Sa-teef

I posted a couple of you as well Damon. You needn't thank me! ````````````````` Well, Lobin you gave us all the pretty pictures and the travel log: What I wanna know is where are the T & A shots? How about some poon sexy man? ~Sa-teef

At the Soi Bhuakow/Soi LK Metro junction there is a good restaurant open 24 I think. It's right near Jasmine Mansion. Stopped there a number of times last summer in the early morning hours and they have a Donner sort of wrap that you can add your own veggies and sauce. Good food cheap! ~Sa-teef

I contacted Flipper Lodge recently and they are NOT having their usual summer discounts this year. Used to have some buy 5 get 2 nights free offers in the summer months. They explained it as they were renovating part of the building and didn't have enough rooms to make offers this summer. So you pay full price with construction noise thrown in, package deal! You might stay clear of that one this summer until they are done............... ~Sa-teef

HOW TO SAVE THE AIRLINES Dump the male flight attendants. No one wanted them in the first place. Replace all the female flight attendants with good-looking strippers! What the hell -- They don't even serve food anymore, so what's the loss? The strippers would at least triple the alcohol sales and get a "party atmosphere" going in the cabin. And, of course, every businessman in this country would start flying again, hoping to see naked women. Because of the tips, female flight attendants wouldn't need a salary, thus saving even more money. I suspect tips would be so good that we could charge the women for working the plane and have them kick back 20% of the tips, including lap dances and "special services." Muslims would be afraid to get on the planes for fear of seeing naked women. Hijackings would come to a screeching halt, and the airline industry would see record revenues. This is definitely a win-win situation if we handle it right -- a golden opportunity to turn a liability into an asset. Why didn't Bush think of this? Why do I still have to do everything myself? Sincerely, Bill Clinton Of course if they were little thai girls, that might be a nice thing as well..........

"PS: I still see four. PPS: Look up the meaning for hypothesis. PPPS: Take a lot of money with you. I expect you will have to buy all of your 'friends'." Now that's subtle! ````````````````````````` The guys responding were just trying to help IMO. That was my intentions I know. If you don't like an hypotheis or suggestion, it's not a bad idea to just say "thanks" and move on with your questions. Attacking a guy for making suggestions has a very negative effect in the long run I think. You just never know; next time around that person may have some on-point experiences that could save you some time and trouble. Hope you have a good trip. ~Sa-teef

The Vientiene on Walking Street has good food that is reasonably priced for the location. Pink Lady on Beach Road just north of Soi 7 isn't bad as well. The thai cafeteria in Big C on Second Road has good food and you'll see mostly thai families eating there. Can never remember or pronounce the name of the place, but it's the closest entrance to Pizza Hut when you are outside. My new favorite is Numchai on Soi Bhuakow. Not pretentious in the least bit with metal tables and plastic chairs, but good thai food at reasonable prices. It's across from the market and just south of the "s" curve as I recall. ~Sa-teef

Let's just hope he never gets sick and has to set-up an appeal, banking on all his buddies to pitch-in for him?

I don't check my posts EVERY DAY so sorry if it's been four days since my original post! And Emil had a distinguished career pinching pennies in military contracting, so I'm not about to challenge his analytical skills, which infact I happen to agree with. His cost comparison is right on the mark. His suggestion is only that, a suggestion and it has merit if you are in that particular situation. All things being equal is always a term that is best judged by the consumer himself obviously. In my original review of the place I neglected to mention the safe in the closet. Keerati Review And BTW quite a lot of us leave things behind when we travel to Pattaya. I typically leave a suitcase at the place I will be staying on my next trip and it's always been there so far. When I arrived at Keerati my suitcase was already in the room! Nice touch compared to typically having to follow them back into a storage room and lugging it upstairs myself. All that is in it is some clothes, my tea kettle and some dishes but it saves me the aggravation of checked bags on the airlines. Anything of real value I take back with me. What's the electric tea kettle for? Well: 1) Coffee for me in the morning after...well you know.....and the teelack goes back to sleep, and 2) Thai noodle soup in the middle of the night when someone gets hungry. You know, Ramen soup? Dirt cheap in ten packs at Carrefour and the ladies will love you for it! To answer your question directly: Yes, Keerati did not have inroom safes when I stayed there. They also had the typical lock boxes located behind the desk, which to be honest weren't in a location I would consider that secure. There were a number of occasions when I got home quite late that the desk clerk was curled up on the sofa behind the desk sleeping and I just reached around and behind the desk to get my room key out of the pigeon hole rather than wake him. The safe in my room was big enough for small items but not laptop size. In my room it was in the traditional place; bolted to the inside of my storage area. ------------------------------------------------- I noticed in May quite a lot of construction going on in the corner of the "L" in Soi LK Metro. Is that the new hotel being discussed by chance? Didn't appear to be quite that far along but it would be good news if it was. ~Sa-teef

And as far as I know you're right. You might consider doing a search on here for Keerati because I did post the e-mail address for Ohn their desk clerk (who is family as I recall) last summer. If you can't find it PM me and I'll try to search and find their business card that she wrote it on. Sounds kinda strange I know, but they seem to stay full without going to the trouble and expense of a website. When I was there the internet was wired to the rooms, but I believe they have wifi for the place now? My only knock on the room I had was it was kind of dark with all the dark wood and smaller windows. If I stayed there again for an extended stay I would probably opt for the largest room because they have windows on two sides and two balconies. The corner rooms are the large rooms obviously (windows on two sides?) in the first picture. ~Sa-teef

Interesting. I had an experience of just the opposite nature over the most recent holiday in Pattaya. I was sitting and drinking with the falang manager of an ago-go on the night of the 29th and he told me, his exact words: "pay one barfine, get two free" because at that moment in time they were still under the "assumption that the bars had to be closed for both the 30th and 31st of May. I understand the next day they discovered that they could be open on the 30th but the girls had already been told they had the night off so as I understand it they did not open for business. I had already told my companion for the next three days that if I didn't have to pay the 600 baht barfine I would give it to her along with her tip. Don't think she understood or believed it until it was sitting on the counter under her purse on the 2nd and 3rd morning. I was assuming the bar would cut their salaries for the two days off, but I do not know that for certain. Either way, the lady made out and I had no problem paying it to her vs the ago-go. the last thing I would ever do with this falang manager is try to skip-out on a barfine since I have known him for a good number of years and consider him a friend. The lady and I had been doing the tourist stuff during those 2nd and 3rd days so after dinner out we made early nights of them. And GOOD NIGHTS they were indeed! Met up with the said manager briefly on the night of the 1st or 2nd at a party which he stopped by for a moment and he explained their error, said they were closed both nights and no mention was made of an expected barfine due. Differnet courses..... " Or however the saying goes. Pa was a great little tour guide. ~Sa-teef

I stayed at Keerati Home Stay for the month of June 2006. It's probably the only place I can think of that meets most of your needs short of the Metropole itself, which is incredibly overpriced IMO. And yes you have access to the pool and gym at the metropole because they share ownership. Internet in the rooms and a restaurant down stairs now that I'm betting will do delivery/room service. I paid 19k plus electric in the month of June for the medium size room, which remember is the slow season. It is more of a studio than an apartment, but has a kitchen off the bedroom area. I posted a review at the time on here (Check the hotel review section. Vikingfan is one of my old names). And it has a deck, which in my case faced the back of the Metropole just across the alley! (Thai lady and dog not included) ``````````````````````````````````` Or you can find a thai place in the area that doesn't have the internet, the pool, the gym or the room service but is: 1) Twice the size. 2) Considerably cheaper. 3) A lot friendlier. I've been opting for the later recently and like it a lot better. I don't really need the underlined above because Pattaya has: 1) Free internet in lots of places. I use the wifi at Canterbury Tales while I have breakie with Dave. 2) There are beeches in Pattaya! The thais use them. So can you. 3) Exercise? Ugh! Enough said! 4) Room service? Send the teelack out for food! There are always 2-3 food carts wtihin 100 meters of my front door. And Numchai, the best thai food on Soi Bhuakow is only a few blocks away. Quit cluttering up my neighborhood with fancy-shmancy falang joints and enjoy something a little closer to Thailand. ~Sa-teef

Since you are buying 4 flights per year and getting double miles on United it works for you, Emil. I tried United again in May and frankly I just can't stomach the US carriers on long hauls anymore. If I am making 4-5 flights per year and earning enough miles to upgrade I can tolerate them...usually. Since I'm only making three flights this year with one month stays I'll pay a little more to fly on an airline where I enjoy the experience. It's worth it to me. Cathay Pacific also has a better flight schedule that fits my personal needs, i.e. I can fly out of MSP on Thursday or Friday evening and catch the redeye out and arrive in late morning. The return flights also fit well with my work schedule since I can return on Sunday late morning from BKK and arrive back home at a reasonable hour for Monday morning. United transpacific schedules always depart mornings MSP and arrive at midnight in BKK, with return flights at 6 am out of Bangkok. I always arrive exhausted in BKK since I find it hard to sleep on the flight over in the daytime. When departing late morning I usually get some sleep the night before so I feel a lot better upon arrival than I do if I leave Patters at 2:30 am for a 6 am flight out. ~Sa-teef

I flew cattle class on Korean Air to BKK twice last year out of ORD. Good planes and good food for the most part. Better than any US carrier IMO. I had an unfortunate incident with them but in retrospect it probably was unavoidable and no one's fault. If I couldn't fly Cathay Pac or EVA I'd fly with them again. ------------ They DIDN'T ask me for proof of a return/forward flight on May 8th when I entered LOS but things change quickly sometimes. I had it ready for them anyway. ~Sa-teef

Yup, I snapped up that deal. Too good to pass up. Both my September and November trip are bagged at $815.20 each including the taxes. Red eye out of LAX to BKK with arrival late morning. 1 1/2 hr layover in HKG in September and 3 hrs in November. Cathay Pacific is still one of the best carriers out there, even in restricted economy. ~Sa-teef

Tough crowd around here, aren't they Alf? TQ2 is a great place to stop in and have a drink with your friends or to make some new ones. They play great rock 'n roll in a relaxed atmosphere and it always seems to have a very welcoming air about the place. You're not going to find a whole herd of 18 year old white-skinned princesses. If all you want is the best selection of raw meat on the hoof you turned down the wrong soi. But you just might have a great time there. See you in a couple weeks Alf. ~Steve

"If the joint doesn't serve Ripple, Mad Dog 20-20 or Thunderbird, I'm outta there. I prefer it served warm and wrapped in a brown paper bag. " Ahhh BigD! A man after my own taste in wine! I know my GPA would have been at least a half-point higher my freshman year in college if I had never heard of that stuff! ------------------------------------- I've eaten at Big Horn a few times in the last year and it's not bad overall. Reasonably priced faux falang food served in a nice environment. They have a thai guy who plays the keyboard and sings so softly you would swear it was elevator music! The sauces made an otherwise average selection quite good IMO. The triple sampler of chicken, pork and beef was very good from my experience. I'll eat there again when I'm in the mood for western food. ~Sa-teef

Hummmmm...... I had the fish and chips there a number of times last year and that wasn't my experience at all. Seemed tasty to me and a good value under 100 baht. I would have talked to Dave the proprietor about it while you were there. He's very responsive to suggestion from my experience and a decent sort of guy to chat with. Free wifi and a computer there to use as well if you like. Book store/exchange on the premises as well: these were taken last September right after they moved across the street to the new location (the signs weren't all in place yet!): Their breakfasts are top value IMO. Dave is the big fella holding the baby while mom and dad are eating: ~Sa-teef

Good information as always Emil. I think I'll probably take your advice, thank you! The major players in town along with Siam Commercial bank mentioned before: There's bound to be one near you. All six have english language websites and some have very modern online banking services as well as ATM/ debit cards of various types. Do a google along with pattaya in the search. ~Sa-teef

"Part of the revamp also involves changing the type of aircraft used. For instance, it may use the B747-400 jumbo jet, A340-600 or B777-ER on US-bound services instead of the A340-500 that holds only 200 passengers. The higher capacity aircraft and the stopovers would help THAI to shore up profitability on those routes. " The LAX-BKK non-stop route was just starting to appeal to me and now they are likely dropping it? United is starting to get more competitive with their triple 7's out of ORD so I think I will be back to them for 2006. Always enjoyed flying those aircraft anyway. 13 hours with a short stop in Narita, then on to BKK for another 6 hours. It's a long flight any way you look at it. An annoucement like this is certain death to the route IMO. No one is going to book it if it's uncertain whether it will be flying by the time your trip arrives. ~Sa-teef

On several nights in November I tipped the DJ in TQ2 to play some Doobie Brothers and the dancers there had NO TROUBLE dancing to it. And they were actually DANCING! It's not a matter of what music is playing IMO. It's a matter of what the mamasan tells them is acceptable behavior that will govern their response to the songs played. I might like rock 'n roll, but if the ladies are unhappy with it I'll defer to whatever puts them in a good mood. I'll tolerate any music played as long as it is not so loud that I can feel it on my chest. ~Sa-teef

Most are pretty reasonable, but because of the few I nail down the particulars with all dancers these days. 1) I specificly ask if sa-moke no condom is okay. 2) Specify once tonight and once in the morning. 3) I always tell them noon or 12 o'clock and point to my watch. I invite them to breakfast after but if we finish the morning routine before noon and they want to leave it's up to them. As long as they take care of # 1 & 2 then #3 is flexible. I've had a couple in recent years wake me up at 7 or 8 in the morning looking to get the morning duties finished with and that pisses me off. But as long as they did the deed it is LT. I've also had a couple wake me at 6 or 7 am showered and fully dressed looking to get paid, without bothering with the morning duties. They got paid ST rate no matter how much they bitched. ~Sa-teef

Considering RG is set back a bit from the Theprassat Road as well: I honestly don't think you will do any more walking staying in J & P Court than out on the way to Jomtien IMO. J & P Court had been around a half-dozen years I guess but it's only one short block off Soi Bhuakow: You are also surrounded by literally dozens of value priced restaurants, bars and laundries with that location on Soi Lengkee, all within a block or two of your hotel. Convenience stores and drug stores abound in that location. That is hardly the case with RG. And I would be willing to bet I can be on Walking Street faster using the song thaew plying Soi Bhuakow than you can coming from RG most evenings. You maybe closer physically, but the traffic backs up pretty bad on Theprassat Rd that time of day and only to a small extend on Soi Bhuakow/Pattaya Tai. there are also three other options on Soi Lengkee worth considering in bargain priced housing, all three built since 2005: Opey De Place Paillin House: And New Nikom Court: Opey De Place has a website I believe but I'm not so sure about the other two. Lots of new and value-priced hotels going up in other than traditional locations. Keep an open mind about it is the way I feel. ~Sa-teef

Good to know, thank you guys. I was also considering them for this spring because they fly into (CRK) Clark from the west coast. ~Sa-teef

A strategic move by the TG I would expect, since the breast tends to stay fuller and firmer as long as she is still lactating a bit. Tends to delay ovulation as well I think so the thai boyfriend who is barebacking her is less likely to get her pregnant. Whatever lights your fire. Some guys like it and it's up to them. Pattaya is like Alice's Restaurant. You can get anything you want, INCLUDING Alice. ~Sa-teef

They don't have a website. Most of their customers seem to be long stays. 33/40 M. 10 Soi LK Metro Pattaya City Banglamung Chonburi 20150 66(0) 3841 6234 keerati_home@hotmail.com That's what's on the business card I have from when I stayed there the month of June. The manager's name at the time was On, and she also gave me her e-mail address. She seems to use it for business purposes so I will post it here. on_tongyan@yahoo.com That's either an "n" or an "m" just before @yahoo.com. Her handwriting isn't the best. I stayed there during low season and they raise the rates during peak season like most other hotels. ~Sa-teef