js007

You can probably find something for 6000 baht. 3000 baht might be a little difficult.

When you buy your ticket, don't they tell you up front what it would cost to make a change? I usually opt for the cheaper ticket with a higher change fee. With any luck, I won't have to change anything.

Is this something new? I don't remember getting them. I usually use the Family Marts, though.

It's probably just a matter of time before Wal Mart gets sued by someone injured in the riots. Of course they want it to happen. They want as many people in the stores as possible. .

I wonder how often that happens? You buy a condo and somehow you end up paying for your electricity as well as the next door neighbors? I once had an apartment that was part of a two story house. The owner was apparently too cheap to meter each apartment for the gas water heaters and I was getting free hot water (I didn't know). But somehow, the guy who was paying the bill found out and he went nuts and had the whole thing disconnected. They finally sorted it out, but for a few days, I had no hot water.

When I think of "Walking Street," I think of the entire area. The street itself and all the little side Sois. There are beer bars and go gos on those Sois, but if they're right off Walking Street, I don't really make the distinction. Still, there are tons of bars all over Pattaya, especially beer bars. And on any given night, there are probably more than a few hidden gems tucked away in some out-of-the-way beer bar. You just never know.

One way to stop all the nonsense would be to have the Black Friday deals only online. I don't suppose they'd do that, though. I just stay away from the stores on days like that. Whatever they're selling isn't worth all the hassle. I can remember one year me and a friend tried to go to a mall in California the day after Thanksgiving. There was NOWHERE to park. I just gave up after a while.

Thanks for the support. They can say whatever they want about me. Anyway, it seems sort of silly, in a sense, to ask whether Walking Street is "going downhill." Maybe it is, but then again, maybe it's just that the place is changing. But you can say that about anywhere on planet Earth. I wish I had a time machine to go back 30 years. There are a lot of places that have "gone downhill" that I'd like to visit circa 1982. And 30 years from now, there'll no doubt be guys wishing they could turn back the clock and visit 2012 again.

Get well soon. On the bright side, all these types of illnesses usually resolve sooner or later.

Sure, but you have to give Giuliani at least some of the blame.

I don't worry much about swimming pools, but the Sabai Lodge seems OK. The Hard Rock also has a nice pool.. I've never stayed at the Hard Rock, though. The Sabai Lodge has shade from umbrella and a restaurant/pool bar. Just check on the construction noise in the area.

I'm now in the Midwest, but I've lived all over. The cheapest utility bills I ever had was in San Diego, at the beach. No need for air conditioning and heat only once in a while in the winter.

It's a big house and everything is electric, including the heat. Hopefully, I'll be out of here some day soon.

I think the Thai people have the right idea, if you can stand it. No aircon, just a ceiling fan. There's no real need to heat in the winter, and no real reason they need aircon the rest of the year. Many parts of the world don't have that kind of weather. Here in the states it's Fall. Not really too cold. And yet just the other day I paid an electric bill of $321. I'm sure that by Jan/Feb, it'll be up in the $800 range. Such a waste.

No place stays the same forever. Hell, just look at some of the old pictures from Pattaya taken 40 years ago. Look at it now. How could it not have changed? Just the other day I was reading some blog a guy wrote about NYC in the 70s. At the time, Times Square and the rest of the city were in decline, the city was almost bankrupt, and there were hookers and sleaze everywhere you looked. But it was also a time of great creativity and invention in the arts and music scene. People liked the city just the way it was. It was fun, it was alive, it was real. But at some point, a new mayo

Jeez. I was just trying to be funny. Don't take it seriously.

I think you guys think too much.

I think the Tune hotels charge extra for everything. Extra for soap, towels, TV, phone, air conditioning, etc.

I don't get it. The pump says 1330 but the real price is 1130? Do they enter the 1330 manually? Why doesn't the amount on the pump automatically correspond to the amount purchased?

As I recall, the last time the H1N1 came around, they had already manufactured the flu vaccine for the year and it would not protect against H1N1. So they sold a lot of some other medicine that supposedly helped against that strain. I forget the name. Tamiflu? Anyway, I wouldn't count on a flu shot protecting against every type of flu.

Every year, they adjust the flu vaccine given out so that it protects against the strains of flu they think will be around that year. But they don't always guess right or, some new strain may pop up which the vaccine doesn't protect against. According to the doctors, there's no harm in taking the flu shot, as it is manufactured from dead virus particles. You cannot catch the flu from a flu shot. The great pandemic of 1918? was caused by a strain of the bird flu. Millions died. So we probably don't want to see that come back again. As for strains of flu floating around in Pattaya?

I agree. And it's not just a minor problem. What happens if the dollar totally collapses? If your only source of income is a military pension, you might be in a bit of trouble.

Just remember, as a foreigner, you can't legally own land in Thailand, so buying a house would require setting up a fraudulent Thai company for the purpose of buying the house and land. Not a good idea, in my opinion. Condos are easier. You can legally own one of those. My only advice there would be to look around at everything available. DO NOT buy anything that isn't completely built and that you can inspect. There have been many many scams in Thailand were people made a down payment on an unbuilt condo, only to have the "builder" disappear with the money. And when you make a purc

Sorry for the misunderstanding. Anyway, 38000 baht for 28 days should be more than enough.

That's 38,000 for two months? Sounds about right. Of course, for 38.000 a month you could surely find a nice place. I'm sort of a fan of guest houses, but a condo would be nice if you can find one at the right place. If I were looking for a condo rental, short time, I'd perhaps try View Talay 6. You can't beat the location.