I arrived in Bangkok from Isaarn the day before and stayed at Novotel Sukhumvit 4 area of Nana. Good hotel, but it's still Nana plaza, and no getting away from that.

 

Plush rooms, but I think I will revert to Nana hotel in the future, as I say, you can't escape the area.

 

I left Thailand, and I am on retirement extension, but left using the e gates without a hitch.

 

I was actually on a free flight this time using Avios points with Qatar and able to choose seats free of charge, due to Gold membership.

 

Not only that, but I was on the A380 as far as Doha and opted for the front seat 40A downstairs with loads of legroom. I was then on the A350, Doha to Manchester, again a decent seat with good legroom.

 

I was travelling alone as my other half chose not to come even though she has a 10-year tourist visa (more later).

 

Both flights were very good, great attentive staff and decent planes. I was a bit worried as Qatar have been in the news lately for not so good reviews. I found everything to be great, to be honest.

 

The weather in the UK for my three weeks was amazing, and I was very fortunate to have caught a good spring.

 

Now the bad stuff.

 

Supermarket prices have gone through the roof since my visit last year, and prices were very noticeable and much higher than previous visits. Drinking in decent places, unless you want to spend three weeks in Wetherspoon's, which I didn't, you don't get much change from a fiver for a pint.

 

Outside the supermarkets, I visited about three different store brands from Tesco to Asda during my time there, plenty of beggars asking for change, These were white British people, many on drugs. It was like rough areas of the USA we see on TV.

 

I drove past and saw queues outside food banks. I was told by my son, that many were not desperate, they were begging food then selling it cheap to buy drugs,

 

We drove through an area where I was brought up as a child, which has now become a Pakistani stronghold, and they have built a large mosque. It was unrecognizable. Litter everywhere on the streets, as well as discarded sofas, fridges, just dumped anywhere and everywhere. It was like a filthy slum. There were rats scurrying around and these were visible in the daytime. Overflowing rubbish bins from takeaway shops, the towns are full of them, not sealed and food waste on the floor.

 

The town centres and city centres have been overrun by drug addicts aggressively asking people for money in the streets and not a policeman in sight.

 

I was also stopped by shoplifters selling everything from cheap perfume to bulk packs of washing powder.

 

There were groups of East Europeans on street corners, leering at passers-by. They were obviously up to no good.

 

The city centres, I visited a few, are now full of vape shops or alleged '  TURKISH BARBER SHOPS '  which are not Turkish, they are Pakistani money laundering shops that only take cash.

 

All the shops of yesteryear are gone. Everybody buys online. Town and city centres are no longer family friendly.

 

I saw women in the towns with children and babies, holding and waving bottles of booze and drunk at 11am in the morning.

 

A couple of what used to be good hotels in the centre are now fully occupied with migrants.

 

I was told the government is offering HMO owners, (houses for multiple occupancy) 50 GBP per room per night to house migrants on a 5-year contract.

 

I did take a trip out and up to North Yorkshire, and I was in the England of old, and it was refreshing. Those people are living in a different universe. Horse riders out for a canter, lovely food based pubs with staff with impeccable manners and clean streets and no migrants.

 

I must state I was there for business reasons, but I have never been as happy to get on a plane back to Thailand.

 

Now, do you wonder why my other half said she didn't want to go and thought it better I went alone, and she would look after the farmstead and her mother. I don't blame her, nor can I understand any Thai wanting to visit the UK. 

 

The trip was heartbreaking.

 

However, Kier Starmer and his millionaire lefties cabinet colleagues are not seeing any of this. They are living far away in leafy suburbs, driving around in police convoys with armed bodyguards, oblivious as to what is going on in the North of England.

21 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

impeccable manners and clean streets and no migrants.

Aaaaah, that reminds me of the good old times when there were no drunken migrants and economic refugees, high on cannabis, ill-mannered, mostly from English speaking countries, in  my neighborhood here in Bangkok...

 

What a load of nonsense. 

 

Get yourself of to a racist forum. 

1 hour ago, Scouse123 said:

I was told the government is offering HMO owners, (houses for multiple occupancy) 50 GBP per room per night to house migrants on a 5-year contract.

 

 

    That isnt true . 

The UK offers dual citizenship for the racist pensioners in Pattaya. Realise Thailand and many countries would not offer this as soon as you leave their shores. 

 

10 of the best universities in the world are in the UK, and 18 in the top 50, with very little to pay for UK citizens. Compare that to Americans paying up to $60,000 a year to study ! See what Thais have to pay. 

 

Free health care through taxation. These racist pensioners in Thailand know full well they have the security of returning home. Compare that to Americans who require insurance and lose everything if they leave. 

 

It's the income in the UK and generous Benefits that allows you to live a life of calm in Thailand. And you know who is picking up the tab in the UK to do the hours you don't want to do - it's migrants. 

 

Now go away. 

1 hour ago, Scouse123 said:

I arrived in Bangkok from Isaarn the day before and stayed at Novotel Sukhumvit 4 area of Nana. Good hotel, but it's still Nana plaza, and no getting away from that.

 

Plush rooms, but I think I will revert to Nana hotel in the future, as I say, you can't escape the area.

 

I left Thailand, and I am on retirement extension, but left using the e gates without a hitch.

 

I was actually on a free flight this time using Avios points with Qatar and able to choose seats free of charge, due to Gold membership.

 

Not only that, but I was on the A380 as far as Doha and opted for the front seat 40A downstairs with loads of legroom. I was then on the A350, Doha to Manchester, again a decent seat with good legroom.

 

I was travelling alone as my other half chose not to come even though she has a 10-year tourist visa (more later).

 

Both flights were very good, great attentive staff and decent planes. I was a bit worried as Qatar have been in the news lately for not so good reviews. I found everything to be great, to be honest.

 

The weather in the UK for my three weeks was amazing, and I was very fortunate to have caught a good spring.

 

Now the bad stuff.

 

Supermarket prices have gone through the roof since my visit last year, and prices were very noticeable and much higher than previous visits. Drinking in decent places, unless you want to spend three weeks in Wetherspoon's, which I didn't, you don't get much change from a fiver for a pint.

 

Outside the supermarkets, I visited about three different store brands from Tesco to Asda during my time there, plenty of beggars asking for change, These were white British people, many on drugs. It was like rough areas of the USA we see on TV.

 

I drove past and saw queues outside food banks. I was told by my son, that many were not desperate, they were begging food then selling it cheap to buy drugs,

 

We drove through an area where I was brought up as a child, which has now become a Pakistani stronghold, and they have built a large mosque. It was unrecognizable. Litter everywhere on the streets, as well as discarded sofas, fridges, just dumped anywhere and everywhere. It was like a filthy slum. There were rats scurrying around and these were visible in the daytime. Overflowing rubbish bins from takeaway shops, the towns are full of them, not sealed and food waste on the floor.

 

The town centres and city centres have been overrun by drug addicts aggressively asking people for money in the streets and not a policeman in sight.

 

I was also stopped by shoplifters selling everything from cheap perfume to bulk packs of washing powder.

 

There were groups of East Europeans on street corners, leering at passers-by. They were obviously up to no good.

 

The city centres, I visited a few, are now full of vape shops or alleged '  TURKISH BARBER SHOPS '  which are not Turkish, they are Pakistani money laundering shops that only take cash.

 

All the shops of yesteryear are gone. Everybody buys online. Town and city centres are no longer family friendly.

 

I saw women in the towns with children and babies, holding and waving bottles of booze and drunk at 11am in the morning.

 

A couple of what used to be good hotels in the centre are now fully occupied with migrants.

 

I was told the government is offering HMO owners, (houses for multiple occupancy) 50 GBP per room per night to house migrants on a 5-year contract.

 

I did take a trip out and up to North Yorkshire, and I was in the England of old, and it was refreshing. Those people are living in a different universe. Horse riders out for a canter, lovely food based pubs with staff with impeccable manners and clean streets and no migrants.

 

I must state I was there for business reasons, but I have never been as happy to get on a plane back to Thailand.

 

Now, do you wonder why my other half said she didn't want to go and thought it better I went alone, and she would look after the farmstead and her mother. I don't blame her, nor can I understand any Thai wanting to visit the UK. 

 

The trip was heartbreaking.

 

However, Kier Starmer and his millionaire lefties cabinet colleagues are not seeing any of this. They are living far away in leafy suburbs, driving around in police convoys with armed bodyguards, oblivious as to what is going on in the North of England.

 

Always very informative posts, keep up the good work.

 

I remember in 1995 there were so many beggars in a seaside town in Kent I was genuinely shocked. This has always been a problem in England. 

 

Things have got a lot worse now, when I was in Harlow I genuinely felt like in a dystopian Hollywood film. It was horrific. Good to read that the north of England is still salt of the earth.

 

We'll just have to get crumpets sent to Thailand.

25 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

    That isnt true . 

 

   Guys, instead of downvoting me, why not  post up links to prove me wrong ?

4 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   Guys, instead of downvoting me, why not  post up links to prove me wrong ?

 

They can't 

 

https://www.gov.uk/asylum-support/what-youll-get

I don't understand why some posters feel compelled to defend the obvious decline of the UK?  Unless you choose a few specific areas, such as the Cotswolds, North Yorkshire or the Lake District, most UK towns and cities are depressing wastelands of closed businesses, porn brokers, pound shops and illegal immigrant hostels.

 

And when travelling via the Islamic Borough of Heathrow, the issues are really highlighted.  Have you ever arrived into Suvarnabhumi and been greeted by a Pakistani Immigration Officer welcoming you to Thailand?

 

I only go to the UK for essential visits, it's too depressing.

 

7 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   Guys, instead of downvoting me, why not  post up links to prove me wrong ?

... instead of just saying "this isn't true" and down voting others ..   how about proving you are right?

 

1 hour ago, Scouse123 said:

I drove past and saw queues outside food banks. I was told by my son, that many were not desperate, they were begging food then selling it cheap to buy drugs,

 

Not sure recipient would be selling it, but food banks do encourage ever increasing usage. Why would anyone on benefits (welfare) use their cash handouts to buy food when they can get food for free from foodbanks? This preserves cash to buy cigarettes and alcohol (or vapes or drugs). 

 

The OP is correct in many of his observations. Maybe not all in the same area to a high degree, but nevertheless, these are issues seen all around the UK at present. 

 

Just now, Kinnock said:

... instead of just saying "this isn't true" and down voting others ..   how about proving you are right?

 

 

   How do you suggest that I do that ?

8 minutes ago, Kinnock said:

I don't understand why some posters feel compelled to defend the obvious decline of the UK?  Unless you choose a few specific areas, such as the Cotswolds, North Yorkshire or the Lake District, most UK towns and cities are depressing wastelands of closed businesses, porn brokers, pound shops and illegal immigrant hostels.

 

And when travelling via the Islamic Borough of Heathrow, the issues are really highlighted.  Have you ever arrived into Suvarnabhumi and been greeted by a Pakistani Immigration Officer welcoming you to Thailand?

 

I only go to the UK for essential visits, it's too depressing.

 

I think you really need to change 'porn' to 'pawn' and quickly. Two very, very different things....

14 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   How do you suggest that I do that ?

You suggested the rest of us should post links to prove we're right - you figure it out.

 

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2063980/british-cities-risk-going-feral-expert-warns-looming-mass-disorder?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawKtclpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHmmTtLYOgT339m1qg2OCNwshIOvsbYI-ek9vC4-xXFu6x1b_MoAaBNMX2Ggf_aem_pyRloOFRHgZ1wRaXkeyP2g#Echobox=1748997611

 

How about posting a link explaining how illegal immigration, rising prices, failing UK industry and inner city wastelands are a benefit?

Time to start learning how to use a Kalash my son. 7.62x39mm.

43 minutes ago, DonniePeverley said:

The UK offers dual citizenship for the racist pensioners in Pattaya. Realise Thailand and many countries would not offer this as soon as you leave their shores. 

 

10 of the best universities in the world are in the UK, and 18 in the top 50, with very little to pay for UK citizens. Compare that to Americans paying up to $60,000 a year to study ! See what Thais have to pay. 

 

Free health care through taxation. These racist pensioners in Thailand know full well they have the security of returning home. Compare that to Americans who require insurance and lose everything if they leave. 

 

It's the income in the UK and generous Benefits that allows you to live a life of calm in Thailand. And you know who is picking up the tab in the UK to do the hours you don't want to do - it's migrants. 

 

Now go away. 

This has to be highly advanced sarcasm or just base trolling.

 

Universities are used just once in a lifetime by less than 1% of the population, the NHS is a crumbling tragedy of endless waiting lists, the frozen pension is near worthless, and we paid into the pension fund with decades of contributions to support British pensioners and their index linked rises and cold weather payouts while we place zero burden on the UK State.

 

 

tbh, living in issan would seriously do my head in. but as they say, horses for courses.

6 minutes ago, Kinnock said:

This has to be highly advanced sarcasm or just base trolling.

 

Universities are used just once in a lifetime by less than 1% of the population, the NHS is a crumbling tragedy of endless waiting lists, the frozen pension is near worthless, and we paid into the pension fund with decades of contributions to support British pensioners and their index linked rises and cold weather payouts while we place zero burden on the UK State.

 

 

hummm... in 2022, 37.5% of 18 year olds in the uk went to university

 

i've never received anything but excellent treatment from th NHS, i don't deny there are issues in some areas, but overall the NHS is an amazing asset.

 

my pension is index linked and, as an end of contract pension, is extremely generous

 

the cold weather payment policy has been accepted as flawed, and the govt is doing a u turn

 

in the uk i have a beautiful house, beautiful car, and when i'm there an amazing standard of living

32 minutes ago, Kinnock said:

You suggested the rest of us should post links to prove we're right - you figure it out.

 

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2063980/british-cities-risk-going-feral-expert-warns-looming-mass-disorder?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawKtclpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHmmTtLYOgT339m1qg2OCNwshIOvsbYI-ek9vC4-xXFu6x1b_MoAaBNMX2Ggf_aem_pyRloOFRHgZ1wRaXkeyP2g#Echobox=1748997611

 

How about posting a link explaining how illegal immigration, rising prices, failing UK industry and inner city wastelands are a benefit?

 

   But how am I supposed to post a link to show that something doesn't happen ?

   Its not possible 

We'll give you Trump ! He'll make big talk of solving everything in a couple weeks. We're shipping those illegal immigrants out (yea, so far .0000000005% of them) see that, keep your eyes there, meanwhile don't look over here, tax cuts for the rich, cuts in health care for the poor, 2.6 trillion added to an already out of control deficit.

 

7 minutes ago, grumpyoldman said:

We'll give you Trump ! He'll make big talk of solving everything in a couple weeks. We're shipping those illegal immigrants out (yea, so far .0000000005% of them) see that, keep your eyes there, meanwhile don't look over here, tax cuts for the rich, cuts in health care for the poor, 2.6 trillion added to an already out of control deficit.

 

 

  Well done, you got the obligatory Trump mention in nice and early 

47 minutes ago, Kinnock said:

This has to be highly advanced sarcasm or just base trolling

 

Universities are used just once in a lifetime by less than 1% of the population, the NHS is a crumbling tragedy of endless waiting lists, the frozen pension is near worthless, and we paid into the pension fund with decades of contributions to support British pensioners and their index linked rises and cold weather payouts while we place zero burden on the UK State.

 

 

Yours is the troll you ridiculous know nothing:

 

"According to the 2021 Census, 33.8% of English and Welsh residents aged 16 or above have a university degree (including certificates, diplomas, undergraduate and all postgraduate degrees). This is equal to about 16.4 million people in England and Wales with a university degree in 2021"

 

https://www.findamasters.com/blog/11522/how-common-is-a-masters-degree

 

 

Visiting AN gets more like "Walking with Idiots" everyday.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, DonniePeverley said:

The UK offers dual citizenship for the racist pensioners in Pattaya. Realise Thailand and many countries would not offer this as soon as you leave their shores. 

 

10 of the best universities in the world are in the UK, and 18 in the top 50, with very little to pay for UK citizens. Compare that to Americans paying up to $60,000 a year to study ! See what Thais have to pay. 

 

Free health care through taxation. These racist pensioners in Thailand know full well they have the security of returning home. Compare that to Americans who require insurance and lose everything if they leave. 

 

It's the income in the UK and generous Benefits that allows you to live a life of calm in Thailand. And you know who is picking up the tab in the UK to do the hours you don't want to do - it's migrants. 

 

Now go away. 

 

 

Who is the post aimed at? If it's me, then be informed:-

 

I am a UK taxpayer, I am not retired, I pay into the UK system and I pay council tax on my personal property and on properties that I own and build there.

 

I have made a post as to what I saw this trip and what is going on there.

 

Have you been in the North of England recently?

 

Lastly, if it as aimed at me, I am neither in Pattaya nor a pensioner.

 

Whilst based in the UK, I employed West Indian people, Asian people, whose parents originated from various countries, White, Irish, Indian Sikhs etc, so I certainly don't feel I need to explain myself to an anonymous poster screaming racist,

 

Do I have a problem with Muslim grooming gangs attacking vulnerable white girls of 12 or 13 years old or anybody that wishes to replace my way of living with the Islamisation of Britain or threat of death under shariah law?.... Yes, if you consider that to be racist!!

 

Or do you define a racist as any person that does not share your views?

2 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

    That isnt true . 

 

https://www.facebook.com/thedarrengrimes/posts/-new-starmers-government-is-now-offering-5-year-rental-deals-to-landlords-to-hou/1213059230208121/

I was in West London in Febuary and it was fantastic. 

55 minutes ago, it is what it is said:

 

tbh, living in issan would seriously do my head in. but as they say, horses for courses.

 

I like it, but we have our own compound, and it's all paid for many years ago.

 

Roi Et airport is 50 minutes away. Easy for Bangkok and travel anywhere.

 

I can be in Siem reap driving from my home to Chong Chom and a taxi at the border inside Cambodia in 7.5 hours.

 

Plenty of places here to keep me happy including Khonkaen, Roi Et, Nakhom Panom etc 

 

but that's a side and separate issue regards Isaarn.

 

 

7 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

 

https://www.facebook.com/thedarrengrimes/posts/-new-starmers-government-is-now-offering-5-year-rental-deals-to-landlords-to-hou/1213059230208121/

 

   That link doesn't back up the claim , which was 

"50 GBP per room per night to house migrants on a 5-year contract."

 

I'm currently in the UK, in a nice area down south, on a month's vacation.

Every year prices are going up (except petrol recently) and shops are closing.

If it was for the UK's great weather, delicious food and beautiful girls, I would hand my passport back.

Oh, hang on a mo! 🙄🙃🧐

13 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   That link doesn't back up the claim , which was 

"50 GBP per room per night to house migrants on a 5-year contract."

 

 

No, but it does back up the claim that Starmer is offering 5-year contracts to HMOs.

 

It was a friend of mine who installs security equipment in HMOs who had been told that by one of his clients/owners of the HMOs.

 

He said it as a ' matter of fact ' not vindictive in any way as he was suggesting that's what I should be doing.