Evil Penevil

Dual pricing occurs in tourist areas all over the world- you may just not be aware of it because it isn't publicly posted. The difference is that in a lot of places, the discount is based on residency, rather than nationality. When I lived in Manhattan, my condo was situated in a neighborhood that also had many office buildings, hotels, shops, bars, restaurants, etc. where thousands and thousands of commuters worked and thousands of tourists stayed, ate and shopped. Full-time residents, including non-U.S. citizens, got ID cards from their landlords that entitled the holder to discounts with local merchants. The dry cleaner in my building gave residents a 20% discount, the deli next door gave 10% and nearby bars the same. Most shops and restaurants in the area followed suit. People who lived in a different area of NYC would pay the same prices as tourists from Asia or Europe. And I would pay the same price as tourists if I shopped or dined outside my part of the city. Many attractions in the U.S., such as Disney World and even national parks, give locals a discount or even admit them for free. Here's what I paid in July to use the Chesapeake Expressway, which is a stretch of highway of only 16 miles. It was over 10 times more than what a resident of Virginia would pay. Only residents of Virginia with a Virginia driver's license are eligible for the discount member rate. They crank up the rate on weekends because thousands of tourists use the Chesapeake Expressway on their way to a major U.S. tourist destination, the Outer Banks in North Carolina. The big difference between the U.S. and Thai "dual pricing" is that in the U.S., it's based on local residency rather than nationality. Non-U.S. citizens who live in Virginia can get the Expressway discount and the same applied to the "resident discount cards" in NYC neighborhoods. It's illegal in the U.S. to give discounts or other favorable treatment solely on the basis of race or nationality, but it's OK to give discounts based on residency. Evil

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:

I wonder if there is any other city in the world of Pattaya's population and geographic size that has so many square meters devoted to retail sales? I don't just mean shopping centers, but all sorts of stores and other outlets, from stalls through malls. Massive over-establishment in the retail, real estate and hospitality (hotel, restaurant, bar) sectors is causing huge problems for businesses in Pattaya. Here's a list of shopping malls in Pattaya. I'm sure it's not complete: La Galleria, PHHP Business Center, TOSCANO Shopping Mall, The Bay Pattaya, King Power Pattaya, Outlet Mall Pattaya, The Harbor Pattaya, The Avenue, Royal Garden, Terminal 21, Central Marina, Central Festival, Tukcom, Mike's Mall Can anyone argue that enough potential customers visit Pattaya to support all of them? It's the same with go go and beer bars. The number of bars that have opened is hugely out of proportion with the number of tourists and resident ex-pats who are likely to be customers. The result is enormous over-supply in relation to demand. Evil

In less than a year, 3Bz Burritoz has established itself as one of (the?) foremost place in Pattaya for Tex-Mex style burritos, tacos and quesadillas. I've never been to the brick-and-restaurant, but I have ordered food for delivery once or twice a month since June. I've never been disappointed. The U.S. owner and his wife know how Tex-Mex should taste and look. Prices are very reasonable. I particularly enjoy the breakfast burritos, which I agree are the best in Pattaya. They come in three variations and range in price from 99 ฿ to 159 ฿. The 8-inch tortilla Bebecito (two scrambled eggs, ham and cheese) at 99 ฿ is usually enough for me. When I've been really hungry, I've ordered El Grande (six eggs(!), ham and cheese in a 12-inch tortilla) at 139 ฿ or De Maximo (four eggs, ham, cheese, fried potatoes and beans in a 12-inch tortilla) at 159 ฿. De Maximo is a full meal, at least for me. In the pic below, it's a Bebecito on the left and a 8-inch pork burrito on the right. The non-breakfast burritos come in variety of styles (chicken, pork, beef, vegetarian, fish, refried beans), with two sizes (8- and 12-inch) for most. The breakfast burritos come with fresh salsa and sour cream, while you have a choice of two salsas and sauces for the other burritos. You can choose between pulled or ground meat. The Danny burritos are extra large, with double meat. a whole butter sauteed onion and triple cheese. Depending on the meat, they range in price from 169 ฿ to 269 ฿. The pics below feature a pork Danny. On some days the burritos come with a complementary handful of nacho. The chciken, pork and beef tacos are also great and come in hard corn or soft wheat tortillas. Quesadillas round out the three main items on the 3Bz Burritoz menu. It's my favorite in the pics below, the 8-inch cheese quesadilla for 169 ฿. The burritos, tacos and quesadillas are well seasoned and definitely have a spicy Tex-Mex kick to them. They all have their origins as traditional Mexican street food, but the types offered by 3Bz are Tex-Mex adaptations. That's not a bad thing. The "big burritos" that originated in San Francisco are superior to the original Northern Mexican cigar-sized burritos. The menu for 3Bz Burritoz has a few sides as well, including nachos, hot wings and a bad-ass food truck favorite, loaded Mexi fries. You can also order extra black beans, fried rice and refried beans. I've never had an problems with delivery. You can order by phone or through 3Bz Facebook page. Most of the deliveries I've gotten have arrived in 20 minutes, but the current spate of roadwork is delaying delivery, according to the owner. In case you want to visit the restaurant, it's located here: And a pic from the Facebook page: 3Bz does a lot of catering to bars, so you have an opportunity to sample its food for free. Bottom line: 3Bz Burritoz is an excellent option for burritos, tacos and quesadillas, especially if you favor home delivery. Evil

On Sunday I ordered the "special of the day" for delivery. It was an excellent meal. To crossthe 250 ฿ threshold for free delivery, I added a 50 ฿ side order of diced potatoes, onions and sweet peppers to bring the order total over the 250 ฿ threshold for free delivery. This is what the order looked like upon arrival after a one-hour wait. Everything had been packaged separately so all the components remained hot and weren't soggy. The Country Fried Steak order included country gravy, brown gravy, mashed potatoes and steamed mixed veggies as well the steak itself. Country fried steak, also known as chicken fried steak, is a U.S. favorite which dates to the 1850s in Texas. German immigrants are usually credited with inventing it as an adaptation of the classic Austrian wiener schnitzel. In its modern form, country fried steak is a piece of top sirloin or round that has been tenderized through pounding or with a blade tenderizer. The meat is dipped in egg batter and dredged in seasoned flour, then fried in a skillet or deep fried. It is most often served smothered in country gravy, aka white gravy, milk gravy, sausage gravy, sawmill gravy and several other names. In some areas of the U.S., country fried steak is served with brown gravy with onions instead of country gravy. The steak had been cut into strips. I'm guessing that was out of consideration for delivery customers in hotels who don't have access to metal silverware and have to use the plastic knife and fork that comes with the order. It's not always easy to cut meat with a plastic knife. The cubed steak was tender and flavorful. It had been properly breaded and wasn't overcooked. The steamed carrots, broccoli and cauliflower were fresh. Only the kernels of corn had been frozen. The country gravy was the right consistency, had been well seasoned and contained plenty of American-style sausage bits. The mashed potatoes were the weakest point, bland and a bit stodgy, but the brown gravy helped a lot. Bottom line: It was a very good meal that I enjoyed a lot. The portion size was perfect for me. I saved the side order of potatoes for another meal. I had them with corn on the cob from 7/11 and a couple of eggs that I did a bad job of frying myself. Two filling meals for less than 300 ฿ isn't bad at all. Evil