Tag Archives: Pattaya

Pig Snout a la Thai

Several years ago my Thai cousin and I stopped by the Jomtien tha-lat. My sister-in-law ran a food stall inside the open-air market. On my last visit Yai had been selling chickens. Now it was pig and Khim said, “We eat from tail to nose. Everything, but the oink.” On display were heads, tails, feet, […]

Noblesse Ne’er-Do-Wells

Ten years ago Thaksin’s red shirts of targeted Bangkok’s luxury shopping malls of their political rivals, the elite yellow shirts. The riotous schism between the two classes was a mystery to most foreigners who regarded their adopted country as the land of Smiles, but a restrictive way of life to the majority of Thais. I […]

The Day After Loy Krathong

Loy Krathong has long been Thailand’s most beautiful festival with candle-lit balloons rising into a night sky illuminated by a full November moon. Ten years ago I was in Pattaya. Few girls and women dressed in the traditional costume. The police banned fireworks and their marine patrols gathered the krathong offerings less than 20 meters […]

Halloween in Pattaya 2007

In 2007 Pattaya celebrated the old Celtic festival of Samhain with a singularly Thai flavor. Bar girls dressed in skimpy dresses and go-go girls painted fake blood on their faces. Farangs drank more than normal nights. It’s a pagan holiday and nothing says pagan better than sex go-go girls, beer, and a devilish hang-over the […]

Better Dead Than Alive

Back in September of 2007 I was coming home from visiting Mint in Jomtien Beach. Our affair had lasted almost a year and showed no signs of losing steam. She had her place and I had mine. We rarely slept together. Mint said it was because I was in love with my ex-wife. I told […]