YaiJung

40 minutes ago, SidJames said:

I saw it this morning but strangely it appears to be coming back as I type this.

Either there are now two boats running & one left Hua Hin at 8.30am this morning or there might be a problem.

 

I noticed that also.  Left at 10am and headed more south than usual, then turned and came back. 

14 minutes ago, WinnieTheKhwai said:

 

Why would it be a nightmare compared to any other kind of tourism?    You honestly think Chinese people are doing something worse than Germans/Americans/Britons/etc. did to any place they visited in Thailand?

Of course they do.  They travel in groups of several hundred up to over 1000 at a time.  I was at a temple last year, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere with just a few small groups of quiet Thais and the odd farang around.  Suddenly like clockwork at 3:45pm, 50 buses pull in and Chinese start swarming the place like ants, shouting at each other and taking selfies.  It was obnoxious in the extreme and completely ruined the atmosphere at the temple.  

That is just one example.  I have never seen another nationality that travels in such large groups, with such a huge negative impact on where they are going.  

In fact, I would say the street food prices in Phuket are more like 3-4X the price of elsewhere in Thailand.  This is due to the tiny portions served in Phuket.  A 35-40 baht Khao Mun Gai elsewhere is twice as big as a 65-75 baht Phuket version. 

Prices aside, one of the deal breakers for me on living in Phuket is the shear inconvenience and utter pain-in-the-ass getting around the island has become.  Everything is very spread out and I find myself driving for hours all over the place just to run simple errands.  Road rage is a real issue, together with the mountainous roads, make for a very dangerous combination.  When I am there, I find myself not wanting to leave the soi/apartment, which is no way to live life. 

The locals can be very surly and aggressive, but that is a whole other topic in itself...

On the plus side, as others have mentioned, accommodation can be reasonable these days compared to the past. 

There is a video(dash cam from the pickup truck) and graphic photos in the Thai news.  The ladies clearly were in the wrong lane and hit the pickup head-on.  There was nothing the pickup driver could of done to avoid it.  Luckily he had a dash cam. 

Depends on who you rent from.  I have rented from approximately 7 different landlords over the years - one was a foreigner, the rest Thai.  Foreigner gave the deposit back right away, with no problems.  Two Thai landlords gave back between 50-70% after much hassle, chasing them around, excuses, disappearing act, etc.   Three others (Thais) outright refused, saying it was never meant to be refunded in the first place and "this is Thailand", despite saying they would when I initially moved in.  Currently renting from a foreigner, who I would like to think will give me my deposit back when I move. 

Lesson learned:  if possible only rent from foreigners. 

If situation is such that only Thai owned places are available,  keep any deposits to a minimum and don't pay the final months rent, bills, etc,...Thai style.  (can even move out/disappear the in middle of night in some cases, as they will surely be unreachable should you attempt to recover your deposit.)  Keep it fair though, if you damage anything, pay up. 

1 hour ago, CRUNCHER said:

A spectacular failure.  About 1 - 2 pm today the area around Bali Hai was grid locked chaos. It stretched right back to Theppreya and the fly over.  The traffic lights at the junction of Theppreya/Third Road were not much use as the junction was permanently blocked by tour buses.  When the lights changed no one could move because of buses in the middle of the junction.  Not a policeman in sight.

The entire town was a huge cluster..ck of buses today.  What a wonderful high season we had with the zero-baht crackdown.  Now they are back with more than ever.   

Sadly, as with wine, import tax on coffee beans is sky high.  Unless you learn to like Thai beans, expect to pay a lot for your beans.  Up here in Pattaya we have a great roaster who does 4-5 single origin beans from around the world, but they cost 360-400 baht per 250 grams.  Always freshly roasted and they know what they are doing, so about as good as it gets in Thailand. 

Personally,  I have gotten used to Thai beans and they can be decent if done right.  I pay between 140-200 baht per 250 grams from Benjamit.  They have a facebook page and probably ship to phuket.   When I lived in Phuket I bought from Hock Hoe Lee in Rawai.  They roast a bit dark and last I was there he didn't put the roast date on the package.   Can be pretty tasty if you get them when they are fresh.  Try to asking the owner for the latest roast. 

I second the recommendation for Tummour at harbor mall.  If you like Issan food, but dislike the filthy environments it is often served in, you will love this place.  Very clean and food is tasty.  We go here about once per week.  Delicious!!

A glass of orange juice(not much different than a can of coke sugar-wise) in the morning is one of the worst things you can do if you are trying to lose weight.  Follow it with bread and marmalade(about the same as eating a donut) and you are asking for trouble.  This much sugar/carbs first thing in the morning will trigger a release of insulin that will ensure everything else you eat for many hours afterwards will be stored as fat. 

Try for a healthier breakfast of vegetables, meat, fruit(low sugar/high fiber varieties).  Not only will your body fat percentage fall, you will also likely feel much better due to getting a lot more nutrients. 

All my orders have been with my kasikorn card, never a problem. 

Villa Market had it a day or so ago. 

Over the last year I've ordered about once per month and all packages arrived within about 10-14 days.  This is to Jomtien/Pattaya.  Last order arrived a couple weeks ago, no problem.  All orders around 1000-1600 baht and never been charged anything by customs. 

villa market in chalong (or other branches) and Tops in the basement of Central Festival will have the largest selection that you will find on the island.  Far more than any tesco or big c. 

The smoke is back in full force today.  Probably the worst we have had since last year.

It is smog.  Just look at the AQI - at the moment 132 in chonburi, yesterday in the 140s before the rain came. 

http://aqicn.org/city/thailand/chonburi/laem-chabang-municipal-stadium/

Wonderful news!!

On 2/24/2016 at 10:36 AM, grumpyoldman said:

Total hogwash mate.

Monday night friend and I jumped in a metered cab, meter went on, he got dropped in Chalong, myself later in Rawai, we each had to pay 100thb airport fee, all-in-all total on the meter was 800thb, so the two of us basically got to our destinations for 500thb each. Fair enough, or should I say fare enough?

Sounds like he got you for an extra 100 baht.  It is 100 baht airport surcharge per vehicle, not per person.

The haze is thick and choking today in Kata. Can forget about any outdoor activities today(again). Just a warning to anyone who is thinking of heading to Phuket in the near future.

Your posting on the Phuket forum, everyone is here already.

Actually they are not. When I was out of town last week, I was checking this forum regularly for haze updates since the authorities and local media are not to be trusted on topics such as this.

The haze is thick and choking today in Kata. Can forget about any outdoor activities today(again). Just a warning to anyone who is thinking of heading to Phuket in the near future.

Haze is back here in Kata. Visibility is way down and that acrid smokey stench is back. Noticed a faint smell around 3 pm and now 5:45pm can't see the ocean from the kata hillside.

Here in Kata it seems much worse than 56. It is worse than a couple weeks ago when it was in the 120's.

We have been using face masks on the worst days. Last night was horrible and it didn't help that the locals seemed to be burning trash like crazy.

Today is even worse. I can smell it inside my apartment now and like steelepulse says, it seems to be getting worse by the hr. Can forget about going for a run today.

I went there for a Certificate of Residence in Jan. This same women physically jumped in front of me, blocking me, trying to tell me it was impossible. I went around her and got my Cert of Residence in about 5 min from the friendly Thai officer in the back.

I was there again in March for a 90 day report and she wasn't there(thankfully). Couldn't help but notice things were going very smooth with the Thai officers handling everything.

Here in Phuket I was told, if bitten by a snake, to find the nearest snake show. They will have the anti-venom and they are who the hospital will call anyway. Wake them up if it is the middle of the night. Oh, and try to kill the snake and bring it with if you can.

Sounds like a great idea to me.

It's a beautiful and peaceful get-away place already.

To add more "park-like" attractions can only make it better.

They sure have been doing a lot of work over there.

Its a terrible idea for me and hundreds of Thais who have used it for running / biking since it was only a trail. Btw, forget beautiful and peaceful hereafter.

Couldn't agree more. Why must everything be a tourist attraction and have a "view point" .It's always been a place to get away from tourists and just enjoy nature. Bus loads of people and all that goes with it .Another place ruined.

I completely agree, terrible idea. This is probably the last decent place to go running on the island and the last thing it needs is to be developed into another "tourist attraction". Really makes me sad to think about it. The people in charge of Phuket are greedy beyond belief and seem to really hate nature.