NanLaew

There's all sorts of government-sponsored incentives to get the local domestic tourist out and about and spending cash in hotels. In order to avail myself of these benefits, I get my wife to make the bookings.

But it's NOT Sydney is it? There's absolutely NO defence for the various government authorities and trade associations continuing to ignore the fact that the Phuket taxis are probably the most egregious and most disproportionate rip off in the whole blighted realm.

My oldest has indicated he wants a laptop for his birthday in late April and he wants something that would be decent for gaming as well as for college. He's not a 24/7, always-on sort of gamer but thinking about getting something that's maybe an entry-level gaming laptop rather than a 65k baht ASUS ROG sort of machine? For example, we've maxed out an old i5 for the home gaming machine and when he comes across the few games that don't fly or crash, he moves onto a game that does. I believe Ryzen may be a better CPU option versus i7 machines depending on your price break? Any tips and guidance on this? Thanks! NL

That's all a bit imprecise, no? I live in a private house in a moobahn on the outskirts of Udon Thani which precisely matches your location of being "outside Pattaya NaJomtien area" same as Bangkok, no? I did rent in a village on the "dark side", up Nongplalai way for about five years. The first couple of years was well after the developer had completed all the construction and the homeowners were still struggling to form an association to take over garbage management, pool maintenance and security. The foreigner owners were more proactive and the holdouts tended to be the Thai owners. The waste management company was given a list of these homes where they were NOT to collect garbage from. It was nice to see tehm taking responsibility and loading bags of rotting garbage in the the back of BMW's and Fortuners rather than pay 20 baht a month for someone else to do it. About six months later when a proper key-card system was implemented, the non-payers found they couldn't get back in no matter how much they shouted at the rent-a-cop in the guard box. I heard the brother-in-law is good bet for a pair of safe hands.

Somebody knew who his father was. ...and the price was right.

As with a post above, most hotel fridges would not hold 5-10 kilos of cheese. I remember, once in USA 5 - 10 years ago, having the branded container of hummus I had just bought for a carry-on lunch confiscated by the TSA before a domestic flight. A couple of times while similarly in transit with a sizeable 'import', a quiet word with the Concierge or the F&B Manager was sufficient to see the 'illegal' consignments safely stashed away in the hotel's kitchen fridge overnight. The bonus is they won't forget to bring to to your room before you check out and thus eliminates the risk of oneself leaving it in the room fridge (like I did once!)

More toxic and harmful than say oil, gas and their byproducts?

Just in case members can't tell the difference between a politician and a fighter jet maybe? Back on topic, isn't it acceptable for a former high-ranking officer to have such a display arranged by his progeny who is also a former high-ranking officer in the same service? Unless these politicians are suddenly worried about carbon footprints, they're not going anywhere with this complaint. Your party is called Move Forward so please try harder and do something more pithy and more meaningful for your 'subscribers'.

They don't? They still come in their millions, tens of millions. Which is why the Thais don't give a rat's fart about any complaints, even if they often pretend they do - for a day or so until the news has moved on and it's all forgotten. Again. Spot on Barry. But you know the usual suspects on here have to gurn about something or else their sad and empty lives will become even more unbearable. Some sort of salve for their own inadequacies maybe?

Different people see different links on their browsers depending on their browsing history. So, what's your interest in 'scrounging' sites? Bonus question: What are they?

No. Did you go to Thailand for three months to have fun sometimes alone without them? Not Thailand, no. Brazil was where I relaxed and unwound. Does that make a difference?

I feel sad for the trolls that denigrate a dead man they never knew and his family.

Such compassion.. amazing. I'm more overwhelmed by the ignorance.

Then again, they may be Catholic.

Many people, including myself, work away from home, in different countries, for anything between a few weeks to "three full months" at a time. Do I need to apologize to my two sons for being a bad father?

Thus speaketh the friendless.

Just after New Year, an acquaintance of mine had a nasty fall from his push bike while doing his daily exercise runs. Head injuries, concussion, broken collar bone, broken ribs and a punctured lung. Being over seventy and, like a lot of old, long-time lurkers in Thailand, bereft of insurance, it fell to his circle of friends to contact his family while he languished in 25k baht/day ICU. A GoFundMe page was also set up by his daughter and son before they flew over, assisted by the same circle of friends, to sit bedside. This same circle of friends, including myself, also made local cash donations to keep the hospital account current. My acquaintance wasn't totally bereft of savings having been unable to do his annual home visits during Covid but those 'savings' were quickly wiped out by the ICU bills. This circle of friends also took it it turns to keep visiting him regularly and ease the bedside vigil of his relatives. The good news that he's out of ICU and was discharged last week into a local nursing home. Unfortunately, they had a Covid outbreak and he caught a mild infection and was moved back to the hospital. However, they reckon he'll be discharged next week and physio will be part of his slow recovery. The circle of friends now includes the 31 people who contributed $6,281 to the GoFundMe. Nobody had to 'beg for money' here.

There's always one goody two shoes/teachers pet type on every forum. I think they actually get off on being holier than thou. There's always the mindless trolls too. What floats your boat BTW?

Please read the article first, the above statement is based on facts provided by the familey: "The 61-year-old had spent the last ten years travelling out to Thailand during the winter months, and last year was no different." "Tony said: ‘He goes over there in the winter for three months usually because he can’t stand the cold So for the last ten years he has obtained a "standard 60 day tourist visa plus 30 day extension". What's your point?

I wonder what your family will put on your gravestone. (rhetorical)

What did yo mean by "one pop" ? Before or after going round the mulberry bush?

Get your mind out of the gutter, please.

But not much good in the pussy magnet department.

When I was a young vagabond, getting them to stay after one pop was a challenge. Twenty years later, getting them to leave was a headache. Twenty years on, the pleasures of waking up alone is simply bliss.

Wow! The million dollar question! Because, someone get payed enough to do such thing. You mean someone is getting paid enough NOT to do such a thing, no? It's probably when the payola stops that it all gets a bit sweaty.