syd barrett

I get it on cable, but don't watch it any more. I did got hooked once though when they were running this story about a missing girl called Natalie in Aruba. Greta Van something made it all sound so exciting......and interesting....

There used to be a great English Chippy on Soi Bukaew on the corner of Soi Chayapoon. It was right on the corner, they had all the stainless steel cooking range etc. and looked just like an English Chippy. That must be about 5 years ago and it only lasted 6 months maximum.

These days I make my own fish and chips the way I want to using an electric deep fat fryer with animal fat (lard) as opposed to horrible cooking oil. If you use a crinkle chip maker they taste even better. I buy frozen cod at Friendship just let it defrost properly first. Just make your own batter. Also choose your potatoes carefully: The best are the very big spuds they sell at the Wat market on Pattaya Tai.

The last place I had decent Fish & Chips in Pattaya was at Elephant & Castle on 2nd Road. But that was 2 years ago, so I need to revisit to check the quality.

Taxi drivers will not hesitate to murder farang in a variety of ways and dismember your body and dispose of you in landfill sites or else your cut your head and hands off to hinder identification and dump you in Pattaya Bay.

No they don't.

I'm not making this up, it happens every day.

Yes you are and no it doesn't.

The rich fear the poor. This is a seriously bad country unless you have your wits about you 100% and stay out of trouble.

They do? Do you go out much syd?

Great post NanLaew , my initial point as well....I have never heard of so much rubbish in all my life-taxi drivers cutting people up in thailand everyday, absolutely absurd!

OK, you go your own way and I'll go mine.

Stick with Bell End Bus service at Pattaya North Road. 200 baht. Airport-Pattaya-Airport seven times a day.

NanLaew: Your homophobic rants in capital letters suggest but one thing only to a psychologist:

That is: You have latent sexual issues that you have failed to address.

Thanks syd for the free psychoanalysis but I already know what my problem is.

Now tell us sweetie, what's yours?

If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are headed.

Lao-tzu

I agree with 'CHDiver' the Stonehouse situated bottom of Soi 6 has a good Pizza and toppings.............Marvellous....!!!

I agree. They offer excellent pizzas for consumption. In fact, maybe they would put one in a box for takeaway.......anyone done that?

Soi 6, an area I personally do not like, is being taken over by katoeys, I have been told. When I was trying to walk up the back road Soi 6/1 and a 6 foot silicone enhanced katoey blocked my way as he tried to sell his wares. I had to force my way past, while keeping my hand on my wallet. The comments that followed me were not polite!

Well gee whiz Sherlock, if you weren't such a pussy about walking up Soi 6 where the preponderance of totty still leans towards the truly female and not chosen to walk the WELL KNOWN TRADESMAN'S ENTRANCE FOR BACK-DOOR SPECIALISTS WITH MEAT & TWO VEG route of 6/1, you wouldn't have had to run that particularly scary gauntlet, eh?

I think he was just not your type. Better luck next time sexy man.

NanLaew: Your homophobic rants in capital letters suggest but one thing only to a psychologist:

That is: You have latent sexual issues that you have failed to address.

The facts are that if you like a drink, cutting out the visits to the more expensive bars can save a fortune. Plus I walk more instead of getting baht bus or motorcycle taxis and I read all newspapers online. Plus I gave up all beef and pork and just eat chicken and fish.

Total savings per month= 13,000 baht = 250 British Pounds

I can recommend 'Pizza Hut' in Pattaya just dial 1150. They have a very good promotion at the moment at 50% off called a happy new year choice priced at 999 baht (reduced from 1413 Baht). It consists of 3 pizzas, garlic bread, Breadstick and dips, BBQ wings, New orleans wings and a salad and a cream-pie thrown in for good luck. Great!

I just hope that you live upto your posting monicker. Take a taxi at your peril......

A bit off topic, but I learned a useful little trick in Bangkok when the taxi driver can't produce change for say, a THB 50 fare when presented with a THB 100 note. I simply tell, him, "OK, I take a nice nap now...wake me up when you get to 100". When he figures out what I mean as I lie back and close my eyes, he invariably finds his change has mysteriously become available [this may not work in these days of rigged meters]. If he doesn't react to this ruse, I tell him, "OK, I get out now and go find change ['laek ngun'] and come back and pay you very soon". Funny how fast they dig out those missing coins!

Cute idea but dangerous.

Taxi drivers will not hesitate to murder farang in a variety of ways and dismember your body and dispose of you in landfill sites or else your cut your head and hands off to hinder identification and dump you in Pattaya Bay.

I'm not making this up, it happens every day.

Even Thai folk know not to expect change for large denomination notes. This is a third world country, life is cheap. Police don't care. Murder and assassination cost next to nothing. The rich fear the poor. This is a seriously bad country unless you have your wits about you 100% and stay out of trouble......

Enjoy the sunshine, the girls, and keep away from mad taxi drivers.........

I have a feeling that in 2009 (Jan,Feb,March) the Baht will fall very suddenly indeed. Dramatically. I don't think any financial expert will bet against this.

So I will say by Feb 1st 2009: 1 US$ = 42 baht.

However I am concerned for the British pound which might well be 1.35 against the US$ very soon, especially as UK interest rates will be cut from 2% to 1% for sure on 8th Jan 2009 then to 0.5% in February.

I suppose the best advice is to economise and be a mean bugger until things improve late in 2009.

Someone heaped praise on -- Banglamung Hospital - government hospital in Naklua. For Pattayans without transport that is much more accessible than Sri Racha or Sattahip. Is Banglamung Hospital really a good place to go for farangs? Decent doctors, decently equipped, non double pricing, acceptable English speaking options? In other words, are farangs welcome there or would they be sent to the usual suspects in town.

Banglamung is OK for minor medical problems. I would not trust it for surgery. It is very cheap, in fact they will give you a massive plastic bag full of expensive tablets for about 200 Baht.

However you will queue for about 3 hours, but that is OK because you get a numbered ticket and can go and drink coffee outside at the local stalls and read a newspaper.

They accept farangs with no problem. But as I said, any scalpel work is 'Third World' and you have a great chance of death by post-operative infection.

It is so sad because 8 or 9 years ago Pattaya Memorial was a great hospital and very cheap. I had minor surgery there for 50 quid!

Now they have jumped on the greed bandwagon like the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital. For those of us with NO health insurance go to Sirikit hospital in Sattahip.

If you need major surgery go back to your home country.

If you ride a motorbike tell rescue men 'Take me to Sirikit'.

If you collapse with heart attack/stroke make sure your partner sends you to Sirikit.

A mate of mine collapsed with abdominal pain, they took him to Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, he was in there for three days: Nothing wrong, just food poisoning colic, with tests and accommodation total cost: 188,000 Baht One Hundred & Eighty Eight Thousand Baht.

Personally I would rather die and go to heaven than pay One Baht to BPH.

I have more use for KY than cranberry.

Looking at your avatar I can see you are a 'double header'..........

There have been well publicized cases of Thai nationals being ripped off by bent employees at the banks.

When I think of the large amounts I used to have on deposit in Thai banks I feel physically sick. I was lucky. Now I hold 3 months living expenses maximum.

For anyone who plans on holding more than that ie. for visa reasons then an account without an ATM card is recommended.

I sent the Mrs. shopping this morning for Cranberry Jelly. She came back a tube of KY Jelly.

So in the end I went shopping myself and found that TOPS Supermarket has it on sale for 199 Baht branded Waitrose (I would have preferred Ocean Spray though......)

Regarding the 2nd Hand Bookshop above Tops on Pattaya Klang/2nd Road.

They off a 50% cash trade-in value for borrowed books.

For example: If you borrow 'Hard Times' by Dickens for 150 Baht and return it after reading, then it has a 75 baht trade value against your next purchase, that might be 'American Psycho' by Ellis costing 200 baht (less 75 Baht=125 Baht).

I think that it would be wisest to make ATM withdrawals of 900 Baht until this forgery business blows over later next year!

It is O.K. but I know better bars on Soi 7. Like most bars, it depends on your taste. Some of the best bars, I don't even publicize because I don't want them to be mobbed my morons.

The great thing in Pattaya is that bars open and close every day and it is great fun trying all the new ones.

I was down at Jamiesons yesterday. Very sad. Three people in the place until I left at about 5.00pm. But it is very out of the way and if you go there at night you need transport.

I like to drink Guiness, pricey but has anyone any good Guiness-Bar recommendations, whilst we are on a bar thread?

Emirates have gone downhill fast. Qatar Airways are good if you can get a good connection at Doha. Singapore are excellent but expensive to London.

I have never flown Etihad but they get very good reports and won all the awards for 2008, so i will be trying them next year. They are even offering Manchester and London-Bangkok for 450 pounds (6 month return).

A good looking girl goes into her local Woolworths store and says to the tall handsome male assistant behind the record counter:

"Have you got Jingle Bells on 6 inch"

The assistant, pauses and contemplates:

" No love, but I've got Dangle Balls on 12 inch"

The good looking girl says:

" Thanks, but I'm not looking for a long player, just a single"

2,300 Baht per month does seem quite a lot these days because it equals 45 GBP per month=540 quid a year. But consider what live football in the UK costs on Sky TV per month, plus there are extras, such as boxing, rugby etc.

If you love all sport surely it is good value?

If you go to bars to watch the live football at weekends, then I am sure that the beer bills equal 540 quid a year.

There are a lot of negative comments here, surely the value for sports lovers is excellent?

I was nervous bringing in all my tools but I was not stopped. It all depends on whether Customs are scanning the incoming bags, most of the times they wave me on and pick on the dodgy looking Middle Eastern types with white skull-caps.

But I agree with the above comments, never bring in stuff boxed and looking new. And if you do get pulled, just stay cool and try not to look bothered. These Customs guys just look at body language (Same in UK).

Plus, I think it is a mistake to try and disguise stuff in boxes or tin foil. In fact that is just totally silly, when you consider Thai logical thinking.

I like the way you are always Thinking Big in your schemes, and your meticulously thought out business planning is second to none. I wish you more success in this venture than in your Baht bus scheme, which presumably foundered on the total absence of customers this high season. Proof that even the best thought out business ventures can founder in this crazy market!

I feel sure that some kind of business venture with the Thai wife can work. The best type is where I could contribute in some way (behind the scenes). The original Baht Bus idea was just not financially sound and was fraught with potential problems. It amazes me how they all keep going.

The Thai lottery ticket selling idea is the best I come up with at the moment. However, I am busy planning another for 2009 as recession begins to bite and the New Year tourist have gone back home.

The main action, has been to place ALL of my GBP offshore savings into one account BBI Isle of Man: It currently pays 4% interest on a 2% base rate (eaccess2 account).

I wouldn't do that, there is too much risk in putting it into one bank. The Icelanders with Landsbanki and KSF, where I had accounts have hit me very badly. The IOM deposit scheme up to 50,000 Quid, is nowhere near fully funded and it could potentially take decades for them to pay out.

I think the danger of bank collapse is not so great today as it was six months ago. Governments everywhere have taken action to ensure that consumer deposits don't get damaged as a result of this mess, Iceland and Lehman Brothers notwithstanding. Also, isn't BBI part nationalized now, I've lost track.

Yes, now it is nationalised it is as safe as the Bank of England.