redwood13

I'm guessing you're not a 49er fan??? :crying

NEEROYS CURRY SHOP on Soi Chaiyapoon across from Crazy Dave's restaurant. UK style curries. Chaiyapoon is just off Soi Buakhao N. of the Soi Diana intersection. Open 'til late ~02:00 - Delivery available. -- Curries priced from 99-170 baht. 038-720902 & 07-058-4420

http://www.pattayatalk.com/forums/index.ph...9220&hl=watches

Re Koh Chang someone posted this URL awhile back and I think it's worth mentioning again. A wide ranging website humorously written by a guy who lives there. http://www.iamkohchang.com/ -redwood

http://www.shagwellmansions.com I'm renting a townhouse near Shaggies and stayed there a couple of nights when the water pump at my place died one weekend The room I was in the OK category. Just your generic hotel room. Everything worked - nothing memorable Torrenova points to the one major drawback and that is its location. It's a long 5 minute walk down a very busy narrow soi from Pattaya Klang. On coming traffic has to slow and sometimes stop to pass. Most of that distance has no sidewalks/footpaths and there's usually lots of traffic and especially lots of motor cycles. You'll feel like a target on your way to Pattaya Klang. If you're ok with moto-taxis there are plenty of those around to take you to Pattaya Klang for a baht bus or further depending on how fearless you're feeling A baht bus from the entertainment district for your late evening return -redwood

Walked up Soi 13 about 15:00 today and I found the noise sufficiently loud at the Whitehouse site that I didn't bother trying to book rooms for friends coming into town in December at the adjacent Dynasty. Ok, I'm probably overly caucious but this project has had a few stops and though it does look like it is progressing nicely now I decided not to gamble, so I booked them in at the Lek. Main point - Lek Hotel had rooms for a couple of nights in mid December for my friends - and then we're off to Koh Chang - but folks needing high season rooms might find something there at 850 for old section and 1200 new. -redwood

Found a place in Naklua. Thanks to all who replied -redwood

Need suggestions for a cheap but big room to suit 4 Thai family members coming to Pattaya from the village for a few days. 500-600 baht/day. Can be Naklua to Jomtien accessible to the baht bus route but out of the "scene". (Asking for a friend.) -redwood

They've moved to Soi Rungland in the last 2-3 months. They're in a shophouse and have rooms now. See the map on the URL in torrenova's post. -redwood

I also like the Sennheiser PXC 250. Here's a review: http://www.mymac.com/robertson/pxc250_9.11.03.shtml -redwood

I live in a rented townhouse very near the Nirun Grandville Condos and drink at Shagwell's which directly opposite the condos so I know a lot of folks who live there. http://www.shagwellmansions.com/rooms.php I would not rent at the Nirun without first seeing it, the surroundings and the actual unit you'd be renting, especially if you're going to be making a long term commitment. If you can, rent a room at Shagwell's for a few days and get a feel for the area. Friendly bunch at the bar esp. Sat and Sunday for football on TV. Many of the guys are long term stayers and/or repeat tenants. Some who've rented initially have bought units either to live in for themselves or for rental income. I've never really gotten the impression from anyone I've talked to who lives there that there are any issues regarding safety, at least nothing beyond the norm for Pattaya in general. I'll have to ask some of the guys specifically about this. But deservedly or not it does have a negative reputation. As Roy indicates the location is not good. For those who don't know it's off Pattaya Klang (Central Ptty. Rd.) - up to Carrefour and turn right on Soi 1 (aka Soi Arunothai) and from there about a 5 min. walk. Problem is the soi is very narrow and heavily trafficed as it eventually ends up at Sukhumvit and there's a large school about halfway to the Nirun which makes for even more chaos in the afternoon when school's out. There's hardly any footpath so walking is always a bit of an adventure. There are moto-taxis available if you're up for that. With Carrefour and Foodland within walking distance shopping is good. There are baht buses on Pattaya Klang going to Big C or S. Pattaya Road but not at all as frequently as Beach or 2nd Rd. Coming back late at night is a bitch especially if you're pissed. A hired baht bus will cost a farang 80-100 baht from Beach Rd. or take a baht bus to Ptty Klang then another one up to Arunothai then either stagger down to the condo or hire a moto-taxi and hope you don't fall off. I haven't heard of anyone being robbed down that stretch of road but it could certainly happen as by 3 or 4 in the morning there are times when there appears to be no one about. Cheap rents are the big draw here. I think 27 sq m units start around 4K with fan and maybe 5.5-8K with A/C. This would depend on furnishings and location in the building, DD phone or not and so on. I'll asked the lads re security and if there are any specific questions you have email me at: bkksoi13@hotmail.com -redwood

Another new place just opened according to a friend of mind who checked it out the other day. Well worth a look he says. 7,500/month with daily and weekly rates also available, though I did not get those. Off 2nd Road turn right (just before Soi 6) at the Bangkok Bank and go to end and turn left. It's on the right just above the Nova Park. DANG APARTMENT PATTAYA No website. Phone: 038-362063-66 FAX: 038-362067 -redwood

There's a new hotel on Soi Buakhao that sounds as if it's worth a look. The Greenery House is just N. of South Pattaya Road off Soi 22 (Soi Buakhao). It's a 5 or 6 story building and is adjacent to the Marin Place hotel. It's on the W. side of the soi past the market area at the point where the "kink" in the soi straightens out. Being new everything is neat, clean and tidy. A friend stayed there last week and said he'd use it again. Guest friendly. No pool but a pool is being built next door at Marin Place and apparently guests will be able to use their pool for a fee. Air con rooms are 490 and fan rooms 390 with a rate increase of 100 baht during the high season. Monthly rates are also available at what I recall to be a good discount though I can't remember the exact prices. There's also a penthouse apt. Don't think there's a restaurant but I'm told the Benelux across the way has ok food at reasonable prices. 111/296 Moo 10 Soi Buakhao Phone: 038 723717-8 No email address. (Usual disclaimers) -redwood

Found this: General Information: welcomeg@loxinfo.co.th at: http://www.welcome.co.th/wplaza.htm -redwood

I had the same intermittant problems with ActiveX as described above not only on this board but also with the thaivisa.com board (which uses Innervision) and also with yahoo mail. Last week I had to reinstall XP Pro and instead of using IE I downloaded Firefox and have had no problems with ActiveX since. And I do like Firefox. -redwood

To find the Tuesday/Friday Market DVD stall go E. on South Pattaya Road past Soi Bua Khao. Look for the yellow sign of the Bank of Ayudhya on your right (S. side of South Pattaya Road). Across from the bank is a soi (I _think_ it's Soi 20) running N. off S. Pattaya Road. Walk up this soi into the market area, look for an outdoor restaurant on the left and turn left at the restaurant. On the right there's a stall selling music CDs. A few steps more and on the left is the DVD stall. Prices are marked 150-200 each. I've never had a problem with quality. I'm told there's also a dealer of music DVDs in the same market but I've never been able to find him. Bangkok is probably better in terms of selection for DVDs. -redwood

Yeah - and if you get a couple of roommates................................ -redwood

They're attempting to construct a condotel at the site of the old Whitehouse Hotel on Soi 13. That's the property between the Dynasty and the Sandy Springs. I just walked by there yesterday and noticed that almost nothing appears to have been done since last January. http://www.whitehousecondotel.com A click on "updates" gives the reason for the delay: "May 7, 2004 - After a long and trying contract dispute work officially begins again. The new construction company has agreed to work extra hours and shifts to reduce the delay; The projected opening date is now scheduled for late December 2004." CONTRACT DISPUTE A poster on the open board says the 1 bedroom condos are priced at 4million baht. No seaviews. Rooms look smallish, no?? -redwood

Some nice observations Jaffa, thanks I'll add a few comments as someone who lives here now and has seen the comings and goings of the US military in Pattaya over 20 years. First of all most of the guys are very, very young and we just don't see large groups of 18-20 year olds flying in from Manchester, Perth, Aukland, etc. and being turned loose on the sois of Pattaya. And it's mandatory that they always go in pairs and usually they'll go in groups of 4-6 because sometimes one guy will allege that he knows all about Pattaya and the total newbies will follow him. (Only later do they realize he's as clueless as they are.) All that makes them real attention getters. But a lot of this attention getting loudness is job related. Being around heavy machinery, guns, explosives etc. a lot of these teenagers are already experiencing hearing loss. I talked to a Marine the other night who's an mechanic on an amoured personnel carrier and he said his hearing was going. Yes, they're supposed to wear protective gear but much of the time they don't according to him. Most of them don't have a clue about how things work in Pattaya. In some cases they have almost no notice that they're actually coming here and they just don't have the sense to do any research before they do arrive. And of course even if they did research on the first trip all that "knowledge" vanishes in the first gogo bar That pretty much goes for everyone I think. One of the more bizarre sights I saw was at the front of the Grand Sole Hotel. (It's on the R. side of 2nd Road a 100 meters or so N. of Pattaya Klang.) The US military used it as drop off and pickup point for buses transporting personnel on liberty back and forth from camp or ships. The word obviously got around because about a week ago around 17:00 I saw a milling mob of maybe a hundred Thai vendors carrying some of the most godawful crap imaginable waiting for the buses to arrive As each bus discharged its load they'd surge forward and the passengers would have to wade through the mob to get out onto 2nd Road where there was a line of about 20 baht buses hoping for business. And, down at the bank's ATM across from Top's it was same-same but with only maybe 30-40 vendors. -redwood

My experience a couple of years ago in late January was that all the usually mentioned hotels, the Flippers, the Eastinys, Sabaiis, etc, etc, etc, had few to no rooms available on short notice. The rooms available were at the second tier hotels and those rooms were the least desirable of that lot. -redwood

Isn't MOS (Ministry of Sound) out of business in Bangkok? Name changed to ????? Even though you're not working, i.e. you're not being paid, as I understand it the spinning of records _might_ be construed as "work" under Thai law especially if you're only holding a tourist visa. Legally you need a work permit to work and that would likely be hard to obtain for a farang DJ. This something to consider in conversations with club management. I think there are relatively few proper dance clubs as you might define them here in Thailand. It used to be that permits to license a dance venue were seriously expensive and I think this is still true. -redwood

I rented a condo for 6 months just down Soi 13 from the ARS and rarely saw anyone about the place. Most of the comments from folks who've seen the rooms have been fairly negative, so I never bothered having a look. -redwood

If you go by bus from Pattaya to Ekkamai bus station in Bangkok you'll then have to take a taxi across the city to the Southern bus station which is way the hell across the river in Thonburi. From there it'll be 3+ hours to Hua Hin. -redwood

Simply lack of demand. I flew that route in Feb. 2001 and there were about 12 passengers in an aircraft seating 70. Guys I talked to said some flights had fewer than that! -redwood

Looked at one room at Ma Maison 2 years ago - tired looking with mildew in the air. It was the high season and the only room available so maybe it wasn't typical of the rest of the rooms. Small pool and restaurant featuring French specialties. I've eaten there and the food is good. As has been discussed here a number of times Soi 13 has been the scene of 2 major construction projects. One just to the E. of The Haven & the other just to the W. of the new AA Residence (which is at the 2nd Road end of Soi 13.) Last I heard these projects were winding down. If that's the case your best bet might be the new AA. I stayed there one night a year ago and it was good until the construction noise sent me out searching for a different hotel the next morning. And others have said the back rooms on the E. side of the AA were quiet even during the construction. -redwood