moogradod

You will find that this restriction will put you on a path of pain. I am still searching for a good Italian restaurant around Pattaya and I have been to quite a few. So far no success, they always miss out on something. Best you can find is average. If you find the holy grail here in the vicinity without us having to travel to Bangkok please shout loud.

I hear that from every beach I know here. So where to go really ? Best beaches and water I have ever seen are in the Philippines. A bit far for a weekend holiday, though. I know nothing exeptional even near that. Before the Tsunami I had a swim in the sea in Phuket. I did really enjoy it. Never visisted ever since. Never took a swim in the sea at all since this time. I am quite sad about this. We live at the end of Pattaya towards Sattahip. At least we have a perfect swimming pool.

I do not understand the fuss one makes about it. This proposal is so restrictive in its entirety that I honestly doubt that one single foreigner would buy a Rai under these rules - should it then passed as a law at all. You could as well ignore all that - would not make any difference I believe.

For authentic Swiss / German food: Time-Out Bistro. Not well known but worth a try. The restaurant is quite small but the cooking is authentic as is the selection, reasonably priced and tasty. The downside is that is it directly near the street. If you dont mind traffic noise it is OK, though. They sell as well some Swiss groceries and sausages, like Swiss Gruyere Cheese that I have never seen elsewhere. A parking is just around the corner near Samis Restaurant.

Low frequency sound has a long wave length. In a room with walls this may lead to what is called "standing waves", which will intensify each other at certain points in the room. Depends on the geometry of the room and the material of its walls. The only way to tame this are so called Bass Traps which catch the energy and destroy some of it. The issue is highly complicated and needs an acoustician to handle it. Outside of the room you can do practically nothing against it. Ear Plugs need to be of a certain material which has the ability to dampen even a little bit at a certain frequency. And then it could even creep through any solid matter and find its way inside your hearing apparatus in this way.

Yes, of course. But I am sure you understood what I meant to say. Could have proposed "The Sun has again risen today" as a headline on the front page of a big newspaper or "Scientists have discovered that Light Speed has not changed for the last 50 years or even longer"........ Not that some of the real headlines ressemble my propositions in terms of boredom at times. ????

Thank you, but where exactly may I deposit my cash to get one of those for a special occasion ?

The only one responsible and guilty are the chicken. I found that in the country, live correlates with when they go to bed and when they wake up. And they wake up at 5 as the rest of the poultry, and the rest of the family follows. And this implies turning up the stereo right then. Loud of course as is customary here with a lots of bass which travels nicely far away to reach your ears.

Many seem to make a distinction between "Pattaya", "Jomtien" and "Na Jomtien". I subsume all three areas under the name of "Pattaya". Should I consider to distinguish more to avoid misunderstandings ? We live at the end of Na Jomtien, technically it is even already Sattahip because of the postal number 20250. Still I consider thinking we live in Pattaya.

We live here permanently. In a high rise 150 sqm condo. Right at the sea. We did carefully choose the place before moving from abroad. This is what we considered most: 1. Its relatively well developed infrastructure 2. The vast number of acceptable or even good restaurants and shops 3. The proximity to Bangkok if 1. and 2. is not satisfying enough in some cases 4. The reasonable distance to the family of my Thai wife (not too near, not too far) And the reputation of the Immigration. Yes this was a criterium and we have had so far only a very good experience. We are treated very well and feel welcome. We avoid the not so fortunate fellows that seem obviously to impress their image to the city. This is only Pattaya for a few and they have all the right to choose their appearance and behaviour by themselves. We are not at all affected by that. It only stands out because it is different. Like you would rarely read good news in the press (or would you be interested in a topic saying that your neighbor feels good today ?)

We stay in Sattahip (just at the very beginning) and have a nice car to bring as well. The Big Elephant in the Room question is: Is Koh Samui worth a visit nowadays ? I have been there in 1975 (no road - I rented a cross motobike privately) and have lived for the equivalent of CHF 1.-- per night at Chaweng Beach in a bungalow - when the exchange rate was something like 12 to the CHF (now 37) If I find a nice place to stay (obviously a bit more pricey nowadays ????) and when the weather is nice, we would surely consider this ferry service. For the experience. But on the net there are no precise informations - only a reference to a schedule to come. And I would be tremendously interested how much they would charge us for a hotel room like accomodation incl. transport of the car. We are not interested to sit in a chair like they have in a bus. And then we will see.

Thank you for the suggestions. I think the most valuable for me is your #5 (baking soda). I will try that. #1 is easy as alcohol is concerned - I would love to drink actually but it would kill me because of my heart with an Ejection Fraction of only 27%. I did once a carbohydrate diet (it was called "Atkins" diet - but as soon as you need to force yourself to adopt a certain behaviour this is bound to fail in the long run. I like my noodles, rice, potatoes). The surprizing truth however is that if you really decide (instead of thinking "it would be better") then everything becomes extremely easy. That is how I stopped smoking 18 years ago from one second to the next without any problem at all and I was a heavy smoker. If you really decide to do it who is there to prevent you from it ? Really works. A clear decision is key and this is to make for you alone. But it must be a firm decision - that is all that is needed. #2: No way for me, have been used for decades to eat in the evening - I sometimes even eat at night. Again the decision thing. I want it that way even it might not be the most healthy behaviour and I would only change if it would cause extraordinary discomfort that would force me to do it under all circumstances. #3 Current bed construction does not allow it but I have a nice pillow which I constructed myself from a long cushion which was originally designed to help pregnant women sleep . ???? Best pillow I ever had. #4 I do that already since I can think of.

Thanks for the info ! The price at Fascino is marginally a bit higher but it is not worlds apart. A generic should be significantly cheaper like the incredibly low THB 650.-- they demanded for a pack of 500 tablets Metformin (might be a bit higher now but not much, mabe around 750 as far as I remember). I will post it if I find a pantoprazole generic.

I totally agree having been to Thailand, Japan and the Philippines for extended periods. The only thing in Japan may be that you visist a "wrong" bar in an entertainment district where they could scam you. There are videos on YouTube about that. I have never been in such a situation. Easy to avoid. Otherwise it is as safe as could be as you say. A friend of mine has been living in New York and he told me that the border between safe and unsafe may even depend on which side of the (same) road you are walking. Where you are might be safe but across the street and you might get in trouble he said. But New York is not a place I would like to visit anyway.

At the dedicated drugstore on the ground level of Central Festival they did not have it. However, they had GABA (10 Tablets 120 thb). So I bought 20 to try it out. They wanted to sell me Melatonin of which I know it does not work for me. The other shops (Boots etc.) in Central did not have it either. But there are hundreds of smaller pharmacies all over Pattaya and even if Fascino does not have it there might be a chance that some smaler shop still has it. Has anyone seen L-Theanine somewhere and may tell me where ?. Or has this substance suddenly become illegal (happend with other medicaments which I know) and is not sold anymore ? Then the question would remain open if it would be allowed to import it via Lazada as @Jingthing suggests if it were available online. The other problem then: How to choose from the several dozens of offers, different manufacturers, different suppliers and of course no advice (there is no advice today as well, the "pharmacists" did not even seem to know what L-Theanine is). At least one consulted her smart phone..... Once the legal situation with some of former illegal substances becomes crystal clear (written law), this might then again change the situation. After all, all I need is a help for falling alsleep and possiibly staying sleepy for a prolonged period. I am sure I am one out of millions that would appreciate a bit of help in this area, but I can as well not smoke anything for this my lung would not allow me. Must be edible somehow.

We have found our pricewise reasonable but still good RED wine - see my recommendation above. But to find a good white one seems to be much more difficult. Here is what we often had in Switzerland: Has anybody seen this wine somewhere here and where ? Or some other affordable Sancerre ? The wine was excellent. We have been to Villa and they did not have it. Have not seen it in TOPS either, nor in Foodland. It would as well be interesting where the recommendations above for a white wine may be obtained.

The glass has a much more profound influence than many think. I prefer to drink beer from a big brandy ballon. It is not only the volume of the glass above the liquid if poured in and not only the form that leads the odours to the nose. I find that the thickness of the glass has a major influence on the taste. The thinner the better I feel. Riedel / Zwiesel are famous manufacturers that produce a very wide range of glasses - unfortunately at very high prices. Haven't seen any in Thailand by the way.

Yes, I mean this wine. I have even included a photo in one of my posts. In my opinion it is not only a good buy for the money but even better. Dont tell it to the producer but I would easily pay around 600.-- for it or even more. Wines with a much higher price label are not necessarily better unless you reach the 2000+ range and even then not every wine fits our taste.

Know my wife for about 18 years and she has rewarded me more than I could ever pay back in the few years that are left for me in this existence. So I paid back the most I could on any occasion there was and will be. From wild times before I know however that nothing has escaped inflation........ ???? I came here for the first time in 1975.

Absolutely......and good Rhum......and good Whisky. In the most upper class where the extremely smooth varieties are found for a fortune the differences vanish. What remains is the smoothness of the experience. I heard of someone who lost a bet being able to distinguish Cognac from Rhum and Whiskey in that class blindfolded. Once in my life I bought myself a really phantastic bottle of Rhum while I was still in Switzerland. Here I would not even know where to go to buy one. I know this is a thread about cheap but good wine but I cannot help to recommend another beverage that offers exeptional value for a (relatively) low budget (still over 2K I think though). But it is more than worth it and especially: it is available here. This is the Whisky "Cardhu". Here we are talking price-performance.

New South Wales Australia. Not to be confused with the Williams Shiraz - also at 399.--. It must be the Shiraz Cabernet. Availabe at Friendship (if it is available). And here is how the bottle looks: Treat the wine like you would treat a much more expensive one and it will reward you with a full bodied flavour amazing for the price. Cheers.

I am not a wine snob - but as well not someone drinking wine from cartons and having tasted some at the very top of the Parker list, visited Burgundy myself twice and had some fun there, so at least I can contribute just a little bit. And you have obviously not yet tried "Williams - Shiraz Carbernet" at a mere 399.--. And this is a very very surprizingly good wine - for the price and even far beyond.

Thank you. Omeprazole can be had in the form of "Sanosec" at an extremely cheap price at Fascino. So cheap I forgot how much. But my Gastroneterologist at BHP says it is not strong enough - I need at least Controloc. One step more up would be Vonoprazan in the form of "Vocini". But a pack of 14 tablets is nearly THB 6K they said at Fascino today, so I will skip that.

May I ask you where you get the L-Theanine and the GABA exactly ? I have been to Fascino today and they do not have it. Then I searched for "i-Herb" on the net and was directed to an i-Herb site only in Thai language with no recognizable possibility to change the language. I have not been to Central yet as you say. Was this in Boots then ? My wife just tells me there is a shop at the ground level exactly as you said. Will have a look tomorow. And may someone tell me how I can order anything in i-Herb (link) ? Thanks a lot.

I need Pantropazol 40mg tablets. BPH has given me Controloc and said there are Generica available as well. So I have been to Fascino North Road and all they have is Controloc which is imported from Germany. Pantoprazol is a very common medicament. Has anybody an idea where I could get a generic in and around Pattaya and how much it would cost me ? Thanks for your support.