vermut12

Ruslan Mamedov? Russian? It's a funnu joke ))))

Still the guy has a Russian pasport. And they report his nationality according to his pasport not his ethnicity.

But I didn't understand one thing. Why did he bring his Ipad to a short time hotel? Or was all his stuff in his car and was stolen along the way tigether with it

I would like to leave here my feedback of staying on Samui for 5 days.

I stay in Pattaya with my TG who is from Surat Thani. She has been moaning for quite some time that she wanted to go see her mom and other family. So I thought what the heck. Let's go to Samui first and then visit your relatives since neither of us had been there before. If only knew that it was such a ripoff.

Firstly I was surprised to find out that Bangkok Airways had monopoly on the flights to Samui with ridiculous 4000 baht for one person one way from Pattaya. But on the arrival I realized that the whole island is one huge corrupted monopoly. The taxi fare to my hotel which was 7 kilometers from the airport was 350 baht (at first they wanted 500 and were showing me the printed paper with prices but my girl spoke the local dialect to him and the guy said that for just 2 of us he could go 350 the lowest because the boss would cut his balls). There was no meter taxi at the airport only so called "private cars" with fixed prices. On the way my girl spoke to him and he told us that each taxi driver needs to pay 15.000 baht a month to some boss who oversees all the airport taxis. No other taxi companies are allowed so it's a monopoly and they can extort any prices they want because there is no other way to get out of there.

I doubt they could do it without the involvement of the local authorities. So I believe the corrupt Samui authorities do not allow any competition and get its share of profits. And you have similar stories all over the island. There is usually one single agent which operates some kind of activity and charges ridiculuous prices.

The prices of accomodation are high compared to the quality. We were paying about 2500 baht a night for hotel which appeared to be quite old and was way overpriced. The breakfast was shit too. For this money I could get a really nice hotel in Pattaya with nice food. The hotel we stayed in would cost maximum 1500 in Pattaya. The food is 1.5-2 times expensive than in Pattaya and is often crap.

The beach was nice though. But you can get the same beach anywhere in Surat Thani.

Don't get me wrong guys I am not some stingy cheap charlie guy. I never have an issue of paying for something if it is really worth it. I've lived in Thailand for almost a year and have been to many places and I know the real prices of things. And I hate it when people try to charge me 5 times the real price. It just pisses me off enormously and makes me angry. It's the same thai food in a same thai foodmart. It's the same beer, the same bar as everywhere else in Thailand. WHy the heck are the prices 2-3 times higher? Is it any better quality or it's cleaner, safer than anywhere else in Thailand? No. The answer is greed of the owners. I speak fairly good Thai and I spoke to the staff at the hotels and restaraunts. Most of them are from Isan and they earn the same 7-10k baht (a bit higher than in Isan but still shit... and 10k is for the receptionists who have university education). So the owners gets all the excess profit. Call it "Samui rent".

Another thing the place is so overdeveloped and dirty. It's even worse than Ko Chang.

I guess I wouldn't write it if it was my first time in Thailand and I came directly from Europe say in winter. But I am already used to the tropical scenery and the climate which are the same everywhere in Thailand. And I know how much everything is worth in Thailand too. So I hate it when I put myself into tourist traps (which is the whole of Samui).

I think I will never go to Samui again and will not advise my friends to go there. It's just another massive ripoff (together with Phuket) where they charge you European prices for shit. I am sure that people who stay in Samui long term know how to avoid paying tourist surcharge (as well as I know how to avoid it in Pattaya) but it seems like it's very difficult here.

There are still nice places in Thailand like islands in Andaman near Burma with very laid back atmosphere without the ripoff mentality. And these are the locations where they Thais go too. And notice how there are almost no Thai tourists in Samui. They know it's shit for farangs first comers.

There is also this old German man (probably in his 70s) who plays his flute every night near Thai pubs in Naklua. He is very annoying to people who are trying to sleep with their windows open because usually he starts playing his instrument at about 3 am in some areas. And I noticed that he is very popular with the Thai customers of those pubs. They always give him some money.

"Kasmi Ali Faycal, 33, Beldilala Nabil 21 and Khayyou Fares 22"

Sound more like some Arab names to be honest than French. Are they sure they are Frenchmen?

The recent trend when all sorts of fugitive criminals from all over the world settle down in Pattaya is very disturbing. It has been maybe a little over a month since some Aussie murderer got caught and then two Czech bank robbers. Maybe Thailand should introduce more thorough ID checks on the border...

I wonder if it was the result of another love drama with a bargirl.

I'm pissing off on Egyptian Air via Cairo to Spain tonight,but I'll fortunately be back( to do more packing)

Just a piece of advice. Don't rush to buy anything in Spain yet. The prices are still dropping there and are forecasted to fall by additional 10% by the end of the year.

It is filthy and getting worse.

Tourists don't care because they don't live here, and Thais don't care because a dirty beach is just as good as a clean one. Just look at how most of them live around town and all is understood.

It has always surprised me how they just keep littering everywhere. I am coming from a background where littering is not just unlawful but is considered impolite and disrespectful of other people's labor and other people in general. And this bad Thai habit always pissed me off. Several times I even had to reprimand the thai tourists on the beach for throwing their garbage around. They smiled and collected everything in a plastic bag.

But I blame the lack of trash bins in the city streets of Thailand. In Europe you don't have to walk very long until the next trash bin or a garbage container. In Thailand they are pretty much non existant in some place. So people just leave the stuff on the curb.

I'm happy the way things are.

Looks cool. But the inconviniences the construction will create will probably be nightmarish. It seems like for a couple of years 2nd road will turn into one big traffic jam.

P.S. I've just looked at the picture once again. It seems that they are going to make a separate lane for taxis and baht buses. A big plus for me, because these guys are such an annoyance for everybody because of the way they duck in and out.

But how is one going to enter Central Festival's parking from 2nd road then?

The food prices are rising all over the world. And Thailand even seems to be at the tail of this price spike. In Europe prices on groceries and restraunt food have been steadily increasing since last year.

This is a very unfortunate fact for poorer countries (like those in sub-Saharan Africa) because for them 2-5 baht increase is the border between satiation and starvation.

The football: Wft! They won didn't they...

I live in Spain and used to live in Barcelona for about 6 months. This is the paradox. Everytime the FC Barcelona wins something the fans cause some massive havoc. And all the shop owners starting from Plaza Catalunya and down along Las Ramblas dread these days. As soon as they hear that Barcelona won something again they hurry to pull the blinds down because the fans will soon start breaking and destroying absolutely everything. And by everything I mean lampposts, kiosks, benches, shop windows, cars... And eventually they start fighting the police. And if you accidentely got caught in the middle of this mob (say you were just hanging out in this area when it was all starting) it's really hard to get out of the area quickly because the police blocks all the side streets and there is only one way out...

What happen if the don't win? (If that happen, that they don't win. I know the FC is very good, but do they win all the time?)

If they don't win the things are pretty quiet usually. People here go crazy only if their team wins. This is how they express their happines.

The football: Wft! They won didn't they...

I live in Spain and used to live in Barcelona for about 6 months. This is the paradox. Everytime the FC Barcelona wins something the fans cause some massive havoc. And all the shop owners starting from Plaza Catalunya and down along Las Ramblas dread these days. As soon as they hear that Barcelona won something again they hurry to pull the blinds down because the fans will soon start breaking and destroying absolutely everything. And by everything I mean lampposts, kiosks, benches, shop windows, cars... And eventually they start fighting the police. And if you accidentely got caught in the middle of this mob (say you were just hanging out in this area when it was all starting) it's really hard to get out of the area quickly because the police blocks all the side streets and there is only one way out...

I've never seen Ghostlady, but I guess it is because I rarely hang out in the area where she lives. But I've seen Glitterman many many times riding his bicycle. He has become a part of Pattaya. The locals got used to him and don't even pay attention to him. To them he is just a normal part of their daily life.

It is true though that he makes tourists happy. He definitely adds to the atmosphere of the crazy neverending party in Pattaya. I believe that if this guy continues to do what he is doing he soon is going to end up in a tourist booklet as one of the attraction points =)

Obviously this kind of scam has been going for quite a while. Here is a post with exactly the same issue from july last year.

And for those of you who cannot read the meter here is a good instruction If you are lazy to go and read I will quote it here: "Write down the five numbers shown from left to right, ignoring the last number(s) which may be in red".

Guys, I am sorry to say that but you have totally missed the point. The OP is not disputing the rate of KW/h. He is saying that the management of the appartment is multiplying the amount consumed 10 times. And this happens because they incorrectly read the amount. When it is 109.1 for example. They read it as 1091. The author provides the fotoes where it can be seen that the amount in the bill is x10 bigger than the actual amount on the electric meter. The OP also has very strong suspecions that this is done intentionally in order to scam him and other farangs in the building. Because the management is sure that they can do nothing about it.

So he is asking for an advice of what he could do in this situation because he doesn't want to get scammed every month.

PS Russians don't pay for 5 star hotels your imagining things they never seen $200 in life at least none of the 60 plus Russian i worked with and visited in the last 13 years - could ever buy me a 10 ounce glass of beer!!! ive never seen a ruskie with more than $15 in his pocket at one time in life ( it took him 6 months to save up that much ) --nothing wrong with my eyesight or arithmetic ! i found em very nice people but then 99% of people whom have zero and are looking for a feed are very nice to a person who can buy em a feed eh !

Russians 5 star hotels ??? what a lot of s---t you must be on drugs lol !!!

More like Russian arrives they bring out the old wooden caravan dated 1951 take his $3 and put him and his missus ---- in the wooden Hilton lol lol...

Well there are pretty shabby places in Russia where people live in extreme poverty and with little chances to improve the situation. However what you are saying is surreal. Being Russian I used to live in Russia for many years and have seen many places outside of Moscow. But I just can't believe in $200 never seen in their life. What are these places that you visited? If what you are saying is true the only place I could imagine is Chechnya and the neighboring territories (though I doubt you would go there) or some places in the far north in the middle of nowhere populated by the ethnic minorities such as aleut people and so forth.

I´ve just googled it and the retirement pensions in Russia are 8.780 roubles per month and this is about $310. And pensioners have always been on the bottom of the welfare redistribution in Russia. There is nothing below them.

Vote with your feet...Do not go in these places....Keep an eye on your Check-bin...better still your Thai G/f to do it...Don;t get smashed...or angry towards Thais.

Yes agreed on The Russians...why this reciprocal Visa agreement exists with Russia is beyond me...must be good corruption income.Very brash aggressive and ignorant culture.

Germans...never known them to be aggro in Phuket...they have a huge community in Naklua...with many great bars and restaurants at sensible prices.They hate the Russians...with good reason..."Don't mention the War".

This VIsa agreement exists because the Russians come fill all the 5 star hotels even during the low season and spend tons of money everywhere without bargaining. And you will count every penny. Not that much of profit from you.

Let me remind you the main rule in Thailand: Money number one.

As usualy all news about Russians are getting filled with anti-russian xenophobic posts. All the kinds of stories are invented about brutal Russian mafia operating now in Thailand, Russians with German pasports and so on. Well, I am Russian and I will give you an insight on this which is closer to reality than some of those over exaggerated stories. Just a note: I am not a bar owner and do not own any businesses in Thailand at all. And I do not reside in Thailand currently. But I had lived in Thailand for over 6 months in Pattaya and several times visited Phuket. So I got to know some of the Russian business owners and know the story on the inside.

So here is the situation itself. As you all know the number of tourists from Russia to Thailand is growing every year and now is considerable part of the market. The majority of these tourists come from Siberia and the Russian Far East. These are people employed in the oil extracting, gold mining, wood cutting, heavy metal industries. They are not very educated bunch (and the level of English teaching is very low in Russia in general). They do not behave very well. But they earn very good money there. They spend a lot. They spend more than you. And for Thais it is "money number one". And you know it. You can compare them to some average worker from an industrial zone in the USA. Now think about this average guy and ask yourself how many languages this guy knows, and his manners. The only difference is that this guy probably doesn't go to Thailand because there are tons of places with warm climate in th USA. And travelling is likely beyond him in general.

The fact is that these Russian guys do not come to Thailand because it is Thailand. They come to the sea and the sun and to have great time in the warm climate. Thailand is the best option for them: no visa requirements, developed infrastructure, cheap, closer than Europe. So again: the majority doesn't come for sex, they do not come to see Thailand. They come to enjoy the warm climate, swim in the sea and eat tropical fruit.

Thailand and the Thai culture are really alien to them. They do not want to know anything about them, they do not like thai food, they do not understand menus in English, do not like Thai songs and so on. So they start seeking something familiar, the kind of entertainment and food they are used to at home. And here is where all the Russian bars and restaruants strive. If you pay attention to the Russian bars in Pattaya they do not have girls sitting there. They will have Russian food, a band singing Russian music, the waiters will speak Russian.

These bars charge more because this is what you pay for a beer or for food in Russia. It is sort of a tax for the Russian environment in the bar. Do customers know about the prices? Certainly. Why they do not go to another bar? Because they do not freaking speak English, they do not want to listen to the English songs and they do not want to know people there. They want the waiters to speak Russian to them they want their Russian native stuff and they are willing to pay for it.

As a result very often you can see that a Russian styled bar is filled while a Thai owned bar next door is almost empty with bored girls hopelesly trying to lure customers. This fact makes Thai owners angry especially during the low season. They believe that the Russian owned bars compete unfairly and lure all the customers to themselves. They start filing complaints with the police, threatening, inventing stuff. I talked to a Russian bar owner in Pattaya and he told me that there was a constant pressure from Thais who wanted him to share customers. And I can assure you that this owner guy is not related to any mafia. He is just an ordinary guy from Moscow who decided to move to Thailand and start his business there.

This crackdown is similar to what Tuk Tuk drivers were doing in Phuket when they complained that the Russian and western mafia were providing taxi services and the Tuk Tuks were not getting any customers. They even blocked one of the cruise liners in ports so that the passengers could go ashore. Mafia my ass. These are just normal businesses who know what their customers want and give it to them. Can thais play Russian music, have menu in Russian and can their waiters speak Russian? Russians just want to get for their buck the fun they like and not be forced into a Thai bar.

Check Air Berlin. (www.airberlin.com) They have flights to Berlin and Duesseldorf for about 12.000 baht in october.