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looks like there are lots of new "luxury" buildings that have gone up over there since I was last in town. This channel has lots of tours

I'm sure all of those fuel subsidies encourage driving as well. But at least the public transit networks keep expanding. Compared to my first visit 17 years ago the network is huge and getting huger

capping fares at 20 baht might get some vehicles off the road, but they probably need to add some capacity as well since things are so crowded at peak times already

you're right about airfares... I have been keeping an eye on things too. And no frequent flyer awards in my required class of service. I guess high season might be quite busy - or there aren't enough flights. Thanks for your report. I always enjoy reading about your escapades

how big of a cut do they take from their content creators?

just get one of those free abandoned houses

The new PM is talking about allowing everyone with a visa exemption to stay 90 days instead of 30 in an effort to boost tourism. I don't know how many tourists are able to even stay for 30 days let alone 90, but for retirees who want to stay for longer periods it would be good depending on how often you can do it

obviously this is an issue in dozens of countries, so it's not unique to Thailand. Maybe they'll need to figure out ways to integrate more immigrants

they're probably conditioned by jealous farang asking a lot of questions

I have lots of IHG points and some free night certificates which really can make it more affordable.

Did you ask at the front desk? They could probably provide one for you. I stayed at this place several times in the past. I really like the feeling of having a full apartment and they always had good deals. And even after the first time they welcomed me back. I presume they have a good database that alerts them to return guests. But I don't know how the change of brand may have changed things. But eventually I switched to the Crowne Plaza because of its better location and IHG affiliation even though it's not apartments.

Yes, you may claim Social Security at 62 but at a reduced amount compared to full retirement age which currently ranges from 65 to 67 depending on the year of your birth. For me (born in 1967) full retirement age is 67. If I claim it at 62 it is reduced by a certain percentage per year. So I could claim it any time between 62 and full retirement age with a partial reduction. If you wait until after full retirement age (up to age 70 I believe) you get a supplemental amount. So if you wait until 70 I think it's an 8% bonus currently. And the amount of your benefit is based on a number of factors including years of work and amount paid in to the system.

he wouldn't have come back if he expected to spend much time in prison. Surely this was all worked out in advance. He'll probably be on the tennis court tomorrow

exactly. The speculation a couple of months ago was that ultimately this would be good for MF in the next election. I think that's true. As long as the people in charge don't manage to come up with some ludicrous reason to dissolve the party and bar all of its members from politics for 10 years or some other big number. This current case at the CC could very well be the vehicle to accomplish that. Whether that brings large numbers to the streets or not will be the key. MF needs to build some more experience in parliament. I also wonder if the Charter re-write has any chance of happening now. PT claimed they were going to go ahead with it, but it may not be so easy to do given who they are in bed with

I think you can get by in Bangkok without speaking Thai. I follow Global Travel Mate on Youtube. He is Dutch and has been in Bangkok for something like a decade. He speaks almost no Thai. But apparently he has a successful real estate business. Not exactly sure how such a business qualifies for a business visa but I guess it does.

it will be interesting to see if they manage to get much done. Seems like a fairly unwieldy coalition but I guess they only need 251 votes to do things in the House.

Interesting report about the lack of out gay male players in Australian football

I used to always say I never wanted to take a cruise, but I did take a Med cruise on Virgin Voyages last autumn. The ship was quite nice. I enjoyed the ports. Their ships are more mid-sized than this and don't have all of the outdoor entertainment things like waterslides and go kart tracks. But they are "adults only" so they don't put a lot of those things that would cater more to kids and families. I was traveling solo and I am pretty introverted so I didn't do much socializing. But I think if I had gone with a group of friends I would have enjoyed it more.

Loneliness is a problem all over the world these days for people of all ages. But certainly culture and language issues exacerbate the isolation.

I think that lays out the issues pretty well. Personally I would just rent. Furnished rentals seem to be in abundance in the main areas of the country (and probably most of the rest as well). I like the idea of showing up with my luggage and moving in without having to do anything more. No worries about the market. And if you decide you don't like the place anymore or want to move someplace else it's easy. But I also don't have any plans to retire there full time and own my own place in the US. So I think your own financial situation is probably a really big factor.

The pardon has to come from above. So removing the one party that threatens (however little) that institution was likely the condition.

they were talking about some sort of hospital confinement. I presume his pardon is tied up with throwing MFP out of the coalition

Obviously the Vietnamese have plenty of historical and current day beefs with China. So the enemy of my enemy...

I was there the first week of April this year and even though things were past peak bloom in Tokyo there were still plenty of blossoms to see. The big park in Shinjuku was magical. I've been toying with going back at the end of November for autumn leaves, but flights are crazy expensive and no mileage seats seem to be available. I still have a pile of cash from my trip because I got covid which killed the last several days of my time in April and didn't get around to visiting any of the brothels

probably because many older guys wouldn't want to have sex with themselves. But it's clear that there are as many different tastes out there as there are people.