coralia

Suicides & murders are plentiful in Pattaya. Mis-adventure and mishaps are equally plentiful. These are matched by police (in)competence and resources which are not so plentiful. Police thrive in a constant state of delusion; imagining everything to be a suicide or an accident. It means that Pattaya police have the world's largest 'file and forget' section. At rare intervals police do announce 'break-throughs'. This simply means that the bag snatcher fell off his bike and landed atop a policeman or a thief left his ID behind in someone's safe or someone from the Russian Embassy demands answers or someone has dangled a dollar bill before a high-up BIB. Mind you I've nothing against the BIB. In fact I've dated a couple of them and found the evening grand so long as one expects nothing intelligent.

Only a smidgen of all the mayhem & madness - which occurs in this small splice of land barely 5km x 5km in which just over 100,000 people live - gets into the media. 'In percentage terms' the crime & accident stats (of what is called Greater Pattaya) exceeds even the crime infested Chicago South-side. Which made me think - Imagine if those smart yanks exported their '2nd Amendment' to this fair country the way they've been exporting 'democracy' around the M.E. They might at last succeed in creating one more mess. But then that's for another time.

Dated who??????

re

Doesn't look so bad. Thank you for posting pictures

+ 1 but i dont see any seats ?

where are we and the girls people watching / looking for

customers supposed to sit ?

i was going to come down for a holliday after i get my new one year visa in a few weeks but if theres nowhere to sit and people watch i think ill go somewhere else or stay in chiang mai ?

dave2

ps . its raining and grey up here this morning : (

its a cunning plan by city hall to get rid of the whores without BIB

no seats means no buyers=no sellers

That would be lovely indeed.

Today.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Doesn't look so bad. Thank you for posting pictures!

Some people think we have lost a piece of Pattaya history, please realize it wasn't the Trevi Fountain that was just removed, but something that was tasteless and not in keeping with Thai culture. Maybe the city fathers will replace it with a giant spirit house or jet ski sculpture.

in my town we had in the sixtys cars and buses on the beach road,now only pedestrians

the cars are banned,first prottest from the owners of the appartements,

now they are happy with the nice vieuw and pay a fortune for it.

Still, there are a few advantages to Pattaya not being in France....

The prices, for instance.

it was about the streets or beachroad not about living cost (pics belguim ostend)

I was joking, Jean-Pierre... I assumed you were French, so I thought you had a sense of humour...

I conversed with a Vietnam vet(American) on the beach about his experience. During the Viet War Pattaya Beach was a clean beautiful pairofdice. Today he visits again after 45 years. He was very upset. The buildings and ruining of the beach etc. Mostly the number of people and bus after bus.

He said he will never come back. He has set off to find a better beach.

"a beautiful pairofdice"??? what's that??

in my town we had in the sixtys cars and buses on the beach road,now only pedestrians

the cars are banned,first prottest from the owners of the appartements,

now they are happy with the nice vieuw and pay a fortune for it.

Still, there are a few advantages to Pattaya not being in France....

The prices, for instance.

Destruction work has now gone to Soi 6

Any idea when they are going to finish...?

This is what we have in Chiang Mai for our best walkway, around the city moat.

If in a wheel chair, take your pick and take your chances... :

Which side of the old town is this? I don't recognise the building in the background...

That's looking at the Sompet Market area from the Eastern side of the moat, looking South. Amora Thapae hotel is just visible on the left. Here: http://goo.gl/maps/wPedP (Zoom out or click the little arrow in the bottom right to see the map)

Thanks. The worst thing about those walkways along the moats is crossing the street... I mean, ALL those streets... with the traffic never stopping...

This is what we have in Chiang Mai for our best walkway, around the city moat.

If in a wheel chair, take your pick and take your chances... :

Which side of the old town is this? I don't recognise the building in the background...

Having to zig-zag around trees is definitely not a good idea when you're in a wheelchair.

Pics from today show 3 color bricks used at far north start of project. Not much done but something to look at and get some idea.

Maybe 20 meters brick laid with 100 more ready for bricks. The grading for road/sidewalk is already down to Soi 5. Sure there are trees and other things being uprooted all down the beach but still have good access in those areas.

Thanks for the update.

Either way, there's not much you can do about it other than whine on an anglo web forum.

Pattaya has seen waves of particular nationalities, who seemed DOMINANT at least in certain areas at certain times. Then the demographic within that nationality shifted for the better, and new nationalities came. It's always been like this.

Uh, in other words, the world is constantly changing... any elementary Buddhist text will tell you that .

Suppose your grand-parents hadn't made it out of Russia (in 1917, I presume)... and had been trapped there, like so many others... You could have been just like them. Not even a little bit of empathy?...

Have you heard of the word: pogrom?

Yes, much more than you think... But that's no answer to my question. Pogroms or not, millions were trapped there. They were not given a choice.

I have no power over the Russian masses here to be someone whose empathy would be welcomed. In general, the non-Russian speakers here don't exist to the Russians.

That is also true in other countries... in case that is any consolation to you. My point was that some degree of empathy would be good for YOU... you could try to see things from their perspective and then you would be able to put up with them more easily... Of course it wouldn't make any difference to them, but perhaps it would make a difference to you.

I don't like Russians either, and I also live in a place where the Russians are dominant... But being angry with them doesn't help... I just have to accept that they came here to make a better living, just as they go to Thailand for a cheap holiday in the sun... After all, we are so lucky, compared to them... and so selfish!

Suppose your grand-parents hadn't made it out of Russia (in 1917, I presume)... and had been trapped there, like so many others... You could have been just like them. Not even a little bit of empathy?...

Have you heard of the word: pogrom?

Yes, much more than you think... But that's no answer to my question. Pogroms or not, millions were trapped there. They were not given a choice.

I would like to see them not be as DOMINANT demographically speaking. Thinking about this a little more, and more honestly, it is not ONLY that the domination of ANY NATIONAL GROUP suffocates some of the welcome diversity but also that their culture isn't all that appealing to MOST non-Russians, including me. Most don't speak English and their script is unapproachable to non-Russian speakers. Their food is boring. They are insular and cliquish within their OWN language group, as a rough generality.

Thais are now catering much more only to Russian tastes. Sorry that is a total bummer if you don't have Russian tastes.

Suppose the domination was from Mexicans instead.

More speak English.

Their language is approachable, anyone who can read Romanized letters can at least attempt to read their language and many of us understand a lot of already

Their food is exciting.

They are outgoing and friendly to non-Spanish speakers, as a rough generality.

Thais catering mostly to Mexican tastes might be a little bizarre but it would at least be fun to watch.

OK, I have to admit roaming Thai Mariachis at Central Mall may be a bit much ...

So with the Russians it is a double whammy. If you're not a Russian speaker, that is.

One other random observation: Russian people here have taken to calling baht buses (when they act as buses at least) TUKS TUKS. Of course they are NOT tuk tuks. Many Thai drivers are humoring them. I would humor them too if they were my rice bowl.

Oh, this is so funny!!! Why would Mexicans ever set foot in Thailand??? They have plenty of sunshine and beaches in their own country...

Of course Mexicans are outgoing and friendly. They have never lived under communist rule, have they?...

BTW, the Russian script is not "unapproachable" to non-Russian speakers. It is very easy to learn. Admittedly, their food is boring... but aren't you being a little intolerant towards a nation "blessed" with such a harsh climate and a troubled history...?

Suppose your grand-parents hadn't made it out of Russia (in 1917, I presume)... and had been trapped there, like so many others... You could have been just like them. Not even a little bit of empathy?...

Rabies vaccine combined with antibiotic injection 220 baht plus medical fee probably 440 baht total. Govt hospital..

After 10 days just go back to where restaurant is,see if dog is still there and alive ,if it is,no rabies

Oh, great! And you should be so happy that you were bitten by a healthy dog! Lucky you!!!

This kind of story makes me think twice about setting foot in Thailand again........

I think there are better places in the world for a handicap person in a wheelchair to enjoy easy access to getting around. Yikes, I can't even walk on one of Pattaya's side walks without running into a utility or telephone pole, a food vendor, a sleeping dog, or a pot hole.

You forgot to mention how dangerous it is to cross the street in Thailand!!!

My comment was addressed to Jingthing, who mentioned something about a restaurant where everything was in Russian: if you are only interested in the food, learning the alphabet and a very limited vocabulary will probably be enough.

Perhaps I should mention that I have learned enough Russian to understand "Evgheny Onegin"... but then, I'm a linguist. I do agree though that knowing Russian will not get you into very interesting conversations with Russian speakers... I live in an area with lots of Russian speakers and most of them will not talk to me (even in Russian), simply because they are not exactly friendly... The problem with Russians is not the language, it's the mentality. So sadly enough, this topic/poll is really useless .

I think the Russians need to learn some english. You would think they would pick up a bit.

They don't have to. That's one reason so many come here and I expect their tourism domination to increase more in the future.

I have come across young Russians who know English but refuse to speak it. They seem to be offended that Thais have taken the trouble to learn some English, but will not bother to learn some Russian as well. (Of course this is political - they feel their country is as important as the USA or whatever, and that Thais should notice that!) I was in a 7-Eleven once and there was a young Russian woman who insisted on speaking in Russian to the staff (who were laughing at her). When I asked her if she hadn't learned any English in school, she answered me in fluent English - but she said she thought the Thais should learn Russian, just the way they learned English!

Russian is not easy to learn - the grammar is extremely difficult (among major Indo-European languages, only Sanskrit is more difficult!). I tried to learn it some 12 years ago, because I wanted to understand the final duet in Tchaikovsky's "Evgheni Onegin"... However, if you only want to get by in Russian restaurants, I think it would be enough to learn the alphabet, and that's not very complicated... Russian is easy to read, unlike English or French.

However, I'm not sure the food will be worth the trouble... It could be more rewarding to read Pushkin!!!

Pictures from today show the first landscape area at far north end which is very narrow. The concrete has been laid for the walkway and bricks have been delivered to site to be overlaid. The concrete rectangle bricks are all grey or all marine blue painted (same as Walking Street was?)

Note the location of palm trees that do not allow for a straight sidewalk at this location.

I did not get the feeling that there will be proper drainage of the sidewalk and will have pools of standing water after rain.

Thanks a lot for the pictures!! I'm following this thread because I'm planning on coming to Pattaya with my mother later this summer, and she's in a wheelchair... Without the promenade along the beach, I can't see any point in going to Pattaya, we might as well go elsewhere .

Not many places in Thailand have a promenade (or even a road) along the beach. Especially not the islands down South. In the Pattaya area you at least have Jomtien, Bang Saray, etc.

Can she walk (with assistance of one or two people and a walker) short stretches? Then it's worth actually getting her on a beach, which is feasible for Jomtien for example as the road goes right along the beach.

She can walk a little, but definitely not on the beach (walking on sand is obviously difficult and dangerous for people who have trouble keeping their balance ). I was counting on that promenade... it never crossed my mind that it could disappear!!!

Well, we are only planning on coming in September, so I guess we'll have to wait and see how things develop... many thanks to the people posting pictures!!!

Pictures from today show the first landscape area at far north end which is very narrow. The concrete has been laid for the walkway and bricks have been delivered to site to be overlaid. The concrete rectangle bricks are all grey or all marine blue painted (same as Walking Street was?)

Note the location of palm trees that do not allow for a straight sidewalk at this location.

I did not get the feeling that there will be proper drainage of the sidewalk and will have pools of standing water after rain.

Thanks a lot for the pictures!! I'm following this thread because I'm planning on coming to Pattaya with my mother later this summer, and she's in a wheelchair... Without the promenade along the beach, I can't see any point in going to Pattaya, we might as well go elsewhere .

Some more images from the end of Beach Rd near the Mantra, the new palms can be seen here.

Beach_road-10011.jpg Beach_road-10012.jpg

The old sea wall

Beach_road-10013.jpg

The new palms.

Beach_road-10014.jpg Beach_road-10015.jpg

Where is the promenade ?? If you are in a wheelchair are you just shit-out-of-luck ?

I guess the wheelchairs could use the new road lane....As the say safety-first....

Exactly the question I wanted to ask... where is the promenade???

Does this situation affect the condo buildings as well, or only the housing estates?.... (I apologize if this is a silly question... I have been thinking of buying a condo in CM for some time, but if there is such a shortage of water, maybe that's a bad idea...)