A long depressing New Years Day walk on Jomtien Beach Road

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

Try Sri Racha. Russians are very thin on the ground. You would hard pressed to spot one.

You don't have to go that far...no Russians on the dark side, thankfully.

Not true...see more and more walking about NPW. Either renting or staying in one of the many guesthouses and small hotels in the area.

I agree. The Russians I've seen like to walk, too. Have met many on the pedestrian bridge at Suk. They must live before the rail bridge on NPW. And you know what, they dress well too.

[Barack]

The topic wasn't focused on transport (for a change).

The get a good look, feel, and IMPRESSION around Jomtien directly you need to walk anyway.

The point is it is really, really DREARY and yes the Russian holidaymakers even though they dominate for the most part do not project JOY.

I imagine the mood (and supporting Thai flora and fauna) would be different if they were ITALIANS. But they're not.

Yes I have made the same long walk before.

It just seems to have gone downhill even more.

Look at this another way.

How many Jomtien residents (who aren't Russian) would actually suggest to a good friend in the west that they really must have a long stay in Jomtien (except to visit you)?

What kind of friend would that be?

You feel threatened by Iranians and dominated by Russians. Perhaps you were just feeling depression on your NY day walk and had to take it out on some group. I myself welcome diversity and experiencing other cultures (and that's more than just eating their food). Jomtien has always been dreary when compared to Pattaya, less of a party atmosphere, fewer bars, noise etc. Try to be more understanding, even the homophobic Russian families pushing their babies in strollers get along(or tolerate) the droves of young gay Russians that have also descended on Jomtien. Hate to see this degenerate in to a Russian bashing thread.

[PattayaPhom]

Dealing with many different nationalities on a daily basis, I can say from first hand experience that almost 100% of the Russians Ive met in the past three years have been polite, honest, friendly, kind and some with a great sense of humour. Have a night out with a Russian, you wont pay for a thing. Do them a favour and you are appreciated beyond beliefe. Contrast that to the Europeans, Oz etc, that 100% drops to 20% if that. I feel Pattaya and Jomtien have improved over that past 5 years or so, a lot owing to the Russian invasion.

[OMGImInPattaya]

Jingthing: reading your posts here, its surely the case that its time for you to move on from Jomtien. Sell your condo(perhaps to a Russian) and find some other area in Pattaya to live which has less of them!

Russians wouldn't be my motivation really. I have better personal reasons. If I did sell I would move to the USA or Ecuador.

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I would vote with my feet too and it would be back to the USA. Lots of interesting things happening there now politically, the food shitze all over anything in Thailand/Pattaya, the varied and seasonal weather is refreshing, and the geographic diversity can't be beat. The cost of living outside the major coastal cities is cheaper than Bangkok/Thailand as well.

A friend of mine recently lived in Ecuador for awhile but didn't like it and returned to the US.

Edited January 2, 2014 by OMGImInPattaya

[Briggsy]

JT

Are you blaming the backdrop for something else perhaps? Maybe you just need a good bunch of friends and then the fact that over 50% of the restaurants on the front in Jomtien cater for Russians will disappear from your horizon.

Remember wherever you go, you take your troubles with you, as the old cliche goes.

[Jingthing]

Duh. I also love diversity more than you can know. The Russians have brought the opposite of that and the culture they have brought is a dreary joyless one at least in its PUBLIC face. Now if it was MEXICANOS dominating that would be a super fiesta for all.

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[barmatt]

I see Russians everywhere in Pattaya and Jomtien but they dont seem to have had any bad effect on the places that I like to eat in, and most of the places that they like are places that I wouldnt be seen dead in anyway. So I just ignore them (as far as is possible) and hope that the daily reports of death and crime and violent scamming make them all decide to go somewhere else next year instead.

They've discovered my favourite hole-in-the-wall on soi buckaw and I'm not happy. Two will hog a table of six when the place is full....if it were anyone else they would make room...they dont speak english and cant read thai but they expect everyone to understand them!

thats my rant over.

[addy77]

Russian at the pool. Hot or not?

[Gsxrnz]

Replace "Russian" with blacks and we'd all be bigots.

And for any of those that can read Russian, check out their forums, be amazed at what they think of "Foreigners" here...

The point is that Jomtien has become extremely dreary and also it is now dominated by Russians. The former is my subjective impression while the latter is a fact.

People crying bigotry, you make me laugh. Is it bigotry to have subjective impression of a travel destination? That's daft. Read some great travel writers like Paul Theroux and maybe get educated.

You've got to be able to talk about stuff. To talk about the feeling in today's Jomtien without mentioning the Russian domination would be an exercise in absurdity. If they were bringing massive festiveness to the region and I could feel that, would it be bigotry to say that?

No more that saying blacks are good at basketball.

Or that white men can't jump.

[ThaiBob]

Duh. I also love diversity more than you can know. The Russians have brought the opposite of that and the culture they have brought is a dreary joyless one at least in its PUBLIC face. Now if it was MEXICANOS dominating that would be a super fiesta for all.

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Love diversity?...You don't show it by your recent posts. Perhaps your perception has been misplaced and needs to be re-evaluated.

[Jingthing]

Back to the OP. If describing Jomtien to a friend would you or would you not mention the dramatic Russification of the place? I do agree there are pluses like eye candy but the overall flavor they have brought is a real thing.

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[Jingthing]

Duh. I also love diversity more than you can know. The Russians have brought the opposite of that and the culture they have brought is a dreary joyless one at least in its PUBLIC face. Now if it was MEXICANOS dominating that would be a super fiesta for all.

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Love diversity?...You don't show it by your recent posts. Perhaps your perception has been misplaced and needs to be re-evaluated.

How many times do I need to make the same point before you get it? Diversity means MANY while a domination of ONE nationality is the opposite of many.

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[tropo]

Hate to see this degenerate in to a Russian bashing thread.

It already has. Most members here feel they're a cut above Russians.

But you say you enjoy cultural diversity - well, the complaint by the OP is about domination by one nationality. A predominance of Russian visitors is going to (has started to) reduce diversity, not encourage it.

[Gsxrnz]

JT - I can't help wondering what your day consists of and how you've managed to seemingly let the so-called Russian invasion affect you. On a personal note, I find the Russians to be quite diverse in their looks, attitudes, and demeanour. I wonder what you think about the Scandinavians?

Back to my point - what do you do all day? Do you have a varied and diverse group of friends? Do you make it a mission to meet and talk to somebody new every day? Do you play a sport or belong to a social group? Do you have a watering hole where when you walk in, "everybody knows your name"? Do you go to your mate/s place and play cards, have a beer, whinge about the Russians, play chess or poker?

If Jomtien is depressing you as much as you claim then I assure you that it's doubtful a relocation to Pattaya will solve your problems. maybe you need to look a little more internally for the root cause of the issue.

Because quite frankly, I was on Jomtien beach yesterday afternoon and early evening with my wife, and I didn't see or feel what you did. I had a bloody good time just doing next to nothing and watching the sun go down.

Sat on the chairs amongst dozens of Thai families enjoying their New Years festival, yeah there were lots of Russians and other nationalities too.

Watched the kids swimming, read a few pages of a novel, watched the world go by with a Singha in my hand. Ordered food that took a lifetime to come but hey.....like I had somewhere else to be? The food was fairly average but I'm not a foodie as such - if my wife has som-tum she's happy anyway.

We strolled along the road and looked at people - most seemed to be having a reasonable time. I didn't see anybody with a gun to their head. Perhaps the worst thing about it was the stench from the accumulated garbage in several spots.

Then went to a bar for a few drinks and shoot some pool with friends - arranged a game of poker for tonight and golf on Friday.

Today I'm at home doing a bit of catchup work but still had time to get into Patts for breakfast at Len Kee with the missus, go to my favourite golf shop and buy a new cap and pair of gloves ( as well as ogle the new Taylormade driver, but the good devil on my right shoulder overcame the bad devil on the other shoulder), and I didn't buy it.....maybe next week. Learned a few bits of Thai from her and taught her a few bits of complex English grammar, picked up the daughter from school, and I would have washed the truck but the tank is near dry due to the crap water supply.

So JT. Get your own form of transport, bike, scooter, 3-wheeler, mobility scooter, pushbike, whatever. FILL your life with things to do, places to go, people to see, laughs to have, fun to have, lots of smiles.....get the picture.

Hey, why don't you learn Russian and then you'll have a whole new continent of people you can talk to.

[tropo]

Russian at the pool. Hot or not?

Is this what you do in your spare time? ...taking photos of scantily clad people and posting them online?

[Jingthing]

Hate to see this degenerate in to a Russian bashing thread.

It already has. Most members here feel they're a cut above Russians.

But you say you enjoy cultural diversity - well, the complaint by the OP is about domination by one nationality. A predominance of Russian visitors is going to (has started to) reduce diversity, not encourage it.

Thank you! Was that so hard?

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[Kaoboi Bebobp]

If I may add my interpretation: What JT is saying is that the number of Russians is so overwhelming and their influence so intense that what used to be a diverse community of languages, foods and services will, in the not so distant future, become a monoculture, with Thai on the side. Doesn't sound so good to me. And I have no problem at all with the Russians I've met. iI's just that they simply do not mix with others, unless prodded.

Edit: Re pool photo. Looks Thai to me.

Edited January 2, 2014 by Kaoboi Bebobp

[Briggsy]

One of these days there will be a knock on the OP's door and when he answers, there will be a couple of guys there with a third who looks both slightly Asian but more muscled like a minder. The first guy, the blond one, will say to JT in Slavic menacing tones, "We buy your condo." The Russification of Jomtien will be complete.

[Jingthing]

I wouldn't be pleased by a Scandi-domination, nor an American, German, Israeli, Chinese, Saudi, Nigerian, etc.

Frankly a domination by Brazilians or Mexicans would please me more but only a personal cultural preference. I hope that is still legal.

When I've had the choice in life, I've always chosen VERY MIXED areas.

I moved to a SPICY country, Thailand.

The Russians I think are culturally to NOT SPICY for my personal tastes. So a domination of this blandness simply isn't what I would have chosen and no I would have never bought in Jomtien if I had known this was going to happen.

.


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Edited January 2, 2014 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

One of these days there will be a knock on the OP's door and when he answers, there will be a couple of guys there with a third who looks both slightly Asian but more muscled like a minder. The first guy, the blond one, will say to JT in Slavic menacing tones, "We buy your condo." The Russification of Jomtien will be complete.

I should be so lucky!

[ThaiBob]

Duh. I also love diversity more than you can know. The Russians have brought the opposite of that and the culture they have brought is a dreary joyless one at least in its PUBLIC face. Now if it was MEXICANOS dominating that would be a super fiesta for all.

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Love diversity?...You don't show it by your recent posts. Perhaps your perception has been misplaced and needs to be re-evaluated.

How many times do I need to make the same point before you get it? Diversity means MANY while a domination of ONE nationality is the opposite of many.

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As someone else noted you have this problem about being threatened or dominated by another nationality/culture that is substantially different than your own. I don't subscribe to this domination theory of yours. In actuality, the tourists numbers are probably greater for other groups like the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Indians, etc. but that is not important. I don't feel dominated by Russians, and as American, I didn't feel dominated by the Brits, Aussies, or Germans many years ago when I first came to Pattaya. And "If describing Jomtien to a friend would you or would you not mention the dramatic Russification of the place?", the my short answer is NO. I have no problem with businesses catering to Russians, with signage, menus, etc. As a Homeowner Board member we are now posting signs in Russian, English and Thai so everyone understands the association rules. If the demographics warrant it, we add Japanese, Chinese, Indian or Swahili.

[Jingthing]

Oh please. JOMTIEN is dominated by Russian tourists, most dramatically in high season. Anyone who denies that can't possibly live in Jomtien, can they?

Also if I was such a xenophobe, explain to me why I haven't lived in the USA for 10 years and likely never will, and when I did live there when I had the choice I always lived in VERY MIXED neighborhoods with a high percentage of FOREIGN immigrants? OK sometimes they were Latino barrios ... I like that too, but guess what, I'm not Latino.

I am hardly a typical stereotyped dumb American, dude.

To try to demonize me as some kind of bigot or xenophobe because I have eyes and ears and notice cultural changes where I live is beyond laughable.

Yes I feel threatened when surrounded by crowds of DRUNKEN strangers who are Iranians of unknown political persuasion because I am a Jew and also pro Zionist. That's not related to xenophobia. That's called having a sensible self preservation instinct that is functioning.

Edited January 2, 2014 by Jingthing

[anon8]

JT - I can't help wondering what your day consists of and how you've managed to seemingly let the so-called Russian invasion affect you. On a personal note, I find the Russians to be quite diverse in their looks, attitudes, and demeanour.

Because quite frankly, I was on Jomtien beach yesterday afternoon and early evening with my wife, and I didn't see or feel what you did. I had a bloody good time just doing next to nothing and watching the sun go down.

It is Russian invasion, maybe invasion is wrong word, but no one can argue that they now dominate Pattaya and Jomtien. Just as they dominate resort towns in Turkey, Alnya and Atalya. In Egypt Sarm el Sheik was over taken by Russians 4 years ago.

There are hardly European tourists in Pattaya area now, compered to just 4-5 years ago.

To me this no big deal, in some ways I like it. But I can see how many expats, who moved here 10, even just 5 years ago now find themselves in completely different town.

Russians are gloomy, they never smile to strangers, smiling is considered weakness, if in Russia a guy smiles at another guy, a stranger, in Russian mans mind it can mean only one thing.

But they are very friendly to each other in all Russian restaurants, in baht buses strangers always start frindly convo, usuallt talking about where they are staying and what they payed for their 2 weeks holyday. Then they start talking about what an awful place this is, and rude ThAis are towards them. I listen these convos in baht buses every day

Jomtien has changed so much, the scene is very different from few years ago.

It can be still a pleasant place to visit once or twice a week, you enjoyed your day there, but it something entirely different if you live in Jomtien, day after day, 12 months of the year. I did stay there once almost for 2 years. Not any more. I can't, and I don't.

[Jingthing]

Excellent valgehiir.

Again at this point I would never recommend Jomtien for a holiday or residence to a friend, unless Russian. Or a Russophile in the way I'm a Latino-phile. That's basically it.

Edited January 2, 2014 by Jingthing

[tropo]

I wouldn't be pleased by a Scandi-domination, nor an American, German, Israeli, Chinese, Saudi, Nigerian, etc.

This happened years ago in Bali. It became a hangout for drunken Australians... making it a rather unpleasant holiday destination.

[Jingthing]

I wouldn't be pleased by a Scandi-domination, nor an American, German, Israeli, Chinese, Saudi, Nigerian, etc.

This happened years ago in Bali. It became a hangout for drunken Australians... making it a rather unpleasant holiday destination.

I noticed that too when I was there! But it was only a holiday so not the same as living there.

[guzzi850m2]

Russian at the pool. Hot or not?

Is this what you do in your spare time? ...taking photos of scantily clad people and posting them online?

What is wrong with that? He got good motives here

Most expats in Pattaya are retired people so photographing is a nice hobby spending your time, better than sitting in the bar or outside 7/11 drinking Leo's all day long.

[Jingthing]

I'm all for pervy photo taking!

What was the topic again?

[Tolley]

I have never really liked Jomtiem.

The main reason being is that you spend all you time travelling to Pattaya.

Far better to actually live in Pattaya.

The Russians don't worry me at all but it is the overburdened infrastructure and traffic etc that annoy me.

Pattaya is too big for its boots these days.

[PattayaPhom]

Duh. I also love diversity more than you can know. The Russians have brought the opposite of that and the culture they have brought is a dreary joyless one at least in its PUBLIC face. Now if it was MEXICANOS dominating that would be a super fiesta for all.

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Love diversity?...You don't show it by your recent posts. Perhaps your perception has been misplaced and needs to be re-evaluated.

How many times do I need to make the same point before you get it? Diversity means MANY while a domination of ONE nationality is the opposite of many.

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If you posted the same about thr domination of pakistanis in Southall, or somalians in Tower Hamlets and Newham, as you do about Russians in Jomtien you would be arrested.