Palace

i've always frequented several German restos in BKK and i seriously miss a good bratwurst platter one of these days. i know bei otto has a branch here but it's only a small diner, they don't serve the whole menu like the one in Sukhumvit, BKK.

The typhoon-prone Philippines was the site of the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster when the ferry MV Dona Paz sank in 1987, killing more than 4,341 people.

--AP 2008-06-23

yeah, sad news from home.

incidentally, the owner of this distressed ship (Sulpicio Lines) was also the owner of that ill-fated ship which sank in 1987. this company have a long list of maritime disasters in RP. the M/V Dona Paz tragedy is a case of bad communication b/w sea crafts leading to a disastrous collision worsened by overloading. the former is a passenger liner with capacity of 1,500 filled up the brim up to an estimated 4,300+ and the other craft involved was an oil tanker. the collision ignited the gasoline cargo of the tanker and consumed the liner, sinking it.

in fairness though, the ship in the news this time was a fairly new one, only delivered 4 years ago and the company's flagship and biggest in its fleet, with capacity in excess of 2k+ while actual passengers on board during the accident was only around 700+.

the ship stalled after developing problems with its engines and was eventually buffeted by high waves, turning it upside down. latest pictures from news sites show the boat's belly still visible and floating, so there is a chance of survivors under it (ever seen the Poseidon movie?).

initially to blame here (according to news reports) is Phil Coast Guard for not trying hard enough to keep the ship from sailing despite a raging typhoon/cyclone/hurricane approaching central philippines at that time.

i had a year-old xbox which got RROD'd last Christmas.

i would have wanted to get a new XBOX again but i can't live with the fear of spending that much again expecting the product to conk out in a year. a year ago i would never consider PS3 due to the lack of games. but now, things have changed, so, two months ago i got a new PS3.

the only setback for me is the games are very expensive. prior to PS3, i've never owned an "original" cd game. PS3 "educated" me on the advantages of an original - reliability and the perks (online features) - and it is worth the extra baht, in my opinion. oh, and you can trade old games also if you grow tired of it.

blu-ray discs are fast increasing in video stores. i just hope it's price will fall just as fast.

KDF, try TukCom in south pattaya. i think one of the stores there has it.

you can save an image of a DVD as and ISO file. the software in that gadget can read it and will show it in the original resolution of the DVD.

if you want HDMI, get the premium model. it's gonna cost you more though.

Ok, never mind. I didn't realize there's a ton of complaints here about this already.

Tried the "&fmt" crack thing, it worked perfectly.

Thanks anyway.

I haven't used YT for a while now (about more than a month). But when I tried one of the links somebody sent me today, it came with a message that the vid is no longer available. Curious, I went directly to the youtube website and tried one of the more popular videos there (the ones on the front page). I came across the same message, "Sorry, this video is no longer available".

Is there a ban in effect right now? I remember last year the whole of Thailand has no access to YT but at that time, at least you get that freaky "eye" image along with a message from the Ministry of Information.

Is this affecting ToT only? I'm in Pattaya and subscribed on ToT 1MB aDSL.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

I currently have a Thai drivers licence which is up for RENEWAL next month, there's a few areas which I wish to tidy up before then : 1. What is the proper day to reapply ( the expiry date or the day after)

2. Do I need a certified letter from my embassy or as we own our own home is our house book sufficient.

3. Do I need a doctor certificate for a renewal.

4. Do I have to apply for the renewal at the same office where my original licence was processed.

5. Do I need to do the colour blind test etc again.

If anyone can help me from recent applications I'd be more than grateful for their advice. Thanks.

ok, i can answer all except # 2. no clue on that.

#1 : you can re-apply on the day of the expiry or any day AFTER that. i learned about this because i tried to renew my license last week of November last year although my card will be expiring first week of Dec. the official on duty said i should come back when my license expires.

#3 : Yes.

#4 : No. My 1-year license was issued by the office near Chatuchak Park while the 5-Yr renewal was issued by the office in Rayong. No questions asked.

#5 : No.

Regarding Dave's comment above. I don't know if all transport offices are issuing a standard card but my license ID card shows all information in both English and Thai characters. For the Driver details, there's two boxes - one for Thai and below that for English.

actually, this is something "new" in RP.

there have been bloody bank robberies in the past but only because the guards tried to fight back, or some customers/employees got hit in the crossfire or at worst, guards were neutralized at the outset to mitigate risk of resistance.

but this is the first time something like this happened ever in philippine soil. the 10 people were killed execution-style, with a bullet in the head at point blank range.

this must be the work of a psycho group. something the world all over is not lacking of.

i've never had problems with my Truevision bills in bangkok for 1.5 years.

i did have problems when i moved to pattaya. i've been here for almost 5 months now and i have only been sent a bill once. i've been paying UBC via my bank's online system so I just enrolled the new account and pay a fixed rate monthly (based on the monthly rate i applied for). the one time i got the bill, i learned that i have a minimal balance because of some adjustments.

i have the Playtime HV0102 (see this link)

i got it from Panthip at about THB3.5k then mated it with a 500GB Samsung 3.5" HDD.

it plays most video formats (DivX, mp4, wmv etc), even plays DVD image files (ISO format), most audio formats (mp3, wma, aac3 etc), and picture files (jpeg).

it has 3 video outputs (component, composite and S-video), and 3 audio outputs (analog coaxial, digital optical, and analog RCA).

they have a similar model with Networking capabilities also.

they also have another model with HDMI output, but it's way too pricey for me.

you can also find in panthip or fortune mall some "generic" media players for THB2.5k or less.

i'm a Filipino and i call my gf and family in Phils on a regular basis.

i've given up looking for a cheap card.

i've invested instead in getting my family hooked up on the internet so we can have free unlimited calls (with video) anytime we want.

If he's a British national, he's allowed 21 days without visa. He doesn't have to pay any fees upon entry. He will only pay if he wants to extend his stay for more than the allowed 21 days.

Are you flying straight to Cebu?

Take a look at this website, it may help you with other info :

Philippines Visa FAQ

^i would like that info too. i joined a deep water fishing journey before in the vicinity of the Philippine Deep, and it was one of the most amazing adventures of my life.

Thanks everyone.

Looks like I will have to go via KL or Sing, was rather hoping for a different way to avoid spending a night in one of the 2 places. The Clark flights are very early in the morning so a stay over is certain. Sing (Tiger) departs 09.20, KL (Airasia) departs 07.20.

Bali-Kota Kinabalu-Clark would have been perfect but im a month or so early for that one. Oh well, theres always next time !

try Cebu Pacific. they have midnight flights out of KL or Singapore to Manila (not Clark).

website is www.cebupacificair.com

^checked out the shop near the Villa Market in J Avenue Mall. (ended up stuffing on my grocery and supplies instead)

they have scale models, indeed, but very limited designs.

will try the other suggestion from Guderian

thanks.

^he he, i didn't realize this scam was that big until it made it to thaivisa.

those two fellows should be sent straight to jail.

^thanks for the tip. ok, will check it out this weekend.

i'm a fledgling collector of model airplanes (1:400 scale, die-cast metal or plastic).

i used to buy my wares in Central Plaza and Fortune Mall in BKK.

having moved to Pattaya, where can i go to to sustain this hobby?

thanks.

much thanks to the map recommendations. the digital map posted by monty was excellent, shows exactly where is the Swiss Paradise resto that everyone is talking about. didn't realize there are good places to eat in that area.

i finally saw rhung tip last night. wasn't able to drop by for a meal coz i was already stuffed from a dinner at carrefour.

will look for the pattaya big area map this weekend.

Great places, nice food.

Now, can someone here recommend a good map that has good details especially of streets east of Sukhumvit. I have about half a dozen ones bought from grocery stores and none of them gives good details on the soi's east of the railroad tracks. Most pattaya maps seem to concentrate only on the streets close to the beaches.

I live near the Croc Farm so your suggestions really entice me to go out there and look for these nice places, esp during weekends. All i need is a good map (paper or digital).

Thanks.

if you're talking of a direct flight, right now there's none.

with the announcement of the departure of LH (Lufthansa) from Philippine operations, the only airline now serving the European direct route is KLM. KLM flies B777s daily non stop from Manila to Amsterdam.

other alternative is to get connecting flights to Hongkong, Bangkok or Singapore.

my ex- wife,,,,Anita, a buetiful fun Phil lady came to america 12 or more years ago.

after she got her US citizenship, we divorced, although she stayed in the USA for 9-10-11 years,

has since returned to the PI, married a PHIlippine man and had a baby girl.

now she is having trouble getting a US passport for the baby.

not sure of all the reasons, but if anyone could help with the referral of an attorney in manila to handle her case would be of great help.

Gomper, with your permission, i would like to post your message to an internet message board run by filipino lawyers and paralegals giving free advice to common questions like this.

^Angeles City in Pampanga is home to the old Clark Air Base used by the US Air Force.

Olongapo City in Zambales (which is about 50 kms further west), on the other hand was home to the old Subic Naval Base, used by the US Navy.

Both bases were abandoned sometime in 1990 after the treaty b/w the US and RP expired and the Senate rejected it's extension. A natural disaster - the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo - hastened the departure of the US servicemen.

Since then, both of these places (I mean the old bases) have been converted into an industrial and eco tourism hub. The Clark Air Base has now been converted to an international airport servicing regional budget airlines. The Subic Naval base has been converted into a economic zone with some reserved areas devoted for promoting ecotourism and motorsports.

Thanks to GunnyD and freebird for sharing good experiences in your visits to RP. Sorry about the bad rep the others got.

I think i posted something to another thread about RP. You can't argue much about the crime and the grime in the cities but i would entice would-be tourists who like some kind of adventure to try it. RP is comprised of more than 7000 islands, each one of these is geologically diverse, giving you some breathtaking sceneries not otherwise easily spotted on a place as geologically stable as Thailand. Plus, I can guarantee, the people are more easily approachable because English is like a second language there.

Hope this helps.

was amused reading through the start of this thread. good job on the thread starter.

as an accountant, i've always thought asking for a receipt is an act of every responsible citizen.

1. it gives you an accounting of what you bought or paid service for.

2. it gives the business owner an accounting of the money he earned.

3. and it gives the government an accounting of what the business owner earned and what taxes are rightfully due to the nation's coffers.

be a good citizen. ask for receipt.

i bought one exactly a month ago.

price is B12,900 at the Samsung showroom in Paragon.

got everything i need from a dual sim phone. lets you receive SMS and Call from both SIM in realtime. but you can make outgoing SMS and calls only from one sim. you have to reboot to activate the other sim. rebooting takes around 50 secs. i maintain an AIS sim and a Philippines sim for my inbound SMS from family and friends back home so this works just perfect for me.

only drawback for me is some of the menu progressions were not very "ergonomic". take for example writing a simple text. in most Nokia and Ericsson units, it's as simple as Write Message + Select Recipient + Send. In the D880, there's an extra two step - to check recipient number and save. another minor irritation is though it lets you save outgoing SMS in the "sent items" box, you have to actually decide wether to do it, everytime you write an SMS. kind of inefficient. why not have a setting that lets you default if you want to save outgoing sms.

but overall, this is a good phone. the dual sim capability is what made me decide to buy this. if there's a better "reliable" dual sim brand (ie Nokia or Ericsson or Motorola) , i'd upgrade in a heartbeat.