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Bell Bus Service from Suvarnabhumi airport to Pattaya. You must now pre-book the Bell bus if traveling from BKK airport. Previously you could turn up at the Bell-Bus stand and buy a ticket, that is no longer the case. You must pre-book by telephone or on their web-site. There's no point in arguing with the Bell bus staff as they will just ignore you or send you to the 'government' Pattaya bus booking desk. To quote what it states on their web-site which is in big bold letters........................"WE DO NOT ACCEPT WALK-ON PASSENGERS"

Assuming it's still there, there was a shop selling half barrel BBQ'S somewhere between Pattaya North road and Pattaya Klang on the south bound side of the highway and heading back in the Sattahip direction. The Ooosah bar on Soi Khaotalo which is now closed had a barrel BBQ purchased from that same store and used to do BBQ nights catering for all and sundry on one.

Just bear in mind you cannot do a walk-on with Bell buses from Swampy to Pattaya anymore. If you don't book a seat in advance your turned away. Go to their web site for details. I live in the Pattaya area and this is the telephone number of the taxi guy i use and can recommend him. +66 081-4097269

U-Tapao is where you want to land for Pattaya. I clocked it once taking a mate there and from Pattaya to the airport i clocked up less than 40 kilometres from my home on the Darkside. Now for the down side or ‘rip-off’. It costs as much in a taxi from U-Tapao to Pattaya as it does from Suvarnabhumi to Pattaya which is three times the distance. Expect to pay 800 baht upwards as there are no alternatives and for such a short journey its a complete rip-off. Use the mini bus service if you can. I think its 200 baht per person.

No mention of TMN cable TV which is available in the Darkside area and from what i've seen in a couple of houses and bars in the area it looks fine to me. I'll stick with UBC for picture quality which isn't top quality but better than cable.

Have to agree with you guys 100% in that it's the Thai building owners that rake in the big money. To quote a song from that well known group Dire Straits fits the bill "Money for nothing” Some years ago i had a reasonably successful business but for it to be that way i worked my tripe off 12-14hrs a day whilst my landlady who didn’t work and drove around in an expensive car collected her big fat annual rental payment plus per cent increases every October from my accountant with me having to pay her rental taxes which was written into the lease contract. Would I go into business again in Thailand? No way!!

One month is the limit as far as i'm aware depending on the circumstances. I've renewed mine on two occasion 2008 and 2009 one month before the expiry date due to returning to the UK on business. I found this on the internet at Siam legal which might refer to 'under normal circumstances'. Question: How would I go about renewing my Thai retirement visa? Answer: Be mindful about the expiration date of your Thai retirement visa written in your passport. You must renew your Thai visa at Thai Immigration approximately 2 weeks before the expiration date.

The Thai equivalent of OXO cubes which is Knor are laced with salt and when I’m cooking Thai food and using Knor chicken or beef cubes I usually mask the salty taste by adding a sachet of sugar.

Strange in that I’ve heard no mention of Thai food and nothings showing on the menu via the link. Does that mean I have to leave the misses at home?

What time does it all start? Are children allowed? Casual wear acceptable? Rough price of a Heineken? Are Mosquitoes a problem?

AUSSIE BAR - PATONG If you look at the number of dishes on the roof over the bar plus the vast array of boxes the Aussie bar in Patong has you will understand how and why he can show all the games live. It took him years to get that lot together. My Aussie mate in Pattaya has Banglamung cable TV because they have ABC Asia which shows AFL and Aussie rugby and cricket on the South African channel.

Chaos as travel group goes bust Thousands of holidaymakers have had their Christmas plans thrown into disarray after it was announced that a travel group has entered administration. Allbury Travel Group, which traded as Libra Holidays, Argo Holidays and JetLife, ceased trading with 100 holidaymakers still abroad and about 4,000 customers with forward bookings, according to the Civil Aviation Authority. The Hertfordshire-based firm operated air package holidays and flights out of Gatwick, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham and Leeds Bradford airports to Greece, Cyprus and Egypt, and sold mainly through travel agents. Travellers turned up expecting to fly out for their Christmas breaks on Saturday, only to be told the company had gone into administration at midnight.

You have found your paradise and one which many a farang will envy. Build a big house with five bedrooms and three toilet/shower rooms for what? I've heard the howls of laughter from the village locals at the stupidity of some farangs who build a hotel sized house for himself, his tirac, and the Thai boyfriends children.

Sorry for correcting you my friend but Sri Racha is 20 kilometres north of Pattaya not south. www.phyathai-sriracha.com/Eng/index.php

For the last couple of years on two separate 3-months trips to the UK I’ve used my mobile to connect my laptop to the internet. I’ve managed it using my mobile phone (Nokia N73) and an Orange Sim-card and the service goes by the name of ‘Orange internet bundle’ which for a fee of five pounds you have unlimited access to the internet for a period of seven days. There is a setting up procedure which they’ll talk you through and once that’s out of the way your good to go. Using the mobile has its speed limitations at 115kbps but with nothing much available in the short term unless you lash out silly money for a dedicated dongle it gets you by. WARNING: Be careful and very aware of your expiry day (day seven) as they will feed of your credit once the bundle has expired and they have a terrible habit of forgetting to send you a text informing you your bundle has expired and needs renewing.

Check out mobile phones at Big C on number two road, less hassle and has a dedicated Nokia shop. Tuckom is to much 'in your face' for my liking.

I live on the Darkside in the Soi Khaotalo area and at this moment in time i'm in the UK and the main page loaded within seconds but once I clicked on listings it was that slow I gave up.

This is the link to the office of the consumer protection board. http://www.ocpb.go.th/ Unfortunately it’s all in Thai, so you need your lady to guide you through. Good luck you will need it in this land of scams

Would you buy your weekend cut of meat from this market in Phnom penh? I purposely took a couple of shots in black and white. I haven't included a written report, just pictures as i don’t doubt you’ve read no end of stories/reports on Phnom Penh. Most about the night life of course but pictures can sometimes say just as much. Downtown market area The market

I’m with TT&T Maxnet 3MB and was recently upgraded to 4MB at no extra cost. I pay 850 Baht per month Inc VAT. You have to sign up for a minimum 12 months. Once that’s done the installation will be carried out within seven days but for outside wiring I had to pay 300 baht. The engineers came and installed the line and box to the post outside my home and that was all. You are responsible for the wiring from the box (outside) to wherever you want within your home. I got the TT&T installation guy to do the wiring and modem set-up for which he charged me 700 Baht (an off- the-books job) I find the service to be reliable. You might have a problem as many Condos are subjected to a fixed line as decided by who-ever. I know a guy like you who has a condo and he’s stuck with an ISP he doesn’t want as the service is crap but can do nothing as the building had it installed and until (if ever) they decide to change the ISP he’s stuck with their choice. He was told that the condo management does not want unsightly wires running all over the exterior of the building so he’s stuck.

Nice one!! You dropped lucky there Dr. Mick as not many get their deposits back, fortunately i'm only in for an amount equal to one months rent which I paid up front. The house next door to me has been on the letting market for 18 months and both previous tenants lost their 50.000 baht deposits. It’s occupied at the moment by an American guy who was hit for 100.000 baht up front but seeing as his Thai wife is a lawyer he might just have his deposit returned. The landlord is 'German' and through his Thai wife of course lives in Thailand from the rental of a couple of houses and a condo. His mate (English) also leases out houses which is his only source of income. The last tenants in one of his houses lost the bulk of their deposit on some jumped up suggestion they’d done damage and with the money revamped the whole house which hadn’t seen a lick of paint in ten years. Whilst telling me the story he stuck his chest out laughing saying his house now looks really nice therefore he can increase the rental charge. Work it out for yourselves. To me in some instances deposits are nothing but a scam and a scam not always carried out by a Thai.

Hello stranger, Good to hear you’re still alive and kicking. Myself. I’m fine and still enjoying life in Thailand, last month (April) I notched up 12 years as an expat yet it seems like only yesterday since I stepped onto the tarmac. Bjorn. He recently bought two brand new condos down Jomtien then moved into one with his misses and her daughter. He still visits his house in Ubon (Nonbak) and reckons he may one day move back there. I had a beer with him last night and many times we’ve wondered whether you’re still in Thailand or not with not having heard from you in some time. Good to know your still around and say hello to your lass from me. Keep in touch (Danny)

Thanks for info Dr Mick. Keep me posted on the accommodation situation; i'm interested in a 3-bedroomed unfurnished place, preferably single storey. I'm away back to the UK in June for three months doing some work on a house i own there so it won’t be before then. The house i live in now which is a 5-minute bike ride from Jomtien i took on an unfurnished basis as it was brand new which saved the owner a few bob on furniture and allowed me to negotiate a discount on the monthly rental cost. Most importantly it enabled me to choose furniture to my own liking.

Thanks Dr Mick. I thought walk-about was the way to go. Is there much in the way of available rental accomodation around the lake area? I have my own furniture which is more than enough to furnish a three bedroomed house, is unfurnished available? I used to go to a sea food restaurant by the lakeside forget the name but on one occasion it was my ladies birthday so i booked a private room with our own personal waiter and Waitresses. A night I’ll never forget especially seeing the smiling faces on the children. Cost: Drinks, mountains of food and generous tips set me back less than 5000 baht for 20 people (30% where children who had the time of their lives). If you bump into a skinny Scottish geezer around the circuit that lives in Santisuk called Bobby and works off-shore then tell him an old friend from his Phuket/Pattaya days says hello.

I don't see any mention of how long the lease is for and who owns the lease. Do the owners require a smooth hand-over fee?