thecyclist

There are almost as many Indian restaurants as Thai restaurants in Pattaya. What most of them lack is customers, more staff than patrons even at peak times. How fresh can the food be with hardly any  turnover. 

I tried a few of them recently, and only one was halfway decent. 

Ordered a masala dosa at the Madras cafe, thought for 180 Baht you would at least get a big portion, but, while it tasted OK, the portion was ridiculously small. 

Tried two others, Chicken masala 250 Baht with 3 or 4 small pieces of chicken. Clearly, most of them are not value for money. 

Any recommendations? 

11 hours ago, impulse said:

Bad news.  There are studies out already showing that millions starve every year because the collective West can't afford to prop up the entire 3rd world. 

 

That's the way the world is, and the way it will always be.  Long before the Bad Orange Man.  And it'll be that way long after they plant daisies over him.

 

In the meantime, look beyond CNN and MSDNC to see the lunacy that USAID has been funding around the world.  It needs to be reformed.  Bigly.

 

Pathetic reply. Everything can always be reformed and made better, except for your brain. Have you considered a brain transplant. 

On 7/1/2025 at 1:29 AM, GanDoonToonPet said:

I agree with above that it's not a good time for your plan.

 

You'll be OK for the first 1-2 months but returning is a major problem now. Firstly, the Cambodian borders are closed so there's no quick, easy land border runs available.

 

Secondly, if you fly back in you'll have a high risk of being denied entry. This is because corrupt officials at the airports benefit from a 'safe entry' scam, which costs ฿5000+, so gives them all the reasons they need to deny you entry.

 

I spent 6 months here last year, as a tourist on VE, followed by 6 months back in the UK. Upon return, I was grilled at immigration about how long I was staying, what I was doing here (doh!) and told 'you can't keep doing this'.

 

If you want my advice, enjoy your short stay in Thailand and never come back.  

Maybe you just got the wrong IO. 

I have been shuttling back and forth, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam for 3 years now .Usually, Vietnam for 3 months, fly to Thailand for a stay of 1 to 3 months, a couple of weeks Cambodia, back to Vietnam. Never been asked a single question by IOs at DM or Suvarnabhumi. 

That's a Vietnamese thing, they usually take your blood pressure before Novacain injection. 

Has never happened to me in Thailand, and I have been to lots of dentists, both in Thailand and Vietnam. 

14 hours ago, blaze master said:

Why does something like this never happen to me. 

Because you are not a taxi driver, I suppose. 

14 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

 

Yeah, terrible. Just the worst. That's why Da Nang, Nha Trang, and Phu Quoc keep getting international tourism awards while Pattaya clings to its 1980s glory days.

 

Let me guess — never been outside of Pattaya but decided you’re a regional infrastructure expert after watching a YouTube vlog from 2015?

 

 

Danang is awesome. Nha Trang would be great too, if it didn't have the largest concentration of Russians outside of Putinland. 

Phu Quoc is nice , been there several times, but wouldn't go there for the beaches, Koh Chang beaches are much more beautiful .Also the Vietnamese are world class litterers, they outlitter the Thais any time :

On 6/16/2025 at 8:48 AM, Cameroni said:

 

I thought they were rude, aggressive, cold and unhelpful?

You got both, the rude ones and the friendly ones. 

On 6/17/2025 at 11:49 AM, ThreeCardMonte said:

Another negative for those considering retirement there.

 

After the Philippines.

Not really. The far south of Vietnam hardly ever gets hit by typhoons. 

On 6/8/2025 at 2:59 PM, Nicco said:

 

I disagree. The camping gear is not good quality. I'm unimpressed with the bags as well.

Same for the bicycle tires. Looked good, but lasted only a few months. 

8 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Well yes, you answered your own question. The new place is quite big and offers a good selection. Not cheap, but worth a visit.

I hope " not cheap" doesn't mean more expensive than the old Lotus branch. 

What happened to the Decathlon store at Lotus north Pattaya? 

Went up the escalator for my twice a year sports shopping to find empty space where the Decathlon store used to be. 

I know there is a new one out on Sukhumvit .Did they relocate? 

On 6/1/2025 at 1:43 PM, BritManToo said:

Because when out cycling you carry as little as possible.

Mobile phone is needed for mapping, so might as well use it as your wallet.

 

Would you really want me to pay you with a wet sweaty 100bht note I pulled out of my cycling shorts?

Cycling shorts don't have pockets. 

3 hours ago, impulse said:

 

Out of curiosity, are the locally done autopsies trustworthy, or are they skewed toward protecting tourism? 

 

If she were my family member, I'd want an autopsy by an independent agency.

 

 

They do great post-mortems and investigations on adjacent Koh Tao. 

On 5/28/2025 at 10:07 AM, JJ-Thailand said:

I took this trip 1979, looks like the same train.

On 5/28/2025 at 10:07 AM, JJ-Thailand said:

I took this trip 1979, looks like the same train.

Really, I also took " this" train in 1979, but you had to change trains in Butterworth. If there ever was a through train to KL, it must have been before 1979. 

On 5/31/2025 at 1:27 PM, BritManToo said:

But @Yagoda is a great guy!

I don't think I've ever heard him pontificating on fine wine, foodie restaurants, museums or any other pretentious elitist nonsense.

 

And @Harrisfan seems like a decent enough bloke, but hasn't been posting long enough for me to form any solid view.

Sure, there are fine people on both sides (according to the orange Jesus). 

A fine fascist is an oxymoron. 

The only good fascist is a dead fascist. 

On 5/31/2025 at 2:12 PM, kuzmabruk said:

I think Central Festival is very safe.  Terminal 21 too.   The rest of Pattaya is a toilet.  I brought my father to visit me in 2005 and we went to walking street and he said “this is an open sewer, your stepmom and I will return to Bangkok tonight and go to Singapore rather than visit with you and your brother in this cesspool”.  Dirty, unsafe nothing good you can say other than - the girls are so much younger and better than back home in Vancouver. 

No young girls in Vancouver?? 

Have they all gone to the MAGA US? 

1 hour ago, LeeTheCelt said:

And in another article Vietnam is trouncing Thailand in tourist numbers, so why travel to a country with supposedly less tourists, I'm sure there are well known red light districts in Vietnam. Third world country, loads of tourists, be like the old days with all the GI's, 5 dollar love you long time.

But not much sex tourism in Vietnam. They are lacking the bar scene cum sex service infrastructure. No go go bars for example. 

1 hour ago, hotsun said:

The government better do something about that, vietnamese girls are more clever they will be dominating the market in no time

And more attractive 

20 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

They hear from friends that money can be made here, and so they come. But hearing it and doing it isn't legal.

Hearing it is illegal?I just heard it from AN. Will I be blacklisted? 

The whole story is BS. More Vietnamese hookers than Thai sex workers. No way. 

Would be great if it was true. Vietnamese women are a lot more attractive than Thai women. 

Why don't you fly to Malaysia, and try to enter Thailand overland. If they let you in, you are not blacklisted. If refused, go back to Malaysia. 

Alternatively, apply for a visa in Spain. If blacklisted, they will be denied. 

1 hour ago, Furioso said:

I'm in Da Nang now until mid June there's enough positives that I'm thinking about moving here. Or I can keep my Condo back in Thailand and spend most of my time in Da Nang. I don't mind travelling back and forth a few times a year it's like the best of both worlds.

 

It's definitely cheaper here, a lot less unstable farangs, better restaurants, excellent service, very few issues with traffic, beach walk is a thousand times better than Pattaya/Jomtien. Pollution is bad in both places but I think it's worse in Bangkok/Pattaya than Da Nang. Drivers license isn't an issue, at least for motorbikes.

 

People definitely a lot skinnier here, makes for a much happier atmosphere. Less bad attitudes towards farangs that's for sure.  Weather wise it's got a much cooler winter here and the rainy season is from Sep-December. Those are the months I don't want to be in Da Nang. 

 

Somebody told me the other day that Vietnam prices are similar to what Thailand was 5-10 years ago I think that's about right.

Especially in the last 5 years, prices in Thailand have risen considerably. I didn't visit Thailand from Jan 2020 to Aug2022,  I was stuck in Vietnam during pandemic. I couldn't believe the prices in Thailand post Covid. Fruit and vegetable prices in particular.

2 hours ago, Caldera said:

 

Sounds great, I'll check them out. Thank you very much!

You don't need to go to Nha Trang for that. Vietcombank anywhere in Vietnam can do that for you. 

7 hours ago, QPRFC said:

People still travel to BKK for non-emergencies eg teeth, tits; as it is cheaper with more experienced doctors

Don't know about tits, but teeth/dentists are not cheaper in Thailand, as a matter of fact, except for implants, which are only slightly cheaper in Vietnam, dentists are a lot cheaper in Vietnam. 

She needs help, psychiatric help, urgently.