gk10002000

I take no sides between Yellow or Red, but I know for a fact that people from Issan are being bused up here, given free food and 500 baht per day to join in the protest. What is hard to believe that they do all this for only 500 baht ! I live right next to where the Red Shirts are congregating in Pattaya (behind Big C soi 2) and it's basically a empty dirt lot where they setup floodlights and blare loud speaches and video all night long. It's almost George Orwell "Big Brother" like. There meant to eat, sleep (don't know how; I can't), and be brainwashed all right there. It's 5:30AM now. In about an hour the buses will start departing for Jomtien where without any sleep they will herd up in the hot weather all day. All for 500 baht

That's 3 days pay for a farm labourer so perhaps not so suprising

I live in a village 40kms from Korat and about 12-15 people from the village are in BKK with the Red Shirts and are NOT being paid.

They are protesting for what they believe is their right to elect a government through the Ballot Box.

Yes, i was sitting outside in a coffee shop in December and watched a good sized crowd head up that way. Sad that everybody keeps disrupting things. So bad for the country overall, and all probably will not end as long as the military governs. Make no bones about it, they tossed out the constitution when they over threw Thaksin. If one rips up contracts, then you have no rule of law. Nine trips to the LOS and I want more, but all this mess pretty much guarantess I will not move any business or significant financial interests over there for either work or for my semi retirement. Glad I experienced some good times there. Hope there are more.

I just read online that some Thais were saying the protests are part of democracy. Well, protest is one thing, blocking roads, shutting down transports, disrutpting businesses, etc is another.

They intereviewed one man who says he lost his travel business last year after the other colored shirts people closed the airport. So now, he is out blocking the streets and disruting things wearing his colored shirt now. Just nutty.

What a mess for the country. I was in Thailand all of last November and December and it was so sad to see all the mindless people being taken advantage of, and all the businesses and small time people losing money. I am glad I don't like Song Kran and had no plans to make my tenth trip to the LOS until May at the earliest. This latest round of protests and disruptions is likely going to make me try another country for a change. I have been meaning to anyway, so might as well do it now while Thailand decides how they want to govern themselves.

The history of Bell Service is: In the beginning there were few customers. Never a problem with getting a seat. Bell was always out of printed copys of their schedule(they did not promote the business enough). We are luck they did not go out of business. A scheduled run to the airport for B150B!!!!!!!!!!

I always made two trips to the bus station. One to buy the ticket and then later show up with the bags. This is my way of making sure I GO. Any other problems I have I chock up to an act of God and I dont worry because there is nothing I can do.

Now there are many customers and the bus is approaching FULLY OCCUPIED . Maybe this problem of no seat available is something new. The staff does not have a back up transportation plan. I guess if you raise hel_l enough they will then recognize there is a problem and have additional transportation.

When you first realized you might have a problem you could have walked out and found another way to the airport.

What size bus is it and is it worth buying a ticket the day before?

Plus, in the worst case scenerio, couldn't one jump on a bus to Ekkemai then jump off at On Nut and grab a taxi to Suvarnabhumpi?

The Bell bus is your standard ~44 seat big passenger bus? Decent air con. On my last trip I actually took a similar bus from pattaya to Ekami as I was spending a few days in BKK. I really do like that BTS Skytrain.

Took a bus from MO Chit up to Sukothai also. What a pleasant two days. Only horrible thing is once at MO chit bus terminal, you can not really walk over to the MO chit BTS skytrain! bad design. got to grab a taxi, or tout, or scooter taxi.

i agreee with most of the posers here. I was on ko samet diuring the tsunami. luicky us we had changed our phuket reservations twice and ended up on Ko Samet. Most beach areas are quiet with like zero night life. One complex on northeast side seems the busiest but I was not there. we stayed on southeast side, Malibu resort. Had nice rooms, place had a pool also. Bring your own friend or books., Water is great. half day snorkel dive trip on a boat around the island is great. waverrunner there for rental. At night, the 7 hotels all have outdoor barbecue. tables of fish and kabobs that you pick and choose from and they cook. Sit outside on beach on nice sicker chairs. Really really nice. White talcum sand is lovely. basically no road on the island but you can walk around the trail if you are adventurous. Our rooms were about 1600 baht at high season in 2004. Book in advance.

I have flown with EVA before and it was good service. The cheap tickets allow NO changes to date etc so be aware of this when buying. I am off to the UK on the 1st May so will let you know. Oh also Evergreen (or whatever they call it now) is excellent and worth the upgrade if you have the money.. I dont

Allan

I have flown EVA air four times from the USA, Los Angeles and Seattle to BKK. Each time I always book late and never in advance as I never know when my contracts end. Prices are always about the same. EVA is fine. Usually they use 777s but have a few 747 short bodies also. Individual tv and game console in the seat back. Food is fine. Same as China airlines.

I have changed tickets twice while over in Thailand. Once it cost me 25 USD. Another time it was free. I was there during 2008 airport fiasco. I actually changed my ticket to come back a bit earlier than planned, although still after the airport had been cleared. EVA called me back and confirmed the flight change. No problems at all.

I actually prefer 747s over 777s. I think the 777 flies a bit harsher and the new seats are a bit firmer. I like the cushy buick ride .

Where is Mike's?

Never mind, I found a map. Google is your friend and I'm an idiot.

http://www.mikes.happyhost.org/contact.html

never noticed it before and I walk to the big buddha at least once each time i am in pattaya. Having spent 12 years in Southern California, and sampled Tequila Reef many times, I shall make it a point to visit Mikes next trip.

Stopped going to the P+W when they went to frozen fries instead of real chips.

I agree their chips are not very good but not all of their dishes come with chips.

Maybe somebody knows an owner and can tell him about this thread so he can list the daily specials on their website and/or post them here?

I always enjoyed the pig and whistle. Been going there for five years now. Most comfortable soft seats around. A fine dining atmosphere. Food was always OK. However, since one of the owners died, Graham, the big guy, things seem a bit off. Maybe I am just too used to the place and need something new. But I still go there a few times a week and eat and do my sudoku puzzle. Fish and Chip I think somebody said is sometimes now a local fish and not always the icelandic cod they used to advertise. That would be a shame. Full english breakfast is still disgusting and should be eaten a few times on every trip! Penang Moo is good, but not on the special list. Bangers and Mash are worth a go also.

Canada.

Two of my USA friends have gotten their retirement paperwork or residency papers. Not sure of the exact words , but it was farily routine. They had five years from time of application to actually get there. Both are in BC. One in Revelstoke a bit remote and cold for most. The other is on the Sunshine Coast north of Vancouver. Pretty darn pretty up there. Cost of living is not a fantastic bargain, but the area is nice. Water is ice free year round mostly.

It is like a predator prey equilibrium problem. There are not that many opportunities to make money in Thailand. Unfortunately, they over do it and everybody rushes to the same side of the boat. Just look at all the little travel agencies, travel booths, etc.. all marketing the same thing. If there were less, the tourists would still get what they needed. Same for the baht bus. A few hundred less would hardly make a difference in the level of service, but it won't happen. Same for the shopping malls. Can't see much more need in Pattaya after Big C and Mike's and Garden Mall, especially with Tesco, and Carre Four around. How about the little massage places? Have never seen a waiting line yet with so many around.

What is the cheapest way to get to Suvarnabhumi please? anybody know?

thanks

During the day, from Pattaya, take BELL bus service. Goes direct from pattaya bus station to Airport. Price recently may have gone up to 200 baht.

If in Bangkok, I just took the Sky train to the end or next to last stop towards the airport. Then took a bus, can't recall which one. But it was a public bus and air conditioned. No more than a 30 minute wait. It was like 35 baht? That bus goes to transport center down the road from the airport, and from there you hop on a free shuttle to the airport. Takes a bit longer than an in-town taxi, but definitely the cheapest way to do it.

I keep one in my USA car and use it a lot. I bought it at SEARS. It is powered by two D cell batteries and inflates very quickly. I sleep on it for months at a time sometimes when I rent a house share with an unfinished bedroom.

Might be worth it to go online and see if SEARS will ship it and how much. I have had it for three years now and the brushed nylon finish is nice. Doesn't feel like you are sleeping on plastic.

I have used Bell several times both to and from the airport and pattaya. Can't beat the price. Has to be safer than a taxi at any speed. At night, of course the bus is not running so on those late arrivals a taxi is about your only option. But during the day, take the bus. Why spend 1300 baht when you could spend 150? You don't get there any faster in a taxi, in fact it usually takes you longer as they sometimes stop for gas or some other silly thing.

A poster just said the price is up to 200 baht now. Well, still 1000 baht less than a taxi. That is several days of foot massages.

any walk in travel agent can book you a half day trip to NONG NOOch botanical garden. You really need more time than that if you like to walk and meditate, but it is still a good place to visit. Tours from Pattaya in morning and afternoon.

The salt "chlorination" is the only way to go. I live in Florida. My sister has a medium sized pool with that system. No chlorine smells, stains or taste at all. No eye stinging. No skin issues. The salt concentration is below what you can taste or sense or feel. No pool slime or anything. It is stunning. I am an engineer and would swear by this system for any and all pools. Toss in that cheap bag of rock salt now and then and all is done. Would not even consider a standard chlorine and chemical pool like most hotels have in Pattaya. Eye gouging they are.

i asked the same about Pattaya. seemed to be a place on third road in pattaya that does it. I had two Jack Nicklaus scottish notes I don't need and just thought I would bring them with me and exchange them on my next trip to the LOS.

Search the pattaya forum for scottish notes or jack nicklaus and a post from me.

I have been several times. Speed boat for 1500 or so is the best way. walk across from the Hard Rock Hotel and flag one down. Ferry is cheap 40 baht? but you have to get down to the far far end of walking street to the pier. Worth doing once for the "adventure". Problem is they make you go to one beach that is "reserved" for cheap ferry passengers only. crowded, chairs on top of each other. not much appeal.

My first time was on a speedboat and we went to the north side of the island that was pretty quiet. chairs spread out. typical basic thai food menu was available. fried rice with shrimp was just fine. some boats "make" you stay at a certain beach. check before you depart.

Sunday Carvery at the Robin's Nest on soi bukhao. Six selections of meat, pork, beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, ham at least. Decent veggies. Not thai food, just meat and veggies. worth a stop. nice place to eat actually. has some of the cutest workers around, even at late night. very nice.

apex already covered. OK for breakfast try now and then. Cheap and OK. Lek for Dinner is ok sometimes.

Small Indian place south pattaya just before you turn off to the jomtien road. buffet starts at 6. nothing fancy but it is OK. Bare essentials but flavor was good.

I think people should be more concerned about people tampering with their baggage, and planting things in the baggage, like drugs.

It amazes me that some people check-in rucksacks and zipper-style bags which could easily be used by a dodgy employee to smuggle via a mule.

Shrink-wrapping or very secure Samsonite multi-lock baggage is the way to go.

Can you imagine trying to prove in Thailand, upon arrival a side pocket-zipper stuffed with drugs?

\

You make a very good point. I only use carry on as I travel ridiculously light. However, if I checked anything in, I would shrink wrap my canvas bag. of course, what would keep some bad people from just totally removing the shrink wrapping? How would you prove you had shrink wrapped before? There would be no sign of tampering. Shame that we have to worry about stuff like this.

Hello all. Im traveling from England over to Pattaya at the end of July. This will be my first time out of Europe so its a bit daunting going all the way to Thailand so I was just looking for abit of advice if anyone would be kind enough to help me out.

What Im really looking to know is the following.

How much money will I need in GBsterling to have a half decent time?

What the weather will be like from mid July to start of August?

:weather will be warm and humid. Bangkok very hot during the day. Pattaya OK and nice at night:

The best way to get to and from Bangkok airport and Pattaya(perhaps a few days in Bangkok before we leave)?

: during the day time, take the Bell air con bus. 350 Baht. Just go downstairs. Girl has a sign amid a row of chairs. Door to door drop off. Bus goes to Pattaya bus station, minivan will take you to your hotel. At night, metered taxi outside, pay in advance for around 1400 baht . No problems ever in my nine trips.

How much is food(decent meals) and drink (alcohol - pints/spirits)?

Can eat for 200 baht a day and enjoy street food, soups and pork kabobs up to thousands in fancy dining.

Do's and Donts (behaviour wise/ not offendeing/ what to avoid)?

Do not yell. Do smile a lot.

Reccomendations of things to do other than go to the bars, beach and pool?

In pattaya, Go to Nong Nooch tropical garden. Take full day tour. half day tour is too short, or go with a friend and on your own time. Do crocodile park the next day. Check out a movie at Big C. 100 baht and popcorn and soda is not a ripoff. One of the simple things in life. Do go to Ko Laan island visibile just off shore pattaya. speed boat rental across from hard rock hotel. Nice quiet day. Do get foot massages. Do get a thai massage and an oil massage. In room at flipper house and others is nice. Walk up to the big buddha hill, south of pattaya. A little exercise is good for you. Tiffany ladyboy show is OK. I think Alcazar might be better but did not see that one. In BKK, do go to the Dusit outdoor zoo. a little piece of paradise amid the concrete and noise. Do visit a few of the Big temples. Do not fall for the "temple closed scam". Wat PO or grand palace are nice. All the nightlife is in BKK and Pattaya and I leave that to other forums. I do recommend you walk around a bit. go down to walking street and a few sois. stick your head in the post office. see how they organize things.

The best way to approch Thai women without offending?

" won't be much of an issue. walk down soi 7 or 8 and you will have lots of admirers.

Also looking for somewhere to stay, perhaps with a pool, somewhere nice but not too dear?

:Flipper lodge or house. about 800 off season. Decent roof top pool.: Areca lodge a bit nicer and off the beach a bit.

And basically any other little things that might help out, again sorry for all the questions but its nice to get over there and have some idea whats what.

Many thanks in advance for any help

Can anyone post some good companies that pick up from bangkok airport and taxi to pattaya

When I arrive late in the day, after the buses stop servicing, I just hop in a taxi. Go to the taxi stand wherever they are. They move them around a bit sometimes. Price is usually 1500 baht or less. Simple, easy, always there. Never had a problem. Do not use one of the touts that tackles you as you come out of the arrivals area. They are usually ridiculously priced and preying on the newbiews. Although I did once use them for a guaranteed price that was the same as the taxis charge.

If you chat up with somebody on the plane or in line at passport control, you can quite likely split a taxi with somebody.

Been to Thailand nine times now. In 2007 I finally made it during Songkran. Horrible. Disgusting. I don't mind a few days of nuttiness, but one solid week is ridiculous. 11 am trying to walk to the mall or take the baht bus and get doused. How can that make watching a movie or going shopping enjoyable? Couldn't do anything during the daylight hours even up until dinner time. I basically holed up in my hotel, the flipper, and slept in late and spent time at the pool and luckily had a good book to read. Changed my hours so I was out later at night.

One early/late night coming back from Walking Street, I watched one poor girl all dressed up obviously heading for work in a hotel or restaurant or soome other indoor business get held and grabbed by a Thai while another soaked her with a hose. She just stood there and mildly and meekly took it. Because of my distaste for foreign jails I did not intervene and risk some sort of assault or other charges. Shame on them for ruining her day.

What is worse was the anger and vicisousness I saw in many of the Thais. They are externalizing their dislike of foreigners for many reasons. They were over zealous in their dousings. Traditional and ancient Songkran was nice. This outfitting pickup trucks with water barrels and high pressure hoses is disgusting.

Won't be in Thailand any time near those dates ever again.

I don't think it's a great loss for Thailand - big spenders generally don't do visa runs but get proper long term multiple-reentry tourist or non-o visas in their home countries.

This is an in credibly stupid move All it does is hurt the legitimate people, while costing the "bad" ones a little more money.

In my case, I go to Thailand because it is easy. No advance planning needed. I know I can grab a flight from the USA, fly there, get my visa on arrival and have fun. I don't need to spend any time or money getting a visa in advance and mailing my Passport around the USA or traveling to some Thai embassy. I don't have free days to run errands and then go back and pick things up. The visa on arrival was a great attraction to me when choosing to vacation in Thailand.

I am a contract engineer. I never know when my jobs start or end. Most of my trips to Thailand were on two day notice. I get the call that my job ends, and the next day I book a flight and start my vacation. Then, when I am over in Thailand, sometimes the jobs don't start up for a while, so I like to extend my stay, and the simple two drives over to the Cambodia border were a great way to do that. Now, I get 1/2 what I used to get.

A half day van trip that costs 2000 Baht from Pattaya, now would require a lot of time and effort to get to an airport and fly out of the country and back. Lost time and money.

This is just nuts. Seems like a perfect example of Thailand trying to make money from their service industry while hurting the tourists and people that go out of their way to go to Thailand! I don't see how this endears Thailand to me any more. Gets worse every year.

I had a badly broken old (20+ years) filling that I had to have replaced with a crown recently. I didn'd like the work of my most recent dentist and wanted to try someone new. I had heard that Dr. Tooth and Central Pattaya Dental Center next door were both pretty good. I went first to Dr. Tooth but they coundn't take me that day so I went next door to Central Dental and they could so I went with them.

The place seems really nice and professional. The dentist there, Dr. Num, has got to be one of the youngest and cutest I have ever had in Pattaya (used about 5 places over the years). When she came into the office (late for my morning final fitting) she looked like a high-school student She also speaks excellent English.

Has anyone else used her and can comment on her work? She numbed me up really good for the initial prep work and temp. crown and I didn't feel a thing. For the fitting of the permanent crown, she didn't anesthetize and there was some sensitivity on one side of the gum-line during the procedure.

I paid B 15k for a gold center/white porcelain outer crown for a molar tooth. Is that a fair price? She said it should last about 10 years.

First of all, I think You got the wrong type of crown. For a molar, I highly recommend "all" gold crowns. I have two. Gold will never crack and will outlast you. Of course, their are cheap versions of those out that. I recently paid $350 USD here in the states for a combination root canal and gold crown on a tooth. I am content with that price. It would have been cheaper if I used the Plan's base noble metal or porcelain molar crowns, but I don't want to entertain cracking one again so I went with the gold. I

Foot massage going price is 200 baht, oil massage is 300 baht. A bit cheaper off of some side streets up by soi bukhao.

As a general rule I give 20% tip for personal services such as hair cuts, massages etc. So, baht for the foot massage and 60 baht for a good oil massage is reasonable. Sometimes I give 100 baht for an oil massage, especially if it is a good one and it is the in hotel service. Nice to relax in your own room.

I gave 20 baht for a foot massage once and the old lady was muttering under her breath. Not sure if her expectations were just higher and she was used to tourists tipping more.

Do all shops offer hotel service or is it off the books ?

Same price ?

I would to use my own shower after an oil massage

In general, I doubt all shops offer home service. Some do. Some hotels do. Flipper lodge, Flipper house, Eastiny Place I have stayed at in the past. As you say, it is nice to be in your own place, watch the TV, then shower or go up on the roof and hit the pool. In the summer when Flipper is discounted, I think it is a great place for a three week vacation, good price, good service and everything is easy. That is why I go to Thailand. Less hassles the better.

Some shops do home service. Just ask. I knew one gal that worked at different shops, and I would run into now and then and she would gladly come to my room between her hours. One shop up on Third road the girls and the owner would go home. No particular strings attached. So in general, I would recommend you stop in to a shop, get a massage. Once they know you I doubt they will mind going back to the room.

I actually have two recommendations.

1. Insde the Tops grocery market there is an internet cafe owned by AUM. A nice lady. Steady income, low overhead, and always busy because of all the people that pass through the market. I almost bought it but I am not ready to spend that much time over there yet.

2. A fairly large bar right on Central road across the street from the market and a bit towards the water was for sale. Does a very good business. It is on a corner of a little side street that also leads down to Soi 8. It is a good sized bar that does a steady and big business. Looking at the numbers quickly, I think it could be a go. This is not one of those little bars with jujst four girls that limps along.

Chok Dee.