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I don't think the holiday has gotten out of hand at all. I do think some idiotic people, a very small minority at that, have gotten out of hand and they're the ones who need to be curtailed. If I can spot groups of people who are busy getting a thrill by throwing water right into the faces of motorcycle drivers, then I don't see why the police can't spot the same thing. I also don't think the families and friends of those who died would advocate doing away with the holiday any more than families and friends of people who die as a result of New Year's Eve or other holiday accidents would advocate doing away with those holidays. What I think they would advocate is more stringent controls over those who drive recklessly, drive drunk, are violating rules such as no high power water shooters and no ice water throwing, or are out there intentionally causing other problems for those who are doing nothing more than enjoying themselves along with everyone else who are enjoying themselves. I think it's a wonderful holiday, filled with fun for most Thais. It would be very difficult to convince me that the holiday should be curtailed because of the actions of a few. In almost any situation there are the inevitable few who ruin it for everybody else.

Would you mind letting those of us who are clueless, especially me, what's going on in China? Whatever is happening, it hasn't done anything for the US dollar yet. Today (Tuesday, April 22) the dollar closed at 31.31 against the baht.

Ok, Songkran hibernators and escapees, it's safe to come out and come home now. It's all over for this year. Now you would never know it happened. Everything is back to normal. No more water splashing. Businesses open as usual. No squirt guns and water shooters for sale. The only evidence left is there are still a lot of cars out there, including mine, that have a Songkran powder all over them. Today I did try to get my car washed, but for the first few days after Songkran, the best business in town is the car wash business. You can't get in. I'll try again tomorrow. If I succeed, those of you who are in Pattaya will know it. If I get my car washed, you can bet that within 24 hours it will rain. If it rains tomorrow afternoon, then you'll know my car was washed earlier the same morning . . .

Regarding Stronger Boy, either they have changed their target market or they're trying to expand it. What else would be the reason they are handing out fliers at the gay beach, and only at the gay beach, and the fliers are written entirely in English?

I hope that Hugh will not have to close the restaurant after all and I like your ideas, but if the problems at the restaurant are due to low customer numbers, I don't know how much help supporters can realistically be. I can afford to eat there once or twice, but I can't afford to start eating there regularly. I don't know how many people who are reading these messages are actually in Pattaya or shortly will be. From among those, I don't know how many will go to the Symphony even if they are here. If everyone reading this goes tomorrow night, how much help will that actually be in the long run? It might provide a short term solution, but I think, realistically, it would take much more than that to save the restaurant, assuming we are even aware of the actual reasons Hugh is considering closing. I, for one, am only speculating about the problem being lack of customers. For all I know, he's full every night. But I don't know. Perhaps if Hugh would consider informing us as to what it would take for him to remain open, we would be in a better position to assist. I could very easily be wrong, but I just don't think filling the restaurant a few times over the next week or so is going to be the solution. It can't hurt anything, but I think a long term solution is probably what is required.

Thank you, Jim. Those are indeed marvelous photos. I miss the photos David-in-Pattaya used to provide and I miss the photos Boxer used to provide, but I have a feeling that TOQ is going to do a brilliant job continuing their legacy.

Here's my final Songkran report for this year: Today, Saturday April 19, was the major Songkran celebration in Pattaya. I decided to get an early start so that I wouldn't have to deal with too much traffic and could easily find a place to park. I took several towels, a six-pack of bottled water (to wash off the powder if need be), a fresh shirt, and some towels, all of which went into the trunk of my car and off I went at about 7:15 AM. I parked on Soi Khorpai, close to Pattaya Tai (South Road). I didn't even make it to Pattaya Tai before running into a group of young revelers who had stationed themselves at the corner. They were as friendly as they could be, a group of teen boys and girls. Every one of them came up to me, gave me a big hug, said "Happy New Year" and sent me along my way after a dousing. I walked from there all the way down to Boyztown. Nobody else soaked me along the way so I was relatively dry by the time I reached Boyztown. I went in to the coffee shop at The Ambiance. I was going to have breakfast there and kill some time before everything really got started. Two friends entered the coffee shop at about the same time I did, so we all had breakfast together. We went our separate ways after eating. I started walking back toward where my car was parked. Now things had dramatically livened up, but the traffic was surprisingly light. I was having a great time, getting soaked, getting hugged, and just about everywhere people were very friendly and many groups insisted I stop and have a "whiskey-soda" with them. Thank goodness there wasn't much whiskey in any of them or I would have been completely drunk by the time I made it back to Soi Khorpai. It was as rowdy and raucous as you can imagine, and there were hundreds of boys, shirtless or in soaking wet t-shirts just everywhere! For me, getting soaked and powdered was a small price to pay to be a part of that! Besides, it was so hot outside that the soakings were very refreshing. A few people did douse me with ice water, which they're not supposed to do, but it wasn't enough to fuss about. The whole thing was the kind of experience you either love or hate. I'm one of the nuts who loves it. When I finally reached my car, nobody was around, so I quickly changed into my dry shirt, sat down on the towels I brought, and took a drive through the Songkran insanity. I was really amazed at how light the traffic was. I returned home at about 11:30 AM, so maybe I was out there before the traffic really became heavy, but I encountered no traffic problems at all. Everything was flowing very smoothly. I would have stayed longer, but by that time I had enough and I also didn't want to end up with a sunburn, but I can truly say I had a wonderful time. If anyone else was out there today, I'd love for you to post your experiences.

It's difficult to know. After all, Mata Hari was at that location for many years and they did just fine. I think another factor is probably competition. At the time Mata Hari was operating from that location there were not nearly so many excellent restaurants at very reasonable prices as there are now. Many new restaurants have opened in much closer proximity to the gay areas and popular gay-friendly hotels. There are many more choices now than there were during Mata Hari's tenure there and since Symphony Brasserie first opened. In other words, it may have been a good location a few years ago, but it has since become a poor location. Of course, it's not just the gay crowd that goes out to eat. I don't know why the restaurant failed to attract enough of the heterosexual crowd to be profitable, but obviously it didn't. Another example is more recent. Just a short while ago I posted a message about a new gay massage called Stronger Boy. It's up near Big-C, North Pattaya. I'll bet hardly anyone has gone there yet. I haven't and I'm in no hurry to go. I wonder if anybody reading this has been there at all or even plans to try it. It may be a fabulous gay massage, but the location stinks. Who do they think is going to go out of their way to go to the one gay venue in that entire area, where it's a pain-in-the-ass to get back to where you came from? I wish them well, but I don't expect it to last very long because of the location.

That is most likely a significant factor. Just a couple years ago an 800 baht dinner cost about US $17. That same 800 baht dinner now costs about US $26. I enjoy expensive restaurants as much as anybody, but I don't frequent them when I can have a great dinner at less than half that price. That puts many restaurants in a bad situation. They can't afford to reduce their prices and still make a profit, but it's getting to a point that only the super rich can afford to eat in those restaurants on any kind of a regular basis. As a resident, I used to splurge on a fine restaurant about once a week. Now I splurge maybe once every four to six weeks. I have things I'd rather spend my money on rather than spending it on frequent gourmet meals that now cost so much more than they used to. It's just not worth it to me and I have a feeling I'm not alone in that. Unfortunately, fewer customers means even more difficulties for restaurants that depend on clientele, especially during low season, which is now upon Pattaya for the next several months. They weren't doing much of a booming business even during high season. It would be a shame to lose more fine restaurants, but I won't be surprised if we end up reading about more of them going out of business before very long and a lot more about which pushcart restaurants have the best 30 baht deals.

I'll agree with you on that part of what you wrote. I don't know about the rest of it. Mata Hari seemed to do well at that location, but I would have eaten at the Symphony far more often if parking wasn't such a problem. It was quite difficult to find parking anywhere near it. One time I ate there and when I left my car tire had been booted and a citation was on my windshield. It took two hours to pay the fine at the police station. To this day I still don't know why I couldn't park where I did. Neither did the Thai lady who also parked one space ahead of me and also found herself cited. That did not exactly add to the enjoyment of the evening. Nevertheless, that's the main reason I didn't go very often, only two or three times a year. Parking was truly a problem. Even taking a baht bus was a problem because the restaurant was nowhere near any of the gay venues or anywhere else I would enjoy going following an excellent dinner. Also, since Second Road is one-way, it was a pain to walk to Beach Road to find a baht bus to get back to the gay areas or the popular hotels. I believe if Hugh had opened in a better location, then the restaurant would have become just as popular as Bruno's, Mata Hari, or any other restaurant of that quality. I always thought the food was wonderful, but the location simply did not work.

It's a combination, I believe, of many factors ranging from fewer customers to what we call "tea money" being paid to the right people. Sometimes the businesses eventually fail when they're losing money each month instead of making a profit and sometimes the owners simply get tired of having to deal with the corruption.

It really depends on where you go. Some areas have a lot of people out there soaking everyone they can and other areas have little or nothing going on. Although I did not go to the beach today, I was in that area. Traffic was as usual for just about any day in Pattaya. As a matter of fact, traffic was actually lighter than usual. Things will probably pick up tomorrow (Friday), but Saturday is the really big day in Pattaya.

This evening I was reliably informed that Hugh Millar is going to close the Symphony Brasserie restaurant, probably at the end of this month. He intends to return to Scotland to pursue a new career. Hugh has been in Pattaya for a very long time, probably longer than most of us, and certainly before I ever even started coming to Thailand. Many of you may remember when Hugh was the day manager at The Ambiance before moving on to start the Symphony Brasserie. He first came to Pattaya for a holiday, ended up being offered the position at The Ambiance, and never went back. I hope I speak for all of us in wishing Hugh the best of luck with his future endeavors. I will miss him.

I didn't get out very much to day, so I have little to report. There was a lot of thunder and threatening weather in Pattaya today, so I didn't really venture out. From what little I did see, I would say today's Songkran activity was quite similar to yesterday - only sporadic activity. Perhaps someone else can fill us in on today's (Wednesday) goings-on.

I think you'll be ok. Assuming your flight gets in on time and you don't run into delays at the airport or on the expressway, then you should be in Pattaya by 10:00 AM or possibly even earlier. Just make sure your driver doesn't try to go through Chonburi. It will be insane by the time you get there if your driver tries to take that route. Make sure you take the Route 7 expressway. That route bypasses Chonburi and enters Pattaya at Banglamung. That's going to be the only practical way to get to Pattaya that day, unless you particularly want to go through the city of Chonburi for some reason.

Yes, it is still open and operating normally.

I also did not get out very much today. From what little I did see, it looks as if everything has quieted down and will probably remain relatively quiet through Thursday. Then on Friday it will become progressively massive. One piece of advice: On Friday, if you are traveling to or from Pattaya and trying to either go to Bangkok or come to Pattaya from Bangkok, take the Route 7 expressway. Don't try to go through Chonburi. Friday is Chonburi's main Songkran festival and if you try to go through you'll have a three to five hour delay.

The following appears in the PATTAYA CITY NEWS: see http://www.pattayacitynews.net/news_14_04_51.html for photos. _____ Songkran Festival Begins Early Here in Pattaya Although the Pattaya Songkran Festival does not take place until 19th of this month, celebrations have begun early and we can report that in some areas, the water fighting has well and truly begun. The influx of Thai and Foreign Tourists to Pattaya has begun and the Traffic Police are working tirelessly to ensure that the roads around Pattaya remain unblocked as much as possible. The beaches of Pattaya and Jomtien were busy over the weekend and over the next few days the influx of Tourists is expected to continue. We must warn you that the likelihood of you getting a soaking over the coming week is high and please understand that this is normal during Songkran. We must also warn you that the use of water pipes is illegal in accordance with national regulations and you may be subject to a fine or even incarceration if you are caught using them.

I made no attempt to go to the beach today, but I did cruise through town for a while. I went to Tuk Com and Villa Market, along with a bit more sightseeing. If you are among those in Pattaya and suffering from Songkranophobia, then you might as well start hibernating. There are few places you can go now without getting soaked along the way. Once you get where you're going you're fine, but unless you are riding in an enclosed vehicle, you're gonna get it. I'll give you a little tip, in case you didn't think of it. If you need to ride a baht bus, but don't want to be soaked, take a baht bus on which you can sit up front with the driver. The revelers are all over the main streets now. On the side sois there are usually a few groups of children with squirt guns. Throughout the city traffic seems to be flowing quite well. It's the beach area that's bottlenecking. So, if you're going to the beach (and once you're on the beach nobody will soak you), then I suggest getting a very early start, before the traffic builds up. If you head for the beach much later than 10:30 to 11:00 AM, you'll get stuck in traffic.

"To Save but One Life is to Save the World" - The Talmud

Thank goodness he wasn't hurt. Throwing at motorcycle drivers is supposed to be verboten this year. I hope he reported that group to the police, for all the good it would do. It seems like most of the serious Songkran problems are caused by drunken farang, not by the Thais.

I was at the beach with zzrichard. His report is accurate. Traffic to and from the beach today was tremendous and there was plenty of water splashing going on. There was no way you were going to or from the beach today without getting a soaking. Other than the areas where others are reporting activity, there really wasn't much else. In the neighborhoods, a few kids were out there with their squirt guns, and that was about all. My advice is for the rest of the week, now start wearing clothes that can get soaked. Things like mobile phones, wallets, money, and anything else you don't want soaked need to be wrapped in plastic. And . . . if you are among the "crazies" such as zzrichard and myself, get out there and have fun!!!

Sooooooooooo! As Maude used to say, "God'll getcha for that!" Actually, I found out at dinner this evening I was wrong about no water activity today. One friend came in to Pattaya today. He was on a baht bus, with luggage and a lap top computer, when he got soaked. Naturally, it wasn't even Thais who did it. It was drunken farang. How about that! A Thai holiday, and the Thais haven't even started splashing people. Drunken farang were the first water splashers. More is expected tomorrow. That's when it all really begins.

Saturday, April 12. Still no water splashing activity in Pattaya. I have been getting reports that traffic on the highways is very heavy and depending on the time of day you travel, expect long delays. The reports about police checkpoints are either erroneous or nothing has been set up yet. Yesterday and today I haven't even seen a police officer anywhere on the roads. I haven't even seen them in the usual spots where they pull over helmetless motorcycle drivers.

You've got a deal. It's wet handbags at dawn . . .