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Hippie

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Everything posted by Hippie

  1. I have read every related post on this board, and have some ideas but would like more. I will be relocating to Pattaya in late April as I am working out an arrangement with my current employer to continue on a consulting/telecommuting basis for at least a few months after I quit. I'm not sure whether I will stay long term in Pattaya or move around, so I want to rent by the month, at least at first. Does anyone know of places that are available, or if not, what general advice do you have? I plan to stay in a hotel for a week before I start working, so I need to find a place in that time frame.
  2. I have seen a few studies that show that most people can't hear the difference on any system between lossless and MP3 recorded at 192 Kb/sec or above using VBR, but those with a trained ear certainly can. I can hear it on the system I had in the US, but not the one I have in China that cost 1/10 as much (but is still better than any of my friends' systems). I can easily hear it on almost any system at 128K encoding. The studies did not address other issues such as possible increases in listening fatigue. However, as PattayaPete said, as you increase MP3 bit rates to where their quality approac
  3. Dell Latitudes are actually quite good, but I have heard more criticism of Inspirons than any other line. I'd take the Latitude over any Sony, but that is partly also because I loathe Sony as a company. Interestingly, I was recently at a conference in China with a Chinese Microsoft UI designer. His laptop? A black MacBook Pro that probably cost two months of his salary. In his defense, he said he always booted into Windows - not that i believed him.
  4. I realize this thread got a little off topic and I am just furthering that, but here goes... I have to agree that I hate it when a waitress picks up my bottle to see if it is empty. I find this behavior very insulting, because the reason most bars do this is to see if the drink is empty and the customer is just nursing an empty bottle. At least that is how it was explained to me when I worked in bars. Check to see if I want anything but keep your hands off my drink!
  5. I stayed in the Woriburi in late 2003, so it is very possible it has changed since then, but at the time it was pretty close to a dump. I have never considered Dynasty Inn a good value compared to other hotels in the area, but the rooms I have been in were definitely better than Woriburi. The new wing is the best, but is now about 4 years old and not looking so new any more.
  6. Too late to help the OP, but wanted to add some info for others reading this thread. Almost all companies have both a business and consumer line. The business line will be significantly more durable and better built, have better components, fewer bells and whistles, and are more expensive. An example is the Latitude line from Dell. Be sure you are comparing similar models, and also keep in mind that most companies do not build their own laptops, and some don't even design the main chassis. Almost all laptops are made by a handful of companies in China, and several retailers like HP/Compaq use
  7. Anyone want to share a car to Pattaya? I'm flexible on the time, say anywhere from 1:30PM to 6:00 PM. Non-smokers or someone willing to roll the window down when they smoke.
  8. I have stayed there 3 times, but not in over a year. i always asked to look at the room first. Some were OK - not great, but certainly acceptable for the price in that location. Others were not, and a bad smell was frequently the reason. Don't remember any noise problems.
  9. Hi Para. Where is "here?" As mentioned above, I live in China, and nobody I have found so far is even halfway competent. Also, I'm looking for glasses, not contacts.
  10. I have seen posts here about contcats, but nothing that contained the info I need. I have lots of astigmatism, and finding an optometrist who can figure out the correct prescription for me is a challenge. I live in China, and as blind as all the people here seem to be, the doctors of all types are a complete joke. Anybody know a good place in Pattaya to get my eyes checked, and also a place to buy glasses? Two different places are OK. For the glasses. I'm looking for cheap, well made, attractive frames with really good lenses with a very high refraction index. For the doctor, I'm looking for s
  11. I thought I'd check one more time. I'll be going straight from the airport April 30, probably 11 PM or so.
  12. Ah ha! Me thinks we have maybe been comparing mangos and coconuts. I have never seen the deluxe (or whatever they are called) rooms at Baybreeze. It is indeed possible they are not only larger but much better mainained than the standard rooms. So I stand by my opinion that at least some of the standard rooms s&*k and are not worth the money, but leave open the possibility that the deluxe rooms are worthwhile.
  13. Good point. I could have chosen a better thread to make my comments on. As I said, for a newbie I don't think a hired car is a horrible idea, although if the person is the independent type a cab will stil work just fine, IMHO. My comments were aimed more at the seasoned Pattaya vets who keep talking about the drivers they use. I just can't figure out what point I am missing, as it seems like a bad idea at the prices I see quoted.
  14. Not trying to knock anyone, but I just don't understand why anyone uses a taxi service/driver at these prices. At BKK, I just walk up to the Arrivals area, find a taxi and driver that I like the looks of, and negotiate a price. The most I have ever paid was 1200 baht, all tolls included, and that was only because it was high season and I just absolutely did not feel like bargaining. Now if you do not know how to get where you are going and don't have a Thai cellphone that you can use to call your hotel, MAYBE it would be worthwhile to pay more for a driver from Pattaya who by the sound of it m
  15. If you ARE happy with the crappy rooms my friend and I had, then you must have pretty low standards and have not done much comparison shopping. If you tolerate the rooms and like the place for other reasons, or if we just happened to get the two crappiest rooms in the place, then maybe you are OK. I had forgotten about the two mosquitos that were waiting for me upon arrival, until you mentioned it. The staff, who were friendly during my initial days, turned almost surly when I told them I would be checking out the next morning, rather than 4 days later as planned. In comparison, in t
  16. Wow, someone with a lower opinion of Baybreeze than me! I would agree with this assessment in general tone, but not all the details; I had no problems with the street it was on, I thought the lobby and pool were OK, and I found the staff to be at least average for Pattaya if not better-actually, I thought they were the best attribute the place had, although their attitude seemed to change when I checked out early. However, the rooms were really close to being a dump, and the beds sucked. For the money, I have had better in Pattaya.
  17. I realize I am in the minority, but if you are willing to pay 1000 baht I suggest you not even think about Baybreeze. The two rooms I saw were perilously close to "dump" status. I have had much cleaner, albeit smaller rooms for 300 on Soi 13/2.
  18. I realize I may have just been lucky, but I styed there for 4 days in August of 2004 and saw a grand total of one (small) cockroach.
  19. Hi Big Daddy. So close but yet so far. It would have been nice, but one thing I absolutely refuse to do when on vacation is get up early or rush. I'll probably check out of my hotel at about 12:05, then have an unhurried lunch. Then again, I might just head to Pattaya straight from the airport, if nobody wants to share a cab. Have fun.
  20. If you want to wait until 1PM, and you don't smoke or don't smoke too much and will roll the window down when you do, I'm in.
  21. I'm arriving at BKK at 10:25 PM on April 30, and I'm open to heading straight to Pattaya or spending the night in the lower Sukhumvit area and heading out after lunch the next day. Anyone want to share a taxi?
  22. AA Residence has a bath, but not particularly large. Paid 800 in February after moving from Baybreeze. It was a huge improvement for 200 baht.
  23. What would be anyone's best guess as to the noise situation the first week of May? I'm considering a room at Tim's Bar Beer on Soi 12, AA Residence, Sandy Springs and Dynasty, with a preference for Tim's. The normal recommendation there is to get a room at the back, but maybe not a good idea right now? I'm a light sleep when sober, which won't happen too often, but...
  24. I have visirted Panthip Plaza many times, but always find it a real pain to get to and to get around in. On my last trip, in February, I went to the Fortune IT Mall on Rachadapisek, near Din Deng. I'll probably never go to Panthip again. The Rama 9 subway stop is practically right in front of the building, and the aisles are wider and much less crowded. There may not be as many software dealers, but there are enough and I found everything I was looking for in any of several stores - Mac, Windows and Linux.
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