֍ Pattaya is 90 percent back to normal from a tourist perspective. The still-closed facilities are the glitzy shows on Thepprasit Road which catered for the coachloads of Chinese who aren’t here yet. There are also some convenience stores, bars and massage parlors still shuttered, but the overall scene looks similar to pre-pandemic 2019.
֍ To deter street crime, the police have reopened the small booths along Pattaya’s Beach Road which had become dilapidated and in ruins. But no officers on duty there the last time we looked. Par for the course.
֍ Pattaya announces that all road major road works will be finished sometime in 2024. Then they start with the minor roads.
֍ Pin Up Agogo, Walking Street, says it has 100 attractive ladies and a happy hour 8 pm to 9 pm. Give it a whirl.
֍ The scariest place in town on Halloween? Would have been hard to beat The Castle on Third Road with a colorful display of witches, Frankensteins and zombies.
֍ What’s special about November 2022? No actual public holidays. Three cheers you say.
֍ From the rumor mill. The clubs catering for Thais (say on Pattaya’s Third Road) have more attractive females than the ones mainly for foreigners on Soi Buakao. Could this be true?
֍ The rainy season has now more or less ended. The downside is that there will be a lot more smog and fog early mornings. Another reason to wear a mask maybe.
֍ Way back in 1997, Pattaya fish and chips cost 87 baht, in 2022 around 250 baht for a similar tuck-in. A lady drink then was 70 baht, now around 200 baht plus. But dropping a cigarette in the street might have cost you a 2,000 baht fine in 1997. Now it’s likely free as the fag cops have been disbanded. It’s called progress.
֍ Umpteen reminders about the massive fireworks display in Pattaya, November 25 and 26. This is yet another one.
֍ Supermarket queues at cash-out are getting longer with many customers juggling with an app or wrestling with a QR code. Paying cash seems to be quicker. Oh well.
֍ Keep your nose to the grindstone, your shoulder to the wheel, your eye on the ball, your ear to the ground. Then see how much work you get done.
֍ Life is what happens to you whilst you are making other plans. (John Lennon).
֍ Notice in a Jomtien bar above a mounted, stuffed fish. “If I’d kept my mouth shut, I wouldn’t be here.”
֍ There’s no direct shuttle from Pattaya to Don Mueang airport. But there’s a regular bus from Jomtien (by FoodMart) to Suvarnabhumi for 198 baht. You can then switch to a free bus to Don Mueang, but you may have to show your air ticket.
֍ Apparently there’s a good weekly quiz at The Caddy Shack, south Pattaya, on Tuesdays at 7.00 pm. Most of the participants are Brits. Naturally.
֍ Mexican Casa de Buffalo opposite Soi Lengkee is now open 24 hours according to the poster. Many, many cafes have tried to coax the hungry at 4 in the morning. Best of luck.
֍ A motorbike taxi man on Second Road refused to take a farang passenger who was not wearing a face mask. That’s health and safety. The taxi guy then drove off without a helmet. You figure it.
֍ The Myanmar junta is trying to encourage foreign vacations in that wartorn country. Not many flights to Yangon but a return from Bangkok will set you back around 9,000 baht.
֍ I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train. (Oscar Wilde).
֍ The evening buffet at the Royal Cliff is indeed something special. Held on the last Saturday of every month. 1,650++ baht. Phone 038 250 421.
֍ If you feed stray cats and dogs in your street, you could be saddled with the formal welfare of them, including medical bills, according to city hall regulations. Just saying.
֍ A reader asks which visas at present require comprehensive medical insurance. They are non O retirement (three months) or non OA retirement (one year), both issued by Thai embassies abroad. Extensions of stay at Thai immigration do require ongoing insurance for OA, but not for O retirement. All 10 year visas require ongoing medical insurance (OX and LTR). Short stay visas, one year married visas and extensions, student visas, the Elite visa are all exempt from insurance requirements. Foreigners working here with permits should check with their employer.
Happy Hunting!
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