spidermike007

Blame, blame, blame. It was caused by anything but us. Without Covid, Thailand was heading toward a disastrous high season. Hotels at 50% occupancy, at a time when they are usually nearly full. So, Pipat. You need to admit what an utter failure you have been as tourism minister. You are an empty suit. 

These issues and problems were becoming apparent long before Covid. And none were being addressed. Tourism had been declining for years already. The numbers were up. But the quality of tourist was way down. And according to everyone I spoke to last year, the year before and the year before that, income was way, way down. So, "this blame it all on Covid scenario" is somewhat disengenuous. Sure, Covid is huge. And the drop now is stunning. But, my point is there were plenty of issues prior to Covid. And are any of them being addressed?

Again, this is a situation where nobody is attempting to get to the root of the problem. Of course, in Thai society, it is not particularly popular to look within for the source of the problem.

I will bet this gives the millions in the industry, who are unemployed great hope.

And for those who have invested trillions in hotels, they must be quite impressed by the creative juice and brilliant minds at work, working so hard to solve their concerns. Such competence. Even though Pipat had no prior experience in tourism, few can question his aptitude and forward thinking plans! Same can be said for rhe equally brilliant and inexperienced Anutin. Such comfort for the masses. 

If Thailand had a qualified health minister, and a slightly intelligent tourism minister, they would stop this nonsense, and realize no torusm program requiring quarantine will ever work. Period. 

The Thai army. Moving Thailand backwards, and inflicting untold pain on it's people. Time to go, guys. The people need competency, and they are speaking loudly now. 

If you wanted to venture to an island destination, they are all devastated by this shutdown. Was recently in Samui. 85% of the hotels were closed. Most restaurants, alot of bars, shops and other businesses were closed many permanently. Granted, there are some great hotel bargains right now. But, that environment is fairly depressing, seeing so much hardship. 
 
So, the lame authorities here need to wrap their minds around that. Tourists would be coming to a hugely diminished destination. Free quarantine? Might be a good place to start. Make some sacrifices, you incompetents.
 
A good place to start would be the submarines. Give them up. What are you going to do with them anyway? Who will pilot them? No subs for 60 years, and all of a sudden you have the expertise to pilot and maintain them? Hello.

Show the people you care.  22 billion is the official number. But, since the first one is already up to 13 billion, the numbers simply do not add up. As usual.

Do you care one iota about the people? Just be honest, for once, and admit that you don't. 
 

There are some good looking bar girls in HH. Not alot. But some. Same goes for massage gals. Pattaya is not what it used to be. Neaches are nicer in HH, than in Pattaya. And the further south you go from HH, the better the beaches get. 

Great food. I love the place next to Sakura. I think it called 94. On Soi 94. Amazing Massaman curry. Cool Breeze has excellent tapas. Between soi 55 and 57, on the beach road. Dorigo is excellent Italian. Towards Big C on the right. Lots is good food. Food in Hua Hin blows Pattaya away. 

Remember, the majority of the expat crowd in Pattaya are low to middle income retirees. In Hua Hin it is middle to high income. Far higher standards. 

I also like using the pool at the Marriott or the Intercontinental. Just lay down and enjoy. As long as you buy at least a drink. 

Lastly, the pool bar or the sky bar at the Holiday Inn, is really worth it. Half price at pool bar before 5pm. Sky bar opens at 5.

17 hours ago, earlinclaifornia said:

I shake my head in sorrow every time  head the supporter explaining how they voted for him because of what a businessman he is. Not realizing he blew a billion dollars trying to get elected. You need to realize what the outcome of bankrupting is

That is only for the "no research, believe anything you are told, even if it is coming from a pathological liar crowd". For the people who are more discriminating in what they believe, this is more like it:

17 of his businesses have failed in the past few decades. Some at huge losses. Trump Steaks, Trump Shuttle Airline ($120 million in losses between 1988 and 1990), GoTrump, Trump Vodka, Trump Mortgage, Trump University, Trump Ice, The New Jersey Generals, Tour de Trump, Trump Network, Trump Magazine, Trumped!. Many businesses that licensed his name went bankrupt, or went out of business. And he had between four and six major bankruptcies (depending on the source), including the Trump Taj Mahal (which he spent $1.2 billion building, and was $3 billion in debt within a year of opening), Trump's Castle, Trump Place Hotel (which was very successful prior to Trump buying it in 1988, and he managed to put it into $550 million in debt by 1992!), Trump Hotels and Casinos Resorts ($1.8 billion in debt by 2004, bankrupt in 2009) , and Trump Entertainment Resorts. There are likely others.

And this does not take into account the 3,600 lawsuits he was involved in as of the time he took office, the vast majority of which were filed by small contractors against his companies for non payment, or total default. Many of these contractors were crushed. It is part of his M.O. 
 
Nearly anything with his name on it, and his association with it, fails. Nearly everything he does, fails. 

Even his supporters are watching him unravel. And the ugly talking points and gutter brawls that worked so well in 2015 and 2016, are completely ineffective in 2020. And the dinosaur cannot dance on his feet.

Talk about egg in his face. After all the dismissal of it being a little flu, Trump catches Covid and ends up in the hospital, and becomes a super spreader. At a minimum, it derails his campaign, and makes him look incredibly dumb. He is not a healthy man. Just in the past year his steadiness and stamina seems to have declined remarkably. Notice how he is nearly always holding onto something, to keep himself propped up? Notice him becoming even less coherent than usual? I have. 

The President's return to the campaign trail coincided with rising alarm among Republicans about Trump's sliding poll numbers and after CNN reported that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recently warned Democrats are "on fire." Biden on Monday seized on the start of confirmation hearings from Trump's Supreme Court pick Amy Coney Barrett to warn that the GOP was ramming through the nomination in a last ditch bid to destroy the Affordable Care Act.

The he rants like this? "I feel so powerful, I'll walk into that audience. I'll walk in there, I'll kiss everyone in that audience," Trump said in Sanford, Florida, showing his illness did not teach him to respect his own government's pandemic guidelines. "I'll kiss the guys and the beautiful women and the -- everybody. I'll just give everybody a big, fat kiss."

Hold those kisses big boy. You are the last person on earth we want a kiss from. Even Melanie says NO WAY!!!! 

No. And this is a fantastic time to travel around Thailand. Been to Bangkok and Pattaya two months ago, Samui last month, and am in Bangkok now. Wonderful. Silly deals on hotels. Quieter than usual.

Paradise for domestic travel. Support the locals! 

Oh please. What would make Thailand infinitely sager, would be your immediate resignation, allowing them to find someone with experience in the field of health! 

There are so many variables here. Is it worth taking a small risk, so that the economy can recover, and the people can live? Of course it is. 

How about a simple plan? A non antigen test 72 hours before the flight. And Thailand ups their game, and invests in some modern technology, and provides on the spot antigen testing at Suvarnabhumi or elsewhere. It is easy. You pass two different tests, using two different methodologies, and you are covid free.
 
Welcome. No health insurance required. No groveling at a consulate. No quarantine. No crazy hoops to jump through, which will discourage all but a thousand tourists a month.

Welcome to Thailand. Have a great trip. And thanks so much for bringing a bundle of cash. Our people really need it. 
 
No panic. No fear mongering. Double testing. You are safe. We are safe. Life is good. 

Abbott has received FDA emergency use authorization for a COVID-19 antigen it is pricing at $5 that delivers results in 15 minutes. Other companies including BD and Quidel already sell antigen tests but Abbott’s scale led some analysts to identify its entry to the market as a potential game-changer. Abbott plans to ship 50 million kits a month starting in October, making mass testing more feasible.

Are we living in some sort of echo chamber. All the plans sound about the same. 

There are countless things the government could be doing, if they wanted to attract the high quality tourists. First they need to figure out a way to attract tourism, WITHOUT quarantine. That is fairly simple. A very reliable lab based test in the home nation, with test results before you board the plane. Then a simple antigen test at the airport. It takes 15 minutes for results. Sure, Thailand would have to invest in the test kits. Some general would have to be willing to part with a few million dollars. Each test itself, only cost $5 with the new Abbott test, which is available now.

Then they could get on to reform. Sacrifices need to be made. I do not hear ANY discussion about what sacrifices Thailand is willing to make, to get the tourists, and that multi trillion baht cash cow back.

The very first thing would be to repeal the anti farang wine bill, that was passed by a few very corrupt senators way back when, to protect an anemic local wine industry. They are losing billions of dollars a year in revenue, that would be had from a 100% wine duty, instead of 365%. The five star hotels would have major wine events, and the entire industry would flourish here.

Thailand keeps droning on and on and on, about how they want wealthy tourists. Again, what sacrifices are you willing to make? Rich tourists like to spend money when they travel. And they cannot do that here, as they do not like getting taken for a ride. Most wealthy people are smart with their money. Thailand could be making a fortune on a 25% luxury tax, instead of the 100% of more, which discourages most people from buying. How many people do you see in the luxury stores here? They are almost always completely empty. Inane. Beyond inane.

They will continue to get more Indian and Chinese tourists. But most will be lower income, and lower middle income tourists. Thailand just cannot attract higher income tourists anymore. Very few. The focus on quantity over quality will continue to erode the nation on countless levels.

More is rarely better. It just lowers the quality of life for nearly everyone, creates more congestion, more smog, more traffic, longer lines at immigration, and makes life difficult, especially in the big cities. There are countless things the government could be doing, if they wanted to attract the high quality tourists, and go for quality over quantity.

Quantity over quality is never a good thing, unless you are selling one dollar items at a swap meet. It just lowers the quality of the experience for all.

Great news. Since the majority of early voters are democrats. Trump is cascading toward a towering humiliation. 

He has failed at nearly everything he has touched. Nearly anything with his name on it, and his association with it, fails. And that will be even more so, after he loses the November 3rd election. His name will remain radioactive, the the rest of his life, and the mini empire will continue to dwindle. During the period from 1985 to 1989, three years of which were boom year in NY real estate, he somehow managed to lose $359 million. Between 1990 and 1991 he lost $517 million. And between 1992 and 1995 he again managed to lose $286 million. 
 
The real irony of his whole persona, is that he cannot negotiate his way out of a paper bag, much less negotiate a treaty with an adversary, which makes him very dangerous. 
 
There is a very good chance his tax returns will reveal massive bank fraud. And he could be facing prison time, once he is ingloriously ushered out of the White House in January (possible by US Marshalls, should he resist). 

I tend to agree. Not sure about #1, but a great Massaman is a spectacular dish. Far lighter than most Indian curries, and far more delicate than most Japanese curries.

Of course he does not like it. He deos not have a choice. A resounding defeat in this debate might be give him the tiniest chance of victory. 

The last debate simply reflected the chaos and panic taking place in the mind of Trump. 

 
Interruption is such a familiar form of disrespect. To be interrupted—in a meeting, in a casual conversation, on a presidential-debate stage—is to be told, with blunt efficiency, that your voice is not as important as the voice of the person who is talking over you. It is to be informed, through the prevention of the words you are trying to utter, that you matter just a little bit less.  

He is headed toward the greatest humiliation of his lifetime. Why? Just one of the reasons is that contrary to the self created myth, Trump can barely negotiate his way out of a paper bag. Just think of how many have gotten over on him, and taken advantage of his lack of skill and prowess, in the past few years. Putin, Xi, Kim, MBS, and countless others. Now, the leaked tax returns paint the rest of the sorry picture. 17 major business failures! Possibly a record. And financial losses for decades. Unless he is lying to the IRS too. Very possible. 

No. No. No. No. The market will drop significantly. 

No question it is worse. And few in a position of authority are facing the music. Courageous of BAM chairman Bunyong Visatemongkolchai to state the truth, about the Bangkok economy. The pain will be felt for many years to come. I anticipate condo prices to drop by half. A friend of mine recently moved to Pattaya. He looked at condos in Jomtien. He walked into one of the nicest towers, looked at a 36th floor unit with panoramic views, and when he was quoted 26,000 a month, he offered 10,000. They settled on 13,000. He said the agent more or less admitted the building was nearly empty, and they could not rent to sell anything, at this time. 
 
Demand is way down. The Chinese market is nearly gone, Russians and others are very hesitant to commit. And the long term tourists are gone too. So, who does that leave? Wealthy Thais, many of whom see the market collapsing, and would rather wait and see how all of this shakes out, and ex-pats, many of whom are smart enough to be shopping for bargains right now. 

Anyone interested in buying a condo right now, would be better off waiting awhile. Timing is on your side. Time is now your ally. The economy is going remain devastated here, for a very long time to come. And the longer this goes on, the more people are going to be affected by it, and the more desperate some will become. For the wealthy it barely matters. But, there are many middle class who have money invested, and there are alot of Chinese and Russians who bought, and cannot even visit Thailand. Some of them will want to unload their properties. Wait. The condo market is severely overbuilt. And demand is low, for all but the top buildings.