PattayaMale

My friend just flew in Nov. 10 on Northwest. He said that the aircraft to Tokyo and from there to Bangkok was "packed". He was in business class, all seats taken. When he walked around the plane he noticed economy was also full. I wonder why the difference? I was surprised that he got thru immigration so fast though. Took him less than 5 minutes.

As for my posts about Googie, I don't feel it is up to me to state what may or may not be true about things personal in nature. I enjoy eating breakfast there and feel it is worth a try for others....when open!

A place I enjoy eating at has been having problems keeping a chef recently. If you know anyone that has done this work at a farang restaurant (not fancy) pleas PM me

My Thai friend was one of the most careful drivers I could want. For years I felt very safe when in the car with him driving. Recently he has been following other vehicles too closely for me. I have tried to explain why he should keep a greater distance but he now says he is a "professional" Coming back from the airport the other day at night I had suggested he give more room from the truck ahead. Well just after I said that. Bam, the Vigo truck flipped over across the road

In the past I have enjoyed Happy Boys even though I am not there very frequently. Today I took my friend from the USA to show him this unique bar. Unfortunately, they now are allowing smoking in the bar. I asked the owner/manager if he would please enforce the policy as he was sitting outside smoking. I thought he would simply tell the guy that was smoking to step outside, but he did not. He just said, "You can smoke in every bar now. In every bar they let you smoke." I said that I had just come from Crazy Dragon, Nice Boys, Euro Boys, and JJJ. None of those permitted smoking inside the air conditioned bar. He started to tell me that he was a smoker and it was not a problem. The police don't care he said. I am sorry that he had that attitude. I am thinking of callinf the city and asking if there is any enforcement of the policy

I just learned that Dr. Olivier has moved his office back to Day Night area. He has been a popular doctor for years in Pattaya. Now he is back to the same area across from the day night hotel. I have used his services in the past when my Thai friend needed medical attention. I suggest that others that may need basic doctor services consider using his services

Pattaya seems fortunate to have several choices of hospitals in the city. Bangkok Pattaya Hospital is one of those choices. For me however I would advise expats in Pattaya that are in need of serious medical help to consider Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok Over a year ago I was having severe chest pain and sweating. I drove to Bangkok Pattaya Hospital emergency and I could not have had better care.They stabilized my heart and admitted be to the CCU. Care in the CCU was excellent. The doctor assigned to me had appropriate tests performed and it was decided that I needed angioplasty. I was very happy with the procedure and the after care. However, 8 months after the 2 stents were inserted I got out of my swimming pool and fell onto my shoulder. Since I could not move my arm I made an appointment and went again to Pattaya Bangkok Hospital. They took some x-rays which the doctor looked at he sent me home suggesting I take aspirin and come back in 3 days. My arm was hurting so much I decided to get another opinion and went to Bumrungard. As soon as the doctor started to examine me he said that it appeared that I had completely torn my rotator cuff. They sent me for x rays and then an MRI. Sure enough I needed Arthroscopic surgery to fix it. Before the operation they did a pre-op physical which included a stress test because of my heart problem. My left descending artery was again blocked. I was going to need an angioplasty before they could proceed with repairing my shoulder. While doing the angioplasty, the doctor noticed that something was wrong. He used another machine and told me that the size of the stents inserted were the wrong size. They were too small..............Ok 2 mistakes by Bangkok Pattaya Hospital doctors. Today, I wanted to get a flu vaccine so went to Bangkok Pattaya and got the shot. When I went to pay, they wanted a bit under 2000 baht. I asked why so much when it was advertised at 939 baht. They started to give me all sorts of different reason........none that I believed. I decided enough was enough. I went to floor M where the hospital director has his office. They staff did not at first seem to know what to do, but I politely insisted that I would see the director and not a nurse supervisor. They tried several times to have me see different people but I was polite and firm that I would see the director..........which I finally did. He too was polite, apologized, and yet also seemed a bit detached until I called Blue Cross International customer care on my mobile. While I was on hold, he seemed to decided that maybe he would be more concerned. I decided to compare the doctors qualifications at each hospital. I learned that Bumrungrad's doctors seem to have greater experience. There are many people that really like Pattaya Bangkok hospital. They have had good service and the hospital is convienent. My suggestion in this over long post is that people may want to compare before going into a important proceedure

Mine is only a guess, but would it have to do with the end of the funeral of the King's sister. Also I think there will be many rumors spread by pro and anti government in an effort to gain an advantage with the Thai citizens. Remember when there were charges that people had tried to bomb Thaskin? At some point I guess the conflict will have to end. If the different views finally work together I feel it would be best, but is this possible?

The "feast" comes in two sizes. Last time there were 6 of us that ate the large feast which GayThailand referred to. It was plenty to eat for all of us. When you consider that the cost is less than 200 baht per person for great BBQ.............

I have a friend coming to Pattaya Nov. 13 - 18. He had planned that time and got tickets months ago. While I understand the reason the government may want to restrict entertainment, it is too bad announcements could not have been made a long time ago when people might have had a chance to change their plans

Googie was having medical problems when he put the restaurant up for sale. The medical issue is being treated successfully he has told me, but he is still receiving treatment. I understand he would like to sell and understands the listed price was too high. So I think if he sells or not he will be ok either way. It is just a long day 8am - 10pm or so.

True many bars are always saying "new boys". But in this case, for once, it was true as I saw the 2 guys. Both looked a bit overwhelmed.

I saw on another forum where some posters thought that Googie's Restaurant might have closed. It is not true as I ate breakfast there today. Googie told me that the reason he was closed one day was that they were pulling electric lines and he had no electric. The electric was to come on at 5pm but did not until 7:30. Another day a pipe or drain that runs behind Pattaya People broke and it took the city most of the day to get it fixed. Another day his 2 chefs did not show up. I think running a business in Thailand must be a pain. I do think Googie's has good food and that he is fun to talk with. For those that are not sure of its location. It is across from Day Night Hotel by Center Condo off South Pattaya Road

In the USA we also have many different "accents" that make understanding each other a bit different. While traveling in the USA, there is a midwest, Boston, southern, Texas, cay jun, even a Tennessee "accent". Then there is a Hispanic and Black accent or dialect. Have you ever talked with Geezer? He writes very well, but I can't understand a thing he says

I have never been into Euro boys until last night. I decided to give it a try since someone posted that it was fun. It is a small gogo bar but set up well I felt. There are a single row of seats on both walls. Instead of a built up stage in the middle, the boys are dancing on a lighted plexiglass floor just a few feet away from customers. It was bright and had several nice boys. They actually dance. By the way the bar tender said that they were bringing a few new guys from the north. So for those that are interested in less experienced boys may want to give it a try this weekend.

It must be getting hard to make any type of money in Pattaya right now. Yesterday, I received a call from a Thai that owns and rents rooms in Center Condo. She called and said that she needed a 3 million baht loan because there are no customers. She would be happy to give me a Chatnut(???) title to a unit if I could help her. Then a little later I talked to the couple that own a lawn bowling business. They said it was so bad they were not going to open until later in the day. But to offset that news, when I went to Sunee Plaza I asked Oud of Oud's how business was. He said it has been good and he has hired more hosts. Looking into a few gogo bars it seemed that it is mixed bag. Some had no customers and a few seemed to be ok.

No problem for to connect from Pattaya. Maybe you simply need to restart your browser. I have no idea why, but that's what I do when sites even like Gaythailand will not load

I think there is alot of beauty in Pattaya. From the condo I own in Center Condo, the view over the ocean is great. Just look at many of the pictures TOQ John has posted. They represent true beauty. And happily the entertainment is great too!

I really wanted to watch the election news on Wednesday. On Tuesday afternoon a speaker truck went down the street announcing that electric would be off Wednesday fro 8am - 6pm. So I called Two Guys Guest house to see if I could rent a room for the day and watch the results. I had never been there before. But found it to be a great place for a small fee. I really would recommend their breakfast also. Even if not staying in the rooms I found the small cafe to be comfortable, friendly with good food and low prices. It is on Soi Yensibai.

Yes, Problems. I thought maybe it was due to the new electric lines that are being pulled around my area. First my telephone line did not work but the internet connection still worked. Then both telephone and internet went out. I had to wait 2 days before a repair man came from Chonburi to fix the problem.

All over Pattaya I see trucks pulling new electric lines and installing new electric posts. The electric in my area has been cut all day 4 times now, I don't know how the hotels cope. I was having an election breakfast and invited some friends to watch the results, but at 4pm today a speaker truck went by saying the electric would be cut again from 8am - 6pm So I booked a room at Two Guys Guest House so I could watch the results.

Actually, Obama and the rain are part of the same discussion. The rain or lack of it may be due to global warming. The US has not signed any treaties to help the world solve these problems....so Thailand has had to suffer along with GayButton. I believe that if Obama is elected, the US will finally start to play a leadership role in helping solve this problem.

For those Thais that finish the one day high school, what advantage is this for them? Do many businesses require a high school diploma for employment? At least in Pattaya, it seems that being able to speak English and attending a tourism vocational school may lead to a better chance for employment. I think that education is a key to better jobs. But in my opinion, that education needs to lead to something. I am curious if those that have helped the Thai boys finish high school, did it help them get higher wage jobs?

"They would need a computerised system though to stop it simply vanishing as tea money." In the US the collector of fines is not the police, for good reasons. First, those receiving citations have a right to object and plead not guilty in traffic court. Secondly, we have traffic courts so there is no temptation for police. It is a real check and balances. The system in Thailand does not want this checks and balance. Why do you think this is?

Thanks for the clarification GayButton. As you wrote earlier, sometimes when we write a post we think it is clear in our mind but the reader may be confused. In GayThailand's original post about this, he wrote this: "While this post is in the main Thailand forum, there are other forums here as well and all qualify." If I would have read it more carefully, I would have understood he was writing about the GayThailand Board and the different sections or forums. But when I saw just "Thailand forum" I mistakenly thought the other forums. Your response made it clear, that it is just the GayThailand forum.