tallguy

While Ashley's there they're about as relevant as your native Darlington. I doubt Rafa will be there at the end of the season and can see them flirting with the bottom three.

I took a stroll up Walking Street during the day time a couple of months ago and was surprised to see some high end places aimed at Indians at the southern end of the street. I have read reports that these places do decent business. There is also a large Indian dance club near Alcazar. It's been there a while so I assume it does OK. I guess these places appeal to the wealthier Indians who like to drink bottles of JW Black and flash the cash. Alternatively the Bangladeshi / Indian owned GGB on Pattayaland 2 didn't last long.

As a two week holiday maker I didn't spend much time in that area. By the time I started staying around the Buakhau / Dianna area on longer trips Shenanigans had moved to The Avenue. I did enjoy the carvery there as an occasional treat, I especially enjoyed the prawns on the salad bar. Unfortunately it did go downhill a bit during the year or so before Shenanigans closed.

If the roasts and carvery at Robin Hood are mediocre what does that say about other offerings around town? I think it ranks amongst the best options available and compares favourably to the much vaunted Sportsman carvery. In the past I have tried the carveries at Jolly's and Robin's Nest and came to the conclusion that there was something wrong with a carvery where the best parts of the meal are the soup and the ice cream. The main positives on the Robin Hood Sunday Carvery are the quality of the meats and the inclusion of lamb, (this forced the Sportsman to start including lamb in their carvery price again). I like the fact that they include a proper cooked dessert, although this varies from week to week, rather than just a couple of dollops of ice cream. Some of the soups, like Jacko's mushroom soup and the pumpkin soup maybe a bit bland, but the carrot and ginger soup was better than expected, and the tomato and basil soup is very good. The daily carvery offered during the week is a welcome improvement on reheated roasts offered by other places.

I took a look at this complex a few weeks ago. The entrance is even more obscured than before as there is a taxi kiosk in front of the steps. There are only two bars open, on the left hand side. These bars are pretty much opposite the entrance to the Blue Ocean Hotel and appeared to get some business from hotel guests.It's a shame this complex didn't take off, I liked the bars in there and it had potential. The problem was that most people driving, or even walking past, wouldn't know it was there. There are more bars open on Action Street but not a lot of action, It can't help that the first bar on the right is full of ladybugs and the bars opposite only have a few, not particularly attractive, girls.

A good starting point might be the special the Retox group do on a Wednesday. They do a chicken tikka masala with pillau rice, naan bread a popadom and mint yoghurt for 149 baht. It normally includes a glass of San Miguel draft as well but last week they had run out of the 'promotion' beer. It's not the biggest portion, but for 149 baht you can't complain. The sauce is not too spicy and contains a decent amount of chicken breast. I prefer Retox Game On on Soi Honey of the Retox venues. Other venues worth considering are Curry Home on Soi Buakhau, just south of Soi Lengkee and Real India in Jomtien, both of which have a good selection of dishes to suit most tastes.

Where do you get the idea that the time saved in the taxi is only 15 mins each way? Before this trip it was a long time since I had been to UTP but even then I recall the journey time as being under 1 hour. This time the journey times to UTP were around 45-50 mins door to door. Over the many trips I have done to Swampy over the years I don't recall any that have been significangly below 1 1/2 hours and most have probably been slightly over. In terms of the overall journey the time saved is not particularly significant but your figure of 15 mins is an exaggeration.

Local salons shouldn't be more than a few hundred baht, giving her 500 bsht should be more than enough.

I've been back in Pattaya for about a week now. At some stage I might get around to writing a fuller review of the experience. I think the move to the smaller plane on the U-Tapau - Doha leg was down to the lack of demand. On the outbound trip the smaller plane was only half full even after picking up passengers in Yangon. However, the small 8 seat business cabin was relatively full, so there are unlikely to be any great savings by taking this route instead of flying from Swampy. Overall the flights were good.

From what I have read I am not expecting a lounge at U-Tapau but the Thai lounge they use at Swampy is shit anyway.They only good lounge I expect to see on this trip is in Doha. The one they use in Manchester is crap as well but once you get on the plane things improve dramatically.

I am due to fly UTP-Doha-Manchester next week. When I booked I got a very good price on business class, a lot cheaper than going from Swampy. At the time all four legs of the trips were on 787s but the UTP-Doha legs have now changed. First the plane has been changed to an Airbus 319 with a much smaller business section and there is also a 1 hour stop in Yangon each way.

The chef's gone back to India, he's supposed to be back mid-June, but who knows? Try Curry Home on Soi Buakhao, Little India on Soi Dianna is also popular, plenty of options available for Indian food in Pattaya.

You're thinking of Mr T who still has on an office in the same place just off Soi Diana. I always thought Mr Toom was based in Bangkok.

It's a return price , the sale supposedly ends today, no special codes.There are only 4 Qatar flights in and out of UTP per week so you may need to play around with the dates to get decent layovers. I flew the Qatar 787 business on a couple of legs on my UK trip last year and thought they compared well to what Etihad and Emirates offer up, especially if they happen to be significantly cheaper.?

I've just booked U-Tapao - Manchester for June, just under 71k baht for business class. All legs on 787 and layovers in Doha around 2 1/2 - 3 hours, just time to get through security and a short time in the lounge. Looking at the U-Tapao website there are no flights from China scheduled to arrive within a few hours of the Qatar flight so shouldn't be a problem unless there are delays.

And not a very sensible title to post on a Thai based forum. What do the mods think?

Decent wine at reasonable prices. I agree with Jacko, lots of falang comforts available around Patts if you are willing to pay the price, e.g. Heinz Beans about £2 for a can and Cream of Tomato Soup about £3. I still go back to the UK once a year so make the most of the opportunity to enjoy the things that I choose to do without here.

Retox and Retox Game On nos 55 and 56 respectively.

The Chocolate Factory is a large tourist trap located near the Cosy Beach Hotel in the Pratumnak area. It's clientele appears to be mainly 'Hi-So' Thais down from Bangkok for the weekend. There are two fairly large outdoor seating areas with great views over to Koh Larn. I guess that their speciality is desserts but they also serve main courses. I've only been in once just after it opened and IIRC prices were relatively high but not extortionate. Inside the main building there is some more seating but a large area is used for selling souvenir chocolates, cakes and other confectionary. At 30 baht for an individual chocolate it would be easy to build up a large bill for souvenirs. Personally I prefer the Sky Gallery next door which has a far more relaxed feel to it. There are a couple of other touristy places along that stretch of road, Cliff Seaview Restaurant and Liquid Pool Club. I have some pictures I could post if there is some demand but feel that this area is a bit out of the way for most BMs.

Good advice from Butch but surprised he states the cost of a tourist SIM is 1000 baht. I live here so it's a while since I bought a SIM but remember it as being nearer 100 baht plus some airtime. Also as it's the OP's first trip to Pattaya I assume he doesn't know anyone in Patts he needs to call, so he could wait to purchase a SIM in Patts, (at a 7-11 or Tukcom for example).

If they are including all the copying on the 100 baht then that wouldn't leave a lot of margin for the work involved but 500 baht seems excessive for filling in a form and taking a few copies.

On re-reading you could be right.

Why not try the online reporting system before handing over 800 baht to an agent who will do fuck all for the money.

I don't see Brian's comments as particularly negative, more like a useful heads up to help a newbie avoid some of the pitfalls that could spoil a night or even a holiday. In particular I think the advice about using the room safe and keeping valuables out of sight of overnight guests is a sensible precaution. Just because you haven't had anything stolen doesn't mean it doesn't happen. JMHO.

As long as you have everything in order it's a piece of piss.