There is no doubting the range of activities and things to do here in Pattaya from dining out, night-

life to sporting activities, yet even with all this stimulus on offer why do we continue to live

our lives glued to our mobile phones? Writes Dan Cheeseman, Inspire eMagazine.

Pattaya Experienced hrough a Mobile

Phone

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I have even turned it into somewhat of a game wherever I go, the challenge is to find a group next to me in a bar or restaurant where less than 40% have a mobile phone in their hand. It is absolutely amazing how this phenomenon has occurred as quickly as it has; Go back no more than three or four years and this problem did not exist. The birth of the Smartphone and Tablets, designed to make us more social and accessible, has actually become a social disaster. I often joke with my friends when I am out with them that I would get a better conversation from them if I texted them.

Recently I sat in ‘La Baguette’ coffee shop in Naklua enjoying a coffee and cake, sat just away from me were a group of five fairly young Bangkok Thais. Every single one of them were actively engaged on their mobile phones, some were texting while others were eagerly taking photos of the cakes in front of them, I imagine, with the intention of sharing these photos on their social networks. It just felt wrong, as if that very moment they had in front of them was being wast-ed due to their love affairs with their phones.

Has our need to be in contact with everyone and share information been to the detriment of how we live and experience our life? It seems like that. The debate on the mobile phone is very appropriate to this lifestyle publication as the phone is now a fundamental part to most people’s lifestyles; I could even go as far as to suggest it is the core part of most people’s lifestyles. I have a love and hate relationship with the trusty mobile as I too fall victim to this addiction, from the moment I wake up and check the news or football results to last thing at night when I give Facebook one last browse.

It’s the reason why Inspire eMagazine’s core offer sits within this digital chan-nel. We have five websites operating throughout Thailand, have a very popular App (If you have not downloaded it yet, please do so it is free and on An-droid and Apple - just search ‘inspire emagazine’), a You Tube channel, weekly eNewsletter and range of social networks. It is where we all as consumers now live and gather our information and so we must cater for these needs.

If we choose to live our lives through a phone then a service needs to exist while we are out and about to show us what is going on around us. The beauty of online, as a channel, to business is the new functionality it gives us in order to improve how we service our consumers. The Inspire App for example will send GPS based push notifications to your phone as you approach certain businesses in town, telling you about any events or offers they have on. Now that is very cool and useful for anyone living in Pattaya.

But there is some seriousness to this article for the art of socializing and the new rules of engagement when out has changed drastically. Our mobile phone has become so powerful that we can become too dependent upon this when out socializing. Lets enjoy each others company and make our mobile phone secondary to how we live our lives, use it for making calls and as reference but then push your energies into enjoying all that Pattaya has to offer. If we do not take control then that little electrical device that comes everywhere with you will continue to call the shots.

f you are sending money to the family of your Thai girlfriend just to keep her, many of your friends will say without hesitation “Are

you crazy?” If you have never lived in Thailand and do not know anything about its culture or abject poverty in certain provinces then this is an easy and logical reaction. Your girlfriend, in this partic-ular scenario, is working in Pattaya and when you met her and fell in love you soon found out she is supporting her family who live in a rural part of North East Thailand. The easiest way for an uned-ucated girl to earn money in Pattaya is to work in a bar and get bar fined every day/night and earn more money than her family have ever seen! The downside is you may well have fallen in love with a girl that has been with more guys than you can wave a stick at…

It seems the answer is to pay her enough money to leave the bar job and also pay her enough to cover her family expenses. She may have a Thai child or 2 living with her parents in her home village too. At this point if you are a fairly well off guy and of a good honest, giving nature you may feel like a white knight coming to save the day. So you visit the family in the village and they greet you with open arms. It’s a fantastic feeling knowing that you can help them in their hour of need and your girl loves you maak maak!

TIME OUT! Think about your actions and think about what is really going on. Of course they all ‘love you’ you’re about to become the new sponsor! As for your girlfriend she might love you, but how can you really tell? You have money, she doesn’t have to work if you take care of her. Also, are you the only sponsor? Thai bar girls learn quickly that their time at being bought for short and long times is limited, so they have to make as much money as possible in the time they have. Some will play the ‘sending money home to the poor family routine’ to several wealthy foreigners and end up having multiple sponsors, when all along you thought you were the one!

Not all bar girls are this dishonest, the ones that are see it purely as business, the ones that aren’t are in the minority however. How would you feel having to sleep with smelly fat foreigner’s every day? You would soon develop a thick skin and a hard attitude to the business if you are going to

survive, plus when you have met so many play-ers and guys that promise the world and never deliver you will be inclined to take what you can, when you can.

If you find out you aren’t the only for-eigner paying for the new village swim-ming pool and get upset etc, it’s just time for your girl to find another sponsor and so, the cycle continues…. OK, how can you check if your girl is being straight with you? Af-ter all you would like to know if she is really going back to her village to see her family when you go home on business, rather than simply going back to the bar or A-Go-Go to find the next sugar dad-dy. The only way to know this for sure is for you to hire a private detective, who will keep an eye on her while you’re away. It is recommended that you hire a foreign detective, rather than Thai, that has Thai assistants or speaks fluent Thai.

(It is also worth knowing that traditional Thai cul-ture requires the guy to take care of the family, whether you are Thai or foreign. So the scenario here is really just a corruption of a culturally ac-cepted norm.)

And now for the dilemma… ‘Love’ is all about trust, if you hire a detective to check up on your girl, then you clearly do not trust her! If you just want to keep your girl for your amusement and your relationship isn’t about love and you don’t want any-one else going near her, then the private detective option proba-bly is a good idea!

And finally, this old say-ing couldn’t be more true ‘A fool and his money are soon parted.’

Wangjuntr Golf Park – The ‘Disneyland’ course of Thailand

This resort is home to three courses with Highland course being its show piece due to its strikingly original design that includes a pond on one green to a bunker wrapping 95% of a greens paremeter on another. This all makes for a fun and interesting golfing experience. The resort offers a range of accomodation, meeting and confer-ence facilities, bar, restaurant, swimming pool and spa facilites. Located 75 minutes from both Pattaya and Bangkok in Rayong.

Siam Country Club Old Course – Home of the LPGA

Siam Country Club Old Course stands proudly in the international circles of world beating golf courses. The course has welcomed the Thailand Open four times, numerous Asian golf cicruits and the LPGA in 2007, 2010 and 2012. Opened in September 1969 it is one of the finest courses in Thailand. Facilities include an indoor and outdoor restaurant with exceptional views of the course and 3 function rooms.

Eastern Star Country Club – Ban Chang

Eastern Star Country Club is located 40 minutes from Pattaya and is a popular course for expats. With cool breezes, wide fairways, numerous doglegs and water hazards it has much appeal. With a strip of bars nearby it provides a fun day out for many guys in Pat-taya. Residential property and land parcels are also available for sale within the resorts grounds.

Pattaya boasts 20 golf courses within a 50km radius and notsurprisingly it is an area very popular with golfing tourists andexpats. Inspire takes a look at 3 courses for you to consider. For fullinformation on these courses including video reviews please visitinspirepattaya.com and take a look at our dedicated golfing section.