Awohalitsiktoli

23 hours ago, newnative said:

So right--amazing how it has changed in those years, and continues to change rapidly.  And, this despite all those many postings proclaiming the city has died or is dying. 

The much better version of Pattaya-Jomtien that existed in the recent past has been destroyed! Compared to what it was 15-20 years ago, the current version of Pattaya-Jomtien is like a toilet bowl with crap floating around.  Pattaya-Jomtien is like a terminally ill patient with cancer cells that are rapidly growing.  It is a shame that the vast majority of people are unable to understand that growth is not always a good thing.  Instead, they think just like cancer cells:  all growth is good, all growth is good, all growth is good.  And, eventually, that type of thinking kills the host.

1 hour ago, Garry said:

Do they have access to beach grooming  / cleaning machines and I don't mean folks with garbage bags? :)

That looks like the beach run by the Thai Navy.  If so, they have a platoon of cadets cleaning up the beach each morning before tourists arrive.

I do not see any rubbish in the picture.  The water is not filthy.  I think all of you need "rose-colored" glasses like the ones that I wear.  I am confident that the clean beaches and water will attract extremely wealthy tourists, and the place will soon resemble Monaco.  I also have some condo units that I would like to sell.  Any suckers.......ooopps , I mean buyers out there?

14 hours ago, champers said:

This activity needs to be done daily rather than once or twice a week. Also, the root cause needs proper attention, not just the symptons.

I find the number of plastic bottles that wash up on the beach, every day, mindboggling. Where the hell do they come from?

Source 1:  Most of the streams from northern and central Thailand find their way to the Chaopraya (sp.) river, which passes through the large Bangkok Metropolitan area and "dumps" its pollution-laden water into the Gulf of Thailand.  It then flows down towards Pattaya-Jomtien. 

Source 2: Boats that dump their waste into the Gulf of Thailand. 

Source 3: Direct dumping of sewerage from multiple sources that I will not mention

10 hours ago, johng said:

@Awohalitsiktoli they did make one "improvement" that is very popular (with scurvy dogs and scallywags of every persuasion)
and even kept the big tree !

Yes, I stand corrected.   Kids and mothers/fathers do seem to like the pirate ship.  The project is only 99% bad.

10 hours ago, Rimmer said:

A grammar troll post and reply have been removed

Yes, I did make some horrendous, unforgivable, tragic mistakes :)  Oh, what the grammar police must think of me.   I write quickly and rarely check my posts for spelling and grammar.

Jomtien Beach, at least in the early 1980s, had no beach chair vendors.  It had 4-5 rows of gorgeous shade trees.  It was truly beautiful then and needed no makeover.  Over the years, the collision of greed and a twisted view of what a beach should look like, has destroyed what made Jomtien Beach special.  You can find palm trees everywhere, but it is not easy to find beaches lined with old-growth trees.  They have, IMHO, committed a crime against future generations.

44 minutes ago, hackjam said:

Any recommendations for a good Lebanese place in Pattaya? 

Is Israeli food close enough?  If so, then Jasmine in Soi Buakow (same road that leads to Pattaya-Central Hospital) is great!  I just ate hummus with caramelized onions, great pita bread and a tomato-cucumber salad.  Really delicious food.

Jasmine Restaurant on Soi Buakhaow, a few meters from Soi 15.

1 hour ago, Destiny1990 said:

Car parking spots?

Actually, IMHO, the city seems to be doing what it can to make cars, not people, happy   Both promenades--Jomtien and Pattaya--look like parts of a freeway.  It is so sad to watch them deliberately destroy both beachfronts.  I am not sure if they are aware of how special the old-growth forest is or how important it is for mitigating beach erosion.  I am certain they have no idea what "trimming" means in terms of promoting healthy tree growth.   I doubt that they know or even care that the vast majority of foreigners don't want the palm trees and would rather have the old-growth forests with winding pathways.   They are doing precisely what the vast majority of us do not want them to do, IMHO.  It is a crime against future generations.  Amazing Thailand!

16 hours ago, Lumbini said:

I saw this B_ll S_it also


Large trees removed now will be replaced with palm trees so that branches do not fall and injure people in thunderstorms.

http://www.pattayamail.com/news/vendors-grumble-jomtien-beach-overhaul-moves-dongtan-178541
 

Do not fall for the myth that the old-growth forest is being destroyed to protect people from falling branches.  I do not have actual data, but to the best of my knowledge only one person has been killed/injured from a falling branch from one of the old-growth trees over the past 30 years, and that took place in 2017.  They started destroying the old growth forest around 2002.  So, one act (i.e. injury/death by a falling branch) did not lead to the other (i.e. tree massacre).  No, something else is compelling the city to destroy the old-growth forest, and most of us know what that something is.

On 6/16/2017 at 8:24 PM, ThaiBob said:

I believe a mall could happen too. But there are two large plots of land, one on Tappraya and the other seaside, the question is were both plots sold or just Tappraya (rumor, bought by Siam Paragon group). If both plots sold, I envision multipurpose, condos seaside and shopping mall off Tappraya. In any case, widening the road to accommodate heavy traffic makes no sense. Also, the beach narrows considerably on the north end by VT3 and Adriatic Hotel, so any connectioning road to Pratumnak Soi 5 is impractical. 

I was just told (by a person who had a conversation with a top-level Thai) that the project will involve the construction of a road all the way to Pratumnak Soi 5.  I was also told that the road would be off limits during certain hours.  Who knows?  If so, all of the beauty that is left (already destroyed most of it) will be destroyed because of the project-- even past the waterpark, all the way to Soi 5.  What a disaster.  If I owned one of those condo units near the waterpark, and bought it for the peace and quiet and the old-growth forest below, I would be furious.  Soon to arrive:  BOOM TRUCKS at sunrise!

On 6/10/2017 at 0:03 PM, johng said:

I suppose that cutting down most of the indigenous old growth trees,laying large slathes of concrete with inadequate drainage and adding football stadium lighting is the "natural state"

 

 

Was this a reporting error?

The new rules – part of the military’s push to eliminate private use of public property and restore beaches to a more-natural state – were condemned by the chair dealers.

Natural state?  They just destroyed the natural state of both beaches. 

9 hours ago, ThaiBob said:

The reconstructed roadway is only one meter wider and this construction ends well before the Rabbit (the White House) per a business owner with a vested interest. If the mall ever happens, access would be from Tappraya. 

Why is the beach being destroyed?  Because, when given a choice, some people would rather have a pile of costly dog turds instead of a pile of free diamonds.

On 6/12/2017 at 8:31 PM, Jingthing said:

Good news.

I found I was able to order a half order of a curry (in this case, bhindi masala) to add some spicy "crazy" curry gravy to my biryani.

I happen to like biryani with whole cardamon spice. Normally you won't get that at Bollywood, but, you will if you ask. 

This restaurant's flexibility and sincere efforts to please the tastes of every customer is really out of the ordinary.

I really like Bollywood..........the food is good and the owner (s) are kind and helpful.  I have been eating there since it opened, but I almost always get the same thing (yes, a  creature of habit).  The other day I went there and the owner said "you always get the same thing, why not try another dish."  I said, "fine.....you make the selection."  He was a bit surprised at that, but did what I said.  The dish he selected was wonderful (I think it is called Malik Paneer).  If you like Indian food, try Bollywood.

2 hours ago, marino28 said:

i am sad for the beach, but if they make a road that connect jomtien to pratumnak  will help a lot with the traffic on pratumnak road

You are in luck!  Apparently the entire project (Pattaya and Jomtien) is designed with cars  in mind and not people.  It is a tragedy.  Somebody looked around and thought "what is the worst thing we could do?" and decided to do it. That is what it seems like to most foreigners, especially those who have been here a long time.  The old growth trees made these beaches special and beautiful.  So sad, especially for future generations.

19 hours ago, juice777 said:

I was there at about 5pm tonight it was so sad to see all those trees going was there 3 days ago and watching a Thai family feef the squirrels. Not now I am seriously thinking about chaining myself to a tree anyone want to join me?

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So said to watch them destroy even more old-growth trees.  There is a poster now of the horrific plan.  Say goodbye to a once beautiful beach and hello to more stupid palm trees with no shade.   The writing is on the wall:  time to move.  The beach areas in both Pattaya and Jomtien are officially ruined.

It appears that they are deliberately destroying what once made both Jomtien and Pattaya beaches special:  the old-growth tree forest.  It is an unsustainable act that future generations will have to pay for.   

40 minutes ago, bangkokairportlink said:

 

This is obvious for anybody with a brain but not for all it seems.

 

 

The part that is not obvious is that sound travels up.  In general, the higher you are, the worse the sound problem becomes because you get it from almost all directions.   Noise pollution is a growing problem in Jomtien.

Noise pollution, especially from bars, is harming the real estate market in Jomtien.  The noise gets worse the higher up you live.  It is almost impossible to escape the noise pollution in the city.   The place is going downhill fast.  One word of advice:  rent before you buy, and never buy.

23 hours ago, toenail said:

The wide spacious Beach Rd promenade is used more in the mornings & evenings by joggers & tourists who want to take an evening stroll. True, there is less seating for the fat farang to spend his day gawking at the passing traffic or pedestrians. So they end up hovering around the 2-3 round Beach Rd modern statues showing off their tanned blubber & aging tattoos. ( What a class act.) All we need is for the city to maintain the crumbling promenade-- but Thais do not budget for repairs. Sad since Beach Rd walkway is a major attraction.


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It is odd to read the words "wide spacious Beach Rd promenade."  That is misleading.  Prior to the <deleted> promenade development project, which removed most of the old-growth shade trees and comfortable sitting areas,  the promenade area was wider than it is now.  It was wider by the width of one traffic lane.  Before the <deleted> development project the vast majority of tents were set up on the promenade itself and not on the road.  The tents were placed across from each other (two rows) with a walking area between them.  Because the project made the promenade less spacious/wide, two rows of tents--in many places--could no longer fit, so they started putting more and more of them on the road. 

It is so easy to change the image:  enforce zoning laws and create 2-3 zones w/ all of the bars.  Now the bars are all over the city, both Pattaya and Jomtien.  And we all know who is getting paid each month to not enforce anything.  If they really want to change the city's image, the military will have to step in and zone most bars out of existence and relocate the others to well-defined "zones," which is similar to the situation in Bangkok now, with Nana, Soi Cowboy and Patpong.  The noise pollution associated with the bars must stop.  Let them make a living, just not in residential zones.