rchapstick Posted November 23, 2005 Report Share Posted November 23, 2005 This is not the usual trip report with a day-by-day accounting of frivolity and exploits. Rather, this is just a collection of observations from a recent trip. I had my quarterly business trip to Thailand. The good news is that someone else gets to pick up the plane fare and the hotel costs. The bad news is that I actually have to work on these treks. Fortunately, I do get some time to play. I initially had a couple of days in Chon Buri, and decided to stay in Pattaya, and then I spent the rest of the trip in BKK. Now, on to the observations: ? The aircraft maintenance on United Airlines is truly superb, and is no doubt performed by highly skilled and dedicated professionals, who are clearly underpaid, at the SFO maintenance facility. That being said, UAL truly sucks in every other aspect of their service. Cattle to slaughter are treated in a more deferential manner. ? I ended up renting a car to drive to Chon Buri & Pattaya. Definitely a different experience. I managed to avoid accidents, getting lost, and getting pulled over for DWF (Driving While Farang). What fun! ? This was the first time I was in Pattaya in couple of years. The last time I really did not enjoy it at all. Just a few observations on Pattaya: 1. Pattaya?s reputation as the ?Shitty City by the Sea? is still intact, largely due to the motley crew of farang expats and tourists. If I looked like those guys, I?d jump from my balcony too. 2. Despite discussion about the beachfront promenade being ?fixed?, it is still a disgrace. I went running a couple of times along this path, and spent most of my time making sure I didn?t step in only of the many sinkholes or bits of broken pavement, rather than enjoying the view of the beach. And the beach itself is still pretty crappy looking. 3. The Chinese tour groups have seriously invaded Pattaya. 4. At the beer bars, there a few diamonds in the rough. But, there is a lot of rough you need to wade thru. And I still do not understand why the beer bar owners need cannot cooperate on a single sound system, instead of the dueling music one must endure to sit in a beer bar. 5. The talent level in the go-go bars is vastly improved over a couple of years ago. The level of sanuk within the bars is still hit-or-miss, but I guess that goes with the territory. There has been lots of investment in bars, and lots of effort spent on recruiting lovelies. 6. The trend towards offering go-go patrons the ?amateur gynecology experience? is full bloom. 7. Got a nasty case of food poisoning on my second night in Pattaya. That will teach me to eat street food. Mai Sanuk! ? The food poisoning carried over to my first few days in BKK. Itried to go out with a few board members on Friday night to a Thai Karaoke joint on Ratchada, but I was feeling to nauseous. Too bad, because it looked like fun. ? The Egyptian restaurant between Soi 3 and Soi 3/1 is still great. ? Nanaplaza has really turned into a hardcore, hard sell, un-fun place. Lots of bored girls doing the Robert Palmer shuffle with 1000 yard stares. Interaction consists of hustling for drinks within 5 nano-seconds of sitting down I hit three bars and left within 40 minutes. I won?t be back soon. ? The better bars in Cowboy are till a lot of fun. Special props to Bacarra (upstairs) and the bar with no name. Often I was inspired to blurt out ?Hey, nice beaver!? ? Based on reviews from the board, I gave Akane a try. I managed to communicate that I did NOT want the proctology exam, and the service was great. Oh, and the girl?s bod was absofreakinglotely stunning. ? The last night of my trip was Loy Katong, I went with some Thai business contact to a place that, loosely translated, is called the Over Water Thai Seafood restaurant. It is somewhere north of Rama 9, and south of Ram Intra. Very very good food, good value, and a lot of fun. ? The trip back on United sucked, again, beginning with that 0640 departure time. Next time I will stick with Cathay or EVA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatbastard Posted November 23, 2005 Report Share Posted November 23, 2005 Astute observations, really liked this bit 1. Pattaya?s reputation as the ?Shitty City by the Sea? is still intact, largely due to the motley crew of farang expats and tourists. If I looked like those guys, I?d jump from my balcony too. and the DWF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiery Jack Posted November 23, 2005 Report Share Posted November 23, 2005 rchapstick said:..Nanaplaza has really turned into a hardcore, hard sell, un-fun place. Lots of bored girls doing the Robert Palmer shuffle with 1000 yard stares... LOL. The Robert Palmer shuffle. That's a corker. Spot on, boss. jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted November 25, 2005 Report Share Posted November 25, 2005 Chappy, great report and funny but spot on observations. Sorry you missed the Rachada thing (it was more a "Coyote Ugly" bar than a KTV)! Cheers, SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asiafun Posted December 13, 2005 Report Share Posted December 13, 2005 Whats this about I must have missed it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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