Pattaya's Zoom 2012 Festival will happen on March 30th & March 31st at the Bali Hai Pier. Over 50 DJ's are are trying to turn the night into an event.

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* We got the first official information about Zoom 2012 on March 16th 2012...

And as usual: Pattaya Police don't do anything. Try to get fingerprints is too much work. We recommend: Invite your new friend to a Shorttime Hotel. If drugged you loose your wallet only and not everything in your room. More likely: She will find a reason to say good bye!

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Until today I was used to sit down on Pattaya's Beach Promenade to have a talk with my friends. Sometimes my lady, one of her girlfriends or my cleaning lady is joining me. After tonight's experience it's not possible anymore to visite Pattaya Beach with a lady anytime during an evening or a night. The behaviour of Pattaya's Police is absolutely inappropriate. It's a shame for Pattaya, Banglamung, Chonburi and Thailand as a whole. It's time the police learn to do their duties and not to criminalise Pattaya's citizen. Currently Pattaya's Police presents themself as a bunch of blowhard with the sole intend to extort money from Pattaya's citizens and its visitors. Instead of combating criminals they are supporting them.

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PS: Without a substantiated suspicion of a criminal offence not even Pattaya's Police have the right to confiscate an Identity Card or a Passport, a lawyer told me.

On March 13th, 2012, Banglamung Police informed the press that they have shut-down a 2 Million Baht per-day illegal money lending operation which covered the entire Eastern Seaboard. The Police received an anonymous call from someone who provided information of the money lending operation which was believed to be controlled from a house in the Nong Pla Lai area, east of Pattaya. Based on this tip officers conducted surveillance and determined the information was correct. On March 12th, during the night, the Police conducted a raid of the house. They arrested nine people, who are all suspected of being debt collectors. An additional person, believed to be the head of the operation was also arrested. Evidence including collection books which detailed names and telephone numbers of those who borrowed money was seized and further investigations revealed the money to finance the illegal business came from a man based close to Bangkok. Police say that investigations continue. As you learn from the above information, Police acted on provided information only.

Money sharks are working illegally all over Thailand. Nevertheless, motorized people are distributing almost every week name cards from illegal money lenders. Everybody can contact them - but obviously not our Police! To start some work our lovely Police need concrete information, otherwise they don't do anything. It seems they not even can read a simple name card.

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PS: I just discussed the arrest of money lenders mentioned above with a neighbour. I told him that the debtors will be happy. He just had a laugh. You are a Farang. You don't know how it works! The Police have the collection books, the names and phone numbers. With the help of middlemen they will collect the money now themself, he said.

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A Miracle is the cause of the delay: According to Pattaya Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome Tourism Authority of Thailand (also known as TAT) asked to move the festival from March 16-18 to March 30th - April 1st to include the event into its new Thailand Miracle Year campaign. Another reason reason for the delay was the funeral of HRH Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda on April 9th, the Mayor said. City officials deemed it appropriate to postpone all recreational activities until after the funeral out of respect and mourning. But over lovely Mayor forget to explain why only the Music Festival had to move and not the Pattaya Livestock Show 2012 and the Pattaya Zoom 2012 Festival. Both events will haben during the last two days of March.

Pattaya's International(?) Music Festival 2012 doesn't happen between March 16th and 18th as announced by most websites worldwide and not during March 30th and April 1st as announced by a few other ones. The Festival will happen during the last weekend of April, from April 27 until April 29 2012.

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Chaos City Pattaya™
Trade Mark possibly owned by Pattaya Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome and his City Hall Fumblers, the officials not even capable to publish a reliable Event Calendar.

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Chaos City Pattaya™
Trade Mark possibly owned by Pattaya Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome and his City Hall Fumblers.

During his election campaign, now Pattaya Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome promised to reduce the traffic in Pattaya and to ban the tourist busses from entering Pattaya City's already congested streets. It seems our beloved Mayor forgot almost all of his promises: On February 7th 2012 Pattaya Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome announced that his organisation will start a major beach beautification program. Pattaya City Hall will planting new trees and gardens, do some painting and a lot of other works, our beloved Mayor told the press. Itthiphol Kunplome also announced that the 140 million Baht project will include an additional 3rd traffic lane to Pattaya's Beach Road. We first understand that our Mayor will remove all the parking lots along the street and use the space as a third lane, but in the meantime we learned that's not the case. Pattaya Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome and his team will purloin the needed 3 meters from the almost nonexisting Pattaya Beach Promenade*. Furthermore, Itthiphol Kunplome and his City executives announced a 15 billion Baht face-lift. They want to turn the city into a New Pattaya, a World Class Greenovative Tourism City with a green and clean environment for tourists and locals. With stinking busses and racing Mini-Busses in front of Pattaya's polluted beaches? The 15 billion Baht Greenovative Tourism city plan earmarks 132 projects, including developing transportation and tourist attractions. It aims to declare Pattaya a green and clean city in 10 years. A senior immigration official said the plan to turn Pattaya into a green city would be impossible unless the foreign criminals were flushed out. But the lovely official forgot to mention the local criminals - often being officials too - the ones distributing drugs, counterfeited products and 'protecting' a large part of Pattaya's legal and illegal businesses. They are known as Pattaya's influential people and seem to have more rights than everybody else in this city.

Free 'Swimming Pools' up to 96 hours after every rainfall.

An artist's view of Pattaya's coming multi-storey car park at Bali Hai, but will it ever work? In Pattaya not even a simple traffic light works the way it should.

No parking from 19:00 - 03:00, but nobody cares, not even Pattaya's 'watchful' Police. So why Pattaya installs this signs? 1.) Every Beach Resort in this world is placing signs like this.
2.) Pattaya's Taxpayers provide money for the producer of this signs - as well as for some officials. A typical Win-Win situation: You don't have to miss a single sign during your holiday, the designer and his employees get some work and the city officials their much needed tea money to support their Mia Noi(s).

On February 29th 2012 Pattaya Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome walked with his supporters on Beach Road and Walking Street to Bali Hai to celebrate a big party. People not ready to walk were carried by an armada of busses to the event.
The magic day ended at about 22:00 with an impressive firework.

In Pattaya the Mayor has the right to stop whole the traffic for his folks...

On March 12th 2012 Thailand's Supreme Court upheld the 25 years prison sentence on Somchai Khunploem. Somchai is an influential figure known as Kamnan Poh as well as Passakorn Homhual. He is a former member of the Saensuk Municipality Council in Chon Buri province - and the father of Pattaya's Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome. Thailand's Criminal Court sentenced Somchai Khunploem and another man to 25 years each in jail after finding them guilty of hiring gunmen for 3 million baht to kill Prayoon Sitthichoke, alias Kamnan Yoon, the kamnan of tambon Samet in Muang district of Chon Buri, at a wedding in March 2003. Somchai Khunploem, or Kamnan Poh, was earlier found guilty by the Chon Buri Court of graft over the purchase of a 140-rai block of land valued at 93 million Baht in Bang Lamung district, Chon Buri, by Pattaya City during 1992 and 1993 for use as a rubbish landfilland and sentenced to five years and four months in jail. Somchai Khunploem is reported to have fled to Cambodia. Thailand's Supreme Court read the verdict in absence of the two men. The court also issued a warrant for the arrest of the two fugitives.

Along Pattaya Beach Road a number of very impressive and futuristic zebra-crossings have been installed. Splendiferous as they are, there is just one problem: they don't actually work.
(Bangkok Post Postbag March 10th, 2012) I, for one, will be boycotting Pattaya and Phuket until jet skis are made permanently unavailable for rent at those places. This whole rip-off business needs to be completely snuffed out. Phuket and Pattaya police are helpless to intervene _ either out of fear of the extortionists, or because they themselves are in on the scam.
(Bangkok Post Postbag March 10th, 2012) On arrival at Suvarnabhumi Airport we had to queue up for almost two hours to go through Immigration...
(Bangkok Post Postbag March 10th, 2012) I have been travelling in and out of Bangkok every month for nearly 20 years, and must agree that the Suvarnabhumi Airport service (particularly at the arrival hall) has been absolutely hopeless these past six to 12 months.
(Bangkok Post Postbag March 10th, 2012) Hotel fire safety a joke!
(Bangkok Post Postbag March 10th, 2012) Dolphin light poles: I thought what the hell are they, why are they there, they look really really ugly and stupid.
(Pattaya Mail March 9th, 2012) When has anything Pattaya City Hall is involved in finished on schedule?
(Pattaya Mail March 9th, 2012) Concerned about Beach Road widening: Pattaya's famous beach is a bit like the stories in Playboy magazine; an excuse for buying the mag, rarely the reason; in Pattaya's case, an excuse for coming here.
(Pattaya Mail March 9th, 2012)

The small kitchens at Tops Supermarket at the 2nd Road/Central Road crossing have to close during the next few weeks. We just learned that the Bratkartoffel booth and its lovely lady, which is preparing Pattaya's most tasty Kartoffelsalat (potato salad), will don't come back after the renovation.

Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra says she will implement a 'Blue Flag programme' to stop Khao Kaeng sellers from increasing their prices. The programme will set standard prices for Khao Kaeng, the Thai style of fast food. Khao Kaeng includes rice and one dish of pork, chicken or fish. Thailand's Commerce Ministry plans to set the prices of 10 common Thai dishes at between 25 and 30 Baht per dish. Consumers have complained that the prices of Khao Kaeng have increased sharply recently. People said they have had to pay between 40 and 55 Baht a dish this year, up from about 30 Baht in the recent past. KFC, Chester Grill and McDonald's recently introduced Thai dishes for 69 Baht/each, including a soft drink. Most Thai ladies - and even some Farangs - prefer the spicy new dishes based on rice and fried chicken, pork or beef over Burgers with French Fries. But if you try to order one at McDonald's CentralFestival outlet after 22:00 they mostly tell you 'don't have'! Obviously McDonald's don't like to sell 'cheap' & tasty foods.

In our January 2012 News Flash we presented two popular Tom Boy clubs. Today we have to add a third one, this time an all new Karaoke club called Snoop. The new club is located on Soi Phettrakun (North Pattaya), about 150 meters only from Pattaya's famous Hollywood Disco.

Play, Walking Street's Party Dance Club, tries everything to attract Pattaya's visitors, but the question remains: How long?

On Soi Marine Plaza, off Walking Street, off Soi Lucky Star and off Soi Phratamnak, a new night-club will open its door in a few days (or weeks). New York New York opens in the rooms of the former Coyotee's A Go-Go Club. Coyotee's had to close during October 2009. Since then the venue was unused. The management is currently looking after Coyote dancers - what else!?

On Soi Marine Plaza, off Walking Street and Soi Lucky Star, Shorty opened. Shorty is a new Short Time Hotel. At the time of writing its VIP Rooms cost 300 Baht for a maximal 3-hour lasting healthy fitness adventure.

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To learn more about Pattaya's Short Time Hotels please click here.

In our News Flash from January 2012 we reported that Officers of the Consumer Protection Police Division from Bangkok conducted a raid of two small shops at the Grand Hall Market in South Pattaya and confiscated everything on display because the shops failed to display prices for items. We recommend that this Officers organize a few large trucks and drive them to Pattaya's Royal Garden Plaza and to CentralFestival. Most goods on display at this shopping temples miss a price tag, and if they have one you need a magnifier or a bar code reader to get the information.