General Reports

[QUOTE=SoulKeeper; 1480422]Dear members,

I have been planning my trip to Thailand (first Mongering Trip) for sometime now and after a lot of reach have zeroed in on Pattaya. However I have had come across reports about the apparent discrimination (being melted out to people from Indian) regarding the entry / treatment into the bars at Walking Street and other areas.

I wanted to find out if this this practice is prevalent in Pattaya, and if there is really some discrimination which areas should I avoid [From what I read on the Internet, is it so bad that I should cancel my trip? ] I faced no trouble when I was mongering in Cebu last year for 10 days and 3 days in Manila. (Will be planning a trip next year to Cebu again, Red Horse and Mango Avenue will have to wait for sometime.)

Any opinions / thoughts on this will be helpful.

Thanks.[/QUOTE]I have been a regular at Pattaya. Yes, there are places where there is discrimination but its all dependent on you. Dress up well and behave in the right manner there would be no issues to get into any place. I personally have not faced this issue in Pattaya. Try the discos which normally get busy post midnight like Lucifer, Mixx or Insomnia. You can also move around the beer bars on Second Road and Soi LK. Walking street is anyway a must see.

[QUOTE=SoulKeeper;1480773]I have read about not keeping a tab in any bars or pubs [do not want to get in arguments over the number of Drinks and LDs once I am leaving].[/QUOTE]Just my opinion:

It's one thing to pay for a single drink at the time it's served, especially if you are served by a bartender and then wander off. But if you sit at a table and buy more than one drink, especially from a waitress (like in a go-go club) paying separately is not advised. If you do, most bar folks will decide you are a "Cheap Charlie," which they are predisposed to do anyway when dealing with our brothers from the subcontinent.

There is no problem running a tab. Every time you buy a drink (or more) the waitress will write your order and the cost on a small piece of paper and put that in a cylindrical cup on your table known as the "check bin." When you want to leave, give the bin back to your waitress. They will add up the drinks for you and you pay. Tipping is generally not done, except for a few coins.

The bars and go-gos located in and around the Nana Plaza are honest, as are the places in and around Soi Cowboy. Ditto for just about anywhere in Pattaya that you'd want to go. Drink prices are usually prominently posted. If you stick to the popular areas you don't need to worry about getting over-charged. The exception would be if you got sloppy drunk, or if you "ring the bell" to order drinks for everybody in the house. So long as you buy a modest number of drinks for yourself, and perhaps for the girls who sit with you, it will be fine.

If you are truly paranoid, you can check each slip as it is added to your bin. (Discretely, of course. Again, you don't want to look like a Cheap Charlie.) But if you insist on paying for each round individually you're going to annoy with waitress and reinforce a pernicious stereotype.

Bunky

[QUOTE=Bunky;1483813]There is no problem running a tab. Every time you buy a drink (or more) the waitress will write your order and the cost on a small piece of paper and put that in a cylindrical cup on your table known as the "check bin." When you want to leave, give the bin back to your waitress. They will add up the drinks for you and you pay. Tipping is generally not done, except for a few coins.[/QUOTE]The cup is not known as the "check bin". As in the Thai language a word cannot end on an "L"-sound. The English "check bill" becomes automatically "check bin" when spoken by a Thai.

[QUOTE=Wolvenvacht;1483939]The cup is not known as the "check bin". As in the Thai language a word cannot end on an "L"-sound. The English "check bill" becomes automatically "check bin" when spoken by a Thai.[/QUOTE]&3648; &3594; &3655; &3585; &3610; &3636; &3621; chekH binM phrase " (at a restaurant)"Check please."

[QUOTE=TConor;1483976]&3648; &3594; &3655; &3585; &3610; &3636; &3621; chekH binM phrase " (at a restaurant)"Check please."[/QUOTE]Those posts are three years back. I don't expect to trawl back that far.

[QUOTE=TConor;1483976]&3648; &3594; &3655; &3585; &3610; &3636; &3621; chekH binM phrase " (at a restaurant)"Check please."[/QUOTE]If you mean to say "check please" in Thai at a restaurant, you say "check bin khrap," or "check bin duay khrap," or "gep taang khrap," or gep taang duay khrap." You add khrap to say it politely as in "please."

W is correct that the Thai's have trouble pronouncing "l" at the end of a word, so they would pronounce bill as bin, just as they pronounce school as sa-kuun, so I don't believe it's a myth.

"Bin" means the Eglish loan word "bill" in Thai.

http://www.thai-language.com/id/131648

[QUOTE=Bunky; 1483813]Just my opinion:

If you are truly paranoid, you can check each slip as it is added to your bin. (Discretely, of course. Again, you don't want to look like a Cheap Charlie.) But if you insist on paying for each round individually you're going to annoy with waitress and reinforce a pernicious stereotype.

Bunky[/QUOTE]I've gotten into the habit of always looking at any new entries to the bin. If I can glance at it I will, but I have no shame in pulling it out and reading it if necessary. I've never had any negative reactions from doing this, the worst that will happen is a waitress will appear at your elbow to explain the new entry. Typically everything is on the level, and I just drop the new check back in, and the waitress disappears. Obviously the staff notices in the extreme case, but I believe that just means you won't be subject to any dodgy entries. Caveat: While I do check the bin, I'm not stingy with my spending either. If your only ordering one drink, its not very complicated to manage.

Actual problems I've encountered:

5x : Get slip for group next to me [and vice versa I expect]

3x : Phantom drinks

10x : Miss-priced drinks [happy hour not applying, lady drink prices for walk in guests, ignoring discount cards, etc]

The most common place for a issue to occur is after you pay for your bin; You typically get your change back, but no receipt.

Many many times: Short changed blatantly

3x : Extra drink added to bin. I suppose this is a form of short changed, but if you protest, they produce the bin with the new drink on it. Happily this has happened at bars where the drinks had timestamps and it was easy to show the latest entry was just added at the register.

Depending on your level of moral righteousness: Take issues up to the cashier / manager to fix, otherwise its likely the scammer [fiscal entrepreneur] will pay you out of pocket to avoid notice by management. [Assuming it wasn't management orchestrating the high jinks, it typically isn't]. If there is an error with your bin, fix it immediately. Don't listen to wait staff who say they will fix the issue when you pay, they won't, they will disappear just making the issue even more complicated.

Some of the cashiers have difficulty with math. Not the 30+50+90=170 variety, but the 15% discount type. I had to send my change back [not joking] 6 times [each time it came back differently] at one bar.

Once you have a reputation [you ALWAYS have a reputation, and you WILL be remembered for "fixing" your bin], these issues will almost disappear. In fact, at one location that often has "issues" . The mamasan will look at my bin before I get it, and she has corrected issues on a few occasions before it gets to me.

[QUOTE=Bunky; 1483813]Just my opinion:. If you are truly paranoid, you can check each slip as it is added to your bin. (Discretely, of course. Again, you don't want to look like a Cheap Charlie.) But if you insist on paying for each round individually you're going to annoy with waitress and reinforce a pernicious stereotype.

Bunky[/QUOTE]I would rather be a Cheap Charlie than being scammed. You are out there to get a WG in the first place. Just because you look in the bin doesn't mean you a cheap charlie.

My first time in Pattaya, I landed up with extra slips in the bin. And this was in the MORNING getting a cup of coffee at a bar. The French owner came out from the back when I started protesting and took care of it. At that time, I didn't know it was not polite to protest loudly.

News Item: Popstar Rihanna's tweets last month, that explained, in graphic detail, what happened in a sex show she visited in Thailand has led Thai authorities to shut the place. The authorities said on Monday that they had arrested the owner who ran the show in Phuket. 'We will be more strict towards inappropriate shows, ' the local district police chief said.

Today I was with a girl that is about to visit her new "boyfriend", a young man in Europe for the first time. I was playing with Google Streets (wanted to see her city) and asked if she had seen already the home where she is going, to which she replied she actually did and that was it. To me, Google Streets is something amazing everytime I open it after all these years that it exists! She showed no curiosity or interest, and we are talking about a beautiful European destination. The same (lack of) enthousiasm she had toward the entire trip. Hope the "boyfriend" will have a compatible personality, as these indications of an "house plant" attitude are just scaring to me. BTW, decent lay and looks, but not stellar. 1K overnight.

[QUOTE=Marcos;1489046]She showed no curiosity or interest, and we are talking about a beautiful European destination.[/QUOTE]A good illustration of the ethnocentric nature of Thais.

I think this issue is better to be discussed here rather in the devoted BKK thread as long it is not linked into clubs, girls or whatever. Of course as a visitor I respect the culture and conducts of the countries I visit. My inner thoughts could tell me different but again as a visitor it is not my agenda to change anything. If my memory serves me correctly I believe one american citizen got a rather stiff verdict after insulting the King (or the family) in Thailand. Of course heavy diplomacy made him get off with a heavy fine and deportation instead of heavy banged upbroad time. So don't be insulting while in Thailand as that could, speaking to wrong people, get you into trouble. Many thais arent that picky tough but know who you talk to. I have no relations to the King of Thailand whatsoever but I do respect that people of his country do. I also respect my King in my country and I remember when our last King died back in 91, we more celebrated his life rather than feeling sad he was dead. Ofcourse sadness was a part of it as well. But he was a good man and a great symbol for our country and so will our next King of today also be treated. But our freedom of speach laws makes it all good to verbaly talk bad about him if some for some reasons dont like him. If you throw eggs at him then you better run because you can get atleast fined or time in jail..

[QUOTE=Skogis;1489301]I have no relations to the King of Thailand whatsoever.[/QUOTE]Wait a minute. Just one damn minute!

No relationship? None? Nada, absolutely nothing? And you waited 490 posts before telling us?

Jeez

[QUOTE=Skogis; 1489301]I think this issue is better to be discussed here rather in the devoted BKK thread as long it is not linked into clubs, girls or whatever.

I have no relations to the King of Thailand whatsoever but I do respect that people of his country do. I also respect my King in my country and I remember when our last King died back in 91, we more celebrated his life rather than feeling sad he was dead.

If you throw eggs at him then you better run because you can get atleast fined or time in jail.[/QUOTE]Skogis,

Thank you for the thoughtful, from the heart post; and thank you for moving the discussion to the proper thread. I can't speak for others, but in my mind our discussion was not an expression of attitudes about His Royal Majesty the King, but about the impact his death will have on the country and our peculiar interests. Personally, I am touched by the universal fondness Thais feel for him. I also have a high opinion of the two younger daughters. The oldest daughter has chosen a life path one would not expect. The son, the Crown Prince, appears to struggle coping with the burdens of his position. I do not envy anyone born into a royal family with high visibility and important obligations. Oh, and based on what I have seen of her, the Crown Prince's wife is stunning!

No doubt, when His Royal Majesty the King dies there will be an enormous outpouring of grief and a lingering sadness that will persist for some time. The majority of Thais have never experienced life without him. The question on everyone's mind is what will happen in the country after his death. A couple of Thais I know in the USA talked to me about this when he was released from the hospital, in which he had been living for an extended period of time, and returned to his home. My opinions are influences by what they have said to me, though we never got around to discussing the impact it will have on mongers. By the way, they do know how and how much I enjoy young Thai ladies on my visits to Bangkok. The gentleman grins a lot when we talk about it. His wife presses me for surprisingly explicit detail about my escapades. She clearly finds the descriptions most titillating. They've been living in the USA since college and are well assimilated.

PK

[QUOTE=Rjsss212; 1489415]Wait a minute. Just one damn minute!

No relationship? None? Nada, absolutely nothing? And you waited 490 posts before telling us?

Jeez[/QUOTE]Well it took you 624 posts to find out I did not so I had to put it out in clear words. Relax now you know..