tgw

does anyone know where I can find the list of current restrictions in Pattaya ? before Covid I used to go to Jomtien Beach at night and setup a small BBQ - I wonder if that is now again possible or not ?

some Thai ladies of the second category that have had a late change of heart certainly feel sympathetic for her cause.

a lease scheme is a non-starter from the start because it requires the course to be operated commercially and very much for-profit and leaves members with nothing after 30 years. they need to design it as a condo-like jurisdic entity that owns the real estate.

yes, and actually I forgot the toilet(s) / washbasin(s) in the list ???? you might like google image search: condo kitchen inner window

I made a complete 3D architectural model of my condo for the redesign and I found it very helpful. I used a program called "sweet home 3d" where you can also place furniture, size things, and do a virtual 3D walkthrough.

you need to put function above design. for example, if any real cooking is to take place in the kitchen, such as steak, Thai stir fry, etc. you need a closed kitchen with doors and a powerful hood with the exhaust leading to the outside and equipped with an extractor fan. another thing to think about, depending on the condo size, is access to the toilet(s)/washbasin(s). at least one should be accessible without passing through a bedroom, and similarly, bedrooms should all be accessible without passing through a toilet. regarding energy consumption, you want to minimize room size, so that aircons don't need to work too hard. if possible, plan in a floor drain in bathroom and kitchen to avoid accidental floods. you may want bathroom and kitchen furniture to be movable. in the kitchen, check that the largest pan (about 13-14 inches / 35cm ) can be put on the largest hob. etc. etc. etc. there are many catch 22s

well, it's wrong and the record has to be set straight. words have a precise meaning and should be used in accordance. the media are largely to blame for what people commonly wrongly believe to be true. IMO, media companies misusing words should be fined.

what you describe is disgusting and revolting, but it's not pedophilia. Pedophiles prey on small children where puberty hasn't started yet, typically under the age of 10.

I got vaccinated last year with 2 Pfizer in central festival, I was wondering if booster shots were available ? I remember seeing some guideline saying the booster was recommended 6 months after the last Pfizer, has this changed ? Is there currently a booster shot programme for foreigners in Pattaya ?

yes, I said "attractive". obviously it would need to fit members' expectations. making caddies optional would certainly be very attractive to many players.

Agreed. It wouldn't hurt to ask though. What's a realistic price "a group of golfers" could put up for a course like Phoenix? Great course, great location. 27 holes accommodate 1000 members. If the membership scheme is attractive (infinite term, transferable without fee) I reckon given the great location, it might be worth 250.000 - 300.000 baht per membership. I doubt that crowdfunding such a sum will be easy though. If there were enough people around to buy expensive memberships, it's doable though.

OP, why don't you explain the reason you don't want to swap the gas cylinder ?

"Western farang" is a pleonasm or.. actually, I take that back. there are plenty farangs which aren't Westerners. Russians for example.

let's see if this is a repeat of this: https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/russian-tourist-borrows-100000-baht-bail-feeding-fish-off-phuket/ the Russian lady spent 2 nights in a police cell for feeding the fish ! why isn't this kind of overreaction prosecuted for "tarnishing Thailand's image" and "damaging Thailand's tourism business" ?

motorcyclist should never have been so close to the buggy in the first place, should not have been in the buggy's lane while overtaking, should not have overtaken at a crosswalk, and should have slowed down at the first sign of unanticipated conditions. one thing that is remarkable about about many Thai drivers is that too often they don't slow down when there is a sudden obstacle ahead. many prefer to veer, often without checking if the other lane is free or not. middle aged and older people on motorcycles making their left turns without looking for incoming traffic are way too common too.

a war between Russia and Ukraine today would be more significant for Europe than the war in the Balkans

I'll go step further than what I posted before. I think the current "negociations" are not what the public thinks they are. I think Russia and the West are currently collaborating to turn on the heat on that "crisis" to get public opinion really scared to then make the mere handover of the separatist republics look like a Western diplomatic victory. Because Putin understands he must not make Biden look weak.

yes. I just tried wordle. I'm not impressed. the word I should find was "micro". which is... not a word. or not really. but it refused virgo. which is... a word. so the game broke rules twice on my first try, so it's a no go for me. it also just refused hindu and hindi. so it's rubbish

well, nordstream 2 isn't even open yet and nordstream 1 is at 50% capacity

well, don't you read cyrillic ? it means "myi gavarim pa russki"

not really. I guess reserves will be enough to cover this year's winter which will soon be over, and then there is almost a year to organize energy. sure, Europe would need to reactivate a lot of carbon-based energy plants and import a lot of fossil fuels, and the French would build NPPs (nuclear power plants) everywhere. maritime tanker traffic to EU ports would resume and oil from OPEC will flow again without production cap.

the limited invasion of the two secessionist republics is also the most likely invasion-scenario, if there is an invasion at all. the "plans" posted on the CSIS cover all scenarios, except that of "Novorossiya" present in Putin's thoughts, which would result, in fact, in the invasion of Eastern Ukraine and Southern Ukraine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novorossiya But I still bet on the relative non-event of invasion of both separatist republics. Starting a war with the rest of Ukraine would taint relations for the next 50 years and possibly mean the termination of persons dear to Putin and confiscation of Russia's international possessions, as well as a lockout of all Russian business and money from the rest of the world. I don't think his cronies will agree to that. Now Russia plays up tensions until everyone will be relieved they just take the two republics, which is more or less unavoidable anyway. The play by Biden and the rest of the world seems to support that, and the CSIS publication also supports this scenario by adding to the scaremongering.

difficult to make predictions on what happens here without conjecturing what happens there. domino-effect.

probably not. If Russia invades, I expect them to "generously" limit themselves to Donetsk and Lughansk oblasts, or the current de-facto borders of Lugansk and Donetsk republics, where the majority of the population is of Russian nationality (don't get confused, Russian nationality but Ukrainian citizenship). So if this scenario plays out, the "invasion" will be done without combat, since the aforementioned territories are already under Russian control and they would meet no resistance at all. Western media maintain radio silence on this fact - the population of these regions of Ukraine is in its large majority Russian. And this is also the official legitimization of Russia's territorial claims. Little mother Russia wants to protect its children that are being oppressed by evil nazi-nationalist Ukrainian extremists. In reality, Russia wants to add these regions with rich agriculture and industry to its dominion and therefore fomented separatist plots and supports separatists with weapons and personnel. Russia ideally also needs a casus belli, that's why it has been orchestrating various media campaigns and possibly false flag operations. as a consequence, if the Russian invasion is limited to these regions, I expect there won't be a big refugee wave, since most Russians with Ukrainian passports won't object too much to having that new sheriff in town, and those who do will find a new place to live in the rest of Ukraine. the loss of these 2 regions won't be fatal for Ukraine, but will clearly demonstrate how weak the West is. Then referendums will be held. The 2 republics Lughansk and Donetsk will vote to be independent or attached to Russia. Same as in Crimea. The end. so for expats in Thailand, nothing will change.

correct. subsidizing food, housing, etc. is way better than rising the minimum wage because it will not unbalance the economy.