torrenova

The economy of living further out is something few consider. Even for me, living in Jomtien as opposed to South Pattaya costs me money. With my girlfriend and myself, we probably spend an extra Bt5000 per month when adding up baht buses and motorbike taxis. Living further out, it is impractical without transport as public transport is too expensive and totally inconvenient.

Insurance for vehicles here is on the vehicle not the rider / driver. So you might be right that the owner is liable. In any case, the farang is liable. You can register one in your own name but you may have to get a form from the immigration office which you can get if you have some semi permanent accommodation.

Get a one year multiple entry non immigrant "O" visa and all problems solved. 90 days each time.

I have access to one 3 bedroomed condo in View Talay 2 (5 units together). 2 en-suite bedrooms and one very large jacuzzi bath. This is top luxury and I'd have to speak to the owner. A deposit would be required. PM me if you have any interest. Cheers Andy

Basil grows alright here. No rom for tomatoes but I second the comment that the Thai varieties are almost pointless.

Most people who own condos don't live here all year anyway or are over 50 years old and on retirement visas.

Fair Properties ? I could write a book about their "activities. Avoid like the plague. Prices too high for sale and rentals. From what I can gather, you don't know where your friend wants to live. Saying Pattaya or Jomtien is too great an area. Why a condo ? added security, no-one from the outside knows which one you live in. usually have some facilities on site like laundry, mini mart etc. Downstairs security, daytime office to sort out the niggly things etc. Bigger pool usually, maybe more than one. Location can be central or at least on a public transport route. Why a house ? More space for your money usually, seclusion as usually further out, some people don't like living "in the air", garden perhaps, private pool at the higher end, can have a barbeque ! But, security can be an issue with houses. Anyone following your movements knows exactly where you live. You may need your own transport to get to the shops or into town. There may not be too much social life nearby. Conclusion I would have a top end house or if I had kids. I'm used to condos having lived in them in Hong Kong and Tokyo and even London before I bought a house. I used to miss a garden but don't miss the work on the upkeep. Condos are just easier but you don't get the space, especially if you are prepared to move out a little. I'd advise your friend to rent a condo for a month. Then see whether he likes the area and indeed whether he likes living in a condo. Then perhaps rent a house for a month and do the same. After that, he should have a much better idea of what suits him. You don't need agents, much information in the Pattaya Mail (online too), Pattaya Trader (online as well) and on the ground floors of the condo blocks like View Talay 1+2

The vast majority of airlines have loyalty programmes. They operate in basically 2 ways, either operating solely as per Eva, Emirates etc. or as part as an alliance such as One World or Star Alliance. Whilst the alliances may seem better, they do not usually credit you with full mileage if say you hold a Thai card and fly with Lufthansa. As Tom says, it is better to fly with one airline and stick with them, even if they are a little more expensive. NOt only upgraded lounges but free upgrade vouchers, perhaps 1.5 mileage accrual, business class check in, extra luggage allowance and free flights with points redemption. Well worth a good few pounds on the occasional trip. Watch out though for some ticket codes giving zero, or only 25% or 50% of the mileage accrual. It may sometimes be better to pay a little more for a higher "grade" ticket within economy to collect full mileage.

Don't buy anything if not in your name. With a house, you can own the house but not the land, but it is usually the land which has the greater value. If an allocation has sold out, then move on. You could always look to the secondary market.

It really depends upon your transport arrangements. If you are prepared to use your own transport, then you can get a lot for your buck. If you want to live in the centre or near central Pattaya, then you will have to pay more. Even then, something like hiring a car for a month is a good option to drive around and see what is available. As you say Pattaya/Jomtien/Naklua, do you really know any of these areas to commit to a year ?

I'll say that most people have equity from investments and more commonly from the sale of property in the west. This could be the marital home or any other asset. I would buy somewhere in your country and then you have somewhere to live when / if you leave the military. You should be able to rent it out as you have a large network of acquaintances which will give you some income to save and hopefully you will gain from capital appreciation.

Don't pay for a year in advance, especially if you don't know the area and the building really well. You can sign a 1 year agreement but with a break clause say every 3 months. When you sign the agreement has a lot of bearing as well. Signing an agreement in July is going to cost you a lot less than signing the same agreement in November. Avoid some of the idiot estate agents who are con merchants and routinely overprice all kinds of property and are not adverse to less than ethical business practices. Deposit will be 1 or 2 months plus another month in advance. Check out the water and electric costs as well. Telephone and internet access are also important.

T-shirts ? it depends upon whether you want copies of designer stuff or just regular run of the mill t-shirts. Start around Bt100 for the bog standard stuff, cheaper if you buy more than one. Designer copies a bit more. Worry more about the quality and pay for better quality. As an idea, top quality copy football shirts are around Bt350/400. you can get cheaper but not with the same quality. DVDs ? Depends upon how many you buy. If you get 10, or more, you should be able to pick them up for Bt100 each, maybe even 5 for Bt500. They will probably start you off at Bt150/200.

I've had friends stay there many many times and no problems. As for the "theft" of your phone, then down to you I'm afraid. I would hardly expect to get back a phone even in a 5* hotel anywhere in the world outside of Japan.

Can you believe there used to be guys bragging about having multiple rooms booked over Xmas around the time when hotels started to ask for deposits ? Stupid I know but guys do it still.

Perhaps MM should move this to the open area so Mr Toom can respond. I've used him perhaps half a dozen times and all without problems. I've a Thai friend who used to run a taxi business and he explained how it works. A Bangkok guy gets a trip to Pattaya for whatever fare. He'll call his contacts in Pattaya to get a trip back. He may only get around Bt600/700 for the return trip but it is better than nothing. As for Mr Toom, he should perhaps consider what happened to that guy Alex whose business expanded so far that it imploded.

For guys who know enough to know where they want to be, I suggest just booking a room. If saving perhaps Bt100 per day for 2 weeks is important enough to start dragging your suitcase from hotel to hotel in 40c heat then so be it.

As ever, the 2 things that cost you are beer and women. after that, costs for everything else are quite low.

Some guys just "put up with" the beer available when they really want their "local" beer from back home but then complain either when it is not available or that it costs too much when it is available. As a bar owner, you just can't win sometimes.

I haven't got a price for Lao beer yet but the problem with the imported stuff is that it is "relatively" so expensive. I sometimes get guys asking why and I tell them to remember how much they paid for a Singha in their local Thai restaurant ? In London, maybe GBP 3.50 (circa Bt245, USD 6.125). So you get John Smiths, Tetleys, Corona, Budweiser and loads more imports taxed up and with massive import distribution costs. But, if you get a guy who complains that a pint (500ml) of John Smiths is expensive at around Bt150 (GBP 2.15) served ice cold on the other side of the world then they are just being unrealistic.

Not meaning to be critical but you need to add some more info: Year Mileage Farang ownership Accidents Insurance Why selling "top spec" means exactly what ? Service history Tyres ....................etc. Then people can try to work out if it is worth anywhere near the asking price. Best of luck.

Jeremys's on Soi Chaiapoon (SP ?) next to Crazy Dave's I think, just off Soi Buakhow.

Send me a PM when you want some details. The numbers I have now will perhaps change before the end of the year.

Don't know what you are on about in VT1. The only thing I think would help would be ID cards used at security but what a logistical nightmare and the security personnel would have to be drastically improved. Can you imaging the number of people trying to get into the grounds of VT2 when there are perhaps 500 condos ? We have CCTV now. I think you have to self reliant on security but just having someone there helps.

The "mystery charge" is the FT Rate. It is indeed a fuel tax but not only that and includes shortfalls that the company experiences and a whole load of other items. The rate from June to september is 0.8544 (85.44 satang) per unit used. Here is their website: http://www.pea.co.th/eweb/r_rate1.htm The rate on their website is the old one, used up until May.