mauiguy90

Sorry for the late response. True Fitness has yoga classes thru out the day, as well as a number of other fitness classes. Think you can negotiate prices right now and get a pretty decent deal, from what friends have told me. Don't agree to pay more than $50 a month.

I'm sure that California Fitness and Fitness First also have classes as well although I haven't checked their schedules recently.

I also have occasional bouts of sleeping problems. I generally can sleep 4-5 hours with no problems, but thereafter tend to wake up and am unable to sleep from that point. I have a supply of melatonin which I use on occasion. Although I use it only occasionally, it reportedly does take about a week to be effective. I generally use it about half an hour before bedtime, then go to bed as I feel its effects. I tried using it after waking up in the middle of the night, but it then tends to have after effects which make me drowsy for a long portion of the day.

I have talked to others about the use of the herb, valerian, which has some history for use by insomniacs. Its reportedly available at Boots and probably at a number of other pharmacies. According to wikipedia, it has varying levels of effectiveness in individuals and also takes several days before it becomes more effective.

If that doesn't work, drink a bottle of wine and listen to some good jazz!

Try craigslist thailand for a start. You can also list in thaivisa's classified section and a website called bahtsold.com . If you have problems posting, PM me. Good luck!

Here's a list of courts you can check out:

1) Santisuk at Sukhumvit 38--Cheap but very old courts 02-391-1830 (instruction about 300 baht per hour)

2) the Racquet Club at Sukhumvit 49 Membership required

3) Asia Hotel at BTS Rachathewi--1 court 02-217-0808 Reasonably priced but a bit tricky to book

4) Sukhumvit 26, close to Carrefour 02-259-8425 250 baht per hour (Teacher 400 baht/hour)

5) Sunshine Apts at Sukhumvit 38/ SMS Timo, who is the instructor 084-671-8478

That should give you a decent start.

DG,

Tried to send you info for condos for sale close to the BTS Thonglo area by PM, but apparently your account is locked. Send me a PM if you want the info. Comes from an agent with Acute Realty that I contacted recently--prices in the 4 million baht price range.

Is it perfect? No of course it's not, but it ain't half bad for a freebie. I can't believe that the now 1000's of ads on the site all have con artists hiding behind their pages trying to trick potential tenants in taking what's 'NOT' advertised.

Oh well, you can please all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but no one can please all of the people, all of the time.

Aitch (MrRoomfinder's webmaster)

I for one appreciate the website mrroomfinder. There is no other comprehensive listing of rentals available in Bangkok. It gives you a starting point for many reasonably priced apartments and condos in Bangkok. Outside of walking the streets of every neighborhood you are interested in, there is no better alternative to "begin" your apartment/condo search. If there is one such single source, I challenge anyone to list it here. So what if you spent a few minutes calling the listed phone numbers and were unsuccessful. Without mrroomfinder, those of us looking for apartments wouldn't even have a contact number to begin with!

Many thanks to Khun Aitch and the others associated with mrroomfinder for providing such a service to expats in Bangkok! Yes, there is no pleasing some people. Some are harder to please than others: they want personally tailored services but want everything free!

Dear Mod

A teaching forum that tolerates bad grammar and vocabulary from a native speaker!

I would have expected that attitude on a general forum but surely the expectations here are set somewhat higher?

Especially considering that most of the contributers/readers have an interest/involvement in teaching English.

Wow, criticizing a native speaker in his own country for wanting to learn a foreign language. You are certainly not the inspiring teacher type he is looking for! Try again when you remove that stick from your -rse!!!

I noticed today that the security guards on the platform level have been reinvigorated in their efforts to keep everyone away from the yellow line. There was also some announcement in Thai (didn't catch it all) about not falling on the tracks)

Since the morning after the accident, I've noticed that very few people stand close to the yellow line anymore. Those that did were generally farang, who may not have heard the news about the accident. Since then, I've also noticed less people blocking those exiting from the skytrain as well.

Hope that she recovers quickly! Kudos to the security for apparently taking quick action to prevent further injury!

In general, especially during rush hours, few people observe the rules including foreigners. I'm used to getting off the train and having thai people block the way but recently, I've seen a lot of farang blocking exit from the trains. Seems like the every man for himself instinct is taking over nowadays! If that's the case, look for more incidents and injuries to follow...

I am a Cowboy fan. On the other thread, last week, someone predicted the Chargers would beat the Cowboys in the SB. I commented at that time that the Cowboys would not be in the SB. My reasons were that the Cowboys do not have a field goal kicker and on offense, they play 10 players while everyone else is allowed 11 players.

Sorry to see your Cowboys lose to the Vikings. That game was surprisingly one sided especially after the Cowboys won so convincingly last week against the Eagles. At least they broke the playoff losing streak.

Indy got a big break with the Jets big upset over the Chargers, who looked like the team to beat in the AFC. The Chargers looked good in the first half and the Jets kept in the game by not making any big mistakes. It was a great team win for them but I doubt they can pull it out against the Colts. I like New Orleans over Indy in the SB, hopefully in a high scoring but close game.

Found this recipe for Burmese Prawn Curry on a website called chow.com . Don't know if you are still interested but there's a great video on how to prepare this recipe, step by step:

http://www.chow.com/stories/11510

They also have a few other recipes in the website, if you browse around.

Was he possibly asking you for help with an English word, using a thai pronounciation? It would make sense that he would ask a thai person if it was a thai word and a farang regarding the translation of an english word.

If Mauiguy is right then "dang it" maybe?

I was thinking more like 'target' or 'tangent' but 'dang it' has a better twang to it. I'd go with that.

Was he possibly asking you for help with an English word, using a thai pronounciation? It would make sense that he would ask a thai person if it was a thai word and a farang regarding the translation of an english word.

If you want a new condo, or even something 5 years old or less, in the Phrom Phong/Thonglo area close to the BTS, you will pay no less than 80K per sq. meter and probably closer to 100K per sq. meter. For 5 million baht, that means you will be getting a condo of 50 sq. meters, possibly 60 sq meters(further away from BTS). Generally that means a 1 bedroom condo shell, which will not get you 40k per month, unless your place has an outstanding view and luxuriously decorate yourself for another 1 million baht or so.

Looking at your investment from another angle, if you want a 40K return from a 5 million baht investment, you are essentially looking for a 10% return on your investment. Realistically, most real estate people will tell you that you can expect a return of 5-7% on your investment. Essentially with a 7% return (not including maintenance fees and other costs, assuming your condo is never empty), you can expect to get 30K in rent per month. If you do want more bang for your buck, you might consider an older condo which will give you a larger condo for the same amount of money, then plush it up.

Finally, there are very few condo projects close to the BTS Phrom Phong/Thonglo that are about 5 years old. Most are newly built or are in the process of being built. One of the few that I know of which is about 5 years or so old is Citismart condo on Sukhumvit 18. There are also a couple of smaller projects around like 38 Plus in the Thonglo area.

Unless there is a huge economic crisis like that of 1997, don't expect prices to seriously drop. The thai real estate market is unfortunately, quite resistant to price changes, even though the economy right now sucks!

Premier Inn used to be a long term favourite of mine.

Some rooms have a bit of a smell from the toilet though.

Rates include breakfast.

Staff are very nice.

There was no wifi when I last used the place about 1 to 1.5 years ago

Like I said, Premier Inn is nothing fancy but it is safe and at a decent location, with a good core of regulars who "generally" are sociable enough to help newbees out. Although they may not have had wi-fi the last time you were there, there is wi-fi now. Some rooms are definitely better than others.

You can try the following places:

1) River Court at Sukhumvit 41--Smaller rooms available for about 7000+ baht; larger ones from 10,000 baht. Older building, wi-fi, very small swimming pool, close to BTS Phrom Phong and Top's supermarket. Lots of Japanese nationals stay there.

2) SK Mansion located between Suk 38 and 40, close to the BTS station at Thonglo. Rooms available from about 7000 baht(smaller ones) and up. Also Sutti Mansion located right below the BTS Thonglo station, with rooms starting around 10,000 baht.

3) Sitara Place, located by MRT at the Thai Cultural Center. Marketed by Easy Homes and mrroomfinder.com. Look for details on their website. They have a fitness room and tuk tuk service to the MRT.

4) Lots of rentals by BTS Onnut including the Link, Regent Home Sukhumvit 85, Lumphini Place and others. Fairly new units and most of the newer ones have a pool and/or fitness rooms. Prices start from about 10,000 baht.

Check mrroomfinder.com for specific rental information on the Onnut places as most of these are condos with individual owners.

You can get a monthly rate of about 17-18K at the Premier Inn(02-261-0401) at Sukhumvit 20, which is about 250 meters from the beginning of the soi on the left hand side. Friends of mine stay there regularly at this rate. Pretty sure they don't charge a deposit. Heard they've dropped the daily rate to 800 baht a nite for the rooms in the back(no windows). Not a fancy hotel but you can get UBC there for another 1000 baht and its a safe area, although there is traffic there due to construction (lots of big trucks during the day). Tell them you know Herb (friend of mine who is in LA right now). If you intend to drop his name, PM me first so I can introduce you to another friend there.

If you are willing to go to Thonglo (Sukhumvit 38), there are a couple places closeby to the BTS station that I know of. One place, SK Mansion, charges about 7000 baht per month, altho they will ask for a deposit of 2 months.

Also at Sukhumvit 41, there is a place called River Court(02-662-4485/89), which has small units starting from 7500 baht per month; larger ones from 10,000 baht per month. From what I recall, they charge one month's deposit. They may charge a bit more for shorter stays but this is a nice quiet area, closeby to a small Top's supermarket, BTS Phrom Phong and also the Emporium Shopping Center. PM me if you want me to meet you there and help as they mainly speak thai there.

That I know of, all of these places have wi-fi.

Sukhumvit Plus area is a safe neighborhood. The only problem is noise and traffic. Never attempt to cross Rama 4 at the pedestrian crossing. Using Sukhumvit overpass may add a couple minutes walktime to BTS but much safer.

Agree that the area is safe. Crossing the road at the Sukhumvit junction can be a bit difficult but further down the road about 200 meters, is fine. There is always a traffic jam at the intersection so crossing Rama IV by the 7-11 is not that difficult, although you may have to wait a bit if traffic is flowing. I would of course, recommend taking a unit facing away from the roadway.

The area is also conveniently located between two sets of Carrefour and Lotus, at Rama IV and at Onnut. Regular buses in either the Sukhumvit or Rama IV roads take you to Lotus/Carrefour. Buses can also take you quite easily to Lumpini, Silom, or Sathorn on Rama IV or Klongtoey fresh market (for the cheapest and freshest seafood).

Sharapova 'practises' to make merit

Being the world's tennis No 1 and having a Grand Slam trophy is not new for cover girl Maria Sharapova - she has won three trophies - but making merit in the Thai way has been a totally new experience for the young Russian.

"I was looking forward to it. It's a new cultural experience for me. I'd been practising in my room last night to make sure that I would do it properly,'' said the 22-year-old, who leaves for Hong Kong today for another exhibition match.

For her part, Williams, after some training, was on a mission yesterday: to test her bargaining skills against local vendors. According to officials, she had learned a few Thai words from them and was looking for an indigenous meal.

-- The Nation 2010-01-04

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Nice to see that Sharapova got into thai traditions while she was here in Thailand. Even if she never wins another tournament, she will be a megastar the rest of her life.

Venus Williams is #1 in my book. Unlike other tennis stars who have committed to play in Thailand tennis tournaments and then backed out never to show their faces again(Nadal, Federer, Roddick to name a few), Venus played in the Bangkok Open in a bug infested little tennis complex in the boonies without complaint. She played to crowds of no more of 300-400 people maximum and could easily have begged out, like so many of her fellow "pros". However, she played hard with no complaints even when many cheered against her and those that did called her "Wee-Nutt, Wee-Nutt". Those few expats that also saw her play (no more than 5 or so per match) know what I am talking about. Fortunately for us, she apparently likes Thailand. She probably encouraged Sharapova to come as well.

I for one appreciate that they bother to come, when they could choose to spend their holiday and off season time many other ways. Don't think that any of them deserve to be ridiculed when they come all this way to play a meaningless exhibition match. You can choose to do so, but then don't expect them to show up next time!

Not my favorite hotel, but Asia Hotel has its own skybridge to the BTS station at Rathjathevi. Its closeby to Panthip IT center and actually walking distance to MBK and the Siam Center/Paragon, etc. You should be able to get a reasonable price off agoda.com .

There is also an MRT subway stop at Samyan station closeby as well, which has a couple older hotels fairly closeby at the intersection of Rama IV, but don't know their names offhand.

Just wanted to add that the Sasha Uno Hotel at Sukhumvit 19 is closeby to the BTS at Asoke and the MRT subway station. Agoda has them priced about 1700 baht.

On the basic side, the Florida Hotel is next to the Phyathai BTS station.

Not my favorite hotel, but Asia Hotel has its own skybridge to the BTS station at Rathjathevi. Its closeby to Panthip IT center and actually walking distance to MBK and the Siam Center/Paragon, etc. You should be able to get a reasonable price off agoda.com .

There is also an MRT subway stop at Samyan station closeby as well, which has a couple older hotels fairly closeby at the intersection of Rama IV, but don't know their names offhand.

The Windsor Hotel has both a sauna & steam room in its Clark Hatch fitness club on the 14th floor. You can sign up for a year's membership for about 9000/10,000 baht or buy single use passes for 300 baht apiece. It includes use of the gym equipment and fitness classes. The hotel is located on Sukhumvit 20 (also back entrance Suk 18). PM me if you want more info.

Lots of "sibling" rivalry here on TV, especially when it comes to "real football".

Got Lost, thanks for the info on the Rose Bowl.

Happy New Year's to all!

California's glory days as a public education haven ended in 1978 when proposition 13 was enacted. Although Californian's may not be aware of it, in recent years surprisingly Hawaii compared favorably with California when comparative national tests(not saying they are good, just comparable). They have similar minority educational problems, with California having a high Spanish Mexican population and Hawaii having a large Polynesian (20%+) population including Samoans, Tongans, Marshallese and of course Hawaiians. There is also an exceedingly large percentage of immigrant Asian presence, which exceeds that of any state in the union. Consequently the number of ESL(English as a second language) students are proportionally high.

In general, good public education in Hawaii depends on your geographical location. If you live in the middle/upper class urban neighborhoods, then test scores are extremely competitive. If you live in the lower socio-economic areas, where most of the non English speakers live, then educational results are poor. The educational system is a one state system, so teachers can transfer from any school of their choosing, dependent on selection by the individual administrative staff. Individual schools do not have budget limits on teacher salaries so the schools in the most desirable areas can hire a staff with the best trained, qualified and experienced staff without thinking twice about how much it costs. Consequently, the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.

If you want a good education for your kids in Hawaii, you do need to either live in a desirable area such as Manoa or East Honolulu. That means you need to either pay higher rent or buy property in those areas, unless you have people you can live with in those areas. Makiki is kind of a happy medium but there are less desirable populations in that area as well.

Despite some problems, Hawaii is still a great place to live and most people are very friendly. If you an accident or have a serious problem, someone will be there to help. That's the way things are done there--there is an aloha spirit there, especially for those who are looking to extend it as well as receive it. For those that have any easy smile and look to help others, Hawaii is the place for you. Those not so generous in spirit, will not find hospitality anyplace they live...

I checked the online schedule for True Visions. The Gator Bowl is scheduled for 1 am on January 2nd. I assume that is the right game. I tried searching under Florida State unsuccessfully but then did a general search of the ASN schedule and the Gator Bowl showed up. Have fun watching!

Just a note that they are apparently changing the channel configurations for ASN from Channel 40 to Channel 108. If you are going to record it, you might consider tuning in first rather than doing an automatic recording--from the sounds of it, you don't want to miss this game!

FYI There is also a FSU basketball game against GT on ASN scheduled on Jan 25th at 12 am.