lemons

needitbad, You wont have a problem. If Ma Maison isn't your cup of tea, you'll be spoilt for choice! In Soi 13 alone, there are about 6 other hotels. (Can you say hello to Rafael for me when you get there - from Nick) Cheers, Lemons

Beach Rd from South Pattaya Rd to North Pattaya Rd in in a constant state of construction/destruction. The pattern goes something like this: 1) Dig up the city's main tourist road and leave the holes and trenches gaping 2) Put in a pipe/cable - whatever! 3) Half fill it in, and ensure there are no safety barriers present 4) Have a fight with a politician/creditor etc etc 5) Lose in Court 6 months later 6) Repeat steps 1 to 5 for 4 years We're in about cycle 3 right now, and it's working like a charm. L

I use Ma Maison every trip to Pattaya, and have stayed there a dozen or so times. I am surprised at the 1100baht rate. This has shot up considerably. Previously it was 700baht till 1st Nov then 900baht till either April or May 1st. (that's a 22% hike in one hit). This new rate puts them out of my usual ceiling of a grand! Mind you, over the past year, they have added new rooms and renovated the r/rant and kitchen. I wonder if your rate is for one of the newer bigger rooms? Yes the food is good, but the thai food is a bit overpriced I feel - wont stop your TG tucking into it of

I believe the 'fill in the holes crew' from the electricity company are in dispute with the 'dig them up again crew' from the council. Perhaps 2006? L

sindre, Thanks for the info. I sometimes have a 4 hr layover in Sin. Not long enough for considering a room at the airport, but too long wandering around! L

yeah - seeeeems OK, but a bit sus that they dont list the actual lounges - just the airport. (Listing Singapore Changi is pretty useless, it could be any one of dozens of lounges). Can anyone with a membership give any info on the Sin and Bkk lounges? Cheers, Lemons

Last trip I sauntered up to departures and found a cabbie who was happy to negociate for a ride to Pattaya. As I recall I paid 1100baht inc all tolls. He was from Bkk, but I think he was releived not to have to join the shitfight downstairs at arrivals. L

I honestly pity the first 5000 or so jetlagged guinea pigs that disembark at the new airport - whenever it opens Any new airport anywhere in the world has teething problems - but in LOS, I would need to be traqualised I think! Dont get me wrong, I love Thailand and its people, but they can create chaos out of order better than any citizens I know. An example is the Samet boat pier at Ban Pae. I watched as 3 smallish launches managed to take 3/4 of an hour to board their passengers due to a total lack of organisation and cooperation. I wondered aloud if they were using a new system

After a couple of false starts, I managed to register my SIM in Pattaya last trip, (July). Go to the new IT centre on South Pattaya Rd, (all the moto's know it), and go to the 1st floor. The chick in the small booth right by the escalator will give you a form. You'll need your SIM number and your passport for her to view. It's free. Lemons

Yeah, well we have an sort of excuse for the 'Don Muang golfcourse detour'. You see it was a female pilot who pushed her luck in persisting in a landing during a sudden downpour, despite being advised to 'go around' by her copilot - WHY? Turns out she was feeling the pressure of being one of very few female pilots in the fleet and was coming up for a performance review, where the number of 'go arounds' are scrutinised, as apparently they cost a fortune. As for the aircraft, that is a tale of corporate image and arrogance. You see Qantas has NEVER 'lost' an aircraft to an accident and the

As an Aussie, I feel I must correct your spelling. QANTAS has no U after the Q. You see it stands for: 'Queensland And Northern Territory Air Service'. Sorry to be a prat, but heh, all in the name of world knowledge. :) After all that - as a passenger I gave up on them a while ago. In comparison to the Asian cabin service, eg; Singapore Airlines, they are utter crap. Comes down to our culture I think. IMHO, deep down we find serving customers a bit 'beneath us', and therefore once you scratch the surface, the cabin crew are fair up emselves and would rather strut around than actually do th

Yeah, I heard the German story too. The bar girls all seem to know her and will often comment that she's got 'mak mak money'. I saw her stand behind a farang one night and she shouted so suddenly and so loudly, the poor prick dropped his camera on the road. Bit of a stink followed, but as always, "Thai help Thai" and she was spirited away. L

There's a steak place about 50m along from the Dynasty Hotel in Soi 4 Bkk. I cant for the life of me recall the name, except its 'Steak ... something. They do a good job and haven't had a bad steak there in 4 or so visits. One night I was pissed enough to have a bottle of Australian red with the meal. Needlass to say it cost about 3x the food! L

It's called Tequila Reef and I concur that it's a great place to go for a meal or a drink. I always seem to manage to have a few margarita's or daquiri's chatting to 'Tequila John' a good bloke and one of the co owners. (Reading this, it sounds like a paid promotion. It's not, it's just I find T/Reef a really good place to hang out.) L

I grabbed this off the Thai Visa page just before: PATTANI: -- A small bomb exploded at the Big C Superstore in Pattani Monday afternoon, injuring one person and forcing the evacuation of customers and staff, in the latest of a string of attacks in the troubled region within less than 24 hours. Police said the bomb, hidden in a plant pot, was triggered remotely by a cell phone signal, and damaged two cars parked near the store. I know this is yet another attack in the south of Thailand, which seems a long way away to us Bangkok and Pattaya travellers, BUT .... What are the chance

Mate, with the discount airlines now around, a flight from Bkk to Chiang Mai is pocket change. Check out Nok air or one of the others. http://www.nokair.co.th/ Also, I'd recommend a train ahead of a bus to get up there. Again, a good sleeper will not break the bank. http://asia-discovery.com/train.htm Re Samui, Bangkok Air flies there from U Tapao airport which is only about 30mins from Pattaya. Easy trip, and beats the shit out of either rail or road. Have a look at a map, and you'll see why! http://203.154.168.55/birts/ All the best, Lemons

Kev, I reassured myself a bit with the thought that I couldn't think of an alternative disgusting animal that would look or taste anything like actual pork. As I recall, I was starving and had imbibed a fair bit of Anchor beer. And the chick I was with had it too, which for some unknown reason, made it OK. Argh, the things we do in SE Asia. L

Yep, TiT. My best was seeing 'river chicken' on a menu in rural Cambodia. I asked what it was, but the waiter and I couldn't understand eachother very well. Fortunately he persisted in enlightening me, by bringing out a very dead water rat from the kitchen. I had BBQ pork instead. L

aussie_franko, Helpful report. What a great monthly rate. I'm still just a tourist, but plan an eventual shift to LOS. It's good to keep abreast of apartment prices. L

Sounds ok ... I think. (The cheap charley in me keeps thinking about 2 bottles of DUTY FREE tequila!) Anyway, I've never been to a FLB party before, so here's a lame question. Do you have to book or something, or just rock up? See you there regardless, Lemons

Yeah, I've had the good and the bad experiences with drivers at the airport. The last 2 trips have been 'problematic', so I swore off the prebooked services and will simply take a cab, either from the queue or upstairs at departures. Bear194, I will be most happy to give Pla a hug for you. Lemons

Bear194, Thanks for that! 3 glorious weeks in the region, as I am planning a short trip back to Cambo to inspect, and report on, the goings on in Sihanoukville. However I acknowledge my obligation to 'do my time' in Pattaya, assisting the Bg's with their needs. Your trip will come around quickly, don't worry. Lemons

Hi all, Arriving at Terminal 2 at about 12.30pm on Tues July 5th, and looking to head straight to fun town. I've given up prebooking drivers after several disasters, so was planning to just jump a cab. If you have a ride arranged, no worries. Lemons

I know I'll be considered biased because I'm an aussie too .... BUT what a pleasant change to get a new member who: 1) searched the archives first and; 2) asks realistic questions that show some prior effort. Certainly makes a change from the prats that have been taking advantage of this board for the past week or so. Well done mate and welcome to the board. Your first questions have been answered already. Re the islands. The only one that is adjacent to Pattaya is Koh Larn, (koh means island BTW). Samet is via Ban Pae, a town in Rayong province about 90 mins away. Koh

FatherMojo, The most common date rape/drink spiking drug is Rohypnol, (flunitrazepam), however it certainly would not cause a rapid heart beat - quite the oppoisite, an overdose would cause decreased heart activity. Perhaps it was Yabba, the Asian speed? If she's willing and able, she should present at a hospital for a urine/blood test ASAP, before it disapears from her system. Cheers, Lemons