Emil

Hub, I signed up the first part of January and at that time they gave me 17,500 miles. The only reason I did it was to put some activity on my AA account as I don't want to loose what I had in my account as I try to wait them out for the Cathay special.

One more thing to add about the Kerratti and that is they allow you to use the pool and fitness room at the LK Metropole.

I don't know aboput the demographics of other countries, but here in the US the baby boomers are just now turning 60 and reaching retirement age. It is a very large percent of the US population and for a single guy what better place to be than in LOS. Even if all you have is the basic social security check, you will have a hell of a better time in LOS than back home. Two month ago while watching one of the Pattaya movie channels , one of those Pattaya News stations was interviewing someone from the Northshore development. at that time they only had 10 units left to sell but what catch my attention is when he said that they had another condo project planned just north of Northshore and that one building would be 60 stories and the other 50.

If you look at the south end of 3rd Rd you'll also see some more condos under construction by the LK corporation.

What a bunch of crap. Some of the nicest clubs in Pattaya have recently been built in this area and don't even compare to those crappy open air beer bars along Beach and 2nd Rd. To say nothing of being located near one of the best markets in Pattaya unless your planning to eat out every meal.

I can't remeber who wanted me to check this place out, but I did a few days ago. this place is located on Soi Yensabai and myself and 2 other boardmembers took a look at the place. It is located about 200 meters down the soi right on the corner of the small soi that takes you to the Sunee Plaza (Boys Town). You can find beeter rooms and at a beeter location for about the same price.

Its been over 3 years since I've flown with them. If your booking through their website there is a good chance that there will be a seat map which allows you to select your seat. I know United has this feature and Cathay is constantly rated as one of the top airline in the industry so I would think they also offer this feature. What is even better is the emergency exit row seats, as soon you get to the airport ask them if if those seats are available as you can't book those seats in advance.

Are you referring to their All Asia Pass? If so, it was reduced from 30 days to 21 days about 3 years ago while at the same time they increased the cost a couple hundred bucks. That program allowed you to fly to about 19 destinations within Asia for 19 days once you arrived in Hong Kong. All your flights reguired you to fly in and out of Hong Kong. Also you didn't earn any American Airline FF miles, don't know about other FF programs. To get the cheapest rate for this flight you had to join Cathay's Cyber Travelers program, no cost to join.

I fly United all the time from Narita to BKK on flight 881 which gets you into Bkk at 11:30 PM. Its a 747 and they only have 3 classes, economy, business and first. Never heard of preminum economy unless your talking about economy plus in which case every thing is the same as economy except you have an additional 5" of legroom. I wouldn't know how much more this costs as they throw me in that section automatically because of my FF status.

I noticed the 1% charge on my October trip. When I questioned my credit union about this charge, because I'm susposed to have free ATM useage from my credit union, they told me that is what the Thai banks charged them and they were just recouping their cost. My credit union told me that this charge had always been there but that it was not identified seperately and was rolled up into one line. When I checked this out closely I could see that they were not feeding me any BS. Before when I used my ATM card the exchange rate would work out to less than if I had used cash. Now when I calculate the first line it is higher than cash, once I deduct the 1% fee it's less. No change in my exchange rate, only the way it is now portrayed on my statement.

On United the drinks are free. In economy you get beer, wine and liquor. In business and first class they have a more extensive selection.

Try the Jag dealership that is located off the main highway that runs from Bangkok to the airport.

I'm from the US so I can't help you on which airline. If you think you might make more trips in the future then check into the frequent flyer programs on each airline as they can bring down your transportation cost in the future. Regarding legroom, once you've booked your trip, try to get the emergency exit row seats.

Unless you already have the Thai baht, wait until you get to the airport. As a rule your home country doesn't provide a good exchange rate. I prefer to use an ATM card as there are mackines everywhere and you have access 24/7.

I've seen falang women topless around my hotel pool at eastiny Place (nice rack), the beaches in Jomtien, Pattaya and Naklua. At Samae beach over on Koh Larn, I've seen a few bottomless.

Because that place looks upscale and caters to tour groups, I would definetly make sure that there is no joiner fee, unless you don't mind paying the extra baht.

Don't give up with the thought yet. I bought a cheap Cyberhome player awhile back in the US. There wasn't any instructions in the manual however another boardmember had found out how to covert it to play all regions. It was a very simple process as he talked me through it over the phone. Took less than a minute using my remote control. I don't know about the Residence Garden's TVs, I had no problem with the 5 different hotels that I've stayed in since I brought mine over.

Make sure your player is capable of playing all regions and will handle the increased voltage of LOS.

Myself and 3 other boardmembers checked out the place last month on one of our walks. I can't remember the daily rate, they did have a good discout if you rented by the month. All four of us liked the place, they had a nice looking pool and its in a quiet area. The walk to Walking St isn't too far, the return will be a little more strenous as its located up a small grade.

In Pattaya you can buy the tickets at the booth inside the building at the enterance to the pier where you'll also see the schedule of ferry times for departure and return. You can also just pay 20 baht onboard. On your return you pay 20 baht as you board the ferry or sometimes they collect the money after you've boarded. Samae beach is a few kilometers from the little town but you would have to wlk up a pretty good size hill as its on the other side of the island. From Pattaya you can see this road, if your fit and want a workout, go for it.

Frequent Flyer programs have been very very good to me. Two of my last 3 trips to LOS have been free and the one coming up next week will also be free. I will still have a balance of 80K miles in my account (60K = freebie). On top of that you get special seating in economy which provides an additional 5" of legroom and additional luggage allowance. All it took was registering with the ailine.

Ken, I'm glad that the move went well and you found the right place. Where you in Alamogordo when the Nighthawk and the 49th FW arrived at Holloman AFB? Emil

Hub, I know I wouldn't convert those AA miles. I would fly the little lady on the NWA freebie and pay for mine. That way you would earn enough NW miles to put your total over 60K. If your hard up for baht then I would suggest you forgo those Bruno meals and eat pad thai and som tom. Last month I received an email from the AAdvantage credit card offering 15K miles and no fee for the first year. I didn't need the miles but my account has been dormant for awhile and I didn't want them to expire while I'm trying to wait out the Cathay special so I signed up, this will give me 4 more years. Had some good luck on my return from LOS last month. While waiting for my short flight from SFO to Sac, United's earlier flight to Sac had mechanical problems so they were looking for volunteers on our flight to place some paxs. when they offered a $600 flight voucher I was the first one to volunteer. The next available flight was 8 hours away so me and 3 other volunteer decided to rent a vehicle and drive the 90 miles. My share was $25 and since I didn't use my return ticket I will be getting a refund. We got to the airport about an hour and half after the plane had arrived. Sweet Emil

Don't fly Cathay as they're worthless. I need them to get desperate and offer the 45K FF miles special to LOS like they did a few years ago. Up until this past year I thought they were the best airline that I had flown. Then I flew Singapore and had to drop Cathay to number 2.

I stayed in a place called the Downtown Inn. Cost was around 800 a night with breakfast. Booked it through one of those small travel agencies in Pattaya so you might do better dealing with them direct. Very close to the night market. email: downtown@loxinfo.co.th