Zstarx

Any hospital would be better than doing nothing. I normally go to the Bangkok Hospital on Sukhumvit Rd, although I've never been for heart problems. Good luck

You're just the sort of tourist that Pattaya needs

I would not go near an agent if you can avoid it. You are more valuable to a prospective landlord without one. If you go through an agent your rent will effectivly be marked- up 10 to 15 % as a minimum to cover the agents commision. You would be better off doing a "net" deal directly.The issue is how to contact the owners. Might be worth going along and introduce yourself at the building to the buillding management. On a new project like this there is usualy someone who deals with the transfers , they are will be in close touch with the purchasers and know who wants to sell or rent,try to get to know them; 500bt here and there can help! Sometimes they may also get some small commision from the landlord for introducing a tenant, or , they may just want to try to help their customers.In this market there will be some desparate prospective landlords out there so you have a great chance of getting a good deal.

I did exactly this the last time I rented and ended up getting an apartment significantly below the price CBRE were asking for the same unit. Also Prakard.com is worth a look as it is often used by landlords who want to reach renters without going through an agent.

On price, you will pay slightly more for a new prestige project with a good fit-out and high quality furnishing, but, as a rule of thumb, for a high quality unit ,you should be paying no more than 50 % of the sqm area in baht multiplied by1000; eg if the unit is 180sqm then 90000 bt per month maximum etc. With a bit of negotiation you should be able to get it a fair bit cheaper.

Load of rubbish in your post. Your opinion is not universal for all unit owners, and through intelligent use of the agent the rental fee can be reduced. Your approach may work for the type of expat with too much time on their hands, but frankly its insulting and simple minded.

For the Met, where there are clearly a lot of units available for rent you will see rents decline in the short term due to excess supply and limited (very limted) demand. Call every agent - nobody can updte a website in real time and no agnets list all the unist they have - its not hard!

Spoken like a true agent. The fact remains, if you can take out the middle man, invariably you will get a cheaper price.

Rimmer where are you

...keep trying ...I was just about sorting it for you, but leave it now as it is

Thanks

Not sponsored by Jamesons by any chance

an anonymous call would be sufficient. Cannot see the hassle aspect here. Just because others are negligent, you do not have a carte blanche for doing the same offense.

I suppose it depends how good ones Thai is

My first and last attempt at quoting

I suppose it depends how good ones Thai is

I'm with Briggsy, why would you give yourself the hassle, plenty of Thai's would have seen the corpse as well.

I was pointing out there are limits to growth..........cities are no exception.

But, alas, based on a flawed model with convenient, simplistic assumptions.

Some of our best cities in the USA, for example, are not that large and have great city planning: Aspen, Colorado; Taos, New Mexico; Jackson Hole, Wyoming, etc. You can see the same thing in Europe.

Is this a joke? The cities you cite are in rich countries and their tourists are rich yuppies. There are few jobs there esp. for poor people, as Pattaya provides; and here tourists need not spend so much. The Pattaya model has been working well enough as it is. And it's very Asian and very Thai.

There is a balance between people and resources............convenience is there...............beauty is there.

The high price is there, well out of reach for the market to which Pattaya caters. Where're the strip bars? Way the hel_l outside o' town on the highway! And what do they charge?

In Pattaya, that balance has long since gone. Perhaps that is why I liked the 80s-90s better than what we see today.

Yawn. Most of us, esp. Thais who have jobs they wouldn't have otherwise, like Pattaya better now, for reasons explained earlier.

Pattaya is, of course, different from the stellar cities I listed.

U think?

What I am thinking about is proper city planning.

Uh-huh.

Imagine a much smaller (far less crowded) city that is clean with proper infrastructure, housing for all income levels, bike paths, more walking street (no cars) areas, more parks, great marina...........AND has the "seedy, exotic side" too, perhaps restricted in the "seedy, exotic development zone."

Imagine how many jobs that would cost and how many millions in taxpayer funds and what high prices such a city would have, just for you. Imagine the loss of personal and economic freedom as the gummint decides where you can live and work and play.

No, we ain't going there. Horrible.

It would resemble the 80s and 90s Pattaya but with more modern facilities and far fewer people (also would still have the main attraction in place).

Part of the main attraction is all over town now and most of us like it that way. So do the Thais: less competition in an area. Don't wanna travel over to the "pen" where you've decided it should be.

Is that such a bad development scheme?

Horrible, as noted. What did you plan to do w/ all the people homeless and out of work? Send them to execution squads? Cf. Bucharest urban planning, pre-fall.

What I am seeing (and perhaps other will agree) is a development scheme for cars and real estate agents..........it is a growth, growth, growth mentality.

Right. More tourists, more jobs, more products, more services, more conveniences. And you'd take that away and substitute growth of taxation, of privilege for an elite few, and of government power.

No thanks.

Yes, there is the lets make Pattaya into Monaco mentality...........but you can't do that with social engineering schemes coupled with the construction of one concrete coffin building after another.

Monaco??? Oh! Where live Paula Radcliffe, Richards Farleigh (Dragons Den), David Coulthard, Jenson Button, Roger Moore, Ringo Starr, Wafic Said, Ken Bates, Tony Ryan and Julian Lennon? Where none of us can afford to live? No comment necessary. And it would require infinitely more social engineering--of the enviro-statism sort that you hold so dear, based on false assumptions,

I don't think this reflects only my vision........

Not at all, but delusion as well. And you can always find people who would agree with your dictatorial scheme as long as they themselves don't have to pay for it.

I think a lot of expats would love a "fun city" built for people and not cars and real estate agents.

Nope. Singapore's there already. Got a big tax on cars, too. We like Pattaya pretty much as it is and where it's going, except maybe for the baht buses, but lots of people love those too.

As I suggested earlier, North Korea and Cuba might be where you're happiest. Pyonyang is a perfect, indeed a stellar example of urban planning and government control; I don't know WHY you didn't cite it:

It’s the only major city that has managed to avoid turning into digusting, smoggy hellholes like Seoul, Saigon, Manila or Beijing. It has glorious wide boulevards, a beautifully clean and broad river and monumental architecture and public space that benefits the people rather than business. The Ryugyong hotel is an architectural masterpiece that is finally being completed and the Juche monument facing Kim-Il-Sung square across the Taedong is a powerful unifier of the Korean people. Transport is egalitarian and relies on the Metro and trolleybuses rather than the incessant din of scooters or Toyotas and the city is entirely free of the hideous commercial clutter that is an immediate symptom of American economic ideology.

Read more at redirecting...

OK, I'm gonna have cease enlightening before I'm banned. (Hope this post makes it thru.) No doubt the mods are getting ansy at this point and will soon close the thread. But do see my OP again. I strongly stand by it. Pattaya's doing pretty well, overall.

I see BOSCo's is being renovated for a new business even now.

So one business closes down and another replaces it, and thats growth

I'm starting to dislike Perth, if Labour bring in this RSPT I can see my retirement being delayed another year. That would really piss me off.

Now I'm just a simple old country boy but this is what I think is the key sentence in all that gobble-de-gook in the article.

Quote:

The centre's director-general Samma Kitsin said the inventories were now of a size that would take more than two years to sell,based on economic growth of 3 to 4 per cent per year.

Unquote

Says it all, doesn't it? My question is: Will Thailand reach that 3 to 4 percent economic growth this year?

Personally, I wouldn't bet money on it.

With what something like 9% in the first quarter, it certainly is on the way, don't you think?

TJ

I'd question the figures, according to the Economist magazine, in the lastest quarter Thailand had GDP growth of 16% ( over the previous quarter ), however apparently there is only 1% unemployment

While it isn't specifically a "Thai" problem, as they seem to have a low population growth ( I never see Thais with very large families about ), you are right about population growth being the downfall of humanity. This is the "elephant in the room", as all these high powered meetings about "climate change" never admit as long as there is unrestricted population growth there is no hope of stopping it. Soon, there will be wars for access to fresh water, and hordes of poor immigrants fleeing their devestated homelands will, if not stopped, destroy our comfortable western way of life ( let's all have 3 cars and a giant tv in every room! ).

People should always remember that it isn't going to be the "end of the world", just the end of humans. The planet will survive quite nicely, thank you.

JR to Thaibeachlover (having problems with the new system here):

The point I was trying to make is that Thailand--and virtually all countries on the planet--has already gone way past a sustainable population level.

So, while it is good that Thailand's fertility rate is down, a population problem exists. And it will get worse (the population continues to grow).

I agree that climate change is a major problem (oopps here come the global warming isn't real Trolls again).........and there is not much hope of stopping it unless we radically reduce population levels (not just reduce population growth rates) and move away from our reliance on fossil fuels.

I agree that we are set for water wars.

I agree that we are set for mass migrations (unprecedented).

I agree that the earth does not need us

But we can't ask the people in the developed world to live like dogs.

They have a right to try to improve the quality of their lives.

To do that..........economic activity must increase (unfortunate reality)..........the only way to make that happen without destroying the planet is to move away from fossil fuel use.

There are other ways............but no need to discuss everything here.

It is interesting that some posters want me to carry a doom and gloom sign around...........in fact, I am presenting very positive solutions to our challenges.

In other words, I believe we can do something to stop the insane trajectory we are on.

Others, like the people who think I should carry around that sign, are clueless...........that can't even see THE PROBLEM.

The first step to solving any problem is recognizing that it exists.

Ignoring problems, like most Thais do, solves nothing...........now, apparently, most farangs are adopting the Thai way: hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.

I do wish I had a franchise on rose colored glasses..........might make a fortune advertising on ThaiVisa.

Wow, we've really moved away from the Topic, but have to agree with you. However, I don't think there is any hope for humanity to change sufficiently to save itself. I'm just gratefull I have no children to suffer.

Now, to get back to the topic- to those that think business people know what they are doing-LOL. They are the reason why the earth is in deep doo, as they continue their relentless pursuit of riches. When wrongly located monstrocities such as Avenues and Central Festival destroyed a perfectly nice hotel and much loved bar beers, it was because the owners had got sucked into the really stupid idea that Pattaya was going to become the Monaco of Thailand, or some such tripe being purveyed by City Hall years ago.

As a result of that rubbish ( garbage in garbage out ), we now have a crappy beach and a broken walkway with a few flash resorts and hotels, and a Bangkok style shopping mall. I've yet to see the celebrity crowd arriving, and if they did, one stroll along Beach Road would have them fleeing in their private jets, back to Dubai or some other poncy ruined place where they can drive around in their stretch limos telling each other how brilliant they all are on their trendy ipads!

No doubt Central Festival's owners have deep pockets, but it's going to take more than a few Thai weekend shoppers to save it.

No, No it's going to grow, it's just going to take 25 years

Anyone who thinks Pattaya is going to grow whilst the Euro and Pound are so week are kidding themselves IMHO

If you love golf, you have to play Siam Country Club at least once . It is a world class course and as such is still reasonable.

Agree, also should play Plantation and Laem Chabang at least once

Like it or not, the Thai people are entitled to restrict the ownership of Thai land as they wish. We farang are guests and we should respect Thai laws, again, like them or not.

Yes they are, and the're entitled to charge dual prices for Falangs and we should respect that as well

There's nothing worse then some cnt yapping on about how good walking street used to be back when...., how the bg's were more friendly back when...., how you used to get a cold towel offered in every bar back when....., don't open a business, don't invest in Thailand what you cant walk away from...<deleted> these cretins bore me to tears almost to the point of mental lock down until they move away from my personal space. They are as about as interesting as watching paint dry....times change, things move on, it's called progress and if you don't like it then fine but don't ram it down everyone's throat cos i for one am sick to death of it.

Pattaya is growing and growing fast the dimwits who cant see it are just that dimwits.

I have to admire your optimism, building new a new condo that's 90% empty, now that's growth

Just pay cash and save the interest expense...it's only about B 1M right...stay away from being a "debt slave."

Why would you, if you get 2.89% finance ?

Why don't you cycle to Chang Mai, I'm sure their forum could do with a bit of livening up

Play with one of the golfing bars? The Outback Bar will pick you up and drop you off if you are in town.

you seem to be in a majority of one,

Right...........majority of one indeed...........don't see how any person could possibly believe "everything is opening up" unless that means lines to bankruptcy and jail for corruption.

My guess is that a disgruntled real estate agent is acting trollish by introducing this thread (trollish........is that a word?):

Agree totally

tuk com, mike mall, friendship, tesco certainly are not booming, central is busy but when i walk around poeple are just window shopping. bars are not doing well and in my opinion do not deserve to do well. i go out a lot but most bars dont have a clue how to make people feel welcome, or give a reasonable service level. the farang places are the worst where the boss sits in a corner all night drinking. i had 2 mates come to Pattaya last weekend after spending 2 months working in the dessert. we went all around, the only place, that stood out as making us want to spend our money was whats up a go go, we stayed in there for 6 hours and spent about 8000 baht, the manager came and said hello and bought us a couple of drinks. compare this with other busness where they cannot even say hello. non business men from europe who have not got a clue how to deal with a hard time. the traffic is as light as i have seen it, even lighter when you got sat nav to get you around little back streets. the business here have to face up to the fact that their customers income is down 30%, do what they are doing in the states and uk, sell cheap cheap until the recession is over.

I've visited TukCom, Friendship, Tesco, Big C, and Carrefour recently and all were doing well. I still had to stand in line at checkout at all those big stores. At Central lots of people do window shop (typical at this kind of mall everywhere), but others buy. At Banana IT, cash in hand, I couldn't get sales assistance, they were so busy. Power Buy--plenty of customers too. And as for the restaurants at Central, I tried to get into Fuji the other weekend: they had to put me on the waiting list! I left, went to the Food Court, and--it was mobbed, almost no place to sit. (Had to park on the street, too, no room for one more motorbike in the parking lot.) How could you not see that kind of evidence? Gimme a break!

But your other observations are spot on. Tropical Bert's--good example of how to do things right. He read the thread about yellow chicken curry, learned what people want, and now he's offering exactly that (according to one satisfied customer). And now I'm gonna visit and get some o' that pretty soon. Sweethearts Go-Go--heard good things about the rock music (true), went, found a really nice vibe, super friendly owner, and now I'm gonna go back next time I'm in Walking Street.

Are you a real estate agent talking it up?

It certainly doesn't look better.

I've got a mail from Kung today, but I couldn't open it. If someone who got the same pictures can upload it here, I would be greatfull.

Hi

With Word 2007 I can open the files.

When you don't have this Word version or it still doesn't work I attach the pdf files with this ADD so you can open it with a Acrobat pdf reader.

You can send me as well your email address to [email protected] so I can send the same files in pdf format to your email account.

regards, Jan

Looks like a big glasshouse

It sure did get to 32 before the GEC. Albeit for only about 1 week before the shit hit the fan and it spiralled downwards to as low 20. it is a matter close to my heart - not to mention my wallet.

I have a pretty good memory for Thai Baht (and other Asian Currencies) against the AUD over the past 40 years. In 1997 I was here when the Asian Tigers went belly up. I flew out of Bangkok in October when it hit 30, but it went to 33 - Again, not for very long before settling back to the Mid 20s again.

Yes by Jan 2009 with interest rates in Oz at 2% and the Baht at 20 I was getting pretty bloody worried. We expected the Oz Dollar to go below 55 cents US at that stage - That's what the so-called experts were saying at the time, thank christ they were wrong!

When you transfer you money from Aust - Remember, do not change it before transfer!!!!!

ALWAYS ® ALWAYS send in Oz Dollars and let the Thais do the exchange. The Big Four Bastards (Banks) in Aust will rip you off anything up to 2 baht in the dollar if you change it first and send it in Thai Baht.

Thankyou, I was sure I got 32 and I wasn't dreaming

Sorry to question your perfect knowledge but I have the paperwork to "prove" it was 19 around 18 months ago. I know this because I placed a deposit on a condo in BKK when the rate was around 26.5 and when I had to settle on completion of the project the rate was in the 19's which effectively cost me an additional $30,000AUD for the the condo after exchange.

Go back do you homework. I accept your apology in advance.

Mate you must have been getting you money changed by CBA or one of the credit unions before transfer, some of the worst exchange rate I have ever seen.

There were some tough times then (Dec 08), but in country we were getting about 21 (still a long way down from the 32 of 12 months prior). It could have been when there was a huge on-shore /off-shore difference in exchange rate, the Thai government were playing games that did not work well at the time, I thought they finished with that game about April 08.

Always best to send the money over in AUD if using a bank in Australia