BigStar

Gluing soles of shoes back on is SOP in Thailand. Expect it; know where your shoe repair stalls are located.

You can of course buy shoe glue and DIY. Lazada has various brands:

https://www.lazada.co.th/catalog/?q=shoe+glue&_keyori=ss&from=input&spm=a2o4m.home.search.go.1125719cMWUQdn

That will work for a while, but a shoe repairman will do a much better and more lasting job.

3 hours ago, Tayaout said:

I had a pair of expensive Merrel mountain boots that seemed fine and both soles came off suddenly on my first day in Bangkok. 

And? So did I, and still do. Same thing happened, though it took a bit longer. Shop glued 'em back on and sewed. Been good ever since, useful armor against Thai streets & sidewalks.

Good, one less cynical little Thai basher on the forum. Going off the grid means you won't be coming back to lob turds as some of our "left" posters continue to do. Won't miss your "Thais ain't kissin' my superior <deleted> enough" posts. But good luck. ????  

6 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Great.

It is called Lookie Looz.

They are not "buyers" until they buy it.

Good luck and please let us know if that happens.

Sigh. Another condo owner uneducated in TVF Economics 101. There is no looking before buying here as in other countries. There's only looking before looking.

Now in theory there could be buying before looking as our mongers are wont to do late at night, but no condo buying or buying in shopping malls has ever been observed by our ace Economists, renters all. The highly reliable lights on night metric has confirmed that only a few condos have ever been purchased over the last 25 years, and those from some farangs desperate to sell and heading for the exit. The rest are just sitting there vacant and unsold in crumbling buildings.

Conclusion: the potential "buyers" merely stopped in to enjoy the free aircon.

On 3/8/2020 at 9:44 PM, Richard W said:

You do realise, don't you, that the name Swampy really comes from Cobra Swamp, the translation of the original name of the airport's location?

You do realize, don't you, that I'm talking not about the original name of the airport's location but about the name of the airport? Its current name, and in only in relation to KhaoYai's stated policy (BS, actually) of strictly using Thai names for Thai places, even as he demands his wife use English pronunciation for the Thai name of a Thai company. (Can't make this stuff up.) Now KhaoYai can't even pronounce "Koh Chang," let alone "Suvarnabhumi." So in fact he calls it either "Swampy" (Brit English for ท่าอากาศยานสุวรรณภูมิ, however derived) or "airport," maybe "big airport" in a pinch. ????

46 minutes ago, peterb17 said:

Big star 

 

Well said , it seems likely ( with some input from Yinn) that allegedly this headline is slightly misleading.

 

Maybe we should set up a ‘reality check’ thread on headlines.

 

I have a suspicion that would not go down too well.

 

if allegedly this headline has been changed so much - it’s disgraceful.

Reality check thread would be great, love that. Pinned right at the top of the news forum. No, that ain't gonna happen!

Disgraceful . . . and in my view immoral, stoking paranoia and racial hatred in farangs reading the forum. Not atypical.

42 minutes ago, terminatorchiangmai said:

Restaurants open , bars closed.

 

All restaurants have more customers inside then the bars here  in Chiang Mai so whats the point?

The order's been great for the restaurant business. I saw more customers in particular restaurants yesterday than I've ever seen during any high season.

On 3/7/2020 at 5:30 PM, topt said:

Sorry but do not understand what you may be driving at. I trust Brave more than I trust Google until proven otherwise plus Brave generally performs faster for me. Just using Brave does not specifically hide you from Google either.....although it cuts down on tracking.

Microsoft Edge received the lowest privacy rating in a recently published study that compared the user information collected by major browsers. Yandex, the less-popular browser developed by the Russian Web search provider Yandex, shared that dubious distinction. Brave, the upstart browser that makes privacy a priority, ranked the highest.

Study ranks the privacy of major browsers. Here are the findings

1 hour ago, alex8912 said:

The only thing that sweats at nicer gyms here are the Thai guys fingers from playing with their phone and watching videos and FB during their work outs. 

Funny. So true!

3 hours ago, Henryford said:

I agree about sea views. People seem to pay over the odds for them but basically it's just a thin strip of blue/green in the distance. Pretty boring. Sure it's nice to be close to the beach but you don't need the view.

Costs a bit more but well worth it, not "over the odds" at all. Free market in sea views as well. No, it's much more than a thin strip of blue/green in the distance. Better see First Optic and get new glasses. No, it's not boring but always dramatic and nice. Why you prefer views of a soi and neighbors' homes, I dunno, but do enjoy those. ????

And finally you've mistaken need for want. 

On 3/15/2020 at 9:39 AM, ivor bigun said:

i cannot understand why people pay a fortune for a sea view ,nothing to see except water,lol

'Cause they like viewing water over the alternatives? But part of your problem, as with so many of our members, is that you're half blind. Can't even see as far as Koh Larn. Me, I love seeing those islands in the distance, too. Lights on at night . . . . The views around Pattaya Bay are also quite nice.

On 3/15/2020 at 9:39 AM, ivor bigun said:

Much better to have a nice house with 2 floors a big garden and parking ,oh and a master bedroom large as a base condo .

So get a condo with 2 floors and a master bedroom large as a Base condo. I hate taking care of any garden, so boring, but you could have one on your spacious balcony. Sorted! Next.

15 hours ago, hmficc said:

Why must we be assaulted with unwanted, simplistic life coaching?

What's funny is that despite our extremely high percentage of schoolmarms and Chicken Littles on the forum, it's about the oddest place one could choose in which to dispense all that useless advice and warning. Everybody already has his mind made up about everything and nothing but pain will ever change it.

One notable omission in the OP's coaching was lack of any mention about strengthening the immune system.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-to-boost-your-immune-system

I assume that's because the mere mention of diet, exercise, decreased alcohol consumption, etc. would be considered so inflammatory here as to get the thread deleted.

Me, I keep my immune system in pretty good shape. I figure any risk of death by virus is infinitesimal compared to that of riding a motorbike. If anything does me in early, it'll be that.

Now I did order online from Tesco Lotus today, as I normally do sometimes out of convenience. Usually there are plenty of time slots available for order delivery, always one the next day if you order in the evening. Today all the slots were booked three days out and many during the rest of the week, too. Never seen the table so full.

The virus has been great for the online order business.

1 hour ago, ivor bigun said:

its what i did before changing ,,just needed a few little things and some photocopies on the day ,but hell its only once a year ,i think i can manage that????

Easily managed. I check about the latest requirements (mostly the same) and just change the dates on the forms on my computer and print out a set. Sign 'em all, hit the bank on the way to Jomtien, and it all goes smoothly. And I'm prepared for a wait, go have a bite & a cold one, read a book, listen to some MP3s, catch up on some phone calls, answer email and surf around. Why some find it so difficult and even throw away money agents I dunno.

On 3/13/2020 at 11:11 AM, Bruce Aussie Chiang Mai said:

No restrictions yet but if I was you I would stay there and head to a nice beach area and relax.

Good point. You never know. But he needn't restrict himself to there. Being a UK citizen, he can get visa-free unrestricted entry to the UK. Book to MAN and just head to Blackpool Pleasure Beach. Yeah. Great sites and the finest cuisine, legendary fish & chips. Pubs. Friendly natives. Beauty. 

20 hours ago, Isaanbiker said:

If the foreigner hadn't be here, the accident wouldn't have happened.

That's so existential. Kierkegaard?

20 hours ago, Isaanbiker said:

It's the foreigner's fault. Thais don't make mistakes. 

As is obvious, foreigners make mistakes all the time. But it's never their fault.

16 hours ago, Leaver said:

This is what made Pattaya famous, and many Thai's rich. 

 

Then, they got greedy, and wanted families and package holiday makers, and every other tourist you can think of to come here as well. 

 

Thai landlords raised rents on commercial premises to a point it out priced Pattaya in the region, despite the readily available sex.  

 

They should have just stuck with Pattaya's proven formula for success, sustainability, and profitability, which is selling sex to mongers.   ????

Just a little fantasy for the peanut gallery. Fact is, Pattaya had great untapped potential to serve other markets and it was finally recognized by individual Thai investors. Just business as usual, nothing particular greedy about it, and it's hypocritical to pretend otherwise. The CentralFestival project alone cost around 5 billion. What with new developments of course land became more expensive as it always does. Compare Pattaya in 1995, which you think was its economic peak under the great Golden Egg Layers, with Pattaya in 2020. Yeah, that land's worth a LOT more now. Nobody seems to think that land in Waikiki should cost the same now as it did in 1830s. ???? Or, except for a few tree huggers, that it should have remained pristine as it was.

The old monger market was in fact going to shrink anyway, so it was all rather prescient, expanding more into domestic and wider international tourism, and has been great for success, sustainability, and profitability. Hence, continued development, notably that 800-lb gorilla you so desperately try to ignore and discount: T21. Thousands of Thais now have jobs in Pattaya that didn't exist under the Golden Egg Layers regime.

It bears emphasizing that the development was driven by business, not government. Government has has played catch-up with very mixed success, sometimes w/ help of business: CP for example paid for an expensive power station upgrade & line to support CentralFestival. The central gov't is mainly concerned w/ EEC these days. Might be on hold a while . . . .

16 hours ago, Leaver said:

Yet, if I say that, I am Pattaya bashing. 

 

So, what's your opinion on the local Pattaya economy?  Do you think it's booming, stable, or contracting?

 

So would I, as a short seller.   ????

That's cause if you say that you are Pattaya bashing. It would be as part of a straw man argument. It's either comparing apples-and-oranges (Pattaya to real world class resorts) or implying, as part of the bash, that Pattaya should be world class. But then you might contradict yourself and claim Pattaya shouldn't have upgraded anything. ???? It's all just trollin'.

At the moment Pattaya's economy looks to be contracting with the rest of the world, so short selling wouldn't be a bad idea except you're probably too late. Good buying opportunity coming up what with the blood in the streets.

But you're merely a buy-and-hold investor. Whoops! Sorry 'bout that. Our ace TVF financial gurus have been known to bring up the idea of short selling as part of the doom prophecies, then claim they can't do it. Nothing new there. I assume that once the scare's over, Pattaya will resume its expansion.

21 hours ago, lkn said:

You are rather uninformed if you are not aware of the stabbings, shottings, and even fist fights, that have ended up with one or more people dead.

 

Some of it are just drunks getting into fights, other is organised crime, as Pattaya attracts a lot of that.

Yep, been some rough justice administered now and again over the last 30 years or so. Happens, esp to obnoxious drunks at 4 AM. But Pattaya's quite safe, feels safe, and the usual attempt to portray it as some sort of dangerous crime-ridden cesspool is just another silly bash that's not going anywhere. Why not bash traffic? Then you've got something.

Nobody has the slightest idea how many foreign criminals are in Pattaya, speculation is just hot air. "Organized" is a joke. Nothing's organized in Pattaya. But if there are perchance a few, they don't really make problems for people who don't deserve them, which might be by simply being too stupid (could be an issue for some of our posters, true). They stay well below the radar as one would expect. One generally hears of them only after they're caught or sought. Nothing to be in the least concerned about. Leave it to Pattaya's finest to sort them out. ????

And after all, people from all walks of life, except old Chiang Mai ladies and man buns, do appreciate Pattaya's charm, ocean views, and overall desirability as a place to live and visit. Can't be helped.

2 hours ago, lkn said:

Building a city from scratch in such short time, rather than have it develop organically, takes a lot of planning, but such planning has not been done in Pattaya

Pattaya developed organically in a short time in accordance with having no planning. Nobody ever thought Pattaya would become nearly as large as it has. But such is typical with Asian cities. Posters here never thought so either, typically sneered at any new construction, and, moreover, typically resist and complain about any planning they themselves didn't approve in advance. Meanwhile the incessant drumbeat about planning goes on and on. Roll with the flow.

2 hours ago, lkn said:

This means the city lack diversity, it lack . . . .

The city hasn't lacked diversity for more than decade.

2 hours ago, lkn said:

Majority of Pattaya is just poorly constructed and poorly decorated shop houses with old guys drinking beer and lots of prostitutes. Nothing edgy about that.

No. Some construction is poor, other excellent. No, old guys drinking beer etc. are in the great minority. Nobody said they have anything to do with edgy. Mostly they have to do with silly stereotyping here. Every square meter of a city doesn't have to be edgy for you to find some edginess if you're looking for it.

2 hours ago, lkn said:

I am sure Pattaya is great for older men on a budget, and it’s obvious the city is trying to widen its appeal and have successfully managed to attract a lot of Chinese tourists, but what they actually do there is a total mystery to me (well, they do the dinner cruise, the guided tour through walking street, one of the ladyboy cabarets, and then possibly visit some of the places specially built for tourists, like Art in Paradase, Mini Siam, Sanctuary of Truth, go to Central Festival, etc.).

 

Pattaya attracts far more than just older men on a budget and Chinese tourists. Tourists are doing what tourists do most anywhere else and they're all over town. The only mystery is why you don't know what they're doing and think they should be acting otherwise.

Total ignorance of domestic tourism and of the business convention market. Never heard of Russians. Best just to keep quiet about subjects you know nothing about currently.

2 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Amari completely redeveloped, open and very nice indeed. All the above have sea views, the best CM can do is a wall!

Good point, I should stop by there and take a look.

2 hours ago, Leaver said:

I'm not Pattaya bashing.  I am calling it as I see it.

 

Sex made Pattaya famous, not the things mentioned in my previous post that have made other world class tourist destinations successful, and sustainable.  

 

In my opinion, Pattaya is not growing, it's contracting, and I'm not talking about its geographic size, but its economy.

 

Feel free to post some photos of brand name shops in T21 being busy.  Every time I go there, the shops are empty. 

 

If Pattaya was a listed company on the stock exchange, would you buy share in it?  No, I didn't think so.

 

Constant selective perception, carping, exaggeration, negative tendentious speculation, and other nonsense make it bashing.

Pattaya isn’t a world class destination, big reason why it’s cheap. Calling it that is simply the usual straw man argument. It's been at least modestly successful and that success looks to continue. Pattaya's quite adaptable, which helps account for the variety that appeals to different market segments. The night life in central PTY that posters here obsess about is only a part of a much larger picture stretching Naklua to Na Jomtien.

The opinion that Pattaya’s economy has contracted, is contracting, or is going to contract is the typical doomster opinion voiced by authoritative expat Economists either on the forum or, before the forum existed, in letters to the Pattaya Mail yearly for more than 20 years. It’s to be understood as merely a wish and a bid for relevance on the part of the poster, usually some old pensioner. Meanwhile, the economy of Pattaya keeps growing.

Yep, if Pattaya were listed I’d invest. In fact if in 2009 instead of sneering and prophesying the failure of CentralFestival our ace Economists had invested in shares of CP, then their money would have more than quadrupled in 6 years. Would have mitigated some of the whinging about price increases. But such is TVF Economics.

5 minutes ago, Leaver said:

99.9% of whom are single males.  Now why would that be?  ???? 

Figure it out, man.

13 minutes ago, Leaver said:

It's you that seems not to know much about successful tourist destinations.

 

Try a nice beach and clean ocean, friendly locals, proper land transport, less scams, less crime against tourists, less beatings of tourists, casinos, footpaths you can walk on, no sewer smell from the pipes, no flooding, safety standards, no police corruption affecting tourists, no dual pricing, proper town planning, less traffic, cleaner air.

 

You keep banging on about T21 like it's become Pattaya's main tourist attraction.  Apart from the food court, T21 is dead.  Photos have been posted showing this. 

All tourist destinations could use some improvements. Pattaya bashing was a sport long before TV even existed and doom predictions go back more than 20 years. Nevertheless, it's continued to grow and is still looks to continue doing so. Betting against Pattaya has ever been a losing proposition.

Photos showing T21 "dead" at some random time are meaningless, as has been explained to you. Been there, seen how good business is. Try to keep up.