Lancashirelad

That's an approprtiate avatar for talk of a crack down ;-) Qwert06

I'm definately with the bus brigade. Why spend 1200bht to sit bored to death, alone, in a taxi. When for 100 bht 'ish you to chat to nice Thai people? I many times used to get the train from Don Muang to Hua Lampong. TEN baht! MRT + BTS to Ekamia. Or taxi 100bht to Mochit. Then shared baht bus with other new arrivals (& returning girls;-)) to go hotel. Interesting fun journey. Who was that famous traveler/explorer that said, "Its not the arriving, its the journey" or similar?

That sounds like the book named "My name Lon, you like me"? an (allegedly)true story written by Derek Sharron. ISBN 974-92721-5-3 I have it here on my book shelf. So can only assume the same story must have been written under differing titles? Whilst on the subject of books, for any of you considering, or indeed already in, a more serious relationship with a lovely Thai Lady: I heard about, bought & read a book called "Thailand Fever" a road map for Western/Thai relations. It is truly excellent. Written, if my memory serves by an American man & his Thai female partner. It is in both in English in Thai, with every page spread being in the one language on the left & the other on the right. It touched on so many of, what we thought were arguements, which infact were only differences in the way we see things, almost word for word. My TG is the not the easiest to try & explain something to or ask to do something. She didn't even want to take the book. I thought it would go in the first bin she passed. Some weeks later, after she had gone home, I get an sms telling me how very good the book is, that there are big differences in the way a Thai Lady & Farang man see things, & that it is good information for life, & that she now "understands me." I don't have the ISBN no. as the book is currently in Khorat & I'm in the UK.

Have just completed a round trip with China air 2 days ago. Leg room in economy was reasonable. No seat back videos. Plane clean. More or less on schedule, though horrendous ex BKK time of 02.45hrs. via Amsterdam, KLM connection to MAN. SERVICE: rushed, impersonal & very dangerous! Trolley dolleys walking backwards up the isles carrying hot tea/coffee etc. Only needs a trip on a stray blanket or something & they're on their back with the hot drink pot ontop of them. Very very silly! Also, you don't see them approaching & by the time you've realised what's on offer they're gone.

Sonars, I'm glad you made that post as, reading the thread the terrible state/frequent obstructions of the Pattaya pavements/side walks was in my mind & I was thinking that Willy should be made aware. That said, during my last trip I saw several guys in chairs. Perhaps worth remembering that often an access to a building with many steps, will have a different access that's level. i.e. Royal Garden Plaza from 2nd road is level. Willy, the worst that could happen, is that you give up in disgust after a couple of attempts to explore & finish up sitting by the pool all day. Even then, it would be relatively easy to get some female company shipped in. Walking Street is level & quite a lot of the bars & restaurants on it are on the level. I agree with what other posters have said in that it would be prudent for you to have someone with some medical knowledge....including how to lift you. Hope you have a blast.

My budget is 2300 bht/day inc. room. (a £ grand a month) 3000 would be more comfortable. My outgoings at home whilst i'm not here are also close on a grand a month. (Thats about $1,700 for you non sterling guys) I always have a room with a view. I drink, sensibly (certainly not 15 bottles a night as i'd quite like my liver to last as long as I do) Buy lady drinks. Maybe 3 LT girls a week. Occasional Go Go stunners. Food varies day by day from 50 bht at Maccy D's upto 300 bht eat all you can buffet. Occasional full English breakfast. Bar tips, girl tips, etc. Not stingy, just careful.

1. Don't lick pussy 2. No ice in drinks 3. DO NOT leave air con on all night. Stick to those 3 basic rules & you should be ok. .........now if only i was able to practise what i preach....have come away from Thailand with terrible bronchial infections 2 out of the last 3 trips, both times i have left the aircon on all night just ONE time!

What a lovely post Ken, you sound truly contented. It is most interesting to note that you chose Thailand after having visited/worked in/become familiar with so many other countries. I visited Thailand on my once-in-a-life time 6 month round the world trip back in 2002/03. It was so many years between deciding to do the trip & actually going, i totally forgot why the pin was in the world map on the wall in Thailand, so i just went anyway. The ONLY reason I went to Pattaya was because i'd heard an old friend had a restaurant/bar business there. (& I did find him) I had absolutely no idea Pattaya was the biggest knocking shop in the world. (even though i'd had a very steep learning curve in just a few days in Bangkok!) I'm considering moving there (I'm 47) & have a good business idea. I THINK I could happily live there (probably East of Sukhumvit Highway) but am concerned what friends back home in the know about about Pattaya would think. Jonathan.

Obviously this could be subject to change again before the date, but as at the moment the Etihad ex LGW a.m. flight on 11 Jan 06 (& probably dates around there) the aircraft on the LGW-Abu Dhabi leg has been replaced by a hired in ex charter old shed. This is due to a delay in arrival of new aircraft on order & apparently connected with the Boeing strike earlier this year.

Should be good deals around for these months: low season...rainy season. Take umbrella.

always mention proposed dates & how much flexibility on them when asking about flights. Prices vary a lot depending on time of year & whether it is high, shoulder, or low season in LOS.

Much, much cheaper & possibly more interesting way to get from Pattaya to Samui is by overnight sleeper train. Stop at Sura Thani & get big bus or mini bus to ferry, then baht bus. Various classes on the train from open plan fan, (very, very little money) to private 2 berth air con. (very cold!) Good restaurant/bar on board & cabin service. PM me if you need more info.

Maybe you should read about the penalties involved for importing raw meat products to many countries. Think its on the customs declaration form you fill in onboard the aircraft before arrival...the one where you should declare your own camera etc. Then make your own mind up.

best tip i can give you............ just take it easy on the booze. Don't drink in the day time. Don't start too early in the eves. Pace yourselves. Go home (hotel) before you make a spectacle/pratt of yourselves. Drink a lot of water. Remember if you feel thirsty, its too late, your body is already suffering from dehydration. Might sound like a fatherly lecture BUT the upside is, not only will you have an ace time, BUT you will also remember it!

spot on farman....... & indeed good can be found for less. (see my one & only BKK hotel review) + don't forget at the more upmarket gaffs in BKK you will be charged a joiners fee of +/- 1k bht.

Tips for arriving at BKK airport: Be ready to brush off (sometimes has to be quite firmly, but polite) all the approaches you will get from taxi/limo touts in the arrivals hall. There are several ATM's in the arrivals hall. (no need to change money before you go). When you walk out of the automatic sliding doors of the air conditioned airport, be ready to feel like you've just walked head long into a brick wall as the heat hits you. If going straight to Pattaya, may be best to book your transport in advance rather than just jumping in any old taxi. Always nice to have someone meet you when arriving in a strange country for the first time. Lots of threads about reliable drivers etc. on here + check out the "meeting cost shared" section. However if you've pre-booked (virtually a necessity arriving when you are) a decent hotel, they may offer a free or reasonably priced mini bus transfer. Enjoy.....

Hmmm, so many comments from reading all the above i can't remember them all, but here's a few: I agree with BongoBill, wish I could get £400 a week for my 3 bed bungalow. Be lucky to get £800 a month i think. If you were lucky enough to have £350-700K to invest, you would be silly to just put into an interest bearing account where, as some mentioned, over time allowing for inflation, it would decrease in value.. A sum of that size would need to be professionally managed & would almost definately perform much better than standard interest rates. Most major banks have an investment advisory/management service for this type of thing. Someone said about selling the UK house, but keeping cash reserves incase you wanted to return & buy here again in the future. That was exactly my point of this thread initially. If uk property continues to rise at a fair rate, if you wished to return in say 5 or 10 years, you would not be able to get back into the market, it would have left you & your cash behind. On the opposite hand, if you had kept your uk property & had the rent off it over say 5 years, but now decide to stay permanently in LOS & sell up here, your house here would be worth more. One guy suggested down-sizing. This seems very sensible, but is obviously not an option to those who are already down-sized. Intrigued that I have started such a popular thread My apologies that I can't remember by name who said what & I don't know how to do the multiple quote thing.

Remember if you get a customs search at a UK airport & you have counterfeit goods, they will take the lot off you (Including the shirt on your back & the watch on your wrist) & destroy it. Up to you!

I bought a broad spectrum of shares during 98 & 99. Some blue chip, some FTSE 100, some AIM. A few have done very well. e.g. Mothercare (bought as Storehouse), Carnival Cruises (Bought as P & O). Some have failed totally. e.g Monotub Industries (Titan washing machines). MANY have dropped in value alarmingly. e.g. Psion & Knutsford (WIlink) Money in: around £19k Value now £13k Meanwhile the house is worth almost 3 times what it was valued at in 1998. Does it really cost over £600/week to rent a terrace in London?

Yes bar fine more expensive in Manila, but rarely need to pay it. Girls happy to meet you outside after work. One even sent a taxi driver to pick me up (by name!) 'cos mamasan was watching so she couldn't come to me.

DON'T! I've noticed around the threads a few of you have been talking of ways to raise the dosh to move to LOS including selling up at home. It's foolhardy. Keep that UK base..... at the very least for a good few years 'till you're absolutely sure you gonna stay. Even a terraced house is worth around 25,000 bht/month to rent out. Lets qualify that: waitress, building site operative, etc. basic pay circa 3-4,000/month. + the UK house will continue to rise in value & rents will continue to rise. So you have house rental income (remember to calculate in possible void periods)+ maybe UK state pension + maybe private pension + any other income sources you may have. Its usually the one's who have burn't their bridges back home (whichever country), then found it actually costs a bit more to stay than they'd reckoned for, + maybe lost some to an ex TG partner, (especially likely if they were a bar girl) + some to a failed business deal. (would you buy a beer bar off a guy in a beer bar?) that try the midnight flying off the balcony thing we read about depressingly often. Don't mean to dash your hopes & dreams lads, I'm just saying keep realism in view.

Sorry guys, looking at the views on this (48 at the time of writing) versus the figures for other threads, need to get the viewing figures up somewhat.....even if it means resorting to underhand tactics ....hmmm, on 2nd thoughts, maybe i should apply for a job with the BBC? Lancashirelad (the original) date joined 23 March 04 Lancashirelad1 joined 29 Sept 05. I would just like to state for the record that this person is neither known nor related to me. (It was suggested on another thread we may be brothers). I am proud of my county & realise I am not the only Lancastrian, however, obviously there must be a massive shortage of original names for the BM's here. I have previously politely mentioned to him both in another thread & by PM that he may wish to reconsider, given my already established membership & name. I may have to consider withdrawing my existing membership & rejoining, perhaps as Tabmule1 or Daveuk1 or any one of the other popular members names + 1 & see what happens. The 2 of you i've mentioned by name, please be assured i have absolutely no personal issue with your good selves...... merely just the 1st regular poster names that sprang to mind.

Bongobill wrote: Top decision i'd say there. On reflection now at 47 (in 2 days time), wish to hell I'd joined one of the services. Could have got 20 yrs in, good pension, then gone driving truck to Italy for 10 years (great life for a single guy), then been giving over any time now. As for Fishermans Friend, think Doreen Lofthouse has enough millions banked without you helping her make any more. Old farmer friend of mine used to say: "If tha banna do summat, do it fo' th' sen". Jonathan.

Lancashirelad1 do you really have to use that name? Bit near the mark isn't it? Going to get rather confusing for the BM's me thinks

Galt, sadly the links to 6 condos don't seem to work. (the link just isn't there)