Lannig

My advice: move out of BKK and go live in a remote place upcountry.

Christmas is a non-event there.

What's with people not realizing that they are in a different country with different rules and culture? Scott's and JHolmesJr's posts really made a lot of sense.

Teachers are immensely respected in Thailand. I remember escaping a fine for a traffic violation just because to the young policeman who pulled me over and asked where I was working, I replied "in xxxx university". He immediately let me go with a "drive carefully now, ajarn" (and a lot of "krubs"). Hell, I wasn't even teaching, but working as a sysadmin!

This allows them to make their own rules and it gives them a lot of power. One has to live with it or pay an obscene amount of money to put one's child in an international private school that runs with western-style rules and lets you yell at teachers provided that you sign the checks.

You made a very wise decision letting thais sort this by themselves, and it proved to be efficient. All other advice received (go to police, make a lot of noise etc.) is both pure nonsense and dangerous for your son and yourself.

...or just Thailand's economy going down?

Just every Thai I know who's running some kind of business keeps telling me "toorakit may dee" (business is bad) these days.

Since someone has posted after me I take the opportunity to add something without double-posting: besides Tywais' useful suggestion above, you may also want to try one of these battery utilities that willl tell you how many charge cycles the battery has been through.

Of course, both the hard disk and the battery might have been replaced.

A careful look at the keyboard might be a hint too. Look for signs of wear, "polish" on key tops.

Definitely not a machine with an original disk master from Asus. First, no Asus notebook would ever come with Windows Ultimate preintalled. I don't even think this variant is available as an OEM install. Most likely a cracked version as well. The cost of the Windows Ultimate license would make your notebook way too expensive.

Most likely, they've ghosted an image dating from 2009 with various (probably cracked) pieces of software preinstalled.

As for the machine itself, it may be new or not. Some new notebooks are sold in Thailand without a Windows license, and therefore no O/S installed (or some dummy FreeDOS / Linux installed). I assume this can be done there because one gets to see them in large department stores like Lotus.

So one possibility is that this was a new, Windows-less machine, "upgraded" with this cracked image.

As for the unusual partitioning, well, it's seldom seen in OEM installs. I remember HP doing some preinstalls with a disk split into 2 partitions C: and D: (I'm not speaking of the recovery partition here, it's usually hidden). I like having two partitions, it makes the system a bit more robust in case of disk corruption / bad blocks / infection. But it's really a matter of personal taste and two more partitions seem like overkill to me.

If I were you I'd bring a prinout of the aforementioned web page and point at the promotion you want.

They might want to drive you to buying more expensive combos made especially for foreigners (or just being clueless).

And you're welcome

He more often than not accepts, based on whether he has had dinner or something to drink prior to visiting.

This, at least, looks like the very common thai "kreng jai" manner. You're supposed to decline an offer for food or a drink a few times before accepting it. And the host is supposed to know this and offer it several times.

As for the son's attitude, I see nothing specifically "thai" in this. He's just an ordinary misbehaved brat.

Hello,

I would go with a regular DTAC SIM at their booth on the arrival floor, you can top-up from there too, then use one of their special promotions listed here:

https://www.dtac.co.th/en/prepaid/products/happy-unlimited-internet-package.html

The Happy Internet 299 baht / month. All-you-can-use at 299B seems alright for your needs. You just need to have sufficient credit and dial *104*353*9#

I've used the weekly variant of this promotion several times and I've been happy (no intended joke here) with the service received.

Make sure that your smartphone does support the 850Mhz band for 3G (WCDMA) because I think it's still much used by DTAC upcountry.

Some mobiles from western Europe only support 900 and 2100 Mhz.

AFAIK you would be better with AIS is that's your case.

I certainly have no problem packing 30kg of stuff into my suitcase to take advantage of the allowance on EK (my usual carrier).

My main problems are to not going too much over this and carrying the bloody thing in public transports to the airport here in France.

Not an issue at Suwa because I rent a car.

Considering that I've just booked a roundtrip flight from Europe to Thailand leaving in the first half of january for 500€ (on a top gulf company), I'd say that they must have hard times filling up the airplanes.

That's almost 200€ cheaper than last year, same period. I don't think that lower fuel prices explains it all (especially for these companies that get cheap fuel anyway).

Shameful, really. He didn't need saying that.

Yes, France is far from having the same kind of leverage force the U.S. has here, so it would have been very unwise to publicly support what's been said by the U.S. diplomat. So... just shut the hell up.

Oh well, regarding the results of regional elections in France yesterday, I guess it fits well.

Some days one's nationality is difficult to bear.

"Incident"? I'm sure his family will consider this event as such.

Playing tough with the US and China (Railway deal) at the same time would certainly mean "closing up the country" indeed.

Thailand - the world hub of balcony falls.

Better late than never, I promised that I'd feedback on this B2 Seaview Jomthien hotel so here am I.

Definitely a bargain for those with a car. Without one, forget it. Too much of a hassle to get there.

Also for those who can stand the bare concrete "industrial style" interior. Quite a shock at first sight I must say, it took me a few hours to get used to is but since the rooms are otherwise nicely decorated for this kind of budget hotel, it's easy to get over it.

Almost everything else was suprisingly good: large and comfy rooms with a balcony with a deckchair, offering an actual, unobstructed sea view (well, my room was on the 8th floor, that helped I guess). Perfect noise insulation, didn't hear a sound, large flat-screen TV (unfortunately with the dreadful, snonwy Sophon CATV feed that seems to be mandatory in just every hotel in Pattaya). The swimming pool on the 1st floor (not ground) is quite tiny, just for kids really but nice because you can have food and drinks on tables right by the pool while watching the kiddies having fun.

Last but not least, a flawless wifi coverage of the whole hotel (free).

I definitely recommend it.

Thanks for the feedback, Chickenwings. Appreciated, really.

I think I'll stick to this one. Seems too much of a hassle to find another place now.

And yes, it's kind of cheap.

I'll share my impression when I return.

Thanks for all the suggestions, folks.

Seems that the period is poorly chosen to find a room in Pattaya. Not only it's only days before Sorgn Karn, but April 6th is a holiday too. Pretty much booked up everywhere as it seems. In many places the only rooms left are the luxury ones, above my budget.

I've made a precautionary booking through the well-known online hotel booking site I can cancel until Apr 1st.

At the B2 Sea View. Kind of basic rooms but still facing sea, has a pool, free wifi. It's at the very far end of Jomthien, even a bit further but not a big issue since I have a car. Seems like a quiet place.

I'll continue pulling the strings I get here, see if I can find something better.

Thanks again.

Thanks for the reply too,

I have stayed at The Boathouse on Jomtien Beach road. Great location but the rooms are a bit basic.

Looks like a place worth considering indeed, but the web site I've found for this hotel's name doesn't mention a pool. Is there any? Tripadvisor has quite a few reports of it being noisy too. What's your idea on this?

There are a few nice places to stay in and around Bang Saray. Some can be found on the usual accommodation websites, others by taking a drive around.

That's what I'd usually do, but we shall arrive on April 6th or 7th, close enough to Sorgn Karn that I think I'd better book in advance. Especially since we'd need 2 or 3 rooms.

One place you could consider is Nong Nooch Tropical Gardens. The accommodation there looks OK (maybe a bit condo-style). Prices look not too bad. Facilities are good. If you have a car you are about 5-10 minutes from the beach, the new Cartoon Network waterpark, Greta farm, Seafood restaurants. 15-25 minutes from Jomtien/Pattaya City.

Yes I do have a pick-up car. I've checked the website and they don't seem to have anything left but the deluxe rooms for that period, at well over US$100/night. Well over my budget. We have other plans for visits and entertainment so the inclusion of the tropical gardens park entrance doesn't make for it.

View Talay 2A ticks all your boxes but is not a hotel ... would that work?

Well, thanks for your reply first.

How is it different from an hotel? obviously we shall be there only a few days, so anything that goes by monthly rental isn't suitable.

Hello folks,

I shall be spending a few days in Pattaya with my Thai relatives including a young couple with a 5yo child, driving from upcountry north.

Not the first time there, even for a family-style vacation, Pattaya is a convenient and cheap place to stay and move around away from the hustle of the city and nightlife: Kho Larn, Bang Sare etc. OK, you know this already, I'm in the Pattaya forum. Sorry

We used to stay in a nice and quiet hotel but it's on the northen part and has no swimming pool, so this time I'd be looking for another place to stay:

- preferably in the southern part or Jomthien, makes it easier to go to Bang Sare

- with a reasonably clean pool, if possible with a shallow-water part for kids

- quiet and clean

- equipped with an usable wi-fi (really need to depend on it in case I get work calls)

- reasonably priced, meaning not too much over 1000B/night (hope this makes sense, if not tell me)

- with good places around for breakfast

Any recommendation will be greatly appreciated. If the hotel has a web site, kindly share the link as well.

Kob khun maak krub

Not even one full page of messages and we've already drifted vastly off-topic. Waoh.

has anyone here ever been greeted by a smiling immigration officer on arrival or departure?? I think if you get a surly stare you are lucky

I smile, they smile back. Immigration, police, vendors, mothers, daughters, old and young. It doesn't require much to get a positive reaction. Even dogs stop barking when I talk to them. You must develop social skills. Then it will happen to you, too.

I wouldn't make this a rule, either.

I can speak decent Thai. Since I have worked several years in Thailand, I still have a few non-imm one-year expired visas in my passport which tend to confuse immigration officers. So I have my sentence ready with the accompanying "krub" and smile to explain my current situation as a regular tourist with no visa, just to save them a few seconds browsing through all the passport pages.

This earns me a smile back half of the time, not more. Can't recall having ever heard a "yin dee krub/kha" (welcome) either.

And why never mention the airport's name, Suvarnabhumi. Strange.

Maybe because it's probably the only airport in the world which has a different name for locals and foreigners ^(*)

Ever tried to order a taxi to go to soo-war-na-boo-mee? almost certain to get a blank look until ... "oh! s'wa-na-phoom"

Yes, I can speak and read Thai so I know it's the "standard" transliteration for the mute final in Thai but seriously...

^(*) just as the name of the capital it serves, too