afalang

Hi Scully,

aside from Hotels, what else does NongBua have in the way of

shopping centres. Any Big C or Tescos ? movie theatre ?

cheers

here's my two-penny worth...I quite like Phetchabun City and surrounds.

It has a nice feel to it, not too big and not too small. I have visited

4 times now and enjoy the cooler climate. I have found the best food

places to be around the Burapha Hotel. Directly opposite the front

entrance is a great restaurant that has great food, good service and

cheap prices. It has an air-conditioned area and an outside area that

also has a coffee bar. On the same side as the Burapha but about 100

metres back towards the city, is a newly opened place called Steak-Mobile ?

I had a nice peppered pork chop there with salad and chips for about 59 baht !

I stayed 1 night in the Phetchabun Plaza Hotel which is opposite the Burapha.

At 350 baht a night which includes breakfast its good value if your on a budget.

Like most things you get what you pay for so dont expect a luxury room ;o)

I prefer the Burapha at 500 baht a night. The coffee shop does a half decent

american breakfast for 100 baht. The Kosit has the best rooms but its a bit

way out of the town centre.

Without doubt the best coffee in town is at the 'Toffee Home' coffee shop.

The coffee is good and it has a nice ambience. On my last visit there a few

weeks ago, my wife and I entered at 8:15 am and the was already a farang

there drinking a bottle of beer !! not sure if he was out late or out early !

Previously had only seen farangs there late afternoon drinking beer not

coffee. The lady there told my wife that they had made a new adjacent area to

the side, and to get the farangs to group there as they sometimes scared off Thai

coffee drinkers.

Like the previous poster, on my every visit to Phetchabun at the entrance to the

centre market, the are several farangs sitting outside the corner store. They seem

to be there early every day drinking beer. It seems most towns around Thailand

have a similar scenario.

Yesterday in Pattaya I drove past a big new tour bus

that had "Pattaya - Phuket" painted along each side ???

maybe its a new service.

Yesterday in Pattaya I drove past a big new tour bus

that had "Pattaya - Phuket" painted along each side ???

it must be a new service I would think.

yes ! thats the one. Now have added it to my laptop. many thanks.

On my Tv channel #60 is a football results channel,

which updates every day with matches and results service.

Does anybody know what the web address is for this channel ?

many thanks in anticipation.

Ray are you off to another candle festival ?

at your age you're still burning the candle at both ends

enjoy the ride my friend.

just to clarify...this is the correct up to date info

for the bus to Pattaya from Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The last bus to pattaya departs at 18:00 from the airport.

They depart from Level 1 gate 7.

As you arrive after that time you have 2 choices:-

* you can take a cab from the airport to pattaya

* take cab or bus to Ekamai Bus station in BKK and then bus to pattaya.

I heard about this a few weeks ago, 1 year visa for 20,000 issued through the jomtien immigration office.

Just a few days ago it was also offered to a swiss friend. 1 year visa for 20,000 baht, no need for 800,000

in the bank.

hey Norman

best yellow chicken curry in pattaya is to had at Noots Bistro,

its a little thai place at Nirun Condo. Its just near Legends bar.

{ Noots is closed on Sundays.}

enjoy

the bus from Nong Kai stops at the central bus terminal in Udon Thani.

If you just walk around the corner towards Robinsons you will see a

big KFC shop. From outside KFC you take the #7 bus - it will take you

straight to the 'old' bus station on the outskirts of town.

From this station

you can take the overnight bus to Chiang Mai. This bus departs every

night at 7PM and arrives in Chiang Mai at approx 07:30 the next morning.

The fare was 480 baht last time I made this trip.

It is the only bus trip in Thailand i know of, where they serve you hot coffee

on the bus in the morning !

Hi everybody,

travelling by bus from Nongkai to Udonthani how to get at the new busstation for the Chiangmai bus from Sooksa Tours ?

From the old busstation where the Nongkai bus stops by tuktuk to the new one ?

Many thanks in advance !

not sure if I'm reading your post right or not.

It's a bit confusing

are you taking the bus from

Nong Kai to Udon... and then wanting to know how

to get the bus from Udon Thani to Chiang mai ????

if this is what you want to know. Then let me know

and I can explain for you.

just to add my three bahts worth.....

the best value breakfast in Pattaya is to be had at the Nags Head.

Its on second road near the Avenue Shopping centre.

Its available all day and at 78 baht is excellent value for money.

And no, I do not own the place and I've never met the owner (jing-jing)

I'm just a happy puppy who goes there just about every sunday.

Hi

I am wondering if anybody knows which is the healthiest choice

when it comes to milk products to add to your coffee.

1. Milk

2. CoffeeMate powder

3. Condensed Milk

4. Evaporated Milk

On average I drink about 6 cups of coffee every day.

My preferred choice is the thick treacly Condensed Milk.

Something tells me this would not be the heathiest option

what do the experts say ?

Thanks for the help guys, appreciate it.

Nope, never been there ! I've been chatting on the net with some chick

from there. She is a hairdresser and she sleeps on a sofa in the shop

guess they're a bit short on rooms up there

I've been to uthai thani before so I'll guess I will stay there.

On Saturday 8 August I took the bus from Pattaya to Ekamai.

Two minutes after stepping off the bus I was stopped by a

uniformed cop. He patted me down and searched through all

my pockets and bag. All the time he was asking me questions in good english

and in a polite manner. I did notice that several other falangs, who had been on

the same bus as myself, were also being searched. He asked for my passport

which i did not have with me. So I gave him my thai driving licence. He just

looked at it and then said, " Ok thank you." then he walked off to stop another

falang who had just alighted from another bus.

As I was leaving the bus station on my way to the BTS, a german guy told me

they were looking for foreigners carrying drugs, and it was to do with the

aussie guy who was caught with 3Kg's on him at the airport ????

is this still happening at Ekamai ? There was no sign of police searches

at Morchid the same day.

I can't write Thai but my wife uses what I can only write like this: "My mum 'jeck jeck' me" Not sure if it's nagging or a bollocking? She says the same about me if I moan about being lost while driving...after she's asked directions....for the tenth time! "Why you 'jeck jeck' me" Is it a real Thai word associated with nagging?...Over to the more knowledgable members.

I think this is what you might be hearing juk-jik จุกจิก

sometimes they use the phrase juk-jik juu-jee จุกจิกจู้จี้

I heard it a lot from my ex-missus who thought I was too fussy and picky

There is no train service to Petchabun!, I do not know too much about the airport but I am pretty sure you cannot fly there with one of the internal airlines.

For the bus you want the Northern Terminal at Mo Chit. There are 2 classes of bus's - Class 1 & Class 2., Both are the Number 14 Service and the route name is 'Bangkok - Lomsak'.

I always use the Class 1 service, double decker and they run about every two hours.

The service also has 2 counters at Mo Chit, so you can ask at the info desk in the big hall. The counter for class 1 is 40-42.

Price to this town one way is 195 Baht and we are 100 Km's south of Petchabun City.

If you are flush with cash you can taxi it for about 3-4k Baht, but prepare to haggle, that's from Airport to Petchabun.

Is that the big hall on Level 3 ?

I'm pretty sure that for the class 2 buses there is a counter in the big hall on Level One.

If anybodys interested on that same level is a small left luggage shop.

Its tucked away down one end, next door to Dunkin Donuts !

thats Dunkin Donuts on level 1... not dunkin Donuts on Level 3

The left luggage shop is open from 05:00 to 22:30 daily.

P.S. Do not expect any hotel employee at the 2 hotels mentioned -- or any other hotel or business in this neighborhood -- to speak English. Better have the TG or someone else along if you do not speak Thai.

A few years ago i stayed at the Phu Inn, and yes nobody spoke english.

Luckily I had a long-haired dictionary with me

Anybody have 'intel' on a place to stay in Thap Than ?

I have searched Google and this forum but nothing

in the results.

Is there a direct bus from Morchit ?

or do you have to take a samlor or local bus from Uthai Thani ?

Any help would be appreciated...thanks in advance.

A group of us are planning to spend Christmas in Khon Kaen.

Previously I have stayed at Khon Kaen Hotel and The Roma Hotel.

This time I was considering the Deema.

Anyone have any comments to make either good or bad?

Much appreciated.

Gladiator

Hi

I stayed there for 1 night but it was nearly 4 years ago now.

I normally stay at the Roma but they were full. The lady

on reception called the Reema and and got me a room there.

It was clean, comfortable and good value at 250 baht

which was a fan room no air. It's close to the bus station

i seem to remember.

This is a good one for classic Lambrettas and Vespas.

It's all in Thai

I'd value the opinions of those that have gone through the process of self-teaching Thai.

At first I tried learning the spoken word using dictionaries and online resources.
It wasn't long before I realised that there are problems with transliteration: inconsistancy between systems, and the inability to impart pronunciation regardless of tone using just the english alphabet.

So, I thought I had better learn to read Thai first......but it seems that I could learn to read it easier if I could speak it!

What's your thoughts?

Harcourt, can I ask you, are living in Thailand or New Zealand ? as your 'moniker' suggests.
I ask because this can make a big difference to your learning. In addition, are you planning to go live in Thailand at a later date ?
Everybody has different goals and objectives when it comes to learning. However, if you want to become really good at Thai, you
need to be proficient in speaking, reading and writing. How you get to that position can vary from person to person. For what its worth, and
maybe it helps you, here's how I got there...eventually !
I had visited thailand many times before i retired here. So I did have a smattering of words and phrases. I took a 13 week course
to learn how to read and write thai whilst I was working in Australia. Unfortunately I had forgotton most of it by the time I had retired to live here !! I got by using
phrase books and transliteration.... and a good memory
After a while, I stopped listening to people who told me reading and writing Thai is impossible.
I took a 5 week course at AUA learning to read and write Thai. After 4 weeks of toil and trouble I had a light-bulb moment
(rare at my age ) It opened up a whole new world and makes it so much easier with pronunciation. So much so that I did have
to re-learn a few words that I kept saying incorrectly. I just kept at it after that, I listen to thai songs and read the thai karaoke, with the
help of the pause button I was able to follow it. I also started a diary, and started writing words in Thai, which in time became
sentences. I also started using the Thai language on my mobile phone. Now i can read and send messages in Thai. What you
do find frustrating is being able to read the word, but not knowing the meaning !! I carry a small notebook and pencil with me everywhere.
When i see new words or signs, I write them down and look them up in the dictionary later.
I would recommend to anybody wanting to learn thai, to learn some words and phrases first and get a feel for the language. Then do not leave
it too long before learning to read and write. To start with don't worry too much about getting it wrong. There are plenty of people here ready
to help you get it right !

does anyone know which bus station in Udon Thani the 407 Pattana Bus company uses??

They use the central bus depot near Robinsons.

The 407 Pattana office is on the same road as the Charoensri Shopping Complex,

its just a very short stroll down from the complex. The central bus station is actually

behind the 407 office. The buses depart from outside the office not from inside

the bus station.

was this an

Internet survey? NO

Trawling for customers ? YES