Alboy666

If they are getting record numbers and revenues and there is still a glut of hotel rooms, then that is just bad luck for some hotels. Casinos should not be considered because of this - just let the laws of economics run their course and things will even out.

In any case you can bet that if casinos are allowed it will only be a matter of time before Casino hotels are built and there will end up still being a glut of hotel rooms outside of this. By this stage the powers that be won't be complaining because they will be getting their pockets well lined. Also, I don't really think legalised gambling will attract "quality tourists".

Frankly speaking I'll be glad to see the THB take a bit of a hit on tourist numbers. I believe visitors with a decent level of income will continue to come even if their currencies dropped 10% against the baht. What I don't like and I don't think they bring much to the local economy is the large coach parties of Indians, Chinese and Russians on package tours who seemingly don't have a proverbial pot top p... in. You know the ones I mean, they can be seen ambling around like ducklings with hotel towels thrown around their necks, or standing outside 7-11 with a bottle of Chang in hand. They seem to be ghosted in by coach, taken to business where a kickback is paid and then ghosted out again never to be seen spending any money in the local bars or restaurants. I recently heard there are Russians arriving on package tours from Eastern Russia and paying 400 Euro for a two week holiday 'All In'!. By removing this element of tourism, it may encourage the better quality of tourists to reappear, since their numbers have declined as these low end travellers have descended upon Thailand's shores. Generally they're rude, ignorant, hate cueing, wander aimlessly in the road as if they're in Mumbai, negotiate group sex for 500 baht, share a bottle of beer and bring nothing with them. If the baht strengthened substantially agaist the Ruppee or Rouble I wouldn't shed a single tear...

I'm willing to bet that you are drawing these conclusions from Pattaya, which with no disrespect (I do enjoy a few days there), has never been known to attract a quality clientele. In any case, there's enough budget establishments to cater for the supposed paupers you describe.

Your views are undoubtedly racist. I know Indians can be a bit tight but I've never seen one start a fight and most of the Russian tourists, while not the most sociable, seem to mind their own business. I have however stumbled upon objectionable, obnoxious Americans, Aussies, Brits, Irish, French, not all of whom were exactly big spenders.

What's wrong with Russians and Indians taking advantage of good deals to come to Thailand? Is it any different from Brits and their cheap package holidays to Majorca, Greek Islands, Turkey etc. Everything you've said about the Indians and Russians could apply to many of these tourists, except that they won't start fights and puke all over the street

Wow, Heh Masaomi, You are a tight ass old bugger , No.? What a lot of hate for youth that love to race around he world. I had a 409 1962 chevy and was state champion in A stock. Idaho I have recieved many tickets but have driven 1,500,000 miles since my last wreck at age 20 my fault in 1961. I still have fast cars and won 2 Divisional championships and 9 world records in hillclimbs in USA (on pavement) How long since you had a wreck? Today I have a 90 civic crx with a Acura 4 cyl eng with 200 hp and still cant resist st racing a kid in a 5.0 Mustang v/8 at a light. You never had the feeling of beating a big old american v/8 with a 98 cubic inch screaming 4 cyl that turns 8000 rpm honda. Also have a 510 Datsun with a Honda with a S-2000 Honda engine with 240 HP turns 9000. RPM in a 1900 lb car. Just about to hit the streets with it. I will be 71 in jan. Remeber all those insurance claims that many tickets means dangerous driver. I sure blew that story. Never got a ticket of going over 80 mph , just 10-15 over usually freeways were made for 80 mph in 1965 we have cars that go 200 mph. They just raised speed limt in Texas to 85 on a toll rd. wow, I crossed texas last winter kept it at 80-105 all night.

Just got to know what you are doing. Kids still need to learn before going crazy, Bikes are dangerous for sure.

Har! Har! Har! You want a medal? Or trying to command some respect?? Dude, before you "ASS" "U" "ME" (assume) that you are the only professional driver who has driven loads of cars & starts singing out the cars you have driven, find out what the other party does for his pastimes! I graduated in NYU and was already driving a Dodge Challenger Hemi and a Ford Mustang GTO. I race drift from Tokyo to Osaka to Yokohama. I drove a Bentley Continental GT Speed from Zurich-Switzerland to Constance-Germany during my internship with Dr. Hausman. In Milan-Italy & Rome on a Maserati Granturismo. I rode a Kawazaki 1100cc from Bangkok to Pattaya and now drives a BMW 528i in Bangkok. So please, do give me a break, I really don't want to read anymore about your speeding tickets! As much as you don't want to read about me ranting on driving on an AutoBahn in Germany is so much more different than on an Interstate 180 in the U.S. Just the same when you are jumping from right hand drive to left hand drive suddenly in different countries! Also, FYI, I have competed, driven and drift for the last 22 years without a single accident! I am trained in both offensive and defensive driving and can do a J turn with about any kinds of vehicle. I am not against professional drivers but abhor hooligans who have no blinking idea about riding a bike with all their pathetic small 100cc honda wave bikes making only noises (Empty Vessels Makes the Most Noise) but absolutely no power.

Wow, two complete blaggers together YAAAAWWWWWWWWNNNNNN!!!!!!!

Wow, I went there for the first time a few months ago with a client.

The place looked like absolute crap, I mean I still enjoyed myself as I can anywhere, but yeah it looked like it was about to all fall down anyways.

Anyone got pictures?

Wow u must mix in some pretty high circles

Major head fracture from hitting his head on a table,.... I don't think so!

RIP to the poor victim and condolences to the family!

As an ex nightclub doorman I can assure you that skull fractures can occur from falling heads landing on tables. If your not a medical man you'd be better to refrain from making medical judgments

I can understand the problem for SOME taxi drivers when they are renting their taxis and must return them to a specific location by a certain time or pay extra (as well as get crap from another waiting driver), but on far too many occasions, it's just because they don't want to go to your location, either too far, wrong direction, or too much traffic....

As far as the complaints go, I've complained twice using the old system, and actually got a confirmation call about 3 months later saying action had been taken. Exactly what action I didn't ask, but at least it proves they did follow up complaints.

For this new system, can someone post this info:-

Phone Numbers to call

EXACTLY what information they require, e.g. Drive Name on Card? Driver Number? Car Registration? etc.

Website for Reporting as mentioned in the article

IMHO it's the fact that few people make formal complaints that lets them get away with what they do. Wingeing on forums changes nothing, Using the system at least helps formalize the extent of the problem, and if nothing else, reminding the BiB of their new duties to deal with taxi complaints should be a laugh and make it much higher profile LOL.

Don't forget to take the officer's full name, and perhaps even ask for a report number for when you follow up later.

I agree it's annoying when you get knocked back for a taxi but personally I think it's a bit pathetic reporting them. At the end of the days taxi drivers in BKK are brutally underpaid. I always give them a good tip because there's no way they're making a good living - 250 baht from the airport to central Bangkok is just way too low. It should be about 500

The "infamous hit and run", is so common in Thailand. Why will the Thai men not take responsibility for their actions? Many Thai women tell me stories, after stories of how incredibly weak Thai men are. They sire children, then leave, without any willingness to pay any support to their children. They cause accidents, and then flee from the scene of the crime. They steal, and then when caught they no nothing of the crime. They kill, and then they flee the scene. The cause traffic accidents, due to their lack of driving skills, and flee the scene, instead of taking responsibility. Where is the sense of accountability in this nation? The women seem far more willing to take responsibility for their actions, and in general, seem to be far superior to their male counterparts, in terms of social responsibility, ethics, morality, etc. Am I wrong on this one, or am I seeing things clearly?

Because the majority of Thai men are spoilt pampered little brats who get away with anything when they are children so they grow up thinking they can get away with everything when adults.Mind you I use the term adult very loosely as most of them have the maturity of a 5 year old.

I have to take issue with both these points. FIrstly, I very much doubt that you will hear middle /upper class Thais tell a farang how weak Thai men are. we all know the bargirl / farm girl think "thai man no good....blah blah". Also it's not really a matter of weakness but rather just bad morals, lack of ethics and irresponsibility. Where is your evidence to suggest that women display greater social responsibility and better morals? Many a lady landlord has tried to screw me over on a rent deposit.

Secondly, with probably more than 50% of the population living in relative poverty it seems hard to swallow the view that most of the boys are spoiled brats. In the middle and upper classes this maybe a valid point but these make up a small amount of the population.

Would be nice if people would give some evidence or at least try to justify their stance before making sweeping generalisations

It's disturbing just how quickly a fun night out can turn into a disaster. I was in Santica in Bangkok about 5 days before the horrific fire back in New Year of 2009 and it gave me a real wake up call to what a death trap some of the clubs here can be. Very sad for all the families involved

2 dumb drunk/drug addled, steroid muscled micks went looking for a fight over a few hundred baht. Twice.

Won the battle, lost the war.

At least they could have a fight unlike most of the English fools who think they can have a row and end up face down, battered!!

what is it with us brits......any trouble / fighting , I'm ashamed to say, 90% chance on us up to our necks in it......

Us brits............their irish!

To be fair there's a fairly substantial number of British people living on the Island of Ireland but I doubt you'd really know about much outside your own county

I don't think these guys were nice people. I went the other day to an Irish pub near my home and I saw some young patrons becoming obnoxious and loud.

What if the situation would be reversed?

Suppose two Thai guys get drunk in a pub in Ireland and start to become nasty with the patrons and the girls....

I'm Irish and in all my time in Bangkok I have met VERY VERY few Irish people in Irish pubs. Let's just keep it real mate - Irish football supporters on both sides of the border are renowned the world over for their good behaviour abroad so we don't need people like you trying to portray the Irish as thugs. There's thugs in every country bar none, and sadly they give people like you the opportunity to stereotype an entire nation

more from Junie (Dec. 14) .....

Regardless what you believe I never touched a female in theses events that occurred and my girlfriend was there from start to finish to vouch. Hitting Thai women was an excuse for them to demonize me and get some baht out of me.

I tend to believe the guy. I'd be interested to hear what Junie's g.f. says about the incident. If/when Thai authorities catch the guy, they're going to give overwhelming credence to whatever the Thai players say. They've already pegged Junie (and his g.f.) as 'farang ba'.

Here's how I visualize the scenario, happening something like this:

Young farang with colored tatoos all over his body and wild hair. From the get-go, there's mention or inference he's a fighter. Everyone's drinking fermented sugar drinks. The scuffle starts out from a dare or a boast, perhaps Junie says/infers something like "MMA can beat Thai boxing every time" (which is actually true, btw).

One or more Thai boys take up the challenge. A Thai female yelps loudly because Junie is not fighting the way she expects him to fight (according to Muay Thai rules). In other words, Junie doesn't feel a compultion to only fight while standing as MT fighters must. A yelping Thai female will inevitably compel additional Thai boys to join the fray. Very quickly, weapons are used by all Thai players. Blood is shed. By the time police show up, they hear only Thai voices yelling about how Junie hit women, how Junie started it all, he's jai dam, etc. etc.

Errr.... that would be complete nonsense. Do you not think if he took the fight to the ground the other nine would have stomped his head in. Don't think he was that stupid - u need to think before you put fingers to keyboard kid!

For anyone reading this far in order to actually get any useful information, the generally accepted practice in such an event is to:

remain polite and respectful

refrain from implying that they intentionally intended to deceive you

state clearly that you made a mistake and didn't realize their physical sex

explain that though of course they have the right to (blah blah) you personally prefer not to swing that way yourself

apologize for wasting their valuable time

offer to compensate them to a reasonable degree - light-hearted and polite negotiation follows

usually a reasonable compromise can be reached with no hard feelings and off they go

if they play hard ball and/or you were silly enough to pay up-front (usually a huge red flag in Thailand anyway)

then you go ahead and pay up as if they had rendered their services and chalk the loss up to a relatively cheap lesson learned

Any other approach is likely to be much more expensive in the long run, and would quite possibly be quite dangerous.

If you fancy yourself a gangster type and enjoy a bit of the rough and tumble then of course feel free, in which case you're getting good value for your money and headaches anyway 8-)

No doubt you speak from considerable experience

A few years ago myself and a few friends made the mistake of going into one of the upstairs bars in Patpong and were told only 90thb for one beer, then the bill came and they tried charging us 400thb each! I'd heard of this scam before so one of us paid (the total for 6 beers at 90thb each) and the rest refused. We were all big lads and we walked downstairs and left without paying a Baht more. The 'bouncers' whoever and wherever they were didn't come to confront us as I think they knew it would get messy. A couple of the lads wanted to have a go anyway but they were calmed down and we continued drinking in another bar.

Just a couple of months ago I returned to Patpong after many years hiatus and one of the downstairs go-go bars hit me with a bill for 4000thb after I had only 2 drinks. I refused to pay, was threatened and I stood outside, called my contact in the Police and let him speak to the old mamasan. After about 20 seconds of discussion she nastily told me to go and I left without paying a single Baht.

It's the only place I have been threatened with physical violence after refusing to buy something from the market too, way back in about 2001 I had a problem with a vendor there as I had to go to the ATM for some cash and he lost the rag with me, started shouting and cursing and poking his finger in my face.

A thoroughly nasty and horrible place it is these days but it is indicative of the way the whole of Thailand is becoming IMO.

Oh dear. Comments like that really make you look foolish. I'm sure the Thais were just shaking in fear at you bad farang thugs. LOL

There will be blood on the streets before this is finished... mark my words!

blether, blether, blether. which one are you waldorf or statler?

I have no sympathy for sex tourists, whatever it is they lose. If it's money, it's money they don't need anyway.

Of course you are speaking from experience

There's only one thing to say: You cannot con an honest person.

My GF would run away from them. She's quite intelligent, honest and values what little money she earns.

hahaha. Your trust is heart-warming!

A one Km. meter taxi in Bangkok would only be 35 baht. *** the damned tuk tuks. They tried to rip me off for 400 baht for 4 people to go the same distance when I was there last year. I told them to *** off and I would walk rather than pay their extortion. The authorities do not care. The reason is simple, THAI RAK THAI and blood is thicker than water. As foreigners we do not matter. When the hell are people going to wake up and vote with their feet and walk? Let the bastards starve because the responsible parties will NEVER see the inside of a jail cell let alone be arrested for what they have done.

As far as I'm aware, Tuk Tuks don't offer discounts to Thais in Phuket, so it's not just foreigners who don't like them. Thais hate them too. By the way, is there any reason to tell a tuk tuk driver to F@~k off because you don't like his price? Do you do this when you go to the market in Thailand? I didn't think so. You're lucky he didn't smack you in the mouth. I for one would have had no sympathy.

Yes there is.Given the thousands upon thousands of ROUTE bus movements a day in Thailand, the safety record is pretty da*n good,What is a problem is in the charter bus industry, too many cowboys drive.

This is not a tour bus, it is a regular scheduled bus from Ekamai bus station to Pattaya. There are too many bus crashes in Thailand although it is not as bad as it used to be. I can remember a time when every Songkran, when driving to Surin, you passed 3 or 4 bus crashes where the bus ended in the ditch.

This crash occured on Bangna Trad Road and reminds me of a similar crash I witnessed on this road back in 1997. I was travelling to Pattaya with my Wife by car and from behind me came an articulated container lorry travelling at high speed, weaving from inside lane to outside lane and back. I said to her "Many Thai drivers are so bad, they drive so dangerously". She said "You must not say that about another driver, just ignore this, that is the Thai way". I said "But he could lose control and kill someone, maybe us". She said "This Thai driver just has a different Technique". At that moment the driver lost control and the lorry went into the ditch in the central reservation and turned over. I said to her "Look I am right, it is bad driving". She said "No it is not, it is just end of Technique, next time he will try a different Technique!".

Thais... I love them.

Was your wife's condition not a worry before you got married? I would have her sectioned

This always amazes me that certain people on this forum hate this festival, hate getting wet, hate the whole thing but still go into town. The ones that jump on a plane should just keep going.

Search of pussy makes them brave

I knew that the Thai politicians are stupid but that they are so stupid I never imagined........

I always imagined they were this stupid. Their ignorance and stupidity is on display every day in this backward country. First, to all the Thia numb nuts in Parliament, if you are really concerned about the retirement amount, just raise it for men who marry Thai nationals you idiots! It's a pitence to us anyway! The fact is, it just bugs the heck out of you that your women prefer farang of any age over your little shrink-wrapped package! You want to remain free to treat your women like crap and have them do all the work you are all to lazy or stupid (likely both) to do so you have time to play with little boys and ladyboys in your local brothels, drink your days away and gamble away what little baht you do have from whatever scam you were running . As far as the little fatherless bastards that might be created by an old farang who keels over before it's grown, I suspect the geezer will have provided for the wife and child much better than any Thai man is capable of doing. Also here is a heads up for you brain dead little MP droids, just because you all believe 400,000 or 800,000 is alot of money, to most farang of retirement age it is absolutely nothing, and I seriously doubt any farang ever married a Thai girl of any age with this thought in mind. So I guess it will still be perfectly ok for these impotent little lilliputions to cheat on their wives with these young girls or marry them themselves and abuse them. Thailand is a country on the decline in a big way and this will be another huge step towards its demise. Other than your women, you have little else to offer us and you will learn this lesson the hard way.

Sorry, but for higher class Thais there is generally a great stigma attached to being in a relationship with a farang. Several girls that used to work for me admitted that their father had forbidden cross-cultural marriage, no doubt excluding Chinese, Korean etc

BTW do you think the average middle class / high class Thai women would be seen dead with you? NO NO NO! But don't worry there's still a fine array of rice-pickers on display who might actually prefer you over the alcoholic, gambling wasters you stereotyped so beautifully. Lucky you!

Try sailing. Not all of us have to work for a living. You would be surprised. Go look in your closet. Do you have three tuxedos there? No. Didn't think so. PS if they had to work for a living they were not higher class, they were working girls.

Err......does the fact they were lawyers exclude them from being a "working girl"?

LOL @mark45y. Gave me quite a laugh with that claptrap

Has to be said, the moderators are doing a fantastic job on this thread.

The young girl I had in my shower this morning was giggling and clearly happy with being with a man 39 years her senior.

She's quite happy to be left to stay the night with friends of mine too. This is what healthy young girls want. Lots of play and fun. Sometimes I don't have the energy or just want to give her a change. Who's to say that only somoene of the same age can give them this? They don't care about the age.

Why do people see anything wrong with this?

Was the "r" in your name a slip on the keyboard?

I knew that the Thai politicians are stupid but that they are so stupid I never imagined........

I always imagined they were this stupid. Their ignorance and stupidity is on display every day in this backward country. First, to all the Thia numb nuts in Parliament, if you are really concerned about the retirement amount, just raise it for men who marry Thai nationals you idiots! It's a pitence to us anyway! The fact is, it just bugs the heck out of you that your women prefer farang of any age over your little shrink-wrapped package! You want to remain free to treat your women like crap and have them do all the work you are all to lazy or stupid (likely both) to do so you have time to play with little boys and ladyboys in your local brothels, drink your days away and gamble away what little baht you do have from whatever scam you were running . As far as the little fatherless bastards that might be created by an old farang who keels over before it's grown, I suspect the geezer will have provided for the wife and child much better than any Thai man is capable of doing. Also here is a heads up for you brain dead little MP droids, just because you all believe 400,000 or 800,000 is alot of money, to most farang of retirement age it is absolutely nothing, and I seriously doubt any farang ever married a Thai girl of any age with this thought in mind. So I guess it will still be perfectly ok for these impotent little lilliputions to cheat on their wives with these young girls or marry them themselves and abuse them. Thailand is a country on the decline in a big way and this will be another huge step towards its demise. Other than your women, you have little else to offer us and you will learn this lesson the hard way.

Sorry, but for higher class Thais there is generally a great stigma attached to being in a relationship with a farang. Several girls that used to work for me admitted that their father had forbidden cross-cultural marriage, no doubt excluding Chinese, Korean etc

BTW do you think the average middle class / high class Thai women would be seen dead with you? NO NO NO! But don't worry there's still a fine array of rice-pickers on display who might actually prefer you over the alcoholic, gambling wasters you stereotyped so beautifully. Lucky you!

If those women were truly hiso, then the staff at the gogo bar had better head back to Isan, shave their heads, and become a monk for a while. That will be the only way to stay alive.......

God I love this place !!!!

What a load of tripe!

Believe me. The owner of Super Baby / Super Girl carries a lot more clout than your average "hi-so". If these so called hi-so's were in the wrong and provoked the incident then I can assure you that the staff won't be needing to worry much. He's a very calm and pleasant guy, so I can't imagine it was him spouting off like that. If it was, then these people must've really pissed him off.

I laugh at all these posters, preaching about the evils of Bangkok / Pattaya, how they won't let their wife go or how their wife was not impressed by Pattaya. I'll bet a few actually met their wives in Pattaya

Maybe if u stayed in nice places such as Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort, Sheraton or Royal Cliff you could enjoy a lovely family holiday. But hey, it would need a good rice crop to cover that!