tropo

18 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

"“We know how to win these races and we know how to spend the adversary into oblivion."

Don't know how to spend on own infrastructure and affordable medical care though.

What is more important in this world filled with rogue nations and totalitarian regimes? Would you prefer a bumpy ride or national security, given a choice?

However, the infrastructure has been deteriorating for decades, so let's not make this all about Trump too. He's been working hard on medical care and trying to get money for infrastructure, unfortunately the Democrats have quite a bit of say about how money is spent.

9 minutes ago, ThLT said:

I'm at 8 baht/unit right now. So if 3.4 is the current rate, they're charging me me 2.35X the legal rate. Basically taking advantage of the pandemic as well, by not reducing the unit price.
 

Do you know where I can find an official/government announcement of the reduced rate because of COVID (Thai is even better)? I could present that to my landlord.

I edited my post after you replied and added some important information. My current per kWh rate is still about 4.127 baht, but they gave me a 17.8% reduction of kWh in addition to the 3% discount on the whole bill after tax.

Of course your landlord will be pocketing this discount, in addition to his surcharge, so doing really well. My normal bill, without special discounts, after tax, works out to about 4.268 baht per kWh. It varies slightly depending on how much I use, so your landlord is nearly charging you double.

Someone posted the official government website awhile back, but I can't find it. Perhaps someone will have that and post it here.

This may help you to get an idea of current government charges, in Pattaya:

I had a pleasant surprise on May 20. The per kWh rate of my current bill had been substantially reduced this month.

March: Usage: 760 kWh: 3134.59 THB: 4.124 per kWh

April: Usage 844 kWh: 3505.97 THB: 4.154 per kWh

May: Usage 932 kWh: 3161.07 THB: 3.392 per kWh

The adjustment factor was the same for all 3 months at -0.1160

3% discount after tax was applied on my April and May bills.

With a 0.762 baht lower per kWh charge this month I have saved around 700 baht on my bill.

Edit:

On looking closer at my current May bill, it looks like they have given me a discount of 166 kWh.

(Could someone who can read Thai translate the text in the blue boxes.)

Taking into consideration the 166 kWh discount, 766 kWh: 3161.07 THB = 4.127 baht per kWh. about the same as March and April.

13 hours ago, earlinclaifornia said:

Oh gee I thought you might have known that NYC is probably the worlds most traveled of all cities. duh

Oh gee, that's the excuse Cuomo keeps using to explain his disastrous response... in daily briefings.

NYC is number 8 on the list of most visited cities. London, Paris, Bangkok and Singapore are higher.

The point was, that if you take out one state from the calculations, the state with the most confirmed infections and deaths, the US is doing much better still. 8 of the top 10 states with the most deaths are governed by Democrats. About 61% of all covid-19 deaths so far. Your own governor in California is one of them. Number 7 on the list.

But let's not play with numbers. Only 0.029% mortality in the entire USA is not bad considering the Democrats are fighting politics while the president tackles the virus. Democratic governors all over the country have by far the most blood on their hands.

20 hours ago, earlinclaifornia said:

Many of us are thankful for the stimulus checks she provided. Even if you were left out.

She provided them? Please explain.

15 hours ago, simple1 said:

As I said playing with stats. The pragmatic measurement is the death ration of those infected by Covid, not population numbers, The other measurement of meaning is test, trace, isolate which I understand currently USA has not achieved sufficient numbers for Covid mitigation purposes, ergo deaths will continue at a fairly rapid pace, soon to be exceeding 100,000. Sadly the current number of Covid deaths in the US is 95,000. Thanks for the interest, though off topic, Australia has currently 'only' reached 101 Covid deaths with mitigation efforts achieving good results. Australian government has documented and published a three stage normalisation process which currently is on track.

 

Personally I would say trump has by far exceeded the Dems with misinformation / conspiracy nonsense regards Covid. Come to think of it what misinformation / conspiracy stuff have the Dems put in the public domain re Covid?

I did not play with the statistics at all. I took the mortality on a per capita basis and applied equally to all countries.

I am Australian, so it is of interest to me too. I put it forward as an example of how using population density of the whole nation is meaningless. An extremely high number (around 99% without looking it up) live in cities. The rest of the country is empty. If you made a comparison of which country has the highest population density, considering only where they live, Australia would be ahead of the US that has a much higher rural population.

You can play with stats, of course (I gave an example above - New York State where 24% of all deaths occured), but the raw number of deaths is about as good a yardstick as we have. Yes, it can be debated due to questions over cause of death, but to spin the USA numbers in an effort to make them appear worse than most other developed countries, and then use those figures you've spun to diminish Trump is exactly what the Dems are trying to do.

Trump was busy restricting air travel while Democrats partied in China Town, SF... and then had the audacity to come back with statements that Trump was slow to react. Even Dr Fauci, way after restrictions were first introduced, was telling the nation that all is well - don't worry - Americans are not in danger. World experts, his personal advisors, didn't realise the gravity of the situation, but you expected the President to know what the experts didn't know. You didn't see Birx or Fauci wearing face masks until quite recently.

Seriously, the Dems should quit all the bs and try to find a sane, intelligent candidate to challenge him, because the way it looks to me, the Dems have many years of whining left to endure as Trump holds the White House for another 4 years, and retakes the House or Representatives too.

I would strongly suggest the Democrats stock up on tissues as they will be in high demand after November. You never know, some of the (privileged) citizens who promised they would leave the US if Trump won in 2016 will finally hold good on their promises and leave.

3 hours ago, simple1 said:

It's easy to play with statistics e.g. US population density is 94 people per square mile, Italy is 532 per square mile therefore one can assume Italy has a higher per capita death rate from Covid. Additional testing numbers are meaningless as a standalone figure, only when testing rates per million is it useful, plus of course follow up by way of tracking for which the US is currently way behind the eight ball. It is beyond doubt trump's delays is coming to terms to implement necessary policies to combat the spread of Covid and resultant deaths and so on is his ownership. trump's denials do not stand up to scrutiny as has been proven by published time lines and his responses to Covid.

 

I can't wait to see how many confused and sad reactions this post gets.

 I'm giving the numbers straight (mortality/population). You're playing with them to spin the narrative that the US is worse due to blah, blah, blah... and follow it up with nonsense that the Dems have been spinning for months.

Try your population density trick for Australia. They have hardly people living in most of the country, Yet the cities are as dense as most cities in the US. 

Here's some useful number playing... New York State reported 24% of the US's covid-19 mortalities, with only 5.8% of the population, making the morality rate of the whole US outside of New York State much lower still, from 0.029% down to 0.023%.

2 minutes ago, Don Chance said:

He would be better off in Portugal, Costa Rica, Ecuador etc. where they have free health care.

He'd be better off in many countries, including his country of origin, but he's here.

10 minutes ago, newnative said:

      I don't see the 'sex industry' disappearing anytime soon.  The western sex tourists may be diminishing but their numbers are being somewhat replaced by men from Asian countries, the Middle East, and India.  Supply and demand will take care of the number of bars and go-gos Pattaya will end up with and I think it will continue to be marginalized to certain areas of town.  

      I do see Pattaya becoming more and more of a regular seaside city, with a rakish element for those who want it.  The new, fancy hotels in north Pattaya, Wong Amat, Naklua, and other areas were attracting more regular tourists, mostly Asian, than sex tourists.  Some with tours but many also independent travelers and families.  I think this trend will continue as international travel slowly resumes.  Pattaya is also attracting more domestic visits, especially from Bangkok folks, and this should also continue as Pattaya's reputation and what it has to offer continues to evolve.

I'd say most towns and cities on earth have a sex industry of some type, so there will be one, but it won't be anywhere near what it used to be. Lest you forget, it was already in rapid decline in Pattaya before the outbreak. How long will it take for sex tourists to return. How long can the existing bars and gogos hold on while waiting for their return?

It's a classic chicken and egg situation. Without the tourists the bars can't open and without the bars, the tourists won't come... We're already heard that the bar industry will have to wait a long time before they are even allowed to open. They will be the very last to get the green light.

9 minutes ago, GAZZPA said:

A lot of sense in what you say. The only considerations for landlord though is for how long will they get no income from the property? How do they make their own ends meet in the meantime? They will be blinded by these issues so they won't think it through so clearly.

 

If you are a person renting and have had your income hit you are in deep trouble if you are a local. If you are a foreigner, probably time to go home I guess.

 

Impossible times for everyone, very sad. stay safe

 

They won't get replacement tenants, so they should be without income longer than their tenants, because even when businesses eventually open, they will need many months to get to a situation where they can afford to pay rent.

I suspect that the majority of bars and discos will shut up shop permanently unless the landlords forgive rent payments for a long period.

21 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

horrible where you lose your freedom and your rights.

And worse if you go bankrupt with no freedom or rights.

I can't believe that landlords are not trying their best to keep tenants. It's not like they will get replacement tenants anytime soon (or ever), so they have absolutely nothing to lose by not charging rent until things get back to some type of normal. They have a much better chance of having tenants when it is all over if they do their best to keep their existing ones. Are the landlords here tyrants that live in a bubble, oblivious to what's going on around them? In the end they will be the biggest losers if they don't start helping out.

21 minutes ago, jimmybcool said:

I think the reality is a man that wants to pay for sex can find it anywhere.  But combining it with an out in the open and fun search with other guys in a party mode and golf - I know no where else like it.  Sounds like Spain was a hoot at one time.

I think the age of social media is one of the reasons the bar industry has experienced a steep decline. Once upon a time, some time in the 1990's a bar girl didn't have a cell phone and to find customers she had to work in a bar. Cell phone internet capability didn't take off until the mid to late 2000's, after the first iPhone hit the market mid-2007, around about the time Facebook was starting to emerge. It's a whole new world now, and it is changing fast.

9 hours ago, newnative said:

      I personally find nothing wrong with it, too.  Pattaya will likely be a popular 'male entertainment/sex destination' well into the future.  It wasn't a problem for me when I moved here 10 years ago and is not a problem now.   It's certainly an important tourist element.  The point I try to make is that Pattaya is also becoming popular with other tourist elements.  And, yes, even families--who are starting to be seen in increasing numbers in Jomtien, Cosy Beach, Pratamnak, Wong Amat/Naklua, and other areas. 

     Obviously, you don't get a brand new Jomtien Hospital, a Terminal 21, a new Audi dealership to join BMW and Mercedes, and lots of new upscale hotels, condos, shopping, and restaurants along with many other new things solely on the trade of sex tourists.  Just as an aside, most tourists don't buy an Audi to take home in their suitcases so Pattaya, itself, apparently is growing enough in permanent residents to attract Audi, and most other major auto brands available in Thailand.

      But, try to say that Pattaya is attracting more than sex tourists and you will be told repeatedly and in no uncertain terms to go have your head examined.   After all, all Pattaya has on offer if you listen to some is a 'dirty beach'--mentioned several times by posters in just this thread.  (Which begs the question as to why so many people are clamoring for the beach to be re-opened if it is so awful.  Curious.)

     Recently, not having learned my lesson, I even dropped into the conversation the preposterous notion that some wealthy Bangkok people actually have getaway Pattaya condos--giving a number of examples of usually smaller, discreet, direct beachfront condo projects tucked away out of sight here and there with Bangkok owners.  I also mentioned that I had lived in a small Wong Amat condo project that had many Bangkok owners.  Result?  Abject disbelief.  And, now I am off to get my head examined.  

You summed it up really well. What remains to be seen is whether the sex industry will recover. If it doesn't, then Pattaya will become just another seaside resort. How many International tourists will want to come is anyone's guess, but I suspect that if the sex tourism element declines or disappears, accommodation will become more expensive across the board. The value of accommodation has always been a big factor in Pattaya's success, due to an oversupply of it. I don't think the sex industry will recover, post-covid. As noted by many people on here, it was already in steep decline pre-covid. It might become a sideshow in the LK Metro/Soi Buakhao areas, catering to a diminishing number of expats.

6 hours ago, Oldie said:

Normally these signs don't have any meaning and hang their all the time. It is really depressing to see them and knowing that they are often just a lie ????

No they don't. 50% sales are usually twice a year and only on old stock. Right now it's to get rid of old stock that has been lying around for the last 2 months. 

2 minutes ago, Oldie said:

Normally these signs don't have any meaning and hang their all the time. It is really depressing to see them and knowing that they are often just a lie ????

The are genuine 50% sales. I know the prices. Aldo, Guess, Playboy, just to name a few. Fashion shops need to get rid of old stock, and it has been sitting around getting old for 2 months. I have never seen fake 20%, 50% or 70% sales in the major fashion stores.

What this means is you can buy good quality gear at market prices. Get down their and support them!

10 hours ago, Oldie said:

I was yesterday in Central Festival Pattaya. The whole procedure is pretty useless. The names on the lists are often hard to read and often the phone number is missing. Some shops didn't care at all anymore. And name and phone number - you can write what you want. 

I'm sure the system will quickly "fade away".

Yesterday in Terminal 21, after signing in to enter the mall, I had to do the whole process over again to enter EveandBoy... and even take a card with a number as this store has a 115 person limit inside.

I'm ok with this - it's good to be able to shop at stores that have been closed for 2 months, but I feel sorry for the shop owners. Apart from major franchises they are going to disappear fast. You can already see lots of shops that have pulled out of Terminal 21 over the closed period. Some didn't open as they know it will cost more to open than stay closed. Even Swensens didn't bother to open. Most small restaurants have a 5 person limit at one time, but you'd be lucky to see one customer at dinner time (6pm).

We didn't go into some stores as we would have been the only customers and I didn't want to put the staff through the hope of getting a sale, only for us to walk out again with no purchase. There's lots of 50% sales and still no customers. It is very depressing to see this. We went to the food court at Central Marina Mall. It was 7pm and there we 2 other customers in there.

So right now, no tourists and Thais have no money to shop. It's a disaster. Terminal 21 was already doing it tough pre-covid 19. I shouldn't have written this post as now I'm even more depressed ????

19 hours ago, djayz said:

Was in TL yesterday and was "invited" to sign the book. I was absolutely appauled twhen I realised that I had to sign using the same pen as a million othe people before me. What's the point? Are they deliberately trying to pass it on? 

Got me a double dose from the lady with the handsanitizer. 

When I went into one of the restaurants, the same all over again!!! 

 

Just use the hand sanitizer when you're finished signing.