ZZZ

I guess the OP refers to a filter system hooked up to the normal city water system to turn your tap water to drinking water.

A ball park cost would be 15,000Baht installation and around 2000Baht per year in filters.

Just picked this up on a related thread on condo act amendments. There is to be a seminar on the repercussions and meanings of the new amendments. Should be useful as, amongst other experts, reps from Tillek & Gibbons law firm will be there to speak.

Venue: Novotel Hotel (Siam), Bangkok

Date: Aug. 20

Time: 09:00 - 17:00

Also, ZZZ, the owners were NOT informed they were funding the case until an announcement at a gen. mtg. that maintenance funds were being used for this purpose. They were not asked until this year's AGM, where a second call meeting carried the vote. At that time, whoever was present or had proxied was able to pass the funding. Not the majority of co-owners. If it hadn't been done that way, there would be no resistance to VT7 at all, so there are some who think it was a good thing. But not kosher.

Thanks for the info regarding the seminar.

Regarding the legal fee I'm still to find any JCC co-owner that are against paying the legal fees, Silence is Consent.

The only people I have seen complaining about how all the JCC co-owners had to pay for the legal fees are people invested in VT7

The Red Book in Thailand, online:

Step 1 Select your vehicle

Step 2 Select your equipment and mileage

Step 3 Provide some personal details

Step 4 Confirm the information you provided

Step 5 Complete the online payment form

Step 6 Receive your vehicle valuation via e-mail

Cost 100Baht

Firstly, how could you prove there was an "incentive"?

Secondly, you seem to forget that VT7 would also be obliged to pay back all the people that bought. If you think that they will pay for dismantling and hauling away thousands of tons of concrete and make a huge loss, then I'm afraid you are dreaming, too.

They will go to court. As someone has already mentioned, the 101 businesses on walking street were supposed to have been demolished years ago. Have they been?

Without being able to prove that VT7 offered an incentive, you are left with the fact that VT7 did nothing illegal. the blame will lie at the door of Pattaya City. No way VT7 is going to just start dismantling without exhausting every legal method first, and that will take years.

Seems to be a lot of naivety and wishful thinking by stopVT7 supporters.

As for the majority of the complex owners supporting this legal action, please supply a link to the post, or, thread.

Another very good reason why VT7 won't dismantle if they lose, is that if they can keep the case in court with appeals, they won't have to pay any buyers back.

Why would they tear the place down and take a definite loss when they can keep it in court with a slim chance of coming out with a profit?

As I said before, you stopVT7 supporters just haven't thought this thing out to a logical conclusion should you win (and I don't think you will).

It does not matter if there was an "incentive" involved anymore. The case is now a question of 100m or 200m. If 100m win, VT7 will be built and the case is over. There is no point then for JCC to fight on because of a possible "incentive" as this will not change the 100m verdict.

If the 200m win, VT7/City Hall could maybe fight on, not sure if they have any more appeal options after supreme court though so the next decision could be the final, no more appeals. In any case they would risk a lot if there was any "incentive" involved and lock up their land investment. Maybe someone else knows if there will be any more possibilities for appeals after the next verdict??

To dismantle VT7 would not be very expensive, two weeks with a wrecking crew and any trace of the construction would be gone.

It was posted on this thread that the owners group agreed to pay for the legal fees.

He's a hypocrite because he says it isn't about the views but about saving the beach, even though he posts a picture of his present view with a tower-crane in sight. Now why would he post that picture if it isn't about the views.

As for VT7 being dismantled, you're dreaming.

As I've said before, if stopVT7 wins the case, VT7 will promptly announce banckruptcy, then sue Pattaya City for wrongfully issuing a building permit. VT7 hasn't done anything wrong, the case is about Pattaya City issuing a building permit illegally.

Pattaya City doesn't have the money to pay for dismantling and hauling away VT7, or, reimbursing VT7 for the construction costs. The court case will be strung out for years and years as VT7 slowly rots away.

What stopVT7 can't seem to get through his thick head is that he is in a lose/lose situation. If he isn't already the most unpopular resident in his complex after forcing all members in the complex to pay for legal action that most of them didn't want, he surely will be after this court case is decided.

Either they lose the case and everyone will blame him for pi55ing their money away, or, they win and will be left with an ugly, bombed out shell of a condominium to look at for a decade.

Personally, I don't think he's thought this out properly. I have brought this up before, but, he doesn't want to comment on what will happen if he wins. Seems that stopVT7 thinks that VT7 will be torn down in a week and everything will be peachy.

Ain't gonna happen.

To protect the view is just one part of protecting the beach. By limiting construction to 200m from the beach you open up that area and give everyone a much better view.

Has it been proven that VT7 has done nothing wrong?? City hall would most likely not issue a permit to VT7 unless there was some "incentive" in it

If VT7 has to be demolished it will be done pretty quick. VT7 will pay for it for several reasons; if there was an "incentive" involved neither VT7 or City Hall would like this to lead to further investigations, the demolishing costs would not be very high, they would need to clear the space for alternative construction (shopping mall??) to recoup investments.

I think is was proven earlier in the thread that a majority of owners was in favor to pay for the legal fees.

With crude oil prices retreating somewhat, down below $118/barrel (from a recent high of $145+) it will be interesting to see if these fuel surcharges are rolled back. A lot of capacity (airline seats) has been cut from the system with route reductions/cuts, aircraft idling and even bankruptcy/closure, so this affects the supply side and maybe not a huge roll-back in fuel surcharges until we get closer to $80/barrel?

As many airlines hedge the cost of future fuel prices there may have been a few that panicked when there was talk about $200 oil prices and locked in the future price when it peaked around $130-$140. In that case they will be stuck with this price and will not be able to do anything if the price of oil drops. This will keep the ticket prices up, it may also break a few airlines which will mean less competition and higher prices.

There are usually some good quality bikes, 2nd hand, advertised in Pattaya Mail at greatly reduced prices.

Here is the latest Beach index I could find, 2006.

Pattaya Beach has the same rating as Patong beach in Phuket and the beaches on Koh Samet. Jomtien beach gets the lowest rating.

This is from The Nation, 2004:

When the Pollution Control Department surveyed Thailand's 14 major tourist beaches earlier this year it found that none of them fully met its stringent criteria on proper management that would otherwise help maintain these natural resources in superb condition.

In measuring the quality of beaches, the department relies on five major yardsticks - coastal water quality (coliform bacteria from sewage and sediment); volume of rubbish (in the water, on the beach and in nearby communities); quality of sand and sand dunes; coastal erosion and quality of coral reefs; and coastal land uses and problems caused by construction work.

The best beaches would have got the highest-possible five stars, but none qualified. Most of them are in the middle rank of four stars: Had Sai Kaew (Samed Island), Hua Hin, Chaweng (Samui Island), Karon (Phuket) and Had Yao (Phi Phi Islands).

Eight other most visited beaches found to have slightly lower quality are given three stars. These are Pattaya, Bang Saen (Chonburi), Cha-am (Petchburi), Wanapa (Rayong), Lamai (Samui), Patong (Phuket), Lo Dalum (Phi Phi) and Ton Sai (Phi Phi).

A big surprise is that Jomthien Beach was found to the worst among the 14 beaches, getting only two stars. Jomthien's low ranking is in contrast to the general public's belief that the beach is relatively cleaner than nearby Pattaya beach in terms of seawater quality.

Im sorry, I agree that some seem to "agree" - not that I asked for agreement, I asked a question....but as for an

"opinion" I see little evidence.

As to answering the question...I would guess the majority either think 440 or 1300% mark-uup is OK.

........Now an opinion based on the postings on this thread...I would conclude that this reflcts badly on the ex-pat denizens of Pattaya. They don't seem to be able to understand a simple question and when the penny drops they seem to think it's OK to be ripped off by their local businesses.

Photo witheld.

Thank god I don't live here!

You have addressed three problems with your experience in the bar.

One was the fact that you did not get the entire bottle. In your initial post you said you "assumed" you were buying the entire bottle, what you did get was a soft drink served in the normal standard of that bar, one glass with ice filled up with coke. This is the normal standard in many bars but some may give you a bottle with a straw in a cooler. The point is you did get the drink you ordered not the drink you incorrectly assumed you ordered.

The other problem is the mark up. Bars are not in the business of selling drinks they sell an "experience". This could be nice girls in the bar, the other customers, the location of the bar or many other things. Some bars do this better than others, they get the customers.

What you paid for your drink was only part to pay for the actual drink much of it was to cover for the "experience", apparently not very good in this case and therefore probably not a very successful bar.

So the 400% mark up is not really true as a great deal of what you pay for a drink is also payment for the "experience" that some bars, the good ones, spend a lot of money on. There may be only 100% mark up on the drink, the rest is to cover for the girls, location, flat screen TV......

The third problem was that the soft drink was more expensive than a beer. One explanation to this could be that it was happy hour and many bars then have a special on some drinks, usually beer. Outside happy hours it could be possible that the soft drink was cheaper than the beer.

Another explanation is that the vast majority of soft drink drinkers drink less drinks in a bar than beer or alcohol drinkers. Most bar owners will probably agree that a soft drink usually lasts at least twice as long as a beer. As the bars are selling an "experience" they even out the takings from each customer by charging more for the soft drink.

Another reason would be that if soft drinks were substantially cheaper than alcoholic drinks there would be a problem with a lot of people, in Pattaya on a shoe string, bringing in a small bottle of Mekong to top up their soft drinks.

As for the mark up; You never answered my question on how much mark up there would be on a soft drink in a bar where you come from?? I would think is pretty much the same as here.

As for your question if I think it's ok I would say yes. I wish the price was lower, just to save some money, but totally understand the reasoning behind the practice and accept it.

Nam, I want to avoid temp below 22°C. Personally I think that 24°C with a dry air is a nice temperature to relax in LOS.

AFKAFSinLOS, your goodwill in gods sake, some people like to get a maximum out of what they have paid for. But I will try it although...

Generally I believe it is nonsense to have a temperature below 22°C but at the BKK hotels I know even 23°C is very cold because the aircon is oversized.

= much too cold for my liking and dangerous for the health. temperature differentials (inside/outside) should not exceed 8ºC to avoid colds, bronchitis and the like.

I don't think 24°C is dangerous for your health and temp diff has nothing to do with it, if it's -20°C in winter Europe do you keep the temperature at -12°C ??

24°C is probably to hot for most tourists from europe, 22°C should be ok for most tourists.

Another option you have, if your aircon has this, is to use the Auto-Restart option. On some air cons you can switch this option on and it will then re-start, at the previous settings, after a power failure. This means that you could set the aircon to whatever temp you like and then remove the remote from the room, the aircon can then be switched on and of by the power switch, provided there is one, and the temperature will always remain to the preset temp.

Failing this it looks like your only option is the thermostat suggested by Khun Ngo

If it's something in the air you could buy air con filters at HomePro and other places. They consist of a large sheet of fiber that you cut to fit your air con. These filters remove all dust particles that the normal filters let through. They will be completely black after 1-2 month use, amazing how filthy the air can be.

If you have a good steam iron you can kill all the mites in the mattress by giving it a good work over at high temperature and full steam. Vacume the mattress after steaming to remove all the residue. Be careful so you don't melt anything when steaming, some materials are more sensitive than others.

When you wash your linen you need hot water, minimum 60C is required to kill mites. Most laundry places in Pattaya don't wash that hot so it's very likely that you get mites from other people if you don't do your own laundry.

A humidifier may help you as the air con will dry the air and that may cause irritation.

Many aircons work without the remote.

There is a switch on the aircon that you can use to start and stop it, no remote required. When switched on this way the aircon will run at preset settings, usually hi fan speed, 22C. (Check your manual for more info)

there seems to be a misunderstanding here.......I asked if this mark up is considered OK.

I then p[ointed out that they only gave me pat of the contents of the bottle - it was the normal single" size as in coke or anything you buy from a 7/11.

I can read a menu and speak Thai enough to order correctly.

I knew how much it was and was prepared to drink one whilst my friends drank their beer at 60 baht a bottle.

however I was not prepared to recieve only one third of the bottle opr to be asked to leave in an abusive manner.

there was nothing sopecial about the bar - no show/go-go/ it was just the usual open fronted beer bar you might find anywhere in Pattaya....the question again is.....

do you think this is OK?

- Why is "troll" written all over it?

Seems like your main grief is that you did not get the entire bottle. Did you order a bottle or did you just order a soft drink?

Most beer bars serve you soft drinks from 1.5 liter bottles, this bar happened to pour from a smaller bottle, the thing is that you got the soft drink you ordered.

If you order a draft beer you get a glass of beer, sometimes big sometimes (often) small. but you never get the entire keg

I would have thought that regardless of the establishment, a mark on ANYTHING of 440% is unreasonable.

The bar BTW was not a go-go - although I fail to see what difference that makes.

A "girl" drink was 150 baht and a bottle of Chang 60 baht.

Apart from the price...and I DID know before purchasing - The fact that I agreed to purchase one drink at that price is not part of the issue - it doesn't alter the mark-up - I consider the practice of withholding 2/3 of the bottle (OISHI) somewhat suspect too.

Just out of curiosity as you seem to be very upset about this here in Pattaya.

What would you pay for a soft drink in a similar place where you come from and what would the mark up be?

Chemical lockers in the bed room is not a good idea

Use a different, less, detergent for the linen. Don't use fabric softener. Vacume the mattress to get rid of mites. Mop the floor without using a detergent. Have the aircon filters cleaned.

Yes, I understand the business need for corkage fees, reasonable ones anyway, but now I am wondering about something. I recall in Australia there are many many BYOB restaurants with no corkage fee, plus tipping isn't a big part of the culture there, plus the food prices aren't bad, how do they do it?

BYOB (Bring Your Own Booze) restaurants in Australia are not licensed to sell alcohol so their business model don't have to take alcohol sales into account. They make their money on the food, water and soft drinks.

The Tuesday and Firiay Market Car Park Soi Bouakow, a very very bad car park full of holes and muddy water especialy when its been raining, has been 20 baht for the last couple of years, last week it had gone up to 30 baht, I would not mind so much if the land was ok, but my car is filthy when i come out, so I am going to look to park elseware from now.

Typical. Up 50 percent overnight. There is definitely a serious inflation bug in the air and it is not good for anyone, local Thais or farangs. This may be the start of something that could really get out of hand ...

It seems like it's common in Thailand that you pay the same price for something for several years and then you have a sudden high price hike that people think is unreasonable, in most other countries you have more frequent price adjustments and don't really notice the hike that much.

We will be dead before that happens mate - no worries. Besides next few decades you will see mind blowing technological advances in the areas of transport.

TATA will start selling their compressed air powered car in India this year. $5000 for a car that can travel 200km on a $3 full tank of compressed air.

The SemGroup is (was??) a oil storage and trading company, maybe the shorted to cover the value of their oil in stock.

Looks like they got their position wrong by a few zeros as the position was in the order of 100Milj barrels!!!!

Beverage sales are part of a restaurant's profit picture. Sometimes they break even or lose money on the food, make money on the drinks. So bringing your own drink for free is a no no. But we are just talking about the level of the charge. Is Mantra equivalent to a 5 star in Manhattan? No, yet their corkage charge is similar. They are out of bounds with it.

Like you say restaurants usually have a much higher margin on drinks than on the food so they have to charge a corkage fee.

The amount they are charging is probably calculated so it will make no difference if you bring in a bottle bought locally or if you buy the same bottle from the restaurant.

If you could bring in your own wine and save 1000Baht every time the restaurant would soon have to increase the food prices.

The only reason they have a corkage fee is so you can bring in wine they don't have, not to make it cheaper for the customers to drink.

I agree that 950Baht sounds like a lot but if you had bought the wine you brought to the restaurant locally and paid the corkage fee it would probably be about the same as what they would have charged you for the same bottle in the restaurant, in both cases you get the same wine at the same price

How about an up market shopping mall. Jomtien is overdue for one.

Good idea, perfect location for a good supermarket, bowling alley, Cinema and shops. Walking distance to several big condos and easy access from Sukhumvit.

Rather than a long welt which is what I usually get from the tentacles of a jelly, this sting left a short 3-4 inch long half inch wide "wound". Usually it takes a while for the sting to become visible, but this one became red and extremely painful almost immediately.

I got stung on the middle of my calf. I didn't have any vinegar on hand so I did the only thing I could which was a nice warm "golden shower". I'm not sure any of the locals saw me pissing on myself, and quite frankly I was in so much pain at the time that I didn't give a fok.

Sounds like it could have been a stingray.

The best way to neutralize the stingray venom is to soak it in really hot water, vinegar will have no affect on this venom.

Hi ZZZ,

Don't sting rays usually give you a puncture wound? Never ben stung by one (or maybe I was ) so really not sure...

If the sting ray barb just grazed your skin it would caused exactly the symptoms you describe. To me your symptoms were not typical jelly fish sting symptoms, much more like what you could get from a sting ray.

Berlitz have some super intensive courses that can be tailor made to your requirement but very expensive.

BTW be careful if you go to their web site as google is listing it as malicious.

Just do a web search on Pharmanex or Nuskin to get all the info on this MLM business.

Like others said, get your nutrients from a good diet, cheaper and better than anything else.