One for those that used to live in Pattaya and prefer C M

[WinnieTheKhwai]

5 hours ago, Cletus said:

Wow, I've never been to Pattaya but know CM very well. If you find CM expensive place, I cannot imagine how cheap Pattaya is!!!

LOL

 

Can you imagine it now?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 29, 2016 by WinnieTheKhwai

[thaibeachlovers]

11 hours ago, Cletus said:

Wow, I've never been to Pattaya but know CM very well. If you find CM expensive place, I cannot imagine how cheap Pattaya is!!!

LOL

Apart from being wrong about baht buses ( he means 10 baht fixed route ones, which C M really needs, and I hate those low roofed songtheaws ) he is right about C M being expensive for those of us that are not baht millionaires. The red songtheaws are often a rip off.

The only thing about C M that is really cheaper is accomodation.

Also, the entertainment is very cheap in Pattaya. For cost of a drink I can spend a long time surveying the scene on Walking Street from a comfortable armchair.

Cheaper to go to Bkk/ airport etc.

Cheaper to get to the islands

Cheaper to go to Malaysia on a visa run.

More entertainment options in Pattaya, of a wide variety. It was mainly about that that I started this thread. I don't like restaurants unless dirt cheap and only for eating in, and I would find the temples not so much of an attraction. The expat social scene sounds better in Pattaya too.

 

This thread has answered my question as to where I would prefer to live, so thank you to all that contributed in good faith.

[AlexRich]

10 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Apart from being wrong about baht buses ( he means 10 baht fixed route ones, which C M really needs, and I hate those low roofed songtheaws ) he is right about C M being expensive for those of us that are not baht millionaires. The red songtheaws are often a rip off.

The only thing about C M that is really cheaper is accomodation.

Also, the entertainment is very cheap in Pattaya. For cost of a drink I can spend a long time surveying the scene on Walking Street from a comfortable armchair.

Cheaper to go to Bkk/ airport etc.

Cheaper to get to the islands

Cheaper to go to Malaysia on a visa run.

More entertainment options in Pattaya, of a wide variety. It was mainly about that that I started this thread. I don't like restaurants unless dirt cheap and only for eating in, and I would find the temples not so much of an attraction. The expat social scene sounds better in Pattaya too.

 

This thread has answered my question as to where I would prefer to live, so thank you to all that contributed in good faith.

 

If you had said that "nightlife" was important to you, then I doubt any of Chiang Mai's many other charms would have tempted you.

[balo]

11 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Cheaper to go to Bkk/ airport etc

 

 Well it's cheaper to get get to other places from CM up in the north , Chiang Rai , Burma, Laos etc. You can't really compare like that.  

If you do not miss the crazy nightlife and beaches , CM is just perfect for most people. 

[thaibeachlovers]

23 hours ago, AlexRich said:

 

If you had said that "nightlife" was important to you, then I doubt any of Chiang Mai's many other charms would have tempted you.

I didn't want to do that as I would just get flamed and have to close the thread.

I was hoping there were enough attractions in C M that I didn't know about to compensate for lack of "nightlife".

 

Thanks to all that replied.

[dhream]

On 8/25/2016 at 7:56 PM, bazza40 said:

Perhaps the OP could be more specific about what he enjoys. He wants to know if there is enough to do IN CM not to be bored.  What doesn't bore him?

Each to his own. I avoid social/expat clubs, because that would be where most bores are camped.

Have to agree. Better to have a mix of friends. Saints and sinners, but not in big social groups of either. 

I have favourite 'bars' one is just a table outside a convenience store in a gated compound. It's these tiny informal friendly groups that make it fun. 

Non drinkers must have a quieter life, but would be interested to hear what, besides golf, or 'hogs' they amuse themselves with. Any down to earth wine connoisseurs want to share a few bottles at Wine Connection?

Edited August 30, 2016 by dhream

[dhream]

On 8/26/2016 at 7:22 PM, Naam said:

 

Air Asia is not an airline. it's a flying disease 

Their constant 'add ons' on every page are annoying and scammy. 

The actual sticker price far exceeds their initial offer. The one time I bought a meal for an early morning HKG flight, it was inadequately heated. Pathetic. Id rather pay more and go with a legacy carrier. They're safer too.

[dhream]

16 hours ago, balo said:

 

 Well it's cheaper to get get to other places from CM up in the north , Chiang Rai , Burma, Laos etc. You can't really compare like that.  

If you do not miss the crazy nightlife and beaches , CM is just perfect for most people. 

If a beach is crowded, scammy, and filthy, and the 'nightlife' is just relentless pussy bars, what's the attraction?

CM has some outstanding Thai/Farang live music venues particularly around Nam Ping. Nimman and CMU area alone is almost limitless in choices.

South East Asia is chock full of easy to get to beaches, many way better than Pattaya, Malaysia and Vietnam also offer great food along with cleaner (in carnal respects) seaside, plus you can skip your 90 day report getting to them from CM.

Edited August 30, 2016 by dhream

[dhream]

I think the OP is a bit optimistic about Pattaya prices... Maybe transport is 'pricey' in CM, but not if youre willing to wait a few minutes, and learn enough Thai to get what you want (and my Thai is rubbish).

Anyway these numbers are by residents, they're accurate. 

Also, the cost of endless bargirls, although deliberately not touched on here, seem to be a hidden agenda, reading between the lines, that must cost a fortune! And I'm no prude, like a drink, and like going out more than twice weekly.

Edited August 30, 2016 by dhream

[rogeroc]

51 minutes ago, dhream said:

Their constant 'add ons' on every page are annoying and scammy. 

The actual sticker price far exceeds their initial offer. The one time I bought a meal for an early morning HKG flight, it was inadequately heated. Pathetic. Id rather pay more and go with a legacy carrier. They're safer too.

 

If you don't have baggage, you dont take a meal or insurance and you pay at 7/11 the headline price is the price you pay. Nok Air have add ons you cannot avoid

[TheSiemReaper]

7 minutes ago, rogeroc said:

 

If you don't have baggage, you dont take a meal or insurance and you pay at 7/11 the headline price is the price you pay. Nok Air have add ons you cannot avoid

 

Not true. Nok-Air provide 15Kg of hold baggage and a meal on every flight in their advertised price. 

[dhream]

I think, but could be wrong, the 7/11 payment days are ending. My bank says many customers, including me, complained the ATM debit card purchases for air asia are no longer accepted online. Watch them gouge you on credit card payments, and no alternative.

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[rogeroc]

2 hours ago, TheSiemReaper said:

 

Not true. Nok-Air provide 15Kg of hold baggage and a meal on every flight in their advertised price. 

 

The baggage and bite to eat are obviously pluses but what i said is that you can pay the headline price with Air Asia but not Nok Air. For tomorrow the cheapest CM to BKK flight headlines at 927 baht but as you go through the process that rises as a minimum of 1199 baht as the taxes are added after the headline price. You cannot buy the flight at 927 baht!

 

 

Edited August 30, 2016 by rogeroc

[KhonKaenKowboy]

1 hour ago, dhream said:

I think, but could be wrong, the 7/11 payment days are ending. My bank says many customers, including me, complained the ATM debit card purchases for air asia are no longer accepted online. Watch them gouge you on credit card payments, and no alternative.

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could be...but there has been a sign up of a life size AA hostess at 7-11, and it's in Thai, but looks like they will give you 60 thb in stamps if you pick up a ticket priced between 480 and 855 thb...I've almost recruited an interpreter in front of 7-11 to find out the exact deal...maybe I will take a photo...

[dhream]

could be...but there has been a sign up of a life size AA hostess at 7-11, and it's in Thai, but looks like they will give you 60 thb in stamps if you pick up a ticket priced between 480 and 855 thb...I've almost recruited an interpreter in front of 7-11 to find out the exact deal...maybe I will take a photo...

But to where!? And when! How about why!!? I need to save on my travel agenda, not merely on 3K s deployments of strategically marketed metal.

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[KhonKaenKowboy]

that would be on flights from Chiang Mai, which usually run in the 500-860 range on the promos.

Edited August 30, 2016 by KhonKaenKowboy

[dhream]

I have to admit though, its hard to knock a flight for about US $20. I just hope they'll do it transparently, the add on's just send me a very negative bait n switch message

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[dhream]

Thanks, good info for me as I am moving from Udon Thani to CM at the end of next month helpful.

I think you'll like it up here. PM me if I can help you settle in, answer questions, or just share a 'welcome' beer. I'm easy going, not such a wiseacre in real life as here...

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[dhream]

I'm actually thinking in reverse. While I enjoy CM most of the time, mid-February through March in the smoky season is fairly ordinary.

So next year, I will be spending that time in Pattaya/Jomtien. I understand condos are easy to rent short-term at that time.

Yes. This is definitely a must in 2017. Seal the house too. The soot is a shocker, still cleaning it up all year round... its not expensive to do if you're not tied to CM for business. Other half has family in korat, they're still country friendly there, don't burn thier lands anymore, and have a huge inexpensive waterpark near the city. Or... lovely unspoiled Trat province.

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[dhream]

 

Pretty accurate.  I would add that the Thais in Chiang Mai are pretty genuine and decent.  Most are from CM or the north in general.  Most do not work in the tourist trade and don't have a negative view of farangs.   Contrast that with Pattaya, where it seems most of the Thais there are more mercenary.  It's not their hometown and they're there to make money.  They've seen the worst sides of foreigners and don't think twice about fleecing a farang. 

This is exactly what expats say about the Algarve region in Portugal.
Its a universal thing. Resort towns attract the worst of the indigenes and expats everywhere it seems.

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[dhream]

Went to CM once, never again. Took me 30 mins to look around old town. Diced with death every time I tried to cross a road. Boring and expensive girly bars with ugly and unfriendly girlies. Same sort of markets you get anywhere in Thailand. Expensive second hand book shops. Expensive everything else. Expensive/dodgy taxis and no baht buses. No cooling breeze. Smog bound. Too far from Suvarnabhumi. No beaches. Horrendous immigration office according to reports. Unfriendly expats. Kissed the ground when I arrived back in Pattaya.

Apart from that it was ok.

I love CM. But I landed on my feet here with a great lady of similar age and shes also generally self supporting.
I have to agree with a lot of what you've posted jesimps, but there's going to be sh!t to deal with everywhere. It all depends on what one can live with.
I tried pattaya 3 times in my younger days. Each visit it seemed to get worse.
There was a 40 something Brit guy there about a decade ago. He really seemed to live the life. He had a witty blog and pictures of himself with a series of stunning mea noi (his legally wed mrs was hot too!) Many here might recall 'Shagmeister' he mysteriously died of a pill and booze 'overdose' in his prime.

Shag's story sums up Pattaya for me.


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[dhream]

I think the problem is that CM has little or nothing to offer except a nascent gay scene. So, given your parameters, answering you is very difficult. You are asking for positive views of a place that has little to offer.

Gays bring a lot of money, culture and genteel development to anywhere they congregate. I have no problem with civilisation advancing in that respect. Bring it!

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[dhream]

 

I know this is off topic but i get fed up with so many Posters on this site on every topic using the word 'Farang' This is an English speaking site and the great bulk of Posters are from Western countries. It is not an English word! On top of all that a significant percentage of Posters think it offensive and (whether you agree or not) that should be considered before using the word.  How nice it would be to see it used less often.

Oh come on. English is a dynamic language that constantly 'borrows'.

I've used South African, Singaporean, Antipodean, and American English in my time. They all have local words long accepted as part of the lexicon.

Find something worthwhile to worry about in what little time is left to you!

'Farang' may not be used with polite intent. But that says more about the gibbon using it abusively, than their target.

Nobody here need police their language to please an online pedant or two.

Pathetic use of your time really...

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[dhream]

Well, maybe you should stay in Pattaya where there it's more acceptable to have an exploitative attitude toward foreigners and use the "f" word to describe them.  I just returned from a day at Suan Dok Hospital, the teaching hospital associated with CM Univ where I was assisting some elderly foreigners and I can assure you that when speaking about foreigners, the doctors and nurses use the words "kon dtang chaat"  or the exact nationality of the person and not "farang".  Even the name of their special line item for dual pricing uses the proper name and not "farang room price".   (After all, Japanese, Korean, Chinese etc patients have to pay that "special" room charge, too.)

Like it or not.
Thailand has a century of political correctness to catch up on.
I lived through enormous PC changes in my own life, we all did. I'm a lib, but I think PC has gone silly to be honest.
Lioness but not actress? What garbage!
Locals still portray 'white skin = beauty' many 'farang' males would beg to differ!
The government using the word 'foreigner' officially, is personally offensive to me, but TiT.
Lets face it Uncle Sam is little better with 'aliens' what the...
Other governments have found 'friendlier' terms such as 'overseas nationals' etc.
Any local who uses 'farang' in derisive tone is a 'keenok' and I use that term in reply. They are of course, and indeed, too 'bird shit' scared or astonished, to make anything more of it. [emoji12]

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[balo]

On 26/08/2016 at 1:32 PM, balo said:

 

Yes I am aware of that but I'm not looking for white bread , more the German type or Scandinavian , country bread with lots of fiber.

 

Bei Otto in Bangkok knows how to make them . 

 

 

Back to the bread topic, I just found out that Little Mermaid, the Danish restaurant in the old city are baking their own rye bread. Best bread I have found here , 130 baht is a bit on the expensive side but they use imported flour. Don't tell anyone , they sell out fast. 

 

[JaseTheBass]

On 04/09/2016 at 3:49 PM, balo said:

 

 

Back to the bread topic, I just found out that Little Mermaid, the Danish restaurant in the old city are baking their own rye bread. Best bread I have found here , 130 baht is a bit on the expensive side but they use imported flour. Don't tell anyone , they sell out fast. 

 

 

I would think every bakery uses imported flour unless thailand has suddenly started replacing it's rice paddys with fields of wheat and rye.

[balo]

9 hours ago, JaseTheBass said:

I would think every bakery uses imported flour unless thailand has suddenly started replacing it's rice paddys with fields of wheat and rye.

 

You're right the cheapest flour is imported from China and India, China is actually the largest wheat producing country in the world followed by India , Russia and the United States.  

 

But the cheapest quality is not good  for european style bread,  

Edited October 21, 2016 by balo

[JaseTheBass]

 
You're right the cheapest flour is imported from China and India, China is actually the largest wheat producing country in the world followed by India , Russia and the United States.  
 
But the cheapest quality is not good  for european style bread,  

Depends really. Quality is subjective. Weaker flour is why bread in France is the best in the world. French bakers have developed their methods which use weaker flour to their advantage.

Much of what my wife used when she ran her own bakery was imported from Australia. This was cheaper than the flour imported from Europe but I doubt it lacked 'quality'.

[SooKee]

Wouldn't it be better to start a bread topic since this thread isn't about bread?


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[amexpat]

44 minutes ago, SooKee said:

Wouldn't it be better to start a bread topic since this thread isn't about bread?


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Yes.  And SooKee you might enjoy a little game I sometimes try.  Cover the left side of your screen, then go to the last entries on any thread and try to guess what the topic started out as.  Amazing Thai Visa.