borracho

Mae Salong has nice weather and a well established population of expats. You would need to learn Mandarin though.

I suppose starting threads like this are good for getting your post count up!

No fresh chicken at tops! You go there only for imported items unavailable other places.

Carrefour is pretty good for all a round shopping. Their vegetable and meats may leave a bit to be desired.

The open air market behind has great selection.

The Deli on 200 pee rd has a good variety of fresh sausage, meats, and wines at prices much cheaper than Carrefour.

I second the Honda 125i wave recommendation. It's an excellent machine.

I see this thread really earns it's 5 star rating. 55555555555555555555555555555

There are times when 40-50 tip is appropriate and times when a 500-1000 baht is appropriate.

When you consider getting a massage in farangland starts from 1500 baht an hour and goes up all the above scenarios are bargains regardless of how much you tip.

So your "taking the piss" meter needs re-calibration!

Do you also pay 70 baht for a can of coke while in Thailand? That seems to be your logic.

I'll bet those massage girls laugh till their guts hurt when you leave the shop.

I bet they're very appreciative and give him a nice smile when he goes in

I don't tip just for the sake of tipping. I clearly stated how I tip according to level of treatment and service.

If a lady is exceptional and knows an exotic massage technique then she is worthy of a significant tip.

It's not like buying a can of soda!!

What part of that is so difficult to grasp?

The only caveat about the link I provided is you should buy a minimum of $20. I first bought a $5.00 one and found that when it get down to less than half left it won't let you call. You need a certain minimum to call.

And occasionally the 800 number would be difficult to connect. But for 3 cents a minute it's hard to beat.

Next time I might try Jimjim's link!

This is getting really strange!

Where did I say anything about a problem with crowds (which weren't there, incidentally)?

How do meter taxis fit into this discussion?

Finally, when you accuse someone of having a chip on their shoulder and imply that they rub people the wrong way, that's a personal attack, duh.

As it seems you have nothing valid to add to this discussion, I won't bother checking back on this thread.

Adios and try to chill a little, borracho.

Thanks Pattyboy

Yes you did a good job making my point through misinterpreting my posts.

BTW seven is a lucky number? Do you know why?

The puter is was fiddling with was set up like that. But somehow the owner got it infested.

I added firefox and a spyware de-lousing program. It works now without having to dump everything.

Firefox is the only browser to use with windows it seems.

I think the guys selling the Acer laptops in bigC aren't installing licensed windows.

My personal solution is to use a Mac for internet.

The computer I cleaned up the other day had 33 viruses. Some of them really nasty ones which left vestiges of their existence imbedded in microsoft apps like IE and Word.

I think you'd have to erase the hardrive and reinstall everything to truly fix it.

If I was on a really tight budget where I had to use an inexpensive PC I'd partition the hardrive and learn how to run Linux on one side and a bootleg XP on the other.

It's easier to use a Mac.

I don't think any budget computer bought in Thailand come with a licensed operating system. If you later on find that some driver or option was not installed, or your computer won't start-up (bound to happen), then you have to go back to the shop (or you nearest computer shop) and pay the usual 500 baht to have the problem sorted.

Tip.... I've found the big spares shop at the end of Big C's basement by far the cheapest place in town for any computer repairs. They even stick a bar code on the repaired computer, making future visits a breeze as they scan the code and can see the repair history etc.

Nor true, another pal just bought a cheap/new toshiba and it had a properly licensed copy of vista. Terrible OS BTW! I hate XP but vista reeks.

seems like ya'll need glasses or remedial reading classes. Or is it just ADD.

I'd rather sweep up a few little lizard turds than have buzzing buggies!

thanks alot!

once again, is there any card u recommand where i can buy from a convienience store like 7-11????

Seems more convenient to buy on the internet and get .03 cents a minute. From the 7/11 you will be paying $1.00 or more a minute.

Which is more convenient?

Tipping is important in these venues.

These ladies work very long hours and are usually supporting sizable families.

The ladies who work thai and foot massage normally make a 40-50% commission of the massage price.

For a 250 baht foot massage a 50 baht tip is adequate, 100 baht tip isn't too much.

For a good Thai massage a 100 baht tip per hour is always appreciated.

For a very good 2 hour oil massage a 500 baht tip isn't excessive.

I see a lady in Patong who knows some special chinese massage techniques similar to some massage offered at the Tao-Garden in Chiang Mai. I tip her 1000 baht for a 2 1/2 hour massage!

I'm not sure if my "taking the piss" meter has been miscalibrated. Are you serious? Then you do have a proper nickname. If you were having us on, apologies.

Did you miss the words "very good massage". I think it is sound policy to tip a masseuse well when you receive exemplary treatments.

There are times when 40-50 tip is appropriate and times when a 500-1000 baht is appropriate.

When you consider getting a massage in farangland starts from 1500 baht an hour and goes up all the above scenarios are bargains regardless of how much you tip.

So your "taking the piss" meter needs re-calibration!

I don't this guy major problem was price or frienliness in phuket. What i think is, the guy has attachement with city life and nothing in common with islands, beachs....

Remember i hated phuket when i came here ( that's why my nick is BKKDUDE) first time, nothing to do, except going to beach (couldn't even swim well) and bangla road chasing girls late evening.

After i learned riding bikes ....become a pro diver.....fresh air fresh food.....made friends here.....going around phuket town....shopping malls and hypermarkets .....i found enviroment big enough not to miss city life or get bored easily. Even i ejony BKK, but i think i have more reasons to be in phuket for now.

I live in Patong and find people generally very friendly. Notable exceptions being rare unpleasant encounters with tuktuk drivers, motorbike taxi drivers or over caffeinated

minibus drivers. And the minibus scam at the airport. (in the 4 years I've lived here I can only count such encounters on one hand)

But as a rule I find people here no less friendly than other parts of the country.

Now from personal experience I do know how the time around Christmas can wind people up a bit with the heavy traffic and crowded streets.

I can see how a demanding farang might receive curt treatment.

While trying to de-louse a friends cheapo acer laptop I noticed it had been loaded with an unlicensed copy of windows which complicated the debugging and limits it's use. I couldn't upload some updates. Which means it will have to go back to the people who loaded the copy of windows. PITA!

Tipping is important in these venues.

These ladies work very long hours and are usually supporting sizable families.

The ladies who work thai and foot massage normally make a 40-50% commission of the massage price.

For a 250 baht foot massage a 50 baht tip is adequate, 100 baht tip isn't too much.

For a good Thai massage a 100 baht tip per hour is always appreciated.

For a very good 2 hour oil massage a 500 baht tip isn't excessive.

I see a lady in Patong who knows some special chinese massage techniques similar to some massage offered at the Tao-Garden in Chiang Mai. I tip her 1000 baht for a 2 1/2 hour massage!

offensive comments have been deleted. Please keep it on topic.

gayness and pedophilia are not the same. i suggest you buy a dictionary.

I guess you've never heard of <reference deleted by mods>

Also for those complaining about high prices haven't shopped around.

The Whitesands resorthotel in Patong is offering rooms for 500 baht. It's a nice new hotel.

You can buy rambutan at the markets for 5 baht a kilo. But if you buy from a street vendor they're 20 baht a kilo! BOOHOO!

If you're not smart enough to shop around don't complain!

Especially for those of us who have lived here "for 7 years"!

Pattyboy comes off like he's got a chip on his shoulder. For what reason is is anyones guess.

People like that often rub others the wrong way and have unfortunate experiences.

Phuket while catering to wide range of farang trade is still friendly and welcoming.

It about attitude. Having fun is about attitude.

Thai people are inherently about having fun.

Phuket isn't that different apart from the obvious scams which are easy to ignore and avoid.

Like all the loud and obnoxious farang tits in Pattaya, they are easy to ignore and avoid.

It you act like a tit you will get either ignored or treated like a tit.

Wherever you go there you are!

No borracho, I don't have a chip on my shoulder. I'm simply stating an observation. Like I said, I've lived in Thailand for over 7 years, and I have traveled here extensively, experiencing lots of happy times and great holidays around this country that I can use compare to that December trip to Phuket. I didn't leave Phuket feeling anger, and I tried to justify the unfriendliness to myself and my brother (who had never been to Thailand before) by speculating that perhaps the people are still feeling the effect of the tsunami. If anything, I felt sorry for these unfriendly people who appeared to be so obsessed with making money that it dominated their very essence. We went to Phuket full of optimism and in a typically good holiday mood, but encountered a string of sour souls who truly dampened our spirits. My brother easily noticed the difference in the attitudes of people once we started to travel around other areas of the country.

By the way, I would gently advise that making personal attacks ("has a chip on his shoulder...People like that often rub others the wrong way...all the loud and obnoxious farang tits in Pattaya") doesn't help your credibility. Perhaps a well worded and thoughtful rebuttal will carry more weight in the future. I noticed that other forum members also found your post to be an unfortunate one. Jai yen, my fellow forum user.

I made no personal "attack" on you!

I made some simple observations based on this venomous tirade:

After my last experience in Phuket, I'll never go back again, and I don't hesitate to tell people my poor impression of the place when asked. After all, word of mouth advertising is very powerful, and if too many people leave the island with the same bad memories, word will spread and Phuket's tourism industry is (deservedly) headed for a nasty fall.

Also choosing to go to a place like Phuket at Christmas time when you know the place will be packed shows questionable judgement especially for someone who has "lived" in Thailand for SEVEN YEARS!

You should know the good places to go during the busiest times of year.

I would never recommend Phuket during that time of year unless you wanted to deal with some serious hustle and bustle.

You've never run into the annoying metertaxi guys in BKK who won't use their meter for a Farang??? What do you do? Cry about it? Or do you simply move on to another one who uses his meter?

Attitude and choices, that's what it's about.

^My sentiment as well! :D

^^Oh dear does that mean I'm to get another holiday?

never assume, it makes an ass out of you and me

Guess u arrive when the party is over ?

Excellent assumption!