fw1

Both The Bangkok Post and The Nation are terrible newspapers so I'm not voting for either. For reliable news about Thailand I usually go to the bbc website or read The Guardian.

I personally wouldn't mind paying 50 Baht for either paper if they improved the quality of their journalism/editing/reporting.

It's a sad truth but some farangs think they are better than the rest....

totster 

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Strongly suspect that there is a lot of truth in that.

If smiling at foreigners doesn't work then you could try laughing.

Dave, are you the guy I chatted to last Saturday night?

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Nope, that was me

There are two reasons. Firstly, the music played is imported from the UK; it's mostly new stuff, the second DJ that came on played vinyl only, which definately has a more solid feel about it compared to CD's. Secondly, I was really impressed by the DJing, no drops in tempo, no mixing tracks that simply don't stand well together, no cock-ups whatsoever, just quality DJing.

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Huge thanks for the post - very much appreciated

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No probs. Am trying to get a few people out tonight. Think I have 5 people coming so far.

What time are you on at?

What on earth's all this nonsense?

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No idea mate just a rant from JS against Brits drinking with Brits. Probably to do with your colonial past, coming from an island etc.

Maybe there's some truth in it that Brits cling together abroad but the same can be said of French, Italians, Dutch etc.

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They definately do and with good reason. I don't see a problem with it as long as you socialise in more than one circle.

Generally, the longer we stay in a place the narrower are options become because there is so much we can disreguard. When I first came to Thailand I would go to any bar anywhere. Nowadays that is not the case. I know where all the crap entertainment is, where I'm likely to be overcharged, where I'm going to wait half an hour to get on a pool table, where the staff treat the customers like crap, where to get the type of beer/atmosphere I want and so on... .

Generally speaking I think it's only the new guys who see Thailand as having millions of fantastic bars wating to be explored. It's that kind of naivety that underpins someone's desire to radically alter there social habits.

I'm happy to socialise with ex-pats & colleagues on a regular basis in bars that I know well or not as the case may be. Seems entirely normal to me.

You can try FLIX, RCA or also Liquid Lounge near Silom road. Both play Tech house.

I have two points of view on the topic. One from being a club and hotel owner in Adelaide and the other being a very good dj. I banned myself playing in my own club because it was not the direction that I wanted to go.

Techno music or rave = small market share

commercial music = big market share. Mwah ha ha ha. Thats how I made money.

I also made money by putting on Raves and club nights in venues that were suited to that style.

I love playing my music but it really has to be in the right environment. God forbid for example them playing it at say Gullies. That would kill the crowd.

Nomad

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Yes mate, this is the problem that so many face. I don't personally have a problem with the majority giving into the masses just as long as there are venues for those of us interested in better quality music. Some of the stuff they play at the more popular bars along RCA is shockingly bad. Think it made my beer go flat once.

Dave, are you the guy I chatted to last Saturday night?

Greetings all.

So, some five or six months on since I posted this thread, I have tried all the places recommended several times over as well as a few others, I unfortunately add. I can honestly say that the best trance/hard trance to be found in Bangkok is, as several have suggested, to be found at Eeze, RCA.

There are two reasons. Firstly, the music played is imported from the UK; it's mostly new stuff, the second DJ that came on played vinyl only, which definately has a more solid feel about it compared to CD's. Secondly, I was really impressed by the DJing, no drops in tempo, no mixing tracks that simply don't stand well together, no cock-ups whatsoever, just quality DJing.

So yes, thanks once again all. I shall be at Eeze tonight Fri 25th. See you there if you're interested. Bearing in mind it's free to get in you have nothing to lose and the music certainly beats Lucifers, Narcissus and the likes.

What on earth's all this nonsense?

Drinking with Brits is important because it's pleasurable. I could be wrong but I think it's customary for ex-pats to retain some of the cultural norms that they have grown up with -even when living abroad. What you are saying is equivalent to going up to someone Indian or Thai by birth and living in, say the UK, then suggesting that they should return to their homeland if they like eating their own cuisine/chatting in their own language so much. Such a suggestion is entirely nonsense.

Additionally, unless you know the people you are refering to personally, I don't think that you can infer that they don't also socialise with Thai's outside of Brit bars. I know lots of people that do, and also strongly suspect it's the norm.

I wouldn't worry, it's been fashionable in England for some time to pose as being a football hooligan/hardman. A lot of people who do so are far from it. If you've ever been to a game yourself and met such characters you'll have noticed that a lot of them are just pretenders. The easiest way to determine this is to whack someone a few times if they start acting the hardman.

It's amazing how quickly someone can drop there act when this happens.

How naive you are.

If you go to The Olde English Gentlemen in my home town you will find it full of such characters. Can give directions if you like.

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Is that the one on Hightown Rd ?

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Yes mate that's the one. I was back in Luton last year for a while and noticed that they were doing it up.

Surprised to find a fellow Lutonian on here. We'll have to meet up and have a drink sometime (not at The Olde English Gentleman though).

Where are you currently living in Thailand?

I mean paid in the sense that it is the primary/only reason for the couple getting together and then staying together. Genuine relationships are not dependent upon calculated amounts of cash going from one partner to another, they can and should be able to survive without them.

Can't imagine that the girls we see with the older guys are in it for love. Many of them look like they would be off the minute the cash stops coming. I think the girls that frequent Pattaya especially to pick up the older guys are interested in one thing only $$$$.

The girls that choose such a lifestyle have to put up with a lot of crap, I don't know how they can tolerate it. Perhaps this is why some of them are so ######-bent on taking naive old fools to the cleaners as quickly as they can.

Have often wondered who I pity more the girls or the older guys, still can't decide...

If you go to The Olde English Gentlemen in my home town you will find it full of such characters. Can give directions if you like.

I suspect the main reason that so many in Thailand are denigrated for taking younger/considerably younger wives/girlfriends is that the vast majority of these relationships are so obviously paid ones; and as we know, this is frowned upon in the west. Bearing in mind that a lot of the older guys that come here are often overweight and generally obnoxious looking, and that you hardly, if ever, see any real degree of eye contact or mutual understanding between such couples, and that the women often look bored or generally unhappy, it is hardly surprising that people have such negative opinions concerning them. Many older guys who come here have often left failed relationships behind and know little/nothing about Thai culture, making the prospect of building a successful relationship much harder than it already is. Even though I have been here for over five years, I can barely remember more than one or two older guys that have struck me as being genuinely nice characters, though this is not to say that there aren't many out there that are.

I am inclined to agree with the main argument of this thread that people should live and let live but I think that you have to bear in mind that if you chose to have a type of relationship that is commonly chosen among sex tourists, in a country notrious for its sex tourism, you have to accept that people will inevitably look down on you, whether they are justified or not.

Some people would say that if you choose to live in a country as infamous as Thailand you have to accept that life can be made harder for the decent guys because of all the scumbags that come here. Am sure that many normal people around the world have different age relationships that are not frowned on to the same degree as those in Thailand.

I am also inclined to agree that there's a degree of hypocracy involved because of not being famous. Western women that sleep with celebrities call it social climbing or hob-nobbing, and avoid being frowned upon in the same way. Madonna is a good example of this.

I would personally love to see lots of old guys walking happily down the road with lovely young girls (wouldn't it give us all hope!) but I've been here long enough to know what is really going on, and that these relationships usually fail for very obvious reasons.

Am quite sure that all this is nothing more than common sense.

Do you guys seriously believe all this talk about global warming?

You can get apartments for around 5000Baht a month near Saphan Kwai BTS. Have a look along Phadiphat Soi 23 and 25.

Could anyone tell me whether the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh offer the following:

The Non-Immigrant B visa

a 60 Day Tourist visa.

Thanks

Stayed there last Saturday at 600 Baht a time. Out of the ones I've been to recently the Intown does seem to be the best value for money. Conveniently located between Soi Buokhao and the beach scene as well.

Didn't rate the Lek or Apex hotel, or Siam Sawadee either.

You're right, "too let" is often said to children and means disgusting, revolting or horrible.

A potential problem with Chelsea amassing the best of the English players, though, is if Eriksson continues to fail to deliver the goods. Mourinho would surely become the logical replacement for him. Can't see Eriksson staying on past 2006 if England don't do well at the World Cup this time around.

So after 10 years it seems as if someone other than Man.Utd or Arsenal is going to win the Premiership. Interestingly, both of the aforementioned have been knocked out of the Champions League in the same week yet we still have two representatives in it. So is this the end of an era?

Arsenal still seem too tightfisted to be able to exert dominance over the league, hence their inability to win back to back championships and Man.Utd seem to rely on too many average players these days. They still look like they miss Beckham and Schmeical. Keane, Giggs and Scholes can't go on for much longer. Can't help but wonder whether Arsenal and Man.Utd have now lost their monopoly on the Premiership.

Next season will be interesting. United going into their 3rd season without a title. Arsenal, as ever, trying to regain the title, Chelsea playing teams that want to beat them more than ever. Can anyone see anyone else challenging for the title over the next season or two? Or are United and Arsenal going to get their act together and blow everyone else out of the water?

Any predictions?

I'm sure this has happened 100's of times in the Pattaya area.

He should have become a policeman before he took interest in the girl.

The Soi with Pizza Hut on the corner, beach road has two good renters to go to. The guy on the opposite side of the street has less bikes but deoes a better job of maintaining them, he will also accept a 1000Baht as a deposit.

I usually hire out a sports 400 and have noticed that some of the places along the beach front don't maintain their bikes very well. On Pattayasaisong (2nd road) there's a guy opposite the Apex hotel who rents out bikes that typically have bald/balding tires, damaged fairing, and are dirty. Fortunately, I've never actually seen anyone rent from him.

So my advice to you is if you do want to hire a bike out from someone who is a bit lapse regarding their business, make sure you check out the condition of the bike out thoroughlyfirst. It does without saying that you should do that anyway but I really think that you need to be especially careful with some as they really don't give a toss what condition their bike&you come back in.

Just wondered whether anyone plays/knows of where I can play football on a regular basis in BKK. I work late and also have a preference for indoors rather than outdoors. Would rather play with ex-pats (preferably Brits) than Thai's.

I can understand you wanting to get a game with the English guys, but the Welsh & Scots.

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For want of avoiding retribution of the pitch I probably shouldn't comment on that.