Gordon

Okay, a couple of those ladies have caught my eyes "Off" certainly turns me 'on', hehe.... Likely to be in attendance for at least one of those dates. Gordon

http://www.smh.com.au/news/travel/reunited...0524078256.html Gordon

Ahhh yes, that still brings back fond memories from my last visit 3 years ago when I had a room on the top floor Hope to repeat that scene real soon Gordon

My first choice was for the Sandy Spring hotel though I thought I had little chance as it seems to have gained in popularity. I contacted the hotel direct as well as trying to book through scandibar.com. Scandibar said the Sandy Spring was fully booked but an email received one hour later from the Sandy Spring said they had rooms available and they gave me 3 days to confirm. I did tell them I had stayed with them before, not that I thought it would make any difference. Gordon

When I made my hotel bookings about 2 weeks ago, I contacted 3 hotels and one booking agency and got replies from all within 24 hours. Gordon

The slogan for this ad reads: "Post-it, For the little things you'll forget" ...

This is not new news but from December Thai Air will be introducing further flights for their Australian service. For Sydney travellers at least, I believe this will be the best timetable/price deal available to and from Bangkok. Hope I can get away sometime next year. All flights are direct (daylight saving times) : Syd - Bkk 1) 11:15am - 4.30pm 2) 5:05pm - 10.20pm Bkk - Syd 1) 8:15am - 21:15pm 2) 5.35pm - 6.35am http://www.thaiairways.com.au/thai_special...20New&id=76 Gordon

Here's another Oops moment, when the most powerful man on the planet could not open a door to leave a press conference in Beijing (it was locked but no one told him) : Gordon

What is the typical interest rate that the Thai banks give to Farangs on the 800,000 baht ? Could be an opportunity cost there. Gordon

and is employed full-time as a hostess (amongst other miscellaneous duties). Gordon

This amusing video (8.19MB) is not in English but needs no translation : http://www.hackermovies.de/moviefiles/HM_RacingBeats.wmv Gordon

A new feature from Google (still in Beta) called Google Maps is quite amazing. At the moment it just covers the US and Canada and has detailed, draggable Maps and Satellite imagery over much of the country, plus other features. When you've got the time it's fun having a play. The address is : http://maps.google.com/ For example, try this for an aerial view of John F Kennedy airport in New York - From the main page at http://maps.google.com/ 1. Type 'jfk' next to the Google Sign at the top and press the Search key. 2. Click the 'Satellite' link in the top right corner. 3. Zoom right in by moving the Zoom bar (on the right side) right up to the "+" button with your mouse. 4. You can also move the map in any direction by clicking and dragging with your mouse button. Enjoy ! Gordon

From the Jetstar Asia web site : Gordon

I was there last year on Makha Bucha Day in Pattaya and went searching all the way from Walking Street to Soi 7 in search of some action. From memory, the majority of the beer bars were closed and those that were open had their lights dimmed, no music playing and just a few girls in attendance. Could only remember a couple of go-go bars being open, one being Superbaby in Soi Diamond. Gordon

Just announced this morning and it's about time the duty free allowance for Australian residents was increased : Gordon

The commencement of operations of this new airline has been mentioned in the members forum but also deserves to be in here. Their website is at http://www.jetstarasia.com/index.php Initial routes include Singapore (the hub), Hong Kong, Taipei and of course Pattaya (U-Tapao). There is a daily service between Singapore and U-Tapao commencing on 20th December 2004 and the prices are very cheap, though who knows what transportation will be available and what you'll be paying to get from U-Tapao to Pattaya. We need a guinea pig to find out Gordon

If you haven't seen any of the Hahn Light beer commercials download and take a look at the latest one titled "Bean Bomb" (my title for it is "Stuck up Falang woman gets it") : . I'm glad I found it on the net to share with you guys : http://www.ofhills.com/blog/video/bounce.mov Story and impact of these commercials at : http://www.ofhills.com/archives/2004_02_01.php Gordon

Hi SoCalGuy, Yes I did use my credit card and the final itemised bill was correct. When I checked into the hotel and told them I was going to pay with my credit card they asked for my card and made out a bill for the cost of the room for my entire stay. This was of course never processed but it was there for their own security. When I checked out this bill was torn up in front of me. Sorry BigBadMike, I hope one day you will forgive me Regards, Gordon

I've just added a fairly detailed review of the Sandy Springs hotel in the Hotel Reviews section of the board. http://www.pattayapages.com/reviewpost/sho...=7&cat=4&page=2 Gordon

I lifted this from another forum : --------------------------------------------------------------------------- It takes a Marine .... the best "Dear John" letter: A Marine stationed in Afghanistan recently received a "Dear John" letter from his girlfriend back home. It read as follows: Dear Ricky, I can no longer continue our relationship. The distance between us is just too great. I must admit that I have cheated on you twice since you've been gone, and it's not fair to either of us. I'm sorry. Please return the picture of me that I sent to you. Love, Becky The Marine, with hurt feelings, asked his fellow marines for any snapshots they could spare of their girlfriends, sisters, ex-girlfriends, aunts, cousins, etc. In addition to the picture of Becky, Ricky included all the other pictures of the pretty women he had collected from his buddies. There were 57 photos in that envelope, along with this note: Dear Becky, I'm so sorry, but I can't quite remember who you are. Please take your picture from the pile, and send the rest back to me. Ricky --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gordon

I plead totally guilty Bigmike ! :-X I just can't bring myself to tell a lie, I have a reputation to uphold ! :-/ Let me try and make some amends by mentioning some negatives - * the key to the room needs to be placed in a key holder in order to activate the air-con, lights and TV. This means that once you leave the room and remove the key, the room will be hot upon your return. * The quality of the TV reception is rather poor. * I have ants in the room which love my computer and any food left lying around (even if carefully wrapped). There, that will keep the hordes away ! ;D Gordon

ThomasDK, I am staying at the Sandy Spring at the moment. I booked a Standard room at 990 baht per night from the Scandibar.com website (www.scandibar.com). I was really interested in the Deluxe room but it was not being offered through Scandibar.com. One week before my arrival I emailed Sandy Spring direct to confirm they were holding my booking. They replied that they were and would I instead be interested in a Deluxe room with Seaview at 1,190 baht per evening. No mention of any membership. I replied that I would like like to have the Deluxe room with seaview and requested a room as high up as possible. I was fortunate to have been given a room on the 8th floor (the 9th floor is the roof). I think there may only be one other Deluxe room with seaview on this floor as the rooms next to me are the Suites. The view is great. I asked at Reception and they told me that the Standard room is the same as the Deluxe room with the difference being the seaview. The Deluxe rooms start from the 4th floor, but I would definately want to be at least on the 6th floor. A greater part of the view on the 4th and 5th floors are blocked by the buildings to the immediate right. Also, you have a little less privacy as part of the inside of the rooms can be seen from the pool area on the 3rd floor. I have no idea what the deal is with the rooms facing the Soi. If you asked me whether the 200 baht extra is worth it for the seaview room I would definately say yes (but do try to get a room at least on the 6th floor), and would I stay here again, again yes ! Gordon

Hi Kingfisher, I wish I could oblige but I'm staying across the road at the Sandy Spring. If I wandered over to the Inn House and casually went for a stroll through their premises, they may not be too thrilled ::) . I could take some pics from the outside if you wish. Just send me a PM with your email address. Gordon

Hi Bazle, I too much prefer a quiet place to stay and Soi 13 is one of the quieter Sois as far as Soi's go in Pattaya between Beach and Second roads. There are no noisy places within ear-shot of the Sandy Spring or Inn House. Having said that, if I were you I would try and get a room away from the front of the hotel facing the street. Just to make a couple of corrections to my previous post having taken a closer look, the construction site is more like 30-40 metres away and it's only the very front of the Inn House that is in a direct line with it but it's still barely visible. Most of the building is shielded by another building of similar size. Gordon

The Inn House is directly across the road from the Sandy Spring where I am currently staying. The construction site is 50 metres down the Soi but on the same side of the road as the Sandy Spring which is shielded to a good extent by an intervening building. The Inn House has a direct view of the front of the site. In the past week I have seen no activity on the construction site. In fact, construction is barely off the ground and if memory serves me correctly, when I strolled down the Soi 2 years ago, the site looked much the same as it does now. I think you would have to be very unlucky to have construction recommence with any significant amount of noise during a planned stay. Gordon