JensenZ

There's absolutely no purpose of a "year-on-year growth" statistic as the world is slowly recovering from a long covid-related tourism winter. I'd like to see year-on-year2019 statistics to get an idea of the real pre-covid numbers.

I never criticise any cuisine in any country. Obviously all local food is enjoyed by local people in any country. The problem is when some people develop what they consider is a "sophisticated palete", who think they have the final word on what is good or bad. These people can sod off. I don't need anyone telling me if I should enjoy a particular food or not. Food critics, art critics, movie citics, music critics - all telling us what is good and bad when all people already know what they like and don't like. These "sophisticated" people are insufferable snobs. If YOU like something, it's good. If YOU don't like something, it's bad - quite simple.

I did mention that he might be living in the wrong place. I'm sure the OP is interested in visiting places where foreign tourists go, and not wearing a mask will be quite ok, and his chidlren will see most other tourists are mask free.

You're probably a bit paranoid, thinking you get an evil eye for not wearing a mask, or you're in the wrong part of Thailand. I've been maskless since July 1 in Pattaya. I was at the immigration office on Thursday - it was packed. Only the Thai staff and a few foreigners who worry too much were wearing face masks. In this neck of the woods there's no problems to go about your business maskless. In general, Thais wear masks, foreigners don't. There are no evil eyes. The Thai people are protecting themselves from us and protecting us from them. It's win-win.

I should ask you, why not? Where do you suggest he should live? With a bit of money tucked away, you can have a great life in Pattaya and the money will go a lot further than in your home country. Each to their own. Maybe his girlfriend is actually the Tiktok star and he supports her career.

Yes, that's what they are doing, on 31st January.

I'm not complaining about it. I'm just stating what happens as a result of their focusing on it. I'm complaining about people that start bashing entire populations based on a report of one person engaged in aberrant behaviour. For sure, there's plenty of Thai-bashing on this forum, but because we are in Thailand, they don't need the help of news reports to start the ball rolling.

It's actually your sanctimonious attitude towards an entire nationality that I find unpleasant. The actual nationality that you're bashinig is irrelevant. In this case you're bashing 143 million people.

True, but it's way you toot. They have a toot-code you have to learn. The long, abusive toot is not a good one to use and often met with rebuke. You can speak with a horn.

In this case the reporter seemed intent on tarnishing Russians only, so if you're not Russian, rest easy. I think Thais are more mature and tollerant, and take each person on their individual merits.

However, what is considered rude to one nationality is not considered rude to another. Some nationalities feel uncomfortable when strangers are being too friendly and would consider that rude. For example, I observe that Americans hug strangers or just acquaintances a lot. A lot of nationalities would not appreciate being hugged by strangers and consider it to be abnormal behaviour. I would not appreciate it either. Everyone is different. Many people like to keep to themselves and not engage with strangers in public. Other people might consider this unfriendly and rude. You sit at your keyboard judging other nationalities from your own biased point of view, as if you're the judge and jury on what is considered good and bad behaviour. Pattaya has a huge mix of expats and tourists from all over the world, which will cause a lot of confusion when it comes to behavioural patterns. You can't expect people to behave the way they do in your home country. The Russian in the 7Eleven was just another case of a drunk going bananas. They make a big deal about him being Russian, but to me he's just another drunk with a personality disorder. I've witnessed much worse in Australia, as I used to work in nightclubs, and I'm sure most expats from other countries have also seen some pretty crazy behaviour in their home countries.

A lot of the young Russians have come to Thailand to escape the draft and a high chance of dying in a pointless "special military operation". Of all people in the world, they don't have much to smile about. They are basically refugees, not tourists. When Putin announced a call-up for military service at the end of September, the Russian population in Pattaya exploded.

You'd use any excuse to bash Pattaya. You're waiting for excuses as many on this forum do. One crazy person doing crazy things has nothing to do with Thailand, Pattaya or tourists in general. Some people snap when they get drunk. This can happen anywhere that alcohol is served, in any country or city. I take it it provided quite a bit of entertainment for rubber-neckers in Walking Street, and gave the police something exciting to do. I wonder how serious the injuries of the cashier and bike taxi guy were. Probably nothing more than scratches hyped up for the news report.

We were practically neighbours back in 2006. I'm still in the Pratumnak area. The surprising thing is how many massage places and beer bars have sprung up in Soi 4, 5, and 6. Even some go-go bars. The lower part of Soi 5 is rapidly transforming into another bar district.

It's not that foreigners can't pronounce the place names correctly, but it depends on who they are speaking to and in what language. If you speak in a British or American accent, and you're speaking English, you'll pronounce the words in that accent. If you're speaking Thai to Thai people, you'll try to pronounce the words closer to the correct Thai pronunciation. A good example to illustrate this concept is the word "Paris". Few English speakers will pronounce it "Pari". You'd normally only pronounce it "Pari" if you were speaking French. Specifically, "Pattaya" pronounced the correct Thai way does not roll off the tongue well if speaking English. In fact, in an English sentence, it sounds quite strange. If you live in Pattaya, you can pronounce it any way you like and everyone will understand. If you were in another area, speaking to Thai people, you have to make an effort to get it right. A lot of people here get OCD about pronunciation. As long as whoever you're speaking to can understand you, you've achieved your goal.

The assessment was PROBABLY over 50%, which quite clearly indicates it's open to debate. A precise number was never given, nor intended. What number would you pull out of the top of your head? My reasoning for "probably over 50%" was that the woman was never in danger of harm and as the driver of a potentially dangerous vehicle, bares more responsibility. I'm not a a lawyer. The exact numbers would need to be argued in court by people who were there and were aware of all the factors involved in the accident.

What are you talking about? I didn't ask her to leave. I made a suggestion that maybe she should wear a mask. It's quite possible she might have taken the hint and used a mask on her next shopping spree. If a bunch of people were coughing and sneezing near me in a restaurant, I'd move tables if possible, or leave. Come to think of it, my wife and I picked up a dose of covid last August - and the suspect was a man at the table behind us... so yeah, definitely I would leave if that happened tomorrow, and quickly. My wife suffered for 2 months, so for sure she would not hesitate.

Not wearing a mask does not mean you're an anti-masker. I haven't been wearing masks since July 1, when the mandate was dropped. I'm very happy that everyone else is still wearing them - no complaints at all. I couldn't call myself an anti-masker, because if I was sick, I would most definitely wear one, or if I was coughing or sneezing.

I don't wear a mask, but there have been some incidents where I wish I had. I was in a 7Eleven the other night and an Indian lady was coughing up and down the isles. It was so bad I said to her if you're going to cough like that, you should wear a mask.

It's obvious in the video, which stops short just before impact, that he went under between the wheels. It was probably head injuries caused by the undercarriage that killed

Accidents don't have to be one or the other party's full responsibility. In this case, they had a shared responsibility. She is not 100% to blame here, but probably over 50%. It looks like the painter was in her blind spot covered by her left window pillar.

In Thailand, people in rescue trucks (not ambulances) pick the road accident victims up and put them on the tray. There's no triage whatsoever. Maybe they take more care when the injured is a foreigner.

An average apartment storey is 14 feet, so that's an average of 4 floors. It's survivable, but cutting it close. The recommended minimum height for suicide jumping is 21 meters (there are how-to-do manuals on various methods, especially in Japan). She was only 9 feet short of that.

I remember that process. They put a stop to it in about 2006.

Testing only Chinese tourists seems like a perfectly good idea. No one can suggest it's discrimination due to the data coming out of China. Tests are more useful than vaccines as vaxxed people can still catch it and spread it. There's too many variants to keep track of.