Gaybutton

Interesting that you come up with comments like that and this is your 4th post on this board. What's your handle on Baht-Stop? Do you actually believe I can't handle message board "heat?" What do you think I've been doing for the last ten years? I can handle "heat" just fine and I don't need positive feedback. I also don't need personal insults when all I tried to do was be helpful. Again, my crime was to offer a restaurant I enjoyed in response to a question asking for suggestions. He also asked where he could get steak tartar and I told him he could get it at Bruno's. Isn't that terrible of me? The 'feedback' I received was nothing but personal insults from the very person who asked for suggestions in the first place. But, considering the source, the postings on that thread are not exactly what I would call 'heat.' Cooking contests and secret restaurants? Give me a break. I also made room for the possibility that people would rather that I don't write any more restaurant reviews. So far, the voting indicates that the overwhelming majority of people who responded do want me to continue. So, unless the voting trend has a dramatic reversal, I intend to continue writing reviews and calling it as I see it. If you and others dislike my reviews, then why are you reading them? It's so simple. If you don't like my reviews, don't read them. You suggest I remain on this board. I'll tell you what - when I want your suggestions I'll ask for them.

You live close enough to easily go over there and do that. But not everybody lives so close or goes to Jomtien Complex very often. If they were taking reservations, then they should have said so and provided a number to call. Don't forget, most of us haven't even been in there yet and have no idea what their seating capacity is. I think it is their responsibility to let people know. I don't think it's our responsibility to have to anticipate that. The idea of making reservations hadn't even occurred to me. Even if it had, they did not show a telephone number to call. Imagine if someone had come to Pattaya from Bangkok specifically to see this show, and then found out that he needed reservations.

And I sent you a PM accepting your offer. Apparently you didn't receive it. I'm always happy to meet people if they want to meet me.

I assumed the same thing. There is not one word in either the ad or the post written by The Venue that says anything about reservations or a telephone number to call to make a reservation. Now I'm glad I didn't go. I nearly canceled my plans last night in order to go to see the show, and I live quite a distance from Jomtien Complex. If I had made an effort to get there for the show, only to be turned away because I hadn't made a reservation, without even being informed they were taking reservations, then I definitely would have been angry. If the ad or post had said anything about reservations, that would be one thing, but since nothing was said, and I'm not a mind reader, then I think being upset with The Venue would certainly be justified. I also don't see anything about reservations or even an ad about this show on their web site. Tdeprhs, you mentioned you had already been to The Venue twice, but even within The Venue there was no information about reservations for this show? I don't know how the people who did have a reservation even knew that reservations were necessary or what they did to make their reservations. Their post on this web site includes, "The first of our Unique Sunday Night Jomtien Complex special evenings. Everybody's welcome to come along." Well, thanks a lot! Come along only to find that you can't get in, or at best end up with the least desirable seats in the house? That's some welcome! I hope the management of The Venue realizes that accepting reservations for their show without saying anything about reservations in their ad or post, or providing a telephone number to make a reservation, was definitely a mistake and that they won't let it happen again.

Would you please clarify that statement? I don't have any idea what you're talking about.

Be careful please. I've already locked one thread because things got personal. If that happens on this thread, I'll be locking this too. Confine your comments to the show itself, please.

Several have asked that question. All I did was respond to a question about where one can go to get a good steak. I didn't know that was going to trigger off a brouhaha. Why did I let it get as far as it did? Maybe the following answers that question: "Let her gush and jabber. Let her be enthused. I cannot remember When I have been more amused." - Gaston Lachaille, 'Gigi' - The Night They Invented Champagne

Who is Alex from Norway? Never heard of him.

Thank you (I think). No, I didn't go. I had other things going on that were a little more interesting for me. Actually, I'm not much for bar shows in the first place. I have yet to go to a show that I liked, with the exception of one, and this demonstrates my taste! I like Monty's show. I'll get to the Venue show sooner or later, and I'll say what I honestly think of it. I'll go with an open mind, although if the regular show turns out to include the usual lady-boys in drag, the lip synching, the extremely loud volume, and everything else that most of these bars do for their shows, it just isn't my cup of tea. Different strokes for different folks. But I certainly will at least go to see for myself and I hope I'll love it.

True, but you can say the same about me!

Right. Actually one person has already taken advantage of that offer and he received his response within a half hour of his request for help.

Rin Tin Tin humped mine. I rather liked it . . .

If any of you have been reading the Baht-Stop board, you have probably noticed the little skirmish that's been going on between some posters there and me about my restaurant reviews. One of the things being said is that I should stop writing restaurant reviews because I'm not an expert, that I embellish the quality, that most of the restaurants I recommend are lousy, and that I really don't know what I'm talking about. I have nothing personal to gain by writing about my "restaurant finds." Obviously, I already know about them. I write the reviews of restaurants I've tried and enjoyed so that others will know they exist, where they are, what kind of food is served, and my personal opinion of the food. I couldn't care less what the Baht-Stop posters think, but I do care what the people on this board think. So, I'll leave it up to you. If you want me to continue writing about restaurants I find, I will. If you want me to stop, I'll stop.

I'm going to disagree with you about that because I'm not trying to compare the two in that respect. I have been suggesting that people open a Thai bank account and place their holiday funds into that account as a solution to avoiding the foreign 150 baht ATM fees. That's why I'm saying 20 baht is better than 150 baht. There are a lot of reasons to open a Thai bank account if you travel to Thailand on any kind of regular basis. That's just one reason. Another reason is there are no guarantees that the 150 baht fee won't eventually be raised even higher. It's getting to be very difficult to open a Thai bank account at all any more unless you are in Thailand on a non-immigrant visa. So, if you anticipate any need at all for a Thai bank account, I advise getting one while you still can. I think it's better to have it and not need it than to later wish you had it, but can't get it. Don't forget, if you are contemplating retirement in Thailand, you must have a Thai bank account in order to get the visa. Better to get one now than to end up having real problems and hassles later if you do decide to get the retirement visa. Again, if you are someone who comes to Thailand, even if only once in a while, opening a Thai bank account is the smart move, in my opinion.

I'll have to save you the trouble on this one. It turns out that I do have other plans for this evening and will not be able to go.

I'm completely stumped on this one. I just looked at my passbook and online statements and there are no charges for withdrawals I've made at their ATMs. I have no idea why your friend is being charged, but I'm not.

Of course I do believe you and I'm beginning to think I've been mistaken about these fees. Maybe I've been charged fees and just didn't notice. On the strength of your post I just now double-checked my Siam Commercial Bank passbook. Sure enough, there is a 25 baht charge for the update showing in the passbook. I never noticed that before. I hold a few different Thai bank accounts, mainly because I can pay different bills via online banking that way. I just checked the passbooks for those as well. Thai Military Bank also assesses a 25 baht fee for the passbook update. There was no fee assessed on any of my other accounts, though. From now on I'm going to have a much closer look at what I am and am not being charged fees for. I don't know what you can do about it, though, other than complain. I have a feeling, though, the complaints are going to fall on smiling faces, but deaf ears. Still, a 20 baht or 25 baht fee beats a 150 baht fee, so I don't feel that I have very much to complain about.

I thought it was just terrible. I didn't like it, anyway. The only food item I really enjoyed was falafel, but how many times can you eat the same thing before you're tired of it. No, that was the one and only time I ever met him and I'm grateful for the experience. Years ago when Yul Brynner was on tour with "The King and I," the show came to Ft. Lauderdale. He was a slightly different type. One of my mother's friends was in a grocery store near the theater, picking out oranges. Suddenly she realized that Yul Brynner was standing right next to her, also picking out oranges. She said to him, "Excuse me, aren't you Yul Brynner?" Without even casting a glance in her direction he said, "You are correct." She tried to say how she admires him and loves the show. He wouldn't even look at her. No response of any kind at all, as if she wasn't even there. I can understand how celebrities can get sick and tired of fans bothering them all the time, but nobody twisted their arms to go into show business. I would think they ought to realize that if they achieve stardom, then dealing with fans and people who recognize them is part of it. It wouldn't have hurt him to simply say, "Thank you" and go on about his business. The woman probably would have been thrilled instead of having her feelings hurt. On the other hand, I've spotted plenty of showbiz and political celebrities in my life and sometimes I would say something and sometimes not. I never was completely ignored. Sometimes it would be a thank-you and that was all. I expected nothing more. But that experience with Peter Ustinov was unforgettable. He made me feel as if he very much appreciated me speaking to him and he treated me as if I was a friend. It was so nice to know he was such a charming person in real life.

If I'm not too busy watching a, shall we say, more personalized fashion show, I'll probably go.

One of the major frustrations that can happen with long distance relationships when there is a serious language barrier is finding a solution to effective communication. Years ago, before I could speak Thai and when I would only be in Thailand during holidays, I solved the problem by going to a local Thai restaurant, explaining the problem, and asking for help. I was lucky. The people at the restaurant were very sympathetic and even refused to take any money to help me. They greatly enjoyed doing that for me. What I would do was write my message, take it to the restaurant, and they would call me when they had finished the translation if they didn't have time to do it while I was there. Now I had my message written in Thai. I would scan that into my computer, attach it to an Email, and send it out to my boyfriend. When my boyfriend would write to me in Thai, I would print out his Email, take it to the restaurant, and they would simply tell me what he had written, right then and there. Something else you can do (as long as it's not too often) is to send your message to me in an Email. I'll be happy to call your boyfriend for you, tell him what your message says, and send you his response in an Email. If you decide to do that on occasion, please use my gaybutton@gmail.com Email address rather than via a PM. If I'm traveling I can access my Email on my mobile phone, but I can't access a PM unless I go to an Internet cafe, which I rarely do when I'm out of town. If your message is too complex for my ability to speak Thai, you still don't have a problem. I know plenty of Thai people whose English is nearly fluent. I'll be glad to do the same thing for anybody else who is having communication difficulties. And don't worry . . . I know that the policy is "hands off my boyfriend!"

Based on these posts, apparently there is no consistent policy. The way I see it, even if you are charged 20 baht per transaction, that still beats hell out of 150 baht per transaction. I don't know what to tell you other than the fact that I am never charged a fee when I use an ATM card to withdraw from an ATM owned by the same bank. I have never been charged a fee when I withdraw money from a bank teller with use of my passbook. Thaiworthy, I don't know what to tell you. Are you certain that he is making withdrawals from Siam Commercial ATMs? The 20 baht fee is assessed if he withdraws from a different bank's ATM, but he shouldn't be charged a fee when making withdrawals from a Siam Commercial ATM. If that is occurring, I have no idea why he would be charged, but I don't get charged, unless it's a recent policy that they did not grandfather in for older accounts. The only two suggestions I can come up with are to let your boyfriend know you are serious about the 20 baht fee being charged every time he makes a withdrawal and you're going to keep a record of the days he makes multiple withdrawals and deduct those fees from the amount you send to him. The other suggestion is to send a fixed amount to him. That way, if he starts losing money due to those 20 baht fees, now it's his problem instead of yours.

The following appears in the PATTAYA DAILY NEWS: for photos see: http://www.pattayadailynews.com/shownews.p...NEWS=0000009244 _____ NUDE NORWEGIAN THREATENS TO COMMIT HARI KARI IN JOMTIEN “What is it about Pattaya,” one may ask “that it seems to attract the most bizarre examples of humanity imaginable?” This time it was severely intoxicated, nude Norwegian who appeared on a Jomtien hotel balcony on 15 May 2009, at 12.00 pm threatening to leap off, whilst simultaneously praying to God. Yesterday, 15 May, Pol.Lt.Col. Sawai Ong-art, Pattaya Police Investigator [Dong Tan Branch] was notified that a foreigner had apparently gone crazy and having taken off his clothes, was standing on the second-floor balcony of Thai Sweet Inn, Somprasong Plaza, Jomtien Beach Road, apparently intending to jump off the building. Police rushed to the scene with the Sawang Boriboon Rescue team. At the incident location, police found a Norwegian man by the name of Daniel, [32] somewhat intoxicated from having ingested drugs. He was standing stark naked on the balcony, with his palms together, prayer-like, chanting an indecipherable mantra, apparently to God. Police tried to persuade him to adopt a more reasonable stance and to return inside his room, but he just ignored them. When police went to investigate his room, they found the water tap had been running continuously since midnight [according to witnesses]. The police tried to get hold of him, but the man fought back and steadfastly refused to put his clothes back on. He then fled downstairs, hotly pursued by the police team; the local bystanders being alternately shocked and intrigued to see the seemingly mad antics of the naked farang. Eventually, however, the police managed to restrain him and took him off to the police station to calm him down before questioning him. The police decided the best policy was to keep him at the station under restraint in case he went even more crazy and started to harm others.

For Email, some people have suggested using Google Translate to convert English to Thai. I'm not so sure that works very well. I often use Google Translate when I look at gay personals sites. Sometimes I get a good translation, but most of the time I get gibberish. In other words, Google Translate seems to have a little room for improvement. Here's a few examples of the translation results I got from Gboysiam personal ads: 1. White Man, I move this Chinese boy last rain other benign whose isolation Talk 2. Reserve the right ... only celibate. 3. We discuss availability of the new bridge 4. Eager children less than 20 rows Hat Yai - Songkhla talk to restrict. 5. Want to have real people working age factors, age, or union with more than talk. Lord only knows what results your Thai friend will get when trying to use Google Translate to convert your English to Thai, whether he does it himself or you do it for him prior to sending him an Email.

I'll second that. There is no fee for withdrawing money from an ATM from a bank at which you have an account and there is no fee for withdrawing money from a teller. Lvdkeyes is also correct that you must have your bank passbook and your passport, your genuine passport, not a copy. When you withdraw funds they make a copy of your passport and have you sign the copy. You can withdraw funds at any branch of your bank provided you can produce those two documents and there are no fees. So, I think we've addressed your question. If you prefer to withdraw from a teller instead of using an ATM card, yes you can and there are no fees. Oddly enough, I actually was being charged a 30 baht fee to deposit cash to my account for about two months, but that policy has been stopped. Now there is no fee for depositing cash. I'm not sure, but I suppose you could get away with not taking your passbook. People do lose their passbook, but you'll probably experience a hassle if you don't have it.

In Israel, in Tel Aviv don't miss the Dead Sea Scrolls. In Jerusalem don't miss the old city, the Wailing Wall (which is the only surviving structure still existing from the original temple built by King Solomon), and definitely don't miss the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. I took a bus tour to En Gedi. That's where the Dead Sea is. You don't want to miss swimming in the Dead Sea (or trying to). You can even take a ride on a camel if you want. On the way there was a stop at a pillar of salt that traditionally is thought to be Lot's wife, the woman turned to a pillar of salt because she looked back during the destruction of Soddom And Gomorrah. They also stopped at Masada. You can climb Masada if you have the stamina, but there is also a tram that goes up. When you reach the top there is a guided tour. Try to go to a kibbutz farm. That's very interesting the way they do that. One tip. When I was there I started getting sick. I was in bad shape for three days. I went to a doctor, took the prescriptions, and continued to get worse. For a while I thought I would have to be hospitalized. Then a woman staying in the same hotel advised me to take some salt. I told her I try to avoid concuming too much salt. She reminded me that in the middle of a desert country you must have salt. By that time I was ready to try anything, so I took a tablespoon of salt, dissolved it in a glass of water, and drank it down. 20 minutes later I was fine! That's no exaggeration. Another tip. If you are going to be there on a Friday, the whole country shuts down at sundown and absolutely nothing is open until sundown the next day. I mean no taxis, no restaurants, no nothing. My hotel was in Tel Aviv, but I had taken a bus that day to Jerusalem. When I went to the bus station to return to Tel Aviv, that's when I discovered about everything shutting down. I asked someone walking by how come there were no buses. That's when it was explained to me. There was a major hotel nearby, so I walked there. As an aside, Peter Ustinov was staying there. I got to meet him. I spotted him as he was walking through the lobby and went up to him to say hello. What a wonderful person he was. He took time to have a whole conversation with me. He told me he's there filming a movie, one of the ones in which he played Inspector Poirot. Then he started talking about some of the things he went through when they made the movie "Spartacus." We chatted for nearly 15 minutes before he finally said he needs to excuse himself. I'll never forget that. All I expected to do was tell him I'm a great fan, get a thank-you and possibly a handshake, and that would be that. I never expected him to start chatting as if we were old friends. When I entered the hotel I explained my predicament to the desk clerk. I asked for a room. He asked me if I had prepaid the room. I told him I had no idea about any of this and I'm a walk-in. He said they are not allowed to accept money during that time period, so he couldn't give me a room. I showed him a wallet full of cash and asked if I could pay for the room the next day when this was over. Sorry, he said, they can only accept advance payments. I sighed and asked him where the restaurant is. He asked me if I had prepaid for meals there. Of course, I hadn't. Again he said they can't serve me if I haven't prepaid. I asked him what I'm supposed to do. I have no way to get back to my hotel in Tel Aviv. I have no way to eat. I have no place to sleep. He said the only thing he can do to help me is he can let me sleep on a couch in the hotel lobby. Thanks a lot! He also said I can take an Arab taxi back to Tel Aviv if I wanted to chance it. Three other people were in the same predicament. We decided to share an Arab taxi back to Tel Aviv and pray we wouldn't end up with our throats slit or something. The taxi driver couldn't have been any nicer. There was no problem at all. When I finally arrived back at my hotel, they at least let me eat since I already had a room there. Don't let that happen to you! The unpleasant thing about Israel was the food. It was the worst food I've ever had in my life, no matter where I went. I thought I was going to find New York style delis on virtually every street corner. Not so! Everything is middle eastern food. I think it's a trip well worth doing. I wouldn't go again, but I'm glad I went once.