familyman

My baby is 6 months old and my friend's child is 20 months. Does anyone know of any swimming lessons in Pattaya for children this young?

Thanks

I don't read thai and neither does my wife. Any ideas on where to get a cot or a website in English please?

Thanks

My wife has been using Clinique products for years and doesn't want to change if she can avoid it. Where can she get hold of them in Pattaya (or if not, Bangkok)?

And, from my point of view, how much can we expect to pay for the moisturiser, eye cream, foundation, etc. that I'm sure she'd look great without?

I'm new in Pattaya and would appreciate suggestions on where to buy a decent cot. I've looked in the supermarkets and so far have only seen flimsy-looking travel cots.

Also, I would like to get washable swimming nappies and a sit-in swimming float for our baby. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

thanks for the honest replies...

first off..o forgot to mention i would prefer direct flights to bangkok....

do emirates fly direct? would be willing to give them a go...have flown with BA and Qantas in the past without children and wasn't really impressed, bit of a cold attitude really...

thai love kids but as some say have no wit or commonsense when it comes to the childs safety...

although saying that have always wanted to visit dubai...emirates stop there?

I flew last week Manchester - Dubai, Dubai-Bangkok with Emirates. It was great! Our baby is 6 months old, we flew through the night on the first flight and she slept most of the way. The staff were brilliant and did anything they could to help us out. Don't bother taking baby wipes or jars of food on the plane as they will give you this when you get on.

I'll be new to Pattaya in September and want to join a local team. I don't mind if it's 11 / 7 a-side, indoor or outdoor.

Any ideas?

Also, which pubs show the Premiership? Is it expensive to get at home on cable / satellite?

Thanks for all the info everyone.

To answer a few questions, I seem to have a decent relocation package and accomodation, utilities, etc. are provided for us (so we won't be choosing where we live at first). We also have a small shipping allowance but I don't think we're going to bother using it because most things we've read say import taxes can be a killer. We thought about shipping our car over but read that you can be charged up to twice its value in taxes so we'll have to get one when we arrive. What is public transport like?

No hard feelings Kerryd It was just the "what kind of man..." that got me.

To clear up the mystery, we are leaving Spain because wages and working conditions are crap. We are trying Thailand because we wanted to try life outside of Europe, and we found me a job that means we can afford to keep our house here and my wife won't have to work.

My wife has family in Bangkok and they said that Pattaya has quite a reputation but that shouldn't put us off because it has a lot to offer families too. I wanted to know about the family side, which is why I wrote "non seedy" and was unaware of the whole Pattaya Bashers / Trolls thing. I am definitely niether, but I am a Spain basher at the moment if that's okay.

Well said.....unfortunately any queries about Pattaya and "seediness" will result in some rather cagey responses. There are the "Pattaya Bashers" and the "Pattaya Defence League" both will have their say in this posting as they always do....

Basically Pattaya is a large rampant holiday town which is over developed and under -infrastructured.

It has lots of useful shops and facilities, plenty to do, lots of scenery within a days drive, the cost of living is cheap the climate great, hardly ever over mid-thirties, and hardly ever below the high twenties (Celsius). It also has a huge sex industry catering to foreigners.

Many people live in small walled developments with swimming pools and security guards, but crime is no worse than any similar town in Europe or US. If Pattaya is not to your taste there are plenty alternatives along the coast. I suppose that would depend on the nature of you and your families work/education needs

Thanks Wilko.

My needs include football - 5/11 a-side, indoor/outdoor - not bothered as long as I can play! Is it easy to find a team?

Just out of curiosity. You are moving from Spain to Pattaya, why ? You obviously know little, if anything about the place. Have you ever been here before ?

Just wondering why a man would move his family halfway around the world to a place he knows nothing about.

The majority of places in Pattaya are "non-seedy", unless you confine yourselves to Walking Street, Beach Road and various beer bars. Even in those areas, there are plenty of "nice" establishments. Get used to it.

How ever, if you are looking for places where you won't see other foreigners, or you object to seeing foreigners with Thai girls (friends/dates/wives/what ever), then you are in the wrong place.

Are you always this judgemental?

I am not the sole decision maker at home. Did you consider that my wife might want to move too? Is it your business why we are leaving Spain? Do we need your permission? Do we have to limit ourselves to one country for the rest of our lives?

I was simply asking for suggestions for some places to go from people who live there already. We had already been warned by my new employer that Pattaya had a reputation for being "seedy" in certain areas. Why do you suggest that by "seedy" I meant foreigners, or foreigners with Thai girls? I think you have your own issues there.

Cheers Samran.

I am moving to Pattaya next month with my wife and baby.

Can anyone recommend (non seedy!) places to go, where to eat / shop, etc.

Thanks

We are moving to Thailand with our baby daughter (4 months old) and wonder generally what attitudes are in Thailand towards babies and families.

We are in Spain at the moment which is very family-orientated in terms of babies being welcome in restaurants, etc. On the other-hand there is nothing here in terms of mother-and-baby groups or health visitors, so my wife has been quite lonely on maternity leave.

What can we expect?