teelack

There you go! I learn every day. Thanks. Hope to see you around in the next few weeks.

I would be interested to know more about the following. I have a general interest in languages but have not come across the Thai way of adding a male or female suffix, Khrap and Ka. It puzzles me where this comes from and what the Thai themselves think that it achieves. I find this interesting from another aspect and that is the Thai way of addressing people where the word Khun can be used by either sex, yet again so different from languages that have and use variations of Mr. Mrs. Miss. Ms and in my younger days Master for a school kid.

This is July. Is this one of the months where the place has draft beer? It seems hit and mioss so just wondering.

I have to say that this thread has the most untrue and misleading heading I have ever seen on this board. Walking Street doesn't need bars and gogos!Bugger me! It needs as many as can be squeezed into the street!

Let me throw another few ideas around on the subject. I did the rounds and found out where and what suited me. It was easy at that stage to determine if I was on a better deal going direct than using an agency in tems of cost. I used Agoda for booking in Laos and the places stayed at and ratings didnt seem to have any resemblance to reality. If I am delayed or have to cancel and I have not paid up front there is no issue in trying to get a refund. As stated previously, pay after you have been there and not before by putting the whole thing on the credit card. Incidentally I also get a cash back deal on my credit card so this is an extra discount to be added to the months that you have earned in interest on the basic booking cost. OK, only perhaps 2% but this is 3 times a year! Deal direct with the hotel Manager when you book and hold him/her to promises made with your emails as evidence. This is especially valuable if you want to book a specific room number (which as far as I am aware you cannot do with an agency). Use your direct dealing to score some extras. These could include a discount for longer time stay, room upgrade or free breakfast etc. Sort out some of the smaller issues up front. One trip I would only stay with a hotel that would give me a split charge so that I could take off for a week (and not be charged) travelling and have a locker for storing my case while I was away. In this instance I got all that I needed from the Sabai group. As you can see I am a real fan of direct bookings over using an agency however there is one instance where I would use the agency for all or part of the trip. I have used Expedia because I can call them and talk with a real people and discull the nuances of the trip. Once on their data base you will be offered some interesting deals and I once stayed a few days at a top hotel that I would never be able to afford because I got a great discount deal.

A great intro might be for you to tell us a bit about what you have learned from your visits to Pattaya. Like many others I mainly sign on to learn new stuff and everyones Pattaya experience is different.

I use to use Sawadee and thought that this was the best of the booking sites. I then came to understand that why pay two months ahead when I can book direct and pay two months behind! Seems to me a no brainer to go direct and also in this way you tend to create a relationship with the hotel and not with the booking site. I also can always ask for the room of my choice rather than taking pot luck. IMHO its the only way to go.

Thanks. Have been past this place many times and wondered about the place but never stopped there so perhaps I will add this to my list of places to visit.

In fairness I cant think of a good reason why I should be happy that anyone is an overstayer in my home country. They sponge and work for chicken shit under the counter money. If I dont like it where I live I can hardly justify it elsewhere.

Some great shots here. Seems that the days of a cheap draft beer are slipping away as 80 baht seems to be the new 69 baht!

Thanks as usual for your take on Patts. The penis enlarger yarn reminded me of the American who advertised framed pictures of George Washington and sent all the subscibers a one cent postage stamp!

Thanks for taking the time. Fascinating!

Sorry Jacko. I explained it badly. What I was meaning was posting a deposit such as the op mentions " Since posting I have emailed them and they require a 7,000b deposit to secure booking. I now realise however that I did supply about 2000 baht last year as a deposit for my stay at the D Apartments but that is all I have ever had to remit prior to ariving in Thailand.

I am unsure if I am on my own here but I have never paid up front for any place in Pattaya other when years ago I used Sawadee booking company. I stayed years at the Sabai and have tried many other places and never paid a cent before getting there. I did make an error at one place by paying on arrival and not enjoying the place but that was a one off. As a matter of interest I did drop into this place for a look see and immediately bombed it out as a potential. I also find that there is a great difference between what you see on a web site and what an actual walk around will show you. It for this reason that whenever I am in Pattaya that I try to look at a couple of possible places to see if they could be of interest to me. I am very happy with my current accommodation and enjoy the choice of two pools and a large garden area giving me a noise buffer with the main road. I never hear a thing. I have to agree with the OP when he wrote anout the NP. This hotel looks to good to be true!

Why bother asking for an opinion if you have made your mind up? If you think that such things as good surroundings and no swimming pool is something that no one else is interested in, think again. I have tried to give you a reasoned explanation as to why I believe you need to keep on looking but if you have already made your mind up that this is the place of your dreams then I and any one else that expresses and alternative opinion is wasting their time-obviously.

This place seems very average to me and I would read a few more reviews on the place. As one reviewer says, "No pool, no garden, no restaurant, no food-and noisy". The location is fine for me but I think that for me it would be a lot less that I would want for a good Pattaya holiday.

Brilliant! One song that manages to offend or insult/parody as may people and groups as possible. I love it!

Dont know the place. This isn't Ma Maison by any chance?

I have kept out of this one but here are a few thoughts. I am one of those that have spent years handling prostate issues. I have been reamed by male and female medical professionals and neither sex offers fun for this problem! I can see what the OP is on about trying to suggest that the ‘patient’ needs something to laugh about. Having said that, it is a really difficult issue. There is a school of thought that says that almost all prostate removals will give you shit loads of issues from impotence to incontinence. My health pro however got pissed off at me when I suggested these things. She accepts that they can occur but are not all or every time. I am in line for an operation later this year and whilst I initially rejected the idea I am now 99% committed to it. Here is the thing, I fully intend doing two things about it. One is to get there before the op and use up all the juice I have in my system. And two, that is to get back to Pattaya when I am not pissing blood to see if it still works! All operations are a balancing act. Few give 100% and most have a downside of some sort. There isn’t really any jokes that you can offer someone that has been in this situation but my dear departed father used to have a saying. Whenever I would complain as a kid about some hurt or ailment he would come out with, “There were men in the last war that lost their heads and never had a word of complaint”. .

I booked my Thai air travel about two days before the coup. I thought at the time that the fare would likely tumble but not a bit of it. I did get a good enough fare, about 555 pounds sterling however the best I can do at the moment with any reasonable airline is in the region of 700/750 pounds equivalent. I am really pleased that I got in while I could but wonder why the fares have not come down. Earlier this year the Thai Air flights were not much over half full and the prices were cheaper than they are now. Go figure. I was wondering if in fact Thai Air was using the downturn to use as a weapon for reducing flights but that hasnt happened either.

Good to see you back and in good form. Keep them coming.

Last time in Pattaya I had to take back to back courses of treatment to get over the cough. That's 20 tablets but it did work. I really have only a few culprits and they are: Air con, airplanes, swimming pools, smoky clubs and kissing Thai girls. Generally speaking I get this after three weeks in Thailand and never on arrival so I think that planes and air con are least likely as I believe I would have symptoms earlier. As for swimming pools I always thought that the chlorine would kill off any bugs on the go. This leaves clubs and girls so I can expect another attack the next time I go there!

Thanks as usual for a laugh at what most people take so seriously.

I will try to think of some names if you promise me that if you get the job you will stop the girls pouring drinks and using their mobile phones at the same time!

I know nothing about the technicalities of travel but if I read your OP correctly all you are suggesting is that she come out to Australia for a holiday. If this is the case I would have assumed that this was easy enough as long as you can vouch for he accommodation and living expenses. The key seems to be that as long as the immigration folks dont think that she is going to work there and that she abide by her holiday visa that it is all simple enough.