torrenova

Do it on retirement and Bt800k in the bank. Deposit and forget.

Why ?

Well, they might raise the Bt800k substantially but you'd most likely be grandfathered.

You might also get divorced or widowed and you'd have to do the cash option anyway.

Thanks for the nice words. Yeah, when I look back I am amazed I kept it going so long, especially given that for the last 2 years I have been in New Zealand although admittedly I did spend many months in Thailand on and off last year.

 

I thing you need a huge readership online these days for a site to be commercially viable. The online business model is no longer just simple banner ads.

Facebook killed all forums and much of the blog type business. I guess it might have been hard to switch to Facebook but that ship has sailed.

I wasn't your biggest fan but I wish you well.

I didn't defend everything they did which should be clear from my ending statement. Many of the members of Nanpong were also members of Nanaplaza so there was no clear distinction between the boards.

Several members did go after people on all Thai related boards, among others me, so I was just pointing out that Nanapong wern't all that innocent that you are trying make them.

To the outside reader, without hundreds of days on the ground or years on the forums, Nanaplaza and Nanapong seemed interchangeable, though Nanapong had more lunatics

With a bit of time spent on Nanapong, you realised that it was simply a message tool for a few uber regulars and their hangers on. If anonymous messaging (easily and simply) existed back then, then there would be no Nanapong.

Is your life worth so little as to travel on these mickey mouse airlines ?

Mine isn't.

There is an open air Australian beer bar with live music right in the center of LK metro. Forgot the name, but hands down my favorite chill out spot in Pattaya. Pattaya gets annoying (for me) after a couple days but I always seem to have a good time in that particular bar and return again. And again. Damn the name eludes me.... there's a hotel upstairs from the bar. Lot of hot milf types hovering around.

 

Next time I am in Pattaya, will check out the Soi Buakhao a little more. And thanks for the prose Herr Nasiadai.

Bar is Billabong https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@12.9301615,100.8844114,3a,75y,161.12h,88.54t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sSgiLrZ-x6eaGUaqrnwIicw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

It is a 241 sort of place really (or was). Quasi MILF hang out but not sure how many are really on the payroll and how many click a BF and get a backhander from the staff. It was suspect on my last visit.

I realise years have passed and some are no longer with us, either in spirit or in continent (no pun intended) but for some strange reason I thought I'd reach out and see whether there is a quorum who might be interested in a meeting in the UK ?

Old meets of course in London which might be suitable ?

I'm in Surrey / Hampshire but can make London with minimal notice.

It would be good to see if anyone is still left or any newcomers fancy the idea ?

I have a sneaky suspicion that we met in Pattaya, though having just come across this thread, recollection will take time to recover, if it does. Such is age.

The best thing about that factory is the shortcut it provides from Rama IV

Only if you know and are brave enough to bypass the regular drop down from the tollway. Even then, only open until 4/5pm I think weekdays ?

Decency is something to be strictly avoided in Pattaya. Half-decency is as close as I let myself get, and only on the first day.

Areca is however well known by the taxis and not too far from 2nd Road to stagger.

I don't like it too much because it sits at a place where I tend not to go, that being a decent middle ground place to base yourself. I tend to stay in apartments, houses or 5* hotels.

<<Surprisingly, adding in a vehicle can reduce costs as you don't drink as much, can travel more, pay less for taxis and have another avenue to explore your surrounds. >>

 

Never seen that said before but I agree, plus a good way to get out of being in the "trap" of a farang ghetto, many farang I know have been here for 15++ years and hardly seen anything of Bangkok/outer pataya, let alone many wonderful fun places to visit, yes, for sex too and just interesting

We bought our first vehicle out of necessity and then wondered how we had managed all those years previously without one. It facilitated a move to a cheaper and larger property with far more space and a pool and made hated tasks such as shopping via baht bus or similar a thing of the past. Pattaya had no taxis back then.

As a rough cost, depreciation was no more than Bt50k a year, insurance Bt30k, maintenance say another Bt20k at a generous push so you have about Bt100k a year all in. That is Bt8k a month plus fuel, so perhaps Bt10k a month all in including local trips and add a few thousand more for more miles. I would never live there again without a car or truck.

Thanks guys.Lots,of good info here,well appreciated.

My friend often stays at Areca Lodge and he has suggested I do the same.

Not really thinking of the trip yet as it is a ways away,but will continue to read more on here.

Areca Lodge is a fairly safe bet in the lower mid range price bracket and has a wide selection of rooms and a half decent online booking system.

I think living in Thailand it is possible to spend within a very wide range compared to the west unless you are in knobhead territory and splashing $10k here and there.

Comparative to London, central Bangkok is cheap but horrendously expensive compared to just outside and with the provinces being cheaper still. However, inflation has gotten its hold in food which is far more expensive now than when we last lived there 5 years ago (you hardly notice as a tourist but up country it is much higher than before).

If you were to buy a property then in the west the price between asking price and real price is fairly small. In Thailand, the real price could be half the advertised price or even less on occasion. You really need to do your homework as "rip off the farang" is a national pastime in property deals.

I have thought long and hard as to where to retire in a few years and I always though Pattaya would be a certainty after I discounted the south due to distance from the things I perceived I wanted. If renting, then I would be paying around Bt15k for a decent studio or a 1 bed apartment and around Bt25k for a small house with a private pool.

As to living expenses, then where do you see yourself in relationship terms ? If buying a hooker ever night then that costs big time but few find a GF without any cost. Even botom end you need to add Bt10k I guess ?

Booze is the financial destroyer of many as it links to GFs and sex and entertainment and friendships. At the bottom end perhaps Bt5k for mom and pop shop drinking up to Bt30k a month for a few nights out a month on the piss.

Chuck in some insurance and you have little left from Bt100k a month.

Surprisingly, adding in a vehicle can reduce costs as you don't drink as much, can travel more, pay less for taxis and have another avenue to explore your surrounds.

Thanks gents.

Will not be arriving till late next January,but am looking forward to it already.

Have never been to Pattaya,I have a friend that wants to meet me there,so I said "sure,why not"

I am a single man,with no ties,other than a job.

Really want to go to Hua Him this trip as well.

Enjoying reading the forum so far.I can see some real characters already.

If Bangkok has changed X% in the last 20 years then Pattaya has changed 3X% or even more, some for the good, some for the bad. The simpler Pattaya and indeed Thailand is mostly long gone in either metropolis.

Traversing Hua Hin, Bangkok and Pattaya in a decent length trip is hard enough but if the trip is less than a month, I'd give one of them a miss until next time. That would be Hua Hin I'm afraid which is where many people get to after the more eclectic locations. Trying to do all three in say two weeks means you're flying half way around the world to spend 20% of your time on the ground moving hotel rooms. Not advisable.

I would kick start in Bangkok with a plan to go down to Pattaya after about 1/3rd of my trip (unless a very long trip). That gives you time to assess Bangkok, time enough to experience Pattaya and then the option of enough time to return to Bangkok or remain in Pattaya.

Hotels largely depend on budget but top class places are available for much less than in the west. Quality at the bottom end is mixed and those in the know don't stay at the bad ones; newbie tourists make up their customers. Deals abound on websites and discount clubs so shout up when you know when and how much.

Lastly, planning is the greatest thing but you will ditch it when you arrive and go with the flow, as we all do

A very concise and accurate evaluation. It should be printed in the Bangkok Post.

Aah, if only Trink were still a scribe over there !

Currently the only cash going into any Thai account is the odd 500,000 baht transfer (or thereabouts, FX rates permitting) and then another when that gets spent, which is only when we are in country.

Theoretically, one could manufacture an income from the UK company to the Thai bank account but there is no contract in Thailand we could use, only money earner overseas.

I reach the big 50 in a couple of years and can technically obtain the retirement extension etc. but my question is whether I can do this and get it renewed each year if I am not in LOS very much and crucially, possibly not in LOS on the anniversary date ?

I understand there are multiple entry permits and I can dump Bt400/800k in a bank but I would rather get it done and be grandfathered should the landscape change in the future.

Is it just not possible or if it is, what is the correct route ?

My other half wants to buy some land and property but I am not going to just sign a cheque. She can afford it, even without the asset producing an income, but would rather take out a mortgage on the property and obtain it more quickly.

I have UK and non UK companies who can supply any amount of payroll paperwork and match that to bank deposits but I do not see how a Thai lender could obtain certainty that the income was valid in the manner it was presented. Likewise UK dividends would probably confuse the hell out of them.

Any ideas or even better any real world experiences ? She could presumably decide to move back to Thailand to match any residency requirement but not over more than a few months.#

Don't want to tip her hand to the bank without knowing what they really require etc.

Higher prices yes but if you are dragging your ass half way around the world once a year then an extra $100 isn't a material amount is it ?

Spoken like a bar owner.

You're right, it could have been a sales pitch but not for many years have I been interested in the collective takings of bars. That said, the truth in the statement remains.

Of course, if you put $10 in a kitty every day and get to LOS once in a blue moon when the planets align and airfares drop below historic norms for a 12/24 hour cattle class ride in the tin can then yes, an extra $100 is unlikely to be on the agenda. However, if your trip (or trips) costs you $10,000 a year, then it makes no difference.

I have seen folk who once spent on decent hotel and partook from the top table relegate themselves firstly to budget accommodation and then to cheaper venues and lastly to cheaper whores. These folk are at the addict end of the scale where time on the ground is the paramount objective and if you read their woes of late, you can hear that they are convincing themselves (thought I do not believe even they believe it) that not having a hooker was fine, as saving money to eke out the days in LOS was the main task.

The mostly understood concept of a "holiday" left the building long ago and what is left for them is just a warm version of sitting back home and drinking in the local pub.

I don't understand the notion of going to the sweet shop every day and pressing your nose onto the glass knowing like Charlie of Chocolate Factory fame that what lies within is permanently out of reach. I don't call that a holiday by any stretch of the imagination.

There is a really cute early 20s girl who sometimes works in there, she could easily work in a gogo

 

:hubbahubba:

Moving to a go-go from the SOL is akin to jumping from general dogsbody to receiving the key to the executive washroom

More interesting when the grim reaper comes to advance the question of succession !

No longer a resident but I have over 3000 days on the ground. Now visits seem harder as the reality of leaving is there from the moment you arrive.

Not sure whether I will ever fully retire there, but if not, then where ?

No country can force you to give up citizenship of another country. They can ask, you may answer or not, but they can hardly check or force you can they ?

Just had a month on the ground, mostly in Pattaya but with a lengthy (ish) stay, there was no need to burn the candle at both ends every single day. As to costs, I went with the paraphrased Alcohol Anonymous line that I should only concern myself with the prices I could do something about and not sweat the prices I could not change. Thus, as drink prices and BFs are not controlled by the girls, then I didn't concern myself with their rates. However, if the remuneration committee was taking the piss, I just moved on.

All in all I found it an enjoyable way to not concern myself with higher prices though I admit I did not have a budget and knew every price was well within my grasp. Had I been travelling more frugally, it would have been different; quite simply, I would not have travelled at all !

I think there is little between picking two friends from the same place and prowling with a willing partner in search of another bedfellow in terms of success.

I once had a very willing and eager partner who would hunt with me in every place we found but ultimately the lack of intimacy was the killer when push came to shove and bar talk bravado needed to be backed up with actual performance.

As an ex employer of lots of girls, the subject came up almost daily from one customer or another and invariably the honest answer was that yes, some would or could do but that they were not truly bisexual. I think some did like it and were more comfortable with certain partners but few would go with a guy and his brought in girl as the third wheel to their ménage a trois.

In my experience, trying to over engineer a threesome is more likely to end in disaster but alcohol fuelled (often initially regretted) couplings are still possible if you have time and funds to waste finding out whether such is possible or not.

Used to be I could hang around Bangkok for a few days for some nightlife fun, but those days are long gone. The high prices made it an easy choice for me to hang around Pattaya longer, and travel to other countries. Coyote Dancers are another thing that I don't care for.

 

Pattaya at least still has something to offer for the nightlife, and I don't have to strap an ATM to my ass to enjoy a night out Nasiadai, thanks for the update about Nanaplaza. I might make one last trip there, so I can have a good laugh when I see the drink and ladies prices.

Higher prices yes but if you are dragging your ass half way around the world once a year then an extra $100 isn't a material amount is it ?