kuma

On 2/10/2021 at 1:09 PM, colinneil said:

Maybe he could explain where all the 6 star hotels are.    

 So ole Saksit is trying to defend people being ripped off, pathetic really.

Still beats $50 tea in lobby of Bellagio....

Funny to hear it referred to as outskirts of Chan city. We live in the Muang district and call that downtown lol. 

Central Pattana it is. There are over 20 cities in Thailand with greater pop than Chan yet Central skipped over many of them to build here (and also Ayuddhya and Sri Racha in this round) - says a lot about the city and its future imo.

Also, there is word that another development is about to be announced. Apparently the final deal was just agreed, so an announcement hopefully will come soon.

On 12/3/2021 at 12:08 PM, KhunBENQ said:

Registered and now waiting for confirmation and password.

I fondly recall the days when I waited and waited for this feature, as so many are now. 

TBH, where we are now, the Imm Office is fantastic, so clean, ordered, never a queue of more than one person, air con, the works...so nice in fact that I will forego this now, i'd rather go in person lol....

On 12/1/2021 at 9:45 PM, natway09 said:

Just maybe the MP's have figured outa way to "squeeze" the casino

The Commission will have to make a visit to Vancouver top of their list. to learn from the best how to wash $B in Casinos...with BC. out there would be a long line of clients ready to rock

On 11/24/2021 at 7:59 PM, HammerMan said:

https://youtu.be/ahgE_Z5aAvA

 

Final episode..  Meanwhile 2nd voyage went successfully.. no delays and 3rd voyage 29th November from Sattahip.  Sailing times have been adjusted to 5pm to better assist inbound transport from the Malaysian border area arriving at Songkhla..   The dreaded website should be active in the coming days..  Bon Voyage

Great to see the voyage, sorry could not make the maiden voyage, but hope I can get on soon! This content below came to me in an email from a friend, not sure who the author is but it is another positive review of the ferry.

Congratulations, hope to board soon.

On 11/17/2021 at 9:01 PM, HammerMan said:

 

Congratulations...in this instance persevearance looks to have paid off, nothing easy here if this big an operation. I want to have a go but am a modern day leper atm so it seems I am not allowed to leave my province so will have to wait ...good luck moving forward!

14 hours ago, james1943 said:

Is Canada on the list also? I do not see Canada on the list.

hope not, if so reciprocal...here is Canada's position for a Thai w Sinovac x2:

17 hours ago, fondue zoo said:

He needs positive press and the opening of Thailand and saving Christmas will be the ticket.

 

Lol yes because in Bhuddist Thailand, Christmas is oh so important....

Being here almost 20 years now full time, I can say I am pleasantly surprised with how well Thailand has navigated thru all this < #%#@$@ imo>.

This area is actually in a bit of a boom now, and most here are fine with keeping borders closed, esp. as many arrivals may be unwittingly carriers of who knows what....

Good day all

Does anyone have any recent news on travel thru TLand to destination Surin?

We are wanting to drive there from Rayong - and I would like to go this month if possible, just not sure of the situation with checkpoints, restrictions etc.

Our status is one long time expat, one Surin resident, both with no vaxx. We have been in Thailand since Feb 2020 (returned from trip then)

Any input greatly appreciated.

Cheers

2 hours ago, HammerMan said:

 

Sadly you are right.. the new restrictions in Songkhla have scared away the potential business, primarily because it's unclear what exactly is or is not allowed. Many truck operators fear having their vehicles stranded and with the closure of many construction sites business is dwindling. Added to this is potential restrictions on passengers entering Songkhla, which amazingly is also very confusing..  We just can't catch a break..

i am in that passenger category...was ready to go this week but cannot risk forced qtine in songkhla or other such nonsense so have decided this year is just not practical....oh well...hope you get a break on the commercial traffic

2 hours ago, pontious said:

This must be the unluckiest business venture of all time.

Despite heroic efforts to get this up and running we now have   the covid situation and restrictions in Songkhla. I expect  an update from HM soon - I cannot see it starting in 3 days time.

I see that now after reading your post... ten provinces...its not worth the hassle for me so I am shelving the idea of a tour this year, just these two days of planning n prep have shown what a hassle it will be. Condolences to all Thai people who rely on tourist activity (internal and external) for their living...

Sure hope the ferry service gets rolling and at least they move commercial cargo

On 6/20/2021 at 8:45 PM, HammerMan said:

 

Yes we have agreement with all concerned parties and a verbal agreement with the Songkhla Marine Department. We will submit Monday a formal request from the Marine Department in Bangkok for written confirmation and approval of proposed pricing. We also understand we can also carry cars and only restriction is no 'walk in passengers', i.e. not in a vehicle will be allowed at this stage. Our target start date is 28th June, assuming Marine Department do not raise any objections. Will update soonest.

Hammer

Just logged in tonight after a long absence...actually expecting bad news but now cautiously optimistic. NA summer is my best time to hit the road so in the next week or so I hope to hit it and maybe the ferry is gonna be a go?  As mentioned below, hoping to see price sheet and schedule to make final determination if it is a fit. Will get wife to give office a call. Sure hope it can work out. And congratulations on navigating the business and bureaucratic roadblocks to launch, I know it can be a battle.

Hope I can find a path to board in the next few weeks to head south..or maybe the reverse a month or so later, see how it goes

Cheers

On 6/10/2021 at 10:51 AM, HammerMan said:

In case you were wondering what's the latest with The Blue Dolphin and the ever evasive ferry service, which has already experienced 6 months of bureaucratic delays and endless meetings/discussions and multiple visits from a multitude of Government Organisations .. the answer is basically still "deadlocked".  The Marine Department in Songkhla still hasn't agreed to commencing the service for reasons best known to themselves, apparently for fear of the local residents objecting to the additional traffic the ferry may bring to the area. Never mind about boosting tourism, creating jobs and boosting the economy which in these crazy times are desperately needed.

To say we are reaching breaking point is an understatement and as previously suggested by some contributors it maybe time to take this project to other countries.  At the moment it looks like mid July is D-Day, win or lose.

Hammer, sorry as well to hear this bad news...perhaps once again a promising project will stall..so many possibilities as to why. Hopefully you find some way forward. Good luck with the effort! By the way, was there no contract agreed on to provide this service struck in advance of all this investment and expense? Or was there but it was reneged on?

6 hours ago, HammerMan said:

Short update..  vessel berthed at Songkhla and on the face of it everything went perfectly to plan. Authorities from various Government and Military agencies all boarded and were more than satisfied with everything and the vessel received a seal of approval in all aspects....  But, this is Thailand and we always have to expect the unexpected and we definitely didn't see what happened next coming....

The operator of the berth suddenly announced that we couldn't use the berth going forward as they had already signed an agreement with a major oil company for their offshore supply vessels to berth there.  This means we're back to square one to find a suitable/safe berth or scrap Songkhla and go back to Prachuap..  After almost 5 years of talking, planning and being "encouraged" to operate out of Songkhla with all sorts of promises, it is unbelievably frustrating to now be in this position..  Anyway, hopefully an urgent solution will be found soon..

so sorry to hear that. shoe on the other foot...i suppose that operator also has business to run and saw all the hassles you were having w this event and in the end felt they needed to take a paying customer that had permission to operate...so can understand their position ....but how did they not inform you....a case of not wantting to deliver bad news so they waitrd thinking the government woukd delay you further and release them from having to.say anything??

 Anyway PKK is a nice spot so docking there is fine too...should shorten the travel time i imagine.

Good luck

13 hours ago, DerbyDan said:

 

well i actually liked it. i like empty buildings and the rooftop pool and units were nice. it was just weird being there alone.

 

its all russian owned. they only show up certain times of the year. they are real calendar people.

 

theres a bulletin board by the elevators with units available if it sounds like your jam.

real calendar people lmao...yea working people from a northern country, wonder what they will do? Hmmm lets look at snowbirds in NA and see if there are similarities....fml

7 hours ago, chrisandsu said:

I don’t think people get that there is a lot of very rich Thais . They have become land rich (land price in a reasonable area is obscene ) in the last 30 years . My BIL owns around 8 condos in various parts of the country that he bought for cash and can’t be bothered with the hassle of renting them out!  and only sees and stays in them if he’s in that area of the country and can even remembers where they are ! Thailand has a lot of very rich people and a growing upper middle class. I think we get blinkered sometimes in Believing that all Thais come from the poorer tourist sectors .  

Good of you to use the polite term blinkered. I have lived and worked here almost 20 years now and in the professions, for international private sector companies, the compensation packages can be very lucrative for locals, especially those that had land/homes to begin with, and for sure those that made wise choices in terms of capital deployment into more land or rental units have done very well....I know of so many just within my careeer circles. But the demographic of posters here is heavily skewed to part time visitors and/or retirees that tend to stay firmly in the areas heavily populated w foreigners (ie tourist zones mostly) and as such they have little interaction / realization with / of the local middle class. Not an indictment, just an observation. Out here in the south east beyond Chonburi there is a lot of wealth and a lot wealty bkk people buying land and bringing more prosperity.

4 hours ago, HammerMan said:

The vessel has today (18th May 10am) departed from the Sattahip Anchorage and is currently heading towards Songkhla. The vessel is currently not carrying any vehicles as upon arrival it will conduct a 'safe berthing' exercise and be once again subjected to a 'Health Inspection' to ensure all Covid-19 regulations are being enforced etc..  

Assuming all goes well, the vessel with then anchor  just outside of Songkhla whilst all official procedures are completed and return to the berth on the 21st May to commence her first commercial operations, which sadly at this stage is restricted to trucks only with single driver per truck..  but, hopefully it will be followed in the coming weeks by cars and ultimately passengers..  fingers crossed. 

Great news, thanks for the update. So because tit, would trucks with a single driver only be applied to someone with a pickup truck and driving alone? The plates are green letter meaning commercial so wondering if that would pass the test...the driver being foreign. I have a cap on the back and can toss some lengths of pvc in there with my gear to make it look more work worthy....lol

Cheers

3 hours ago, champers said:

No reason why a casino or two could not be tailored to Western clients with sports betting, Western style food and bars and live events like boxing, snooker, darts. Stick one on or near Soi Buakhao and the place would be rammed 24/7.

Yes a plethora of establishments would inevitably pop up and some would end up catering to all manner of xenophobes, so they could be comfortable, and others for people who just mingle....something for everyone

6 hours ago, Jingthing said:

A bit science fiction but with rapid transit maybe eventually Bangkok's seaside bedroom.

I have travelled frequently on bullet trains in japan and china that move more than 300km/h....being conservative actually, so no science fiction for sure

4 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

The condo developers were telling me that casinos are just around the corner here, like, um, 20 years ago. 

Yup, it has been a contentious issue and debated hotly for decades indeed.

Some significant things have changed in terms of voices at the table in recent years, and with the recent economic developments, lets see what happens next.

5 hours ago, DerbyDan said:

 

really, you think it will never re surface, i find that hard to believe. when covid blows over cant see why things wont revert back to normal.

The amount of boomer doomer posting here is beyond the pale...it is kind of infectious and one finds it everywhere on the net...but demographics and nature are slowly dampening their presence.

As for the topic, someone early on made a good point imo, a developed beach town like ptya will not disappear, given its location it will thrive...just needs to adapt to whatever will be the latest style that attracts a demogaphic.

I wonder if Thailand will ever get to the point where they agree to the idea of ptya as a muni Macau in SEA....that is a way I can see ptya really hit a home run. All the pieces are in place now with U Tapao open. Yea there is Singapore, but we all know the city state just does not have the vibe Thailand has and never will. If they add casino attractions on top of everything already in place, its to the moon for ptya I figure.

10 hours ago, HammerMan said:

Actually I saw you riding in as I was visiting the Seahorse office inside the ferry terminal..  Please post some of the photos and your thoughts on the Seahorse Ferries Facebook page.

 

FYG yesterday we had another visit from the Health Department who again confirmed the vessel met all Covid-19 regulations. We are now awaiting Songkhla Health officials comments which have been partially complicated now by Chonburi province being declared a Deep Red Zone..

So sorry to hear your business has been hijacked by this "event", leave it at that. I hope it does not fatally impact the business.

I am ready to hit the road as of 08/05, but have full flexibility qjen and where. I really want to do this tour so hope things turn around for Seahorse. 

Never ending projects here to do so can cool.it a bit and see what happens.

Hoping for the best. Cheers

On 4/20/2021 at 7:59 PM, HammerMan said:

These are the VIP..  the normal seats are similar although obviously smaller and on a different deck.

Ok see they are VIP, disregard earlier Q

On 4/20/2021 at 2:33 PM, HammerMan said:

The latest information is that the vessel is still waiting permission to operate as the Songkhla health officials are still concerned over Covid-19 restrictions.  It seems the vessel may have to wait until end April as the earliest potential start date.   The all important question of pricing has been held back purely because we need to see what, if any, additional steps/processes or precautions may be required..  we are truly hoping we'll get some answers in the coming days.... 

Hammer

Thanka for that update and the photos of the available seats...are those VIP and are they reserved or first come first serve....I run into thst frequently on ferries, but not such comfortable seating.

I get my updated visa first week of may, after that i like to take a solo journey around for a week or two, give the wife cat and dogs a break from me lol and this time yea the ferry south would be a great option. Hope they can work past this "covid" madness.

Cheers

8 minutes ago, treetops said:

 

A quick look at their booking page shows the following options:

 

Thanks. I did not have time to revisit the site today so asked wife to call. Service on the call could not confirm any prices or dates at this time so I have just shelved it for now, will look again next month. Nice to see all those options thou. We like going to Hokkaido for holiday so may have been on this boat in its previous life, but not sure.

Cheers