syd barrett

The secret is get it sent my 'normal mail' and you will be OK.

They seem to open all courier stuff now, outgoing and incoming.

"The regular fare of mini bus in Pattaya is not over 10 baht per person acording to the law of enforced by the department of land transport."

The above is displayed in many "baht buses"

I suppose no one understands English.

Not over 10, not over 9 not over 8 not over 7 not over 6 not over 5 all amount to the same thing.

It could have said not over 1000 baht and still be correct.

It's 5 baht.

This red & white fare display has been replaced with an all white update.

The minimum fare is officially 8 baht per trip.

When I make short trips I pay 8 baht. For the Pattaya Tai-Jomtien trip I pay 10 baht if I get off at the near end of Jomtien Beach Road and 20 Baht if I get off at Sai Chaiyapuke which is the far end of Jomtien Beach Road.

Nice report.

You are lucky to escape the whole robbery unhurt. I think some Thai guys just pick on farang apartments and houses knowing that the Thai police won't take any report seriously. And when the recession kicks in here in Thailand, it's going to get a whole lot worse.

Personally I would not like to live in an isolated property, better to have a secure condo apartment where what you suffered is highly unlikely.

Keep us all updated on developments and these criminals 500 baht fines.

The two best eat-in pizza places are:

1) Stone Oven Kitchen on the corner of soi 6 and 6/1 on Beach Road

2) PMRM on Soi 9 Jomtien

Website link for RMPM below:

RMPM Guesthouse Restaurant and Bar Jomtien

The best take away service is Pizza Hut dial 1150 but better always to ask for 'pan pizza' IMHO.

I am sure that the US$ will fall soon. This will give a 60 baht to 1 GBP.

I am looking for a replacement water filter for a PURE NUVO German made water dispenser originally bought at Carrrefour. Does anyone know where I can get them?

I think that there should be some kind of thread started listing numbers of baht buses in Pattaya which are good and which are bad.

Example: 186=GOOD

What about McDonald's salads?

I saw a great movie by Morgan Spermlock, where he had to live on McDonald's for one month. He nearly died of liver failure and he barfed a few times. I don't think the odd burger does any harm though. (About one per month).

As to the excess for 'duty free', a friend was sold several extra cartons of ciggies. The bus was stopped. He was fined a substantial amount. They even took him to the ATM to withdraw the money with the threat of being interned if he did not pay up there and then. Also delayed quite a long time.

He did say, afterwards, he thought the runners selling cheap ciggies were in cahoots with the enforcement agencies.

Thanks for the heads-up G54!

It looks like a scam. It won't be the first time that the Boys in Brown are in cahoots with the devils. Cheers!

R.O. water is safe to drink. Minerals come from food. Anyone eating three square meals a day with vegetables or bread or bananas will not need to worry about minerals.

I remember reading a stupid article in the BKK Post about how drinking distilled water would kill you. Rubbish!

Actually the Pattaya Tai-Jomtien taxi drivers are getting more aggressive. It is probably due to the slow-down in tourism. 10 Baht should be the fare, but male drivers demand 20 baht and after sunset it is more dangerous.

I try to look at the whole situation philosophically: It is still good value for money.

Recently in the UK I paid 2.20 GBP for a bus ride lasting eight minutes.

I agree most baht bus drivers are bad, but in the hot humid months ahead.... 10/20 baht for a few miles is good value.

Another trick used in some parts of Europe, and, perhaps isn't used in Thailand is: the waiter has a bowl of rum under the counter. When a customer asks for a rum and coke, the waiter dips the glass edge into the bowl and simple pours coke into the glass. The customer tastes the rum, from the rim, and assumes he's drinking rum and coke.

They do that for drunks in economy class on KLM.

I wasnt there this year and wondered if any of you that have been for the past few years can compare, busy,atmosphere etc ?

It has been really busy but mostly with the rich Thais. There was a queue outside Sizzler today, but all Thais. I expect the following weeks to be quiet, I'm not complaining though but it's tough on business. Korean tour groups still keep coming but they are nearer to the LOS.

When I was walking down Beach Road I noticed a lot of trash. The visiting Thai people just dump their trash where they sit, at least farang use the plentiful bins along the road. This reminds of the Indian mentality of 'my trash I don't care about, let a low paid slave pick it up'.

Thanks for the warning. I will keep my hands on my helmet in future.

Typically how much is a carton of Marlborough and a litre of Johnnie Walker Black compared to Thailand?

You won't be getting real Marlborough and good luck if you can smoke them because a few smoker friends of mine couldn't.

I also doubt you'll be getting real whiskey.

I bought a bottle of Johnny Walker Swing Whiskey at the border - tasted more like 100 Pipers to me, never again. The Cigarettes are awful as well.

Thanks for the warnings, I'll give the fake goods a miss. If the whiskey is counterfeit then it might well be hazardous to health.

2000 Euro per day withdrawal from a Thai account in France by ATM sounds rather high. I even wonder if it is possible.

the OP claimed "2,000 Euro each time" which is also not possible with any european card even if the card has a high limit. the actual limit per withdrawal is set by the ATM no matter what other limits are set by the card's issuer. until end of the '90s some ATMs at Frankfurt Airport had rather high limits (5,000 Deutsche Mark) per withdrawal, then it was reduced to DM 1,000 and presently most ATMs in Germany dole out a meager €UR 300 per withdrawal.

very true.my lloyds tsb gold current account card has a 500 gbp limit.most any atm will ever let me have is 300 gbp.

Lloyds TSB ATM's will give you 500 GBP and so will Bangkok Bank ATM's. (Bangkok Bank will give you 25,000 Baht which sadly is now 500GBP) + 4.50 GBP fee.

Just posting my experience for reference. Never had a problem with Ayudhya Bank despite decent sums always being in the account. I think I'll be reducing that sum now!

The only disturbing Fraud experience which I can relate to Thailand was a credit card one IN THE UK - read on... I hadn't used this card for some months but decided to use it to pay for my Non-im O visa from Hull. They provide a payment form on which you have to supply name, address, credit card number, expiry dates and security number from the back of the card. I didn't feel comfortable supplying all of this in writing, but hey, it was the ROYAL Thai Consulate. Low and behold a week later I got a call from the credit card Co. fraud detection dept. asking if I'd just made a £250 payment to an on-line gambling website! I said no and the amount never appeared on my statement.

Never use your credit/debit card number and details on paper. It is madness. Imagine if someone used them for something illegal online your life could be ruined. I read about such a case where a bloke lost his job, wife and friends due to online fraud using his details.

While at this particular border waiting for your documents you can also take advantage of some great deals on alcohol, tobacco and other products at the shops in the no-mans land on the right hand side in back as your entering Cambodia after the wooden bridge. Your allowed to take 2 bottles of wine/spirits but there are local runners that can bring over however much you need.

Typically how much is a carton of Marlborough and a litre of Johnnie Walker Black compared to Thailand?

If the Aussies can round off to the nearest 5 cent coin (they abolished their 1 cent coins long ago) I think the Thais can handle rounding off to the nearest baht. The only place I have ever been given satangs is at grocery stores. Probably the satangs are kept for more traditional than practical reasons. Many Americans for example would freak out if they killed the penny, but most of them end of in jars (the pennies, not the Americans).

But suppose your monthly shopping bill is 6,000 Baht and that 25% of the items you buy end 25/50/75 satang then these will be rounded upwards following the death of the satang.

This would mean a possible gross loss of 120 baht per month which is a 2% loss. Over a year that would amount to 1,440 baht: Enough for a decent night out on December 31st.....

If they are abolished we would all lose, the profits would return to the shopkeepers. Plus as the UK pound is set to go sub 50 Baht in 2009 I reject the idea until 50 satang is work less than 1/2 a UK penny. It is still worth 1 UK penny and is set to appreciate.

They should abolish the satang coins.

If you think about it 50 satang is 1 english penny.

Anyway I use satang in Friendship/Tops/Carrefour because my bill always comes to something 25/50 or 75 I look at the total on the till and give a thousand baht plus the satang. The secret is never to go shopping without 75 satang in your pocket.

Otherwise I would never get rid of them. Beggars don't want them even a handfull.

I usually give 10 or 20 baht to the seriously disabled beggars missing limbs. There is a bloke or should I say half a man (since his legs have been completely disarticulated) at Soi Bukhaw market I regularly give 20 baht to, because I have no idea how he copes with his life.

One Baht coins I actually need, for the water machines (Reverse Osmosis) it being 1 Baht per litre.

what a great detailed and imformative post this is, everything you need to know, nice one

Well not everything, didn't include the actual price of this service. I'll assume its ฿2,500 as mentioned in Syd's second post.

Regardless, lots of details, thanks.

Yes, the cost was 2,500 Baht. There is a loyalty-card in operation that gives you 500 baht off after two visa runs so if you are a regular visa-runner then the cost might be, in real terms 2,250.

That represents good value for a luxury visa run.

There are visa runs to the border for 1,800 and 2,000 baht but some of them are very uncomfortable especially for taller people.

To the OP.

Did anyone have any issues with an expected 30 days and only getting 15 ?

It would be interesting to see how they deal with this and also how it affects business (which will become much less I think).

Good report. Thanks.

No, all of my fellow Visa-run buddies were either 90 day or tourist-visa guys. I must guess that nobody would pay 2,500 baht for 15 days unless really desperate.

I get all my 1000s from the ATM machines of SCB. I don't even look at them. If I accidentally passed a fake, what would the merchant do? Just refuse it or call the police? Assuming just refuse it, will the banks believe you if you bring them back a fake?

The answer is (same as you) I don't know.

However I would be nervous of returning fakes back to the bank for fear of wrongful arrest and punitive searches of my apartment block and confiscation of all my electronic possessions. (This does happen).

In 7-11, they swipe some kind of pen across the watermark. What are they doing?

If they are dud, the pen makes a mark.

Don't ever believe that notes in Thai ATM's are 100% O.K. Even UK Banks admit that there is a slight possibility of dud notes from ATM's in the UK.

I think it is best to make over-the-counter withdrawals in 500 Baht denominations until further notice. I did this a few days ago, the only inconvenience being the fact that I had to produce my passport and a very dirty look from the cashier.

Because I am six feet and seven inches tall barefoot, I decided this time to opt for a '5 Star Visa run'. Forum rules forbid me from naming the company I used, but it can be found on Soi 13.

A few days before my intended visa-run I visited their makeshift 'Office' outside of their establishment on Soi 13 where a sturdy girl named 'Annie' runs a tight ship with emphasis on required signatures and two photographs and original passport for photocopy and notations.

The morning of my Visa Run I arrived early at the pub/bar on Soi 13 in order to enjoy my complimentary breakfast. There were however, several fellow 'Runee's' already seated and tucking in to their full English breakfast fare.

On my solitary table was placed a plastic laminated menu card offering three options. I did not memorize the options but they are Full English, followed by a cereal option and a lighter 'egg emphasis' option; probably for the Pattaya bodybuilders.

The BBC news was provided on a large flat screen at a sensible volume for the time of day.

Eight minutes later my breakfast and tea was served by a not-unattractive girl with short hair and a large chest. The tea provided was a Tetley teabag dangling in scalding hot water. A genuine nice touch was a miniature stainless steel milk jug with real fresh milk which I titrated into my breakfast tea.

The breakfast itself was very good. I give it an SB rating of 8.5. I cannot give a lesser score for the fact that only one fried egg and one slice of toast was served up. That would be just and intrusion of my personal gluttony. The weak point was the sausage. (A similar point much discussed by my former girlfriends). The sausage was of poor quality and highly spiced. On a brighter point, the 'Bubble & Squeak' was excellent and the toasted bread was of high quality.

We all departed at 0647. A tip here, is to try and secure one of the front two seats on the six-seater minibus. The space in front would be enough to extend the legs fully, recline and sleep. The second row of seats however offer only 37 inches of leg room. (Which is ample for normal-heighted people).

There was one toilet stop on the outward journey, totalling eleven minutes. This being enough time to visit the toilet and stock up on confectionery and minerals and ice creams. It was at this toilet stop (2 hours and 13 minutes after departure from Soi 13) that I was beginning to regret refusing the well publicized 'free second cup of tea' at the pub/bar at Soi 13. I had opted for a solitary mug of tea thinking that my bladder must remain unemptied for the duration of the journey; being approximately four hours.

We arrived at the border following a total journey time of 3 hours 37 minutes. The driver was fast, but not insane. There are seatbelts provided on the minibus. I recommend that they be used.

At the border all formalities were provided, except the actual entry and departure. By this I mean acquisition of the visa, entry stamps in/out of Cambodia were handled by the ground staff.

Following the re-entry into Thailand at the border (named Pong Nam Ron) or Baan Laaem there was provided two thermos flasks of hot coffee/tea for the thirsty. Here, there is opportunity to take advantage of the toilet facilities for 3 baht cash.

Then as a homeward treat, a full packed lunch was provided on a plastic tray. This consisted of a ham and tomato sandwich: Good quality and not mean on the filling. A Scotch egg which I had not experienced for a decade: Very tasty. A kind of Florida Salad in a plastic dish which tasted much better than it looked. Then a piece of cake, which was sponge and as expected dry. We were provided with a bottle of ice cold water (500ml).

The journey back to Pattaya took 4 hours and 2 minutes because we hit traffic. There were movies on show (4 in total) (One shown with Thai-only text and spoken language) which was a nice idea except all Visa-runners were non-Thai!

When we arrived back at the pub/bar we had the option of using a free-beer voucher valid for one drink: Chang/Heineken/Tiger. I declined the invitation but completed my appraisal sheet and returned it to the minibus driver post Visa-run with a 100 baht tip.

All things considered, a high quality visa run. I recommend this service. Two tips: try to get the front row of seats and don't be afraid to rehydrate, because there is one toilet break on each journey to/from the border.

If you need to know the Visa run service it is on Soi 13 and called the SPO****** Bar. (Sorry if this breaks forum rules).