Kaoboi Bebobp

In Pattaya, I agree Benjamit makes a good coffee. I buy their Vienna roast for my Viet stainless steel filtre coffee at home. I have an Americano while waiting. It's creamy, brown crema and rich taste is very good. Only 45 baht. Great friendly service too. The place is packed with Euro customers every day.

Second, Yes coffee on the sidelines of Big C Extra food court makes a decent Americano for 35 baht.

To me, Au Bon Pain and Starbucks of Thailand are overpriced and stingy with the shot servings.

Nice to see somebody else who appreciates Vietnamese top of the cup coffee makers; total simplicity yet amazingly controllable. Every time I go to Vietnam I bring a few back. I have a friend who uses a B30,000+ "Safeco" coffee maker; automatic everything. He claimed it made the best coffee available. I challenged him to a blind taste test...my $2 Vietnamese thingy against his machine....mine won.

If you are around Phra Khanong in Bangkok, "M" Coffee, right next to the BTS escalator has very decent coffee and food for reasonable prices. They source their own coffee beans and make a really nice blend. Unfortunately, they may have to move soon. All the shophouses to their right are being torn down and word is theirs will knocked down as well as condos continue popping up in the neighborhood like weeds in a garden.

A large Tom & Toms was opened in a condo complex up the street but their coffee is dreadful and prices are in the same tier as Starbucks.

I have used every coffee making device over the years. But I've been using Vietnamese filter cups for more than five years now. Yep, $2-$2.50 in Phnom Penh to buy a good one. But I recently got a little tired of having to clean up the steel bits all the time. Bought a 300 baht automatic coffee maker. I used its wire filter and even bought some paper filters. Tried both methods 3-4 times. Not even close to the quality of coffee I can make with the Vietnamese filter cup. The coffee machine collects dust now and I'm back to cleaning. It's the best method of making coffee I've ever used and as dddave says, very controllable.

I cannot imagine a Thai drug store developing a web site complete with complicated (correctly spelled!) drug selection list of hundreds of meds with generic and original manufacture choices plus dose sizes and full pay platform with credit card links just for a few sales. Not to mention all duplicated in at least two languages. There would also be some meds they might sell but couldn't list.

That's an interesting discovery that Bangkok is cheaper than Pattaya for your drugs. But then I've noticed this for other things too between the two cities. There have been times where I've bought the same items at Foodland in both cities. BKK's supermarket was cheaper.

Just yesterday in Pattaya, I went into a Buakhao pharmacy that I've never been in before to pick up a drug that's 175 to 200 baht. They wanted 350! No thanks. Went to Fascino on Klang and got it for 200. Guess they thought I was a tourist, although as she looked up the price, I told her it was 200 baht. But still insisted on 350.

Never been to Vietnam but seriously considering a few days there to test the water under the 15 day visa exempt for British passports.

My Thai wife isn't so keen on Vietnam for reasons only known to herself. She can be persuaded and has British and Thai passports so, I would assume, easier to enter on her British passport and have done with it.

All of an hour's flight from BKK and good to have an additional stress-free option.

Flights to Saigon are cheap (compared to Phnom Penh). Avoiding the Visa on Arrival clusterfxxx is a Good Thing. Believe me. Worst immigration service in SEA and I've entered by air, land and river.

I love visiting Vietnam. I would go more often but the tortuous and painful visa process is not worth it anymore, especially when it costs $65 for a couple of nights in Saigon or Vung Tau. Throw in the SGN airport VoA chaos, with waits up to and past two hours, well, forget it. I'm not resentful for not winning the free-visa lottery, just announced. OK, maybe a little bit. Guess us North Americans just don't cut the mustard with the Party bosses.

Most Thais shop at the local markets. Thais and farangs with money shop at Big C/Tesco/Foodland. Mostly I think the pricing policy at Big C et al is: Stick it to the farang.

My favourite juice is cranberry, by Langers, an import. In Foodland it's 153 baht/Villa 160 baht, in Phnom Penh it's 60 baht. Identical brand and size, 32 oz/1L. Thai brands Tipco and Malee are cheaper on a regular price basis (by about 10 baht or more) in PP than in Thailand. Leo beer is 30 or so baht in Thailand, in Phnom Penh it's 15 baht (at expensive Bayon Market), yes, even after transport costs are thrown in.

Over here on the Darkside, a very flavourful and tasty Soi Muslim BBQ'd half chicken is 75 baht. At Foodland, 140 baht. Weights about the same, maybe slightly heavier at Foodland.

Stick it to the farang. That's all you need to know about pricing if you shop at the big name supermarkets. So I let them . . . but not for long.

You ever thought that the prices you mention might be due to the very high import taxes on foreign items and heavy duty on alcohol. No sorry you probably didn't as you are quite happy that as a Farang every Thai is out to rip you off.

You're kind of missing the obvious. Why do you think Thailand has high import tariffs in the first place? I refer you to my summary: Stick it to the farang. This was said in the context of the big name supermarkets that sell popular western (and local) products at quite high prices. Few regular Thais shop at Big C unless supported by a big wallet. Sometimes even identical products at 7-11 are cheaper than Big C.

No, not every Thai is trying to rip me off. Where did I say that? I live on the Darkside, where I get charged Thai prices, where folks are generous and super nice.

Most Thais shop at the local markets. Thais and farangs with money shop at Big C/Tesco/Foodland. Mostly I think the pricing policy at Big C et al is: Stick it to the farang.

My favourite juice is cranberry, by Langers, an import. In Foodland it's 153 baht/Villa 160 baht, in Phnom Penh it's 60 baht. Identical brand and size, 32 oz/1L. Thai brands Tipco and Malee are cheaper on a regular price basis (by about 10 baht or more) in PP than in Thailand. Leo beer is 30 or so baht in Thailand, in Phnom Penh it's 15 baht (at expensive Bayon Market), yes, even after transport costs are thrown in.

Over here on the Darkside, a very flavourful and tasty Soi Muslim BBQ'd half chicken is 75 baht. At Foodland, 140 baht. Weights about the same, maybe slightly heavier at Foodland.

Stick it to the farang. That's all you need to know about pricing if you shop at the big name supermarkets. So I let them . . . but not for long.

I mostly find the Bell service rarely suits my flight schedule. I would land at the airport 4 hours early or only 1.5-2 hours before the flight. I like the Jomtien-airport bus but getting to Jomtien from the Darkside is a big pain.

As an alternative, without taking Bell or the Jomtien-airport bus, I take the Ekamai bus. Get off at Home Pro Village (1h:30m) and take a taxi (140 baht) to the airport. 119 + 140 = 259 baht

I haven't seen any reason to shop at Tukcom for a couple of years now. Nothing but trouble there.//

I can't understand this kind of bad comment using generalisation . There must be 200+ shops in Tukcom! Some of them are genuine good official shops with usually good sell service and good after-sale service

Many other are similar to all this very small "bazar" shop you find everywhere in Pattaya. They will try to sell you the last Samsung or iPhone for less than 5'000 baht but don't count on a support for a product that will quickly need one !

On products I bought the difference of price with Pantip Bangkok - if any - was very small and don't worth the hassle of a trip to Bangkok. BTW better to buy local if ever you need the warranty.

Many good shop & sellers in Tukcom, and I really hope many of them will stay here when the other Tukcom will open.

You're supporting my point, actually. I agree, it's better to buy from shops with good after-sales service. All those quality shops (Jaymart, iStudio etc.) in Tukcom are elsewhere too, in more comfortable and safer conditions such as Central Festival and some Big C malls, with parking. But my view remains the same: Many people reported personally to me and on forums their bad experiences at Tukcom. The problem there is, you don't know until afterward whether you got a good product and faithful service. I've had both at the kiosk shops on the second level of Big C Extra. I speculate that the shops at Big C or whatever mall are under more scrutiny because the Big C's have to protect their reputation and won't brook shoddy practices. I don't need Tukcom.

I like to go to Bangkok on one-night trips (most of my friends live and work there) because I can go to Fortune Town, an equally pleasant shopping experience, and MBK. In my past experience at both retail institutions, items were cheaper than Tukcom, sometimes by thousands of baht.

The other Tukcom seems to carry the name Harbor Mall. Based on the one big signboard on Klang with some brand names painted in, it does look like a Tukcom kind of place.

I've always found cards of all kinds in Big C Extra in the past. Right beside the gift wrap counter up front at the far end from the cashiers.

There's a substantial stationery shop on Klang past Big C on the lefthand side toward Sukhumvit. They always have some cards.

I haven't seen any reason to shop at Tukcom for a couple of years now. Nothing but trouble there. It's miserable place to find moto parking, it's difficult to thread your way around the floors, narrow or non-existent or blocked emergency exits, prices are higher than in Bangkok, and I (and my GF separately) have been ripped off by phone/electronics sellers. Go to Big C/PowerBuy/Lotus. Same product and fairly decent service.

As someone else noted, everything's for show. The "security screening" for Bangkok's MRT underground system has been downgraded (not by much) over the last year or so and become complete nonsense. You can walk right by the attendant after setting off the alarm and not stop and show. But any examination is so cursory it appears to a bystander to be a farce. And frankly, the attendants look like they're from a cleaning company.

I used to walk Soi 13 off Third Road to get to Buakhao for a few years. Never ever saw a bus. This year, on many nights all traffic is blocked completely by big buses turning into a hotel from this tiny lane-and-a-half wide road. The bus tour groups are taking over Pattaya and area.

I just scanned the last few posts, but . . . What about all the imponderables when committing for 5 years: political instability such that dire changes could follow, the unpredictability of conditions when He Who Cannot Be Named passes on, bad neighbours, good landlord turned bad, necessity of moving after a bad relationship, necessity of moving after meeting a wonderful partner, decision to leave because of a great job offer, natural disasters, etc etc. No one in his right mind should commit to a 5-year lease. OP, you need to reboot your brain.

Keep your money in the homeland. All of it. If you bought a condo and decided to leave after a couple of years of more of the same treatment, I doubt selling it would gain your money back, never mind scratching out a profit.

I frequently use DTAC data for email checks and web browsing on my mobile. DTAC has been the best service among the big three in my 10 years around these parts. Even in storms, DTAC service was uninterrupted. Guess I must have been lucky.

I have to agree. From last Sunday to yesterday, I asked myself where is everyone coming from, where are they going. Sunday and Monday, 3rd Rd. and Sukhumvit northbound were packed day and night. I know because I have to cross over from the Darkside. While it's hard to imagine, I think there are even more buses in already overcrowded streets. Low season?

As I witnessed recently in three separate arrivals at Suvarnabhumi, there were more Chinese and Korean tour groups than I have ever seen before. Some go to Pattaya. I've seen more of these nationalities on the Bangkok-Pattaya buses, which I take 2-3 times a month, and on the airport-Jomtien buses. I think we're looking at the situation getting worse. If that's possible.

Throw in the Sukhumvit traffic clusterfxxx.

I've said it before, my days in Pattaya are numbered. I will be out of here this summer.

For those Darkside bound, like me, I walk east to Sukhumvit and cross. There are white and blue baht buses. I get off at Nern Pub Wan and pay 10 baht (although I had a couple of drivers run off with my 20-baht bill. Which is why you should always have correct change.) There's a red one that turns left into Nern Pub Wan. Perfect for me. I give the guy 20 baht for taking me another 1+ km.

In Pattaya, I agree Benjamit makes a good coffee. I buy their Vienna roast for my Viet stainless steel filtre coffee at home. I have an Americano while waiting. It's creamy, brown crema and rich taste is very good. Only 45 baht. Great friendly service too. The place is packed with Euro customers every day.

Second, Yes coffee on the sidelines of Big C Extra food court makes a decent Americano for 35 baht.

To me, Au Bon Pain and Starbucks of Thailand are overpriced and stingy with the shot servings.

Finally broke down and opened the Hooters thread. Seriously, you guys are excited by a Hooters? When you're surrounded by T and A 24/7.

If you're thinking about the food, when was a western import brand as good as the back-home original? Dream on boys.

If a bar in Cambodia can sell a 330 ml/12oz pint of local beer for 15-30 baht and both brewer and bar make money, then Thai brewers are making fortunes.

On a bit of a looser if you think 330 ml or 12oz is a pint.

I know exactly what a pint is. That's why I specified the volume. Most draft beers in Cambodia are served in 12 oz glasses. Shorthand, a pint.

If a bar in Cambodia can sell a 330 ml/12oz pint of local beer for 15-30 baht and both brewer and bar make money, then Thai brewers are making fortunes.

Pizza company hands down but if you can get Scoozi or pizza pizza by zanne they are much better.

Another poster from Bangkok who doesn't know he's posting in the Pattaya subforum.

I didn't even find the Pizza Hut menus digestible -- menu photos too small, offerings unattractive and variety non-existent. So I gave up and walked out and straight to Pizza Co about 100 m away.

They pretty much have to do the brewing off site because the licensed brewery must be in an industrial area. The pub spot is not.

I'm perplexed about the point you raise above re having to brew in an industrial area...

Weren't they brewing onsite at the old Londoner location, which wasn't an industrial area?

And don't they do on-site brewing at the Tawandaeng brew pub down on Rama 3 near Chong Nonsi, which also isn't industrial.

But more broadly, I didn't think Bangkok actually had any kind of property zoning laws/designations that distinguished between different kinds of acceptable uses for different areas. That's why here you get factories being built next to houses being built next to shopping centers being built next to expressways!!!

I share your befuddlement. But what I posted is directly from a highly placed participant. Now, using one's imagination, you can feel the hand of the Big (powerful) Breweries in this constant mess. What's the difference between Tawan Daeng and Londoner? The latter is owned by an ex-Englander (who became a Thai citizen some time ago). What is the real story? I honestly don't know.