Giving up on Pattaya

[J Town]

7 minutes ago, 2 is 1 said:

Personaly i think , why people even want to live (Thailand's a hole place) Pattaya! Nothing Thailand there, only fake sht! And people who only want get as much as they can! Your money! Real Thailand and real people are elsewhere! 

I ride a push bike on the dark side every day the weather allows. PLENTY of real Thailand there, including people who smile and wave, farms, miles and kilometers of roads where you don't see anyone at all. I took this photo just yesterday:

[Pattaya Spotter]

30 minutes ago, Kerryd said:

Oddly enough though, it seems there's just as much traffic downtown as there was before, less the double-decker tour buses. Every time I go down South or Central Pattaya or Thepprasit or along Sukhumvit, the traffic seems just as bad as it was at this time last year. 

Even at Immigration. I normally go first thing in the morning on a Tue/Wed/Thu as those are normally the quietest days. Went on Tuesday morning, there was 4 people when I got there. By the time the girl came out to collect the "90 Day" passports, there was probably 3 dozen people there.

Yeah, they've changed how they do 90 Day reports now. Probably to reduce the crowds inside. They collect the passports outside and give you a random number tag with the matching tag clipped to your passport. Then the girl takes them inside to be processed and when the current batch is done she comes back out, hands out the completed passports and collects any from new arrivals. (But they process them in the order collected so even though I had #76, my passport was in the stack before #22 and I got it back before that person got theirs as well. They don't hand out the tags or sort them in numerical order.)

Other business goes in like normal, except they don't even open the doors to let people inside until 8:30 now. Again, probably to reduce the number of people inside. I had to go in to do my "bank book check" as well and when I walked out, the inside was full of people (as full as they allowed).

Was surprised at the number of people there, considering that there hasn't been any "tourists" allowed in for months, and the "genuine tourists" that can't seem to book a ticket on all the airlines that have been flying everyday, are all still on "Amnesty" so most of them probably don't need to go to Immigration for anything.
(Not sure if they extended the Amnesty for 90 Day reports but they are processing them like normal for those that go there.)

The last 2 times I've been to Immigration, it seems there have been more people there than there were (usually) before the "covid crisis". Things are being processed quickly though. Between the 90 Day report and handing in the paperwork for the "bank book check", I was on my way home by 08:39.

Was still a couple dozen people outside when I left and more arriving every minute. 

Maybe the lines will suddenly get shorter a month from now........ 
 

Lots of road construction around town at the moment causing traffic back-ups.  I see they're even re-surfing the outbound Highway 7 flyover causing backups northbound between Central and North roads.

[Bender Rodriguez]

40 minutes ago, Henryford said:

I am hetro and am attracted to ladyboys. They are (in general) more attractive than girls, better figures, better dressed, more attentive. I am willing to overlook the odd drawback.

so you have no problem to go check in the rear end what they ate yesterday

[Jingthing]

28 minutes ago, 2 is 1 said:

Personaly i think , why people even want to live (Thailand's a hole place) Pattaya! Nothing Thailand there, only fake sht! And people who only want get as much as they can! Your money! Real Thailand and real people are elsewhere! 

I can only answer that for myself. Speaking as a "bad" expat that has never been particularly interested in going native. I see the area as kind of a poorer man's Miami Beach. 

 

A place to live where I could afford to buy a decent home for cash, was able to retire very early, good weather if you can handle heat sometimes, good infrastructure, almost everything possible to do only with English, great relatively low cost restaurant food both Thai and international, sea breezes, and even though the beaches are dirty at least you get soul enriching sea views. 

 

Paradise it's not but no place is especially for lower wealth people 

Edited August 27, 2020 by Jingthing

[JomtienRay]

https://forum.thaivisa.com/profile/23799-chivas/

They certainly dont need the Tourist Dollar to balance the books what with the huge (massive in fact) increase in FGR since the Pandemic started and borders closed.

 

What is FGR?? 

[cheshiremusicman]

1 hour ago, CygnusX1 said:

Well, with no access to the Thai ladies for the next few years, playing computer games IS about the most exciting thing I can do.

Why not try the new (VERY) Microsoft flight simulator and you could fly over your property to remind you what it looks like? Just an idea to keep you occupied!

[Pedrogaz]

20 hours ago, aussiexpat said:

I sold a house yesterday and still won't pay for their 21 day prison in Phuket to get back to Thailand, that's when I realised I may never come back ????

Did you get a decent price?

[Hanuman2547]

I bought a condo in Jomtien in 2006 about 800m from the beach.  I never use it and up until Covid-19 came to visit I had it rented out about 90% of the time.  I would gladly sell it but the price it would get would probably be less than I paid for it.  That being said, I guess I'll just hang on to it.  It's all paid for so just paying the yearly fees.  Just use it now for weekend trips from Bangkok.

[Helmet Grunter]

Would you consider renting your condo, long term, I am living Koh Samui for long time, but will move to Pattaya Feb 2021 

[JusticeGB]

Sadly Pattaya is a shadow of its former self. Now about 30% of the better restaurants are permanently closed. No tourists are here to keep them in business and the ban on them selling alcohol for a couple of months was the final nail in the coffin. In 1980 when I first came here Pattaya was alive 24 hours a day. Now it is over built with condos, hotels and shopping malls. The sewerage system hasn't been upgraded to cope with all the additional people that use these facilities. The dearth of farang arrivals had reduced the income of local Thai people. The Chinese are bussed around to rich Chinese Thai owned businesses and block places like Walking Street without spending any money there. The coaches they use park indiscriminately around Pattaya and cause major traffic problems. Pattaya has gone downhill rapidly. At least at the moment the roads aren't blocked by coaches. 

[Wongkitlo]

12 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I can only answer that for myself. Speaking as a "bad" expat that has never been particularly interested in going native. I see the area as kind of a poorer man's Miami Beach. 

 

A place to live where I could afford to buy a decent home for cash, was able to retire very early, good weather if you can handle heat sometimes, good infrastructure, almost everything possible to do only with English, great relatively low cost restaurant food both Thai and international, sea breezes, and even though the beaches are dirty at least you get soul enriching sea views. 

 

Paradise it's not but no place is especially for lower wealth people 

The dirty Miami thing is something I love about Pattaya. The incongruity of attractive beachside boulevard, high end shopping centres with a filthy Beach, broken pavements and countless prostitutes.

[BigStar]

47 minutes ago, Kerryd said:

Yeah, they've changed how they do 90 Day reports now. Probably to reduce the crowds inside. They collect the passports outside and give you a random number tag with the matching tag clipped to your passport. Then the girl takes them inside to be processed and when the current batch is done she comes back out, hands out the completed passports and collects any from new arrivals. (But they process them in the order collected so even though I had #76, my passport was in the stack before #22 and I got it back before that person got theirs as well. They don't hand out the tags or sort them in numerical order.)

That was not the procedure I experienced last Tuesday. It was just as it had always been: go in, get a number from the front desk, go wait at desk #4. Only two things changed: 1. the numbers are now prefixed with the reporting desk number; 2. a new 90-day stamp is put into your passport. Over time, those stamps could take up a lot of pages when you might not have that many left. Another point in favor of online reporting or by mail, if the latter's supported. Is it? I don't seem to recall posters mentioning reporting by mail in connection w/ Jomtien.

 

Perhaps they collect passports outside during crunch times or you're simply out of date. I had 4 in front of me and waited 10 min. Office not crowded but appears more so owing to the social distancing perhaps.

[aussiexpat]

4 minutes ago, Helmet Grunter said:

Would you consider renting your condo, long term, I am living Koh Samui for long time, but will move to Pattaya Feb 2021 

Can't rent it as all my stuff is there (it was my home).

 

I'll just leave it empty until I can come back to get my stuff. Likely then to put it up for sale rather than renting.

[Kerryd]

2 minutes ago, BigStar said:

That was not the procedure I experienced last Tuesday. It was just as it had always been: go in, get a number from the front desk, go wait at desk #4. Only two things changed: 1. the numbers are now prefixed with the reporting desk number; 2. a new 90-day stamp is put into your passport. Over time, those stamps could take up a lot of pages when you might not have that many left. Another point in favor of online reporting or by mail, if the latter's supported. Is it? I don't seem to recall posters mentioning reporting by mail in connection w/ Jomtien.

 

Perhaps they collect passports outside during crunch times or you're simply out of date. I had 4 in front of me and waited 10 min. Office not crowded but appears more so owing to the social distancing perhaps.

I'm "simply out of date" ? I was there, as I noted, last TUESDAY. 2 days ago.

In fact, they were pulling people out of the entrance line that were trying to enter the building to do their 90 Day reports and sending them to sit off to the side (where the chairs are spaced out). 
I was there around 07:45 and left at 08:39 and they were still separating the "90 Day report" people from the rest.

And the new 90 Day slip is stapled in the back of my passport - just like they've been doing it for years. NO "stamp" in my passport.

[Henryford]

31 minutes ago, Bender Rodriguez said:

so you have no problem to go check in the rear end what they ate yesterday

Every one wears a condom. No worse than the blood and pi** at the front end.

[cyril sneer]

enjoy it while you can, they will be back

 

[Iforbach]

Good luck with selling your condo .. top market maybe but I hv seen lots reductions @ it's a..rental paradise ..even when the door opens but yes as mentioned   world apdemic...myself its g8t as to 44 baht a beer ...just  waiting on guiness shipment ..above all you hv make most of the  situation as it be long long time I think it will be anywhere near to normal ..anyway good luck ..

[twocatsmac]

25 minutes ago, Hanuman2547 said:

I bought a condo in Jomtien in 2006 about 800m from the beach.  I never use it and up until Covid-19 came to visit I had it rented out about 90% of the time.  I would gladly sell it but the price it would get would probably be less than I paid for it.  That being said, I guess I'll just hang on to it.  It's all paid for so just paying the yearly fees.  Just use it now for weekend trips from Bangkok.

I also bought a condo that year in Jomptien at the favorable exchange rate of that era. 

Rented out 100% (same couple) for the last 10 years and now not far from break even point.

Now living away from the coast I wish it was vacant to also use for short visits but am prepared to buy another if the prices fall drastically. 

Jomptien is imo extremely good value property wise and as a retirement/holiday destination.

 

 

[twocatsmac]

8 minutes ago, cyril sneer said:

enjoy it while you can, they will be back

 

 

So will their friends from across the border.

 

 

[rumak]

7 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I can answer your loaded question about so called trannies.

Assuming you're talking mostly about "ladyboy" sex workers, the audience for them is overwhelmingly hetero identified men.

Gay men are (in general) not sexually attracted to women or men presenting as women.

Got it now dude?

aren't you the guy who admonishes everyone when you start a thread.... for not staying on topic ?

[kingofthemountain]

2 hours ago, possum1931 said:

I could not see myself shagging a ladyboy pre opp or not. I find it hard to believe any completely heterosexual guy would knowingly <deleted> a ladyboy.

If you have never try, you don't really know

[NoshowJones]

Just now, kingofthemountain said:

If you have never try, you don't really know

As a normal guy, I don't really want to know.

[Jingthing]

1 minute ago, kingofthemountain said:

If you have never try, you don't really know

True but I haven't tried balut either and I can live with that! 

[scubascuba3]

5 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

If you have never try, you don't really know

you could also say that about cats and dogs, you are either attracted to LBs or you aren't, guys should just accept that

[sead]

22 hours ago, sungod said:

Chill out buddy, its a world pandemic. Travel anywhere is difficult at the moment.

 

Besides, unless you want to give it to someone, the property market is down too.

 

We are all hoping for better times........

Agree. All the world are having problems not only you 

Edited August 27, 2020 by sead

[murraynz]

21 hours ago, Andy from Kent said:

 

Does that mean all your posts made on Thai Visa  about Pattaya  are made without you  having set foot in the city since 1994?

Well said....there are many posters like this..

Anti pattaya etc,who seldom ,if ever go to pattaya..

Many other negative people who complain about thai visa rules,

But they cant meet the simple financial requirements..

Pattaya is still a great place,even if its quiet at the moment.

[Rimmer]

Personal attacks leading into bickering and flaming posts have all been removed

[Olmate]

8 minutes ago, murraynz said:

Well said....there are many posters like this..

Anti pattaya etc,who seldom ,if ever go to pattaya..

Many other negative people who complain about thai visa rules,

But they cant meet the simple financial requirements..

Pattaya is still a great place,even if its quiet at the moment.

More complaints from anti agent posters than those you refer to IMO. At least majority of those are from or know Pattaya!

[aussiexpat]

16 hours ago, Pilotman said:

6 million, for a condo, utter madness. 

Why, I was planning to live full-time so I wanted a decent size. I figured I could never live full-time in a studio

Edited August 27, 2020 by aussiexpat

[BigStar]

10 hours ago, moontang said:

I went to Pattaya yesterday, left today.  Shocking how hard it is to get a decent bite to eat after 10 pm.  Most of the street food I saw would cause prison riots, where I come from.  At best case, you can buy safer versions of the same disgusting <deleted> at 7-11. . . . My hotel room just sucked big time..basically smelled like a dirty jockstrap.  . . . I wonder who decided that Patts would get all the old beer from the entire country? . . . So many of the condos are in suck locations.  Looks like once you get 1 km from the beach, prices are lower than the likes of and Patum Thani.

Why confine your cuisine to street food and 7-11s? I had a magnificent dinner at Hops last night. Great food, service, and a surprisingly large number of well-mannered fellow patrons in attendance.

 

http://hopsbrewhouse.co.th/

 

And the lager is brewed fresh on the premises.????

 

One advantage of owning a condo here is that of having your own place to stay anytime. So if you want a dirty jockstrap or not, it's up 2 u. But you could probably just pay more in rent, too, and find something less odoriferous. "Suck location" is in the eyes of beholder. Personally, I love my location on the beach. Yep, prices are of course lower further from the beach just as they are in other resorts. Anything else?