mahjongguy

Yes, but if a Thai says something amusing (like, "love you long time") we might say "you so funny" and get a nastier look that we'd expected.

Yes, one has to be careful with the words "fun" and "funny". There will be misunderstandings worthy of a bad tv sitcom. I think it's because "fun" is a direct translation of "sanook", and "sanook" with a wink is a sly way of meaning "sex".

I responded to your question because I mistook it for an actual question. Now I see that it was a statement, an opinion that the local custom is wasteful. You'll need to discuss that with someone who is Thai.

Yeah, I know it looks like a *lot* but it's not much compared to the amount consumed every day by the hotels, condos, and businesses. In this village off of Jomtien Beach, the water supply just dribbles during the daytime, as most is diverted to corporate users. On April 19th, while the whole town was going nuts throwing water, the dribble (roughly about 1 psi) was no better or worse than usual. Well, since the city is busy issuing construction permits but can't be bothered to lay new pipes to the reservoirs, let's pray for rain.

Okay, I put in my vote (for "car", obviously). Notes: - Even a crummy old sedan costs at least twice as much as a shiny new bike, but my concerns weren't based on economics. If a bike is absolutely all you can afford, then do what you must. - I do like motorcycles. My last one was a 750cc Norton Atlas. But that was long long ago. - The b/f has a bike and uses it vs. the car, depending on need. I'm not much for long drives, but my b/f is happy that we have a car that he can occasionally drive to Surin. - My favorite restaurant is in Sattihip. I love having the car so I can take visiting friends there. - Today we went to Makro and loaded up on discounted necessities. If that had required taking a private songteow each way, I just wouldn't do it.

That's a very accurate and useful posting, to which I'd add the following: - Consider buying a "real" DOT-standard helmet for yourself. - Carry a photocopy of the bike's blue book. Bike theft in Pattaya is so widespread that the police often ask for proof of ownership, and riding around with a red temporary plate is sufficient excuse for being pulled over for a check. - Of course, obtain and carry a Thai motorcycle drivers license. - If you are older than 55, consider carefully if you should be driving a motorbike. I am 61 now and I know that my reaction time and peripheral vision are not sufficient for driving in a country where the #1 cause of death (all deaths) is from motorbike accidents. Just last week a 64yo Belgian acquaintance of mine went home in an urn because he misjudged an oncoming car. A secondhand Toyota Corolla costs more but it's just as simple to purchase and a lot more likely to get you where you're going in one piece.

Matt, I have some Thai friends who would move to Canada in the blink of an eye and never look back. BUT, my b/f isn't one of them. I took him to San Francisco for two weeks and he nearly starved to death. Only one way to find out...

It's interesting to hear of private exchanges that have better rates that the banks. I will assume that there are no flat rate fees that offset the slight difference in the currency rate. BTW, be cautious using the HKD as a proxy for the USD. While it's true that the HKD is pegged to the USD, it's a loose peg; it's nominally fixed at 7.80 HKD per USD, but allowed to fluctuate between 7.75 and 7.85.

UBC offers its services to multiple-occupant buildings via a different sort of contract from that offered to individual customers. Building management can pick & choose from a menu and put together a channel list that roughly corresponds to the retail Silver and Gold offerings. They can also put together a Platinum-like package, but the monthly cost would be awfully high. Note that building management has to pay UBC every month, regardless of how many occupants are being billed by building management. So, assuming that the real problem is that you are not allowed to put a dish on your balcony (or don't have line of sight to the satellite), then what you have is what you have unless and until the condo association approves paying for more channels.

I agree with GB. I know several married farang who have built houses up-country and the cost was always a bit under a million baht, roughly $25,000. These were houses in which the farang husbands intended to live, so they were built with Euro kitchens, etc. A typical Thai country house which is intended more as a gift to in-laws would be a lot cheaper.

Thraphaya Road is now paved and open all the way to Fair Properties / Food Mart, though it's still a bit "raw". The next bit, through the Threpesit Road intersection and on to the Monkey God (where there will now be an actual intersection), is going to be difficult and disruptive.

Yes, the concept is flawed. A gay sauna has come to mean a place where gays meet for non-commercial activities. It only works on a certain minimum scale. The place needs to be big (and very well publicized) like Babylon, or at least Sansuk, or it doesn't work at all. So, maybe it's really a matter of signage. Maybe they mean "we have massage which can include a hot tub and dry sauna session". Or "we have hosts who will join you in the hot tub and sauna". I hope Black Kat gets it worked out, and I hope that Ganymede follows suit.

The staff there say late this year, if at all.

The offerings depend on the location. Downtown Pattaya has ADSL up to 8mbps. Areas away from downtown may only have 2mbps ADSL. Some areas, including parts of Jomtien, have Sophon Internet cable service at 10mpbs. I have the 10mbps cable modem. I find that the local delivery of the service is "okay"; The number and duration of outages isn't quite admirable nor is it scandalous. The throughput to/from overseas sites is subject to the performance of the international links and should not be blamed on the ISP's. Note, however, that True has their own set of overseas connections. All others use CAT. If anyone is offering 16mbps service, I doubt that I would buy it. The overseas throughput will never approach any such number.

At 7-11, get a 1-2-Call SIM for 50 baht. It includes 15 baht of credit, so you should also ask for a 100 or 300 baht top-up card.

Yes, to my knowledge a Cash Advance (as the word "advance" implies) is a credit transaction. Per the Wells Fargo website, such a transaction made at a teller window (rather than an ATM) would cost "either $20 or 4% of the amount of each advance, whichever is greater, for each advance obtained in person at a participating financial institution or other source". On 60,000 baht that would be $72. Perhaps it is possible to make a debit withdrawal from your checking/savings account by presenting your ATM card to a teller. If so, it would be interesting to know if the fees are exactly those as using an ATM machine.

Um, slow down a minute, guys. Although there are cards which have Credit, Debit, and ATM functions combined, it's pretty important to keep these three things separate. - New credit card regulations may change the fees collected when you make overseas purchases but they have no effect on ATM fees. - Getting a cash advance is a feature of the credit function of the card. Fees for cash advances have always been punitive. It's doubtful that a cash advance was ever a better bargain than simply using the ATM function, but if the rules have changed then it's definitely time to re-do such a comparison. And if you do, keep in mind that ATM fees are "flat", so the bigger the withdrawal the better it will compare to a cash advance. - Tourists (but not ex-pats) should check to see if their bank or credit union issues free traveler's checks. If so, they are a good way to beat the recent ATM fee hikes. The spread between traveler's checks rates and the wire-transfer rate is only 1%.

I wish it were still under construction, but all activity there stopped a year ago. Rumor at the time was that it would be a Tops. Good enough, though I'd prefer a branch of Friendship Market. Ack! Green meat!

Then perhaps we are neighbors. That's an odd way to do it; I guess the point was to avoid you having to order a working landline from TOT. Although CAT people ran the drop to your house, I have to believe that the junction box belongs to TOT. I would say, if that is a fair average of the bandwidth, compared to TOT's ADSL services and Sophon's cable Internet service, that what you're getting is worth about 1,000 baht a month.

I suppose it will happen, eventually. But, the overseas bandwidth, which is what matters the most, is what really needs to be improved. And the article doesn't say that they will actually take fiber all the way into your home. Nor if it will be affordable. The best news recently is Sophon Internet's rollout of cable modem service. Their 10mbs service at 1490 baht is a decent deal, despite the occasional outages. Since all ADSL services must travel via TOT phone lines, and the TOT wire center is in central Pattaya, folks like me in Jomtien are too far away to get ADSL speeds greater than 2mbs. So, Sophon's cable moden service is the only way to get highspeed. As of today, this service seems to be limited to houses. It may be a while before they set up distribution within condos, but it wouldn't hurt to call them and ask.

In the 5 years that I've lived here I have observed that there is an amazing amount of real estate that is unoccupied, even during prosperous times. At first I thought this presented a terrific opportunity to buy something desireable at a great price, but that turned out not to be true at all. My explanation: - The wealthy Thai/Chinese families, like Chinese everywhere, borrow money from within the family to purchase real estate, for long terms and for little or no interest. - The lack of a significant property tax takes away the motivation to even rent out the property. So, they have no incentive to sell at all, and certainly not at a discount. If it were possible to have a modest and fairly administered property tax, there would be a much healthier real estate market. Turnover and utilization would be much greater and "market price" would have true meaning. But, when pigs fly...

How low can we go? About 3 years ago the bank rate dropped well below 32. That hurt a bit. The buck is weak now and by next year might be a lot weaker, but "weak" compared to what? After all, it is a ratio. If the baht has its own internal problems then it too will be weak and the USD/THB ratio might actually improve. If there were, for example, severe political problems and social upheaval...

I lived in BKK for 3 years. My b/f is in his 30's and looks like "maybe he's gay, maybe not". We never received so much as a second glance from anyone. Having spent much of my life in San Francisco, I was already accustomed to this. Then two years ago we moved to Pattaya and in the first week, while doing an afternoon errand on Third Road, we passed a late 40's Brit on the sidewalk. "Fookin' pervert", he says. I was really shocked. For sure this guy spends every evening with 19yo working girls and he's got something to say about my domestic partnership? I've never been in a fight in my life but all I could think of was finding a brick and sending this bog shite back to Manchester in a body bag. Fortunately my b/f, who has plenty of muscle but also a fair amount of common sense, pulled me away down the street. The fact is, living here on a retirement visa means I have to keep my head down and just absorb the occasional offense. Pity. I'd have liked to shown him some Gay Pride in action.

Yes they should have known but they apparently didn't, and I don't think it's surprisig at all. If you look at any public relations / advertising agency in Bangkok you will find that the owner is some rich guy and all the employees are young kids fresh out of school with a B.A. in media. They know how to use computer design tools and how to promote an idea in stylish ways but if you ask them about the holocaust they'll go totally blank. Ask them anything about WWII and you'll see how poorly educated they really are.

If you have a Thai friend to go with you, go out on Sukhumvit road just before you get to Homeworks/Big C (coming from Na Jomtien). You will see several of the big highway trucks parked by the curb. These are the ones with mud flaps painted with tigers, Elvis, etc. Those guys will haul your stuff to Issan at the best price. For 8,500 baht you get it all, including a worker or two to load and unload your stuff. Your Thai friend can ride in the truck with them.