YaiJung

Personally I can't believe Simon is even considering paying one baht. Why should he be held accountable for the irresponsiblity of his wife's nephew? The whole idea that they would even come to him is absurd and just goes to show what they think of him. They are BSing him on numerous occasions and he still doesn't know the truth.

Simon, u are getting WORKED and its up to u to put a stop to it or else bend over and keep on taking this BS from them. You are the only one who is gonna suffer in the end.

I find it to be hugely disrespectful on the part of your wife and her family to try to pressure u into paying for something that u had absolutely nothing to do with. I see way too much of this nonsense over here and I cringed when I read your post. If you don't put your foot down now and refuse the money your marraige is doomed. Sorry to say, but it sounds like it is already. To give them even one baht will just start the wheels turning in their heads.

I've been there, done that, and can say that if u want to retain your dignity and self-esteem u will have to stick to your guns. It sounds like u already laid down the law by telling your wife when u heard the ridiculous story that u wouldnt pay one baht.

You have to treat them like children. What u say goes and thats it period. If u don't, just like children, they will test u and push and push.

Its unfortunate that it has to be like this, but its a fact of life when u are dealing with people who have a third-world mentality.

Best of luck

Well, unfortunately this is Thailand and we probably won't hear ever hear what really happened. I live outside the entrance to a hotel in Patong and I frequently hear arguments between tut tuk drivers and passengers that can usually be put down to a misunderstanding of language. One thing is for sure...the tuk-tuk driver will say the money was "thrown in his face" because he knows that will get most thais on his side. For all we know the welshman could have placed the money on the seat, but we will never know. We would have to hear his side of the story.

These tuk tuk drivers are the "scum of the earth" and its a shame they are allowed to operate at all in patong. The reality is that the powers that be don't give a rats ass about what is happening and towns like Patong exist soley to take as much money from tourists as possible. We as "tourists" need to recognize this fact and be aware of our surroundings. We can still have a great time in these places, just need to be extra careful about how we deal with the locals. One rule I've learned, and this applies to most places in the world, is to clearly establish prices first....always.

On a side note, last night my girlfriend's son had a couple boys from our soi over to play video games. these particular boys that were over last night are the sons of tut-tuk drivers and jet-ski rental operators. All well behaved boys(although the tuk-tuk driver's son doesn't do "jack sh@t" at school and when asked why he doesn't care, he responds, "I am going to drive tuk tuk when I grow up"). So at 9:30pm I am sitting outside having a cup of coffee when out of nowhere this large(for thailand)thai man shows up and looks right past me to the boys and calls his son out and procedes to whip the sh$t out of him with a largish branch from a tree. It was violent and I was shocked. It was not just a couple of taps, it was full force, violent and abusive. I didn't interfere because I don't fancy a knife in my chest like our welshman, although next time this boy comes over I will be sending him home at sunset instead of letting him stay later. Anyway, this incident is just one of many that I have witnessed and I believe says alot about the lower class society in places such as Patong. Violence is a everyday part of home life for these people. They often react with violence seemingly minor incidents. I know it will piss alot of people off when I say this, but the locals also have reputation for lying about anything that could possibly cause them to be held accountable for their actions.

There are young "gangs" of boys running wild in our neighborhood causing all sorts of trouble and when u start asking who the parents are u find out pretty fast that these little trouble makers are the future tuktuk and motorbike taxi drivers of Patong.

Its a shame that this place is let "go to hel_l" like it has been, but after all, the tourists keep pouring in and if it was orderly and "safe" it probably wouldn't attract the numbers of people that it does. Watch your back with locals, avoid tuktuks and most things go pretty smooth(I find).

Anyway..stay safe and have fun

YaiJung

Hi girlx,

I lived in ao nang for a couple yrs and have spent alot of time there over the last 7 yrs. I'm living in phuket now, but often think of moving back. I guess I stay here cause in phuket we have just about everything(infastructure wise) and I'm kinda settled and comfortable here. Not to say u can't get everything one would need in krabi. Shopping is more running around to small mom and pop stores instead of hitting tesco for everything. Definitely not the end of the world.

When I was last living there finding a decent bungalow for 3-6000 is easy although getting a phone line wasn't. Now I hear things are improving and most of my friends that still live there have phone lines and adsl from tot or somebody else for the usual 1000 baht per month.

My place was indeed owned by muslims(who had the shutters tight by 9pm most nights...no late night karaoke) and I believe they wouldn't have liked having a dog around too much. I do know of people who have dogs there though, so its just a matter of finding the right place.

Personally I love the nature and scenery around ao nang/krabi. Its a good location if u want to be somewhere quiet, but not too far out in the sticks. The airport makes things easy too. Now that I think about it, I might be moving back there myself...hahaha...