Leadbelly

On another Pattaya board (the Yellow board) a poster with the handle of Johno wrote that a friend of his just got back from a stay in Pattaya at the Bay Breeze and had half his cash stolen during the night out of the security box at the desk. Management claimed no knowledge about the incident. Since it sounds like you will be staying there, thought I should at least let you be aware of the post, I don't know if it's true or not.

You can also bypass the Residence Garden lobby desk if you walk all the way down the driveway and go up a flight of stairs that leads directly to the elevator. They do drag a high metal gate across this area (and lock it) usually around 9 P.M., however. But this route would work for you and your earlier "guests."

Steve, I don't know about gyms within walking distance, but for stays of 30 days or longer I've paid 1000 baht per day. Don't know if you can get it lower than that. Also if you want to stay there you should email the owner, Ib, sooner rather than later, as it's a popular place. You can contact him at: ottesen@loxinfo.co.th You'll like it there. Also try the all-you-can-eat dinner buffet at their Captain's Corner Restaurant, 295 baht without drinks. When you get tired of Thai food, it's a good place to fuel up on Western-style food. Have a great trip.

Stump_Dog, Ib Ottesen's email is: ottesen@loxinfo.co.th

I looked at rooms there too, but didn't stay there. Seems to be pretty good value, although the furniture has that second-hand, mix and match look. The rooms I saw hadn't been renovated in a while, but location-wise it's about perfect if you will be hitting places on Walking Street and nearby. It's down by the very quiet end of W. S. Remember, no elevator, so factor that into what floor you want to stay on if you decide to book it.

Turbo, the place in Jomtien is called The Jomtien Fish Park. It's located quite a ways down Jomtien Beach Road away from the Pattaya end. If memory serves me right, it's down Soi 14 (not Soi 4). You can take a baht bus down to Soi 14 and get off. There is a small, rectangular blue and white sign on the corner of Jomtien Beach Road and Soi 14 that says, "Jomtien Fish Park" with an arrow pointing down Soi 14. You will walk down this dirt road about 200 or 300 yards...Soi 14 dead ends right at the fish park. Motos will take you right to the doorstep if you want, I paid 30 or 40 baht from the R.G

pattaya-golfer, many of the internet cafes will sell you minutes at a discount if you pay upfront for a large block of minutes. There is a small internet cafe next to the Residence Garden where I stay, that is attached to the Mr. Mac Hotel/restaurant. They will give you 1500 minutes for 1000 baht (about $23.50 U.S. for 25 hours.) It's a bit cheaper if you buy a 2000 baht block of time, but I didn't do that so don't remember what it cost for that option...probably about 58 hours for $47. I think the cafe is dial up but could be wrong. Hours it's open are from 9 A.M. to 11 P.M. daily. There are

Last trip while staying at the Residence Garden (back in Dec.) there were several buildings going up behind the R.G. To anybody staying there now, how far along are the projects, is construction noise an issue, and what's your best guess as to when the buildings are completed? Thanks for any information in advance. I plan to be back there in May.

Andy, on the Home page of this site, there is a hotel section. There are about 370 reviews of various hotels in the Pattaya area that you can check out. You don't mention a price range for what you want to pay, so more info would help. I like the Residence Garden, there is no problem or check on the guests you bring back, and no extra charge. Through this site you can book a room for 1350 baht at the residence garden...long stays of 30 days or more you can get a discount from that from the owner Ib. These are suites...bedroom plus living room. There are several reviews on the R.G. in the hotel

Raylene, you're putting us on, right?

Well, here it is off their own web site under their "taxi" section....check out what they call the "Champaign Service." <<<TAXI * Please send your credit card details and passport number when ordering a taxi. Please complete reservation / order forms as listed in all fields. * All prices are per vehicle Taxi: Honda / Toyota Limousine: Volvo / Mercedes With complimentary drinks and cold towels $ Thai Baht Personal airport taxi $34 1,500Bt Airport taxi return $59 2,600Bt Personal airport minibus $67 2

T-Rex, I'm only half-way through book one and the tape that goes wth it. I've found it to be worthwhile so far, but am having trouble putting the time into it that's needed. After work each day I basically get lazy. Hope it's going well with you....chok dee.

Raylene- I've never stayed at the Penthouse, but from reading what others who have stayed there have written, there is no problem with bringing guests to your room. Some like the Penthouse a lot, others feel it's tacky. They would be more likely to slap a "loser's fee" on you for returning to your room alone at night than to make you pay a joiner's fee for bringing back a girl or three. A hotel/Go-Go Club that provides a video feed on your T.V. of their dancers doesn't really get up-in-arms about their clients bringing back overnight guests to the rooms. As to the "Champagne Service" limo

OnMyWay- Get on the Forum Members Page, where all the categories of types of posts are..."General Discussion About Pattaya," "Newbies," "Meeting and Cost Sharing," etc. Then scroll down to the bottom of this page and you will see "Info Center." In this section you'll see "Your Instant Messages." You will see the number of messages you have, and the number will be "clickable"...(I guess that's a word...it is now for this post, anyway). Click on it and it will take you to your instant messages.

Boka, the Pornping Towers is a 3 star, large hotel (300+rooms) with a pool. I stayed there a couple of years ago. Guest friendly and good location...a short walk to the Night Market. Can get a single room for 900 to 1000 baht. At the below link you can check it out, plus at this page there is a "Select Other Hotels in Chiang Mai" pull-down menu with information on other rooms around Chiang Mai. I don't know anything about the Holiday Garden hotel you asked about. www.directrooms-thailand.com/chiangmai/pornping.htm

bluesmalone, just finished a book by Stephen Hunter called "Pale Horse Coming," available in paperback (Pocket Star Books, 2001, $7.99 U.S.). If you like fast-paced, violent, action style reads I recommend this one. The story is set in Mississippi in 1950. The hero is a former Marine, Medal of Honor winner who is now an Arkansas State Police Sgt, Earl Swagger. There is prison for blacks in the middle of a swamp called Thebes. The guards did not treat the prisoners well... Lots of shooting, fighting, torture, descriptions of guns and rifles, plenty of bad guys....a fun read IMO. If you want an

Bluesmalone, the only down side about May for me is the humidity. This Nov.-Dec. I noticed the difference in the weather from May-June....really pretty pleasant and low (relatively) humidity vs last May-June. It's been said that a lot of girls leave during low season to visit family, or whatever, which is probably true, but there's more than enough girls still in Pattaya to my eyes. Lots less tourists than Nov.-Dec. as well....a good thing, IMO.

thaidane, I have only stayed at the Eastiny Place Hotel of the ones in the soi 8 area. You can get the Eastiny Place for 200 to 300 baht a day less than what the Sunshine quoted you during May-June. The rooms at the Eastiny Place were very clean, and there's no problem bringing a guest back with you. They took the girls I.D's and held them until she left, but a word to the desk if you don't like that would probably result in them handling guests however you asked them to....the staff was very friendly. This was a year and a half ago, however. You can inquire via email to the manager, Mark, at

Didn't stay there, but was at the Residence Garden, both have the same owner. I did look at a room at the Boathouse out of curiousity, and they are very nice. The room I looked at was a one room (bedroom only). Not like the suite set-up at the RG. Had a good breakfast at the Boathouse, American/English style. 90 baht if memory serves me. Boathouse is on Jomtien Beach Road at Soi 8. There is a web site for the Jomtien Boathouse at www.jomtien-boathouse.com You can check out prices, pics, etc. there.

marley- said I'd get back with you on the Thai class, and am back now. Unfortunately, as with some plans I make, did not follow through on the classes. I did buy "Thai for Beginners" (1 book and 3 tapes) and "Thai for Intermediate Learners" (1 book and 2 tapes) by Benjawan Poomsan Becker. I'd read somewhere they are good...haven't begun them yet. Found them at a good bookstore on Soi Post Office, I think it was...one of those sois in there. It's about mid-way down the soi on the left hand side if you go from Second Road and are heading towards Beach Road. Beginners was 549 baht, Intermediate

SF dude- do you get the Sunday Chronicle? Haven't picked up one in a long time since my tickets have been bought, but a couple of months ago M & K Travel advertised roundtrip SF-Bkk for $529 not including taxes (China Airlines). I was wondering if they still have that price going. I've find some pretty good buys in the Sunday Chron's travel section. Cost Less Travel used to have some good deals (through Japan Airlines) but I didn't see their ads in there when I last looked, so don't know if Cost Less is still in business. I liked Japan Air over China Airlines. Glad you had a great trip, it

ukdog- don't know what email address you used, but on their website at www.arecalodge.com they show an email address of info@arecalodge.com If that is not the one you tried, give it a shot. Ask them about a joiner fee in the email....since you're booking a double I don't see them charging you extra for guests. Good luck and have a great trip.

marley- I'll post what happens regarding learning Thai to the board, but it will be in late Dec. or early Jan., since I don't get back until Christmas. Will be having too much fun for the message boards when there.

OnMyWay- Over the last 30 years, the average high temp. in Chiang Mai for January has been 84 F. and the average low has been 58 F. Not exactly heavy coat weather to me, but to Thais 58 degrees is brrrr, cold, mak mak!! If you follow the link below, it will show you the monthly temp. averages and rainfall for Chiang Mai. http://www.weather.com/weather/climatology...day.com&promo=0

johhnyboy- Here is some information about Songkran from the internet: <<Songkran happens in mid-April, usually between the 12 and 15 April, but expect the water fights to start a couple of days earlier. What's It All About? Although for most visitors, Songkran is just a big water fight, there are a number of private and public events that devout Buddhists will adhere to. The festival officially happens over four days. On the first day, Wan Sangkhan Lohng, houses are cleaned and there is a procession of Buddha images and floats ‹ all of which get drenched by the spectato