nomad127

There is a restaurant guide that is published and can be found many places in town for free, but The Dukes would most likely be the steak reccy. Daytime ideas; rafting, elephant park, Doi Suthep, Doi Inthanon, Hill Tribe visit, the zoo and or night safari, etc. For New Years, I just stay at home.

You would want to be on or as near to Nimmanhaemin Road as possible. Quite a few condos in this area, lots of good bars, clubs, restaurants, shopping (new mall being built) and a Powerhouse Gym is tucked away on a Soi there. The gym issue is the toughest part to help you with as decent ones in CM are far and few between. Other than Nimman, there is a really nice gym over by the football stadium, but I have no idea about condos or nightlife in that area.

I'm back in the states for the holidays and wishing the time would go faster, so that I can get back to Thailand. Having worked in China for 5 years, Thailand was like a breath of fresh air to me, the people (for the most part) are friendly and caring, the exchange rate is good enough and the quality of life versus other SE Asian countries is second to none. Sure it has its problems, but what country doesn't?

How hard is it to contact the bank that owns the ATM, do they not have a call center or he couldn't go the following business day, rather than beat on a machine? I have no sympathy for this guy and he got what he deserved.

Chinese tourists have been voted the worlds worst for manners and noise , ever stayed in a hotel when a mob of Chinese tourists arrive, they are noisy , rude and most don't even know how to work a lift , this caused some laughter at the hotel I lived at in HK couple years back.

I was staying in a hotel in BKK awhile back ago and this one Chinese couple across from us was letting their boy run up and down the hallway screaming at 6 AM till roughly 6:30 when I finally had enough and ripped them a new one in Mandarin (I worked in China for 5 years). The family promptly left the hotel for the day and I didn't hear another peep out of them.

If you are eligible, USAA is the best in my opinion. Not only are they setup for people traveling worldwide, they give ATM refunds up to 20 USD a month.

To the people here critical (bitchy) about this man's situation, you are being dicks. Just because he is out of money does not mean that he is a bad person, nor does it mean that it is entirely his fault. Anyone can run into bad luck in their life. Try a measure of sympathy.

Ever heard of saving (even a little bit) for a rainy day? I mean how hard is it to stash 3,000 baht away in a savings account or bury it in the backyard? Anyone that skint is just plain ignorant in my books.

Good to see farang tourist policeman is a paratrooper. Another 'special forces' leftover in Thailand keeping us safe from Thai night life.

Nice of you to insult a veteran. Wonder what you do to give back for living in Thailand?

He must be a rocket scientist in his spare time.

I'm 26 years older than my other half, so no comment.

Getting a bit difficult (and pricey) to fly from the USA to Thailand. I am an AAdvantage member and always took the DFW-NRT-BKK route that code shares with JAL for around 1k USD. Since they merged with US Airways though, this flight is not advertised on their website anymore, but rather a code share with Cathay Pacific out of Hong Kong for around 3k one way. Totally absurd.

One of the commenters has said it already (forget SCB by the way) As with Kasikorn, Bangkok bank can do online international transfers but you need to go to Bangkok bank with your bank book to set it up. Easiest way is PayPal. I sent money yesterday using PayPal, painless and cheap too. I use PayPal in the uk but I set up an account here in Thailand at paypal.co.th Registered and verified my Bangkok Bank account. Job done. When you want to send money you reigister your bank card and send the money (the receiver needs a PayPal account but they just do the same wherever they are).

Hi, Paypal is not cheap when they rip you off about 5% EXTRA on the dodgy exchange rate and fee they make up.

I use Paypal all the time to send money out, as well as in. It's easy and reliable and it works quickly. No need for bank or WU wire transfers which are expensive (my stateside bank is $50 per transaction). There are also alternative payment sites like Paypal which are cheaper, but Paypal has been doing it for a long time.

He has a history of kiddie fiddling and yet someone still married him? I feel so sad for the stepdaughter and this PoS should be beaten within one inch of his life and locked away forever.

Having lived in China for a few years, I can foresee this is a big, big mistake and a headache for all.

Trained in Russia and France to be a pilot? I would never fly Aeroflot or Air France as they always seem to be having accidents.

Hua Hin or Cha-Am

I don't personally like the idea of my tax dollar going in some fools pocket, but America is what it is. Do you have family (i.e. parents, siblings) whose home of record you can use? I do not own a home in the USA now, so for official purposes I use my fathers or my sisters address with no problems. I'm sure some homeless shelter will take you in, but a better choice is to find a religious outreach program, as they have experience in helping those in need. As far as the rental vehicle goes; forget about it....

We just moved from Hua Hin to Chiang Mai last week, guess we got lucky! The one thing I noticed while living there, is that the city planners are morons. They build cement curbs along the roadways with no drainage ability, I've seen manholes that were popping up from the ground after it rained due to the water levels and poor drainage throughout the city. I guess the old adage "You reap what you sow" is in order here, but you would think they would have learned how to deal with this a long time ago.

Try Hua Hin, a good mix of a local Thai town with a decent size of a foreign community. Golf opportunities are aplenty, probably one of the best in Thailand with some 10 golf courses within easy reach of HH. When night falls you will find an excellent selection of restaurants serving local and international food at reasonable prices and if you are still not tired from playing golf during the day, visit one of the bars near the Hilton with plenty of maidens, no gogo here, a bit of a low-key approach but I am sure you will find a pleasant girl to share a drink with and more... Beaches are not great here, neither are they around Pattaya, but drive south along the coast of Prachuap Kirikhan and will you will discover quite a few decent stretches of sand.

Agreed. I've been living here for 2 years now and it's a pretty good place to live. Not as touristy as Pattaya or Phuket, but offers the same levels of comfort and convenience. Lots of golfing to be had here too.

Not wanting to defend the van drivers but has no one read the first post!!!

If a truck suddenly veers across the road into your lane just in front of you then there's not much any one can do about it.

I know it's usually the van drivers fault but don't hang this one out to dry when it obviously wasn't.

HL

I would wager a bet that both the truck and the van were red lining the speed odometers.

This is THAILAND & it is THEIR COUNTRY...let them do what they want to do..it is not for US to judge a Thai persons action..If this LADY were Jewish and an ARTIST living in NEW YORK CITY...her Scooter would be a 'work of art" and worth thousands...this scooter,which to me it is a Work of ART should be used as a ADVERT "to

do your own thing in THAILAND" She should do TV Commercials...I would rather see this type of news than 99% of what we read today....travel the villages of Thailand and see the "REAL THAILAND"...lots of folk art and humor...and PEOPLE WHO STILL SMILE.

Grumpy Old Man, you think you got Thailand all figured out do you?

I flew them once from CM to BKK, the pilot was a foreigner who thought he was a fighter pilot. Worst 50 minutes of flying I've ever had.

Thailand has to do something about road safety, that includes road maintainance, some of the potholes are huge, rough uneven surfaces, driviers overtaking at speed on blind corners, reckless disregard for the road rules (if the drivers know them at all), lax law enforcement including officers taking bribes to look the other way. I have been driving my car when I have been unable to avoid a patch of road that has been gouged out by overloaded trucks and had to fight for control as the car bounced sideways through the cratered surface. I have face cars, trucks, busses and motorbike coming at me on the wrong side of the road around a blind corner, thier response when they see you, flash thier headlight to say 'out of the way I'm coming through' with no apparent care for thier safety or anyone else's. some people may say that corruption doesn't hurt them, well it does, how much money intended for road maitainance finds it's way into the pockets of local government officials, contractors, forman and police officers who come to 'inspect. whatever work is being done, all of it takes away from what should be done and lowers the safety standard resulting in loss of life in combination with other factors.

I agree with you, the highway heading South out of BKK is a mess. The thing I find most troubling is the total lack of law enforcement on almost every road I've been on. The BIB are too busy busting kids for not wearing helmets riding scooters, then to get out there and run radar (which I seriously doubt they even have). It's like those that own/operate a vehicle are left up to their own devices and the only time the cops ever get involved is when an accident occurs.

I've been living in Hua Hin for 9 months now and it's OK. Yes, they have nice beaches and there is a nice mall and another being built just outside of town. Tons of coffee shops and places to eat, Makro, Tesco and now a Big C (though it's really a small c), Only two legit gyms in town, though I hear the Sheraton has one too. Lot's of Scandinavian residents and tourists here, condo prices for buying and renting are going up in price. Tons of Bangkok folk on the weekends that saturate the establishments and drive like they do in BKK, need to be careful on a scooter.

Interestingly, A place I would like to further investigate for quality of living is Prachuab Kiri Khan (the city proper), it's of good size, I've seen foreigners there and the beaches are just as nice as HH with better views.

I've been to New York, a couple of days there and I dreamed of being in Thailand.