eyebee

Thanks for all the help guys. It's the Galaxy GT-I9100. And no, I don't have an internet package on the phone - I thought I could get by using free WiFi. I'm gonna have to check out the other packages on AIS. Thanks once again for quick replies.

I bought a Samsung Galaxy S2 at Tukcom in Pattaya yesterday (18,500 baht). So far very pleased with it, but it keeps leaking money! Let me explain, I'm on pre-pay 1-2-Call, and with my previous phone, I just had to top it up every couple of months or so (300 baht). But the Galaxy seems to be taking money away every minute, sometimes up to 50 baht an hour. I've tried turning all the networks off, but to no avail. The only thing that stops the money going is "Flight Mode", but with that you can't receive or make any calls!

Anyone got any idea of what's going on?

The Nationwide International offshoot in the IOM, and no doubt other offshore banks, allow you to open an account from Thailand, and transfer funds electronically to a Thai bank. Just wish they would let me have an ATM card, so I could draw funds in the UK.

I have an account with Lloyds Offshore in the IoM, no interest, but I do have an ATM card from them. They send a new one by DHL when the old one expires - costs 30 quid though. What I do is have my Local Government pension paid into my British onshore bank (Barclays), stick it in an interest bearing account, then transfer (for free) to the IoM bank when I need to bring money over to Thailand, then phone the IoM bank asking them to transfer the money. It costs a lot less than the Barclays rate, and as it is an offshore branch, they know what they are doing as they probably transfer money overseas several times a day. Takes 2 or 3 days to get to my Thai account.

Friday 15th July is Asarna Bucha Day, and Saturday 16th July is Khao Pansaa. Bars will be shut on both days and you won't be able to buy alcohol from 7-11s or Family Marts. There may be some bars open discreetly (no lights and no music), but that's not my idea of fun. Best to stock up the day before and get a few DVDs, or invite some friends over...

Tonight Walking Street will be open and serving alcohol (according to a bar manager that I know). Seems that the local election doesn't cover South Pattaya at least. And with the current food festival on all the way down Beach Road, it would seem that it doesn't affect North and Central Pattaya either. How can you have a food festival without booze?

I like the wines from Siam Winery. They produce Mont Clair from South African grapes and Peter Vassa from Californian. A 70 cl bottle costs around 299 baht. The Vassa Cabernet Sauvignon is particularly good. I think the way they get around the high taxes is by importing the grapes (which attract a lower tax rate) and then make the wine in Thailand. I've bought them from Big C and Villa, so not hard to find.

Give them a try, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

The only people who can possibly believe that Suvarnabhumi is the correct spelling for Suwannapoom, has no ideas of the Rules of READING and Pronunciation in the English language...

CS

Actually the spelling Suvarnabhumi tries to show the Thai spelling, as well as indicating the way to say it. If you realise that all Vs are pronounced as a W, The B sound and P sound are almost indistinguishable (in fact the sound ir somewhere between the two) and that the final I is not prounounced in Thai (much like the final A is not pronounced in Singha), then you come to the right pronunciation.

One other problem is that native English speakers from different parts of the world (or different parts of the UK) often pronounce their vowels differently. Think of the northern British "bath" as opposed to the southern British (northern A as in bat, southern as in are). The open and closed sounds of the letter U in words like "bus" (northern as in foot, southern as in putt). Then there is the difference between the US and UK versions of the short O as in "got" (to me the US pronunciation sounds more like "gart"). With all these, and several other differences, it's almost impossible to create a satisfactory method of transliteration.

I have seen many different spellings of the word Tilac/Tirac/Teerak/Teeruk/Tilak/Tirak/Teelak/Teerak. God it gets so difficult...

However, as from today, it closes at 1am. Can't be doing that well...

Try joining a quiz team. There are a number of quiz nights here in Pattaya, and several in Bangkok too. All the guys I know in the quiz teams are knowledgeable, intelligent, and enjoy a good conversation. We may not always agree on things, but it's always friendly. Quizzes also help mental stimulation and help stave off Alzheimer's! (or so I'm told).

After the quiz finishes we often discuss world and local politics, sport, history, religion, music and the price of beer! And it's often fun to discuss things with someone who has a totally different world-view to your own.

Is the coffee cup trick still working, or did the BiB caught on to that ?

Ther BiB know everything that goes on in every bar. They can choose to look the other way or not. Up to them!

I'm not an expert on all the steak houses in Pattaya.

However, I usually go to Beefeater on Soi Diana. Great steaks from Australia.

It's pretty much across the arcade street from Bighorn.

just acros beefeater patricks resto belguim

Also in the same soi you will find My Way, a Dutch/Indonesian restaurant. Great fillet steaks, the knife just slides through them. Also great nasi goreng with satay. Not cheap, but not expensive either. Closed every Friday (maybe an Indoesian Muslim thing) and throughout June, so will reopen on Friday.

Most of the bars on Walking Street were open and selling alcohol by 10pm on Sunday. I imagine it will be the same next weekend.

Are there any sites where one can download movies and TV series like all these sites and save to thumb drive and watch on TV?

Try http://www.thepiratebay.com

With a "resident" account you get interest, with a "non-resident" account, you don't. It's that simple. To qualify for a "resident" account you need a Non-Immigrant visa, or other long stay visa. If you only have a tourist visa or a 30 day waiver, you can only open a "non-resident" account. However not all banks will offer a "non-resident" account, you may have to shop around.

Yes, the 15th and 16th July are both dry days, though if Samui is anything like Pattaya, you should be able to get drink somewhere. And don't forget that this weekend (25th and 26th June) and next weekend (2nd and 3rd July), are dry as well because of the elections. Expect these to be enforced strictly. Bars may be able to open around 9 or 10 on the Sundays of both weeks.

Just read this in the Pattaya Mail: Pattaya voters will choose new city council members for zones 2 and 3 in a special city election July 10.

Does anyone know what areas zones 2 and 3 cover, and if it will mean bar closures? If so that means 4 weekends in a row that the bars will be closed!

There is a new bank on Beach Road, CIMB Thai, just outside View Talay 10. By the ATM machine there is a large sign in English saying it offers free ATM withrawals across the region. As CIMB is a Malaysian Bank, it would seem that it is not bound by the Thai Banks' cartel of charging 150 baht for using a foreign ATM cardl. However it only takes Visa cards (not Mastercard). I haven't tried it myself (as I have a Thai bank account), but felt this would be useful information for those that do use ATMs with a foreign card.

Has anyone used this bank's ATM, and is it really free as stated? There is also another ATM (attached to an exchange booth) in soi Buakhaow.

And the bars will be closed on the 15th and the 16th (but not on the 18th).

For Thai food I would recommend Somsakdi's restaurant on soi 1. Quite popular but not too busy. It's open to the outside, but with a large roof over it, kind of like a large sala. Great food last time I was there and my British visitors loved it. Also for those who are a bit more adventurous, how about any of the street stalls or restaurants on soi 15, off Walking Street? Eat with the gogo girls and other sundry Thais and farangs. Great food at great prices too! Steer clear of the Nam Plaa, though, it will blow your head off!

How does fish sauce blow your head off

He probably meant nam pla prik which I guess you could consider spicy if you're not used to Thai food.

I guessed that Phil, just being facetious as I hate it when people try to show off their Thai skills on here and get the meaning completely wrong

Of course I meant Nam Plaa, prick.

For Thai food I would recommend Somsakdi's restaurant on soi 1. Quite popular but not too busy. It's open to the outside, but with a large roof over it, kind of like a large sala. Great food last time I was there and my British visitors loved it. Also for those who are a bit more adventurous, how about any of the street stalls or restaurants on soi 15, off Walking Street? Eat with the gogo girls and other sundry Thais and farangs. Great food at great prices too! Steer clear of the Nam Plaa, though, it will blow your head off!

My results today:

Weird that Palo Alto is much faster than Bangkok!

To answer the OP's question. By law, alcohol is not allowed to be sold from 6pm on the day before the election and the whole of the elction day (until midnight). So if the law is to be interpreted strictly, alcohol will not be served from 6pm on Friday 24th June until midnight on Sunday 26th June (as "pre-elections" are taking place on the 25th and 26th), and again from 6pm on Saturday 2nd July until midnight on Sunday 3rd July. However, in the past most bars have been allowed to open from about 10pm on the Sunday, as voting finishes at 8pm. And don't forget that Friday 15th July is Asarna Bucha Day and Saturday 16th July is Khao Phansa, and bars will be shut on both of those days as well.

TOT now has a promotion of 6Mb for 390 baht a month for the first 2 months, and 590 baht thereafter. No set-up charges. I went to their office yesterday to be told that it is not available in my area (I live at Markland on the corner of soi 1 and Beach Road)! They said they could upgrade me to 3Mb for 390 baht for the first 2 months, and 490 thereafter. As I was paying 490 for 2Mb, this seemed a good deal. I checked today and am getting 3Mb from Bangkok, Taiwan, Tokyo and California. So all is well. As others have said, though, there is an extra 100 baht for line rental, plus VAT. So the true cost comes to about 630 baht per month.

Dol-air, doh-lae, tolair (the same word but transliterated differently) roughly means the same as "bullsh*t"