prospero

I am a US Citizen living in Thailand on a retirement visa.

Yesterday, I left my US Passport in the wash. It is now damaged.

How can I get a replacement for the US Passport? 

If I bring the old one to the US Embassy will they give me a replacement on fhe spot or ask me to apply for a new one? If I apply for a new one, do I get the same expiry date as my old passport or is my new passport good for ten years from the time I apply?

What about my retirement visa stamps? How can I replace? 

What if I have to show my passport for bank or hotel accommodation before the new one arrives

Luckily, I do have photocopies of my passport face page, visa page, and entry card.

Also big tree down on Sukhumvit near police HQ. Half of rode shut down. Branches interfering with BTS. Pretty sure current has been turned off.

Madness.

Can anyone recommend an orthopedist in the Pattaya area that is not connected with Bangkok Pattaya Hospital?

Your reply was entirely expected, Mr. Bone Ranger. You really can't answer my post in a cogent way, so you resort to ad-hominem and call me "dumb". I notice you do that to other posters who disagree with you. Sticks and stones, Mr Bones.

I think it's quite clear that you don't understand how Pattaya operates. You are the classic naive expat bar-stool bloviator who thinks he knows Thailand and wants to remake the country to suit his shallow image. I don't know if you're British (I have a feeling you are). but your attitude is utterly colonialist.

You decry corruption at City Hall. Did it ever occur to you that the Junta -- the ones who ordered the beach clean-up -- are as corrupt, possibly more corrupt?

There are lots of places that can offer you untouched, sandy beaches -- I mentioned East Malaysia in a previous posting. There are others, in Thailand, Indonesia, and New Jersey.

Why don't you take yourself to one of them?

I ask, Mr. Bone Ranger, because you have to be consistent in your crusades. I made my point a couple of entries ago.

The concessions are an eyesore/The bars are an eyesore

The concessions are allowed because they pay corrupt officials, same for the bars.

The concessions bring down the quality of life in Pattaya, so do the bars.

The TAT tourist brochures don't show you pictures of the beach chairs, neither do they show you pictures of the bars.

Both the beach chairs and the bars are part of a Pattaya culture that goes back at least for the 25+ years I've been coming here. Tourists and locals alike have enjoyed them and given them business. Locals have profited from them, supported themselves and their families.

If you're going to condemn one, then condemn the other. It's called consistency

I certainly don't want to draw conclusions from your handle, but "Bone Ranger" is a sort of double entendre. Perhaps you enjoy the bars just as they are the way many of us enjoy the beaches just as they are.

Are you ready to go after the gogo bars Mr Bone Ranger? Don't they offend you?

I'm sure you must also be offended, Mr. Bone Ranger, by the unsightly dens of iniquity that flourish all over Pattaya -- not only on Walking Street, but wherever decent people walk. Brazen whores of either sex are trying to lure you into vice and folly. Loud music blares out onto the street. Male and female prostitutes, shout "welcome" and often approach naive tourists who have read nothing about these establishments in the TAT tourist brochures. I'm told these harlots sell their sexual services in utter defiance of Thai law.

Clearly, bribes have been paid, to the police and to city hall. Otherwise Pattaya would be a serene shoppers paradise, a family destination where one could walk the streets unmolested any time of the day or night.

Clean beaches, clean streets. A noble objective.

What you don't seem to understand, Mr. Bone Ranger, is that these are businesses. They are part of a culture that has been here for decades and has provided income for many Thais -- not only the concessionaires but vendors, and masseurs. If the chairs were always empty, they wouldn't be profitable, would they?

Why do you feel the necessity of interfering with a system that you clearly don't understand? This is Thailand. Get used to it. There are lovely beaches on the East Coast of Malaysia. Why not go there?

If you want the beaches to be aesthetically pleasing, why not remove the hundreds of huge European men and women in bikinis and thongs? They lie on the sand, their enormous bellies and breasts -- not to mention their man boobs and bulges -- visible to all, their blubbery flesh turning from sickly white to lobster red -- an affront to the unspoiled beauty of the pristine sandy shore.

I mean, you don't see people like this in the tourist brochures, do you?

I certainly don't want to look at them. They offend me. At least when they're sitting under the umbrellas, their unsightly presence is hidden from the view of passers by.

This has very little to do with the beauty or ecology of the beaches. This is about the military displaying its power. The little guys -- the concessionaires, the masseurs, the vendors -- get pushed around. They lose one day a week's income. They have to reduce the number of chairs. The ones I talked to were seething with anger. Of course, they had to obey. This is a submission society.

If you want to improve the quality of life on the beaches, reign in the developers that have built monstrosities close to the shore. Take down the Waterfront, a gargantuan eyesore that will be visible from everywhere and block views from the top of Buddha Hill. It's clearly illegal, even though the developer was able to get approval from the authorities. I wonder how that happened?

Move buildings, not chairs.

Dined there last night. A wonderful place!

Ambience, food, service -- all first rate. Lovely Anglo/Continental menu. Excellent value for money.

John Ellis, the proprietor, is to be congratulated. Soon, you won't be able to get a table without a reservation.

It might help if authorities disallowed the practice of shopfront owners placing obstructions in front of their establishments.

Two things no one has mentioned. First, the real need is for a freight line to take the huge numbers of trucks off the road. The Japanese moved their factories to Rayong to avoid the floodwaters north of Bangkok, but they told the government there must be rail from Laem Chebang and Swampy to Rayong. The high-speed train will also come, but it is not as economically important as the freight line.

Second, there will almost certainly be casino gambling sometime in the future. That will bring lots and lots of people to Pattaya/Jomtien.

The political demonstrations have made some areas impossible to drive through.

KL cabbies are far worse.

AYOR

I think you mean "licence" not "licentiousness" -- although I may be wrong.

You should invest in a dictionary.

Hickory on Thappraya.

Taxis don't queue at Makkasan.

I’m looking to form a group of people who want to meet regularly to explore Shakespeare’s plays. There are many forms that exploration might take: readings and discussions, acting workshops based on scenes and monologues, or even a production of a full or abridged version of a particular work. It will be up to the group to decide where it wants to go. Membership open to all who speak English regardless of age, experience, or occupation. Students, teachers, actors are more than welcome to join. Interested? Please email me at rey.buono@gmail,com. Please put the word “Shakespeare” in the subject heading.

Ironic that you quote Orwell to defend Fox. Fox would be Orwell's nightmare. Read "Politics and the English Language.

Chips as in tostada chips.

Waited 25 minutes for chips and salsa. Chips were out of a bag -- Fritos.

Salsa bar out of everything but two items, and those looked like they had been there since last week.

Main course came 5 minutes later. My Chimi tasted of the oil it was deep fried in. The skin was soggy. The rice and beans were cold My friends' thought their dishes were sub par for all sorts of reasons.

Service inattentive throughout the meal.

Music repetitive and loud.

Bench seating uncomfortable.

Prices compare with Coyote -- which is also overpriced.

On the advice of people on this thread, I dined at La Monita this evening.

Awful: service, food, ambience, value for money.

Bangkok's own Taco Bell.

Never again.