yogi100

4 minutes ago, JustAnotherHun said:

Try - as ONE example - "Siam Bay View". There's a couple of pool villas priced around 50 million THB or more. One's owned by Swiss friend of mine. Very nice.

Looking for a 600m2 penthouse straight on the beach? I can help.

But I confess, those places are usually not offered for short time rent.

 

And to the lack of daytime activities:

You play Golf, Squash, Tennis, Badminton, Snooker or something like that.? Welcome.

But you're right so far as there are no places to hug buffaloes, watch the rice growing, discuss with your teethless Thai neighbor the rising somtam prices and other enyoements like that.

And who said the Germans never had a sense of humour!

17 minutes ago, lkn said:

I think the original statement was that “Pattaya is centrally located”. The Airport times from Google Maps are as follows:

 

U-Tapao Airport: 48 m
Suvarnabhumi Airport: 1h 25m
Don Mueang Airport: 2h 15m
 

While there might be congestion in Chiang Mai, you can normally get to the airport in less than 20 minutes from pretty much anywhere inside the super highway.

 

Personally I always leave for the airport one hour before my flight is about to leave, and have never missed a flight. The airport itself has flights to Krabi, Phuket, Bangkok, U-Tapao, and many international destinations, so you can often do direct flights.

 

It really is a great convenience to have an airport this close, On a few occasions I have gone there by bicycle, and when I escort people to the airport, I may opt to walk back.

 

Though this wasn’t supposed to be about Chiang Mai, more just that calling Pattaya “centrally located” is stretching the truth, when it’s more than a one hour drive to the nearest international airport, which is actually unlike other places in Thailand, for example Ao Nang is only a 40 minute drive from Krabi Airport, which also have international flights, and you also have Koh Samui, even Patong is less than a one hour drive from Phuket Airport.

 

I do not live in the LOS I just have long holidays in Pattaya. If I fly direct from London I can get from Heathrow to my hotel in Pattaya in 14 hours if all goes well.

It would take me much longer to get to CM. So for me Pattaya is much handier and the night life which is probably the best in the world is what I go there for. I've zero interest in temples, culture or ancient buildings. We've got more than enough temples, cultures and old buildings to point a stick at in London.

On 3/3/2020 at 1:37 AM, kenk24 said:

From CM you can fly to near anywhere in an hour... in Pattaya it is over an hour just to get to the airport... so, who is isolated? 

 

Obviously all just a matter of taste... glad you are enjoying where you have chosen... 

 

And living "out" where the Thai are Thai - and don't have to learn to "react" to farang - that is what Thailand is about for me.. 

It can also take a CM resident an hour to get to hour to get to CM airport if the traffic is bad. Pattaya traffic is always bad but most of the journey to the airport is on the motorway.

On 2/17/2020 at 8:01 PM, AlexCanada said:

but how would someone pay 800 baht per night if they supposedly have no access to an ATM?  

 

Another question I understand Thailand Immigration requires you to 20,000 Thai baht to enter Thailand.  I have always abided by this rule since I heard about it.  Would a person be denied entry for the sole reason they are not carrying 20,000 Thai baht when they enter Thailand?

It is said that the equivalent in any currency or access to the same funds is OK.

But it will naturally depend on the mood of the officials concerned.

It'd be funny were it not for the fact that we've just spent a fortune on a flight to get to Thailand in the first place.

I have had AF in the UK. I went to a hospital where they kept me in for two nights and monitored my heart and it's functions. I must admit to being alarmed when it happened.

They gave me Edoxoban 10 mg a day to thin the blood, high blood pressure meds and increased my dosage of Bisoprolol (beta blockers) to 5 mg a day.

All seems OK after 18 months but I was told that if it (an irregular or racing pulse) returns to lie down for a few hours till it passes which I have had to do on two occasions. 

A couple of my pals have had the same problem and the treatment, medication and advice they received was much the same as mine. They are both OK.

It's a good idea to get a blood pressure/pulse monitor to keep an eye on things.  You can get wrist mounted ones from E Bay or Amazon for about 500 baht (£9 UK money). They are not bang on accurate but but give you an approximate guide as to how your heart is performing.

I am not a heavy drinker and quit smoking 4 years ago. 

10 hours ago, stevenl said:

Like?

Many people might consider the likes of Stalin, Antonescu and Pol Pot mentally unstable.

People don't start ordering the execution of millions of people unless they're not quite right in the head.

Many consider Hitler and his Nazi party to have been a socialist organisation although not a communist one. There is sometimes said to be a fine line between left and right wing politics.

On 2/24/2020 at 10:15 AM, bluesofa said:

According to 77kaoded he's MR.CHARLES CHRISTOPHER RATCLIFFE.

Have I missed something obvious here?

He's Daniel Ratcliffe's father.

On 2/20/2020 at 5:14 AM, tlandtday said:

Pretty simple actually if someone wants to kill you don't let them in your country.  If someone will give you a dangerous virus don't let them in the country. What's so hard to figure out about this?  Germany is a mess.

Those who promoted multiculturalism in Germany obviously overlooked what took place in the 1930s and 40s. The blood of those old nazis still flows in the veins of their descendants and it's beginning to bubble in anger.

Look at how the AfD has taken off in just a few years.

In spite of Merkel declaring in 2010 that multiculturalism in Germany had been a massive failure she and her fellow politicians insisted on shoehorning as many Muslims into the Fatherland as they possibly could.

18 hours ago, sahibji said:

please give some views about the bad publicity in pattaya - robbing and abuse by ladyboys, cruel attacks on foreigners (often by many against one) the ruthless tuk tuks and taxis (not all but certainly a fair number)

It's safer in the streets of Pattaya than in many cities of Europe and the USA. There are no tuk tuks in Pattaya and the baht buses and taxis provide a safe and efficient service.

The problems are the high baht and the visa issues for those that want to stay more than 30 days like the European and North American snow birds. The Corona virus threat is only temporary.

20 hours ago, legend49 said:

Whats normal?

The same as it usually is.

8 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

30 day extensions are normal

That's what a pal of mine was led to believe when he bought a 60 day SE visa intending to spend 3 months in Pattaya.

When he went to Jomtien immigration office to extend it he queued for 5 hours and then everyone who had not been seen was instructed to return the next day.

He did as ordered and the next day after queuing for another 2 hours was refused a 30 day extension but was granted just 14 days.

His appeals and entreaties fell on deaf ears and it cost him £200 (8,000) baht to change his flight from 30 days time to 14 in order to get back to the UK.

This was about 18 months ago, he's not been back since. He used to visit once or twice a year and stay for two or three months each time.

It must always be remembered that our trips to the LOS and their duration are dependent on the whims and discretion of the individual immigration official we will be dealing with and are not related to some claptrap we may be told by people at the embassies and consulates.

17 hours ago, saengd said:

Do you really think this virus scare will last forever?

Do you really think the Chinese will not return?

Do you really think that Thai tourism will not reinvent itself like it has done so many times before?

Really?

Thai tourism has hardly reinvented itself so many times before. It's not been a major tourist destination long enough to have done so.

32 minutes ago, Dustdevil said:

I know one thing, at least from the ChinaCupid dating website--not one among hundreds of Chinese women want to LIVE in Chiang Mai or anywhere in Thailand--and that was a year ago. They would like to live in the West, though, because they know the quality of life is better. Fancy skyscrapers and fast trains don't make a unicorn utopia.

Back in the 1990s in London a pal of mine called Roy used to go on the lonely hearts club columns in the newspapers, there was no internet then. He was always a bit of a loner when it came to seeking out women.

He used to like Oriental women and went out with quite a few Chinese girls who lived in London probably from places like Singapore or Hong Kong. Native Chinese people did not travel much then. As time went on he moved away and I lost touch with him.

Around 10 years later I'm having a drink in an open bar in Pattaya and who goes wandering by but my old pal Roy! When we got over our surprise at bumping into each other 6,000 miles from home, we caught up on the gossip and what had become of mutual friends and Roy duly proceeded on his way.

Over the years he'd obviously never lost his fascination for and attraction to Oriental girls nor his lone wolf method of finding them. Back then few people knew anything about Chiang Mai. Most tourists stuck to Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket.

18 hours ago, holy cow cm said:

I love it. So quiet and less congested for once. You get sick of seeing and having to watch your step with a million Chinese running around.

Don't hold your breath, it won't last long.

They'll be back with a vengeance once the travel restrictions are relaxed.

1 hour ago, MaxLee said:

Look at this Piece of JUNK, he is saving face .... 

It's just a blank black screen!

Emmerdale is good for a laugh.

It's a UK soap opera on 6 times a week about a remote village and farming community set in the Yorkshire Dales.

At least four of the leading characters are gays and lesbians and there are four black men in it, one of whom is a farm labourer. The other three are self employed business men, or supposed to be although they never seem to be doing much in the way of work.

Coronation Street is going down the same road as well. They've got a gay black professional footballer whose father is the new local builder. You've got to laugh.

Only in Madhouse Britain.

12 hours ago, Roy Baht said:

People "around here" are not government ministers in positions of authority.

And I'll tell you who cares: the world. Story is on Yahoo now.
https://news.yahoo.com/thai-minister-says-kick-western-tourists-not-wearing-082104926.html

 

 

A lot of folk might agree with him.

Especially when you consider the disease has already claimed hundreds of lives. And bear in mind the masks are intended for the protection of the general public not just the individual who wears it.

19 hours ago, globalspark said:

Lets me honest about this subject. The main attention  for Thai officals are Chinese and Indian tourist. The farang can please  himself for the time been. we brought it on out self the way we have been conducting ourselves for  many years. Now not everybody fits the same hat but i think in the eyes of the authorities that is the case.

 On my many visits to Thailand farangs disagree with me well some when I tell them they are not wanted any longer. Most are there on  a pension which is barely enough to buy food and pay rent.Yep the Chinese  spend even less money   as the tours are paid for in China  but the numbers look good.

Frankly not much going for the  place so like myself start elsewhere to go and spend your money.

Mr Anutin is a perfect example of why us falangs should always observe the old axiom of 'Rent don't Buy' when in Thailand. 

We can then just pack up and leave without having to worry about selling property, cars, motor bikes, bidding farewell to women and obtaining visas and dodgy health insurance etc.

In fact Mr Anutin has actually done some of us a favour if he did but know it. He's gone to the flea market and laid out his wares for all to see.

19 hours ago, Thian said:

In that case they should also cover ALL FOOD on ALL markets...if one contaminated person sneezes over it the party will start.

 

Also they should bring loads of people in a small place together, in Impact Muang Thong are still fairs organised every day.

 

In restaurants we still don't get a serving spoon when eating in a group.

 

Thailand does nothing to prevent themselves from the virus...handing out a few mouthmasks is far from enough.

It's not really Thailand's duty to hand out facemasks or any sort of masks. If you want to wear one then buy some yourself or insist that the Chinese government provide them.

If we are really serious about mask wearing then we should all purchase military grade gas masks and rubber gloves and wear them when we're out and about because they are the only measures that are effective. There are reports that these cotton masks are all but useless when it comes to this virus.

To be fair to Anutin he's only doing something that everyone hopes may help to  contain the disease. It's more of a gesture than anything else. But it's gesture that reveals a lot about what the Thais' opinion of us falangs really is and explains why many of them want us out.

It's yet more writing on the wall and it's time expats started looking for buyers for their houses up in the boondocks and their condos in places like Pattaya, Bangkok and Phuket. That's if they're not already in some Thai woman's name.

28 minutes ago, DannyCarlton said:

555 Try telling a Thai that they are the same race as Cambodians....or Burmese, or Laotians! I would include Chinese but they aren't from S.E. Asia and normally look quite didfferent to your average Thai.

But how do they 'normally look quite different to your average Thai'.

I can't tell the difference and I spend a lot of time in Thailand especially Pattaya which is very popular with Chinese people. We have Chinese staying in my South Pattaya hotel and there is no way I can tell them from Thais.

I also live in London which is another place that is popular with the Chinese. The only way I can differentiate between them is that I am rather more familiar with the Thai language than I am with Mandarin or whatever other language they speak.

The Chinese have traditionally settled all over the globe for years and Thai people in the UK are often mistaken for Chinese. It's probably the same elsewhere in the world.