itishothere

"Making it" means to me being able to live in a middle-class place, drive a decent car, have a scooter and a Harley, holiday in Hong Kong, gamble a bit in Macau, upgrade your camera to the new Canon G1X, replace that laptop with a mid- to high-end one and still have enough cash to think about how to spend it. And do that every year.

"Making it" to some, means waking up every morning in a simple house and being your own boss. Or seeing a beautiful sunrise over the horizon onto the blue water. The car, Harley, gambling in Macau, laptop etc mean little - to some. Each to his own I say. As you have said, no one in their right mind comes to Samui to make millions, but as jamesbrock also says, making enough to get by, (or not piss it all away), is equally relevant if it makes you happy.

I think we would all agree that to lose everything through ignorance, arrogance, naiivety, or whatever you may want to call it, is sad. Because that most definately will make you UNhappy.

The bookshops in Tescos (opposite Dunkin Donuts) or BigC (far end of upper level) have a limited supply of books, although the CDs are in very short supply. You may be better trying to order something from BKK?

Despite the fact that this topic was started in jest, it has raised some interesting points.

It has always surprised me that people are prepared to risk their savings on a venture that they have no previous experience in.

Yes, me too; and I'm sure you'll find a pretty high correlation between those who have experience, and those who have been somewhat successful. Conversely, you would also find a correlation between laymen, and those who have lost a lot of money on failed ventures.

And surely, for many men, it is a dreamlike existence? Running your own bar, filled with pretty girls keeping the punters happy, on a tropical island. And all this for less than the price of a 2 bed terraced house in Barnsley.

Where I come from (UK), it can be pretty depressing sometimes. The thought of living the dream must be very tempting. I will be the first to mock the naiivety sometimes, but I will also applaud their guts in giving it a try.

I have to say that going to see my doctor with some minor inner ear infection, or a little bit pi$$ed and being diagnosed with Stage 3 Syphilis would be a little bit worrying!

Thanks got a car already and my misses drives it lol. I want my daughter to go to assine school anyone know where

You're going to have to help us out here BigC.

A sane school?

Asinine school?

Assassin school?

A sin school?

but the whole hotel is FULLY BOOKED for April, and not many rooms left for May !

I find that very difficult to believe, for various reasons. Can you provide a source for this assertion?

I would be delighted for them if they were full, but from their website, for the week of 22 April, they have 5 different rooms available. My guess is that Songran/Easter is maybe when they are actually full?

Came across this article this morning ...

http://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/tributes-paid-to-barrow-man-who-died-in-thailand-1.940945?referrerPath=sport/

It would appear that the guy involved in this has sadly died. No further details seem to be available.

If correct, RIP.

It's been very open as to the way the taxis operate for god knows how long now yet still we have the same old bleating. It's on almost every single forum or advice place i ever see yet still people are surprised, it's one of THE main complaints, we know this, the taxi drivers know this and don't care but just nothing gets done and i do not envisage anything really being done unfortunately!

I pretty much agree with the rest of your post, but am not too sure about this bit.

Sadly, it would seem that people DON'T know before they arrive about the taxi situation. Not everyone relies on blogs, forum etc. They see a brochure or website that says ...."just a short taxi ride away" or similar, and make the assumption that the price is going to be comparable to the rest of their expenses whilst on holiday. They do not see ... "just a short taxi ride away that will cost you probably the same price as your evening meal, or about 2 rounds of drinks with your friends", or "that will cost you at least 3 times what you will pay in Bangkok and they do not use their meter".

It is these people I feel sorry for. They have booked through an agent or brochure or on-line and have been misled. As to how this information is more widely distributed, I don't know. And like you say, diddly squat is going to change in the near term.

You seem to be answering your own questions.

Sale prices are being reduced because there are not enough buyers at the levels there used to be. And I suspect there are plenty more that are not on the market.

Just look at the websites for Samui and the number of properties for rent, and then take into account the hundreds more that are not marketed through the web.

There is an oversupply here today, and more is expected on the market.

And I am not too sure where you are comparing to when you say 7-10m is cheap. For that price in many areas of Thailand, you could get an awful lot more square meters.

so , is this post a wind up or not?,

I hope so! Tescos shopping is bad enough with "birdythreeinonerobostar" without "tonighttonighttonightgetyourseatsearlier"

Have to say this all sounds a bit odd.

Fistly, 3rd party insurance here is compulsary. OK, not everyone buys it, but in order to get the tax disc, you need to show a valid insurance document. So that angle is worth pursuing.

Secondly, when you told us of the accident, and the damage, I have to admit I was expecting to see the bike in a worse state of repair. Your injuries were bad, no doubt at all about that, but the bike, well is it really going to cost THB 30,000 to repair it? I am no expert, but it doesn't look like it should cost that much - especially when compared to the price you have bought it from the owner. I am guessing the owner of the bike has sold it to you at a price she considers to be its' replacement value prior to the accident, together with a mark-up and probably compensation for loss of earnings etc. So a similar second hand bike should cost you perhaps between 30-35,000? And yet the repair shop says it wants 30,000 to put it right?

Like I say, I am not diminishing your injuries, and I am not an expert, but I would get another opinion before proceeding.

so you have all of high season's takings on the books?

These bars have books? You mean like Enid Blyton? Or maybe Stephen King?

..... or is there one or two sad souls propping up the bar babbling away to them selves ?

I do not babble. And I am not sad.

Don't forget what day it is today!

Don't be ridiculous. Thai politcians (well, all politicians actually) don't have a sense of humour so it must be true. I think it is a brilliant move, as they can now tell all the millions of people in the rest of Thailand who are complaining that they cannot afford to come to Samui for a holiday that they now can for under THB 1,000.

(OK, it may turn out that they cannot actually afford to go home, but that would be great for business here on the island surely?)

Hang on a minute, there may be some truth in it. Look at the price reductions. They are all on the routes INTO Samui. Nowhere does it say that the outbound routes will have their fares reduced. (Or increased)

Dunno, most of the night I was without electricity so couldn't find the computer to see if the internet was working or not.

I would try to avoid anyone who has loads of people coming and going from his house and is listening in to the police radio broadcast.

Putting structures on your land is almost certainly legal. Although listening into the police is questionnable at best!

jamesbrock .... I'm glad that you are alive and well and able to share a joke.

All very good advice, but when the vultures are waiting at the police station for you to be hurried out of one hospital, and the police demand you come straight to said police station before seeking competent medical attention at another hospital, you don't really have much choice.

Of course you have a choice. A polite request to the police officer to hang on a couple of days untill the swelling goes down will I am sure do the trick. And you can perhaps suggest that whilst he is waiting, he can get ready the copies of the license, insurance certificate and residents address of the guy you ran into, and also 3 written quotations from reputable car repair garages for the damage you inflicted for your immediate consideration. Oh, and maybe as you seem to not have a 100% recollection of how you managed to end up in a wheelchair, perhaps the officer would be so kind as to check the CCTV footage from the local shops to find out who this mysterious extra biker might be.

I am sure that will work.

I own a few, small hotels. All offer free wi-fi. I cannot imagine anyone actually willing to pay for wi-fi use at a hotel! The wi-fi router cost me 1,000 baht to buy/install and then 750 baht per month. That small cost cannot compare against the loss in room booking revenues if I didn't offer free wi-fi - not to mention the high likelyhood of some customers moaning at me for being such a tight a*se as to charge for wi-fi.

Hotel guests expect to have free wi-fi, just as they expect to have free toilet paper in their rooms.

At last, a sensible reply! In todays world of Facebook, email, etc etc, most people expect this as a service, just like they expect the room to have a bed.

Surely, even in a small resort, operating at 50% occupancy, the cost per night to provide a basic internet connection is only a few Baht. So add that to the price. Using the earlier estimate of THB 2,500 per month cost, that probably is about THB 10-20. Or if it pi##es you off so much that you are giving it away free, make a nominal charge!

Or compare this with the cost of NOT having it. Every customer going somewhere else will lose you hundreds of THB a night in revenue.

Every year there are maybe a dozen places I do not go to, simply because they do not have internet. Or put another way, there are a dozen places I DO spend my money with.

Yeah, I spent quite a bit of time in the Lamai police while I was between hospitals, as they were 'assisting' with the 'negotiated settlement'.

I admire your honesty in admitting that you made a mistake. Not many would do that.

I hope you make a complete recovery from you injuries.

I guess we'll see which side of the road the poodles sit..... when we do get a good rain,........ perhaps that is why they will do the tarmac last.... to adjust the camber

Well that all depends, if you driving up the road or down the road.

Nah, surely it is just simpler to shift the bl##dy poodles to the other side of the road? Facing a direction we all know how to spell?

@ jingthing thanks for understanding how difficult the job can be..maybe you or someone close to you have had to walk in those shoes....

@bendix thanks very much for the passion of trying not to let someone that you dont even know make what you beleive could be a big mistake.........and about my emotional state....it is excellent...im just very anxious to start a new chapter of my life

I have known people from all walks of life and integrity and self respect has nothing to do with wealth....

Excellent replies. You sound like you have your head screwed on and will eventually make the right decision for you.

I suggest you come over here on as long a holiday as you can manage, and really look around for places to live. Explore the costs, the things to keep you busy, visa options etc. Come here without the holiday hat on and really see the place. Talk to expats. Generally do more research. Use some of that cash you have to help you come to a decision, rather than possibly waste all of it.