leola74

I am looking at some beachfront land in Lipa Noi, and different people, all with different vested interests, are telling me different stories about the danger over there.

There are some dilapidated houses about 300m North of the Nikki Beach (or about 100m North of the Lipa Lodge). The land is right there.

One person claims that the sea gets very stormy in the winter, and that those houses were ruined by a big wave in a storm a few years ago. This person says it is too dangerous to build a seafront house there. Of course, there are several other seafront houses nearby, but allegedly that very place were the dilapidated houses are standing is a wind channel, and hence more dangerous than 50m further to each side.

Other people, including police(!), say none of this is true, and that those houses were not ruined by a wave but by neglect over many, many years.

So ........ what is the story here? Does anyone know the area well and can advise on the storm situation? Were those houses really ruined by a wave?

Any help is appreciated!

When you exit the ferry the the 1st place to the right across from Niras was fair with me when I had a little fender bender with one of there pick ups , so I would recommend there

Do you remember the name of the place? I'd like to call ahead to pre-arrange everything. Thanks

We are coming from Samui, so taking the car isn't an option.

We have a 3-year old, so motorbike isn't an option.

We want the freedom to go anyplace at anytime, so songthaew isn't an option.

We don't want to pay an arm and a leg to a taxi driver everytime we want to go to dinner somewhere, so taxis aren't an option.

That's why we are going to rent a car.

Going to Koh Phangan in 3 weeks and want to rent a car for 5 days. Seems like most rental companies have no insurance WHATSOEVER. I was wondering if there is any place that actually offers some form of basic car insurance.

Thanks!

Freedas Muslim Restaurant Main street in Hua Thanon

Can't find this anywhere online. Can you give more precise directions, please?

Another great place for massaman is Shambala in Bangrak. Again - it takes longer to cook - wait an extra 15 minutes.

Shambala is a very reasonable price and again, I'll be that she will do roti if you pre book.

Yes, Shambala has a fantastic Massaman curry! But I asked about roti, they shrugged their shoulders. There must a restaurant that has this combination (curry+roti) on their menu, no?

Maybe one of the smaller Muslim restaurants? The ones with the starand moon on the sign. BUT WHERE???

Well, the title says it all. Been in Samui for a month now and desperately craving some good Roti with Massaman curry. Sure enough, there are many places doing great Roti, like Khun Lek in Maenam or the guy at the market in Nathon, but they do only Roti with bananas and maybe something with tuna. But no Massaman curry. Khun Lek used to make it, but ever since his daughter is going to university in Chiang Mai he doesn't have enough time so he only sells sweet Rotis.

Went to Khanom last weekend, and there it was easy to find (and delicious). But it's a bit far to travel for dinner. Surely there must be someone in Samui making it, no?

All help appreciated!!

Looks like I have True Vision in the house, not SamuiCable.

Is there a website with TV programs by channel, or even better a site that lists all soccer matches by date and channel?

The game I'm most interested in is Bayern-ManU on April 9.

As a backup ... any bars open and showing that in NW Samui?

That's not a bad idea at all, except that in my experience watching live soccer over internet is very "laggy" with poor picture quality, especially over the fairly slow Thai internet connections.

So any advice on actual TV coverage?

I'm staying in a house in Baan Makham in the Northwest of Samui right now (near The Passage Samui), and I'm very interested in watching some of the upcoming Champions League matches.

My house has TV, mostly Thai channels. Does anyone know which channels show the matches? Is there a TV schedule I can check to see which matches are actually being shown? What package would i need to get these channels?

Also, are there any bars in the area which show the matches on TV with English commentary? I realize that the matches start mostly at 1:45am, so watching at home would be my priority.

All help is appreciated!

Thanks guys. So I take it you recommend the Tourist Package from True instead of their "regular" packages?

Where do I get the SIM for that?

I will be in Thailand for ~3 months soon, and I am looking for some help sifting through the options for mobile access. I've never had a prepaid card before anywhere, so apologies in advance if some of these questions are a bit silly.

Here is some info on what I need/want:

1) Provider: Don't really care. I'm staying in the NW of Samui, and I've been told by the owner of the house that access on True Move H is very reliable there. So all else equal I'd prefer that provider.

2) Requirements: Quite a bit of data usage (maybe 3GB a month). Occasional calls in Thailand to another mobile, and more frequent calls to Europe and the US (maybe 100 minutes a month)

3) Phone: I have a Samsung S4 Mini, which has quad-band incl. 850 MHz, so I believe True Move H should work ...?!

And here are my questions:

1) I've heard that for calls to EU/US, there are "pre-dial numbers" which make the calls very cheap. How does this work, i.e. how does it get billed to me? If I buy a card with 100 minutes pre-paid, that's meant for calls within in Thailand. If I now make a call to the US which costs, say, 100 Baht, how do I pay for this?

2) Where do I best buy the SIM-Card in Bangkok (I mean without getting ripped off)? How much should it cost? How do I then sign-up for the True Move H plan?

3) Given my requirements above, what data/call plan do you recommend?

4) If I get a plan with 100 minutes, does that refer only to outgoing calls or also incoming calls? I'm asking, because in Europe, incoming calls are almost always unlimited, whereas in the US, incoming calls count the same towards the allowance as outgoing calls.

5) Recommendations for another provider over True Move H? I'm aware of the 3G coverage maps out there, so I can check whether what you recommend would work for me...

Thanks for the help!!

If the BKK-USM flight is part of an international flight then the price is usually in the region of 60 quid. For example... MCR-BKK-MCR is around 600 while MCR-BKK-USM-BKK-MCR or MCR-BKK-URT-BKK-MCR are both around the 660 mark. BKK-URT leg would be Nok air or air Asia I guess? Not sure.

That's true IF the arline on the int'l leg has a code share with Bangkok Airways or Thai Airways. In your example, you're probably looking at British Airways, which does have a code share (see my post above).

I'm unlikely to fly one of the codeshare airlines. Also, I'm thinking of actually shelling out the dough to fly business to BKK, and I wouldn't want to pay extra to fly businesses on the short BKK-USM leg. Adding an economy domestic leg to a business int'l leg usually also wouldn't get the discount you're talking about.

Turkish Airlines has a good deal in business class from Germany to BKK, but that's another topic altogether ....

Try booking from wherever you're coming from to Samui (via BKK of course) with a travel agent...sometimes it works out cheaper if the airline you're using has a code-share with Bangkok Airways

Yes I know, they have codeshares with:

British Airways

Air Berlin

Etihad

Qatar Airways

Finnair

Air France

Eva Air

Malaysia Airlines

JAL

I'm not likely to fly one of these...

My family and I are coming to Samui next spring, and we're wondering when the best time to purchase the flights from BKK would be.

Our date to Samui will definitely need to be April 1, but the return date is flexible +/- 1 day around June 19. Flight times are flexible on both legs, but I don't want a 6am or 10pm flight.

Unfortunately, Bangkok Air has an almost monopoly on the BKK-USM route, with only 2 Thai Airways flights thrown in. Fares to Samui are almost always higher than to Phuket, although the distance isn't further.

RIght now I see this:

• Bangkok Air: 9860 Baht per adult incl. taxes. Only the "Web Freedom" fare is available that far in advance.
  • For October 2013 (just to pick something in low-ish season that's not that far in the future), "Web Saver" is 8180 per person. "Web Promotion" is 7000, but always just available on the 6am flight, which I'm not willing to take.
• Thai Airways: 10420 Baht per adult incl. taxes. Only "Economy Full Flex" is available

So here are my questions:

1. When can I expect the Web Saver fares for Bangkok Air to become available for April/June 2014?
2. When could I expect a cheaper fare on Thai Airways, like an "Economy Restricted"?
3. Is either airline likely to run a special sale on this route for my period, and what price could I expect then?
4. Is there a better place to buy the tickets than the airlines' websites?

Many forum members fly this route frequently, so hopefully they can speak from experience on these questions.

Thanks!!

He can't stay in the car for 3 1/2 hours, but will last several on a ferry in probably a rougher ride on the Cat.

I guess you don't have kids On a boat a kid can run around, in the car it has to sit still. Big difference!

I know what the options in terms of staying overnight in Suratthani, taking the car to Samui, etc. are ... I'm not interested in that, I'm looking for an answer on a specific question: Do any of the rental companies organize a pick-up in Chumpon, i.e. drive the car back to Hua Hin or Suratthani themselves?

Please don't blame me for getting the thread back on topic.

Not sure why you would want to get rid of the car before you're even at your destination.

Because I don't want to drive all the way down to Don Sak - please see OP.

And I don't want to waste a day, spending a night in Suratthani - too much hassle. I want to drop off the car at Chumpon and get on the ferry to Samui.

Does anyone know if any of the rental companies would organize a pick-up in Chumpon, i.e. drive the car back to Hua Hin or Suratthani themselves?

I would like to do a one-way car rental from Bangkok to Chumpon, for something like 3-4 days. None of the major (or even minor) companies appear to have an office in Chumpon. Does anyone know the best way to do this?

To give you the background: We need to get to Samui from BKK, and would like to stop for a few days around Pranburi. Driving onwards from Pranburi to Samui via Don Sak is a frightening idea because we have a two-year old who doesn't like to stay in the car for more than about 2 hours. Thus we'd prefer driving from Pranburi to Chumpon, leaving the car there, and catching the ferry to Samui via Don Sak. Our daughter will like the long boat ride much better than a long car ride.

Please don't suggest things like trains or buses. Too much hassle with a little kid. It's a car we want!

I've googled around and found people having the same question, but haven't found a positive answer. Maybe there isn't one, but I thought I'd check with the experts...

Thanks!!

So you mean 2014 as in next year ?

Yes I do. Is that a problem for you?

avis website can"t give quotation more than six months in advance however a rental for a vios will be 38k without the CWD.

So if I choose 74 days from Sep 1 until mid-November, I get 51,800 with CDW and VAT.

Sixt is 39,590 with LDW. Doesn't LDW include CDW? Sixt offers a special ECDW (=Extra CDW), which, if added, brings the total to 55,400 baht.

This is a bit confusing now. Is the ECDW meant to bring the deductible to zero?

If this is correct, then Sixt is a much better deal than AVIS - it's about the same price WITH CDW as Avis is WITHOUT...

Alternatively you could rent in Bangkok. Much more availability, so probabably better deals possible. Then drive to Samui. Will also save you on 3? return tickets Bkk-Samui, valued at around 28.000 baht with Bangkok airways.

An interesting thought. I doubt that renting a car in BKK would be that much cheaper than the deal Sixt is offering (40,000 for 74 days).

According to Google Maps, driving from BKK to Donsak is about 700km. Google says it would take 8 hours, I think that's optimistic, since it assumes an average speed of almost 90 km/h. I've never driven that route, but I have driven from BKK to Chiang Mai before, and I think getting an average speed of 70km/h is pretty good, and that would make it 10 hours. The last car ferry leaves Donsak at 7pm. To allow for lunch and traffic, we would have to leave BKK no later than 7am, probably rather 6am. And 10 hours in the car with a toddler, I don't know ...

But I'll keep it in mind

So after emailing with Sixt a few times back and forth, they're offering a child seat for THB 1600 for the 74 days. So that's THB 41600 for the car with child seat for 74 days .... I think that's pretty tough to beat in a touristy place like Samui. Still waiting to hear back from Avis, but they haven't been responsive so far, and their website isn't working.

Given that a couple of the local places I've contacted (like samuinewcarrent) were all more expensive by around 50%, I think I'll stick with Sixt. I've also had bad experiences with small companies' child seats in the past. They were totally beaten up and filthy. Hopefully, Sixt will have something better in stock ....

Thanks for everyone's help!

I pass that car rental opposite Bangkok Hospital every day.

I'll note the phone number for you tomorrow.

Also, Ohm cycles may also have car rental as well.

Thank you, I look forward to hearing from you re. phone number.

I contact Ohm ... let's see what they have...

Sixt quotes 40,000 baht for 74 days, that's 540 baht per day incl. VAT. Deductible is 8000 baht, which is a bit on the high side. Not bad...

Problem is, they charge 400 baht per day for a child seat, so that almost doubles the cost of the rental!! That's about €750 for renting a child seat for 2.5 months. HAHAHA!

There's got to be a better way to rent a child seat in Samui.... I really don't want to haul that with me from Germany ...

Sixt in Samui gave me the best quote with insurance for the car. But to be honest the major companies will all be more expensive than the local mom and dad rental shops. Though you don't know if they have insurance and I've heard of some scams where they "steal" the car back and force you to pay steep deductibles.

Maybe try finding a private person and have him lend you his car for a fee.

I'm happy to go with a non-major company, as long as it's been in business for a while and has a good reputation. For example, in Phuket I've had very good experience with andamancarrent.com, and some others as well.

Can you recommend a small local company? At least one that's really in the car rental business, and not some guy renting out 1 car. I did try samuinewcarrent, and they were expensive (24,000 baht for 2.5 months)