The_Fat_Controller

I am staying in the oldest building at the Areca now, which was refurbished about 4 months ago, the Corona building has just been finished this week. All the Deluxe (pool-view) rooms have Sony LCD TVs. The safe will probably take a 15 inch laptop plus a camera and documents, my 10 inch netbook looks a bit lonely in there. No more carpets, mid-brown laminate flooring, same tiles at the entrance and in the bathroom. Dark red blackout curtains. Two normal chairs on the balcony, new towel rail there too. Much more storage space, 4 drawers in the desk unit where the TV sits

China Airlines are now providing CIP Fast Track vouchers to their business class customers. I have just flown in from Amsterdam and I received the voucher just after boarding the plane. Instructions where to go printed on the back, no "meet and greet" service. As luck would have it, absolutely no queues at ANY of the normal immigration desks, but used the fast track entrance anyway. Hope they do the same on the way home on the 27th November.

I also made a pot of chilli yesterday. Portion 1 is in the fridge for today. Portions 2 and 3 are in the freezer, the flavour seems to improve after a week or two ! Tonight's meal will be served with plain boiled rice and a garlic baguette, yummy !

The Deluxe Pool View rooms in the Areca and Corona wings do have Sony flat screen LCD TVs, I have stayed in both. However, as the feed signal is still analogue, the picture quality is actually pretty poor. For those that can be bothered to go into the TV menu, there is also an FM tuner so you can listen to the English language Pattaya radio station which play pretty decent music. The Standard rooms still have the old style TVs. Mr Parry, just sign up to Facebook and have a look yourself, I am not re-posting pictures, sorry.

Areca Lodge update. First building has just been refurbished. New furniture, beds and aircon units. Bathrooms remain the same. Corona building will close from September-November 2011, same plans for there.

I had a look at a completed room in June. Main change is that the aircon unit is now in the doorway and blows into the room. New beds and tables and a larger electronic safe in the wardrobe. Pictures on Facebook, search for "Areca Lodge", obvious I know ! I booked at the end of my last holiday and was told they were almost fully booked for November.

Areca Lodge rooms have a bathtub and jacuzzi areas in both pools. All 3 buildings have elevators. Internet is wireless in Areca and Corona rooms and public areas, LAN cable only in Evergreen rooms. Second road is only 2 minutes walk away, so NOT quite in the area you specified but pretty close.

Looking at your username, I have no idea of the ST/LT rates around Dongtan, which I believe is pretty gay/LB orientated !

New Orn Bar bar in Soi Diana serving alcohol, as is Kiss on Second Rd. Just home from the excellent BBQ at The King's Table in Soi 13, no problem getting a beer there too, served in a glass inside a "condom", no bottles in public view.

Did not say I did not believe you Ingo, please do not be such an arse. I transfer by SWIFT now as £2500 every 60 days would be no use to me, thanks anyway. However the thieving bastards at Bangkok Bank are now charging 15 Baht (up from 10 Baht in Feb 2011) per ATM withdrawal in Pattaya as my account is in the man Bangkok branch.

Sorry ingo67 :- I used to do that too, but it's gone. Travel Money / Foreign currency As of 30 July 2010 Nationwide has taken the strategic decision to stop providing a travel money service. Customers who require this service can continue to use Travelex to take advantage of their competitive rates, please follow this link to the Travelex website*. Travelex will charge you 1.5% for Sterling TCs but deliver for free.

All Bangkok Bank ATMs will give you a maximum of 25,000 in one go. There is no limit to the number of actual notes, I have taken out 24,900 (29 notes) You can do as many back-to-back transactions as you want, up to your daily limit.

Bangkok Bank allow 25,000 per withdrawal at an ATM for their customers. I have a limit of 50,000 per day on my account, but could increase this if I wanted to do so. Nationwide (UK) have a £300 per day limit on ATM withdrawals which means 14,700 or so right now, plus the charge from the Thai bank and Nationwide fees. I just send my own money by SWIFT from Nationwide to Bangkok Bank these days, which costs me £25 but at least I can do it in comfort from my sofa using online banking with my ATM card and the card reader.

Just home from work at Prestwick Centre, which deals with Oceanic, Scottish and northern English airspace. Transatlantic traffic has been forced further south than the ideal routes with the current winds, both East and West bound. There may be more problems tomorrow, but my information is no more up-to-date than the maps that can be seen by clicking on the links in my previous posts.

Taltos, thanks for the information about size and activity More prediction graphics now issued here http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/volcano/public/natlantic.html

Icelandic airspace has closed. Most, if not all, of the Icelandair fleet has fled the country. Some disruption expected in that area for a while but transatlantic and domestic flights are likely to continue as normal for now. Click on the latest maps here http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/aviation/vaac/vaacuk_vag.html PS. This is the biggest volcano in Iceland !

If and when you come to pay your hotel bill with an overseas credit or debit card, make sure you pay in Thai Baht. There are a few complaints on Tripadvisor that some Thai hotels are using DCC and converting the bill to the card's "home" currency without approval of the customer The rate is always in their favour. Do not rush the check-out process PS. I got caught with this at a Disneyland HK shop a couple of years ago.

The Evergreen building is the quietest of the three, not that any of the rooms are noisy. Areca and Corona rooms are all being refurbished over the next 7 months, so Evergreen is the better option. I have stayed many times since 2002 and never had any problems. Not the cheapest place to stay, but well run, good location and facilities and in my opinion worth every Baht I pay.

Zen or Fuji for a nice Japanese lunch treat. Red Kimchi, the Korean all-you-can-eat buffet place on the front of the Royal Garden Plaza. Quality pretty much guaranteed at all 3.

Areca Lodge, all the rooms in the newest building, Evergreen Tower. http://arecalodge.com/acom.php

OK teelac, name a few with ALL of the above facilities and breakfast included. Your target price is 1450 Baht. http://arecalodge.com/rate.php

Stevoman, do you stay at the Areca ? It is probably one of the best run independent hotels in Pattaya. They have just replaced all the TVs in the Deluxe rooms with 32 inch Sony LCDs. Where else can you get 2 pools, 2 gyms, no joiner fee and breakfast for 2 for a similar price?

Work will be taking place from May to November 2011. http://www.facebook.com/notes/areca-lodge/...169306869783953

A Pattaya bar girl in Canada will have two feelings. Cold and lonely. Would seriously advise against it !

BUGGER ! Raining again