Sa-teef

That's one heck of a long block, BigD!!!!! For the first time punter Flipper Lodge on Soi 8 is a good value that will take the id's of the ladies and watch your back. They usually have a buy 6 get one day free thing going this time of year. Check out the hotel reviews on this site. And they really are a 100 meters from the beach. Eastiny and Bella Vista are also close in the Soi 7/8 area. There are LOTS of hotels within sight of the beach all along Beach Rd. Checkout a map of the city and I'm betting there have to be dozens...... ~Sa-teef

"Northwest's mechanics have voted to strike if they cannot reach a deal soon" Yes, they were talking about that just before I bought my shuttle to the coast last week, and I didn't want ANYTHING to do with NWA if that was in the offing! They had some decent round trip non-stop prices to LAX. I'm headed for the coast on the night of the 15th and that would have been just too close for comfort! NWA has said they can work around it with supervisors somehow if the strike happens but that's not very reassuring..... Do you want someone who's been flying a desk for a dozen yea

Trust me, you will appreciate a front entrance with a hotel staff if you ever get a stalker as well! I've stayed at three places with side entrances that I can recall. ---The Pig & Whistle on Soi 7 has a side entrance that you can use to get upstairs without going through the restaurant. ---Sanya Apartments on Soi Buekow has a side entrance. It's the only entrance infact. ---The Lido Beach Hotel on Beach Rd has a service entrance behind McDonalds with an elevator that the security guard was kind enough to show me. I never did walk through the lobby with a TG the entir

"but it's a fucking long way on 2 engines" I've been flying on United 777's (not the ER's) from Chicago to Narita Japan for the last three years and they haven't fallen out of the sky yet! That's thirteen hours non-stop on the westbound flight. I like the old triple 7's and I'm looking forward to seeing Eva's introduction of the 777-ER out of LAX. ~Sa-teef

"As regards Northwest, I have simply given up on this carrier." I agree with you Jimmybb !! I liked it MUCH BETTER when NWA and United were duking it out for market share! Now they seem to be in bed with each other, matching price rise to price rise in MSP departures. I couldn't find anything with those two under $1300 this summer so had to relent and go back to Eva out of LAX and am using America West to the coast. Under $1000, but the connections kind of suck. The positives are that I arrive at 1100 in BKK and depart at 1630. It's like an extra day and a half in LOS in my view.

The BJ Guesthouse, Restaurant & Bar has a website. I found it on Google a while back. The hotel doesn't have a website yet, but the e-mail address is listed in the hotel review section. Vikingfan is me BTW, from a prior life on here. Never got around to changing it..... ~Sa-teef

Take the Queen Vics rooms, newer and better furnished Now I'll concede the Vic has a great restaurant, the propr has been around a long time and the furnishings may be better. But considering the BJ Holiday Lodge is new and has been open for barely two months, how the HECK could the Vic be newer? They renovated about a year or so ago as I recall...? Soi 3 is a much quieter location and you can get in and out of there with a TG and few will notice it. QV's location dictates that you will be running the gauntlet of Soi 6 with Miss Right-for-Tonight and a few hundred girls will not

That pile driver in the lot next to the AA Residence was incredibly loud when I took this pic on June 11th or 12th, exiting the Sportsman for breakfast. The Whitehouse Condo area was dusty and busy, but not particularly loud. The new hotel or condo farther west of the AA Residence is just a concrete shell right now but at least 6 stories high, so there will be work going on there for a good long while yet. If you are a light sleeper, it's not a particularly good area to be in right now. Even up on Soi Three I could hear the noise from the highrise condo work down on Soi 5

I just got this from Flipper Lodge beginning of the week. Flipper Lodge Hotel Special Promotion from 01 May - 31 July The special offer for promotion as : Program 1. Stay 14 Days : Pay 10 Days Room rate @ 645.-Bht Room only Program 2. Stay 7 Days : Pay 5 Days Room rate @ 645.-Bht. Room only Program 3. Stay 5 Days : Pay 4 Days Room rate @ 720.-Bht.Room only Program 4. Stay 1 - 4 Days we wish to offer the special price is, the room rate is @ 880.-bht.room only. Sounds lik

"Isn,t love grand!" Can be a real rascal sometimes! Thanks Chris! It's been a long dry spell! Won't be on much from mid-May to mid-June so TRY HARD TO STILL BE ON THE FORUM WHEN I GET BACK! Hehehehehehehehee... ~Sa-teef

"She has a Thai Boyfriend" Don't they all? Actually half of them are married (I think) at RG and the other half are VERY pure. But their buffalo are really a sickly bunch.... Just send the money to ME. I'll be in town in ten so I'll be happy to spend it in a manner at least as frivolous a she would. Gosh, aren't we a helpful bunch around here....? ~Sa-teef

"You can always PM me so we can have a good time." Oh Sara! You can be such a little hussy sometimes! Last time I see you you said you would lub me LONG TIME ! Now I cry all day and night. I die for sure! I must jump off building. Drown myself in the ocean! BTW, has that stupid buffalo healed up yet? ~Sara's FORMER love bunny~

" I have never come across a "him" managing the operation" I suppose if all else fails, we can just deny he exists? An older gentlemen showed-up with the driver and I assumed he was a supervisor or owner. I'm at a disadvantage because the hotel arranged the transport and it happened over two years ago. But I do know the name of the company I was dealing with. While they were there I was diplomatic and suggested a possible reason why the driver might have "accidentally" mixed the money I gave him with his own. But it was very obvious the games they were playing. I think ting_ton

" I have used them a total of 8 times now and never a problem." I would consider yourself lucky. I used them ONCE about 2 1/2 years ago. I had asked the hotel directly whether I was to pay his driver or at the desk, and the aging manager instructed me to pay the driver. Thankfully I saved the e-mail and brought it with me. I did as instructed and was immediately asked to pay again at check-in! The day manager questioned me about it the next day, and it turns out the driver lied about the amount I gave him, cheating the hotel out of their cut! The driver and his boss showed-up for

" had a recorded message telling me that it was $15 and then after booking the flight the lady told me $15." Sorry guy, it must of gone up. It still says $5 on the website and I checked my e-ticket and cc bill. My "free ticket" for May cost me $54.45 in tax and I was billed 59.45 by United. I made the reservation on Feb 14th, so they must have raised it (along with darn near everything else!) since then. That or they were just feeling sorry for us flatlanders out here in fly over country.... ~Sa-teef

Actually, the call center fee is only $5 Emil (maybe more for you Left Coast Folks!) so you won't have eat at the noodle carts for TOO MANY DAYS! I've never had any luck booking awards upgrades or flights on the website. Always have to resort to the call center. SA huh, you lucky rascal? And I thought I got a good one with TG on the KIX to BKK leg of my awards flight! The engines or wings may fall off, but at least the scenery is better on Thai Airways than the usual old hags on the United flights.... I noticed on my Eva confirmation fax for August that they blacked out June 7th-

I also noticed I could buy the same ticket from the airlines website for $40-50 less than from their website. It is a cute site but I would think twice before i would download their software and be sure to have your firewall up and running when you visit it... ~Sa-teef

Emil, Thanks for the tip. I'll check with an agent in the area. The one real definite dislike I have with UA is their arrival and departure times; 2300 and 0700 respectively. If I shuttle to the coast I can arrive in the a.m and depart late afternoon of the last day. It's like having an extra day and a half in-country to me. Can't rationalize more than 30 days at a time right now to myself or the help so I have the intrinsic feeling that I'm getting more bang for my buck. I was PE last year and that's how I got that Bus Class freebie for May, hehehehee but there are lots of thin

"This is the time that I cash in my air miles. " Ditto. My loyalty to United will be soon ended with their price increases across the board out of MSP. $1200-1400 are the best tickets I can find on a single major roudtrip MSP to BKK. I'll be going back to Eva in August out of LAX because it seems to be the lowest I can find (at $800) and settle for a no-name shuttle to the coast. I'm trying to look on the bright side. At least if I shuttle to the coast I can catch a late night flight and arrive before noon in Thailand. ~Sa-teef

A beautiful lady inside and out, and the world is a poorer place with her passing. But heaven has one more angel. My deepest sympathies to her family and other friends. ~Sa-teef

Patience is a virtue. There are reviews posted of both hotels (look for the "hotels" on the top left of this page) but Southern Star is fairly new so there aren't likely many people who have stayed there on the forum. Plus the fact that is a bit far out. It's on Soi 12 in Naklua past Wat Po on the left, so it must be at least one km north of the roundabout. Never been there but it looks good on their website and might be worth a look. Have a good trip. ~Sa-teef

You just knew that was coming, didnt you BigD? For the once or twice a year traveler I think it's a good buy. That's why I was glad to see Dave scoped it out and posted it early this morning. We all have unique situations I think. From out here on the tundra, I have limited connections unless I want to shop for a one way to the West Coast and catch a bargain there. But that always involves changing airlines and hauling my baggage twice instead of once. Since I typically go to LOS three times a year and United flies out of both Minneapolis and O'Hare, I fly with them almost exc

Good catch Dave! I just logged on to post the same deal. Our West Coast members will appreciate this deal as well as a $613 deal from the East Coast in the same offer. http://www.cathay-usa.com/specialfare/specials.asp Take care, Sa-teef

[b]"I can imagine the look of absolute horror on the face of some TGs as you plug the thing into the wall and then want to stick it .......... where??? "[/b] One of your best quotes ever, Tom!!!!!! Not sure we are supposed to be talking about this here, but then I guess small appliances might sneak thru the cracks! Think small, quiet, single "AA" battery models. The foot 'n a half King Kong models are just going to scare the ba-jebbers out of the poor girl! Several servicable models in the $6-9 price range that will be well recieved on Amazon .com. ~S

"Shame the hotel is a shit hole " Ya just knew it was gonna happen, didn't you? Mark, thanks for the great pics of the pool area! Have to admit it was still under construction the last time I was there.....well, as close as the parking lot anyway! ~Sa-teef