JimTripper

What do they do if he becomes Ok to fly out but can't pay the hospital bill? Does he just get discharged and the hospital eats the bill, or is he prevented from leaving the country?

You may need to prove that on your return though for it to be recognized. So it's not really resolved. You may not have all the documents or Thailand may not understand what you submitted.

I used to think that. Now I think it's just a dumb opening people use because a genuine approach for everyone coming in for a beer would be a huge waste of energy. If it was a probing there would be interested follow up questions after the answer, not just "America!" or silence.

It's blokes who bought a cheap bar and are hanging around because things fall apart quicker if they don't. Usually a bar does not run itself, they need to hang around watching so the till does not get raided and other myriad problems. You can hire someone else to watch things and get things done, or put up a bunch of cameras, but it typically means you just need to watch one less person. There's usually no such thing as just sitting back and letting the money roll in.

I don't consider it a retirement destination. The gov't is too restrictive and you will likely be watched/monitored.

What changed? I have not been there for 10 years.

Couldn't it be a short or drain somewhere? The electric company should be able to check this. It could be a problem outside somewhere or with the meter itself. If you owned the condo why would you need permission from management?

I met a guy at the pattaya-bkk bus yesterday. He was an older guy and said he was on his way to manila. He complained that he did not like the people there much as they were too invasive always prying into his business. I wonder why he was going there when he preferred Thailand? No time to ask him before my bus came.

Cow

Once again, my gov't rate bill is under 700 baht a month and I don't live in a small condo. The bloke who lived here before me had bills ranging from 3k - 6k. Moral of the story: Start liking fans.

Hey man, do you want to rock n' roll? Where can you be found? Any favorite bars and times?

Overhead bags should always be put in the bin opposite you, not above you. That way you can see if someone's reaching in. When it's above you people act like they are arranging their bag next to yours and you can't see their hands. That said, cash, phone, passports and laptops are always in my pocket or on my lap. Laptop goes on the floor during takeoff and landing. It's never crushed, because nobody can get their hands on it. I did have a crushproof lockable military case once where everything just went in the bin, but unfortunately it was to heavy to carry around so I stopped using it.

I never want to see or talk to a bar manager when I walk into a bar. Ditto for restaurants. That's not why I'm there. The worst are the ones who act real friendly and kind of schmooze the crowd. It always comes across as pitiful to me, like they are begging for repeat customers.

Oddly enough, the ones I have stayed in have been dead quiet to the point of feeling weird.

With things open to such cultural misinterpretation, normally I would hesitate to even proclaim positive reviews.

🤣 Maybe that's why the success rate is so low. I thought it was people going broke, but it could be relationship problems.

The Chinese paid off the Cambodian Gov't for rights. I'm not sure if they own the land or if it's leased. I think it was a one off payment and the Cambodian Gov't did not really get what it was worth, or they were greedy and just jumped at a lump sum offer whatever it was, not really caring about the people or the future of the area. Everything went up very quickly. The good thing about Thailand is there is so much weird stuff with the land. I don't think the Chinese could really ever 100% dig in on the land ownership.

Probably differs by venue whether anyone cares. The more pricey the place is the more they would probably not like it. Get a gentleman's flask that fits in your pocket and just spike the mixer. You don't need to be walking around with an entire bottle anyway. Nobody will see it or care. If they do just go somewhere else. Otherwise, just show the server or door staff the bottle when you order or enter. They will know what you mean. I think some places charge a service fee to bring your own bottle.

I almost did the run the op is referring to years ago. It was so pricey that I flew to Siem Reap from Bangkok instead and made a vacation out of it. Airfares were probably cheaper then. I'm not one of those guys that needs to be back in Soi 6 that evening. I think that's one of the reasons I eventually ended up living in Cambodia later on. It also helped get me out of Pattaya as a newbie which was probably a good thing looking back on it.

Yep, that's the first sign. Ws will eventually start feeling kind of unwelcome to anyone but Chinese. If you're not Chinese you will visit and kind of think, ho-hum, this isn't really my scene. Back to the expat bar or whatever. Same thing happened in Sihanoukville when I was there before it was colonized by the Chinese. It's a strange feeling as the establishments are very oriented and not welcoming if your not the clientele they are looking for.

Mee too. If I were "really wealthy" there are some great castles on Lake Como. Goorge Clooney has one. The only reason I would be in Thailand in that situation was if I had some sort of sex addiction or perversion that could't be fulfilled at the nicer location. 🤣

It could be anything. Get it checked out at your next physical.

I have no idea, sorry 🤷🏻‍♂️

Don't do evening or late night minivan trips. I had one where the driver was nodding off at the wheel. I think sometimes it's not just one trip, rather they drive back and forth.

I transited through Guangzhou many years ago, one where I had to go offsite to a hotel. I stopped taking Chinese airlines after that.