geisha

When someone asks me where im off to and I say Thailand, the response is « doesn’t the in your face prostitution bother you ? » ive met a lot of people who have been very disappointed with their Thailand holidays , and a lot who say they liked it years ago but wouldn’t go back again. they agree that the beaches of Phuket are beautiful. I would say that many « tourists » are snowbirds like myself , or first timers, or Chinese and Russian.

There’s nothing much to see in Hua Hin, one small temple with monkeys ? I went once to the beach and never again. Shopping is poor. The ice-cream shop on the uncrossable main road is as exciting as it gets ! The expats don’t travel much except to the golf course.

I think it depends where they are holidaying. ! In the South of France summer we have a huge influx of Saudis, Kuwait, Dubai , all that region, and we do not have problems like that. I deal with them a lot, and 99.9% of them are very respectful, educated and kind people. I think Thailand brings out the worse in them .

They say Arabs, but where are they from? For example, Indonesia has the biggest Muslim community, but are not Arabs. So ? Are they French Arabs, because it’s them who cause the most crimes and are described as French when caught. Giving the French a very bad name, especially in Phuket. They are from North Africa and have French nationality, but they hate the French and are making our lives here hell. It’s not a religion problem because if it was they wouldn’t commit all these crimes. Tendency is to class all Arabs as Muslim unfortunately.

At least he will be remembered. He has made us chuckle. He’s never hidden his way of life , and we’ll probably never see the likes again. I hope , when my day comes, I will be as brave.

Totally totally different, like comparing Mangos and Pears. Surprised you like Rome as it’s expensive,

Actually , as a region , it’s Eastern Thailand !

I hope for Phuket’s sake that these drug traffickers don’t take over certain areas as they have done in Bangkok where they are rife. I once stayed on Sukhumvit about 35 years ago, and went back lately just out of curiosity as I had stayed in the Atlanta Hotel which was an icon in Hotel language. ( still there I think). Walking around I was shocked by how many African men were selling their wares, the clothes/ junk markets that had sprung up by them, and the prostitution everywhere. All this openly.

Follow Richard Barrow who is as expert as you can get concerning Thai train travel. If you are hoping for an * experience* you’ll be disappointed. Much better you take train trips inside Thailand which can be interesting. It will also be cheaper to buy a return ticket flight , than two one ways train /flight.

I really didn’t like China, and it’s the only country I would swear that I’d never go back. The poverty is awful, the beggars in states of hunger and illness that I’ve never seen, and I thought India was bad.

I’d love to give you some ideas and feedbacks but I didn’t understand your post ?

Pray, what is exciting about Hua Hin ??

But did you have a thousand ( slight exaggeration) taxi drivers shouting and touting you at arrivals ? Ugly beaches, invasion by the nation I won’t name , humidity, heavy rains , it’s not the Bali I knew ! The Balinese though are a pleasure , kind , helpful and mostly honest IMO. Also speak very good English.

Wine Gallery ( starts with wine? ) Kae Bae beach. Great drinks and cocktails and serve the good bottles , every night for me !

Do younger men go to gogo bars ? Or is it mostly an over 50s thing ?

Reminds me of a newish condo I rented in Jomtien. The safety doors were locked! When I complained , the office girl actually shouted at me !

Agree with every word..Îwas in Phuket during the Bird Flu.Thaksin arranged a,platform on Bangla road, every hotel and restaurant took part opening stands, and cooking free chicken dishes for everyone ! I saw the hundreds of Thais who came from the country side to have the free chicken, and to see their leader. He gave a very good speech and shook hands with all and everyone. I saw him a second time on the beach in Patong just after the tsunami ruined all the local Thai peoples lives. Again, he was so kind and partaking in their grief. Any choice, I’d take him any day over the lying cheating robbing gang there now.

He was a very rich man before going into politics !

Not all. Before Covid and Ukraine , the Russians coming to the south of France were a pain in the .. Drink a lot, eat, and then « offer » the money they want to pay and ignore the amount on the bill ! Seen this so many times that most restaurants/ bars and hotels either refuse them , or take only the ones they know. A good few rich clients who are travel educated, the rest, forget. I really think they come to Thailand because the prices suit them. They certainly buy up a good few condos as I saw last year on Kata Beach. Unfriendly and don’t know how to be polite. Poor Phuket !!!!

I dont understand. There’s already 30 days Visa exempt for a lot of countries. So what do they want to do ? Make the 60 day tourist visa free of charge ? In that case, I think they will bring in the failed system of the Covid entry for tourists , where you had to apply online for a Government Approved email , which mostly never arrived, or arrived after your flight date ! A complete catastrophe which made Thailand tech « experts ». a laughing stock . They couldn’t have done it worse.

Not everyone living in Patong or nearby goes to Bangla. The closest I got to it was Junk Ceylon for the usual shopping and parking., There are a lot of nice condos and villas reasonably priced, some very nice hotels and restaurants with scenic views, plenty shopping and the huge double Central not far away. I only left because the weather was too hot and humid for me. Went to Hua Hin for 2 years , good breezy air, but found it too boring and ugly beaches, so ended up in Jomtien where the prom is nice but the seawater disgusting ( as is Pattaya ). Lots of reasonable condos in Jomtien . Must admit Phuket has by far some of the nicest beaches ( apart from the smaller islands that have their own drawbacks). I have the best of friends there, great Thai people I’ve known for 35 years , so I go back for holidays only. ( PS phuket taxis must be the worst rip off scoundrels in Thailand unfortunately).

A very good friend of mine in France asked me for a loan of 5000 € to pay for his daughters piano conservatoire .( true). He sent me 100€ once . I kept asking him , with a yes soon answer. Never again. I really never thought that would happen. When I first went to Phuket in the early 80s, a very good Thai friend warned me never to lend money to anyone at all !! I agree with a comment above that Covid bankrupted many people, last year I returned to Phuket to see my many friends, the greeting at the airport with everyone in hazmat suits, the multiple rules , regulations and closures were enough to put everyone off coming to Thailand forever. The lines of hungry people sitting in a queue on the pavements was heart breaking. I saw a few shop owners I knew timidly begging . This was the work of Prayut and company., Those people are in debt for life.

Really the best, even in France.

I see too many Thai kids with newest iPhones and even cars. An office girl from the condo has a new car, I said it was very nice, a company car, no, I buy, she said. Next I see her on FB , bottles of wine with her friends, or other photos with Dior handbag. Really ? I have a lot of female foreign friends who don’t have a car like this or carry designer handbags but certainly have very good jobs. That’s where education comes in. As one of my Italian friends says ( married to a Thai) it’s want want want everyday. I find thais don’t have a reasonable limit.

Methinks someone has a plan, a clue, he wears a uniform.