Jaffa

Strange as it may sound, porn is a big no no in Thailand. If you get caught with it theres a good chance you will go to jail and become persona non grata. Better just to stick to the real thing. TIT.

Just beware of motorcycle thieves. You lose it, you pay for it. A few years ago I hired a bike down on Koh Samui. The Thai girlfriend insisted on bringing it inside the bungalow with us every night. The story goes that there are some unscrupulous dealers who will rent you a bike but insist on holding your passport as security. You put your address on the papers when you rent the bike and so its easy for them to go round at night and steal their own bike. In the morning the renter reports the bike missing and is forced to pay 100,000 replacement cost for the bike. I think you would

Been home 2 weeks now but there were lots of servicemen around walking street when I was there. 95% were very well behaved and the other 5% were only a bit badly behaved,-- their mates soon pulled them into line from what I saw. All in all a very well disciplined bunch of guys for young blokes who have been deprived of pussey for perhaps months! Still, I have to wonder why Yanks like to talk so LOUD. You could hear them coming from down the street. I think most of the young blokes didn't really have a clue about how things work in Pattaya. They had probably heard stories of blowjobs fo

I left Pattaya at 3pm Thursday. The trip went well untill Bangkok. Traffic jams even on the freeways made it a 3 hour trip. My advice would be to leave a little earlier to be safe.

As far as I know Thailand imports all of their lamb. And its therefore too expensive for the locals. I am also pretty sure I have seen roast lamb on the menue at some of the English style pubs in Pattaya. My Thai missus pigged out on lamb for about a month when she first came to OZ, so I dont think its any kind of a taboo. The missus says the Saudi resturants in LOS are big on lamb.

Arrrr... Drinking?

It doesn't stop after you are married either. Heres a few from my own experience. Not so funny but true. 1. No. one daughter needs 15,000 baht to pay off gambling debts. Answer-- we pay half, she pays the rest. She quits gambling after that. 2. No. two daughter needs 20,000 baht bond to secure good job as a technician. Bond to be refunded after one year if no costly mistakes are made. Answer-- No. She got the job anyway. 3. No. one daughter needs 20,000 baht to pay for damages caused in a motorbike accident. Answer -- No. What about insurance? Result-- Settlemen

Thankyou gentlemen for your advice. I will be in LOS next month to buy land for our retirement home and I will post of my progress.

Can anyone recomend a good farang friendly real estate agent in or near Pattaya?

You can log on to Thai radio and TV for free over the net. Just type "thai radio" into google search.

I speak only from my own experience having been married to a Thai for the past 10 years. I stand by my original advice to let the girlfriend advise what is expected, and to respect her wishes. If your girlfriend asks you to wai to her mother and you refuse it would be seen as being very disrespectful. The waing protocol is not that difficult. The basic rules are as follows-- 1. The younger person should wai to an older person FIRST as a mark of respect. 2. The higher the hands are held up to the face and the deeper the bow, the greater the respect shown. Its not some myst

Eric, There seems to be a lot of bar stool experts giving advice here. You should be guided by your girlfriends advice on whats expected of you to show respect to her Mum rather than a bunch of sex tourists. It may seem cool to some tourists to refuse to show respect to your girlfriends Mum by refusing to Wai in the traditional manner. Its such a little thing and it will probably mean so much to your girl. If your girl asks it of you, please do it for her. And, the thousand baht note in the envelope should be handed to Mum by your girlfriend. Its more a mark of respect than any

Go for a day trip. Find local motorbike taxi driver who speaks good English and hire him for the afternoon to take you round and show you all the bars, massage parlours, karoike places and any other place that might be of interest. I have never been to a single bar at Jomtiem, just the beach, but I know there are a few sanuk places around. And having a guided tour in the safety of daylight might be an interesting way to spend a bit of time in the afternoon. Exploring can be a lot of fun, especially if you get the right guide.

Can anyone suggest a good company. I will need an English speaking driver.

Eric, You girlfriend will be your best tutor. She will advise you of whats expected. The Thais are pretty forgiving of farang ignorance in their cultural protocols. There are diffeent wais depending on age and status. Just do as your girl instructs you to. A nice new 1,000 baht note in an envelope for mama will impress without breaking your bank. Just show respect, and what ever you do dont flirt with the sister.