Mescalito

Since my current client usually closes down between Christmas & New Year's, and assuming I'm still working with them then, I'm planning to spend that week & probably the one after that there. If I can, that means I can actually throw my big 50th birthday party on the actual day!

I damned near spit my coffee out all over my laptop when I read this one. Too damned funny!

Maybe we should start selling this on the Golf Channel or some late-night infommercial! It's at least as valuable as some of the crap that gets hawked there now!

As was mentioned in another thread, one of the rounds of golf I played with Doggie and others this past week had some rather "interesting" moments. Should anyone wonder, we played by and properly enforced the Red Tees Rule, i.e.- any player whose tee shot fails to get past the ladies tee had to play their next shot with their trousers around their ankles. And, as Doghaus mentioned, there was an unexpected turn of events when I, a 7-handicapper, succumbed to this rule after 16 holes and numerous Asahis. In this first picture, you will note that my state of semi-dress did not hinder me in

Definitely count me in again this year! I don't have the flights booked just yet, but I will the moment I get finished paying the CC bill for this trip! And just as a tease for all of you, I had the distinct pleasure of playing a bit of golf with doghaus on this trip, and as soon as I can get to my own laptop and transfer the pictures from my camera, you will all see irrefutable photographic evidence of our insistance on strict adherence to the Rules!

Let me add my voice to those who have spoken well of Mr. Toom's service. I arranged everything via e-mail from the States, and his replies were very prompt. He sent one of his other drivers, Khun Wilat (sp?), to pick me up at Nana Hotel for the trip to Pattaya, and he was there to get me about 15 minutes early. Very nice Toyota Camry that he said was 12 years old but was in immaculate condition. We made excellent time and arrived at the RG in less than 2 hours door-to-door. All in all an excellent value.

I'm staying there at this moment. This is my 5th trip to Pattaya and I've stayed at the RG each time. 'nuff said.

I work strictly on a consulting basis, which means companies pay me too much just so I can tell them the obvious. I build a 2-week break into my consulting engagements, i.e.- I arrange to have a 2-week break between ending one project and starting the next one. So far, so good.

I just arrived in LOS yesterday via China Airlines and, as I expected, their business class was very good (747-400 for both legs -- SFO-TPE and TPE-BKK). Nice roomy seats that recline enough; very good menu that included a couple of curry-based appetizers that were outstanding; properly attentive flight attendants. The plane for the SFO-TPE leg was packed to capacity, but the TPE-BKK leg was nowhere near full; business class was less than half full. My only complaint, and it's a VERY minor one, is that the selections listed in the personal entertainment guide didn't completely match what was a

I know that some folks don't rank China Airlines among their favorites, but I've had pretty good experiences. Yes, the coach class seats are a bit on the small side; I'm 5'11'' and only weight about 150, and I feel a bit cramped in them. I flew them r/t on my trip last November and generally enjoyed it. Their flight attendants, particularly on flight back home, were very good. There was a very drunk and very crazy guy about 4 rows back from me who was starting to go ape-s***, and they handled him beautifully. I'm taking them again when I head back to LOS in about -- thank goodness -- 48

I plan to do some serious shopping on this next trip, some for me but mostly for friends and relatives. It will probably be to much to fit into my already stuffed luggage on the flight home, so are there any stores in Bangkok that will ship back to the US, or will I have to ship it myself via Thai postal service, DHL, etc.? In particular, I have one friend (of the female variety ) who I know would love to get a couple of those floor mats with the triangular cushions.

The only bit of advice I can offer is as regards your hotel reservation. Be sure to let them know when to expect you at the hotel. If you're expecting to get to your hotel after midnight, make sure you let them know that when you make your reservation so that they don't think you're a no-show.

I've had it happen, but only once and it wasn't even my idea. I was on a business trip to Paris about a year and a half ago. When I checked in w/ Air France at Logan Airport in Boston, they upgraded me to business class without me even thinking to ask. It was a fairly expensive coach ticket (a little over US$2500), so I think that may have been close enough to the price of business class, and since it was only about 2/3 full, they may have figured "why not?".

How far in advance do you recommend booking with him? I arrive in BKK on 15 April and will head down to Pattaya on the 17th.

It would have to. I think I blew through that much at FLB one night!

I decided to splurge on my next trip this April and see if I could find a way to go business class from SFO without putting myself into debt for decades to come. By booking a 1-way ticket on China Airlines from SFO to BKK, and another 1-way on Korean Air for the return trip, I saved a surprising amount of money over what a regular round-trip ticket would have been on either airline alone. Yes, it's still on the expensive side, but it was about 500 bucks less than r/t on CI, and almost 2,000 less than what r/t on Korean Air would have cost. Both of these were booked directly through each airlin

Does this help? Pattaya in the rain . . . . . Pattaya 2 hours later . . . . . .

Budgets, like plans, go out the window once you arrive, particularly on your first trip. I usually go for 2 weeks at a time (work obligations prevent going for longer), and I usually budget for about $3,000 USD + airfare for that much time. On my last trip in November, I actually had to transfer some funds from my E-Trade account into my checking account 3 days before I came home to make sure I was covered! Oops! And with this, I make my 500th post!

This is the site that I keep in my browser's Favorites list to check on conversions rates: Currency Converter

OK, I was a good boy and actually used the Search feature before starting a new thread, and lo and behold this thread appeared! On a related matter, I just figured out that I can get 2 one-way business class tickets (1 ticket each way, obviously) for SFO-BKK-SFO for less than the usual round trip fare would have been; China Airlines outbound and Korean Air for the return. Has anyone tried booking their entire trip as a series of one-ways? Anything I need to know?

Actually, it wasn't arrogance. Any American will tell you that snowboarders are a bunch of stoners; more weed is smoked during a week at Mammoth Mountain than Bob Marley could have done in a month. She wasn't being cocky and arrogant; this was the Olympics and it was probably the first time she'd ridden without being loaded! It messed up her coordination!

There are three types of people in this world: those who can count, and those who can't.

Nong Nooch Tropical Gardens is a beautiful place. I recommend taking the full-day tour; the half-day tour actually only gives you about 2 hours once you're there. I think it's about 500 baht. There are a few pictures in a TR I posted recently.

If you can't, and I'm reasonably sure that'll be the case, try using this site: www.mail2web.com It's a generic -- but secure -- e-mail portal that allows you to pick up your e-mail from pretty much any computer anywhere as long as your account isn't behind a firewall, like a corporate account would be, for example. It's what I've used to get to my US-based Earthlink account from internet cafes in both Asia and Europe.

Actually, I've been wondering the same thing. I had such a great time this past November that I've been looking forward to the '06 RideHer Cup since then.