lilBob

I was wondering if anyone can help me with info and locations of some old friends of mine it's been about 4-5 years since I was at lamai.

Allan Johnson maybe Davidson commonly called Red fox Al amember of the HHH Hash name Blue Lugs originally from Carlyle in Nth England He ran the Red Fox bar in the Soi opposite the old Billabong Bar. I heard a whisper that he had relocated his Bar wifes name Toy dogs name Fox. A former ambulance driver.

Pat and Penny they had the Rising Sun Pub and Reastaurant prior to Marie. Penny was a Registered Nurse both I believe from Manchester.

Badger a cockney had a bar with his wife Gow called the Gow Badger Bar heard he and Gow split up.

Little Al had a bar called The Blues Brothers Soul Sisters bar. A particularly short guy, English.

Big Mike Maybe called Mr. President as he resembled a large Bill Clinton had a house behind Lamai by the pond/lake.

Conrad and Pammie they have houses at Lamai and vancouver and spend time at both Conrad was a game warden in Africa and is Canadian his wife Pammie is English both retired.

Any info would be appreciated I'm Known to them as Bob the fireman from Melbourne

Thanks in advance Lil Bob

PS I am seeking the info to see if it's worth a trip to Samui

Going on from what Meadish wrote, that is the kinda though, what the Dhammakaya sect would teach. They also teach their disciples that during World War 2, it was only through the meditation powers of their monks that America nuked Hiroshima instead of Bangkok. And not forgetting, their nuns were witnessed levitating in the sky while the bombs dropped around Wat Dhammakaya. As for their founder 'Luang Phor Pak Nam', he is the Thai equivalent to the miracle man fraud of India 'Sai Baba'.

Again though, further to what Meadish wrote, this kind of belief is more of a fringe sect belief than mainstream Thai Buddhism. Same kinda crap you'll find in Christian sects.

While i wont disagree that Dhammakaya teaches a load of weird nonsense, i'm pretty sure that the belief of skin colour from karma is not restricted to that sect, if it can be attributed to them at all.

Buddhism (in Thailand) teaches that you are rewarded in this life for the merit you made in your past life, or punished for your misdeeds. If that is a given, then the fact that you are born poor, disabled or ugly can be attributed to your bad karma. Is it so hard to believe that many Thais, with their constant obsession with skin color, would believe that undesirable dark skin is also due to karma?

I'm even more sad to say that there are definitely a lot weirder beliefs than this that are quite mainstream in Thailand.

This may be a misquote from the Bible "reap what ye shall sow" or have you ever heard the saying "what goes around comes around" The mention of skin colour was unfortunate

Christians and Islamist had and still have wierder beliefs remenber the Spanish Inquisition and Islamists (some) believe we all deserve to die."judge ye not lest ye shall be judged"

I had a conversation with a Hindu whilst in India and he told me all politicians would be reincarnated as dogs (I kinda liked that) I am a completely non religious person but each to their own.

But it does not compare to a place like Fairtex that offers so much more of everything a fitness should have . You just need to be able to afford the membership fees:)

Also keeps the rifraff out of the place.

The last time I checked out Fairtex it was a small gym...have they expanded in the last 18 months?

Please explain what fitness equipment a gym should have that Tony's does not?

A request for info if you don't mind, I'll be coming to Pattaya for a month early next year are there any Gyms with monthly membership, failing that is there any swimming pools for lap training

Thanks in advance Traveller 33

Is it me or is that piece very badly written? I'm also disappointed the Gazette give the impression it was tourists looking for an insurance scam - maybe one or two could do that, but when there are lots and lots of unattached holidaymakers all with the same complaint...?

I don't think it was the Gazette "giving the impression" it was the tourists looking for an insurance scam. They simply presented the charges to the people being accused and gave them the right of reply.

It's true that the writing could have been better, though.

Yes, the first half of the story was written by the tourists. The second half (almost certainly translated from Thai) was the police report written by the General Manager of "Sun Sea Sand" Preecha Nuwongsri and faxed to the Phuket Gazette by Pol Maj Bundit Khaosutham. So, apart from the strangely written English, you can guess what kind of slant he put on the affair.

To cap it all, the Pol Superintendent at Kathu, Col Grissak Songmoonnak then added his bit about farangs scamming hotel operators in order to get free holidays from their insurers!!

So you can see there's not a lot tourists can do against this kind of official attitude except vote with their feet - stay away - and write about it on the internet so other tourists can be better informed of what's in store for them.

Chok dee!

i have followed this thread with a great deal of interest, and I agree with all the suggestions, especially the payback don't get mad get even, when I travel I get travel insurance that I by paying a cheaper rate can't claim for anything under 250 dollars Aust also I believe in order to claim I believe that a police report is required to make a claim and it doesn't appear the police in question were co-operative so maybe no report was received by the victims, so if no claim was made and can be proven (consult your insurer) and forwarded to the magazine the allegations by the cop Col. would be disproven.

The suggestion of samsonite luggage and a chain was a good one and i've a couple of tips people may find usefull

1. I always carry a spare padlock or two.

2.I use the safety deposits at reception where I place all my money, passport and plastic in a small padlocked satchel.

3. I carry a door stopper(a trianguler wedge) to prevent persons coming into my room whilst I am sleeping.

Persanally I have been robbed twice once in Cambodia where burglars hooked my pants with wire and pulled them to the security sceen and I lost 100US from the pockets, and secondly I had my pocket picked on a Baht Bus in Pattaya and lost 70US and my plastic. ( this was 2 days prior to my departure fortunately some friends loaned me enough to pay my hotel and get out of town etc.) I was carrying my plastic at the time to withdraw money for my hotel bill.

I'm a member of another forum and will place a warning there.

Best of Luck and happy Travelling (next time)

Lil Bob

As we all get older we need to keep up on health issues that can effect all of us.

New Sign of a Stroke -- Stick out Your Tongue

STROKE: Remember The 1st Three Letters. S.T.R.

My friend sent this to us at BDO and encouraged us to post it and spread the word. I agree. If everyone can remember something this simplewe could save some folks. Seriously!! Please read:

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

During a BBQ a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) and just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food - while she appeared a bit shaken upIngrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6:00pm Ingrid passed away.)

She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke perhaps Ingrid would be with us today.

Some don't die.

They end up in a helpless and hopeless condition instead.

It only takes a minute to read this...

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognizeddiagnosed and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Read and Learn! Remember the "3" steps S.T.R.

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

S * Ask the individual to SMILE.

T * Ask the person to TALK to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE(Coherently) (I.e. It is sunny out today)

R * Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out their tongue. If the tongue is 'crooked' if it goes to one side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke. If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these contact the Hospital immediately!! And describe the symptoms to the doctor.

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it to 10 people you can bet that at least one life will be saved.

I had a stroke recently and self diagnosed and took myself to hospital. the symtoms were

Pins and needles in left arm,

lack of co-ordination in left arm and leg,

slurring words.

These symtoms were temporary but off to hospital I went Fortunately,

Another test they did at hospital was having me squeeze the doctors hands with both of mine checking for loss of strength.

I urge everyone if in doubt go to hospital, I am now on permanent medication of anti coagulants)aspirin)

and anti mcholesteral tablets, I'm also moderating my lifestyle (diet and exercise)

Through Trat to Koh Kong - then by boat to Snooky.

From Pattaya you can get a bus to Trat, then a minibus to the border, or taxi all the way.

Thanks, good info.

I'm curious, how much and how long is the boat ride?

Four hours - cannot give current price.

There is about 6 inches of freeboard, but don't worry - the crew don't!!!!

2 years ago the boat fee was 15 dollars US when tou get there you have to do a passport showing again to immigration then a moto into town or the beaches a moto to "downtown' cost me 80 baht then may have changed. T ake small currency Baht or US dollars. Also boat leaves at 8 am so you will have to stay O/nite

Lying in a crozzled heap on the floor is the normal "Thai way", so good luck to the OP for sticking to his guns on this issue.

I'm having a house (almost completed) built myself, and the grounding has been done to my satisfaction. Famous last words...

Last year in pattaya there was a story going around about the thai wife of a farang was electocuted whiilst having a shower apparently a newly installed electric water heater was blamed. its best not to take any chances I would ask around and try to find a farang electrician and have the work done correctly. he'd probably work for beer I know stuff all about elec myself

Hello All.

Im new to this site and im trying to get an opinion on the accommodation in Rosie O'Gradys in Pattaya. The website is impressive as are the photos of the rooms. Would anyone know if they would be suitable for 2 couples for next March. thanks a mill from Ireland

Might be noisy

I want to buy a cheap little condo in thailand. I dont really care where since i find it beautyful everywhere. The condos that are on the market in thailand from swedish real estate agents are all deadly expensive. Does anyone know how to get one in a not so touristic place? And what are the prices?

You may want to be careful when buying a condo could be cheap for various reasons including

Bad neighbors(noisy)

bad location(transport wise)

Dirty, bad maitenance

High condo fees

high farang ownership (possible problems with puchase/ownership)

I'm sure there are other reasons, the above just spring to mind, maybe Thailand wouldn't be so beautiful then and not hassle free.

Best of luck Bob

Hello to all,

I've lurked this site long enough time to join I'm from Melbourne in Oz, I've visited thailand 20 to 30 times discovered TV 6 months ago wish I'd found it 18 years ago

Welcome to Thai Visa lilBob

Ok that settled and onto the more important things in life: What footy team do you support?

CB

Western Bulldogs, It wasn't me who got the silly Geelong Tatts Thanks for the welcome

Absolutely......Go to a foreign non-English speaking country, get drunk, and have a life long work of art scribed into your body. Great idea. Where do I sign up?

wot a silly bugger,

I had a tatt done in thailand whilst I was sober, i had the following placed on my chest

THE SWEETEST

WOMAN I HAVE EVER

KISSED WAS ANOTHER

MAN'S WIFE

MY MOTHER

I had the tattooist write it out 3 times to check the spelling and I then checked the stecil.

I didn't want to have my mother described as the sweatiest

Sober and not stupid

The storey has made the tele news big time in Melbourne

Every time we get a thread on "allowances for wives/gf's" the replies are immediately polarised into two camps.

We have the horror/shock/outrage camp, who claim they never give their wives an allowances - if you do so she must be a whore - my wife is a respectable, working girl from a good family and has no need of my money - blah. blah blah.

In the other camp are those who accept the reality of having to provide funds to their partner if she is not working (regardless of what 'profession' she came from when she became his partner), and then have an acrimonious debate about how much is the right amount, which seems to be anything from 3,000 to 50,000 Baht , or more, a month.

There is no right or wrong amount to pay your partner. It will all depend on your individual circumstances: How much you can afford, and how much does she need, taking into account your lifestyle, and the number of family/kids who rely on her for their daily existence.

Well put Mobi!

Cheers

iam probly a bit naive and won't bee retirig to LOS for another 15 months but my thoghts are that if I give a GF an allowance I can say when hit on for more for her family or any other reason that she can use the money I have already provided maybe 10,000 to 15,000 it's within my budget and is cheaper than buterflying. I would have to have feelings for the girl and wouldn't just jump in to the situation. I would also explain at the start the situation and thereby encourage her saving. I did say at the start I may be naiveand tonight i'm drunk hic Bob

I am thinking about throwing a free party with food and alcohol for any and all takers in my room at 6AM...date to be determined.

Reason for Celebration: New ASS*ole moved into the room next door and decided that it is 'OK' to play loud music, pound on tables, move furniture, turn up TV volume, torture sex workers, slam doors, and rotate girls on the hour until his bedtime arrives at about 5:30AM.

So, my idea is to offer a free party for as many beer drinking, obnoxious folks that would like to give my new neighbor a friendly welcome to Pattaya and perhaps, introduce him to a dose of his own medicine. I am tired of packing up and moving every time a new freak moves in. Also, I am running out of tea money for the BIB to establish peace and quiet.

Is this a good strategy to fight back at the new ASS*hole?? Or, do you think he will simply join the party?

I would speak to the guy and explain the problem if this fails I'd go to plan B that being wait till he's asleep then turn your stereo speakers to his wall put on some Thai music crank up the volume and go out for the day good luck Bob

I just spend 5 months there as well as the OP. I will not start to tell about it, just say that Philipines is an absolutely and total SHITHOLE!!! Stay away from it folks. Stay away!

Nice first post! care to explain why? or do you work for the thai tourist board or something??

Mark

Thanks for calling me and my post dumbass. I guess such comments comes from a sophisticated human. -Care to explain why my post is a dumbass post? I clearly state, that I will not explain why I call Philippines a shithole. Why does that make my post stupid?

But OK, for you my dear, I will make an exception: Philippine mentality is mainly ruled by fear, angst. The mentality lacks of belief (in everything, including other fellow humans), you are confronted with dis-trust absolutely everywhere and most people seem to be discontent with their life situation. You have to prove yourself ALL the time. The control in the airport (restrictions set by the Americans, btw.) is ridiculous and totally out of proportion with the virtual danger. Even in the smallest super markets, you and your back are being searched by a (normally armed) guard. I asked some of the taxi drivers, why they CONSTANTLY beep their horns, and most told me, that then it was more safe to drive ;-) The drivers are sure, that the next car they meet on the street, surely will crash into them. Often I pressed the horn for 2-3 min consecutively and at the same time told the driver, that now he was a lot more safe. But for some reason he didn't look very happy.

This inherited idea (must be a kind of tradition), that everything you meet in life represent a danger (and only that), makes the philippines think about SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY all the time. All this safety suffocated you. You cannot breath. And it is, of course, always a very bad feeling, that noone trusts you. That noone believe in you. That you are always thrown suspicion to. And on the other hand: I'm not sure, that all these restrictions make you more safe. If a terrorist really wanted to bring a bomb on the plane, I'm absolutely sure, he could do that.

The mentality is generally negative, contracting, tensioning. Here is and example from my time there, just to give the readers an idea of how philippine mentality works: I was with a very nice girl, I dated the same day, on a hotel in Manila. A brand new one. 1 meter from the bed, on the wall, was hanging a new, nice television. One day she arrived, I was lying in the bed, looking some mass from some church in the TV. After awhile, she sat down and said: Oh, that is dangerous. What if one day we have an earthquake, then maybe the television will fall down in the bed on you when you sleep. Well, of course it theoretically COULD happen, but the likelihood is somewhere under one to a billion, I will estimate. I think you catch my point.

Well, one time (have been there 3 times, last time 5 months) in the airport, I got enough of all that stupid control procedure, so I told the guard, that I had a bomb in my back. Just to make fun but also at the same time tell the staff there, how sick and tired I am of all that dis-trust. For some reason, he didn't laugh. He ordered (in PI, everyone give strick orders, everyone seem to be their own little dictator) me to follow him to an office. On our way to that office, he showed me a sign, on which was written, that it is punishable to make jokes about carrying bombs. When I entered the office, where an old, senior officer where sitting, he told me, that he had the right to jail me. I am a free man (financially independent, no wife and children, etc.), so I would actually like to see a philippine jail from inside for a couple of weeks, so I gave back, telling him, that it is very offending to show this level of dis-trust to innocent tourists. Well, I was let off with a warning.

The philippine peoples attention is very much turned outwards. It is definately not the country of meditation. And again, their attention is normally not directed towards the good in life, but the, normally non-existing, danger. It is not easy to relax there and be yourself, because you are "hit" (woken up, like you have you face slapped) all the time by philippines, who confront you for a countless number of reasons. Never relaxed, guards up.

As the OP states, the philippines must be the most ruthless, disrespectful people on earth. They are extremely direct in their attitudes and at the same time very egocentric and greedy (ALSO the girls, some of them are just very smart). One day I was jogging on the street, a child "beggar" (wearing new clothes, some of it Nike) - maybe at the age of 8-9 - just suddenly yelled to me from the other side of the road: Give me your money! -Omg. Another day, I was just ignoring (not looking at) some child beggars who were pulling my clothes (close to Fuente, in direction of Abiljana stadion), and then when they gave up, after following me maybe 100-150 meter down the street, their only comment was: ###### you! Nice kids. I wonder where they got this very nice behaviour?!! Their parent maybe?!

The mentality is very, very american. The culture is american. More than asian. Much more. Philippines have this smart-ass attitude which lacks of essence. No roots, soul, not much identity. When you are served, for example at most restaurants (e.g. Shakeys at Fuente), the behaviour of the staff is so superficial, that I really couldn't take it. One time I told the waiter please just to behave normally. I am quite sure, that the staff are total slaves, because of the high rate of unemployment (50% in Manila and little less in Cebu, as far as I was told by the locals in both cities) and are told by the manager to behave that ridiculous way. I feel sorry for them. I just couldn't take this feigned attitude there.

Of course the state of buildings, roads, cars, etc. are a lot worse than, say, Thailand. And always to look at something worn-down and ugly, of course also affects the mood and impression of the country in a negative way.

Accommodation in Cebu and Manila is, in my opinion, in line with the prices in Bangkok when we are talking about living space; however, the condition of accommodation in Bangkok is just of a lot higher standard. And accessibility easier. I have to disagree with the OP here.

The stronger religion in a country, the higher level of consciousness is needed, in order to make the religion have a constructive influence on the people. Philippines are poorly educated. Yes, around 50% have a bechelors degree (so I was told by the many locals I asked), but my impression was definately, that the level in the universities generally is low, compared to, say, western standards. Philippines generally seem ignorant, to me. At the same time most philippines fight bad household economies. Of course this cocktail doesn't give a very nice result. Many people seem to support and use (maybe abuse) the religion as a kind of "drug", in order to survive their miserable life (which basically is a result of the mentality). One of the results of this is, that the culture has a very thin surface of piety, but beneath is the opposite. A lie. The Philippines is very much one big lie. An illusion. Illusion of stupidity!

The girls. Hehe. Of course 99.8% of the girls are after your money, blue eyes, white skin, height, opportunity to flee the country, etc. Filipinas are NOT submissive, generally, as some people in this forum has said (e.g. peaceblondie). They are just raisen to create a family (and to be virgins until they marry, etc.), be family oriented, BUT with 50% unemployment and 6-8000 piso (12000 for a high payed one) for a normal job, of course they make a big efford to get the "rich, white man" interested in them - also if this includes put-on submissiveness. Noone in PI with a normal salary has a chance in life to buy a house, give each teenager their own room, different amenities, etc. The girls are like the rest of the inhabitants there: fearful, greedy, superficially religious, dominant, demanding, etc.

I could go on with this, but it's already more than enough. This is just a minor extract from my experiences from that shithole.

OF COURSE, there are many nice, honest people in PI. There are nice people everywhere. I just wanted to give people my impression of some of the MANY, MANY problems you most likely will encounter as a tourist or citizen in PI. Actually it is a little hard for me to find something positive there, except for practical issues (visa easy and cheap (again opposite OP's opinion), availability of girls are so easy you cannot believe it, almost everyone speaks useful english, etc.). The Philippines doesn't seem to have much to offer anyone. Just stay away from that dump. That's my advise. In short.

PS: No, I am not working for the thai tourist board. Just wanted to mention that for the good order ;-) Yes, I like Thailand very much, but I have not praised this country in my former post, just told truth about The Philippines.

You might want to be careful about joking about bombs in airports some security people might take offense glasgow NY washington come to mind also a Brazilian guy whom the cops thought had a bomb was shot dead in the London underground I personally wouldn't like prison I have a great fear that I might be locked up with a 300 pound monster who wants to play Mummys and Daddys

all the best Bob

Hello to all,

I've lurked this site long enough time to join I'm from Melbourne in Oz, I've visited thailand 20 to 30 times discovered TV 6 months ago wish I'd found it 18 years ago

On behalf of the moderators, admin, and members of ThaiVisa, we wish to welcome all new members to the forum... and hope that you find our forum informative and enjoyable.

to

This is the Welcome thread for 2550/2007, so post your introduction here.

C'mon... don't be shy... say hello.

On behalf of the moderators, admin, and members of ThaiVisa, we wish to welcome all new members to the forum... and hope that you find our forum informative and enjoyable.

to

This is the Welcome thread for 2550/2007, so post your introduction here.

C'mon... don't be shy... say hello.