PeterRS

I regret I totally disagree with @vinapu. Granted this year the rainfall problem that has devastated many Asian countries with Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka the worst hit has been unusually high. The Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam are not far behind in terms of rainfall and destruction. But it is certainly not the first time the south has ben flooded. This from The Nation - Recent severe flooding in Hat Yai is yet another wake-up call that Thailand remains unprepared to cope with climate change. This is not the first time the South has been devastated – similar floods struck Hat Yai in 2000 and 2010, and other regions have suffered from extreme weather. Yet, despite these warnings, preparedness remains inadequate. The latest deluge dumped 635 millimetres of rain in three days, submerging central Hat Yai, stranding thousands of residents and tourists, and once again we saw how extreme weather is becoming more frequent and damaging. https://www.nationthailand.com/the-opinion/commentary/40058777 And as @floridarob pointed out some posts ago - The increasing severity of cyclones is certainly partly due to the oceans getting warmer. With the feeble attempts by the world's governments even to acknowledge and then do something about global warming, it is only going to get worse. And that inevitably means that annual flooding will increase. Forget this being a once in a 300 year event. It is bound to happen more frequently, although perhaps - I only suggest perhaps - at not such a level of severity. As for retirement in Hat Yai, I would think long and hard before moving there. I experienced the massive flooding in Bangkok in 2011. I would never wish to go through that again - and my condo was hardly affected. The effect of global warming and the resultant warming of the oceans has other undesirable consequences. As has been known now for nearly a decade but rarely mentioned by the Thai authorities,warmer waters resulted in the deadly Australian box jellyfish arriving off Thai waters. Already a few Thais and tourists have been killed through their stings. The numbers being caught in fishermen's nets indicate that this problem is only going to get worse.

Some years ago my family and friends made a pact - no presents at Christmas and no cards. An exchange of emails is welcome as it helps bring everyone up to date with what has happened during the year. And a WhatsApp call around that time is always welcome. Mind you, if someone was suddenly to send me a 250 gram tin of Beluga caviar I certainly would not send it back. I might, though, ask what happened to the bottle of best vodka which should accompany it!

Since @Paco-Campos is new to the forum, might i suggest that he starts a new topic/thread perhaps titled something like What Makes for Good Gay Party? Might get some interesting responses. Anyway, welcome to the forum.

Just one night? That's all you can afford at the Capella?

Love to hear some of the stories!

Well the faberge Egg beat its estimate and sold for US$30.2 million. Not bad for an artefact only 10 cms high, but I sure would love to have it - or any Faberge Egg for that matter. I just think they are such unsual pieces and unusually gorgeous works of the jeweller's art.

Entry was NT$400 when I visited on Sunday almost a month ago. It used to be NT$350 and I am not sure if that remains the weekday price. I expect not. The only problem I feel with the 'new' Hans is that it lacks atmosphere and has a slightly industrial feel. On the other hand, it has all the facilities anyone would want in a sauna with two dark steam rooms, several very dark areas (occasionally someone's phone will light up but rarely when I was there), an outdoor terrace and lots of private rooms. I doubt if anyone is looking for atmosphere!

True, but still no problem at Changi for an interline connection on SIA. I can only get the last few days on Flight Radar at present but expect to increase this to one month in the next few days. But it's immaterial as @jimmie50 has booked his flights. Both SIA and Cathay Pacific frequently hold flight departures for up to 15 minutes or so if they are waiting for long distance interline connection passengers on through tickets booked via the airlines. Even early last month in Taipei, I was on a China Airlines flight to BKK that had all but one passenger seated 15 minutes prior to scheduled departure. We left the gate 15 minutes late waiting for one passenger on a long distance interline CI connection. Especially in business class, if SIA had issued the ticket permitting that connection I would have no problem with a 59 minute connection on SIA at Changi, the more so at that time in the morning. Back in March I had a 14 hour flight from HKG to LHR. I then connected to a BA inter Britain flight. But it was a separate ticket and so I allowed for 3 /12 hour connection instead of getting a flight just 75 minutes later. But at LHR I had to go through Immigration and so did not trust a 75 minute connection. As it turned out, I loathed the 4 1/2 dditional hours for waiting time and the extra flight!

Merely out of curiosity, i wonder why the courts decided the arrests were unlawful.

Sorry @jimmie50. I wrote my post before i saw yours. Good luck with the flights.

It's not due out in the USA till December 25 (presumably in time to be included in the Oscars) and the UK till December 26 but the critics embargo has just been lifted. So there are reviews everywhere. Based on the trailer, I totally fail to understand what it is really about. Yet most of the critics are raving about it, especially Chalamet's performance. It seems to be about a ping pong player in the 1950s, a Jewish shoe salesman who decides he is going to be the greatest ping pong player in the world. And he almost makes it. The critics call Chalamet's performance one of the best he has ever given on screen, definitely in Oscar contention. If you want to read more there are several reviews up on youtube. Based on the trailer and what I have read, I'm not sure this is a pic I want to see. Although he is fast becoming a great actor Chalamet is nothing like his previous roles, definitely not a cutie.

I know we all have different experiences. Having flown millions of miles, including plane changes with SIA at Changi, I suggest you will have absolutely no problem with your shortish connection, the more so as you have a through ticket on SIA and are in business class. As @pong2 noted, there will be someone from SIA at the gate either to show you the way or even to accompany you to the new departure terminal and gate. For such an early arrival, it is unlikely you will arrive late due to stacking or anything like that. And if the aircraft is delayed on departure, the pilots have enough time to make some or all of it up en route. I have changed planes at Hong Kong many times when the minimum connecting time for Cathay Pacific flights was just 40 minutes. Never missed a flight. But then Hong Kong only has one terminal. Even so, SIA is such an efficient airline and Changi such an efficient airport I would just accept their 75 minute connecting time and enjoy your flights. They will look after you. Your baggage will be automatically transferred. You will still have a hand luggage security check when entering the new gate but it will be very fast. Incidentally the scheduled flight time is 16 hours 36 minutes. Why bother waiting another 4 hours when you will clearly be very tired and 4 hours can seem an awfully long time. If you had tickets on different airlines or a through ticket on a lesser airline, I would have a different view. But with SIA I'm sure you'll be fine. I have Flight Radar on my iPad and have noted that 6 arrival times in recent days were 5:25, 5:27, 5:20, 5:23, 5:04 and 6:14. You will not need a visa on your return if you decide to stop in Singapore. Frankly, I'd be more worried about your connecting flight from Denver to SFO. It's decades since i flew out of Singapore. If it's anything like LAX you will need plenty of time for Immigration and security checks at evening time.

I know we get these lists from time to time from a variety of different sources. This time it's the turn of the monthly magazine and website International Living. It's top ten are - Greece - Panama - Costa Rica - Portugal - Mexico - Italy - France - Spain - Thailand - Malaysia There are several reasons why I find this list somewhat strange. Greece is basically burning every summer. Not everywhere of course, but many of the islands now have major fires annually. On the mainland in recent years, fires have come very close to Athens. In Portugal many native Portuguese are mightily pissed off with retirees. The Golden Visa for those investing around $250,000 have now been withdrawn but you can still get a visa if you bring in something like $1,100 per month. But then try to find accommodation. Many retirees buy their accommodation and the country now faces very high prices in the many towns and cities, especially Lisbon and Porto. On top of that the amount of accommodation available for rent has fallen drastically. There are still benefits like access to free healthcare after five years. Given the feelings within the country, I would not bank on these continuing for much longer because the Portuguese are really angry. As we know, Thailand has become much more expensive over the years. Add to this the threat of all retirees having to pay tax - I say threat because we have heard nothing more this year on the taxes that we were told would be introduced at the start of this year. Maybe it will not happen, we just at this stage do not know. But we do know that in future the country wants more wealthy retirees. https://edition.cnn.com/2025/12/01/travel/worlds-best-retirement-destinations-2026

This warning has been repeated over and over again, and thankfully most western tourists heed it. Three individuals were executed last week for drug offences which brings the total to 17 this year. A death sentence is automatic if you bring in more than 15g of diamorphine, 30g of cocaine, 250g of methamphetamine and 500g of cannabis. With cannabis still on sale in Bangkok, don't even think of trying to hide any in your luggage if Singapore is your next stop. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8dymv623q0o

The burger looks nice. I rarely visit one of the chain joints like McDonalds or Burger King, but in Paragon recently and hungry, despite the choice of many restaurants there I stopped at Burger King as they were offering Aberdeen Angus beef burgers - not the usual cardboard tasting meat. They're more expensive and I did find the burger far more satisfying than I expected. The meat was tasty and juicy, and the salad parts quite reasonable. Price for cheeseburger, coke and fries was Bt. 310. I was surprised - I enjoyed it.

FIrst time I've ever seen a martini as a Christmas drink LOL Mind you, the Father Christmas in the pic looks as though he's already imbibed far too many of them.

It's been showing for years, but especially in the last 2 years. Why he bothers when everyone else on the forum knowns his tactics for twisting facts and inventing new ones, I fail to understand. He's like a one man Trump!

One trait of @Moses which is abundantly clear from his posts, is that he is highly selective in what he posts and often fails to provide credible sources. He is now criticising the British admiistration of Hong Kong. He totally omits to mention that Hong Kong has more high rise residential buildings than any other city resulting in Hong Kong having more residents living at the 15th floor or above than any other world city. This gives it the world's tallest urban agglomeration. It also has some of the most stringent building construction safety codes and an excellent record when it comes to fire. How about Russia? Not quite as stringent codes it would seem. Naturally @Moses fails to mention the following urban fires - - the People's Friendship University of Russia Fire in 2003 which killed 44; - the Moscow hospital fire in 2006 which killed 45; - the Nursing Home fire in country's tenth largest city in 2007 which killed 63; - the Lame Horse fire in Perm in 2009 which killed 153; - the Moscow Market Fire in 2012 which killed 17; - the Luka Psychiatric Hospital fire in 2013 which killed 38; - the Kazan Shopping Centre Fire in 2015 which killed 17; - the Moscow Factory fire in 2016 which killed 12; - the Kemerovo Nursing Home Fire in 2022 which killed 22; - the fire at Fryazino office block in 2024 which killed 8; - just 5 days later the fire at a Moscow dormitory killed 5. No doubt @Moses will cry from the hilltops that this is western propaganda! It's fact!

Not merely desperate, I'd suggest - it's despicable!

Strange. I recharged my card at Siam BTS counter just a couple of weeks ago. Did not have to show anything. There should be no need unless your passport has changed since the original Rabbit did require a passport. The reason given when passports were required was "to prevent money laundering." Huh? When the maximum on a card was Bt 4,000. Thai logic once again totally failed me.

I guess the silver lining is that the solar flares had only affected one aircraft without any loss of life or loss of an aircraft, and Airbus took immediate action to resolve the issue.

Personally I loathe Christmas music being played and decorations put up more than about ten days before the 25th. We all know it is now purely a marketing gimmick to drive people into stores. One of the worst in my view is Starbucks. I have no idea who is in charge of music in their coffee shops but the Christmas music is almost all songs from the 1930s and 40s. Only once did I hear something different - a short piece of classical music which I recognised as part of the lovely Christmas Concerto by Arcangelo Corelli written in 1690. Since I have never heard it in other years, I guess the executive choosing the music must have been fired!

It's all getting earlier and earlier. Two weeks ago there were decorations and Christmas music almost everywhere in Taipei. And half the population seemed to be crowding around Chrismas trees to take selfies.

Do you think this might be because these individuals had failed to submit their arrival details online and just did not know about the regulation? I have twice returned to Thailand and was never asked at the departure airport for proof of having obtained the online approval QR code. Mind you, I was not asked for it either when I arrived, even though it was open and on my phone as I went through Immigration.

Thanks for the clarification. Certainly something has been done re changes to the interior since my last visit. Maybe since it was closed for two years during the early covid years they could have made some changes then. I still find it hard to believe that more than 200 people could be packed into that space, but then in the video they all seem pretty tightly packed. Some cute guys there, too!