johnnycthedog

Actually as i was leaving i tried to tell him not to rush into anything and that all is not what it seems here,hopefully after a few days up in Isaan with the relatives all there with their hands out he may just come to his senses ,but about 6 months ago myself and a few friends were talking to a guy who was broke after losing two ,yes two houses to women and this was someone who lives here ,was it P T Barnham that said "never give a sucker an even break"

No, Barnum said, "There's a sucker born every minute." That, btw, is the correct spelling of Barnum. Don't know who said don't give 'em an even break. Sounds like Vegas to me.

Sounds like something W. C. Fields or Mae West may have said.

This story is not unique, but still funny. Of course I have heard over 10 stories along these lines, some much worse and some much weirder. I would not call it a "lamb to slaughter" unless you felt this guy was extremely handsome, rich, smart, athletic, etc.... and she was the exact opposite. I understand guys want happiness and can't find it at home; these things cost money, anywhere. I get thai women want to be treated well, I would too if in their shoes. anyhow, I just hope the guy spent the last year+ learning some thai. it will make the transition easier, I think.

About two years ago I shared a table at Kiss Restaurant on Second Rd with a Swedish guy. He had everything going for him. He was young, handsome, athletic etc etc. I struck up a conversation with him. He had a Thai girlfriend who he'd visited many, many times. In the end she'd taken him to the cleaners and he had lost everything. He was returning to Sweden and never coming back to Thailand. He was so sad and broken hearted that even after a long term relationship he'd been cleaned out.

Yes it's a story we hear hundreds of times. It normally all starts with meeting the wrong type of Thai girl when here on a short holiday, and confusing lust with love. I felt really sorry for this guy. He wasn't some old geezer with too much money and no sex appeal thinking they really are attractive to younger Thai girls.

There must be so many sad stories out there, so many "lambs to the slaughter", so much money lost that never can be recovered in a person's working life. It's not funny at all but it is predictable. As sure as the sun rises every day there are dozens of more lambs arriving by plane. The Isaan girls & others are waiting.

OMG Not another one, rebuildng his life and living a dream he never actually lived out for real life. Just a little bit sick of how many ex special forces and ex cia men I have met here, who have come to reinvent themselves because they could not cope in their homelands and try to impress others, with their so called achievements in homeland. If life was so great back home, then why come here and pass on your Bullshit to others of what you would really like to like to have been like. The same goes for all those who were muliti-millionaires in their home country. If a Thai woman falls for all that, it just shows her lack of knowledge of the western world and what SAS , special forces and CIA really stands for. Their knowledge is limited to local events within thailand and their respective villages and truly have NO knowledge of the aforemntioned agencies. DOH!.

... Well done ... another farang who mets & weds a wealthy HiSo Chinese/Thai... ... your post says it all !!

Also I met her in a bar, but she was different from all the rest.

As is mine. The only reason she even considered dating me in the first place is because I was in the S.A.S....

Whoa boy - to poster "Raindancer" I think poster "Baboon" was just taking the piss, pulling your chain, etc. You know pretending to be SAS for a joke because there are expats that really do this. No need to stomp him into the ground. I'm sure his post was just for a laugh - same as "...but she was different from the rest".

How far out are the red flags? Are you safe if you generally stay in waist deep waters?

Exactly the attitude that causes accidents. When Red flags are out I stay out of the water.

At Karon Beach - waist deep one step and over your head next step. This applies to any beach where there is surf or large waves. Lots of sandbanks and troughs. Especially in Phuket in the wet season when the seas are rough and unpredictable!!!!

Where the rips are found is often the calmest part of the surf coming in because water is being channelled out so it calms the wave action.

Those who are experienced surfers will often ride these outwards currents to get to the back of set of waves. It saves you busting through breaking waves.

I agree that multi-language signs need to be displayed along the roadside to the beaches in addition to the red flags.

I feel sorry for the Thai lifeguards who have to risk their lives to save the silly swimmers who either don't know what a red flag means or don't care. As another poster said they come for a holiday and want to go swimming regardless of the risk to their safety (and that of the lifeguards and others who may try to help).

BudfahRuksa

To be honest , I think you are buying a load of trouble . Having a baby doesn't solve anything , is just a further impediment and source of argument . Moody and manipulative describes most Thai women . You have to learn to say NO and mean NO , they accept it and will sweeten up . Don't take any nonsense from them . I wouldn't send copies of your passport and birth certificate .

I would strongly advise against getting married until you know one another really well . Thais will be looking for a hefty bride price . If she is coming to Australia that is the place to have a simple registry office wedding . She may at a later date try to persuade you to go to live in Thailand , Don't . The Cops aren't going to come after you in Australia . Take Care !!!

BudfahRuksa's problem has sort of high jacked the OP's question. But in answer to BudfahRuksa's problem my advice would be to stay a very long way away from this lady. For example her in Thailand and you in Australia. She's sounds big trouble and high maintenance and will probably give you a miserable life and financial caning.

God if she's like this at the beginning of a relationship what chance has it got. YOU WILL BE MISERABLE. REPEAT - YOU WILL BE MISERABLE.

However you have fathered a child and should seek to remit a monthly amount to Thailand for the child's benefit. How this can be achieved I don't know.

I wouldn't send copies of your passport and birth certificate .

* Phuket and Pattaya are places with a relatively small local population, people who's families are from the area, with all the social structures and social control that comes along with it. There are relatively a lot of migrants, fortune seekers, hustlers, poor people, illegal immigrants, Farangs of questionable stature, tourists in general and other riff-raff, who are there by themselves or with peers, without any family or established social structures keeping them in check. And as a tourist destination they attract a more party-oriented crowd, with many who are almost actively trying to get into trouble.

Both developments (press and migrants), are occurring in Chiang Mai too, more and more. However the original native population is much larger than for Pattaya, Phuket (and Samui, etc.), so overall it's probably still a somewhat better society than the places you mention. However, there is also no doubt that it's not a quiet village anymore.

i would agree with this assessment. Basically, Chiang Mai has a lot more "normal" Thais just going about their lives. They were born and raised in the city/region and have firm roots here. They're not particularly interested in trying to fleece a farang. But in Pattaya/Phuket, most of the Thais are not from that area and are there to make money. If that involves fleecing a farang or two, so much the better. That's why I'd say the Thais in Pattaya/Phuket--especially those that deal with farangs day-to-day--have somewhat of a mercenary flair about them. Certainly not all, but more than anywhere else. They are not representative of normal Thais in the rest of Thailand.

Could it be that the undesirable (and menacing) Thai elements from Surat Thani, Nakon Si Thammarat and Hat Yai find Chang Mai just too far away?

on my first visit to pattaya several years ago, (2005)i went to that russian place near the (gone?) peppermint gogo up the stairs

they charged 250 baht for a bottle of san mig light, and a girl wanted 2000 baht for a five minute lap dance !! i exited rather quickly

The Peppermint Gogo is still in Walking Street. It's now on the street level - close to where it used to be (when upstairs). It's a bit tamer now than before. Used to be my favourite gogo because of the superb eye candy on show and the cheaper draft beers.

I hope this is the thin edge of the wedge and "Chooka" is correct.

The Thais have got to realise soon how much they are losing out on from other nationalities due to the masssive Soviet influx. How many Norwegians, Danes, Dutch, Germans, Brits and Americans go to Soviet owned Go Go bars and Discos...

Discos ??? Did they not die out 25 years ago ?

Soviets eat Soviet food in Soviet restaraunts. They travel in Soviet owned coaches with Soviet Tour guides. They fly on Soviet airlines and they dance and drink in Soviet bars and clubs....If any of them actually buy a Condo ??? Its from a Soviet Sales person.....where do you see the ordinary Thai person gaining from this other than Baht Bus drivers dragging their sweaty ( they seem to avoid using de-odorant ) bodies around to these venues.

I saw a Baht Bus sporting an advert looking for Soviet Women to apply for jobs as "Escorts". Where do you get the Visa for that ?

Every Thai I know when they hear mention of the word "Russian" follows it up with Mafia... I am sure lots of them are not but sh*t sticks when you get tarred with the same brush....

True, true and more true. From what I've seen the hottest place in Walking Street is the Russian restaurant & nightclub opposite Rolling Stone 2 Bar. It's pumping every night with Russians having a good time. There's probably some others tucked away around there too that aren't as visible.

Two observations - although there are some very hot young Russian girls getting around Pattaya in the groups of Russian tourists the shear number of Russians in Pattaya probably accounts for the decline in numbers visiting there from Europe and English speaking countries. Secondly some people prefer a white busty size 16 girl - as opposed to a slim size 8 Thai girl. [Personally I prefer the slim girls.]

They might enjoy wandering around MBK, Siam Centre & Siam Paragon. They may also want to be titillated with a walk through Patpong and a visit to at least one gogo bar - just to say they've seen it.

Although hard to get to by foot the Royal Barges Museum on the western side of the Chao Phraya River is worth a visit. If they are not "templed out" then a visit the Wat Benchamabophit (Marble Temple) and Golden Mount are worthwhile. Lumpini Park and a serious Thai boxing night out are other suggestions.

China Town is great in the mornings and the tourist trail along the Grand Palace and Wat Po has great food stalls along the side of the river before catching the cross river ferry to Wat Arun.

I think you might find that the heat gets to them a bit and they may enjoy just sitting down in a fan or air conditioned food hall or restaurant and watching the world go by for an hour or two - possibly every day.

Gee what are the odds..... :-) Perhaps if the police checked immigration records and looked to see if anyone has entered with the last name of Carmen........ :-) He sounds like a bit of a bad boy, Thailand could certainly do with less people like that. Guess the computers at immigration are not really hooked to anything, as it seems entering Thailand with a long record of crime is a piece of cake..

Carmen was the name of the lady he murdered in the canary islands RODNEY!

I like the irony of this = poster is "EyesWideOpen" then goes and quotes the surname of the deceased female "Carman" as being the deceased male from Sweden.

But I agree with the fact that Thailand needs less of the criminal types. So all in all no great loss, except to his relatives.

Not so sure about diesel fuel on the surface preventing the eggs to float but I use kero or diesel occasionally and when the rainwater tank overflows, its gone.

Far safer than the Estrogen mimmiking pesticides, for still water application that is.

Have you watched lavae try to surface for air when theres diesel or kero micro film just been added to the surface?

They stop wriggling and die.

Latest ABC News. A far north Queensland trial aimed at tackling the spread of dengue fever will be extended next month.

Researchers have been working in Cairns, releasing mosquitoes infected with the wolbachia bacteria, which blocks dengue transmission.

That's right. I saw the ABC program last week. Dengue fever is rapidly on the increase in the tropical parts of northern Australia. The mosquitoes infected with the bacteria eventually will overtake the population of mosquitoes carrying the dengue virus. If it works successfully you'd imagine that the project will be "exported" to countries such as Thailand. However that will be a few years away from being implemented - perhaps 5 to 10 years.

225 Karaoke bars, damn, now I know where I'm going for my next vacation!

And this statement says it , This is the reason these girls are being abused. The problems is sex tourist not the girls,

Damn I just recently drove through that area . Thought all there was to see was the main Wat in town.

I'd suggest that sex tourists aren't an issue in Chachoengsao. I don't really know - but I'd suggest that all these Karaoke bars are for Thai men only and if a foreigner walked in and wanted a piece of the action he'd be shown the door real quick.

Whilst we think of all the bars for foreigners in Pattaya, Phuket, Bangkok, Chang Mai etc they are far less in number then all the Karaoke bars for Thai men in every town around Thailand and foreigners are not welcome.

How do you know we're not welcome? Thais love farangs and their money! Also, let's not forget that if the girls hanging around outside see you walking or driving a motorcycle past their premises (they can't spot you if you're sitting in a car), the girls will invite you in! I know this because the girls in the two areas with karaoke bars in Lad Krabang/Nong Chok that I pass on my way home spotted me once when I was riding my motorcycle and they wanted me to come in! However, as I'm not into that scene I would never think about entering as HIV/AIDS must be a serious problem in these kinds of places so I did what every sensible person would do and drove right past without making even so much as eye contact.

Not to mention the fact that the demographics of karoake bar patrons in Thailand are red-shirt middle aged Thai men working blue collar jobs in their 50s. At around half their age and being white collar, educated and not giving a crap about Thai politics but if I were to choose I'd be more of a yellow shirt guy, clearly that's not my crowd.

This is an old topic now but your reply to my comments is a recent post. I'd like you to try to go to a few Thai karaoke bars, stay a few hours, take a girl and let me know the results. For a start Thai men don't want us foreigners messing up the price structure. They pay considerably less for P4P girls then farangs do. Thai men like their whisky and can become very aggressive towards anybody they don't like or want in their bars. There are pool bars in Pattaya and Phuket I would not step into because I know and sense these are for Thai men and their girlfriends only, especially late at night, and there's plenty of venues for the farang anyway. I'd suggest that in the provinces the karaoke bars would be the same - foreigners not welcome. You might get away with having a drink but that's about it.

And at the other end of the scale there's "gentlemen's clubs" for the wealthy Japanese and Chinese visitors that we, as average farang, are not welcome in either. Would you pay 10,000 baht, or more, a night for a delicious young Thai beauty? Plenty of wealthy Japanese and Chinese businessmen will.

But I will admit that I haven't actually been into a provincial Thai karaoke bar to drink and take a woman. My comments are based on talking to a number of expats living in Thailand, Thais working girls and general experiences over many trips to Thailand. We as foreigners can get into enough trouble there without going out and looking for it.

Swedes like beaches and they used to flock to places like Phuket. But as my ex wife (Swedish) said to me, if she wanted to be surrounded by Russians she would have gone to Russia for her holiday.

This is one of the most accurate statements.

Turkey was a popular holiday destination for Europeans, until the Russians arrived

Egypt was a popular holiday destination, until the Russians arrived

Thailand was a popular holiday destination, until...........................

Bingo.

Russians have driven several of my friends out of Phuket and Pattaya. I personally will not live around a lot of Russians and if they come to where I am now, I will leave.

Not to turn this into a Russian slam session, but very few people like them. Even the Thais strongly dislike them.

Interesting comments. I was in Ko Chang recently and the German hotel owner and Thai manager where we were staying spoke very disparagingly of the Russians. Didn't want them as guests, didn't want them on the island.

I agree Pattaya would be a ghost town if not for the Russian tourists. Got to say though there were a lot of spunky young Russian girls around when I was there last month and they all seemed to be having a good time at the Russian run nightclubs in Walking Street & elsewhere.

Come on you expat residents of Pattaya. Does anybody know something about this? Time in Pattaya running out.

For you Pattaya expat locals - a question. What happened to the Uma Devi Art & Gallery shop? It used to be downstairs in Central Festival. I went there today and was told the shop had closed. Everything was set up differently to what I remember 3 years ago. I think in it's place is the Asian Bazaar. The shop directory still had the shop listed and as usual I got the typical Thai advice (any answer just get rid of him).

The internet search gave me a name, address and phone number but no joy there. The internet site they had for overseas sales is gone.

So has the shop moved? Please let me know as soon as possible because I'm moving on from Pattaya very soon.

[ Last time I saw so much I loved but didn't have the dollars to buy]

Wow this topic set the posters alight with enthusiasm.

Actually since I posted the topic a few days ago I've delved further into the previous posts and although they are 3 or 4 years old I identified some websites listed and they are good value. Added to this the assistance of the Lonely Planet I'll be OK for things to do, even if it involves a lot of eating.

So in the absence of any immediate posts this topic can probably be closed.

Hi to those posters living east of Pattaya. Heading to Chantaburi for a week or more soon. Wife's home town. Been there before for a flying visit but many years ago. I did go up the mountains for a swim in the fish ponds but did nothing else of note.

I'm looking for suggestions for interesting places to go & things to see / do + hotels recommended by posters. I will have a car so driving around isn't a problem (and I won't be burdened by family commitments).

I have read half of the forum postings to date and got some ideas for hotels and beaches along the way (Rayong etc). But now some of the earlier posts are probably out of date.

I'm not looking to break any speed records for touristing and will just be idling along through Rayong etc.

Read a lot of posts on Ko Chang and doesn't sound my cup of tea (after spending a lot of time x visits to Phuket) - the beauty of Phiket has killed it -

So a few of your suggestions would be most welcome.

Hey It's the 1st of April everybody!

Are you really as rude and arrogant in person as your postings would imply?

Far, far worse.

No he's just a very naughty boy. Actually I think he's the number one shit stirrer on TV and I always laugh at his responses. Would be a good guy to have a beer with.

For most of us middle class types we've never had to think about how to spend loads of money. So it wouldn't be a walk in the park to change a lifetime of living in a certain manner.

To live without debt would be nice. To plan a holiday and not look at the cheapest fare & cheaper range of accomodation would be nice. To travel overseas to places just for the hell of it because it looked nice on TV would be nice. To travel to countries in their best season, and to get away from your own country when it's too hot, too humid or too wet would be nice.

Personally I'd set myself up with deposits to generate a regular income. Take care of all family member needs well into the future. Set up educational scholarships for those students who genuinely work hard but are held back by poverty and their surroundings.

Good food and wine (without being worried about the price), cook less & eat out more, a full time housekeeper, some debauchery, and whatever travel takes my fancy sounds like a good way of spending some of the money.

But I'd still never buy property in Thailand.

Nikkoid66 quoted "Lemon cake, you seems to know everything about Pattaya. Are you Russian?

You haven't seen that all the south part of Walking Street is Russian operated?

And you never heard in the news that taxi blocked Phuket totally to protest against Russian competitions?

That close to Phuket, a village and all its population went in the streets to protests against Russian businesses?

Are you speaking with Thais about this problem?

Russians are taking business from the Thais... just wait an see. If the authorities do not act, Thai will solve the problems with guns...

All the Thais I know positively hate Russians for the following reason:

- do not respect Thai culture and language

- talk in a rude way which is a sign of lack of respect and infuriates Asians in general

- do not speak English and do not care to learn Thai.

- open businesses in sectors traditionally reserved to Thais like: souvenir, massages, transportation and touring"

===============================================

Nikkoid66 - couldn't agree with you more. Dozens of big burly Russian girls working as hookers in Pattaya. Venues in Walking Street purely for Russians with Russian writing on the wall - One is the restaurant/bar opposite "Rolling Stone Bar 2" end of Walking Street + GoGo Bars. I suspect a number of hotels down that end are operated purely for Russian tourists as well.

What I've also noticed is the increased Arab influence in both Pattaya and Phuket - tourists and restaurants/bars.

Pattaya is a disgusting toilet. I honestly have no idea why anyone besides a creepy sex tourist would want to visit there.

What an incredibly narrow minded and ignorant statement. There are many other things to do in the Pattaya area rather than visiting bars and hookers and there are many Expats that are happily married, with families who like living in the area. I know because I am one of them.

I am not allowed to post a link, but try Googling 50 things to do in Pattaya you might just be surprised.

Most short term male tourists go to Phuket or Pattaya for the sex scene. Phuket has better beaches by far, especially over the dry summer period. But everything seems to be cheaper in Pattaya. Sex for the night, hotel room rates, food, tuk tuk travel, beer, music scene, clothing and IT products just to name some things. Go back two kilometres from the Pattaya beachfront and it's sssoooo cheap.

In my opinion the beauty of Phuket has killed it as an enjoyable relaxed tourist destination whereas Pattaya never had that "idealic destination" tag to lose - not unless you go back to the 60's & 70's.

I know Pattaya is seedy but I enjoy it more for many things it offers at a cheaper rate compared to Phuket.

However Phuket does have the advantage of tourists being able to island hop to a range of different destinations.

ive been sitting/standing/drunk on my 20th floor balcony for 4 months now and not even the tiniest of slips or attempts to dive off it. could i have a great sense of balance or is it because ive only had 1 woman out there with me and that 1 doesnt seem to be a psycho?

I keep the door shut & never venture out there. Even looking out the window at any height makes me giddy. I think you're spot on when you refer to the company you keep on your balcony. No nut cases equals safer living.