MC_Ldop

Do it! One time I planned to go to Thailand for a month, but ended up staying for three. If anything, the trip was still too short.

The definition seems pretty clear. It seems like you're the one that doesn't understand what he's going for. He already stated, "Really what the place is, is a chill out bar where you can relax, get some good but reasonably priced food, cheaper drinks than most other bars, chat with your friends or check out the passing freelancers. " Have you not been to the Beer Garden in Bangkok?

That's not the same thing. Dinuguan is a stew made with pork blood. I'm sure millions of Indian people would disagree with you.

The showers in the standard room do not have a tub. There is a slight incline from the main bathroom floor to the shower area, to help keep the water in the shower area. It's similar to what you describe, but with more space.

Here are the latest stories from Kevin Meacher (BM cookie), owner of Jasmine Mansion. Staffing Woes and (More) Construction Noise After the Prozac kicking in at the start of the month and my feeling in an altogether more positive frame of mind, I endeavoured to take control of events rather than have them controlling me. I agreed with Mrs. Boss that having spent three years failing to attract reliable staff of the necessary calibre, we needed to change tact slightly. There are, however, very few options available to us other than endeavouring to lure potential employees with offers of larger amounts of cash. The theory here being if you pay more, you will see more applicants and from those you will surely find people with the required skills…and perhaps some sticking power. Now you see how the lunacy of my optimism continues undaunted by even my daily failures of the past three plus years! Mrs. Boss, for once, listened to my plans and agreed to go along with my suggestions. All of this, however, was done on the basis that I took full responsibility for recruiting, interviewing and training the theoretical new team. I went off to the local employment agency and gave our requirements and new salary levels for the selected candidates — these were up around 25 percent from what we had previously been paying and we already paid better than most similar establishments! The delightful lass at the agency enthusiastically agreed that indeed we should secure better quality staff with such salary levels and I departed confidently believing 2008 was going to be a much better year. Full Story (More) Prozac and the Pattaya Police My depression was now getting back to the levels before my first visit to the doctor, but fortunately I had my first visit to the psychiatrist later in the morning. After a 30-minute initial conversation with the psychiatrist, he was also convinced I had depression. Did they think this was some kind of act and that I was trying to pull the wool over people’s eyes? An increase in my Prozac dosage from 20mg to 40mg was prescribed. I undertook some blood tests for hormone levels and suchlike with the results being available by the time of my next visit. On returning to the hotel, Mrs. Boss announced she had spoken to sundry people concerning the building works next door and these included a lawyer who would take action to recover all or part of our lost income suffered over the previous ten weeks or so. I listened with half an ear open and believed that these protestations would likely have the same affect that the announcements of the previous days had received — none at all! Full Story Escape to Hua Hin! After my latest visit to the psychiatrist, I was tempted to hand him back the Prozac and advise that it was making absolutely no difference to the way I was feeling and therefore I would prefer to deal with whatever ailed me without the aid of artificial substances. Had he told me to drink two bottles of wine a day it is, of course, very likely that I would have changed my opinion of prescribed medication. We discussed various aspects of my present state of mind and eventually my psychiatrist thought it would be a good idea to discuss matters with Mrs. Boss. We have been having far too many disagreements recently and he felt it worthwhile getting her perspective on me before proceeding further with me. This was all fine with me. I was taking a break from Pattaya and trekking off to Hua Hin in a few days time, so perhaps he may have some sort of plan when I return — well if he does he will be the first person I have met here with anything remotely resembling something that could be described as a forward movement indicator. So here I was in Hua Hin, a beach resort on Thailand’s southern peninsula. Away from the lunacy of Pattaya that has been, if the psychiatrist is to be believed, driving me literally and metaphorically crazy! The noise, the people, the incessant drone of traffic, motorbikes careering in every direction, neon signs as tall as buildings, oh the joy of being away from Pattaya. Full Story Hua Hin Beaches and the Onion Sandwich Continuing my escapades in Hua Hin, the room maid’s intrusion got me up. After a quick shower, I took my somewhat banging head out to see how Kevin was faring. No better it turned out — in fact he was in a worse state than me. He had been up for a while, but felt nauseous and wanted to do nothing but return to his bed. I suggested a walk Hua Hin’s lovely beach might do us both some good, but first I wanted to check my email so we arranged to meet up in the lobby in 30 minutes. Again, I could not connect to the Internet and exactly the same messages were appearing that had been evident the night before. When we met in the lobby Kevin confirmed that he too had been unable to access the Internet. It was now likely that a more significant problem than earlier imagined was in existence. As we waited for the reception area to clear, Kevin started telling me about a film he had been watching — on a channel I knew I did not have access to. It soon became clear that the television in my room required retuning, as I was only able to connect to four or five channels whilst Kevin advised there were at least twice that number available. When the reception area cleared we spoke with the manager, a smiling Indian gentleman, and told him of the problem with the WiFi. “Okay then bring computer to lobby, should work fine here,” was his reply, which seemed vaguely familiar to what the portly female receptionist had suggested the night before. However, before we were able to discuss the WiFi situation and my faulty television further, the lobby again filled up with people checking in and out. We decided we would address the problem later since Kevin was starting to look as though he really needed to get some fresh air! Full Story

It's monitored by the staff. You can ask to check the balance every day if you wish.

When I stayed in August, my water/electricity bill was under 3,000 baht. It's one of the best hotel restaurants in town. It's an offshoot of Cherry Restaurant on Third Road. I was a fan of Cherry before PBR opened. The menu is very similar. Breakfast, however, is only above average. The standard breakfast is 110, I believe. They have a good minute steak and eggs for a little more. I do recommend heading over to Continental Bakery for breakfast, which is fairly close. Lunch and dinner are better in terms of quality and value.

That's severely messed up. It's sad that a person would do that just for a fix.

There's a nice little beer bar complex on Soi Diana towards Second Road. If you're worried about jet lag hitting you then you can find a nice pick from this complex. Just walk out the Areca and make a left. The complex will be on your left across from the LK Renaissance.

That's a plus? It looks like a hotel with pretty standard "guest house" style rooms. You can get similar or better rooms for cheaper in the Soi Buakhao area and have the advantage of having more (and better) food selection.

I prefer Samae too. Some of the spots in Wong Amat and Naklua are pretty decent -- certainly much better than Pattaya and Jomtien.

I've had both. They're both fine. I suppose the grasshoppers are better for you.

The beaches on Ko Phi Phi are gorgeous. Lots of the small islands near Phuket are worth exploring.

It definitely will not work in Japan. Different frequencies are used there. Here's the Thai site for the AIS internatioal roaming product. I can't find the English version. You press *125# to activate it. AIS 1-2 Call Freedom Planet

I tried this in Edinburgh. It's pretty good. This is what it looks like.

Do you have an issue with staying in Jomtien? There are plenty of inexpensive places there with a sea view.

I'm surprised at how many people are unfamiliar with the Beer Garden in Bangkok. It would be laughable if someone said the BKK Beer Garden would only work as a restaurant.

I've heard good things about Vejthani Hospital: http://www.vejthani.com/ It's supposed to be as good as Bumrengrad and significantly cheaper. Bumrengrad's prices are inflated since it has been marketed internationally.

I heard that you only get partial mileage if you use a consolidator. Is that true?

Avast! is another fine and free program for anti-virus and anti-spyware.

Even though it's low season in Thailand, air fares from America are traditionally high in the summer. You'll probably find something a little lower, but not by much.

You should list LK Royal Suites too. All the tubs in the main building have jacuzzi jets.

Your ISP sucks or you have malware.

I used to write about all this crap. Norton hasn't made a good product in a decade and it ruined Ghost. Personally, I don't use any anti-virus, run free anti-spyware, do a monthly image backup, and keep a copy of essential documents online.

Kevin, owner of Jasmine Mansion, has a bunch of new stories up on his site Riff-Raffles. Here are some excerpts. The Animal Mishaps Continues “Come on get up, I have just seen a lovely dog at the market I want to buy.” These were the words I was woken up to this Pattaya morning by Mrs. Boss, who had been up and out at 6:00AM to do the hotels grocery shopping. I am not at my most erudite when woken, but the audience had already departed the scene and I was left to scramble out of bed and into the shower. I eventually made it downstairs and made myself a coffee before looking at a clock. It was 7:30AM — far too early for me to be contemplating the day ahead and the news of purchasing a dog had most certainly not registered with me. As I boarded the car and we headed towards the market, I realized that Mrs. Boss was serious. We were off to purchase a dog — despite the clear and evident knowledge that our youngest son is allergic to dogs. James is my wife’s pride and joy. She adores children up to the age of about ten and then, as soon as they start to think for themselves, she tends to let them loose. Sam reached this stage a year ago so all of her love is saved for James. So what on Earth was she thinking about now? How on Earth could James and a dog inhabit the same living space? I understood that the dog would live outside, but, as is my experience of animals, they always make a beeline directly for the people that least want a beeline made in their direction. Perhaps Mrs. Boss had hatched a cunning plan that would see James and a dog thrive in a similar environment, but even were it not very early in the morning such a plan would still be miles away from my consciousness. We went off to the market and to the pet stall there. A cluster of puppies, some only a few days old, lay around in cages. There were a couple of Rottweiler puppies aged six weeks and one of them was most certainly cute. Being in a small cage all day, every day, for most of his young life meant that he was not exactly active, but at least he managed to stand up and lick away at my hand. A few years time and he will have that bitten down to the bone, I thought to myself. As I toyed with the dog, Mrs. Boss spoke to the owner of the stall and the next thing I knew she was pressing 5,000 baht into his hand and we were getting a certificate detailing injections given and injections to be done. We had, so it appeared, acquired a dog. Full Story Even Pattaya Hoteliers Get the Blues I am, at last, back at my computer and able to write with some degree of fluidity. This has not been the case over the past few weeks as everything was rather laboured, hard work if you like. I managed to put together a few stories of recent events but in the main these did not flow with anything resembling my usual style — be my style good, bad, or indifferent. In early December, I started to feel rather down in the dumps, I was fed up with everything and everyone. Now whilst that isn’t too different from my normal take on life, my ability to even smile, let alone laugh, at events that encompassed me had disappeared. I initially put my poor frame of mind down to my being homesick — something that happens a couple of times a year and normally passes after a day or two at the most. When things had not changed for a week, I became quite concerned and also began to suffer other ailments. Nothing was that serious but all of these issues together really started to weigh me down. My sleep patterns were all over the place and even having been in bed for over 12 hours, I would wake tired and struggle to get myself out of bed. A couple of times I did not even bother and stayed there all day save for a trip to make a coffee or visit the bathroom. My bones ached — I mean they really ached — making every movement extraordinarily difficult and considerably painful. Full Story Popping Prozac in Pattaya After several weeks of this personal destruction, I decided to visit the doctor. My moods were now really threatening to get me into some serious trouble as I would either totally ignore or, worse still, bark at anyone who deigned they had the right to talk to me. Even at the hospital, I shouted at the triage nurse. She was only taking my blood pressure when she asked what my symptoms were. “Why — are you going to fix them?!?” I responded gruffly. She stood and smiled, not the calm smile of the caring nurse, but the inane grin of a Thai who has arrived at a place she does not want to be. “I will tell the doctor and just in case you were wondering, my problem is nothing to do with my dick!” I added. Having been advised that my blood pressure was fine — fortunately it always is — I sat back in the waiting area. A few seconds later, time to get my pen out and open the newspaper at the crossword page but no more, I was called into the doctor’s office. Aching limbs, constantly sleepy, lethargic, depressed angry with everyone, and suicidal thoughts were all the symptoms I poured out. “I think you depressed,” The doctor said. “Yes, brilliant — fucking brilliant. I presume in a minute you are going to tell me I have aching limbs, am constantly tired and hate everyone — in fact just simply tell me that I have everything I have already told you I have. What are you a doctor or a fucking parrot?” I knew I had gone too far. I knew I should have just sat and nodded my head, but I could not help myself. Doctors were also high up on my hit list for this year. Having let me calm down the doctor ran a few tests to check that I did not have arthritis or any other debilitating illness or disease and asked me about my work and life in general. There I was off again, bemoaning the fact that there was only work — there was no ‘life in general.’ Fortunately, my lethargy soon got the better of me and I could no longer be bothered to argue with the doctor or rail against the world, I simply slumped back into my chair. Medication for my aching limbs, medication to prevent the medication for my aching limbs affecting my abdomen, sleeping pills and 25mg tablets of Prozac were prescribed. Full Story