geisha

Try Vietnam specialities such as Bahn Cuon’, and the famous « nems » which are delicious eaten wrapped in a salad leaf with mint and soja beans., Cold spring rolls , not cooked. Pho soup, Hu Tieu soup, and of course Honey roast Duck. Caramel pork à simmered dish.,

True. My young niece stayed there, so I visited often. Right on the river, fab pool, good breakfast.Plain rooms as all Ibis have, but spotlessly clean. Cheap . Easy to get to Iconsiam , fab mall with great rooftop bar , often live bands, great cocktails , loads of restaurants great photo opportunities especially evening. . Ferry over the river to Thaksin river boat stop, Silom nearby lots of shops and restaurants, also very near Asiatique .´ As for Saigon, I would choose near Ben Thanh market for the ambiance, and easy walk everywhere, Great restaurants in Saigon, Vietnamese food is super.

I know one man in Phuket who’s wife and her antics drove him crazy ! She eventually got pregnant and he bought her everything a baby needed . He talked about it often at the pool. Pleased as punch, until the baby arrived and he did not look like a Norwegian baby I can tell you. She dumped the baby on him, which he accepted , and spent her time gambling , out every night. Personally, I wouldn’t have blamed him if he took the baby out of harm’and burnt the house. He should have, cause one day he was found dead. The wife’s brother had done it and was later found selling the husbands watch etc. Some of these girls are really bad through and through, seems to be quite a few in Thailand who go way too far. Not saying all wives are like that of course , I know super nice normal ones as you all do.

Got it « Hajiali » !

There is one on Silom’, next to the big building , a center that sells gold and gems. Can’t remember the name but it was delicious and had many well off people dining there. Main rd, not far from Holiday Inn.

Some of those watches cost 40/50 thousand euros a piece, so he must be getting them from somewhere . Dead friends I’ll be damned !

You can buy a similar villa beach road on the Côte d’Azur for that price or even a bit less. With spotless beaches and azur sea water . I do wonder who’s going to buy that one in Jomtien, is it the new places near Cosy beach /Rabbit resort ??

Don’t forget that Russians who have stayed in Phuket/ Pattaya for a longer time will teach the newcomers how to cope. They stick together, buy condos and have relatives / friends etc staying and paying. Lots of Russians have kids , then they can get visas having kids scolarised in Thai schools. I have two friends who have their kids in Phuket private schools for a few years now, so they have visas with no problems. Pattaya also have loads in Jomtien, especially in that huge condo with a big pool on the seafront. They have a few businesses there too. I often take a short cut through there from second rd .

Hé should at least be black listed for life ! Attacking policemen with a skate board, unbelievable !

I find it helps a lot to properly air your condo a few hours a day. A fan also helps. Phuket was terribly humid , nothing dried, and Bali it’s horrific. A closed condo is why you had this problem.

Maybe he was hinting at a possibility. The only problem is, we’d all know who did it !

When food is prepared with dirty hands ( ugh!) staphylococcal poisoning can be worse than anything . I also had a very bad poisoning in India, and I was only eating vegetables ! It was awful, I passed out 24 hrs and high fever. Took 3 days to clear up:and a doctor. Luckily I was also in a 5 star and they were really helpful. For the rest of my long stay we had a Villa with staff who had always worked for foreigners , so the food was healthy. Then had food poisoning in Patong , Italian restaurant, another one that knocked me out. It’s not nice.

It’s the human race that is responsible for the decrease in tigers and many other wild animals. Take a look at the zoos in Thailand with their drugged tigers, bears , chained up elephants etc etc kept in unhygienic surroundings/ cages till they drop down dead. ( Phuket zoo left their animals to die during Covid, it was only when a few foreigners managed to get a look over the walls did they see the undernourished animals left alone. Disgusting. ) Thank God it was reported and people helped and fed them. Then there is the trade in wild animals, often to China, horrifying mistreatment. There is also proof that the majority of fires are man made, And, who is to blame for the polluted water , and dynamite fishing ? It certainly isn’t climate change that manufactures plastic bags !

It is not Thaksins fault that there is a problem with the new government ! It’s the Thai people who have been robbed of their choice . Thaksin a criminal ? He’s just like the present government, come to think of it, he’s much better than the present government that has practically ruined the country. Personally, I’d rather Thaksin than the other gang of thieves, one of which is a real bonafide criminal.

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 ?