geisha

I agree about Phuket. It’s become a den of thieves ,scams and traffic jams. Pattaya is better because it’s more varied and closer to Bangkok also a better climate than Phuket. . If only it would stop the sea water pollution , clean up those shack like shops, ban buses from the centre , and create a proper ring rd with traffic control/ parking, then it would attract better tourists. Anutin can forget wanting luxury seeking tourists , apart from some 5 star hotels there is nothing else to lure them here.

I think the whole situation in Thailand is very sad . It’s become the garbage tip of tourism ! And Phuket and Pattaya take the prize. It’s not only the drugs, it’s the violence , and continuing road deaths , the country is at a standstill . It’s not only the foreigners/ tourists , it’s the Thai people as well who participate or ignore the situation. Complete degradation, and nobody blinks an eyelid.

Wow , just wow. That’s just how you would treat a close relative! Don’t speak for other people.

Some tips. Don’t go to Walking street or Soi 6 or anywhere similar. You don’t drink, go to a nice coffee shop or hotel bar and have a fruit cocktail. Dont go out that late !! Why non earth are you walking around places like that at 4 am. No wonder you have PTSD.

The newspapers should be on hand for every scam in Phuket ( and elsewhere). It’s the only way this madness comes to light. I believe it’s got quite OTT in Phuket.

I rented a few years in a condo in Jomtien where there were many Russians. Only one word for them , uncouth. Seems they’d bought up quite a lot of the studios , and did what they liked , cooked smelly food with the doors open, smoked inside so the alarm was constantly going off, at the pool loud Russian music, kids going haywire, bottles on the pool sides. Many times security was called, but what can they do ? The poor guys who are one step from being homeless can’t speak a word of any language!! Lots are also working, just have to walk around with your eyes open to see ! Russians and Chinese are the worst possible thing that could have happened to Thailand. Obviously I moved out to a small condo where they are not welcome at all.

Exactly, if the authorities pulled their finger out and ordered and controlled all taxi meters, then tourists and drivers would have a lot less trouble when paying for the ride. Pattaya is no better than Phuket , I’ve taken a taxi a few times when necessary ( I don’t have a car) and they are just as expensive as Phuket. What is a really good deal is the private taxis that do the airport run. I find the 1200 + Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi cheap.

The insurance you are talking about was for foreign “ workers” ! Not tourists.

Kazuo Ishiguro, The remains of the day. ( and all his books ) Claire Keegan , Small things like these. Ken Follet , The armour of light. ( and all his books). William Boyd , A good man in Africa. Delia Owen’s, Where the Crawdads sing. Hanya Yanagihara , A little life. ( one of my favorites ) Anthony Doerr, All the light we cannot see. Min Jin Lee, Pachinko. Amitav Ghosh, all his books. So many, I’m never without a book.

Just bought this on my kindle.

Yes, saw this at Heathrow lately when a red light started flashing when a man tried to go through. An official was near and told him to stand back and wait, interested, I waited a minute and other officers turned up to check him. it’s a very good system. Shame that the trouble makers are not flagged this way.

Are antihistamine meds bad for your heart ?

There are too many accidents to ignore the subject. Statistics prove that the transport and accident numbers are terrible.

My usual restaurant that was stuck onto immigration on soi5 Jomtien has moved to Nong Prue somewhere. Looks great from photos if it has kept all the staff. I nearly cried. When I asked “ no sugar” or not too “ spicy “ , I got it. it was decent food for the price. I like Aqvavit on beach rd Jomtien and eat there twice a week. I asked about Chez Pascal Pattaya ? I’ve been away so would like some news of good restaurants.

How’s chez Pascal these days ?

I was living in Phuket Palace in Patong at that time. My neighbour came in and we were chatting on the balcony when we saw water creeping up towards us. Stupid me, I thought a huge water pipe had broken, until we started seeing people running towards us and the hill side ( Simon Caberet ). Lots of people in swimming costumes and barefoot. Ran downstairs and saw the manager , he said an earthquake or something had just happened. So what we saw from my balcony was the 2 nd wave. Police came and blocked off the road into Patong center. I waited a few hours and a Thai boy took me on his bike nearer to the center where I wanted to find my friends , hopefully alive as they were beach people. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I just stood there paralyzed, the road was risen up , the electrical cables were swinging, on the beach I could see the local blue bus and the beach tractor in the sea. Utter devastation. People screaming and crying. I told some to go to Phuket Palace downstairs in the foyer, and we ended up having 30 + on the floor there, lots had lost their families. I climbed over upturned cars and debris to get to the small hotel where my friends should be on Soi Patong Tower. It was ghostly quiet. I got to the hotel which was in bits, full of sand and water to the stairs, and I shouted out my friends names. After a few minutes 2 young boys came out , twins, English, and said my friends had been driven to a hospital outside of Phuket by a Thai friend. They were hurt , broken bones and skinned . But alive. I found my best friend, Thai, and his family , a week later where they’d been hospitalized, that’s when I broke down and cried like hell . I’d been looking for them with a French ex army Dr friend at Kata, where there was nothing left of the front, and the beach was flat !! The slope was gone. It was a nightmare and I’ll never forget a minute after seeing the small Patong hospital and the coffins lined up outside on the road. I stayed there for 3 months before eventually going home to my family in France for a while.

Well, saying the beaches are cleaner in Pattaya is going a bit overboard. The beach water on Phuket is a bit cleaner if you can actually find a place to swim it’s so crowded !!! I swim in the pool myself !

Yes ,Ian, great guy. Old hands. Colin is quiet , runs his agency well. I’ve had the best boat trips from him, and a mine of knowledge. You get what you pay for .

I would not have recommended these 2 if they were as you described!! They are good compagnies , not cheap vans. Comfortable mini buses as we have in the west or at airports. They are not vans !!! The drivers are quiet and professional. The 999 is rubbish compared and drops you off at the dock , you have to make your own long way to your hotel/ guesthouse. Otherwise fly !!! But you still have to have onward travel.

So if I understand right, you are in Pattaya. Contact Colin at CocoDeeBoKohChang , he uses a local Koh Chang drivers mini bus . I always use him. Look online . They pick you up at your home in Pattaya and drop you off at the hotel of your choice on Koh Chang….ferry included. They are serious not Kami kaz like Pattaya. Or, IAN , at iamkohchang , same sort of service , both professional, Ian has a guest house too. Both are great Brits . Used them for 15 years + google both.

No.

No.

I didn’t know there was a minibus. I know there’s an airport bus every half hour I think , is it called a smart bus . Whatever , traffic is horrendous.

Just have a blood test checking glucose etc. Tell the laboratory you’re worried about too much sugar.Easy test and cheap. Mine was ok but I was advised to cut out Rapid Suger, like honey, suger, and anything with suger in. In supermarkets look on the labels. Ideally you should have less than 100 g daily. You can’t believe the rubbish we eat/ drink not knowing the outcome. Dont hesitate, fix fast. Eat a balanced diet, eggs , veg + protein, careful with fruit , it has a lot of suger. Careful eating Thai food, it’s crammed with suger.

Volkswagen , That was back then. Now they’re all plastic like the others.