stringer

Great. Finally a TV meeting in my neck of the woods, and....my boss drags me back to the London office for a poxy 2 day conference. I might be allowed to continue my sojourn in paradise, I might not.

So looks like I'll have to wait until next time to meet you lovely people.

Sawadee Khrap!

Stringer

Don't care about the date as my schedule is so f*cked up I can never plan that far ahead. But my suggestion for a venue would be the Green Man pub, for what it's worth...

Stringer

Hi.

I've been in Phuket for a couple of weeks now, and I'm starting to get bored! stayed at Kata Beach resort, then the Hilton for a week, now at Evason (sixsenses) at Rawai.

I'm not an overprivileged punter, just need somewhere with a good internet connection as I have to work or be called back home by my boss. My Thai gf got me some excellent deals on the resorts, otherwise I'd be home by now with empty pockets! I hope to stay here as long as I can...

Anyhow, any of you expats fancy meeting up with a UK farang for a beer? I have a friend coming over to visit in a couple of days, and my Bangkok-based gf will be joining me next week - but for now, I'm twiddling my thumbs. I haven't had time to explore phuket outside the resorts at all yet - and while they're very nice, there's only so much honeymooners and families you can put up with!

Cheers,

Stringer

great stuff! let me know when you arrive....not a great guitarist myself but i can hold a rhythym...and a bit of vocals..all we need now is a drummer and bass for the rudiments and we are away! I have some live mp3s of my band in HK..got a yahoo account or somehing II can send some too? Are you coming to live here? As you can see from my other posts, I am looking to open a live music bar...

Cool. I'll give you a shout when I hit town. Like I said, I'm a total hack guitarist, but it would be cool just to meet someone out there with similar taste in tunes!

I am so rusty tho. I don't have anything on tape anymore, let alone on disk, which will give you an idea of how long it is since I attempted anything serious! will PM my email if you want to send stuff.

One more thing: anyone got any ideas on the guitar front, as in, where can I buy a guitar in Bangkok? Was thinking of buying an electro-acoustic there instead of carting my crappy old Westone around the world!

Stringer

Came across an advert yesterday regarding a fledgling blues group on Samui. Their link is here.  I don't know them but this maybe some help to you.

Edit: Just re-read where you said you don't like blues (?!) but at least this gives you a link to some guys making music on Samui.

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nice one chap. Might just pop down and see em while I'm there.

Stringer, Why would you need a phone line to get wireless ? The person to ask for when you call is Doctor Pongsak he will explain it to you.

Cheers.

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Hi Rooo. sorry, maybe a mismatch on the q/a there. I was replying to this bit:

'Sorry forgot to add , if you want phone line talk to owners,or contact TOT.You will have to have a Thai person put it in their name if you do not have company.

The cost is BHT 3,500 rental per month is around BHT 100 your call cost is BHT 3 per call ,local that is with no time limit.To connect to ADSL depends on speed 256 is BHT 500 a month I think. Good Luck.'

I'm not sure if I'll be around long enough to bother with getting a place where I'll get a phone line, but Lamai Wanta looks good. You meant Doctor Pongsak is the man to speak to at Wanta, I take it?

Also, you mentioned 1 bedroom on the water near Huathanon temple - not sure where you mean, but I'll take a look around when I get there.

And, much thanx to all you chaps for your helpful replies

Alright chap.

Strange, I have similar tastes, and I too hate pentatonic, dixie-style twang - on record, or live. However, for some unknown reason I often end up playing the most indulgent sub-clapton wank.

So I'm unlikely to be the Sergeant to your McCullough. But would be extremely well disposed toward loose jams (bet you hate that word!) and beer if you're still around when I arrive (Mid May). In my defence, I'm one of the few guitarists I know to have sussed out how to play 'Ceremony' properly. Shame you didn't mention Sonic Youth or MBV...

Koh Samui, shoegazer central? My word....perhaps you can show me where all the goth chicks are on Samui!

Also, I'll be turning 40 shortly after arriving in BKK......I'll know I'm really middle aged when I start buying Weller's solo albums.......

later,

Stringer

Hi. I'm booking a flight to Bangkok - plan to stay in Samui/Phuket etc for three months . I've heard the 60 day tourist visa plus 30 day extension is best way. So I'm thinking of booking my return flight for 90 days after my departure - will that land me in trouble with Thai immigration? Or should I book my ticket for 60 days, get the 30 day extension, then try to extend the departure date on my ticket?

Any other tips re: visas for a prospective three month (maybe longer, if possible) trip are very welcome.

Thanks.

(btw, I'm UK citizen, 39 yrs old)

Stringer

Lamai Wanta in Lamai ,  has wireless internet,works fantastic.TOT installed the the equipment under the water tower.Close to the beach , all your problems answered.

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Cheers Rooo - checked out the site, didn't say anything about internet, but will check it out when I get there.

would I need a telephone line installed at Lamai Wanta to get the wireless internet tho?

Hello. I've just decided to take a couple of weeks off in mid-May (quite possibly a few months) and will be staying in the area - so any suggestions would be very welcome - question is, where? Phuket, Samui, Koh Tao?

Is it better to book somewhere in advance, or would I be better off getting a place for a few nights then looking around on the ground? How do such rates compare to going thru, for example, sawadee.com?

I'm looking for somewhere for a few nights of chilled-out luxury the first few nights, preferably with a nice quiet beachfront location. Any recommendations? Any views on the relative merits of Phuket vs Samui vs Koh Tao, Phang Nga etc welcome.

I'm not into the beer bar scene from what I've read (I could be wrong!), but any tips on the more chilled out bar scene would be appreciated.

I will be travelling alone for most of my stay - any alternative ways of meeting women apart from the bar girls?

One more thing - will be buying an acoustic guitar en route - better to shop in Bangkok for that?

cheers,

Stringer

Intriguing - I work online but it's a UK company and I'm paid from UK - would that still be counted as work? or should I just keep quiet about it? Also, am intrigued at the 6 month visitor visa from Penang item - I'd always assumed best to get a 2month visitors visa then cross border to renew - am I wrong? I'm not sure how long I want to stay - 3 months might be fine - but would be nice to have the option for longer

Stringer

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No provision for that kind of work so best to keep it low profile - as long as if asked you say income is from outside Thailand that you use to support yourself it should not become an issue (until things change).

Tourist visa is always 60 days but can be extended 30 days so many call it 3 months. A two entry tourist visa could then be 60+30+(out/in)+60+30 so they call that 6 months. You still have to exit but only one time.

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cheers, Lopburi - not sure I'd be working anyhow, but always best to be prepared, eh?

Ah no worries, that's just how I read it.  Of course if the stuff you are writing on your computer is for money abroad then it's still technically work not that anyone cares about that.

Anyway, still suggest the Penang trip, you can get cheap flights there, the double entry tourist visa no problem, and it can get boring doing monthly runs all the time.

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Intriguing - I work online but it's a UK company and I'm paid from UK - would that still be counted as work? or should I just keep quiet about it? Also, am intrigued at the 6 month visitor visa from Penang item - I'd always assumed best to get a 2month visitors visa then cross border to renew - am I wrong? I'm not sure how long I want to stay - 3 months might be fine - but would be nice to have the option for longer

Stringer

cheers Khun Jean - I have very tight deadlines, so I hope that will be all the discipline I need! Can't wait to get out there.

btw, have seen a few hotels advertising wireless internet access on Phuket and in Samui - anybody tried wireless in a hotel over here? no point booking a month and then finding it's useless!

Ta!

As I understand,as long as you live close to the ring road , you can connect to TOT ADSL.It all depends on your budget Re accomodation.My wife & I rent a 2 bedroom bungalow near the water,brand new furnished , until house is built for 14,000.00 a month.You can get cheaper but you will be further away from the sea.

At the moment you can negotiate long term at favourable rate as it is low seaon.

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Much appreciated, Rooo.

14,000 a month, btw? Wow. I'm thinking you meant per night, or even per week, that's incredibly low. Or is there a zero or two missing? I'm willing to pay considerably more to get as many comforts and conveniences and to be as close to the beach as I can, but if I can get something decent cheaper, all the better!

Cheers.

There are a few places that seem a bit closer, but must confess I have no idea of scale on the island - I assume almost anywhere on lamai or the southern end of Chaweng must be reasonably accessible to the IT facility. Will check it out tho, thanks.

Stringer

Try Sand and Sea. That's fairly close. The IT Complex is great though. Used it a number of times to work and found that there were plenty of internet gurus in there banging out on their affiliate sites, living the life.

Enjoy

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Hi. First post, so apologies if dumb questions.

Any suggestions for a good bungalow/budget hotel accommodation within reasonable walking distance of the lamai internet centre (sawadee) - or any other reliable fast internet connection.

I work from home online and I'm considering moving out to Samui or somewhere similar (Koh Tao, Pha Ngan or Phuket maybe) for a few months as a working holiday. However, due to the nature of my work I need a reliable, fast internet connection for at least 7 hours per day. Also need tips on places that will negotiate cheaper rates for long stay.

I'm trying to do it on a reasonably modest budget but would still like western toilets, reasonably close to a beach etc. If I could find a reliable source of wireless internet (I have a laptop), much better.

Cheers,

Stringer