ttk

\ I would agree with this but have only been to the one in Bangkok. I t was a bit awkward with all the condoms around and even worse when the change came. Insted of mints they had a couple of condoms on the plate. I was not sure what to do but the lady with me grabbed them :-). Otherwise, I have always liked the place at the very end of the road in Jomtiem. Noit sure of the name but it is the one just as the road turns left. Not sure about lunch but dinner at sunset is always nice.

The day started out pissing rain. 10Am from hotel. But was dry by noon. A bit cooler then before but perfect for farangs. Not only dig the BIB chew my ass for a water canon, this little one did too. At least she did it in English, the Cop was all in Thai. I was thinking either take it away or speak English cause I have no clue what you are saying. Later one did take it.. Funny thing though, the next Soi 10 meters down the road there was a guy selling them........hmmmm, recycle???? Sonkran can wear you down Beach road was closed and packed as usual No idea what the foam is all about

I just checked the cost for my ATM cash from my US bank account at the ATM accros the street from RG. Date Dollars Baht Rate 14-Apr $689.26 20000 $29.02 TC are now 30.xx for 100's with a 30 baht fee? I figure on about 5 withdrawels so I would save 750 baht ($35) enough for 5 beers +tip at flb.

I checked the schwab site and didn't even see anything out of the ordinary for criteria. It is a checking account so interest is low. With High Yield Investor Checking, you get: 0.25% variable APY on every dollar in your account—regardless of your balance. No minimum requirement No monthly service charges. Unlimited ATM fee rebates apply to cash withdrawals using the Schwab Bank Visa® Platinum Debit Card (also referred to as a "Check Card" or "Visa Check Card"), wherever it is accepted. ATM fee rebates do not apply to any fees other than fees assessed for using an ATM to withdraw cash from your Schwab Bank account Thanks for the useful post.

Ahhh sure :clueless "roads in and around Pattaya" won't be gridlocked" is the same as "Sukhumvit, as well as ALL roads in to pattaya, will be gridlocked with traffic moving slower than those walking on the side of the road" :clueless

Frosty has been in Pattaya for several Songkrans and is 100% correct. Not sure where Joe pulls out his version of the world but it is obvious that he has not been there during that time. Even Bell bus service states: "Bell Travel Service in Pattaya will not provide a pick-up or drop-off service between Bell Office and hotels in Pattaya due to Songkran Festival in Pattaya" city.

You could try the VIP bus departing every 2 hours from 0700 to 2200 http://airportpattayabus.com/Coachschedule.html or Bell every 2 hours 0800 to 1800 (no service to hotels on the 19th. http://www.belltravelservice.com/routes_rates.php or Perhaps 2 nights in Bangkok if you do not have to be in Pattaya as it will be over in Bangkok on the 18th.

I for one appreciate the report. I havn't been in Bangkok for a while so updates are always welcome. I hope the comments from a small group do not deter you from posting again. As you pointed out, it makes no difference if software comes on a DVD or CD. To claim it is not a vaid comparison is laughable...but a typical response.

When the Euro first came out, alot of the vending machines could not tell the difference either. I read that Europe had the balls to tell Thailand that they need to change the design of the 10 baht coin so it would not be a problem.

As if the op wasn't???? Only you can decide if your toothache bothers you more than knowing your In-Law died of AIDS/TB. Noone on this forum can answer that for you ...........Up-To-You

I grabbed this from the board when Pete wrote up a short history FLB History I'm away at the moment or I would have thrown in a few pics from the old days. I've been thinking about compiling a history of Pattaya, which would be far more interesting, but to date it's only been a thought. Anyway my involvement with FLB began in mid 1998 when Ann and I leased the bar. At the time it was called Europa and as Roland said it had a very dubious reputation as a place where Bulgarian women serviced Thai men. The former Bulgarian proprietor who was wanted by Interpol for murder had been arrested by the Thai police and deported a month before we arrived. The operation had literally stopped in the middle of a normal nights operation and the doors closed. When we saw it there was still some booze on the shelves. It was also disgustingly dirty and run down. Ann's Party Bar opened in November 1998 and was a go go bar. Six months of living with a go go bar was enough to convince me that this is not a fun occupation. In May 1999 the bar closed one night as a go go, and opened the next night as Freelancer Bar. I still remember the look on the girl’s faces when they arrived for work that day and the two go go stages had disappeared to be replaced by the two bars. We paid all the girls out for the month and offered them jobs as Hostesses. About half stayed on for a while. Freelancer Bar was supposed to be a more up market version of the famous Thermae Bar in Bangkok. I still think it was a good idea but we made several bad mistakes in the way we implemented it. As a result there were never very many freelancers hanging around and it really became the hostess bar it is now. By late 2001 or early 2002 I got bored explaining why Freelancer Bar did not have any freelancers and so changed the name to FLB Bar. BTW, Ann is and always has been the majority share holder in the bar which is why I always call her the boss. Moulee and Jang are the only two employees who were with us on day 1. Ben was a regular customer in the bar and became a good friend. When Ann and I were looking to reduce our day-to-day involvement, Ben was an obvious choice to take a more hands on approach. I made him an offer and he joined the crew in June 2001. Some of these dates are approximate as I'm writing all this from memory, far away from all my records. That would make those pictures somewhere between 1999 and 2002.

Seems he did mention he talked to the manager .

Since I work for the US governement and get paid every 2 weeks I know exactly how many weeks there are in a year and that 52 is not it. Every so often we get paid 27 times:-)

By far the fastest and most comfortable way to get there is a taxi (Mr. T taxi is 1000 or so). No waiting for trains /buses and transfers. No lugging luggage around. No extra taxis to the hotel. I do appreciate the report and quide but after spending $1000+ on airfare and sitting on a plane for 20+ hours, I gladly spend the extra $20 to get to Pattaya.

Yes. Don't tell the ladies or they may not go.... ghosts.

$1100 is not a great price. I fly from SEA but have been getting flights under $1000. If you check now, you will see them much higher but I suspect (read that HOPE) they will drop after the holiday travel.

I was in Bahrain during Ramadan a few years ago and alcohol sales stopped in barsduring it (it was possible to get it in your 5 star hotel rooms). I would have expected Adu Dahbi to be the same... looks like they are more liberal.

PLenty to drink .... except during Ramadan. In 2011 that will be 1-30 August.

My first trip was in 1999 for 5 weeks to support work with the Thai Navy in Satahip. I really didn't want to go and they almost had to drag me to the airplane kicking and screaming since it was messing up my annual boat trip with friends and family. Ironic since they also dragged me to the airplane kicking and screaming when it was time to go. A co-worker had the quote of the trip after going to one of the Soapies. He was married and wanted no part in the sex scene, but he did want to experience the mattress massage. Once the bath and mattress work was done, the lady wanted to add the extras for a tip. He kept going around with wanting only mattress massage and she wanted to do the full deal. He finally offered her the entire tip and she refused saying "no sex I won't take the tip" (IT was over ten years ago). The next day he related the story and how frustrating it was during the negotiations that he could not get more massage. His quote was "I should have just fucked her and saved me all the aggravation"

The Finn story reminded me of a story one of my co-workers told. He was the coach of a soccer team that went to Finland for a youth tournament. He knew no Finnish but one of the team memebers was Finnish so he got the boy to write down the hotel and how to get there. Later that night after a round of serius partying, he grabbed a local lady and hailed a cab to go back to the room. Cab driver looked at the note asked if he was sure looked and asked a few more times. Turns out, the kid had written directions to the local nut house.

How much top-up did you do?

My 123 call card I had for several years was good for a year with 200 or 300 top up (forget which). Last March, I did the usual and only 30 days. At Tuk Com they were able to get about 6-7 months after messing with the phone. Pain though. As for the reactivation, does that mean AFTER the expiration date, I can get the same number back if add 30 baht?????

http://www.soidb.com/en/pattaya/dine/resta...ies_tavern.html

Havn't you heard, Pattaya is planning a skytrain. First one wtih 5 stations from city hall on North Road, left at the Dolphin Roundabout onto 2nd and all the way to the 3rd road overpass and onto Bali Hai pier. Second one with 4 stations also from city hall up North Pattaya to Suhkumvit and end at Soi Nongprue. Plenty of chances for the big malls to add links like Bangkok.

Anyone else remember the traffic light at the end of Thappraya Road that was installed a few years ago? Traffic was backed up halfway to Jomtien . The light couldn't have been in use more then a few months before it was changed to a blinking yellow. The same will happen with the pedestrian crossing llights. Just imagine driving down Beach or 2nd road and having to stop every time someone wants to cross and pushes the button. I havn't counted the lights from North Pattaya road to South Pattaye road but I would guess 10 maybe. It will turn in Songkran traffic jams all year round.