jacko

He is a qualified medical Doctor too you know.

oh yes...Richard Burton.

Slight side track. My TGF watched Yingluck on TV recently doing a talk on the flooding situation. She was not impressed. She said when Yingluck talked it was indecisive, unclear and non-specific, unlike her predecessor, Mark, who she said spoke well in Thai (and English too of course). I would be very interested to have some fluent falang explain this to me. Has Thailand reverted to a less open style of government?

Well sadly the days of flying Concorde from London to New York and arriving before you left are gone. Luggage in Moscow!

Wow a quick reply... but 21 days is a long duration but possible for salmonella.I also see you can be a carrier for 12 weeks beyond that so perhaps calling your employer neurotic was harsh. I recall getting into a foetal position to try and ease my cramps... no fun. I had a recent infection from within the UK, in Thailand I seem to never have a problem, but the memories make me cautious.

It's called relativity, only Einstein and Steven Hawking are smart enough to understand it. But trust me on this, timewise, the USA is well behind nearly the whole world.

Yes but how long were you actually unwell? The nuerotic requirements of your employer were one thing, my experiences of regular food poisoning is 4-5 days misery with perhaps a few residual cramps after that for a few more days.The pork satay, ensure you see it on the grill for while and all is fine, flies or not. All my periods of ailment came from food prepared out of sight, in a kitchen, in a restaurant.

Agreed, I would not want a balcony if I had children. Then school location needs to be in your considerations. I am resident in Pattaya area, but not the darkside. I did live over there for 3 years in a rented house though, and it left me feeling it was an area rotting on it's feet. Higher crime and awful traffic during rush hour to get to say Sukhumvit, there are very nice developments further East, but you increase the driving distances. I think you are right considering Jomtiem, but also areas to the North (Nongkhret Yai, Nong Plalai), or South, (Hua Yai and Phoenix ) there are higher end developments that make an old Chockchai estate on Khao Talo look like a barrio.

You decided on a house already? A Condo is likely to be more central and can be 100% in your own name. I would always suggest renting for year or two before jumping in. It gives you a base to use while really searching and comparing. Some people don't take to living here, easier to leave when all you own is a suitcase. Your personal circumstances might alter, suddenly you have a wife, mother in law and a few kids Location becomes more of a consideration. There is also alternatives to the darkside, most of which is deteriorating fast as a desirable place to live.

Yes and I was working with touch screens donkeys years ago etc etc, where are you going with this?Marconi invented the Ipad?

Yes and Zerox got Apple shares didn't they, but yes, correct. A WW2 radar screen had neither Windows nor a mouse, just the CRT.

Go and grind your axe elsewhere. If 52 innocent people had not been cruelly slaughtered by 4 evil extremists the scenario of fear in London would not have existed. So I give this one to the 4 traitors, may they rot in hell.

No it's not, it is +14 hours. There is the paltry matter of crossing the International Date Line. Didn't you ever see 'Around the World in 40 days'.... ?

John Hurt.

That is the least Bill could do... I always thought Windows was a rip off from the Mac.

Emirates have sent me a few, but you really have to check the layover in Dubai. Hanging around there for 7-8 hours doesn't make up for a hundred quid saving for me. Qatar just sent me a flyer but that is flights out of BKK.

No it isn't, I haven't done it myself but would that new train into BKK, then a connecting train to HH be an alternative. Are alternatives OK Joe?

I first heard on the Beeb, then watched the report on Fox well before MM posted, but I didn't get that impression.I thought he was diagnosed with cancer 6 years ago.

There are guys who do it in 'public', seriously, get out more.

The Matrix.

Well for a while there was only the GO-GOs in the area now known as WS (Soi Diamond), plus of course TQ. There was also a lot of beer bars all the way down beach Rd. It was still Pattaya..... and it certainly was not boring. I might hazzard a guess that it was more intersting then... but that is likely me changing. But your point being an alternative to WS is desirable, and there used to be one before the Pattayalands changed gender, and that was conveniently near to WS too. Soi LK Metro is a bit far out, and last time I stayed in town I had a night there and went to my Soi Diana hotel relatively early ... the place died at 2am!

Yes no point having any stunners when you can't see further than 5 ft and it smells unpleasant.Champagne has always been pretty full when I have gone but I have struggled to enjoy myself, a cheaper beer perhaps but the girls seem to stay away. It is far from being the best go-go in Pattaya, including the word 'possibly' is just being noncommittal. The Office might well be better than some on WS, but you cannot say it is as good as any, and certainly as many. If WS is a tourist trap, does LK Metro want to be an Expat trap?

I spotted the painfully thin old Thai lady with the pasted face yesterday, haven't seen her for ages. She was stood in the middle of Soi Chaiyapoon with her legs wide apart fumbling in her pockets.

As MM states here around Pattaya we have been relatively unscathed, in fact other than the Sept 11th dousing (which I missed anyhow), not much rain. I would say the average rainfall in the area is down this year. Areas that are being flooded are also not necessarily in the rainy areas but in a river basin affected by rains elsewhere. I get regular reports from a few of her relatives and watch the Thai news regularly.

I tend to agree, with a condo you should have the ability to put it into your own name (foreign owned). One that was in the allocated to Thais percentile would have to be somewhat cheaper to attract me. Owning it in a company name is no more risky than doing the same with a house, but in my case, I would trust the wife and buy it in her name.