Emil

If you want to be right in the middle of the action then book a room at the Wayrana Inn, (I hope I got that name right).

Bring Soi 7 over and have him cook you a meal, afterall he was married not once but twice to Filipino ladies.

They could keep the bars there but under a different lease arrangement. The Mike's group also invest in hotels so they might just fix up that old hotel. It wouldn't make much sense to put in a shopping mall as a huge new mall is going in on soi 9, but stranger thinks have happened.

I booked there about 4 years back. They put me in the old wing which had just undergone renovation. The room was small and the bathroom was designed where when you took a shower the entire bathroom would get soaked. I checked out about 1 hour later and moved next door to the Eastiny Place.

Mike, FYI and phone number is:038-716528

Just would like to add a few more comments. The chef is a falang so if you want good falang food eat there. Also its a small hotel that is very popular so you better make your reservation soon as I've heard that they are booked months in advance. Try anyway as they may have some cancellations.

Not sure about that Alan as in my example United had to fly with 4 empty seats on a plane that only seats 30. They also had to give two $600 flight credits to get 2 of us off the plane. Pretty hard to make a porfit if you can only fly the aircraft at around 87% capacity.

I opened an account with Bangkok Bank with only the 30 day entry stamp back in Sep because I was told that I needed an account with them to apply for my retirement visa. When I went to immigration the next day the immigration offical told me that they wanted to see 3 months history on my account. Told him sorry that I had just opened it yesterday and he let me slide but said when I come back for my 90 day update the I should have 3 months of activity. This is really the way to go if one is visiting LOS often as on the day of their arrival they could exchange their currency for baht and deposit it immediately in their account. Then as long as they use that bank's ATM machine their is no service charge. A very safe way to secure your funds.

Also if the guy has a wife or GF then he would also have to pay for a room. Just because something costs more than the average, that is not a reason to call it a rip off. When punters fly over here in First or Business class they are not being ripped off as its a choice that they decided to make or if they choose to stay at the Dusit or Sheraton instead of the Skytop.

They sell fresh fruits, vegetables and meat at the Theppist market. Also on Pattaya Tai, many stalls selling on the sidewalk and their is an enterance that will take you off the walkway into a much larger area that sell food. Its in the same area as Sarah the watch lady is located.

Many places offer monthly rates. If they don't then after you look at a room and find it to your liking ask how much for the rate. After they quote you a daily rate then ask how much for 4 weeks. You need to do this when the manager is on site as they will be the only one that can quote you a lower rate. The places that do offer weekly or monthly rates are always alot lower than their daily rate. I stayed at the Holiday Mansion as an example and the daily rate was 1200, the monthly rate was 12,000. Also before you compare monthly rates you need to find out the details so that your not comparing apples with oranges. Some place will include electric and water in the monthly price while other don't. Also some will include daily housekeeping, while other will only provide it free once a week, twice a week, etc.

I just arrived on United on the 5th. Ticket price was $784 R/T from Sacramento and since United had given me a $200 flight coupon as a result of some shitty serive by their gate agents in SFO in December it only cost me $584. I like their FF program. I get to sit in their Economy Plus area at no additional cost and am allowed to use their lounge at no cost at International airports. Last year I made 6 R/Ts to BKK from Sacramento at an average cost of $400. This year I'm looking to better that mark.

A new hotel might be opened by your dates, its located right across from Megabreak. Also if you expand your area to across Soi Buakaow you'll have the J & P court and the Opey de Place.

United has the same type of entertainment system as Thai, at least on their 747's that I fly. The best entertainment system that I've seen is the one that Singapore uses.

On my last trip to LOS, United routed me through Beijing as I flew on United from SFO to Beijing and then on Thai Air to BKK. Not all bad as this route had me arriving at BKK at 10 PM instead of the usual 11:30 PM when I go the traditional way through Narita, Japan. The problem happened as I was finding my way from the arrival gate to the departure gate. At all other Asian airports that I have had a connection all you had to do was pass through another security check point on your way to your departure area. At Beijing I had to go through a special immigration area adjacent to all other arrivals who were staying in China. I needed to have the arrival card filled out which I didn't but that wasn't a big problem as I was the only person in line and I've filled them out many times. The problem was that I also needed a boarding pass to get past her and that I didn't have. When I checked in at Sacramento at the United desk all I had was the Sac boarding pass and the SFO boarding pass and was told that their computer didn't talk to Thai Airlines. When I arrived at SFO I tried again thinking I would have more success at a large international airport and again no luck. Still I didn't think much of this as When I flew another time with United they routed me through Inchon with the final leg on Singapore Air and I picked up the boarding pass after arrival. The Immigration offical called her supervisor and told her that I didn't have the boarding pass. they told me to step aside while they waited on others. After 40 minutes of still waiting I was begining to feel like the Tom Hank character in Terminal and was starting to worry about making my connection. A few minutes later anoter couple arrived and were in the same predictament as me and then a few minutes later another lady arrived with the same problem. I started to feel better as misery loves company and I felt with 4 of us we should get results. Finally the supervisor came back and we were allowed to pass. We actually had our passports stamped. We then wandered around the airport trying to find the main lobby so that we could check in and get our boarding pass but before we got that far we had to go through customs and fill out those forms. Myself and the other couple had no problem getting our boarding pass but Tahi Air couldn't find the ladys name on the flight and with us running out of time we had to leave her there as we didn't really know where we were heading. We had to then go back through immigration and fill out a departure card, pass through security and find our way to the gate. we got there just as they were boarding and I never did see the lady get on the plane so I think she spent the night in China. I called the United customer service desk and reported the problem. Told them that if they do that to other customers that they need to ensure that either a United agent or Thai agent needs to meet the passenger as they get off the plane and give them a boarding pass for their next flight. If your get routed this way make sure that you can get all your boarding passes from where you depart or that an agent will be there when you arrive in China.

If I mail a package I pay more for a 10 pound box than a 5 pound box so I don't see why a large person should complain about paying more. I just don't see how the airlines can plan for this unless our size is determined when we book the flight. How can one buy two seats if the plane is fully booked and no one wants to give up their seat?

When I departed in Dec the booths were there and I had to pay the 500 to get the ticket and then have it punch a few seconds later as I entered the immigration area. When I departed this week, when I checked in at the United counter they called up a Thai who worked for the airport and I had to hand over 700 baht and was given the ticket. I can't recall who kept the baht but it does show 700 baht on the ticket. There were no booths this time and no one punched the passenger service charge ticket this time. I had purchased this airline ticket back in Oct.

Thats what I paid on the 20th, only difference was that it was collected as I was checking in at the United Airlines area.

I fly strictly with United and 3 paid R/T's to BKK is enough miles to get me Premier Executive status. You then get double miles on all paid flights. United also will run specials where everyone gets double miles, so I'll get triple miles. You can also get 17,500 miles if you sign up for a credit card at no charge and get 1 miles for every dollar spent. Last year I paid for 3 flights and used miles for 3 freebies. On top of that I received $600 in discount vouchers for giving up my seat in Dec 05. This year my January/Feb trip was a freebie and I just booked a flight today for March that was listed for $784 in which I used a $200 voucher so it cost me $584 so I'm averaging around $300 for 2 trips so far this year. Also when you have enough miles for a freebie don't use them immediately. Use them when you know that flights will cost more like in the summer or around Dec/Jan.

Khrongfa (KFC) has changed its name to On The Ways (OTW) and their new email is: ontheways@ego.co.th. Ms Arunee is still the point of contact, they are still located in the same building on soi Town in Town, and have the same phone and Fax numbers. I've used their car service a couple dozen times and never a problem, even when I arrived over 3 hours late at 3 AM.

Returned from LOS on the 20th and was sitting on the twin turbo prop for my 90 miles flight from SFO to Sacramento when the United gate agent came on board and asked for 2 volunteers to give up their seats for either a free flight within CONUS or $600 in flight vouchers. I was on that offer like stink on shit. What surprised me was that I saw at least 2 empty seats on this plane that seats about 30. Was later told that the plane was considered overweight. The FAA has increased the average weight for passengers and based on weather conditions the weight limit changes per aircraft. Last year I flew 6 R/Ts from Sacramento to BKK at an average cost of $400. This year I hope to get the cost lower.

I heard that the US Air Force will soon be ordering one so that they can chauffeur Speaker of the House Pelosi and her entourage back and forth from San Francisco and DC.

Thats about what I paid for 5 months for my club about 10 years ago. I also saw an advertisement of 4000 baht for a years membership if 2 joined Tonys.

By requiring an in room safe you've limited your possibilities. You can buy one starting at 1500 baht.