Etc: Links for 1st November, 2019

  1. We’ve been eating at Kiss Restaurant in Pattaya since 2011, and haven’t had a bad meal once. They’ve grown to having four branches now, and as far as I’m concerned, have consistently great food.
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  2. The quieter side of Pattaya: Jomtien. Public transport is practically non-existent, but the opportunity cost is that it is very, very quiet indeed.
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  3. A New York Times article from almost a decade ago about how Pattaya is trying to reinvent itself. Has it succeeded? Somewhat, I’d say.
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    “Indian couples, Chinese tour groups and vacationing Russian families stroll around the city. A dozen luxury hotels cater to the weekend crowd of wealthy Thais from Bangkok who mingle with tourists at a huge shopping mall. Pattaya has a growing number of fancy restaurants, an annual music festival and, perhaps most improbably, regular polo tournaments.Long derided as a city of sleaze, the city is reaching for respectability.”
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  4. If you ever want to do touristy things in Pattaya, this might be a useful set of links for you.
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  5. Honestly, when it comes to street food in Pattaya, it is practically impossible to go wrong. That being said, this might be useful if you are looking for high end dining. Honestly, though – don’t look for high end dining.

RoW: Links for 11th September, 2019

  1. “Bangkok has 9.7 million automobiles and motorbikes, a number the government says is eight times more than can be properly accommodated on existing roads”
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    As an Indian, this is a somewhat reassuring read, in the sense that misery loves company!
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  2. A little vague, but I got to learn what sanuk means.
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  3. “The rapid expansion of the middle class among India’s 1.3 billion people has prompted Thai authorities to upgrade their estimates of Indian visitors. At least 10 million are now expected to arrive in 2028, a more than five-fold increase on 2018 visits. That sort of growth trajectory would mimic the rise of Chinese tourists, who jumped from 800,000 in 2008 to more than 10 million last year.”
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    I can account for three out of those 2 million.
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  4. “Obesity has reached alarming levels in Thailand, which ranks as the second-heaviest nation in Asia, after Malaysia. One in three Thai men are obese, while more than 40 percent of women are significantly overweight, according to Thailand’s national health examination survey.”
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    This was, to me, rather surprising.
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  5. “A couple of generations ago, Thais were rural folk who ate at home and took pride in offering food to the monks, but as they have moved to the cities they are likely to grab a polythene bag of curry on the way home to reheat. There is almost a stigma attached to cooking for yourself. “There is an embarrassment about spending time in the kitchen, it is seen as old-fashioned and a sign that you haven’t made it.”
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    On why Thai street food in Bangkok is so delicious. The article is about much more than that, but this was my main takeaway.