ProfessorFart

"I'm quite certain that some people here who are knocking the book haven't even read it."

Why would anyone do that?

".....so long as it makes money for the author"

I think its been well publicized that the author can't even give this dross away.

"And, anyone knocking someone else's writing should try writing something saleable themselves and see how hard it is."

Why? If you went to a five star restaurant but the meal was vile, would you sit in silence because you yourself can't cook, or would you say something?

I say! Have you been on the sauce old chap?

What I can't understand about the whole SAS thing is that I thought even after someone leaves, they have to keep it secret for 20 years? Official secrets act or some such? I could be wrong though.....

I liked the one about being mates with the Chief of Police. You could also substitute that for the Mayor or Provincial Governor especially in Pattaya.

On my last jaunt to Pattaya (which was only a week) I must have had 5 bozos tell me that they were mates with either of the above.

The thing was that from my glazed expression and the fact that I was still listening to Opeth in one ear on my MP3, they must have known that I knew that they were talking arse yet they still persisted.

In one particularly wet afternoon on Soi 8 (I was just there for research purposes) I had three of them in three different bars, one after the other. I must have a sign over my head; 'Believes Anything' or 'Will Listen to any ####'

"Jackie Collins for male sex tourists. "

Not too sure what a "sex tourist" may be but that's a fair assessment.

This book seems to crop up in a post every 12 months or so and get roundly slated, and rightly so.

The guy can actually write to a reasonable degree judging from the novel of his - The Bombmaker - I read after someone had left it by the pool at the Golden Palace.

This book however is just cliche riddled crap. You can say its based on 'fact' as it relates to a situation which is not uncommon but I would be surprised were the protagonists of this book based on any actual real people, more made up from a composite drawn from bar room tales.

"Expat literary fiction" and in particular Thailand's "expat literary fiction" is pretty risible on the whole. I have yet to read a novel written by a so called 'expat' author which doesn't deal with sensationalist nonsense, stereotype and cliche. Don't get me started on Christopher G Moore as we'll be here all day.....

Do yourself a favour. If you want to learn about Thailand through literature, find Thai authors in translation and pass on dribble of this genre.

If you want to learn about the seamier side of life here, or even expat life in general go see for yourself and don't rely on the dross which has been written about it to set your benchmarks.

This is a very rough guide to the city.

Basically the city centre tends to get divided into 5 areas:

Sukhumwit

Silom

Siam

Chinatown

Banglamphu (or Rattanakosin)

Sukhumwit and Silom are similar. Both are business, tourism and expatriate areas with large foreign populations. There are supermarkets, restaurants varied nightlife options, good mass rapid transport links and pretty much all the trimmings of the West close by. The downside is appalling traffic, crowded pavements, noise, pollution etc.

Siam is the main shopping area of downtown Bangkok, with several large Western Style Malls to be found there. Accommodation here is a little thinner on the ground than the above two, tends to be more upmarket, and more expensive to boot. This area also has good mass rapid transport links.

Chinatown is the most chaotic part of the city for me. Accommodation options are limited here, but it makes for an interesting part of the city to live in if you can handle the chaos. Transport links here aren't too clever although its close to Hualamphong Station (BKK's main station which also is the start of the underground line)

Banglamphu is the old part of town and the cheapest but compared to Sukhumwit and Silom accommodation is not as easy to find here. In addition, the creature comforts found in the above tend to be a little more spread out here. Banglamphu is also out on a limb as regards to getting on the rapid transport system.

Pros for the area are that it can be a lot quieter here than other areas of Bangkok and has less of a 'concrete jungle' feel to it than other parts of Bangkok. After rush hours, getting around isn't too much of a nightmare here.

Once out of central Bangkok the suburbs are surprisingly similar. They tend to be a lot cheaper than downtown with some of the trappings of modern life (a few supermarkets, cineplexs etc) nearby.

Traffic tends to be lighter here and even if you are off the rapid transit lines, there will usually be a minivan and bus service which will utilise the expressway system giving a fast link to downtown (Victory Monument in most cases) and in turn a link to the rapid transport system.

Apologies this is so vague however you haven't really given us much to go on as to your personal preferences.

Double posted! Oops!

You can pretty much take your pick for that sort of budget.

It all depends on your personal preferences.

Do you like to be in the thick of it (Sukhumwit, Silom, Rachada etc) or are you more of a peace and quiet person (Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan)?

Thank you Colonel!!

The trials of a Mass Rapid Transit system for Bangkok just rumble on and on. From Hopewell right up to now! Over 25 years of incompetence with only the few miles of BTS and Underground to show for it.

My travel agent when things look bleak.

I go home, get a job, take time think about where I went wrong, adopt a new strategy, then come back and try again. Personally I've found just sitting around here waiting for something to happen, while the funds seep away is counter productive.

Home, reality checks and familiar surroundings are far more beneficial when it comes to analysing one's mistakes I find.

The failings I have had here have all been my own fault or due to circumstances beyond my control. Usually they've come through some silly mistake, oversight or misplaced judgment I've made and that is where the fault lies - with me.

Through trial and error and a few return tickets, this time it seems to be finally on track!!

I think you'll find pockets of similar areas around tourist Thailand Brit but not to the extent you find in Pattaya. As HM has quantified his statement it's become moot anyway.

"I must hand it to you that I guess indeed this is the first reality tv show that covers tourists in Thailand (anyway as far as I'm aware)"

It isn't. There have been reams of low quality docs made about tourism (usually covering 'Sex Tourism') in the past.

Then there was the Channel 4 doc series a few years ago (the name escapes me - something like Bangkok Nights) which followed a selection of tourists coming to Thailand. Again it was poor focusing on only the sensational.

The problem is that the two issues are intertwined. It is only obvious that the series would bring into question the role of the TPVs here amongst the expatriate population. This is an expat forum, that this sort of debate would erupt was inevitable.

As a series in its own right its entertaining, sensationalist tat which is what I'm sure the producers were aiming at as Bravo aren't particularly famed for their more highbrow programming.

I think HM is a little optimistic in his hope that this will change the way that Thailand will promote itself as they are constantly striving to brush the Pattaya/sex for sale/drunken party destination image under the carpet in pursuit of the holy grail of 'High Class Tourism'

This show probably has the powers that be at the Ministry of Tourism holding their heads in anguish much as many other poor TV documentaries have in the past.

As mentioned elsewhere, it will certainly bring a huge influx of chavs from the UK to Pattaya.

When there is a huge rise in the type of behaviour more associated with Benidorm than Pattaya i.e. constant brawls, large mobs of drunken yobs constantly prowling Pattaya and so on (just watch similar shows about resorts on the Med and you'll see what I mean) I wish the TPV the best in dealing with them once their 15 minutes of fame has passed.

You reap what you sow.

If HM thinks that the show portrays how Thailand REALLY is, might I respectfully suggest he get out of Pattaya once in a while?

What a ridiculous statement.

Only answerable to the Tourist Police?

Is it any wonder that one of the main reasons for the unpopularity of this scheme is the arrogance of the TPV?

"Khun Fart.... What makes you think they do not have dedicated training? I recall they have parachute jump training, marksman, first aid and dare say basic law enforcement knowledge and procedural training specifically geared towards the volunteer assistants."

Parachute training and Marksman training? Scarcely relevant to the job?

On the job experience may be a good way to learn, however people react in different ways. What if they should crumble under the pressure of a major situation? Its not much use then. Would you feel safe and secure in the knowledge that should a major incident occur, your life and that of your loved ones could be in the hands of under prepared amateurs who are getting their experience 'on the job'?

Judging from what I have seen so far, it is pretty apparent that whatever training the have had is hugely inadequate. They can't even deal efficiently with a drunk. Maybe they should have had a drunken parachutist on their training and tried to arrest him half way down.

What do you really expect from untrained personnel undertaking a job which requires dedicated training?

The sooner they take away the uniforms, give them nice white T Shirts which read 'Tourist Assistance" or similar, then this whole issue can be put to bed.

Sadly, what ever they may think, they are not Police.

Even Community Police in the UK have to undergo strict screening procedures and then months of full rigorous Police training before they are allowed on the streets.

The whole police volunteer idea is a bad mistake and a potentially fatal one should God forbid, there ever be a major incident in Pattaya. One could imagine there would be chaos enough with the regular force, with a group of untrained amateurs getting in the way it could cost lives.

By the way, we had a war. It was long ago. You lost!

Since when have the Americans won a war?

It's not on!

Try the SA channels if you got them.

True will show the EPL this year. The previews are in Thai.

Previews will also be shown on ESPN/STAR.

For all your whining at least appreciate the fact that every game is now availiable in Thailand.

nuances and humor

It's 'Humour' peasant!

Bloody Americans. Please stop abusing the Mother Tongue.

Apex, if you can get in is a good deal.

ESPN/STAR are owned by the bell end Murdoch.

News Corporation sold the rights to the Premiership in Thailand to True/UBC last year which are now shown on TrueSports.

That said, True also own the broadcasting rights to ESPN and STAR SPORTS in Thailand so you can still see John Dykes et al on ESPN through your UBC/True apparatus.

Has anyone heard of the play off finals being shown live?

NBT are showing Hull vs Bristol C, on one of their iffy cable channels, but thats of no importance.

If anyone hears of Dale being shown, let me know.

No, its not on Supersport either.

Wrong, it was given City status about 3 years ago.. I said about so don't shoot me if the timing is wrong but it is definately a city

From where exactly did this city status come? Would love to see evidence of that. Pattaya is still an Ampur, not a Muang, bang bang bang.

End of the day (to save the munificent Mod SBK from a hard life here) if you took the gambling from Vegas what would remain? If you take the women from Pattaya what would remain?

Answers on a postsard to P Fart ,Pattaya, soi 7/8 Faceinabeaver.

It's interesting just how scared and uncomprehending some people are of impending change, when they think their "interests" will be threatened (Which they won't be - they will always be able to get some somewhere, and as has been repeated, that's fine and inevitable, just away from downtown areas).

Of course Pattaya is a city - it's the second largest in Thailand and the wealthiest by tourist income. The council is called Pattaya City council, not "town council".

And who cares what it was founded on - I don't give a monkeys about what went on before. Why can't you embrace positive change for the future?

It sounds like a lot of people wish to deny the Thais an opportunity to improve themselves, the city and the country. Why is that I wonder?

Dude,

If you think Pattaya is a 'City?'

Could you reference me in here please? Would love to see your evidence? I can call myself a fish. Pattaya is NOT a city. N

Much to your surprise, Thailand ideed has many towns and cities very worthy of a visit from your grace, free from fat farangs and bars.

Love to see ya there.......not

Pattaya is NOT the 2nd city in Thailand. It it not even a city.

Any more points before You look even more stupid?

Anyway,.....Troll post dudes!!!! Wake up!!!