Sa-teef

The rest of the place had better be pretty nice because the rooms @32 m2 look rather plain to me for 36k per month? Perhaps more of a family place than monger oriented? I think one of the LK's would serve you better with a bit more room. ~Sa-teef

"I used to be a loyal flyer to BKK on this carrier, but through delays, mechanical troubles, surly employees, and ever rising ticket prices I have opted to not use this airline any longer. I still have about 20,000 freq miles and it looks like they will not be used, and I don't care. You can do much better on EVA, Cathay Pacific, and Delta/Korea. It is no wonder why NWA is in bankruptsy from my view, and if they go belly up mai pan rai. Jimmy " Well said, brother Jimmy. Their terrible personal skills on that airline drove me to United for a few years, but I've given up on them as well. The connections are sometimes a little dicey for me here out of the midwest, but I'm back to flying to the coast and taking asian airlines. Even when you can find a competitive price with NWA or UA, then you have to fly on them and put up with their people! They deserve their inevitable fate....... ~Sa-teef

Both EVA and Cathay Pacific have some good flights out of the west coast in the early hours, 1:00-2:00 am that have you in BKK before noon. 18-19 hours including the stop over in Taipei or Hong Kong. That gives me enough time for a shower, a nap and some sight-seeing at Welkom Inn before the sun goes down! ~Sa-teef

"I think Japan Airlines is the Worst " I concur. It's been years admittedly, but lousy food, noisy and disorganized crew the few times I've flown with them. I've got my first two trips of the year covered out of LAX on Cathay Pacific for $909 all up each in April and the end of May. THAT'S a better deal than any of the above IMO....... ~Sa-teef

Never managed to enquire when walking by..... Very close to the Soi Lenghee/Soi Bhuekow intersection so you can get transport any hour of the day. ~Sa-teef

I stayed across the street from the Chock-dee Inn at the Center Apartments on Soi Bhukaow during the month of November. It's an older mom-and-pop place but apartment I had was over 60m sq with a separate bedroom and living room, newly remodeled bath and kitchen area with reefer, sink unit, microwave and tea kettle. 8,000 baht plus electric for the month. They were a small place with probably only 7-8 units and mom ran a seamstress business out of the front office, but it was a good value (GREAT compared to 16 m sq!) Large enough to be comfortable IMO for the month and the TG's seemed to like it. They had smaller units too for around 4-6k I think but mine was the only one avaiable at the time and I was glad I went with the larger one. It had two separate aircon units as well as a fan. The tv was in the living room so I could get up in the morning, close the curtains and close the sliding glass door separating the two rooms without disturbing the sleeping pooying. Mixed clinetele of thai and falang but it suited me and it was quiet most all the time. Cleaned and linen were changed weekly (100 baht if you wanted it more often). Mine was one flight of stairs up and they don't have a lift. No they don't have a website and I've long since lost their business card with the phone number. I'm slowly starting to realize that the places with a web site are often tourist oriented and charge accordingly. ~Sa-teef

Thanks Hub. I'll be shopping for an end of May departure coming back end of June soon. I found a couple in the $850-880 total price range last night out of LAX. I opted for Cathay Pacific last night at $950 for the end of April because it's a short time frame for me then, only a nine day visit, and I REALLY WANTED to fly early am Friday and return Sunday. The end of May will be a little more leisurely so I can fly mid-week and catch the deals. A small price to pay to sneak in a fourth trip this year! IF NWA goes belly-up for good, a real possibility according to the local pundits, I hope a couple of the asian airlines move-in and give United some competition. Cathay Pacific is already advertising some combinations using local carriers to LAX and SFO, but the package prices aren't very attractive at this point. I can arrange my own shuttle for a couple hundred less and get their late night flights out of LAX. I used to always do that before NWA and UA started cutting prices 4-5 years ago. Thanks for the help guys. ~Sa-teef As a post script to the above>>>>>>>>>>>>> I bought my shuttle flight to the coast and back with my UA frequent flyer miles tonight! Total cost to me: $10 for the security fee! Does anyone else see the irony in that?

"you can thank delta and northwest" Yup, serious question if Northwest will still exist after a pilot's strike. It's in the St Paul paper every day now; front page top of the fold. If NWA goes on strike or just goes, United will be all alone as the dominate airline in MSP. That means the end of any bargain fares for me! The thing is, United has downsized most of their flights out of ORD from 744's to triple 7's to keep their planes full. If there is the least bit of an up-tick in demand, they are sold out!!! Looks like it will be a shuttle to the coast and an asian airline for me this summer. ~Sa-teef

Worthless just two hours later for me. Everything through Chicago from Narita is sold out from April 16th to May 4th. UNLESS I want to pay $1362! THEN they have seats!! Must of had a half dozen seats available to begin with I'm guessing..... Pisser.... ~Sa-teef

"Keerati House- nice rooms and for those that would compare them to Anna Jet" Thanks Mark! Good to hear your opinion on these places! I was in one of the rooms ...briefly...but I thought it looked very nice. NOTHING compares to Anna Jet! Most ST rooms on Soi 6 have far better everything! I pulled a ST there once years back and was glad afterwards it was day light before most of the critters came out! ~Sa-teef

"Yes lady friendly " ONE GUEST friendly. Second guest is charged around 200-300 baht now. Never charged me in '03 but started charging on my last two trips there in '04. I'd stayed there for 4+ months in those two years. I inquired very tactfully of Arnold via e-mail if there was a chance of waiving that charge prior to my first trip in '05 and got a snotty response stated that many of the finer hotels in the area charged for the first guest. I reminded him that he wasn't the Siam Bayshore and cancelled my reservation. His loss. I guess he doesn't need good recommendations or repeat business anymore. I also had an issue with them letting a lady into my room without me or my permission once. That guest had been with me for over a week, but it made things a little tense when I came home later with another and the first guest was sleeping in my bed! ~Sa-teef

Place seems to be a death wish IMO. Gotta be enough ghosts around there to scare off any self-respecting TG...... Plenty of good hotels in better neighborhoods. Why tempt fate? ~Sa-teef

I would hardly call 300 m north of Pattaya Klang on Third Rd the middle of nowhere! Whether Pattaya will ever catch up with their infrastructure is a big if, but walking distance to Carryfour and Pattaya Central puts you in great position to go anywhere in town. And getting back to Third from Walking St area is pretty easy as well. Interesting. ~Sa-teef

The daily rate at Keratti is 1600 baht so best go back to Anna Jet if you're looking for "bargain" housing. The monthly rate is 20k I believe and they seem to be targeting long stays more than daily stays. I was inside one of the apartments....briefly...and thought it was quite nice. Far better than the average bargain hotel room. Pattaya-at-night has a slideshow of the street here: Soi LK Metro I don't have the contact details but I bet another member on here does. PM Soi 7 and I bet he could find it for you. The person may well be referring to the Thai Archer, just a few doors up the street which does have a natural wood front and opened in the past year. They don't pay the domestics particularly well in any of the hotels, but if you have a problem at a hotel it would be best to get very specific and describe the problem. There isn't a hotel around that I am aware of that would ever tolerate theft by the employees. IF you are victimized, talk to the management and the authorities and get it resolved or name and shame the place with the details. I've stayed at a few dozen different hotels in Thailand and never lost so much as a button off my shirt. But if I did, I would persue it vigorously and if it couldn't be resolved , everyone I know would be made aware of the details. ~Sa-teef

"Does anyone know if EVA uses B744s from LAX to LOS and back. I heard that they used the MD-11 from Taipei to BKK for a while. The MD-11 is not my favorite aircraft." 744's from LAX to Taipei. Either 744's, 747 combi's or triple 7's from Taipei to Bangkok. Their website is primitive but..... EVA Airlines ~Sa-teef

Thank you Hub for showing both of us how silly we can get sometimes! ~Steve

Do you ever post any response that is not insulting to others Tom? I only joined the conversation because I just saw the string, Tom Taleung. Or do you prefer Tom joi nuu? " It's better to address one thing at a time to give folk such as yourself an opportunity to understand and perhaps join in. The fact that you feel confident enough to now contribute, albeit cut and paste jobs, would seem to indicate that was at least partially successful." I was posting positive things about both the companies. I think it's GOOD to have two successful companies competing in the market. The consumer will win in the long run IMO. You are just such an arrogant ass sometimes Tom.... ~Sa-teef

"Anyway, if you bought EADS shares a year ago you would be sitting on a tidy 50% profit " You keep moving the goal posts to suit your argument, Tom! First it's sales, then deliveries, now share value! The Boeing shareholders can only muster a modest 38% market price rise in 2005 I'm afraid! You Euros are just too good it seems! ~Sa-teef

"A much easier and more accurate reflection of both companies' fortunes, or in Boeing's case, misfortunes, can be judged by the actual number of aircraft that they delivered to customers in 2005." Hardly misfortunes Tom. They both had record years for sales in units. And Airbus should be proud of their accomplishments in such a short period of time. But what you were first quoting were "SALES" and not deliveries. And when it takes until the 17th or 18th of January to report the sales in units by Airbus some of us might get a bit suspicious of the numbers? But then those frogs wouldn't fudge the numbers, would they? "The announcement took the aerospace industry by surprise, as Airbus disclosed that it had secured 1,111 gross new orders in 2005 compared with the 1,029 claimed earlier this month by Boeing and said it had booked 38 per cent of the orders in December alone after trailing Boeing for the rest of the year. " And eckster is right on the mark in regard to the sales mix of the two companies. "According to Airbus figures the European group won 52 per cent of the world market by units, but Boeing won 55 per of the market by value, as it beat Airbus in a series of key strategic sales campaigns for long-haul jets at leading airlines including Qantas, Cathay Pacific and Emirates and won over some traditional Airbus customers such as Air Canada. The twin engine Boeing 777 large capacity long-haul jet established a wide lead over the rival four engine Airbus A340 and Boeing also led in the toughly contested segment for long-range, medium capacity 250-300 seat jets, where its 787 Dreamliner, which went on sale at the beginning of 2004, outsold the rival A350, which came to the market a year later. They will enter commercial service in 2008 and 2010 respectively. Airbus maintained its overall lead by units by winning record orders for its A320 family of narrow body, single aisle jets, which with 918 new orders, many from start-up low cost carriers around the world, accounted for 82.6 per cent of its orders last year. Boeing sold 569 of the rival 737 family, which accounted for 56.8 per cent of its net orders." A record sales year like this should keep a lot of workers worldwide busy for years to come. ~Sa-teef

Well, it seems OnMyWay has grown to enjoy those little Pinoy darlings in the PI just a Little Too Mutt so to help make ends meet, he's decided to open his very own USED TRUCK AND MOTO BUSINESS. Being the true-blue friend I am, I thought I would help things along by listing some of his Pre-Grand Opening Specials on the forum. Hey, what are friends for? Feast your eyes on some of these quality, previously owned vehicles: -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A good little runner with a big ass cage on the back! Now you can finally get ahead of those vagrants collecting all manner of bottles and cans and get on to more importants things! Still has that New Truck Smell inside! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Who hasn't dreamed of having their VERY OWN BAHTBUS ? Plenty of good miles left in this baby! Call early on this one! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- For you utility contractors out there! Plenty of room on that rack up top! Some minor amount of rust, so we'll throw in the lazy brother-in-law sleeping in the back at NO EXTRA CHARGE! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As you can see, this one was in good service just moments before it found it's way to our lot! The title is a little dodgy on this one, so We're Willing to Deal! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ For the man thinking of starting his own business: How about a nearly new REEFER TRUCK? You can be out hawking ice for 12-14 hours per day TOMORROW! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You'll get some good service out of this heavy duty truck with a good wire cage! The little helper standing next to it is available by the hour or by the day! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Okay, this one's seen a few miles, but nothing a little body putty and paint won't hide! You can pick-up a New Window for that passenger side anywhere! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- And what handyman wouldn't love to see this in his DRIVEWAY? Think of all the little projects around the yard you could finish up with this dual axle with a boom on the back? Scrap metal in the back NOT INCLUDED. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ And just a few of our choice motos for sale: Think of all the uses for this little honey? You could pitch grandma or 50 kilo of coconut in that sidecar! ------------------------------------------------------------ Ever considered your very own Fruit Business? Plenty of fresh air, sunshine and people contact! Melons and Mango not included. ----------------------------------------------------------- We're not sure if we have all the parts to this one, but it was a CLASSIC in it's day! MAKE US AN OFFER! ----------------------------------------------------------- When the teelack finally gets that job to support your lazy butt, she's gonna need dependable transportation to get to work and back! Not exactly this years model but it will get her there and back! ---------------------------------------------------------- And for those of you positively skint: Do We Have a Deal For You! Terrific gas milage! ---------------------------------------------------------- Stop on Down! We'll take your money! And of course, TIT, ALL SALES FINAL! ---OnMyWay and his good buddy, Sa-teef

"and don't worry room 13 has now been completely remodelled/renovated and is awaiting your return. " Does that mean you got rid of the snakes? Hope you're back in Patters the end of April, Mark. I'm thinking another afternoon tour in Jontein with or without SF Dude will be in order. Maybe I can even win a game of pool next trip. Okay, that last part is probably not in the cards. ~Sa-teef

A web search might come up with contact information: They had some kind of karaoke going a couple early evenings with all the windows open in September and I could hear it inside my room at the BJ Holiday Lodge accross the street! Does seem the customers are predominantly asian tour groups, but it shouldn't matter I guess. The fitness room is all glass on the outside and a thai female mentioned that it was a nice set-up. ~Sa-teef

Wyoming and fishing do go hand in hand and the fishing license ploy looks excellent to me. Never thought of it. Probably true of the other zero tax states too. Hunting or fishing licenses would be solid legal rebuttal to any challenge. There is some solid litigation behind that. A test case here in Wisconsin where the retiree moved to FL and did every right....except he still had substantial land holdings in Wisconsin and applied for and received a RESIDENT license. The affadavit on that application was prima facia evidence to dis-allow his change of residence. His "savings" of $50-60 cost him tens of thousands of dollars in state tax. FYI, for military folks, everyone knows the maneuver in the military. You join and you pay taxes in your original state of residency wherever you are assigned. BUT. If you are ever stationed in one of the zero tax states above, you can change your residency to that state and vote in it etc. This is why military folks try to get an assignment in one of those states early in their career, as soon as they are briefed on this. They then hold onto that state until retirement. Again, lots can go wrong with that as well. Family arrangements, housing and all the other matters discussed above. You may think that just no longer filing in that home state ends the matter. But remember, while most states have a five year window on changing a return, there is no statute of limitations for failure to file a return. Plan ahead because you don't want that state to have any grounds for going back through your 20 year military career (and it DOES HAPPEN!). Not trying to scare anyone. But do your homework, make the effort and don't believe anything you read on the web is the final word on anything. It's like advice in a bar or coffee shop; sometimes it's right on the mark and sometimes it's worth exactly what you paid for it! ~Sa-teef

"Isn't it true that if you're actually living in Thailand 12 months a year then you really wouldn't have any state tax to pay no matter where you used to live?" As your subsequent discussion shows, it really doesn't matter if you live in a state to be paying state income taxes there. Servicemen joining up will pay state income taxes at their point of enlistment for their entire military career except under very special circumstances. Your physical location 12 time zones away is irrelevent. Residency and physical locale are two completely different matters. The foreign earned income exclusion discussed in that article won't apply to you unless you are working in Thailand and meet other requirements. After a career in tax accounting there are many twists and turns which individual states will take that might adversely affect your situation. I would not personally rely on an e-mail from a supervisor alone to base my decision upon. But you are correct in that Arizona (unlike most states) is relatively easy about expat taxation of non-rental passive income. Don't count on that in other states. Mnay states (at tax time anyway!) love to keep you unless you have met their requirements, which vary from state to state about changing that residency. When I move to LOS I will be establishing residency in Wyoming first, getting a drivers license, transferring vehicle registration, car insurance, voter registration and moving a minimal amount of personal goods to a physical location there. It sounds corny, but being there long enough to get a fishing license is also strong evidentiary matter with a judge later. It puts the prior state on notice that a legal authority there has accepted you as a legal resident. In almost any state, it is far easieir to get a drivers license or a library card than a fishing or hunting license. I have family there as well, so I have that advantage. But the above is the MINIMUM I would consider adequate to establishing residence in any state. And yes, I will be maintaining that residency for the rest of my life, filing an absentee vote, etc even though I may only visit the States once a year. If you keep rental property in your former state, you will continue to file non-resident tax returns in that former state until you dispose of it. Real estate is very much sitis in nature. You could buy real estate in Maine, never visit or live there and still pay state income tax on the earnings while you owned it or profit from the sale of that Maine real estate. Don't think for a minute you can avoid that. There are far too many reporting requirements with real estate on both the state and local level. Any of you with a state funded pension also have some serious matters to investigate and don't believe what you might read on the web. Get some professional local advice. As far as jury duty, how hard would it be to get a physician in Thailand to draft a letter saying the travel to your old state would adversely affect your health? Most can read and write english BTW. Inconvenience or economic hardship seldom pulls much weight i.e. jury duty. Health issues will. This is the first, and likely the last time I ever post anything about taxes on the web. It's just too individually and locally specific to make broad characterizations. If there is even a shred of doubt, your former state of residence will try to keep you, so you have to be pro-active about this. If you can afford to retire to LOS you can afford competent local professional advice. "Go get you some" as the that country western song would say..... ~Sa-teef

1- I'm considering moving to LOS. What's it cost to live there?? Hummmm......A few bottles of Chang, some noodle soup and sleeping on the Beach. About $4 /day is my guess. 2- Where are the stunners working? Last time I checked they're ALL at Marilyn Ago-go. They're all there. Trust me. 3- How much should I pay for Long time and Short Time? And how long is a Long Time vs. Short Time? Prostitution is illegal in the Kingdom so it doesn't exist. 4- Do I pay 5 baht or 10 baht for a ride on the baht bus? The baht buses are free. Just smile broadly and wave as you walk away. Now don't forget to wipe in my absence dear boy. ~Sa-teef