MarkyM3

No fan of the Shins (or Prayuth's associates) whatsoever but a top MILF imo . Current PM is no slouch in the looks dept either but Yingluck wins out 😋

Get back to your floors/arm wrestling 😄

Glad you like Lamai, you're lucky to be living there! I first pitched up there in January 2005 in my backpacking days, having arrived via Surat Thani to NaThon on a glorified fishing boat with 2 travelling companions. This was a little bit before the time of planning things via the internet so we got picked up on the pier by touts and piled into a minivan. Everyone else was being encouraged to go to Chaweng but we'd already decided we didn't want to follow the crowd so told the driver to let us out in Lamai. They weren't too happy because no kickbacks were being paid, but very glad we took that option - I much prefer it to Chaweng which I virtually never go to. I've been back to Lamai many times in the last 20 years and while it's changed it still retains its quieter charms. The A-frames I mentioned are the New Hut, btw, as you probably guessed 😄 We didn't actually stay there but I still use the restaurant if I'm taking a walk down the beach. Good, cheap and great location. Pension uprating - agreed, you have to pay contributions to get it so I fail to see how it's fair to freeze just because the recipient isn't in the UK anymore. It. But as I read somewhere else, the last time a new country was added to the list was in 1981 so it ain't happening. I agree 100% on your points about the waste of money elsewhere. That plus the huge C19 debts and Ukraine war spend means uprating will never happen, if anything the qualification age will be delayed in future.

Well, yes state pensions aren't great but if you look at Europe, people are obliged to pay a lot more in to the state system than in the UK. Private provision is supposed to be more of a feature in the UK. But yeah, I won't disagree necessarily on that point, the main issue I feel is the frozen pension which is entirely unfair. Tbh, as someone who stayed in KSR in my backpacking days (2005-8) and revisited a few times since (twice during the pandemic when it was utterly dead, my ex gf liked a restaurant nearby, and once more in Jan 2024), most of the clientele are middle class kids on gap years before or after Uni, people on career breaks/sabbaticals (like I was) and older hippy types. You'd be surprised at how many of them do have money....most are probably financed by mum and dad, or used savings if they work. They tend to be on trips of several months (except perhaps for the older hippy types). One reason KSR is struggling is it has tried to go upmarket and it isn't good value for money, as my post higher up mentioned. Why pay £70 for a crappy room there in a "boutique hotel" which in reality is rubbish when you can stay elsewhere on a similar budget and get so much more for your money. Along with the fact people are trying out new places. Last time I went to KSR in Jan this year it was doing fine. But it is still grubby as hell so again, the prices don't match the reality really. You can stay in Lamai, Koh Samui on the beach in an A-frame hut for a few hundred baht a night still - that's real backpacking, not the facsimile that KSR is.

Every EVA flight I've been on for many years is sold out without fail. Every time. And that's despite premium economy and business fares going up by >2/3 in the last 5 years. There's still plenty of money floating around in the UK tbh and I live there most of the year - for the time being at least. Unemployment is still near a record low level and I think people are still prioritising having a holiday. I totally agree with you on the cost of living but most backpackers have barely started working, or are on career breaks/sabbaticals and they are the meat and potatoes of KSR's tourist trade. Also, the UK is only one component of it. So I think your points are more applicable to tourist trade elsewhere - whether in other parts of Thailand or other countries. High executive pay is hardly a new thing and I don't think has much to do with whether backpackers are coming to KSR. The price of oil also determines BP profits, executive pay is a small element in it. Oil prices have dropped right back lately, as has the BP share price. Not saying I agree with excessive pay at all btw - a lot of execs are unjustifiably rewarded for poor performance - but by Western standards the UK is actually relatively moderate.

Absolutely zilch to do with the Ukraine War. Clutching at straws there (great Marillion album btw 😄 ) I went down there earlier this year. 300 baht for a "jug" of beer everywhere so it ain't that cheap. A friend of mine who still likes to backpack and wanted to revisit the places we stayed in 20 years ago when we first visited Asia inc. KSR paid £70/night for a room around there and it wasn't much cop by the sounds of it. Residences in Sukhumvit/Asoke for an average £100/night (will be more now due to exchange rate dipping) are in a completely different league. I also suspect people are moving on. The internet and social media/blogging has made information so much more accessible and quicker to disseminate and booking places is completely different to how it was when I did it 20 years back. Then, people were mainly still carrying Lonely Planet or Rough Guide around and being able to book online or see a website was still in its infancy. KSR was still full of internet cafes at the time! Laos is obviously going to have some issues with their backpacker demand after the alcohol poisoning issues but that will probably be short lived.

The person who started this thread (Chris Daley) made some rather nasty comments about your friend, if you care to look through your own thread. Hence I wanted to point out what he's really about in the context of having started this thread. He posts a lot of trolling type stuff like that. Pls feel free ask the moderators to remove my post cross-referencing to your own thread if you wish. Don't think anyone made the connection anyways. Not quite sure how you found this thread btw because it has been dead for a week and only had me vs "Donnie Peverley" in it. As usual, Chris Daley slunk off after 1 post.

What a charming comment to make about 6 dead people who were at their beginning of their adult lives and fulfilling their travel dreams. What a laugh that is...not

Hopefully Bangkok Airways do something about the tired-looking interiors of their aircraft. Considering the prices they charge, they looked pretty sorry on the flights I took with them in June.

Hardly when I'm sitting in London typing this. As for that slur, it's barely worthy of a response. But I will say this....you attacked several other posters on this thread who raised questions. Irrationally. And I didn't go on the thread about the poor English guy who has left a wife without a husband and a kid without a dad and make derogatory remarks...that'll be you, right? You should be ashamed. I expect it from clowns like Gottfrid and Malcolm so disappointing to see your partake in and something you haven't addressed. Rather pathetic at your age, I'd say. You can have the last word, better things to do than exchange the same stuff with you. Enjoy Spain and chill out.

They deleted my responses to the melodramatics directed to me as well so why not calm down and STOP SHOUTING? Or, send a message to the moderator to complain and ask them to reinstate it all. You seem very angry indeed, relax. You aren't on trial. You're happy with your choices, why do you need validation from anyone here?

Looks suspiciously like the girl I was chatting with on Tinder yesterday. Damn, my dreams have been shattered 😄

Reckon that 10mg daily Ralfie's on isn't working sufficiently 😄

Got to ask for it but yes, it helps. A good airline and much better service and food than Qatar or Gulf Air ime - the others I tried from LHR-BKK- save for the lack of noise in an A380 and the bar. The EVA bed is not exactly big though, I'm 5'5", normal sized i.e. not fat😄 and there ain't a whole lot of room there. Not sure how someone who is 6' would find sleeping that comfortable. So paying all that extra is probably less beneficial if you're in that category imo. If I am flying in that class then I tend to have a few drinks pre and post boarding and use in-ear Etymotic headphones then good ear-plugs to get down to sleep. Otherwise you just got to make the best of it. Sit next to the window if you don't want to get woken up....though if you have a weak bladder then you're gonna p!ss off your neighbor(s) soon enough😄 Tried pills and they made me feel terrible by time I arrived.

Erm...from my reading, he says he earned the money elsewhere outside of the EU. But that's beside the point, health systems are financed by current users, not historic contributions. He wants it all paid for without contributing now. He isn't even a Spanish citizen presently, despite having been one in the past.

The only issue I have with this thread is that the OP wants all his healthcare needs laid on without wanting to contribute any taxes. No wonder Spain has never been a net contributor to the EU. Lovely, lovely country but there's something wrong if people are allowed to play the system like that. Also seems a little strange you can regain lost nationality, with all the perks that brings, when you purposely don't live there for more than 179 days a year to avoid being tax resident. Pragmatic for sure, but ethically questionable. As far as the UK goes, you lose eligibility for NHS treatment after a certain period of time if you aren't ordinarily tax resident there. If you return from overseas, like a few of the guys have done on here in the past, you will get treated but are supposed to be returning to live. How strictly that's enforced is probably variable, given the bureaucratic mess the NHS is.

You'd think somewhere like Bangkok would be "OK" but I'd probably only trust Sang Som now since it's probably pointless trying to bootleg that given it's low cost to begin with. That or cocktails from upmarket establishments i.e. hotels, skybars etc. I drank spirits /cocktails many times in the past from regular bars when on a big night out but I'll be revising my behaviour in light of this incident. This incident is going to have some ramifications, at least short-term, for businesses across the region imo.

So sad. This tragedy will hopefully ensure travellers, young or otherwise, think twice before drinking spirits from street bars etc. in SE Asia. Has made all the news here in the UK and will have in the other countries/regions affected by this. Wouldn't touch anything except Beer Lao in that country. As others have pointed out, it's a corrupt place. Friend of mine got shaken down by the military at a rail station when travelling there not that long back and was forced to pay the guys $100 USD and had 2 bottles of Beer Lao in their bag confiscated.

Read that Holly Bowles has also died now 😞

That's the best you got? Thought so😄 😄 That's for our Donnie btw. NL...long had you on ignore after you made cretinous remarks about me having to go into hotel quarantine in 2022 when I had a long-planned stay in Thailand for 6 months during 2021-22 so save it for someone else in case you're tempted to engage🙂

Your comprehension skills need improvement, duh - in my OP I said I'm in the UK most of the year! My location next to my username might also give you a clue if you struggle to read. I'm semi or fully retiring in 12-18 months at age 54 and yes that won't be in the UK. I made my own money, been a higher rate taxpayer since my mid-20s before you say I've sponged off the govt. I'll go back for the summer because I have property there but even that's subject to change in future. Unfortunately the place is sinking. Walked around Wembley the other day for a medical appt, you couldn't have reliably identified it as British, as is the case of large swathes of London. As I said in my original response, Thailand controls its own immigration policy dependent on the benefits it brings them and has a cohesive culture and society. Good for them. I have absolutely no problem if they don't want me or others to be there if that's threatened, plenty of other places I've travelled to in the past which work just as well. I've no intention of retiring FT in Thailand in any case. The rest of your riposte is a lame swipe at British tourists, which has sweet FA to do with long-term immigration and the points raised in my original post. And you could easily say that about plenty of other nationalities. If you're going to come up with some decent counterpoints, do try a bit harder. As for you - are you British or lived there for a good length of time recently? If not - a fair bet judging by your response and username - you don't have any real credibility. Like I said in the original post aside from financial costs there are numerous social costs. You said nothing about that. Low-skilled migrants cost taxpayers £150,000 each ...source OBR which is an government-funded body. And to repeat, this is purely financial....this takes no accounts of the numerous social costs of migration. Cost of illegal immigration, is running at several billion pounds per year with an estimated average cost pp over lifetime once settled - since they invariably can't be removed or sneak back - of £400k. Note unofficial illegal migration is way higher. Numerous citations on the internet on figures so do your own research.

It's his very own nationality. how embarassing 😄

Yes it's a typo, I assure you I can spell and construct sentences 😄 My bad.

I'm very glad Harris didn't win but wish the GOP could have found a less controversial candidate than Trump. Has some positive aspects but not a trustworthy/reliable individual at all and I suspect his economic policies are going to stoke inflation and hit the working class in the pocket when the cost of their imports soars. Saying that, at least the US is in a far better place than my home country is.

Thought it was Reni from the Stone Roses 😄