Butch

I'm not on about the basic level of ability, I believe that a basic understanding such as how to ask for food, directions, the numbers, money and simple stuff like "what do you like or can you do ??" are essential and polite given that we are a guest in their Country, but I'm on about the more the advanced level of Thai like future tenses, holding a conversation for more than a couple of minutes, stuff about the weather and how to install a proximity sensor to the hoist bearing on a ZPMC Post Panamax crane. English ability among the girls is definitely and very clearly improving to a point where all or many staff in Beer bars and GGB's have a good grasp. GG girls are even polishing up on their Hindi and Korean. Google is of course a blessing, I had a conversation using google translate with a Korean girl lost up at Terminal 21 last trip. I now know what "fuck off " is in Korean at least. Given that there are now hand held translation devices, akin to something you might see on Star Trek, and the tech is becoming even more advanced as time goes on, how long will it be before we can have a "Babel fish" like implant to do it all for us I wonder. Back to the current situation, as I said, a basic and polite understanding and ability is good to have, but as girls are beginning to learn more and at an earlier age, tech is making life easier for both parties and English is now (as far as I know) being taught in Primary schools in Thailand, is it really worth dusting Benjawan Poomsan Beckers book off anymore and playing the tapes?.

Nice report that Bazle, thanks for posting.

Most of it is probably under Chaiyapoon and the R Con Sewer project. It's probably going to get worse as well, increased demand through massive building projects versus zero investment in infrastructure supplying it. Same thing is happening in parts of Manila, although the electricity supply is also pretty limited at times.

the very same. She did say she was thinking about working elsewhere last time we spoke. Oh well, onwards and upwards I guess.

Good points and valid, but I think the concept of "3 holers" like the DC10, MD11 and Tristar are confined to history for the exact reasons which you mention. Eveything today seems to point at 2 engine capacities for all ranges.

As long as Ploy is sitting on your lap, there's no such thing as bad news...

I'm sure we all know girls who have been working the scene for few years but never seem to get anywhere, they fade into obscurity back to Nakhom nowhere and are never seen again. However, for every 10 girls going home after the madness of Pattaya, lies of the farang and non stop attrition of alcohol, pressure to meet LD targets and barfines has burned them out, one (or possibly less than the 10% I assumed) actually get and achieve their aims. A few girls spring to mind, LDK (sorry MGDN, just can't get used to the new name) will very probably recall "Pim" (the golfing girl) from Mistys. Last time we saw each other was in 2013 in TQ where she would do the afternoon shift for a top up of cash after playing (and beating, as well as very probably fucking with some degree of expertise on both counts) a paying Farang in the morning. I hitched a ride in her 2012 Fortuna and we had a coffee, she told me she had invested in 2 apartments in Bangkok, off plan and was acting as middle man for a coconut farmer from her village. She even made me buy the Starbucks. Clever girl. The most inspiring and for me, personally the best result I've seen of for my friend "Wan". I met her when she was 19 in King Kong bar, it was her first week and the year was 1999. She had a spell in Kitten Club, Mistys and Dollhouse, but now resides in a 3 story self built house with a pool and a shedload of land in Las Vegas, owning 2 Thai restaurants and driving a BMW Z4, all in her name and 100% legit. She really had her head screwed on, evident and borne out by the fact she turned me down when I asked her to be my girlfriend, godammit. I really like it when a working girl makes good off her own initiative. Even managing to hold a family together and feed her kids is enough of an achievement, especially when Somchai has run away or only comes home to empty his sack. We all too often underestimate BG's, but some of them, when let off the leash can really make us look like small fry. If anyone has any similar stories , it would be interesting to hear them.

Easier to set up a list of those that are not, to be honest. Even the Royal Cliff is guest friendly if you state your intentions right at the start in an assertive manner.

Baht buses with bells that don't work, or sirens which scream out at 300db in the rear of the cab. Baht bus drivers who slam the brakes on at every stop. Girls, usually hi-so wannabes who fucking stand in my way looking at their phone when I've got a mug of tea and a scone on a tray and want to pass them in Starbucks Central Festival. They stand there where you get your stuff delivered, yet won't move when you're trying to maneuvre your way around to get down the stairs and to a table. I find just saying "fucking move" gets their attention. Farangs in muscleman T shirts and Ali Baba bodybuilding pants to disguise their small cocks, poncing around in Ibar and acting hard. Baht bus drivers who pass you by when you try to flag them down.

There are a few decent Hotels catering for Indians now, one tip to use is have a look on Trip Advisor in the "reviews" section, if most of the names are indian and reviews done by guys from the subcontinent, it's a good bet the hotel will be popular with them. Bella Express near the Little Duck being one example and the Centara being another.

Still depressing but an improvement in the right direction. Thanks to all you guys posting the pics of the rate boards.

Me neither, I think I was paying the same or possibly more than that back in the early 00's. I know a few fellas who would be interested at that price, good call. Saying that, Etihad and Oman are very competetive, both have a good product and I think the layovers with the Oman air flight are not too horrific. I'll check out the lufthansa stopover as well while I'm at it.

Lufthansa price is excellent.

I'm very probably going to give Thai a go, the Econ fare is more than reasonable plus giving me the option of potentially 2 flights, although the mid morning one requires an 0400 departure from Chez Butch, and I'm not the most wonderful person in the morning. Problem being I join the M25 at junction 27 or 28, and unless I'm on the M25 before 0600, it's a bloody massive car park until 10:00 am. I have not yet looked at the ME carriers. Might well be worth considering one of them. Drawbacks being layover times and Ex BKK departure times. Does anyone know if they are still 3-3-3 in econ on the Thai 777?.

Just looking around, BA are £479 for their one up from basic fare, so you get 1x23kg bag in the hold. PE is £1080. Thai are £579 for their "regular" econ fare, all costs for their 2 flights schedules departure and return are the same price. EVA are £519 for their cheap econ fare, PE is £986. With EVA if you use the website and book direct, you can use mileage to reduce the price by a bit now as well, no minimum mileage required (I think). EVA charge for seat selection as well, even in PE. Seems that econ fares are static or around the same. BA looks a decent price point, and recent reviews suggest they are updating and making more of an effort on their fleet. BA009 Departs LHR at 16:20 (ish) arrives BKK 09:45, but as always with BA there are caveats, such as if they decide to strike, their computer systems work etc etc.

Still got one of those T shirts hanging up in my wardrobe!.

For me, it was not actually being there , but watching an episode of "321" on TV back in the 80's when a couple won a trip to "The Thai Paradise of Pattaya". The only reason I remember it was firstly because the bloke looked a lot more impressed than his Mrs at the winning, plus I caught it again on a satellite channel the other year and remembered seeing it the first time round but with a lot less relevance when I was 11 years old. My first physical memory is getting off at the bus station and getting on an MC Taxi with my backpack on, to the Lek Hotel, the trip cost me 20 baht, the room was 250 baht a night with A/C. I had a bloody great backpack balanced on me as we weaved along the streets, got to the Lek and after having travelled up from Singapore over the previous 24 hours, I was in desperate need of a shower, probably evident by the lightening fast check in.

Good job I'm not into currency trading ...

Ouch. Expect it to go lower over the next two or three weeks. Jungle drums here are not sounding positive. I'd like to see the "real" tourist numbers for LOS for the last few and upcoming months. Spoke to a friend who runs a bar there yesterday, he says things are savage at the moment.

does anyone actually know what goes on in the minds of Thai TV Exec's for their late night programming? Also, while I'm at it, does that channel which shows the football scores from what looks like every single team operating in the World ever stop, and what on earth is it all about? Why do people in Thailand care about the result of some non descript vague footy team on the other side of the planet? Very odd to look at while drunk, a non stop scrolling list of teams which I've never heard of. I actually googled one of the teams once, and yes, the fixtures were up to date, they were indeed a small independent team and the scores were correct. Secondly, what happened to that Monk who would talk for ages (along with the translations) who had the big wide rimmed glasses and said "hmmm" every other statement with a wry smile?. He seems to have been replaced, we've lost the (interesting) translations and late night Thai TV just isn't what it used to be.

Probably better just to leave it behind...

TT Currency have a new webpage listing all their services, including safety deposit boxes in pattaya and rates for all currencies: https://ttexchange.com/

I think there was actually a German board back then. The freelancer bar forum was up around 97/98 I think or possibly earlier, Pete having the foresight to use the Internet to promote a business. Ben started working in FLB in or around 99/00. Although my memory is hazy about that so may well be wrong. There were a lot more German and Scandinavian bars as well, I recall several of them on the Naklua road. Most mongers seemed to be from the EU rather than the USA back then as well. I always enjoyed my visits to the "Belgian Embassy"...

He might have that kind of money to throw around. I spend and budget much more on holiday than I do during my normal everyday life, many guys save hard for their pattaya trips because they want to enjoy themselves free from the constraints of daily penny pinching. Many TG's won't lower their prices back to what they used to be years ago. The impression that all farang can afford it and are rich is still very established in their mindset, so instead of them looking and thinking they are lowering their prices to get you to go with them, they are looking at it from the point of view as to why should they lower their prices, the farang can afford to come here for his holiday, so he can afford pussy as well. They're not expecting guys to come to Pattaya, stay in a decent Hotel or room and then not have the cash to p4p. TG's would rather go broke than drop their prices, and in fact Thai logic 101 dictates that the average girl will increase her price if she hasn't had many customers that month. Also, TG's adapt their prices to the market they are serving, which is why it's going to cost you 5k baht for a WS GGG and the same girl in Insomnia 3 hours later might quote 2k, they don't see it as lowering their price, they see it as adapting to the market. That is, of course to us, completely odd but to the workings of a TG, it makes perfect sense. So in summary of my slightly self contradictory post, yes the girls adapt and lower their price to the market they are serving, but getting them to drop the price they quoted to you at the time is something else altogether, very often something they are not prepared to do, or if they did so, not by a massive amount. Luckily I don't suffer from the headache of all this as I quit mongering ages ago, but still go to Pattaya two or three times a year if I can.

Sorry to slightly stray off topic, but does anyone know if holding a bank account out there gets you a better rate during transfers than on the street?.