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Sounds like you downloaded IE7 and it's crashing when you close the second window that opens when you click on a link. I think it was released a little prematurely. I downloaded it because I use IE, but only for those sites that Firefox won't work with. What I found was that Windows Move Maker no longer worked or worked only intermitently. After some resesarch I found out the problem was IE7. So I uninstalled it and Movie Maker was fine. Not only that but IE6 was still on my computer. Download Firefox from the Mozilla link above. It's a much better and safer browser.

Looks like a wild night and a lot of fun. Wish I could've been there. Certainly more fun than the party I went to here at home.

Now I know who to thank for me being able to spend 53 of 57 days at the Metro after illness caused me to change my plans. Thanks Scumbag! If I'd known it was you at the time I would've bought you a drink as we crossed paths several times. I read elsewhere that Dennis is booked through April of '07, so he obviously doesn't need any further endorsement, but...the Metro became almost like home to me during my stay in October and November. Remember it's a guesthouse, not a hotel, but the rooms are exceptionally clean and all have a balcony, the bathrooms are large, the staff is friendly and helpful and food from the Drunken Duck next door is easy to order and have delivered if you don't want to leave the bar. I had several talks with Dennis while I was there and he's continually thinking about ways to improve the place as well as attend to the day to day maintenance. He even went so far as to order special spirits for a couple of guests to have on hand during their visit. The bar now has 3 pool tables and serves real drinks. I only got a buzz 3 times during my trip and all 3 were at the Metro bar...and he now has Guinness!

I understand the thinking both ways. I'm not quite a Cheap Charlie, but I don't want to spend $100US a night either. It's up to me, up to you and up to him. Some of us do more than just sleep in the room. If that's all I did I would only be there 4-6 hours a day.

It's not the browser per se. I have Firefox 1.5.0.9 and it works for me. It's using Java. Do you have that enabled in Firefox?

Cool outfit Santa. Where are the pics of your elves? You gonna be the Easter Bunny as well?

Thanks to Frank and Adam for the great party! I've never seen one turkey feed so many people. Sorry I missed the go-go crawl. The tequila kind of put my girl over the top, so I took her to loom and put her to bed.

Mulphy did a good job in his post outlining the area. Don't expect Walking St. in ANY fashion. It's quieter, more laid back and not touristy. Many places have at least a couple of rooms for rent. Try the Drunken Duck for Kow Pad Gung or Spaghetti Boulanese for 80 Baht. Or the No Name restaurant for a quiet meal. The Place2Bee has really inexpensive beer. On Soi Chaiyapoon (off Soi Buakhoa) are 4 or 5 restaurants. My favorite is Neeroy's Bradford Curries. Fish and Chips 99 Baht. (See pic.) Canterbury Tales is good as well. Got a huge Cumberland Sausage dinner there. Two 7-11's and 2 Family Marts within a block and a half. Several pharmacies, opticians, gold merchants and clothing stores withing a block. Beware of Soi Diana at night. It's a race track. Buses run both directions on Soi Buakhoa. It's easy to get where you're going. Motorbike taxis at both ends of Soi LK Metro as well.

This was a great party Adam. Everyone had a good time and the cake fight was funny as hell. Keep up the good work. Your girls are a riot when they get going.

I used Mr. Toom's service from the new airport 2 weeks ago. Mr. Pong was waiting with a sign as promised. Mr. Pong had a decent small car, was a good driver and found my accomodation in Pattaya with no problem. I recommend him. Price quoted and paid was 1200B.

He quoted me 1200B all in.

Thanks for the info. I was concerned the server was under some kind of attack by the error message I received. Hope it's sorted out soon.

Try this. Looks like the home page for the calculator above. At this moment 37.41baht=$1. http://www.xe.com/ucc/

sorry to hear about your loss chris. I'm sure a stunner like that gets many offers. Hope she finds her way back.

Found the form. Thanks! Now I just need to figure the best and easiest route for me. Much appreciation to those that have helped.

Thanks for the responses. Things are clearing up a little. Still a couple of questions if you don't mind. To get the Non-immigrant O visa what documentation do I need to give them so they know that's what I want? Do I check the non-immigrant box and just write up a request stating I want an O valid for a year and attach it to the visa application? Yes, well it doesn't help the confusion if everyone calls something by a name other than it's official name. That's part of why I'm having to ask very specific questions. So that's some long investigative trip then ay? The fog is lifting slowly though. Thanks again.

Rex, So you're going to petition for an O visa with the purpose of exploring retiring in LOS? Are you thinking of just writing a letter to send with your application explaining what you want to do? Dear Consular Officer, I am planning a visit your lovely country to examine retirement opportunities. I am therefore applying for an one year O visa for this purpose. Unfortunately, as my first stop is Pattaya it may be months before I ever get out to explore the rest of the country. Therefore I need as much time as possible alloted for this stay. I appreciate your assistance in this matter, Monger probe Thanks for your input Rex.

Thanks for your reply redwood. I must be trying to use too much logic. Seems like a catch-22. A 30 day visa can be renewed every 30 days for up to a year. That's a visa run every month, correct? A 60 day multiple entry visa with 3 entries would only work for 9 months. So that would be 60 + a 30 day extension (in country), then a visa run towards the end of that 90 days. Then repeat that process twice? It's limitation is that it's only valid for 6 months. Correct? What then is the value of a 60 day multiple entry visa? Just fewer visa runs? I looked at Sunbelt. Thanks for the tip. They seem to lean toward the business visa though. I'm retired from the government, so I have no business or business ties to use as a reference. I did send them an inquiry about their services though. On their site they say that I must be in my home country to apply for an "O-A" retirement visa, which is contrary to what eneukman says above. No wonder I'm confused. Thanks again for your assistance.

At the risk of coming across as a dumbass, I can not get my head around this. I've been an auditor of billion dollar government procurement contracts and if I can understand those I should be able to get this. For the last several weeks I've been researching the different visas applicable to Thailand. I've searched the Thai Embassy website (not much help), US Embassy website, Thaivisa.com, this forum, the Khon Kaen forum and several other websites extensively. I'm a 57 year old, non-married, retired US citizen who is considering staying in LOS on a long term basis. I would like some flexibility in my intital stay as I'm coming over on an exploratory trip and want to spend some time in several areas to get a feel for things. I understand I need no visa for a 30 day tourist stamp upon arrival. Correct? If so does a visa run to Laos or Cambodia start the clock over? How many times can this be done? Ad infinitum? On the visa application form there are 2 boxes that might apply here. "Tourist" and "Non-immigrant". There is no mention of length of stay. Just a box to check. There is also a box for number of entries. If I check the "tourist" box and number of entries as 4 will this give me a 60 day visa that I must extend in-country to gain an additional 30 days, then at the end of that "visit" need to make a visa run to get a new 60? Will checking the "non-immigrant" box show that I'm applying for an "O" by the type of paperwork I submit? The information I see shows this requirement: "Others, including dependents and retired persons." I'm not a dependent and have no Thai wife. The O-A is the retirement visa. How does one get an "O" visa without applying for the retirement visa? I would really rather not have to come home or fly somewhere to get things re-approved to extend my stay. At some point I would make the decision to either go for the retirement visa or go home. Any help would be greatly appreciated. At the very least if I were to see you in-country I'd buy you a couple of drinks.