eefoo

You'll have no trouble at all from the unrest in Bangkok if you're going straight down to Phuket. You'll have more problems with being stitched in Phuket! I hope you enjoy your holiday in Thailand though - it really is a nice place.

every year you spend in Pattaya is a year off your life

Erm - am I the only one to see the stupidity of that statement?

P1N stars again. An alleged 'break' failure; he lost the ability to 'break'. Apparently he broke several people, a few motorbikes and a food cart.

I'm with Meadish here - DON'T use 'meung' unless it's someone you know well, and who knows you are only having a joke. Note the capital letters there? I don't want to read about you in the newspapers.

For some reason on my browser there are no "quote" "reply" buttons on the OP. (Can anyone give me a clue why?)

Anyway OP asked ....

"Is there anywhere now in thailand that you can get a cheap drink and watch the world go by."

Yes there are. Any little Mom and Pop corner store with a stone table outside. They typically charge about 5B more a beer than they are paying for it, and you can watch the world go by for as long as they're open.

What's the final destination of the diverted water? Is it simply being routed toward the beach and into the Gulf, or is it being directed to ponds (Lake Mabprachan?) where it can be collected for the upcoming dry seasons?

Pretty tricky making flood water flow uphill.

As far as I know, home brewing is illegal, but there again a lot of things are and that doesn't stop people doing them. The biggest problem would be ingredients for the beer, which are unavailable in LOS as there is no demand for them from the public. Obviously some must be available somewhere as the big brewers use them, but they wouldn't be of much use for a dark beer. Hops shouldn't be a problem as they are light and they could be carried in from UK say; even hop extract is available which is a concentrated liquid. The problem would be the malted barley or the malt extract which is partially processed. That's heavy and you need quite a lot to make beer.

I have imported ingredients in the past and brewed my own, but to be honest it just isn't viable to do regularly.

I did hear a story many years ago before the current security hooha about a woman in the States who was going to Oakland, California, and found herself over the Pacific on a non-stop to Aukland, New Zealand. Whether true or not I don't know - but makes a good story!

Another good one for cops is ticketing tourists for turning left at red lights on intersections where it is not allowed. Nothing is ever indicated in English, so it's impossible for tourists to know where it can be done and where it is forbidden.

The only junction I know where you can't turn left on red is the one from second onto klang. Right in front of the police box. And yes - the only sign is in Thai.

I do think three on a bike is daft, whether illegal or not. It's obviously unsafe. Surely that's why laws are made - to protect idiots from themselves and the rest of us from the idiots? The problem would seem to be the selective enforcement of said laws.

Make that two.

Are there really such idjits out there? What makes them do that?

Why are various posters on here complaining about getting stopped for not having a helmet on? It's called a "muak kan nok" not a "muak kan tamruat". That's what I've tried to drum into all members of my extended family. It seems to have worked.

Wear a bloody helmet when riding a motorbike. Anyone who doesn't is a 'kin idjit

For those who don't know transliterated Thai - muak is a hat, kan means 'against', nok is to hit something and tamruat is a policeman. Understand?

It beats my European family, that's why I ran away to Thailand....yeah go on, call me a dead beat dad you schmucks...what would you of done?

What I would of done --- is learn that the word is 'have'. And I wouldn't of (sorry - have) gone near Vikki Pollard in the first place.

Are you the one on the left or the right?

Seriously though - I'm with your reasoning on this. Innocent photos are exactly that. Unfortunately there are a lot of idjits out there on the wide world of web who think it's fun to post (possibly) incriminating photos of their friends. Once on the interweb, always on the interweb!

dmax and joe552 - The red shirts aren't going to bother you flying into Thailand. The volcano is a different matter. It's inanimate and doesn't really know what it's doing. Worry about nature more than a few idiots on the streets.

There's definitely undertones of a Northern Irish accent there. Obviously modified by years of being outside Ireland.

On another note, while I don't condone the (insert colour of shirt here in case of automated filters) movement, he seems to be speaking as a witness to the events of April 10. I certainly can't condone that action either. There can be no justification for firing live rounds into a crowd at night; an army and a government working together, (as they still seem to be doing) have other means at their disposal to keep the peace.

I use

http://www.x-rates.com/d/THB/table.html

Using agents was a common practice 10 years ago. I remember one agent that operated out of a store front. Even at that time I suspected the Visas were fake. I guess most of them were.

That's before the Thais got themselves computerised. Can't fool them now ....

That being said... I am from the USA and I find it very odd that there are no petrol stations on second or third road of Pattaya.

There is one on second road as has previously been mentioned - North Pattaya, close to the roundabout. The reason there isn't one on third road is probably because of its origins. Only a few years ago 3rd road was a windy little 2 lane back street that no-one used. They had to purchase loads of land and knock down quite a few houses to make it what it is today.

For some reason there's no 'quote' button on this post by the OP so I'll cut and paste

Lonewolf99 ...

I know who does come. People who do not know any better that is who. People who come from countries that do not care about the mess they make. People who have never seen a pristine beach, they think swimming in panty liners and condoms is normal. People from countries who drop rubbish at their feet and leave it to low life scum to rifle through to make a life or living.

And where are you?

Last set of laces I bought (for work boots, although they had shoe ones as well) were at an 'occasional market", called a 'talat nat' in Thai. Try the Tuesday/Friday market on South Pattaya road opposite TukCom, or even Wat Chaimongkon daily market - there's loads of little shops there of the sort which should sell laces.

where is wat chaimongkon please

100m east of the South Pattaya road / Second road crossroads. i.e if you go down South Pattaya road from Sukhumwit, it's about 100m before you have to either turn left at the lights to Jomtien or right to go down Second road. Big Wat on the north side of the road. Directly opposite on the south side is a daily market hidden behind a gold shop. Goes as far back as soi 17.

Hope that helps

But how about this crime against the English language? Jeezus, who writes this stuff?

Along with the incorrect size of the stamp, police were able to arrest and detain Miss Neville-Gliddon for further questioning.

Well they couldn't just arrest her without arresting the stamp could they!!??

Apparently it was the wrong SIZE of the stamp they arrested along with her. That's probably why it took a Major General and his sidekick to do it. No easy feat arresting the size of something.

Working without a WP and an incorrect visa (if working)...dats a big no-no (and the Aussie pound is so strong now so why the need to work?)

Aussie pound ???????

Last set of laces I bought (for work boots, although they had shoe ones as well) were at an 'occasional market", called a 'talat nat' in Thai. Try the Tuesday/Friday market on South Pattaya road opposite TukCom, or even Wat Chaimongkon daily market - there's loads of little shops there of the sort which should sell laces.

I have no idea why there are no petrol stations on your route to work. Probably something due to land prices and passing trade. You generaly find petrol stations on big roads where there are a lot of customers passing. I assume you're driving a car, although if you're driving a bike, the advice is the same - PLAN AHEAD.

Personally always found it a very 'clique' place myself. In the few times I've been in there since I first went in around '87 (and it was definitely called the TQ1 then), it's never been a memorable visit, and I've left after a beer. For those who are interested, I was in Las Vegas on Soi Yamoto the other day, and the TQ girls are working in there temporarily. You can tell which ones they are - they're the ones wearing knickers