Emil

If you can eat Thai food and want a large selection in one area, check out the weekend market on Theppisit Rd. The area of this market that sell fresh food and cooked food may even be open during the week, can anyone verify.

A baht of gold is about 1/2 oz of gold. Don't know about resell as alot would depend on what your prospective buyer is looking for in style. I'll see you in 10 days at BKK.

Baht buses have routes east of Sukhumvit and travel north and south on Sukhumvit. They're not as frequent as the ones on Beach RD. Do some research on their routes to get an idea of your boundries for selecting a place to stay. These routes could also expand in the future as more development arrive. Also if your not aware, Carrefour and maybe other markets, will deliver your goods to you if the purchase is over 1000 baht so you wouldn't have to lug groceries around on a baht bus.

I've used a Pattaya based service close to 30 times and they have always been waiting for me, even the time I arrived at BKK at 3 AM over 3 hours late due to problems with the aircraft in Narita. One thing that I always do is send an email just before I leave my home in the states.

Within the states I don't doubt the problem. International flights haven't been a problem for me on United, in fact I'm able to get the saver seats which only require 60k miles which they only have a limited number of seats available on each flight instead of the 90K seats. However I don't book online as that only allows you to fly on United Airlines flights. I pay the $15 fee and talk to a reservation agent who has access to all the Star Alliance flights.

65,000 baht a month and on the US form it asks what is your monthly income, so interest, dividends, rental, and etc. all count. If your under the 65K, then they use an equation so that you would need less than the 800,000 in a Thai bank account tp qualify for the retirement visa.

White Knight buffet on Soi VC @ 220 baht. The BBQ buffet where you do the cooking on 3rd RD (the 1st one you come to coming from Paqttaya Klang on the right) @ 129 baht. The Star Dice buffet up on Naklua RD @ 199 baht but I've been told that the buffet was discontinued last month. Hope they start it again soon.

It might vary depending on the airline your with, you should give them a call to make sure. When you purcahse an economy ticket they have different types within economy. United has a y, b, m, e, u, h, q, v, w, s, t, l, and k fares. Find out what code is on the ticket that your going to buy and make sure that your airline will give you credit for that fare unless they accept all codes. Some airlines might only give you say 50% of the miles flown for the discounted fares.

My plan is to go to Jomtien Immigration first and see if they will accept the copy along with the letter from the US Office of Personnel Management that shows my monthly pension. If not would the original be part of my application forms that I submitted last year be available for them to see? If all fails then I will head up to Bangkok as its not much effort to go to Jomtien and will only cost me an extra 20 baht to save on the trip to Bangkok and the cost to the US Embassy.

Summer months are always higher in the states as schools are out and families travel, plus you have all the Asian college students heading home. This is the time that I use my miles to travel free.

Jack, just having some fun with you. You still have the same GF that I met awhile back? My GF will ocassionally pick up some shrimp at that same market if it its the one up on Naklua RD where it goes from 4 lanes to two and the prices are cheap. Most people don't realize how cheap you can buy food in LOS, thats why they're amazed at how some of these places can charge such low prices and still make a profit.

Sound like your selecting a hotel in the blind. If you don't get an answer from someone else in the next 2 weeks then send me a PM to remind me as I'll be back in Pattaya on the 8th.

Jack, Just like the over payers, your spoiling your TGF and ruining it for the rest of the punters. Didn't your condo come with a kitchen? Add these number to your examples. Eggs cost about 2 1/2 baht each, bread at 1 baht a slice, instant coffee at around 4 baht a cup, some chopped up meat and vegtables to add to the scrambled eggs about 5 baht and some fresh fruit another 5 baht. You can get a whole pinapple for 15 baht. These are Carrefour prices which is considered to have the highest prices amoung the markets in Pattaya.

Well we've discussed the different spelling's of Issan but no one has given the location. Issan is a region of Thailand (the northeast) and consist of around 18 provinces. Similiar to referring to the Midwest in the US. Thailand is often referred to by 5 regions. Thai north (Chang Mai, Change Rai, etc), the northeast (Korat, Udon Thani, Nong Khai, etc where many of the BG's come from), the eastern seaboard (Chonburi Trat, etc), centeral (Bangkok, etc)and Thai south ( where the shit happens).

Roger, I'll be getting mine renewed on my next trip. My only worry is the US Embassy letter that verified my pension. When I got my retirement visa last Sep I tried to give Jomtien Immigration a copy of that letter but they wanted the original. If they demand a new letter and won't except the copy that I kept or the letter I receive every Jan from the US government that show my new monthly pension then I'll have to make another trip to Bangkok and give them another $30 for me to tell them that the number I put on the form is true.

Let me see if I can dumb this down for you. I didn't tell you or anyone one else to buy the 700 baht safe. I said that Carrefour sells safes starting at 700 baht. The amount of baht that one would save would be dependent upon the length on of stay. I'm not about to tell you or anyone else which hotel to select as I don't know yours or anyone elses desires. The mention of buying a safe was to let boardmembers know that there is an option if they see a room they like but that this room doesn't have the safe feature that they desire. As an example, if the Kerrati place that you seem to be interested in didn't have a safe and the price is what Steve mentioned at 19k a month and another place that met all your needs including the in room safe cost 25k a month then you could spend up to 6k on a safe and not loose any baht even if you threw the safe in the trash. If one is on a short holiday it isn't worth the effort nor would it cover the cost.

Even if your income is high its difficult to deduct as I believe you can only deduct medical expenses that are in excess of 7.5% of your taxable income. So if your taxable income is 100k, then you only get to deduct those costs over $7500. This doesn't help the OP, but I have an HMO which I pay about 1/3 of the premium and the feds pay the rest. I'm covered while on vacation and out of the service area. I stopped in and talk to the customer service people at my HMO and asked them would I still be covered if I was on an 11 month vacation every year since I'm retired and they told me yes but only for emergencies which is fine with me.

It was implied when you went to the trouble to quote another poster who asked if it was plastic. I'm not going to show you any room because I wouldn't waste any of my time for someone like yourself who can't figure out a possible way to save a baht. If you read my post a little closer where I talked about a larger safe that took two Thais to carry and that sounds an alarm when it is moved without being opened then you might not ask me if I bought the small 700 baht safe. Let me also add that Carrefour delivered it for free and within the 2 hour time period that they had told me. It really was a simple process but for someone who has more money than time then I wouldn't recommend it. Since I maintain an apartment year round in Pattaya there is no need to ask a friend to store it but if I did I'm sure that one of my friends that do live year round in Pattaya would store it for me, especially since I'm always taking things back to the states to mail to their families and bringing things back to Pattaya for them. And before you started acting like you know it all, I would have been happy to store it for you, now I know why you don't have anyone who would keep it for you. The few in room hotel safes that I've seen where either secured to a shelf in the wardrobe or inside a small set of drawers to some pressed wood. A guy with a pry bar would have no trouble ripping it out. Indeed every room is different, but just because you pay more for a room that doesn't necessarily mean that it is a better room than the cheaper one. Ithink I've stayed in 10 different hotels in Pattaya and each succeding hotel was not only cheaper but a better room. On of the things that I do for exercise while in Pattaya is take about a 2 hour walk each day and change the route each day. Soi 7 was one of my primary walking mates and we covered every soi between Beach Rd and Sukhumvit and Pattaya Nau and Pattaya Tai while occassionly hitting Naklua, Jomtien and east of Sukhumvit. Before Soi 7 starting working for Secrets we would check out the new places that had just opened and post photos and reviews of these places to help other boardmembers so I've seen quite a few hotels in Pattaya. There is one more possibility for someone that doesn't have any friends to look after and use their safe that I failed to mention and that is sell it to another boardmember. Lets say you buy the safe for 4k to save 8K of rent. Your 4k ahead, then before you leave you sell it for 2k and now your 6K ahead, now you can go to Hell and have a great time, and later on hit a soappie instead on spending 700 baht in a beer bar.

There should be some located in the new mall which should be open by the time you arrive.

You brought up your nylon pacsafe which cost you more than 700 baht here in the states and implied that a 700 baht safe couldn't be made of metal. I'm not going to show you any rooms in Pattaya, you would look at them yourself and if you found two acceptable rooms and one has a safe but cost 200 baht more and you were staying for 30 days then your break even point would be a safe that cost 6000 baht. Any more then your better off with the room with the safe, if the safe cost less then your money ahead. If you know someone who will keep it for you until you return then your saving will be that much greater on your future trips. If you can't find someone to take it for you, your still baht ahead as long as you didn't pay more than 6000. There are many ways to stretch your Pattaya budget, you just have to do a little legwork.

Steve, United's schedule is your problem. You need 50k paid miles in a year to get the 100% mileage bonus but only 25k to get the 25% bonus. You would then qualify for the Economy Plus section of coach which provides 5" of additional legroom. The last 2 years they ran promotions in the fall where everyone got double miles so I got triple and hope they offer that again this year. You can earn miles from many partners, if you get a credit card they'll give you 20k miles and an additional 5k for each friend you refer up to 3 a year and no annual fee the first year. If your not aware United and American recently reduded their non activity period from 36 months to 18 so don't let your current UA miles expire. When you get to 60K for a freebie call them up and ask to fly on Singapore as their schedule out of San Francisco is similiar to Cathay's. BTW I'm only buying 3 flights a year and getting 3 free.

Like you said the forum is to seek answers. My response about buying a safe was for those who might not have thought that could be an option. The 700 safe was metal and one should never try to compare the cost of something in LOS with what one would pay in the states. I pay about $25 to be picked up at the airport in Bangkok and driven about 100 miles to my apartment in Pattaya and $27 to be picked up at my house and driven in a shared mini van to my local airport in the states about 10 miles away. Does that mean the car in LOS is made of plastic? Like I said they start at 700 and that one would only hold small items. Or you could buy the larger one that took two Thais to carry and if you try to move it without opening it the alarms sounds. One needs to do a cost analysis. If your going to be in Pattaya for lets say 20 days and you have 2 places to choose that meet all your criteria except the safe and the one with the safe costs 200 baht a day more, then you could spend up to 4000 baht and break even. If you were planning on a return trip and made any friends that live in Pattaya you could let them use it until you return. If money is no object then stay at the Dusit.

I like the place. I go by baht bus so I've never encountered the parking attendants. The food is average but we go for the entertainment. The band is very good with two female singers that I would like to S/T and they have a small dance floor that isn't packed like the Bamboo Bar.

You don't have to drill a hole for the safe if your only looking to put your things in a secure location. It wopuld look pretty ovious for a BG to be walking out the door past security with a safe in her hands. Also you could also check with management to see if they wouldn't mind having a safe installed in the room as it would be a selling point for future guest, afterall you didn't really want to lug one back home.

Hub, No and no. Its a small place of about 45 rooms but very sercure and functional. It has a small balconey that has a water source and a drain so that the terack can do the laundry. A kitchen area so she can also cook and do the dishes. I'm starting to feel quilty and will begin looking for a larger place so that I can buy her a washing machine.