Cinders

Cinders,

Before you buy second hand have a look at new Mitsubishi Triton pick-up 2 door about 350,000bt, the other makes are about same price, if it's new nothing to do maintenance wise for about 4 years.

Hey John. Where can you find a deal like you mentioned above?... On the Island?...

Cinders.

I have to say this Visa run has been terrible...

1.) I had to wait at the airport a FULL 20 minutes before boarding...

2.) The flight was an hour long. I hadn’t finished catching up on my e-mails before I landed...

3.) I checked in to a nice hotel that is costing me 700 baht for the night

4.) I watched SpiderMan 3 in a nice cinema for a total cost of 96 baht

6.) I had a nice Javanese Massage followed by a Body Scub and Balinese Milk Bath in the hotels Tropical Spa

7.) I leave the hotel in an hour, fly back to Samui at 11.20am and return to Samui at 11.20am (Penang is 1 hour ahead)

I have to say it’s been one of the toughest visa runs I’ve ever experienced...

Cinders.

P.S. There was only 3 people sat on the plane coming out to Penang!

Thanks for all the advice guys.

I was actually after a cement-mixer truck to race around the Island at stupid speeds whilst overtaking and racing other cement-mixer trucks. (Idiots)

I will certainly look at buying one on the Island 2nd hand.

Thanks again,

Cinders.

Hey Everyone.

I'm looking to buy a truck for my new job I start this week. It involves driving around the island a lot. If I did this on my motorbike I can see my life expectancy decreasing rapidly!... I also need to carry equipment around so a truck is ideal.

I don't want to buy a brand new truck and was thinking of going to a dealer on the mainland to buy 2nd hand, however a lot of people have warned me not to go to a dealer and told me to look for one on the island.

I was wondering if anyone could advise me where to look for one and what papers I will need to buy one?...

I'm looking to spend around 350,000 baht. I'm sure I could get a decent one for that price. I quite like the Toyota Vigo or the Toyota Tiger.

Are there any mechanics on the island that could check it out for me?...

Maybe it would be better to buy a brand new one as I'd get some kind of warranty with it.

Any advice in general is appreciated.

Thanks,

Cinders.

Hey Everyone,

I managed to make the booking in the end.

Fly out Saturday, have a night over in Penang, back to Samui on Sunday.

Return ticket 400MYR online (around 3800 Baht)

Definitely a bargain if you ask me. In my opinion the best way to do a visa run. I'd rather do this any day than endure the horrific organised visa run

Cinders.

Has anyone been sucessful in booking online?...

I've been trying to book a flight for the past 3 days online and after entering my c/c details it just sits on the "please wait" screen.

I'm trying to book a return trip going out on the 12th of May, returning 13th for my Visa run.

Is this service actually running yet?... Anyone used it?...

Cinders.

I'm looking for a language school on Samui, can anyone recommend one in the Bo Phut / Chaweng area?...

I had private lessons at the Language School in Lamai for a month but wasn't very impressed.

Thanks,

Cinders.

I've been rather stupid I'm afraid...

I'm quite concerned I might have picked something up and would like to get myself checked out.

I've felt a bit crappy for the past few days and I have a slight discomfort when I pee...

Can anyone advise me where to go (ie. local hospital?...) for testing?...

I've going to be living here on Samui for another 6 months before returning to the UK so really need to get it checked out here.

Any advise appreciated!

A worried falang.

Thanks for the information guys, I'll pop over there tomorrow.

Hi,

I'm from the UK and I'm currently living in Sydney. I'm planning on going to Thailand on holiday around the 5th of April and I don't have to be back in Sydney until Sep/Oct.

I know when you enter Thailand they stamp your passport and you only get 30 days. I'd like to stay ideally for around 6 months. What type of Visa would I need and how would I go about getting it?... Do I need to visit the Thai embassy in Sydney?...

Any help is appreciated.

Matt.

I've spent a bit of time in Thailand and whenever I'm there I always try to learn as much Thai as I can. I pick up little phrases here and there and I'm always eager to try it out. I can do the basics, introduce myself, ask how they are, explain I can speak a little Thai, order food, please, thank you etc.

I'm going back to Koh Samui for a couple of months to stay with my friend who's Thai. Her English (both spoken and written) is excellent and she's eager to teach me Thai. In fact she's quite surprised I want to learn and is also impressed that I am trying to learn the language.

I was after some advice about the best way to start to learn Thai!?.. At the moment I've been learning phrases and writing them down and repeating them and trying them out and it works quite well. I then re-arrange words I know and make new sentences. However I guess this isn't the best way to learn Thai.

Now do I start with the Thai alphabet and numbers and the structure of the language or do I stick to just learning vocabulary and phrases?...

Any advice would be appreciated as I'm eager to learn and not sure what the best way is. She keeps asking me what I want to know but I’m running out of phrases and think structures lessons would be better.

I was also thinking of asking one of the Thai's in our local restaurant if they could spend a couple of hours a week helping me learn why I’m in Sydney.

Cinders.

P.S. Have I spelt my signature correctly?... It's a great phrase!

Mae Pen Rye

Hi Everyone,

I'm down in Koh Samui at the moment and heading back to Bangkok in a week.

I'm after some suggestions about where to stay. I'm looking for an area with everything happening, markets, bars, etc.

Can anyone suggest which area would be best for me and if possible any hotels?... I've budgetted around 4000 baht to spend a night?....

Silom sounds like it has a lot going on.

Thanks in advance,

Cinders.

Hi Thaimee....

Sorry I lied, I've just been to pick up my Milk Thistle tablets today and you get 100 250mg capsules - which contain 80% Silymarin - the active ingredient.

What you really want to be checking out is the amount of Silymarin in each tablet.... these ones constain 200mg and it states 3 times a day, with each meal

Yes you can overdose on Milk Thistle! You can overdose on just about anything if you take too much....

Here's a good link to a site about Milk Thistle:

http://www.drugs.com/MTM/milk_thistle.html

As for pure lemon juice - it's a well known fact it helps cleanse your liver - just do a search on liver cleansing using lemon juice or something like that on www.google.com

Cinders.

Hi Thaimee (and anyone else interested...)

The Milk Thistle I use is £20 (1420 THB) for 100 capsules (ouch!) - It comes in 175mg tablets and is high quality stuff - it's made from Milk Thistle (Silybum Marianum Seed) and is guarenteed to contain no less than 140mg of Silymarin (active ingredient) - This is high grade stuff and you should not exceed the dosage of max 3 a day... It's the best quality stuff on the market as far as I know, however I maybe wrong....

Hope this helps!

Cinders.

Excellent stuff guys!

I'll just buy some melatonin when I get to Bangkok to help me with the Jet Lag - it's always worse going West to East, darn it!..... Melatonin really helps as it tells your body when it's bed time, so you can help fool it a little as your body clock will be messed up.

As for Milk Thistle, it's a herbal plant extract that helps liver regeneration, ie. it's very good for your liver - it's scientifically proven as well.... I take it each day.

I buy a special brand of Milk Thistle which has a high volume of the active ingredient within it. I'm getting a new bottle tomorrow lunchtime, so I will give you more details then on the strength etc...

I take 3 Milk Thistle tablets per day, after each meal.

Squeezed Lemon juice from fresh lemons is also very good for cleansing the liver...

Cinders.

Guys,

Just wondering if I can buy Melatonin in Thailand OTC for jetlag?... I used this stuff when I flew back from the USA last year, it really helped... I've got some spare in the original bottle, I'm just wondering if it's safe to bring it over, or if I can just buy it when I get there...

Also wondering about Milk Thistle (for your liver), can you buy that OTC (it's a herbal subliment), it's cheap as chips here in the UK?... Just wondering if it's worth me bringing some with me, or again just buying it when I get there...

Thanks,

Cinders.

Good point about the heat!.... I've just booked in to do my CBT test this Sunday, so I get a full days learning on a motorbike... I think I'll hire myself a Sonic or Raider whilst I'm there for getting about on...

As for keeping my fitness up, I think I'll stick to running on the beach, I guess it's best done early in the morning when it's not so hot??... Plus exercise before breakfast burns off more calories...

Not too bothered about the parties...

Hi People,

Thanks for the replies, sorry I haven't gotten back, been quite busy with work and stuff...

It sounds great!

I'm after a relaxing holiday to tell you the truth, I've done all the nightclub/bar girls stuff before in bangkok, pattaya and chiang mai and have grown tired of it all now, so I won't be out every night like before!...

All I'm after is relaxing on the beach with my books, chilling out for a bit, and I'm also after exploring the island and seeing many of the sites. I'd love to do some scuba diving and see many of the interesting sites there. A bungee jump is on the cards as well!....

I'm also a bit of a fitness freak so I wasn't going to hire a motorbike I was going to walk everwhere, is this a good idea or will I really need a motorbike to get around? If so please let me know as I've ridden one before and I can do a days CBT training here in the UK next week before I come over....

Is there many fitness facilities there? I was hoping to be able to do some running on the beach...

As for the beach parties those sound great, I'll definately go to one, but like I said I want to keep of the beer and girls this time (if it can be done...)

I'm not sure what to do about accomodation, I've got hotels booked cheap on the internet for my 3 night stay in bangkok and 4 night stay in chiang mai (catching up with old friends) - So I was thinking of just turning up at Koh Samui and looking for cheap accomodation. A beach hut on the beach sounds amazing...

Thanks for the replies.

Matt.

Cmon' someone must be able to tell me what type of weather to expect in May!??......

Hi Guys,

I will be in Koh Samui around May the 4th for 2 weeks, what's the weather like then?... I've heard it misses the rain and should be nice and hot - it this true?...

Any tips on places to stay etc?... I'm hoping to be able to lie out on the beach for a while and generally chill out away from England.

Whats the night life there, and things to do?...

I've been to Chiang Mai, Bangkok and Pattaya before, how does it compare?...

Any information greatly recieved!

Matt.

I was hoping to go to one of these places where you just pay for a guide and you all meet up and go off on a trek for a few days....

I'm going around may the 4th - will it be that wet then?...

I'll be in Chiang Mai in early May and would love to do a jungle trek for a few days.... I'm 27, very fit and I'm hoping a few days hard trekking in the jungle will burn of some more fat!.....

Anyway, I've heard many horror stories about these treks's with guide's disapearing etc and was after some general advice on doing one....

Whats the best way of booking one?

What will I need to take with me?

What dangers are there and what should I look out for?

Any advice appreciated!

Cinders.

yeah i know a few of my friends mate got nicked because the dealers grassed them up - he also reckons bar girls get cash for grassing farangs up for drugs...

penzman thanks for your reply mate.

I'm 27, I've been smoking weed for 11 years now, mainly because I've always had sleeping problems and it's always helped me sleep. Unfortunately I know a guy who gets it buy the boat load so v.cheap supply has never been a problem for me, hence the temptation is too easy not to resist.

I have to admit I fell out with my friend so the weed stopped, I did go cold turkey for 2 months, trained like ###### at the gym and slept like a baby each night, then I me and my friend made up, and the habbit started again.

I tried again a while ago to give it up, and had the most awful problems sleeping, in the end I turned to diazepam to help me sleep, again not a great idea, but it saved me lungs for about a month until i'd built up to great a tolerance to the drug and it no longer worked for me, so back to the weed....

Now don't get me wrong, I don't smoke fags, I swim 1 mile each morning before work and I do an hour a night at the gym on my way home from work each night, but that doesn't tire me out, when I jump in to bed I lie there wide awake, my heart beating away, I really do have problems sleeping and also an anxiety - maybe it's from the weed?!... Probably!....

Anyway, my friend has now moved away and I've got about 6 joints of weed left, so it's cold turkey for me after this weekend, then I've got about 2 weeks before I'm off to Thailand, so I reckon 3 weeks of relaxing, breaking the habbit will sort me out nicely for my return. Like I said my friend has moved far away now so at least when I get back from Thailand he won't be there, so no supply which is good.

People say weed isn't addictive, the skunk I've smoked for the past 10 years is, it really is a nasty nasty thing - plus it lasts in your system for so long.

I got so sick of watching boring tv stoned each night I've actually sold my television now and when I get back from thailand I plan to do more on a night instead of wasting my brain watching mind-numbingly boring tv programs - like read, do more sports, see my friends more etc.

As for the Bagnkok Hilton... yes I've heard many stories about that place. My best friend moved to Chiang Mai for 2 years and many of his friends that were involved with even smoking weed got busted and did a few weeks in Chiang Mai jail just for the odd joint! NO THANK YOU SIR!...

I'm keeping well clear of anything whilst I'm there. Thanks for sharing your advice.

Matt.