PattayaMale

I am on a low carbohydrate diet and for one I am very happy Smiles posted this. With only 1% carbohydates, I can eat 5 or 10 scopes of Cheez Whiz and still be under 10% carbs.....Thanks Smiles...I can finally be happy wearing my thong to the beach while munching on Cheez Whiz and celery....one does need a little fiber!

And in this joyous season of goodwill........bah, humbug!!

I think that there was just good natured kidding going on when you "gushed" a little. I do not know you personally, I think but agree that there are many good people that have good advice. I have found Geezer to be one of them. He has a quick wit and can really get you thinking. He is very intelligent and has a wonderful boy friend...in fact he has one every few hours...but his true boyfriend is a really nice guy like Geezer. I am very sincere about this. But there are several others that I have grown to respect. Honestly, I think the expat community that I associate with (which is small) is very nice. This includes some owners of the bars and such. Gaypattan is another that all ways has been very helpful. His friend Ken is great too and does a nice job with his cafe called "non-cafe" Gaybutton does not remember but he introduced me to a very nice Thai when I first came to Thailand. Only time I was lucky enough to associate with him. Ralph, Jack and Oud (Memories) have been to my house a few times, and I to their house. Ralph is a great cook and they are all very interesting to talk to and have great hearts. Then there is Tom from Long Beach and his friend Gary. Talked to him for a while on a fishing trip. Since he was also a teacher, he gave me very valuable advice about retiring. In fact he should me how I could get about $500 more a month. This list does go on. They makes Pattaya such a great place. Yes, the Thai men we meet bring us joy and furstration and who knows what really works. I've been with the same guy 8 years now. It continues to be fun and believe it or not we only have had one arguement... our second year together. Have not had another since and we spend 24/7 together which I thik is not the best way and do ask him if he wants more time with his friends...actually I say, PLEASE do more with your friends, to get a "everything is ok"... Well good friends and new ones yet to meet, I do wish you a Merry Christams and great Happy new Year!

I think they work in Boyz Town. They are twins and very goodlooking! I have not met More Puke. Maybe ear wig knows where he works now.

It is great your Thai friend has a four year scholarship to Assumption University in Bangkok! Now you need no excuse to go to Bangkok! Just kidding...I know it is just investigative reporting....and a great report it is!

I am a US citizen and taken exception to that!! Seems like you have not read the papers about the Patriot Act......

"Not bad for someone who started off as a bar boy." I assume you are talking about you. Now that I think back, I believe I remember you from one of those Florida bars....

I hope you will let him know that we are happy for him too. Has he decided what his major might be? Thanks for letting us know this

My Thai friend and I arrived about 5 pm. At first we could not even find a seat. Many others were standing too. I met many new people. It was really enjoyable. I had one gin and tonic and my Thai friend had a soda water. Niddy's delivered food a few times. I had some fruit and chicken wings. I was surprised at the number of people from the Los Angeles area that were present. Everyone had on a small name tag. My Thai friend and I left about 6:30 pm. It was still packed. This was the first time I attended. It was nice to meet Rainwalker. Thanks for the great day!

Could someone help me understand this. Lets say I have a million baht which I earned in Thailand as Thai baht and put it into a Thai savings account. When I go to the US, I could buy dollars here in Thailand and will have made money on the exchange?

On another forum there was a discussion about a BBQ restaurant. The place is located on Thepprasit Road. On the right habd side if going from Jomtien. I did not see anything posted on this forum so... My Thai friend and I ate there tonight (Friday) and found the food very good, plentiful, and priced ok. We had so much food we brought half of it home. We had the "Feast" for 2. I think it could have easily feed four!. The bill for the "feast" which included french curly fries, toasted bread, cup of BBQ beans, potato salad, cole slaw, 10 ribs, pulled pork, a whole chicken, sliced pork was 595, we also had 2 starters, a beer and 2 waters was 1050 baht which included the 7% vat and 10% service fee. They now have 3 outlets, Bangkok, Pattaya, and Hua Hin. Next time we go we will take 2 friends and I am sure the above food will give all of us plenty to eat. I did ask about the size of the sides before we ate and the owner said just ask for free refills. We could not even finish what we had though. By the time we were finishing our meal about 8:30 the place was very full. Many people were enjoying the outside dinning, which is very nice. The air con room is large and cool. The band was not playing, but here is a stage set up for one. I have an American friend that has eaten at the American BBQ (I think called Bob's) on south Pattaya road near the intersection of 3 rd road. He said he'd never eat there again. For him the portions were small and over priced. So don't confuse the 2 places. They are VERY different!

Maybe this is a matter of symmantics, but to me "acceptance" can still bear prejudice. My hope is the elimination of prejudice. I love the fact that we all are different in many ways. But this idea of gay or striaight, christian or muslim, man or lady (Thailand allows the 3rd category ladyboy) is truly a way to separate. I guess we will always have labels. I doubt that a dog or cat cares if they are called a dog or cat and certainly we need something in our language to explain the difference....obviously I have no idea of what I am talking about!!!

Please GB...did you see where I said no offence meant. I was not trying to be hurtful. I am not sure my post even needed a reply...except to get the last word You post great information all the time and have been very helpful. I am sorry I gave you the wrong impression.

Today I went to get my first Thai drivers license. Fortunately I had my international drivers licenses and all the needed paperwork including the certificate of residency from Thai immigration. Some other farang seemed to be missing one part or another. Some problems I saw today. Even if you are re-newing your Thai drivers license you need the residency permit that is less than 30 days old. The picture must also be less than 30 days old. One lady was there renewing nad the staff noticed she gave the same picture as her last license a year ago. She had to go across the street and get a new picture. If you don't speak Thai you must speak English or have an interperter. On guy spoke only French and came by himself. For the color test he was not sure how to say the colors in English so the staff refused him at first. He came to me since I was standing next to him and even though I do not speak French I think he was asking me what to do. Since he had on a Pattaya shirt with each letter in a differnet color I suggested he point to his shirt which had the red, yellow and black. I asked the lady in charge and she said OK. I thought that was nice of the lady. A few farang who did not have the right material became angry and when one came back with the copy he needed they just ignored him. I think the staff is just trying to do what they have been instructed to do...no need to get angry with them. Anyway if you have the right papers the entire process may take 2 hours. The longest wait was for them to call my name for the color and reaction test. They seem to call all Thais first by number and then farangs by their names. It really is simple. But hot today. (Sorry, I could not get the spell check to work today)

I think the policy of moderation is a good one. I remember that other boards in the past had even shut down because of abusive posters. However I also remember a Board that seemed "over" moderated. It too shut down and seemed to have only one poster most of the time, the owner of the board. I wish that GB did not feel it was necessary to expand on GT's informative post about "moderated status" as I too feel GB is at times overly sensitive to what be sarcastic and non abusive posts. I think GB has a lot of good information and it is great that he takes all the time he does to share it. Moderators have a tough job. But when someone needs always to have "last word", then it can appear that that person may feel his views are superior to others. At least that is how I see it. Wasn't it just a short time ago that some people were being made "invisible"? No offense meant...

I saw an ad in the Bangkok Post for a promotion from true for their entertainment package. They give you a router with 4 ports. DSL connection, TV programs over the LAN and you can still use the home phone. Reading the add, it appeared to me that all this was for 495 baht a month for 12 months. Does any board memebr in Pattaya use this service?

I believe that Memories Bar is having their annual fishing trip on the King's Birthday, December 5. Last I heard there are about 50 people that have signed up and paid their 300 baht for the trip. Each person brings their own drinks and food but I think the captain of the boat cooks fish for us if we catch any See Oud for more details if interested.

It is very easy to do the entire process in Pattaya, IF you come in on a 60 day tourist visa. Jack from "Memories Bar" helped me fill out all the forms. I went to Immigrantion and the whole process took under 30 minutes. I was amazed at the speed and helpfulness of the Immigration staff. They changed my 60 daytourist, to a 90 day O and then they changed that to a one year (retirement) visa with multiple entries. Jack at Memories had all the forms on his computer. The longest part of the process was getting a letter from the American Embassy certifying that I made a certain amount of money. Once at the Embassy that process took about 40 minutes including filling out the form and going to another line to pay the fee and then back to the original line to get the letter from the notary. I am also told that it takes just a few minutes every 90 days to report your address. For those not aware, Memories Bar is located in Sunee Plaza. The owner Oud will make you feel at home and his 2 American friends, Jack and Ralph are very nice and enjoyable people.

This was not a one time event. He is doing the BBQ every Saturday. I will try it this Saturday for the first time. But if as good as his other food it should be great.

Chef Eric from Clubber in Sunee has started an "All you can eat" BBQ on Saturday nights. Cost is 345 for Beef steak, pork chops, sausage, salad bar and potato. He also told me that after 10 or so (maybe he said 11pm), he cooks sausage on the grill so people can stop and have sausage and beer. I enjoy the food and Clubber and find it good value. Large portions

I am wondering if the owner is aware of this. Is he still there in the AM or could he be on vacation? If the owner does not hear anything, he may not know. I went to a cafe in Boyz Town which I had eaten at very often for dinner. I know the waiters and also feel I give them a decent tip both in the bill container and also under it as I have been told that that means it is for the waiter directly. The service because of recent changes was really poor twice. The waiters just stand and talk to each other and do not pay near the attention as before. I emailed the farang managers in an effort to help. I will go back 1 more time soon and if no change then I figure there are many other places to try.

Thanks gonefishing for the reminder about the insulation. The one room that has a 20'ceiling will have the wall board on it replaced and insulation installed before the new wall board ceiling is put up. The house is a bit old. It was built in the 1980's so I assume there is not much insulation I realize others may be bored by this likd of post but I really appreciate the help of those that have lived here for awhile...or those that know so much more than me about remodeling. I paid a Thai decorater for a design. He was going to do the project until he gave me the amount for his services. It was more than the remodel!! So I am trying to do the contracting work with the assistance of my Thai friend and some others that have already done some remodeling. Although no work has started, the prices are much better...soon we will see about the quality

Traffic and parking are current problems because of the over development with out improving the infastructure. However, as building continues, the old housing stock will stay in place. In most areas this had led to slums and crime. The police force is divided into many parts and not really growing as population and crime increase. The traffic police really can blow their whistle all day long. The problem has become volume. As Thais become richer (many can remember when there were few cars and not that many motorbikes). It was a big deal for many boys in the bars to get a motorbike. Now I can't think of one bar boy that does NOT have a motorbike. The good part of this is that the Thai economy is improving. Few countries anywhere in the world build the infastructure fist. Look at London, New York, Los Angeles, Rome, Paris, Istanbul, etc. It is too bad that city planners have not learned from the mistakes of the past. Of course roads, sewers, police, clean water supply, traffic control is expensive and unfortunately not paid by the developers. It gets paid for from some type of taxation. Taxation is usually political. Taxes paid in Pattaya does not necessarily stay in Pattaya. Thailand is a big country. Many politicians want elected. They demand money for their provincies. There is no way to turn back the development. Most expats have no choice. We can adapt and enjoy ourselves or drive ourselves crazy worrying about it. I certainly b**** about it as much as most, but fortunately I live in the central or south central area. My friends that live east are suffering traffic and lack of services much more than I am. But how many of us would stay or visit if Pattaya did not have the sex entertainment? That for many is the biggest reason for being here. It sure is not the tropical weather or dirty beaches.

Thanksgiving (USA) is coming and I can not find Yams (or Sweet Potato) at Friendship, Foodland or Tops in Pattaya. I am sure I have seen and bought either the canned or fresh version before...but I don't seem to be able to now. Any shopper in Pattaya know where I can find them now? Thanks

Thanks to all for the great advice. I have contacted ARC and have talked about getting a floor to ceiling unit which will be set in a cabinet in a corner of the living room/dinning room/open kitchen. Then a ceiling/wall mounted in the TV room over looking the pool. Since that ceiling is 4 meters, the sales person said that the hot air by the ceiling will act as a lyer of insallation. My current units are "Direct Cool" and look very old. But work ok but according to the salesman not efficient at all. Thanks for all the advice. I realize this may not be a very helpful post for others but the responses really helped me!