KhunLA

Before the proliferation of expat managed restaurants / bars, they use to have decent breakfast & lunch buffets. Only other option was Centara, this back in 2001 ish, and onward for a while. Use to go there for the buffet then a swim in the pool 😎 Since eating there, why not, and they never tried to charge me the pool day rate for non guests. Wouldn't be my choice to stay at, but big plus is walking distance to the huge markets; UD Town, Center Point & Preecha markets. If not having transport, walking distance to/from bus & train stations. With baht bus passing in front of hotel for access to the city if too lazy or hot to walk.

Location dependent. Choose to live where the foreigners live or visit, expats or tourist, and yes, you have to deal with some of their silliness. Something I rarely see, a foreigner, unless O&A, and maybe in passing at PTT / 7-11 when charging car. Live with your choices.

Enjoying life, as it should be .... Rock On ... ❤️

😎

Never a pro chef, just been cooking for myself, for as long as I can remember. Though have to admit, YT really help me fine tune techniques and doing it proper. I dined out a lot, in the USA. Probably 50% if not 75% of meals. Here it's 90% in home. The right tools help doing anything. Really like cast iron. Use 1 stainless steel for boiling water, and another small teflon sauce pan, for sauces. That's about it, have a bunch of other pots & pans I don't use.

Agree, as TH is just a location. Like everywhere, it is what you bring with you. A Yank, and could also be just as happy in the USA. Only difference, I'd probably generate some real income, to enjoy the same lifestyle I have here, and to take advantage of the options available in USA. Easy enough to do.

Too many people concentrate on treating the symptoms, instead of eliminating the causes. Most non bacterial or viral ailments, comes down to eating & exercise 'lifestyle'. Actually that will also affect and boost your immune system, when doing correctly, to help when you do get a bacterial or viral infection. Get you BP, Glucose level down in the normal range. Lipid panel & Apob to healthy levels, through diet & exercise. If that fails after 6-12 months of 'honest' effort, then consider meds to assist. All meds will take their toll on your kidneys and or liver. So the less, for shortest time, the better. Just pure common sense, not really rocket science. Whole foods .... if it has an ingredient label, leave it on the shelf. Or at least read & understand the damn thing.

Trump wants a weaker USD, good for exports, USA manufacturing, jobs market. Doesn't effect Yanks, $1 is still $1 in USA. Buy USA, support your fellow workers and local economy. Doesn't help me much, and as long as it stays about ฿30 / $1 then it doesn't affect me at all. Actually never will, as that exchange rate doesn't affect the money we have here. ฿1 is still ฿1 here He's only president for 4 years, and don't expect the ฿ to $ rate to change much, as within ฿30-35 / $1 most of the last 19 years. Let me know went it dips below ฿30, for more than a week or month, as that will actually be something different, since I've been here for 25 years.

'tanking' ... we obviously have different opinions of that definition. My last 3, soon to be 4 deposits @ noted exchange rate, since Trump's inauguration. Tanking, < 4% if today's is 32 And since being elected, Dec & Jan exchange rates were nice also ... once everyone realized Harris didn't have a snowball's chance of winning, up up & up.

Oh well ... Live with Your Choices ... boo hoo Force them on other, reap what you sow 😎

Yep, EU gave you a right good spanking. How dare people start to think for themselves ...

No, Musk did, and that is one person I do trust

Pet friendly decides where we stay, so very limited choices.

I don't think I've stayed anywhere for even 1 week, the past decade or more. Get bored quick, as been most places, too many times. Really is a small country. Having a pool with a view definitely helps. Thinking of popping back to Phuket next week, and Ao Nang area (on topic 🙄), since yakkin' about it. If can find quiet place with view to stay. Ibis as last resort, though prefer someplace new. Our go to at Phuket, if not staying at North shores ... Secret Cliff @ hilltop between Patong & Karon beaches. Quiet and away from tourist. Was ~4k a night when real high season kicked back in, after scamdemic. Off season prices again, not like we'd swim in the surf this time of year anyway. Think we stayed there 4 times during scamdemic. Last time was May 2023, and beaches were packed. Surprisingly for off season. Traffic and lack of parking was annoying. Hopefully calmed down now.

Too funny, what else is Trump's fault. The GBP can only up, considering where it's been since Brexit. And a rocky road it's been on. Up 6% for 5 yrs ago. But down from 4 yrs ago @ 1.41, just a wee bit of cherry picking. Up 35% from Sept 2022, same on Sept 2024, still 30% up, who's fault was it then. Y'all crack me up ... sad, deranged lives you live

Pretty obvious, Z is brainwashed by the EU war mongers, and no desire to end the conflict. Personally, I wish Putin would give Kyiv a week's warning for civilians to leave, then carpet bomb the place down to a pile of rubble. End this silliness once & for all.

Really can't be away from home for more than 10 days, at most. Let alone a month in one place.

BS ... leave mommy's basement and you'd know how ridiculously you sound.

If pizza in oven, and without a steel, it takes for ever and results are very iffy. Now I have a pizza size skillet, and crisp the bottom up on the stovetop, then stick under the top element (broiler), almost touching, on high, for a few minutes, till cheese starts to 'char'. Excellent results, but need to pay attention, as will go from perfect to burnt real fast. One reason I like the Electrolux oven, has 5 tray slots, very high & low, if needing, along with 3 mid oven.

We popped in a couple times during scamdemic, quite nice, though most shuttered. Prior to that, more than few times, cusps of high season (sept/oct & mar/apr/may), during school breaks. Ibis is nice (budget chain) there. Quiet, pool in the back, and limestone wall view from higher room's balcony, and a bit from pool area. If haven't been over on West side, Nong Thale area, and more your style & budget, with lovely views. I tried to rent a villa over there during scamdemic, but everything was shut down.

Local vendor, about 2 kms from house. Since they deliver in nice SUV, we understand the delivery charge, especially since we only order 5 jugs at a time. Phone in, and the owner delivers the next day. They have pick ups for their, larger, scheduled delivery customers.

We just buy RO water, 18+L jugs (5 at a time, ~2X a month), delivered for 20 baht each, 15 if we picked them up. Cheaper than a system, along with buying & replacing filters every 3-6-12 months, per recommendation. Tested with T D S pen and consistently excellent quality.

All the tourist hang out in the white area, so plenty of other option in Ao Nang District, or beyond. Just came back from Ao Luek area, and very scenic, few to no tourist where we were.

I've lost the belief there is even a 2 party system. Not seeing much difference in either. Both incompetent as all hell. Wouldn't surprise me at all, if it wasn't stage divisionism None of them make any sense or real change at all. Trump shut the border & maybe cut taxes for those it should be cut for👍👍 Then appoints DOGE to find waste, but then submits a budget full of pork, that will add 4 trillion to the debt.

Not everyone knows how, or has the facilities to cook. My kitchen is larger than some of the boxes many expats exist out of. Whether budget or higher end with amenities. Been cooking for myself since a young teen. After a certain age, it was 'self serve' in our house. And too poor afterward to afford to eat out, for too long. You learn quick when necessity forces you to DIY.