ting_tong

Open to Everyone Forum. (No bar or bargirl discussion here please Its amazing that regular members get sucked into replying to bar topics in the open forum?

I thought ChiangMai was quite expensive compared to Pattaya, its the 2nd most biggest city in Thailand. in Issan, 20k top 30k could go a long way, as long as you grow your own rice, and chickens

poskat is right, 5 baht for everything. mai peht (my pet) > not hot prik mai tongkarn > I dont want pepper

if they hit your parked vehicle, its the parked vehicles fault...............it should of not been there. parking in 2 stalls, in a 45' angle is OK, if your car is new. I have not seen a Thai parrallel park properly in Thailand yet? Bad parking is the norm, its OK for your car to stick out into the street, and the front tire to be 1 meter away from the curb.

15. It is in order to drive on the wrong side of the road. This applies to a bike, a car, trucks, and busses!

First off, my friend a Thai policeman said "the Thais are the nicest people in the world..................until you put them in a car, or on a bike" Just some observations, of my daily riding, and driving experiences: 1) Everything I have learned in the MSF classes for motorcycles (motorcycle safety foundation) have been used to avoid the bad one, I have seen some bad wrecks here. 2) Don’t allow anyone to come up from the back and ride along side you, as they may be talking on their phone, eating a sandwich or ice cream, holding an umbrella, holding all their groceries, and have a passenger on the back. They may also have the intention of trying to steal from you. 3) Either follow a rider, or be in front of them, watching what is going on. 4) Drive or ride with the intention, that the Thai will cut you off, do some radical insane move without warning. 5) Remember that a Thai will speed up to stop in front of you to turn into a drive way, forcing you to stop with them, then change their mind and go straight. 6) Red light running is a common everyday thing, and its OK to make a right turn at any time, from any lane. 7) Dogs that don’t know what the sound of a horn will cause problems for you. Most city dogs know a bike or car horn, as they have been hit before. 8) Barging forward into traffic is the Thai way of driving. 9) Right turns from the left lane is allowed 7 days a week, day and night. 10) Helmets for children and babies are not required. 11) A helmet is for the sake of avoiding the 200 baht fine. 12) Mirrors on a bike are for removing to make the bike look cool. 13) Headlights off at night is a stealthy way to travel. 14) A wet road in Thailand is bad news, there is lots of oil, and silicon sand, it makes for some nasty wipe outs in the first minutes of rain, best to park and walk away!

you are a brave man, may buddha ride with you

Open to Everyone Forum. (No bar or bargirl discussion here please)

new star hotel 200bt a night, soi honey inn, same quality as skytop

a nicer and cleaner place to stay is just down the street, its a small place called F&B, its run by a very nice couple. the bathroom is clean and neat, and it is furnished nicely. I stayed there for a month on 1 trip, and it was just like a 2nd home. I do not recommend anyone staying at Skytop, as it is overpriced for a backpackers style room, with a small open top bathroom, you could reach the sink to brush your teeth and take a crap at the same time. If I remember correctly, the small bathroom was 3x5 feet ?

riding a motorbike in pattaya is suicidial, I would not consider it. but in issan, its not so bad, its a must. best to invest in a full face index helmet or better, many thai bike accidents involve the guy sliding on his chin, and head. A quote from my police friend, he is a thai: "the thais are the nicest people in the world, until you put them on a motorbike, or in a car"

If you want a cheap, nice/new place, try the srithong place, on central road/near soi buhkao. Its quieter, cleaner, and cheaper at 8000bt a month, you pay elec/water, usually costing 800bt for both.

kerratti home stay, be careful of that place, do not leave anything valueable laying around. It seems they dont pay the staff well. That soi is very noisy, if you can handle the noise, then fine!

Guido, I would recommend the F&B, its an older hotel/restaurant, and is a walk up. The owners are very nice, 700bt a night. I would check into a hotel, then walk over and have a look see, there may be the occasional door slammer, but if I remember the floor has (old) carpeting on it. Which does not bother me, and silences the high heel noise. There are no bars in the immediate area, its a 1/2 minute walk to Tops. So its a 3 minute to soi 7&8. The place was very clean and I stayed there for a month. ting

its a loud and noisy hotel, the soi is also loud and noisy until 1 to 2 am. you will hear high heels on tiles, and the idiots that are door slammers. I wish I knew of the red pepper on the doorknob trick when I was staying there. I tolerated the place for 2 months. I dont recommend any place on soi LK metro

they dont sell stocol any more! I went back and it was not being sold or re-ordered. I have a small collection at home, but it dont do me any good there!

look at the top of the page on the left corner, and see hotels, click on the link. the Apex is a shit hole and stinks of a bad european body odor smell. intown inn, baybreeze, F&B also take a walk in soi LK metro too, you have to go in person. skytop is a shit hole too

you might want to stay here for 3 to 6 months, including the high season times...........................lots of stupid falangs, aka "holiday makers" here right now. I think the "real thailand" is up in the northeastern side.

I have avoided the dreaded "jep khor" by having pills I bought at the pharmacy on Soi Buakhao opposite the siam sawasdee hotel, and across from the money exchange booth. The pharmacy is next to blue room bar, and Kim massageIII At the first slight feeling of a sore throat (tickle), I took the pills, they look like a red M&M and is named stocof, or stocol ? I took 3x a day for 3 days and only ended up with only a runny nose. With the cooler weather, many of the TGs get sick fast, and it spreads quickly, everyone has it. People are coughing everywhere.

A topic like this should be adressed in the members section, you should join and become a member if this concerns you.

you spend X amount of money for the trip and spend X amount of time on a plane and you will spend around 1200bt for a good looking girl (I hope so you come all the way out here and use latex condoms? big waste of time, do some research on polyurethane condoms. its the same as having nothing on at all if used correctly.

Its usually a problem at the early hours in the morning, there are many stupid falangs that will slam their doors in the AM, when they come home drunk. There is also the stupid falangs thay are chronic door slammers, I dont know why thay do it...............maybe its a cutural thing? Also the Thai girlfriends of some tennants dont give a shit about noise and slam doors too, not thinking about others. (really they dont!) Best to stay in the condo for a week and do a trial run? I am opting for a huge 2 story shophouse in Issan and converting it to a condo................rent is only 3000bt a month When going back to the US, just roll the iron door down, lock and walk away

I am at an apartment, and its a little noisy at times, although its a quite apartment. It seems that some falangs from other countries (mostly euros) have no concept of how to close a door quietly, and some may not care about what others think about how much noise they make. You will get that at a condo, you will be lucky if you dont get the neighbor from falang hell. I have the oppertunity to buy a large house in issan, but can lease instead. Less risk, easier, no big deal.

I dont know what your long term plans are, but after almost 5 months here, its not so fun. I get tired of the noise, other stupid falangs, and a few more things. I took some side trips to Issan, and found that place to be better for a low profile kickback hangout. A side trip to pattaya from issan is only $50 USD so if the urge to visit is there, then its cheap. I am finding a long term lease is better for my situation, 1 to 3 years with renewal. ting

Is this the place on Soi Buhkao, where many investors have been flim flamed out of millions of baht? Its next to Siam Sawasdee, near Soi Honey.