JimTripper

Hi

Nope

I'm not sure where the Op is from, but that's not on par with a grocery trip in the Usa, for example, filling the trunk of the car and backseat with groceries, usually around at least 5 bags per trip. For example, at a safeway, costco or walmart. The Op will also likely be disappointed by the Foodmart if they are used to shopping at large western grocery stores. Op will need to focus much more on getting food daily in Asia, rather then weekly grocery trips. It's part of living here for most people and takes much more time here for some reason, unless you have a car.

You need to eat out at the local food stalls and restaurants on a daily basis. They are very cheap but it's not like other countries where you haul in food from the market, unless you have a car which most people don't. Even if you have a motorbike you can't fit that much on there. If you try to carry stuff more then a few blocks you are dodging soi dogs, no sidewalks, the heat, etc. Be real careful to scout out the surroundings when you rent a place. The first thing I look for on google earth is nearby eateries and markets. Check the distances and remember on a street without sidewalks and watching for vehicles it's not easy carrying a bunch of groceries. You could take a bolt taxi both ways, but it's one of those things I just never end up doing. I actually rented a place in the central pattaya area that was near a shopping center just to have groceries nearby. Much easier, as I can walk over and I don't drive here. I still eat out most of the time.

How long has it been a gold mine for, over a year? No other related problems in the background, booze, women?

No tips and I don't feel guilty about it.

It's people chasing a dream... Think about it like a cafe. You open a cafe in the middle of hundreds of other similar cafe's selling the same latte. How are you going to get customers when they walk by all these other cafe's closer to the main street? You're living on a hope and a prayer. You sit there making the small place perfect with knick knacks and nice seating. Out of desperation you start sitting in front of your cafe calling to people walking by. You also become hyper customer service oriented. One person comes in and you hover over them like a mother hen, standing right near them while they try to look at the menu. Can't wait for that order. Rush in and rush it to them even with no other customers waiting. You start to realize that how nice you make your cafe it does not bring in customers if you are not on the corner ahead of all the others closer to the main street where all the daily tourists are passing by, probably never to return. You also realize that your desperation is actually driving customers away from the shop. They feel like they are obligated to buy something quickly the minute they come in, or even look in from the street. There is probably a final stage where you start getting angry. You made this place perfect, did everything possible, yet people come in for just a cheap coffee or even try to negotiate the price. The bills keep coming in. You may sneer and act nice. Fake a smile, and other weird stuff that people see right through, that just puts off customers further. It festers and you start feeling like selling. It's not your fault, it's other people or the location, or cheap foreigners. Decide to sell and make it look like it's doing great for the next person. Can't have them come in on a down note. After all, that spells doom.

How did the juicebar work out a year later? Are you still here? Says you never came back to update.

What's with the dumb music. Sounds like just drums with no clear vocals, or just continual beats. I guess it's a songkran thing fortunately and not all the time. Is there actually a band playing it? Do they have an album?

Weiird, isn't it? It's like people are afraid of the sun here. Contrast with Mexico where everyone is out there sunbathing and playing volleyball all day.

No work permit.

Ok, anywhere that's not free then.

Sorry that happened to you. I will be looking around me more for safety. It's hard to know what others are thinking.

it's about funneling people into bars.

Might want to call them and see. Also, they need a microscope to do good root canals these days. So your first question is do they have the microscope. If not, the dentist is going only by the feel of the files which is very hard to do and they usually don't get all the way to the bottom, it reinfects years later, causes an abcess, etc. I had to have a couple re-done with a microscope later on. Part was left at the bottom of the root that caused an abcess and you can lose the tooth because the bone wastes away under the tooth. There's also a new "hyper-sonic" spray that's done at the conclusion of the procedure into the canal to clear away bacteria. It's an expensive tool, like the microscpe is, so not everywhere will have it. I feel like it helped me when I had mine done with these advanced tools.

They hear stories about how great it is and end up not liking it once they are here (or at least it does not live up to the hype). The longer they stay, the more they complain. I moved here thinking it was going to be a good party, which I do partake in. I ended up not liking it much. I never vibed with the scene much and my fellow expats are mostly from the Uk, France, etc that I don't relate well with as an American on a partying level. They also seem too old to hang out with, even though I'm mid-50's.

I have seen this mentioned before and it seems to be my experience. Why do you think the multiple visits are so common? Is it a scheduling issue? Or a rushed, disorganized dentist with too many patients?

I went with a white zirconia substructure (strong for molars) and porcelain on the outside (looks like a real tooth). Looks great. Would have gone with full gold but was 36k baht for the full gold so gave it a miss. The full gold crowns are best because they don't need to drill as much of your tooth away to fit the crown. Need to drill away about 1 cm more to fit the zirconia. There was also a silver colored palladium crown similar to gold slightly more expensive then the zirconia, but I did not like the silver color so passed. The full gold crowns are not the same as porcelain fused to gold, as the gold there is an amalgam and oxidizes on the the edge causing decay. It can't be 18k gold because they need the other metals mixed it in order to fuse it with the porcelain. Could go on all day and write a book on it. Hope that helps. My crown was 22k. I advise against places named on this forum. The same places pop up each time and I don't think they are legit reviews. Good luck.

What happened afterwards? Did he stick around until the police arrived? How was he caught? Did he say anything afterwards?

Where did this happen in Pattaya? How hard was the kick, enought to knock you down?

Had you ever seen or interacted with him before the attack? What did he do before/after the attack? Who else was around or in the pool?

I guess I could just view it as a new Miami. It's all in the interpretation. I used to think I could find good & cheap if I looked hard enough (cheap paradise). Now I'm pretty much a believer in I get what I pay for. 8 years?? 🤷🏻‍♂️ I'm not good with dates.

So what? It closed. Still relevant. Is there something about the dates that bother you? Does everything have to be brand new? No wonder these older malls are dying.

These old school malls are shutting down all over. Enjoy them while you still can. In their place new shiny places like Maya mall, etc. Once the younger crowd stops going it's a death spiral. Most won't go to places that are empty and lack people, even with good stores still there. Sad to see them go. Just changing times. Many good memories in older malls from when I was younger.

Looks like all those party huts and bungalows down by Serendipity Beach are gone. The Happy Pizza shack places likely gone as well.