yogi100

I first visited Pattaya years ago when the GBP bought us 32 baht. It was a wonderful holiday and the people had a much better attitude and could not do enough to please you. But as you can imagine financially that was pretty dire, so much so that I never even considered returning till years later in 1999 when we got 62 to the Pound. Obviously things were much cheaper in 1984 but our income was also much less. In '84 we'd had a 19 day holiday, 3 nights in BKK with 16 in Pattaya. My pal and I realised we were running out of money but as luck had it he had recently acquired a Visa credi

This evening a pal of mine told me the GBP hit 38 B today. That's in the booths not the banks where its even worse. I adjusted the balance by not tipping in the bars I visited. I got no comments from the staff but if I had of done I'd just have said 'Sorry, England money down, no can tip. Falang now have small money'. When you tell a girl who you normally buy a couple of drinks for and give her a 100 baht tip that you can't afford it reality must hit home. Especially when they realise that you mean it! Perhaps the message might get upstairs but I won't hold my breath. But my money i

A pal of mine stays there. Very nice but at 28,000 baht a month there are better offers elsewhere especially if the lifts breaks down and you're on the 18th floor.

I've used them a couple of times. Not the cheapest but very well organised and comfortable. Big comfy seats with armrests and a towelling blanket if the A/C got too cold. When I went we got a basic breakfast before we set off and a nice but modest dinner in the QV pub when we got back all included in the price. All in all about an eight hour day that started off at about 6 am. If I had to do a run again without hesitation these are the people I'd use.

I've painted my suitcase with brilliant white emulsion not just because it is then hard to miss or in case it may be picked up off the carousel by mistake but also because of mosquitoes! I had two suitcases, one black and the other dark blue and as you know mossies are attracted to dark colours. I found on several occasions that I'd bought a few of the insects back to the UK with me in my case and as I'm allergic to their bites their smugging themselves back to my home was not a good idea. So far the white paint seems to have deterred the little stowaways from having free meals and

To us limeys that's now getting on for 100 quid especially with transport and some food and drink vectored in for an extra 400 baht! That's ridiculously expensive. I used to go to the range beneath Tiffanys when we were getting 60 - 70 baht to the quid and it wasn't exactly a bargain then either. It's hardly surprising nkped and his companion were the only ones there! Yet another example of how Thailand is pricing itself out of the market.

At first glance I thought the Catholic Priest in the video was Sacha Baron Cohen doing one of his satirical impressions.

It's likely that all hotels have tiled floors that will all be equally noisy unless you stay in a really expensive which may possibly be carpeted but even the swankiest hotels are more likely to be tiled. Noise levels can only be determined by the guests who will be there at the same time as yourself. There might be screaming kids and noisy punters and their girls there at the time and there might be none, luck of the draw I dunno if JP has a pool but ODP definitely does.

People often give negative reviews on the internet. So as you say it's indeed wise to read with caution. If someone gets satisfaction with a purchase that's the end of it. If they do not they are more inclined to mention it. And then some folk are never happy unless they're complaining and the internet is the perfect vehicle for such an indulgence.

Who are the first people who are authorised to visit your abode if or when you snuff it? Say no more. Wink wink nudge nudge.

What happens to the 800K you've got in the Kasikorn Bank if you suddenly drop dead and have made no will nor arrangements for friends or family to gain access to it. It happened to a pal of mine who had 1.5 million in the KB who suddenly died of a heart attack. I'm not going to say where that 1.5 M went but I'm sure you can hazard a guess.

They don't really want us in their country on a long term basis and as they are becoming more prosperous they are raising the goalposts a notch at a time. They want you buying and investing in businesses and houses and condos so they can then rip you off but that's as far as it goes. They also want the falang tourists well enough who are spending 50K a week but not old fogeys who are likely to snuff it with just a few baht in the Kasikorn to their name. The old catch phrase 'rent don't buy' is now beginning to more make sense with every passing year. They are preparing the way for th

I've got a pal who loves it. Would not stay anywhere else and you do not have to pay to take birds back. And it's just round the corner from where all the action is in LKM.

I flew with Eva just the once cos they were considerably cheaper than Thai and never did again because I got no salt and pepper in my meal packages. You had to ask the trolley dolly for salt and by the time you realised it was missing and she'd finally brought it to you your grub which was ultra bland anyway was cold as well. But now you no longer get any condiments on Thai either so I keep some in my carry on bag. That's on Sardine Class which I always fly in. I dunno what the posh people in First Class put on their grub. In your case I'd be hopping mad and demand some compensation

"So" So I've never been that concerned about finding one. Finding such a beach on a local island in such a commercially developed part of Asia where this forum is based has never been on my list of priorities and if it was in this day and age it would probably prove to be a wild goose chase. Visit Koh Larn, Jomtien and Pattaya Beaches and you'll see what I mean. They won't even let you sit on the beach and will even try to force you to rent a deck chair. Then the trinket sellers and food vendors will be queuing up to drive you nuts. If you're so clued up you tell him where to g

From what I've seen of 'em in over 30 years they're no different to any Thai beaches anywhere. You get plagued by vendors from the minute you disembark until you head back to the mainland. The ones near Pattaya are the worse.

I was on a baht bus one evening and there was a crowd of youngish Indian men sitting near the entrance jabbering away like exited young fellows from any nation do when on holiday or on their way out for an evening. The bus stopped to allow an elderly falang to board the vehicle and without urging they moved up so the old boy could sit down without having to struggle to make his way up the gangway to get a seat. When he had to get off they took his arm and made sure he did so safely. They may have a reputation of being rather penny pinching but in my opinion their behaviour on that occ

Let's just hope it's not going to be a load of the usual claptrap and feminist bullshit you media people especially women and those in the BBC often come out with whenever the subject of Thailand is the topic. If you encounter a degree of reluctance among ex pats and regular visitors to get involved that will be one of the two main reasons why. The other main reason should only be too obvious.

Those cops came a bit unstuck there! It's probable that they thought this was going to be an easy touch arresting young white women rather than some spaced out blacks with bad attitudes and possibly guns in the car.

We had Spam during and after WW2 to supplement the food rationing. It was vile stuff and the schools tried to get us British kids to eat it but hundreds of thousands of us refused to. Most of those that did immediately spewed it back up again. School dining halls used to be full of kids bawling their bollocks off when a plate of the shit was placed in front of them! The Yanks sent boatloads of the muck over because their own kids wouldn't touch it and even their pets turned their noses up at it. Unbelievably they sell it in Friendship Supermarket in Pattaya for about 200 baht a tin but it'

Fugitives (Profugos) 2011. Series with subtitles. About a South American drug gang in Chile on the run from police and their own mafia. A bit grim but right up there with Breaking Bad. They all dislike each other but have to stick together to survive. Beats Narcos and El Chapo into a cocked hat.

I'm quite happy to turn off any ad blocker when I access the forum. You'll have to remind members with a notice when they click on or they will just forget. Lots of websites do it including Thai Visa, it's no big hardship.

Before I opened a Thai bank account and back when we could use an ATM card free of charge without getting ripped off by certain UK banks you just had to worry your ATM card. Now that things have changed and when I need to keep largish amounts of money in my room I slip it under a one of the panels of the suspended ceiling in my room away from light and fan fittings that might possibly have to be removed by maintenance staff. I keep the same room on permanently and have done so for around twelve years. There are about 40 of these panels in my room and I need to climb up on the furniture

Again good advice from Butch. One thing that is easily overlooked not just by newbies but also by regular visitors is that however appealing and attentive a girl may appear to be she is still a prostitute. It's her job to separate you from your money be it through tipping, buying her drinks or providing a sexual service and like prostitutes everywhere they want to do so with as little effort and in as little time as possible. It has not always been like that but it is now unless by a stroke of good luck you get a good 'un. Nowadays you've always got to be on your guard. Only take out

Stick her on the cross bar.