charles

Now we are faced with walking past more faceless hotels, carparks, stores, with no where on the main drag offering a beer and a bit of company.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Bloody 'ell, you only need to walk 50m off the main drag to find a "bit of company". And that is where it should be. A bit of discretion is good for all concerned, both for those who want such places and those that don't. I can imagine many respectable Thais felt pretty uncomfortable driving or walking past Asoke plaza. They know prostitution goes on, accept it, and may even partake in it, but discretion is the word.

Pre-97/98, you were hard pushed to find a single bar on the main drag. While nightlife in the "zones" was certainly much better and wilder than it has been recently.

Gotta agree this place was a real eyesore. I like the odd beer in Cowboy or Nana myself but I certainly don't appreciate being accosted and greeted like a whoremonger when I'm walking past a main intersection minding my own business, walking home from work, doing some shopping etc.

There's a time and a place for this type of thing and that place is in some sort of zone withdrawn a bit from the main street just like Cowboy and Nana are. Otherwise you are just going to antagonize everybody. Actually, it shows how "influential" Patpong must be to maintain its rather brazen position at the epicenter of the CBD.

Just wondering if anyone has any experience of the Imperial Phu Khao Hill Resort in Petchabun? Looks very nice in the photos but having difficulty finding any independent info on it on the Web, whilst Petchabun doesn't seem to get a mention in farang guidebooks.

Also, is Khao Kho a nice area to visit? (would be in January).

Any views greatly appreciated.

The family and I will be spending a night in Nong Khai early next month. Does anyone have any experience or recommendations for a hotel? I am looking at the "Royal Mekhong" out near the bridge and the "Nong Khai Grand" nearer town. Any ideas which is best?

Any views greatly appreciated.

It is a well know fact that farangs who can't keep their zippers closed are a major cause of the HIV/Aids epidemic that has been sweeping Thailand during the last 10 years or more.

Don't believe me, believe the facts.

one-in-100 Thais in this country of 65 million people is infected with HIV, and AIDS has become the leading cause of death

Over 3.5% of military recruits aged 21 were reported to be HIV-infected in many parts of the country

Infection rates among injecting drug users remain high at 20%-45% nationwide.

infection rates among sex workers have increased. In 2004, 48% of sex workers HIV-positive

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Joe, if you don't mind me saying, when you quote "facts" to support an argument, you should use facts that are actually relevant to the said argument.

As far as I know, it is NOT well known that farangs are behind much of the HIV in Thailand. Quite the reverse.

Mililtary recruits generally contract HIV in cheap local brothels. Drug users typically contract HIV from sharing needles, rather than having sex with farangs. And what was the sample, if it really exists, that showed 48% of "sex workers" have HIV.

Personally, I think you are very naive trying to distinguish between "bar girl trash" as you call them and normal girls.

One thing that IS widely known, is that HIV in Thailand is increasing most rapidly in ordinary young people such as college students who are having much more casual sex, usually unprotected. These would include your "normal girls". Incidentally, I think over the last decade, infection rates in sex workers have dropped quite a bit due to better condom use.

Best advice in Thailand is to use a condom with any girl in Thailand until you are sure of her HIV status. You'd be better off having sex with a condom with a "bar girl" than unprotected sex with a "normal girl". Unless of course that normal girl is a dead-set virgin but if she was she wouldn't be giving sex away easily to you...

Can anyone tell me how the exchange rate compares with changing travel cheques when using Nationwide card in ATM?

Cheers

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

In my experience the exchange rate with Nationwide is slightly better (roughly 0.5 baht to the pound) than the exchange rate a Thai bank would give you for cashing a sterling traveller's cheque.

Of course with Nationwide, there is no fee whatsoever, whereas with traveller's cheques you pay a small fee to the Thai bank on top of what you've paid, if anything, to issue the cheques in the first place.

A square meter of luxury condominium space in Bangkok now sells for about one-tenth the price of similar units in Hong Kong and one-third in Singapore.

I'm no real estate expert, but I'm thinking:

By what multiple are salaries of people in Singapore higher than in Bangkok?

Are there more or less pressures on space in Singapore than Bangkok?

So who is going to buy all these condos?

He notes that many multinational businesses have established regional hubs in Bangkok, swelling the ranks of foreign executives working here by 13 percent

How many genuine "foreign executives" are there in Bangkok? What impact would a 13% rise in that number have on the condo market?

Trouble is that without the bar stuff he doesn't have much subject matter and to be frank he doesn't have the knowledge and style -he writes very clumsily- to turn his column into a more general Thailand site.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I remember a year or so ago Stickman writing how (in line with his new lifestyle) he would be taking the subject matter away from the nightlife. So much for that, it is now more nightlife than ever. It is probably all he can do and he has realized that it is the only thing his readers are interested in.

It is Ok for a casual read though, after all it is free. Thing that gets me is his wife's section at the bottom, where farangs ask his riaproi wife about their problems with girls from the lower end of Thai society. F***in' tremendous! They might as well be asking me about nuclear physics...

Damage the system - Ill just check with the fat cats running the country if they don't mind having a small percent of their annual full fat cream bonus removed.

Charles - I do not believe Mr. Squirrel has posted this on Ajarn not that I know of I have had a good look and PM'd Mr Squirrel as well to ask his advice.

Have to say charles if you are the same charles on Ajarn then you are by all accounts a c*nt

David Charles

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No, we are not the same person and you, Sir, are still a sad waster anyway.

So there.

A Troll languishing in his shreddies in a Leeds Bedsit I'd warrant.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Seems to be the same person as "Mr. Squirrel" who is asking the same question on the ajarn message board.

Just a waster or a not very intelligent common criminal. Unfortunately Thailand does attract some of these types.

Apart from the criminal intent, I'd advise this waster not to assume he can just stay in Thailand indefinitely. Plus, given his level of intellect it is inevitable that the money will soon be all gone...

In Mae Sai, I honestly think you would be better not to book at all. For example, that Wang Thong place has 150 plus rooms and is very unlikely to be full. Walk-in will not be much more expensive than sawasdee.com rate. If I were you, I'd ask to see a room first - those pictures on the Internet look very misleading to me from what I remember of the place - unless it has been renovated in the last year (which I think is very unlikely).

Same with the guesthouses, you can check out a couple of places and ask to see the rooms before deciding. So no need for any 'unpleasant suprises'. There are a few places where you have your own bathroom with hot water, aircon, satellite TV - should be clean and decent, just without some of the trimmings and facilities that you would get in a proper hotel.

Actually, if you are thinking of 3-4 days in Mae Sai, you might want to consider making it 2 nights in Mae Sai and 1-2 nights in the mountains nearby at Mae Salong. Would probably be much better and Mae Salong has some nice places to stay, in particular Mae Salong Villa - nice villas with good views, nice restaurant too.

Best bet in Mae Sai is to check out the better rooms in the better 'guesthouse' type places in the road along the river (turn left just before the big Customs building). One or two quite pleasant places along here, aircon and sat TV/hot water is available - much better than the hotel's in Mae Sai.

Top North as mentioned is, I think, a pretty standard Thai hotel. The one supposedly international standard place, Wang Thong (big place on the right just before the border) looked to be on the slide last time I saw it. Had all the hallmarks of a place struggling to find the cash to maintain itself. Put the parents in there and they had to take turns to sit under the one working light for their bedtime reading! Having a bathtub when the hot water didn't work wasn't much use either. My 300 baht guesthouse room was much better.

I'm really glad someone started this thread, because this has been on my mind and I haven't been able to ask someone.

I took a couple of tests a few years ago and was negative, but I'd like to take another test just to get the all clear on my health.  I am mostly safe, but like many people, sometimes you start dating someone and take risks that you later regret.

I want to get tested, but I don't know the full legal implications of this in Thailand.  In the west, it is possible to get anonymous testing, but I don't think that is possible here in Thailand.

First of all:  where is  the best place to be tested in BKK?

                  How much should a test cost?

                  Is the test confidential?  What happens if you tested positive,

                  does the government throw you out of the country?

Thanks.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Simple answer - you can go to the Thai Red Cross Anonymous Clinic. It is on Rachadamri Rd (walking dist. from Rama IV intersection) as part of the AIDS Research Center, or it was when I last went almost a year ago.

As the name implies, testing is anonymous, you are assigned a number. See the doctor, get blood drawn, wait half an hour or so, and get the result from the doctor. All done by number. A very clean, efficient and reliable place, and much cheaper than private hospitals. I'd been tested at Bamrungrad before but would never go there again having been to the Thai Red Cross place. TRC would, I expect, also be the best place if the worst came to the worst and you were positive. Apart from it being anonymous, they are certainly very experienced in counseling and advising people with HIV. They also do viral load testing for those who are positive. Much better place to find out the bad news than in a big hospital.

Visited the sales office for the new (rather large) condo project by LPN development on Suttisarn not far from Saphan Kwai BTS today. Looks pretty good value at about 35,000 baht per square meter in a relatively handy location.

Firstly, does anyone have any advice on what LPN are like as developers or any views on this particular project?

Also just one technical question. As it is not built yet you have to put down about 10 per cent it seems in a few stages before paying the lot when it is completed next year. I've read up on the procedures for having to transfer money in/TT3 form etc, but I'm wondering how the above 10% relates to this. Can I just pay these fairly small amounts out of my own Thai bank account and then just wire in the main amount when the time comes and land dept. will accept the transfer of the unit? No probs said the sales staff but I'm not too sure I should take their word for it.

Any advice greatly appreciated. Cheers!