JensenZ

I don't think this type of behaviour is British behaviour. I'm Australian, and wouldn't like to host Australian friends who spend most of their vacations in Thailand getting wasted. It's actually the specific reason why I hated Bali. Too many drunk Australians in one place is bad news.

I have a very good waterproof poncho that will keep the water out, but it's replaced with body sweat, which is actually worse. We're in the hottest month of the year - shade temperatures are reaching 34C.

So you're a hater of haters of haters of haters. LOL. Dude, Songkran threads have always been the hottest threads on this forum. Just leave all the haters alone and enjoy the ride... or go away.

I agree - it would be a lot of fun to watch him going around smashing water guns.

What do you do when someone sprays water at high pressure and close proximity to your face? I've grabbed a few water guns in my time. Who's looking for a fight? The sprayer or sprayee? You've got it the wrong way around buddy. Grabbing a water gun that's in your face is not "looking for a fight". Throwing buckets of ice water on passing motorcycles or spraying water at high pressure at a person's head is not Songkran fun and should not be tolerated.

In Pattaya I saw a lot of motorcyclists wearning masks and no helmet. It was actually quite funny to see a family of 3 or 4 on a motorcycle, all wearning masks and no helmet. It seems that the police in Pattaya are more concerned about the safety of foriegners in that they tend to target them in the tourist areas. An awful lot of Thai people don't wear them and just ride on past the police with no helmet. Maybe the police feel sorry for issuing their Thai countrymen with such large fines and just let them be. I thought the fine was 1000 baht. When did they raise it to 2000 baht?

Relating to Pattaya Foodland stores: Upper Pattaya Klang and Terminal 21. The stores are still nice places to shop and you can find good bargains. Their fruit and vegetables are top quality, but VERY expensive. Took Lae Dee used to be a decent, inexpensive place to eat, but now the prices are ridiculous, for very small serves.

A waste of time talking to people like you about Songkran. I don't care about families having fun - at the discomfort and annoyance of others. They can have fun dumping buckets of ice water on each other and people like you who enjoy it. Believe it or not, I have been out enjoying Songkran on Songkran day - which is an entirely different matter. I don't need to leave the country. I have endured Songkran "fun" since 2005, so staying out of it is not too much inconvenience. I was relating a story that happened in my early years here. btw, a lot of young Thai families are not so happy about Songkran:

"otherwise, don't pass through". How would you expect an Australian returning home to get home without passing through? I suppose he could try to smuggle some fruit back by sea, but the coastline is quite well guarded these days.

You think? My point is that is it not always possible to predict how I might feel after a water assault, so for me at least, I stay out of it. My assault after the water assault could land me in trouble. I'm not going into an area to play - that's different. I'm trying to undertake normal daily tasks without getting wet. Who likes to turn up at a shopping mall totally soaked? Who appreciates getting their groceries wet? Songkran is fine for people hiding in cars. It's the bane of motorcyclists and people on foot (or riding in Songthaew). We're talking about at least a week in Pattaya, not one day of fun.

Try going out after 1am, choosing some back streets to avoid water to do shopping, and on the way home, get soaked (and my shopping) with a bucket of ice water. Getting wet wasn't the biggest problem. It was my reaction to the attack after I specifically asked not to be targetted. I got off my motorcycle, grabbed the Thais head and dunked it in his tank of ice water... He wasn't happy and came out swinging LOL. I try to stay home to avoid these incidents. Being hit by a bucket of ice water when you're travelling at maybe 30 - 40km/h feels like assault and brings out reflex reactions on my part. It is never enjoyable and it is not intended to be - hence the ice water to create more shock. It's a time when a lot of low life Thai people get to attack a foreigner without recource.

Actually, I eat a lot of Subways, so would have preferred to have gotten a fine like Jessica Lee and received a gift box from Subway, including a $2664 voucher to spend at Subway. She did well. https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/travel-stories/shock-twist-after-womans-2664-subway-fine-at-airport/news-story/7b459b45e8e0a041d6cebd5fdff572db "To her surprise, Subway sent her a voucher for $2664 worth of food following the fine." By contrast, in inflation adjusted AUD from 1998, my 2 bananas cost me about $500 in 2023 money and I had no offer of free bananas to cover my expenses.

Oh goodness. The virtuous members never quit. I expected a fine - I got a fine. It was the drama they caused over 2 rotten bananas that made the story a bit more interesting. Had I just received a fine, I would not have written about the event. It has nothing to do with excuses or ignorance - I just plain forgot.

My overripe banana story has attracted too much attention from virtuous members with great memories who never make mistakes, and then proceed to lecture me about Australian regulations, that I am well aware of. You obviously didn't read my post. Had you read it, you would have understood that I forgot about the bananas after a very long flight. I'm quite aware of the law and the discard bin as I've flown into Australia many times over the years. This was the first time I had forgotten my packed food. This has nothing to do with common sense.

So according to your good reading skills, you discovered this is what "usually happens". Perhaps you could explain the reason for this warning about a fine/jail time if they "usually" just confiscate the items. Is it just to scare people, or only for the unusual occassions?

It is comparible as a lot of people pack food in their carry-ons to eat on board, and on long flights, forget about the items... potentially getting a year in jail according to the new regulations in Thailand. On shorter budget flights, the airplane food is terrible. I've carried my own lunch on many flights over my many years of flying around the globe. I forgot to eat my carry-on fruit one time --- sorry!

Your answer is absurd. Had I remebered the 2 bananas (that I packed in my backpack in Atlanta to eat on board) by the time I got to Brisbane airport about a day later, I would have thrown them out on the plane. LOL. Second option would be to throw them in the discard bin before going through customs. You think I should have declared the 2 rotten bananas so I could eat them later or make a banana smoothy? That the dumbest suggestion I've ever heard - declaring rotten bananas on the arrival card.

Yet most people feel that threatening tourists with a huge fine and imprisonment over a piece of fruit is too much. This is not just an "excuse to bitch", but an actual good reason to bitch LOL

I'm not importing anything. Sniffer dogs have no problem detecting forgotten lunch and rotten fruit, which is something a lot of people inadvertantly do.

Everyone must have felt really safe, having police checking all IDs and doing body searches. It would be really dangerous if customers were underage or patrons were trying to sexually harrass others. Next time I go to a night venue in Pattaya, I really hope the police conduct a raid so I can feel safe.

This was back in 1998. I'm sure they have changed their policy a bit after my incident. Brisbane had always been a difficult airport with attitude... much worse than Sydney or Melbourne. They have fewer incoming international flights, so more time to hassle people. When did your incident occur, and where?

You might have read my post first - I was fined. I wasn't complaining about the fine, but the enept way they handled it and the way they made a huge deal about it... just as they are in Thailand.

This is a worn out old cliché. If you're 20, 30 or more years older than the girl you're taking out of the bar, you're serving only one purpose and the bar is the least of your worries.

This is absurd. Police searches inside nightclubs does the opposite of making people feel safe.

You must be living on a different planet. Here in Pattaya, the last several months the air quality has been very bad and outside air stinks.... and there hasn't been a lot of breeze on most days, and when there has been a wind, it's hot wind, over 30C. I keep the doors and windows shut in the day and open them only at night.