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My TGF (now wife) never had a motorbike license so we always had to be on the lookout for the sting operations, but never got pulled over. I wonder if the ticket is cheaper then the cost of the license. Or possibly a bribe. I saw one of those (officer bribe) riding with someone to Korat, seemed like only 100Bt. I think my driver was nabbed for supposably driving in left lane too long.

I remember walking down Beach Road and a crowd had gathered, they were watching paramedics feebly trying to resuscitate a relatively young Dutch man (I learned that from the newspaper article the next day) who had hit the back of a pickup truck he was following which stopped suddenly. Surprisingly there was very little blood. He was very portly and his pants were unzipped with an embarrassing mound of pubic hair peeping out that proved he had never thought of manscaping down there. I guarantee he never thought he'd go that way. And it was the day before Songkran, all his party plans dashed

I just hope it doesn't get ruined for those of us still 15-25 years away from retirement. Not sure I'd want to stay 365 days a year but could definitely see spending the winter months down there.

As a hedge I put a few dollars in the Thai stock market (ETF is THD). It's only a small part of my savings, not like I'm putting all my extra cash into it. When the baht is getting stronger the value surges (I bought in around $30 and it got to almost $100 in a few years). Now the baht has weakened and the fund has dropped to $65. In either case I hope to have a good amount built up when I retire as my Thai wife will want us to move back to Thailand. If the Thai economy crashes my fund won't be worth a lot but it won't cost much to live there, if the economy booms it will be more expensive to

If you like the beach forget dirty Pattaya and take one of the boats to Ko Larn, as long as being around a lot of Russians doesn't bother you.

I was there last month and not too impressed. They oversold the show (it was mobbed by tour buses of Chinese), and I was sold a VIP ticket for a seat which didn't exist. My wife and I didn't even end up sitting next to each other. No photos are allowed, the ushers will flash a red laser light in your face and admonish you. Found out if you buy a ticket on-line you can get it for half as much as they charge at the theatre. There is not enough time to eat for everyone so people will be running around making you get up and sit back down for the first 20 minutes of the show which is very distracti

I don't believe it's supposed to be finished until after 2030, a billionaire philanthropist set it up as a 50 year project knowing he'd never see the final product. Was pricey but eventually I ran out of new tourist sites to see but I recommend it if you're in town for a while. http://www.sanctuaryoftruth.com/

I used to like staying on Soi 2 (Sabai Lodge), it was right on the baht bus line, had bars starting right across the street, and was a short walk to Big C. Many Songkran memories taking place on Soi 2, now the bars there have all been bulldozed so probably is not the same anymore. So much site seeing on the long ride from Soi 2 to Walking Street, and all for 10 baht!

PS I was referring to the tigers being sedated, not the handlers... but if it's a stressful job dealing with tigers and stupid falang all day who knows for sure???

I've had pictures with tigers, crocs, orangutang, elephant, bears, snakes and a monkey dancing on my head (I was scared there, scared he would shit in my hair). To me it is part of the charm of Thailand, enjoy it before its polluted by lawyers like in the Western world. Sure animals can attack, although very rarely. But then what are we doing in Thailand but courting danger? Many of us are at risk of catching a dangerous STD - and that's probably more likely than an animal attack. I've taken motorbike rides around Pattaya where my TGF and myself were just trashed and not wearing helmet

Sales tax is 7%, though you wouldn't know it as it's immedded in the price, unlike the US. McChicken $1, Soda $1, Med Fry about $2.25, Tax $.25 = about $4.50. Genearally fast food is a little less if you don't get the $1 menu stuff. I remember Popcorn was very expensive in the store, but alot cheaper in the movies (compared to US movie corn). Some bars have more expensive drinks, about $6.00 at some places. Some of the Pattaya mall attractions such as Wax Museum, Ripley's, Haunted Houses, Bowling, 'motion movies' were more expensive as well, though not if you could go in at Th

I assume you aren't kissing her either... "Oral HPV infection is associated with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer. Odds of oral HPV infection increases with the number of recent oral sex partners or open-mouthed kissing partners. Nonsexual oral infection through salivary or cross transmission is also plausible" -Wikipedia

I had tried Delta FF points a long time ago, but since I don't fly often I found they would cancel your membership if it was too long between flights. Korean Air was unlimited (I think 5 years now) so I was able to transfer them even though they were expired on Delta. United is part of the Star Alliance with ANA, so the points should be able to be transfered there. Funny I took ANA last year, I needed a round-way ticket for myself, and a one-way for my wife. Her one-way ended up being about $150 more than my two-way but considering the cost and hassle just to get the visa I didn't want

I am going in November, Chicago to Bangkok. The best fare I could find turned out to be United Airlines ($1,100). Previously I had taken Korean Air and ANA (All Nippon Air?), but this year the Asian flights were more expensive than I've seen them before. In the past the standard US flights were hundreds of dollars more expensive. However I dread it will be poor American service instead of the excellent Asian service I am used to. Also the big drawback is only one free checked luggage, I usually had two suitcases full in previous visits. This time there is two of use (my Thai wife..

I used Pingo.com which was 3.3 cents per minute. It also keeps decent phone records of your calls if you need them (such as to help give your TG a visa). Now my TG is in USA using it to call her family and friends in LOS. She can talk for a long time and it doesn't cost me too much. I still have some control since it's prepaid and when the money I deposit is gone she is done talking and I won't get a surprise bill out of nowhere for $100 or more.

I support capital punishment as long as you get rid of the unlimited sham appeals. It is a joke that a serial killer can sit on death row 20+ years or so until he finally dies of natural causes anyway. I'm also for total FULL castration of rapists (and I don't mean chemical castration). If a guy thinks his pecker is going to be cut off if he's caught, I bet he starts having second thoughts. And if not, well he'll have trouble being a repeat offender...

About Jasmine rates, I've never seen April counted as 'High Season' before. I like their low-season rates but don't think the April high-season rate is competitive with other hotels which consider it Low Season. Now it does mention specials are frequently available, I wouldn't be surprised to see one during that month.

Only $16,400 for first class! (United) I looked at several sites but never tried an agent. I've booked Korean Air on the Priceline site before but in this case there was no difference.

I found the Chicago-Narita-Bangkok flight but it was $1922 on the UA Website.

I would have to say Italian. Lasagna is my favorite. Funny thing my TG just loves spaghetti, she must have had it four times in the two weeks I was there! But she won't eat it if it has any kind of beef. Chicken, pork, or even just plain sauce or it's no good to her.

I just paid $1142 for Korean Air from Chicago Apr 8 - Apr 27. Really had to mess with the dates as for some reason all flights leaving Apr 9 (Thurs) or returning Apr 26 (Sun) were $1292. Of course my luck those were the original dates I was planning on. Oh well, that means an extra two days in LOS! Hope my boss ain't too mad about that... Some cheaper flights out there (I didn't see any under $1000 though), but they typically had 10 hour layaways and two stops instead of one. Also frequently the takeoff time was inconvenient (8:30 in the morning vs 11:30 - I have to take a three hour

Out of curiosity what do folks think the girl would want. In my calculator this is a go-go so 2000 Bht (1000 for Beer Bar, 1500 for more upscale bar, 2000 for go-go). It is after 2am so the girls left may take less? Or will I get slapped?

Sounds like fun but I'm having some problems finding Soi BJ on the maps - can you give some more help to where TQ2 is? Thanks!

Thanks for the info, I have bookmarked your site in case I can get back to Pattaya for an extened amount of time!

I stayed at Sabai Lodge last month and had no complaints. Stayed at most expensive room which was about 2000 baht. I plan on going back there for my next trip (though I'll try a cheaper rooms - I didn't plan on going twice this year).