sambum

"Mr. Somsak revealed that the State Railway of Thailand proposed selling alcoholic drinks in first and second-class sleeper cars, dining cars, and private charter services. However, the committee did not approve this proposal in its current form." The reason why they stopped selling alcohol on trains was because one of their own raped and killed a young girl by throwing her off the train a few years ago. So they punish the travellers by banning alcohol on trains. Sheesh! Talk about an unfounded knee jerk reaction!

"Maybe because he is a Brit, or a tourist?" So Brits are not allowed to be tourists?

Yes, it would appear so. The same applies to shirtless men eating dinner in a restaurant. I'm not advocating having to wear a tie, but having to look at hairy paunches over the top of my top of the range genuine 100% copy reading glasses does nothing to enhance my dining experience!

You mean another promise to do something and in reality, do nothing? The "tourism" should have said - "OK you're going to reduce import tax on wine and spirits by 50%. When you have done that, and the shelf prices go down by a similar amount, I will extend my holiday by 50% to match it!" Maybe it's a case of "here comes the new boss - same as the old boss" By which I mean that the promise was made by a previous PM/Party, so the current one will say "Nothing to do with me!" (We're enduring that in the UK just now!) Just as a matter of interest, I wonder if any reference will be made to taxation and import duty in the new "Alcohol Control Bill"! 🙂 I somehow doubt it as the main point of the exercise seems to be:- ".......... the authority to determine zoning areas and establish tailored regulations." And, "alcohol prevention among youth remains a focal point." You never know, they might decide to scrap the ban on purachasing alcohol at Tesco or Macro between 2pm and 5pm in my neck of the woods as it is a tourist area and they want to look after us , don't they? 😉

As I thought - didn't take long - today's AN headlines:- Intoxicated tourist detained after Pattaya restaurant altercation An intoxicated tourist was apprehended in Pattaya following an alleged assault on a restaurant owner’s husband. The incident unfolded in Soi Pratumnak 4.

I would probably have said "approximately", and you memory is no better than mine - when I say I can't remember - you immediately bang another 10% on top!

Didn't take long:- From today's headline news on AN:- "An intoxicated tourist was apprehended in Pattaya following an alleged assault on a restaurant owner’s husband." And no "shocked:, "outraged", or otherwis eoffeneded netizens mentioned. Just another day at the "family friendly resort", really!

"And the imported wine are extreme expensive because of the import tax and that for low quality of wines." It must be nearly a year now that we were told that the import duty on imported wines and alcohol was going to be reduced by 50% - and taxes reduced as well! What happened? It would appear - NOTHING!

I think I may have mentioned that one gets the impression that the vast majority of crime committed in Thailand would appear to be committed in Pattaya - not sure if I said 82% - where would I get that figure from? We "farangs" get most of our news from AN, and if they seem unduly biased towards reporting the crime in Pattaya rather than anywhere else in the country, there must be a reason for it, why don't you ask them? For your info, I live in one of the island resorts, and although there are quite a few ladyboys/transgender persons working in the bars, I never see or hear of the kind of trouble here that seems to happpen in Pattaya on a regular basis (Indians - ladyboy - gold necklace - theft). I am not saying that it doesn't happen, in the same way that I have never actually seen a fight in all the 20 years that I have been here doesn't mean to say that they don't happen - just that I have never seen one. Maybe that is why there are seldom reports of bag/necklace snatches, muggings, beatings up by bouncers/taxi drivers on AN because they rarely happen here? And I do go to the bar areas frequently (2 or 3 times a week) so it's not like I am living the life of a hermit in my Utopia! Someone a while ago implied that I had not even been to Pattaya - not true - I was there for 2 or 3 days with a couple of mates a few years ago, and although I enjoyed it, I won't be rushing back - I certainly didn't feel as safe there as I do in "my Utopia"!

I get seasick too easily!

No, there's a couple of posts mentioning "family resort", and a few replies to them - that's not the same as being "about the 8th person to say it". However, I get your drift, but I can almost guarantee that within the next couple of days there will be a "happening" in Pattaya reported on here that will certainly not be depicting Patttaya as the "family friendly resort".

Why? The authorities are always quoting Pattaya as a "family friendly resort" so why shouldn't I? 🙂 I'm pretty sure that whoever coined that phrase must have had their tongue in their cheek whilst saying it!

I wonder what he meant by elsewhere - Brussels?

And throw our passports away before arrival!

Oh, I've done my best to keep up with all all the shenanigans going on in Pattaya, but there are SO many that it makes my head spin!

You emphasised one so you should have emphasised the other.

Swept under the carpet again! And in my opinion, swept under by the worst Labour Government ever, and that includes Tony Blair's "New Labour" - at least he brought in the Old Age Winter Fuel Allowance!

Sensible post, and factually correct.

Correct - you should have put reciprocation in brackets too - oh sorry, just been on the "Grammar Police" website!

Agreed! And "If you don't like it here, go home!" It's as if you aren't allowed to have an opinion any more. Nowhere is perfect, but some places come nearer than others. In my opinion Thailand comes into that category, but that doesn't mean to say that there are not things that can be improved.

Extract from Labour Manifesto 2019 - Page 76:- " We will ensure that the pensions of UK citizens living overseas rise in line with pensions in Britain."

Makes you wonderr if the police aren't getting a cut, or something? 😇

What? In the "Family Friendly" resort?

Jealousy?

Maybe the neighbour who was letting him use his address?