Desperate Thais

[Ulysses G.]

. Asked again about my change and the coworker of the  lady (also lady) stated that the price was for broth only and to get a piece of chicken was ten baht more. I then demanded the manager and the ten baht was swiftly handed over. After my meal I gave the lady the ten baht back...

No wonder they think that we are mentally deficient. 

[samuibeachcomber]

It is not just Thai males. Went to Central yesterday and ordered food from a stall I have been going to for some time. After handing over my money I waited for my ten baht change and it was not given. Asked the old lady about it and she said that was enough. I figured a price increase then looked at the sign and the price was the same. Asked again about my change and the coworker of the lady (also lady) stated that the price was for broth only and to get a piece of chicken was ten baht more. I then demanded the manager and the ten baht was swiftly handed over. After my meal I gave the lady the ten baht back as it was not about the money so much as treating me as a fool. I think wages in Thailand have failed to adjust to the rise in prices and people are desperate.

easy way around this(for the future)always carry loose change and plenty of 20 baht notes.

[tgw]

I wonder how many will consider that current downturn as a karmic retribution for the political troubles?

[anothertorres]

Just what do people actually buy in Central... I've bought some housewares from the Dept store..

uh.. housewares..

[sokal]

Try getting off the beaten path if you want to see normal Thai people. Pattaya is the armpit of the universe, Thai people are there only to make money, anyway possible. I was very disillusioned with the place on my last visit.

And whatever you do, don't rent a jet-ski under any circumstances! These jet-ski operators are the scum of the earth and it is unbelievable that they are still allowed. Pass it along......

i have rented jet ski's and sport bikes in Pattaya and Phuket more then 20 times with no problems.

Its funny how some people don't understand that if you wreak somebodys property while you where renting it that you might actually have to pay for the damage. If you don't know how to ride then don't rent.

Insurance? if i smack up an avis rent a car I pay shit, INSURANCE

insurance is Bullshite, that is why it costs so much more to rent bikes and jet skis in the west. Its 5200 bht to rent a jet ski for a half hour in Canada.

[sokal]

Pattaya has been sliding further and further down hill over the years

With tourism up from 5 mill in 2006 to 11 mill in 2009.. add to that the explosion in real estate which has made a lot of us very wealthy (thanks Russians hehe). I would hardly call Pattaya sliding down.

Pattaya is growing fast - and growth hurts, especially when nobody follow the rules and nobody enforce the rules.

(example when they closed down Polo, they fired 120 employees with out compensation, many of them had been working there for 8-9 years)

All we need to get a higher quality of Thais here is to make everyone follow the law, give them social security, medicare, resignation payment etc. like the government and law say that we should. Of cause Pattaya would then become a LOT more expencive, but at least we avoid most of the hardcore poor people.

the minute Pattaya becomes like the west, I will be gone.

social security, medicare, resignation payments, what a joke. Go to Vancouver or Miame and you will see allot more beggars and drug addicts and scum then you see in Pattaya.

here is a street in downtown Vancouver, there is a few blocks that look like this.

Edited June 22, 2010 by sokal

[Extraterrestrial]

Totally disagree (but we can agree to disagree).

The "new generations" are far worse now than in the recent past.

Believe it or not.

[JSixpack]

Totally disagree (but we can agree to disagree).

The "new generations" are far worse now than in the recent past.

Believe it or not.

I might also note that the Pattaya farangs are actually better nowadays because more of the yobs and other low class dregs can no longer afford to holiday or stay here owing to the decline in their home currencies.

The Russians bring a lot of fine-looking girlfriends with them, too.

[sokal]

Totally disagree (but we can agree to disagree).

The "new generations" are far worse now than in the recent past.

Believe it or not.

I might also note that the Pattaya farangs are actually better nowadays because more of the yobs and other low class dregs can no longer afford to holiday or stay here owing to the decline in their home currencies.

The Russians bring a lot of fine-looking girlfriends with them, too.

how do you spot a russian couple ? any obvious traits ?

[tgw]

Totally disagree (but we can agree to disagree).

The "new generations" are far worse now than in the recent past.

Believe it or not.

I might also note that the Pattaya farangs are actually better nowadays because more of the yobs and other low class dregs can no longer afford to holiday or stay here owing to the decline in their home currencies.

The Russians bring a lot of fine-looking girlfriends with them, too.

how do you spot a russian couple ? any obvious traits ?

Yes, a lot of russians have very characteristic facial features.

[thaibeachlovers]

Try getting off the beaten path if you want to see normal Thai people. Pattaya is the armpit of the universe, Thai people are there only to make money, anyway possible. I was very disillusioned with the place on my last visit.

And whatever you do, don't rent a jet-ski under any circumstances! These jet-ski operators are the scum of the earth and it is unbelievable that they are still allowed. Pass it along......

Wrong! For real sleaze, you have to go to London's Soho. Compared to that dump, Pattaya is the bee's knees.

[thaibeachlovers]

Totally disagree (but we can agree to disagree).

The "new generations" are far worse now than in the recent past.

Believe it or not.

I might also note that the Pattaya farangs are actually better nowadays because more of the yobs and other low class dregs can no longer afford to holiday or stay here owing to the decline in their home currencies.

The Russians bring a lot of fine-looking girlfriends with them, too.

how do you spot a russian couple ? any obvious traits ?

I assume you're being facetious!

The Russian couples are the ordinary looking blokes with the drop dead gorgeous arm candy in sexy outfits. But you knew that, didn't you!

Unfortunately, they seem to be absent at present along Walking Street, though a few have been spotted in Central.

[thaibeachlovers]

Pattaya Thais are the same as they've always been. Really, they are.

Absolutely not the case. The place has gone way downhill as other posters have already pointed out. But, so has planet earth

We'll need to agree to disagree on this point. Scams, cheats, rudeness, corruption, and sleazy characters have always been extremely common in Pattaya--as well as in tourist areas of other Thai cities. Perhaps you need to read back issues of the Pattaya Mail. Don't neglect the Letters To The Editor section. Haven't you ever heard the traditional phrase, "Screwed, blued, and tattoed" in Pattaya? The "blued" refers to bruises in this case.

You'll be happy with day-to-day Pattaya (if at all) only after gaining much experience & street smarts. When FOB, an easy mark, I also encountered lots of problems and bad characters. Now, it's smooth sailing all the time. BTW, one way that Thais can tell whether you're a target or not is whether you speak some Thai. Order in Thai and your change will usually be correct (barring the usual mistakes). Cf. the Philippines: much the same kind of thing. (Worse there, IMO.)

In the meantime, the positives (to those who like Pattaya) are all in place: beach, sea view, low prices (even if your own dam_n currency's in the pits 'cause of YOUR idiot gummint), bars, music, women, restaurants, hotels & condos to whatever spec you can afford, shopping (Central Festival and Tukcom, fantastic additions), fast motorbikes, exotic temples, and general Third World chaos & craziness.

Grannies should go elsewhere--as has always been the case. Sarasota, Florida, USA, strongly recommended: play checkers, drink sherry, waddle in the mall, go to bed at 9 PM. Very quiet.

Just what do people actually buy in Central... I've bought some housewares from the Dept store.. But all the other shops sell the same old stuff.. Little choice and hardly any stock. It just ain't all that.. okay it's better than Mike's but that ain't saying much..

I go to Central frequently to meet my GF on her break from one of the restaurants, so I've got a good idea of the businesses actually selling stuff, and it sure ain't the "boutique" clothes shops, which seem to make up the bulk of the store's small shops.

The only places doing consistently good business ( that I've seen ) are the food shops, of all kinds, Powerbuy and the cinema ( perhaps the bowling as well, though haven't been in there ). I was in there last Wednesday midday, and the place was full of empty shops and bored salespersons.

As an aside, the Avenues Cinema have cheap Wednesday prices of 60 baht verus 80 at Central, which makes a real difference when paying for 2.

[anothertorres]

how do you spot a russian couple ? any obvious traits ?

the bangs.

[tropo]

This type of Thais believe where there are masses of farangs, there is easy money

This is not a belief, it's a fact.

[tropo]

As an aside, the Avenues Cinema have cheap Wednesday prices of 60 baht verus 80 at Central, which makes a real difference when paying for 2.

Yeah, you save $1.25 lol.

That quite ironic considering the title of this thread is "desperate Thais".

Edited June 24, 2010 by tropo

[Rimmer]

Getting a long way of topic aren't we guys? Two posts deleted.

[Tokay]

Pattaya is the armpit of the universe.

I read a quote somewhere else on here that said Pattaya was where the worst of the east meet the worst of the west.

Brilliant and true statement. :jap:

[Tokay]

how do you spot a russian couple ? any obvious traits ?

Easy, he is either goofy, ugly or old and she is a supermodel.

Seriously, some of these guys are walking around with absolute stunning women. Kudos to those guys. Why they are coming to Pattaya is beyond me.

[suiging]

Some of the finest people I have met have been Pattaya Thai.

On topic, the majority of the desperate Thais are not from the Eastern Seaboard, where with an education work does exist, but from the Northern provinces. The men attracted to the building boom and low paid work servicing the tourist industry, the women the same. These people are treated as " labour " and are not " Looked after " by locals when times get tough. There are a lot of them about who's families back on the farm, rely or relied on the money they sent back to the family. Without the work caused by the burst construction bubble and sad political discord, they are indeed desperate and without hope.

Thai politics will dictate their fate.

[DMC1]

Pattaya is the armpit of the universe.

I read a quote somewhere else on here that said Pattaya was where the worst of the east meet the worst of the west.

Brilliant and true statement. :jap:

I saw a you tube video of SongKran filmed on Soi 7 where somebody wrote " Ah.. Soi 7 Pattaya where the lowest class Thai meets the lowest class Westerner"

[suiging]

Where does all this envy come from ?

[anothertorres]

Where does all this envy come from ?

take Sukhumvit to Klang, pass Foodland, make a left...

[tropo]

Pattaya is the armpit of the universe.

I read a quote somewhere else on here that said Pattaya was where the worst of the east meet the worst of the west.

Brilliant and true statement. :jap:

Only if your observations are limited. I see a lot of good west giving generously to the east.

[banglay]

Pattaya is the armpit of the universe.

I read a quote somewhere else on here that said Pattaya was where the worst of the east meet the worst of the west.

Brilliant and true statement. :jap:

Only if your observations are limited. I see a lot of good west giving generously to the east.

Does Generosity come in a condom ????

[suiging]

Wow, that was a new one...................

It never takes long for bashers old and new, to crawl from the woodwork.

Pattaya is what it is. There are some extremely good people in the town. No denying the dross, but the place is trying to change and a thread about Pattaya without mindless abuse, would be a welcome change.

Sigh....................... I know it will never happen.

[Jai Dee]

... and a thread about Pattaya without mindless abuse, would be a welcome change.

It would indeed.

Members are reminded to please stay (civilly if possible) on topic and cut the off-topic dross.

Khrap.

:jap:

[tropo]

Pattaya is the armpit of the universe.

I read a quote somewhere else on here that said Pattaya was where the worst of the east meet the worst of the west.

Brilliant and true statement. :jap:

Only if your observations are limited. I see a lot of good west giving generously to the east.

Does Generosity come in a condom ????

I would say not. Mostly their heads go unprotected.

[Suradit]

Try getting off the beaten path if you want to see normal Thai people. Pattaya is the armpit of the universe, Thai people are there only to make money, anyway possible. I was very disillusioned with the place on my last visit.

And try getting away from the Walking Street, Beach RD, 2nd Rd area.

The Thai people, even those in Pattaya, away from the main tourist areas, are just as pleasant or polite as ever. And by that I mean the majority are polite, some are indifferent and a few seem to have a chip on their shoulder, as would be the case in any urban setting anywhere in the world.

The last few incidents I've seen involving loss of temper have all been tantrum throwing displays by farang. While the Thais involved in these incidents were decidedly unhappy about them, their reactions were still attempts to pacify the irrational farang peacefully.

Too many farang seem obsessed with worrying about whether Thais love them. There may be some generalizations by Thais about "all farang," especially by Thais who have spent most of their lives in farang-free zones and who have fairly rigid notions about what is or is not polite behavior, but I find the vast majority do respond nicely when they are treated nicely. I don't expect store clerks or restaurant owners to love me just because I am spending some money, but we still can interact pleasantly. The few people who I know more personally or with whom I have done business over time certainly seem to think of me as an individual rather than just as a farang.

There probably are more desperate Thai people about looking for some way to get some money from farang just as there seem to be a lower class of tourist wandering the street both as a consequence of recent local political problems and world-wide economic events.

The places where both tend to congregate are probably best avoided. But most Thai people and much of Pattaya are still very friendly. If you come to Thailand and head straight to the gogo bars, you're not likely to have a very good impression of what Thailand is like, but then you have to ask yourself why have you travelled here and whether you're in a position to judge the people you expect to "entertain" you.

[loser1]

Thai people are human, the good, the bad and the desperate. i talked to a Thai guy not too long ago, he was all like "hey pal" and i was like "oh, hey pal, s'up?". he was then all like, "not much". and i was all "ok krub".

This is like a language lesson isn't it...... where you don't learn anything.

Edited June 27, 2010 by loser1