DP25

Well, Red Horse certainly has price going for it, what with large bottles being 2 for 1 at Family Mart. Realize that it's just a promotion, but still, any beer selling for half the price of Chang makes me a bit nervous. Didn't really like it, won't be buying it once the promotion is over.

Never heard of them here in  Southern Cal.  Always looking for new good tunes.

What kind of music do they play?...

You've probably heard them before. Ever heard the song "Don't Dream it's over"?

I like these restaurants a lot.  The enchiladas however were nothing special - or Mexican, for that matter - under a thick blanket of cheese.  More like lasagne than anything else.  Pasta dishes generally VG (but no bread - my GF always orders some crab dish & gives me hers).  Steaks/specials good and good value.  Several of their locations here http://www.dininginthailand.com/13coinsmap.asp

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Thank you so much for that link! Found a couple 13 coins restaurants that are in prime llocations for me, that I didn't know aboue before. Also would like to point out that several of them are open 24 hours, and that they deliver.

13 Coins resturaunt. Sibsaam rian in Thai. It's a Western food resturaunt, except it's for Thais, not Farang. You don't see many foriegners there. It's really cheap, and it's actually not too bad. You can get a steak (Thai beef), with fetticini, buttered veggies, and nice thick french fries for 160 baht! HUGE chunk of roast pork covered in gravy for 140 B. Pasta as well, but I've been too frightened to try to Mexican food.

Can't find a website, but there is one in Pata world, Central Latprao (not sure), near and a couple near silom.

good luck to the women who can find happiness in the arms and company of a fat , bald , over fifty falang.

many of them enter the industry to get away from the drudgery of low paid farm or factory work and believe that a falang is the answer.

for some of them it is , for some of them it isnt. they have their dreams and hopes like we all do. good luck to them for giving it a go.

and nobody forces either party into it.

when i see such couples i feel happy for them , whether their joy lasts a day or a lifetime , its joy , and joy should be taken wherever it can.

i dont see any exploitation at all.

god bless the exuberance of thai women , god bless the sensuality of thai women ( a sensuality and femininity that , i'm afraid , most western women can only dream about ever achieving ) and god bless their receptiveness to approaches by men , their flirtatiousness and the gentle way they accept or decline those approaches without making the approacher feel like a criminal.

god bless all those over fifties who have found some joy here ( whether they have had to pay for it or not ) when they have been unable to find it nearer to home.

long live the service industry and the happiness and fun it gives to those who need its services.

for the record and before i get personally verbally abused i am a fighting fit , fat - free , fully follicled fifty one year old and have been happily and faithfully married to a thai lady 8 years younger than myself for sixteen years.

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Yes, this is one subject I can agree with you on! Long live the service industry in Thailand! Long live the mind numbing poverty of Isaan, which causes untold thousands to make their way to the big city!

Why, it is absolutely unfair that you older gents get to have all the fun. Why shouldn't I be able to get some "good old fashioned honest rumpy pumpy" 25 years from now? I can only hope that the poverty of Isaan farmers will continue, and that they will still send their daughters to BKK in the future, to satisfy old, bald, fat men like me in the future.

Bah, even if they don't, I'm sure that Myanmar and Zimbabwe will still be basketcases, so even people like me will be able to find company.

Any Zelda game in my book will never be bad.  I would pay double the price for it!  Yea, I saw the trailer and I was amazed.  I am replaying the OOT on my Gamecube.  I am still blown away when boy Link turns into adult Link in the game after his long nap. 

Online, I don't know.  I think online gaming is only to boost the poor version of teh non online game.  Only a few games are true online games.  I would hate for SSBM to go global.

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Yeah I agree with you about OOT. Ya know, I never had an N64, so my first time playing OOT was when they gave it away with Wind Waker. An amazing game, I wish I had bought an N64 and played it years ago. And it seems like everyone likes Animal Crossing, maybe I'll pick it up. Something I can play with my girlfriend as well.

@Ian B

Yeah I buy my games at MBK too. How do you like Donkey Konga? (or whatever it's called) It looks really stupid, but stupid in a way that can be incredibly fun. When I first read about the idea of a game using bongo drums I was predicting the downfall of Nintendo, but actually it looks like it might be kinda fun...

If you are hopping for a new game.... Metroid Prime 2 over the others.  I have all  three of them and I can tell you that Metroid is the one you want.  Paper Mario  was cute but too much talking.  Start Fox 2 is cool but as you said short.  Metroid took me 35 hours to finish and I was only 76%.  Metroid is just plain hard!  The boss fights will frustrate you.  I prefer Metroid 1 over 2 just cause it was new.  The opening 30 minutes of Metroid 1 were great and just hooked you. 

Animal Crossing is just too cool!  You build  a town and interact with the animals.  It really is a fun game and makes you wrok.  You get to build a museum of dinosaurs.  An aquarium and a bug zoo.  It was and still is alot of fun for those lonely nites. 

I am not a real RPG fan.  I prefer action and adventure and sports games taht are not too difficult.  MArio Golf and Tennis are my level.  I will get MArio Cart soon.  Just waiting for teh new Time Splitters and in the summer, The new new Zelda with the grown up Link.  Also, I read Mario Baseball and a whole new Mario adventure for the Gamecube willl be out.  With these games coming out I still can't see why anyone would want a PS2 or Xbox.

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Did you see the new Zelda trailor that came out the other day? Looks amazing, it was like watching LOTR. I can't wait to play it. I also read some stuff about the next Nintendo console, backwards compatibility with the Gamecube as well as coming with wi-fi ability. About time they got into online gaming, I really want to play MK, SSB etc online for those times I don't have anyone over.

Trying to think of my toughest boss fight....  It has to be the rock monster in Metroid Prime.  Took me weeks to figure him out.  The Boost Guardian in Metroid 2 is also a tough fight which cost me a joystick.  What do you think?  Metroid Prime 2 was just plain hard and long.  But, that is Metroid for you.

That rock monster...that thing was tough. It took me a long time to beat it as well. I actually haven't played Prime 2 yet. Am planning on picking something up this weekend...but I'm not really sure what. Am trying to decide between the new Star Fox, Prime 2, or maybe Paper Mario. I'd get Star Fox, but I've heard that it's really short, and if I'm gonna spend that much I'd rather get something that lasts a while. Also am thinking about Tales of Symphonia, as I don't have any real rpg for the cube.

Interesting that you both seem to like Animal Crossing. To be honest I know almost nothing about that game. Isn't that the one where you clean your house and go fishing and talk to other animals? Sounds a bit strange to me...

The vast majority of games sold in Thailand are bootleg copies, this is what I was refering to in price. I must admit to not knowing whether or not bootleg gamecube games are widely available in Thailand, if they are, then what price do they go for?

I do think that a higher percentage of gamecube games are aimed at a younger market than PS2 or X-Box. My comments on the mentioned games were really aimed at the first two. The Mario games are rated at 3+ in Europe, and Legend of Zelda Windwalker is rated as 3+. Metroid Prime is rated 12+, hardly x-rated.

No, bootleg GC copies are not available, and the games are more expensive here than they are at home. Nintendo didn't use DVDs for their console, so no one bothered bootleggings their games as it would be too expensive.

As for kiddy games, maybe it has a bit higher percentage than other consoles, but really games like Metroid Prime, Zelda, Mario Kart etc are aimed at all gamers. And, actually, they tone down RE4 in some markets, even in Japan, due to violence.

Oh... My favorite Turok game.. simple... from the N64 - Turok, Dinosaur Hunter.

This game made me so dizzy playing that I kept a barf bag handy!!  Oh those were the days!  And the purlins jumping out of the walls made me run for cover.  Awesome stuff.

A list of must have Gamecube games.  Here's mine:

1.  Metroid Prime

2.  Super Smash Bros. Melee

3.  Soul Calibur II with Link

4.  The Legend of Zelda Windwaker

5.  Eternal Darkness:  Sanity's Requiem

6.  Mario Golf

7.  Animal Crossing

8.  Viewtiful Joe

9.  Metroid Prime 2 Echoes

10. Super Mario Sunshine

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I cannot fathom how you can leave Mario Kart DD and Resident Evil 4 off of your list.

4 player Mario Kart and a bunch of beer is some of the most fun you can have. As for Resident Evil, a lot of my friends back home have walked into gaming stores and seen it, and ended up walking out with a cube and a copy of RE4. It's really a must have if you own a gamecube imo. Ikaruga is also really good, but to be honest, it's just too hard for me.

How much money would you say you'll need to use on a daily base in thailand.

Owning your own condoe at about 40m2 and a normal car .

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Estimates on this will range from 42 baht and 50 satang per day to no less than 400,000 baht per month assuming you don't want to sleep with the soi dogs.

I have a PS2 and a Gamecube. I wish now that I had bought an XBox instead of the PS2, as the only thing I use the PS2 for is movies and GTA. Much better graphics on the Xbox, and more games that interest me. The PS2 is not as advanced as the other 2 consoles, but it does have a really large library of games to choose from, and to be honest I don't think the other consoles look THAT much better. Basically you should look at what games are available and buy the one that has games that fit you better.

Or you could get a gamecube, and pay 2500B per game like I do...

It seems like some people who claim spending under 80k a month is living in poverty are living in a different Thailand than I am. I spend under 40k per month, and I live quite a nice lifestyle. I go out drinking 20 days per month (and usually end up drunk), I buy all the DVDs and PS2 games I want, I have a nice, if small studio, and I buy books and magazines whenever I want.

I think the difference is, I don't like being around large numbers of other foriegners. As such I never step foot inside any Western oriented bar, instead I hang out in the Thai bars and discos, where you get a bottle of whiskey + mixer for 400-700 baht. I don't sleep with prostitutes. I don't pay for my girlfriend, she has quite a good job and doesn't need any money from me. I eat Western and Thai food, but there's lots of cheap Western food out there. Mexican Buffet at Bourbon St is only 250 B, Sizzler is cheap as well, and the best of all is 13 Coins, where everything except beef is about 140 B per meal. A large pizza from PC is only 219 if you get it delivered and have a coupon.

I'm being completely honest that I don't know how I would spend 80k a month in Thailand, unless I was spending 50k on rent, which I never would because I think that is a ridiculous amount to pay for rent in a country like this. There just isn't really anything I want to spend my money on, other than video games and alcohol, and that stuff is dirt cheap here. I actually think I spend too much money, I should really cut down on the amount of partying I do, and try to eat Thai food more often, but I'd only save about 200$ per month so I don't bother.

Oh dear, I want to cry if the info about Ratchada was really posted on LP. The past couple times I've been there, there were an unusual amount of guys who looked like they came from Khao San after the bars tehre closed. Luckily, most of them didn't seem to stick around long, the place is too Thai for them, only the outdoor hiphop place seems to attract a lot of foriegners.

Oh and that noodle resturaunt is still there, I ate there at 3am on Saturday night.