JensenZ

That's correct. Anutin has made it quite clear on numerous occasions that foreigners are dirty.

Anutin is not suffering and will continue to receive his salary. It's the hotel owners who are reaping what Anutin sows - losing a lot of business.

That's the problem. They all have keys, so they can opened when the batteries run flat. Someone has that key.

The only difference is how much "bling" you need to get the attention you want. It's just a lot cheaper in Thailand.

So after you got married, did you pay the other woman to accompany you to the beach?

What would you expat an old expat (most are at least at retirement age) to get? I think most expats are aware of the situation well before they arrive in Thailand. There seems to be a lot of dreamers on this forum that think they are in a real relationship with someone that loves them. Sure, your partner is different. A contractual relationship is not a bad thing at all. It's an improvement on being deluded that your relationship with a Thai woman is genuine... and in most cases it can be cheaper. Contracts can be easily disolved and that's freedom. You pay for freedom.

Anyone can say anything they like on here as there is no burdon of proof, but I'm calling bs on your story that yours is different and that SHE supports you. You invited someone to call you out, so here you go. Enjoy!

I'll start the ball rolling. I don't believe you - none of it.

Winter? There are plenty of mosquitos in Thailand all year round. They reduce during dry periods, but it's not related to summer or winter, which we don't have in Thailand. It would be impossible to have so few bites. 5 bites between 4 people in a year? They can bite me all night long and I won't feel them or have any evidence of bites. Some people react more to bites than others, but I'll put money down you're getting hundreds of bites per year, if not per month or week.

China has 1.304 billion people vaccinated from a population of 1.448 billion. That's 90% https://ycharts.com/indicators/china_coronavirus_full_vaccination_rate

Just finished watching it from my balcony. It was the longest NYE display I've seen here - 15 minutes vs the usual 10 minutes.

Nonsense! I seem to remember Thailand locking down the whole country, for 2 years, destroying too many businesses to count and wrecking the economy. They were most concerned about the lives of Thais. You don't see most Thais are still wearing masks. Yes, this is a big problem with Chinese tourists, but don't bash Thailand just for the sake of it. For example, Thailand has 1/7th the covid death rate of the US.

I never woke up with the desire to hurt or kill anyone. You're talking about an extremely small percentage of human beings. Apart from some "bad eggs", we get on quite well. I was bragging to a friend in New Zealand about how mass killings are rare in Thailand, remembering the Christchurch massace back in 2019 - that was a few days before this tragedy. It is so horrific it's hard to discuss it.

Having gone into central Pattaya on NYE many times in the past, I would not recommend it. Putting up with the crowds and traffic is not a great way to start the year. I didn't know they had cancelled the fire works on the hill, but either way, it's a lousy night to go there.

I should apologize too for calling it a disco. I should have used the term "nightclub" as that is what they were called in my young stupid years when I used to go to them, in the 1980's. I suppose "disco" is very 1970s. "Club" on its own is too general. The "clubs" in Walking Street would more aptly be named "torture chambers", so high are the decibels. You'll hurt your ears even when wearing earplugs.

I don't think 2 hours will make much difference to road accidents and workplace accidents. Keeping drunk drivers off the road is really a policing issue.

The question should be what % of tourists who party want to party past 2am? Pattaya is a party town, not really a family destination (yet), so 4 am makes sense. Consideration should be given to noise disturbance of residents in the surrounding areas, so that not all places should have the same closing hours. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that the legal closure time of Pattaya bars has always been 2am, yet some places such as discos in Walking Street didn't close until 6 am and most other places closed at 4 am. Most people can still make it home before sunrise LOL.

It's fast. Pay the fee, come back the next day for your extension. It's not even necessary to queue up. If that is not "expidited" I don't know what is. It's not a euphemism - it's a fact. Expidite: "make (an action or process) happen sooner or be accomplished more quickly.

You're wrong. The End.

No, I understand his point. You don't understand (also) what a bribe is. No one is bribing immigration officials. The service is sanctioned by immigration officials. They ask for a payment for their service. Inside the immigration office the fee is fixed and paid directly to one of the higher tier officers. (By the way, this is the only time I see immigration officers smile). Agents will usually charge more. People who pay it are paying for aservice which is openly advertised. If there is anyone doing anything illegal here, it's the people offering the service. You're not going into the immigration office with a fist full of baht, asking if an officer will please extend your visa. That's what bribery is. People who use that word in these forums are trying to make it seem worse that it is. It's innocuous and will only be stopped when the department decides to end it. I suspect that if "Big Joke" tries to end this, he will be met with a lot of high level oppositon. He could end up with more bullets in his car.

I know a number of people that probably have a lot more money than Smedley who use the expedited visa extension service as they couldn't be bothered with jumping through hoops every year. Perhaps Smedley is looking for a job as an undercover agent to help "Big Joke" clean up the Immigration department. He wants most of the people he knows that use the service to be expelled from Thailand. Perhaps he should change his name to "Snobley".????

You don't seem to understand what a bribe is. Bribes are not paid. You're not bribing someone when they are requesting a fee for a well-established service that is available.

Spot on. I'm a night owl myself and drink coffee in the early morning hours before bed. We all have our own schedules. It's a good thing Jack didn't spot me drinking coffee at 2 am - he might have freaked out LOL. I do online trading till about 5 am, so that's a good time for coffee, but poor Jack thinks that everyone wakes up at 6 am and goes to bed at 10 pm. You can drink beer any time of the day or night. Those old guys he spotted along the beach are cool. Young guys waking up at 6 am and going for early morning jogs - now that's weird in Pattaya. You can do that sh*t back at home.,

Bars are open at 8 am? Restaurants, yes, but not bars.... and you somehow managed to spot one old guy drinking a beer at every bar? Jack, let's face it, you're a busybody and virtue-signaling to an unhealthy degree. It seems like you're the one with the problem, not the old guys having a beer.

The OP is Australian and lived in Surfers Paradise for 20 years, right on the beachfront. He's also lived in Pattaya for 16 years. If you think short-time visitors and tourists don't buy milk, you are ignorant of the facts. Which exciting place do you currently reside in? Now you're desperately collaborating with your other Aussie mate, who started the whole "your life must be boring" topic.