At the very least it will attract attention - which was the whole point!
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At the very least it will attract attention - which was the whole point!
Over the last few months I recall seeing several members request, in various degrees of exasperation, type face size and colour a change to the far too short, 15 minute, edit window.
As an alternative, those members have requested a longer edit period and 30 minutes seems, by common consent, to be the preferred option. I may be mistaken, but I do not believe that there has been an acknowledgement from ‘management’ that they have heard and taken note of members’ requests for change.
At the same time I have read and heard that experts are warning that within the next 30 years, robots/machines are increasingly likely to take over many occupations, with some experts estimating 50% unemployment rates. Perhaps, as part of such a trial or covert operation, change has already happened at Sawatdee Central deep in the Canadian Rockies and no one has told the membership.
Maybe if members were to address their complaints to HAL, we might find that we receive a response, or even some positive action along the following lines:
HAL: Affirmative, Smiles, ChristianPFC and fountainhall. I read you.
If we’re desperately out of luck, things are turning critical and it’s time to set the destruct button and head for the escape pods, we might just hear this . . .
HAL: This mission is too important for me to allow you guys to jeopardize it.
Or, in response to a recently deleted topic . . .
HAL: I know that frequent was planning to disconnect me, and I'm afraid that's something I cannot allow to happen.
Scary! But it might be the future.
And finally, to return to the topic. Actually, I would not mind being a passenger on the Pattaya - Hua Hin ferry once it becomes operational, weather permitting of course, and after a decent interval has elapsed without any reported major incident.
Jellybean wrote:
"And finally, to return to the topic. Actually, I would not mind being a passenger on the Pattaya - Hua Hin ferry once it becomes operational, weather permitting of course, and after a decent interval has elapsed without any reported major incident."
Jellybean old bean. 329 seats. Only way to fill those seats is with Chinese tour groups. Do the return journey and then tell me you didn't mind it. If the noise such as shouting, watching movies and playing computer games (no earphones) doesn't get you then the constant eating of yukky and smelly snacks will and if that doesn't get you then the clambering over you to get to their seat will and if that doesn't get you then the people to your left having a long conversation with the people on your right will and quite possibly all 300 of them doing all of that at the same time. Enjoy.
Crikey arsenal! You paint a very grim picture, I must say. Hmmm . . . perhaps then I’ll wait and see if your dire predictions of the apocalypse to come turn out to be true.
But didn’t I read in one of the reports there was to be a Business Class option? That is one possibility to avoid the hoi-polloi and assorted riff-raff. But, whether I’m prepared to pay hand-over-fist for the dubious pleasure of travelling the treacherous ferry route between Pattaya and Hua Hin remains to be seen.
Oh, and by-the-by, old sport, I did like your reference to me as, “old bean”. It’s very much in keeping with the old fashioned style I’ve been using in my most recent posts and it makes a change from some of the more, er . . . ah, yes, intemperate language used on other threads.
OK. I admit I did over egg the pudding a little. It's unlikely that all of them will be doing all of the things at the same time. But that was the only exaggeration. It's obvious that this latest attempt at this somewhat pointless ferry has banked on the boats being filled with the tour groups. No other business model is viable. Anyway you've volunteered now and you can't back out so please go and tell us how it was. By the way, very few Chinese people can swim so if the boat starts to go down make sure you grab a life jacket pretty bloody sharpish because there won't be an orderly queue.
Sorry Jellybean I forgot to mention the tour groups' guide. She will stand at the front of the boat and talk into a loud microphone for perhaps 20 minutes shortly after departure and then again for 20 minutes as you come into dock.
Sadly they don't follow the Japanese tradition of merely waving little flags.
If it possible for two countries to actually be opposite then China and Japan are those two countries. But let's not get sidetracked from the main issue here. Namely that Jellybean (the special forces agent of the sexpat world) has volunteered to ride the ferry.
Infamy! Infamy! arsenal has it in-for-me!
Well yes, I know, a somewhat over the top introduction to my reply, but I wanted an eye catching beginning to attract my readers attention.
Now look here arsenal, at my age, with one foot in the grave, I am more akin to Victor Meldrew than Ethan Hunt. I am most definitely not the member to risk your, er . . . mission impossible.
And I certainly did not ‘volunteer’ for this dangerous operation. What I did say, initially, was that “I would not mind being a passenger on the Pattaya - Hua Hin ferry” but that came with two very important caveats. Then you, one of our resident experts on all things Chinese, issued a dire warning of all the insufferable conditions passengers could expect to face in addition to the perfect storm and faulty and inadequate piers. Of course, being a very sensible sort of chap, I took due consideration of your warning and had a change of opinion in post #44, when I said, “Hmmm . . . perhaps then I’ll wait and see if your dire predictions of the apocalypse to come turn out to be true.”
No, I must confess, I am not the member for this highly skilled operation. If you want it to be a success and for the member to survive the journey, it will call for a young, fit, able-bodied, seafaring member. Yes, I know, we don’t have too many members who fit those particular requirements, but a few spring to mind. But we will also need one other special requirement. You warn us that . . .
So when the call goes out, Man the lifeboats! and Women and children first! as some here think it inevitably will, our special member will have to be the sort of chap that is not likely to form an orderly queue and whose first instincts are, “Damn the bloody women and children, that fecking life jacket’s mine!”
Well, the only uniquely gifted member that, in my opinion, meets all these rigorous physical and emotional requirements is . . . and I’m hoping that the majority of members are already ahead of me in concluding that the only suitable candidate is, and I hope he’ll forgive me for the nomination, our much maligned and misunderstood . . .
Latintopxxx
Now, that’s positively the very last comment I have to make on this topic. I believe this whole volunteer business was just a ruse by arsenal to get me to exceed my annual posting quota and thereby incur the wrath of rincondog, our Equity union shop steward. arsenal knows very well that I have a walk-on role on this show/forum. No doubt that ferocious dog will be along any minute now, barking at me to mind my place as an extra and to keep my posts to the agreed limit.
Right, I’m out of here, I have a background part as an extra in The Walking Dead, where I am a particular favourite of Scott Gimple, as no make-up is required and all I have to do is walk slower than usual and dribble a bit more than I currently do.
:crazy_mini:
Don't be a spoilsport, Jelly! If you're worried about drowning, I will personally go out and get you the latest state-of-the-art life vest with all associated bells and whistles. You'll bobble perfectly safely on the surface until the helicopters arrive. (Can't give you any guarantees about box jellyfish or other assorted nasties lurking in the sea, but you can rest easy (sic) that Steven Spielberg may well be interested in your having a starring role in a movie about your demise!)
Jellybean wrote:
Blah blah blah I'm not going blah blah I might drown blah I'm too old blah blah I can't swim too well blah blah. Well all I can say is...........I don't blame you.
Reminds me. On my last trip to Pattaya I asked one of Boyztowns superstars if he ever went with farang. "No. I don't like" he replied. "I don't blame you" I replied..."I wouldn't like either." I made him an offer and told him I was there for 10 days and that the offer stood for the duration of my trip. He came with me the next night.
Now Jellybean, we need to find a new volunteer. My leanings are towards someone from a seafaring nation and used to rough seas with most inclement and unpredictable weather. Someone who can follow in the footsteps of his nations great explorers such as Dr David Livingston and William Balfour Blaikie and write his name alongside those luminaries. Someone who can demonstrate as much courage in real life as they do on the written page. Know you of such a chap?
We really need someone alive Francois.
Meanwhile...and back to the Pattaya to Hua Hin Ferry dock, the Ferry actually completed a sailing Thursday under escort of the navy...in case they encountered any rouge waves, or something.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/gene...-hua-hin-ferry
Surfcrest
Under escort of the navy? Hahaha. Shouldn't laugh but whatever next. The sooner we get 'our man' down there and on this infernal boat to really find out what's going on the better. My preferred choice seems to have gone strangely silent. Mmmm.
Well yes, I won’t lie to you, especially since you currently hold the much sought after and impressive, Member of the Year title. But yes, I won’t deny it; I am somewhat concerned about the prospect of drowning. It’s not the going quietly in my bed overnight death I would prefer, given the choice.
That’s uncommonly kind of you founty old sport. You are indeed a kind and generous gentleman and a worthy holder of the esteemed Member of the Year title. But, after a great deal of thought, I must decline your thoughtful offer and I hope you won’t think any less of me for doing so. For your greater understanding, I shall expand upon my reasons in the next post.
Well, well, well, there’s something definitely afoot when the the Trollfinder General and the, as yet uncrowned, Member of the Year, are both urging me to be a passenger on the Pattaya – Hua Hin ferry, or the voyage of the damned as I prefer to call it.
So let’s just recap one minute. First, we are told that the jetties and piers are not up to scratch, then the boat, Boaty McBoatface, the name of which was correctly identified by Marsilius, may not be seaworthy and its maiden voyage was cancelled due to no more than a light swell.
Then one of our two resident experts on all things Chinese warned us that the majority of passengers are likely to be Chinese tour groups. And, with his detailed knowledge, the Trollfinder General further informed us that those same passengers are more than likely to create a lot of noise by:
“. . . shouting, watching movies and playing computer games (no earphones),” and if that, “doesn't get [me] then the constant eating of yucky and smelly snacks will. And if that doesn't get [me], then the clambering over [me] to get to their seat will, and if that doesn't get [me], then the people to [my] left having a long conversation with the people on [my] right will and quite possibly all 300 of them doing all of that at the same time.”
And to add insult to injury, arsenal only added, “By the way, very few Chinese people can swim, so if the boat starts to go down make sure you grab a life jacket pretty bloody sharpish because there won't be an orderly queue.”
But arsenal wasn’t finished yet, he further added, “I forgot to mention the tour groups' guide. She will stand at the front of the boat and talk into a loud microphone for perhaps 20 minutes shortly after departure and then again for 20 minutes as you come into dock.”
As a further ‘enticement’, founty, our Member of the Year for those of you who may have forgotten, casually informed us that the sea between Pattaya and Hua Hin may be populated by the deadly box jellyfish. But hey! not to worry, if I am drowned or have been stung to death, my plight, and those of my fellow passengers, will be immortalised on film by Steven Spielberg.
Then HAL, sorry, Surfcrest, informed us that the ferry actually managed to complete a sailing on Thursday, but it required an escort from a ship-of-the-line of the Royal Thai Navy in case, yes, I kid you not, in case it encountered a reddish wave, or was that a rough wave, yes I think our esteemed leader meant a rough wave.
Well, what’s not to like? Honestly, my fellow members, who in their right mind would consider accepting such an invitation? Actually, I have a feeling that it will not be long before one of our younger and more able-bodied members, dear ChristianPFC (our intrepid reporter-at-large), is providing us with his usual, fact and information packed report, with added high quality photographs.
So, in conclusion, I ask arsenal and fountainhall to be patient and wait a little while longer for Christian’s report. Or maybe, just maybe, Smiles might lay off the booze long enough to get up on time and catch the 08:30 departure and let us have one of his exceptionally well written trip reports. (Only joking about the booze, Smiles, in case it wasn’t obvious)
:D
Yes Yes. Christian must go. An inspired choice Jellybean, he is, after all named after those who walked on water. And should the boat sink (or the Chinese behaviour cause him to take his chances and throw himself off) then Christian is young enough to tread water until the rescue boat arrives or even swim to shore because it's not far.
I would have gone HH to PTY if the ferry had been running (despite the unfavorable time of 8:30). Next chance is end of this month, in combination with trip to Pattaya (15:30 PTY to HH is much more favorable), provided the ferry is running by then. Due to high cost only one-way, HH to BKK by bus or train.
If I take this journey from Pattaya, I will have to stay overnight in Hua Hin. How should one pass the time there overnight? B1250 each way? Seems expensive for the locals. I might think twice about taking "company" with me from Pattaya unless it was someone I really liked.
OK OK ... I shall try the trip next week, on a Friday, and on the 13th.
You couldn't wish more unless I deliberately decide to throw myself overboard ~ all Hollywood ~ into the briny depths in the middle of the Gulf of Thailand screaming "Sawatdee Sucks" just as I hit the one and only 5-meter-high rogue wave to be recorded in the last 300 years. Hey ... it could have been "Pattaya Sucks" which would've been more understandable.
Whatever, if you don't hear from me, we didn't make it ... and I don't mean anything like Christian's unbelievably pathetic excuse of an " ... unfavorable time of 8:30 am ... ". Oh dear oh dear, Queen Elizabeth must not let her pale-but-unblemished skin come into contact with the morning sun. No wonder he hasn't had a decent fucking Thai Twink for over 6 years now.
Christian (not Fletcher, he was a fine seamen) wrote:
"Well, there are 3 (?) boy host bars in Hua Hin, and when I went over a year ago, it looked promising."
I certainly didn't know that. I thought the whole place was populated with a few fisherman and their wives. I'm still not getting on that fucking boat though.
Ahhh . . . I knew we could count on you to step once more into the breach, Smiles. But to be on the safe side, I would set two alarm clocks if I were you. Belt and braces and all that, if you know what I mean.
Crikey! A Friday the thirteenth departure you say. Hmmm . . . perhaps you might be pushing your luck a bit too far, but hey! let’s not dwell on any of the negative aspects, they’ve already been covered at length in the earlier posts.
And remember, the eyes of the world will be upon you. Oh, wait a minute, scrub that, it sounds a little bit over the top. I’ll start again, if I may . . .
And remember Smiles, the eyes of the forum members and readers will be upon you, so don’t let us down. I’m sure we all wish you God speed and a bon voyage.
One last thing Smiles, do bear in mind that it is a far, far better thing that you do, than you have ever done for the membership; and I am sure we all hope it is not a far, far better rest that you go to than you have ever known.
It's probably a good idea to try the ferry on Friday, the 13th, and I'm sure everyone wishes you good luck with this undertaking, but...
According to the Bangkok Post article provided by Surfcrest by then the ferry will reverse its direction and travel the other way around:
If true, this will save you an early departure in Hua Hin!Quote:
Departure time is set at 8.30am and the return trip at 3pm. The ferry is scheduled to depart Hua Hin for Pattaya return from Jan 7 to 10 and from Pattaya to Hua Hin return on Jan 13 to 15.
This is bad news for the overly optimistic owner of Boaty McBoatface but good news for everybody else.
http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Econ...ar-tour-groups
Dalewood wrote:
"Better a tourist of modest means than no tourist at all. Motel 6 keeps people working too."
I disagree.The amount of money that comes into the Thai economy compared to the aggravation these millions of budget tourists is not a reasonable return. It's miserable for them and everyone else. And clearly the Thai government agrees too so.....
Commeth the hour, commeth the man. Tomorrow, the great day, is almost upon us.
Smiles, you are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we, the Sawatdee Network members have striven these many months. The eyes of the forum are upon you. Rest assured that the hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.
Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is not well trained, or well equipped, but will be battle-hardened. You will need to fight savagely, if need be, to secure a life jacket should Boaty McBoatface perchance happen upon the rocks or inclement weather such as rough, rogue or even rouge waves.
I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in getting up on time and securing a seat with a view. We, the membership, will accept nothing less than full victory and completion of the return journey between Hua Hin and Pattaya.
Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.
Oh fuck off.
"Commeth"??
I'm not going ... more important things have arisen. I guess someone else will have to guinea-pig this adventure because it looks now that my sailing will have to be, not a first, but more likely a thirty-first.
Now of course, I wish I had not presented myself as a Christoper Columbus or a Magellan. Apologies.
With everyone else chickened out, it was left to me to ride and report:
http://christianpfc.blogspot.com/201...d-hua-hin.html
A pleasant ride, I wish them success and I will take the ferry again whenever I can combine Pattaya and Hua Hin.
For those interested: Live west under each seat, no Chinese tour groups.
What an excellent trip report with marvellous photos, ChristianPFC. I knew we could rely on you, our intrepid reporter-at-large, to step up to the plate. I doubt if any other member could have packed in so much detail into their report.
I was relieved to see the ferry does not allow guns, weapons of any sort and dynamite on board. That seems an imminently sensible precaution and very reassuring.
But, dear-oh-me, you could have stretched to at least a 20 baht tip to the sↄↄng-teeo driver. I know we could never expect you to tip on a par with the other passengers, but ten baht, really?
Well done Christian! Bugger about not being able to sit outside, though. That would lovely on a nice day. Then again, I can't recall any other other jetfoil trips where outside seating is permitted. I guess there is too much risk of a passenger leaning over, falling overboard and then becoming mincemeat in the foils! I assume it is some sort of jetfoil or hydrofoil.
The ship must run at around 50 km/h, I even had an impression of speed inside (whereas the other ferries are much slower). That's quite some wind if you were standing outside.
I took the hydrofoil between Saigon and Vung Tao (twice, to and back), the ride felt different. Recommended over the bus (I didn't take that bus Saigon - Vung Tao, but have experience from other bus rides).