allane

Money used by a foreigner to buy a condo. in Thailand must be earmarked as such, at the time it is brought into Thailand. As a foreigner, you can not use money which you have previously brought to Thailand, or money which you have earned and saved here, if you are working here. Money from either of these sources would have to be "recycled" through your home country first. This is a provision of The Condominium Act.

Use buses # 8 or 542.

Pattaya to Bangkok: 150 baht, catch them in front of the Family Mart (next to a Krung Thai Bank) on the north side of South Road, near Wat Chaimongkon. I think they leave every hour, perhaps more frequently if demand warrants. They will pick you up at your location, if asked in advance. (Obviously, you need their business card with phone number for this.)

Bamgkok to Pattaya: same price, catch at the NW corner of Century Shopping Centre, on the east side of Phayathai Road, just south of Victory Monument BTS Station.

A caution for tourists: baggage space is very limited, only the small area between the last row of seats and the back door.

Website: www.bmta.co.th

Not completely up to date, missing some of the newest routes.

I can't say that I KNOW the answer, but after many years here, my guess would be that there is not. Even a former Prime Minister (with a background in the police force, no less !) made the same sort of comments in the past. Surely the people around him would have cautioned him about inappropriate remarks, even if he didn't have the sense to censor himself.

If you prefer to go by bus, bus # 77 stops at Morchit, then goes counterclockwise around Jatujak Park to the back entrance to Jatujak Market.

Note: if you see some #77's NOT stopping, do not give up. Those are the southbound ones; they go NORTH on Phahonyothin Road for a short distance before making a U-turn to go south.

Be aware - the "floating market" in Phrapadaeng is only open on Saturdays and Sundays.

From Pratunam to Chinatown use buses 73 or 159.

Try this website: www.fairproperties.com

I haven't used it personally, but a friend spoke well of them.

The Chiang Mai Mail is owned by the Pattaya Mail. You can link through the Pattaya Mail's webpage or directly at www.chiangmai-mail.com

For Phuket: www.phuketgazette.com

I can't remember the initials commonly used in Thai, but in English it is "Non-formal Education". Available at most high schools in Bangkok or upcountry, and used by a far greater percentage of the population than in western countries. Cost varies depending on number of courses taken, but a ballpark guess is no more than 1000 baht/course/semester.

If you don't trust your girlfriend, don't pay her, pay the school.

There are no "06" area codes in Thailand

02: Bangkok and some portions of adjacent provinces

03: central and eastern regions

04: norheastern

05: northern

07: southern

08: mobile telephones

Why do you think that any Thai bank is going to cash it ? If you walked into an American bank with a cheque made out in Thai Baht, you would be laughed out the door.

The Day-Night Hotel on Soi Day-Night, South Road, goes at about that rate. They also have Day-Night 2 nearby. If you cannot find contact details yourself, repost here. I will be in Pattaya on the weekend.

"A to Z Krungthep" This is a bound soft cover atlas. I bought mine about 3 years ago at Se-ed Books, or one of the similar Thai language bokstores. Look in the map section. I can't recall the price; about 250 - 300 baht I think.

This is a bound volume on A4 size paper, bilingual Thai-English. It covers greater Bangkok, including all of Samut Prakan at 1:50,000. Central Bangkok is covered at 1:25,000.

Published by PN Map - Website: www.pnmap.thaipanit.com Tel. (02) 411 - 1285 or 411 - 2594. Their office is on Phra Nok Road.

Good point ! It is awfully easy for some stupid farang to sit on his bar stool in Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Phuket or small sections of Bangkok, and conclude that Thailand revolves around us. It doesn't.

You can walk through any department store, and note the prices on any items you like. This would fix the maximum price that you should pay any street vendor or small shop merchant, because they have lower overhead costs,

It is my understanding that if the employer has decided that you are the best available applicant, and can show that there are no suitable Thai's to fill the position, the Labour Dept. will issue a Work Permit. I do not believe that they consider themselves to be more suitable than the employer in judging whether the applicant is suitably qualified or not.

I should say here that my first experience was several years ago, and was not in your field.

www.sanook.com/classified

St. Louis Hospital on Sathorn Road (near Surasak BTS Station) has a dental department, which I think is reasonably priced. I don't know if they make dentures.

You could also try the Welcome Plaza Hotel. It is on the east side of Second Road, about 500 metres north of South Road (or about 200 metres south of Royal Garden Plaza shopping mall), on the opposite side of Second Road.

You are dreaming in technicolour. Even 7000 baht/mo. is less than 250 baht/day. No one is going to rent a room (that you would consider habitable) to a farang for that price, on a daily basis, or on a monthly basis with no deposit.

I am presuming that you are paying 5 baht/unit for electricity. A single air-conditioner costs about 5000 baht per month, if you never shut it off. Calculate accordingly, based on actual number of hours used per month.

For English language bus maps, try Bookazine. Asia Books may hav some too.

And I forgot to mention another option:

St. Louis Hospital, south side of Sathorn Road, Surasak BTS Station.

Dr. Pitak, Patra Clinic, Sathorn Thani Complex, Chong Nonsri BTS Station.

The Sathorn Thani Complex is on the northeast corner of Sathorn and Narathiwat Roads. (Standard Chartered Bank on the corner of the building facing the intersection.) The clinic is on the ground floor of the northeastern-most building, at the back of this 3 building complex. (Walk past a Kodak shop.)

He is only there about three days per week, as he has another location elsewhere. Best to go in to make your initial enquiry in the late afternoon, about 4:30 - 5:00 p.m. If memory serves me correctly, he is also there Saturday mornings.

He speaks English, but the support staff do not. But, they should be able to hand you a business card, saying what times he is there, if you happen to arrive at a time when he is not there.