Does Anyone Have Connection To Police?

[h5n1]

I have as much sympathy for poverty as anyone but the touts/hawkers are totally out of control. I was on the beach a few days ago and became throughly disgusted with the numbers of hakers/touts on the beach. The most annoying actually poke you and wake you up, some stand in front of you until you acknowledge them. The massage women are just as annoying. You have fake watches, fake sunglasses, all sorts of ugly handicrap and overpriced and often spoiled food. The fried food is totally mishandled and meets only a saftey standard of Cambodia, the shrimp/crab will almost always make you sick as it is subject hourly to time/temp abuse. At one point in the day I counted 11 hawkers in my line of vision. Another test I ran was how many passed by me in any given time - they averaged one every 30 seconds. I used to support the hawkers and still support those selling Thai food to Thai people but I have to draw the line at that.

Soi 7/8 can be just as bad. The hawkers and beggars float around the beer bars selling junk and begging money. This is just as annoying - poking and prodding. My limit was reached when a father with a well fed baby - both with 2 arms and 2 legs was repeatedly begging of the patrons.

The most annoying are the guys bothering you and have ONE pair of sun glasses or carrying one plastic elephant. They are not even legit hawkers. The tiger balm/medicinal Viagra people are really, really out of control also.

Along 2nd road there are a number of Thai women with babies that place themselves at certain points in order to cull money from tourists. Why work when you can beg money? The worst place is in front on Siam City Bank / Soi Honey-Soi10 where the sit in the gutter and beg in front of the forex kiosk.

In the morning I have also seen these types swarm at Kiss restaurant swarming around the tourists as well.

I have no sympathy for anyone that makes an exerted effort to bring themselves all the way from Nakorn Nowhere to Pattaya to beg specifically from foreigners.

This must stop immediately, the beach is not a relaxing place to be.

[piker]

I have uncovered a few solutions for the beach vendor problem.

1-Accept that it won't change due to the fact the foreigners have bought and will buy again so they figure they've got a shot at you.

2-Consider other beaches. Wong Amat isn't horrible or Bang Sare just south of Jomtien is really charming.

3-Get yourself connected. I have the most recent phone # of a Pattaya city beach security officer. One can often see the vendors scurrying off when they make their presence known. I have also sat near one of these officers who intelligently (or lazily) parked himself in uniform on a beach chair facing the road. I didn't have 1 annoying vendor come to see me!

I feel Walking St's vendors have to be paying tea money because there's this one tiny annoying old lady selling roses and her tactic is not only to tap your arm but also to shove the flowers under your nose and/or in your line of vision thereby blocking it. When you attempt to ignore her, the bouquet's jagged stems brush against your presumably sleeveless arm which doesn't tickle.

Other tea payers are the bag vendors on the beach side of Royal Garden, the taser sellers which might even be illegal to own?!

I can almost say I love annoying vendors compared to the ones selling laser pens. My eyes are so sensitive to even the reflection of that light. I feel like asking to inspect the pain and then "accidentally" zapping them in the eyes. Oops, I did it again.

pm me for security guard's phone # and be prepared to tip him when he arrives.

[H2oDunc]

Easy just move to somewhere they have none. That was one of the main reasons I left Hua Hin. I got sick of saying mai ow krap every 2 mins. It didnt seem to matter if you were on the beach or the bars. Some as you say just dont seem to take no thanks.I can now go to the beach, a 2km pristine stretch of beach, and not get bothered. Same as going for a beer, no croaking frogs or crap sunglasses or "Hello welcome handsome man" Just nice people and cold beer. I think you either have to get used to it or move, the joys of living in a high tourist area.

[tropo]

Easy just move to somewhere they have none. That was one of the main reasons I left Hua Hin.

Is it just as bad in Hua Hin?

Leaving a town to avoid hawkers is a bit drastic.

[mark100]

I have as much sympathy for poverty as anyone but the touts/hawkers are totally out of control. I was on the beach a few days ago and became throughly disgusted with the numbers of hakers/touts on the beach. The most annoying actually poke you and wake you up, some stand in front of you until you acknowledge them. The massage women are just as annoying. You have fake watches, fake sunglasses, all sorts of ugly handicrap and overpriced and often spoiled food. The fried food is totally mishandled and meets only a saftey standard of Cambodia, the shrimp/crab will almost always make you sick as it is subject hourly to time/temp abuse. At one point in the day I counted 11 hawkers in my line of vision. Another test I ran was how many passed by me in any given time - they averaged one every 30 seconds. I used to support the hawkers and still support those selling Thai food to Thai people but I have to draw the line at that.

Soi 7/8 can be just as bad. The hawkers and beggars float around the beer bars selling junk and begging money. This is just as annoying - poking and prodding. My limit was reached when a father with a well fed baby - both with 2 arms and 2 legs was repeatedly begging of the patrons.

The most annoying are the guys bothering you and have ONE pair of sun glasses or carrying one plastic elephant. They are not even legit hawkers. The tiger balm/medicinal Viagra people are really, really out of control also.

Along 2nd road there are a number of Thai women with babies that place themselves at certain points in order to cull money from tourists. Why work when you can beg money? The worst place is in front on Siam City Bank / Soi Honey-Soi10 where the sit in the gutter and beg in front of the forex kiosk.

In the morning I have also seen these types swarm at Kiss restaurant swarming around the tourists as well.

I have no sympathy for anyone that makes an exerted effort to bring themselves all the way from Nakorn Nowhere to Pattaya to beg specifically from foreigners.

This must stop immediately, the beach is not a relaxing place to be.

There was a piece in the Pattaya mail regarding this a few weeks ago, the police are meant to be making a concerted effort to stop this, especially the portion of beach left and right of the police box on Jomtien beach.

l feel the same as you, lm all for people making money and l don't mind being approached on the beach, but it's the one's who stand there until you give them something this is really annoying.

Now we go to beaches outside of Pattaya to avoid the problem.

[Super Hans]

I didn't find it so bad in Pattaya - certainly nowhere near as bad as it is here in Phuket. Patts has the advance of not having tuk-tuks all over the place. I just can't stand them - it's totally obvious whether you want one or not, but they'll ask you every...single...time.

[davethailand]

I'll have it sorted by tomorrow.

[mrbojangles]

I don't mind the hawkers so much, i just ignore them. It's those freakin Tailors who grab you by the arm who i can't stand

[Maigo6]

You can't stand the thought of buying flowers from an old lady, yet you are willing to sleep with a total stranger and pay her.

You'll still all be here next year and the year after, the only thing that will make you leave is a total absense of women to take advantage of.

I know, now I'm gonna get, ...

'I'm in Pattaya for the pristine beaches and the lack of crime, the quiet roads and the wonderful infrastructure.'

Can you imagine what a place like Pattaya would be like if it was based in the UK ?

You think you wouldn't get hassled?

Pattaya is Pattaya, take the good with the Bad, Pattaya has always been like that, it's just that when you first came you thought you had died and gone to heaven, now reality bites.

You fly thousands of miles to come to Pattaya to take advantage of poor people, poor Thai people flock from all over Thailand to try to take advantage of you lot. You seem surprised at this.........

I think it's fair enough.

Stop your bleedin' whinging or sod off back to Bradford and spend your Friday nights not in Soi 8, but in The Working Mans Club, or down The Legion!

Edited September 17, 2007 by Maigo6

[britmaveric]

They are annoying, but I can live with it. Only once I wanted to kick the shi*e out of one in Soi 2 - unfortunately the lad was using a baby for protection. He was annoyed I wouldn't give him any dosh, so he decided to slap me on the back of my head while I was drinking.

[taxexile]

You fly thousands of miles to come to Pattaya to take advantage of poor people, poor Thai people flock from all over Thailand to try to take advantage of you lot. You seem surprised at this.........

cant argue with that !

[DonTron]

I would rather have them hawking than selling drugs or doing crimes which is why I try my best to accept that they are there.

But it’s really becoming bad. Here at the Naklua beer bar center they come with 20-30 second intervals, tapping you on the shoulder, poking you i the bag. And if you choose to ignore them they just poke harder and some even become hostile.

Even if I go into a restaurant, they will walk in there and shove their watches pack over my food, which is really hard to smile at when it happens for the 5th time during the meal.

I keep wondering why so many people work so many hours selling crap for almost no profit pr. month, when we are having such a hard time at the company finding the employees we need. (cleaning lady, handy man, painter, office assistants etc..) cause not all of these jobs require a education. Last time I advertised for a maid only 3 people showed up. Perhaps I should start poking the hawkers, handing them job announcements

Edited September 17, 2007 by DonTron

[Nouf]

yes those hawkers and sellers are a pain in the ass, i moved drinking holes further towards soi 2, as soi 7/8 is a joke, i once counted over 150 in one 3 hour seesion then had to go, it seems they follow you to the darkest corner, however i can recommend one bar the u-too bar (ps not a plug or anything) near soi 3-4 , patrick has got it sorted as you simply dont get bothered with someone trying to sell you frogs or teddy bears , a nice place to enjoy the football and a beer, and whithout the constant hassle of the handsome man girls which can be as much a pain as the hawkers

Edited September 17, 2007 by Nouf

[Maigo6]

. Perhaps I should start poking the hawkers, handing them job announcements

Maybe if Thailand had Social Security, they wouldn't be hassling you to get enough money to feed their kids, then again, if Thailand had Social Security for Thai people, most Farangs wouldn't be here in the first place.

[Maigo6]

and whithout the constant hassle of the handsome man girls

This is something I've had to live with all of my life, so being in Thailand is no different for me.

[piker]

I have a mate owning a bar in Jomtien which is enclosed and fully air conditioned. The hawkers come right into his establishment like they own the place and proceed to do the poking and prodding (sounds dirty...).

What I must ask my mate is WHY are they brazenly allowed to do this??!?

I like to think if I were a bar owner, I'd put an army of women at the door blocking their path. Or maybe that's what the taser is for...

[MisterFingers]

I've got two ideas to remedy the problem:

1) Speak with your money.

- If people stop going to the beach and the "beach lot owners" lose money because of the hawkers, then they might start muscling them out of there.

2) Get a sign

- Get/Make a sign written in Thai, "I don't buy from Hawkers." or, "Hawkers, please don't bother me."

- Whenever a hawker comes around, point to the sign stuck with a pole in the sand near your chair.

- In fact, make a large number of these signs and offer them to all tourists on the beach, maybe you can even sell them to "beach lot owners" by popular demand

- I certainly would take one of these signs if offered one.

So there you go. If you really want to get something done about this, do number 2. The sign doesn't have to have a pole either. Just have it so it can be put on or hang off your table. It should only cost you what it takes to run off and laminate a bunch of copies. Then, whichever "beach lot owners decide to buy from you, will be one up on the competition.

[Daewoo]

- I certainly would take one of these signs if offered one.

Wuold I need a work permit to make the signs and then get hawkers to walk up and down the beach trying to sell them to people???

The pushier the hawkers selling the no hawkers signs, the better the sales... it's like a self fulfilling prophecy...

Cheers,

Daewoo

[innovator]

I don't mind the beach or bar vendors as much as the pack of motorbike dogs from India/Bangaladesh that hunt people down on the roads and ask them if they 'Speak English' in order to take them to buy real estate or something else!! These wolves are quite dangerous as they practically run you down on the roads as you cross the streets or walk down the sidewalks. Now, I speak loudly and carry a big stick.

Edited September 18, 2007 by innovator

[Naam]

...the pack of motorbike dogs from India/Bangaladesh that hunt people down on the roads and ask them if they 'Speak English' in order to take them to buy real estate or something else!! These wolves are quite dangerous...

:D

[MisterFingers]

- I certainly would take one of these signs if offered one.

Wuold I need a work permit to make the signs and then get hawkers to walk up and down the beach trying to sell them to people???

The pushier the hawkers selling the no hawkers signs, the better the sales... it's like a self fulfilling prophecy...

Cheers,

Daewoo

You gotta think outside the box a bit. This would be the hawker to end all hawkers.

Plus, I wasn't saying to sell them to the tourists. Let the tourists borrow them for free.

Or sell them to the beach lot owners so they can lend them to the tourists if desired.

[Daewoo]

You gotta think outside the box a bit. This would be the hawker to end all hawkers.

Plus, I wasn't saying to sell them to the tourists. Let the tourists borrow them for free.

Or sell them to the beach lot owners so they can lend them to the tourists if desired.

I am thinking outside the box... you can only sell them to the lot owners once... tourists would buy them just as a souvenier... better still, make them edible so they would buy a new one every day...

Then when someone else copies yor idea... you could put a clock in the sign... differentiation is the key...

I am sure I am onto a winner here...

Cheers,

Daewoo

[ignis]

Totally amazed by this post........

Where have you all been ? where do you all come from?

Go anywhere in the old Eastern block...

Tunisia is VERY bad....

One of the worst places is ANY beach in the South of France....... I DO MEAN ANY BEACH, you lay on a nudist beach with all your clothes in the car and you will be pestered constantly with people trying to sell you things, wonder where they think you have money?? Family beaches are even worse

Italy, Spain Greece, Malta, Turkey and Portugal are no better....

NO sorry Thailand have VERY few, so find this post very strange or rather those that have posted must have never been or lived anywhere

[innovator]

NO sorry Thailand have VERY few, so find this post very strange or rather those that have posted must have never been or lived anywhere

I am amazed at this comment. I have been all over the world and have NEVER been attacked by a pack of Indian/Bangaladeshi/? wolves on motorbikes in order to sell me a Condo. This is quite a STRANGE sales technique, considering the seller is trying to make a very expensive proposition. They are not selling cheap, wooden elephants, they are attacking tourists in an aggressive fashion on dangerous motorbikes.

I think it is time to employ the long pole in a new "JOUSTING SPORT".

[Naam]

I am amazed at this comment. I have been all over the world and have NEVER been attacked by a pack of Indian/Bangaladeshi/? wolves on motorbikes in order to sell me a Condo.

and i am amazed reading your flowery language. you could write a science fiction novel something like "Aliens abducted, threatened and abused me in Pattaya". my advice: get a life!

[Daewoo]

^^^^^^

Would you like to buy one of my limited edition, edible, "No Indian/Bangladeshi Wolves Please" signs???? available in both Thai and the sub-continental dialect of your choice.. Bargain... either buy now, or in a few months I will have a new batch that are edible, except for the clock...

Cheers,

Daewoo

[fxm88]

I was on the beach a few days ago and became throughly disgusted with the numbers of hakers/touts on the beach.

I was on the beach a few days ago and became throughly disgusted with the beach itself.

[h5n1]

Yes, the beach is disgusting. I do not go in the water.

Innovator - I am also fed up by the South Asians (and many Farang) working illegally timeshare con-jobs by Quality International in Tipp Plaza (I know for certain).

I'm not here to exploit anyone. Whatever transaction I am involved in requires a willing seller/participant.

I also do not understand, Jobs everywhere here and I am sure even 6K a month is better than what they make selling ___________

I drink at a bar on 7 becasue its super cheap.

Wow - that story about guy hitting you in the head is really outrageous.

I really like Ban Sare, I have a friend who just bought land there but she's away for a few months. Wongamat is possibility but usually I like to just go out for 2-3 hours and that's quite a walk.

Nothing will change.

[ignis]

NO sorry Thailand have VERY few, so find this post very strange or rather those that have posted must have never been or lived anywhere

I am amazed at this comment. I have been all over the world and have NEVER been attacked by a pack of Indian/Bangaladeshi/? wolves on motorbikes in order to sell me a Condo. This is quite a STRANGE sales technique, considering the seller is trying to make a very expensive proposition. They are not selling cheap, wooden elephants, they are attacking tourists in an aggressive fashion on dangerous motorbikes.

I think it is time to employ the long pole in a new "JOUSTING SPORT".

I have been all over the world ... Have you been to Malta? Spain? just to name a couple, people on foot, people on motor bikes, people scream up in a car, in Mini buses, even come into Hotels while your eating, MOST are trying to sell Timeshare, as for Tunisa, they will try to sell anything from nick nacks to carpets to bus tours, personal sightseeing [even when your in a Tour Group] to selling there Sons and Daughters.... Thailand is VERY mild

[NanLaew]

Many many moons ago, Fred Estes, a veteran Pattaya resident tourist had a t-shirt made up that said (in Thai), "<deleted>-off you c**ts. If I want to buy something, I will f**king ask!"

Wore it proudly on Jomtien and was apparently arrested after a hawker lodged a complaint with the polis.

Oh well...