El_Puerco

I checked into Ice Inn yesterday after Apex was full. 500 baht. Little internet cafe downstairs. Slow computers but nice enough staff. Quite a few downsides. I was on second floor. No elevator for those carrying a few bags or returning after a skinful of booze. My room stank of old vomit and mustiness. I told the staff on arrival and a guy put the air con on and came up with an airfreshener. When I returned a couple of hourse later the smell was back. Terrible. Plus the air con was very noisy. The best bit was that at 10.30 am this morning the hotel staff handymen decided to repair some me

There is/was a decent bike shop which stocked Cannondale and Specialized. Possibly Trek also. It was on 2nd Rd near to the covered market and by the hospital at the back of the Little Duck Hotel. Find the Little Duck. Stay on the left hand side of the road and go down to the last set of traffic lights on the left and it's a few minutes walk along. I've cycled in SEAsia and yes it is hot but you do get used to it as long as you keep up your fluid intake. I've also had a nasty dose of sunstroke without doing any major physical exercise, apart from riding a moped in the sun. So keep

If you just want to get a feel for the place first then try the open air bar beers first. You can generally sit, have a drink, people watch, play connect 4 or whatever. You generally don't get pressurised into buying too many lady drinks and depending on how many customers they have you may/may not be propositioned. (Having said all that, I wandered into a small enclosed bar away from the main drag last time I was down ole Pattaya way. About one o'clock in the pm. Just wanted a drink 'cos it was damned hot. Only customer there. The only barmaid there that I could see soon came around to m

Am also looking into teaching English in Asia. Gotta spend a couple of months in the PI first with my old lady. From my research and experience I would think that taking the 4/6 week Celta/Tesol/Tefl(insert appropriate acronym) would be useful for both teacher and students. However, I don't see how the likes of TEFL international can justify charging $1500.00 approx, although that includes accom. A Tefl qualification is available in the UK for £700.00 or thereabouts, approx $1000.00 US. We all know accom. is v. cheap in Thailand compared to the West. So what gives? Plus, positi

I've heard Qatar offer a reasonable price but have heard dubious things about them. Any recommendations for a rtn on this route, open for two months or so?

Just got a China airlines open return valid for up to 12 months for Manchester to BKK, via Amsterdam initially on KLM then switching to China. Cost £509.00 including taxes. That's for this November. Tried lots of other cheap flights including a Thai offer at £429.00 and some less than £400.00 including Aeroflot but none allowed for such a lengthy open return. Perhaps someone knows of a cheaper deal?