Harvey

Oh man, I wish I'd gotten this info this past January when I had the MISfortune of staying here. The Stable lodge is a total and complete DIVE. :-(

It was 2 way when I was in Ptty last week.

No, I'm just back from the Eastiny. The extra charge is for a 2nd girl. The first one is free (grin). If you want details, see my post in Trip Reports section (on the member's board) titled "My sister go with us, okay?" (or something like that). The discussion that follows includes things about the Eastiny's charge for multiple girls to your room. Harv

Kahala, if Pete's unable to do a real-time auction and you want to either contribute to the orphanage and/or buy an FLB shirt, I'll give you a short-term solution. Message me thru this site and tell me how much you want to donate and I'll put it in for you (and have Ben or Pete witness it). You can mail me a check to Washington, DC later. (I don't know how much a T-shirt is, but if Pete posts that here and you want one, I'll pick one up and mail it to you from stateside where postage is cheaper and you can reimburse me for the $ and postage later). I've done similar stuff for other members of the board and have never, ever been stiffed. Guys are very responsible insofar as paying stuff back -- one thing I appreciate about this place. PETE -- you ever consider trying to Ebay a couple of items for the charity auction? I think you mentioned that you can access the receiving end of PayPal, correct? Harv

I used to have to do a national ISP because my old job required so much travel. But I got promoted into less work and more money -- isn't that the way it always is? Anyway, so I ditched my ISP. I hated them all. Qwest Internet, Prodigy, (I refuse AOL under general principle), etc. (A note about my experiences with Prodigy at the end of this posting). Instead, I went to cable broadband. It just FLIES (via comcast in the Maryland - Washington DC suburbs). Very, very stable. I don't require any bells or whistles just a stable connection. I have an internal network card in my notebook (I ditched desktop computers years ago), so when I get home from work, I just plug in and I'm on. Then, what I did was cancel my land line telephone cuz I hate Verizon like the plague. A pox on their house as far as I'm concerned. For years, I've had my cell phone plan w/Sprint PCS - $50 for 500 national anytime minutes, free long distance, no contract I can cancel at no charge at any time. So that's my only phone. It's like when I lived in Asia for 4 years -- I got by with only a cell phone. I love my set up now. Broadband internet access that's stable and reliable. None of my money going to Verizon or any of the unstable, slow, unreliable national ISPs. Everything in my life portable. A note about Prodigy Internet I had them once. They were always down, prompting me to call "customer service" (I use that term loosely) to find out when I could expect them to be able to provide the basic service that I was paying for. Apparently, their high-school recruitment program for customer service agents is beginning to bear fruit. One phone call to Prodigy provides ample ammunition for those who seek to improve the America's elementary and secondary school system. The breaking Prodigy news is that their "one hundred monkeys randomly typing on keyboards" technical support program may also be a keeper. I hate them. Harv

Chico...hey! What are you even doing up awake that early (grin). You should either be sleeping or rolling around the sack with a cutie. If it matters any, by the time I'm walking around, (10 or 11 at the earlies), some beer bars are open and there are a few guys hanging onto a beer. Get over here quickly. Harv

My observations are strictly my own, but it appears that at the present time, Pattaya is far from busy. The Eastiny has lots of vacant rooms (at least on the top floor where I am). Bar girls seem kinda bored. Get over here as soon as you can! Harv

I'm at the Eastiny right now and boy is it quiet after 2:00 a.m. Some places open, but dark. Others (the less successful bars) start to close down gradually. Hope this helps. Harv

(NOTE: I'm already near my maximum on storage. If the photos I reference in this post are gone, it's because I removed them to make room in my member's albumn for newer photos on a different subject.) I've been going to the Flipper House on Soi 7 since...well, I can't remember the last time I wasn't there. But thought that a change would be a good idea. I'd last been to Eastiny Inn on Soi 8 in April 2000, so thought it would be good to give them a try. I booked a superior room, it was 1,000 baht (you can prolly get it a little cheaper outside of busy/shoulder season, but I'm not the type to quibble.) First a couple of photos, one inside and on from my balcony. The inside is cool. I face Soi 8, but am set back from the street, overlooking the pool. Bed is good. Aircon works well and it has a thermostat dial so your choices are not only (a) Desert heat; or ( Arctic cold. The restaurant is good. The interior is looking like it'll be in need of a refurbishing in a year or two. The desk girls are still flirty. New items in the honorbar basket include condoms and KY jelly. All in all, I'd give flipper house the nod. But if you want a place close to the action and flipper house is full up, Eastiny inn is like a good-old standby. email: eastinyinn@hotmail.com

Yo Bob, I checked out the place today. (NOTE: I'm already near my quota for photo storage space on his board. If you read this post and the photos are missing, it's because I deleted them from my albumn to make room for newer pics). As you noted, it's behind the Buffalo Bar on Third Road down this little street. Below is the side of the building. The road ends, like many small roads in Pattaya do, as sort of a gravelly afterthought. Vinai Place is at the end of the road. Here is a photo of the front. The girl at the desk, Nat (pronounced "Nut", but spelled Nat on a flyer at the desk) quoted a price of 6,500 baht for a month. She says that the rooms are nice (but I couldn't go into any, cuz all were booked). Includes aircon, TV, hot water, etc. The front desk doubles as a kind of bar and kitchen, which Nat reigns over. She's been there for 8 months with an older English guy named Gary. Bob, I'm not sure what you're looking for in terms of lodging. If it's price, I guess 6,500 a month is GREAT. But if it's looks of property or convenience, I'm thinking that you can do better. Advantages: Close to Buffalo Bar. Close to Xyzite -- the disco girls will love you. Cheap. Nat is cute -- my photo sux, my fault. Great monthly price. Disadvantages: It's out on the north 40. Property looks kind of old and beaten down, but to be fair, I haven't seen the inside of the room. Contact information: email: vinaiplace@yahoo.com phone: 038-421-879 FAX: 038-424-359 Address: Vinai Place 46/35 Moo 9, Pattaya 3rd Road Pattaya City, Thailand 20260 I hope this helps. harv

I'm just trying to understand, Steve. 1. You type in your message. 2. You hit preview. 3. It stays in preview view for a second or two... 4. ...and? It goes into "post" mode (e.g., final post, viewable to the public?) I am not sure if this is what you mean by "returns to the post you have typed." Here come a bunch of dumb questions: - what kind of computer are you on? Desktop? Notebook/laptop? - Have you had mouse problems in the past?

Gerald -- I gotta tell you. YOU ARE THE MAN! You got the greatest attitude. Here's hoping that your trip coming up is the absolute bomb. Go get 'em!!! Harv

What disappears, Steve? The entire preview screen? What are you left with after the disappearance?

Yeah! That's what I'm talking about. I actually ate a couple of these (below) before Gin (of FLB), decided to be a pig and eat the whole rest of the bag -- upper corner of the photo. She's good at picking out the good beetles. And I gotta ask. Who else has kissed a TG and gotten second hand grasshopper antennae in their mouths? Harv

Gerald...I'm laughing. You, guy, must be anxious. Putting out a share ride note three months before your trip is sure forward planning (grin). Here's hoping that time flies and your trip comes quickly. ;D harv

I'll be in Ptty in a week, Bob. Do you want me to check it out for you? I know where Buffalo Bar is, so I figure that I can find the hotel. Harv P.S. But I've never yet stayed there, if that's the question you're asking publicly.

I can see your concern at internet cafes. But unless you're a real end user, you already know to logoff on every site you visit (mail, boards, etc) and clear out the browsers memory/cache and delete your history files. At least I do that religiously. While it's not 100% foolproof, it prevents the simple and most likely fuck up of the next guy on the machine getting into stuff under my name. Maybe a reminder note or pop-up? Just a delerious thought at 0400. Sleep deprived, Harv

I'll be there soon too. Ben metioned needing donations (of goods) for a charity auction upcoming. Would recommend you consider emailing him. Harv

I've stayed at the Flipper House the last 4 times I visited. Also stayed at the Eastiny Inn and Pattaya Center Hotel (over the 1999/2000 new year!). Dave, why don't you do a search of hotel reviews?

Dude, not flaming you, but the "glow" font sure is the most ineligant thing around. Think *simple* when on a board. Answer to your question can be found here: http://www.freelancerbar.com/when-to-visit.html I was there last July. The "rainy" season is kind of a misleading description. It's not like Seattle where rainy means all day, overcase and lots or precipitation. The rain came down in buckets for a short period of time, then let up equally quickly. Enough sun so I got lots of time at the pool catching rays. Rainy season is also low season. Jusf FYI

See my posting on the old board on getting to the Thai Air limo kiosk

I think it really depends on the time of night you come in. Search the old board...i recall seeing someone posting the price range about 6 months ago

Based on the direction of the conversation, I think Pete would prefer that you move your question to the members section. You may get your answers there.

It's Tony! How are you doing, dude? Welcome back. Where's Dave?

Pete - bug report is that I got into member board (enough to post something on the oldtimes section), then got booted off. Now, I no longer see members section even after logging off, then logging back in again. Also, this site loads a lot slower than the old board. Just my dos centavos.