gk10002000

You should get hepatitis A and hepatitis B vaccination. There is a common shot sequence that combines both. I had it 4 years ago in preparation for my first trip abroad. A should be done for almost any country even your homeland as there are a lot of food borne ways to get A. B is a good idea if you may ever potentially come into contact with a blood supply.

I have bought travel insurance my first 6 times but did not bother after that. I have american blue cross and blue shield that will reimurse my emergency expenses. Travel insurance is cheap, but every one I found DID NOT, I repeat DID NOT pay on the spot in Thailand. The websites have pages and pages of stuff, but the fine print is they do not put up the money and pay the Thais! You must pay, and file a claim with the insurance company. In addition, there is often fine print that says the insurance is "secondary" to your primary insurance. So in my case, the travel insurance will only pay what Blue Cross does not pay!

So that being said, I defer to others that have found a good temporary travel insurance policy that they can buy in advance of leaving their home country that actually Pays the Thai medical people instead of you having to put up money.

PS. 10 year Tetanis booster shot is probably a good idea too. That applies universally whether you travel or not.

Interesting thread. So tell me, how do businesses that send people on business trips, or send potential employees on job interviews arrange these things? Do they just happen to know all the tricks mentioned above and deal with the same agent or travel company all the time? I have been on otwo company paid job interviews here in the USA and have not had any problems even since 911.

Just thinking out loud. Has anybody here legally changed their name? And if you have, did you then get a new US Driver's license or Passport? Since as I recall, I sent in a birth certificate when getting my passport. But I guess they must use the new legal name for a new passport. Do they keep the old passport number for tracability purposes? I notice my passport number roughly corresponds to parts of my social security number. I remember vaguely that the US social security number convention codes what state one was born in and probably the county or city also, so there are a finite number of vallid numbers possible.

So in summary, if a name change, what does new passport contain? new number? new name? Any traceability to old name?

I am on a contract outside Philadelpia now and was looking over flight options for my upcoming flight to BKK. I kept trying to find the Non-stop flight from Thai airways out of JFK but could not seem to find the non-stop option. Now I see why. It looks like Thai airways has stopped it. That is OK. There are some JAL flights that go through Chicago connections or even non-stop to Japan from this East Coast. I do like JAL. have always had great flights. Food is fresher, the attendants actually clean the bathroom hourly. Every flight has just been a joy. Half the fun of a trip is the journey getting there and JAL helps that a lot.

I do plan to "retire" in Thailand. however, because the USA IRS keeps its fingers in one's financial affairs no matter where one lives, and because there are reasons to maintain a USA presence, my plan is to split my time between the two countries. 6 months in Thailand and 6 months in the USA. While in the USA rent cheap. I am a Florida resident and in the future would buy a cheap mobile home out of the way somewhere or share a rental with somebody. I imagine some years fly to Thailand and stay for 90 days (30 days on arrival and then two visa runs are still allowed under current rules) then go home. Maybe every other year stay for 180 days at a time?

Heck who knows. This is about 5 years away anyway so I am just throwing out ideas.

Been to Thailand 8 times and averaging two times a year now at 30 days each visit.

Center Condo is quite strong. I know several Brits that play there and the "owner" is in a league there and they also play around town. My buddy joined them for a match over at Bentley's actually one night.

Center Condo is tall building on South Pattaya Road, just before you get to 3rd road. Pool room is on the ground level with its own outside entrance to the parking lot. It is a nice pool room. Usually has some pot of something you can munch on there for eats. There is a Go-go is right next door too.

I am the one that recommended the Breuhaus. I of course walk by the domoczil which is just a few doors away. It just never looked that appealing foodwise, but I never tried it. I will try it next trip. I will agree that the Breauhaus waitresses are not the most outgoing group. But, some places are like that so I never gave it much thought.

I think the question is imprecise. I propose that people want sex anyplace they are. Coupling that with a visit to Thailand is a small piece of the intersection of the sets. I have been 8 times and just plain old enjoy the place. I am a walker and love to just wander everywhere and look around. I think the woman are beautiful, most of the little shop keepers are fun to chat with. I like the weather and the sea. Great food, both Thai and from other countrie's expats that are there. Beautiful scenery, beaches. Mass transit is pretty good. BKK to pattaya buses. Buses to BKK, trains to the north. Not hard to arrange. BTS in Bangkok is nice. Hotels and condo rentals are very affordable. Overseas flight is long but no problem. Catch some sleep, eat some OK food, catch up on a few movies. Thai massage is fun. Foot massage in the quiet places is great for a snooze. Oil massage in the hotel for $10 USD is tought to beat for an hour. Internet cafes make staying in touch and doing any necessary banking or stock trading is easy and cheap. Thai cell phone was cheap and prepaid sim and calling cards are easy and pretty cheap. Hotel pool is nice. Thai temples are beautiful. Outdoor gardens and some of those crocodile parks are fun. Gee. After all this, anything else is just icing on the cake. I feel sorry for someone that stays there a lot just for sex. They are missing an awful lot.

I can't wait to go back.

Thank you all very much for the intimate responses. Those were the details and actual experiences I was hoping to hear about. As I suspected and pretty much knew, coming from Thailand to the USA would be a problem. Siiiiiigh. It just is not a perfect world.

Thanks

PS. This Thaivisa.com is a great forum.

The Dali Lama is coming to the Pennsylvania area the week of July 13. I went online, and the saturday and sunday lectures are sold out. Being near the Philadelphia area, I would not be surprised if I could buy a scalped ticket right outside the auditorium. I would like to attend the lecture. If anybody is in this area with a ticket they can not use, please let me know.

Thanks

I am wondering how easy it is for a Thailand nurse to get work in the USA? I know the usual immigration paperwork mess, but my question is geared more towards what is accepted or transferred to the USA? How much more work would they have to do to get a USA nursing license? My latest experience in Florida showed me a lot of filipinas and Creoles doing the routine low level nurse stuff. I guess these days they still have RNs, but now they have a lower qualification level called PNs that do a lot of the routine care.

I am just thinking ahead.

Thanks

I have tried several times to find cheap ways to sail to asia from the USA. Every thing I run across tells me the old days of booking a cot on a tramp steamer is gone. Most carg lines I looked into are now upscale and charge many times what plane fares are. I could not find anything cheap at all, and I am more than willing to trade off some time for money. That is part of traveling, the journey.

In this day and age of 911 and immigration checks, I suspect it is not that easy to just hop on a ship and go from country to country. If anybody knows firsthand any way to get a bed on a ship from the USA to Asia, hopefully all the way to Thailand, please post some information.

1. travel light. you don't need much. See http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/tips_menu.htm I bought his black travel bag and after 8 trips to Thailand I can't imagine using any thing else. It carries all I need. However, I believe I saw some posts that some British Airlines have very strict carry on weights. You may have to check in luggage even if carrying light.

Assume you will be wandering and walking around. You really don't need much. Fly from europe wearing pants, wear shorts in Thailand. Bring some t-shirts and a few shirts with collars. One liteweight bathing suit. Bring less than you think!

2. Plenty of laundries all over the place. If you are in any place for over a day, drop off clothes in AM and pick them up the next day. Rush service is available for a nominal fee too.

3. Exchange cash in Thailand. Horrible rates if done in home country as I think you found out.

4. Bring an ATM card that has any of those big names on it, Cirrus, PLUS, Interlink etc.

5. Bring a credit card for each of you. In case one is lost. Comes in handy for making plane reservations online.

6. Make color copies of your passport, ID, Insurance Card etc. Scan them into soft copies and email them to your selves. That way if you are robbed or you lose your paper copies (bring them too) you can get to any internet shop and print out copies.

7. Street food is great! Do try the Pork kabobs for 20 baht. and the sweet rice (kao gee). Eat on the hoof.

8. Bring a big enough memory stick for your camera if you take photos.

9. Read the recommended immunizations. If you have time, Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B are recommended. Probably should make sure your Tetanis booster is current. Other more exotic things are not as important.

10. I find the "fanny pack" to be about the best way to carry important stuff and not worry about snatch and grab. Put my cash, papers, tickets, glasses and map in there and I am good for the day. Carry a copy of your passport at all times. You should lock up your passport in the hotel lock box. But be warned, they are not 100% safe either and things do get taken.

11. Smile and please do not yell, no matter what is going down. Thais just do not respond well to aggravation and yelling. Can't say how many times my usually quiet demeanor gets me through lines faster. Say "no problem", (Mai bpen rai) and good things happen.

Enjoy the trip. Checkout youtube for tons of videos of almost everyplace you can think of.

Never stayed there but I recognize it now. Have walked by there a lot. Probably not that noisy at night as things do shut down. It reminds me of the old "flat iron" building in New York City. Remember, before air conditioning, big square buildings were not built because there was no air flow inside and the middle of the building was too far from an open window.

KO samet is quiet and beautiful. Most hotels have outdoor barbecues on the beach every night. They put out a nice choice of fish and stuff that you pick and they cook.

From the dating point of view, if you two are relatively new together and don't have a lot of experiences to share and talk about yet, quiet, out of the way places might not be the best. One can run out of things to talk about. You might want to plan on doing something every day. For instance if in Pattaya area, go to Nong Nooch tropical garden. If in Chaing Mai go to one of the bigger temples. If in Bangkok, try the National Museum in case some culture and history is of interest. I am sure others can suggest things to do in the North or Issan areas.

My first few trips I had a CD burned. It was cheap and fast and put the compatible services and charges available in the USA to shame. Last few trips I would download photos to the internet evrey other week or so. I am about to get a new camera, and I am sure I will pick up a bigger memory stick too. The capacity and price keep going in the right direction.

One note was I had originally uploaded my photos to Yahoo photos. Then Yahoo stopped their photo service. So, might be a good idea to keep hard copies around either on your PC or on a stick or a CD for future reference. You never know when a site will go out of business.

I have been in Thailand 8 times covering times in the months of March, april, may, june, August, september, october, november, december. Usually only between bangkok and pattaya with a few days on ko samet. Never had any serious rains. I have not been there from sept 11 through october 9, which is near the peak rains according to the weather stats. Having grown up in New England, the Thai rainy season is still less than Rhode Island's rain totals, and the rains are usually shorter. Of course a monsoon could stick around for a day or a few days but I haven't had those yet. Basically, from my flexible single point of view, I would go there any time of the year. But I travel light with just a carry on that Rick Steves sells on his website. I watched his European travel shows and browsed his website and I like his ideas on traveling. Carryon gets you through customs fast. Nothing to lose. And you really don't need as much as you think. These new security bans on liquids and stuff is no big deal. I think it is fun to try and by toothpaste or soap in a foreign store.

Sorry, I am straying. I am watching that Model show on VH-1. I think it is a repeat but it is the one where they are filming in Thailand. Gosh I am LOS sick!

I just took a 10 km taxi ride on the outskirts of Indianapolis Indiana. $22.50 (742 baht). Scale that up to 100 km (x 10) and you get $225 USD. Use 33 baht for one USD and you get 7,420 baht.

The best buy from swampi to Pattaya is still one of the bus services such as Bell. 150 baht is a hel_l of a price and once you get to Pattaya they will put you in a mini van and take you to your hotel. Heck, the cheap flights I take often get me into swampi at 2 am. I have always taken a taxi at that time down to Pattay, but quite frankly, I am patient when I take my 30 day vacations and next trip I may just wait until the 6 am bus. I am sure I can find something to do for a few hours. I am always so fascinated the second I land in the LOS. I take everything in.

I have successfully gotten refunds from my credit cards over the years here in the USA. Each time the credit card company did make efforts to phone and write the vendor I had problems with. Usually, the vendor did not reply or contest my complaint and in each of those cases I got my refund. One fairly large refund was several hundred dollars involving a scam at a hotel. I got tossed out yet still got charged for the week! The young kid manager and I just did not get along. No problem. He called the police and they worked their scam. I left the hotel, and immediately wrote and emailed and phoned my credit card compnay. No doubt when the letter from the credit card company got to that hotel, the kid never showed that to the manager! I got my refund.

Never had any overseas deals though. I have made it a mandate to not use my credit card overseas unless absolutely necessary. I have always had one simple carry-on and not had any luggage issues. But, I would imagine the credit card company complaint will work the same. Send them a complaint with all the information you can. I am pretty sure they will give up trying to get information or a cogent response from Thailand.

The Breuhaus on 2nd road, between soi 7 and soi 8. Been going there since 2004. Owner is from Germany and seems to be there about 80% of the time. I think the food is good across the board. Veal noodles romanoff is one of my favorites with a vineggarette salad. Entrees around 240 baht. toss more baht for cokes or beer or other drinks.

A few more suggestions.

If you arrive or depart during daylight hours, the Bell bus service to BKK airport is a great deal. 150 baht one way. Fine air conditioned bus and they will pick you up or drop you off at your hotel with a minivan. See other posts for time table. Taxis are fine and when I arrive at 2 am I take them, but they are in the 1400 baht range. 1400 versus 150, well, 900 baht for the same travel time and a nice high view out a big window is to me one hel_l of a deal. Heck, I just had my car breakdown outside Indianapolis. The 6 mile cab ride cost me $22.50 plus tip!

Public bus to Ekami is fine too. 99 baht I think it was last year. You can walk 100 yards from Ekami to the Ekami skytrain terminal and find your way to Nana or whatever else you want along the sky train route.

Back to Pattaya:

Ruen Thai restaurant, 2nd road roughly across from soi 12. Semi outdoor restaurant with a good menu. Almost non-stop traditional Thai dancers and Musicians playing. Not loud. If you have not spent a lot of time in Thailand, it is worth it for a dinner. I found it serene and entertaining with subdued lighting. Prices are OK. Costs a bit more than KISS as you might expect but definitely not gouging.

Check out a movie at any of the theaters. Surprisingly, the newer theater on 2nd road behind the macdonalds next to Shenanigans was 20 baht cheaper than the one at Big C. Hey, for 100 baht to see a flick, I always get in one or two while I am in the LOS, just for the price. For once the theater AC was not on ice box setting either. Popcorn and coke for another 100 baht and I was a happy camper. dam_n US theaters hit you with the $4 popcorn and soda and $9.75 for a ticket!

9 baht donuts at big C in the morning. Well, what can I say? 9 baht for some reasonably fresh sweets!

Buy a loaf of bread at TOPs grocery on 2nd road and central pattaya road. Get some cheddar cheese from the coolers along the back of the store, not up front. I snack on that all week.

The Bruehaus german restaurant on 2nd road between soi 7 and soi 8. Vineggarete salad, veal romanoff with noodles and a side of bread. I love Thai food, but every few days, a western craving sets in.

Dinner or breakfast buffet at Lek or Apex hotel. Not greatly fresh but like the "hungry heffer" place always joked on the Cheers TV show, still a pretty good deal. I forget which one had a decent fresh tomato sauce with lots of garlic in it.

Many of the internet cafes are fine and fun. Girl inside TOPS has five PCs available. Her name is AOM and is funny as hel_l. You can sit there and have a drink that you buy cheap right there in the store with her while you catch up on your emails. After 9 pm prices are 30 baht an hour I think.

What not to do:

Avoid the small clinic up on the north side of soi 13 I think, right near 2nd road. I had a simple case of "crotch rot". I went there and they were clueless. Gave me some petroleum jelly they portioned out into a little cup, and some antibiotics. Charged too much and didn't even get what should have been a simple and obvious thing right. All the years I played sports and things, I had never had it, so I went to them first as I was worried about some rash or what not. I flew home two days later and checked with a DR buddy of mine A few days of tolfinicate (spelled wrong?) from lamasil and all was well.

The fruit stand across from Mike's mall. Well, the ladies are nice and the fruit selection is pretty good, but the prices are on the touristy side. Better up on central pattaya road about 100 yards from 2nd road on the left. They will even cut up a big jack fruit for you fresh.

Hard Rock Hotel. Just too pricey for anything unless you really miss the US. The shrimp scampi/alfredo was pretty good, but that was 4 years ago during my first visit to Pattaya.

I used Eastiny on Soi 8 two or three times over the last few years. no problems and one of the ladies always speaks fine english. I used the travel agency in the diana hotel right there on 2nd road and near soi 12, two or three times. The young lady is really nice. Changed my plane ticket two times this trip! Saw her walking home I guess one afternoon after work and she was very pleased that I recognized her as we approached each other and I said hello. Next time I think I will ask her out for a night. Something like a show and eats. No expectations, just spend some time with a nice person with a great smile.

I never booked anything really complicated though. Changed plane ticket, booked Tiffany once, booked Nong Nooch with pickup once, stuff like that. Booked our Ko Samet two night stay back in 2004 righ at the Tsunami. Woke up the next morning on Ko Samet and saw the mess on TV. Crazy thing is, my buddies had originally booked us for phuket. For some reason they changed at the last minute. Good choice! He booked with a very nice lady that sits with a small booh outside a beer bar on 2nd road just north of the KISS restaurant. Very nice lady but I did not see her manning the booth this year.

Just babbling now. Gosh I can't wait for my next visit to the LOS!

You can buy a ticket online without a passport. I doubt you can get the paper ticket without going to the ticket counter and presenting one though. The 20K penalty and just being upfront about it sounds like the best plan to me. I would probably be prepared to answer some questions such as,

What were you doing?

Where did you stay?

How did you pay for everything, job, bank withdrawals etc..

Then of course you may get some nasty guy who feels like giving a farang a bad day so he can get his yearly evaluation pumped up in front of his boss, so be calm and repentent.

Soi 6 is a place untouched by civilization..:-)

Hehe. Good one. I would say it is definitely pretty wild. I truly do hope it keeps running. It is not the greatest testament to mankind, but I doubt that 150 yards of that will bring about the downfall of western or eastern civilization!

I was in Pattaya in April. 8th time there and I still haven't made it over to the sanctuary. It just always seemed that touch too expensive so I did other things. I am not cheap, it just seemed a bit off. I would love to know if some farang was really just there and only paid 250 baht. I almost walked all the way down to it this last trip. I walked down the back roads from Naklua. It was getting a bit late and headed back toward Pattaya after I made it down to the water. Got to the Dusit just as the sun set.