thaibeachlovers

It is a completely different place.

Not much sea fishing in Chiangmai, or sea sports for that matter.

You can eat very cheaply in Pattaya , just a matter of finding the places. A much wider varieties of foods at better quality too.

There are nicer beaches a little out of town.

Night-life also includes beer bars and shows, cinemas and shops, tours, live sports, racing tracks etc

It is nice to be near the sea, and I am sure when the breeze is off the sea the air quality beats CM, (although stuck in traffic is likely at least as bad).

Another advantage is the proximity to Bangkok of course. I like the fact that I could probably be on a flight homeward the same day if needed.

I felt quickly bored in CM personally...... you have the zoo, we have Walking st

You can eat very cheaply in Pattaya.

Yes, many 7 11 in Pattaya.

I think the more interesting places here require a vehicle. Bang Saray, Buddha mountain, Wat Yan, lunch at the lake, Ban Chang's beaches (or the navy's), NaJomtien near the Glass House, Dinner at Preecha's in Ban Amphur (or just on the beach), etc.

Definitely go to the Sanctuary of Truth. The mountain in Pratumnak for views over Pattaya. Drinks on roof top of the Hilton. Live music at the Lion Pub or Mood. The show at Angels Witch or What's Up. Koh Larn makes for an interesting trip. Public transport, outside central Pattaya, is a problem.

Drinks on roof top of the Hilton

Do you have to wear long pants and shoes to go there?

To go anywhere far away go to a travel agent, and they can do a private tour for you. If I can afford it anyone can.

For Sanctuary of Truth, can take baht bus to near Naklua town and walk. Not far. look on a map for where to get off. Cost- 10 baht.

Just paying the 50 baht and briskly walking away is what I would have done.

Why would you pay 50 when you thought the price was 10?

From the color of this "taxi" on the video,

it's clearly *not* an official Pattaya bahtbus.

Don't understand why you accepted boarding it

while being not far from the official bahtbus "station" on Pattaya Klang ?

The OP may not have understood the colour being different meant anything.

However, yes, it's not the usual baht bus colour.

The OPs mistake was not asking price from driver before getting on, but from some woman that was probably in on the scam.

If it was 300, should be for private hire. That they were asking 300 from everyone is obvious scam.

Also should have called tourist police not ordinary police.

I never get on baht bus unless from a proper waiting area, or driving along and I stop them, preferably with other people, especially Thais, on board.

The ones that come to the Sukhumvit bus stop to meet a bus are not the normal ones and always a rip off for farangs.

Leave the beach area and it gets less touristy the further you get away from the beach. Food prices will go down too. Not sure it's worth a month as a tourist, but I LOVE living here. Different being a resident and a tourist.

What areas would you suggest?

Perhaps we're just in the wrong part of Pattaya...

Correct. If you'd taken a 20 baht baht bus ride to Jomptien you would have found a different place altogether. Nicer beach. Still lots of farangs with young girls of course.

Did you not google Pattaya before going? That is what Pattaya is all about on the tourist side for farangs- not so much the Chinese.

If you think it's only gogos you must have only gone to Walking Street.

Lots of things to do in Pattaya, but if you go to WS that's the premier gogo place in Thailand.

Why anyone should want to buy property here is a mystery to me.

Maybe the bubble is slowly popping.

It's only artificially low interest rates that is preventing this turning into a disaster

Disaster for whom? The guys that thought they'd make a killing buying property in LOS? .

If property prices come down significantly, hotel prices SHOULD come down and that would be a GREAT thing for Pattaya.

Of course, being LOS hotel prices might go up instead. Just have to wait and see.

This is what you need to remember when you come here to live which is nothing like vacationing here. This culture is 180 opposite to yours. Here family comes first and I mean first. What you think is love is really just respect of your ability to provide for her and her family. You will have her respect as long as you remember this. If you fail or even if she perceives that your not willing to do this then there is no such thing as forgiveness only revenge and compensation. And she will initiate a rather elaborate scheme to defraud you of your assets. She will do this to insure she can continue to live in the manner she has grown accustomed to. When she decides to leave you there will be no indicators. When she is ready to leave you will be blindsided. Take a look at some of the so called happily married foreigners who have that passive subdued demeanor. That is the face of a man that is at the mercy of a woman that can take everything he has and that which is signed in her name. You can't win for the police, the laws and a nation of Thais stand against you. Keep your head and a stash..

Thanks for the laugh. You need to qualify what you say, as in "in SOME cases if you fail or even if she perceives that your not willing to do this then there is no such thing as forgiveness only revenge and compensation. And she will initiate a rather elaborate scheme to defraud you of your assets".

My wife knew before she married me the family were getting zip from me, and she knows I don't have any "assets" that she can defraud from me.

She works to give her own money to the family, not mine.

If she wants to leave me, that could happen regardless of how much I gave her, and I really don't want to take a washing machine and the microwave with me if I do have to leave.

She has nothing worth anything "signed in her name", which is what I and many on here are saying. Don't buy property, don't buy a car, don't have joint bank accounts etc etc.

That is the secret to peace of mind when marrying a Thai woman.

You sound as if you don't have any money anyway.

That is what I like her to think.

Some wiseacre once said:

"A culture which treats the serious as trivial, and the trivial as serious, faces culture death."

I think we're just about there, aren't we?

I don't know about that. The Roman empire existed for hundreds of years after the games reached their peak, and the games were their equivalent of popular trivia.

However, as everything happens more quickly now, perhaps.

If IS takes over the world, will the best headcutteroff be awarded accolades like Beckham and asked for his opinion on world matters?

The culture here is not known for its high level of intellectual curiosity. Sure I get asked sometimes what country but I think that's usually about which stereotype box to put people in rather than learning anything new.

Other than bargirls, Thais ask me about my country as much as people in my country ask about Thailand, which is about zero.

Yes, if any confirmation of our plans to return to live in the UK were needed - well, that's it.

Let me get this straight. You only live in Thailand is because you can look at websites that the government doesn't like, and if you can't do that anymore you'd rather live in the UK?

I must confess an admiration for Beckham.

He was born poor, with no brains, and a football talent which was by no means exceptional. But, with good parents, he developed a work ethic that enabled him to become a respected football star at many clubs and in many countries.

I don't know many people who have anything worse to say about him than he is unintelligent and lacking in taste. He neither smokes nor drinks, and is a trusted ambassador for both brands and charities. He has been married to the same woman for 16 years and has four children by her, not a bad record these days.

You could argue that Beckham finding the Pope amazing is hardly a world-shattering event, and that far too much prominence is given to what Beckham says, thinks, wears and promotes. I would agree. But that's hardly his fault, is it?

That a man that can kick a ball is worth more than those that help other people everyday, like nurses, and firefighters, says much about the moral vacuum in which we live now.

When was the last time they went to get nurse so and so's opinion on the pope, or indeed anything?

And, the fact that the catholic church can preach the doctrine of a man that despised the moneylenders, while spending vast a mounts of money on fancy buildings says much about the moral vacuum of the catholic church.

I wonder where the Greeks are camping?

I wonder who is selling them the tents, they must be raking it in, Most of these supposed Migrants are not migrants at all, and are using this mass move for their own benefits, i am waiting for the time to come when it is announced that on of these Migrants have just committed a terrorist act, then it will be to late some would have achieved their goal,

I wonder who is feeding them? I wonder where all those thousands are going to the loo. Are they able to wash?

nobody thinks about Afghanistan, its been at war for 50 years!, about 50 years and what about the facilities? No water,no electricity; no possibility for any education in Afghanistan. All these teenagers grow up with no education.”

So why are they having children when they know there is nothing for them after being born? Perhaps they are too stupid to understand that if you stick it in and shake it all about there will be a new baby in 9 months time.

Whatever, they made the baby, it's their responsibility to look after it, not the German taxpayer.

How many people in the USA, how many have computers and are on the internet?

They asked 1,000 people via internet then claim this is an accurate analysis.

TOTAL BS.

8.2% Muslim is a huge percentage, especially in a small country like Britain with a fairly wide variety of ethnic and religious groups. With that big percentage of a fragmented population, what's to stop them from demanding at some point that stoning be brought back for adultery and human rights laws be repealed, among other onerous things? May seem far-fetched now but remember the long-term goal of Islam is one World with only one religion--Islam. They are very patient but also very relentless. When they see an opening--like the current disarray and weakness in Europe, they exploit it. And, no, I am not a right wing reactionary--just a liberal realist who doesn't want to find myself living under Islam law.

This is my problem with so many Muslim migrants/refugees being let in. Some are able to integrate into society well and truly follow a pacifist version of their religion but there have been others already who bring their extremist practices over and when we let so many in, we don't know what type of extremists we're letting in. We already have a problem with the native Muslims, many ISIS militants have been bred in this country in mosques themselves. Behind those close doors we don't know what self-governing laws they're practising but there's been many "honour killings" in the past.

According to one report, there were thousands of "honour attacks" in the UK back in 2011 and even barring this we have a religion which is passive aggressive in its treatment to women trying to say that's it acceptable for them to be covered head to toe. UK should go the French route and ban the wearing of this type of clothing that covers a woman's face. It's the 21st century for God's sake.

When people come over here, they need to learn to abide by our rules. So primitive stone-age customs can be left in the Middle East such as most of what Sharia Law involves.

I respect all religions but Islam, unlike the others, still has much progressing to do.

Women covering is nothing to do with Islam. It is a purely CULTURAL custom. That is why some Islamic women don't cover at all. Different countries have different customs in relation to females covering, but only the fact that mainly Islamic countries still treat women like that fools people into believing that it is religious. Of course the religious zealots that indoctrinate their congregation are not going to admit that and pretend that to be against covering is anti Islamic.

That is why we see stupid western women wearing tents, because they believe the fairy tale given to them by Islamic preachers.

so much BS on this ... ' I don't give her anything ' ... what lie's are spoken on TV ...

So any farang who gives nothing expects to be looked after, taken care of ...fed, waited on, sex sometimes ! but you don't provide no financial support whatsoever ?

Absolute BS ... ain't that the truth ...

You know that we mean we don't give her cash in hand for nothing in return.

I'll warrant that most of us support her by paying the rent, food, tv, power and water etc. The reason we do so is that if she only earns an average wage it would mean living an average Thai lifestyle, and none of us want to live like that.

My wife owns the car, but if I want to go on a long trip, I pay for the fuel as otherwise I wouldn't be able to go on an enjoyable trip. I wouldn't buy her the car though.

How many more cases of death from these synthetic highs etc do the kids need to see before they realise that the old adage "Just say no" is still valid. Unfortunately there are always those who need to burn them selves on a kettle to learn not to touch it. Sometimes you just can't fix stupid.

It's obvious that "just say no" does not work. Never has & never will. One of the characteristics of being young, is being wreckless and in particular in young males there exists a sense of immortality, not in all, but in the majority. Just say no, is a slogan that was devised by a senile old woman who thought people would listen to her. It was & is an epic fail. Recreational drug use will never go away, prohibition does not work. Legalisation, education and controlled distribution of drugs in the same way as is the case with tobacco and alcohol is the only way to deal with this matter.

It worked for me.

Only the weak take drugs.

Now that is a typical comment by someone who sees themselves as morally superior to those who willingly take risks.

With little or no understanding of human nature,

Just because it worked for you, it doesn't mean that it will work for everyone, matter of fact the statistics prove that "just say no failed."

I could say something along the lines of "only the weak believe in gods." it would be an equally shallow, meaningless statement as the waste of bandwidth and time that went into your reply.

Hmmmm. IMO any educated person that will take an illegal, unregistered drug from a dealer that could be selling anything, and probably has added substances that may be harmful, is either foolish or stupid.

Everybody goes through a foolish period when young, but if one does take illegal drugs and it goes pear shaped, one can't blame anyone else for the consequences.

I realize my only personal experience with weddings comes from deep Issan area. But, even the poorest wedding has a large gathering with Music, food and booze. I went to one in a nearby village where we sat for a long time with no food or drink, an occasional glass of beer. Alot of displeasure there.

Just a small birthday party for the kids is an event, with all the neighbors on the soi helping out prepare food. Eating, drinking and music.

I think if one doesn't drink or speak Thai, it is not particularly enjoyable for a farang at a Thai party. I send my wife off to enjoy herself getting pissed and gossiping, but I avoid the boredom by not going myself.

This is what you need to remember when you come here to live which is nothing like vacationing here. This culture is 180 opposite to yours. Here family comes first and I mean first. What you think is love is really just respect of your ability to provide for her and her family. You will have her respect as long as you remember this. If you fail or even if she perceives that your not willing to do this then there is no such thing as forgiveness only revenge and compensation. And she will initiate a rather elaborate scheme to defraud you of your assets. She will do this to insure she can continue to live in the manner she has grown accustomed to. When she decides to leave you there will be no indicators. When she is ready to leave you will be blindsided. Take a look at some of the so called happily married foreigners who have that passive subdued demeanor. That is the face of a man that is at the mercy of a woman that can take everything he has and that which is signed in her name. You can't win for the police, the laws and a nation of Thais stand against you. Keep your head and a stash..

Thanks for the laugh. You need to qualify what you say, as in "in SOME cases if you fail or even if she perceives that your not willing to do this then there is no such thing as forgiveness only revenge and compensation. And she will initiate a rather elaborate scheme to defraud you of your assets".

My wife knew before she married me the family were getting zip from me, and she knows I don't have any "assets" that she can defraud from me.

She works to give her own money to the family, not mine.

If she wants to leave me, that could happen regardless of how much I gave her, and I really don't want to take a washing machine and the microwave with me if I do have to leave.

She has nothing worth anything "signed in her name", which is what I and many on here are saying. Don't buy property, don't buy a car, don't have joint bank accounts etc etc.

That is the secret to peace of mind when marrying a Thai woman.

This is what you need to remember when you come here to live which is nothing like vacationing here. This culture is 180 opposite to yours. Here family comes first and I mean first. What you think is love is really just respect of your ability to provide for her and her family. You will have her respect as long as you remember this. If you fail or even if she perceives that your not willing to do this then there is no such thing as forgiveness only revenge and compensation. And she will initiate a rather elaborate scheme to defraud you of your assets. She will do this to insure she can continue to live in the manner she has grown accustomed to. When she decides to leave you there will be no indicators. When she is ready to leave you will be blindsided. Take a look at some of the so called happily married foreigners who have that passive subdued demeanor. That is the face of a man that is at the mercy of a woman that can take everything he has and that which is signed in her name. You can't win for the police, the laws and a nation of Thais stand against you. Keep your head and a stash..

This is so good and throws light on the difference in cultures and why many farangs think it's love whilst the Thai women have an entirely different view of it............so good in fact that I've copied and pasted it for future reference and to pass on to friends who come here.

IMO any old man who marries a girl half his age anywhere in the world and thinks she "loves" him, whatever "love" is, is deluded, desperate and foolish. That applies whether it is Hugh Heffner, Rod Stewart or any old millionaire with a trophy wife.

All they are doing is setting themselves up for the big divorce payout.

very strange indeed, I actually thought you married for love, I mean why marry someone you dont trust. I trust my wife implicitly, there are no worries about her stealing my money or anything else. Dont know how you lot that marry much younger women then not trust them live, must be frustrating as sh*t knowing you can never trust her with anything or buy her anything nice. Yes there are some bad ones around, as many as the men that are just as bad and are busy screwing anything they can behind her back to boost their ego's, pretty pathetic really. Occasionally someone is caught out but a lot of us arent and are in very happy marriages, feel sorry for those that are in theirs for the anything other than love, what a waste of a life, at least the poor bugger that was ripped off has enough sense to move on and still trust people, some of you lot must have bloody miserable lives with these untrustworthy females.

Thai women dont marry for love.

If they marry farangs..

Rubbish. I know a Thai woman that was forced to marry a Thai man because he raped her, and she won't be alone in that.

If Thais married other Thais for "love", whatever that means, sin sod would cease to be a factor. The way it is now, families want their daughters to marry rich Thai men for the big payout.

I can understand allowing children to join their parents, but why should old people be allowed to come just because their children are in the west, unless of course they too are genuine refugees.

When I was in the UK, it appeared that old people that never paid a penny tax to Britain were allowed to immigrate to be with their children and get all the freebies like NHS etc.

Current UK law permits partner or children under 18 of resettled refugees to apply for entry. However those applying must prove they are under threat in their country of origin or if outside country of origin unable to return. Parent and grandparents can apply in exceptional circumstances, but have to be supported by family in the UK & not be a liability on the public purse.

http://www.refugeelegalaidinformation.org/resettlement-uk

With the UK's commitment to accept an additional 20k refugees from countries bordering Syria I assume similar policy to Australia i.e. minorities (code for mainly non-Muslims). Again parents must demonstrate they are unable to return to country of origin due to fear of persecution and so on.

The current EU policy agreement to accept, over a two year period, 120,000 refugees for resettlement is for refugees located in Italy & Greece.

The idea that parents or grandparents of resettled refugees/ immigrants should be allowed to settle with their children in the UK is just wrong. They end up getting free NHS treatment regardless of any "rules". We operated on large numbers of Asian ( usually Indian ) old people that had obviously never lived in the UK, and had obviously come to live with their children.

If that has changed, then that's good.

If they are genuine refugees, then they should be supported in camps like all the other thousands of refugees that have no right to settle in the UK or Euro.

Medical care costs money, regardless of whether in camps or outside. There's not many old people among those refugees, Syria is not India.

In most European countries there is no such thing as NHS, you have to pay for your health-insurance. In Germany a health insurance is mandatory, and the contribution to health insurance is automatically taken away from your wages. Of course, a refugee must be allowed to work to contribute.

In the UK you pay National Insurance and get health care without having to pay at the point of use.

The German system sounds the same.

Sorry, but I don't get that. If I wanted to affirm my love for my wife in a ceremony, I'd want my friends there. If my friends couldn't be there, I'd wait till I was back in my own country to have the ceremony.

As for the Thai ceremony for his wife, either he will have to pay a lot of money which he says he doesn't have, or they can just have a party/ dinner for her friends, at which they will all get pissed at his expense, and talk in Thai, usually about the farang. I refuse to go to any parties with my wife as I am terribly bored not being a big drinker and not understanding anything they say, plus I don't like being gossiped about when I can't understand what they are saying about me.

whatever, the OP needs to decide if he is going to pay a lot or a little, and the choice will be limited by that decision.

I am sorry that you don't get it. You would 'want your friends there' is just your personal preference. Many people get married just for themselves. Re. the Aussie soldier and his girl getting married with no friends or relatives. Who is to say he wouldn't be killed in Afghanistan and not ever be able to marry his girl. People are entitled to their personal preference. The formal ceremony is meaningful for them and they want to do it whether the friends and relatives are there or not. The OP and and his wife want a 'real' ceremony which is a lot different from just signing some papers and paying 200 baht. And only a few of his friends are willing to pay the expense in dollars and time to come to Thailand and he is not financially able to or does not wish to go back to his 'home country' to get married. They are affirming their love and commitment to each other. You are entitled to your own personal feelings about how you would do it but who are you to project your preferences on to other people? I stand by my original post.

If the OP reads this: Regarding your income, I wonder if you would qualify for a US Social Security disability benefit as well as your military disability pay. Check it out.

The Oz soldier and his GF didn't get married, if you read the post. They had a ceremony in a nice scenic place. I'm fine with that, but I don't really understand why it was necessary to have a lot of strangers at a ceremony that had no legal status. They could have held hands and spoken vows to each other, but whatever. Any excuse to have a party.

From what I read the OP doesn't want a "real" Thai ceremony, he wants a non religious ceremony. She may do so, but this thread isn't about her.

Well...again you 'don't understand". No one is legally married even if a church ceremony unless it is registered. So no, the Aussie soldier and his girl didn't get married legally. But maybe you could try to 'understand' that it was meaningful to them and made them happy. The 'nice scenic place' just happened to have a bunch of tourists standing around who were more than happy to step in and help out. And the OP said he wants a non religious western ceremony not a Thai ceremony.

Agreed. I don't understand why these days it is necessary to have a big ceremony with a lot of people that one never saw before, and spend a lot of money so strangers can get pissed and eat a lot of food. Not talking about the Oz couple- weddings in general when auntie so and so that one met once years ago is invited with a lot of relatives that one probably doesn't even know. More so because many marriages don't last long- 50% failure rate is not a good statistic.

My parents had a small registry wedding with a few people that they knew well- seems reasonable to me. I never had a ceremony/ party at all. Just went to the office and signed the paper, then went home. No party, no big deal for either of us.

However, whatever makes them happy, I guess.

He's in trouble back home for saying bad things about his homeland. One should be careful of what one says in such situations.

A little off topic but I will say this. In my experience with Thai women and Thai culture I have seen many many Thai women stand by their man whilst they have become gravely ill, whether they have been rich or poor. They have stood by their side, nurtured them, cleaned them, prayed for them and did anything they could for them right to the end.They gave up their own life to be with their man right to the end. And I'm I talking women from all walks of life, from a cleaner, to a bar girl to a university educated woman. I give them full credit for this as I don't see it on such a scale in the west.

Hmmmmm. I wonder what sort of job you have. I have lived quite a long time in Thailand but I don't know of many farangs that ended up in that situation. Just what I read on TV from time to time.

In the west, not many look after their aged relatives as we have a well developed industry for hiding old people away from view in "rest homes" where they are left to rot in front of the tv, as never enough staff in an average rest home.