alexjw

Ok bkkmadness. I'm going to concede the point here. I can't go any further coz I actually agree with almost everything you said, I just felt like an argument. Don't know why (had a few beers this afternoon - possible explanation), call me an ar*ehole if you want. Later opening hours are better and there is no possible argument to suggest otherwise.

PS I'm not being sarcastic I really mean this.

toptuan. Guessing your an American, so the sarcasm (or irony as you might like to call it) must have passed you by. Everyone was giving the British a hammering (as usual). Just highlighting some other stereotypes for you.

Over the last few years I've read up on Buddhism including some of the books you guys mentioned but is there any good books specific to the Buddhist traditions in Thailand. (Sorry if someone already suggested some I didn't read every single post).

Your forgetting all the greasy Spaniards and Italians. And don't forget the Israeli's, they generally don't seem to know what a shower is and love wearing tiny vests so you get the full flavour of their aroma. Oh and don't forget Americans, they're generally fatter and as such are inclined to sweat more. Is this too racist? Seems it's not a problem on this topic.

Hardly any under-20's in RCA nowadays. You need to be 20 or over to get through the door for every big club and bring ID - no exceptions.

The crowd there nowadays is generally 20's to late 30's.

Not true. My wife's sister and her friends go there all the time. They're 18, all there friends from school are there too. Same like many things in Thailand. It's about who you know.

Congratulations. Good to hear the sucecss stories. Be happy.

Point of fact is if I want to play pool on a decent table I can't play as long as I used to, and that annoys me. If I go Suan Lum for a few nice beers, then at 12:30 its last orders, that annoys me too.

If you can recommend me a place where I can get a nice draught pilsner and place some pool on a decnt table at 3-4 am in the morning then I'll concede my point, but there just isn't is there.

Clearly you like playing pool. I thought the focus was more on the nightlife regarding night clubs rather than pool halls. I was on Silom 2 last Friday night, Tapas and the other place opposite went on til around 1:30 to 2:00. If one hour really bothers you then go out an hour earlier.

The point is, which it seems you are missing entirely, is that later opening hours were better.

And if you read the article properly you might have noticed the bit about lack of foreign investment in clubs and bars out here because of these regulations, and that's one way to restrict the growth of better bars, clubs and music scene in this city.

Agreed later opening hours are better. You can't change them though and those no point harping on about the good old days. Times change, learn to have fun under the new circumstances. You believe everything you read fo you. Lsck of foreign investment has little to do with I feel. Would you invest in Bangkok? It's simple Hong Kong and Singapore, for example, are more westernised and more lucrative markets and as such are a far better target for a westernised nightlife and music scene which is effectively what you are talking about. Have you noticed that it is often the under-20 Thai's who are most keen on this type of music (house, drum & bass etc.), i.e. the RCA crew. In fact I was reading an article recently which is predicting a boom in Bangkok's nightlife over the next few years due to the interest shown in these forms of nightlife and music by the younger generation.

How about this. A friend of mine was in hospital after he managed to fall out of a second story window (still unexplained). He was really down as he'd only been in Thailand a couple of days and wanted me to smuggle some beer into the hospital. So I went down to trusty 7/11. Anyway carrying the beers back and smoking a cigarette. Flicked the top of the cigarette and held onto it as I could see a policeman across the road and was already aware of the fines. He still came running after me even though I had the butt in my hand. As he approached me the bag broke and one bottle smashed on the floor. First he tried to do me for the cigarette, obviously felt he lost face when I showed him I was still holding the butt and then tried to fine me for the broken bottle. Ended up giving him 200 baht so he'd leave me alone but couldn't velieve the cheek as he'd seen it was an accident and I even offered to clear it up. Daughter's birthday must've been coming up...

Still talking about this? Why are so many farangs so dirty? Because they don't shower. End of...

QUOTE(jef @ 2006-03-02 06:33:35)

Bangkok a dead town at night??? Are you joking????

Well compared to how it used to be, it certainly is.

Seems like a lot of people are crying about the good old days. You sound like my granddad. Maybe you just don't like the noisy sounds coming from those big black boxes. All the clubs in Bangkok are crap and full of yuppie wannabe ar*eholes anyway. You can always have a good night out in Bangkok like any other city unless your one of these types who just goes to the most expensive clubs and stands at the bar trying to look cool.

Have to agree, the Robin Hood is sh*t. Expensive food which is crap, some really weird looking guy who calls himself 'something-or-other' the one man band providing the 'entertainment'. And the one of the managers is a complete ar*ehole. End of month drinks there with my colleagues and apparently on a Friday night you can't make any sound above a whisper. One and only time I went there.

Very sad. You always wonder, no matter how careful you are the traffic in Bangkok is always a threat.

Bit crap I thought but good fun. Unfortunately it does end there with the terrible last line something like 'hey you know that game against FOOOOLHAAAM (strange American pronunciation), my dad saw it'. Too cheesy for me I almost had to throw up.

Hi,

Unfortunately I'm moving back to the UK for a while. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on what is the best method of sending all my stuff back. It's not a huge amount, mostly just a guitar and mine and my wife's clothes. Also I don't care how long it takes. I'd like a cheap and reliable option. Is it best just to use a company like DHL or UPS?

Cheers .

I'm heading there with my wife in a few days, to go to Hong Kong and China as well. I think if you're American you don't need a visa but Thai's do, but you just pay for it when you get there. Also you need to show evidence of your next destination (i.e. return ticket) and evidence that you have enough funds to support you doing your trip. Basically no problems. Anyway I'll let you know if they turn me away .

I'm heading to the UK soon with my wife so we've been reading this topic. When she saw that someone else had taken 20 kg of rice she looked delighted and said to me, 'can I really bring rice to England?'. Then we were watching a film set in Tibet right up in the Himalayas where some guy dies of hypothermia, now she's convinced that she's going to 'die of cold' as she puts it. I think she'll be fine, she pretty much has the same concerns as me, it's going to be cold and wet and full of grumpy b***ards!

I might be wrong but for the usual items in touristy areas it seems that they have a set price which is near impossible to get below. If you tell them (in thai) you know the price they usually smile and give it to you for that price. Or am I just getting ripped off all the time. Having said that they seem to go way higher when they see a blatant tourist. On Sukhumvit I saw an American guy pay 3000 baht for a pair of jeans.

I saw him the other night. After reading this post I tried speaking to him to try and get the true story. Of course he told me he needed money for his ticket home etc. etc. etc. He seemed pleasant enough and did not seem in any way mentally disturbed. So I went along with his story and tried to discuss some alternatives with him, going to his embassy, family, getting some part-time work as a teacher etc. He did not like this and then he started judging me 'ignorant and cruel' were the words he used. Then he told me to 'f*** off'. I can assure you I wasn't taking the piss out of him I was just trying to have a normal conversation, he had no reason to abuse me. Seems I was a little to close to the truth for his liking. As such I now have no problem condemning him for the pathetic and fairly amatuer con-man that he is. I was especially annoyed because when I approached him he was busy stuffing what looked like around 1000 to 2000 baht in 100's and 20's into his pocket. The shame of it, where's his dignity, some people stoop so low.

Yeah, UK not so safe. I was a stdent in Birmingham a couple of years ago. The guys on the estate near my house didn't really like students, but they did enjoy mugging and beating us on numerous occaisions. In fact a couple of Japanese guys who lived a few doors down were beaten badly. One was killed the other left with brain damage. Not saying Thailand is safer, just that these things happen everywhere. Bit over the top declaring Thailand dangerous.

Fully agree with OZONE. there is no possible excuse. I'll be heading to Asoke BTS in half an hour or so. If he's thee I'll try and get an exclusive interview for thaivisa! Maybe I'll ask him for 20 baht if I don't have enough money for my train ticket!

I've had the misfortune of seeing his annoying face, sarcastically offered him 1 baht but it wasn't good enough for him and he turned it down asking for 100 instead. The cheek. I'd have sympathy if he wasn't so full of s***. If he really wanted the cash he could go and teach English for a couple of weeks.

Yes, to get an extension of stay I have to have a 60 day tourist visa. I had this when I first came to Thailand. But I work, I have no time as of yet to get to Penang or Vientiane (although I plan to soon). For the 1 million visa I was talking about getting a year visa because I'm married to a Thai, which you do need. I don't want to overstay, i want to stay here leagally with the proper visa.

Why are some people so self-righteous regarding overstay, saying overstayers get what they deserve and it's illegal. Speeding is illegal but I bet all these high and mighty types have done that before. For me overstay has been unavoidable on certain occasions. I was working for a multinational company in Bangkok who are genuinly doing everything they can to get me a work permit, but couldn't do so due to the number of foreigners that they employed. I am also married to a Thai. I'd get year visa if I had a spare 1 million baht to slap in a Thai bank account (I'm only 23 I haven't had time to save any money yet!). If it was easier to get the correct visa, two of which i was actually entitled to. Does this mean that I am scum that has washed up on these shores as someone suggested. I think not. I don't spend all my time drooling over girls in Patpong, I simply stay in the country a couple of days longer than I should and I pay the fine when requested, usually accompanied with a friendly chat with the immigration guy who doesn't give a s**t. Anyway maybe I've gone a little over the top here, all I meant to say was some people don't overstay on purpose to break the law and spit in the Thai governments face, it's just due to circumstance. I'd happily apply and pay for a visa if it were possible. Rant over. Point made... I think .

Hi, my name is Alex (as you probably worked out from my nickname). Been here for around 2 years but only just discovered this site as I needed advice on applying for a UK settlement visa. Excellent advice, got the visa no problem and discovered that there is loads of great stuff on this site. Unfortuntely my wife and I are heading back to the UK . Don't want to but we're still both pretty young so we thought we'd go work hard for a couple of years so we can move back here and set up a business (or just buy a house on the beach or up north). Anyway it'll be good to keep in touch with events over here through thaivisa.com. I'll be back!!!

Cheers

Why is everyone so grateful that the Embassy allows their other halfs to come to the UK??

silomfan, i'm not at all greatful to the embassy. In fact i admit i have a bit of an attitude problem when it comes to people who are supposedly in authority (especially pen pushers) and always negatively assume they are out to get me. I too feel that it should be less stressful and that the embassy should be less judgemental. At the same time though i understand that to some extent they have to try and weed out the false claims. I think the real shame is that it's that the normal guys like us who get stuck in the middle. Surely there must be a better way. Although i've seen that sign posted outside the embassy (dated June 2005) saying that they're trying to outsource to cut some of the load from the visa section and this should be done by the end of 2005. clearly this still hasn't been done. it doesn't really give you much hope! It's the fat cats upstairs, using the pen pushers and red tape to walk all over the little man!!!