striderman

overcast and gloomy today in pattaya and i did not venture out along beach road till after 17 30, few people left on the beach.

but the gloomiest people i saw were 3 indians in jet ski bother at the bottom of soi 12.

who was there to assist negotiations? the old sikh guy again. you would have had more luck getting justice of judge jeffries at the west country assizes back in 1685.

another day and a familiar tale of woe from pattaya beach.

1 opposite royal garden plaza entrance (next to mcdonalds of course) with a couple of lebanese looking in bother. one had his hands up in amazement as to what was happening but the beach guys with the signed rental form were unmoved.

2 nd one i came across opposite the nautical inn where the scuffle took place a few days ago. this one i found after a south korean guy in swim shorts accompanied by a policeman passed me on the coconut bar. by the time i walked past again there were 2 policemen there with 2 south koreans, the debate ongoing. both events about 15 00 /15 30

well i would think any tour reps might mention the problem.

but back in pattaya's version of groundhog day it was business as usual

1 going on with 3 indians opposite mcdonalds about 17 15 being attended to by some barcalona followers

then as i go to pull off beach rd at 17 40 i spy no less than 6 indians on ski's departing todays ac milan wearing fans opposite the blue lagoon sign. Oh dear.!!

needing a beer i popped down to a well known soi 14 bar (off walking st ) for a quick one before returning at 18 15.

i should do the lottery this week as my prediction of what would happen was of course painfully correct.

latest score as i left the gathering gloom ac milan 6 - india 0

i stay away from motorcys anywhere but esp in LOS.

while wearing a proper helmet is clearly important it is probably of little help if you get run over by a passing 10 wheel truck as in this case.

furthering anglo / thai relations delayed me getting to my coconut bar walk till 17 00 hrs but plenty of time to come across 2 scams in progress.

1st one about opposite the blue lagoon sign with the footie mob attired in a mix of mainly real madrid with some chelsea and ac milan tops.

could have been russians hard to tell, but 40 mins later when i passed by again they were still at it.

2 nd one opposite pattaya city walk i missed on the first pass but as i returned another russian was offering a fan of at least ten 1,000 bht notes but the thai lady was not interested.

renting ski's can be expensive

They were not itailan, my guess is they were leboneese as I heard them speaking to each other. Before they left the beach a "arab" mediator stepped in (not the inidan) and they were having none of it from him as they could tell he was in on the scam. I did see the other scam moments before on the south side of Mikes, I am not sure where they were from.

I have personally witnessed 3 fights now involving jet ski's and all of them seemed to end up on beach road stopping traffic. This was the first time i had my carmera ready though.

well they might have had an idea something was coming cos i spoke to 1 of the guys left on the shore as the others were setting off.

i asked him if he spoke english and he said no but i told him anyway his mates were going to be cheated. at that point i left the area immediately

2 more disgraceful acts today.

1 by the footie shirt clad brigade (ac milan today ) opposite the blue lagoon sign, must have been ivans because when i passed back 45 mins after it started the big russian "helper" was on the scene.

also there was the extra from the water margin but strangely taking no part in the negotiations unless he was holding back like a bullfighter only coming in after the prey has been softened up

2 nd one opposite burger king which is of course next to mcdonalds royal garden plaza, both occuring just after 16 00

looking at the clip i think this could well be the development of the same event i saw the start of.

marindiscoking describes them as middle easteners i called them italians in post 456 but the timing is about right. i saw them get talked into renting about 16 30 right beside the stepped area you can see in vid number 2.

so say 30 mins renting then another half hour for inspection/debate before it kicked off.

i saw 4 rent and 1 or maybe 2 stayed behind on the shore, i knew when they letting them go for 400 it was scam time.

strangely in all the time i have been watching these beach events i have never once seen a punch thrown, plenty of intimidation but never the real deal

about 16 00 today saw at least 1 scam opposite the nautical inn near mike shopping mall. i think 3 indians were also being done but i kept on the move there are a lot of people watching the crowds there and not much tree cover.

as i passed the stepped area there 4 italians were going out at just the wrong time of day (400 bht /half hour, which is cheap till you come back ) and the fooball shirt brigade (all liverpool fc today )near the blue lagoon sign were desperately trying to get 3 more indians out on the water . both groups are bread and butter to these guys so their fate is unknown but i fear the worst

just got back from my walk along the coconut bar aka beach road.

big one going down right now 17 30 hrs opposite KFC royal garden plaza which is of course next to mcdonald's.

5 ski job with south koreans involved this time. no obvious damage but with multiple targets it's not going to end up cheap

xampi i have been on this case since march 2010, have pics of 47 events and have seen many more. in all that time only 2 or 3 times have i seen any damage and only one was of any note and that was fixed in 3/4 days. the fact is they rarely bump into each other it is all in the minds of the guys doing the renting to extract money from innocent falangs.

Rintein strangely i am missing 4 regular scammers this trip, 1 big player 2 medium rank and 1 noteable side kick. They have vanished from the beach if they were around i would have seen them by now.

not a lot of renting going on today.

the bad luck and extremely careless driving skills of the customers who rent from opposite mcdonald's royal garden plaza continued again as the sun was setting 18 10 this evening. It is a miracle their machines can even float.

couple of indians in the firing line again

meanwhile in groundhog pattaya i came across 2 indian guys being kebabed right at the start of beach road about 13 00 today.

no time today for the beach and it's dull and overcast with not much happening so less than 15 mins later i walk past again to see how things were going.

not good, a proper tandoori job in progress as the elderly sikh guy has turned up to "mediate" so their fate was sealed. only the bottom line of the settlement bill to be decided

in punxsutawney pennsylvania groundhog day is celebrated on feb 2 nd but opposite mcdonalds on beach road they go through the same routine almost every day.

today was no exception as 3 ruskies got the treatment about 14 30 this afternoon. dealing out the grief was the extra from the water margin, unusual to see him this far down the beach his home turf is opposite the blue lagoon.

i saw the 3 of them leave in a foul mood and disappear into the beach rd entrance of the marriott, guess they should have read the sign.

elsewhere on the beach the ski's were mostly parked up

first thing the ski i saw with some body damage late on dec 31 st and cost the punter 18,000 bht i saw back on jan 4 th. it could have been ok the day before but it rained most of the day on the 3rd so i did not go out for my coconut bar walk.

today is overcast and a bit windy again so few people on the beach today and the ski's at anchor.

but the mcdonalds hot spot was at it again about 14 10 with 2 ruskies on the receiving end.

usual routine of pointing refering to photos taken before hire etc etc etc............the diddy camera they were using i don't know how you could spot a small mark on the tiny screen, but it's all part of the play

about 30 mins later i passed by again to find a "policeman" in attendence. he had a combat style body jacket with police written on it and a walkie talkie but that was it. jeans and a baseball cap and a fag in his hand i doubt he was the real thing.

I have seen quite a few of the police who do attend and i have never seen him, i think it was just a mate of theirs playing a role to order

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I think someone wilh a zoom lens should be able to take some good pictures from a long distance? If they see you you will have time to escape .

I hope someone will and post the pictures all over internet .

i have posted 300 + pics of approx 43 scams so far on another pattaya forum.

i was here the same time last year and i am sure fewer people are renting and are more aware of the scam risk.

that and daily onshore winds that make the sea quite rough and that has been putting folks off too

meanwhile in another groundhog day adventure on pattaya beach i got as far as opposite mcdonalds at royal garden plaza before finding some italian looking tourists in jet ski trouble.

today the ski guys had mainly ac milan tops on so when push comes to shove you are facing a footy team

today at 17 15 found a group of south koreans in trouble opposite mcdonalds royal garden plaza. 2 real tourist police on the scene (they brought an official car ) outcome unknown.

earlier i saw the jet ski from yesterday with the damaged plastic bumper thing but not the second unit.

there is still a market on at the moment and by the time i get to the royal garden plaza i am fed up bumping into people so the rest of the beach i don't know what is going on

another day another 2 incidents 1st one opposite soi 13/3, second near pattaya city walk. this second one was unusual as there was some damage to 2 ski's. one had a broken plastic bit that goes on the front and the other some small impact damage. i have noted the numbers and will try and see if i can find them tomorrow. the sikh guy turned up briefly and by chance i walked past the main parties as money was being talked about. 18,000 bht or 600 dollars us more than plenty that's for sure. probably claiming they will both be out of action for days but lets see tomorrow

14 30 today two groups having the usual problems within 20 mtrs of each other near the best friend complex (again).

the football shirt crew favoured the black away strip of real madrid today as they argued with a group of afro caribbeans (inc at least 3 pretty girls ) while the mob next door were tackling another group, this time japanese or south koreans, not quite sure but 1 of them had a set of teeth on him like Duane Dibley !!

Took a couple of quick shots then left for my own safety too many eyes watching the crowds these days

a policeman stood there watching for a couple of mins before turning to real crime and dishing out a parking tkt to a pick up truck with market tat on beach rd. not having a wheel clamp with him he then dragged a no parking railing across the rd and chained that to the front wheel instead. TIT

the furthering of anglo/thai relations delayed my walk today to about 16 30 and i did not get past mcdonalds as it is such hard going with the tat market on the coconut bar.

but time enough to catch 3 scams.

1st one right at the start of beach rd by the first set of steps with a thai guy in uniform attending to some russians. he had plenty of braid on his chest and dark glasses but his utility belt was empty and no side arm so i don't think he was a kosher policeman .

2 nd one was the water margin guy with more careless customers lebanese / arabs opposite the best friend complex

3rd one was more russians opposite mcdonalds this time with the big russian guy who sometimes shows up to "help"

high season or rather open season is with us!!

I have checked the tv and there are red dwarf repeats on right now so it's ok to post.

meanwhile on pattaya beach it's still high winds and a tat market that has reduced the walking space to no more than 2 feet width in places.

so few people renting but i did find an iranian ? or from somewhere like that in deep discussion with the not so friendly extra from the water margin surrounded by about 10 lackeys today dressed mainly in barcelona tops. yesterday they were all dressed in liverpool shirts guess it's some sort of daily game they play.

Although i was watching from some distance he kept pointing to various bits of the bay which does contain a few small sunken fishing skiffs etc. his suggestion being the renter must have collided with one. quite how this is done in a ski with the tide right in is a good question and one that the iranian is currently struggling to answer

right on 18 00 hrs caught 1 going down right at the start of the beach near soi 13/4 opposite baywatch restaurant. couple of indians on the receiving end.

i am sure less people are renting than last year, lets see what happens in the next couple of weeks, in theory the resorts busiest period

onshore winds the last few days have made sea condtions challenging so not many people have been hiring. but 2 hardy souls renting from opposite the best friend bar complex and blue lagoon sign found out on their return to shore that their fortitude was not rewarded. Scam time is on. started about an hour ago and i bet it's still going on now.

usual senario lots of pointing and checking by all and sundry with eventually the old boy there who looks like a kindly extra from the water margin entering the debate by screaming "what happened?"

probably scratching their heads there on how they have sold 2 identical chairs 2 days running

but very comfy writing this