js007

The conventional wisdom is that it's safest to take a girl from a go go bar or any establishment where she is known. I guess a beer bar would do. If you do that, you have some recourse. Surely the bar owner has some idea who she is. As for the drugging part? Don't have an open drink around a girl you've just picked up. And don't get too drunk.

Alcohol involvement? That seems to be the case many times. Someone with too much to drink at 3AM gets on a motorcycle and wants to see how fast it will go. The live until they get to the first curve in the road. Of course, I've also seen idiots in broad daylight have accidents.

One time I was at the US Embassy in Bangkok and some guy was there next to be having an affadavit notarized for Cititbank about some fraudulent charges that had been made on his charge card. He had used his card in Bangkok and thereafter, someone ran up $300,000.00 of additional charges. Why he had such a high credit limit or how the bank let it go so far, I'm not sure. Anyway, I try not to use credit cards in Thailand.

My only comment would be that there are hotels al over Pattaya, and getting around usually isn't so hard so long as you're on a baht bus route. I've stayed all over the place, and wouldn't hesitate to try something new, so long as it is in my price range and gets decent reviews.

Maybe the best course of action is to pay with cash? I once stayed there for about six or seven weeks straight, and at the end they charged my Amex. No problem with that, but when I got the bill, it included a hefty currency transaction fee. For what I paid for the fee, I could have stayed there another two days.

From the website, the place looks OK. There's even a Golden Retriever hanging around if you like dogs. I've stayed across the street at the Metro Apts on several occasions, but I wouldn't hesitate to try the Armageddon bar for a change. Actually, there's more than a few guesthouses on that Soi, and from the outside, they're all the same. The only difference might be cleanliness of the rooms and the and service. For example, the Metro Apartments is a well run place. Send them an email and they'll answer. And the staff is excellent. The other places? I'm not sure.

My guess is that the lower priced condos would be easier to rent, and perhaps you'd have a better yield. Still, I wonder how easy it is to keep tenants, with all the new condos going up.

I guess it doesn't much matter so long as you plan ahead. I didn't really need two day service, but if I'd paid a lot of extra money and still had a slow response, I'd be pissed.

10 days to get a visa from the LA Consulate? That seems like a long time. For what it's worth, the Houston consulate was FAST. Express mail the application to them on day one, they get it on day 2, and I get my passport back with a new visa on day 3. I provided the return Express mail envelope.

For what it's worth, I read that even the Vatican newspaper liked the movie. I'll go see it next week when it comes out in the USA.

It doesn't say, if I remember right, just that he was dead. I guess he should have adhered to the three day rule.

Sometimes, I wonder how much it would cost to have all the junk furniture hauled away.

Yes, it does say 6000 baht a day. Not exactly cheap.

I've never dealt with the LA Consulate, but every time I've gotten a visa from one of the other consulates (Houston, Denver), I've sent in the required documents, including a print-out of my ticket reservations. I'm not sure how strict they are about the ticket part. Maybe you could somehow print out an intended itinerary without buying the ticket? Just send them something that fits within the 60 or 90 day parameters. Then again, maybe they don't care, so long as they get their fee.

I take it this type of internet connection wouldn't be on 24/7? If it was, wouldn't that get rather expensive with 3G?

If I've read good things about a particular place, I might be inclined to try it out, if I'm in the area and in the mood for that type of food. Or, if I see that a places is crowded, I figure they must be doing something right.

Whatever you do, remember that "Wireless Road" is called something else in Thai. One time I was trying to take a cab to Wireless Road and the taxi driver had never heard of it. I finally git there, though, in another taxi.

It sure seems as though there's a lot of new condos going up in Pattaya these days. Who's buying them all?

I think there were a few Vietnamese food stalls in the upper floor food court at the Royal Garden Plaza. I had some Pho there one time, as I recall.

I think I read somewhere that they were planning on cracking down on this type of visa? Might be harder to get? Not that you shouldn't go for it if you really want to study in Thailand, but if you're just looking for an easy way to get a visa, why not try some other route?

I'm from the USA and most of the hamburgers I've tried in Thailand (with the exception of the fast food hamburgers) taste "funny" to me. People say it's just a difference in the beef and what they're fed.

I don't fly enough to worry about it, but from my experience it helps if you arrive at the airport early in the morning. Last time I had an early flight and I was the only guy there for the TSA people to check. I was through in about 30 seconds.

Great pictures! Nana Plaza was my first stop in Thailand. 1AM, hot, humid, and I'd just finished a 30 hour trip. And on top of all that, a ladyboy almost extracted 2000 baht from my front pocket.

Looking at all the videos on YouTube, I guess it would be a good idea to live above the first floor, if you lived in Pattaya. Stock up ob some food and water and if it floods, stay inside. It's surprising, though, how fast it can all happen. One time I was out taking some pictures on Beach Road when it got dark and started to rain. I had to take refuge in a Soi 8 beer bar, within a short time, Soi 8 turned into a river.

I've never had a problem, but still, I try not to travel with a bunch of stiff that might get stolen. My money is in my bank or my pocket, and I leave a little in my room safe for emergencies. I also carry travelers checks, but if those are stolen, they're replaced. I guess the worst that could happen is that I lose a few dollars and perhaps my laptop and camera.