torrenova

Don't think I would ever completely "retire". Either working because of necessity or not, I love the challenge of business and sometimes, a little work ! I've a list of things, business wise, to do but have not yet gotten around to because of doing other things, having a family or just not been motivated enough to deal with them. I'm now motivated again but I'll be up country or in Singapore and Europe for some of the next year (back and forth) so they'll have to wait. Then there is my building project to finish off and some partnership deals to discuss. Guess I'll be glad to lose motivat

Don't like bikes so we'll disagree there, I go everywhere in the truck or walk mostly. Waiting for the "you don't need a car or truck in Pattaya" brigade to chirp up. Nah, bring all your fucking shopping back on the bike, pissing down with rain. Great driving along Sukhumvit like that. Trucks and cars do cost money but they virtually last forever and save you in so many other areas of life as well as improving your quality of life no end.

Great idea to try and plan ahead. Spend at least 6 months on the ground, getting around, to see where you might like to live. Maybe a year. You don't really want to have to sell out anytime.

I like that location as well. Got a 3 bed 2 bath place and can't ever see me trading up to a Bt15m house even if I wanted to spend that type of money. Maybe a 2 story one in time with a larger garden for my kid, who knows. As for the condos, I disagree if you are willing to put some work into it. managing them from overseas is largely impossible without giving over commissions to agents and good agents I mean, not chancers. However, if you live in Pattaya and can make yours stand out from the crowd, you can benefit from either higher 12 month rentals without agents fees or you play the tou

So true. We used to laugh at all these guys peddling magic potions and fix all cures when I was on the trading floor. Like you can learn space walking online you know

Are you sure 50,000 miles ? I had the top BA Amex card for years and they were very tight.

Not easy to calculate upgrades as well because very often you have to buy a higher class than you could have got to be able to upgrade.

I don't think Xmas prices go up to 3 x the normal level. The current price is the normal level, the market defined level. If someone asked me what the average or "normal" price was over the year I'd say around £600 with some bargains in the £400s and some in the £750 range but over Xmas, booked late, £750 has always been cheap and a grand for a ticket is not out of the ordinary. Now the Eva flights I saw for Bt30,500 were available and similar, though slightly higher prices originating in the UK. That was travelling anytime and I looked specifically at 30/11 and the week of 26-23/12 and th

Fuck me ! Boeing have developed a female aeroplane ! Won't go out in bad weather, likely temperamental and already late for her first appearance ! What happens when it is that "time of the month" and you're at 37,000 feet ?

But if you lived in Manchester, why would you go to London ? Maybe to save money, maybe to get a direct flight, but just how much would you need to save to cover the hassle, including cabs, trains, lugging your luggage around etc. when you could presumably get to Manchester relatively easy ? That is without the cost of any overnight accommodation. Much easier on the way out but a nightmare and tiring way to come home.

Depends upon where I was living at the time. From Hong Kong, next to nothing, but from the UK around £350 all in. From LOS to the UK, always with flexibility to change at zero or minimal cost, around £250 return. Cannot be done now as taxes, fuel surcharges etc. all so high and set to rise further. I flew one last year where the cost of the ticket, if you can believe it (I don't really) before extras, was around £60 each way. In October this year, Eva had a flexible, changeable and importantly fully refundable 6 month ticket from BKK to LHR for Bt22,000 plus taxes which were Bt10,0

Air Bin Laden

I think Tip's number is 081-940-5181

Gabor, I don't have the numbers but phone the reception or the laundries in VT2 and get them to check the boards and the shop windows. If you have a contact in Pattaya who is on the ground, get them to drive round and look. Phone a girl you know to do it and send her Bt300 or so from your phone or top her phone up online from your bank as payment ? Have you got John's number from the Hideaway ?

I hear about this all the time but surely people could use prepaid cards or do like I do with banks, load one account only with the amount they are going to take shortly before the time they will take it. Maybe get your bank to give you a totally separate account with a small limit which you only use for such things and which could never contaminate your main banking.

Yeah, my thoughts as well. Not expecting the owner / manager to come online and grovel but a more conciliatory response would probably be better for business. As the manager only joined this day to put up this post, presumably in response to someone telling him of criticism, then it is a hell of an opening advertisement. Not.

You guys saying 90,000 is 3,000 a day are just clouding the issue for the OP. Your expenditure living in Thailand is nothing like that or at least when you are not out on the piss it is not. Many days zero or just a few baht, some days a few thousand, sometimes much much more. The OP has also only stayed together 1 month in her house. That is nothing unless it is a nice big western place with all the mod cons. They've also apparently only been together 4 months, which is nothing. Who pays for the new TV if required or to upgrade the shower and hot water ? What about a car ? She has an appr

If you can handle the location and stretch to the budget then this place is ideal http://www.fourseasonsplace.com/home.htm Don't be put off by their listed rates, much cheaper through an agent and sometimes even with the hotel direct. E.G. http://www.fourseasonsplace.com/promotions.htm

For your 19 days you might just be able to get a month rate which works out cheaper but watch extras for electric and water and even cleaning in some places. 19 * 750 = 14,250 yeah, you might get a better monthly deal.

Go to Pattaya Mail and search the classifieds for Tippawan (Tip) in the houses and condos to rent sections. She always puts her name and number in. Sometimes she has an advert but the adverts are not shown online. Phone her and get her email. Don't have the details to hand right now. You can pay her via bank transfer I suppose (guessing you still have a Thai bank account). For another chance - phone these guys http://www.mmt-services.com/index.php?opti...5&Itemid=14 and ask about VT2. They have about 10 in there but are usually booked out. Germans guys I've dealt with for years and can

What is it with hotel and guest house owner muppets and the lack of large safes, well secured to the wall and preferably placed on a surface (where is that place with them just hanging out of the wall like soap dishes ?). The cost of a room build and fit out is in the hundreds of thousands and they won't put out a few thousand for a safe ? Then again, most don't put out for much better than MFI type furniture.

And with many Thai places you can wait what seems like forever for them to reply. If I email someone wanting a published price for something, not a discount or a special, then I really expect that email to be monitored permanently in an upmarket place and certainly all day during extended business hours in other places. To not monitor your internet booking system and emails is just stupid.

Guys coming here multiple times have got to have a bank account and if they don't then they are being a bit daft. Once internet banking is arranged, you could transfer money online for a deposit or with K-Banking (Kasikorn Bank) you can do it with your Thai SIM card. A few years ago there was even a thread on one board with people bragging about how many rooms they had booked and were not going to cancel, just at the same time as others were complaining about CCs required and prices going up.

Maid service in the condos is not what people will expect. Basically, someone will have a contract, most likely from one of the laundries operating there or advertised therein and it is usually a change of bed linen, towels and a quick sweep up and bin empty. Usual charges are Bt250/300 and it is an utter piss take. I think I did it twice in 3 years. It is an issue with staying in a condo short term as you don't really want to get into buying your own linen. However, daft as though it seems, you can make sure your landlord provides at least 2 sets of sheets etc. and deal with the laundry y

Think about the big picture, rather than just the cost of each item. I'll chuck in a few examples. I lived in a condo, great place but didn't have transport. It was on the bus routes into Pattaya so Bt10 at least twice a day supplemented by motor bike taxi fares and as a couple, the costs of my other half. Now this worked out around Bt100-200 a day so probably about Bt5000 a month. Previously I'd lived in a hotel in town for 10k a month all in and now I had a condo at 12k, electric bills of say 2k and transport costs of 5k. Very simply, it looked as though my costs had risen from 10k to 19