Emil

I could be mistaken as Soi 7 and I talked to someone at the front desk about 6 months back, I believe they offer a very attractive monthly rate of around 20K.

I was referring to United which only requires 60K miles for a freebie. United gives you 1 mile for every paid mile flown, if your premier you get a 25% bonus and if your premier executive you get a 100% bonus. They also have a 100k level but I don't know its bonus. On top of that for every 10,000 miles flown you earn four 500 mile upgrades which can only be used on domestic flights. If not used within a year they convert to miles in your FF account. Also if you book through their website you get 1000 miles. I fly from the west coast and the R/T is a little over 17K miles, multiply that by 2 and its over 34K miles. Add in the 3K miles of unused upgrades and its up to over 37K miles and by booking on line its over 38K miles. Pay for it with your United credit card and your close to 40K miles or roughly 2/3 of a freebie. Guys flying from the east coast would do even better as its a longer flight. Actually last year I did even better. Besides the miles I've already listed, my January trip United was giving an additional 5K miles to everyone who flew during that time. My next 2 trips United was giving double miles to everyone so I actually earned triple miles and on my November trip they were back to giving an additional 5K miles. So that year I earned an additional 44K miles. Doing the math, that works out to around an additional .85 trip for every paid flight.

Then your throwing money away. When I pay for 1 flight I collect enough miles for almost two thirds of a free flight. In other words, pay for 3 and get two free. With a little advance planning you can increase your savings. Pay for your tickets when the airline's load factor is low and use your freebie when prices are high.

A couple of things regarding walk ups and getting a good rate. One is you need to arrive when the manager is on site and not 2 AM when you have someone at the desk who has no power to offer you a low rate. Also the longer your staying then generally the better chance you have of getting a large discount. Another thing to keep in mind this year is that the World Cup will be taking place during the month of June and the Soi 8 area is very popular.

Mr Toom sounds like a good bargain at 1200 total which is about 200 less than what I've been paying. I don't know but he sounds like a one man operation so if he gets too popular you could run into problems. I'm not familiar with how he operates but make sure he has your flight details in case your flight is delayed. I was delayed 3 hours on my January trip and when I arrived at 3 AM my driver was waiting as they were aware of the delay.

Once you find out which airlines have a FF program that flies out of your home country do an extensive analysis of how those programs work, I didn't and it cost me a free flight because I wasn't aware of the different levels and bonuses offered. Some airlines offer bonus miles once you reach a certain level. What I'm talking about is that instead of getting 10,000 miles for a R/T to LOS you'll get 20K miles even though you only flew 10K. I'm with United and they give you a 25% bonus once you reach 25,000 miles flown in a calander year and 100% if you hit 50,000 miles. The bonus is not only good for the remaining calander year but for all your flights the following year and 1 month into the year after. Like others have mention they have partners in these programs that allows you to earn more miles like renting a car, staying in a hotel, signing up with a specific internet provider, eating at certain restaurants, selling your house, and opening a brockerage account to name a few. Besides the free flights some of these programs have other benefits once your reach these levels. As an example with United you'll sit in the economy plus section that provides an additional 5" of legroom, access to their lounges at the international airports, and priority for the exit row seats.

Which one as he has 2. From the Areca walk down Soi Dianna towards Soi Buakaow. Cross Buakaow and keep going till you hit 3rd Rd. Once you hit 3rd Rd if you turn left you'll soon come to his smaller gym a few meters up on the right hand side. If you turn right on 3rd Rd and head south you must first go past South Pattaya Rd and his large gym will be on the right hand side. The larger gym is probably twice the distance from the Areca.

In the past I used them exclusively. Their mini bus service for 200 baht when I arrived around noon and the car at 1500 baht when I arrived around midnight. I no longer fly with the airline that got me into Bangkok around noon and I have heard that they discontinued this service. I stopped using their car service back around 2004 when they almost doubled their price and I've got to thank them for the price increase as I looked around and found not only a better service but one that was cheaper than 1500. Before I would have to waste time going to their desk and sometimes having to wait about 15 minutes until a driver was available, now I have a driver waiting with my name on a board and off we go.

Walk on the side facing the traffic and you shouldn't have a problem. The street is narrow and busy, but the traffic usually creeps along. I don't think there is a correct spelling of Buakaow unless your using Thai characters as there is no direct correlation between the Thai and English alphabet. Steve I would be willing to bet that you would get to Walking St first from Buakaow as traffic on Beach Rd starts backing up at Pattayaland 1 and sometime the Royal Garden and if you were lucky to jump on one that headed towards Jomtien instead of up 2nd Rd you could get off at Soi Diamond and be in the heart of go-go country. Getting up north to Soi 6, the soapies and the beer bars around Soi 2 is just as easy. I get a kick out of the people who believe that its difficult to find your way to the action from Soi Buakaow. Besides the ease of jumping on a baht bus, its just a short walk to 2nd Rd and if a punter can find his way from his home country to Pattaya, getting from Buakaow to 2nd Rd, Beach Rd or Walking St is a breeze.

Everything is cheaper in that area of town, from laundry service, internet shops, food and drinks. Like its been pointed out many TGs live in that area and if you can get up in the afternoon and walk around you'll meet many. Some who will be glad to go back to your room for a S/T. There are many new places just built that are nicer than the hotels on Sois 13, 7 and 8 such as the Chaba Hut, LK Metropole and the soon to be opened LK Royal Suites.

They were selling new Nokias on the 2nd floor of Tops for around 1800 baht which included the sim.

I checked this place out a few months back for another boardmember and didn't recommend it. A better place on Soi Yensabai and closer to Walking St is the Marine Yensabai Mansion. I did a review on the place about 3 years ago right after it opened.

No, Its the Royal Suites, I think the Pavialion is the one that is located near the corner of 3rd Rd and Pattaya Tai. They are also building alot of condos on 3rd Rd south of Soi 17 where Soi Yensabai is located.

You have 3 LK properties in this area, the Mansion which is the oldest, the Metropole and the soon to open LK (can't think of its name near Pattaya Klang).

If you haven't already tried, make the reservation by phone as the agent will have access to all of the airline's partners. I've never had a problem with United by doing this and doing it 2 to 3 months in advance.

If your flying that much within a year you could do better. I wind up paying less that that by flying with United. I pay for 2 and get the 3rd free plus have additional miles left over working for another freebie. You also get additional privileges such as additional baggage and use of the Red Carpet Lounge.

That's the same flight that I always arrive on. I have a Pattaya based car service waiting for me when I arrive, cost is 1200 plus parking and tolls (200 baht). That time of the year you should have no problem getting a room in Pattaya. The Flipper is small and has a following so you might want to reserve the room or be familiar with the area to have backups in case the Flipper is full.

valley boy, After Eastiny Place I began staying at Mike's Beach Resort on Soi 4 for 600 a night, older place but much bigger room with a nice view and balcony along with a nice pool. I would also stay at the Marine Yensabai Mansion on Soi Yensabai when I wanted to concentrate on the go-go girls before moving to Mike's Beach at the end of my trip. Cost was 700 a night with a 5% discount if you stayed 2 weeks. Brand new at that time and very large room with a view of the bay, no pool. Once I settled down with TGF then I began staying at places that offered a monthly rate. First was the Holiday Mansion between Soi Buakaow and 3rd Rd. New place with nice pool and I stayed in their large room for 12K a month. After that I rented a place year round that had just opened for 7500 a month out by Carrefour which is the nicest place I've stayed and also the cheapest. Two negatives, no pool and no lift. Keep in mind that these monthly places are more suited for guys with girlfriends as you only get house cleaning once or twice a week and you have to pay for utilities. If I didn't have the TGF and was just renting for a month I would get one of those recently opened places on Soi LK Metro. Last summer they had some that were around 9k a month and it include utilities and house cleaning.

Both wings run perpendiculiar to Soi 8 so you want the rooms that are away from the soi and you want the ones where the balcony overlooks the pool. the higher the floor the better. When your room is located at the front not only do you have some of the Soi 8 bar noise, but when I stayed there a Thai guy with a whistle was constantly blowing it. I stayed there during my trips in 2002 and always paid 650 a night. When they quoted me a higher price I found greener pastures elsewhere.

In the Soi 7/8 area I prefered the Eastiny Place if you need a pool ( haven't seen the new Eastiny on Soi 7) and the Bella Vista if you don't. Haven't stayed there for awhile as I found better places at lower rates elsewhere.

Open but Good Friday may be a different story. This year Easter will be right smack in the middle of Songkran, have a good time.

If you do decide to stay there ask for a room in the new wing. I booked a room there about 3 years back and they put me in the recently remodeled old wing. The room was small and the shower was not seperated in the bathroom so when you took a shower the whole bathroom got wet. I checked out 2 hours later and went next door to the Eastiny Place.

I would think that their name would indicate that they are girl friendly. Its located on Soi Arunotai and just be aware that its close to 300 meters to Pattayaklang. Not a problem if you have a motorbike or don't mind walking that distance to hop on a baht bus.

I call United reservations international, and ask for them. I was told that Premier Executives have first shot at them. If your booking on their website you can select your own seat.

All good things must come to an end. After paying $25 for my Jan trip and $307 for my upcoming trip next week, I booked my trip for May today and United gouged me for $807. This was on their current promotion that ends tomorrow and is from Sacramento to LOS. Was able to get my exit row aisle seats but this time they put me on the 11:30 AM flight out of SFO instead of the 1:30 PM flight. Still on the same flight out of Narita to BKK so the only difference is the reduced time that I would be waiting for my connection in SFO has been added to Narita. The good thing about that is at foreign airports I'm entitled to use United's Red Carpet Lounge.