Two decades of Pattaya expat nutters, weirdos and crackpots

[reader]

From Pattaya Mail

By Barry Kenyon

Legendary Dave Collier, owner of  Pattaya’s sole surviving bookshop and chattery, has just published his latest paperback. Speaking to 100 members of  Pattaya City Expat Club, he presented a slide show of some of the crank-expat characters he has met in “20 Years of Canterbury Tales in Pattaya Thailand”. Their antics, mostly from the early years, are indeed a collector’s item

The majority (not all) of the accused are Brits or Irish with colorful titles such as Crazy Dave, Boring Des, Tits Sandy and Mumbling Daithi. The mischief that they, and many others, got up to in Pattaya was often fueled by too much alcohol and too little sexual restraint. For example Campari Clive enquires of a landlord how much to rent the gorgeous flat he has just visited, only to be told he’s wasting his time: it’s an off-licence unit.

Another Pattaya regular can’t remember the four-digit number of his wall safe and foolishly asks his drinking companions if anyone is a historian or knows about the battle of Hastings. More seriously, all the common Pattaya mistakes are here: falling in love, starting a fight with Thais, signing documents in Thai you cannot understand, spiked drinks, talking non-stop about underwear and naked thighs.

The author doesn’t seem to have come across many gays, though there are a couple of transvestites included. One asks Dave to take a photo of him in panty drag, only to scream in annoyance, “But you make me look like a guy”. Another doomed category concerns “businessmen” on holiday who naively believe they can sell for a huge profit in the UK assorted cheap stuff bought in Thailand: Tiger balm ointment and colored aspirin masquerading as methamphetamines are cases in point.

Tragedy is never far from the expat antics. The book typifies those lonely Brits who want to tell anyone who will listen – ”I used to run a bar” – another way of saying they have lost their life savings. The unfortunate Sean is beaten to death in a Thai prison after an argument, another guy unwisely smokes in bed whilst a goodly number of others die of liver disease. Most of the characters in the book, supplemented by photos, are now dead which may be a blessing in disguise from the legal point of view.

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/news/two-decades-of-pattaya-expat-nutters-weirdos-and-crackpots-482474

 

 

[Olddaddy]

Brilliant book.📚

I bought it last time I was there 😅 

Some of the real characters he had met over his 20 years in Pattaya as a book shop owner .

Certainly he met some weirdos over the years 😜

[floridarob]

2 hours ago, Olddaddy said:

I bought it last time I was there 😅 

 

2 hours ago, Olddaddy said:

Certainly he met some weirdos over the years 😜

Obviously 😳

[Travellerdave]

Barry Kenyon is also the author of another great book about Pattaya in which he talks about his experiences dealing with British visitors and expats and their disasters and problems. Basically “Brits in the Shit.” Hell of a good read. I downloaded it from Amazon a few years ago.

[Travellerdave]

I’ve tried a few times to locate this book on Amazon and kindle without success. I’ll have to try and find it during my next trip coming up soon.

in fact there appears to be nil books of particular interest to us gays available there, whereas the literature coveting str bars, girls, walking street etc etc even ladyboys is substantial. Doesn’t bother me too much as my attention is directed towards other lea-sure activities whilst in Pattaya. One sequence of posts on YouTube is however of definite interest to me concerns the twice weekly late night Cabaret shows at The Venue Jomtien Complex which feature very hot boys dancing in briefs creating a show and a rosing the mainly male audience. Can’t wait to be there in person. Anyone seen the show ?

[Keithambrose]

On 12/5/2024 at 5:01 AM, Olddaddy said:

Brilliant book.📚

I bought it last time I was there 😅 

Some of the real characters he had met over his 20 years in Pattaya as a book shop owner .

Certainly he met some weirdos over the years 😜

Well, he met you!

[floridarob]

3 hours ago, Keithambrose said:

Well, he met you!

We're on the same page...😉

[AndyUK]

I popped into the bookshop to buy the book today and I asked the guy there if they had the book and it was the author, Dave Collier. A lovely guy. I’ve started reading it and it is an engaging read so far….some of the characters he came into contact with makes Jomtien Supertown Complex look VERY tame indeed!

[Olddaddy]

17 hours ago, AndyUK said:

I popped into the bookshop to buy the book today and I asked the guy there if they had the book and it was the author, Dave Collier. A lovely guy. I’ve started reading it and it is an engaging read so far….some of the characters he came into contact with makes Jomtien Supertown Complex look VERY tame indeed!

Yes Dave is in a wheelchair,👨‍🦽👨‍🦽lovely guy who is great at helping customers 👍👍

[Travellerdave]

Must buy this book. Available at Canterbury Tales Bookshop in Pattaya. This is no longer located in Soi Pothole but in Soi Bongkot (?) wherever that is. 

[Olddaddy]

Off third road opposite Soi Bukhao 

But it's a hard place to get to as no baht buses go up that road 

[vinapu]

13 hours ago, Olddaddy said:

Off third road opposite Soi Bukhao 

But it's a hard place to get to as no baht buses go up that road 

thanks God for motorsais

[Travellerdave]

Thanks - yes I will definitely find it. It’s a bookshop after all. Anyone resident in Pattaya will know where it is, because most visitors to Pattaya will be keen to maintain their reading during vacations. Probably the town hall gives literature support as part of their cultural program in addition to their encouragement of dance for young people.

[vinapu]

3 hours ago, Travellerdave said:

most visitors to Pattaya will be keen to maintain their reading during vacations.

no doubt , goes without saying. Whole city is like one big reading club , specially after dark

[Olddaddy]

52 minutes ago, vinapu said:

no doubt , goes without saying. Whole city is like one big reading club , specially after dark

😅Certainly a lot of stories to be written