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 November 2018
Click here to read our October 2018 News.
 Thailand has more Generals than the USA
As of 2015, the Royal Thai Armed Forces had 357'000 active duty and 375'349 reserve personnel, representing 1 percent of Thailand's population of 70 million.
But the country has to support more than 1'000 Field Marshals and Generals.
Acoording to media reports, the Thai Parliament approved a bill which would increase monthly pay for five-star generals in all military branches by 5 percent from 72'965 Baht to 76'604 Baht.
Please Remember: The United States has 886 Generals commanding about thrice the number of troops...
Update (November 16th):
Bangkok Post: Five-star salaries too fat
In Tinglish we are #1!
Once again, Thailand has dropped 11 spots in the proficiency rankings for non-native English speaking countries, the latest EF English Proficiency Index 2018 shows.
The Land of Smiles is now ranked 64th among the 88 listed countries.
In East Asia, Thailand has the worst English proficiency except for Cambodia and Myanmar.
Thailand's Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsettasin said that the development of Thai students' English skills is crucial and needs serious improvement.
According to the Ministry, Thai students have to study English for at least 12 years at primary and secondary school.
Nevertheless, most remain unable to communicate in English.
The two main challenges that need to be addressed are Thai teachers' English skills and their teaching approach, the Education Minister said.
As already mentioned several times on this website, the problem lies deeper: Most Thais, teachers included, show no interest in the job they are doing. They are only interested in its money.
Higher debt,
lower income Since the Military Junta took over the country in 2014, the price of rice has gone down every year, Thailand's Farmer claims.
And, according to Thailand's Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), about 1.5 million of its farming debtors are called poor under the Government's scheme.
On average, their dept is about 300'000 Baht per person.
About one third of Thailand's 21.3 million households are farmers.
Their main farm product is rice.
Lucky the farmer who's got a daughter who got herself a generous Farang...
Good Guys in,
Bad Guys out? Good guys in, bad guys out, says Thailand Immigration chief, and launched a crackdown on foreign visitors who overstay their visas.
In the meantime we learned from the South Korean Immigration Office, that up to September 2018, there are 192'163 Thais living in South Korea and up to 128'520 of them were overstaying their visa.
10'337 had already been arrested and deported...
According to Pol Maj Gen Surachate Hakparn, also known as Big Joke, the number of overstayers in Thailand has fallen to zero.
It is the result of a raid initiated in recent weeks with a total of 3'501 foreigners arrested.
For additional Information about the current situation in Thailand please read:
 Pattaya News Flash does not report about the daily crimes in Pattaya.
It you are interested in - and you should for your very own security - then please click Pattaya Mail and Pattaya One.
Pattaya News Flash reports about the funny side(s) of this World Class Resort.
Extorting fines from Chinese Tourists
Police and the Special Affairs Division of Pattaya City arrested two 'temporary employees' from Pattaya City Hall for allegedly extorting money from Chinese tourists caught dropping cigarette buts on the street at Bali Hai Pier.
They fined the Chinese Tourists by about 2'000 Baht each but failed to issue receipts.
City Hall claims that 'temporary employees' have no authority to make arrests as Pattaya City Officials.
  Free WiFi on Pattaya Beach
Pol Maj Gen Pinit Maneerat, the Military Junta's spokesman for Pattaya, announced that the city has invested 24 million Baht* to install a free WiFi system along Pattaya Beach for the general public and tourists.
It's the third time City Hall announces a Free WiFi service during the last 10 years or so.
The last two times TOT Public Company Limited, a Thai state-owned telecommunications company, was responsible for the (failed) service.
This time City Hall claims that they made a 1-year contract with state enterprise CAT Telecom Plc.
According to Pol Maj Gen Pinit Maneerat CAT installed 24 hotspots along Pattaya Beach, from Dusit Thani to the Bali Hai pier area.
To use the Free WiFi users have to register with their personal details. In return they will get two hours of free access per day.
For its Thai citizens Pattaya City Hall published an instruction to register (automatically?) - but not for the City's real breadwinner - the tourists.
*A spokesman from City Hall corrected the press release and said that the City has to pay 14 million Baht/year for the 24 hotspots.
 Important Notice
Since General Prayuth Chan-ocha and his Military Junta launched their Coup d'état on May 22nd, 2014, Thailand's Visa ground rules are constantly changing. More over, not every consulate can issue all the different Visas. Some smaller consulates even display notices to the effect that non-immigrant visas are unavailable.
Our advice: Before booking your holidays please contact the Embassy in your country to obtain information about Thailand's latest regulation(s) and check the Chonburi Immigration Website or the website of Thailand's Immigration Police.
Beach Smoking Ban
  Amazing Rules
 No Deck Chairs on Beaches
 No Booze Sale on Beach
 No Streetfood
 AirBnB illegal in Thailand
 No Dogs on Beaches
 No Coconut Ghosts
 Do not Kiss in Public
 Sex Toys are against Thai Law
 Don't play Darts in Thailand
 Don't play Cards in Thailand
 Smoking Sisha is banned
 Three on a Bike not allowed
 Parking for Rental Bikes
 Tracking Tourists
 Particulates are welcome
 Shake Hands with Officials
 Zero Waste Beaches
 Immigration Office
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Pattaya News Flash November 2018 - The Source
 from the City where your Passion is still a Possibility©
 How the sky welcomed Pattaya's new Mayor
From the Land of Smiles to the Land of Greedy Rip-offs
 Thais pay 40 Baht, Non-Thais 400 Baht
Since July 2018, Thailand's tourism sector is affected by a sharp decline in Chinese tourist numbers.
Depending on the source, the loss of Chinese tourists is between 13% and 37%.
According to the Thai Government, the cause of the slump are recent accidents involving Chinese tourists.
But our man in China told us that according to China's social medias, Thailand, or at least some of its citizens and organisations, have taken advantage of Chinese tourists. In some shops, restaurants, showtemples and even at National Parks Chinese tourists got squeezed like lemons.
As a result, some major travel providers in China have removed all their offers for Thailand from their travel catalogs.
If the trend continues - and all signs point to it - the country will face some big bankruptcies in the near future.
Eggheads show problems to understand democracy
 Thailand's Dictator General Prayuth Chan-ocha and his handpicked crew from hia Thai Cabinet are known as mimosas.
When you praise them, they blossom, but when they get a whiff of criticism, they explode.
It just happened a few days ago when a group of Thai rappers touched a nerve with an impassioned music video lobbing fiery rhymes at the authorities.
The song Prathet Ku Mee (Which is My Country), uploaded to YouTube on Oct 22, has racked up more than 13 million views (at the time of writing) and tens of thousands of comments since it went live on the platform, prompting Thailand's authorities to take notice.
The song as well the video are under consideration by investigators, a Police Spokesman from Thailand's Technology Crime Suppression Division said.
If this song violates the Computer Crime Act by uploading false information, those who share would be prosecuted and face the same punishment with those who uploaded it, the Spokesman said.
The video features rappers from the Rap Against Dictatorship collective dishing out barbs about the military and blasting corruption, censorship and the lack of elections.
For additional information please read:
 This enlightens the heart of Thailand's Dictator,
but
a slight majority of people say Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha should not pursue political work after the forthcoming general election Military Junta wants to register Dogs and Cats
 Thailand's Military Junta spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd informed the public that the cabinet on October 10th passed a law requiring owners to pay 450 Baht to register their animal(s), but he didn't say when the measure would come into force.
The spokeman said the 450 Baht would consist of a 50 Baht registration fee, 100 Baht for the pet's logbook and 300 Baht for an identification item. Owners that don’t register their pets could be liable to a 25'000 Baht fine, he added.
The new law would focus on dogs and cats first, Sansern Kaewkamnerd said.
Thailand does not have a functioning resident registration system until now. The Thai Government still does not know where its inhabitants are in reality. The country has a better control over its tourists than its own people - and now the Military Junta likes to know all about the whereabout of its animals?
It's nothing else than a new rip-off of its Citizens to finance the horrendous military expenditures, some observers suspect.
For additional information please read a report published by Khaosod English.
 For more Cartoons please click into the Picture or here for Mike Baird's Original.
Hanging Cables caused a Traffic Chaos on Soi Buakhaow
 On Saturday, November 16th at about 22:30, hanging cables in the Southern Part of Soi Buakhaow caused a traffic chaos - and because the affected road users were not in a position to judge whether it were an power, telephone or TV cables, at first nobody felt responsible for remedying the damage.
 Our Cartoonist is a man of flesh and blood, but his attitude is about the same...
Bicycles are everywhere and on almost every level of the mall, but in the real world, the management forgot to provide bicycle stands for its visitor's roadsters.
 Here you can buy everything your skin does not really need, myLady™ teached me
and headed for eveandboy's store Terminal21 is the City's utmost Airport Shopping Mall on Pattaya North Road
 The Rompho Bar Area also has a Beautiful Flower Shop. If you like real flowers - and not the plastic ones they sell all over this country - then you should stop by.
It is definitely worthwhile to have a look!
 Porky's, a cozy Café, Restaurant & Grill located in the middle of Rompho's Bar Area, closed down.
 Zap Nuar, a Restaurant located at the Tepprasit Soi 17 entrance to the Rompho Bar Complex, closed down.
 Throughout its life, the venue was announced as a Restuarant and Bar.
That's history now, too. Poised to continue
 During November 2017 Bangkok's Tawandang German Brewery closed Naklua's Star Dice Pub and opened the Tawandang Pattaya Variety.
Obviously the new venue flopped and urged the management to reinstall the once successful Star Dice Pub.
The New Star Dice Pub was launched quietly at the end of August 2018, maybe with the ulterior motive of covering up the failure.
  ShabuKu is a Nippon style buffet restaurant serving pork and/or seafood. The venue is already known in Bangkok, but the Naklua eatery is its first branch in Pattaya.
ShabuKu is located on Naklua Road, a few meters only from the entrance to Soi 18, just opposite the popular Kiss, Food and Drink restaurant.
  In our News Flash from October 2018 we reported about the replacement of Thai Express at Royal Garden Plaza by Basil Thai Kitchen and mentioned that its branch on Naklua Road remains open.
Today we have to report that the Naklua Thai Express flopped too and was closed down.
The first Thai Express was opened in Singapore in 2002 and was sold in 2008 to William E. Heinecke's Minor International, the company that own and runs Royal Garden Plaza as well as The Avenue and a lot of (more or less) popular food outlets and hotels.
Thai Express claims to be the World's Largest Chain of modern Thai restaurants with more than 50 outlets in seven Asian countries.
Don't be confused: The Singapore-based chain has no affiliation with the Thaï Express chain operating in Canada.
 A restaurant known since June 2014 as Internationale Küche by Ann (the former Haus München) closed down. It was 'on the Block' for a very long time.
The new owner will open a SPA and Nailshop.
We will keep you up-to-date.
Poised to continue
 As already mentioned in our October issue, MR D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself) opens a third Branch in Pattaya on the Second Floor of Royal Garden Plaza.
Since a few days the shop is open to the public.
 Gyo Gyo Gyo, an upper class Japanese Food outlet, tries it for a third time to conquer the hearts of Pattaya's visitors:
The venue opened first during the last week of April 2018, but closed down during August 2018.
On its first floor the 'Asia Herb Association' opened a Massage Parlour.
On September 3rd Gyo Gyo Gyo reopend the restaurant in the remaining rooms.
At the beginning of this month, the venue was closed again. Work was on the way to rebuild the upper rooms and the terrace.
At the end of November Gyo Gyo Gyo reopened in the newly decorated rooms.
 Between Pattaya Beach Road and Pattaya Second Road, the Amphawa Night Market is announced to open on South Road on December 1st, 2018.
 On November 27th Il Peccatore takes control of Shanghai, a former Go-Go and Lounge Bar on Soi Lengkee.
Don't miss the event!
 On Pattaya Beach Road, to the right of Burger King's Fastfood outlet where Tian's We are the World Bar used to be, 'Lisa' announced to open the Lisa on the Beach Bar.
'Lisa' is known for its successful Coyote Bar in the Northern Part of Pattaya's Second Road, not far from CentralMarina and North Pattaya's Burger King branch.
 R&M Bar opened on Soi 7 in between the well known 69ers Beer Bar and Guesthouse and the Tattoo shop.
 On North Pattaya's Soi 2, off Second Road, Luxury Bar opened its A Go-Go Club in the rooms of a former Japanese U-Style Karaoke Bar.
It's the only A Go-Go Bar in Northern Pattaya after the closure of Lek A Go-Go some times ago. It was located opposite Alcazar's Showcase.
 Areca Lodge, a well-known hotel on Soi Diana, got a new face and a cozy new street coffee shop called The Marble.
You will love it!
  A Mr Lamb Steak opened a Lamb Steak House, what else?
It's the first of its kind in Pattaya and is located on Soi Phettrakun, opposite Mike's Grand Palazzo Hotel.
  On our Tour of Pattaya we discovered that Gyo Gyo Gyo, a Japanese High Class Restaurant on Pattaya Beach Road, was down again.
The venue reopened on September 3rd in a reduced environment.
We will keep you up-to-date.
 The Planet Pattaya Resotel is located on Sukumvit Soi 28, about 600 meters only from Bangkok Hospital Pattaya. Nice bungalows are surrounding a small swimmingpool.
For reservations please call 062 973 2153.
For information about 24-hour Love Inns in Pattaya please click here!.
 Royal Kitchen, an Indian Restautant on Thappraya Road, replaces the failed Indian Discotheque at the very same location.
The venue claims to serve 'authentic' South Indian Food.
 Malibu House on Soi Yamato is on the Block.
 At CentralMarina, the much tooted Playboy Cafe, located in the white building, closed down.
The venue opened on April 1st, 2017, with some local authority leaders and honorable guests.
The 8 million Baht allegedly invested in the venue must be written off.
It is reassuring to see that even a big name fails to offer mediocre food with bad service at overpriced prices.
Poised to continue
 To the right of the Tree Town Complex, the Pagoda Guesthouse & House Bar celebrated its opening on November 20th with a Party.
From June 2013 until January 2016 the building was the home of a Belgium Guesthouse and Restaurant known as Flandria.
 Opposite the Sawasdee Siam Hotel the Annie Jack's Bar opened.
 A Dinner tastes always better with one of Mike Baird's books
 Goshi, a fastfood outlet at Tree Town Complex, is on the Block.
If you should be interested, please call one of the numbers in the picture.
Poised to continue
 Time Bar & Guesthouse closed down to incorporate Happy Daze.
 Happy Daze closed down to be incorporated into Time.
Poised to continue
 The Coming Bar opened in the rooms of the former Sweet Dream's Bar.
  The Playgirls Bar opened in the rooms of the former Sky Bar.
 The Playpen Bar is a member of the Nightwish Group and opened in the rooms of a former Minimart.
 A Maggie Choo's Bar opened in the rooms of a former Minimart too.
The future will show whether the new bar can hold a candle to its role model in Bangkok.
 The Fancee Pillow Shop at the Beach Road's entrance to Soi 6 closed down.
We will keep you up-to-date.
Poised to continue
 Far East Rock 2 opened its new A Go-Go Bar a few meters only from Pattaya Second Road.
It's the reincarnation of Far East Rock A Go-Go that had to close down on August 31st, 2017, and should reopen during October 2017 in a new hotel. The hotel is still under construction...
 The former home of Far East Rock A Go-Go:
Under 'renovation' for more than one year...  Malibu Lounge & Café Bar is now an Italian restaurant and Pizza outlet too.
 Spicy Singh is the latest addition to the Soi's many small food outlets.
 Indian Palace of Curry closed down.
Poised to continue
 The Thai Food Corner, located in the rooms of the iconique Otto's Calypso Bar, reduced its space by about 50%.
The shrinkage was foreseeable. The restaurant lacks any atmosphere. It's just made to make money.
An A Go-Go Club is set to nestle in the part that has become free.
 A Harem Club is announced to open soon in the rooms of the failed Pheromone A Go-Go Club.
At the entrance to the new club we already could spot a red banner saying: NO SEX PLEASE...
We will keep you up-to-date..
 The White Bar, located to the right of Tony's Entertainment Complex, celebrated its reincarnation.
The bar first opened on March 14th, 2018, as a meeting point for Russian Tourists, but closed down during May 2018.
 Extreme VR Park, the Virtual Reality provider at the ailing Midnight Pattaya Complex, reduced its space by about 30%.
It's another proof that Virtual Reality is a niche market. Ordinary people do not need the experience more than once.
 The Terrace, a restaurant located at Marine Plaza and part of the ailing Midnight Pattaya Complex, turned down the lights.
The venue opened on February 7th, 2018.
The bar area to its left - also part of the Midnight Pattaya Complex - is in the dark too.
 The construction site between the Taboo A Go-Go and an Indian restaurant will soon see the light of day as a Social Lounge & Bar - and not as another A Go-Go Bar as mentioned a few months ago.
 Rock Sreet reopened in an enlarged but still unfinished room.
The venue closed down a few days ago to incorporate a former Exchange booth.
 Sugar Baby A Go-Go got a new Management, a new Mamasan and a bunch of new Girls. Check it out!
The changes were already announced in September, but only came to fruition in the course of the last week of October.
 During the last week of October Boom Boom Sushi Room opened. The new venue is located just in front of Insomnia Disco Give it a try before your last dance...
 The Landlord of an empty space on Walking Street is looking out for tenants for a small Night Market.
 The building opposite the still popular Marine Disco is on the Block...
Poised to continue
No News so far
We are collecting the latest news. Please come back in a few days.
Poised to continue
 A Duck Club prepares to open on Soho Square in the (refurbished) rooms of the failed Club 713.
We will keep you up-to-date.
 A Bombay Chowpatty restaurant is announced to replace the flopped Subway Sandwich outlet on Soho Square.
Poised to continue
             Obviously we have Animal Paths in Switzerland...
Pattaya News Flash formerly known as Pattaya-at-Night.com
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Enjoy your Life
 This Month
Here starts the Fun:
 Major Cineplex Pattaya
The Avenue, 2nd Road SFX CentralFestival
Beach Road SF CentralMarina
2nd Road, North Pattaya SFX Terminal21
Roundabout North Road Opened:
Foodie Market
Second Road, Jomtien Dong Yi Xiang
Soi 29/1, off Naklua Road Das Wirtshaus
Soi Photisarn Terminal 21
North Road/Second Road Istanbul Restaurant
Second Raoad, Pattaya Basil Thai Kitchen
Royal Garden Plaza Move by Muze
Soi AR, Pattaya Chunky Monkey
Soi Buakhaow GoldenEast
Soi 6, Pattaya Club Bollywood
Walking Street/Bali Hai Nhabann Fast Food
Walking Street Reincarnation:
OASIS A Go-Go
Soi Buakhaow Lassi's Beer Bar
Soi Diamond, off Walking Street On the Block:
Jolly's Hotel & Restaurant
Soi Buakhaow The Cave
Soi LK Metro, Pattaya Jasmine Pub
Soi 6, Pattaya Closed:
We are the World
Beach Road, Pattaya Isan Bistro
Soi New Plaza, Pattaya Rock Street
Walking Street Rajah
Walking Street Last month's Highlight:
For more information click October 2018 News.
Brexit will be a Disaster for the European Union, not for the United Kingdom
BBC:
Chanel chooses London for global office More Information
NightWalker's Pictures
Disco's in Pattaya Thailand's Fruits Tasty Foods 2017 Tasty and Affordable Koh Samet Oil Disaster Thailand's Workforce Settling Down City Hall's Efficiency The Godfather of Chonburi The Legacy of Mayor Itthiphol Khunplome Amazing Thai Justice Greedy ThaiOfficials USA control Europe Turmoil in Thailand Junta reigns Thailand Thailand's Rich and Famous play Cat & Mouse with Thailand's 'Justice' Zika Virus in Thailand
Beach Promenade:
Paloma's Destruction Artist's Sketches Beach Destruction I Beach Destruction II
Previous Publications of Pattaya News Flash
Wikipedia about Pattaya No Alcohol Days
Thailand's National No Alcohol Days include Buddhist holidays and election days.
On all other days alcohol can only be sold between 11:00-14:00 and 17:00-24:00.
Vendors caught breaking the ban are liable to a prison sentence of up to six months, a 10'000 Baht fine or both - but local Police use their own discretion to decide which venues need to be visited and fined...
Don't start laughing:
Do not try to buy non alcoholic beers (available from Clausthaler and Oettinger in this country).
The shops won't sell them during dry days.
Some not even sell Soda Water, because Thais and their Police associate it with (Thai) Whisky...
There's a sucker born every minute...
The Godfather's Story
 Never forget:
It's not your Face and not your Body that makes you sexy.
It's your MONEY!
Electric Vehicles use batteries and batteries are not only a threat to our planet during manufacturing, the 'Recycling' of batteries is still an unsolved problem in most countries.
If the power for charging the batteries is generated by fossil or nuclear power plants then the LCA (life cycle assessment) turns completely to the worse.
 Nature destroyed by Solar Cells - Please click for a larger picture
Solar Cells are a threat to our planet:
The higher the efficiency of a Solar Cell the more Cadmium it contains.
Cadmium is banned from most products in almost all countries, but it can be used without restrictions in Solar Cells. Who controls the 'Recycling' of Solar Cells?
Never forget Chernobyl, Hiroshima, Nagasaki & Fukushima!
Never use a technology you do not master 100%!
February 17th, 2017:
Robot probes show Japan reactor cleanup worse than expected!
2018:
Spike from Pattaya Days reports from Chernobyl:
Exhausted?
Not only Apple, but most vendors of (completely overpriced) high-end smartphones report disappointing sales.
Obviously, customers are no longer willing to pay any price for a product that is already obsolete after 6 months.
Disappointing iPhone XR Sales
Sources close to Apple reports disappointing iPhone XR sales.
Apple even instructed its smartphone assemblers Foxconn Electronics and Pegatron to halt plans for additional production lines dedicated to iPhone XR.
Market analysts already slashed their projections of iPhone XR shipments to 70 million from previous forecasts of 100 million units.
Unsafe Lithium Batteries
Fujitsu battery packs used in about 17.12 million of its laptop computers may be at risk of catching fire.
It affects 580 models, or almost all notebooks marketed between 2010 and 2016.
At least 45 incidents of batteries catching fire have been confirmed so far.
A software update to prevent ignition by suppressing rising voltage will be available via Microsoft in early November 2018, Fujitsu announced.
Alzheimer?
Apple's all new iPad Pro comes without 'home' button.
The new iPad will have an all-screen design with slimmer bezels around all sides. It has a power button and volume buttons, but will lack a home button.
For unlocking the device, it relies on facial recognition.
The new tablet is replacing the long-standing Lightning connector with an USB-C connector.
The new iPad is built around Apple’s A12 Bionic processor, as found in its 2018 iPhones.
All in all, the refreshed iPad Pro comes with greater PC-like capabilities.
So why not buy a Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Tablet instead?
With Lenovo you will find the way back home...
 If you are involved in Electronics, you badly need Sherlab.com
 Milking Foreigners!
Thailand's National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department ordered that admission fees for foreigners at national parks throughout the country have to be 400 Baht.
Entry charge for Thai nationals remains 40 Baht for adults and 20 Baht for children.
To cover the inequity the local's prices are printed in Thai script only.
 No progress on Jet Ski saga:
Pattaya City Hall still doesn't do anything to stop the scam!
All the announcements made during last year were City Hall Blah-Blah only...
As long as Jet Ski vendors - respectively their victims - fill up our officials' pockets nothing will happen!
Update (published by Pattaya Mail): Problems with Jet Ski operators unsolved.  The boats are overloaded, don't provide lifevests for all passengers, are badly maintained and aren't covered by adequate insurance policies.
Pattaya's lazy and allegedly corrupt Officials promised to check owners, personnel and boats regularly, but they don't.   According to Pattaya Police, it is common in this resort that foreign tourists get drugged and robbed in their hotel rooms, apartments or houses by prostitutes or ladyboys.  Ladyboy Pick-Pocket Gangs are working almost daily on Pattaya's Beach Promenade!  Never wear Gold in Pattaya! Between 30 to 50 snatching valuables cases are reported to Pattaya's Police every single month. Lawsuits are the lazy man's way out
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