henrik2000

It seems that these wines - and also the 3L Montclair bag they offer - are "Store only" and can't be home-delivered. I also would have loved a home delivery, simply out of laziness.

Hi all, thanks for some good recommendations – shops wise and wine wise, including the link to another discussion! Well I did half like Mont Clair when considering its price. Now hearing it's fruit wine makes me not want to like it any more. As said on top, I wouldn't drink it in the west. I tried to get online information about what's in Mont Clair red wine, but didn't come to a final conclusion; one site said there's 20% non-grape fruit in it. The bags of wine in my non-English-speaking country are called "bag in box" – in English; I simply used "box" here, not considering that could be understood as a crate containing 6 or more glass bottles. So indeed, to say "bag" would have been much clearer, or better yet "bag in box". Also I had prepared the picture below to go with my initial post, but forgot it.

Hello, I'd love to get a REGULAR non-naughty oil massage by trained talent for 2 hours in my condo in Jomtien (near Dongtan police box on the beach) for maximally 400 THB per hour. There are many massage shops almost next door, but while on the premises they ask 300 THB per hour, they demand 500 THB for massage in my condo – and they demand 1000 for 2 hours in my condo! No discount. I need this massage only around 1 or 2 pm, in the hot hours, when massage shops aren't that busy and chock-full of idling talent. Occasionally I talked a manager down to 800 for 2 hours in my condo, but when I actually needed the service, they did ignore my messages or talked themselves out of it. (I believe I am polite, non-smelling, Thai-speaking, not looking like a menace.) There are outcall massage phone numbers for a rub at home, but they are very expensive. Thai ladies on Thaifriendly offer massage at home, and I may accept that after vetting by video call. But I find them very difficult to track down and to arrive at the time I want, at least in Jomtien at noon (ymmv). Hanky pank: I want ONLY a regular oil massage in the bright quiet cool of the condo (and not in a chicken shack massage store with broken shower), only starting around 1 pm. I like a masseuse chatty in the first 15 minutes, then rather quiet (she may calmly sing). If the masseuse then offers extras, I might consider (hopefully she isn't pushy). I am aware of the potential mess of an oil massage. Any tip? Thanks!

Hello, where can I buy Mont-Clair red wine by the box (3 or 5 liters) in Jomtien (preferred) or Pattaya? (I believe not at 7-11 or Lotus Express?) Can I compare prices online? Is there online ordering and home delivery? ('d love delivery to condo reception, don't mind reputation drop.) If you recommend certain wine-compatible nibbles from that store, I'd be interested too. No Alcohol for Sale 2- 5 PM? Once I wanted to buy a 5 L box of red wine in a huge hi-way side mall near Phetchaburi. But the cashier could not scan it. She looked a the box puzzled and asked me, "This, na? Alcohol?" And they were not allowed to sell alcohol between 2 – 5 pm. She put the box aside. I've seen this enforced in SOME supermarkets and small stores, while others ignore it obviously (incl small western supermarkets in Jomtien). If you do recommend supermarkets – are you aware if they do NOT sell alcohol 2 – 5 pm? Other Red Wine Brands? I find Mont Clair still okayish, and last year the boxes were much cheaper per liter than regular or half bottles. I'll have glass bottles/pitchers to keep the wine for the next evening. I'd try other affordable red wine brands preferredly by the box (stay 3 months), but of course would love to sample a bottle or glass first. My preferred grapes in the west are Primitivo, Sangiovese, Nero d'Avola and some other Italians, NOT Merlot, Cabernet-Sauvignon (meaning I wouldn't drink Mont-Clair in the west). I have sampled eminently drinkable Thai wines in Khao Yai from PB Valley, Khao Yai Winery, Alcidini, but can't afford them on a regular basis. Foreign tipples seem so much cheaper, otherwise I'd love the Thai wines. (Hash cookies, whiskey, beer no option either.) Thanks!

Hi, what has been new in Pattaya and Jomtien (preferred) and around since January 2024? I'll come back as a tourist, I believe to know many places (within my interests) and wanted to ask you about NEW place that came up just this year. I speak basic Thai, use Google Maps, Grab, Bolt, have own bicycle etc. Interested in: Thai-oriented live music (lukthung, morlam, songs for life (Carabao), but not rock/90s) Western jazz, maybe blues, maybe classic or crossover, not plain rock, no girlie-bar bands Hi profile Thai-oriented live music events Nov 20 – Dec 02 Restaurants, esp Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, woodfired pizza, Middle East (not fine dining, not in the thick of tourist maelstrom) actually good Coffee shops, non-girlie bars (not sports bars) Bicycle routes and day trip destinations esp nature (if any) Morning markets (fresh food markets; not night markets), good CE style bread Bicycle routes and outside destinations (have on bicycle) Regular non-naughty massage (apart from usual corner shops and hi-end wellness) Interesting atmospheric new-old buildings (hotel, mall etc.) w/ coffee shop to enjoy ambience Not looking for: Girlie bars, other redlight venues, fine dining, Already aware of: Music venues i already know : Kon Lah Fun, Sin Lapin Isaan, Hot Tuna Bar, Muzzik Café, Candy Shop, The Stones House, Jazz Pit/Sun Sabella Resto on Hill, (and still missing Kum Punn, ZAC, Jomtien Morlam, Samrang 3rd road) Food Drink places i already know: May's Jomtien, Toto Italian Jomtien, Hops Brewhouse Beach Road, Benjamit Coffee Roasters, Thepprasit Night Market, La Baguette on Hill Thanks!

Hello, for 3 months from November 2024, I want to store an empty bicycle bag in Jomtien (preferred) or Pattaya in a dry and dust-free place. The size is 147x85x35 cm (see pics below). Do you have a suggestion for a private storage solution? I know there are businesses like Pattaya Self Storage, U Store It Pattaya and Self Store Center Pattaya. But the smallest (useless) locker already costs THB 600/month, and a clearly big enough locker costs 4700 THB/month (link storage price list). Also my accommodation in Jomtien likely cannot store my bicycle bag, not even for a price. That's why I ask around for another place to store the bicycle bag. Notes: Begin storage: November 22 – November 29, 2024/2567 End storage: February 12 – 18, 2025/2568 If I do not show up or call after February 18, 2025/2568, storer may keep bicycle bag for himself. Bicycle bag will be handed over unlocked and empty (no bicycle inside; maybe if accepted a plastic bag with small useless travel things inside). Storer may explicitly check all inside of stored bag and may explicitly put their own dry, clean stuff inside. Of course I pay for storing, but not 600 THB/month. While bicycle bag is in storage, I tour Thailand with car + bicycle. I can be reached by phone and mail. I cannot come at a non-expected time to quickly fetch the bicycle bag. Cost of this bicycle bag in shop: ca. 20.000 THB. Aware that I could also use cheap cardboard boxes etc. for bicycle transport, but don't want to. Thanks for all offers and suggestions!

Thanks, Darkie's song is great. I toured many a Tawan Daeng, temple fair etc. etc., but it rarely comes so graceful (when performed live with audience).

Hi all, thanks for some good information!

Hello, can you name any precise Thai locations where there is Khmer language and perhaps Khmer culture (if different from Thai) alive in Isaan (not in Cambodia)? I do NOT mean: - Khmer *temples* like Phanom Rung - whole provinces like Buriram, Surin, Sisaket but exact towns, villages or districts where Khmer can be heard on the street (if any). I did meet Thai Khmers speaking Khmer (differing from Cambodian Khmer) in Southern Thailand as "migrant workers". And I have been to southern parts of each Buriram, Surin, Sisaket provinces before (cities, villages, Khmer temples), but there I don't remember meeting anything Thai-Khmer. I can easily distinguish between Khmer and Thai languages and I speak some Khmer, Thai Khmer and Thai. Could you - mention certain towns or clear locations where Thai Khmer is alive - say with authority that Thai Khmer isn't spoken publicly anymore in TH? Thanks!

Ralf and Yosib, thanks for your input!

Hello, is Constitution Day Dec 10 like Sunday? Meaning offices close, and national parks, pools and restaurants are busy like on a Sunday? Or is it rather like a work day? On December 10 I will be touristing in upcountry Isaan, and some places on my list - should be avoided on public holidays - are only open on weekends and public holidays (but can't be phoned) And what about December 5? Thanks for your experience!

Thanks for tip + screenshot, very useful! Indeed using your suggested procedure, i quickly found an Air Asia flight on a (serious and well known to me) 3rd party site that was cheaper and easier to find + book than at Air Asia itself. For next January, the cheapest exit flight still seems to cost 33 Euro (Krabi - KUL).

Hi, thanks all for good news regardings 60 days visa exemption! I hadn't been aware of that. So to play it safe, i should have an outbound ticket for around day 58, right? (Even if want to exted from 60 to 90 days in-country.) And i take i don't need to show a hotel reservation (i would have to make a bogus reservation). (Like others, i don't remember any immigration clerk at the airport ever asking for my hotel.)

Hello, i (EU national, EU resident) would like to spend 89 days (single-entry) as a tourist in Thailand with this arrangement: prior to departure, get a TR visa for 60 days from the online service at an upcountry Immigration, extend by 30 days for 1900 THB This worked well in the last 2 winters. Was there any change lately? (There's the "Non-O" visa (?) giving me 3 months on a string, but personally I find the conditions too complicated.) My first accommodation in TH is not an official hotel, so as a precaution I would get these bookings to show to visa officers and airlines: hotel booking for days 1 – 10, later to be cancelled free of charge outbound flight ticket for day 57 of my stay, not to be used, likely not refundable (sth like DMK-Cambodia) (some people consider this outbound ticket unnecessary) Do you think it's a good plan? It worked well the last 2 winters. Are there any new rules affecting this plan? Thanks! PS. If you have a tip how to find the cheapest outbound ticket, I'd be interested (lucrative search phrases like "Air Asia Thailand promotion"? Certain airlines?)

Hello, would you recommend Professional Dental Cleaning in Jomtien (preferred) or Pattaya? (Actually, I will also do time in Chaiyaphoom, Roi Et, Nakhon Phanom.) In my neck of the West, what's called Professional Dental Cleaning takes about 45 minutes and is done by a dentist's nurse at the dentist's clinic. It costs 3000 – 4000 THB. Several mechanical and sonar (?) methods are used to remove plaque, toothpaste residue, mango fibers etc. There is no bleaching, so the teeth will look a little less yellow, but not glaringly white afterwards. (I am not asking here about the usefulness of Professional Dental Cleaning, just about the availability in some Thai locations.) I do speak basic Thai, including "pain" and "can not"; still I guess some English on the nurse's side would be good. I would like to make an appointment before going there, preferrably for 1 pm or 2 pm, and it should be only 1 visit. Do you have good experiences somewhere in Jomtien (preferred), and what did it cost you? Thanks!

Hello all, this discussion ended in February 2024. Since then, did you note any changes with regards to foreign tourists (not residents) being allowed or prohibited on certain roads and beaches around Sattahip? There are all the military checkposts. I know how the situation was in February 2024 - quite difficult if you want to roam freely with a bicycle (no fun on Hwy, yet Nang Rong Beach and Nang Ram reachable via Hwy 3126 and Curve Beach Café, not via forest back roads). If any areas or roads have been opened up since Feb 2024, or if even more has been closed for foreigners, please tell me. Thanks!

Hello, what about day trips into Laos from Nakhon Phanom to Tha Khek by bicycle. I (EU citizen) wonder about Laos visa fees and my Thai visa. I understand the situation like that: TR Visa 60 days single entry: 35 Euro TR Visa 60 days multiple entry: 175 Euro (Thai embassy site) Laos Visa on Arrival: 40 USD (single entry? 2 day trips might be ok) On a tour of Isaan with rental car and bicycle I will stay in Nakhon Phanom for about 7 days. It would be around days no. 40 – 47 of my 2 months TR visa. I plan to buy another 30 days at a provincial Thai immigration to get exactly 89 days total in Thailand. (The 3 months Non-O is too complicated for me.) Bicycling (not by car!), I would prefer a boat crossing out of NKP town into Laos. I would not like to use the Friendship Bridge III, but it seems after the boat crossing there is no Visa on Arrival available, it's only after the Friendship bridge? Maybe I could get a Lao visa online then. Day trips into Laos seem very expensive with those visas above. I speak basic Thai and Isaan-Lao. There seems to be no day-visa or visa-runner visa for Laos? (Myanmar used to have it for foreign visa runners from TH, I used it once from Mae Sai.) But if there is a day-visa for Laos, which radius does it allow you? Of course I could shift Isaan destinations so that Nakhon Phanom is at the end of either 30 oder 60 days in Thailand, but that's complicated in my case, and I want to stay 89 days total, with the last month in the south. Thanks for your insights! PS. I understand that Laos is very hilly, fascinating and deserves more than 1-2 day trips. Still I want to do only 1-2 Laotian day trips by bicycle. If the visa situation is too complicated and costly, 0 trips. I understand that Laotions and Thais drive on different roadsides. There is a slight chance I might stay in Mukdahan to do Laos day trips from there.

Chomper, thanks for phantastic details! I will print your post, put the paper into my passport and re-read it a few days before take-off. Meanwhile, i did have a phone talk with a THAI representative in my territory to register my bicycle, and he sent me an e-mail to prove that my bicycle was accepted for transport. The phone talk was only about the inbound flight. For the outbound flight, still to be booked, i will follow your route outlined above. I do have a bicycle transport case, the Evoc Bike Bag Pro, which is somewhat larger (i think 143 cm long) than what you show above, and i had to give the measurements in that phone call, and they were noted + accepted. It is interesting to know that non-bicycle items inside the bicycle case lead to rejection. Some people say the same about intra-European connections, but it wasn't true in the cases i tried. I am always tempted to stuff my big thermos into the bicycle bag, because it eats up so much space in the regular luggage... also there's the foldable picnic mat... a massage towel... but maybe i should (try to) keep those things in the regular bag. I still have to find out if there's something like "AirTag" for Android. Thanks again!

Hummin and Will, thanks for new input.

Then it may be a rental car again. I just wanted to ask anyway.

This also happened to me when i pushed a flattened bicycle on remote gravel roads. Company trucks or families in SUVs stopped, loaded up my bike and took me to the next workshop - and it was hard to give them even an orange for thankyou (they gave me a bottle of water though). (Even some bicycle workshops insisted on working for free...) But that's different from requesting a 100 km taxi-like trip when you have no accident or emergency.

Hi all, thanks for your input! Yes, i feared this. Maybe i didn't make it clear enough in the first post: There will be trips like "from Nakhon Phanom to Bueng Khan", and Nams Taxi won't go there. Agreed that out of Pattaya or into Pattaya perhaps i could ask them (even though they even refuse to service Don Meuang). I know there are "limousine services" for tourists around Krabi, Khao Lak, Phuket, but i guess they are costly and not available in the dusty northeastern plains. And i don't want to hunt around locally for a driver at each destination.

Hello, to transport a bicycle around on a holiday trip, last year i had a Honda Jazz 1.5 which had the right size and was fine for me. The same renter (which i like) this year has no Honda Jazz and asks what else i like. And i have no idea about sizes and convenience when putting a bicycle without front wheel into the back. I need the car now for 2 months (this renter has nice monthly rates and i was happy with the service last time). As station wagons (big back door), the renter only offers "Toyota Yaris 1.2 or similar, load 2 small bags 1 large bag" "Nissan March 1.2 or similar, load 1 small bag 1 large bag" By comparison, the unavailable Honda Jazz 1.5 has "load 1 small bag 2 large bags" Do you recommend those other cars? They have less power, but that doesn't concern me. I want the loading space without much tonnage. From vague memory, some years ago a Yaris felt a bit smaller and more awkward than a Honda Jazz regarding bicycle transport and even general driving comfort. Are there other mainstream petrol cars that have about the size of a Honda Jazz and a big back door? I have no idea. I don't want a pickup and preferably not a huge SUV. I would love park assist (sound, video, no need automatic driving), but i guess it's not in a smallish car like Honda Jazz. It seems that other standard rental cars like Toyota Vios, Toyota Altis or Nissan Almera are only sedan type, so they have no big back door. Thanks for any suggestions!

Young green rice fields - i forgot to mention them as a preference in the first post. If you know of areas that should have young green rice fields (ideally still flooded) in December, January, i'd be interested.

Hummin and Lorry (named so by a Payak truck owner?) - thanks for input! Hummin, thanks for the link. That area south of Loei looks lovely. On bicycle, i'd love even smaller roads than shown in those pics, but they can be found certainly - the environment is nice.