thailien8

Being an only child was early training in how to survive alone.

This has served me well for 72 years.

I do envy some people who do well with other people, but pity the many people addicts who have none.

In our world’s current sad situation, enforced solitude worries me much less than getting sick and dying a miserable death from Covid, not to mention nuclear war or Pattaya’s looming drought.

Hun Sen showing his usual compassion.

Jasmine Coffee & Restaurant, two locations on 3rd Road, are the only places I know of that offer a variation on one of my favorite Thai dishes, “yam pla dook foo” the fluffy spicy catfish salad.

Jasmine does this with tuna instead of catfish, which improves it IMHO.  It’s N. 082 on the menu, “Deep fried crispy tuna spicy salad Thai herbs style”.  150 baht    The tuna isn’t spicy at all, but the mango and onion salad (served separately) is quite spicy.

Has anyone seen Tuna Foo on a menu anywhere else?

On 10/23/2019 at 4:46 AM, Skallywag said:

Went to find. No Vics place seen. Across from Bukhao market yes? Clinic on Soi chalerm, or Soi bukhao?

From memory, Vic’s Place is on soi 21 between Buakhao and 3rd Road, not soi 19.

8 minutes ago, nightbird said:

I just did a search on Google Maps for Medical Cannabis Clinic. The only hit I got was a THC clinic out in Suan Luang not far from Onnut. This thread seems a bit bogus. Perhaps the OP doesn't speak English very well.

OP mentioned medical cannabis shop, not clinic.  Google maps shows it in Baiyoke Sky Tower.  No reviews yet.

wjcdavies, thanks for your interest.  I sent you a PM.  

Currently there is a great place to play for free in SuperSports in Central Festival.  Anyone else interested?

11 hours ago, jacko45k said:

I use Jomtiem so better someone from that office answer. Like me you will simply worry if this time you will be hit with a fine, as we all will one day! ????

Yes indeed, I was hit with this fine when I was a tenant in a Pattaya guesthouse in 2017.   When I tried to renew my retirement visa,  I was directed upstairs (this was before the current room at the left) where it was explained to me that my landlord had not reported my stay to Immigration.  So this was somehow now my fault....  

I would need to have my landlord roll on down to Jomtien Immig to register my stay;  if not, a fine would have to be paid!  But by whom?  Well obviously by me, since I was the victim standing there, needing a visa extension based on retirement.  They initially wanted 4,000 baht.  I pleaded poverty and ended up paying 2,000.

For that, I got a hastily written receipt stapled in my passport.

This receipt has proved useful, as I have traveled out of Thailand and returned since, without needing to re-affirm my stay at the same guesthouse.

Yesterday I moved to a high-rise condo on the beach that I have long fantasized about.  Wanting to avoid problems, I made the within 24-hours journey to Jomtien.  I was given queue ticket #59, when the number up at the special room at the left was #008.

I went next door to the lovely hotel with restaurant and pool to order lunch.  Service was slow; I spent over an hour there, luckily returning to Immig when #052 was on the board.  A short wait and I was seated in front of a smiling lady who processed my papers and stapled the new TM 30 receipt in my passport.

As a renting tenant, not the owner, my question is why did I feel a strong need to do this, when it is not (theoretically) my responsibility?  And why do I feel a strong relief to have this third piece of paper stapled into my passport, along with my recent 90-day report receipt, and of course my TM6 receipt?

No wonder Jomtien Immigration is a madhouse.

On 1/14/2019 at 4:40 PM, roberta said:

I successfully reported my address this morning.  I had every document the officer asked for, and she asked for every document I had with me. These were as follows:-

 

1. Form TM.30 as completed by the owner of the apartment

2. Copy of title deed of owner to this property

3. Copy of contract for purchase of condo by owner

4. Copy of blue house-book for the condo

5. copy of owner's ID card

6. cc front page of my passport

7. cc page with arrival stamp

8. cc page with current visa and permission to stay

9. cc TM.6 departure card

10. cc Rental Contract - and sight of the original

11. receipt for notification by TM.30 of my previous address.

12.  and of course, my actual passport

 

Without ThaiVisa and the good people who have helped me here with information and advice I cannot imagine how I could have succeeded at the first attempt.  I am grateful to all, and hope this little check-list might prove useful to somebody in the future.

Roberta, my congratulations!

However, your amazing ability to get all of the required documents does not inspire confidence in my visit tomorrow to Jomtien Immigration.  

I am in the same boat as you were, but mine has more leaks.  Specifically, the owner of the lovely condo that I just moved into yesterday is now traveling abroad, and will not be back in Pattaya for a long time.  Her friend (not the owner) gave me the key, took my money, wrote me a contract and a receipt.  She had no idea how to get required documents 2, 3, 4, or 5.  

So so my question is, should I try to get legal with my TM30 at Jomtien Immigration, or would I be better off just letting it slide for 6 months until I am outta here?  

Kudos to SuperSports for holding their table tennis tournament on Sunday afternoon.  There were eight participants, all farangs.  I had been hoping that some Thais might show up to play, but no.  Format was a race to two games, single elimination, so it went quickly.  Both finalists were over 60 years old.  Quite a few spectators were watching from outside the arena, much clapping and cheering.  Good fun!  Sure hope they do it again.

There is now a sign up near the table in SuperSports announcing that a table tennis tournament will be held there this coming Sunday 16 December at 1700, registration from 1500-1600.  No entry fee is mentioned.  500 baht voucher for the winner and a "premium gift" for the runner-up.  This could be a first for Pattaya.

Check the haircut shops on the northern part of soi Buakhao if you don't want to do it yourself.

56 minutes ago, bbi1 said:

Did you have to kick out (politely ask) the staff if you can have a hit to get them off the tables? 

No need for that, the table has been available every time I have been there.  We try to play early;  opening time is 1100.  I think the staff play later in the evening.  They would likely welcome you to hit with them.

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Last time i looked there was one at decathlon to play, i doubt you're meant to play for too long

scuba, there are two tables set up for anyone to use, with paddles/rackets/bats to try out.  It's a popular venue afternoons so I like to play mornings.  No time limit.  Problem is that chasing the ball is inconvenient as it can roll far and hide in tricky places.

SuperSports' contained arena is much better.

3 hours ago, bbi1 said:

Yes I saw the table tennis at Central. Seems to be only free for the staff working in the store to use as whenever I went there they are playing it against each other, especially the Tomboy looking one. Not for the general public to use.

 

I used to like playing table tennis in the past but had nobody to play against and nowhere to play now.

 bbi1, not true.  The table is available for use by anyone.  I have played there 3 times in the past week, with 3 friends, for at least an hour each time.  No problems.  Once I bought 3 new balls to use.

When the table was set up last year we played on it about 10 times, even hitting a few minutes with two employees.  

There is a good table set up in a great place to play, inside the SuperSports store in the big Central Festival Mall.

Air-conditioned, good lighting, high ceiling, netting all around, free.

Ideal table tennis conditions.  

I am looking for some partners to hit with.

I enjoyed watching a small krathong floating on the churning flood waters of Soi Buakhao, until it got run over.

Andrew Biggs wrote an amusing essay on Thai lottery superstitions in Bangkok Post's B. Sunday supplement 18/11/18.  Dreams can be as good as dead trees if you believe.

Re-visiting Patpong again, after all these years, I enjoyed a fantasy.  I first experienced Patpong in 1991, a few years after the real glory days.  But in the early '90s Patpong was still a lot of fun.  That was then, but sadly this is now.

Now, the street market rules, the few remaining agogos are Coyote shells of what was, Kangaroo has closed, Electric Blue is now a steakhouse, and the corporations are moving in.

But there is the big building at the Suriwong end of the two Patpongs.  The second floor of this building used to house Bangkok's biggest pool hall.  Good players, good atmosphere, good prices, good location... gone now

This building seems an empty shell.  On the ground floor facing Patpong One is a large empty space, with a high enough ceiling, big enough to easily accomodate two or three ping pong tables.  Ping pong, as in Table Tennis, a popular sport worldwide, especially in China.  

As I stared thru the glass at this vacant, unused space in a prime location, I enjoyed a favorite fantasy of mine.  

I fantasized a venue where table tennis / ping pong can be played.  These actually exist in farang countries, and even in Phnom Penh.  Why not in Thailand?

With cute uniformed Thai ball girls running around retrieving the customers' errant ping pong balls, or serving to play with customers who come alone, a first-class table tennis venue in such a great location could be popular, maybe even profitable.  Ping pong can be more fun than pool.

A big sign could advertise " Patpong Ping Pong ".

When speaking for the first time with a Thai, I start with a good old "sawat dee krup", smiling of course.  That hopefully lets them know that I am trying to speak with them in their language, and that I know the very important word of respect, "krup".

IMHO, there are some sports today that could be improved, 
with just a few simple tweaks.

For example Golf:  how about just make the hole bigger, maybe twice the traditional size.  Why is the cup so damn small anyhow?  Who decided that? Larger holes will make for lower scoring, less emphasis on putting, more on shotmaking, more happiness, less frustration like when you miss a 5-footer for birdie after a great shot, and faster rounds.  But making different size cups could be a bit too hi-tech?

How about something much simpler?  Let every kid play.
Stop making one kid stay out of the action, as he must guard his goal.  
Being the goal keeper is tough enough in Football / Soccer, where ten kids get to run around while one kid gets the ball kicked at him.  That's no fun, and it's worse in Ice Hockey where you gotta wear a mask and pads.
The most exciting part of a Hockey game is with a minute to go and your team down by a goal, you pull the goalie and add a sixth skater.  Do or die.

So how about we just pull the luckless goaltenders, permanently?
Why are they even needed?  Add a skater, add a forward.
There would be more goals, higher scores, more success, less failure.
No more 0-0 results, more cheering ops for the fans.

There's no goalie in Basketball.   Goal tending is against the rules, penalty 2 points.  With keeper-free Football, any player could put his body in front of the net to block shots, but any handball penalty in the box would count as a goal.   No penalty shots, no silly penalty shootout at the end to decide a tie game.

Basketball has the opposite problem.  Scoring is too easy.  Dunk shots, tho popular, are not in the original spirit of the sport.  James Naismith raised up his peach baskets in 1891 to try and force his rowdy boys in the gym to settle down and try to loft the ball softly up there into the basket.  They must pass the ball, not run with it.  

Naismith's Basketball proved popular.
Nowadays the rowdy boys have grown bigger and taller and some of them shoot down more than up.   The basket is still  just ten feet up, where Naismith put it, back when 6-footers were rare.   So how about raising the rim by a foot for college ball, and maybe two feet for the pros?  Shooting is more difficult, layups are not automatic, nobody can dunk, scores come down.   No hanging on the rim.
But that's another hi-tech problem.

Simpler could be a fix for Bowling, another sport suffering from inflated scores due to to hi-tech equipment, especially the balls.   
Not so long ago even the best bowlers used only ball.  They actually shot spares with their strike ball, unlike today when good bowlers must lug around big bags full of heavy balls, as each is needed for a specific type of shot.  
It's all very complex and expensive now.
How about a rule that a bowler is only allowed to use one ball per game?
He can choose any one from his arsenal;  should he go with his strike ball that has a big hook and pray he doesn't leave 10-pins; or use his spare ball that rolls straight but has less striking power?
He could change balls only after a game.

For Baseball, maybe flatten or remove the pitcher's mound.  All I know of 21st century baseball is watching my Giants on tv.  Not a lot of hitting recently;  Too many strikeouts, attendance dwindling.  Pitchers seem to be dominating the action.  How about killing their hill?  That would be easy, and scoring might go up a little if pitchers were brought down to the same level as the hitters.  MLB would benefit with more offense in their games.  Situations with runners on base add much interest.  Strikeouts are boring.  Walks are ok.
Extra innings need to go away. The longest game in World Series history was just played , 18 innings of little offense.  Too long, too boring.  If the game is tied after nine innings, just call it a draw, as in football.  Ice hockey used to do that.  Silly shootouts suck.

Tennis needs to get with the net sports program.  Table tennis players get only one serve per point.  Why do tennis players need two tries?  BORING to watch all that serving, faulting, double-faulting, aceing, letting, and not enough playing points.  How about speeding things up by allowing only one serve? More ground stroking, less serving, quicker shorter matches?  Reduce the importance of the big serve, as in all other net sports: Badminton, Pickleball, Table Tennis, Takraw,  Volleyball...
While they're at it, they could eliminate the interminable ad-deuce sequences that waste time and players' energy.  Just play no-ad rules, so no game can last longer than 7 points.  Aces and deuces aren't all that exciting.
Playing one-serve and no-ad could shorten match times by 20%.

Snooker is the ultimate cue sports game, and I love watching great players work their magic, making the difficult look easy, at least on TV.  
But there is one rule that causes problems.  When a player cannot escape from a snooker, thereby fouling and coughing up at least 4 points, his opponent then has a choice.  He could take on the shot and play would proceed;  or he could have the previous position reconstructed.  This means that each ball that moved on the previous shot must be replaced in its original position, so that the snookeree's second shot be exactly the same as his previous attempt.  If he misses a second time, the balls are put back again, and he gets to try again, etc.  This can get very slow.  Special cameras are used in top tournaments to show the match referee exactly where to replace the balls.  
How about just forgetting about all this ball replacement, and just carrying on after a successful snooker?  This is the rule in American snooker, a little-known game.

Then there is American Football.
This is what Naismith successfully sought to avoid by inventing Basketball.

Problem with American sports is too few players get to have fun.
In Baseball it's pitcher, catcher and batter, while 7 teammates stand around in the field with many more on benches in the dugouts.
In Football it's quarterback, runners and receivers having fun with the ball.
The Big Guys on the lines don't get to touch the football or score points.  Their part of the game is more like Sumo wrestling.
In Football and Hockey it's fun for all but one.
In Basketball everybody gets to have fun.

Table Tennis is what Chinese youngsters were allowed to play while they suffered their long Cultural war.  Now some surviving seniors have a great time every day in an American senior center , blasting away with excellent skill and getting wonderful exercise.  I envy them.  If only I were good enough to hit with them....  

This is the best sport for a lifetime.

Pool combines thought with action on every shot.
Wonderful game;  if only it were as much fun and exercise as Table Tennis.

Chess could benefit from Bobby Fischer's Random (960) Chess.
Less memorisation, more intuition, less burnout
Now available on lichess.org. Needs more players.

I enjoyed his writing much more than his photos.

Yes I missed his weekly blog and am glad he is back writing again.

There is a shop on Klang, south side, a short distance west of 3rd Road.  The lady there speaks pretty good English.