spidermike007

Very, very lame comment. Nearly every time I see someone complaining, or observing a shortfall within Thailand, some guy, who has not taken the time to think things through, nor to devote any focus or effort to a reasonable reply, says something like "Perhaps Thailand is not for you", or maybe you should leave, or the top prize, "if you do not like it here, go back to your own country". Hard to even respond to such inane statements. Why? Because I have some issues with the place? Sorry to inform you, but the nature of a discerning mind, is to have issues. Though absolute contentment must be a beautiful state of mind, it is not something most of us are blessed with, in case you have not noticed. The fact that I complain, does not mean I do not love Thailand, nor most of it's people. I do. I love my life here. I have a very good life here. But, I do have some complaints, and there are some things I would love to see improved. I should leave because of that? Please. Next time you make a post, try to devote at least two moments of thought to it.

Is there a parrot in the room? I seem to hear an echo.

If Musk is now president and Trump is Vice President, what on earth is Vance? Secretary? The guy who runs to Starbucks?

I completely agree, and saying to a long-term loyal customer I am going to call the police because you are raising your voice at me is the act of a man with a very cowardly nature, no heart, no soul, no substance, and no idea about customer service or just simple respect. He was an absolute goon, who should never be allowed within a hundred meters of a hotel much less hired to work behind a reception counter.

Sorry Bianca, but even after having walked away from this absolute goon, we must still hold you accountable for having spent a lot of time with him. I don't know why a woman would even go have a cup of coffee with him, much less be his girlfriend. Bozo the Clown had infinitely more dignity than this man.

It is starting to become increasingly apparent that this man is not only a rank amateur making amateur mistakes, but that he's not the sharpest pencil in the drawer. Giving away the Ukraine concessions prior to the beginning of negotiations was a wet dream for Putin, and truly demonstrates how terrible and inexperienced a negotiator he is, and how terrible a negotiator Trump is. Both of these men are very dangerous.

If the public knew the true extent of his wealth, where the money came from, how much he gained from his ties with the army, and how much money he amassed during the Cha Cha Administration, I think they would not only demand accountability, I think they would demand that he'd be locked up for the rest of his natural life.

In an absolutely desperate bid to attract high tourist numbers Thailand has forgotten that this formula of quantity over quality only works if you're a low end vendor at a swap meet, or a Pad Thai street stand. They are now attracting some pretty low end tourists, and those kind of guys cause problems.

Not yet. Just wait. The world will not tolerate his nonsensical and bombastic approach to foreign policy.

I don't find that to be the case overall. But in areas where there are alot of tourists, you do find creeps who are jaded. I was in Hua Hin recently, and encountered a real vermin. I've stayed at this place a few times in the past. I booked two rooms for my friend and I, and for the first time in the 19 years that I've been living in Thailand, and the nearly 50 years that I've been coming to Thailand I was asked to show a visa stamp. I don't carry my passport unless I'm leaving the country or going to a bank to make an important transaction. I did have a color copy of my passport with my visa stamp on the back, however they said that they required one of my friend also, even though the booking was entirely in my name and paid for by me. I feel that the man at the counter was simply flexing his muscles and asking for something that is not required. I will now have to fight to get a refund with Agoda. I asked the hotel for a refund and they said no. The man was very rude, very arrogant, very obnoxious, and totally uncooperative. This hotel knowing that they have a very unusual policy of requiring a visa stamp should be willing to offer a credit for a future stay at a minimum, on the spot when they are turning away a guest. I started raising my voice and screaming at the man behind the counter because I was getting no cooperation, you cannot stay here, we will not give you your money back, and get lost. That arrogance set me off, and the man actually threatened to call the police. Is this how you treat a customer? The only mistake I made was not getting his name. I sincerely hope he loses his job over this, he doesn't deserve that job. Neither does the manager. This was a dreadful way to start a vacation. We were left scrambling for a room at the last minute for the same day. Not only will I never come back to this hotel, I would encourage every single person who reads this review to not book with this hotel, as they have no idea how to treat customers properly. I know I cannot call them out by name, but the letter B appears at the beginning of their name, and a very low digit follows that. Ha!

Musk is the one who needs to be somehow eliminated from this ridiculousness. Sure, many areas need to be trimmed. Is he the one to do it? As his wealth has increased so has his level of arrogance, insanity and foolishness. I don't trust his judgment and he now has far too much power.

I used to know a guy who had a custom built, spectacular hilltop villa on Samui. This place was unbelievably luxurious and was probably worth well over a two million dollars. He was a ship captain who for decades piloted major ships and put a lot of his life savings into this villa for retirement. He married the wrong woman and she was a compulsive gambler. One night she was out gambling and she put up the house and lost. Some mafia guys came by a couple days later with the police and claimed the house. The husband had no idea what had happened. He consulted an attorney who said there was not much he could do, as these thugs would just have him taken out. So he divorced her, (a bit too late) and he decided to go back to work as a captain, at the age of 65, to try to get back on his feet, and start all over again. A very cautionary tale, what's the moral of a story? Take your time, time is your ally, it's never their ally, but it's always ours. If there are problems are going to reveal themselves over time, and if things are good they are only going to get better, so take your time. Take a few years to really get to know her. Is she really worthy of your devotion?

They still think they are the Monte Carlo of SE Asia. Such delusion. A dozen reforms are needed to attract wealthy expats and tourists.

The first thing they could do to improve English skills would be to hire only foreign teachers. No Thai teachers at all. They need earnest people with strong language skills, who are not afraid of silly things like losing face to young students. The ability to question the teacher is a fundamental aspect of learning. Are the dinosaurs serious about learning skills, or are they just embarrassed by such a low proficiency score? In the interim, Thailand continues to move backwards.

It looks like that, he's not smart, he's quite weak and he's a terrible negotiator, so the best thing that his administration can do would be to make sure he's never involved in any negotiations ever.

Giving away all the territory that Russia has gained, asking Ukraine to not join NATO and getting absolutely nothing in return is not a plan. If you think it's a plan then your fealty is unlimited.

I could literally go on for an hour, but I will try to summarize. The overdevelopment was rampant and completely unregulated, the hillside that I lived across from had construction that never stopped, the concrete trucks would tear up the roads and they were not repaired properly, the congestion became unbearable, the prices skyrocketed, people held me hostage constantly because the island was 20 km from the mainland and therefore they deserved a huge premium on their products and services, everything became more expensive, huge numbers of Russians moved in, and I got sick of being trapped on an island where the ferry or Bangkok Air was my only alternative. During covid 90% of the business on Samui collapsed, and all the mom and pop stores remain out of business to this day, with the exception of just a few. They were replaced mostly by higher end places that are quite pricey. No thanks. Believe me I could keep going. Leaving Samui was a great decision.

Make sure a good negotiator is in charge, and keep Trump as far away from the negotiating table as possible. As many of us know he is one of the worst negotiators on the planet, and he tends to cave in to dictators and despots. He's shown a history of that in his first Administration.

Not only can property taxes be a significant amount of money but if you are unfortunate enough to have bought a condo in an area like South Florida the homeowners fees have skyrocketed due to the increasing costs caused by hurricanes and weather related issues, as insurance premiums have gone through the roof and there are no controls on the insurance mafia industry. So there are a lot of retired folks who have their condos paid for and are now wrestling with HOA fees that have skyrocketed to the point where they cannot afford their condo anymore. This is part of life in America, a dwindling empire, lower quality of life by the year, higher expenses, and diminishing services. Make America great again? That's never going to happen.

That is just so completely beyond any scope of knowledge or reasonable perception. I just had an incident at a hotel yesterday where I was denied entrance because I didn't have my passport and visa stamp with me. It was the first time in 20 years I've ever been asked for that. I always travel with a color copy of my passport and visa stamp which I had, and I was still refused entry. No refund was offered. Just leave now. I raised my voice just a little bit and the idiot behind the counter threatened to call the police. Would that have been my fault? Would I have deserved deportation at that point? Was I showing any disrespect? Did I do something wrong? The police here are often unfair in their treatment of foreigners, they often times will side with a local, and not take all the facts into account. So in my opinion one must always try to avoid interactions with the police here if possible.

Gravitas and Trump should never be used in the same sentence. He's one of the least serious men to ever occupy that office, and one of the most poorly equipped, intellectually. As we speak he's attempting to give away Ukraine to his best friend Putin.

I would take a president who's getting blown in the oval Office any day over one whose dismantling the world order, and creating a potential world security crisis, while diminishing the US in the process.

This is a very good point as incomes are rising slowly in the US, but the cost of living has been rising dramatically, inflation is still out of control, and the quality of life has diminished dramatically for the average person. Unless you own a home free and clear, it's a very difficult life in America these days, financially.

It appears that this man who is one of the worst negotiators on the planet, is prepared to give away the store yet again. Entering into negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine, and offering his dear friend Putin all the territory that they've gained so far in this ridiculous war, and denying Ukraine NATO membership, with virtually nothing in the way of concessions. Is that the sign of a great negotiator? My question is why aren't people more angry about the way this fool has conducted his first month in office. He seems to be attempting to dismantle the world order at his own whim, and very few people seem to be fighting back. He is threatening both National Security and World security at this point and needs to be stopped.

There are probably so many reasons for this, sinsod might be one of them, perhaps that ancient tradition should be abolished, it seems a bit antiquated at this point. Also many people are just not that anxious to have children anymore, this does not seem to be a particularly good time to bring children into the world, and babies in general are so over rated. So, overall this might be a good trend for Thailand and for the planet.