Eneukman

I've never had any major problems travelling to and from Thailand. I try to adjust to the new time zone straight away. Coming home, I tend to arrive at Heathrow at around 5.15 or so in the morning, but will have been awake at least 2 or 3 hours before that. I stay up as long as I can, though inevitably I have to go to bed an hour or so earlier than normal. I made a point of not going to work the day I arrived back home (could only really have dome half a day anyway by the time I got back to Edinburgh, unpacked, refreshed myself and got some food in and so on. Alan

Patrick, If you have to dial 9 to get an outside line, have you tried putting 2 commas after the 9? I seem to recall reading somewhere that this was recommended if staying at the RG. Alan

Thinking about it but as I may very well be moving in a few months time when my lease expires, I may leave it until then. Alan

Why does that not surprise me? . The problem is quite simple. AOL do not believe in providing any standard of customer care or customer service whatsoever. I replied to an e-mail from another AOL member and was told that this person was not an AOL member. Strange, considering that she hosts one of AOL's regular travel chats! Once I get my landline working again, I'll mention this to her as I think she has some contacts who may be able to find out what is going wrong. I also have an address in Dublin to which written complaints can be sent. If any AOL member wants this, send me a PM and I'll be happy to let have you have this. Alan

CSLoxinfo seem to have a number of phone lines for the Chonburi area. I sometimes have to try 2 or 3 numbers before getting on-line! Alan

I'm an AOL user for my sins . I would suggest that fellow users check their "spam" folder as AOL may have put the e-mail there. Once you click on "This is not spam" or something similar, e-mails should get through OK. Alan

I don't know anything about zones etc but if I remember I'll ask at the next Ex-Pats meeting I go to. If heading to Jomtien from Soi 7, I just jump on the first bus that comes along. When he gets to Walking Street, I check to see which way he is going to turn at 2nd Road. If he is going left, I press the buzzer, get off and hand him 10 baht. If he turns righht, I will stay on. Sometimes they might indicate that this is as far as they are going, in which case I will get off and payt him 10 baht. I seldom ask a driver if he is going to a specific location unless I'm carrying something heavy as all drivers will interpret such a request as a private hire. Alan

I was able to open my account with Bangkok Bank with just a 30 day stamp in my passport. As for bank accounts, I am pretty certain that they can only be held in one currency. However, many banks will allow you to hold accounts in foreign currencies, though these will be held at the office handling that bank's international division. It should be possible to transfer funds between the two accounts but beware of exchange rates, commission (for both sides of the transaction?) and other charges. Alan

Yes. That would be the simplest option. You can extend your visa each time by 30 (?) days after which you will have to do a visa run. Apply for the visa as close to the date of your departure as possible. In the UK, you can apply in person for an additional fee. The expiry date of the visa is, I think, 1 year after it was granted by the Thai consul in your home country or wherever. I believe, though, that if you re-enter Thailand a few days before the visa is due to expire, you will be granted a further 90 days so in theory you could stay in Thailand foralmost 15 months. As Soi 7 said, check out the Thai Visa site. They have the real professionals there. Alan

I'm a true Scot and object to paying more than I really have to. I collect 5 and 10 baht coins just so I have the correct change for the baht buses. There are times when I will hand over a 20 baht note, especially if the driver's gone on to Jomtien from Central Road or wherever. Alan

I'm pretty certain that they run 24 hours a day. Alan

There's been a fair bit of rain over the last few days. I was at the Ex Pat's Club this morning and when I came out it was apparent that there had been a "little" shower whilst I was there. Plan - Walk down to Central Road and get a baht bus up to Carrefour Reality - Walked all the way. Traffic was at a complete standstill and Central Road was under water, only a few inches or so in the main, but I was still quicker walking. . Almost made it with feet still reasonably dry, but just before 3rd Road I found a spot where the shallowest spot was a bit over 4 inches. By the time I came out, much of the water had drained away and I was able to walk down to Soi Buckaow without getting any wetter. Then jumped onto a baht bus, the driver of which very kindly took me all the way back to Jomtien without being asked. Alan

I stay at View Talay, which is shortly before the archway and I never pay more than 10 baht for the trip from South Pattaya Road. Alan

Thanks for that, Dave. Looks as though I'l need to buy another bottle of vodka tomorrow in that case. If I recover from this bloody cold I've got, suppose I could always phone a girl and see if she wants to earn some money that night. What elections are these? Alan

I saw a report the other day that American scientists have managed to recreate the 1918 flu virus. They acknowledge that what they were doing was highly risky but reckoned that the potential benefits to be gained by studying the virus were worth the risk. Hopefully they will take proper precautions to ensure that no-one working with the virus can get infected. Alan

I reckon that the risk of being killed in a motor bike accident or whilst trying to cross 2nd road (probably by a motor cyclist creating a test message whilst dodging all the other idiot cyclists) are far higher. This afternoon, I saw a girl on a bike in Soi Bukau and her eyes were on her phone - NOT on the road ahead. Alan

Re alcohol consumption, they can tell from blood tests whether you drink in excess of the recommended daily "safe" limits. Alcohol is my only vice - well not strictly true as I'm an ex-pat now. Alan

In addition to the above, I also have a wrist monitor which gaves me a note of my blood pressure and pulse rate. I bought it in the UK so have no idea whether one can be bought in LOS or not. I got mine from Boots, so it might be worth checking their store in Walking Street or Royal Garden Plaza (?) Alan

I would imagine that any of the main hospitals in Pattaya would be willing to check your blood pressure for you and give you whatever pills you require. The Pattaya International Hospital in Soi 4 might be more convenient than the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital on Sukhumwit Road. I did notice that the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital had a stall at the start of Walking Street (beside the Tourist Police place) where they were offering free blood pressure checks. I would imagine that most of the clinics would be able to check your blood pressure as well. I don't know what the costs are but I need to buy some more pills to keep my own blood pressure under control. I'm going to try a clinic/pharmacy on Pattaya Tai (same side of road as TukCom) this weekend, unless this bloody cold I've got just now gets worse. . If I remember, I'll post details of the costs here (I'm on Bendrofluazide 2.5 mg and Atenolol 25 mg pills). The advice my doctor gave me when I was diagnosed with high blood pressure (200/150) was to avoid salt as much as possible. If you're overweight, you need to go on a diet to get it down to within the normal range for your height. Also, if you smoke, give it up! Whilst you're getting you're blood pressure tested, you may also want to get tested for diabetes and get your cholesterol level checked. Alan

I reckon that those of us who push the Nationwide flex account here are due a (small) fee from them for all the free advertising they've been getting. I've had my account for 5 years now and must thank Bank of Scotland for outsourcing me as without that I would not have gone looking for a new home for my savings. Alan

Wish I had time to wind these people up - and I'm enjoying an early retirement her in Fun City. Maybe once I'm fluent in speaking and writing Thai! Alan

I think you could struggle to find what you want at your budget. PLenty of studio units are on sale for 1,500,000 baht or less but very few 1 bedroom condos. Take a look at some estate agents' web-sites and perhaps e-mail them to see what they have available. A few suggestions to look at are - http://www.realestatethailand.com/ http://www.scrhomefinder.com/life_in_pattaya.htm http://www.thailand-property.com/ http://www.thaiproperty.com/renting.htm A further difficulty could be that you will almost certainly need to find a condo that is already in a farang name. I am pretty certain that you will need to prove that the funds to purchase the condo came from outwith Thailand so a bank transfer would seem to be required. Good luck with the move when you make it. Alan

The reservoirs are fuller than they were but enough to avert another shortage next year? A bit of rain today, which must help a little bit. Alan

I keep my anti-virus definitions up to date, but last year I copped a brand new virus - not sure how as I am cautious about opening e-mails etc - which disabled my anti-virus software whenever I went on line. It was a bastard to get rid off but I managed it in the end. Alan