StandIn

Keith, Good to see you again, last night (Thur, Feb 23), about 10:30 pm. I saw that you were really energetic meeting and greeting all the customers making everyone feel welcome and glad to be there. Glad you like the charm training idea. It should work with the right trainer. Martin, Also, good to see you again, last night. The bar had a nice crowd and there was even a tourist couple touch-dancing to the live band. It looked like everybody was having a good time. It was not like some of those outdoor bars where the customers sit and stare at the people passing by. I only spent four nights in Pattaya and have two more nights for this trip, but FLB has been, as expected, a top place to include in my perusal of Walking Street. Thank you both for your courtly welcomes. Stan

Just an update. I went to the Eastiny Travel office on Soi 8 and booked a metered taxi for 800 baht and paid the entire amount in advance. The travel lady said that a personal car would cost 1,400 baht and a mini-van would cost 400 baht. Also, the tolls for a metered taxi would run around 150 baht. She estimated a two-hour ride to the airport, but three hours if in a mini-van due to the time needed to go around to the different hotels to pick up other passengers. Also, she suggested adding another half hour to the transit time for traveling on Sunday. Thanks, everyone, for your input.

Everyone, thanks. Sounds like all options are good. Since I tend to be cautious and would like to get on my scheduled flight, I will avoid the little booths and book at a travel agency or hotel and give myself two hours leeway in case of traffic, vehicle breakdown, etc.

I see a lot of sidewalk booths on Second Road advertising 800 baht fare to the airport. Is this OK? If the vehicle does not show up on time, will the vendor be around? Can the vendor solve the no-show problem and solve it quickly? Any related scam story? Inside the Lek Hotel lobby, I saw a sign advertising 850 baht to the airport. The counter lady said that it was for the use of a taxi and not a private car. Also, to go by the highway, expressway, or toll road would cost another 165 baht extra. She said that a reservation should be made at least a day in advance. I will probably utilize the Lek Hotel to book my ride to the airport, because I have little confidence in a sidewalk vendor -- unless someone can make a recommendation. About a year and half ago, I booked a taxi from Pattaya to Bangkok at a travel agency near Residence Garden, located on the road to Jomtien. A taxi cost about 200 baht less than a personal car. A taxi picked me up and drove a couple of kilometers away, where the company transferred me to a private car. Then the driver of the private car was insistent on taking the toll road, but he said that I would have to pay at least half the tolls. He was insistent that he was not taking his new car on the old road. The good side of this experience is the ride takes half the time of a van and my prior van ride back to Bangkok on an earlier vacation trip refused to take me to my hotel on Sukhumvit, although going to Pattaya, it had picked me up at a hotel on Sukhumvit. Live and learn.

Last night (Feb 21, 2006, Tuesday), I had the pleasure of meeting Keith, manager at FLB Bar, and a very friendly guy. In turn, he introduced me to the new owner, who took over from Pete about a year and a half ago. But, they said that Pete still runs this board. I had to admit that I had not been on the board for awhile, since it has been nearly a year and a half from my last visit to Pattaya. In fact, I tried to log in today under my old handle and the board did not recognize it. I did not do the lost password bit, because my e-mail address has changed. So, I registered under a new handle. Keith recognized me from the night before when a group of customers and ladies built the highest Jang [sp?] levels, 9 or 10, that I had ever seen. A photo should have been taken. Everybody in the bar was breathlessly watching every move and cheering when another block was removed and placed on top. It was a lot of fun, until, of course, the tower of blocks came tumbling down. I liked the relax atmosphere of the FLB Bar and the live but quiet music played there. It is a good break time between all the go-go bars that I was visiting.