Nong Khai versus Pattaya

Best things about Nong Khai

1. Almost no violence and low crime generally.
2. A relatively sane, mixed gay/straight farang community, including people to talk to about arts, science, politics etc.
3. 90 minute visa runs accross the bridge to Laos (including the visit to the Duty free shops to stock up on cheap wine).
4. Good, cheap Thai, Chinese and vietnamese food. Good english breakfasts (for lunch), reasonable german food.
5. Cheap houses to rent (about 5,000 baht for something nice).
6. Lovely young men looking for boyfriends (or sex) - if you dont have a BF already.
7. Good transport connections to Bangkok via overnight train or flight from Udon Thani.

Worst things about Nong Khai
1. Dogs. If you're on foot or, especially, on a bike they can be a pain in the arse (literally if your not careful). I havn't been bitten yet, though - touch wood.
2. Ants - everywhere!
3. mosquitos. varies a lot according to location, but they can be a real drag.
4. Little by way of nightlife or entertainment. There's a cinema, cheap DVDs from Laos, massage places (for massage only) and drinking places (for drinking and playing pool only), and a beach of sorts when the river is low, occasional carnivals, festivities etc - but that's about it.
5. My ADSL provider - how slow can you get?

By way of comparison my best and worst lists for Pattaya would be:

Best
1. Lots of night-time entertainment when you want it.
2. Jomtien Beach when you want it.
3. good farang food (if you can afford it).
4. Thai Blind Massage Institute.
5 Easy transport to Bangkok.

worst
1. High and increasing crime rate, especially violent crime and burglary - and farangs seem to be increasingly caught up in this.
2. With many notable exceptions, the maddest, saddest farang community in Thailand, nay the world.
3. Incessant traffic/lunatic driving.
4. Awful visa runs to Cambodia.
5. Ludicrously high rents.
6. Few places to get good, cheap food of any variety, but especially Thai food.
7. Even less by way of cultural distractions than Nong Khai.

You'll have gathered I prefer Nong Khai as a place to live over Pattaya. That said, if I couldn't escape to Europe, Australia, singapore, Bangkok every now and then it would probably drive me bonkers. Also, I like spending a few
days in Pattaya every now and then, but that's about as much as I can take. I couldn't live there again.

What do other people think. What are you best and worst lists for Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai etc?

Any views?

[UncleSam]

and watch the grass grow, if you think you could settle down in Nong Khai and be happy.

[paulg]

did you say escape to Australia.whats here for you,theres more crime here in Sydney than the whole of Thailand.Australia has been overrun with arabs,this country has been stuffed.
But nooooooo you dont bloody care do ya,see what mess you have left for us.,

why do you live in oxford st if you worry about the mess
it is the biggest poofter suburb of the world
why call yourself a country
you must have been stuffed by every asian arab overweight midget loving poof in sydney
why do you ned to come to pattaya
stay home and make a fortune

Justin,

Interesting thoughts. I've now been in Patong Beach (Phuket) for almost three months, and as I'm leaving next week (for a month in Chang Rai), I've been thinking lately about what I like about this place.

Likes:

1. Living in Paradise Complex is like living in a small town where everyone knows you. I can't even take a short stroll to the 7-11 without chatting with ten or more people I know.
2. Beautiful beaches and nice scenery are very close by.
3. There is enough nightlife and enough good looking boys to not be overwhelmed by it all and to still feel as if part of a small town.
4. Plethora of good, cheap food at all hours of the day (cheap by my standards--high by others).
5. Lots of touristy things to do, especially trips/recreation on the water.

Dislikes:

1. Transportation is the highest in LOS. A minimum of 100bt to step foot in a tuk-tuk and 400 bt for a taxi. As all the good shopping and cinemas are "over the mountain" it costs a great deal to get out of Patong Beach for part of the day. Going anywhere by baht bus takes half of the day.
2. All the good shopping and cinemas are too far away (although the big new mall in Patong Beach should be open by the end of this year).
3. At times, it feels like a big frat party in sections away from Paradise. Too many drunk tourists and not enough Thai.
4. Visa run takes 12 RT hours to Burma!
5. Can one really see the "real" Thailand ensconed in one of the country's biggest tourist and party meccas? I always feel like a tourist, and many times feel caught in a cheap tourist trap.

worst
1. High and increasing crime rate, especially violent crime and burglary - and farangs seem to be increasingly caught up in this.
Where exactly is your evidence for this, other than anectodal stories in the press. Can anyone refer to statistical evidence?
2. With many notable exceptions, the maddest, saddest farang community in Thailand, nay the world.
Rather judgemental that. Mad as in angry?
3. Incessant traffic/lunatic driving.
Its a city. All cities have lots of traffic.
4. Awful visa runs to Cambodia.
Perhaps, but there are visas where no runs are needed.
5. Ludicrously high rents.
Compared to what? Bangkok? Phuket? Hawaii?
6. Few places to get good, cheap food of any variety, but especially Thai food.
Thats bullshit. You haven't looked hard enough.
7. Even less by way of cultural distractions than Nong Khai.
Doubtfully less than NK, but admittedly thin on the ground.

DELETED

[catawampuscat]

For ever one thousand farangs living in Pattaya , there are probably two or three living in places like Nong Khai or Udon Thani..
If one is on a very tight budget, then it makes sense, as one can live for very little up country but man oh man is it boring...

I have been to Nong Khai many times, first bf was from there, and it was fine for a couple of days but zero to do in the evenings unless you like kareoke,
and the place was full of old ladyboys who retired from places like Pattaya and opened beauty parlors or other businesses..Granted there are plenty of younger lads who aspire to a career in Pattaya and are just waiting until they hit 15 or 16 y.o. to try their luck...
The farangs I ran into were almost all very poor or said they were on the lam from the US military or the tax people or whatever...Lots of illegals (overstays, no passports, escaped convicts and dope smokers and growers who are living in the golden past.. Plenty of boring old straight men with their Thai wives and some
gay ones with their bfs but all in all, give me Pattaya or give me death...

About the only reasons beside the financal one , is that is a good place to learn Thai or Lao, study the religion, or write the great novel or catch up on your reading...

Yes, all the statements about both Pattaya and Nong Khai are generalisations, and few generalisation are going to be entirely true, though that doesn't stop them from being broadly true. The comparisons (on rents, traffic etc) are with Nong Khai.

The views expressed are based on my experience of living in Pattaya (about a year) and Nong Khai (about 2 years) and on reading Pattaya Mail online - but what bothers me a lot (aggressive dogs, crime, disfunctional behaviour) would be only a minor irritation to others. As to the mad, sad farang (note farang, not specifically gay) community - well, the almost weekly reports of suicides, shady business dealing, and crazy drunken behavior is testament to that. In the relatively short time I lived in Pattaya, two people on my corridor in View Talay committed suicide (I didn't know either of them, so it wasn't something I said). I also see or hear crazy or disfunctional behaviour several times every day when I visit Pattaya - most, though not all, from the straight community. I don't mean axe murderers, but things like the farang screaming and ranting at a female bank employee because he had to pay 200 baht to replace his ATM card, or the farang observing loudly on the Jomtien baht bus that the only thing Thais were good for was fu**ing, and so on. The continued presence of children in the Sunnee bars (and their customers) would be another example of disfunctional behaviour, of course. I find this kind of stuff dispiriting even though it doesn't affect me directly. I did also say that there were MANY notable exceptions to the mad/sad thing.

Yes, Nong Khai is boring - I think that would have come accross in my original post. In fact, my reason for making the post wasn't to upset Pattaya residents, but to see what the pros and cons of other places in Thailand were - especially Chiang Mai and Bangkok.

[TrongpaiExpat]

2. With many notable exceptions, the maddest, saddest farang community in Thailand, nay the world.

I pretty much assumed that you were basing that generalization on the Pattaya residents that post on this board.

Actually, just the other day I was getting a capichino at that Pain Au Bon on Silom. All the tables were filled. I saw this one farang sitting alone using two tables to read the Bangkok Post, his feet propped up on one of the 4 chairs. I went to the far corner of the table he was using to lean on and asked politly if he minded if I sat there. He put the paper down, said something in a foreign language that I did not understand and punctuated the sentence with "you asshole". He then stormed out of the place looking incredibly angry.

At least once a week I see some Farang that scares the bejesus out of me, some just look plain mad.

2. With many notable exceptions, the maddest, saddest farang community in Thailand, nay the world.

I pretty much assumed that you were basing that generalization on the Pattaya residents that post on this board.

Actually, just the other day I was getting a capichino at that Pain Au Bon on Silom. All the tables were filled. I saw this one farang sitting alone using two tables to read the Bangkok Post, his feet propped up on one of the 4 chairs. I went to the far corner of the table he was using to lean on and asked politly if he minded if I sat there. He put the paper down, said something in a foreign language that I did not understand and punctuated the sentence with "you asshole". He then stormed out of the place looking incredibly angry.

At least once a week I see some Farang that scares the bejesus out of me, some just look plain mad.

Has BoyGeorge arrived already?