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Whitespider, your link does not work anymore...check it out...same as your link in another post too.

Rhoel, if the problem was solved too simply, you would not enjoy the tirade and waste of the day inside the bank with numerous people you meet, understanding what a credit card is from a debit card. Keep in mind in asia, credit cards are not used as much, why, people pay in cash or check. The thought of issuing a business credit card is too far fetched to a bank manager.

Unless the Thai government want more investors into their country they need to understand to accept that they will have to let foreigners own land or purchase land. One thing that hopefully the newly planned government is going to have to decide on. Other asian countries are watching cautiously what the new government in Thailand is going to do to reestablish investors to the country. As far as the Philippines, it really depends what kind of lifestyle you want to live. If you are on party/holiday mode when you are retired, you better be close to half a million worth to continue on that lifestyle. There are other places outside of Manila to live. Cebu was mentioned as well as other islands that are much cheaper and far more frugal lifestyle. And with everyday dealings with people in the Philippines, as with any other country in Asia, money talks. If you want something processed in half and hour, you need to pay money to expedite this. It is the same in most asian countries. One other way, is done whether in the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore or etc. is they just charge a set rate to work on papers. Thailand does this, example Vat return at the airport, there is a "processing" fee. It's a couple more years for me, unless there are changes in my life to speed things to retirement. One thing though, it will be in asia.

JackC. I would stay away from wireless at this time until you get a good signal and faster speeds. Me, I would stick with wired for now, why, well, if your speed is slow at least you don't lose anything to a wifi network. I use wifi for my cable here in the US. And my second computer in another room was compromised with download speeds for Limewire and Edonkey. Suffice it to say, I invested in another modem and stuck to wired connections, so as not to have any speed loss.

November is a great time to go to LOS. Rainy season is over and not high season yet. The time you will be there unziped is when I will be there too with 2 other friends from work. Post your screen name on the board at FLB on walking street. You will meet a lot of BM's there. You may want to join the bar crawl, which incidentally has a section on the board. Welcom aboard and see you there.

The water is quite safe in Pattaya. I do brush my teeth and clean fruit etc. with the regular tap water, not to worry. I do buy mineral water, not distilled water to drink. There is a difference. Read labels if you are unsure, or ask a thai to read the label for you.

One of my fave drinking places is right on the beach. Choose one, Jomtien, Naklua or Beach road, order a fresh coconut in the shell with a straw. Watch the daily goings on while sipping that coconut. If you happen to do this during happy hour, the service will gladly replace the coconut with a beer!!!

I have used Khrongfa extensively in the past. BUT No More. Last year, I travelled to Bangkok with two of my staff from work who have not been to LOS. I speficially told Mrs. Arunee to send a minivan like she did the last pick up. Lo and behold she sent a dilapidated volvo with 3 people and six pieces of luggage, it was a nightmare after a long trip. At 2:30 AM, I want to get to my hotel, so I told the driver to drop us off at Sukhumvit with instructions to tell Ms. Arunee to send a minvan tomorrow as there will be 5 of us with luggage. You guessed it, she sent the dilapidated old volvo Again. I put up with that heap all the way to Pattaya but vowed never again. I now have a reliable friend who uses his Toyota Camry to pick up at the airport or he sends a good car and driver to pick us up. Khrongfa lost business with me after that fiasco.

Picoman can you inbox me some information of what area to stay in Shekou. I will be flying via Cathay and the thought of seeing some good looking chinese women seems interesting enough to go. I have checked out your websites and a close friend cautioned me about Shenshen being a bit more crime than Hong Kong, so thats where my question stems from. There is supposed to be a good sized mall in Shenzhen, any recommendations to a hotel near this mall area or the area your recommend with bars? Thanks in advance.

Any hotel that charges a joiner fee is avoided like the plague in my book... That is one policy that spells rip off from the get-go.

Cowboy you are right on with recommendations to newbies to book hotels before they get to LOS.... Too many mistakes are made, thinking you can walk up and book a hotel with low season...Keep in mind locals as well as ex-pats fly or drive in for a weekend of sun and fun...Even nearby countries do a long weekend stay just to get out during summer season. You do not want to start your holiday with little or no options to stay in, prices and hotel rooms that are left are usually the more expensive rooms...Try your luck and learn the hard way...

Why not use the Whitehouse Condotel, if you are looking for a condo........One other choice is the Inn of the Golden Crab. Either properties do not require an agent who may be ripping you off.......Both places have good reviews.....

I would not stay at the Dusit. I would prefer to stay at the Sheraton as the first choice and the Marriott as the second choice. If you really like the comforts and the luxury these two would provide that for your wife and yourself....The Marriott is centrally located with the beach right in front of it...... The Sheraton does not have a beach but the surrounding garden and pool area is really nice..... The Dusit tends to be snobby that I hate the lack of courtesy and graciousness I enjoy in Asian hotel staff.....Just my take on the Dusit...

I stayed at the Marriott early 2005 and the hotel was guest friendly. The desk was so friendly they never asked me for the girl's id or id's when I brought over multiple girls to the room...... I used both the mall entrance and the Beach road entrance showing my room key to the guard saying "Sawadee Krup" and he smiled and remembered me when I passed by. I tipped the guard at night and told him to buy himself a beer or somtam and he laughed....LOL..

One thing about Pattaya is that the proliferation of beer brands are all over from pub to beer bar..... I had an opportunity to try VB at FLB and Misty's and liked it, so did friends that I turned them on to it... Lennie's has San Miguel which when served cold will always be a favorite of mine, goes well with food too... One beer that eluded me was Tetley, I tried asking for it at several bars and did not find it... I tried Leo, Singha (both kinds) and Chang when it was offered to me by the boat captain on the way in from a day's fishing to the pier at Pattaya...One thing I can say, from the setting sun and being tired from a long day, it tasted good to me, Captain Dang was drinking all he could from the moment we lifted anchor to docking at the pier...LOL Now, back in San Francisco, a popular Thai restaurant the Three Seasons at the Marina district served me Beer 33....Wow that is some good beer....I wonder if that is the beer Lao that you call it???....

Any Thai hotel that has a guest charge is a rip-off.....Hotel or restaurant will not get my biz.....

I do not recommend Khrongfa anymore from my experience with them 2 trips ago... THey charge exorbitant prices... 4000 baht, sent a Volvo car for 6 people plus the driver and luggage even after stipulating I wanted a minivan..They picked us up from BKK airport then hotel in Bangkok, next day even after telling them again......I wanted a minivan, they still sent me this old Volvo....I told the owner, I would not use them again... Khrongfa's service used to be very good, but there service from my experience in Oct 2005 is really bad now...Too much competition out there to have lousy service.

Monkeywatch good writing skills with great penchant for humour.....thanks..

laffnliv is right on with his information...

Gary sorry to tell you that you are mistaken as far as owning in the Philippines. Papayito who is a member of this board is American. He bought a piece of land and will be building an apartment complex. As far as condos, the condo complex I am buying into, there are tons of foreigners, expats who own and rent condos. Even multinational companies have purchased units that they lease to their top administrators. The complex I speak of is the Rockwell complex in the business district of Makati. The team of sales ladies have toured the US several times doing presentations in various hotel conference rooms and have sold from California to Florida to whomever is willing to buy. THere were several americans who were buying condos for retirement purposes with the intention of living there due to the cost being so cheap and the ability to have househelp to assist in old age. A retiree friend of mine bought land and is building a home in the area of Alabang where the British, American schools are. If you are talking about a large land development for a condo complex or housing development, yes there are laws regarding ownership with similar requirements as Thailand wherein 51% must be Filipino owned.

I will add my piece of knowledge to this information. From what I know about asian cultures in whatever asian country you go to, home, land ownership will always be in favor to the local people. This protects the country from foreign investment and rich foreign companies trying to control land development and draw income from their investment. Owning a home should still be considered for anyone who wants to have a wife, family, kids, white picket fence...you know what I mean. This is not a pipe dream as living in Thailand as well as any asian country is still relatively cheaper than living in Europe or the US well except for maybe Japan....as this is one of the most expensive pieces of real estate especially in Tokyo, if you consider outlying provinces, yes you can still live frugally if you live like an asian instead of a foreigners wants. Condo's in Thailand, from what I can see on the internet websites and crooked foreign real estate agents, they are inflating the prices in hopes to gain a killing from a sale or two from a rich and stupid farang. If you really want to buy a condo, do the homework and pick one that is established and in a development that is first rate. Remember location, quality and buy as much as you can afford without breaking the bank. Location, you will always get better returns closer to the city or where an planned community will be completed, such as schools, hospital, shopping mall or market. Build quality is always important. Box condos will not be the first one's picked whether the buyer is Thai or foreigner. Lastly, only spend as much as you can afford as any nest egg in a foreign country when you are gone will be difficult for your survivors to sell. They will always be at the mercy of a buyer. Renting is still a good choice as apartments and hotel rooms can be had as little as 5,000 baht and as luxurious as 50,000 plus plus baht. Up to you as they say in LOS. Now my opinion, I am still not certain about buying a condo. Last year yes, this year, somehow, I am leaning towards investing more in the Philippines than Thailand, unless the foreign investment laws are eased for ownershop of land and home. Returns in the Philippines in certain areas in the suburbs and business district are very good with clear profits in the coming years as prices seem to go up compared to Thailand's real prices for homes and condos. This last statement is my speculation, as such you can think what you want with it. Thailand and other asian countries are ripe for a devaluation of their currency similar to 1997-1998. Lots of debt unpaid to the banks, there is no denying this fact. Will this affect the housing market, I feel it will sooner or later. Now, the question is where will you be when the opportunity knocks.

I do have one complaint about the Majestic Suites. One thing you newbies need to know that there isn't a parking lot, drive up entrance. Keep in mind you have to drop down away from Sukhumvit because no car can drop you off in this busy street...Then lug your luggage to the hotel's entrance. Note if you have bags and more bags like computer, duty free......you are ******....... This inconvenience is why I would prefer another hotel over the Majestic Suites.... Just my observation of the area around Nana....

BillWilson, can you expound on the Thai plus economy service, seats, etc... as compared to the Eva deluxe economy??? As for LAX-BKK flight, I did check from the West coast SFO and for some reason, a flight on TG,EVA or Cathay Pacific with a stopover at Hong Kong or Taipei would get me to Bangkok faster than for me to fly to LAX then change planes to a direct flight to Bangkok. I am hoping some airline would consider doing this out ot SFO in the very near future...

Bangkok for me the Landmark has great beds....Next to that the Marriott... The President Solitaire has lousy beds in my opinion. Only thing going for the President Solitiare is the 4 poster bed frame. The actual bed itself is nowhere near a luxury top mattress..... One really memorable bed that I have stayed in is the suite at the Phuket Hilton. Hands down the best bed I have slept in Thailand.....

Have a walk down walking street and check out the restaurants on both sides of the street. If you look closely there are fish awuariums with all sorts of fish from grouper to shark, to catfish, etc. Yes shark, on the left side of walking street towards the end... Shark is great grilled or fried just dont eat the skin, peel the skin off and the meat is sweet.... Red snapper is another one that you will see a lot on ice as well as pomfret which is great fried crisp with some hot basil sauce on it after or on the side if you want it to stay crispy.