Newbie Questions

[hinhua]

Hello,

am new in town - currently in Hua Hin but just wondering whether to live here or Cha am.

Had a few questions on Hua Hin that somebody might be able to shed some light on.

1. Is it safe to drive a motorbike here? have driven scooters before but wondering generally what about the police and driving licenses? a friend of mine got his license and said it was pretty easy but seems like you need lots of various paperwork items which I don't yet have

2. What's the best ISP to use? I've seen some prices around town that says 590 baht for 6 Mbps. Is it generally reliable? and how do you pay if you don't have a local bank account? can I pay bills using cash?

3. Where's the best place to rent a motorbike? was thinking about a scooter or maybe something bigger - not sure yet....I don't want to pay more than a few thousand a month for a small one, but I'm a bit reluctant to rent from a guesthouse or hotel, would like to find a decent place that has insurance etc!

4. When does the rainy season normally finish around here? now it's been raining every day, but I heard it's the driest place in Thailand!

I think I'll have more questions on this stuff.

Cheers.

[roly]

Here's a few comments.

Motorbikes - it's generally safe depending on how confident you are, but my opinion is that having some transport here is essential. If you don't have a car, then you do really need a motorbike. Have you had much experience in the past? I'd rent from a 'proper' place and not a guesthouse - I rent from Cha am Rentals in Cha am (soi bus station) - I can give you the details if you are interested. I've a CBR 150 (brand new) from this place, and they really take good care of the bikes and the prices are great. They bikes are all serviced regularly and the owner is English. I rented before from a few places in Hua Hin and the prices seem higher here. As for the license - yes it's not hard to get one - just need a medical certificate, a letter stating where you live (if you are here for a while you can usually get this from the owner of your property or landlord, or you can just show a rental contract as I did), your passport etc too. I had to take the test as my international driving license had expired, so you might have to take a theory test and a practical test. Not hard but it's actually easy to fail the theory test as the questions are phrased not that well.

ISP's - there's basically CAT telecom and TOT. I think CAT is Ok but I don't have a lot of experience with the other one -I'm in an apartment so it's all paid for, but if you live in a house and organise your own internet then you can pay at the 7-11 when the bill comes, just take the print out and pay - easy enough.

Rainy season - it'll probably rain every day for a few more months....last year I recall it was still going in September. Just remember to take a rain coat with you :-)

[hinhua]

Here's a few comments.

Motorbikes - it's generally safe depending on how confident you are, but my opinion is that having some transport here is essential. If you don't have a car, then you do really need a motorbike. Have you had much experience in the past? I'd rent from a 'proper' place and not a guesthouse - I rent from Cha am Rentals in Cha am (soi bus station) - I can give you the details if you are interested. I've a CBR 150 (brand new) from this place, and they really take good care of the bikes and the prices are great. They bikes are all serviced regularly and the owner is English. I rented before from a few places in Hua Hin and the prices seem higher here. As for the license - yes it's not hard to get one - just need a medical certificate, a letter stating where you live (if you are here for a while you can usually get this from the owner of your property or landlord, or you can just show a rental contract as I did), your passport etc too. I had to take the test as my international driving license had expired, so you might have to take a theory test and a practical test. Not hard but it's actually easy to fail the theory test as the questions are phrased not that well.

ISP's - there's basically CAT telecom and TOT. I think CAT is Ok but I don't have a lot of experience with the other one -I'm in an apartment so it's all paid for, but if you live in a house and organise your own internet then you can pay at the 7-11 when the bill comes, just take the print out and pay - easy enough.

Rainy season - it'll probably rain every day for a few more months....last year I recall it was still going in September. Just remember to take a rain coat with you :-)

OK thanks. What are the prices like to rent a bigger bike like that? hopefully I'll rent for a bit and buy one later on. Currently just walking around on foot and using motorbike taxis, but the cost is adding up and it seems much cheaper to have my own bike.

[MickA]

I have 3BB you can pay your bill in Market Vilaage 3rd floor. The service has been a lot better here than in Pattaya

[bankroll]

I have 3BB you can pay your bill in Market Vilaage 3rd floor. The service has been a lot better here than in Pattaya

I was just going to say there's also 3BB but you beat me to it :-)

Actually I was over at a guest house today run by a friend - he has 3BB and it was down today and incredibly slow. I've not heard that many problems about them but I guess they don't work occasionally just like the other ISP's. He he

[hhfarang]

... and the rainy season usually runs through October, then November to April is usually "dry as a bone".