BugJackBaron

Just out of interest what's the national dish of north korea? Would it be differant from the south

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DOG is one of their dishes. With all the stray dogs roaming around in BKK and Pattaya, it would be cheap and available meat. Put a spicy sauce or kempshi on it and everyone would love it.

Dog is common to both North and South though many South Koreans would never eat it.

In Korean it is called BoShinTang.

Re: Pig and Whistle.

Yes, overpriced. We need a protest: Western breakfast must include coffee in price

Don't they get that?

And what is with the invasion of the sports bars in Jomtien? Burbon street soon to open and another

already opened in Rumpo complex behind jomtien market.

Is some greedy investor thinking that there are enough sports fans to make it worthwhile?

As for Dine for 99, in fairness it does have about four items on the menu at that price and is somewhat cheaper

on average that these sports bar rip-offs.

Casa Pascal also do various waffles and omelettes etc. to order, included in the buffet. Special teas too.

But did you pay 175 or 187.50?

This place is all hype and they serve very mediocre slop IMO,

one look at the huge whales sitting around stuffing their faces is a dead giveaway.

The omelets are cooked in solid grease and the little cubicle where the nasty little bits of cold cuts are laid out

is not impressive in the least, nor is the limited thai food offered.

Tried to like this place the few times I've eaten there but seems the same old sad regulars are ever present and one guy had such bad body odor it nearly killed me , it sure knocked out my appetite , funny thing is he was being called "Rocky" by the other group of slobs he was dining with.

Best breakfast ?

I'd say the Continental for the muesli with fresh fruit and yogurt is a healthy choice but the owner must be a royal cheapskate as the aircon is never on cool and too many smokers sitting on the outside veranda.

Best English breakfast may be The Sportsmen on Soi 13 , not a cheapie meal but always well prepared.

Good to find at least one Thai member here with taste. Yes, Pascal was as bad as that other hyped place in Jomtien Plaza.

Sportsman probably is the best in Pattaya but the best in my mind is still in the West. The imagination some places show has never been matched in most of

Asia as imagination is not a strong value here.

Interesting to see those different opinions

I actually really like the idea of having different seasons.

As for women looks, from what i've seen, korean women seems way sexier the thais but that's just my own taste !

I'm more concerned about the boredom i might feel and the xenophobia...

Sexier and better dressed.

You won't be bored there any more than living in Bangkok and there is no apparent xenophobia, they just don't like the US soldiers that occupy the city so if you don't have a crew cut you won't be mistaken for a soldier.

Key word is "apparent" As for boredom, it depends on what the gentleman likes to do. Go to DJ bars in Hong Dae?(good if you are in your early20s maybe) See cultural events? Get's tired real fast. Ladies? No xenophobia eh? Try going to a bar area outside of Itaewon(the US army frequents this area).

Many of the girls won't even look at you even if you look like Tm Cruise. There are many who have been taught that foreigners bring in disease.

And many Korean women go to Itaewon just to meet US soldiers. Others may talk to you as an "English talking machine" to practice their conversation skills.

Bangkok is more in interesting on almost every level.

I'm sure in your own coutry the girls will ignore creeps that try to pick them up, never mind that the creep tries to do it in a foreign language they don't understand and has no knowledge of their own language.

Bangkok is certainly more interesting though and is a place where you are absolutely certain that xenophobia exists and that the Thai girls have been taught that foreigners only want to get drunk and screw around and should be avoided.

The difference in Bangkok is that if you can't find a local girl friend you can always go to the bars whereas that option is limited in Seoul and you actually have to make an effort, much like back in the real world.

Well I speak Korean well and actually studied the language. I really am not sure how much language enters into the equation. I had a Korean girlfriend but a friend who passed the highest level of Korean proficiency test was simply ignored at a "get to know you" party. He was really "handsome man" too. On the other hand some very average people who can't speak a word of Korean even after ten years there wind up married to stunners.

It's still the luck of the draw and most Koreans can speak at least a few words and basic phrases of English.

As for Thai xenophobia, sure it exists. As does Chinese Xenophobia and wasp America xenophobia. It is a fact of human nature but in Thailand it rarely interferes with business(or pleasure). Not the same in Korea - you can find many anecdotes on the web of Western men being bothered when out with their Korean partners while the partners are called "hos".

Interesting to see those different opinions

I actually really like the idea of having different seasons.

As for women looks, from what i've seen, korean women seems way sexier the thais but that's just my own taste !

I'm more concerned about the boredom i might feel and the xenophobia...

Sexier and better dressed.

You won't be bored there any more than living in Bangkok and there is no apparent xenophobia, they just don't like the US soldiers that occupy the city so if you don't have a crew cut you won't be mistaken for a soldier.

Key word is "apparent" As for boredom, it depends on what the gentleman likes to do. Go to DJ bars in Hong Dae?(good if you are in your early20s maybe) See cultural events? Get's tired real fast. Ladies? No xenophobia eh? Try going to a bar area outside of Itaewon(the US army frequents this area).

Many of the girls won't even look at you even if you look like Tm Cruise. There are many who have been taught that foreigners bring in disease.

And many Korean women go to Itaewon just to meet US soldiers. Others may talk to you as an "English talking machine" to practice their conversation skills.

Bangkok is more in interesting on almost every level.

Good to hear some promo...er positive reviews. All the people I knew who tried did so only once.

One the many things I like about Papa Davids are the alternative non greasy breakfast alternatives !

Hope Papa Davids II will become a bit more busy ...

Cheers,

rudi

I "liked" his greasy one. No wonder no customers. Guess location alone won't cut it anymore.

I heard that the problem was the underlying bedrock being too soft. Hence the potholes.

Any civil engineers here care to comment?!

I actually like the 4 distinctive seasons of Korea. Cherry blossoms in April and autumn foliage in October are utterly beautiful.

Sure, it's expensive but you can get virtually everywhere by subway, bus and bullet train. Korea also has one of the fastest wireless internets in the world.

In my opinion Thai girls are MUCH better looking and sexier.

:blink: You have to be kidding !

My ex Thai girl friend will do anything to look like that she's a Korean girl.

You can travel everywhere in Thailand too. I would say it's easier here as there are no motorcycle taxis in Korea and some places buses rarely go. The seasons are nice but Spring only last a few weeks and then you get the humid heat of summer. Fall is the best time to visit. Sure Korea and Japan have the best internet but these days, Thailand can give you all the speed you need at reasonable prices.

Your ex has 10 layers of makeup?

Hangzhou ? Never heard of it. Will do some searching online about it.

What about Chengdu or Kunming ? I heard good things about both ...

Hong Kong is too much expensive for me.

Taiwan is a location i've been thinking about already actually. It seems an enjoyable place to live and of course chinese is spoken there.

Seoul is boring ? Really ? In wich way ?

Chiang Mai is actually a nice and cheap place as well, it's true. But i'm afraid to get bored after a while.

Why would i want to live in Bangkok ? Well mostly because i like big cities and also because there is lots of things to do.

Cultural events, shopping, easy transportation to everywhere around....

Seoul is boring for food as the only thing they do well is Korean food. There are a few exceptions but in general western food is ridiculously expensive and poor(I recall paying the equivalent of 600 baht for bacon and eggs and they couldn't even do the toast right).

Culturally it is just as boring as there are no immigrant communities in Korea - unlike the West. Even their Chinatown is a joke as it mostly run by Koreans. The Chinese were driven out in the 1970s. It is like one big tribe in its uniformity.

Romantically. Well, some people may find a mate but there is far more xenophobia than in Thailand and a kind of schizophrenic attitude towards foreigners. Many Koreans will just want to meet to practice their English(which is often not so good).

On the other hand, it is not a bad place for a quick visit, a hike in the mountains or to try exotic kinds of kim chi.

Not everybody slums it on baht buses you know, some of us have inventions called motorbikes and/or cars?

As for sitting in the back of a slow bus to go to pattaya every day to get something to eat, there are untold places in Jomtien to eat. Weird.

First of all the road is wider now and generally the trip between Pattaya and Jomtien is going a lot faster these days. Secondly, as a kind of foodie who eats all over the place within baht bus range and walking range, it is obvious to me Pattaya is better for eating. Value-wise, quality-wise, variety-wise. Not that there aren't some options in Jomtien as well. No need to go to Pattaya every day or twice a day.

Agreed about variety and quality. Jomtien seems to have uniformly monotonous and so-so food - including Thai(ask your Thai girl to confirm) - especially along the beach. Is there an unwritten rule that any business there must be a tourist trap? Yes, there are maybe one or two half decent places.

However some restaurants in Pattaya, including a few in Soi Boucow, will deliver for free even as far as Jomtien.

Talked to a travel agent yesterday. They said if you are applying for a tourist visa you should go to Cambodia. No plane ticket or Hotel receipt needed but bring bank book showing 20,000 Baht or more.

I will ask a couple more places today.

Seoul for a single guy? I lived there for 5 years. You will be bored in no time. For such a big city it's incredibly soulless. It's expensive and easily has the worst western food in Asia. Enjoy the religious nuts in Itaewon.

On the other hand you may like natural areas around it - the mountains can be nice for a climb

(Reference to deleted post edited out/Scott)

Maybe he has just given up on material life the same way, say, Guttama Buddha, did?

He will not freeze to death, seems to find food enough to eat, and is not apparently interested in doing anything apart from what he is doing. Maybe he hasn't hit rock bottom yet. Until then, there isn't much we can do.

Hey, soi dogs survive and I don't think they have much money either..

they survive in packs. Bums don't travel in packs

Jomtien is probably not the cheapest place in Thailand, but may well be the best value IMHO.

The town and surrounding area, has virtually everything I need or wish for.

The weather here is also one of the attractions. It is not very wet, and when it does rain, flooding is not usually much of a problem. The sea breeze keeps the temperature down.

Hmm/.. come to the jomtien market on the new second road after even a moderate rain. Bring your swimming trunks..

And remember..the first rule of fight club..

I go to Richies(Alaxander on the sign) fashion right in the arab section just off soi 17 and 2nd road Pattaya. The owner looks Indian but doesn't push and actually claims to be Thai by birth.

They are especially good for pants at reasonable prices. If I need something fancier than what I find in Big C (which does a fairly good job for many clothes) then I go there.

Personally i wouldn't consider Jomtien.

Everything is in Pattaya really so you might as well base yourself in Pattaya.

Too much hassle getting from Jomtien to Pattaya all the time.

I agree, much better to stay in Pattaya area, Jomtien is not that nice (unless you like to stay on the beach all day). In Jomtien you got the beach road and some small sois, thats it. Filled with people every weekend, no thanks.

You have all the good shopping/supermarkets in Patts,

I often go to Jomtien for eating, but I have both car & motorbike so I am pretty mobile and eat over over the area.

Well by the same argument, Foodland is just a 10 minute motorbike ride from Jomtien soi 2. And as for people, tell me you don't get crowds on walking street every day.

Most of the crowds on Jomtien thin out if you go to the north or south (Dong tang beach) part of Jomtien.Unless you need to shop at Central Paragon everyday why stay in Pattaya?

Jomtien has a new second beach road that doubles as a swimming pool every time it rains, a dynamic and charming market and a fantastic new entertainment complex springing up right beside it! Now how much would you pay?

I imagine only gullible tourists would use them

what's the name of the restaurant ?

ya! Another less than helpful post but I don't think there are any good Chinese restaurants here.

Perfect solution to be used as a live system on a stick for buggy internet cafe machines, even though the proprietor might not be happy sometimes. Plug in the stick and reboot the machine while holding ESC or F1 - depending on the hardware - to get into the bios. Not all machines will boot from a USB device, but you can simply reboot normally and ask to change machines

It's a perfect system for storing your pswrdos in your own browser on the stick, with no possibility of transfer to the machines native OS to be harvested by malware.

Another thing worth flagging up for your "comfort and safety" is PuTTY on a stick, or a version called Port-a-PuTTY. Either of which will allow you to log into a remote shell by IP or domain. Very useful if you are using commandline tools or applications like irssi with BitlBee, and for general hosting admin done the old-fashioned way

A word on USB sticks - they do not last forever - keep a backup

I'm curious about that. Unlike a DVD or CD they don't scratch. So how long do they last?

Is there any reason now to use a cd/dvd for installing or testing linux? USB should allow persistent storage and even multiple distros on one stick.

I agree with everything other than not flagging down an empty BB. I have never had a problem stemming from that.

The problem is not so much flagging an empty one down as whether or not it stays empty - except for you - during its journey. Take one on Sunday morning from Jomtien into town if you want and this can happen. At some point the driver may (1) decide to abort the journey half-way or (2) ask you for double the usual amount.

It does happen.

Back to the OP if my memory serve's me right if you pick up a bus from south Pattaya rd " They queue up there to go to Jomtiem anywhere after Trepprasit rd is 20bt has been for a long time and Thai's pay it. So if you come back from T/Rd cross over south/P Rd why should it be any different 20bt. If it's a problem get off at S/P Rd and walk.

No. It is 10 baht from the queue. Sorry, your memory does not serve you right and/or you paid more than you were required. Also, like I said before Thais (and also misinformed tourists) will very commonly give out higher fare info to tourists that simply is not correct. Most of all do not expect correct fare info from drivers, or expect most of them to volunteer change unless you clearly demand it (and not even always then). They aren't your friends, they are for the most part acting as opportunist hustlers whenever they can. Not making a judgment about that, but no need to be an easy mark for them either. I have seen Russians paying 100 baht each on that queue run and no complaints from the driver. You don't gain the locals love and respect by being a patsy,.

Like I said before there is no guarantee though how FAR out Jomtien they will go before they stop and demand a conversion to a charter, and then if you don't like it, you get off the bus.

From the queue they will ALWAYS go as far the Dongtan Jomtien police box but generally not further than the Chatupruek road (without stopping and demanding a charter fare).

Well maybe I'm wrong haven't done that trip for some time the first time I did it was when it was 5bt for Thai and 10bt for farang. On route I asked a Thai the price and they told me they paid 10bt as I was sitting near the near side door I watched as they got off and they all gave either a 10 2 5bt coin's or a note and got change to the ammount of 10bt so I gave 20 a snip to get off 1km down the beach. And within 10 mt of where I wanted to go. Idd like to know do any of you leave a tip in a bar or restaurant If you do what's the big deal to pay 20bt for a 5km trip??? I know it's not the same but last time I was in England over a year ago I paid over £7 336bt + to go 1.1 miles less than 2 km, and they expect a tip. N/B not a black cab that's more. Think about that.

The deal is not all of us are rich and if you take the baht bus many times a week it adds up.,Note that in Bangkok there are some bus lines that charge as little as 7 baht for a 5km ride. And they charge everyone the same. By the way do taxis in England charge a higher rate for presumably rich Arabs and Japanese tourists? Why not? Could there be a principle involved?

And lastly, not all of us like being treated as suckers.

Hers's are some tips from the Bug as it does happen to me occasionally.

Tip 1 If you see a Thai get off near where you want to go, get off and pay right after her.

No Songtow driver is going to charge you 20 when she just paid 10. They rely on ignorance.

Tip 2 Try to take a Songtow with many people on board. I feel drivers usually resort to Monkey business only if they feel they have no business. Also, see tip 1.

Tip 3 Pay and walk away quickly. Look them firmly in the eye first!

Tip 4 From Jomtien, 20 baht is the fare after you reach the Central on Second road, just past soi 6. This is reasonable so please don't argue it. They certainly are not getting rich as drivers.

Tip 5 If there is an argument say "OK I will photogrpaph you and call the tourist police and then pay you." Most will drive off at that point.

Tip 6 It's not worth a fight.

Tip 7 Remember scams are far more common in Manila.

KISS. I always get the feeling they hate the customers. Very unfriendly.

There are so many vendors walking and and aggressively peddling their stuff.

Last time there I felt like throwing a plate of food at the inconsiderate jerks.

Not a good atmosphere to enjoy a meal.

totaly agree with you paul

after every bite of food someone asking you to buy something

can never enjoy what your eating

charlie

i'm actually no fan of KISS - except for the 24 hours and cheap price for coffee and eggs. Their food is mediocre at best. My point was that there is no reason why service with a smile(hey land of smiles?) couldn't come with a reasonable price for an edible basic breakfast. There are plenty of better examples in Pattaya than Kiss but sadly few in Jomtien..

Actually I usually just buy KAI LOUA - boiled egg-yolk in a cup for 10 Baht from the friendly egg man with his cart.

As for Lovejoys - nobody is talking so it's time to call the crack team of investigative TV reporters!

That was then, this is now.