Best Value Budget Pattaya Hotel. From a guy who stays there

Hotel stays can be a hit or miss affair. Reviews can be misleading and online deals are not always the best value.
That is why I prefer to take my advice from reviewers who stay in the hotels they review and recommend.
I love going to Pattaya. Despite its seedy reputation, Pattaya is a great side trip option from Bangkok.
The beach in Pattaya is not the best beach in the world but the hotels that surround Pattaya have great pools, so the beach can be best used for strolling on the promenade.
I have visited Pattaya about thirty times and whenever I happen to pass by a hotel that someone has mentioned to me, I ask to see the room and ask what the rate is.
As the saying goes, you don’t get something for nothing, but you can still get a good deal on a Pattaya hotel.
Even though I have inspected many other hotels in the same price range, some being more expensive too, I have not found one that compares.
The one I choose to stay in is The Intown Holiday Hotel. It is located in Soi 10 in South Pattaya. The street is also known as Soi Honey.
Let me give you a tip for you if you decide to stay there. Don’t bother with the breakfast. There are much better breakfasts within walking distance of the hotel.

The rooms in the Intown Holiday Hotel are large and each one has a balcony. There are two elevators. It may seem strange to mention the elevators but there are many budget hotels that do not provide elevators.

The average price of the room is rate is about 600 baht which is less than $20 US.

This price does vary upwardly in the high season.

The Hotel employees are a quiet lot but honest and efficient, and I see the same people working there year after year, which is always a good sign.
Security guards patrol the floors during the night time, and security boxes are provided for the guests on request.
The top floor features a nice pool and guests are allowed to invite their friends for a swim.
At various times of the year, this hotel is fully booked, so I make it a practice to ring them for a firm booking.
They are busy so they don’t bother much with returning email inquiries.
One other thing, they don’t accept credit cards.
I won’t waste your time giving you their email because they probably won’t answer you.
If you decide you want to book in advance just call them
6638420696

Asus Eee pc review from a guy who bought one

When I travel to Thailand I make it a habit of visiting Pantip Plaza in Bangkok to see what’s new in technology.

If you are into tech, and have traveled to Thailand you would have most certainly have heard of Pantip Plaza.
This tech complex is a five story shopping mall which rivals any similar mall in Asia.


When I was there last time, I noticed the Asus Eee ultra portable laptop on sale in many of the stores, so I thought I would avail myself of the opportunity to see it in operation.

My first impression was positive. The machine looked so light and well designed.

Was this just the thing I had been searching for?

I had wanted an ultra portable machine that I could take overseas instead of dragging my full size laptop. With this machine my dilemma of should I or should I not pack my laptop may now be resolved.

What caught my eye was that one of the larger stores had it running, but had uninstalled the Linux operating system and instead had installed Windows XP.

I have to admit, seeing it running Windows XP really made my head turn, because although I have nothing against The Linux operating system, the version of Linux software that came with the Asus seemed too basic.

Seeing it run so efficiently with XP had raised its stature considerably.

Firstly I noticed how quickly it booted up. Certainly not any slower than my Acer which has a dual core processor and two gigabytes of ram.
The Asus managed to run Windows XP even with its meager internal storage space of 4 gigabytes. It does come with 512 meg ram.

After you install Windows XP and Microsoft Office you are still left with about 1.5 gigabytes of free storage, but add to this your Itunes, Yahoo Messenger, Limewire and other favorites and you are out of space.

So how did it run?
As far as handling the demands of Windows operating system, I could not detect any obvious problems, but because the screen is a 7 inch LCD, you will have to get used to scrolling up and down and across the page of the browser to read all the content.
I have it on good advice that the Asus will not run efficiently on Vista. If you are satisfied with running XP then keep it on your list.
The keyboard is something you will have to get used to. Personally I am not fast typist and if you are like me and a two finger typist it will do the job just fine.
The product designers had the good sense to package it with a charger that is not any bigger than a phone charger.

Skype users will be pleased to know that the Asus is equipped with a webcam and microphone, making it a powerful global communication tool.

When you are off the road, plug in an external monitor and full size keyboard and your Asus doubles as your desktop pc.

The first thing you will need to do if you buy the Asus is to purchase an sd card and keep it in the SD slot on a permanent basis. I bought a two gig SD card for about twenty dollars, after learning that the pc does not support the newer SD high capacity cards. This is clearly an oversight.

The extra SD card will allow you to keep the rest of your applications on board and forms the balance of your hard drive. A flash usb flash drive can be used to store your documents folders.
The Asus does not have Bluetooth which is a nuisance. I did however pick up a Bluetooth usb adapter for about $7 which made me wonder why they didn’t include it in the hardware.

The WIFI works fine and really comes into its own on The Asus. The portability factor makes it so easy to carry with you at all times, so when you find a WIFI point you can quickly connect.
Cutting to the chase. What is the Asus really good for?
I did end up paying $400 AUD for it in Thailand and I think it is worth the money, but with the rapidly declining prices of full size laptops on the market, the Asus falls in to a niche market.
The fact is that you can get a more powerful laptop for about $100 more which will give you more processing power and a bigger hard drive than the Asus.

If you are considering the purchase of the Asus, my advice would be to buy it if you want a basic machine that is as easy to carry as a paperback.
Add a SD card, USB flash reader, USB Bluetooth and you have the perfect alternative to a PDA that costs about the same.
This is just the thing for the consumer who is sick of carrying his laptop around all day and wants a better solution.

If Real Estate is position, position, position, then the Asus is portability, portability, portability.

Using your Asus and cellphone for internet connectivity.

The Patpong drinking scam

The longest running scam in history.



My understanding of a scam was that somebody played you, took your money and then absconded with your cash, never to be heard of again.

It seems that some scammers stick around for eternity and never have to suffer any consequences for their scamming.
The biggest and longest running scam I know of is the Patpong drinks scam, which has been running for at least twenty five years.
When I refer to Patpong in Thailand, I am not talking about some out of the way back street where only the lost solitary traveler has ventured, because Patpong is one of the most famous tourist precincts in the world.
Patpong in Bangkok is primarily a two street entertainment area in the heart of the city, frequented by tourists, seeking a wilder experience than is offered in most cities of the world.
The area offers a busy night market, an abundance of restaurants and eateries, and a multitude of bars. As is the case with Patpong’s world wide reputation, both of the area’s main streets are bounded by girlie bars, and navigating your way through puts you directly in the path of the sprukers.
This where your trouble is likely to begin.

In the tradition of the most famous red light areas, curiosity plays a vital factor and this has not escaped the attention of the experienced Patpong spruker, whose job it is to lure the customer into a particular bar.
This is how it works.
The spruker approaches you with his banner which read,” singha beer 50 baht.”

He studies your face as you nod towards your companion in agreement at this very cheap price for a beer in a bar that has dancing girls on poles.
When the spruker senses your apprehension, he gleefully offers you the spiel of there being no cover charge.
Felling relieved that this is the case, you follow him and are led upstairs to the bar. The spruker disappears back downstairs in search of another customer.
This is where the bar manager steps in. You are seated near the bar and two drinks are brought to you by the waiter. Within seconds the dancers are focused on you and begin doing their “wild thing” act in your face.
Nobody asks you if you are comfortable with this but nevertheless the attention of the dancers is concentrated on you. The acrobatics and the smiles are all for you.
You haven’t finished your first drink yet but another is placed on the table.
Feeling a bit overwhelmed by the pushiness and slightly bored too, you decide to leave.
The waitress rushes over with the bill, and you are horrified to find that the amount is not 240 baht for the four drinks as you expected but is 1040 baht.
You call the waitress and she listens to you with a blank expression on her face, and promptly calls the manager.
The manager is looking meaner by the second as she informs you that there is a 400 baht per person charge for the show.
When you tell her that you distinctly heard the spruker tell you that there was no cover charge, she explains to you that the extra 800 baht is for the private show not the cover charge.
Indignation rises in your voice as you protest, explaining that you did not request any show. The manager points to the bill and tells you to pay.
From the corners of the bar a couple of mean looking bouncers approach and listen in on the conversation.
You are now in a situation where your personal security is at stake.
What do you do? Do you pay up and put it down to experience or do you stand your ground and make a fight of it?
If you pay up, you can leave and forget about it. Is it worth fighting over?
The bouncers are waiting to see what your next move is.
What do you do?
You do what everybody else does.
You swear under your breath, pay the money and leave.

This scam is still operating in Patpong today. The police seem oblivious to it and no other Thai authority has attempted to shut it down during the twenty five year period I have been visiting Thailand.