kosh

both pedang besar and dannok(sadao) are easy runs,just pick up a mimibys at hat yai bus station.If you're into an overnighter and like karaoke bars,massage palours,try dannok,plenty of action.

massage? there is one every 50 meter in lamai, they are enough ......

I used to go to Padang Bessar. Mini bus to the border from Hat Yai

Motorbike Taxis wait to take you through the checkpoints and back again. They will drop you back at the Mini Bus Station in Padang.

They will even stop off at the Duty Free shop if you ask.

Yes that was the big crossing point i went last year. It was night so i did not see any Bike taxi...

So in Hat Yai I need a taxi to a minu bus to sadao-padang bessar and back.

okydoky, anything interesting at Duty Free apart poison stuff (cigarettes and liquors)?

I'll have to do a border run first week of february and after last year organized trip i decided to go solo.

If i start with the 10am ferry, i'll be in Hat Yai at 5/6/7pm. Hotel and next morning taxi to border and back.

Sadao border is very close to Hat Yai but it is high trafficked and the malay side is very far, the taxi cannot follow me.

Is there any border crossing smaller and close to hat Yai?

any suggestion for an hotel apart the usual web sites?

last year i went with an organized tour to Penang and i think they missed every possible connection and boat, minivan never run if not full... if only Firefly would make a visa run flight to Penang once a week!

I'm sorry but a free 1,900 baht tourist visa wouldn't sway me to spend my 100,000 baht holiday money in Thailand,.

The Visa fee is 1,000 Baht.

Yes, 20E per entry.

Real tourist do not need visa so it's a small gift for a minority.

I would have preferred an extension to 3 month, the trip to immigration for the 30 days extension is ridiculous...please make all visa 3 month and add the cost.

Very special situation you mention there the Samui Buri was build only for the purpose to be sold, never intended to be running, owners lost a bundle in the process!

Nice job, why everybody is working so hard to destroy this poor island?

Will they stop when every meter of beach is cemented?

Just in lamai after Grandfather rock, the old park resort was demolished (good idea, the location was terrible) but now there is a Mercure 5/6/7/whatever stars ...

A new Honda Click is 46,000 baht.

Change all plastic costs 2500 baht.

Best post! Now we know to go to bike brand dealer after any small accident....

.

The main problem is that some people who live in Thailand do not want to learn Thai at all. Nobody can teach such a person. With the slightest effort speaking simple Thai is very easy, no need to even attend school as you can pick up simple Thai from Thai people on the street.

Yes, but you neglect to mention the two major impediments to learning ANY foreign language --

1. Advanced age

2. Being American

Writing Thai/Chinese/Japanese in western word is a problem ONLY for english people due to variable pronounciations....

For europeans i can assure you i was able to read chinese and japanese wriiten in western charatcter and people did understand, the sound is very very close to italian.

Unfortunately only chinese and japanese children can read it

sorry for OT but thai written in thai looks to me like music...while i can read malesya language very easily...

Don't know about Bangkok, but I withdrew 10,000 baht from Bank of Ayuthaya (yellow machine) in Tesco/Lotus Pattaya today using my blue Nationwide Visa/Debit card. No Fee. Also did the same at Tuk Kom last weekend, again no fee.

With an italian Maestro card no luck, 150b.

Anyway now that my bank is charging also on the exchange rate the 150b problem is not the big one.

back to credit card when possible.

..new click 40.000b, 200b x month=200m/16 year and price will go down 150/100....

?????????????

can you explain this calculation?

sorry i was sleeping....it is not really bad only not too good if too many rent them

new Click 40.000b

200b x day= 200 day for breakeven=28week

2 week of sure rent per year...today lot's of click on beach road to rent....

What`s should be introduced is daylight savings. It´s getting dark way to early, especially as it goes som much faster than up in Europe.

Some other tourist islands have introduced that locally.

Yes, for tourism and probably everybody it is totally useless to have sun at 6am and dark at 6pm...just use malaysia time, plus 1 hour.

I love seeing the russians asking discount everywhere, we should follow them. 30b a coke, too much, how about 25? rolleyes.gif

Russians ask, the lithuanians demand. Russians can be resolved by quoting 33% extra than normal and accepting their -33% offer. The lithuanians is another matter, best to make some excuse as little money ever leaves their pockets.

The chinese/japenese/korean can be good business if you can spot the heard leader, get the leader and get the 12 sheep that follow.

I'm convinced that 33% should be the standard discount....and if the pizza is upmarked +33% it will be so expensive that i will leave the place.... on the last 5 years every place increased price by 15% every december, until the big crisis, so......

some vendors on the street are selling stuff more costly than on italian street market

well, like bikes the price will go down and they will never get the initial investment back...

new click 40.000b, 200b x month=200m/16 year and price will go down 150/100....

Any one know whare i can get a alarm fitted on my motobike?

alarm? how about a big fat chain, it should be enough to make the thief choose another bike....

Like in the rest of the world it seems that brand new bikes gets stolen more...

If my impression is correct there is always the old way to "age" the bike, just change a shining piece wit a rotten one...like going around with a new car and a door painted on another color....

quite slow now and empty and most of the tourists here are either russian or chinese...not so good for the biz

I love seeing the russians asking discount everywhere, we should follow them. 30b a coke, too much, how about 25?

the chinese will only buy UV resistent umbrella and go to the beach with them and winter clothes...

I also do not think they leave the group, so no shopping around....

The beach is to sandy.

Negative, the sand is not supersoft and light colored like maldives.....

(never been there, just a rich friend told me........)

You should get 30 days at Nathon. If I remember correctly it costs 1900 baht

1920b...and they close at 12 so go before 11 or after 1pm....

herbert for crazy visa run is opposite, but with last ferry leaving at 6 one day border run is an adventure.

Been very busy here in Lamai, I have been full for over a month (42 bungalows) and have turned so many people away in the last month that it actually hurts.

All my bikes are rented out long term, my restaurant is full from morning till about 3pm, loving it, long may it continue!

Impressive, it must be a special place with good price.

Anyway this morning the best cappuccino place on lamai was closed, every other bar around was closed (they are empty at 8pm, no surprise ...), i ended up at 7eleven like everybody else complaining about bad coffe...

That is ok in late march, not in peak season.

yesterday evening as usual 80% of restaurant on Lamai beach were empty, the rest with a couple table used.

The numbers for the first 3 months in 2009 were even more dramatic; more numbers are not available yet; Thai bureaucracy and such.....

2009:

January -32.44%

February: - 53,41%

March: -11.04%

LaoPo

march 2009 is very old data, maybe they do not release new data becouse they are worse.....

international arrivals is the best reliable way to track real turists...

Just done my 30 days extension.

While I was waiting with some other people i was wondering why immigration needs to waste their time and my time with a 30 day extension of a 60 day visa.

Just make the visa 90 days and keep a 7 day extension for emergency.

No more waste of time, everybody is happy......

The webmaster is on the case, please be patient.

Cheers

We are, but all users of IE, the majority, cannot see the useelss ticker anyway BUT it is covering the menu of settings messing up the screen....

Also the first post has lost the replay button.

This is possible if:

1. The aircraft is on time (remember Singapore is a 1 hour time difference)

2. The line at immigration is short (depending on arrival time this can be a problem) arriving there on very first flight of morning 7:00 AM seems to be best time

3. One time I tried the same thing except the line at immigration was an hour long. I went over to the side desk and explained to the officer and he stamped my passport and let me go on with no delay

Good luck

Hi Nio,

Thanks for the prompt response.

As far as I can see, there is only 1 flight each day from Samui to Singapore and all are at the same time, the plane lands at 19:20, before departing back to Samui again at 20:10. Have you had experience with this one? Has anyone?

Thanks again,

Leon

Tried for 3 years calling BKK office, no way. It is an international flight....

Staying one day makes the trip a very expensive visa run...

I have to do it end of month, and by air unfortunately Firefly go only to Subang, and only on Sunday there is a flight next day.

The old flight to Penang was cheap and better.

I think i will stay one night in Hat Yai, border is at 30 minutes....

According to their website, the project was planned to finished in Dec-2009.

They haven't even started yet.

I think Kuma meant that the project "died"; at least that's what I read but could be mistaken.

LaoPo

Old projects don't die.

They just change name.

Google "The Peak Samui"

It's natural...Architects are expensive....

Hmmm - well those COMING for Xmas and the NY have already been and gone but the flights are still at peak rates. It always takes 2 weeks until the end of January for things to start up again and then it's busy busy busy till Songkran.

Having said that, Mae Nam is heaving at the moment with all the budget beach bungalows full. There was even a standing queue to get into The Twins Restaurant the other night.

Working in the Resort-Related industry, my gleanings are that the 3 and 4 star resorts have been suffering. The top 5-star ones are busy with those folks who have the coin and the budget ones busy with those that don't!

Rob

No queue for Lamai restaurants....the island is not Lamai and Chaweng anymore.

And indeed top and bottom resorts are doing fine, the middle have problems.....

Looking at the cost of flights from europe maybe the low end will have problems later....

LYNX, COCO,PROFMIL, SABAI PROPERTIES, all stable companies until they ceased trading with partially finished developments. I just wonder what it takes to stop people buying here.

well, if they never built anything it is good for the island unless they have cut all trees and destroyed the land at the build site....

samui needs coconuts and no more building for 5/10 year...or paradise island will be renamed cement island....

Almost impossible to rent a scooter.

Had eight inquires before lunch today.

Sorry, all rented out.

Yesss, same in Lamai beach road. 10 days ago every shop full of bikes, this week zero.

I'm curious to see next week, the number of renting shops is clearly exagerated compared to the request.

According to the rent-a-bike-meter © in Lamai beach peak season is just 1 week, this morning any shops have a good selection of bike to rent.

Of course the excessive number of shops hoping to get back what they payed for the new bike could be the cause of the 1 week peak season. Same for too many restaurants, resorts, roads, buildings...too many of everything, Samui need to stop for say 5 years ...

Just 2 years ago it was impossible to find a table on end of year on any restaurant in central Beach road, this year before 7pm all nearly empty...

Still no bikes to rent out.

Only two customers turned down today.

My rent-a-bike-meter © needs calibration, i tested it in the morning, late afternoon bikes gone.

So it is safe to say that next monday peak season will end, but for now it is still on, even if yesterday restaurants at 7pm were nearly empty. In particular the two swedish ones, it seems no swedish tourists and more east europeans, the one sthat order only expensive prawns and when the bill came the discussion start...