MC_Ldop

I've staid there quite a few times and never had to fax anything.

It's a decent hotel for a first timer, but if you know the town a bit better then you can find better value in other areas. Stick to the new building at Lek. The old one is pretty beat up.

Areca doesn't have much of a monthly discount. You'd be much better off going to the LK Metropole across the street, if you want to stay in the same area. There are a number of hotels better than the Areca that offer good monthly rates.

I agree with the others that say US carriers generally suck. That said, I was happy with United for 2006. All my international upgrades went through and only one of my domestic upgrades didn't clear. If you fly them lots, they generally do right by you (compared to other US carriers).

I will respectfully disagree with you here. I prefer to stay in the Soi Buakhao area and cross Second Road quite a bit. It looks more dangerous than it actually is.

Is there Internet access on site? It looks like a nice place and you can always use the pool at LK Royal Suites down the road.

I believe the Denver consulate is the one that gives O visas more readily than the others.

It depends on your status really. The upgrade order usually goes fare paid then status then time on wait list (if applicable). I've been flying United heavily for the last five years. Going to BKK, I haven't been denied an upgrade yet. A few times I've been wait listed, but it always went through at the end.

Kevin has posted two new installments on his blog. They give some info on his background and how his book got started. Background Info, Part I Background Info, Part II Here's a fair bit of his recent post: Part I "Before I endeavour to regale you with my tales of woe, regular mishaps and general mayhem, I thought it best to explain where I am writing to you from. I live in Pattaya, on the eastern seaboard of Thailand, with my wife Jin and my three children. My kids are Pakpao, my eighteen-year old step daughter, and my sons, Sam age eleven and James age five. My wife and I own a twenty-three room hotel called Jasmine Mansion, located in the centre of this vibrant tourist city, which we opened in October 2004. I moved here from London on a permanent basis in December of 2004. I arrived here with thoughts of semi, if not permanent, retirement from day-to-day working and enjoying new pastimes with plenty of time to be with my children. Things did not quite go according to plan. In fact, they could not have been further distanced from the plan had they been part of the Challenger mission and sent to Mars. It was this deviation that led me to keep notes of the events that seemed to be plaguing my life and ultimately to write my book, Riff-Raffles. Continued Part II Some people have mistakenly taken my writings as a criticism of the Thai people. They hold the opinion that I am laughing at Thais and their supposed inadequacies. Nothing could actually be further from the truth. The person you should be laughing at, the person with the inadequacies … well … that is me! I have made my life in a foreign country that is not as advanced and doesn’t have the many advantages offered in the West. However, I chose of my own free will to move here, and open a business here, therefore ‘I have made my bed here so now I must lie in it!’ I have endeavoured to learn the Thai language … and failed miserably. Despite my shortcomings I have acquired a few words and phrases, but far less than would be necessary to hold a conversation with anyone over the age of two. I am ridiculed by my youngest son, James, who at his tender age can converse in English, Thai, Laotian and Chinese. Pattaya itself is, shall we say, an ‘interesting’ place. It was a sleepy fishing village until the early 1970s. It then became a popular ‘rest and recuperation’ destination for American troops in Vietnam when the bars and go-go clubs that now proliferate the city started to open up. Girls looking for an escape from the poverty of rural life flocked to Pattaya to meet foreigners (known as farangs) and were able to make more in a day by selling their bodies than they could reasonably expect to earn in a month or more at home. There are now thousands of bars and hundreds of go-go establishments and hundreds of thousands of men of all ages from all over the World visiting Pattaya for beer and sex. My guess is that over two-thirds of those that visit Pattaya never spend so much as one hour on the beach during their entire vacation. Some probably do not even know that Pattaya has a beach! This is a nighttime resort town and most visitors here do not wake until darkness descends. This would be an ideal place to be a vampire and certainly, were you so afflicted, it is unlikely that you would stand out from the crowd. Continued

Hey guys, I'm helping out Kevin (cookie) with a web site to promote his upcoming book and his hotel. Best of all, he's going to be writing all new adventures on the site. As a sort of beta test, I'd appreciate it if you could check out the site and let me know if there's anything not working properly. If you have something to say to Kevin, please try out the comment system--that would also be a huge help. Riff-Raffles: Beyond the Book Thanks!!!

Still mulling it over actually. Initially I was thinking of offering a few business class tickets for fares a little bit higher than coach, but much, much less than the cost of an actual business ticket.

You see rate information on the site? I couldn't find it.

I use Yahoo! Messenger and Skype. The latter has better call quality on iffy connections. When I'm at home on a cable modem, Yahoo! is fine. If I'm on the road and using hotel DSL or EVDO, I'll go for Skype. Too bad all those Iowa "free call" schemes dried up!

I fly for work and play. I also get double miles for every trip. Sticking with one airline and getting status really helps.

It's for UA. I've purchased award travel for friends before.

Question for the mods: Is it okay to use the boards to "buy" tickets for our fellow boardies using miles? I have more miles than I need and would like to offload some of them. Figure it would help a boardie out by giving him a discounted fare and it would help me out with cash (to fund my next trip, of course).

What does the girl get out of it? A lot of hostesses don't enjoy dancing, so I don't see them giving anyone a lap dance for a chance at getting a drink. They can just massage a guys crotch for a drink with much less effort. Plus, what if the girl doesn't like you? Some girls prefer working in beer bars or go-gos over soapies because they can drink and sleep with who they want to. (Of course, if cash is low, they'll go with most.) Some girls won't go with black or Muslim men. Giving the customer the power to "pick any girl I want for a free lapdance" won't work for some of the ladies. Personally, I have no desire for a lap dance when I'm in Pattaya. I'd rather just take the girl back to my room. I can't get a stupid lap dance in my own country.

I've used their ST rooms in the past, but would not consider staying there. I like my hotel to feel home-y during the weeks I'm in Pattaya.

Just made a bunch of calls with Skype and Y! Messenger at an Internet cafe (have a sleeping lady in the room). According to Speedtest.net, my bandwidth is 365/1,673 kbps (up/down). The call quality was pretty good. I heard the people I called quite clearly. They reported some tinnyness on my end, but nothing that made it difficult to understand what I was saying.

I use two pairs of Plantronics headsets (not at the same time). I have a full-size pair with big puffy ears for home use; I've used the set for more than an hour and it's totally comfortable. I also have a foldable set that I bring on the road.

Why do you use a Skype handset? From all the reviews I've read, none of them are that good.

It really depends on what kind of bandwidth you have. I use both Skype and Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Skype generally works better, but is more expensive than Y! Messenger. I've called US numbers (both landline and mobile) from Thailand with pretty good success. It just depends on your connection. Now, if your clients use Skype, that makes it much easier. Skype to Skype calls are free and the call quality is better than Skype to landline.

LK Metropole has soft beds, but it's on the pricey side.

I wasn't sure about #4. Would 4) be Am???

1) Nee 2) Porn 3) Joy 4) Jeep 5) Nam 6) Pun 7) Fah 8) Nui