kasi

I know a good well connected attorney competent with farang business and work permit issues in Phuket town.

There is one main highway going the whole way which is in pretty good condition in most places.

If you get a late start out of bkk Chumpon is a good stopover. There is a decent cheap hotel there.

You can make it to Ranong in 8 hours out of bkk which makes a nice stop at the hot springs.(jansom hot springs resort is nice) Also that road has spectacular scenery so don't drive it at night.

If don't lollygag you can make the entire trip from bkk to htk in 10 hours. But that's only taking 2 short stops.

Heading north Cha Am makes a handy and pleasant stopover.

Nearly every taxi and samlor on bkk runs on cng.

Else where in the country distribution in still spotty.

Advantages are that the fuel is cheap and burns very clean. (engines last longer and require less maintenance)

Disadvantages are reduced range out of a tank of fuel.(you can still run gasoline out of your gasoline tank when you run out)

The cng tank takes up significant space in the trunk of a car like a corolla.

It's a good idea but there are definite inconveniences. Unless you drive a lot the savings wont be significant.

Burger King at the airport gets my vote

Thats it then away to the airport, problem is if I go there from this side I'm not happy!! could put me off the food

You should probably slug down a couple of Heinekens first then slam the double whooper! That usually fixes me up!

Shifting into neutral at stoplights is unnecessary but if it makes your wify happy it's a lot cheaper than buying jewelry!

Idling a turbo diesel before shutdown is SOP!

Now all you have to do is avoid thinking you're driving a Ferrari or a Porsche like 95% of the fortuner drivers out there.

Instead of buying a car there are many monthly rental deals available. PM me if you want a good contact for long term rentals.

Owning a car can be a hassle until you really get on your feet so to speak.

Normally I park my car at the airport of take a meter taxi.

This time I was traveling with a ton of luggage so I decided to try the mini-bus into Patong.

150 baht plus an extra 100 for my bags. Ok.

Once everyone was loaded up, 9 of us, the driver drove like a madman out of the airport and stopped abruptly 500 meters down the road at a tour office.

Two ladies approached the van opened the door and ordered everyone out of the van.

Bear in mind here I had been traveling for the past 60 hours and was in no mood to get hustled.

I saw their game they were attempting to sell their tour packages.

I asked why we had to disembark and the claimed some lame reason that the driver needed to know where we were going. We'd already told the driver were we were going.

I announce to my fellow occupants of the van that these ladies were going to try and sell them tours and if they just wanted to go to Patong and not buy tours, they was no need to disembark.

The ladies freaked and started yelling at me, whereupon I informed them if they didn't get this van moving to Patong I was going to call the tourist police, as I was reaching for my phone.

They adjusted their attitude quickly and we were on our way in about 3 minutes.

The icing on this adventure was it turned out one of the passengers was a thai guy who lived in Phuket town. So we got a 45 minute free tour of phuket town before going to Patong.

I don't think I'll be using the mini-bus again.

What a load of BS!.

The vast majority of Thai women who get HIV get it from their bisexual and/or iv drug using boyfriends.

It's really disingenuous for the NGO missionaries to suggest otherwise.

They love to demonize the farang sex tourist.

It is a significant problem in Thailand and due caution and condom use should be always considered mandatory.

Getting HIV from a normal heterosexual encounter is very rare for men.

Women usually get it from IV drug using boyfriends who have it.

Men usually are exposed from sharing needles or rough anal sex.

If you woke up hung-over the next morning with your underpants around your ankles and covered with blood with a vague recollection of being with some katoeys you might have something to be concerned about. Consider yourself lucky and wear a condom next time.

Get yourself tested again at 6 months. It can take that long for the virus to get you. If you actually get HIV the initial symptoms are like a severe flu.

For the rash you got pick up a tube of "bethasone-n cream"( a mild steroid in a neomycin creme) . Works wonders on the heat rash which many of us suffer from periodically.

Much better deals are available in Phuket:

scooter rental; 125 baht a day.

Beaches are much nicer.

Accommodations more reasonable.

Restaurant staff aren't usually stoned out of their minds like some places in Samui!

Samui you feel really trapped.

Phuket offers a myriad of very good options.

You'd have to pay me to live in Samui.

The best burger I've have so far is at the Fine Thanks restaurant on the tri trang beach near Patong.

Mr Goods in Patong is ok.

Jimmy's Lighthouse in Chalong has a good burger.

The Green man serves a huge "british" style burger.

Phuket town can be a wee bit troublesome at first. But there are many major landmarks and not that many roads.

Kata Karon would seem nearly impossible to get mixed up. There is only one road leading in from the north and two roads from the south. Not very complicated IMHO!

The orientation of Phuket is north south with mountains in the middle. Since the sun is nearly always shinning even a novice navigator shouldn't have too many difficulties. There simply aren't that many roads to keep track of.

Now for real fun try navigation by auto in Bangkok!

At least Phuket has some signs in english pointing to Patong and other prominent landmarks.

You want to bring a dog in illegally......... Get lost !

Down boy!

Like we don't have enough dogs here already!

I hear they feed soi dogs to the crocodiles at the zoo! Good idea!

There are a few threads covering this. Run a couple of searches to find them.

You will probably need to contact a vet in thailand in any case and who can advise specifics about quarantine. I doubt you will get around the quarantine.

Just wanting advice on the latest and greatest party places for a group of lads to visit in the late days of December/early days of January anywhere in Thailand?

No specific type of fun required. Really just wanting to drink, eat and be merry. Mostly single guys that will be looking to socialise with other party goers. Will require daily activities like beaches, pools, jet skis, island trips etc.

Additionally advice on the best place to base ourselves for this party holiday would be appreciated...

Thank you in advance to anyone taking the time to respond.

Patong Beach is a pretty wild party place, that also has all the activities you're desiring.

Book ahead of time for that time of year. New years celebration rocks. Fantastic fireworks.

Plenty of after hours activities as well.

If you're on a budget the Montana hotel can work well as a base.

server glitch

There is nothing wrong with Khun Joy except that she is very busy, hence not always easy to get a hold of.

I use Surasak(076256031) in Phuket town. He's good and has an excellent staff. If you have a real business they're accounting is also excellent. Pretty Painless. They're also good with spurious legal hassles if they come up. A real lawyer in other words.

I wonder how an american and a brit can practice law here! Seems like you'd want a sympathetic native thai.

Thai airways is 3300 each way now(up from 2800). They are the most reliable if you have a connection to make.

There was a 1600bht promotion with one of the others recently.

I like Bangkok airways myself if the schedule is convenient. They fly newer B717 aircraft and have very courteous staff.

I hate the smelly old A320's Thai airways operates.

Go into one of the general purpose dry goods stores that practically litter the highway.

Get the big orange poncho that's made of a heavier plastic. If your feeling cheap just get one of the thin anoraks most of the thai people use.

My 6 and 3 year old children walked in and both spontaneously cried at the sight in front of them.

I hope they get over it.

Otherwise you may need to sequester them for the rest of their lives.(It's a tough world out there!)

I was also wondering if anyone could tell me a)how dificult it is to find a job such as bartending,waitressing, cleaning etc.... and if i would be abe to apply for a work visa with such employment....

Getting a job isn't impossible. Wages for bartender, waitresses, maids range from 5-10K baht a month. Not really liveable for a foreigner.

Lots of opportunities to entrepreneurs but it takes money to make money. It's also very easy to loose your a$$ here.

TEFL isn't a walk in the park either.

Judging from you picture you might find success with a running a private BDSM club. There is a market here. But you would need money, contacts and most importantly experience.

I think there is also a market for "personal concierge" work. But you would need to speak Thai and know your way around.

There are many elderly retirees here that need company/assistance.

Bon chance!

I appreciate that you are a Newbie on this forum so you may find this post interesting

If you regularly look at the CM Forum you will notice that we have pretty regular get togethers and go out for 1 or 10 beers. The last time was just last Sunday when Jockstar came to visit from BK.

Then a couple of months ago there was a Sunday Barbeque , I beleive there is another one planned for early July! Check the forum for details)

So if you want to join in then you would be most welcome..if you dont then you have nothing to complain about.

All but two of my Social Contacts up here were made through TV.Com and I have quite a few guys up here now that I would class as freinds.

People that we "Regular Piss-Artists" have never met before are always made to feel welcome, just ask Diablo Bob who came last Sunday with his lovely family, who had so much in common with Dustoff you would have thought they had been freinds all their lives !!

You get out what you put in.. and that applies to everything in life.

A long time ago there was a guy who was walking down the road when he met a Monk and stopped him to ask "What are the folks like in the next town" To which the Monk replied

"What were they like in the town you have just come from"?

"Oh they were a misserable ,mean spirited ,greedy, lazy and unfreindly bunch of people"

To which the Monk replied "Well you will find that they are pretty much the same in the next town"

10 minutes later the Monk was approached by another Man making the same journey

"Excuse me Sir..but what are the folks like in the next town"

To which the Monk replied "Well what were they like in the town you have just come from"

"Oh they were the most freindly, happy, generous, hard working ougoing bunch of people I have ever met"

"Well" said the Monk "You will find them to be pretty much the same in the next town"

I hope you get my point

Look forward to seeing you some time

TP

Good post, unfortunately probably over the head of the troller who started this thread.

I used to consider a bike like a Yamaha V-Max a big bike. Terrible fuel economy though, worse than most cars.

I ride a 2 year old Wave 125 and consider the honda the CBR150RR a big step up.

I think the CBR150RR would make practical sport cruiser.

I rode a phantom for a few days and found it to vibrate and more buzzy than my wave 125.

I'd rather take a longer ride on my Wave rather than a Phantom.

Harleys are poser rides for the most part. Why spend that kind of money on a harley when the same money could buy the best touring machine built a BMW GS1200. But 950,000.00 baht is a steep entry fee!

Makes the new fuel injected Honda Wave seem like a bargain at 52,000.00

bump

Does anyone know if Toyota will market this car here?

I spoke with a salesman at a dealer here in Phuket and he didn't know what I was talking about!