gaijin

Are there any pay per use lounges in BKK I can use? I will need to arrive the airport way early before my flight and need to kill time. I will be flying Cathay Pacific so if anyone knows any pay per use lounges in the area that's great.

That too. I don't think Thailand is even a dot on the map of the world of fashion. Bring your own clothes that you will be comfortable in.

Personally I bring all the clothes I want or need from home so I don't have to go shopping. I wear 2XL most everything so sizing is a little difficult for me in Asia. Why bother spending time with shopping when there's so much else to do? I can fit all I need in a checked luggage, and another small carry on for my electronics, valuables, and laptop. It's not like you have to go carrying around your luggage with you everywhere in Pattaya and need portability?

Fuck, it's a sad day when the CAD is worth more than the USD.

The first soft and smooth skin of a Thai girl that sits on my lap and I start to feel all over. Oh baby. Gives me the shivers.

Damn, Kessaya is all booked for Feb. Anyone have any recommendations for another good motobike rental place? Preferably one that will deliver to my hotel.

Listen, being a waiter/waitress is not exactly a glorious job, which is why I never did it and never will. They have a job to do and they should do it without a dirty look. The fact you pay your staff $3.63/hour is hideous. What if there are no customers for a period of time? You can go on and on about how much people should tip, but the fact is the people that tip a lot are usually not very well off themselves. It's all a front to show people they got money when they really don't. Here in CA, the richest state in the country, we have restaurants where managers DO get a split off the tip. I don't know if that's fair or not, and it's not my business. If waiters don't like it, there are other jobs. But the whole tipping system is getting out of control, used to be 15% would be a very good tip, now the bastards are expecting 20-25%. And then they tell you if you can't afford to tip then don't go out to eat. Well, how about I can afford to go out to eat, but can't afford to tip what they want? HAHAHA! Whoever holds the money is the boss, simple as that.

Which one of Kessaya's bikes would you guys recommend? I need something with a bit more power, and enough under seat storage for a helmet.

I don't know about that. I believe waiters make whatever the state's minimum wage or at least the Federal min wage per hour, and plus whatever tips are agreed upon, could be 100%, could be split between bus boys and managers. I tip around 10-20 baht in Pattaya restaurants and they're usually happy with it.

Awesome, reminds me I need to reserve a bike too for my Feb. trip. So what's the name of that bike you rented? How many cc and did it have good kick to it? I may need something with a little oomph in case I ride to Ban Chang, last time I rode there I had a little trouble getting up the hill. Which bike would you recommend?

Smells like he may have duped his friend. 8500 euros is a lot of money, some real bad luck to have it stolen right when you're on the way to change it. Don't know about the insurance part, what kind of insurance could possibly insure stolen cash?

I think there are more Aussies on other forums.

How much are the steaks? Can someone post a menu?

Good news. Hope the value for the US dollar continues to climb also.

There is no sure security software that will protect you 100%. All you have to do is open up the wrong link and you're hosed. Just watch what kind of sites you're directed to, look at the link's URL address and if it's something different from what you expect then don't touch it. You can have all the alarms for the house you want, but if you open the front door for the bad guy to walk on in is the same way viruses and trojans work. Oh, and.......wrong section to post.

That's good news, I would love to see the baht devalue to get more value for my dollar when I come next. Getting 30 to 1 is not as good as it was at 45 to the $ a few years ago from what I've heard. Man, if it dropped to 45 to $1 I could be a LDOP!

I know the road they were riding on. Very empty road that time of night. Very straight too. Since it was only them involved in the accident, I'm gonna guess the driver was drunk. That's a pretty shitty way to go out. RIP

First trip bought a cheapie Nokia phone for 900 baht, but it was hell trying to text on it. 2nd trip brought my first iPhone 2G, jailbroke and unlocked it. Works great as I can store girls info and where they worked and picture as well as the number. Helps me remember who's who. Also have an app that translates English to written Thai that helps with communicating. Also carry a pocket camera with me wherever I go, still takes better pictures than any phone and easier to use for a quick snap. I keep my expensive Iphone 4 locked up in the safe until I get back to the States. You don't need a sophisticated smart phone in Thailand, one of those 'cheap' Nokias will work just fine. Their call quality is excellent and loud. How you get around without a phone for teelack to call you is beyond me.

What kind of exchange rate do you get when putting money into said bank account? Do you get the competitive rates found at the exchange booths in Pattaya, or do you get a lower rate like you do in the BKK airport? When first touching down in town, I usually have a significant amount of cash with me, and when exchanging so much it does make a difference what the rates are. Also, what's a good bank to use where there's many ATM's to access? I assume SCB? What do you need to walk into a branch and open an account as a foreigner?

I don't know if its just me, but if I were in the shower and had a bar girl in my room and heard a loud banging the FIRST thing I would think of is my safe. I'd come out soaking wet to check on things. While I don't keep 100K baht in my safe, I have close to or equal that in US currency, at the start of my trip. This story will probably have me all paranoid about taking a couple thousand $ with me to Thailand and keeping it in a safe from now on. I'll have to make an effort to take travellers checks next time. Oh and I agree with Volsfan about the whole 'bigging yourself up' thing. Whether you treat girls nice or are a good customer in a gogo means jack shit for this story. You're a victim of theft, that's all we really needed to know. The interesting thing about this is whether you'll get your money and hard disk back. So the girl may get arrested, but she probably already gave the money to her Thai boyfriend who couldn't give two fucks about her spending time in jail.

Was bored out of mind sitting at work in front of a computer all day. Had just broken up with GF of 6 years. Started thinking I needed to get away from it all and go somewhere far away for a vacation by myself. Did a quick search on Thailand and somehow found this forum. I was already a monger and lo and behold all the stories I read in the Trip Reports section fascinated me. Didn't get around to actually booking the ticket until 3 years later when I broke up with another GF, changed jobs, changed apartments, basically starting a new life less than a year ago. It was a big deal for me to actually go so far away around the world by myself, and boy am I glad I did it. Have made two trips already and if I get that new job offer I'm expecting this week then I may be coming back in a few weeks between jobs!

sangsom/coke, JD/coke, vodka/lipo, sometimes beer

I always carry my hotel's business card with me in Pattaya. Although I don't need it anymore for myself, it helps to show it to the girls so they'll know where to come find me for afternoon session. But yea, for the newbies, always carry your hotels business card, it will usually have directions to get to it written in Thai. It will save your ass at least once.

I would rather trust myself riding a moto bike after a few drinks than a motobike taxi who may be more drunk than me. I'm never drunk anyways, don't like getting drunk. The secret to avoiding getting creamed at an intersection by something on 4 wheels is to look in the direction of perpendicular traffic. I always do if I'm at the front of the line waiting for a green. Otherwise if I'm stuck in the middle of a pack pf bikes waiting to all take off like there's no tomorow then at least we all get creamed together. Most of the people who talk shit about riding don't even ride themselves. Same same here in the US.

I don't see any rates on the site. Can you give us a breakdown of the rates? What's your availability say starting February? April, May? Is there a laundry service nearby? Is there a room cleaning service? Change the sheets? Do we have to provide our own towels daily or is that changed free of charge? Toilet paper?