jaideedave

2 hours ago, Artisi said:

Like Joe Ferrari, 5 minutes in the limelight and then forgotten. 

Yes and for committing murder no less!

I'm speachless...(for a change)

21 minutes ago, connda said:

Odd new protocol at Jomtien IO for Extension of stay.

Give it time.  Soon you'll be required to juggle a coconut, a banana, and a durian while hopping up-and-down on one foot and singing Chaat Thai in proper Bangkok Thai while the bank manager unicycles around you with a monkey on his shoulder holding a copy of today's newspaper  - all filmed in front of the sign on the front of the bank, of course 
????????

555 You may not be far off there my friend.

16 hours ago, NanLaew said:

That's quite easily the saddest potted biography I've read in a long, long time.

 

"she's in her 40s now...Are there men with means lining up to take her away to Valhalla? She could possibly be thinking of her future with a farang around to pay the bills? 

Shes probably trying to find a way to keep the peace and the kid. Its her son and the foreigner could dissappear tomorrow.

4 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

I always tip them. They make so little. If they are getting 9 baht for a delivery, gotta be hard to make a living. My 20 baht tip has to mean alot to them. And it means nothing to me. 

Ditto here...if its rainy I go for 30 b.

13 hours ago, n00dle said:

ffs pattaya has been dying for decades. it is perishing as fast as the men who used to frequrent the gogo bar scene as a way of life.

That just doesnt appeal to people these days. There are so many other ways to go about it.

I agree 100% on your observation.Back in the day before Thai Friendly etc. the easiest option was hunt the beer bars as we did. Now one doesn't even have to leave the comfort of his home.You can just order in same as a pizza.

Less expensive and a larger selection IMHO.

31 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

I saw some packed coming from Jomtein but It’s not a lot relatively speaking. They would be picking up groups from the night market or along the whole beach stretch. Any city that was halfway crowded the trucks would be packed each time.

 

I think people are inflating the popularity of the place, or like you say, it’s goofballs hyping YouTube channels to make it sound exciting. You can see in the vlogs them walking down the same few streets in central each time.

555 Yes it seems a lot of blokes arrive here and get a Go Pro camera and trip over each other marching up and down the same old tired sois.

The"buy me a beer" brigade is alive and well in Pattaya.It must be embarrassing at times.They must be skint for the most part because what else would motivate them to "wash rinse repeat" ?

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

The authorities to the people: We realize the Russians are not well liked and lack basic social skills. But, the Russians, Chinese, Indians, Malaysians and Arabs are all we have now. Very few Europeans, Australians, Kiwis, Americans and Canadians  are visiting now. The high airfares must be a deterrent. Are there other reasons? We don't know.

 

You don't have to like them. We work with what we got. Right? 

Very few Europeans, Australians, Kiwis, Americans and Canadians  are visiting now.

I'm a Canuck here and now but I'm thinking its got to do with the higher cost of living. Anyone who had a mortgage of 2-3 % and have to renew at 5-6 % is in for a shock along with the cost of everything else rising. On my 1st visit (1990) I never noticed many Indians, Chinese or Arabs.Now the demographic has changed dramatically.For the most part my drinking days are behind me so it really doesn't affect me.    

1 hour ago, 2baht said:

Saved! 

Saved from an inactive post unlike the 25 cops that were at the Kaman dinner where he had one of there own blasted into smithereens.They have been transfered to the "Royal Thai Police Operations Center" Where is this building located? It most must be huge.

What is it about this country? Hardly a week goes by where some gov't official/employee or school administrator, or official isn't implicated in some sort of theft,embezzlement,or bribe taking incident.

The even nabbed an ISOC Security Officer.

There's no one left to trust.

I know the salaries are not high but they sure make up for it. (40 mil)

3 hours ago, d4dang said:

the overstayed guy who got popped with cocaine in Phuket recently?

Actually you may be spot on there.A plea bargain for Baboo as he had to get his supply from somewhere? He knew of an there was more on the way. Makes a lot of sense.The price of dummy dust will increase for the next little while.

He knew there was a shipment due and voila,

1 hour ago, Trip Hop said:

I stand to be corrected but I'm pretty sure that the occupations reserved for Thais only apply to employees.  When I briefly looked into it years ago regarding my industry, I couldn't work unless it was for a foreign company carrying out a major contract in Thailand and I was classed as a key worker, which they would only allow a few.  I could on the other hand though, open up a company in my industry as long as I only employed Thais and a minimum of 4 in order to get a work permit for myself?

"I couldn't work unless it was for a foreign company carrying out a major contract in Thailand and I was classed as a key worker" 

Years ago I worked for Amerda Hess O&G outside Udon as 'Foreign" contractor Safety Officer.

I also worked for Chevron briefly offshore in the Gulf. They looked after all the work permits etc.

Those jobs are all gone these days. The good old days.Maybe some specialist gigs available but that's about it. 

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

Should have gone to Barretto or Angeles.

I recall we took the Victory Liner to Subic/Alongapo for 2-3 days a few months after Mt Pinatubo blew.

2 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

I did a very popular thread on this a few years ago now on Thai Visa forum and the overwhelming opinion was, with the exception of English speaking women, nothing much else to go for. Also, plenty of scams from the women there as well as Thailand, they just do it in a different way.

 

There was the odd poster who liked it in the Philippines but they were very much in the minority.

 

Far more unpredictable and volatile than Thailand.

 

Complaints included terrible food, expensive to rent very basic accommodation, utilities expensive, bad living conditions and rampant poverty, too many guns with people more than prepared to use them.Guards with machine guns and metal detectors at shopping malls. They also said you must remain very vigilant.

 

Many of these countries such as Philippines and Cambodia get people that cannot afford the rules and regulations to stay in Thailand.

 

I rent a house to a Filipina lady working in Thailand, she does not have a very high opinion of the place but loves her family of course. She doesn't run the place down, it's more a case of what she doesn't say.

 

I have never inquired much other than passing pleasantries but she just says he is happier working here.

 

For great local food, fruit and vegetables, you will be hard pressed to beat Thailand in this region.

Back in the day a small group of us booked a 2 week vacay to the PP looking for p4p and found it in Ermita district.We also found it very dangerous and and generally an uncomfortable rip off everywhere.

After 1 week we rebooked our tickets back to LOS and never looked back.

28 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

what was the 600 baht one?

I was afraid you would ask. 555...I can't find it on Lazada anymore...maybe you get what you pay for.

I bought about 4 of those very cheap ones before the light came on.

3 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

you know, doesn't burn out after a couple of weeks and grinds ok? It's only for a Mokapot so pointless getting an expensive one

I had a similar on from them.They last a couple months max. I spent about 600 b and its still working after a year...

On 8/31/2023 at 7:14 PM, NextG said:

Free, but at a lower exchange rate, depending on the amount transferred. 

Good one..my Canadian bank offers free international transfers...wait for it... but at their <deleted>ty ex rate and upon checking it costs about $60 to transfer 2k. bustards. Wise for me these days..12-15$ same transaction.

On 8/28/2023 at 4:44 PM, impulse said:

If you do pull out your int'l credit card at (for example) Bumrungrad, the next question will be "do you want to pay in THB or USD?"  Ask me how I know that...

 

I haven't a clue what the best answer is.  Fortunately, I just pick up some scripts at Bumrungrad amounting to $400 USD or so.  So I don't sweat the fees.

 

But someone may want to chime in with the right answer.

Excellent question,,THB vs USD..I didn't know either...here's what I found..

"If you have the chance to pay in local currency or US dollars, always choose local currency!" 

"the merchant will charge you what's called a Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) fee"

Now we both know..great to know.

5 minutes ago, ignore it said:

Ah, the joys of being a live aboard. Intimate contact with the wind and waves. beautiful sunsets, no aircon, no storage, tiny toilet, insects. And although you've minimized, you get to stow everything if you want to use it as a boat.

 

There were some negatives too.

Back in the day I lived aboard my 30 ft sailboat near Nanaimo,BC on the west coast for a year. It was lovely during the spring,summer and fall.During winter the ice and snow took away the romance.

But it was a pussy magnet in summer.

1 hour ago, JimTripper said:

I lived in siem reap a year or two. You can make it work as an expat if you don’t need medical. There’s just not a lot to do after seeing the temples and sitting in eateries. Many people end up just drinking in bars.

Actually I quit drinking 8 months ago and don't miss the bars after a lifetime of warming barstools.

I'm 72 so my activity level isn't a lot these days.

I'm in the "Happy hour" of life as they say. I have Thai medical insurance but with so many exclusions it's basically useless.