MarkyM3

Musk is right on the money here. You don't have to be a "leftie" (and I am definitely not) to see that pumping up already huge amounts of govt debt and passing it down the next generation to fund tax cuts for the super wealthy totally contradicts what they were trying to do with DOGE etc. The leftie characterisation doesn't quite work when Musk calls it out as bs 😄 Also, the fact Trump's private organisation is explicitly pushing billions into crypto while he pushes to relax legislation on it is surely a conflict of interest as well. A shyster all the way.

I tried that journey this year one way for a change. Taxi Lamai to Nathon, ferry to Donsak, bus to Surat airport, flight to DMK. One checked bag. That took about 8.5 hours door to door. OK, saved maybe £60-70 versus Bangok Airways but I didn't feel it worth all the hassle.

A lot of these guys will get married off via arranged marriage by their late 20s so are having their fun before that in most cases. As for the group mentality - sharing and frugality does seem to be a feature of Indian culture, hence the various stories about the coke with 5 straws in it, cliched or otherwise 😄 Obviously extends to saving money for bedroom activities too. In the past, most bars around NEP and the area didn't allow Indians in but that has definitely changed it seems. As for the various groups of guys I saw, they were out on the street pestering the girls standing around looking to pick up a punter. I didn't see any go off with them tho!

Visited soi4 a couple of times this year for beers, both times seeing several different groups of Indian guys trying to hire a single girl. Thankfully even the brasses didn't wish to lower themselves to that to earn a crust. Never used to see these guys there in the past - grim.

Indeed, and the pr!ck can't even spell properly.

If you knew anything about the effects of weed, it mellows people out. And he was trying to buy e-cigs, not weed, if you bothered to read the story. Moreover, the bloke was confirmed to be p!ssed, not stoned. I think you'll find there's a lot more violence from alcohol than cannabis misuse. Seem to recall you spouting similar garbage on a story I read yesterday And yeah, I don't particularly like the proliferation of weed shops nor the smell of it but I do know what causes more aggro....

Met one off Tinder. Late 30s, runs a nail salon in HCMC, had flown in on the aforementioned tourist visa. Had a great attitude and lot of fun. One or two Viet girls contacted me on ThaiFriendly but one look at the numbers on lower Sukhumvit will tell you this story is total BS 😄 More African than Viet girls.

This I can agree with. I just returned to the UK from a 3.5 month stint in Asia, mostly living in Bangkok and I can say I found a number of my day-to-day expenses were close to or sometimes more expensive than they are here in the UK, and the choice of imported foods (and domestic produce) is pretty poor (using Foodland, Tops etc.). Take a look at your next supermarket receipt or Food Panda/Grab receipt and compare to your home country's one and you may be surprised. I earn good money and stay in a high-quality serviced apartment when I'm staying in BKK or wherever. It's certainly cheaper than something in London or Edinburgh but still, my 4* BKK residence was looking for £140/night during early February around Chinese New Year. Hardly "cheap". I first came 20 years ago as a backpacker and have been back most years since, living there for some periods so have seen the changes in recent years. Obviously, exchange rates play a part but the £/baht rate has been depressed for some years now. Where Thailand scores is on lower housing costs (lots of choices), eating local foods and not Western ones, jobs requiring manual labour etc. Not all of which benefit your average tourist vs someone living in the country. Having said that, I was in Samui (Lamai) in February and March and both times it was as busy as I've seen since circa 2010. During my Asia stay, I spent a week in mainland China (which isn't collapsing btw, it has problems for sure but the worst is probably over, though it has a looming demographic crisis still). A very good meal for 6 of us in a mall restaurant in Xi'An came in at £30 thereabouts. I paid way more in BKK for meals only approaching that quality. Other things are way cheaper so I'm not surprised some Chinese won't come. Thailand also has an image problem there as well, I was asked more than once if it was dangerous etc. I also found Vietnam quite a bit cheaper but I still put Thailand comfortably ahead in the experience it offers tourists. Ha Long has to be one of the most overrated destinations in Asia ime.

Private Dancer by Stephen Leather is a very good book imo. Fiction but realistic and some characters are supposedly based on real people the author was acquainted with. That's set in and around bar scene in Bangkok.

Food Panda was the best app for foreigners ime. Exiting Thailand will leave a big hole in the market. Grab doesn't display menus properly in English half the time and has rubbish offers. LineMan - couldn't even get it to download to my Android phone in Bangkok despite switching VPN to Bangkok or turning it off completely and having location services picking up my physical location there. I never had that issue with Food Panda or Grab. I've noticed in Play Store the country of registration can be reset but there shouldn't be a need to do this, never had to do it with other Thai apps like Foodland etc.

Anyone who acquires 14 dogs needs their head examined imo. Unless you're running a rescue centre you're both emotionally invested in. Which does not sound to be the case. The OP hasn't been back here so is this another clickbait AN thing....

They might add some more money to the credit column if they finally get around to selling the numerous aircraft parked up at BKK and DMK, most of which don't seem to have moved for some considerable time.

First time I've seen Gottfrid mentioning WW2...definitely scraping the barrel and explains his persistent anti-British ire 😂 Maybe he can remind us of what he said a while back about the child victim of sexual abuse, badly misjudged that one and now denies he ever said it... Absolute 🤡

Yes, happened to me once. Found a car parked in my driveway and police were called. They said it was acivil matter and I shouldn't attempt to clamp it, damage it etc. Useless. But it seems you can have it towed away, though the advice is ambiguous. The snake who left his crappy Merc in my driveway came early morning to get it so I never found out who it was. Welcome to soft touch UK

Just to follow up...I attended Samitivej this morning and was satisfied with the experience. I saw the doc and had X-rays done. Appears i have a small fracture around bottom of left ankle bone. No MRI touted. Ultrasound therapy was but I declined and the doc wasn't pushy at all. Cost just under 6300 for doctor fees, Xrays, ankle brace and calcium tablets. I'm sure it could be done cheaper but I'm happy. Will return in a month for a check before I leave Thailand for the UK summer. Staff at this hospital were kind and polite and the ambience is good. Plenty of food and drink options and got me at a taxi meter very quickly when I left.

I'm not a troll. That'll be you buddy. I'm calling you out because you cast aspersions on others who don't follow your cult but fail to provide any arguments to debate. Just soundbites or insults. I'll leave u to it. You can't debate.

I'm to the political right, if you care to read my earlier comments😄 Not every GOP supporter is aligned to the cult of Trump. Worrying. Quality of debate amongst MAGA fans really is poor on this forum. Can't provide any facts to back up the soundbites.

Partial quote missing out the second bit...classic MAGA. You haven't provided any examples on what policies Biden followed which stoked up inflatkion. Still waiting for one! Or are you sticking with Spam lol. Meanwhile, Trump is gonna pump up inflation with tariffs. Doesn't quite sit with your narrative.

Every country has different needs and capabilities given a certain set of circumstances - ever considered that? Try harder...like how did Biden directly impact on inflation? That would be a good start.

Still waiting....a link containing a list of inflation rates means sweet FA 😄 You can't debate my friend. Clueless in your words.

Really. Why don't you debunk my points then in a logical fashion? I'm a trained economist btw so I'd say I'm not clueless. And if u read my post above, I'm to the right of the political spectrum. But Trump is a charlatan imo, the GOP could have got a much better candidate. Not fit to lace the shoes of Reagan etc.

Really....how come it was a worldwide phenomenon then, Einstein? Oil price spikes, commodity price spikes due to C19 and Ukraine war ring a bell? And...you'll find the Fed is responsible for interest rate policy, not Biden. Interest rates are they main tool used, as you should be aware. Thick as mince like most MAGA cheerleaders. Seem to recall a debate on here about Biden and the price of Spam lol. Said a lot.

Interesting how Trump took credit for stock market increases in his 1st term and lambasted the economic performance of Biden, including inflation which he had no control over, and yet his see-saw tariff frenzy has disturbed market confidence and triggers price increases for imported goods which are going to hit US Joe Public, some of his own supporters, hard. The US markets under Biden generally did very well because he largely left alone and let the Fed drive policy and private companies do their thing. Thankfully the Fed is still out of his hands, though I'm sure he'd like that to change. Financial markets require credibility and transparency, meanwhile he still thinks he's running The Apprentice or something. Also interesting how his cheerleaders here now try to swat current events away as market disturbance. Don't remember Trump promising this stuff in his election pronouncements. Trump has got some good ideas about border controls and anti-woke policies but he's been bankrupt 6 times and some of the stuff he comes out with is laughably stupid. He strikes me as totally insincere and with a giant ego. Surely the GOP could have found a far better candidate than this guy. The Dems would have been defeated by any semi competent candidate

Agreed. 💯 As mentioned above, I've already booked up to go to Samitivej tomorrow to see the specialist Sheryl recommended. I think she missed that post and just saw the other response I made to Edward Flory re: military hospitals. I had no intention of using one, I was querying his assertions that anyone can use them etc. Money isn't the issue here at all, and I have full travel insurance anyways (I never travel overseas without it). I'm not bothering to claim for tomorrows consultation and other stuff (X-Ray etc.), not worthwhile once excesses are factored in. I was mostly averse to paying over the odds for an MRI or the hassle of getting an insurer to agree to pay for it if claiming on insurance, given I'm returning to the UK for the summer in early May (whether there is in fact an English summer is another question...!). Cheers all.

Hi Edward, Thanks for the input. But I got this answer from Google AI... "While Thai military hospitals are primarily for Thai military personnel and their dependents, expats can sometimes access them, but they are not the primary choice for foreigners and may have limited availability. Here's a more detailed explanation: Primary Focus: Thai military hospitals are intended for members of the Royal Thai Armed Forces and their families. Limited Access for Expats: While not impossible, access for expats is generally limited and may depend on specific circumstances, such as a medical emergency or a lack of alternative options. " ...so I'm a bit doubtful it's an option? Did you have a specific circumstance enabling you to register?