funlovinkid

There have been a lot of very interesting and useful answers here, so I thought I should throw in my own observations, having stayed in Jomtien several times over the past 4 years or so:

On one occasion in March or April a couple years ago, the VT5D swimming pool was extraordinarily warm, to the extent that I couldn't exercise in it. I was hoping to do some laps for exercise, and found that I was overheating after about two laps. A friend of mine even made the same observation. I'm not sure if this was because the pool was built in-ground (as opposed to those which are on higher floors), but it was virtually unusable for exercise. I would be curious to hear the observations of others who use in-ground pools for exercise.

I also remember that, with only 2 elevators in VT5D, there were a large number of people on the ground floor typically waiting for the elevator - and sometimes having so many people waiting that a single elevator couldn't accommodate them all.

I've also spent considerable time in Jomtien Complex Condotel, and I should mention a few things:

With regard to the above comment about the pool temperature, this pool (which is located on the 4th floor, not in the ground) is virtually always cool - and it's exceptionally long: 35 meters. It's a great pool for swimming laps, and it's very well maintained.

Directly attached to the lobby of this building are three restaurants, a convenience store, a private mailbox business, a real estate office, and a laundry service. The 4th floor common area (which also has the pool) has a self-service laundry, a drinking water machine (for refilling water containers), free wi-fi, and an exercise room with workable equipment, a snooker table, and table tennis. This building also has a 3 or 4 story parking garage, and restaurants and shops in Jomtien Complex are directly accessible via the lobby. It's also about a 200 meter walk to the beach, and it has 2 tennis courts. The location is excellent.

Unfortunately, since VT7 was built, the sea view which many of the condos in this building originally enjoyed are now blocked. And the majority of the rooms are large (66 sq. meter) studios, which are (also unfortunately) long and narrow, which means that they can feel a bit like a cave due to the lack of natural light, especially at the end of the room farthest from the balcony.

I very much like all the amenities this building offers, but unless you happen to have a high floor condo in building B (which still has an ocean view, to the side of VT7), I don't think I would want to live in it long-term.

I hope this is helpful.

I think the response to this posting has been great so far. Keep the comments coming!

I have lived in Pattaya for 10 years and always seeked the new condo buildings which, for me, was a mistake as the new quarters were always smaller, lower quality building materials, less attentive staff, etc. My new building is 17 years old, only 8 floors, ( means faster elevator service ), spacious, 4.5 star plumbing/electrical and quiet. Most service people here for at least 10 years and keep property as though they lived here, maybe better !

Sounds great, but you never mentioned the name of your building! (or is it so good that you want to keep it a secret?)

I'm looking for a long-term rental, not a purchase. I know there are a lot of condo buildings to choose from, but I'm trying to figure out which one(s) are best in terms of quality of life. I've been in several buildings which have a nice view, but in which the walls are paper-thin, and you can hear your neighbor's TV (or worse!). There are also buildings which are poorly managed (i.e. not maintained) or have constant staffing problems, legal problems, embezzlement, etc.

Location is also important, of course: proximity to restaurants, the beach, etc.

I know, for example, that Reflections is a beautiful building (probably expensive), but not sure about the quality of life at its location. I get the impression it's a bit removed from everything.

I'm looking for something in the range of 20 - 25K.

I suspect this posting will attract the attention of real estate professionals, but I'm really hoping for feedback from people who've lived in the area. Thanks in advance for any thoughts or shared experiences!

Many thanks for all the thoughts! Hmm, where to live, where to live....

There is normally a breeze here but it does vary from onshore to offshore. Still days here are very rare.

Chiang Mai is very different.

When the breeze switches to offshore, does the air ever get smoky from any burning taking place inland? I've never experienced such a thing here, but I would be curious to know if it's common or not.

I happen to call Chiang Mai home (for the moment), but for the past several years, I've found myself in the Pattaya area in March or April, in order to escape the smoky air pollution problem up north every year.

I notice that, near the beach at least, Pattaya/Jomtien seem to have a steady sea breeze blowing every day, which I find extremely pleasant. And, of course, it helps keep my room cool as well.

For those of you who've been living here for a while, is this typical? Is there normally a time of year when the breeze dies down? I'm toying with the idea of living here at the beach, but the wind/breeze is a big part of the attraction, and if the air typically stagnates for several months every year, my perception would be very different! Thanks for any thoughts on this.

DannyBoy 66 mentioned go to Koh Samat!!!

Do not go there trust me...largest vampire "hen" mosqitos descend in their millions at sundown from the jungle & no spray works you are literally being eaten alive & to make matters worse the sand flies attack your feet ..still got the scars ...added to which the place is a blatent rip off & the people are just out for your money ...wouldn't wish my worst enemy to be shipwrecked there !

Funny you should mention the mosquitoes on Koh Samet. I went there a few years ago, and I do remember the mosquitoes being so large they had faces - and most of them, angry!

My Thai wife & I have livedbest part of 15yrs in Pattaya,BKK,Chiang Mai,Koh Samui & finally Hua Hin now. All places have their special delights but for everything put together as a total package Hua Hin has been our choice. Wny? The beaches are the cleanest I've seen as isthe clean sea ,sea breeezes, mountains,lakes,all the shopping you need Big C,Tesco Lotus,Villa Market ,Market Village with Central due soon. Feels real Thai with it's old town & classic architecture. Fine restaurants ,hundreds of 7/11's & banks galore too. The people are friendly & most have a smile n their face which is always a good sign. Mnay hotels/restaurants too for your wife to work ...you both will never be bored here unlike "the ghost town " that is Rayong they tell me.Suugeest you did what we did rent a villa/condo nr Takiab beach [best beach] for 6 months ...by then I'm sure you'll have fallen in love with it like ourselves.....

Just out of curiosity, when/where will the Hua Hin Central be? After reading your post, I Googled around, but couldn't find any mention of a Central planned for (or located in) Hua Hin.

^ Don't you read the responses to the thread you posted recently?? Here's mine again, which I see you liked last time around!

Posted 2015-04-10 16:27:17

The choice of new bikes should also include the Yamaha MT-07 - now on sale here for 299,000 with ABS.

Street Triple R is I'd say the best naked middleweight 'out of the box' and price is now 465,000 I think, as opposed to 750,000 last year. The FZ-09 has a bigger and better engine than the Striple but stock suspension isn't as good and it doesn't have ABS. It is however a lot of fun.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/815934-best-middleweight-naked-bike-in-thailand/

Well, the OP mentioned 250K, not 299K - but I must admit that I overlooked that figure in your reply to my post. Thanks for re-posting. FWIW, I still like your reply!

I really enjoy the 'what bike should I get' threads as it's like 'fantasy bike shopping!

But your list has a big price range? Normally there's budget constraints as well as the practical touring vs city considerations.

From your list I reckon the CB650F is the best value/capability option that fits your needs of city, fun rides and not for touring, and the Ducati is in a different price band.

Correct observation. And good that you enjoy it rather being annoyed by it.

Let me answer it this way: I was originally hooked on the 2015 Multistrada S, which will not be available for me locally produced before Oct this year.

The import S model is currently priced with 1,4+ Mio THB the old S was around 1 Mio at the with big discount - nobody wants it anymore. BTW, I just have been in Florida on business where the imported 2015 Multistrada S goes for 19.700 USD which equals roughly 650k THB. That is less than half from here. That sucks big time... ah, and available in first week of April, even in white... gnarl

Anyway... back to my point, compared to a Multistrada or BMW GS 1200 the price range we are talking here (around 300k-500k) is a bargain... the whole "fun bike for town" idea hit me rather unexpected but hard.

...and yes I am aware that I can't compare those and I do have a distorded view on that because I am greedy for a fun toy, eager to get that into my hands... human I might argue.

I agree with you, a good price point is always a very convincing reason. For instance, when the 500k price of the Hypermotard compared to eventuall 330k vor a Kaw Versys 650 + 250k for a Yam MT-07. That would be a sweet solution.

I will sure buy a touring machine anyway... somewhat later.

...also without the heat experience from the Ducati, I would have never started this thread.

The Yamaha Thailand website shows the information for an FZ-09, but nothing for either the FZ-07 or the MT-07. For the MT-07, above you mention a 250K price point, which sounds pretty attractive, but I can't ascertain if the bike is available here or not. For what it's worth, I also am pondering which middleweight bike to buy! Do you have any information you can share about this?

I just came from there, about a week ago, and I drove the entire perimeter in my car. I thought there were two interesting areas:

- in the southwest, the area called Lonely Beach seemed to have a pretty thriving area a few blocks long on both sides of the road: restaurants, bars, etc. Maybe it used to be "lonely", but I would guess not now! Although it IS low season, so maybe not that many people at the moment.

- in the extreme southwest, near where the road ends as you're going counter-clockwise, is a pier which has loads of shops as you walk along. Some very cool coffee shops, restaurants, scuba shops, knick-knack shops, seafood places - many with nice seaviews. And this is what you encounter before you actually start walking on the pier itself, where boats can tie up.

For the most part, it's the western side of the island which I thought was worth visiting. The eastern side is almost entirely devoid of development. But if it's a fun ride you're interested in, I guess it wouldn't matter.

Especially on the western side, the road is extremely curvy and hilly, which wasn't that much fun in a car, but I imagine it would be great on a bike. Enjoy, comrade!

Street Triple is hands down the best naked - just read the reviews and comparisons too. Price has cone down in Thailand too, so around the same as the Monster.

So, if the prices are roughly comparable between the Street Triple and the Monster, I'm assuming you'd prefer the Triumph? I've seen reviews of the Street Triple vs. the CB650F and the FZ-09, but I've never seen a comparison between the Triumph and the Monster. Can you shed some light on why you might prefer the Triumph over the Ducati? I always thought the Ducatis were considered the premier bikes in their class (because of power, suspension, braking, handling, etc) - but in the past were considerably more expensive, and therefore not a good value when compared to other bikes. If the prices for the Ducatis are coming down (as are those for the Triumphs, apparently), the comparison should boil down to performance, maintainability, etc. Please advise!

I also wanted to ask for any possible feedback about maintenance. I have a Thai friend who recommended the Honda purely because he feels it will be the easiest (and cheapest) to maintain, and to find parts for, as needed. Also, I believe the Ducatis need a fairly expensive valve adjustment periodically (because of their desmodromic design), but other than these two tidbits, I don't have much knowledge of the maintenance issues with these bikes. Any thoughts on that?

How about a nice 1983 Honda NV400 shaft drive? fantastic bike with one careful owner (all the others were reckless) I would take 235k for mine and even throw in a secondhand (greasy inside) crash hat and an oil drip tray.

Or buy a brand new CB500 and have some money left over.

If you are getting back into biking after a long break, ride slower especially in LOS, you are in a bad category.

Thanks for your expression of concern, but I already put about 700 to 800K on a bicycle over the last year, and I've been riding friend's scooters quite a bit recently as well, so I think my proficiency on two wheels is pretty good again. And I should mention that I have absolutely no intention of riding beyond my ability, regardless of the capabilities the machine underneath me! I'm well aware of the dangers, and I think this is why I've been carefully pondering the idea for the last 6 months rather than diving in and buying something.

I wasn't having a dig old chap, just remember a program on UK TV a while back about guys returning to biking after a long break, you mentioned a million years, so I thought that was quite long. Something about your paunch resting on the tank too.........

You should ABSOLUTELY go back to proper biking IMO and Thailand is fine provided you have an extra set of eyes transplanted into the back of your head. So I/we look forward to hearing about what you settle upon, what you do and where you go........

Apologies if I came across as defensive, that wasn't my intention. I just wanted to clarify to any interested parties in this thread that I'm being realistic about starting to ride again - and not just entertaining a fantasy, and wasting their time in the process.

As far as the paunch resting on the tank, well, that might prove to be at least partly true.

Both bikes you mention are excellent bikes and like someone already said, the ER6n is really good and best value for money out there if you buy second hand.

I would look at the Ducati Scrambler if you're looking for a fun bike. Hard to beat it in that department, I think.

Are you more of a 2 cylinder guy or an inline 4 lover?

You pose an interesting question. As I mentioned above, I have had both in the past, and I must say the four cylinder Kawasaki was extremely smooth, but I also love the sound of a big displacement twin (I can't help but think of Harley-Davidson and Ducati here). So, I guess the short answer is: as long as the performance is comparable, I would probably prefer the twin. But the performance of the bike is what's most important to me, and of course, the bang for the buck.

How about a nice 1983 Honda NV400 shaft drive? fantastic bike with one careful owner (all the others were reckless) I would take 235k for mine and even throw in a secondhand (greasy inside) crash hat and an oil drip tray.

Or buy a brand new CB500 and have some money left over.

If you are getting back into biking after a long break, ride slower especially in LOS, you are in a bad category.

Thanks for your expression of concern, but I already put about 700 to 800K on a bicycle over the last year, and I've been riding friend's scooters quite a bit recently as well, so I think my proficiency on two wheels is pretty good again. And I should mention that I have absolutely no intention of riding beyond my ability, regardless of the capabilities the machine underneath me! I'm well aware of the dangers, and I think this is why I've been carefully pondering the idea for the last 6 months rather than diving in and buying something.

Of the bikes you listed, the Street Triple would likely be the most fun choice- the FZ-09 is good as well, but, as you noted, you would likely want to upgrade the suspension (though possibly not, especially if your not very heavy).

Yeah, I wondered about that. I'm around 100 kilos.

Ducati monster 796, second hand with low k's for around 350k baht.

That's yesterdays / this mornings choice for me. Last week it was cb650f. Week before it was an ER6N, BMW F800R, Kawa z800.. Ducati scrambler in there somewhere as well.

Or just bite the bullet with a new 821 monster.

As you can see I'm in the same predicament.

Hmmm...the 796 Monster (hopefully with ABS) is pretty appealing. I have the feeling the suspension on the Monster would be superior to either the Honda or the Yamaha also. However, I've heard stories that they're extremely uncomfortable, if you happen to have testicles!

I have the feeling this post will create a flurry of replies and strong opinions (hopefully on topic), but here goes anyway:

After having owned a Honda 350 and then a Kawasaki KZ650 roughly a million years ago, I've decided that I want to take up the joy of biking on some mountain roads again here in LOS. So, I would like to buy a decent middleweight naked (standard) bike - used, if possible, but new might be OK as well, if not too pricey.

I've looked at a lot of recent reviews of various bikes in this category, like the Honda CB650F, the Yamaha FZ-09, the Triumph Street Triple, and I've even been sniffing around the Ducati Monster website and reviews. The CB650F and FZ-09 are rated very highly (for the price), but both apparently could benefit from improved suspension components.

I don't intend to be throwing my future bike into wild, peg-scraping turns, but I would very much like the suspension to be predictable, especially in those occasional situations where you need the bike to perform in order to avoid, or prevent, a collision. The KZ650 mentioned above nearly killed me a couple times with strange, unpredictable gyrations which were probably related to the chassis, the suspension, or both. I don't want to go through THAT again!

For what it's worth, I don't think I'll be going on long road trips, maybe just a few hours at a time for joyriding, or maybe a day-trip, at the longest.

I've been using the Honda as a reference point in terms of price (285K new), but I could go beyond that, if I feel that the bike value is worth it. Any suggestions, folks?

I have a 2011 Toyota Vios in need of an oil change, but I learned in my last visit to Toyota that because the car is no longer covered by the warranty, the price of an oil change at the dealership went from around 1100 Baht to around 2500 Baht. No way!

Anybody know of a decent, trustworthy place in Pattaya/Jomtien for an oil change at a reasonable price?

I've finally decided to join the ranks of folks who ride larger bikes here in CM, and I figure the first step is to get some decent gear - like a good helmet, jacket, pants, etc. Afterward, I'll rent some larger bikes (650 - 800cc range) for a couple days at a time to get a feel for what kind of bike to buy. Can anyone make a recommendation for where is a good place to buy the riding gear? For what it's worth, I'm 184cm tall, and around 100 kilos.

Many thanks for any suggestions!

It's very doubtful it'll do any harm. 9 mm isn't very much especially on a gasoline engine.

Not worth worrying about.

The Toyota manual is very specific about this: anything above the high-level mark is "overfilled". And I beg to differ: 9mm represents roughly a third of the distance on the dipstick between the low-level and the high-level mark, which would imply that the engine has 33% more oil than it should.

There's obviously 9mm of oil left in the container when they've filled the correct amount so it's a dealer freebie like air over the correct pressure in the tyres .

But don't dealers use bulk oil in 55gl drums and pump & measure it out into a metering container and then pour it in? I know most here do that, it's far cheaper and easier too with no containers to dispose of.

WarpSpeed, not sure about that. Every time my oil has been changed, they thereafter offer me the plastic oil container with the remainder of the unused oil still in the container, which I think is a policy to not only offer the remaining unused oil to the customer, but also to show what type of oil they put in. I always politely refuse to receive the container, and I have never checked the capacity, but I'm guessing it's 4 or 5 liters. In any event (with this dealer at least), they don't appear to be using the large drums of oil.

They are adding the required amount of oil....so the dipstick is wrong. Seriously, you have the wrong dipstick!

The car was purchased absolutely brand new, from the Toyota dealer. Sorry, I don't understand how you could expect me to take your comment seriously!

9mm ,Did you get out the spirit level and make sure the car is sitting completely level.

No, but the parking lot where I have measured the oil is very level - and I doubt if any slight variation on this would explain a 9mm difference.