lemons

Aldport. I stayed at Ma Maison till the 12th. Very little noise now in Soi 13. The one next to the Golden Crab is STILL being built, but the noisy stuff has finished. Also the new condo place, the Whitehouse, is now finished. Cheers, lemons

Ok, hold the phone - WHAT is this happy young lass eating please?? Is she some sort of lesbian cannibal, prowling the beach for scraps? Or perhaps a new specialised cart has begun offering marinated genitalia for late night feasters. Any thoughts welcome gents. I can feel a crackdown coming on this sort of thing! Lemons

Mate it's one of those above ground jobs with a bit of decking tacked onto the side so you can get in. Dive in and you'd snap fingers hitting the other end! L

Stayed there once. I've submitted them as a contestant in the 'worlds smallest hotel pool' competition! Has to be seen to be believed. L

BillRussell, Take any southbound baht bus in Soi Buchkow and turn right (east) into Sth Pattaya Rd. The IT centre is just down on your left. (Not as elaborate as Panthip Plaza but lots of stuff to browsw over). L

Pete, Valuable advice indeed. As some know, I now operate a modest guesthouse in Sihanoukville Cambo. I am finding that my 12 years in hospitality in my 20's is coming in very handy. The point about adequate capitalisation and initial cash flow is particularly relevant. One very quick example: We have 10 rooms. I wanted to install hot water in them. No probs - accepted a quote for $80 per unit + $100 for fitting = $900, all done in 2 days. Ok, that was a known cost, and I elected to go ahead. Umm, now came the unexpected costs. The amperage of our supply had to be increased to cope with the load from the heaters, (add $300). A good percentage of the wiring had to be replaced to carry the increased amperage, (add $180). So a $900 2 day job ended up being nearly $1400, (that's over a 50% increase), and taking 10 days. Just one simple example of how reality can make a joke of your budget! The thoughts that Pete raises are valid down here as well, with the exception of most of the beaurocracy. Thank goodness Cambo has a much more welcoming stance to western capital than LOS. I only hope it stays that way. In my short time in business down here, I have seen examples of well run businesses that actually make a profit, and 'pie on the sky' operations that are predestined to fail. lemons

Spike, Bangkok Air is the ONLY commercial carrier to use U Tapao. It is still basically a military airport, but BKK Air have a deal to use it. Lemons

Just my 10c worth. I've flown nearly all possible airlines to SE Asia from Aust, and Singapore are head and shoulders above all the rest. I'm in their F/F program now, but would probably use them regardless. Lemons

Hi mate, I am a xxxl in Australia. Buying clothes anywhere in SE Asia is problematic. Do not take the sellers promises, or the label size, as gospel - try it on first. BTW, there is a really recent thread re a big guys store here in Pattaya. Have a look at that. lemons

This was rumoured to be the case at Had Lek last year, but turned out to be just an off the cuff comment by the Immigration boss there who 'wanted it to happen'. After that, there was the nonense of charging a 1000baht 'fee' for those who didn't remain out of the Kingdom for at least 48 hrs. This lasted about a week, before being revealed as bullshit, (probably started by the hoteliers in Koh Kong ) L

So Sailfast, Other than that, BA is allright are they? Lemons

Thai and Singapore Airlines share the same umbrella loyalty program, (Star Alliance), so perhaps Thai has a similar procedure to SQ. With SQ, BEFORE buying the tickets, all you do is sign up all of your party in the FF program as individual members, (it's free of course, and a membership number is created instantly). Then get all the others to go online and select you as their 'nominee'. It's a fairly simple process. Then you buy all the tickets, quoting their membership numbers as well as yours. The points will be spread equally to all of you at this point. Finally, get them to go online again and assign their points to you. That's it - you'll be credited with everyones points. I dont know where your flying from, but I get 1 ret ticket from Brisbane to Bkk after about every 4 paid trips. Lemons

I flew with Nok to/from Chiang Mai last April. All was very smooth and professional. I looked at the + option but for a 1 hour flight, I was quite happy in economy. L

gs joe, If you mean moterbikes on Samet in general? Then yes freely available from quite a few sopts on the western side. Be aware the roads are not the best, and I presume the farang falloff rate is right up there with Samui and Chang. If you referred to pushies, I'm not sure but I presume so. L

pfotoguy and wbill, I just remembered something I shoud add re Lima Coco. If you're like me and are likely to select a standard room .... be aware that the resort is built up a hillside. When you book, request a room as close to the bottom as possible. We ended up there without a booking, and although it was a great place, we had to do the 'mountain goat' thing, to get to/from our room. (if your budget runs to the elite rooms, disregard this advice as they're all in great spots). Cheers, Lemons PS: The room rate includes b/fast and the ferry trip over. Not so sure about the return trip, but it's not expensive.

There's another resort right beside Ao Prao, called Lima Coco. Stayed there once, for about 2300baht I recall. A/cond etc etc, and you can easily use the facilities of Ao Prao next door. http://www.limacoco.com/index.htm L

Jeepers this bloke is one DRIVEN individual Lemons

I wondered what the go was, when I read that 'Terry Bollea' was wrestler Hulk Hogan's birth name. Other than that, neither of you, or your issues, are of the slightest interest to me. Cheers, Lemons

try here: http://www.guidetothailand.com/thailand-tr...ort_arrival.htm

LilWilly, Go to this link: http://www.suvarnabhumiairport.com/en/layout1en.php It lists an airport hotel (No. 6 on the map) ... wonder if they'll be girl friendly??? Might be a nice way to spend your last hours in LOS. Cheers, Lemons

I concur, although the furthest I've gone in this world is SE Asia. It's hard to fault SQ. L

livestrong, Is this chewing tobacco you're talking about? Forgive me, I'm a non user but, the names ring a bell. My friend John from Tequila Reef on Soi7 buys his chewing baccy somewhere local. Perhaps call in there and ask. (I think maybe John is in the States right now, but I'm sire Darryl or one of the girls will know where he gets it). Cheers, Lemons

I like the Ma Maison on Soi 13. Swiss run, and I like the location. (BTW, I have no ties to this place). 750baht with ABF till Nov 1st, then up to 950baht for the high season. http://www.mamaison-hotel.com/e_index.html Cheers, Lemons

Nok is a child of Thai airways, so I think that it's probably an internet glitch, unless TG is in trouble as well??? Lemons

Although Koh Chang is further than Samet, I'd choose it over all the others. As Jonny K suggested, BYO is good - although I have seen some 8's starting to ply their trade in white Sand Beach. IMHO, Larn is a day trip destination rather than an extended stay. Lemons