PattayaMale

I didn't mean to duplicate a post. But I can't find one posted on this forum. Actually I would have posted this after the competition anyway. I think it is a sign of the times. And a bit amusing

Have you ever been treated at Bangkok Pattaya Hospital? Well a 57 year old lady was pronounced dead there. Her family came to collect the body and the lady "woke-up". This according to Pattaya Daily News. hmmmmm Fantastic medical advances! Full article

I am not sure if they fly to Thailand yet, but the CEO of this budget airline may plan to charge passengers to us the toilet according to the Bangkok Post. 1 pound would be the charge. I hope Thai Air doesn't follow suit.

I was glad to read yesterday that the UDD protest was "losing steam" as many of the protesters left the site. I really like living in Thailand and have made many Thai friends. Most are not really thinking about the protest or why there is a protest. They are much more concerned about where the money will come from if even more tourists do not show up and if their parents can sell crops to make some money. I noticed in last weeks Pattaya Mail there was a full page ad seeking business not to cut back on their advertising budgets. This seemed to me to indicate that ad sales must be declining as businesses find it more difficult to pay their bills. Continued protest by any group will not be helpful right now to the regular Thai

Putting the contest aside, I have enjoyed reading the many different posts from forum members and the moderation of the board. I hope that those that have been posting will continue to do so and that members from other message boards will add their posting talents

There were five of us that arrived around 8pm. 2 went in to Cafe Royale for the buffet and then came to sit outside with the rest of us. I did not see the buffet but our friends did not like it. The show started on time a bit after 9:15. There was some really good original talent in the first part of the show. Ken from Little Mango sang and was very good. He was the only original performer I knew. There was (unfortunately I feel) many lip syncing performers and some acts from Copa and BBB. The talent from Bangkok was good as were all the singers who sang using there own voices. I enjoyed one act that preformed "Yankee Doodle", Great energy. I left a bit before midnight and the acts were still going on. I wish it would have been a bit shorter. Overall, fun and well put together.

In reading the Bangkok Post today I came across an article that said that construction may drop drastically. He said design companies had also experienced a drop of about 70% in the value of their business due to the development of projects being delayed until the middle of next year. The association anticipates that 1.6 million construction workers may lose their jobs.......but no problem, the article said, they can go back to agriculture??????? I think this is a mind set that needs to change for Thailand to really move forward. Labor is not really valued. It is a very cheap and under appreciated.

That would be a good way to view it. This is the first time I saw this and really thought it was no longer practiced. There were many military there. This might have been since it was held right on the Burma border.

Speaking of Royal House, it was one of the better places to get a massage several years ago. The guys were actually trained to give massages according to the owner then. I have walked by but have never been inside for a few years so I am not sure it is the same as before. Can anyone give an update? I guess a massage then onto Number 1 Bar. Is Number 1 Bar a beer bar?

One of the great things about this board in my opinion is the restaurant suggestions posters have. I think I have tried each one that has been recommended. I might never have found any of these if people hadn't posted about them. So next week it wil be off to Villa Bali.

I just saw this in "The Nation": Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Wednesday reminded the public to check the rumour about ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra before forming any conclusion. Abhisit was reacting to rumour that countries, like Nicaragua and United Arab Emirates, might grant the status of special citizenship for Thaksin. Past speculations relating to Thaksin proved false, he said, referring to Thaksin's claims that a number of countries would grant him special passport or would seek his advise or would provide safe haven. I don't understand why Thaskin would think he is so famous or so important to the "world". Can anyone explain this to me?

The Thai economy is expected to fall as much as -2.4% this year, after fourthquarter 2008 figures pointed to a severe downturn in growth, according to Moody’s Economy.com. ‘‘Fourth-quarter GDP numbers suggest the country is in the running for the label, ‘worst hit in Asia’,’’ said Alaistair Chan, an associate economist in the Sydney office of Moody’s Economy.com. He said that Thai gross domestic product, down 4.3% in the fourth quarter from the same period in 2007, represented a decline in output by an ‘‘incredible’’ 22.3% on an annualised basis, and that government statements that the economy would post slight growth for 2009 appeared ‘‘overly optimistic’’. Declines in foreign demand for key exports such as electronics, electrical goods and autos, together with a decline in agricultural prices, have hit exports severely. Tourism and consumer and investor confidence also took a hit by political instability in the fourth quarter. My suggestion to the Red Shirts is to stop talking about Taskin, and start complaining about the economy under the new government. I think the current government is doing a good job, but if you want people to support you, talk about what is hurting most people and use the current government as a scapegoat.

Would you please ask your Thai friend? Maybe he was saying something different. Maybe he was telling you he wanted to be your Number One Boy, in Day-Night.

My Thai friend said that he does not think it was a suicide because in the Thai news they had reported that there was blood on the bridge. If the body feel so many feet, I doubt the blood would spit 20 - 50 feet. I am sorry for the family also.

I asked my Thai friend if he read anything about this in the Thai paper or heard anything on the Thai TV news. He said he heard nothing about it. It is good that we have English internet sites that report the news in Pattaya. I am not really sure that this will end peacefully. I have a feeling that 21 PAD leaders have been charged so that the Red Shirt leaders can be charged. How will this end? What will it take? With the Thai economy spiraling down like the rest of the worlds' economies, how can it recover?

These demonstrations must be costing a bundle of money. With unemployment rising it probably easier to pay people to participate. Both the PAD and the UDD must have very rich backers.

Today on a Thai station they showed an old style Muay Thai fighting contest which was being held in Chiang Mai with several countries bordering competing. This is a brutal sport. No boxing gloves are used. There are strings or just tape covering the hands. So there was a lot of bloody faces. There are no judges. If both are standing at the end of the fight there is no winner. My friend told me that this is true Muay Thai.

I saw on the Thai news that they have recovered the body floating in the water. Maybe there was a too long rope used?? We will find out soon

I am interested in knowing where these 5000 people came from. How the police could not see 100 buses moving into Pattaya (50 x100)? Nor see that a large group of this size was forming to bring security to Pattaya?

Aljazeera TV did a report on Thailand's economy today. It reported that the economy contracted 6.1%, GM is laying off 25% of its Thai work force, exports are down 26%, tourism arrival down 20%, and the Thai Board of Trade feels the worse is still to come. On a positive note, the banking system is strong. It has great equity. Its interest rate will be cut again. I was talking to a group of USA friends at Oud's bar and even though there was great discussion about the economy in US and in Thailand, we all agreed that none of us were suffering.

One of the reasons I stopped going to Xzyte and Hollywood was that every time I went it was costing 4,000 baht or more. Discos here are not much fun unless you have a crowd at your table. The crowd at the table grows very fast and of course no one splits the bill, the Farang is the one that pays.

The Thai newspaper my Thai friend reads every morning shows the face very clearly. To some of us this may seem as not appropriate but the police had asked that papers show the face so they can identify the corpse.

Head hanging from BKK Bridge

With all the other problems Thailand may face this year, this is not good news. Hotter climate, storm surges likely By: BangkokPost.com Published: 22/02/2009 at 03:34 PM National Disaster Warning Centre chairman Smith Dharmasaroja on Sunday warned that this year's climate will be hotter than usual, especially in the northern, northeastern and central regions. Speaking at the event to promote vegetarianism, Mr Smith said a very hot climate will raise the soil evaporation rate, making it difficult for farmers to grow crops and they would have to use more water for farming. According to the meteorologist's forecast, the country may experience summer storms travelling at 40 to 50 kilometres per hour, and they could devastate households and unstable advertisement signs. He said there would be more storm surges in the northern, northeastern and central regions following the drought season in May. If people do not help protect the environment and alleviate global warming, Bangkok will definitely be under water by about two metres within decades, he added.

The pictures are great. How does this work? It looks like you walk to different docks and then boats pull over to sell different things to eat. I have driven by on Sukhumvit Road and have seen many cars parked. Is there a fee to enter?