Ajaan

I stayed at Salana which is a luxury boutique hotel not far from the river and believe the price was around $100 a night. If you compare this to Intercity you will be afraid of bed bugs at IC. Although IC is acceptable if you do not want to splurge. You can tripadvisor Salana and see what is said about it. Then do the same for IC and see what is said it is day and night. If you want a cheaper place then there are tons of better options than IC. I know because I used to stay there when they were the only ones with wifi in the area. Now that has changed.

Do not book online if you want the best prices.

Well, of course one would expect a much better room at Salana as opposed to Inter City for three times the price!! But please don't be an ass and spread unfounded rumors about things like bedbugs...there are no bedbugs at IC, I can assure you. (and I also assure you I'm not affiliated with IC in any way, just a satisfied customer!)

Any seasoned traveler/internet user knows one has to take with many grains of salt the user reviews on sites like Trip Advisor...for any given hotel you can find a glowing review stating cleanliness and professional service followed by one that sounds like they stayed in the slums of Calcutta. And for you to propagate such drivel is quite irresponsible. If you have FIRST-HAND knowledge of bedbugs in IC, then fine, report it as such. I have stayed there 12-15 times and have never encountered such a thing, nor so much as a cockroach.

There are enough lies on the internet (and especially in forums like TV), please don't actively contribute to them.

Get a new passport. With the laughable state of Thai immigration's "computer records," it will be like you're entering the country for the first time.

 
Aside from a wonderful excuse to do a little childish Thai bashing, your comment may create a false sense of security for the serial visa abusers and others who seek to circumvent the rules.

Don't feed the troll.

And, of course, "Troll Pats" is the one category he missed, haha...

I do not really understand from OP what exactly they are saying or doing to make them racist ?

Personally I could not care less what half tattooed shaved head, drunk, uneducated peasant thinks of me or talks about me.

Anyone with half a brain can see the deal, and those who can not are not worth my time

bit racist that don't you think

<snip>

Not racist...though perhaps insensitive to the feeble-minded, hahaha

One of the other 'cheap' airlines has a Friday afternoon flight to Udon but I don't think you will be able to connect in time. How often do Air Asia fly to Udon?

2-3 times a day. They seem to flip-flop on their schedule, sometimes cutting out the midday flight. But there's always a morning and evening flight, in both directions.

How about Air Asia?

It's a one hour flight to Ubon as opposed to the 12/14 hour train trip. Note: the last two times I took the overnight train it took at least 14 hours. The schedule says 12 hours but that's just because they don't wanna change the schedule to reflect what it really is. IMO

You would have to take the short bus trip on up to Nong Khai. Cost some more baht this way - plane & bus - but for the time you don't have to be travelling I say it's worth it.

Seconded. For only about 3,000+ baht round trip (usually), this is FAR more preferable option.

I don't know if you're going to find truly "quick" internet anywhere, but the hotel I always stay at is Lao Inter City on the Mekong riverfront; very pleasant, clean, convenient, decent internet (and that close to the river, I can usually rely on a solid Thai AIS data/phone signal). I've been staying there (twice a year) for years. Skip the awful included breakfast, though...there are plenty of tasty and inexpensive options elsewhere, both Lao and Western.

A room on the side away from the river (where I always stay) can usually be found for about $30-35 USD on Agoda; rooms facing the river are about $55.

Big thing on the way is: Tad Lo Cave - underground river,must see 100%,stay there overnight

another big thing - Bolaven Plateau east of Pakse with fantastic waterfalls,with your own transport you can see them all very easy.

Pakse - stay in Pakse Hotel and enjoy the view,use it as a base for Bolaven.

South of Pakse - Champasek and temple Wat Pou,magic place!Then SiPhanDon - 4000 islands on Mekhong with huge waterfalls(so called Asian Niagara),you can stay on DonDet or DonKhone(better);but your car you will have to park on mainland;rent boat and go to watch for dolphins;you will not see them much;all jumping dolphins had been shot,those who survived -

are very shy;but the river scenery is fabulous.In couple of years Laos will start construction of hydropower station there,all will change - this is your last chance!

Note to the OP: these points of interest are all very worthwhile...but they are also all SOUTH of Chong Mek.

IMHO, the journey from the area surrounding Vientiane to the area around Chong Mek is much more comfortably--and interestingly--done through Thailand, not through Laos.

If you want to explore the nicer parts of Laos, travel southward through Thailand and RE-enter Laos at Chong Mek, and continue south through Pakse, Champasak, and on to Sii Phan Don...Laos from Vientiane down to Pakse is really not very exciting, unless you're into straying off the beaten path and checking out the occasional forest market/cave (as I did in Tha Khaek, across the Mekong from Nakhorn Panom)...

Savannakhet, while the most populous province in Laos (yes, more people than Vientiane), is for the most part dreary and not really worth visiting...

You weren't paying attention: TrueCrypt has TWO password levels. You store the things you WANT people searching you to find at one level, and, after you let them pressure and threaten you, you "reluctantly surrender" that password. However, there's a second level of encryption in the file--which is completely invisible--which is only able to be opened with the second password, which you never give them. The file looks just like one encrypted file, it's just which password you enter that determines which level of the file will be opened.

Of course, governments know about this by now (TrueCrypt is free and open source, and it's no secret that it has this hidden encryption level capability), and if they REALLY suspect you of something (that is, have other evidence to incriminate you beyond just your appearance), they'll confiscate your device no matter whether you give them a password or not. But they still won't be able to get into the second encryption level, if you have one. TrueCrypt is really, really good at what it does.[/qudumb]

Yeah...these guys are dumb but not that dumb.

Its pretty easy to see that the size of the decrypted data doesn't match the size of the folder/drive.

Haha...you don't know much about TrueCrypt, do you? Go to their website, read and learn.

And what, you dont think TSA knows how to read a website? Are you some Snowden wannabe posting from a computer in mommy's basement..have you ever traveled internationally...do you even have a passport? Yeah its all fine and good to drone on about the glories of TC (and I agree, it, and PGP, are the best encryption programs out there) but we're talking about the distopian world of US border security and not some Jeffersonian ideal of perfect liberty here.

I've know about and used TC for over 10 years. On my clean traveling computer I don't store any sensitive data so I've no need for encryption. Also, just having the program on a traveling device that is selected for enhanced screening will arouse suspicion. I'm not going to fight them, especially when I've nothing to hide. When I travel internationally, I want to get in and out of border checks points quickly and with a minimum of fuss. Using TC on a traveling device would defeat that objective.

Hahaha, oh, you're too precious, ai hia, ai yip, ai duut khoy!! I travel to Thailand 3x a year...so, um, yeah, I have a passport. Mommy's basement? Sorry, my mother passed away 9 years ago, and I'm well into my 50s...

I also "have nothing to hide," but in silent protest against the continual (and growing) US gov't invasion into our privacy, I purposely leave a TC-encrypted file containing porno (which I actually never watch in real life!) on my laptop just...because.

I also know how to dress, etc., to thwart TSA profiling--it's actually scarily easy--so I've never been pulled out for a laptop/cellphone search (before I learned to tie my hair in a ponytail, I was profiled and searched for drugs several times...THAT's how easy it is to confuse those dimwits...long hair = drug smuggler; hair-in-ponytail = non-drug smuggler...

I think 'dtaag ngai' is fragile.

So is เปราะ

Good post but where do you meet a average down to earth Thai girl?

You learn to speak Thai fluently, for starters!

You weren't paying attention: TrueCrypt has TWO password levels. You store the things you WANT people searching you to find at one level, and, after you let them pressure and threaten you, you "reluctantly surrender" that password. However, there's a second level of encryption in the file--which is completely invisible--which is only able to be opened with the second password, which you never give them. The file looks just like one encrypted file, it's just which password you enter that determines which level of the file will be opened.

Of course, governments know about this by now (TrueCrypt is free and open source, and it's no secret that it has this hidden encryption level capability), and if they REALLY suspect you of something (that is, have other evidence to incriminate you beyond just your appearance), they'll confiscate your device no matter whether you give them a password or not. But they still won't be able to get into the second encryption level, if you have one. TrueCrypt is really, really good at what it does.[/qudumb]

Yeah...these guys are dumb but not that dumb.

Its pretty easy to see that the size of the decrypted data doesn't match the size of the folder/drive.

Haha...you don't know much about TrueCrypt, do you? Go to their website, read and learn.

Easy. If you do not want some federal employee rummaging through every photo your took on your Asian trip, just use the program TrueCrypt....It has two password

levels, and is in essence uncrackable....

http://www.truecrypt.org/downloads

If you are selected for enhanced screening and if it's a full electronics review as well, if such a encrypted file, folder, or container is found on any of your electronic devices and you refuse to decrypt it yourself or provide the password, you can be sure the device will be confiscated for further detailed forensic analysis. It may be months or never before you are allowed to retrieve the device. You can also be assured that your name will be entered into the CBP system and you will be chosen for enhances screening on any subsequent entries into the United States. However, the CBP cannot force you to reveal your password and there is no fine/penalty for failing to do so (other than getting on the list).

This can be a real problem for business people who need to protect propriety business data when they travel or for ordinary travelers financial, banking, and tax date they may wish to protect. The best solution is to have a "clean" traveling with minimal or no protected data on it and so that if they demand to see the encrypted data, one can decide to reveal it or refuse and the data/device loss is minimal.

You weren't paying attention: TrueCrypt has TWO password levels. You store the things you WANT people searching you to find at one level, and, after you let them pressure and threaten you, you "reluctantly surrender" that password. However, there's a second level of encryption in the file--which is completely invisible--which is only able to be opened with the second password, which you never give them. The file looks just like one encrypted file, it's just which password you enter that determines which level of the file will be opened.

Of course, governments know about this by now (TrueCrypt is free and open source, and it's no secret that it has this hidden encryption level capability), and if they REALLY suspect you of something (that is, have other evidence to incriminate you beyond just your appearance), they'll confiscate your device no matter whether you give them a password or not. But they still won't be able to get into the second encryption level, if you have one. TrueCrypt is really, really good at what it does.

Sorry to spoil the party, but you'll notice that the OP hasn't returned to the topic since he posted it...in the meantime inspiring lots of opinionated responses, including various people arguing with each other...what do we call that again...? Oh yeah...troll. Safe to say at this point that the "incident" never really occurred. Hahaha, "double buggy with two babies in it"...!!

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/704761-getting-out-of-the-bargirl-isaan-dating-scene-feels-great/

Read your other thread

Exactly...the OP is a troll, constantly starting threads like this to get arguments going...ignore him!

As far as I can tell:

• wong = dynasty or lineage http://thai-language.com/id/143355
• amaat = government official http://thai-language.com/id/147266

Hotel in Pattaya: http://www.agoda.com/th-th/wongamat-privacy-residence/hotel/pattaya-th.html

Interesting, but you need to see the name in its written form before you can determine its meaning.

Yes, and for that reason the OP should have posted this in the Thai Language Forum, so he could have written the name in question in Thai.

HCMC could ber anything ...Not hard to type Ho Chi Minh City

try this

https://www.google.co.th/search?q=flights+from+Ho+Chi+Minh+City+to+bangkok&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb&gws_rd=cr&ei=C7MAU-qxK4esiAeUnoDIAw

kevvy

No, you are wrong, it couldn't "be anything". HCMC is readily recognizable to any SEASONED TRAVELER in SEAsia. Stop picking on people for silly little details.

my doctor recommends another test first. you basically scrap a piece of fresh feces. the scraping is sent in to a lab for testing (traces of blood). If it is positive then you get the scope.....sound reasonable to me. I'm 51....

Same procedure at the medical center I go to (in the US); stool sample and test first.

Yes, great! Start service early... then within ten years, you'll have it running from 5:00am till 2:00am and use the three other hours for maintenance service!

Next up... why not add extra cars to trains during peak hours.... do ya think that will improve service?!!! Dooooooooooooh!!!!

There is no need to add extra cars to the trains hours, it is a matter of speeding up the time interval between trains. The trains are all controlled by computer, the driver is only there to check the doors opening and closing. 5 extra 4 car units are being introduced this month (February) due to the extension to the Silom line, and the Thaksin station will be removed. After that the situation will improve at peak hours. BTS will run the trains for longer hours according to demand and profitability. The London Underground runs from around 5.20 until 00.20 so what is the problem Dooooooooh!!!!! Full information on the BTS and all the new and proposed skytrain, light rail and underground lines can be found here:

http://bts.listedcompany.com/misc/PRESN/20140213-BTS-managementPresentation.pdf

I wonder why they're removing the Thaksin station? Purely a coincidence no doubt...

If you're implying that there's some relationship between the name of Saphan Taksin station and the name of Thaksin Shinawatra, you're just showing your lack of knowledge of the Thai language. The two names (Taksin, for whom the bridge was named, was the first king of reunified, post Burma-invaded Thailand, in 1782) are spelled and pronounced completely differently in Thai, they have no relation whatsoever to each other.

hahaha...it's a trap! "discuss moderation" and ye shall be banned!!

I have never heard of an "ear candle" but would like to know what it is? I get my ear wax sucked out on Pattaya Klang for 400 baht though.

It's a "new age" hoax/ripoff. Read and learn:

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1103/how-do-ear-candles-work