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Interesting statistic for Thailand. Being in the Pilippines, I went to Statista.com to see what the trend was for all of the ASEAN countries. It appears that there are 2 ASEAN countries that are still experiencing population growth; Vietnam and the Philippines. And when I am in these 2 countries you can definitely feel an abundance of youth.

More importantly because of the history if these deaths on this island, I would add to your list: With whom did these victims make contact with on the island? Were common contacts made between the many victims?

Yes so true. I think this poor guy's fate makes him number 26 of these mysterious deaths on Koh Tao. So sad, as the island is so beautiful and is dedicated to diving and sea turtles.

@ichigo Welcome - now you are bahtbus initiated. That back area where you stand is my preferred area (only if it is not raining). Why? I feel that it is more independent from the interior area where sometimes there can be people that make me feel uncomfortable, as in they try to strike up invasive conversations that I don't want to share with everyone on the bahtbus, they are drunk or smell, etcetra. In that back area you are mostly isolated from all of those discomforts. Lastly, it is very easy to disembark from.

Very interesting observation - as I have never heard any of our forum members report on this. I guess the old adage is very true:

Wow!! Thank you very much as I did not know this. Good to know. Once while going northbound from Jomtien (near Supertown) into Pattaya city, the bahtbus turned left at Phra Tamnak and then drove down to the Bali Hai pier. Then he went from the pier and continued back onto the normal route on Pattaya Sai 2 road. Would you know why? I found this very convenient if it was for a day that I would be going to Koh Larn where the speedboats depart from the Bali Hai pier. Is this a special Bali Hai bahtbus route?

Yes, in rare occassions the bahtbus (songthaew) does deviate and/or abrubtly terminate its route. But I would say that this only happens 1% to 2% of the time, as it is a very rare event. A Dutch friend of mine back in Jomtien sent me this recent photo of the back of a bahtbus, which I found to be hillarious. Meanwhile, over here in Cebu, Philippines, the bahtbus equivalent = Jeepney are very different than what we have back in Pattaya. They are more colorful and can accomodate more passengers, but they have low ceilings making them feel somewhat claustophobic.

This is funny that you say this. When the powers that be created the new SIDE category, we were free to come out of the closet and to stop falsely identifying as TOPs. Consequently, the perceived number of TOPs available for the static number of BOTTOMs decreased, thus creating more tension between us SIDEs and the BOTTOMs - as they often insist that we should TOP them.

No, if you are northbound from Jomtien going into Pattaya city - 10 baht can bring you as far north as the Terminal 21 shopping mall before the bahtbus heads towards beach road to head south. Yes, if you are southbound and decide to return to Jomtien from the heart of northern (Terminal 21) or central (Central Festival), then you have to pay for 2 different bahtbuses at 10 baht each. You will need to disembark at the below mentioned intersection and walk over to the southbound Jomtien bahtbuses. What I usually do is just walk to the route beginning point at the intersection of South Pattaya road and Pattaya Sai 2 road (near BoyzTown) where the bahtbuses heading southbound into Jomtien begin.

Hello You walk onto the main road, Thappraya road (the busy road in front of the main entrance of Supertown) and you flag down (wave with your hands) the bahtbus and if he is: Not full Or in-service He should pull over and then you get on the back of the pickup truck. You ring the bell when you see from your mobile phone map app that you are near your destination. Then you disembark and walk up to the driver and give him 10 baht. Good luck and have fun. I use the bahtbus at least 3 to 4 times each week.

Oops, I prematurely jumped the gun 🍆💦 The Thai cabinet only changed the $80,000 USD requirement for the: Wealthy Global Citizen LTR category, and NOT for the Wealthy Pensioner LTR category. So, I will still need to wait until my 69th birthday, as I don't have $1 million in assets, of which $500,000 USD is invested in Thailand --> as per below AI snippet. https://www.nationthailand.com/news/policy/40045152

Wow That US$80,000 2 year threshold is why I am here in Cebu, Philippines. I won't reach that annual threshold until my age 69 --> another 6 years. I hope that they reveal the new threshold at the soonest. 🤞🤞

Who needs "community notes" when we have our own wonderful truth validators. Bravo @colom-bien I love your courageous spirit to discover the truth. Now that you have, please be sure to share your adventures with this hot Cambodian speciman with us envious forum readers 🤪😜🍆💦

@zazzu you are brilliant. I was a Finance Officer before I retired and I was not able to figure out this financial riddle. Bravo!!

I would add that many of the Myanmar guys that I have met in Pattaya and also on Koh Tao, did not speak Thai - but instead could speak almost perfect English. Up north in the Chiang Mai area many of the Myanmar guys could speak Thai and their English capabilities were limited. I cannot speak about the Myanmar guys found in Bangkok as to what languages that they are fluent in.

The rental description is confusing to me: 112,500 THB (900k Key-money once a year Plus 37,500 THB rent each month) What is 900k Key ? What is 112,500 THB ? 37,500 THB each month is self explanatory.

What is it with this "Death Island"? Is his death number 25 or 26 over the last 10 years? I truly enjoyed my time on Koh Tao (Turtle Island), as it is so beautiful and unique. But, I have to say that there were moments when the hairs on the back of my neck did stand up, as I reported in my Koh Tao trip report:

Same for me

I am glad that you enjoyed Koh Tao and survived "Death Island". And I see that you stayed at the same resort, Jamahkiri resort, as I did. The sea in front of the hotel is amazing, especially if you take the kayaks offered by the hotel for an adventure. Did you hang out with any of the wonderful resort Myanmar staff? some were very interesting.

Thank you @10tazione for this suggestion. It looks to be a fantastic place and thanks to you it is now high on my list to go and checkout. Here is a video that they posted. mEaxzws3zcokBOoe.mp4 What is interesting is that when I talk to the local Cebuano guys here, noone has mentioned Alpha. They only mention Sandia spa and Infinity spa. After I visit Alpha I will add it to my upcoming trip report segments.

sounds great. Also, because I will bring my Thai boyfriend with me to Vietnam - so perhaps your guy can give some advice and/tips to my guy about Vietnam. We will mostly stay in the Da Nang area and perhaps fly over to beautiful Phu Quoc.

Do you visit Pattaya?

March, but only until shortly after Songkran finishes in Pattaya, when I will travel to Da Nang for 130 days.

oops, how embarrassing. It was my American ignorance. Since you Brits created the English language it is even more humiliating. The AI module tells me that I should have instead use the word = executor. thanks

@Londoner If you do not mind me asking, do you have a medical Will? If yes, is the executioner one of the above 2 named Will beneficiaries? If yes, how would they execute this medical Will if they are both outside of the UK - where I am presuming that you have decided to live for the final chapter of your life? Or will you come to Thailand to join P? Or will P go to the UK to take care of you?