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Good to put rumors to rest. I am puzzled about one thing, though. In all the years and countless times I have visited there, the place has never had an interior painting despite the rooms looking rather shabby. Despite the shabbiness, the sauna is likely clean. Given the above, I can understand why a rumor developed over the possibility that the sauna might not have a long future.

Morocco is the most expensive and the most unsafe country in NA while the best quality of food, hotels, restorants and all other services. Tunisia is cheap safe while its a very dirty country and quality of everything is on the average level. Egypt is very cheap while the quality might disappoint u. I always get my stomach upset while staying in Egyptian hotels. Algeria is very nice and very affordable. Great people and European colonial style. Visa is required. Lybia is pretty unsafe and not touristic at all.

OK, so maybe I'm NOT crazy for my thought process ?

KashYap Patel was seen on his phone, SMILING..... Noone appeared to react like people whose lives were just in danger. And with "lethal" alpha male Hegseth in the room, noone was in danger. ROFL. Just another day in Trump world. And NOW we have a tangible reason for building Trumps glorious Ballroom, dedicated to HIMSELF ! Are WE fucking morons ? Seems so..... at least from media response.

There used to be a Louis Vuitton store in the lobby of one of Hong Kong's top hotels, The Peninsula. On many days of the week you simply could not get inside the store and there would be a queue of young Japanese office ladies waiting to get in. Some Japanese tour operators organised luxury shopping tours to Hong Kong where these types of luxury goods were a good deal cheaper than in Japan. Many of these Japanese shoppers reckoned they saved more than the cost of their air fares and hotel rooms because their purchases were so much cheaper in Hong Kong.

The rumor has existed for years. She must be tired, visiting once per year and then enjoying her earning in Europe. 🙄

Your description makes me even more confident about my first impression. During my visits I identified two private guards. One older and not very friendly, and a younger one, how, dark skinned, and friendly. Whatever the older guy was picking at the window frame, I doubt it was a bullet.

My experience of the JC in March was similar. Oddly though, The Agate was doing well- certainly better than when we were there in November. The beachfront in the evenings was busy too, though most the people we saw seemed to be locals. Can it be that it's just "our lot" who are staying away? I watched , over a period of nearly twenty years, the massive decline in the number of visitors to Boyztown; I hope the same won't become true of Jomtien.

Translated: "The facial expressions and body language of those affected following an alleged assassination attempt. The shock runs deep."

Trump ALWAYS reveals himself. His long post Today on Truth social makes a case AGAIN for the need for his beloved Ballroom, and asks all lawsuits preventing its continuation be DROPPED. He claims the Ballroom is essential to the safety and security of All WH events and their participants. Was THIS the reason for lasts nights episode of The Trump Show ? Was security at the checkpoints PURPOSELY lax to allow the assailant to breech and to allow Trumps "vision" to play out ? A staged shooting attempt seems like an EXTREME step to take to get a Ballroom built, but Trump is an extremely mentally challenged person. And once he obsesses over something, he NEVER lets it go ! FOCUS is clearly on the BALLROOM. Even MAGA media is voicing the need of it to protect the President from such occurences.

It is terribly disappointing and SHAMEFUL that the frenzied MEDIA and the public are allowing themselves to be MANIPULATED AND DUPED once again by this maniac Trump. Trump said after the guy was apprehended: "I fought like Hell to stay and continue the event, but they wouldnt allow me too".... Echo's of the Pennsylvania shooting, dont ya think ? Also keep in mind that HE (Trump) was the one that RELEASED the first photos of the alleged assailant, not the media, not the DOJ or FBI or even local police. It was Trump ! Too anxious, dont ya think ? Furthermore, the assailant never fired any shots or even reached Trump. The shots were fired by Trumps team.... Just enough chaos on American TV screens to create the chaos and narrative Trump wanted for his Ballroom project.... If it was any MORE transparent, it would be Casper the ghost ! This latest "distraction stunt" by Trump REEKS of his desperation..... But he really needs to come up with some NEW scenarios. At least some of US see right thru his Bullshit now.

I think you are probably right but it comes down to the reason they cancel the flight. An AI query gave the following summary which I think makes sense "If your airline cancels your flight, ask them for the exact reason in writing. If they cite "fuel shortages," they are likely exempt. If they cite "commercial reasons" or "network optimization," start your claim for the €600." I think they will look to give notice of cancellation outside the 14 days window to remove any risk to them.

Did you or the AI consider that you dont need to save species living in the sea and in the air?

I believe the EU compensation rules only apply if there is no force majeure involved, so the question is, is the fuel price increase or lack of fuel due to a war force majeure or not ... any thoughts on this?

Landed last night from India. I’ll do an India post when I get home, covering the 4 cities there. Flew via Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways, both in business class. Could’ve stayed all SQ and arrived 2.5 hours earlier, but I’m leaning more toward Thai these days. The staff just feel warmer, more natural, and the catering actually has flavor. SQ has gotten Meh. Not bad, just boring. Thai’s seats and interiors are definitely showing their age (aren't we all) but I’ll take better service, better food, and Thai culture any day👍 Arrived BKK 5 minutes early, Gate C8… and yeah, the walk. Just kept going. And going. And going. By the time I got to immigration, I was bracing for the usual mess, especially with the changes to priority lanes, no Business class… and then: Empty. Not “a few people.” Empty.😳 In 27 years of coming here, I have never seen that. I had the immigration lady laughing so hard because neither of us could believe it. Wanted to take a photo just to prove it existed, but yeah… those “no photos” signs are everywhere, didn't want to ruin a good thing 😉 Hit the ATM, asked the guy to break some 1000 notes into smaller bills, he says he can only do one. I said, no no, it’s fine… you can do two. He did two.... Jedi mind tricks 😝 Luggage was out in about 30 minutes from door open to belt, thought it would be faster. The driver from Mike Taxi was waiting at Door 3 with my name. The walk from Exit B to Door 3 was another weird one… barely anyone around. Everything just felt weird/different. About 1.5 hours later, pulled into Pattaya and you could already see it: slow. Really slow. This was midnight on a Saturday and it looked like a Tuesday afternoon during low season. Checked into the Venue Hotel, unpacked, got myself together, and headed to Cocka 2. Opened a bottle, had a few drinks… but Bars closing early, low energy, barely any customers. Definitely quiet season right now. One of my regular “backup” guys hit me up on Grindr almost immediately. Said he’d be up until 4am, had zero customers all day, and hadn’t cum either… so he was motivated and horny, a good combination 🍆 (that means he was horny, not he has a big one, lol) And really, sometimes Plan B is the better plan anyway. There’s something to be said for familiarity. No explaining, no training session, he already knows what buttons to push...👉 Then I get a message from a guy I know from Soi 4 in BKK. Lost his job, needed help moving rooms. I told him, I don’t move furniture, not even for my best friends 😝. I knew what he was looking for $$$ But here’s the thing… I’ve known him for years. Never once asked me for anything. Actually he's gone out of his way for me plenty of times. We follow each other on social media, keep in touch. I was the one who reached out first to check on him after I saw his post about losing his job... He asked for 2000 baht. I told him the real proof I like him isn’t the money… it’s me going out in daylight, at the ungodly hour of 12pm, to a 7/11 to deposit it 🥺 Yes, I went outside at noon... I'll have to document this somewhere.... While I was out in that unnatural daylight, figured I’d try Sophia’s across from Dick’s. 100 baht for chicken basil with two fried eggs. Really good, and way better than Dick’s, by a mile.... And yes, that’s about 1.6 km for the non-Americans. Day 1. Slow city, empty airport, Plan B still reliable, and apparently I’m now the guy giving money and flying people between countries. Getting older… and clearly not getting smarter.... can't even follow my own advice, maybe I'll become a Top again 😳 Anyone in Pattaya who wants to meet me or avoid me , I’m heading to Bangkok Thursday. Bringing someone I met in Bali for a few days, WTF? What could possibly go wrong.... 🤷‍♂️ I’ll get to that Bali post eventually 🤞

Flying Air France, Birmingham UK to BKK in June on a ticket bought in January, so covered by EU/UK compensation rules. From what I have read this means that they can not add a fuel surcharge and if they cancel the flight with less than 14 days notice from the departure date they have to pay compensation of £520 plus I have the option to request a reroute rather than a refund. Also Air France seem to have increased capacity on routes to Bangkok so I take that as a positive sign my flights should be ok, but as said above if they can not guarantee the return flight they will cancel due to the high costs of having to pay for hotels, food, compensation etc. So if you fly from Europe / UK you seem to have reasonible protections and rights compared to other parts of the world.

Not odd at all. In Japan people believe that you get what you pay for. The thinking is, if it's cheap the quality is poor. It's why brands like Louis Vuitton and Gucci sell so well in Japan. Alcohol is ridiculously cheap in Japan. Suntory Old (daruma) whisky costs 1900 yen (A$16.50) in Japan. In Australia the same whisky is A$109.

It may well be. I did include links which I think mentioned this fact and presumably some reasoning. It's just that I know little about the luxury market. I have foreign friends who bought an apartment in the tall Sukhothai Residences (across from the now dead Babylon) about a dozen years ago when real estate in that particular property was the most expensive in the city. Much more recently the far smaller building on the left at the top of Witthayu One 89 Wireless was regarded as the most expensive with prices for ultra luxury apartments selling at around Bt. 500,000 per sq.m. This now appears to have been equalled and in some units overtaken by Scope Langsuan. Look at any site dealing with Bangkok luxury apartments and you see that many have been and are still being contructed and sold with prices in the Bt. 250,000 - 300,000 per sq.m. range. I suspect many are snapped up by Chinese, Russian and other mega rich in countries where they might wish to hide their wealth. Some of these will no doubt be the people targetted by the ultra-expensive Thailand Privilege Visas. https://bangkokresidential.com/bangkoks-12-best-luxury-condo-developments-in-2025

So which is it, stairs or elevator Mr bad luck?

THANKS A MILLION

Japan always had some crazy prices. I remember one time staying wth friends near Roppongi Crossing. Nearby was a booze shop. It was selling bottles of Dom Perignon champagne at prices cheaper than Duty Free at any airport! On a first visit in the early 1980s, I noticed in the window of an uparket retailer a bottle of Remy Martin XO brandy at ¥50,000. Expensive then at around US$200. By the time I ceased working there and returned to Hong Kong, that same bottle was in the same window at exactly the same price - yet in US$ terms it was over $410. I asked the manager why the price had not been brought down to around ¥25,000. He said that Japanese people perceived the value of a product and if he brought the price down it would be regarded as inferior! Odd!