cybers1b

You should consider to check the low cost airlines for a flight to Surathani (even though most only offer flights to Phulet or Hat Yai, it couls still be cheaper that way) - I found flights for less then 500 Baht one way to Phuket with Air Asia and Nokair http://www.nokair.com http://www.airasia.com The regular price from Thai Airways to Surathani is 2350 Baht one way but you see flights offered from Travel Agents for 1,600 Baht. check it out - just takes a few minutes and you may find something you like: Other then that, like torrenova I would also recommend the train over the bus, the bus trip I took a long time ago, I will negver forget, and not becuase it was so relaxing The train is more comfortable (especially in a sleeper car) and safer. here you find a timetable for Trains to Surathani and back: http://www.samui.org/airport/train.html This is a picture of a 2nd claass car, in the evening the fold the seats and you can sleep: another few If you really want to take the Bus, there are fares from about 500 Baht to 1000 Baht for teh VIP Busses with only 24 seats. The VIP Busses sometimes include the Ferry as well but ask. You can book a VIP Bus at many travel agencies (they leave from several locations). Or just go to teh Southern Bus Terminal (as stated by torrenova) on Boromrat Chonnani Road. cheers cyber

that's what a collegue just explained to me - he said many hotels have such a setup, they use their own little DSL setup in the hotel but their internet access is throough a leased line rather then ADSL. But he also said that these devices used are usually no real modems but something similar. As the Hotel can hardly make use of a modem as it usually lacks the infrastructure (authentication,...). But he also told me that allmost all Hotels that where built after 1996 have Ethernet cabeling, wether they use it or not. The cables where part of the building plans of hotels or office buildings in bangkok since then obviously, I did not know that. I will post the name of the above mentioned Hotel as soon as I get it... cheers cyber

have to write an email to a friend who stayed at a Hotel where they had modems in the room and this modems where set up to connect to samartdsl, can't remember the Hotels name now, it was a smaller Hotel (maybe about 50 rooms or so) and they had this service not on all of their rooms. But about the ADSL modem connection to a proxy server, that's something I don't understand right now and I will have to ask our telco people about it, I always thought the endpoint of an ADSL Modem is the corresponding DSLAM in the segment? How could a proxy server respond to an ADSL Modem that want's to initiate a Data connection to a Muliplexer? But I don't know too much about this side of the Business, happy to have stayed in teh IT side and have not much to do with xDSL equipment other them my modem cheers cyber

there are indeed hotels in bangkok that offer you a personal modem in the room if you require it - of course you are absolutley right that it is not the norm and even with it the speed can not be guarnateed (you are right, these calculations are well known to me ), what i said in my post was that it depends on what you want to offer to you guests and on the price you have to pay for it. It would influence how much I am prepared to pay. It really depends on how you offer this service, you should not be advertising a 256 kbit connection per room if all you have is a 256 kbit connection for all your rooms together. But working for a ISP, I know that the practical applications of such things look different cheers cyber

But there is a difference if you offer 256 kbit per room or like an internet shop 256 kbit all together they have usually either a leased line or one ADSL Business access which they share for all customers. But if you want to offer real 256 kbit per room it is something different completely, not only in terms of price but also in terms of necessary technical prerequisites and available phone lines. Some Hotels in Bangkok offer seperate modems in every room, some offer access through a regular LAN. If you tell people that you offer 256(128) kbit internet access in the room that's what they expect, not 256 kbit for 30 (or any other number) rooms, it's easy to feel and messura the difference. Check out the internet cafes at pattaya, they all share one connection, of course they can sell you the hour for 20 baht, think about how much money they make that way. They probably pay between about 8,000 Baht if the use a leased line 128k, they pay between 3,000 and 10,000 for a business ADSL access. In Bangkok the internet cafes in the areas off the tourist paths (eg Prachasonkor, Soi Morleng off Rajada, Din Daeng,..) charge 10 Baht per Hour and still make money (even less then 10 Baht if you buy cards like you mentioned) So the question I should have asked first would be: Is the plan is to offer real 256 (or 128) per room or one connection shared for all rooms through either a wireless (11 Mbit or 54 Mbit) or a regular LAN (10 or 100 or 1000 Mbit). It would also make a difference to how much I would pay for the connection in the room cheers cyber

2600 is the current price to pay in Pattaya as fat as I know and it is not even available all over Pattaya yet. No such cheap offers as in Bangkok becuase of the lack of infrastructure, but that will change faster then you know. The only HFC Cable network that can be used for cable modems is in Bangkok (UBC) as far as I know. You can get cable modems in Bangkok from True (as theTrue Corporation has a big stake in UBC) but they are rather pricey compared with teh ADSL access. cheers cyber

Thanks Sunny, didn't realize who Ibber was Well, if somebody asked me how much I would pay, no more then 150 Baht additional per day if it was 256 and no more then 100 Baht a day if it was 128. More then that and I would just use an internet cafe. The question would be how much does it cost a Hotel to offer 128 or 256 per Room? Is it affordable to do it in Pattaya yet and offer it at a rate that does appeal to customers? Time will bring it to Pattaya on a cheaper rate just like it arrived in Bangkok. Now as Sunny said, some Hotels offer it free of charge as additional service and unless it is a Chain like Marriott (672 Baht per 24 hours is a rip off considereing ADSL prices in Bangkok) the Hotels who charge, charge around 1500 to 2000 Baht per month for long term guests and between 100 and 200 Baht per day for shorter stays.

First you would have to find one in Pattaya that has indeed hispeed internet access in the room, the only one I know for sure is the Marriott and they charge 672 baht per 24 hours for 512/256 ADSL (USB or Ethernet), the same price as at all Marriotts in Thailand. Another one seems to be Royal Cliff but I don't know how much they charge. Other then that I don't know any in Pattaya nor have I read about any on the board. This topic was written about many times so you might want to try a search as well. now in bangkok it is a different thing and there you can find many hotels who offer this kind of additional service (sometimes free of charge). cheers cyber

I understood the question like "What is a tourist Visa for" and I tried to explain it. I have a Thai wife but my visa has nothing to do with her, I used to have Non Immigrant EX Visas in the past but now have permanent resident status (which is classified under the Group of Immigrant Visa as far as I know). cheers cyber

Babe, you can have a Lao girlfirend but prostitution is strictly prohibeted. Sunny is right about the Visa on Arrival, you can also take a train from Bangkok to nong khai (very comfortable and cheap if you take a air con sleeper car) and from nong khai pass the friendship bridge to Laos (same here, 20 US and a photo if you do not want to stay longer then 15 days). Check fares and the times for trains here: http://www.railway.co.th/eng/ Some more info on Nong Khai and also a bit about the trip to Laos: http://www.danishbaker.dk/ If you stay in Nong Khai for a night I can recommend the Pantawee Hotel - in room internet access (and even a computer in some of the rooms if you do not have a laptop) http://www.nongkhaihotel.com/ The Lao embassy in Bangkok is also helpful if you need a Visa fir a longer stay then 15 days: http://www.bkklaoembassy.com/ And some more uselful links that helped me in the past: http://www.laopdr.com/ http://www.visit-laos.com/

I thoght the reason for that is obvious? With a Tourist Visa you can stay in the country for 90 days (60 days plus the 30 days extension for 1,900 Baht at any immigration office) compared to the 40 days (30 days plus a 10 day extension for 1,900 Baht at every immigration office) with a 30 day permit. In addition with a double entry tourist visa you will get another 60 days if you make a visa run which can again be extended for another 30 days. It is for people who want to stay in Thailand for let's say 6 months and do not want to do 5 Visa runs but only one insted. And it is not correct that you pay 500 Baht whenever you leave the country of course. You are referring to the 500 Baht Airport Tax in Bangkok which has nothing to do with Immigration or Visa. And you do not pay 500 Baht if you exit Thailand on any of the land border crossings of course. cheers cyber

Yeah, as Roppongi said, there are plenty of rooms in the same price range that are far better value for money and less guest hassle. I think the current price at the Madarin Hotel is about 900 Baht or so (maybe slightly below). Check out places at Sukhumvit (President Suites, Woraburi, and many more and if you can spend a bit more, check the Omni for example), from there you can be at Silom in a short time since the BTS serves Silom with the Sala Daeng Station. Check out some of these sites: http://www.sawasdee-hotels.com/ http://www.presidentsuites.com http://www.the-ascott.com/OurResi/ResiGene...fo.asp?p=80&r=4 http://www.farangs.com cheers cyber

If you mean the Mandarin Hotel on Silom, that sucks. If you are talking about the Mandarin Oriental - one of the best Hotels in Bangkok (and in fact voted Best Hotel of the World a view times) Hardly the same but many people mistake one for the other. cheers cyber

I use kodaks printing service, i think they have a shop in chonburi and they do mail the pics py post if you want. it usually takes 2 working days until the prints are ready. convinient as you neer have to go to any shop. here are the sizes and prizes available, never was good in converting inches to cm http://www.kodakexpress.co.th/th/pricing.cfm you have to sign up first, then you can upload your pics (check the minimum resolution for each size you want to have printed), the sign up is free though... some more info: http://www.kodakexpress.co.th/th/faq.cfm hope it helps cheers cyber

I think Sunny wrote about the Royal Cliff Hotel offereing wireless in the Hotel Lobby and Cafes and broadband in some of the rooms, but all in all there are not many Hotels that offer HiSpeed Connections in the room. Marriott is another one but not wireles though but USB or Ethernet. Do a search, there are more then enough threads on that issue already.

Even though not outside Pattaya the Swasdee Hotels are in that range (from 250 Baht). If the "out of the scene" is really the most important requirement I am afraid I don't know any but there sure are more then enough, especially for Thais who do not expect anything fancy, maybe they would be better off finding one when they arive, it's probably easier for Thais to get a better price? But wether it is Naklua or Jomtien, you are never really out of the scene at any of the Bahtbus routes I'd say. you may want to check the locations of the different hotels out, maybe one is ok: http://www.sawasdee-hotels.com cheers cyber

all right I am also not sure about the 90 days but I did read about it, i think it was on thaivisa.com. The transit visa they refer to on the embassy website actually is the same as if you get a tourist visa so i can't see the difference? They can probably clear that at any embassy or consulate over there, if you find out let me know too, would be interesting to get a fact on this. cheers cyber

As far as I know there is no such thing as a multiple entry tourist visa, the most I ever heard of was 3 entries and from what I did read on thaivisa.com they are not longer issued at most embassies, I can not add personal experience to that though so it might as well just be rumours. A multiple entry visa is a visa that can be used unlimited times within a year as far as I understand it. And I also do not know of any tourist visa that is valid for a year? You probably mean a Non Immigrant Visa which would match perfectly to your description. But unfortunatly there are several requirements to get a Non Immigrant Visa, it is not the Visa you just can get as a Tourist I'd say, unless in Australia they are reall not looking at any requirements and issuing them? http://thaisydney.idx.com.au/Nonimmigrantvisa.html The Non Immigrant Visa you can get in Australia is the same as the one you get anywhere else, the difference that you get with the FTA now is as torrenova said a 90 days visa free entry insted of the 30 days. That's what the Thai Embassy in Sydney says about Tourist Visas: http://thaisydney.idx.com.au/touristvisa.html So Australians are lucky now becuase I guess 90 days is rather nice, no need for 30 day visa runs. cheers cyber

A Tourist Visa is for stays of more then 30 days (and the 30 day visa free entry is not valid for all countries anyway). It will be issued at any Thai Consulate or Embassie and enables you to stay in Thailand for a period of 60 days which can be extended for usually another 30 days in Thailand at any Immigration Office at a price of 1,900 Baht. As the name says it is for tourists and does not permit any other activity such as work. Check your local Embassy for the price, there are usually Visas for 1, 2 or 3 entries even though lately it seems that they only issue single and double entry Visas. Here you can find a list with Thai Embassies that have a website: http://www.thaiembassy.org/ For more information on Visa issues look here: http://www.mfa.go.th/web/12.php http://www.thaivisa.com http://imm3.police.go.th/eng/index.htm cheers cyber

why a rich guy like you would want to share a taxi is a mistery to me though Mr. clubman. Why don't you just take the Helicopter Service or a simple Stretch Limo?

Koh Chang in fact is one of the higher risk areas. You can get some info at the following sites: http://eng.moph.go.th - Ministry of Public Health - they usuallu have the lastes info on the topic http://www.fitfortravel.scot.nhs.uk/Country/Thailand.html Malaria precautions are essential in Ko Chang and along the borders of Laos Cambodia and Myanmar, all year round. cheers cyber

The Pinewood is one of my choices when I go down to Pattaya, either Pinewood or Sunshine Vista if I am with my wife, if I am alone, I prefer the someting like the Sunhine Hotel Soi 8 (in the middle of the Action). I have been at the Pinewood earlier this year and it still is a nice place to stay. no guest problems, nice pool, newly furnished rooms (at least the one I was in), nice staff. Overall a good place to stay. But I never saw any 3 bedroom apartment though.It is located behind Bangkok Bank, kinda easy to overlook when you go there the first time. cheers cyber

you could try to use the meeting and cost sharing forum - i am sure there will be some people here at the same time. cheers cyber

I know it has no pool but I stayed there about 4 years back and it was a nice enough place at a good price with a range of different apartments. The location is quite but not a far way from Walkking street. Maybe they even have a pool in the meantime, don't know. The prices on teh website sure are negotiable as you probably want to rent longer term then just for 1 or 2 months. Nong Apartment Just check it out maybe: http://www.pattayavacation.com cheers cyber

Pattaya sets up network to rescue environment Saturday, 09 October 2004 CHONBURI, Oct 9 (TNA) - Thailand's tourist resort of Pattaya in the eastern province of Chonburi is rushing to build up a network of local conservationists to help save the local environment. Announcing the resort's plans today, Pattaya mayor Narin Wattanasatsathorn spoke of the urgent need to instil environmental awareness among the town's residents in the face of global environmental crisis. Recent environmental campaigns by the town include a highly successful recycling campaign, which earned the town Bt6,430 to be sent to temples within the municipal district. Despite being one of the best known tourist resorts in Thailand, Pattaya has suffered in the past from serious environmental degradation, but has taken steps to clean up its image. cheers cyber http://bangkok2day.com/portal/content/view/754/2/