PattayaMale

Good point shebavon. However as I have been following the real estate market here, prices are going down as the market is flooded with property right now. So I guess selling property would be a double whammy.

Which part do you feel is naive? That police may take bribes or that someone would truly investigate the taking of bribes. Or were you also being facetious? (Geezeer I am relying on you for the spelling....sorry I meant Geezer)!

I went to Kasikorn Bank to check about a credit card for a farang with out a work permit. They said I could get one if I paid 100,000 baht guarantee. I would put 100,000 baht into an account and leave the bank book with them. I would then get a credit card good for 30,000 baht. I did not like the deal so I passed. Tomorrow I will go to bangkok bank and see about having my pension electronically transfer each month to their bank. I believe this will let me have a credit card of a small amount. I am not doing all of this just for a iphone. It was the iphone promotion that made me think about doing it though.

I was looking for a farang few of people who had been there and to Thailand. I was looking for a comparison. On flirt 4 free not many or none would have been able to make this comparison. Secondly, from what I have seen the post are not one on one. They are very short post. I have never seen any posts over a sentence long. But thanks for the suggestion

I went to the book signing today at Ambiance and purchased a copy of "Boyztown". At first I thought it had been canceled as I thought it was to be on the terrace and when I asked the staff outside of BBB the had no idea of where it was. Fortunately I saw Allen Briggs (GayPattayan) walking into the Ambiance cafe and there was Michael and the books. The book signed by the author was 600 baht and 300 of that went to PGF and they gave a free large glass of red or white wine also. When I got home I started to read the book and truthfully found the first few pages very interesting. The book starts out really explaining the reason for the development of Pattaya. Many of the facts I had never known. Having read just a few pages I would recommend the book as a sort of must have. There are some very interesting pictures from the past and when I went to Funny Boys after the signing, several boys were very interested too....because of Rose.... I would like to know what others that read the book think and if they also have recollections of the years past.

Since it has been several years since I bought ME a new mobile phone I thought I might try the promotion on Truemove. You can get a new iphone and pay monthly 1399 which includes 1000 baht for the phone and 399 for all the services. A 24 month commitment is necessary. I think this may be a good deal BUT many farangs maybe prevented from getting the promotion because you must have a credit card from either Kasikorn or Bangkok Bank. I tried to use my ATM card from Kasikorn Bank but it did not work. I may go in and see if I can qualify for a credit card, but I think in the past the said expats even on a retirement visa could not get one. Don't know. Does anyone been able to get one here without a work permit?

Continental restaurant has raised it's prices by 20% effective today. Although it still is a good place to eat it means many breakfasts are now almost $1 more. This is a pretty large increase. The one I go to on Soi Bokow is always full in the morning (late morning). So I am not sure how much the tourist slow down is affecting it. In checking prices at the market, this is much more than recent price increases. But I think other places will follow

One of today's front page headlines today: Fire inquiry looks into possibility of bribes The article states that police might have received bribes to let the Pub that killed so many remain open. Is this really possible?

A good friend took me to this restaurant tonight. It is a bit hidden as not on the main roads but easy to get to. The food is excellent and the male waiters make the place very comfortable! I had the pork wrapped in thin bacon with glazed apples and my Thai friend had the sea bass over 2 kinds of pasta that is served with a spicy red pepper sauce. He really liked it and when we left said he'd like to come back. The red house wine was also very good we felt. They gave a fresh oyster on the shell complimentary. before the brought our starter. Directions from Pattaya take Thappraya road towards Jomtien at soi 7 or 9 turn left and take either soi to the end. http://www.pattayabistro.com 038 364 327

I have been on the site "Flirt for Free" and noticed that several of the guys there are from the Philippines. Never being there before I was wondering if anyone had and would be able to give a comparison between Thailand and there as far as meeting people for sex. Particularly when it comes to older guys meeting younger guys.......

I flew to China on Thai Air. I made my reservation about 4 months in advance and paid with my credit card which they gladly accepted. When I went to the Thai Air counter to check in on the day of my flight I presented all my paper work and the credit card I used to book the flight. The credit card had expired 4 days earlier. They said I would have to buy another ticket at the higher fare. I explained that the already had the money from the transaction. I asked them why they check the credit card that I used and they said it was to make sure the credit card was actually mine. I explained that if I had it it must be mine since the information on my passport, e- ticket, and credit card was the same. Well it didn't matter so I paid the higher fare and then they said I had to be assigned another seat. I asked why and they said because the seat I had been reserved has someone sitting in it. I asked if that person had the same name as me. They checked and said yes. I stood in silence for a minute and asked if they thought I was going to sit in 2 different seats? After the trip was over I went to customer service and explained what I just wrote above and said I wanted a refund since I had paid twice. They called over a supervisor who was very nice and she agreed that what had happened was unusual. Then she asked which ticket I wanted refunded. The cheaper ticket or the more expensive one. I didn't think I would have a choice but I selected the more expensive ticket. 6 weeks later as promised my credit card was finally credited.

The idea of USA laws in another country is an interesting topic, but I wonder of the the rules of evidence are the same. In the US laws of entrapment (undercover police getting someone to do something they would not normally do), I believe is illegal. In the case of the bar owner being asked continuously to play a cd as a ploy to affect an arrest on copyright violation, could that person be prosecuted in US court if they were a Thai citizen? I just hope I never need to find out.

If I would list venues that DO have adequate exits, sprinklers, smoke alarms I think it would be a very short list. Last year after Xzyte had it's fire (thankfully early enough that no customers were there), I went in a month later and guess what??? Some of the fire exits were chained and locked. The "finger crossed" method mentioned above is probably the best to hope for.

A few weeks ago someone mentioned the new restaurant on South Pattaya in front of Center Condo. My Thai friend and I ate there for lunch today. We both had the a tuna sandwich which comes with french fries. 89 bant. All the soft drinks are 29 baht and I noticed that they sell a glass of wine for 89 baht also. We both thought the sandwich was good. The menu seemed very reasonable. It is loaded with Thai food and the salads looked good (menu pictures). The only down side today is that it took almost 25 minutes to get our sandwich.

In todays Bangkok Post there was and article that said by mid 2009 the baht should weaken to 37 and then recover by the end of the year to 35.5. 37 to 1 would be a nice break, but with prices rising at about 20% it is a wash

I talked to him New Year's day. He is in Pattaya still looking for an opportunity.

That is a very god price when compared to Bangkok Hospital Pattaya. I had this checkup done at Bumrungrad. They found blocked arteries put I put off having an angioplasty since I thought I should make sure my insurance would pay for it. 4 days later I had a heart attack.......... This is true so the idea of a yearly checkup is a good idea.

This morning my Thai Friend went out to check the rat glue traps that we occasionally need to put out in the garden. In addition to 2 rats we also caught a small bird. He came running into the house to get scissors, ear buds, and soap. I looked outside to see what he was doing and I saw him trying to gt the glue off the small bird. I went out and took a look. I told him I didn't think the bird could survive, but he insisted we needed to give the bird a chance. I went back in and about an hour later I went out again and was amassed at the progress. A few minutes later he put the bird on the lawn and it ran around flapping its wings and to my astonishment the small bird took flight. As I was watching CNN watching the invasion of the Gaza strip by Israeli troops and the killing of Palestine citizens, I thought about the small bird. I thought if we all could have the Thai heart I saw today our world would be much better

I don't think you have to be an American to realize that the embargo is very petty and that the blind support of Israel needs to be questioned. I really liked your post fountainhall. Especially the second paragraph.

I believe that Allen (GayPattayan) helped Michael decide to get his memories on paper. It is fantastic that Michael did this as some of us were worried after we started to lose so many friends that had been around for a long time and who were very influential in making Pattaya such a great place for the gay farangs, that this important history would be lost. I had the pleasure of hearing some of the interviews that Allen (GP) did in his effort to make sure this history was recorded. Now that Michael has put his story into book form, I feel we will have not only a very interesting book to read but a first person knowledge of the development of Pattaya the "Amazing City"

I think KhorTose makes a very good point when he says other boards...have something to offer. Even the Boards that I feel are sometimes offensive many times have information that is not found on other Boards. We are lucky to have so many choices to read and post on.

During the last week or so some of the bar owners or bar managers told me many boys had gone back to their village for the New Year celebration. Some also promised that many "new" boys were coming to work after the New Year. So in a few days we should see............ Any bets?

I agree with you GB. However if there was enough interest I was thinking of putting one together at some venue. If not I will just invite some friends to my house to eat, drink, and watch it.

When I read this I thought it must be an April Fools joke. It is amazing how governments want so badly to control what consenting adults do. So what happens on Valentines day when you give flowers to your lover? Bam...off to jail.

I did a price search on Asiarooms (4700) and was surprised to find that the rate offered by Holiday Inn on their own website was much less at 3300 including breakfast. Usually I found Asiarooms to have lower rates but in this case not so