Emil

Skate, I called United and they told me as long as I registered before 24th Jan I was OK. Hope to run into you at FLB. Emil

BigDUSA, Wouldn't it have been cheaper if you would have just stayed in Pattaya. Did United give you double miles on your 17 February flight? Emil

Jerry, It's for real, at first I was checking on a February 10 departure when I got the quote on line. By the time I clicked over to select my seat I got the message that the fare was no longer available because those fares were sold out. I changed my departure to February 11 and the same low fare was available, needless to say I booked immediately. Emil

You might want to go on line and check out their fares. I was checking out some coach fares from San Francisco to Bangkok and I was quoted approx $2100, if I flew out of San Francisco to LAX and then to BKK it was around $750 and if I flew out of San Francisco to Seattle then to BKK it was around $650. I thought this was strange so I decided to find out what the cost would be if I flew from my airport (Sacramento) to Bangkok and the total cost was $618. This is from Sacramento to San Francisco and then on to BKK. So by flying 90 miles to San Francisco, instead of driving, I save $1500. ??? ??? ??? This fare include frequent flyer miles plus a 1000 mile bonus by booking on line. My only worry is if they will still be around to book the free flight. Emil

TimidGuy, To be on the safe side, call the company that issued the card. Also I live in California and my ATM card which is tied into my checking account has the Visa logo on it. Emil

Guys, Check with your financial institution. I've never been charged for getting TC's. Never cashed them in Pattaya, only take them in case the ATM card fails to work. When I return I deposit them back into my checking account, so in fact my only cost would be the lost interest earned during this time. Same with ATM use, never had a transaction charge so I only withdraw 5000 at a time so no worry about carrying large sums of money around. Plenty of financial institutions looking for your business, so find the one that don't nickel and dime you. Emil

Pete, Thanks, too bad we can't see that data. I didn't want to ask the board members for this info if it was already available. Emil

Skate, My last trip I spent 1 night at the Miracle Grand Convention Hotel. It was about 5 minutes south of the airport. One of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed in, TV and phone in bathroom, however I don't know the price because Cathay Pacific picked up the bill because of a screw up on my return flight. If your interested I could find an email address or phone number. Emil

Pete, The format now used for submitting a hotel review includes a point of contact and email address. I haven't seen any info regarding this on any of the hotel reviews. Is there a trick to access this info or are the reviewers leaving these fields blank? Emil

Casper, The 10 pills I purchased were labeled ciproxyl/ciprofloxaci and were prescribed by the Dr at the Pattaya International Hospital for the Thai girl I was with and purchased there. My buddy who is a sales rep for a pharmaceutical company told me these pills were basically the same as ciprofloxin as I have very limited medical knowledge. So I don't know if I got the low price because it was meant for a Thai or the hospital made the error. Emil

Bob, I'm glad everything worked out for you with your belongings and your enjoying Thailand. Curious as to why you posted your report under "Meeting - Cost sharing, more people will read it if it was under Trip reports or Members. Emil

Turbo, I thought Soi Happy dead end into Happy A Go-Go. If I remember I got to the Blues Factory by walking through some bars where the 19th hole is located nearer FLB. Emil

senseiar, Haven't stay there, but Iv'e heard other say good things about the Markland hotel. It's up on Soi 1, but it's also on the baht bus route. Emil

winner, It sounds like your going at a very busy time. If I were you I'd book a room ASAP at the Residence before it's gone. Emil

winner, I prefer either one of the Flipper's or Eastiny's on Soi 8 & 7. But based on your 4 choices the best would be the Residence. Emil

PaulC/ILP, An option you might want to consider if your going to be with one lady for a period of time is take her to the Pattaya International hospital for a checkup. Around 2000 baht for tests and consultation with doctor, all in less than 2 hours. Emil

Eltib, Is the Sonic Cruiser the commercial airliner that Boeing is developing that resembles a flying wing? Before I retired 2 years ago from Air Force (civilian) I was working in the F-22 system program office. I was quite surprised this year when DOD selected Lockheed Martin for the JSF. Emil

I now make sure that I have around 5000 baht on me when I arrive at the airport when heading home. I give them their 500 baht, thus leaving me around 4500 when I arrive on my next trip and one less thing to worry about. Emil

pug, Your reply made me realize I had made an error on my post. It should have read "ten 500 mg tablets for 50 baht", about 12 cents a tablet. Emil

Another thing to keep in mind when your shopping for the best buy is whether the discounted fare qualifies for airmiles. As an example, if I can get an airfare for $800 that include airmiles I will take it over a fare of $650 that doesn't include miles. 3 trips get me a 4th free which would make the $800 fare effectively $600. Emil

I believe the airlines have the capability to fly that distance, at least from San Francisco. The problem I think is that they can't fill up an aircraft on a routine basis to fly directly to Bangkok and must hit a hub currently to accomplish that. That problem may be resolved in a few years after the new Bangkok airport is completed. From what I hear the reason they are building the new airport is to make Bangkok a hub for Southeast Asia destinations and the current airport can not handle the additional flights. At least when the new airport is completed, which is located southeast of Bangkok, it will reduce the travel time to Pattaya by at least half an hour. Emil

Pat, Did you try the Pattaya International Hospital? Last month I went there and bought ten 500 mg tablets of Ciprofloxin for 500 bahts. When I got back home I asked a friend of mine, who works as a sales rep for a major pharmaceutical company, if that was a good price. He said it was a tremendous price and doubted that a US company could even wholsale it that low. Emil

Johnson, Your refering to the Welcome Plaza, across from Pattayaland 1. I've never stayed there, but check the hotel reviews on this site. Emil

winner, I was going to stay there on my last trip, but they put me in a room in the old wing where some renovation was going on and the bathroom was the type without a bathtub, just a shower hose in the corner. Checked out and went next door to the Eastiny Place for a lower rate and a better room. Sunshines email: sunshineptty@yahoo.com Other hotels on Soi 8 besides Eastiny Place is the Eastiny Inn Emil

Hub, Wish I could join you guys, but I'll be thinking of you Thanksgiving day. If you've never tried the Ruby bar on Soi 6 it worth a look. Very nice bar inside and decent S/T rooms with large mirrors on the walls and the ceiling. I'm looking forward to your report of you and Chicken. Emil