SunnyValentine

It depends, of course. Some Appartments for rental also are equipped with a Safe box. I now rent a House, and bought a Safe (50 kg, attached to the floor by two strong screws) for about 5000 Bt including transportation. The smaller safes you see in most Hotel rooms can be bought for around 3000 Bt a piece. Sunny

Check out This Forum Thread, where the owner of RG (Ibber) explains the surcharges in Detail. Here he mentions 250 Bt Surcharge, maybe he raised it because of the Oil prices? Sunny

Drove by the site today, and: Yes, that's the site. Sunny

Looking at his waistline it must be Chang, I guess.

Thhey are currently refurbishing their (largely unimpressive) restaurant. Have seen a room a Year or so ago, and decided to shop elsewhere ..... Sunny

For 2 Month he might want to check into renting an Appartment. At View Talay you can get a nice room, with good Aircon, Bathroom (shower), kitchenette, Fridge, Safe (but not big enough for Laptop) and Telephone Line (with free of charge local calls for Computer) for about 12000 - 15000 Bt a Month including Electricity, 2 visits of the cleaners a week, TV and nice furniture. BAht Bus runs 24/7, no problem to get there from Pattaya late at night. 24 hour Rooms service is not available, but there are lots of home-delivery restaurants, some of them work quite late! Sunny

Yeah, I suggest you sort out your accomodation now. Last Year, I had to move Hotels when I made reservation for the Period End November to Mid January in late Ocotober; I could not get one of my favorittes forthe full time. No big Deal, and I did not mind the change (from Jomtien to Central Pattaya), but in case you have a favorite spot, contact them now! New Years Party was great last Year, as far as I remember ...... Sunny

Sure ... and the pope smokes d*pe ...... Sunny

Cyber, I remember last Year, I wanted to stay at Sunshine Hotel; they had some promotion on their Website so I sent them an Email. No answer. One more mail a few Days later. No answer. Then I came to Pattaya, went there, asked for rooms. "Have rooms flee!" Asked about price, was much higher (200 or 300 Bt) than their Web Offer. Itold them about this. Lady at reception said "Yes, but only for Web reservation, this price." So I told them, I have sent them 2 Mails. She said "Yes, we know, we have problems with Email." Well, I finally sorted it out, and got a good deal. But the Thai Logic impl

I heard somewhere that the Dusit has WiFi Access, but have no details on that. Other than this, I know of no Hotel in Pattaya that offers Broadband at all. For DSL in the Home, I have been told twice by TT&T that DSL will be available all over Pattaya (West of Sukhumvit, from Naklua to Jomtien, "next Month". The first time they told me this was early June, and the second time was about 2 weeks ago. TOT (the other Telecom Provider) says "sometime maybe, maybe not." (I did not bother to ask them again, though!) There is some Satellite Internet possibility, but I heard it is very unre

Potmehut; I guess it should be no problem with cash at all. (Maybe it might get difficult once you try to pay in a few thousand Dollars ...) I don't know much about other Banks here in Pattaya, I guess it depends (information, mood of the Bank Clerk, Moon Phase .....) whether they will open an Account for you or not. I tried two others before Bangkok Bank with no results (forgot which ones they were) .... Never experienced major Problems with SWIFT transfers, the fees are not that high, and are compensated by a better rate (about 1% more than cash!), but you should not SWIFT only 100 Doll

I took a flight to Phuket from Bangkok with Air Asia. Booking through Internet, you get a Code to print out, or write down (or memorise ...), with the Code and your Passport you get a "Boarding Pass" (Looks more like a 7-11 Payment slip though ...) Price was 1300 Bt round trip. And yes, Air Asia used real planes, with real Engines, Wheels, and Seats. No problem for the 75 Minute Flight. (Bangkok Air would have been close to 5000 Bt through U-Tapao, ouch!) Sunny

PST - Pound Sterling (Just don't know where the f**king Sterling Character is on my Laptop ...) Yeah, seems that they change the rules ever so often. I asked for Internet Banking, and they wanted a Work Permit ..... Will anybody ever understand the logic with these Banking Regulations? I keep hearing stories of Banks wanting Non-Residency Visas prior to opening an Account. ("It's the law") On the other Side, you need to have 800 000 BT in Thai Bank Account to apply for Retirement Visa. (It's the law!") Must have been the country where "Catch 22" has been thought out, I presume. I

I went to Bangkok Bank at Pratumnak Road (extension of 2nd Road on the Way to the Hill / To Jomtien. Had no problem opening an Account there with my 30 Day Tourist Stamp. All they asked for was an Address, I gave them my Hotel's Address, no problem. They issue ATM Cards on the Spot, you can chose your Pin (have some little machine for that purpose. Then transfer money from your Home account (they give you a slip with Banks Name, your Acccount No, and Bank's SWIFT Code). Takes 3 Days, and gives you a great rate, even the transfer expenses included! But: Do not transfer less than 1000 PST,

I mention personal recommendation and always ask expicitly for their best possible offer, stating the Arrival Date as well as the planned duration of stay. Usually I get quite reasonable price quotes, might still be chaeper for 100 Bt when I just show up, but you could as well hear they are fully booked. Sunny

First you should check out some of the Hotel reviews on this site. Just to give you some start, the following Hotels should be around your price tag and ok: both Eastinys, both Flippers, Sunshine, Nova Lodge, Dynasty Hotel, Most of the better but still reasonably priced Hotels are in the Soi 7 or 8 Area. Lots of beer Bars around, not really silent in the Night, but good fun. From there to the Beginning of Walking Street you walk around 15 or 20 Minutes, or rather take a Baht Bus (every Minute or so, cost 10 Baht). Distance from Beach Road to 2nd Road: 200 - 400 Meters. It is flat there,

My experiences with Hotels in Pattaya and dialup: Sunshine; cuts off after 10 or 15 Minutes. Sabai Inn: Cuts off after 20 Minutes. Residence Garden: No problems. I agree with Cyber that connecting the Laptop at Internet Cafes is usually no problem, but I still prefer my room for internet. Sunny

I've stayed at Felix two years ago. I think there are some other (more fancy?) resorts in the area, but what I especially liked at Felix is the location, right on the Riverside, next to the Rail Bridge. To get into town means a rather long ride, usually with the Hotel Shuttle for a steep 200 or 300 Baht, as I never have seen Motos or Taxis there. I enjoyed walking over the Railbridge, and taking a Mot (30 Bt) from the other Side. I can definitely recommend Felix, but: Bring y'r own GF! Sunny

To redwood: The Music DVD Stand at the Market is just opposite from the Video DVD guy you described. He has mainly Audio CDs, but a lot (good priced, and interesting variety - at least for me). And Dingo: I tried this lady near Soi 13 with the music DVDs, she instisted on 280 Bt, and would not consider a lowerer price, so I walked on. There is a DVD section on one of the Audio CD stalls on Walking Street, on the left Side when you come from South Pattaya road, about the Soi Diamond or Soi Happy area. This guy usually has a good choice, for 150 each. Sunny

I stayed at various studios in View Talay 1 (A and B Complex) within the last year. In case you stay one month or longer, you usually get a good price. It is on the main Baht Bus Line to Jomtien, 10 BT and no problem during Daytime, same price, but a little more wait time (and you probably have to change Busses at the SOPA-2nd Road crossing.) I like Jomtien area a lot, less Bars and so, but hey, it is 5 Minutes drive to Walking Street. Feel free to ask any more questions! Sunny

These are promotion prices, usually hard to get. Don't worry, you will be allright. Just don't expect too much (better: don't expect anything) in terms of service or comfort. Sunny

Had a sidetrip to Udon Thani with Air Asia lately, for 960 BT return. No food, no free drinks, seats nothing fancy, only 15 kg luggage, but apart from that, everything just fine, and it left some money in my pocket which was a great relief for the sick family buffalo over there, too Sunny

I recently paid just short of € 40 for a return Vienna Bangkok on Eva Air (plus the 500 BT in Bangkok) Sunny

Ask Bangkok Airways. I think they have a Minibus Service for their Flights, at around Bt 150, as far as I can remember. Sunny

Consider Sabai Inn (other Side of Soi), I am there right now lighting up a Cigarette ..... No problems with smoking (no other problems encountered so far as well). Sunny