lukey1979

In Pattaya the Big Horn Steakhouse on Soi Kiss foods is second to none at a reasonable price. Manhattens which looks very ''Miami vice'' By Jomtien Is far too expensive for the shaving of a cows arse!

Guys lets drop the 'BG' issue, it detracts from my origional intention - I made a sweeping statement that is regarded as against the rules of this forum, i accept that - and could inflame those who know/or in a relationship with a thai lady.

Theres plenty of websites that discuss the BG aspect, with various opinions on the subject! I'd rather not see this thread closed, cheers.

Lee

BG's (Body guards) is an issue i haven't seen discussed once on this thread.

Sorry mate could'nt resist

My friend you are living in a fantasy world. An expedidition like this would take months if not years of team planning and funds/aid. Do you realise how much mapping alone you would need to carry to pull off successful navigation?? You will be travelling through extremes of terrain and climate, you wont be able to carry it all in a rucksack, 2 knuckle dusters are hardly sufficient. Considering you are from Norway you should know better mate Ive conducted Arctic training there and it is hard, I'd imagine you havent got the foggiest idea about surviving in the jungle either. From Thailand to Norway it is extremely dangerous. You will be lucky to be imprisoned, If you embark on this escapade im telling you mate you will end up DEAD!

this guy deserves to be man of the year for saying his gf is a bargurl!

I would like to give the O.P. the benefit of the doubt, but..................................

As you are posting as a newbie and refer to your " B.G. girlfriend " in several parts that are far from complimentary comments and personal references to her status and history ???????

I tend to think you are baiting and mischief making.

IMH and PO of course.

marshbags

Some of the names I've called my ex misses from England are alot worse than Bargirl! Also I've no doubt he's probably not lying about her previous occupation so why the big kerfuffle?

Hint: Here is not Rochester, if you need buffalo wings, go back to USA. On the other side it is here much easier to find Tom Yam Kung in good quality than in Rochester.

USA is not the center of good food, Thailand is not USA, if you don't accept that this is a different country with different food, you either go back or learn cooking.

The word Arrogant Prat springs to mind. You will find anything you desire in Bangkok as long as people steer you in the right direction. This guy asked for advice on a joint that does Buffallo wings, You dont know the OP for all u know he may have been fully absorbed into the Thai culture for the past 2 years residing in a monestary in Surin!! Living off all manner of Laos food and scorpians. Not everybody is shy of cultural adventures mate, and everybody no matter how absorbed into Thai living they maybe craves the taste of home now and again. What better city in the world to taste the foods of so many nations than Bangkok.

Good luck in your quest to find those delicious Buffallo wings Op.

H90 nobody likes a smart arse.

I was about to buy a plot of land for the misses last year, she'd seen a nice patch and the asking price was 100 thousand baht. I went with her to check it out and on exiting my car the lady owner screamed out ''130 thousand baht!'' not even a Hello or Welcome, Seeing the large farang obviously brought upon her dollar fever. Needless to say we refused it I was pretty pissed about it, if she had lowered the asking price to 100 baht i would have turned it down through principle.

If he was just an aquaintance i would reluctantly keep my mouth shut. However, If he was a friend i would definately tell him and i would'nt care or live in fear of his Gf's family. Thats what friends are for you go through the thick of it together. If after telling him he takes his wife side and your supposed friendship is lost then ''Mai pen rai'' this guy was never a true friend. I feel that strongly about it, i believe that a friend not telling his buddy about his girlfriends infedility is little short of cowardice.

I'm American and use standard American English or colloqial American English in my prose. However, since becoming a TV member I find myself

picking up and sometimes using everyday British English. ie spot on, right then, tosser, dosh, yob,Pub, tube, bonnet,lift,football, a few others that I'm reluctant to use here in lieu of equivalent American English. Don't use British spelling, its always "OR" never "OUR".

I rationalize using my new found vocabulary for clarities sake since most Amerians are familiar with and understand the few British words that I do use in my everyday prose.

To make this Thai related, wanted to comment on the influence of British TV members or expats living in LOS have had on others, particularly myself.

Please, no American bashing.

didn't GBS or Churchhill say the Americans and British are two people separated by a common language.

I'm thinking to myself <deleted> is the point of this post? I'm just rambling, but will post it anyway.

When the Scottish, Welsh and Irish are'nt speaking Gailic they speak English. the Aussies Dont speak Aussie English they speak ENGLISH.

English is still English whatever flavour it is... (or flavor)

American English INDEED! <deleted>!

look you are not going to get rich buying 711 franchises. they are on every block. the moment you hit X baht in sales, they go and open another a block away from you, that is the game. but if you want it as an investment to earn a small amount of money or to impress girls half your age who otherwise wouldnt give you the time of the day (like i try to do) than go for it.

Im 28 mate, do you think I want to impress girls half my age? if that was the case i would move to cambodia.

Does anybody know if a farang can own a franchise of 7eleven in Thailand? And if so what would the average initial cash investment be? Im working in the security industry at the moment, i have good management skills but little experience in the retail industry. When i've raised enough capital i'm thinking about starting up in the franchised retail field in the issan area. Where im moving to near surin there are no 7elevens for a few miles so it maybe a good oppurtunity for me. Pease no flamers replying about my lack of retail experience, Im young ,ambitious and if required i will gain the nessecary qualifictions. Any advice would be appreciated ladies and Gents.

Sure, adaption is the name of the game. But why let just the few lay down the rules with their behaviour? Sure, this is one of those things you can't possibly control but you can send a message: What's the point?

Without sounding arrogant. If for example i was ever in a restaurant having an enjoyable time with friends and after paying the bill with say a 100 baht tip a so called Local farang leaned over from an adjacent table and offered me advice on my behaviour regards tipping and its detrimental affect on the so called local farang society. I wouldnt mince my words i would tell him/her ''Good day! Now p*ss *ff and mind your own bussiness.''

6 - 5 years ago tipping was fairly rare to locals and when you tried to shove 10/20 baht to their hand they would just not understand the concept since they didn't expect anything.

Today when tourists come here for a week or two and have plenty to throw around, it does reflect to mindset of local Thais. Little by little they have understood that farangs like to "throw" money away. Restaurants ran by farangs have known the scheme and use it but still if you hit a local "local" place they don't expect you to leave more than a smile and a promise to come back.

I do bet that most of us locals do feel okay to leave something extra on the table if the food and service is good but it does leave bad feeling when money is thrown away just for the heck of it, expectations rise and then maybe are not met... Who will get the sour face at the end game? The local farang not leveling tourist tip. I bet this same goes around in the minds of the locals around the world within people living in same kind of tourist destinations.

Sure all this varies night to night, place to place, venue to venue and service to food quality but when I see some of my visitor friends dropping same money tip of a beer that the actual beer costs, I do raise my voice for sure...

You live in a Tourist destination. Your'e gonna have to take the rough with the smooth.

I bet that chopper Thaksin is'nt having any dramas with his families visas! it makes me sick.

To paraphrase that Carly Simon song "You're so vain You probably think this thread is about you...", cm happy said 'jingjing' and not 'jingthing'!

Yeah, I still think he meant jingthing, people have made that mistake before.

Also, I don't see how anyone could imagine jing jing a troll poster (check her posting history) so yes I do think he was referring to me.

Doesn't really matter, because I have had my say to the people who think I am troller/negative on Thailand person.

I am dying inside! Please,this cannot be for real? Jingjing meaning ''for sure'' or ''really'' But come on mate you have been flabergasted twice on this one. im sorry I dont mean to offend, Your last 2 posts have been the funniest all day Jing jing!

Please keep up the good work.

HAHAHAHA!

Ummm. You are a strange fish Jingthing. Your replies are random to say the least. i would love to ask you where there are false characterizations in my previous post however i do feel a further response from you would achieve very little. They say no-one in Pattaya could ever be lonely, However If somebody like yourself could be this rude and abnoxious in cyberspace then i believe this cliche to be false.

Check Bin Krap!

Jingthing . The link to the other thread from the worldlywise Tipping Guru was a very intresting and perhaps valid read until she capped it off with ''Tipping is regarded as a big no-no in Thailand, Vietnam and fiji.'' I dont know about the Nam but every member on this forum already knows Tips are accepted in Thailand. I live and work with 16 fijians and as one of them just explained to me tips are readily welcome in fiji but not expected, Fijians like their money like they love their food FACT! Therefore her credibility to me has just blown completely out of the window. By pretty much stating in your replies that your views on tipping are FACT just because you can back it up with an article written by somebody in a magazine etc is an extrmely arrogant stance to take. Dont beleive everything you read Jingthing ''opinions are like A holes, We all have them.'' A man of the world like yourself should appreciate that (50 countries! Doe's that include transiting through airports on your travels? hehe!)

You replied to my previous post that I shouldn't tell people where they should or should'nt live. I apologise to anybody who got the end of the stick on that one as that was not my intention. I personally think you were picking holes on that one Jingthing. I was simply offering a simple solution to anybody living under the terrible cloud of terror and disease that is sweeping the universe.... Tipping.

for a man who is against tipping, and please don't deny you are for there are 10 pages on this topic already with many negative replies from yourself, You contradicted yourself in one of you recent replies by saying that you tip to the local standards. What are the local standards Jingthing? i was now under the impression that the Thais find Tips unnaceptable. you are residing in Pattaya sir, A city of diversity where there are rich foreigners, Poor foreigners, Filthy rich foriegners, comfortably well off foreigners, and cheap charlies. There is absolutely no such thing in Pattaya as a local standard Tip but there is obviously an average. I have come to the conclusion that the amount of a local standard tip is probably the amount that is suitable to yourself.

I really was really annoyed with posts from other forum members that you had PM'd them with warnings of impending compaints to the MODS be it they disagree with you anymore, It borders on the childlike. the whole purpose of an open forum is Q and A, Opinions however valid and finally DEBATE! I have read nothing on this thread that is in anyway an insult to you. i would say to you sir ''Grow up!'' but i feel that you maybe offended by it, so i wont.....

I have really enjoyed this thread but i must say that i cannot be swayed from my original opinion. if you like tipping then tip, if you dont then dont. As Shakespeare once said. '' To tip or not to tip!

Who cares........''

Im a bit late participating in this thread but after reading it thoroughly I am now convinced that Thailand is now full of foreign cheap Charlies. If a kind hearted person wants to tip a whopping 300 Baht??!! for a meal etc then why the hel_l not. Im not rich but i certainly feel obliged to pay that kind of tip when the service is good. Hey it makes me feel better, and compared to what i could spend a measly 300 baht on in my home country it certainly is not a shocking amount, the Thais never forget and such a gesture always gives me excellent service whenever i go back to these places. Anybody who comes up with some tripe that a Thai maybe offended and feel small if you were to tip them over the odds obviously either A) Hasnt spent enough time in Thailand or Is trying to justify his own ''Stingyness''. If you was to tip a waitress in America say 100 dollars she wouldn't feel small and helpless she would feel frigging great! If you dont like tipping, you havent got enough pension money or you're stupid enough to believe that big tippers are going to ruin it for everybody then theres a simple solution to that, DONT LIVE IN THE MOST EXPENSIVE RESORTS IN THAILAND! Ie Pattaya, Phuket etc etc. If you go to Issan where there are not many tourists half the vendors, shopkeepers or restaurant staff don't even know what a tip is. They would be over the moon if you gave them 5 baht thats after your wife explains to them what a tip actually is. Go live there if you really think '' The end of the world is nigh!''

I have a friend who visits Thailand for 6 months of the year. My friend has a very good retirement and is certainly not hurting for money. So, while he is here in LOS, he makes sure that the local staff and service people whom he comes into contact with are very well compensated. Actually, "very well compensated" is probably an understatement.

As an example of his generosity, I will relate what transpired today at a buffet lunch. My friend ordered a mixed drink while my gf and I drank the water provided. The wait staff delivered my friend's mixed drink and kept our water glasses full. They didn't bring us any food, as it was a buffet, we helped ourselves. At the end of the meal my friend settled the food bill which amounted to 520 baht. Despite my objections, his tip amounted to over 300 baht.

This is quite typical behavior for him. He once tipped 1000 baht to a food vendor who chased him down a soi to return him a bag of goods he had purchased and had left behind at her stall. The cost of the goods he had forgotten was about fifty baht.

Whenever I chastise him, he shrugs it off by saying, "I can't take it with me." Or, "They need it more than I do."

What is the opinion of the folks reading this? Do you think that this is acceptable behavior for someone who has "money to throw around? What possible harm could come from my friend's generosity? Or is there another aspect of this that I am overlooking? What are the repercussions, if any, of over-tipping to such a degree?

Oh such Philanphrapy is unnaceptable! Somebody inform immigration That this bastard must have his visa rejected immediately! Rice King this thread is absolutely hilarious, I now Christen thee ''The King of Baloon chasers!''

Mate Lighten up!

Does'nt every big city of every country in this world turn its nose up at the outside, outdoorsy folk ? Yes in my experience they do. Where i come from in the south of England we call the northeners monkeys! So what They call us shandy drinking Poofs! haha.

It hasnt come to ethnic cleansing just yet so hold that phone call to the United Nations.

Cheers expat will do mate

Fellas,

Im gonna be building a house in Surin in the next month, I was chatting with my misses on Msn today and i asked her If she was going to get a building permit as soon as the plans are finished by the architect which should be In the next few days, she looked at me like i had 2 heads and said ''we dont need a permit because we are building in the Jungle...'' We (she) have our own land about 5 km from Sankha but it is certainly not in the jungle. Can anybody enlighten me guys as I dont want to cock this up. I have work commitments abroad and i can only spend 1 month in 3 back in Surin to supervise, I have confidence in the misses but i dont want to bodge up any beauracracy.

Cheers fellas.

Ive got a feeling i popped into the shintorn housing estate before, I remember a gym by the pool and it didnt seem all that, I will give the one by the basketball courts a try, sounds ok.

Thanks guys.

tablet!

Seen some lovelytables and chairs in the beer bars down soi 7 and 8 recently, you know the ones that look like timber but are actually made out of concrete, hideous colours usually in a Baghdad sunset or kalaiderscope patterned blue, Just ur style mucker being from Brum......BOING! BOING!

Does anybody know of any decent Gyms in Surin, I dont mean any crappy little ones from the majestic hotel etc etc.

I will be moving up into Surin in the next couple of months and its something i can't live without im afraid.

Any help would be great.

Made the journey today to Birmingham, no appointment, got there sat in the reception and the guy collected my passport, 2 photos, a letter garaunteeing repatriation from my family and a fee of 105 pounds. No questions were asked and within 10 minutes i was given the 1 year multilple entry visa and i was on my merry way. Beauracracy made simple i was well impressed!!

Are you born in 1979 ?

And Birmingham issued you a multiple non O visa ?

Please confirm , I also look for a place to get a multiple non o visa, but I am not married, and I am not 50 year ... your post can help many

Yes mate i was born in 79, nor am i married, all i needed to give him was a repatration letter from my family. I was confused checking out all the criteria i needed to fulfill on the consulates websites, but it is really that easy. A few of my friends were in the same bracket as me and have done exactly the same mate.