Bazle

I guess it would be rude to ask why the bed-linen gets so dirty Seriously though, doesn't your condo have a washing machine? If not, is that usual? I find your posts on moving to Patters very interesting. I get a vicarious pleasure reading them. If it were not for family circumstances, I think I would be doing exactly the same as you. Merry Xmas. Bazle

If a property has been your sole/main residence throughout its ownership to date, usually you then have 3 years in which to sell it without it affecting the tax free status of any gain on sale. You can rent it out, do whatever you want, in that 3 years. That applies whether you are resident in the UK or not. If you are not resident in the UK, prima facie, you are not liable to capital gains tax (except on certain business assets located in the UK). However, to stop people avoiding CGT by becoming non-resident, a few years back they introduced some legislation which, broadly, will catch gains you make in the 5 years after you cease to be UK resident on assets you owned when you left. So, if you sell within 3 years of leaving the UK (and stopping living in your UK property), no problem. If you sell after you have been non-UK resident for 5 years, no problem. The issue is if you sell in the gap in between. But even then there are exemptions and reliefs which will reduce (possibly to zero) the gain on which CGT is charged. Incidentally, if you do have to pay CGT, it is not a matter of taking the value of the house on departure from the UK. The gain is time-apportioned pro-rata over the years of ownership. So the market might have risen hugely when you were in the UK but have been flat since you left and you could still be looking at a CGT bill.

Back in September/October, I was staying at Soi 13 and ventured to Shagwell for a beer and a meal. Never again! Pig of a place to get to. Food far from special. Companionship was possibly available but chose not to explore further from what I could see (possibly) to be on offer. Unless you are planning to rent your own transport during your stay (and that doesn't make too much sense), I'd forget about the idea. Too many far better options available.

Brits interested in offshore bank accounts might find this article of some interest - basically a comparison of charges: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/saving-and-ba...99&in_page_id=7

Regret I have to post a correction to this . I am staying in the new wing and was woken at 7.30 this morning by (I assume) pile driving from the site. Hoping it was a one-off. If it happens tomorrow, I'm off!

I'm staying at Areca right now. Absolutely no problem with construction noise. The area which was being referred to (across the road from the beer bars) is not being worked on right now. In case that all changes, I'd suggest requesting a room in the new wing which should be well shielded from any potential noise. As to paying in advance, I was asked to last year, the first time I stayed, but have not been asked to this year. Perhaps I'm a trusted customer now! The standard rooms are excellent and, unless you particularly want a view over a pool, I see no reason to pay the extra for deluxe.

Not to forget the Inn House which, in my opinion, represents the best value.

I have yet to read about Trinity but is it a stupid question to ask whether the £24K you quote is spending money (net income) or gross (before tax has been deducted)? Calculations I have done in the past have been hugely influenced by tax. Eneukman will tell you from his recent experience that if you are receiving a UK pension whilst living in LOS, you will still have UK tax deducted from it.

I'm going to try this place for a couple of nights next month: http://www.dropinnbangkok.com/main/index.php

As of 18 months ago when I stayed there, that is absolutely correct. Excellent choice hotel if the construction noise in the area has now abated.

If the construction noise isn't too bad, take a look at the Inn House half way up Soi 13 opposite the Sportsman.

Last year, I found Areca very efficient, so when I tried to book a couple of weeks ago I was surprised that 4 days had passed without a reply to my Email. Upon sending a reminder, they re-sent an Email which I had not received. I am very noise-averse so empathise with your concerns about construction noise. I suggest you ask for a room in the new wing, which should be well away from where I understand the building work to be.

No reports in the reviews section.

I'm currently in Phuket with a M8. We decided to escape from Pty for Songkran. (Was wet only one and a half days down here!!). Got hotel quotes on-line from medium priced hotels. Those that bothered to reply refused to discount. Now we are here, we find we are paying about double the rate we need to have if we had booked on the spot.

Shame about the timing. Two of us are due at 15.05, but it wouldn't be much fun spending three and a half hours waiting. But if you would like to, let me know.

Well actually they cannot!! They agreed revised wording on their form to restrict the penalty to the cost of one night.

All the reports on here say it is guest friendly (wouldn't have booked it if I thought it wasn't ). The Email address is info@arecalodge.com I corresponded with someone who signed him/herself as "Moo". Good luck!! Bazle

Have just booked 2 rooms at the Areca for 2 short stays in April. Wasn't happy with the deposit arrangement (3,000 Bt per room) but they wouldn't really relent except they did agree to revised wording on the form they wanted me to sign. Having signed the (revised) form and faxed it to them with copies of both sides of my credit card, they then sent me an Email (I quote verbatim): We received fax credit from you. We will hold on this to guarantee your booking. Note we haven't withdraw any amount from your account yet. Will charge in the case that you are no show or cancel less than 24hrs. And will give this fax back to you when you arrival without any charge. I now don't understand the relevance of the 3,000Bt per room, but I'm not complaining. Haven't had any mention of having to pay the balance or print out a voucher (although I have printed out the Emails). I think they just might be testing to see how genuine you are about the booking. They have been really good in replying to Emails promptly. They seem very professional compared with most other places. (Hope these are not the proverbial "famous last word"!)

Don't assume it always happens like this. It didn't for me last year.

Roy Out of interest, where is that? What's the noises situation like - both from the outside world and from neighbours? Do you live there full time? If not, do you rent out when you are not there? Thanks. Bazle

Sure!! But under GWB there's very little chance of them getting it right .

BloodyHell I've posted this a few times before but I will continue to post it whenever I think a thread has reached the point where an explanation is required: I would urge everyone to not take part in a game with a psycho. - i.e. they should ignore any posts they think might be made by one. Bazle

I know nothing about Areca Lodge but have stayed at Inn House on my last 2 visits. Have negotiated rate of 860 baht for best rooms so its obviously cheaper than Areca. Very clean, very modern, very convenient. Right opposite the Sportsman (or is it Sports Bar?) which does excellent breakfasts and other meals. Only downside was that I had to ask to move room on my last stay because of the construction noise. But hotel has no control over that so can hardly be blamed. Will go back to Inn House provided construction work finished.

Per Pattaya at Night site:

It doesn't surprise me we haven't heard anything; it's not the sort of thing that gets much publicity. So you have to enquire. I did a quick Google search re Saudi and it appears they are giving $10m (report copied below). Relatively, it does not sound very much, but better than nothing. Four Countries to Benefit From Saudi Tsunami Aid Mohammed Rasooldeen • Arab News RIYADH, 3 January 2005 — The Kingdom will dispatch relief supplies to four countries affected by tsunamis that killed more than 150,000 people and rendered millions homeless. “The countries chosen for aid by the Kingdom include Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Maldives,” a spokesman at the Ministry of Finance told Arab News, adding that two planeloads of relief materials have already been sent to Colombo in the past two days. Of the two cargo flights to Thailand, one will leave for Bangkok today. He said Indonesia and Sri Lanka would receive at least five consignments, while Thailand and Maldives will get two and one flight load of relief aid respectively. “Currently, we are working out the flight schedules of these cargo planes in coordination with the respective countries,” the official added. On hearing the news of devastation, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd, Crown Prince Abdullah and Prince Sultan sent cables of condolences to the leaders of Indonesia, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka expressing shock over the casualties and damage caused by the earthquake-triggered tsunamis. On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia pledged a $10 million aid package to the victims of the disaster. Under the program, $5 million worth of supplies including food, tents and medicines will be airlifted and distributed through the Saudi Red Crescent to the four countries during the course of this week. Officials from the Ministries of Finance, Health, Information and the Saudi Red Crescent will accompany the cargo to the four destinations. “The aid will be handed over to the International Red Cross Society (ICRC) through the Saudi foreign missions in the respective countries,” the spokesman said. In addition to various relief supplies, each consignment comprises 1,500 tents, 7,000 blankets and 2,000 packages of dry rations which includes rice, sugar, oil, milk and infant foods. Thanking the Saudi government for its generous gesture, First Secretary at the Indonesian Embassy Arif Suyoko said the Saudi aid will reach Medan International Airport in the north of Sumatra island. “This airport is only 400 km away from the devastated area of Aceh and the supplies could reach the victims quickly,” the diplomat said. “To speed up transportation of relief materials by aid workers from donor countries, Indonesia has issued 50 flight clearances and the accompanying passengers have also been granted visa-on-arrival facility,” Suyoko added. “The Kingdom has been prompt in coming to the rescue of my country whenever there is a crisis,” said Mohammed Lootfi, the second secretary at the Thailand Embassy. He pointed out that some 4,500 people have been killed due to the monster waves and a large number have been left homeless.