Merylhighground

After reading the headline I thought it was about Thailand, how stupid of me.

Thailand/Cambodia both run by dangerous, mentally unstable, egomaniac despots....

Hun Sen is a good example of how Thaksin may have been had he not been removed from power as Hun Sen aped almost every one of Thaksin's 'policies' like for like in the early/mid 2000s ('war on drugs', social order/nightlife' clampdowns etc) before running riot as he is now....

Such a shame Cambodia has a maniac in charge, as the country was almost on the brink of recovery until he began to run riot over the last couple of years....

Sad tale but at least he went out in a 'blaze of glory' as it were......

Poor lad, trying to make an honest living in Pattaya and gets stung by vermin.

I hope he gets his brass back and then some from the villains...

Odd how the murderer suddenly finds some emotion.

I guess the emotions come easy when he gets to thinking about it all and realises that somewhere on a shelf in a Bangkok prison sit the chemicals which will end his miserable life.

Shame for him he couldn't find some emotion before embarking on his slaughter.

I can't wait until they 'pin' something like this on a Westerner...I think the internet in Thailand will implode....

Incredible. Three posts about the OP, the rest bickering drivel about pavements.....no wonder Thailand's 'expats' have such a bad reputation....

Clearing a bit of pavement space is not going to suddenly turn Bangkok into Singapore. Lets not over-react here.

This is exactly how it began in Singapore in the early 1970s.

Its about a whole lot more than 'clearing a little pavement' space'.<snip>

Dear OP

Trying to improve the skillet of anyone is all well & good

But not in a free day course

Complete waste of time

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I sometimes wonder about the "farangs" that live among us ! Why would anyone want to attended a one day course to improve a frying pan (skillet) ?

A one day course on learning about modern, innovative, building practice may, however, provide an insight into the possibilities of acquiring new skills or improving on old ones. The time would be well spent.

Hahaha! That gave me a nice giggle!

OP, I agree that it could be worthwhile taking the family along, especially the younger (male) members. if it were a seminar explaining the benefits of going on to an Educational Institution to take a fuller, longer, more in-depth vocational course which may provide members of your wife's family with skills for life. It could also take a possible future burden off your hands too and save you having them flopping around the old shack, waiting for handouts all day....

Odd there's not much mention of this in the Socialist press in the UK for some reason......

There used to be a few old timers play backgammon, Scrabble, Chess/Cheese etc outside one of the mini marts up on Nern Plab Wan.

As far as I can guess they'd still be there as it looked like none of them had moved in years last time I saw them.....

Good luck. I'd say your best chance may be some younger Russian 'expat' kids as I'd say Pattaya is very much the wrong demographic for such things......

Who knows maybe you could teach some of the old timers some new games!

Step by Step the sterilisation of Bangkok until it morphs into Singapore is becoming reality.....

While I agree with the sentiments given above that the pavements, or lack of, are a pain in the backside, these 'markets' give a lot of colour to Bangkok which we will miss when they are all gone....

No need for the melodrama. The Silom vendors for the most part sold the same goods, block after block. How are counterfeit products, or the bogus viagra and cialis products colourful?n How many stalls selling the same chinese sourced crap does Bangkok need? As has been pointed out several times already, there are hundreds of legit markets all over the city. Those vendors are licensed and pay the taxes that in turn generate the revenue to keep the markets clean and serviced. The vendors on Silom are not paying any local taxes. Instead they freeload off of the businesses who do.

I didn't mention anything about the goods, nor do I give a toss about who pays what to whom, more about the undeniable fact that the Silom markets have become very much a part of the local colour in that area and their loss will be felt in that area, but I suppose, being an upstanding pillar of society you only buy your bogus viagra from a 'fully licensed, tax paying non-criminal' market.

You make some strong claims without a shred of evidence to back them up....sounds more like 'expat' gossip to me.

Selling counterfeit goods is a crime. Selling bogus drugs that cun poison people is a crime. Not paying taxes and not having an appropriate business license is a crime. Acting as a facility to launder drug money is a crime. Providing cover for street criminals is a crime.(In case you didn't know, some of the stall vendors are an integral part of the sophisticated pickpocket and mugging activity that is endemic to that area.)

Again, I'd love some evidence to back up your claims here, without it, it all just reads like more worthless bar stool prattle....

I do not purchase drugs from unauthorized and unregulated vendors but there are many foolish people who do.

What is the local colour when the vendors sell the same low quality rip off products block after block? How many stalls are needed to sell counterfeit Hugo Boss or Calvin Klein underwear? How about those unsafe electrical appliances with the suspect wiring, You know, the lights that overheat and catch fire or the stun guns that are not calibrated and that are illegal to sell on the street. What about the bogus perfume merchants who put various volatile organic chemical substances in a bottle such as formaldehydes and ketones, and sell it to unsuspecting people? What is colourful about these stalls? Nothing. Absolutely nothing, but you go ahead and throw out that view. How about you providing a basis upon which to describe them as colourful? What exactly do they add to the street aside from congestion and garbage? You are aware that the stalls have increased in number, right? And you are aware that the congestion is so bad that it presents a public safety hazard, but apparently this doesn't seem to worry you because you want some "colour" if and when you infrequently visit. Nice/ It's all about you, right?

People who live and work in the area have been complaining about these pests for years. When I was staying on Saladaeng for a while, it was a nightmare to commute. The vendors have engaged in land grab creep breaking every agreement ever reached to try and restrict their number and presence. Their own greed is responsible for the all or nothing approach by the BMA.

In respect to the crime associated with some of the vendors, you are living in denial if you believe it isn't there. You will disagree with me, but I suggest you talk to some of the people who have been around for awhile. Do you honestly believe the slime who sell the illegal porn near the Saladaeng BTS accesss stairs are just selling porn? How do you think the criminal pickpocket and petty thief gangs operate? If you don;'t believe me fine, but you are like the people who say crime doesn't exist because they haven't been mugged yet.

Because you need some help coming to grips with your denial, I recommend that you consult a Bangkok newspaper that I am not allowed to reference in the forum. On April 14, 2014, it ran a profile of the multiple gangs who operate in Thailand.You can use that as a starting point. Then go and see for yourself. The vendors are part of the disgusting web of corruption, paying bribes to corrupt officials, none of who are paying taxes.

Odd. I've worked, sluiced and browsed in that area for almost 20 years and never seen any criminal activity sourcing out of the market stalls bar the odd bit of counterfeit tat, let alone heard too much of this alleged 'complaining'.

Indeed, I hear quite the opposite. Most Thais I speak to in that area find it 'quaint/amusing' that so many 'dumb tourists' go shopping there paying (way) over the odds for tat.

Seems like all you have some pompous opinion you're trying to state as 'facts' which you can't back up (even that article doesn't help your case too much).

I don't know how transgenderism (if I have the correct term) 'works' if you will.

I could see an exclusive bog for transgender folks being problematic if a transgender person is more 'male' than female and goes for a pooh, as it would reek like a 'bloke crunch' as opposed to a 'female crunch' which, according to my wife, don't honk at all......

I'll put in a shout for a place on the outskirts near the odd numbered exit of Udomsuk BTS.

It is a basic Thai style 'Ahaan Dtahm Sang' place with metal tables outside. I can't for the life of me remember the name but it has no English sign, nor do I recall a Thai sign, the wife doesn't know either but you can't miss it.

We stopped there one Sunday evening before coming back from town as the missis needed the bog. I had a beer and she had some grub which she raved about, a rare thing with grub from a basic place....

From there it was a nice easy hop home in a cab without having to wrestle with the taxi vultures in Lower Suk.

I went back alone a few times as it was a perfect place for a bit of 'people watching' and when the crumpet all came by at hometime (5-7 pm) it was a veritable feast for the eyes.

After 7PM to hop on the BTS to more 'interesting' places was for me, the work of a moment.

The staff are very nice, friendly and not yet suffering from 'Farang Fatigue' (an increasingly rare thing in BKK).

Little English spoken but they make an effort but if you know your basics you'll be fine. The waiting lasses are friendly and the male staff are too, more so, if you help 'mark their cards' on the football pools thing they play.

To find it exit Udomsuk BTS on the odd number side heading towards Soi 101 and it's right there at the foot of the stairs. It's worth a trip out if you want to escape the tourist traps of Lower Suk.

Fair points mate.

Last time we were in the Riviera we were constantly harassed by streams of Africans flogging tourist tat....with varying degrees of aggression. We also met many people who had been victims of petty crime there too.....

It is depressing to hear repeated Murdoch sponsored drivel from 'Brexiters' not only here but in the pubs too. I had a pal's uncle whom I respect greatly prattle off some of the most unsubstantiated anti-EU drivel backing up his arguments that he'd 'read it in the Sun'....

It was the same when Murdoch gerrymandered Major into power by printing all manner of lies in his 'papers'.

The intelligence of the average Brit is worry when confronted by such nonsense in the press.

Thankfully I've just signed up for another 10 year 'stretch' in Thailand which (if I am lucky enough to extend again) should see me through to retirement (God willing), so will be a long way from the fall out.....

Gerry Adams was on TV a few days ago calling for the reunification of Ireland. Now I wonder which way that would go, the Republic into the UK or NI into the Republic and the EU?

He's been calling for it for a while now.....won't happen for another few generations yet. Too many wounds in recent memory which look like they're still being opened.....

I understand that some institutions (Schools, Colleges, Universities, even some Gyms) have had Trans bogs for a while now.....

Pattaya is fine as it is/was. I just wish they'd leave it be.

Sadly Pattaya seems always to be the 'Lab Rat' in the quest of clueless regime after regime, for attracting the mythical 'Quality Tourists' Thailand seems to think it deserves and yearns for, at the expense of all else.

While some of the new malls and recent developments may have indeed boosted the city (though none seem to have set the tourism world on fire), they don't want to go too far and create some inhuman sterile 5*Hotel/Shopping Mall/Condominium bloc of concrete by the sea at the expense of the smaller things which bring back tourists year after year.

They must retain the 'human' side of Pattaya.

That soi 7 and 8 and the much maligned beer bars seem to be just about clinging on is encouraging and shows that there is some resistance to the 'gentrification' of Pattaya.

I can't think of any tourist destination in the World which is truly 'upmarket' outside of St Tropez, and one or two Alpine ski resorts though even these traditional 'high end' places, especially the French Riviera, even Barbados, The Seychelles, Mauritius etc. are now filling up with 'lower budget' options and catering to 'budget minded' tourists'.

I must admit to raising a thoughtful eyebrow when I overheard a distinctly 'of the people' lady in a pub telling her equally 'of the people' Shell-Suit clad pal how she had (F****g booked the family for Barbados as casually as it had been 'Marbella' or 'Benidorm'.

One shudders.....

Only the Thais and their total lack or a grasp on reality seem stuck on this 'Quality Tourist' mindset/illusion.

Step by Step the sterilisation of Bangkok until it morphs into Singapore is becoming reality.....

While I agree with the sentiments given above that the pavements, or lack of, are a pain in the backside, these 'markets' give a lot of colour to Bangkok which we will miss when they are all gone....

No need for the melodrama. The Silom vendors for the most part sold the same goods, block after block. How are counterfeit products, or the bogus viagra and cialis products colourful?n How many stalls selling the same chinese sourced crap does Bangkok need? As has been pointed out several times already, there are hundreds of legit markets all over the city. Those vendors are licensed and pay the taxes that in turn generate the revenue to keep the markets clean and serviced. The vendors on Silom are not paying any local taxes. Instead they freeload off of the businesses who do.

I didn't mention anything about the goods, nor do I give a toss about who pays what to whom, more about the undeniable fact that the Silom markets have become very much a part of the local colour in that area and their loss will be felt in that area, but I suppose, being an upstanding pillar of society you only buy your bogus viagra from a 'fully licensed, tax paying non-criminal' market.

You make some strong claims without a shred of evidence to back them up....sounds more like 'expat' gossip to me.

Selling counterfeit goods is a crime. Selling bogus drugs that cun poison people is a crime. Not paying taxes and not having an appropriate business license is a crime. Acting as a facility to launder drug money is a crime. Providing cover for street criminals is a crime.(In case you didn't know, some of the stall vendors are an integral part of the sophisticated pickpocket and mugging activity that is endemic to that area.)

Again, I'd love some evidence to back up your claims here, without it, it all just reads like more worthless bar stool prattle....

An elderly Jamaican chap who used to drink in one of my locals when I was at Uni in London was once bemoaning how 'young people' rushed everywhere these days. He said: 'In my country we have a saying "If you're late, walk slowly". I think that can be applied across the tropics.

I thought: 'Don't get a taxi parked up near you hotel but flag one down...'' was "Thailand 101?''

I learned that the hangers arond were scammers from a knackered old LP guide book dating from 1990ish....

Step by Step the sterilisation of Bangkok until it morphs into Singapore is becoming reality.....

While I agree with the sentiments given above that the pavements, or lack of, are a pain in the backside, these 'markets' give a lot of colour to Bangkok which we will miss when they are all gone....

Ah you are right. But no kicking and screaming, from (The Yes Junta Farangs) group in TV, until they start cleaning up the street whores and bargirls decreasing the odds of marriage to 1 in a million. NO BARS+NO GIRLFRIENDS+NO WIFES=NO FARANGS.Simple but effective equation.

I agree but don't like to politicise everything that happens in Thailand.

If anything, this sterilisation I speak of began long before the Junta under the Thaksin regime when his lot began to bleat on about 'quality tourists, coming for the temples/culture' and nonsense like that.

Ok...mark KFC off my list of safe places to go...

Still have the condo pool and parking lot as safe zones...

Just pray two drunken louts looking for a scrap don't come to your condo pool or parking lot looking to 'scratch that itch'.....

One more data point. The wee hours are for sleeping.

Bang Phli is a rummy place.

Quite a lot of shift working factories around there and in King Kaew, with plenty more further 'down' the road in Bang Bor/Bang Po (among others). Bang Phli is the transport 'hub' for works transport. Quite a few restaurants/boozers open til 4am (ish) in that area too though a few closed down in the last few years..... .

Even the Ladyboy's Booze and Chicken stall outside Makro just past the footbridge is open till 6am sometimes.

You can walk there but I agree it can be a tedious task.

I used to like weaving through the rabble from the Silom side, sitting at a convenient outside 'rack', having a few beers once seated comfortably then watching the unfolding scene.

The hot, sweaty tourists wandering dazed through the chaos, the braver actually trying to haggle with some of Bangkok's more hardened Costermongers, the even braver trying to return or exchange goods bought on a previous occasion, only to be met with a polite but unmoveable nolle prosequi from a firm, smiling stall holder, sphinx-like resistance to all threats of police, legal action, bad press on Trip Advisor ;

Equally hot, frowning 'locals' fighting their way to their favourite bars or places of work, scowling at the 'pesky tourists'...all made for a colourful scene.

Was a great people watching spot.

Shame....

Step by Step the sterilisation of Bangkok until it morphs into Singapore is becoming reality.....

While I agree with the sentiments given above that the pavements, or lack of, are a pain in the backside, these 'markets' give a lot of colour to Bangkok which we will miss when they are all gone....

Well Thaksin was his idol for a while and he has now completed in Cambodia what Thaksin wanted in Thailand but couldn't see through to the end.

Seems like PM Hun Sen was a better dictator than Thaksin wanted to be. Can he take it all the way to the Cambodian Throne?