bar invasion

[lazy-jay]

Is it me .
Or is there more invaders coming into the bars and shoving flowers and junk under my nose.
You know when it happens , your midway threw saying something and it happens , an u lose all train of thought with the other person you are talking to.
I've been here 5 years now and it is about time bar owners stopped them coming in ,ok a few flower girls for the romantics. I was in o'neils last nite and noticed they stopped them straight away and the bar was pretty full !

Maybe it's food for thought bar owners !!!!!!

[johnnyk]

A quick mai ao kap without eye contact works ok for me. Hard to stop them if the bar is open front.

[usual suspect]

Lazy-jay I can see your point...you're in mid conversation with a mate on the next stool, & all of a sudden a bunch of roses gets rammed up between you both & a kid buts in, & says "Hello-Flower"!
Not a hint of diplomacy..your normal answer..(after being rudely interupted)..is "No..f**k-off"
All the years I've been in the 'bar-trade' this practice has not changed..no gentle approach, no chance of
hearing "Excuse me sir, would your dear lady like a flower from you?"..BUT..
Please be aware these poor kids have probably never had real schooling, are most likely orphans, & are NOT
doing this by choice..& at this present time this is their only meal-ticket..their future is not looking like being a bed-of-roses compared to others around them..sometimes please accept their presence in the bars & down the Soi. A polite "mai-ow", & nice smile may make their evening a bit easier to bear.
Sorry if I'm getting soft in my old age folks.. U.S.

[richard]

Sorry if I'm getting soft in my old age folks.

At your age?

Agree with what you say though. The peg leg, one armed mafia bag would be ruined if they went to school

[cookmanchef]

Haven't yet reached the age where " Mai ao khrap" destroys my train of thought, by the time I do, England will have won the World cup three times and France will be a third world country.

[bonnielass]

I have found the kids normally move on with just a shake of the head.
But has anyone seen the small elderly lady dressed in hill tribe gear?
Frequently doing her rounds in Mai-Tai. She can be quite intimidating, won't take no for an answer.
If you make eye contact with her your are finished.
I think I bought some tat from her years ago, you know how it is, in holiday mode, after one too many beers. Well I swear to God she remembers me.

Or is that just my paranoia kicking in?

BL

[STEVE G]

But has anyone seen the small elderly lady dressed in hill tribe gear?

She's been trying to sell me the same noisy wooden frog on every visit for ten years now. One day I'm going to buy the bloody thing so that she can retire happy.

[margaretcarnes]

I have found the kids normally move on with just a shake of the head.
But has anyone seen the small elderly lady dressed in hill tribe gear?
Frequently doing her rounds in Mai-Tai. She can be quite intimidating, won't take no for an answer.
If you make eye contact with her your are finished.
I think I bought some tat from her years ago, you know how it is, in holiday mode, after one too many beers. Well I swear to God she remembers me.

Or is that just my paranoia kicking in?

BL

Not paranoia - she will remember you all right! To be honest I've never had a problem with her - she probably understands more English than she lets on, and loiters a bit, but does move on without any bother. Those Hill Tribe people are being run by others pretty much the same way as the children are IMO. I've seen Indian locals heading down the small alleyway next to the Railway restaurant where the Hill Tribe sellers disappear as well.

[margaretcarnes]

[quote=
Please be aware these poor kids have probably never had real schooling, are most likely orphans, & are NOT
doing this by choice..& at this present time this is their only meal-ticket..their future is not looking like being a bed-of-roses compared to others around them..sometimes please accept their presence in the bars & down the Soi. A polite "mai-ow", & nice smile may make their evening a bit easier to bear.
Sorry if I'm getting soft in my old age folks.. U.S.[/quote]

Well said flower! A way of life I'm afraid, and we should be able to accept it while at the same time sparing a thought for those kids. Showing them a bit of polite kindness certainly won't hurt.

[Ropes]

I agree with U.S but the guy who comes around trying to clean your shoes doesn't seem to take no very well and if looks could kill there would be a lot of dead bodies in Soi Bintabaht.

[johnnyk]

I agree with U.S but the guy who comes around trying to clean your shoes doesn't seem to take no very well and if looks could kill there would be a lot of dead bodies in Soi Bintabaht.

He works Pattay also, seen him there.

[richard]

The old man with the stick and red roses I give 20 bht to as I know what living conditions he exists in. The older flower girls I give nothing to as they double as 'ladies of the night' anyway. The shoe cleaner? well I like my dirty old sandals so no bother. The cranky old woman with one arm who fabricates a limp when appropriate? ..I'll say no more

[richard]

Incidentally, they had a police raid some months ago near the night market 711 crossroads. They all answered their mobiles and scarpered into a waiting pick up before the MIB arrived.

[lazy-jay]

I see i have started something here,

Well the fact that the children have not gone to school is terrible to all of us .
But lets not be fooled by the big picture,which brings me onto the one arm bandit.
She could and should take her children to school ,
Most the thai's know her around the town and don't like her, or the way she makes her children work late at nite selling .
Shaking the stump in my face doesn't maek me want to buy flowers for my loved one, and when told no , she can get abit upset and throws u a looks could kill look.
Since the little seaside restaurant started letting her in , i don't dine there anymore.O before i forget as the heat is draining me She lives around the corner from me in a nice little house.

[Pleng]

Is it me .
Or is there more invaders coming into the bars and shoving flowers and junk under my nose.

I've been here 5 years now

I've been coming here for 8 years, and living here for just over 1 and can't say I've noticed an increase over that time.

I think what you're seeing is the cumalative effect. You've been here for 5 years. It probably didn't bother you so much at first. As time went on I'm guessing they started to irritate you more, and it's finally got to the point where it's really bothering you.