js007

So, maybe I got lucky? I'm not a wiz at this stuff, but when I did it I figured that if I had the internet at my end of the ethernet cable, the Airport Express would just take that signal and broadcast it around my room. All I had to do was get the laptop to recognize the Airport Express. There's a set-up utility in the Mac OS that takes care of all the hard work. Anyway, it worked. And I was up and running in a few minutes. For anyone wanting to know, the Airport Express thing costs about $99 in the USA. In Thailand, I think I paid 3300 baht. I had one already at home, but didn't bring it on my trip. Now I have two, although the latest model is 801.n capable.

I've done it. I once stayed in a place that had wired internet but no Wi-Fi in the rooms. So, I went to the store that sold Apple stuff and bought an "Airport Express." I suppose any Wi-Fi router wold work. Anyway, I just plugged it in and plugged in the ethernet cable from the internet and my computer took me through the set up steps. In about three minutes, I was up and running. Very easy.

That's a good price. Every time I check Kayak or one of the similar sites, I come up with different fares and carrier combinations. Sounds like you got lucky.

Delta. The flight to Japan leaves out of wither Minneapolis or Detroit, and there's a short layover at Narita. I think I leave this time from Detroit. I've done it both ways and the flight times are about the same. Be careful, though, as some of the connections have some pretty long layover times. I'm not really thrilled with the Delta 747s, but I already have a bunch of Delta FF miles and the price was right. Supposedly, they're refurbishing the economy cabins on the 747s. I guess that won't happen until next summer, though. Continental also has some cheaper flights right now. They waned to fly my to Houston first, I believe. Anyway, I wanted to fly Premium Economy on Thai Air or JAL, but I couldn't justify the extra $1000. So, I'm on Delta.

It was one of the cheaper prices I could find. Last year I think I paid $1117, so it's a little more this year. Still, I'll be in Thailand for two months, so it works out to about $22 a day for the airfare portion of my trip.

The other day I booked my ticket for February. I suppose I could have waited, but it seems more real when I have a ticket. I paid $1307 from the midwest USA.

When I'm in Thailand, that's the way I do it. I don't stay there year round, though. A few months here and there. One time for nine months straight. Anyway, it would be an easy thing to do in Asia. Look at all the guest houses that have good rates. Many of the hotels are also affordable. Daily maid service, free wi-fi, utilities paid, etc. You could have worse problems.

Try some of the guest houses. Or, try booking through a site like Agoda where you pay in advance. They may have some rooms somewhere.

For me, there's no such thing as an "average day." Some days, I don;t drink much of anything. Other days, I drink too much. In any event, I usually don't drink anything until 1-2PM. If I'm out and about at that early hour, I might have a beer or two with lunch. Or, maybe I'll stop in at TQ on Beach Road to get out of the heat and have a few beers and a snack. Perhaps, I'll stop into Far East Rock for another beer or two. But if I'm not careful, I can transition from there to another bar or two and after that, who knows? I could end up in the Twilight /Zone on Walking Street. Preferably, I won't do much drinking until 9PM or so. A few beers at a go go, a beer or two at another go go, and so on. But if I drink too much I'll eventually end up back in my room with some girl. How I got there is a mystery. The best course of action is to limit yourself to four or five beers.

60,000 a month? That's 2000 a day. Doesn't that seem like a lot? How many planes from the USA land in Bangkok every day?

Military guys on leave? Maybe last year I just came at the right time. I was in Phuket when the place was filled with Navy guys. A month or so before, Pattaya was crawling with them. They seemed to be having a good time and most were well behaved. As for finding Thailand on a map? My point was that if you stood on the typical street corner in the USA and asked everyone who walked by if they had any interest in going to Thailand, you might be there a long time before you had even a handful of people.

For the typical American guy, a trip to Thailand would be fairly expensive, so that factor alone would exclude many potential visitors. Second, most married guys probably wouldn't be able to get away from home without their wives, so that would exclude another bunch of potential visitors. And finally, 99/100 Americans wouldn't even be able to find Thailand on a map. They don't know anything about it. Of course, the backpacker set is a little different. They have time and money and are apt to be more educated. I'd say they'd be more likely to visit Thailand. I've met a few other Americans in Thailand, but not many. There were all well behaved. Some guys from California there for a few weeks. A retired teacher. And of course, all the military guys there on leave or whatever.

Whenever I'm in Thailand for a few months, I always end up with a lot of coins (other than what I've spent on the baht buses). I usually end up just leaving them for the maid at the end of my trip, as an extra tip. I figure she wouldn't be too pissed off at having to count it all.

However you look at it, Pattaya is much less expensive than it could be. Just the other day, I was talking with a friend about taking a short trip to New York City. Anyway, we were discussing a little hotel I stayed at about 10 years ago. Today's price: $900.00 - $1100.00 per night! I suppose you might be able to find a deal, but you'd still be paying at least half of that. The place was nice, but it wasn't that much nicer than the typical nice hotel you might find in Pattaya for $100 or less. And I do believe you'd probably have more fun in Pattaya.

I was noticing that just the other day. I wonder how far back those things go? Fortunately, I have good genes. Maybe someday, I'll find out.

One guy once posted that he could take his ATM card to the teller and withdraw money as a "point of sale" purchase. The only fee would be the currency exchange fee of about 1%. Supposedly, that would be a lot cheaper than using the ATM. I've never tried it, though.

Why take a chance? You could easily ruin a few days of your vacation. Just use bottles water.

You have to have the right computer software for the TV type monitors. Otherwise, the aspect ration might be off. Also, it helps if the TV is 1080P. Otherwise, what could be the difference?

Many of the new LCD or LED TVs have computer inputs. Just find a 27" or 30" or 32" TV and you're all set.

Why not take some cash or travelers checks and open a Thai bank account first thing? Aside from the charge for the ATM card, I think it would be pretty much free after that if you used your Thai bank ATM card at your Thai bank.

I've been to the Beer garden a few times, but I can't recall a thing about the music. Anyway, maybe you could let the customers choose, somehow. What if someone brought you a CD filled with MP3s? Could you play that? Or, maybe you could have a computer where people could make their own playlists.

That's exactly what I do. Log onto my USA bank account, go to the "transfer funds" section, and wire however much I want to my Thai bank.The wire transfer fee is $40. The transfer takes 24 hours or less, depending on when I initiate it.

If you have a budge of 2000 to 3000 baht, you'll have many many choices. personally, I'd rather stay in a 21,000 a month guest house (high season) and spend the rest on wine women and song.

I've now had a chance to play with a few I-Pads. Just imagine a giant Ipod Touch. I suppose there are a few neat apps for it. The other day I was in a high end stereo shop and they had a system set up to play lossless digital music stored on a server. The equipment was all expensive as hell, but it sounded great. Anyway, they used an I-Pad and some proprietary software as a giant remote control for music selection. You could browse through the music by categories, make play lists, and so on. I suppose you could do the same thing with an I-Pod Touch or an I-Phone and I-Tunes. And one person I know bought one to use as an E-Book reader.

I'd like to se some pedestrian bridges. Those would be safer.