joekicker

Definitely the most important part of it worth noting. I don't know why they even allow black people to play. You'd never catch white people doing anything disrespectful. Black ladies have no idea of their proper place in life. .

When you're planning a meal with a lady in Pattaya, you really can't beat Burger King. Or so I read. .

But it IS successful as a family resort, that's the thing. You keep talking about the semi-Euros of the western continental islands. I keep talking about people who go to Pattaya. You seem to be saying that Pattaya is not for everyone, which is self-evident, obvious and unarguable. (Which destination IS for everyone? Answer: Not one exsists.) I keep saying Pattaya *is* for SOME PEOPLE and has long been for them, in quite large numbers. They, including many Europeans, are actually quite happy sitting on that crappy main beach, where you really cannot see any pollution even if you know it's there. Those piles of deck chairs are there for a reason - bums are put on them. I have no idea whether you like Pattaya. I have no idea whether the folks on your street like it. I *do* know that tens of thousands make it to Pattaya for family vacation and most seem to be quite happy about it. Heh. Okay. If you say so. But as I have written many times, Pattaya is much bigger than the monger section. It has ALWAYS had families. Families made Pattaya (switched from Bang Saen) and families are a major, big, important part of Pattaya business. It's simply not one or the other. Both of them exist and often co-exist just fine. .

But that is not what I wrote. I wrote that they DO sit on the crap beaches. Because they do.

Actually Obsessed one, Thai tourism isn't run for western Europeans who live on islands. On the other hand, "appalled" doesn't mean they don't hit those beaches. Up north of what so many mongers think of as Pattaya, the beaches are quite busy with Europeans. They don't seem to prefer English, of course. So what? Yeah I guess you're right that there aren't many western European families from the far western islands. Not a lot of Brazilians there either. However, there ARE lots of Europeans in Pattaya, just not speaking English. Hint: Moscow. The point of this entire thread is that no one in Pattaya-planning gives much of a stuff for really pale far-west Europeans any longer. What *I* think is going to happen in Pattaya is what has happened in a couple of others places (Patpong, Patong) and that is that foreigners will kick out the Thai tourists. THAT is much more revolutionary than switching from one brand of pasty Europeans to another -- which happens all the time in Pattaya. .

Exactly. She's a foreigner. She needs to do what all other foreigners do, there is no special break for Asean, either. What most people do - You get a job, then you let the job help you with the visa and work permit. Regular PR and marketing jobs are not common in Pattaya unless you speak Thai. Possibly a hotel that specialises in Vietnamese tourists MIGHT want something, probably part time. But it's a small market in Pattaya, still. You will not get a job in Pattaya ONLY because you speak English, unless you speak Thai. PR and marketing people are not in short supply and they speak Thai and other languages. .

How weird. I copied the link from the search. Thing was there were (are?) three threads mentioning the floods. The one you started with the band, all the photos etc was the key one, though. .

Here you go then. .

Beat me to it. Almost everything in Hat Yai along this line (and much more) is NOT from Thailand. .

Most of Jomtien. Koh Larn, Bang Saen, Phetchaburi/Cha-Am, (many in) Rayong, (many in) Phuket, Phi-Phi and of course Krabi, which makes the ones on your list look crappy. Most of the hotels in north Pattaya/Naklua have access to beaches that make tourists happy as clams. And to tell the truth? MOST tourists are happy to sit on the crappy Pattaya main beach for a day, they have nothing at home that comes close - pollution and all. Give them the sun, the deck chair, the food delivery, and there's not a peep of complaint. It's easy to sneer at the guy sitting on a Pattaya beach deck chair until you see the poor slob who has to make do with Blackpool or Omaha, Nebraska for his holiday. EXACTLY right losgrad - almost no one actually goes swimming. .

About this (cough)world recession(cough) allegation I just ran across this lovely news story on just how widespread the "world recession" is and who's involved in it: nut grafs: [T]he jittery state of the U.S. economy is driving an increasing number of its citizens to seek better prospects north of the border. Americans are the latest economic refugees, and they’re heading to Canada. ... Americans make up the second-largest group of temporary workers in Canada, only behind Filipinos, most of whom work as nannies. .

What "world" recession? There may be, then, some other things you're not correct about. That is your personal view, to which you are entitled. Fact is that MOST visitors to Pattaya, even if you include P4P sex tourists, are not at all what you have decided they are. There is one mall, and therefore there will always be one mall. You think. But do you also think that the 5-star hotels are empty because you won't stay in them? Pattaya has had 5-star hotels since the mid-1980s. (Actually well before that, but the annual growth, let's say mid-1980s.) Every year since then, there have been more 5-star rooms than the year before. Your task, then, is to explain why this is so. You know you spend more than the thousands who fill the 5-star hotel rooms. How do you know this? What this has to do with having a holiday in Pattaya, I can't figure. Are you unaware of Chinese tourist numbers to Thailand, for example? Would you believe 125,000 a month now, and rising? For example. .

A very different and fun holiday in an exotic place of course. .

A lot of people have different stories on this, like being charged for half a kilo by THAI. You never know. But I got the impression from the OP that this isn't a matter of a few kilos, but a few suitcases. .

I believe the hospital is not, but it looks from the sign that there's a military wing. .

Exactly. The Thai tourist made Pattaya and will decide what happens to it as time goes by. The others, including western sex tourists, are bit players. They get their own tiny corners of the place to play in, no problem. .

I never have fewer than three browsers going (4, as I write) and as it happens, IE is almost always the one with this forum. IE9 is definitely not shit. But like anything, there are horses for courses. For a couple of years or more, I've never had a bit of trouble with this forum and IE. I *have* had trouble with all my browsers at different times, for different reasons. I'm no ActiveX fan, either, but blame the websites for that, not IE. Since we are all about opinions anyhow, and only opinions, my favourite browser for, oh, a year or more is definitely Google Chrome - faster, WAY more robust than anything else. Of the six browsers I use from time to time, by far the slowest and kludgiest is Firefox, but it trucks on most of the time, and has some neat add-ons that I almost can't live without. .

It's nationwide for sure. The government extended the freebies to the end of the year, but I *hear* people are getting bills anyhow. So it's kind of unclear to me. .

It's difficult to underestimate the popularity of rugby in Thailand. It's not EXACTLY a one-sport country, but you'll never lose money or be disappointed if you ignore pretty much everything but soccer. Even boxing, which once was king, is in the toilet. About the only time you'll see cheap gear that is NOT soccer is if a factory here makes it and it's smuggled onto the free market. Used to get a lot of US stuff that way. Rugby, not so much. .

In fact, if you are a low electricity user, you get free electricity. Can't remember the threshold, but "no electric" is a very small amount, and free under current regulations. That said, how can you use none? That is VERY unusual. No fridge? No TV? Nothing at all plugged in? .

It's not relevant to the browser, but Lord alone knows why you're not seeing pics. It's probably NOT Active X, but ActiveX is a constant effup. Anyhow. Tools, Internet Options, Security, then the Custom Level Button. Take a scroll through the whole thing while you're there. .

Yeah. The Bedouin were born and lived their entire life in the desert. They have yet to see any proof of that wacko theory that it's round. That is the only point I've made in this thread. It's there for you to see. Look at it. I can't figure out why there *is* a thread. It's hardly rational for *me* to ask *you* the power rating of *my* stuff when I can hold it in my hand and see it. .

What version of IE? Upgrade to 9 for sure. There's no specific bug, so try this. Go to Tools, Internet Options. First, go to Active X - Run controls and plug-ins - Enable Display Mixed Content - prompt Script Active X marked safe - Enable Active Scripting - enable Click OK Go to Advanced, Multimedia Click (tick, i.e. allow) everything Click OK, Apply Upper right hand of the browser. Click the gear. Scroll to Safety. Turn off ALL tick marks. Note: These are NOT unsafe or experimental. They are standard browser usage recommendations. Sometimes browser security gets set to Paranoid by mistake. .

Got a cite on that? I actually don't doubt it, but I still have a niggling doubt about "always". And even when I get the cite I will still look anyhow at MY Apple stuff to make sure MY Apple stuff is included. They don't charge you for that look. .

I have no idea of the Mata Hari's Thai food, never tried it. Have you had any? I'm not a huge fan of their western food, frankly, not that I eat western food other than seafood very much in Pattaya. I've always had a soft spot for Pan Pan, mainly because I discovered it in Bangkok three, four centuries ago when it was an ice cream shop, and I MUST eat a charon every so often or my life isn't worth living. I can't remember any of the three or four meals I've had at Mata Hari and the only reason I went back after the first time was because others insisted. Not horrible ever, but not memorable ever, either. That said. When I want good Thai food I ALSO don't go to cheapo places that knock it out so that it's decent. Good Thai food, like any good food including Steak Diane, has to be well cooked by experienced chefs/cooks who use the best ingredients. .