Hippie

That is Slices - my favorite of the 6 places I have tried so far, and an excellent value. However, none of their pizza is even close to a deep dish, in case anyone gets the wrong idea. More of a semi-New York/mainstream American pizza. Wish I lived in their delivery area. I think that New York style pizza is much better than real Italian pizza, or Chicago deep dish, but that is just my personal preference. Dishonorable mention: Pizza R Us may be the worst pizza I have ever had in my life, or at least outside Taiwan.

Yes, that is a Bachelor of Education - in other words, someone who is certified to teach in their home country. For most international schools in Thailand that means preferably England or at least a country that uses a similar system. You can be teaching any subject, although I am sure some are harder to fill than others. Also, if you are ever caught in a gogo bar or with a hooker, it is usually grounds for immediate dismissal from any of the legitimate international schools. And if you have a girlfriend who is an ex-bargirl, don't even think of letting any of the staff or their spouses me

Either I missed something here, or you did. He says Pon had missed work with no notice, and lied about it. In addition, she was dating a customer, which was against the rules of her employment--not that I agree with that rule, but presumably she was well aware of it. I can't see where he did anything out of line.

It is so nice--and rare--to have somebody say they will check something out like this, and actually do it and reply promptly. I PMed CheshireTom and he checked some Nikon prices for me. I'll post them here in case anyone is interested. Digital Camera D40 - 19k incl 18-55mm kit lense D80 - 30k body only They didn't have a 18-200 VR lens in stock LA-OX D40 - 16.5k body only D80 - 29.9k body only 18-200 VR lens - 30k All of these prices are inline with Internet prices in the USA, and the D80 is cheaper than I have seen it at any reputable dealer.

For a first time visitor, I defintely recommend somewhere between Beach Rd. and 2nd, anywhere from Soi 7 to South Pattaya Rd. The Walking St. area would be a close second. Eastiny, Flipper, AA Residence are what first come to mind in this area. Check the hotel review section for specifics.

About the only qualification for teaching English is the ability to speak the language, show up reasonably sober and well dressed, and mostly when you are supposed to. If you get certification, such as a CELTA, it will improve your choice of schools. However, the money is crap - usually around 25,000 baht per month, although it can be more if you are presentable, qualified, and actually willing to treat the job seriously. If you are not, then you are really doing your students a disservice. It is not for everyoe, but I know some who really like it.

I just saw Papillon's comments above, or I would have responded sooner. (The quote function is not working for some reason for me at the moment.) I fully believe Eric when he says he sent me a message to my email, which is what I had asked him to do in my PM. As I stated, I suspect there was a problem with spam filters, or the like. We traded several messages afterward, and when we determined that his place was not quite a match for my current needs, he very helpfully suggested another location that he thought might suit me better. I have absolutely nothing negative to say about him.

Not from Thailand, but from a few other Asian countries. For critical packages, I'd go with FedEx. They are about as close to 100% reliable as any company I know of --in any kind of business. Of the other two, I'd take DHL over UPS. FedEx will probably be the most expensive of the 3, but this is one case where you get what you pay for. I think their website will give you rates .

Having a hard time keeping a Pinays weight up? Wow, that is a reversal of the usual complaint!

Thanks Galt. Very handy.

Torrenova, I was hoping someone with a condo at View Talay would respond, but only one person did and that one was too large and expensive - a triple unit converted into a 2 bedroom apartment. However, my employer is taking a long time to finalize details on my new contract, and after the first month I am unclear how long I will be in Pattaya, so a hotel is probably a better option. Things should stabilize around September, so if I liked my month there I may come back and look for a place to rent for another 6 - 9 months. As for the bath tub, it is in lieu of a jacuzzi - I have bad knees.

Up2U, Not sure, but I think one of your reviews may have been one of the ones that convinced me to go with Nova Park. I'll look into the PSC membership, but since 19,000 was a negotiated discount off the standard price of 30,000, I doubt it will work. Thanks for the advice about the dogs.

Eric, I replied to your PM. Probably one of us made a typo on my email address, since I have nothing from you in either my spam folder or inbox.

Eric, I sent you a PM several days ago and you never replied.

For anyone with similar interests following this thread, I posted my findings at http://www.pattayatalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=29765

Ok, just wanted to let those who helped me know what I decided on. Maybe others will find this info helpful. I was hoping to find a condo or apartments, but ended up settling for a serviced apartment/hotel--Nova Park. I can still change my mind if I come across a place more to my liking, but I am no longer actively looking. I have never stayed there, so I hope I made the right decision. I'll briefly list the places that I seriously considered, as well as the factors involved and the prices. If they did not have Internet already installed, they were not considered. Unless I say otherwise, t

Scalawag, it would be more accurate to say I would like to stay in the Big C area, but yes, you had the general idea right. I am very willing to consider other areas if they have decent baht bus access, but so far these are the places that have come up. I don't particularly like RG's location, and a lot of the posts I have read over the last year or two have indicated it is getting rundown, so I have not checked to see what their monthly rates would be. Probably should.

Jasmine Mansion sounds like great value for the money, and I seriously considered them. However, they will not meet my needs for the following reasons. 1. I'll be working full time from the room, so I need a fairly quiet place, meaning the first (American second) floor is not an option. 2. Knee problems prevent me from taking any rooms above the first floor. Also, I don't care for having to walk through the bar to get to my room. Hard to keep myself in work mode when I do that. Getting good info out of LK Mansion is proving difficult. I send a message with 4 questions and two days la

Thanks to everyone who responded on my previous related thread. It now looks as if I will only be in Pattaya about a month after I arrive in late April, before I have to travel, and only be there sporadically for the next couple of months. Therefore, I want to decide on a place that I can book in advance at a monthly rate, and I can look around during that month to make a decision on where to stay when I return. I'll be working full time from home while I am there, so good (for Thailand) Internet access is a must. I think I have narrowed it down to the following four places, but I'm still open

Hilly, one quick comment. You can do a search on the relative merits of LCD vs Plasma, but overall I think most will find LCD better, especially in Thailand. Plasma sets can produce a lot of heat, and also use several times as much electricity as a same-size LCD. I think you made the right choice.

This place was recommended to me, but when a friend went to check it out for me, he could not find it. He is familiar with the street, and says he walked up one side and down the other with no luck. Can anyone help?

Can anyone give me a more precise location for Cholanon apartments? A friend walked up and down the soi today and could not find them. Anyone know what they are next to?

Cholanon Apartments sounds like the best option yet. I'll check them out.

Wow, just read the most recent posts on the Metropole thread. Sounds as if there is no way I would want to stay there. 24x7 broadband already installed is an absolute must, without having to log in/log out each time. In addition, those type of systems often prevent connection to my company's VPN.

Thanks for the info MM. I had seen your post before and the Metropole is one of my fall-back options, but I hope to be able to find a less expensive, less luxurious place. This would be easy to do if the broadband was not an absolute requirement, but it is. I just can't imagine why anyone would post about a place that costs 80K a month in a thread where someone is asking about units in the 20K range. That would seem to belong in a completely separate thread.