thailien8

2145 and the music is still pumping from the big speakers they set up near the corner of 3rd Road and Pattaya Klang, that woke me up this morning by vibrating my apartment building. It's gotta end soon, been a long day inside my room. At least the Wifi was functional all day, saved me from going out into the madness.

And all the while the reservoirs go down, and drought comes nearer....

My Songkran in Pattaya will be the same as last year. I will sleep late, get up late, surf the virtual world while drinking coffee and eating breakfast in my room. I have stocked up on what I need already, which isn't much.

Then, I will crouch down and flee quickly to one of two nearby hotels with swimming pools, where I can eat, sun, swim, read, and sleep.

When evening comes, I will flee quickly back to my room, where I will virtually surf and actually drink my way into another night's sleep.

Rinse and repeat, as needed. No problem here. It's only a week.

I know it's not cool to bring one's own water into many restaurants, especially the expensive ones. So I normally avoid eating in them.

Still, I figure I am buying their food, affording them a profit, I hope. In some small restaurants, that I tend to frequent, when they ask me what I want to drink, I say nothing, as I have my bottle of water with me. Sometimes they let me be to eat their food and drink my water; in other restaurants, they proffer a free glass of water with ice. These are restaurants I tend to return to.

When I was working in Bangkok in the '90s, free water provided with meals was more commonly given. Not so much these days. Buffets often encourage / demand customers order a drink. So, in my frugally necessary perspective, Pardis' permissive policy is a big plus.

Then there are the food courts that provide free water, like the food court in Big C Extra on Pattaya Klang, where I often eat. There is a free water machine where I shamelessly refill several bottles with their free clean drinking water before buying some cheap delicious Thai food; eating and drinking happily, while thinking how impossible such inexpensive indulgences would be back in my doomed homeland, the US of A.

Noon to 10 pm. are the new hours. When I tried the Pardis buffet last week, for the first time, it was 6 to 10. So they have extended the hours, hopefully indicating success. All the food was fresh both times I ate there, and I noticed the cooks bringing out fresh portions several times while I ate during early evening.

No free drinks on offer, but as I like to bring my own bottle of water, I sipped on that while eating, with no objections from staff -- quite unlike the lunch buffet at Hilton, where they insisted I buy a bottle of their water, at 70 baht I think it was. I no longer eat at Hilton, as I'm a bit of a frugal Freddy, pro-small business, anti-corporate chains.

Like to recommend the new Iranian buffet at Pardis restaurant, on 2nd Road east side, across from Central / Hilton, next to Madras Darbar Indian restaurant.

Pardis has been there a long time, but I'd never tried their menu offerings. I like affordable buffets tho, and this is a good one. Only 200 baht net, and it is available all day and evening long, from noon to 10 pm. every day.

Pardis is aircon cool, quiet music, no smoking. There is a table with veggie offerings to make your own salad, and a yummy tomato-cucumber salad, along with a selection of fruits. It's a no-frills buffet, with no sweets, no ice cream, which I appreciate. One can actually try almost everything, without feeling over-full afterward.

There are 2 kinds of rice, 3 kinds of potato, 2 of chicken, 2 beef, 2 pasta, fish, dal, veggies, and bread. I especially enjoyed the chicken stew, with the tenderest melt-in-your-mouth carrots, and the beef stew. The fish was cut in bite-size pieces, no bones. Potato salad had me going for seconds. Veggies were heavy on broccoli and cauliflower, my favorites.

I like eating only one real meal per day, mid-afternoon. This helps me control my waistline, and gives me time to take a long walk post-meal; better than sleeping on it.

Ouch; I enjoy talking about golf in my northeastern American accent, but I hate cigarettes. Oh well, two out of three ain't bad, but not good enough.

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Rich Man Poor Man restaurant in Jomtien seems to be a hangout of sorts mostly for American golfer types who smoke ... alt=coffee1.gif width=32 height=24>

They are quite talkative and loud.

I'm not judging.

The owner is very pleasant as well ,

Maybe if you are an American golfer. I stayed there for a few weeks once, could barely get a "hello" out of the guy.

Ouch! Having a Northeastern American accent helps too!

I'd like to recommend Supnay Northern Lanna Cuisine, a new restaurant on Pattaya 3rd Road, a short walk north of Pattaya Tai Road, on the East side, 100 meters south of 3rd Road's soi 22. It's open-air, small with only ten tables, and a small menu. I like small menus, as that shows they do only what they can do well. Supnay is open from 1130 to 2300 every day. It's owned by a Nepalese man and his Thai wife from Lampang, who does the cooking, both nice friendly people; the husband speaks good English. They opened in January 2014.

The menu leads off with khao soy; chicken 55 baht, beef 60. Next up is kaeng hanglay; pork 60, beef 70. Third on the menu is khanom jin nam ngiao, a pork dish 45 baht. In five visits so far, I've tried, and recommend, all of these. Fourth on the menu is nam phrik aong, 80 baht. Not yet tried by me, as I liked the first three enough to eat them again. There are also grilled meatballs, 4 per skewer, beef or pork, 15 baht, served with spicy sauce and cucumber slices. A bottle of water 10 baht, tea 25, beer (large only) 70-100. Smoothies of several varieties 70 baht; I've only tried the coconut smoothie so far, as I liked it too much to order a different kind.

This is my kind of mom 'n' pop restaurant, a lovely alternative to the corporate chains. Sure hope it survives, despite a location that the likes of McDonalds clown food restaurants would never consider.

Playing devil's advocate: So what if Thailand were split into more compatible countries? I've thought for years that the Muslims in the far South of Thailand were living in the wrong country. Perhaps a referendum there would show that most of them think so as well?

Now it seems that a majority of Northerners think so too?

Is it really so unthinkable to think about a partition of Thailand? If Thaksin returned to power and glory in LannaLand, maybe he would finally let us long-suffering Bangkokians live in peace?

Nations have been partitioned before, it's not impossible, tho it has too often been bloody.

Maybe the Ukraine will be partitioned between the Russian East and the European West. Why not, if this could avert bloody war that is now looming. Why not ask the people involved what they want?

If democracy and voting is so important, how about voting on issues that matter in referendums, rather than for or against a would-be leader?

John Lennon's famous song reminds me that I'm one of the dreamers.

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace

"Hundreds of people filled black bags with refuse collected from the Central to South section of Pattaya Beach."

Well, I walked this section of Pattaya Beach promenade, the day after this political cleanup happened, and have to say that I was impressed with the improved cleanliness of the promenade, for a while. I can't speak for the beach, as I seldom go there, littered as it always with the beach chairs.

But as I was walking south along the promenade from Pattaya Klang, I was thinking YES, the Pattaya bigwigs have actually succeeded in reducing the ugly litter on the walkway. Then I got to the raised area opposite Mike Department Store, where the homeless derelicts hang out.

It seems that the Pattaya mayor's cleanup crew gave up cleaning at that point. The litter on the raised area, and on the walkway south of there, was undisturbed, still a disgusting eyesore all the way to Walking Street. Still, I congratulate the mayor and his friends for showing awareness of this problem, and for actually doing something positive to improve the appearance of maybe one-sixth of the beachfront promenade. This may not last long.

Mr. Mayor of Pattaya, You have correctly identified a problem, and have set about trying to fix it. You made a start. May I humbly suggest that you follow through, and hire some folks to continue picking up the litter on the promenade and on the beach, putting it in bags and carrying it to the many dumpsters on the walkway, from where the trash can be collected, compacted, and dumped.

Hiring a few litter collectors would not cost much, and would do much to improve the appearance, and image, of your newly-improved Pattaya beachfront promenade. Thank you, I hope.

If not, a few people like me will still keep on trashercizing, as we take our daily exercise on the promenade. It's actually good exercise. I could just walk north and south as I do nearly every day, getting fresh air, sunshine, and exercise. But when I carry a trash bag with me on my daily walks, and stop to pick up some of the litter from the trees; I find that bending down and picking up really enhances the fitness value of my walks.

I sweat much more when I trashercize, than when I just walk. While trashercizing, I also feel that I am contributing, giving something back to the privilege of being able to live my old age in such an amazing place as Pattaya.

Please don't bust me for not having a work permit for trashercizing. I'm not doing it for money. I just hate litter.

Nice to know they're aware of the litter problem. Maybe they could spare a few baht from the budget to hire some workers whose job it is to pick up litter from beach and walkway, and put it in the many bins provided on the walkway, every day.

Thanks again to Khun mrjih, Khun Pib, and all of you kind enough to respond to my original post.

I appreciate Khun mrjih turning me on to this way of transferring money from Bank of America to Bangkok Bank, by way of Bangkok Bank's branch in New York City. This seems to be a good way. I would like to update you on my recent first experience with this.

I had a couple of surprises.

I visited my local branch of Bangkok Bank in Pattaya, on Second Road opposite Soi Six, in order to set up the SMS notification of incoming transfers. I had tried to do this online, but Bangkok Bank's website failed to open on my computer, tho I tried several times during two days. Never mind, no problem. When I did it the old-fashioned way, showing up in person in the bank, I was treated very well. There were no other customers on Tuesday afternoon, so I had the full attention of several bank people. I showed my bank book, ATM card, mobile phone, entered my ATM pin when asked to do so, smiled and spoke a little Thai with the nice employees. In 15 minutes, my phone was ringing with an SMS from the bank, in Thai, confirming that my mission was accomplished.

The next day, as anticipated, my phone sounded with an SMS from Bangkok Bank. I expected a message about the first of the two trial transfers of a few cents from Bangkok Bank in NYC, to confirm the existence of my Bangkok Bank account in Thailand, to which I would need to respond by email, as other posters have written about. Instead, this SMS informed that a transfer had been received, and that a charge of 642 baht had been deducted from my account. That was all, that day.

I didn't sleep well that night, but the next morning, a second SMS informed that the transfer had indeed happened, and that my Bangkok Bank account in Thailand had been increased by the equivalent of US$ 880, only $20 less than the $900 I'd transferred from my Bank of America account.

I'm pleased by the ease of this transfer, but have to wonder about why Bangkok Bank in NYC did not bother to send the two test transfers, as other posters had warned me to expect; and why Bangkok Bank charged me 642 baht for this transfer?

Maybe the Thais don't care what their city looks like

I think you're onto something there. Hold that thought; it may lead to yet more insight.

, but I'd think Westerners who are used to cleaner streets find this ugliness a reason to go elsewhere on holiday.

Whoops, after such a promising start. No, Pattaya has some other charms that are more than reason enough to come here for a holiday. Hang around awhile and learn what they are.

Mr. Sixpack,

I know quite well about the other charms that Pattaya has to offer. They are why I have been living here for a year already, after living and working in Bangkok for twenty years. Both cities have lots of charms that I hope to continue enjoying in my fortunate retirement.

Still, no matter how long I continue to live here as an expat, I will never get used to the horrible littering problem that is so evident on Pattaya's beachfront promenade. I've seen both Thais and farangs littering. I would say that both are equally guilty. Maybe this freedom to litter is part of what attracts some farangs to vacation and live here. After all, what could be more convenient than to just toss whatever trash one has in hand, on the ground, no worries, no problems, just go on your merry way. Who cares about the environment anyway? Not my problem, right?

Perhaps environmentally-aware Westerners like me are no longer significant in Pattaya. Perhaps the many tour groups from Asian countries who are currently flocking to Pattaya could care less what Pattaya's beach promenade looks like. Perhaps all they care about is how their photo on the plastic photo dish looks like, when they come back from their boat tour to wherever they go in their group tours.

After all, the tour groups from China must think that Pattaya is a paradise of fresh air and sea breezes, after briefly escaping from the air-polluted hells of Beijing, Harbin, Hong Kong, etc.

Maybe they are right.

The amount of litter, trash, garbage that is carelessly thrown away on the beach promenade is so unsightly. Bottles, straws, cigarette packs, bottle caps, plastic bags, cigarette butts, and lots more.... I cannot fathom why people seem to think that the trees can be used as garbage tips, especially when there are numerous dumpsters all along the promenade. It would be simple and cheap for the city to hire a few workers whose job it is to pick up the litter and put it into the dumpsters. Maybe the Thais don't care what their city looks like, but I'd think Westerners who are used to cleaner streets find this ugliness a reason to go elsewhere on holiday.

I opted for the 3-business-day deal, for the $3 service charge; tho I remain puzzled as how 3 days somehow got stretched out to a week (November 7 to November 13).

Non-business days like Saturday, Sunday, and holidays (in either country) do not count...and of course on the receiving end although the bank received the funds they can take hours to a couple of days to "post" it to your account....it may have arrived quickly but just didn't get posted/credited to your account quickly.

And even though BoA says they debit your account the same day you "initiate" the 3 business day transfer that don't mean they actually transmit the funds once debited to your account...the transfer then awaits whatever "batch" mode transfer schedule the bank uses. ACH transfers usually occur in batch mode, X-times per days, versus going immediately. There is also a time of day initiation thing where if you missed the cutoff time for that date for transfers (usually around 3pm to 8pm the transmitting bank end), the funds will still be debited from your account immediately but the funds would just set for up to another 24 hours before entering the bank's batch transfer queue. I think some banks have multiple daily batch transfers while others just do it once a day....I was with a credit union once that transferred once daily according to what they told me.

Get unlucky in missing the daily cutoff transfer time, batch transfer schedule of the bank, weekends, holidays, slow posting on the receiving end and a transfer you are expecting in 3 "business" days can easily take around 7 "calendar" days. This happened to me once years back when I initiated a transfer on a Friday, got hit with the weekend and also a U.S. holiday and a Thai bank holiday thrown in....took around 7 days for BoA transfer to post to my Bangkok Bank account when it normally took 3 to 4 business days from my BoA account if my memory cells serves me right...been around 4 years since I last used a BoA ACH 3 business day transfer. BoA also has a $10 ACH next business day transfer service and a $25 same business day "Wire" transfer service....but there are daily cutoff times for each...and even with the $25 same day service the BoA site says it can take 2 business days to credit to your receiving bank account (assuming the receiving bank post transfers promptly).

Now when I last did a ACH transfer a little over 2 years ago I sent it from my USAA bank account...no ACH sending fee by USAA...and it posted 2 business days later (actually it was somewhere between 36 to 47 hours later...I just remember it beat 48 hours by X-hours) in my Bangkok Bank account. Guess USAA uses more frequent daily batch transfers than BoA....but who knows, maybe I just hit all the transfer gates at just the right time and on the Bangkok Bank end they hit the post to account button quickly. Me thinks when there is no issue on the receiving bank end, most of the transfer time is purely due to the Sending bank and how quickly they "really" transmit the funds, whether they use an intermediary bank(s) to route the funds (just more huddles to get over), etc.

Khun Pib,

Thanks very much for this, one of the most cogent replies I've ever read on any forum. I have a feeling that you enjoyed writing it even more than I enjoyed reading it.

Now that you have explained to me about the ACH transfer system, I can rest in peace, even tho I'm not quite dead yet, and sleep better, with more pleasant dreams, after reading about your experiences. You are a true maven, Sir. Forums like this need more writers like you.

I opted for the 3-business-day deal, for the $3 service charge; tho I remain puzzled as how 3 days somehow got stretched out to a week (November 7 to November 13).

Non-business days like Saturday, Sunday, and holidays (in either country) do not count...and of course on the receiving end although the bank received the funds they can take hours to a couple of days to "post" it to your account....it may have arrived quickly but just didn't get posted/credited to your account quickly.

And even though BoA says they debit your account the same day you "initiate" the 3 business day transfer that don't mean they actually transmit the funds once debited to your account...the transfer then awaits whatever "batch" mode transfer schedule the bank uses. ACH transfers usually occur in batch mode, X-times per days, versus going immediately. There is also a time of day initiation thing where if you missed the cutoff time for that date for transfers (usually around 3pm to 8pm the transmitting bank end), the funds will still be debited from your account immediately but the funds would just set for up to another 24 hours before entering the bank's batch transfer queue. I think some banks have multiple daily batch transfers while others just do it once a day....I was with a credit union once that transferred once daily according to what they told me.

Get unlucky in missing the daily cutoff transfer time, batch transfer schedule of the bank, weekends, holidays, slow posting on the receiving end and a transfer you are expecting in 3 "business" days can easily take around 7 "calendar" days. This happened to me once years back when I initiated a transfer on a Friday, got hit with the weekend and also a U.S. holiday and a Thai bank holiday thrown in....took around 7 days for BoA transfer to post to my Bangkok Bank account when it normally took 3 to 4 business days from my BoA account if my memory cells serves me right...been around 4 years since I last used a BoA ACH 3 business day transfer. BoA also has a $10 ACH next business day transfer service and a $25 same business day "Wire" transfer service....but there are daily cutoff times for each...and even with the $25 same day service the BoA site says it can take 2 business days to credit to your receiving bank account (assuming the receiving bank post transfers promptly).

Now when I last did a ACH transfer a little over 2 years ago I sent it from my USAA bank account...no ACH sending fee by USAA...and it posted 2 business days later (actually it was somewhere between 36 to 47 hours later...I just remember it beat 48 hours by X-hours) in my Bangkok Bank account. Guess USAA uses more frequent daily batch transfers than BoA....but who knows, maybe I just hit all the transfer gates at just the right time and on the Bangkok Bank end they hit the post to account button quickly. Me thinks when there is no issue on the receiving bank end, most of the transfer time is purely due to the Sending bank and how quickly they "really" transmit the funds, whether they use an intermediary bank(s) to route the funds (just more huddles to get over), etc.

Follow the instructions on BB website:

http://www.bangkokbank.com/bangkokbank/personalbanking/dailybanking/transferingfunds/transferringintothailand/receivingfundsfromusa/pages/receivingfundsfromusa.aspx

Simply add their routing number and you Thai BB account number in the international transfers section of your B of A online account. That simple. Of course you'll need a day or two to verify the account.

As the OP on this topic, I would like to thank everyone for your helpful, prompt responses. It's good to know I'm not alone in my frustration with BofA.

I did as Mrjlh suggested, tho it was not quite as simple as he made it seem. Just scrolling thru BofA's long-winded legalisms in the transfer agreement made my eyes glaze over, and I was timed out of the website as I went to the fridge to steady my nerves with another little shot of courage. When I sobered up the next morning, and had another go, I managed to actually get it done, sort of, I hope.

I was flummoxed by the unexpected SafePass thing, so thanks again to those of you who have explained this. I'd been hoping to transfer a few thousand dollars, but with the $1000 limit for us non-SafePassed customers, I opted to try for $900. This seemed to be OK with BofA, and I received the promised email that the transfer had been done.

I opted for the 3-business-day deal, for the $3 service charge; tho I remain puzzled as how 3 days somehow got stretched out to a week (November 7 to November 13). Still, if this happens as promised by then, I will have no complaints. A transfer of $900 for a charge of $3 works OK for me.

I will be happy to buy Mrjlh a beer or three, as well as any of you other Americans who have so kindly responded, especially if you are in Pattaya, where I currently am holed up. Just send me a PM.

One more question: There seems to be a branch of BofA in Bangkok, that I have never visited. I would like to go there soon, for three reasons:

1. I've long since forgotten the PIN on my BofA ATM card, and would like to get a new PIN, so I could use it again if necessary.

2. I'd like to see if it is possible to cash a personal check to withdraw more money from my account, with less hassle than doing this online.

3. I want to see if any of the Thai ladies working for BofA are nice enough to try and marry. (This is a long shot, I realize.)

Seriously, if anyone has any experience to share about the BofA branch in Bangkok, your beers will be on me.

I'm hoping there might be someone else with the same problem I'm having.

I'm a long-time American expat in Thailand. I want to go back to my homeland as seldom as possible. I like living in Asia.

When I went back to America in 2005, I set up a repetitive wire transfer with Bank of America, so that I could move money from my BofA account to my Bangkok Bank account (paying BofA's $45 service charge each time) to keep my retirement visa going. I did this several times without problems for seven years.

But now, there seems to be a problem. My funds in Bangkok Bank are running low, and I need to replenish them in order to keep the retirement visa going. So I called BofA's wire transfer telephone number, expecting the quick and easy service I've experienced before. Not this time.

I've called about 20 times so far, failing every time. Here's what happens: I call and connect with BofA's wire transfer phone menu, as before. I listen to the menu and press 1, to initiate a wire transfer. Then I hear a new option: press 1 if you are a bank customer, or press 2 if you are a bank employee. I'm a customer, so I press 1.

Then I hear the recorded male voice of doom. I've heard this so many times by now that I can quote: "Your call cannot be completed at this time. Please try your call again later." My call is then cut off and ended. This same routine happens every time I call.

I'm running out of money here in Thailand, and I can't get through to Bank of America by phone from here.

Has anyone else experienced this problem? I would appreciate any suggestions.

I'm hoping there may be others in my situation. At age 66, my ears are failing me. Too much music and shouted conversation in Thailand's bars, over the course of working in Bangkok for 20 years, celebrating with my fellow English teachers in Nana and Cowboy, have done my ears in

On my sojourn in California last year, I bought a pair of expensive hearing aids, $5,000, batteries included. When I returned to my home in Thailand, I changed my retirement visa to education visa, Walen in Pattaya has carpeted classrooms. Carpets help to reduce the horrible acoustics in classrooms of bare walls and floor, where the sound of voices bounces crazily around, incomprehensible to my wounded ears.

I've been able to deal with the acoustics in Walen's carpeted classrooms for a year, but recently it's been a real struggle to understand what is being said in class. My fellow students tend to speak Thai in such inhibited whispers that I have no idea what they are trying to say.

I'm losing my hearing as old folks do, but I still want to be able to continue living in Thailand on the ED visa, for a few more years, if possible.

Now that my hearing is shot, I'm interested in studying Thai reading and writing, with minimal listening. I'm not a beginner.

So my question is: Can anyone recommend a Thai language reading/writing course at a school in Bangkok or Pattaya, that offers the ED visa?

OP:

How dare you write about such a theme??? Baht Bus topics are the sole proprietory rights of JingThing!!!

I'm sure Jingthing won't mind if I have my tuppence worth. If you get on a baht bus heading past Big C towards the Dolphin roundabout, how do you know if they are turning left into Beach Road or going straight ahead? they are all the same colour.

Ask them? Bai Soi Song mai?

Asking them can be problematic, as many baht bus drivers interpret your innocent question as a request for a private fare, which is what they really want, at much, much more than 10 baht. Some of them will continue north on 2nd Road into Naklua, all the way to the market, for 10 baht. Others will not, instead turning left at the Dolphin, to loop back south on Beach Road. If I don't want to be hassled, I will not ask; instead I hop on and hope for the best, if I want to go into Naklua. If the driver won't go, I hop off, pay 10 baht, walk past the Dolphin, and hop on another baht bus to finish the trip for another 10 baht. Of course it's silly and inefficient, but TIT, after all.

Thanks to Jingthing I discovered Pao and ate there twice before they closed for a long Songkran break. It's in my neighborhood, so I was pleased that they have re-opened. Stopped in for dinner last evening, a Friday, about 6:30. Ate leisurely, but I'm afraid that I was the only customer until I left around 8 pm. I'm worried that they won't last long at this rate. I will go back again soon, as I like the quiet atmosphere -- no music -- and the good food. The hot&sour soup (100 baht) was so tasty that I feared an onset of MSG allergy, but none came on thank goodness. The chicken curry with rice (120 baht) was a bit on the small side, but quite good, and I was satisfied without feeling stuffed.

I sure hope they survive. Chinese food lovers, please come now and help them out.