Thailand Trip Report February/March 2026

[floridarob]

4 hours ago, jimmie50 said:

Enjoyed Dick’s Cafe.  Food was good

Wish I could say the same, my last time was as unmemorable as my first time a decade or 2 before, Dick's in BKK was great, Jomtien just never captured the same tastes, yes, the waiters are nice but it's a shame to have horrible Thai food IN THAILAND 🥺 

[khaolakguy]

2 hours ago, floridarob said:

Wish I could say the same, my last time was as unmemorable as my first time a decade or 2 before, Dick's in BKK was great, Jomtien just never captured the same tastes, yes, the waiters are nice but it's a shame to have horrible Thai food IN THAILAND 🥺 

+1

[vinapu]

5 hours ago, floridarob said:

Wish I could say the same, my last time was as unmemorable as my first time a decade or 2 before, Dick's in BKK was great, Jomtien just never captured the same tastes, yes, the waiters are nice but it's a shame to have horrible Thai food IN THAILAND 🥺 

Sophie's Kitchen right across from Dick's has one of best chicken with cashew nuts  in the whole Kingdom 

[kram987]

2 hours ago, vinapu said:

Sophie's Kitchen right across from Dick's has one of best chicken with cashew nuts  in the whole Kingdom 

+1

[daydreamer]

A couple years ago, I was staying at East Suites with a Thai boy from Bangkok.  We ate dinner at Dick's Jomtien one night.  He told me he never wanted to eat there again, as the Thai food was not good.  

The following night he suggested we go across the soi to Sophie's, and we both agreed the Thai food at Sophie's was very good.

I agree, the former Dick's in Bangkok was very good.  I think Dick's Jomtien needs to hire a different kitchen team.

[PeterRS]

4 hours ago, vinapu said:

Sophie's Kitchen right across from Dick's has one of best chicken with cashew nuts  in the whole Kingdom 

Out of curiosity, do you ever eat anything else? LOL

[vinapu]

1 hour ago, PeterRS said:

Out of curiosity, do you ever eat anything else? LOL

In Sophie's Kitchen , no

In Thailand , yes. Chicken Rice soup in Foodland is my another staple as well as German/Thai fusion schnitzel in G's

[jimmie50]

continued…Installment 26:  Last day in Pattaya turned out to be a real dud.  Woke up with a scratchy throat and a little nauseous.  Not sure what brought that on.  Decided it was probably best to skip breakfast.  Took some medicine for the nausea, then popped a Halls cough drop in my mouth and laid back down.  Probably slept two or three more hours.  Stomach seemed to have settled down a bit, but later in the day it went from nausea to diarrhea.  Sorry gentleman…I know…TMI.  Let’s just say I didn’t venture far from the room and there was no fun activity on the agenda.  Since I will be heading back to Bangkok in the morning and already have plans to meet Cam in the evening, thought it best to give my body a chance to recover from all of my recent activities.  I also think it quite possibly could be from too much sun on our boat trip.  I am very fair skinned and burn easily in the sun.  Have had similar issues in the past from sun poisoning.  Some medication I take recommends avoiding prolonged exposure to sun.  Disappointed that I did not get to experience Pattaya City.  Next time I will plan to spend more time exploring Pattaya, and perhaps even make it a trip with Cam.  I know from our conversations that he loves the beach, and I don’t believe he has ever been to Pattaya.  Concerned it might not be a safe place for him, though, if the Pattaya police are so aggressive about rounding up illegals.

[jimmie50]

continued…Installment 27: Thought I would update forum members on the massage shop situation in Pattaya.  Had a text from both the guy at MV and Soda.saying they were going back to Laos within the next day or two.  Don’t know about other shops in Supertown, but these two particular shops told the boys they could no longer work there.  They are tired of dealing with the police and want no more problems, so want no more illegals working at the shop.  If that was the intent of the police raids, then I guess they probably consider the raids a success.  However, if the raids were simply a shake down to gain money from illegals…if no more illegals, then no more money.  May have backfired on them.  Perhaps those forum members who actually live in Pattaya have more information.  I am merely passing on what two guys (both illegals) from two different shops have shared with me now.  I can understand the frustration from shop owners if this is accurate.  Feel sorry for the boys, though, and their situation.  The guy from Soda said it will probably be a couple of years before he can return once he goes home.

[mauRICE]

1 hour ago, jimmie50 said:

...Don’t know about other shops in Supertown, but these two particular shops told the boys they could no longer work there.  They are tired of dealing with the police and want no more problems, so want no more illegals working at the shop.  If that was the intent of the police raids, then I guess they probably consider the raids a success. 

I've asked this question on this forum before but didn't receive an answer: what's preventing the guys from getting legal? I know many young men and women from neighbouring countries who are working legally in Thailand (visa and work permit) in the services, entertainment and construction industries.

[mauRICE]

1 hour ago, jimmie50 said:

continued…Installment 26:  Last day in Pattaya turned out to be a real dud.  Woke up with a scratchy throat and a little nauseous.  Not sure what brought that on. 

Sorry to hear you've been unwell. Did you forget your Morning After pill again? You must remember to take it within 72 hours of your last...you know. 😉

Give your body a bit of rest and get well soon. 💪🫶

[Olddaddy]

3 hours ago, mauRICE said:

I've asked this question on this forum before but didn't receive an answer: what's preventing the guys from getting legal? I know many young men and women from neighbouring countries who are working legally in Thailand (visa and work permit) in the services, entertainment and construction industries.

I imagine cost ...and time 

[PeterRS]

Non Thai nationals are severely restricted as to the type of paid employment they can enjoy in the Kingdom. Most require a work visa or a special visa permitting work for a shorter period of time. My Burmese bf has a visa from his employer and has recently had it renewed for a further year. WIth the best will in the world, I cannot see massage work being acceptable as Thais can very easily do this. Unskilled labour working on construction sites is frequently mentioned. In that case I assume the employer obtains the necessary paperwork.

ASEAN is supposed to facilitate mobility of labour, but this generally applies only to skilled labour.

[jimmie50]

4 hours ago, mauRICE said:

what's preventing the guys from getting legal?

I think the issue is because they are working in a massage shop.  It is my understanding that massage is one of those 'protected' jobs that are restricted for Thai only.  What I have read online is that the Thai government does not make a distinction between the different types of massages.  Everything seems to be classified as 'Thai Massage', which is one of those protected categories.  If the guys chose some other line of work, they could perhaps obtain a work visa.  It is called the Alien Law Act and was enacted in 2008.  There is a rather lengthy list of jobs which foreigners are not permitted to do: massage shops, banks, tour guides, beauticians/hair cutters, handcrafts, etc.  I think one of the reasons for the law was the preservation of Thai culture.  Not sure what the full rationale was/is.  

[jimmie50]

4 hours ago, mauRICE said:

Give your body a bit of rest and get well soon.

As they say, I have been burning the candle at both ends.  Think it finally caught up with me.  

[macaroni21]

23 minutes ago, jimmie50 said:

I think the issue is because they are working in a massage shop.  It is my understanding that massage is one of those 'protected' jobs that are restricted for Thai only.  What I have read online is that the Thai government does not make a distinction between the different types of massages.  Everything seems to be classified as 'Thai Massage', which is one of those protected categories.  If the guys chose some other line of work, they could perhaps obtain a work visa.  It is called the Alien Law Act and was enacted in 2008.  There is a rather lengthy list of jobs which foreigners are not permitted to do: massage shops, banks, tour guides, beauticians/hair cutters, handcrafts, etc.  I think one of the reasons for the law was the preservation of Thai culture.  Not sure what the full rationale was/is.  

Ah, @jimmie50 beat me to it. I was going to say the same thing. 

I recall a Burmese guy I hired thru Zeus explain to me that he was "legal" insofar as he was doing construction work in my hotel room, since his work permit was as a construction worker. 

To get such a permit one obviously needs a construction company to sponsor it (for a fee, no doubt).

This might work for the Zeus guy since he wasn't tied to any specific location, but such a solution wouldn't work for Soda Massage or other shops in Jomtien Complex, since the boys are tied to a location, sitting in front of a shop all day.