graymatter

The key issue regarding a visa is convincing the Australian Authorities that she has a good reason to return. She has an education course and is enrolled in further study so that might be enough. If she has family and property in Thailand this adds weight to her claims. The next criteria will be the ability to support herself while in Australia. If she has a bank account with at least $5000 then she will be OK but otherwise you will need to show means which include your assets , you income and your savings. Understandably you might be reluctant to pass on this information. You need to send her a letter of invitation and probably get a letter from the Thai consulate that you are inviting her. The whole process will take about 2 months so work out your timing. You can go into the immigration office in Wellington street Perth and pay the $130 application fee, pick up a form 1208 (http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/1208.pdf) and talk to the staff. If you complete he form and send the originals to London with the receipt and letters of invitation then it showsthat she has support in Australia. There is more to this and it is frustrating but it can be done. I am not sure if the current coup will make a difference.

Took a trip last year and thought I might drop in for a quick look but the place was buzzing and both the customers and the girls were in Party mode. I ended up staying for both days and staggered home late both evenings. I hope this BM from another forum doesn’t mind me using him to promote the party. He got into the spirit of things and had a drink in every bar with ballons. Trust me there were balloons everywhere. Regardless of your loyalties, I urge all of you to make an effort and visit Soi 6 on this weekend......Who knows LK metro might even do their own party next year. Party Animal of the year Best host in Soi ^...Skeeta from Skybar What its all about

There is a 5am bus from Ekamai bus station if you want to do it on the cheap. This bus station is over the road from Ekamai BTS station but I doubt the BTS will be running then so you are still looking at a 200 baht taxi along Sukhumvit road...and then there is a 200 baht taxi in Pattaya.. Less problems if you simply book an early morning taxi and your hotel can probably arrange that. Eastern Bus Terminal (Ekamai) To Pattaya Bus TerminalEkamai — Bangna-Trad Rd. (Toll way) –Pattaya Departure Times Bus Fare (Thai Baht) Contact No. Buses leave every 30 to 40 minutes from Ekamai The first bus leaves at 05:00 The last bus leaves at 23:00 124 BHT 02-712-3928

When you arrive at Don Muang, simply make you way out of the airport and you will see the Free bus which takes you to Swampy. The bus is distinctive. The trip is not too bad although don’t expect air-conditioning. I was worried about BKK traffic but the journey uses the highway and even at 4pm we made good time. The bus only had a few passengers so it was comfortable with my suitcase next to me. There was almost no waiting and drops you off at the departure hall. A quick escalator ride down stairs and you can grab a Bell bus (around 200Baht) or the regular bus (130 Baht) to Pattaya. The bell bus was full when I arrived so I jumped on the regular bus which will drop you at the top of North Pattaya, Central Pattaya or South Pattaya roads. If you have a suitcase the Baht buses try to extort you and will ask a few hundred baht to take you to your hotel but you can wait until the bus reaches the terminal which is in Jomtien and they have Baht buses that will bundle a few passengers together for hotel drop offs (cost me 80Baht to Soi Lengkee)

No doubt that this video is the truth but its not the whole truth. Retiring in Thailand is an idea that many men get. Obviously some are doing it and have settled down with a TGF and lead a perfectly happy life. The report seems to have missed that and instead found cases of different aspects. The pure sex tourist is in Thailand but it is not as common as they make out. Most of the mongers I have met are here for a lifestyle and sex and booze is only part of the mix. I was a bit concerned about the guy who broke down on camera. Will we read about him falling off a balcony or hanging from a door knob in the near future. If anyone knows him perhaps he need a friend to talk to?

If you want to make some sort of accusation, be a man and do it. I’m sure that the admin can identify my IP address to determine where I am posting from. Perhaps you should put that big brain of yours to use by contributing to the thread rather than knocking someone else’s posts.

Wow.... An interesting first post...where do you go from here? A recent discussion on Pattaya live about the life of the forum, highlighted the fact that moderators really stuff up a forum. It’s a control mechanise. Sometimes the board members need to be steered away from subjects that are contrary to ideals of a forum but other times its just someone throwing their weight around. Unfortunately the same rules that allow the moderators to control the forum also protect the moderators who abuse the power. Secrets forum is an example of this abuse. They will ignore rules for the members with high post counts and penalise new members. Established members will gang up on new members and flame them safe in the knowledge that the moderators will prevent retaliation. Overall this has the effect of producing a forum that has no new ideas or opposing views. There are a bunch of toadies patting each other on the back. Pattaya addicts also has moderator prolems. One moderator thinks he is smarter than everyone else and he is known to delete posts when losing an argument. Even on this forum there have been examples of censorship shown by a moderator. I am waiting to see what transpires in the new year when the FLB bar no longer needs the forum to promote business. A certain moderator has the right attitude to drive away members and destroy the forum. I have made the comment before. Moderators can f***K up a forum.

Watched this on the big screen at Big C a few years ago with a couple of Thai girls. Ever since they keep calling me “Barney”. Good movie...the girls love it . I have downloaded a few versions....make sure you find the subtitles/.

You can get your information from a few different groups on these forums. The ex-pats come with heaps of experience but they are often set in their ways and will direct you to where they are regulars. I can often pick them by the fact that they sit in a corner with other ex pats and completely ignore the girls. You can also find the groups who visit regularly and plan their trips around the people they have met before. Their recommendations are often based on a bar girl they hooked up with or the bar owners they have met. These guys have made mistakes and want to steer you away from them. Trouble is that bars change each month or each night and advice from today might not be good tomorrow. My first night in Pattaya was spent in Soi Diamond and I ended up with two girls from one of the gogos. Great night but wouldn’t recommend it. It could have gone horribly wrong. I have stayed in places from Soi 1 to walking street and settled in the soi lengkee area. Each area has its good and bad points. Staying in Naklua you are along way from Walking Street and if you bar fine a girl its a hike to get back to your room. The good news is that there are several good bars on second road and you are close to Drinking Street where you are bound to find some good options. Just remember that if you bar fine a girl from a bar close to your hotel you might have to walk past her every day. I like to get far enough away so a baht bus can get me past the places I have bar fined from. The best advice is to follow your nose. When you walk into a bar smile. The girls will respond to laughter faster than alcohol.

I don’t know about your mattress but I saw this guy selling mattresses in Soi 6 and I thought “There’s a guy with a head for a good business idea....selling mattresses in a brothel!”.. Maybe he could help you

A drug deal in progress......

Don’t stress.... The shop keepers in Pattaya are very happy to look after the larger gentleman. As you walk through Mikes shopping centre they have signs from 2XL to 6XL and the girls will let you know “Have your size” a few hundred times. The ground floor has T-shirts and singlets but go upstairs to find just about anything you want. If you have more money than sense feel free to go to central shopping centre where the designer labels are displayed for the well heeled but for me I can by designer shirts for $10 in Mikes and the quality is fine.

Thanks for the replies. I am actually sending the laptop to a lady in Phillipines who may or may not have electrical power. The country is a mess at the moment. I will send it without the battery first and then send the battery in a few weeks. I was just asking if sending a battery from LOS would be an issue? This whole thing reminds me of the Mobile Phone petrol pump bullshit. My local station has big signs with a mobile with a line through it and a year ago the “New Australian” behind the counter locked the doors and refused to let me out until I hung up my mobile phone. I pointed out that the story concerning mobile phones igniting petrol fumes was a myth but he was determined that I was not going out to the car park while talking on my phone. The irony in this case is that the petrol station actually has a mobile phone tower on the roof which is 1000 times more powerful than my handset. I am sure that somewhere in the world a lithium battery has caught fire but it didn’t happen in the hold of a plane. Further more it didn’t happen from a low powered device such as a mobile phone or a laptop.

Can anyone tell me if they have had problems posting laptops or cameras with lithium Ion batteries. In Australia, the Civil Aviation Authority (CASA) has included all lithium ion batteries on the dangerous goods list and our postal service has decided that we can’t post laptops using airmail. After investigating, I have determined that laptops etc are in the low power range with my note book producing 48watt hours (4400mah) on a scale which goes up to 100 watt hours before hitting the medium power range. Low Power is fine in your luggage but medium power must be in cabin baggage. Unfortunately, Australia Post is not interested in the power and refuses to transport laptops with batteries. My problem is that I want to send a laptop to Philippines so my best solution is to bring it to Thailand and send it from there . I can lie on the declaration form but an xray will catch me out. Are there any issues posting things from LOS to Philly?

If you book the Bell bus on the internet it will cost you 230 baht and they will take you direct to your hotel Bus time table is 08:00/10:00/12:00/14:00/16:00/18:00. The bus is very comfortable and gets into Pattaya about the same time as a taxi but there is a 15 minute wait at the bus terminal while you transfer to the mini bus to transfer to your hotel.

I have talked to someone with inside knowledge of the administration of this software. I suggest that someone has hacked the admin software and logged on as an administrator and caused some trouble. Pattaya Talk uses the same software and the only way I can imagine that your PM’s can be compromised is through the same admin software. Looks like the same culprit to me.

Addicts have been completely down for 24 Hours. They are blaming a former board member who has attacked the forum. Apart from taking the server out of commission there are posts and photographs that are missing and some put back in. This can’t be a coincidence and would take some high level skills to achieve it.

A blonde goes to see her doctor for a check up in her lady parts. When she gets up on the table the doc says.... “OK lets have a look at those aviaries" The blonde says “don’t you mean my ovaries!" The Doc has a close look and says “ No I’m sure there has been a cockatoo up here!"

Good advice. I carry cash but it is never all in the same place. My suitcase has a hidden pocket and I keep a few hundred just incase. I have three wallets and three different credit cards. I keep a laminated copy of my passport and drivers license in each. The originals stay in my safe or hotel safe deposit box. My daily wallet rarely has more than 6000 baht which is my daily budget and my second hotel wallet has the same again. Common sense is your best defence and keep your wits about you.

I have stayed in D Apartments a few times and can only recommend them, It cost me 1100 baht per night in the new rooms and I thought is was great value for money. The rooms were big and kept very clean, The staff displayed the normal Thai friendliness and I can’t complain about the administration. I have subsequently moved to the Soi Lengkee area because the rooms are only 600 baht per night and represent much better value for money but that doesn’t detract from the fact that D Apartments is a good place to stay.