Trvlr

I am renting for a month. A 5000 baht deposit seems much more reasonable, but it looks like a month's deposit is not out of line. At least based on what I am reading here. Until I read the responses here I would have refused to rent the place. Sorry to hear about your experience MrMango. If the other person is a member of this board I think you would be doing us all a favor by giving some clue - so that others do not fall in the same trap. But I do understand your hesitation about getting into a verbal fight on the board - people here can get pretty nasty, and sometimes unnecessarily so.

A rental agency is asking me for a deposit that equals one month's rent. To me this seems excessive. But I would like to know what board members' experience is - if this is standard in Pattaya then I may consider it, though my inclination is still to tell them no. There may not be any standard deposit, but what is the amount that is most widely used - about 35 percent of a month's rent?

Does anyone know anything about Jomtien Metro condo? Is it in a good location (baht bus etc) and a decent place in which to spend a month? Be great if someone who has stayed there can post something - safety, joiners, etc.

Thanks guys. A couple of people I contacted through this board are asking no less than Fairview, at least not enough to make a significant difference. Besides, they didn't have what I was looking for. I did post a request earlier with my email address but haven't heard anything. Here it is again: a studio or 1-bedroom for December, furnished and with aircon. The most important consideration is that it should have a good sea view. Better yet, be close to the ocean. Somewhere between 40 and 60 sq.m. should be fine. If anyone has anything please email me at refuge5555@yahoo.com. Don't PM me because for some reason I cannot make the PM feature work.

Does anyone have experience renting through Fair Properties (Thappraya Road)? I did a search for the last six months and did not find anything, which I suppose is a good thing! I don't want to get there and find that not only do I not have an apartment, but my deposit (if they ask for one) is gone!

Kolobos I am looking for a seaview apartment, in Pattaya or Jomtien. For December. If your friend has any then please have him send details/cost to: refuge5555@yahoo.com. Thanks. Appreciate your help.

Torrenova, I am unable to use the PM system...dont know why. I have sent a couple of messages to the admin., but haven't heard back. So I will have to depend on you to email me. I have dates and stuff available now, if you want.

Torrenova This is very early for me ... I am interested in something at the end of the year. Can you email me with some figures I can work with? Thanks. I hope you get to read this, since this is an old topic.

I had called my credit union too, to find out what an ISA fee was. They did not give the sort of explanation Emil posted - just said it was a new fee imposed from November. I was already being charged $1 per transaction. On top of that, since I was using a Visa debit card, I am sure Visa was taking its 1 percent cut (this is generally rolled into the exchange rate). Bottom line? The rate I was getting for exchanging cash was better than what I got using an ATM. This was not in Thailand - I am not sure how it will work out in Thailand.

.....You will get a better exchange rate if you use your ATM card to withdraw cash from your bank account........ Unfortunately that is not necessarily true any more. It depends on banks, and many are getting really greedy. I returned from an Asian trip last week, and discovered that my bank has slapped a 1 percent "international service fee", on top of all the other fees they used to collect, on ATM withdrawals abroad. Many banks in the US take an additional 3 percent. I think, overall, cash is again getting the better rate, with some exceptions. However, you need to have the capability to withdraw from ATMs for various reasons.

You get hit with a handling charge when you exchange travelers checks, so bigger denominations are better. I haven't used them for a while, but I think the charge was 3 baht per check plus a 20 baht transaction fee. So if you exchanged 1 check you'd end up paying 23 baht. However, you do get a better exchange rate for TCs, so that helps.

Dogged, dont take their advice! No one sunbathes nude in Pattaya! It's just lecherous board members wanting to see your wife's boobs! Just joking. Everyone please relax. Dogged, I am sure there are areas in Pattaya/Jomtien where your wife can do what she wants. When I was at the Sabai Resort last month a totally beautiful and sexy Russian girl would sunbathe topless at the pool. Unfortunately she was always lying face down! I had many coffees (and resulting walks to the men's room) waiting for her to turn over. No such luck. I even tried to get her to come out with me (that's how I know she was Russian) but the most she would let me do is take some pictures of her. (Not her boobs. )

I wish people would read and reflect before frothing at the mouth. Anyway, I am not going to argue the point. Some people are going to read what I wrote and come to the correct conclusion - stay away from this airline if possible. Others, well it is their choice. In the first place, I would suggest people read what I wrote. I did not forget my credit card. I did not 'fuck up', to quote someone who obviously has excellent grasp of words. I did not have a problem with a credit card. But I was curious and asked EVA staff what they would do if I did. And their attitude was Gotcha! So what happens when the little old lady who is in a hurry to see her grandchildren forgets her card? She is denied boarding, even though her card has already been charged and the airline has pocketed her money. And the airline says, we will let you on if you pay double, or triple! That is not an airline that is thinking about the people using it. It is only thinking of its profits. The fact that I have heard of no other airline doing it only emphasizes my point. This society is based on trust - still. If there is occasional fraud, they consider it cost of doing business. Businesses should follow commonly accepted practices in their industry. If they dont, well they get postings like mine. Showing my credit card when boarding? Last year I took six trips from LAX, using seven airlines. All were e-tickets. No one asked me to show a credit card. Except EVA. So if someone is being asked for every trip - well, I guess some people get asked, and others dont. They have to figure out the reason themselves. Everyone knows LAX is a screwed up airport. But of the six trips I mentioned, three were to Asia on fully booked aircraft. Again, no one asked to weigh my carry on luggage, except EVA. I posted my experience in an informational spirit, to warn felloow board members of what they may face. I do not wish to get into a word slinging match about EVA. People are mature enough to draw their own conclusions, I hope.

Running an airline is quite distinct from a military operation. Many airlines have the requirement about showing the credit card with which an e-ticket was purchased. None has asked me yet, except for EVA. So here again EVA differs from the norm. It is not a question of just reading instructions. Sure I have read the instructions, but what if I forget to take that card? Can easily happen. Even if another airline asked me to produce the card, and I say I forgot, they will get round it somehow. They will make you sign another receipt, or produce another card or something like that. Because they care about their customers. Only an airline that has no consideration for its customers, like EVA, will say proudly "Gotcha!" and require you to buy a full fare ticket. It is a lousy attitude and there is no defense for it. About the carry on luggage, from what I read it seems that EVA cannot even be consistent about enforcing its own rule. So what are passengers supposed to think? Play a guessing game? Today the airline is in a good mood so maybe I can take more than 7 kilos. Loyalty is a good thing I guess, but I can find no justification for such behavior by an airline. I agree about some people taking huge amounts of carry on. However I look at it as live and let live. As long as they dont drop it on me, more power to them.

I stayed at the Resort last month because the superior rooms at the Lodge were not available. It was fine - the rooms are in much better shape than at the Lodge, where they are obviously worn out. The trick is to get a location that suits you. I would have preferred a second floor room overlooking the pool, but they were full, even though I offered to pay more (they may be more expensive anyway). The only problem with the rooms is architect's senility. The bathroom has been placed at the far end, which means they can only place a small window there. Most hotel rooms have the bathroom just as you enter, so that a large window can be put in the room. I have no idea what architectural compulsion caused them to have this design. I am guessing it was just incompetence. It shouldn't prevent you from getting the room however. As others have mentioned, Big C is right next door, the staff is friendly, the swimming pool area is pleasant and there is no problem with bringing one or more women. I had arranged pickup at the airport through Sabai, and there was no problem with that. If you email the hotel you will probably get a better price than if you walk in.

Whether to use those medicines or not is a personal decision that everyone has to make. Many people wont take a flu shot, or other immunization. I wont argue with them, but no one has the right to tell me not get a flu shot. Same with the HIV medicines. Many European and Asian countries have been using them as routine for rape victms, as I mentioned. The US was criticized for NOT using them because of the Bush administration's 'anti-promiscuity' stance. That they have come out with a recommendation means a lot - it is based on science, not marketing. Anyway, I am not trying to convince anyone to do so. I was just wondering if it was possible to get these easily in Pattaya. I know it wont be easy in the US. As for the gentleman who believes you can only get infected after a thousand exposures, I hope he really doesn't believe it. Given the right conditions (broken skin etc) one exposure is all it takes.

I traveled recently on EVA economy from LAX to Asia, and it is not an experience I will willingly repeat. The main problem were the goons checking carry on baggage before you could enter the check in line. They were enforcing the 7-kilo limit on carry on luggage (which dates from prehistoric times). Almost no one could meet it, even though they did give a little bit of leeway. Carry on luggage these days itself weighs between 5 and 7 kilos so, unless someone only wants to carry a toothbrush in it, there is no way this rule can be met. Which is why no airline tries to enforce it. The problem at LAX is that you have to get your check in baggage inspected first and then you cannot touch it. So there is no way you can transfer things to it from your carry on luggage. Anyway, I only had one bag to check in , so I was able to check in my carry on bag too, but I was not at all happy with the arrangement. And I am going to avoid using EVA again. Any airline that tries to enforce such a rule deserves to be cold shouldered. Those who have bought tickets online should be aware of another EVA practice that sucks. If you do not show them the credit card with which you bought the ticket, they will force you to buy a new ticket at full fare! Even if you bought your ticket two months ago and it has already been charged to your card. The service wasn't that great either - doesn't compare with Thai or Cathay.

That is so funny! The Catholic church probably will not apreciate the comment however! However, since I dont see any answers, I am guessing no one has investigated the subject much, important though it is. Phantom, thanks for the suggestion. I am familiar with WebMD. However, my question was aimed at getting an answer in Pattaya - where in Pattaya I would go to get whatever is recommended. If no one has any experience of this matter then I suppose I should start with another doctor next time I am there.

This is kind of a scary subject, but needs to be faced anyway. The US CDC (Centers for Disease Control) recommended earlier this year that if someone has unprotected sex they should be given HIV medicines the following morning. Many countries were already doing this (with rape victims for instance) - the US was not recommending it, and it was suggested this was because of political reasons. I remember I asked my own doctor once if I could do something in this scenario, and he said emphatically that nothing could be done. Then the CDC comes out with this recommendation. Now, I asked my doctor again after the CDC's recommendation, and he said I would have to go to the HIV clinic for it. That scared me - I dodn't want to go there. When I was in Pattaya a few weeks ago I consulted a doctor, but the doctor did not know what medicines could be prescribed the next morning. This long intro was a lead in to the question: has anyone followed up on this? Is there some place in Pattaya where I can go to pick up a few pills to use in case of an 'accident'? The CDC does not recommend frequent use - but broken condoms do not happen all that often, so it seems to me that keeping a small supply may be extremely useful for the one or two times a year that a person may end up having unprotected sex.

Sorry Jack but, at the risk of sounding argumentative, let me say that that is totally not my experience. I eat mostly Thai food - and very hot Thai food - when I am there, and I have no aftereffects of the sort you describe. I have stayed with Thai girls for a few days at a time, and none of them had the symptoms you describe. I will repeat, that almost any culture will consider the symptoms you describe as abnormal. The human body is conditioned to consider repeated trips to the bathroom an illness. Also, it cannot be used as a form of weight control - for that you'd have to force it out the other end, as Romans did by tickling their throats with a feather. Unless someone is extremely - really extremely - ill, food will go through its normal cycle before being excreted, which means nutrients are absorbed first.

I think every culture considers frequent visits to the toilet an illness, and undesirable. Sometimes an individual may know a certain food will cause it (ice cream for lactose intolerant) and consume the food because he/she likes it a lot. But I doubt that anyone will regularly eat a food if it is causing three visits to the toilet in an hour, as someone above mentioned. I wouldn't go with a girl who is so afflicted, unless I know her well and know that it is an illness that will soon go away. Besides being aesthetically undesirable, frequent visits to the toilet are a sign of an illness - stomach upset at the least, or more serious stuff like a dysentry that can be passed on to others, or a sign of taking antibiotics or, even worse, an HIV infection. Sorry to be so pessimistic, but I recommend not taking stomach upsets lightly. If I ever pick up a girl and notice she has made two visits to the toilet, I wil politely send her home.

I don't understand why you are hesitating going to a non_DTAC-owned store. I bought a DTAC sim card in Big C last month - you can go to almost any store in the little area where mobile phone stores are clustered. When you add time they will show it you right away, and you can easily access the Check Balance feature to check for yourself that the time has been added. Much easier than pounding the pavement looking for a DTAC store! But I am sure it is good exercise.

Laffnliv, most mainstream Dental HMOs (DMOs) like Aetna, Cigna, will have co-pays in the range I mentioned, 200-220 or less. Depends on the plan of course, but I have never had a plan that cost more. Under my current Aetna plan a porcelain over metal crown is 185. That figure does not include root canal cost, which is an additional $50 (front) to $150 (molar). The trick is to find a halfway honest dentist - you will never find a completely honest dentist. My apologies to all dentists reading this, but even my dentist friends agree with this statement. I am talking HMO plan - on the PPO plan they can charge you what they want, so that doesn't count. Anyway, at these costs, getting a crown done in Pattaya is not advisable, in my mind. Unless it is an emergency. But others are welcome to their own judgment - I am not trying to argue here.

I made an appointment through email with Bangkok Pattaya Hospital for an initial dental consultation - the cost will be about 500 baht. Is this about right? I have never had any medical treatment in Pattaya, so I dont have any idea. Appreciate it if someone can let me know. In response to Laffnliv, if you have dental insurance in the US (HMO) your co-pay for a crown is around 200-220. Dentists being what they are, they will try to get more out of you for unnecessary services, but you dont have to get them. So $300 does not appear to be that big of a bargain. Specially since if the crown breaks inside five years, dentists in the US can be asked to replace them. I dont know if that will be easily possible in Pattaya.

Anyone remember what he charges? Also, whereabouts is the Nova Lodge?