hwells

Great memories Rhino Tusk. i still enjoy Patpong as recently as last month was in Kings castle 1 & met up with a girl that I had BF 4 or 5 years ago. She was still great & have to agree with you the bar has one of the best line ups in Bangkok. I like to frequent P Panther as well always full of cuties & eat at La Brouchon whenever in the area. Patpong was my introduction to Bangkok in the early 1980's our bar of choice being the Mississippi Queen followed by a stager done the street to Grand Prix then a late night / early morning jaunt into Super Star to see Sam & his lovely lasses. Alway manage to get at least one night there when in Bangkok.

Narcos Mexico, as good as the previous efforts.

I had a breakfast at the P W in Jomtien last week. The shit has to be precooked as there is no way you could cook bacon & sausage that quick. Arrived at the table some 5 minutes after ordering it. Was crap would never go back there.

The caddys spend a lot more than 5 hours at the course. At Siam for instance they are there at 06:00 hrs sometimes earlier to work on the course filling divots etc, raking leaves. after a round on Sunday all the carts are washed & cleaned for the following week, guess who does this yep the caddys. Tipping is of course a personal option. I tip my caddys, some better than others. The club does indeed keep some of the fee, 80% to caddy sounds about right.

Joe, I drove past there the other day. Dangs hot dog stand in still outside & looks like it serves some sort of fast food be it western or Thai. The guest house above, Tamarind if I recall the name has had a coat of piant. I didnt get a look at what is in the Saloon Bar building proper. Am with you was a great bar when Gerry Hotdog then Ron where running it.

Are you thinking of Mike Smith from Ceasars Bar, used to next to the police station on cnr of Soi 9 & beach rd. He had a gammy leg from breaking it badly playing softball.

First Barber, before entering Walking St turn left towards 2nd Rd. About 50mtrs up on the right hand side before you reach the traffic lights. The guys have been there 20 plus years great shave including the hot towels after.

I have brought diamonds in Pattaya from Dave Pittman who now owns the Diamond Shop. He also sometimes has some nice gems in stock. He was previuosly the owner of American Diamond which was 1 of the largest diamond cutting factorys in Thailand. He is a very nice bloke & having known him well for 20 years can say he is very well respected within the industry. If you want to contact him send me a PM & I will forward his phone number. As for the price of diamonds in Thailand they are set on the world market but due to the lower rents & salarys here a jeweller does not need the same mark up to turn a profit. The same goes for buying set pieces. Goldsmiths & settings are much cheaper here compared to say the UK so again mark up not as great. I fully agree with the advice given that it is a case of buyer beware but this is really the same for buying jewellery anyway in the world.

Ditto, very ordinary.

Amy at All Season travel opposite Frienship supermarket South Pattaya Rd.

It is a nicely layed out bar. I think that the Honey pot connection may because Lek the owner of Classroom & Honey Pot is ( or was ) the owner of the building Chic A Boom is located in.

Mate congrats on the purchase sounds like you are well happy with it. I assume from reading all this you are buying off the plans as downpayments & monthly installements are involved. How far along is the condo? You are saying that you are considering paying the next 20% instead of monthly installments as that is a pian in the arse for you. Maybe it would be better to have the money direct debited from a thai bank account to the developer on a monthly basis. I dont want be be an alarmist but a lot of condo projects get near to completion & then shit themselves. so the less you expose ypurself to this the better. I have brought twice off the plans & both times have done well on the purchase. Once with a Thai company the other time a farang company, but there are many horror stories out there. I dont mean to have a go here as you obviously know what you are doing but just thought another perspective may help. Good luck with the move. Oh by the way fully agree with the decision on condo 1st house 2nd. thats the way I did it with my missus & we have been together over 20 years.

You pay the published rate it is the owner of the property who pays the agents fee for renting it out. Alan & Steve are both sound blokes go talk to them, just dont get between them & their tucker.

Tonka, Good place to stay if you can get in. Farang food good & the girls enjoy the Thai food there. As with the Jack tar & Queen Vic does get the regulars in you will usually find someone to have a bullshit with if you so desire. Staff are always good & Bert is a helpfull host.

Areca, walking distance to Marroit around to 1300 baht a night. Many of LK Metro bars near there have rooms under 1,000 baht , here are a couple of them. http://www.metro-apartments-pattaya.com/ http://www.hotelpasadenalodge.com/ Pattaya Bay Resort behind the Avenue Shopping Mall is supposedly nice although I have not stayed there, mates have & liked it. Soi 13 Sandy Springs & Dynasty Inn in the price range. Personally I would steer clear of The haven as it is in need of some TLC as the rooms IMO are pretty ordinary.

Good move mate. I am sure you will enjoy it. When are you guys there? If I am in Thailand same time would be more than happy to buy you a beer at the course as I am there most days when i am in Pattaya.

There is a section in the property ownership laws that has to do with owning land after a BOI investment has been made. Basically if a farang had invested 40,000,000 over a certain timeframe in a Board of Investment recognised venture they where entitled to purchase up to 1 rai of land for residential purposes only. This is how it has been explained to me but I know of no one who has done this. The site below has some info regarding land purchase/leasing as well as links to other judical matters. http://www.thailand-lawyer.com/land_purchase.html As for the bloke at the local having this sort of deal who the hell knows. Would find it hard to believe that all the paperwork could be put in place between Dec 07 & now. Anyone that has dealt with government depts here will understand what i am talking about.

Kandaburi, when booking at Siam they will often try & get you to play Plantation instead of the original siam CC. My advice is to change the booking & play the original Siam CC, for marketing purpose they now refer to it as the Old Course. Plantation is Ok but has only been opened about 6 months, & still has a lot of growing to do. they still have not decided how to present it yet as the times I have played it you get to play from some white t boxes & some yellow t boxes which does nothing to enchance the course. if you guys are low handicapers looking for a good course in great condition play the Old Course. you can play it from the whites at approx 6600 yds or move back to the blues at approx 7,100 yds, give or take a hundred yards on both. If you have enough time in Pattaya just play both of them, they are only about 20 - 25 minutes from down town, but IMO the original course is by far the better of the 2.

Riffs, I had keyhole surgery on my knee a year or so back. Was just to clean out the damaged cartlidge. Operation took around 2 hours was in hospital overnight but laid up for another 5 days at home. Op done at bangkok Pattaya hospital. Mate had complete knee replacement done at Queen Sirikit hospital in Sattahip & after visiting him there I will go there when I need another op on the knee, Funny thing was same doctor that did mine as he operates there once a week. Benefits of having the op done in thailand is no waiting time like western countries go in see the surgeon then on the operating table next day. Good luck

Sparkey, We have a pool approx 12m x 6m & depths from 1.2m to 1.7m. also have a small wading pool for the kids to mess around in. Maintainance is around 1600 baht per month plus chemicals which can vary from 800 to 1200 baht per month depending on the time of year. The electric charges are mininmal but as they are incorporated into our household bill I cannot give you a figure on them. Talk to some of the pool companies prior to putting in your pool & they will give you a ball park figure for the upkeep. Also when getting the quote for the installation dont forget to look at the pool surronds etc . Would I ever put a pool in if I built another house , you bet I would.

Having a thai missus should enable you to find out fairly quickly pricing & avialability of Baht buses going into town. The white baht buses that run along Siam Rd will take you all the way in for a further fee. A special during the day should cost you no more than 200 -250 baht but have you missus check it out. When you find a good deal get their phone number & ring them when you need them. Coming home at night is a different deal. I have lived out your way for the last 10 years & it has certainly got a lot more traffic on the rd than before & with all the building will get worse. Do the same in town ask around for a deal & get a contact number for the driver, they usually change shift at 1800 hrs but his relief may be avialable. Sometimes the bar you are in will have a baht bus driver they know that can take you. Coming from town at night will be around 300 to 400. Remember its still a lot cheaper running into someone when coming home after a night out. With the way parking is getting in town it is sometimes easier to just leave the car at home anyway. Remember to have your wife write your address in Thai for the driver so there is no misunderstanding. Hope this is of some help. Good luck.

BigChris, I have brought diamonds & jewelry in Pattaya & as always it is buyer beware. Have used the Diamond Shop on 3rd road & have had good deals outta there, they used to be at Regent Marina but moved. Is run by an American bloke called Dave. He has been involved in the industry in Thailand for 20 or so years & is well known in the town. His phone number is 018614055. Have a chat to him. They are also doing free diamond grading classes at his shop now, had a friend of mine sign up for it last week. Good luck.

Cableguy, Dont just ask for a laywer as such, but tell people want you want him for. I have dealt with a number of Thai laywers over a period of time they all have a certain field where they are happy. Dont be shy about getting a 2 nd 3 rd or 4 th look at the matter. Remember these guys work for you. Good luck.

Doggie, 90% discount by a Scottish computer, should nay be the other way around????

Agree with Cowboy on the Grottino, nice rooms & great staff. they have a seperate entrance accessed by swipe card if you do not wish to walk thru resturant. Very guest friendly Great location, I beleive the same owners also run the Town Lodge in Soi 18 a little bit outta the way but once again good rooms & staff. The night club/bar in town Lodge called Toxic advertises 1 oclock closing but has been known to stay open well after that depending on the crowd in there.