grumpyoldman

I loved the boat trips (2) to Koh Poda and Koh Kai and to Koh Hong and nearby islets.

Beautiful (with good weather)!

One week will go fast.

Stay in Ao Nang at J Hotel, inexpensive and nice people run it, big bathrooms and rooms with views of the water. Book early.

Spend three days, do the islands mentioned above by Anguid, plus a day at Railay and then decide on Koh Phi Phi or Lanta. As mentioned by another poster Phi Phi Don village is younger party backpacker type atmosphere, DON"T take a bungalow up on the hill as in the past poison gasses out of the water treatment up there have actually killed people. How about that to bum your holiday?

Lanta has some really nice beaches, good restaurants (i.e Red Snapper) inexpensive bungalows (Bee Garden, no pool but on a beach at night where you can just wander up and down have drinks and food on the beach), Kantiang Bay Resort also has some good values, and Kantiang Bay is a great beach to hang on.

Enjoy, GOM

Once saw a group of Thai wannabe Harley types roll into RCA in Ao Nang.

Big bikes, appropriate accompanying leathers, looked to me like a bunch of wealthy Thai poeseurs with nothing better to do with their money. Hello LA, a la Jay Leno............

Yeah as long as 400 baht single jack cokes and 700 baht burger and fries doesnt bother you.. Its ok in a hard rock standard kind of way.. Balis has much more of a WOW factor but its good enough for what it is.

OK burger too..

700 Baht burgers.....you must be kidding ok, I'll go for a perfect Tenderloine steak in Rawai instead ...... Thanks !

I agree Napalm, at the current US$ rate thats 23 bucks for a burger ! At that rate you may as well hit Baan Rim Pa or the Boathouse, at least in those places you are on the water and not in the armpit of the island.

Don't you just love the costumes? Seems to be the only attraction as the game is a bit slow...

Beats the heck out of a nil-nil footie match........................

Even if you aren't a volleyball fan it's worth a look. These women are fit. It's interesting to note the difference in the bloomers the Thai players wear vs., for example, the Brazilian cut near-thong bikinis of the Brazilians, Swede's, ect.

Gotta love the Brazilians, bikinis aside, one year they paddled out for a surf after their match!

(I had a long time girlfriend, for who money was not important)

Obviously not Thai, or else had you completely fooled..............

What policy do you have? I am not aware of any BUPA policy that has such low coverage.

Note that the amount covered for an operation is listed in several parts, not just one category, in the benefits schedule.

Hi Sheryl and OP,

can I ask what the symptoms were like? After I run or play sport I get a bit of a bulge in the pubic region (no jokes on bulge pun please) left side, that I can sort of push back in, not painful.

My other guess is that when I run I am not using proper support and I wonder if its not tissue inflammation as I injured the area diving in hard sand playing beach volleyball about three months ago, unsure.

Thanks GOM

Thanks a lot for your input!

sorry, double post, internet connection blip

Thanks a lot for your input!

You really don't want to try and live in Thailand on 25,000thb a month.

As a Thai (?), o.k. you'd be fine but as a foreigner (?) no, you are overcharged at all times and there are a few expenses you are not considering (health insurance is a must, don't be stupid and not be covered).

Minimum really, I'd say 45,000thb, hopefully you can make double that and bank 40,000 every month.

Just my opinion.

BR, GOM

Can someone please give me an idea where the new Takola Marina Ao Nang is located? Wannabe comedians need not reply with "Ao Nang". Just a description of the nearest big resort, or some kind of marker.

Also, the City Plaza Krabi Town, is that going in on the riverfront by all the seafood restaurants?

Thanks, GOM

English breakfast

Guinness book of records via BBC news website

And the record for the Largest Commercially Available English Breakfast went to Mario's Cafe Bar in Bolton, Greater Manchester, UK.

For £10.95 customers can tuck into six rashers of bacon, six sausages, four eggs, six slices of bread, five black puddings, mushrooms, a can of beans and tomatoes.

But if they manage the meal in under 20 minutes - it is free.

About 520 baht or so

red card awarded due to the fact that any breakfast that includes a can of beans and tomatoes is no longer considered "good".

He lucky that he did not get more than that.

33 years old and on a student visa, trying to pull this in Texas? Brilliant !

"The point is Phuket is different to anywhere I know. Not all of those differences can be good, but nearly all of them are and that's good enough for me. I think it's high time people stopped letting Tuk tuks get them down so much."

Nice try

another Tuk-Tuk thread, oh boy

Normally I don't have much sympathy for inmates in jails but in this case I pity anyone who has to be locked up with this nasty piece of shit if he is found guilty and is locked up in Thailand,

No, No, once deprived of steroids, cocaine and yah bahh, you'll see little Lee getting his ass kicked in a Thai Jail.

the guy before me posted yesterday

I think KB was referring to newbie "Crutch".

Crutch must have it out for the timeshare guys, I was surprised to see a 2007 thread revived.

Crutch did you use the search for Absolute or how did you end up finding such a buried thread?

Thanks for the repiles. We are not going until she is 16 and has finished the first lot of examinations. She does not want to go to boarding school, which I agree would have been an option. Are there not many western teenagers in Ao Nang then? She could start lessons in Thai now, as I suppose we all should, although it seems very daunting!!

Correct.

Without going into the dangers of living in Thailand, just probably not the safest place for a 16 year old foreign girl.

That being said, be sure she get some good self defense courses (before the Thai language) and if you are coming in high season, maybe get her interested in scuba diving as she'll meet some o.k. people there (other than the tatted boat boys who will be all over her).

The whole business will just move elsewhere, and you'll get a new version of Soi Bangla in another part of town.

This is right, from what I have been told/understand they want to turn Bangla into a high end shopping experience, move current elsewhere, I think we are seeing the beginning of that plan.

Do you currently live in Thailand? If not it sounds like an awful lot of upheaval for a 14 year old to be going through so close to examination age. She can always make friends with older/younger classmates at the international school but without any Thai language skills she's unlikely to have many 'normal' Thai friends.

My older sister did boarding school at 16, I don't know if financially thats an option for you but I think that would be better than life in Ao Nang at 14-16 yrs.

Is it one of the jobs where you will get a motorbike and drive around with a nicer scratch card than Absolute or do you have to stay in Jungcylon and tell all the tourist what a good place it is to buy a time share????

The key to the scratcher is to say "oh dam_n I lost" and see how the tout reacts to that one.

Klong Nin beach rocky? Has the softest sand on the island and the fewest rocks.

Klong Nin has an atm there and some small shops, 7-11, a weekend market and some rather nice resturants in the family run resorts.

Is my favourite beach.

Klong Kong and Klong Dao are rocky, same for south end of Longbeach.

Is still pretty quiet here right now, but will probably pick up in a few weeks.

Edit:

Everywhere is totally quiet after about 9.30pm most nights at the moment, but won't stay that way for long.

Oops you're quite correct. Getting mixed up with Klong Dao.

Sorry for the confusion.

:jap:

Also some confusion here saying Klong Dao is rocky. I was there last week, massive beach at sunset due to extreme low tides, and not many rocks showing at all.

During high season when the sand is in, not really rocky, o.k. maybe some at the end where Time for Lime is, but not many.......

Quiet now? Absolutely correct.

Krabi's newest eatery - Tamarind Restaurant on Chao Fa Road is definitely recommended for both Thai and Western food. (Just opposite the new tax office)

It's a really nice setting, family-run and serves really good food at very reasonable prices.

The pizzas are delish, and start at 150 baht. They also have a kid's menu which makes a refreshing change in these parts! And it's a great place for a family dinner as the friendly owner's kids are often there too.

The menu covers the entire spectrum from schnitzels to bangers and mash, plus curries, seafood, and light bites - such as nachos and satay.

The cocktails are fresh, juicy and made with that all-important dash of tlc. And only 99 baht!

It's definitely the best restaurant serving Thai and Western food in Krabi. And it's not mine by the way, but I do eat there a lot!!

I'll be there next week will have to give it a go.

For those of you who like Mexican Food, I found a decent bit of it on Lanta at The Parkway restaurant in Saladan town.

Not cheap, but the large combination, I get it with beef, has crunchy tacos (shells not the prefabbed crap) and covered in cheese burritos. Recommended by someone (me) that knows Mexican.

If there could be drive through access from both directions I think an In and Out Burger would work nicely there.

Popular U.S burger chain for those of you unfamiliar, much better than McD's.

Doesn't look like you are getting resposes as this topic has been flogged to death here on the forum.

Courteous advice-the search mechanism here, the hotel link here.

From past posts I recall people recommending the Expat Guesthouse.

Best of luck.

As you come onto the island and before queuing past the checkpoint on your right is this Phuket Gateway.

What in the world is that? What I see is an empty parking lot and what looks like an office building rapidly deteriorating, black mold growing on it.

Anyone know what this is?

I'd guess this seafood restaurant was called 'Wang Sai Seafood'? Excellent food in general, and some of the best seafood in the area. Always full of domestic tourists and wealthy locals. Definitely recommend it too.

Wangsai is Hat Nappharat, no?

From the Old Gits description sounded to me like he was at Soi Seafood which is the far end of Ao Nang, opposite end from the police box.