geisha

When I was in Phuket years ago, I thought it must be normal for ladies to go to the shops in their PJs. I saw a Russian lady this last Christmas in a nice Malta hotel in her PJs at breakfast. Though in many of the 5 Star thermal hotels in Italy, it was normal to go to breakfast in your nice hotel dressing gown . I came down dressed the 1 st day and felt quite the odd one out. Times are changing though since Covid I believe. Now it’s posh “ lounge wear”.

Yes, it was 2011, 5 tourist deaths, the island was Phi phi. 2 Canadian sisters died. “ Toxic chemical spray kills “ BBC and world news . There’s a whole page of leads if you look it up.

It was about 10+ yrs ago. The poison spray was to treat/ kill bed bugs. Huge scandal. I was in Chiang Mai at the time, the hotel owner was a local hi so., I think the girls on Samui were from the Uk .

Koh Tao sounds good !

Since when do you, or anyone else on this subject, have the right to question his parents/ families wishes ?

I wonder if they will remember all the people who died from poisoning? Some hotels on Koh Samui ( not sure which island it was) and in Chang Mai were using poison spray on the hotel beds !!! If I remember rightly it was 2 girls in One case and a whole hotel where lots of tourists were violently sick and there were a few deaths in Chiang Mai. They tried to brush it under the carpet as the owner of the Chiang Mai hotel was some local hi so. Eventually the deceased were autopsied and they found the culprit poison that was sold openly in Thailand. The hotel was demolished. I hope they check this poor Irish boy for poison. The others died in their beds too.

From another post he died in his room, clutching his phone. Heart attack maybe, RIP . No news on autopsy yet.

Whatever the reason for the quarrel, slashing a man’s face, 32 stitches, is certainly not normal anger. I’m glad to see the onlookers stepped in stop the driver disappearing.

And what about all the oldies wobbling round pattaya and Phuket, some into their late seventies, wifebeater, , flip flops and no helmet, and evening certainly a few Changs under their belt.

People are not “ expected” to donate. They do it from the goodness in their hearts. Nobody is forcing you, so why complain ?

How many times have I heard horror stories from Phuket of longboat and speedboat trips that turned into nightmares. Plus the occasional ferry that sinks. Me and boats in Thailand are finished, one exception the short trip over to Koh Chang and even then I sit near the lifebelts.

Or keep a roll of kitchen paper in the loo. More absorbant than Thai loo paper and one sheet is enough.,

Which are the worst pollution areas and which months ? Id like to spend more time in the least polluted area. So where ? Dessert islands excluded.

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 ?