Leaderboard

Greetings Monkeywatchers, showaddy crap to another New Year, and welcome to Monkeywatch as it enters its 19th year, no less. Doesn’t time fly when you’re taking the piss? Thailand is predicted to have lower than normal rainfall this year, so visitors to Pattaya may only find themselves up to their knees in water rather than the usual up to the waist situation. Life just gets better and better. Three people were injured in East Pattaya when a barbecue unexpectedly exploded. Attendees at the function were forced to dive for cover as sausages, burgers and sundry other items were fired a

Greetings Monkeywatchers, core coon crap for visiting us once again, and welcome to another session of worm can lid lifting. Tin openers at the ready. So December 15 is the big day when we finally get the near mythical official 4am bar closing times. So this puts us back exactly where we were about 20 plus years ago when many of us were visiting Pattaya for the very first time. Isn’t progress wonderful? Interestingly, it’s been pointed out that the new closing time regulations don’t extend the hours during which alcohol can be served, so you’ll need to buy a shitload of beer before 2am to

Greetings Monkeywatchers, showaddy crap to yet another month, and welcome to another fertile crop of futile crap. Let’s dig in. A Thai family were injured after a pickup truck landed on top of their vehicle after falling from a bridge that was still under construction. A spokesman for the building company responsible said “With the benefit of hindsight, it might have been prudent to finish building the bridge before reopening the road.” Experts, you gotta love ‘em. Following the arrest of an Indian tourist for groping a woman on Beach Road, police have decided to charge him with the

Greetings Monkeywatchers, core coon crap for your valued patronage, and welcome to another stream of unconsciousness. Let’s go with the flow. Within the space of a few days, two South Korean tourists were found drowned off the coast of Koh Larn. No doubt the Chinese will be accusing them of cultural appropriation, having had something of a monopoly on drowning around this location, though in their case it’s usually by the ferry load. If you’re having a bit of trouble getting the old plonker to perform these days, you may be interested to know that a Thai clinic can now offer to fit y

May 2024 Udon Thani is located in northeastern Thailand (Isaan), not far from the border with Laos. You can fly there; from Bangkok, it takes about an hour. The city is best known for the American airbase located there during the Vietnam War. Today, many expatriates still live there. Udon Thani's central nightlife area is located in and around Soi Samphan Thamit. Day & Night is a beer bar complex in Soi Samphan Thamit. Central Plaza is a big shopping center – close to the night life area. The train station is also wi

Greetings Monkeywatchers, showaddy crap to another month, and welcome to a sneaky peak at the latest high jinks in the City of Smut. Brace yourselves. The Pattaya Waterworks Department has declared that there won’t be a water shortage in Pattaya this year. Those of us who’ve spent many an hour walking through Pattaya’s entertainment areas up to our waists in water probably won’t have too much difficulty believing this. An instructor at a municipal fire station shot one of his recruits the other week after what was described as a “heated argument.” Unfortunately, the other recruits as

Soi Boomerang Soi 6 – Midday When did the name change from Central Festival to … Ganesha Shine at Soi Buakhao. Everything around it changes but the shine still stands. The biggest 7-Eleven in Thailand is at South Pattaya Road Pattaya SkyTrain 😁 - Pattaya Waterpark

Beach footpath photo update from this morning's rideabout. A few of the new pavers are missing. It took longer than I thought it would, but the shower fixtures still didn't last very long. Meanwhile shower #2 and #3 are still waiting to be finished. The footpath is already pretty narrow in spots, so some mindless drone decided to make it narrower still with strategic placement of trash bins. Wonder when they'll get around to finishing the planting of trees. Odd they finished planting the newer section further south, while the older

The neighborhood kids had a great day. The Soi Dogs stayed at home and the Chickens that wander around thought “Fuck this the bugs can come to me today “.

If there is one view in Pattaya that always brings a big smile as you drive down the hill at any time of the day this is my most favourite.

I also took pictures of Huai Chak Nok Reservoir in case I crashed and destroyed the drone. A new water park got built on the southeast side of the lake since I was last out there.

Over time, I have taken quite a few photos of the Ganesha shrine on Soi Buakhao. They show that the surroundings have changed. But the shrine is still there, and it will likely remain for many years to come.

From last night, a few snaps of the night time action around the mookata, food and market places next to Nirun. And around the corner the GC's Sign shop on 3rd Rd

Greetings Monkeywatchers, showaddy crap for taking a gander, and welcome to another sneaky peek at what’s transpired, inspired and expired in the last month. Chocks away. The Thai Navy are to create something they call an ‘underwater learning park’ by sinking some of their old ships. They should take some advice from the Koh Larn ferry as they’ve managed to sink more boats than just about anybody else. Experts have advised that the chances of another coup in Thailand are very slim, though if you had the gun barrel of a tank sticking through your front window you’d probably come to

The beach has taken quite a hammering over the last 48 - 72 hours. Teams were out working this morning.

An article in The Pattaya News back in April said: "The Bay Pattaya, a beachfront project located on Soi 5-6 along Beach Road, is set to undergo a significant makeover to become a 24/7 entertainment and shopping complex." (https://thepattayanews.com/2024/04/18/the-bay-pattaya-to-transform-into-24-7-entertainment-shopping-complex/) There are certainly changes going on there. Starbucks has been established there for a long time. Now, on the opposite corner, there is a new restaurant - "Dolce Vita". Immediately to the left of that, another transformation looks to b

A selection from yesterday evening.

This Thursday marks the 19th Year Anniversary of the Cherry Bar. Seven years on Soi 8 and now Twelve years on Soi Diana. Not a bad accomplishment in today's Pattaya climate. There will be free food, shots and lots of fun So if you're in town, please join us to help celebrate this occasion.

On this morning's ride I explored an interesting hidden gem in central Pattaya. It's an undeveloped area off of Pattaya Tai, behind Pattaya City Resort. From the road the new shops going up on Tai look like nothing special. But behind the shops is a nice park area around a small lake. The hidden gem is farther back and on the other side of the lake. There's a dirt road that circles around a large undeveloped area with a lilly filled pond. The area is currently being used to grow various plants. I hope the city sees the value of keeping some green space and that

It's been too long since my last update here, so this morning got up early to get a ride in around Mabprachan before the heat of the day kicks in. In a nutshell, last time I saw the reservoir this low at this time of year was during the drought of 2015. Sure hope rainy season is good to us this year otherwise we're probably looking at water rationing later in the year.

Just goes to show what 20 years of 'improvements' can ackieve. You could even sit down for free until the 'deck chair mafia' took over and plenty of shade from the sun. Photo 23 July 2004

^^^ I always find it amusing when based on one person's great experience with a business, any others that report a negative experience are discounted and their reports classified as "myths". A data point of one is statistically irrelevant.

Songkran is coming - like it or not.

Greetings Monkeywatchers, core coon crap for staying in touch, and welcome to another sneak peek at the latest goings on (or off as the case may be.) Pattaya police have been issuing leaflets to Chinese tourists warning them of online scams. Suppose they’re on about things like advertising Pattaya as a great place for families where they won’t get shot at by gangs or drowned on ferries. Now who would fall for a scam like that? A beach on Koh Larn has been given a major clean up following a rash of complaints about foul smells, flies and litter. This has outraged the Chinese ambassado

I took a look along the far end of Walking Street last evening. It is so much different from how it was, say, 5 years ago. It is dominated by dance clubs catering for Indians, plus some (I assume) gogos offering "Russian Girls". I hope these pics give a flavour of the place. I thought this place in Soi Diamond would have been forced to have changed its name before now. I'm a sucker for long hair. 😀 She had a pretty face as well!

A couple more pics from this morning's rideabout. Soi Casino is still blocked off.

That you don't like the humor is a you thing, not a "political" thing. Go patrol a different section if it bothers you that much...

One of the new electric Baht buses, with apologies if already posted:

Pedestrian Crossing re-painting and road works at the Walking Street end of Beach Road. Google Translation.

I do like a walk around Na Kluea seafood market another place that is quite busy but mainly Thais and Chinese in there. The assortment of seafood is very good.

The Sanctuary of Truth.

Greetings Monkeywatchers, core coon crap for dropping in, and welcome to another peek at the city of scaremongering without the scare. Let’s rock. Well the ever popular sport of balcony diving has gone into international overdrive in Pattaya with no less than four incidents occurring in the first week of the month. The first one to plummet was a Thai, followed by a Russian, an American and a German, who set a new record with a drop of 33 floors from a 5 star hotel. Well at least they seem to be getting a better class of jumper. And if that wasn’t enough, there’s now been a fifth and

Just about to hit the sack when I got this notification, so I wont put a lot of work in to this... just too tired and there are a LOT of lessons learned over the last couple decades of living here (almost anyway. Somewhere north of 15 and south of 20). I agree with all that Forcebwithu said, but ill add to that this: For the last 18 months or so, I have seen zero dangerous spikes in the electric grid. My main workstations are super expensive and almost none of the parts can be bought in Thailand, so I am very careful with them. I use a 3000va Smart UPS for that and it monitors the

You must have a lot of patience to inject each of the ants!!!! 🤣

Greeting Monkeywatchers, core coon crap for your continued patronage, and welcome to our April fools edition, where the truth may be stretched a little further than normal in one or two places. Or a lot further, as the case may be. Well, Songkran all went fairly smoothly apart from one little incident when a visiting Vietnamese businessman complained to the police that a crowd of revellers just across the road had got his dong all wet. Actually, if he keeps his money in his trousers he might have been making two complaints. The government are demanding that action be taken against

Australian Cockatoos 719913788_Australiancockatoos.mp4

Day two of the Kite Event.

A walk along Soi 7 and then Sri 8

A selection from the Naklua Walk and Eat Festival taken last night.

Greetings Monkeywatchers, showaddy crap to you all, and prepare to be transported to a wonderland of Christmas magic and festive delights. Okay, it’s just the same old shit with tinsel on. Let’s kick off with a rather strange tale. A prisoner went on the run a couple of weeks ago after escaping from Bangkok Pattaya Hospital where he’d been taken for surgery on his penis. A surgeon told police not to bother searching for the man as they’d be able to re-arrest him as soon as he returned to the hospital. When asked how he was so sure the man would return, the surgeon replied “Well we’ve stil

Mainly Street Art from the morning walk.