Evil Penevil

Hard-frying egg yolks does appear to be a Thai thing, possibly related to a fear of salmonella but mostly just a matter of taste. I have encountered a lot TGs who were totally shocked that farang ate eggs with runny yolks. I used to order pad krapao moo at least once a week at a favorite Thai hole-in-the-wall restaurant, but the cook absolutely refused to lightly fry the egg. Evil

I know a lot of BMs are interested in breakfast deals. The mega breakfast at Nicky's for 195 baht looks to put more food (and calories) on the plate at a lower price than any other restaurant in Pattaya. The pic above is from a Twitter post. According to Nicky's FB page, there's also a "full English breakfast" for 99 baht. It's more food than most of us need in the morning. Both the mega breakfast and the full English include a choice of tea or coffee. They look to be proper English fry-ups! The Robin Hood Tavern in The Avenue shopping plaza also has some good breakfast options, but the prices given are limited specials. Full Irish brekky including tea or coffee for 249 baht: The breakfast bagel or sunrise skillet are healthier options and still value for money. I haven't been in Pattaya for 14 months so I can't vouch for the quality of the food these days at Nicky's or the RHT. But unless things have gone downhill, the food holds a good standard at both restaurants. Evil

The Robin Hood Tavern also has regular specials and promotions:

Since I'm not in Pattaya, I can't contribute any on-site reports about good farang food under 300 baht. However, inspired by checking a few websites, I decided to highlight some of the under-300 dishes at Nicky's Bar and Restaurant on Soi Buakhao and the Robin Hood Tavern in The Avenue shopping plaza. There's plenty of good stuff under 300 baht at Nicky's: Daily and weekly specials are even cheaper:

I read on another board that the Pattaya Beer Garden will close on September 30. It was unclear whether it was a closure until "things get better" or a permanent closure. The source of the poster's info was a staff member at PBG. Perhaps Pattaya Pete can give a definitive answer. Evil

To expand on my previous answer: Go to this Web site: https://ipleak.net It will show you what info is visible about your connection to the Net. When I connected today to the Net using TOR and NordVPN's Onion over VPN, the following results showed up. I am posting from the U.S.

By total anonymity I mean that you are untraceable. There's no way anyone can discover the true IP address of your computer. However, that doesn't mean Web sites can't detect the fact you're using a VPN. There are methods for hiding use of a VPN, but they are pretty complicated. Dissidents in authoritarian countries like China and Iran, where use of a VPN is forbidden or considered incriminating, will go to such lengths. I suppose if you use a VPN and still want to connect to Web sites in the U.S. than also don't allow connections through VPNs, you can configure your computer in such a way as to hide the use of a VPN. There are Internet sites that explain this. Check out the TOR browser site. Evil

I use Nord and have no complaints. For those who need or want total anonymity when searching the Net, Nord has advanced options like Double VPN and Onion Over VPN, plus a long list of countries to which you can connect to hide your ISP. Evil

Great news that you're opening again! I just wish I could be in Pattaya to visit the Beer Garden again. Evil

Henry Ford used "dump" tactics to increase his holdings of shares in the Ford Motor Co. In 1918, he led minority shareholders to believe he had turned over Ford to his son Edsel, in whom investors had little faith. Henry also founded a new company and made a show of taking his top employees with him. Share prices in the old Ford Co. fell as investors scurried to get out before their shares became worthless. The ruse worked and Henry got almost total control of Ford through no cost to himself. Later in his career, he used similar tactics to generate profits on his shareholdings. He would sell large chunks of his shares when they were trading at highs, then deliberately create situations that accelerated the fall of Ford share prices. He once checked himself into a hospital and planted false information in the media that he had suffered a heart attack. Share prices plummeted in response, and he restored his former holdings at bargain prices, racking up substantial profits on the difference between the price at which he sold and the price at which he bought the shares back. That sort of market manipulation is now supposed to be illegal, but it is hard to prove in the case of an investor like Buffet who isn't involved directly in a corporation's operations. There's a strong tendency for investors to "piggyback" on whatever Buffet does because they assume he has inside information. Evil

Forcebwithu deserves everyone''s thank for his pics and analysis of the drought and shrinking reservoirs.. We're all occupied right now with the COVID-19 pandemic, but the water shortage deserves a lot of attention, especially if it's a chronic shortage. Evil Some backgound: Thailand’s Big Water Challenge Water shortages remain a huge problem for the Southeast Asian country. By Kanokwan Manorom Shortages of water are a huge problem for Thailand. The government’s attempts to promote industrial investment in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) — Chon Buri, Rayong and Chachoengsao — has caused water demand in the region to rise drastically. This has diverted water away from farmers and local people creating an increasingly unfair distribution of water resources. Thailand is currently facing its worst drought in 40 years. This drought will exacerbate Thailand’s existing economic pressures through damaging the agricultural sector, particularly Thailand’s main farming activities of sugar, rubber and rice. Based on Bank of Ayudhya’s Krungsri Research, the 2020 drought will cost the country 46 billion Thai baht ($1.5 billion), or 0.27 percent of GDP. The Royal Irrigation Department (RID) has spent more than 15 million baht ($480,000) supplying water to the EEC by building water storage systems and reclaiming more than 32,000 hectares of land. This has sparked conflict between local people and the state. Water sources in two districts of the Nakhon Ratchasima Province dried up in early January 2020 requiring water from the Lam Ta Khong Dam to be diverted to supply farmers in the area. Thailand has undergone rapid economic development over recent decades causing huge increases in water demand around the country in all sectors. Increased demand has been accompanied by more droughts and floods due to climate change and deforestation. The Thai government sees the country’s water shortage problem as also being caused by both increased human demand in rural and urban areas and water overuse in many sectors. The Thai National Water Vision was announced in July 2000 envisaging that by 2025 ‘Thailand will have sufficient water of good quality for all users … that will ensure equitable and sustainable use of water resources.” Thailand will find the complexities and politics of water policy difficult to overcome in the next five years as water demand continues to increase, driven by a growing population and economic growth. Thailand’s adoption of integrated water resource management (IWRM) principles has also faced challenges in implementation, owing to overlapping mandates among Thai institutions. (READ MORE)

A lot of bars and restaurants don't bother with Web sites these days and only use Facebook to promote their business. Evil

If I remember right, Time Bar across the street from Billabong has a Happy Hour price of ฿50 for some bottled beer. But Billabong is always jammed later in the evening despite the deafening level of music from the live band: Evil

I'm posting this on behalf of a friend who isn't active on the boards but is convinced I-Rovers Sportsbar and Restaurant on Soi LK Metro deserves more attention than it gets. I can't comment myself about the food at I-Rovers as it's been years and years since I had a meal there, but my friend- admittedly not a picky eater- recommends it both for breakfast and dinner. I-Rovers was the home of the original Baht Buster Breakfast and still serves it after the demise of Retox on Soi Lengkee. The Baht Buster Light Breakfast at ฿99 or the Breakfast Sandwich or Beans on Toast with fried eggs for the same price will be a big enough breakfast for some people. Not everyone wants a full-scale fry up as the first meal of the day. The prices on the dinner specials are competitive: The Web site (https://i-rovers.com/cam-sports-schedule/) has a clear web cam of LK Metro outside the I-Rovers: It was interesting that Billabong looked looked deserted at about 3.30 p.m. in the afternoon. As I recall, Billabong used to be a popular daytime watering spot thanks to its 2-for-1 drink offer. Evil

Mum opens on Feb. 14. It occupies the redone premises of the former ThaiThai Kitchen on Soi 15 behind The Avenue shopping plaza, close to the intersection with Soi Buakhao. By taking advantage of their special offers, you can get a 20% discount today. From Facebook: