Furioso

Bingo, were not surrounded by a healthy bunch of well adjusted winners.

I can understand the Thais have been overwhelmed by too many millions of tourists. I think it's called "overshoot". I now see these huge mega condo buildings being built Im thinking it's going to get much worse. It's Asia, it's crowded at least there's a pulse of life instead of the soulless west but I think I can only do 4 - 5 months a year from here on out.

Yes I agree with you 100%. I used to visit Pattaya many times between 2007-2010 you could walk many of the main streets at night there would be just a handful of people probably 1/5 or 1/10 the amount of tourists there are now. no wonder the locals are testy. You're also right about Bangkok being much more than just a tourist destination. They at least have a lot of normal people with normal lives there.

I just arrived in Da Nang(my 3rd trip) from Bangkok a couple hours ago. I can see a big difference. It's not nearly as crowded nor overwhelming. The roads and side walks are wider and much easier to get around. Weather about six degrees cooler (for now) and it doesn't seem to have as much air pollution but maybe it's a different type, maybe worse. Da Nang is much more laid back, not amped up to 15 on a 10 scale. There are many tourists here but just the right amount so they're not completely overworked and jaded. In short it looks like moderation wins again.

Yes they could very well be fed up with tourists and if so we should not blame them. One falang visitor to Bangkok said to me he loved Bangkok but can never live there because almost all the falangs there were pretty unstable. ymmv.

Well my post was referring to the heavily populated sexxy tourist areas not the country in general.

Yes I can see this communication issue is worse in Pattaya, Jomtien, & Bangkok since they're flooded with millions of tourists. When I go to stores around Jomtien I often see nonverbal communication from the Thais. Some frustration, slight anger, irritated, and certainly talk amongst them. For some reason when I'm in Pattaya I don't really see this nearly as much, maybe it's a suburb thing.

If you're not paying significant baht for visa/visa service then expect trouble at point of entry.

They're giving you a not so subtle hint.

I just never heard of anyone stealing from carry-on before. Now that I know it happens I'm going to lock my carry-on from now on whether it's a short hop to Vietnam, Bali, or wherevers.

whoa I'm going to Vietnam tomorrow I def will lock up my carry-on from now on.

Yes, this is why Laos in not on my list. I'm going to Vietnam tomorrow for 7 weeks. I've been there a couple of times it seems a little more relaxed and when I come back to Thailand I'll be recharged again. I initially did almost 2 years straight without going anywhere and it became problematic to say the least.

I think it's the hustle and bustle of living in a crowded asian country. Whenever my friend complains I tell him we get 9 out of 10 things we want and still complain. Still, I agree there are frustrating moments and it does bother me enough that I'm taking more trips out of Thailand. I think starting in November I'll spend 4 months Thailand, 3 months Vietnam, 1 months Bali then maybe KL, Singapore or maybe S. America. In short, maybe spending a year straight in Thailand too much!

Still I think you're right it's prob not a good idea to buy the lowest Mini available. I can splurge the extra 7,000 baht and get the Mini M4 512gb. I think I'm going to need the extra wiggle room anyway.

I thought Apple upgraded their 256GB model to 2 RAM chips.

Thanks you make me realize to buy name brand there are cheaper NVME's out there with names like KingSpot lol. Also, I've seen videos where they buy the base 256GB Mac Mini M4 and make it a Super Mac Mini by moving their home folder to the external 2TB drive and the read/write speeds are way faster than the external 256GB NMVE. Obviously Apple will take measures to fight this though. Still, this is the primary reason I'm buying the 21,000 baht 256GB Mac Mini M4.

If so, which enclosure and NVME did you buy? I'm looking at buying the 256GB and adding 2TB but I've heard some enclosures use different controllers and I don't want to buy bad NVME that craps out on me.

UPDATE: Mission accomplished! James and I left Asok Wed morning at 1000 and arrived at Heathrow approx 17 hours later. His niece and her husband were there (Terminal 2) to pick him up right after we passed through customs. All in all we had a really good team (3 loyal friends, 1 escort, niece & husband.. even the BKK airport staff helped out) to take care of James. Returning him home to the U.K. was definitely the right thing to do. He's a very nice gentleman hopefully his remaining years will be peaceful.

UPDATE: The man's friends have sprung into action. All arrangements have been made and if all goes well the man will be with his niece in his beloved U.K. by the end of this week. It's a gruelling 13 hour flight to Heathrow but I'm confident the mission will get accomplished!

UPDATE: OK, the friends of the Alzheimer's gentleman have come to their senses, they asked me to take him back to the U.K. The niece will pick him up at Heathrow. He will initially live with her or stay in a serviced apartment. She lives closer to London than what I was originally told. He has not been officially diagnosed with anything but obviously he is impaired. More info to follow.

I don't know the guy who has dementia but my friend who knows him is my neighbor.

At least one of the guys literally has way more money than what he knows to do with. Still, you're right if you're an older single person you must make proper contingency plans. I'm 59 and going down the same path.. so this is a wake up call that I need to make plans for my ultimate demise I don't want to burden others. I had another friend who was 46 living in Pattaya and he didn't take care of himself. Yep, beer bars, restaurants, awful food..hitting on everything that moved, thinking he was the studliest man in Pattaya. Well, a few months ago he went home, sat down and died. He was a big, tall guy. His roommate told me they came and literally plopped him down 2 flights of stairs, making an awful noise. He didn't care to make plans either but ultimately they did have a service for him at a later date.

I don't know, they seem to be doing what they can they just haven't put all the pieces together yet. I've seen my friend answer texts/answer phone calls discussing plans/finances, etc. Honestly if the sick guy has led a loner lifestyle without any close attachments these golfing "friends" maybe be a godsend.

I know I should but I don't even know the guy. But, if they don't get their s together...

I already told my friend I will escort him back if need be. He hasn't taken me up on my offer...yet.