Without wishing to hijack the Jomtien BU thread, I'd just mention that on Pattaya Beach there are now to be areas left "chair free" so that "falang can stay on beach" according to a concessionaire on the beach. This is at the insistence of the army and police and happened on Tuesday this week opposite Soi 1. All this results from the incident at Koh Larn a couple of months ago - vendor assaulting sunbather.

The vendor opposite Soi 1 on Beach Road was allowed to move up to Soi 3 with rather less space to operate in. The free area was occupied by a few "falangs" lying on towels but with nowhere to deposit litter so it looked a bit untidy. I enjoy sitting under an umbrella all day on the beach but do recognise that others don't. The solution would seem to be allowing free areas but with some better organisation. Rumours abound that all Wednesdays will be completely chair free. Any truth in this?

I would never sit it one of those disgusting, filthy chairs.

They chain them all up against the trees at night (looks nice, eh?) and the tree rats, beach dogs and drunks come along and piss all over them. Yuk!

Not to mention bodily fluids from those fat sweating tourists, spilling food and beer on them. Ever hear of contagious skin disease? Scabies? Pinworm? Bacteria? Diaper rash? Tinea? Thrush or yeast infections?

As it is now, they set up thousands and thousands of chairs.... just to prevent the tourists from using the beach. That's allot of work but greed trumps laziness in Thailand.

Most of the chairs you see are empty, they spend hours setting them up, just blocking off their 'territory'.

And it looks terrible.

A good solution would be to set up the chairs/umbrellas when the tourists requests them. No?

I would never sit it one of those disgusting, filthy chairs.

They chain them all up against the trees at night (looks nice, eh?) and the tree rats, beach dogs and drunks come along and piss all over them. Yuk!

Not to mention bodily fluids from those fat sweating tourists, spilling food and beer on them. Ever hear of contagious skin disease? Scabies? Pinworm? Bacteria? Diaper rash? Tinea? Thrush or yeast infections?

As it is now, they set up thousands and thousands of chairs.... just to prevent the tourists from using the beach. That's allot of work but greed trumps laziness in Thailand.

Most of the chairs you see are empty, they spend hours setting them up, just blocking off their 'territory'.

And it looks terrible.

A good solution would be to set up the chairs/umbrellas when the tourists requests them. No?

I guess you:

Dont eat out

Dont ride public transportation

Dont walk on the earth

Dont push a shopping cart

Dont sleep in somebody else's bed

Dont live in Thailand

I think it's a great idea to have some areas set aside for tourists who want to lay on the sand and not feel obligated to pay for chairs, however in this climate beach chairs and umbrellas make sense and most tourists prefer to sit under shade. It is a different beach environment than back at home for most tourists and probably a welcome change. Being able to order food and drinks (cheaply) from a chair on the beach is something special for many.

As for the guy who wouldn't sit on a chair - how about bringing a towel? What's dirtier, the chair or the sand?

Set aside some area for tourists that want to lay on the beach.

You know how dumb that sounds?

As for shade. Thousands of unoccupied umbrellas are set up under the shade trees to keep the farang out!

Set aside some area for tourists that want to lay on the beach.

You know how dumb that sounds?

As for shade. Thousands of unoccupied umbrellas are set up under the shade trees to keep the farang out!

Certainly not as dumb as the nonsense you posted above.

I was at the beach today, took a picture. Tourists have voted.

Thousands of tourists are now enjoying the open beach space, previously illegally occupied to force tourists to pay!

Again.

Why do the umbrella people set up thousands of umbrellas/chairs that are not being used?

Is it to prevent tourists from using the beach and forcing them to pay?

Locate the business' across the road in commercial space, then a tourist can go hire a chair & umbrella if they wish.

Agreed?

I was at the beach today, took a picture. Tourists have voted.

Thousands of tourists are now enjoying the open beach space, previously illegally occupied to force tourists to pay!

beach friday.jpg

Again.

Why do the umbrella people set up thousands of umbrellas/chairs that are not being used?

Is it to prevent tourists from using the beach and forcing them to pay?

Locate the business' across the road in commercial space, then a tourist can go hire a chair & umbrella if they wish.

Agreed?

That's another dumb comment. Obviously they're open for business. That fact that business is slow right now doesn't mean they shouldn't be there. If you started closing down slow businesses in Pattaya you'd lose more than half of them. Competition keeps prices down too.

The Army recently inspected the beaches and found around 500 umbrella vendors occupying 95% of the beach even though regulations called for a 50% open areas.

Crooked City staff sold it! I believe they are headed to court and jail.

Around 250 vendors think they bought it from criminals working at City Hall.

-- So now there are less "umbrella-beach chair" rental sections on the beach, has the chair rental gone up in price due to less battered chairs/faded beach umbrellas available? It had been 6 weeks since I sat on the beach in North Pattaya, but as I sat down and ordered my cold Singha beer a couple days ago, the older thin Chinese-Thai that has the rental across from Amari Hotel says the chair rental is 50 baht. I did my "Thai smile" and chuckled saying that I lived near by and always paid 30 baht; I was not a tourist.... He looked at me seriously and said, "Oh no Misterrrr, it has been 50 baht for long time." Before some readers start calling me a "Cheap Charlie" the point is, I do not like people lying to me and/or I do not like to see tourists taken advantage of. (So I paid for my 60baht beer and walked to the "No Chair Zone" and relaxed in the shade.)

I paid 40 Baht, some advertise 30 and I reckon some charge more. Of course if you are Indian you may try to negotiate (very loudly) a bulk discount and fail in the attempt.

The price is regulated by the city. Report the scammer.

The price is regulated by the city. Report the scammer.

A while back you made a point of saying that one of my replies was dumb.... are you seriously suggesting that a foreigner should go to the trouble of reporting (where?) that a vendor was asking 10 or 20 baht over the regulated price? There must be a gazillion more useful things for an expat or tourist to do in Pattaya.

If I liked the location of a beach chair I'd just pay it because arguing about 10 or 20 baht could spoil a pleasant day at the beach... but this sets off the "I'm part of the problem brigade" and I don't want to do that.

Tropo, As Meatloaf said : You took the words right out of my mouth. Though not the next bit, obviously.

Tropo, As Meatloaf said : You took the words right out of my mouth. Though not the next bit, obviously.

LOL. I haven't heard that song for so long I had to look up the lyrics to figure out what you meant.

Tropo, As Meatloaf said : You took the words right out of my mouth. Though not the next bit, obviously.

LOL. I haven't heard that song for so long I had to look up the lyrics to figure out what you meant.

Just in case anyone else is curious (as I was)...

And then you took the words right out of my mouth

Oh it must have been while you were kissing me

You took the words right out of my mouth

And I swear it's true I was just about to say "I love you", love you

Read more: Meat Loaf - You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth Lyrics | MetroLyrics