Charlie Cheap

Yup Hotel California, Zombie and Scorpions "Wind Of Change" are the three farang songs most Thais know.

If you find yourself in a Thai karaoke bar chances are you'll be choosing from these three.

The horror...the horror

It's pure horror! Speaking of horror, has anybody else noticed that the alcohol in this country is weak compared to other countries?

Over 20 years of "professional" level cover band experience. Isn't that deficiency?

And your contribution has been what?

I know you're baiting me into listing every project I've ever done, including live shows but I'm not taking the bait.

The point is, cover bands suck terribly! Especially the ones in the Pattaya area. I don't know why someone would freely admit to playing other people's material, I could never wrap my mind around the fact that cover bands exist. Make up songs that are original and play them. It is that simple.

By the way, since you asked me, what about you, what's your contribution been? Did you play a guitar or a bass back in 1975 for approximately one week, get a blister on your finger and give up because it was "hurting"?

I've played in pro level cover bands for over 20 years and never ever played it but after seeing it written on bar napkins over and over again I thought bugger it, if you cant beat em join em but I'm not going to do a hack version.

Rest assured it is neither easy to sing or play on guitar and do properly. The solo took me 5 days at about 15 mins a day, not a walk in the park by any means.

After all that I enjoy playing it loads and the reaction is always great so why not?!

Phil X giving it loads:

Check out 1:06 where he goes off track a little http://static.thaivisa.com/forum//public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/wink.png

I thought shameless self-promotion was against the rules on the site.

Over 20 years of "professional" level cover band experience. Isn't that deficiency?

How bout "the final countdown" by Europe. That's another they love.

It's time to leave the joint when they start singing "finer cow down".

I hear ya brother.

Wonders how long it will take them to start scamming tourists claiming they have damaged it ?

That's funny!

Why won't anyone give these students a litlle credit?

I know it goes against the grain for most TV members but some positivity wouldn't go amiss here; who knows, the students may have produced a useful, low cost vehicle. Certainly more useful than any of the other ridiculous suggestions being made here.

No credit is given because these guys didn't invent an amphibious vehicle, they only took a JetSki and put wheels on it like foreigners have done many years before. September 7, 1968 a really lame television show for children had its characters driving around in a six wheel amphibious vehicle that looks like it would work perfectly for floods around this part of Asia. Also Volkswagen invented something called "the thing" that was amphibious. These things have been around forever! No credit No credit no credit no credit for "inventing" something.

I'll give them credit for trying to re-create something to help people in the event that emergencies do happen in this country. Let's hope they'll never have to use it!

For the last 12 months I searched Thaivisa on Goggle for "killed OR murdered OR balcony OR machete" site:thaivisa.com" and came up with hundreds of stories.

Dude, post your findings!

Isn't it time to just legalize prostitution and get rid of these horrific gangs that control the entire industry?

"Politicians and police" must do something to stop these horrific events

Never mind saving the elephants, crocodiles and butterflies. it should be; Save the foreigners they are getting wiped out one at a time. just look at the track record in the past few months.

Can you please enlighten us about this "track record for the past few months" ??.

Woman drives in car at night that works for the Hilton Hotel get shot in the head.

Man gets strangled to death with leather belt on second floor of hotel room.

Man stuffed in garbage bag after being bound up and tossed like trash.

Tourist jumps off balcony and dies.

Man (Foreigner) jumps off balcony, DOA.

It's funny that this topic is brought up.

I've been living in Pattaya for a while and I have been disgusted with all the cover bands for quite some time now. I wish these guys would break out an original song occasionally.

On the rare occasions when I or my better half is asked by the cover bands if we have a request, we have worked out a strategy that might be messed up, but we think its, (or at least I think it's hilarious)

We yell out Starless and Bible Black. When they inevitably say they don't know that song and ask for another one I yell out Moonage Daydream. When they don't know that one I yell out "five years" just to sort if keep it in the Bowie family. It really gets awkward for the crowd and the band, but it's kind of funny.

To date (aside from the aforementioned) these are the "cover songs" I have blurted out:

Angel of death(Slayer)

Big dumb sex (Soundgarden)

The great deceiver (King Crimson)

South of heaven (Slayer)

In utero (Nirvana)

The door (Keb Mo)

Idiot Prayer (Nick Cave)

Anthem (Rush)

Three Days (Jane's Addiction)

Credit in the straight world (Hole)

"Anything from" (Gary Moore) RIP

Toys in the attic (Aerosmith)

Kings and queens (Aerosmith)

Ice cream man (Van Halen)

Tomorrow (U2)

The Nile song (Pink Floyd)

Book-of-the-Month (Loveage)

Deep Pile Dreams (Ian Brown)

The gravy train (Ian Brown)

Civilized (Henry Rollins Band)

To date, I have not heard any of the songs. But I do hear Hotel California, Freebird and Bark at the moon.

How about all you people out there that are condoning extortion give me your 1000 Baht bills and I will hand them out to the poor people in the street that are not gainfully employed?

This is an awesome thread!

Unfortunately I had to take a Bath bus recently and I went through a similar dilemma.

I recently sold a moped and had to take the leather express up to the main smog filled highway to make my way across town to a place that rents out mopeds at a reasonable price to foreigners. So I went into a quick stop and bought a bottle of water to make sure that I had the proper coin so I wouldn't have to deal with exactly what you're describing in regards to the driver just taking off with 20 Baht.

The best part of this story for me is the end. The bus took me from my part of town then around the old dolphin and onto Beach Road and I got off at 2nd near walking street. The entire bus emptied at the same time. There was an old guy with a severe limp so I waited for him to get out before me, by the time I got out with my coin in hand the bus was already taking off. And that's not the first time something like that has happened. The drivers tend to get confused easily. I'm not out to rip off the drivers, far be it. So when it happens, I just laugh.

The Hilton buffet kind of sucks in my opinion.

Get more bang for your buck and decent food at Thai Garden resort.

299 per person from 6 to 9 p.m.

White tablecloth tables around a nice looking swimming pool and decent service.

The only thing that kind of blows is the Filipino band that walks around from table to table playing music. It's nice the first time you go, but if you frequent the place it gets a little old, kind of like every cover band in this town.

This is a copy and paste from my personal notes in my phone:

Thai Garden buffet

Monday pizza and pasta*

Tuesday barbecue buffet*

Wednesday multi-cuisine buffet*

Thursday German buffet with roasted pig

Friday Thai buffet

Saturday international buffet*

Sunday steaks and skewers buffet (Sucked)^

6 to 9pm

299 per person

50 baht for one big bottle of water

an official at the Revenue Department

.

Has the official and his office been named?.

before it could be deleted, the photo began circulating throughout the Thai online community

.

Can the photo be posted here for the English-language online community?

.

just go to his twitter acc ,can see it there.

And if one doesn't have a twitter account?

Twitter is pretty lame!

Imagine if everybody told the truth about what they were doing in this town on Twitter.

Good on yer Barrow, but watch your back.

It's comments like this that make me throw up a little in my mouth. "Watch your back"

I hope this guy keeps exposing the people that are extorting and fight the good fight, protest and survive, its that simple!

If more people expose the extortion and corruption it would end.

Break the chain people, don't be a slave to corruption and greed!

As virtue would have it...

But then this guy should fight only for himself, unless the Thai people start changing their opinion on this issue.

http://www.phuketgazette.net/thailandnews/2012/Corruption-in-Phuket-Is-there-now-hope-for-a-cure-19836.html

Corruption is a serious and systemic problem in Thailand. A recent Abac Poll reported that most (63.4 per cent) Thai people believe that corruption in government is acceptable provided it is beneficial to them personally - a view that is also shared by many young people. This explains why corrupt politicians keep returning, sparking grave concerns about the country's political and economic sustainability.

Politicians keep returning...worrisome. They have power.

All considered, I think 'Watch your back' is a fair comment.

The guy doesn't need to watch his back, he needs to keep looking forward and fighting back every chance he gets!

Is buying into idle threats and scare tactics the "Thai way"?

Obviously this guy is smart, he's not about to bow down to "terrorist" tactics. He's not going to be the slogan boy for "don't mess with Thailand".

Try this tough guy. If you travel to the US, upon arrival when you are about to be patted down by the infamous TSA just tell them if they touch your genitals they are in deep shit. Tell them you will not bow down to their "terrorist" tactics. Look forward and fight back. Then let us know how it comes out.

Okay guy, will do!

Hey, why are you si aggravated?

Where you always pessimistic and argumentative, or did you just turn into this "thing" that you are now since moving to Thailand?

Good on yer Barrow, but watch your back.

It's comments like this that make me throw up a little in my mouth. "Watch your back"

I hope this guy keeps exposing the people that are extorting and fight the good fight, protest and survive, its that simple!

If more people expose the extortion and corruption it would end.

Break the chain people, don't be a slave to corruption and greed!

As virtue would have it...

But then this guy should fight only for himself, unless the Thai people start changing their opinion on this issue.

http://www.phuketgazette.net/thailandnews/2012/Corruption-in-Phuket-Is-there-now-hope-for-a-cure-19836.html

Corruption is a serious and systemic problem in Thailand. A recent Abac Poll reported that most (63.4 per cent) Thai people believe that corruption in government is acceptable provided it is beneficial to them personally - a view that is also shared by many young people. This explains why corrupt politicians keep returning, sparking grave concerns about the country's political and economic sustainability.

Politicians keep returning...worrisome. They have power.

All considered, I think 'Watch your back' is a fair comment.

The guy doesn't need to watch his back, he needs to keep looking forward and fighting back every chance he gets!

Is buying into idle threats and scare tactics the "Thai way"?

Obviously this guy is smart, he's not about to bow down to "terrorist" tactics. He's not going to be the slogan boy for "don't mess with Thailand".

Good on yer Barrow, but watch your back.

It's comments like this that make me throw up a little in my mouth. "Watch your back"

I hope this guy keeps exposing the people that are extorting and fight the good fight, protest and survive, its that simple!

If more people expose the extortion and corruption it would end.

Break the chain people, don't be a slave to corruption and greed!

By making statements like these I am guessing you haven't been in Thailand long to understand it's dangers.

Long enough to know that people like you are submissive and weak and have possibly lost touch with reality.

How about a nickel's worth of free advice? Stop living in fear, stop paying extortion, try eating some spinach and toughen up.

Also, have you been complaisant and submissive your entire life?

Richard Barrow being different to you doesn't equal Richard Barrow being stupid.

Richard Barrow lives by his own principals.

If Richard Barrow would rather be made to leave Thailand than bow to corruption then it makes sense for him to have taken this action. I personally find it easy to understand why a person might take that stance.

I'll bet some of you are just criticizing him because his actions here have proven himself to be the better man.

Cannot agree more with what you say, I find it very depressing to read fellow farangs who seem to have no backbone and are quite content to accept corruption.

Totally, I couldn't agree more as well.

It's so sad and pathetic watching foreigners cower.

Good on yer Barrow, but watch your back.

It's comments like this that make me throw up a little in my mouth. "Watch your back"

I hope this guy keeps exposing the people that are extorting and fight the good fight, protest and survive, its that simple!

If more people expose the extortion and corruption it would end.

Break the chain people, don't be a slave to corruption and greed!

if you hadn't noticed, i was encouraging the guy pukebreath

Oh, I get it! You encourage and invoke fear at the same time. Kind of like terrorism I guess, But a more positive approach toward terrorism. That makes perfect sense to me.

If you think Thai corruption is bad, go home & enjoy your native version. UK banks have been rigging the basic, LIBOR, interest rate for years - robbing the populace. HSBC bank has been caught laundering Mexican drug money. HSBC was set up to handle the Chinese opium trade! Wall Street & The City of London Banks make the mafia look like petty pickpockets. The bank owners are too big to prosecute, becoz they bribe & own the pols. They even get HUGE handouts from taxpayers. C'mon you guys. You came here to escape being rogered over a financial barrel in the West. Complain by all means, but don't come on like Thailand is worse than back home. There, tea money is just better hidden & legal, usually called 'taxes' - which go mostly to the banksters.

Copout

Some farangs' idealism is so annoying. Corruption works both ways. Those same mere 1,000 bahts could get you out of trouble somewhere and save you days instead of going through all the official red tape and formalities... If one hates "corruption" so much, why not take up residency in Florida or Spain if that is your thing. But no, they have to bring their "upholder of Anglo good-boy morality" everywhere they go

Time to realize that most of the things that make Thailand such a great alternative to live for farangs are precisely all those little things that go against mainstream Anglo morality.

While they're at it, those guys could also militate for mandatory social security and retirement plans, welfare benefits, road safety, women equality, mass immigration and against tax evasion and pretty soon it will be just as expensive, limitative and boring as your regular Euro/US/Australian watering hole. Farangs in the end are creating their own hell.

"Until the end, I will remain a child of Europe, of worry and of shame; I don't have any hopeful message to deliver. For the Western world, I

don't feel hate, at the most an utter contempt. I only know that, as much as we are, we stink of egoism, masochism and death. We have

created a system in which it has become simply impossible to live; and furthermore, we keep exporting it." -- Michel Houellebecq ("Extension of the Field of Struggle"), author of a trilogy on the misery of human, social and sexual relationships of modern Westerners.

Copout

so why were you speeding in the first place? sounds like you should've been fined, and that camera would've incriminated you, knowning this you still decide to act like a rude a**hole, nice job.

He wasn't being fined he was being extorted

I can't help but wonder how some of these stories would have turned out if there had not been a Thai wife/GF involved.

I was thinking the same thing.

getting smart with a Thai cop not a good idea... can't remember the detail but recall bits of a story from a few years back, someone did a similar thing making the cop look like a complete turkey in public. The resulting massive loss of face made the cop snap.. he pulled out his gun & shot the 'smart a$$' dead, then promptly turned it on himself and pulled the trigger.

That's such a heartwarming and touching story!