issues to examine seems to have made a fairly standard finding.