jbaldwin

Just north of the Dolphin roundabout (where North Pattaya Road, Beach Road and Second Road meet) towards Naklua

Both Thai and BA currently have offers of around 29,000 baht plus taxes. I think that they both extend until September. Try their respective online booking services

Cheapest might be to fly to Macau on Air Asia and travel on from there. I paid 679 Baht plus taxes each way when I went to Macau last year.

Thai AirAsia has got approval to fly from Bangkok to Hanoi but I do not think that that have announced a start date and fares. If you can wait you are likely to get a much better deal.

I most recently entered Thailand on 12 May using a one-year Non-Im "O" class visa which expired on 13 May. I was given 90 days - to 9 August. Am I correct in thinking that I can got a 30 day extension at my local immigration office

Can anyone recommend anywhere in Pattaya that offers Thai lessons?

Can anyone recommend anywhere in Pattaya where I can get a software problem fixed. It looks like a virus problem - registry entries have disappear and modem will not connect

Departure tax at U Tapao for domestic flights is 50 Baht and is paid for with the ticket

My parents (aged 73 and 70) came to visit my last year. They stayed at the Jomtien Grand Palace which is a fair way down Jomtien beach. They enjoyed it very much and will stay there again this year

Will bars be closed for the Election? If so is it just Sunday or is it Saturday evening as well?

I want to travel from Pattaya to Nong Khai. I think that all the direct buses leave in the evening and do the journey overnight. I cannot sleep on a bus and I am looking for an alternative. Any ideas?

I understood that the minimum for an investment visa was 10 million baht. Has the level been reduced. Last year a purchased a Condo from the developer for 2.6 million but a had to buy using a company because of the 49% maximum for foreign ownership. I assume that this is no good. I also have 1.6 million baht in a Thai bank

I set up a company last year in to make a property purchase. It was estabalished on 26 July 2004. What is the deadline for submitting the first set of accounts.

The lowest risk strategy is to hold assets in the currency in which your future spending will be made ie if you are going to stay in Thailand for ever the lowest risk would be to hold asset in Thai baht. However, the problem is that the level of return (eg the interest rate on cash balances) in Thailand is low.

Betting on future exchange rates, particularly in the short term is a mugs game. However, over the long run exchange rate tend to move to level prices in different currencies. This suggests that over time the dollar will gain against the Euro and Pound but fall all asian currencies including the Thai Baht

I own a Condo in a new development in Pattaya. The owners are meeeting next month to discuss, amongst other things, approving the service charge for next year. Some of the units are still unsold. My question is under Thai law should the developer be paying service charge on the unsold unit?

Can anyone recommend a hotel in Phnom Penh around $30-$40.

I did the trip last month - no SARS form but immigration staff wanted 1,100 Baht for the visa (rather than the offical price of $20). I did not argue

Next week I am travelling to Sihoukville via Koh Kong. Is there anywhere in Pattaya where I can get US$ in advance. I have tried a few banks but they will only convert $ to Baht not the other way around

On one of my recent visa trips to Cambodia a met a lady from Vietnam who was working in Cambodia. I wanted to bring her back to Thailand for a holiday but she had no passport. She said that she had a Cambodia ID card and could apply for a Cambodia passport but this would take two months to process. Does any know and process and cost to get a Cambodian or Vietnamese passort

Does anyone know how long it takes to get a tourist visa for India, what is the cost and what documents are required. I am a UK citizen

I spoke to a good friend of mine, who married an English man and spent about a year their. She said that if she went to a nightclub men always wanted to go with her but they never wanted to give her money. From her point of view opportunities were not as good as she expected.

Jay

I am in a fairly similar position to you. I am 39 and have I similar amount of capital to you. I came to Pattaya at the beginning of last year. A rented for about 9 months and then bought a Condo for 2.6 million baht (one bedroom 93 sq m in Jomtien).

I think 50,000 baht per month would be about the minimum a would like to live off, although less would be possible.

If you are phoning your g/f on a mobile then you have know way knowing where she is or what she is doing. I spent a week in Pattaya with a lady whose Danish boyfriend was sending money every month so she could stay home in Buriram with her family. She told me about this arrangment when I first met her to make sure there would be no problem when he phoned.

I never use travellers cheques. You get good rates using your ATM card in machines here. I have a current account with Nationwide Building Society which has no foreign exchange charges on card transactions. If you travel a lot it might be worth opening an account with them

I sm thinking of a trip to Cambodia via the Hat Lek crossing with my Thai Girlfriend. Does she need a passport? I think Thai can visit for five days using their ID cards. Is this still correct?