Eneukman

Which View Talay did you visit? I'm staying in View Talay 2A and have to disagree with a lot of what you say. Most studio units are, I think, around 37 square metres - quite a bit larger than some I've seen advertised elsewhere which are only 28 square metres. Most studios I've seen advertised are between 37 and 41 square metres. I find studio units in general too small and not just those in View Talay, which is why I'm renting a one-bedroom unit. The doors to each unit are provided by the owner and whilst I take your point about some of them looking more like a prison I fail to understand your apparent desire for absolute conformity. I sometimes sit with my door open - to let some fresh air circulate rather than having the aircon going full belt. I pay the office to clean my condo on a regular basis - every 8 or 9 days. Regarding the rubbish bins, these are emptied on a daily basis though I suspect that on some floors a 2nd bin would be desirable. Alan

£15,000 per annum equals about 90,000 baht per month, which will give you a very good standard of living. You do, however, need to factor in the cost of visits back to farangland etc, though apart from visits to family why would you want to go back? Rent is probably the highest cost most people have (I'm paying 20,000 baht for a double room in View Talay - though I saw a studio flat on the floor above advertised at 25,000 baht per month ) and you pay for what you want. I prefer having a bit extra space and don't mind paying a few thousand baht extra for that priviledge. If you're content to rent a studio condo, that can save you several thousand baht per month. Not for me though. Also, it is my intention to escape the madness that is Songkran each year which will add a bit to my costs. However, that's my choice! Alan

Or Scotland's answer to Des O'Connor - Sydney Devine. Talking about old Des, BA on one of their flights a few years ago featured what I think was the only Morecombe & Wise show in which Des actually managed to sing a song - it was a Christmas special. The so called modern comics should watch a few of their shows to learn real comedy. Maybe I'm showing my age . Also, didn't Des become a daddy again at the grand old age of 70 something a few years ago? Alan

I've been to Sanur in Bali a couple of times before and that is at the moment favourite for my "escape the madness that is Songkran" next year. I'll probably go to Langkwai in Malaysia in 2007 and visit Oz and New Zealand the year after. Now that would leave Antarctica as the only continent I haven't visited. Any suggestions as to how to get there - preferably not by boat ? Alan

I suspect that they'll still be playing much of the music from the 60's, 70's and 80's. Alan

The Residence Gardens, if booked through this site, appears to come within your budget at 1,350 baht per night. Seperate bedroom, inroom safe, 2 swimming pools. Walking Street is only a few minutes away by baht bus. You can walk in around 15 minutes or so. Oh - and the girls all love it. Alan

Wagger, the income you're seeking is virtually the same as I expect my income to be (after tax) once I'm able to invest the sale proceeds of my flat next month. I'm relying on my private pension, dividend income and bank interest to provide me with a sufficient income rather than going for annuities etc. I will get a 2nd pension when I'm 60 but as contributions were only made to this one for 3 years it's not going to be worth a lot even in 10 years time. Back in January, I came up with a monthly budget of around 80,000 baht per month. I'm keeping track of what I'm spending this month and so far reckon I'll be inside this. I took the option of a tax free lump sum when I got my pension and bought some Rank Group shares with it. After going down initially, , the shares have performed extremely well and are now 10% higher than the price I bought them at. Let's hope that the shares I buy next month will perform as well. Alan

Thanks, Gabor. From what you got, I would think that 15,000 baht was a good price. I'm thinking about doing a trip to Udon Thani or Chiang Mai early next year so I'll see what he has to offer, especially if his price is going to include transfers to and from the airport. It'll be my intention to take a companion with me . It's also my intention to get the hell out of Pattaya during Songkran though I've still to decide where I want to go. Current possibilities are Bali, Malaysia or Australia and New Zealand. Alan

Gabor, What sort of cars do they use? I take it that this is the same company who have an office in View Talay 2A? Alan

You call rap music???? Alan

Culloden was NOT a battle between the Scots and the English. Scots and English fought on both sides in the rebellion. The Aberdonians are a weird bunch . Never mind them hating those from Edinburgh and Glasgow. One half of Glasgow hates the other half with a vengeance! Alan

Only 44? Ah well, you're still old enough to remember who won the Grand Slam in 1990. In case youve forgotten, here's a clue - it wasn't England. Apparently the BBC invited Will Carling to appear on "Wogan" on the Monday night following the match at Murrayfield as the "winning captain". Somebody, however, realised that if Scotland beat England WE would win the Grand Slam so a researcher supposedly phoned the Scotland captain David Sole, to appear "just in case". He quite rightly told her to "Fuck off". And the English wonder why the Scots hate them? Alan

I think most airlines (BA certainly do) have a weight limit of 30 kg per case. This is to protect them against claims by baggage handlers who may injure themselves handling particularly heavy cases. When I flew out in June (Hilly Class and very nice it was too ) my 2 cases weighed in at 39.5kg. I then went back to Edinburgh with just hand luggage in early August and on my return flight (World Traveler Plus), my case weighed in at 22.5kg. Just inside the weight limit both times I'm not absolutely certain that my hand luggage on the 2nd flight was within the weight limit though. Alan

And the English commentators aren't biased in favour of England? The best commentator has to be the now retired Bill McLaren. He was unbiased in his commentry even when his son-in-law was playing (and scoring a try) for Scotland. The BBC apparently wanted him to commentate on football matches but he refused to give his beloved rugby. Alan

Thanks, Poskat Scotland up 12 places, though I hate to think how low they would have sunk if that cunt of a manager Vogts hadn't been kicked out on his arse. Northern Ireland up 15 places too. Alan

I can only speak for BA World Traveller & World Traveller Plus - 23kg Club Class - 30 kg 1st class - 40 kg If flying World Traveller Plus you get double the hand baggage allowance. If you have to connect from a regional airport, you get the same baggage allowance as for your international flight. Check out the airline's web-site. Information on their baggage allowance should be detailed there, though bear in mind that you may only get the international allowance for your internal flight if flying on the same airline. Alan

I quit my job at 48 2 years ago mainly becuase I was thoroughly pissed off with it. It was also seriously stressing me out and had I am convinced contributed substantially to my high blood pressure. I temped for 18 months or so, finally stopping work completely in April of this year and moving out to live here full time in June. Definitely a good move on my part, as I'm now enjoying being totally retired. My flat has just been sold, with entry in the middle of next month so I'll be able to invest the sale proceeds shortly after that - just in time for the stock market to suffer a substantial fall 2 weeks later! By the way, Mike, your wife doesn't happen to have a sister around late 30's by any chance? Alan

Expecting the French to speak English? That's comparable to expecting a bg to keep to a budget. Alan

Erm ...... the Daily Record is a SCOTTISH publication (I hesitate to call it a newspaper). It is published in Glasgow and thus has a strong west coast bias, never mind any Scottish bias it may have. IMHO it ranks marginally above the Sun and the Star, which aint saying much. As for the BBC bias, you only need to watch their football preview on a Saturday afternoon. The ENGLISH premiership matches are all gone into in depth, but when it comes to the SCOTTISH Premier League, we're lucky if we get 90 seconds. Now THAT is what I call fucking bias in favour of England. Alan

Nah - It's the blatant English bias shown by the so called BRITISH media, including the BRITISH Broadcasting Corporation. Surprised that no-one's mentioned the scores from last night. After years of suffering under that useless cunt Vogts, Scotland now appear to be on the road to climbing their way back up the world rankings after beating Norway in Oslo last night and drawing with Italy at home on Saturday. I make no comment on England's result last night, other than to say "Well done, Northern Ireland" Alan

Until I moved out to live here, I used my cash card the majority of the time with travellers cheques as a back up. If you have a Nationwide Building Society flex account their debit card will give you a very good rate of exchange and no commission. I wouldn't recommend using your credit card for drawing cash other than in an emergency as there is generally a charge for drawing cash, plus many companies charge you interest from the day you draw the cash to the date you repay the sum due, regardless of the fact that you might, as I do, clear the sum outstanding every month. Jack, That 7% charge you mention. Could that have been the VAT, which in Thailand is 7%? Alan

My money's on the airport being finished first - this time next year at best. Alan

I would - if it wasn't for the fact that I'd likely be outnumberd by something like 50 - 1 Alan

I'm another who'll avoid a bar that's showing football, especially if England are playing. Alan